Democratic Implications of the Bible :: essays research papers

Democratic Implications of the Bible   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the form of government known as democracy, the power lies in the hands of the people. Be it to change the laws or the structure of the government, the decisions of the legislature are made by either the people or representatives that are elected by the people. Under most government systems, elections are used for people to express their views and beliefs. There is equality for all, including basic freedoms such as freedom of speech and religion. There has been a conflict of opinion among people for many years regarding the presence of democracy in the Bible. The Scriptural Tradition of both the Old and New Testament can be viewed as either democratic or non-democratic. Many instances are present throughout the texts that can point in either direction, depending on a person’s personal views and point of view. After reading select books of both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Testament, along with Brian J. Walsh and Sylvia C. Kessmat’s â€Å"Col assians Remixed†, I could easily see how an argument could be made either way. After much deliberation with each of the two sides pulling me their way, I chose the democratic side.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The issue of democracy arises early in the Bible with Genesis, the first book in the Old Testament. The creation of the world was presented in Chapters 1 and 2 of the Genesis. In this creation, there was no hierarchy among the people, as none of them had to face oppression from a higher individual. In a democracy, all people are meant to be equals. Also similar to a democracy, the people had various freedoms, such as the freedom to develop creation and the freedom to disobey. The freedom is also displayed vividly in the broad mandate that is given to human by God. It is a cultural mandate where the people can create their own cultural institutions, from cities to agriculture to art.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An instance where some people consider inequality to arise is between man and woman. Eve was created out of Adam, which can be considered as man’s superiority over woman. â€Å"†¦and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man he made the woman and brought her to the man.† (Genesis chapter 2: 21-22) Despite Eve being created out of Adam’s ribs, I still do not view this as an inequality.

Summary Modigliani & Miller

L1 – Modigliani & Miller (1958) ‘The Cost of Capital, Corporation Finance and the Theory of Investment’ This article mainly discusses the cost of capital, the required return necessary to make a capital budgeting project worthwhile. Cost of capital includes the cost of debt and the cost of equity. Theorist conclude that the cost of capital to the owners of a firm is simply the rate of interest on bonds. In a world without uncertainty the rational approach would be (1) to maximize profits and (2) to maximize market value.When uncertainty arises, these statements vanish and change into a utility maximization. The goal is to get more insight in the effect of financial structure on market valuations. I. Valuation of Securities, Leverage and the Cost of Capital A. The Capitalization Rate for Uncertain Streams In the paper, M&M (1958) assume that firms can be divided into equivalent return classes such that the return on the shares issued by any firm in any given class is proportional to the return on shares issued by any other firm in the same class.This implies that various shares within the same class can differ at most by a scale factor. The significance of this assumption is that it permits us to clarify firms into groups where shares of different firms are homogeneous (perfect substitutes of each other). This again means that in equilibrium in a perfect capital market the price per dollars worth of expected return must be the same for all shares of any given class. This will result in the following formula’s: = pj = the price xj = expected return per share of the firm in class k k= expected rate of return of any share in class k 1/pk = the price which an investor has to pay for a dollars worth of expected return in the class k B. Debt Financing and its Effects on Security Prices In this case, shares will be subject to different degrees of financial risk or leverage and hence will no longer be perfect substitutes for each other. Compan ies will have different proportions of debt in their capital structure and gives a different probability distribution of returns.To exhibit the mechanism determining the relative price of shares under these conditions two assumption are made 1)all bonds yield a constant income per unit of time 2)bonds, like stocks, are trade in perfect market (perfect substitutes) Proposition 1 ‘The value of an unlevered firm is the same as the value of a levered firm’ V = value of the firm S = market value of common stock D = market value of the debts X = expected return on the assets owned by the company (cost of capital)The market value of any firm is independent of its capital structure and is given by capitalizing its expected return at the rate pk appropriate to its class. This shows that the average cost of capital to any firm is completely independent of its capital structure and is equal to the capitalisation rate of a pure equity stream of its class. Capitalization rate (or â €Å"cap rate†) is a measure of the ratio between the net operating income produced by an asset (usually real estate) and its capital cost (the original price paid to buy the asset) or alternatively its current market value.The pure equity stream is showed in the next example: If proposition 1 did not hold, an investor could buy and sell stocks and bonds in such a way as to exchange one income stream for another stream, but selling at a lower price. It would be corrected through arbitrage. Return on a levered portfolio can be written as: Y2 = return from this (levered) portfolio ? = fraction of the income available for the stockholders of the company/fraction total shares outstanding X = expected return rD2 = interest charge Return on a unlevered portfolio looks like this: 1 = fraction/amount invested in stocks S1 = total stocks outstanding To see why this should be true, suppose an investor is considering buying one of the two firms U or L. Instead of purchasing the shares of the levered firm L, he could purchase the shares of firm U and borrow the same amount of money D that firm L does. The eventual returns to either of these investments would be the same. Therefore, the price of L must be the same as the price of U minus the money borrowed D, which is the value of L's debt. Proposition 2 > re = ro + (ro – rd) x D/E = required rate of return on equity (cost of equity) pk = cost of capital for an all equity firm r = required rate of return on borrowings (i. e. , cost of debt or interest rate) D/S = debt to equity ratio That is, the expected yield of a share of stock is equal to the appropriate capitalization rate pk for a pure equity stream in the class, plus a premium related to financial risk equal to the debt-to-equity ratio time the spread between pk and r. C. Some Qualifications and Extensions of the Basic Propositions Effects of Present Method of Taxing CorporationsProposition 1 becomes (with taxes): ? = average rate of corporate income t ax ? = expected net income accruing to the common stock holder Proposition 2 becomes (with taxes): pk can no longer be indentified with the average cost of capital when taxes come into play. Yet, to simplify things the writers will still do this. Effects of a Plurality of Bonds and Interest Rates Economic theory and market experience both suggest that the yields demanded by lenders tend to increase with the debt-equity ratio of the borrowing firm (or individual).The increased cost of borrowed funds as leverage increases will tend to be offset by a corresponding reduction in the yield of common stock. Proposition 1 remains unaffected as long as the yield curve is the same for all borrowers. However, the relation between common stock yields and leverage will no longer be the strictly linear one given by the original Proposition 2. If r increases with leverage, the yield i will still tend to rise as D/S increases, but at a decreasing rather than a constant rate. Yield curve: D. The Rel ation of Propositions 1 en 2 to Current Doctrines.Proposition 1 asserts that the average cost of capital is a constant for all firms j in class k, independently of their financial structure. II. Implications of the Analysis for the Theory of Investments A. Capital Structure and Investment Policy Proposition 3 (Proposition 4 in lecture slides): A firm will exploit investment opportunities if and only if the rate of return on the investment p* is as large as or larger than pk . This will be completely unaffected by the type of security used to finance the investment (bonds or stocks).So the main conclusion is that companies should invest when . Capital structure is a matter of indifference and the problem of the optimal capital structure is no problem at all. B. Proposition 3 and Financial Planning by Firms Misinterpretation of the scope of Proposition 3 can be avoided by remembering that this Proposition 3 tells us only that the type of instrument used to finance an investment is irr elevant to the question of whether or not the investment is worth while.This does not mean that the owners (or managers) have no grounds whatever for preferring one financing plan to another; or that there are no other policy or technical issues in finance at that level. C. The Effect of the Corporate Income Tax on Investment Decisions The cost of capital now depends on the debt ratio, decreasing , as D/V rises, at the constant rate of . Thus with a corporate income tax under which interest is a deductible expense, gains can accrue to stockholders from having debt in the capital structure, even when capital markets are perfect. L1 – Fama & French (1998) ‘Taxes, Financin

Analysis of Handels Admeto essays

Analysis of Handel's Admeto essays In the beginning of the 18th century opera seria developed into a vibrant art form, and took a center stage in operatic performance of London. As a genre, opera seria takes its themes from classical myths and literature, building on the musical standards developed throughout the Baroque period. Opera seria is built on a rigid structure of three acts in which the recitative and aria are performed in alternation. The dominant convention of this musical genre is the de capo aria which helps to show a single specific mood or affection through the use of repetition and melismatic singing while also serving as a "reflection of the significance of the virtuoso singer" (New Harvard 564). The voices of soloists were central to the performance, and the composers of opera serias used the instruments of the orchestra as an accompaniment. In looking at Handel's Admeto we can see a prominent example of an opera seria, allowing us to see how these among other musical conventions created a sens e of grandeur and order so prominent during a Baroque period. Recitative playes a pivotal role in the development of the action of Admeto. It serves a function of both developing the plot and explaining the relationships between characters. The Act III scene 6 finds Alcestis back from the netherworld and looking to reunite with her husband Admeto. In a dramatic dialogue Hercules tells her that her husband is in love with another. This amount of information would be impossible to convey effectively in the form of an aria. Instead of being accompanied by the basso continuo, the recitative between Alcestis and Hercules is almost entirely spoken. The only instrumental accompaniment is the harpsichord, and its function is limited to underlining the ends of phrases. Such recitative, often called secco recitative, allows the words come out unencumbered by the colorful turns of a musical composition. Yet the music is not absent from Handel's recitative. ...

The Best Google Doodles ever created

The Best Google Doodles ever created The Best Google Doodles Ever Google. This word is familiar to any of us. Every day we face it at home, at work, having free time, looking for something to watch, something to listen to or something to read. Anyway, it penetrated into our life so deep that daily one can`t imagine his work or leisure without using it. Each moment is connected with Gmail, Google Drive, Google+ and much more products that help us to work effectively, have a good rest or use our free time in the best way. Company is working daily trying to improve the quality of services provided, making Internet surfing fast and convenient. One of outstanding features created by Google is their doodles dedicated to some events. They are created to light up search routine and remind you about something that happened these days many years ago. The idea itself included creating small pictures styled like companys logo, animated pictures or even small games that are related to events of this day. Definitely, such an approach helped to engage much more people into Google search by visiting company homepage with a colorful doodle-reminding of something special. Here you can find 5 best of them.

Pride and Prejudice Essay

Pride and Prejudice Essay Pride and Prejudice Essay Pride and Prejudice Essay: the Critical View on the Paper For the first time, I read the book Pride and Prejudice of Jane Austen in 1997. At that moment I didnt know this book considered as the best authors book about love. Today I understand that a lot of modern writers could learn the narration style of Austin and her ability to neglect the unnecessary details in description. The novel Pride and Prejudice is easy, understandable and catchy story, which takes the readers breath away form the first pages. And it is not a big surprise that the literature masterpiece was filmed numerous times. Let us imagine that we got the assignment to write an essay about that artwork. How can we cope with that task? Just follow the recommended steps and everything will be fine. Pride and Prejudice essay: Define the Conception In other words, you think up the purpose of your essay. Remember, that essay requires the purpose identification and the explanation of the topic from various points of view. Backing to Pride and Prejudice essay we can choose the appropriate topic, in the question form. For example, how does the film interpretation differ from the original book?, or, What are the main similarities and differences between the movie and the original book? The topic should be modern, laconic and actual. When you compose the introduction do not forget to put the thesis. Pride and Prejudice essay: Main Body and Topics Description Then you start to describe the main topic. When you ask the question, be ready to answer it with a due argumentation. You present your critical view both on the movie and the book, describe, how the characters from film imitated the characters from the story? Did they fail or succeed in this task? How did the director see and meet the standards of Jane Austens book? What kind of values the author tried to show, and how did it present in the movie? Anyway, show your fantasy and wit, and do not forget to answer all the issues. Pride and Pre judice essay: Outcome In the end of your work, you make a clear conclusion: for instance, you may describe the role of the book and the value of movie for the next generation. Express your last main opinion in order to finalize the article. Do not forget to check your Pride and Prejudice essay up! It will be a shame, if you fail during the examination.

Strategic operations management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic operations management - Essay Example Therefore, the understanding of customers and market-place is vital in establishing a successful supply chain. An organisation can build a proper supply chain by understanding the constraint of an exiting market. A well managed supply chain can reduce the overall cost of an organisation and also can improve customer satisfaction. Just-In-Time (JIT) and lean manufacturing have been a pioneering innovation by the Toyota Production System. It can go a long way in helping a company to implement a successful supply chain method. Lean manufacturing was first employed on a global scale in 1980s. This process aims to reduce as well as eliminate overall industrial waste (Mason-Jones, 2000). Lean and agile supply chain have been implemented by many of the organisations in present with tremendous success. The term ‘lean’ comes from leanness i.e. developing a value stream for eliminating all kind of wastes like time and also to ensure a level schedule. The term ‘agile’ comes from agility which transforms to using market understanding and also a virtual corporation for exploiting beneficial opportunities in a volatile marketplace. Many organisations have implemented both lean and agile supply chain for gaining competitive advantage. Lean method (or lean manufacturing) essentially focuses upon the reduction of wastes from the manufacturing process. The basic principle of this process has been the ‘pull’ strategy that is based upon the demand from the end of the customers. It is a made-to-stock approach which relies mainly upon completed materials inventory. Toyota production system have used this method to streamline their overall supply chain. In fact, a major portion of the lean manufacturing has been developed in the Toyota Production System. Lean process tries to avoid sturdiness in manufacturing by calling for the demand of a product to be stable through the utilization of market knowledge and forward planning and also

Inflation Targeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Inflation Targeting - Essay Example Inflation targeting focuses on the long term and theoretically leads to greater transparency as its easily quantifiable structure promotes greater accountability and responsibility within the central financial authority. Mishkin (2001) argues that "it is devised in such a way that its viability is not completely predicated on a stable relationship between money and inflation" (p. 2) - instead it relies on comprehensive economic information to determine the instruments to be utilized. A properly implemented scheme brings more credibility and encourages public support for the central banking authority because of its highly transparent nature.  On the flipside, some pundits argue that one of its biggest disadvantages is that it renders any form of direct control over inflation very difficult to achieve, largely in part to its rigid structure leaning too much towards the bottom line. Also, the strategy apparently leaves too much room for discretion, resulting in a hypothetical grey are a in terms of process control and execution. Lastly, the unpredictable lag times between policy introduction and actual inflation rise may be too drawn out for the public to monitor effectively, and may even be forgotten altogether in the long run. In theory, a principal principal-agents on the difficulties that emanate from the lack of information each time principal commissions an agent. According to Johnson (2005) â€Å"it is a difficult but extremely important and recurrent organizational design problem of how organizations can structure incentives so that people under contractual obligation would perform this obligation as promised† (n.p.) The primary dilemma lies in reconciling the different factors in the principal-agent dynamic en route to a synergistic and productive relationship.