Edward Balls Slaves in the Family free essay sample

An audit of this authentic story. This paper audits the authentic story by Edward Ball, giving an outline of the book. It manages the treatment of dark slaves, contrasts in the obligations of guys and females and the womens job as preservers of family ancestry and as suppliers of knowledge into manor life. It additionally takes a gander at Balls examination of the case of the shared trait of white slave proprietors laying down with or assaulting their female slaves. The paper clarifies its perspective on the book for instance of sexism in the public arena. Edward Ball annals his familys slave-claiming history in the convincing verifiable story Slaves in the Family. Ball follows the heredities of his white family members and their slaves and where conceivable reproduces life as it was ready ranches in South Carolina. Relatives of the Englishman Elias Ball purchased and offered enough captives to populate a city. We will compose a custom exposition test on Edward Balls Slaves in the Family or then again any comparable theme explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page In no way, shape or form particular in their treatment of the Africans, the Balls demonstrate all things considered to be a prime case of a Southern manor reliant on the hard labor of families and people tore from their country and purchased and sold as ware. Remorselessness was dispensed similarly among dark guys and females, however it is beneficial to differentiate the novel encounters of subjugated ladies on the Southern ranches. In the case of nothing else, parenthood and youngster raising set the ladies apart. They viewed their infants rise into a universe of shackles, regularly totally losing them to the slave merchants.

Global Climate Justice-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignmenthelp

Question: Talk about the Global Climate Justice. Answer: Worldwide change is viewed as one of the worldwide issues that influences the lives of a huge number of individuals by keeping up a harmony between the normal species and the biological systems. Worldwide equity has grown as of late according to the exploration of the political logicians and the scholars. Atmosphere changes are not generally identified with the exercises of people however it likewise gets influenced in light of the Act of God. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change expresses that huge measures have been taken by them to control the environmental change universally. Effects of the environmental change affect the security of employments of common nearby economies. The wellbeing network gets undermined because of the adjustments in the atmosphere. The progressions significantly influence the defenseless, elderly folks individuals and youngsters. The little island states and ladies, waterfront areas, neighborhood networks and destitute individuals essentially experience such changes. Atmosphere Justice expresses that the open strategy depends on the equivalent and common regard for all the individuals. Each individual having a place with the network ought to be spared and shielded from biasness of segregation. Regular assets must be drained at a rapid rate so abuse lessens and boils down to a restricted degree of value. Be that as it may, environmental change have mirrored the mind-boggling consequences for a lot of individuals. Because of which people endure. Ongoing changes have concentrated on the few issues of the environmental change. In any c ase, atmosphere equity acts in securing the rights and commitments of the casualties of environmental change and are locked in with the treacheries for accepting remuneration of the land and different materials that have been harmed. Atmosphere Justice declares the requirement for the financial models that secures the crucial rights for cleaning the sound environments. Book index Hornborg, A. what's more, Martinez-Alier, J., 2016. Naturally inconsistent trade and biological debt.J. Political Ecol,23, pp.328-333. Moellendorf, D., 2015. Environmental change justice.Philosophy Compass,10(3), pp.173-186. Reese, G., 2016. Basic human character and the way to worldwide atmosphere justice.Climatic change,134(4), pp.521-531. Routledge, P., 2015. Atmosphere equity: environmental change, asset clashes, and social equity. InReframing Climate Change(pp. 83-98). Routledge.

Global Branding

Global Branding Global Branding Home›Marketing Posts›Global Branding Marketing PostsThe term brand is used to connote a specific approach, symbol or sign that is unique to a particular product or service. In light of this, a brand is an identification tool that is in marketing in a bid to identify a certain product or service in the marketplace.  This helps in the easier recognition of products from companies in a bid to curtail competition. In most cases, branding in the corporate world has been directed to the selection of colors as a brand. For example, the beverage company Coca Cola is widely attributed to its red and white brand colors. This amicably alienates it from competition from other beverage companies since its clients easily are acquainted with their products.According to Randall (2000 p.2) branding is essentially the process whereby business enterprises and companies embark on a path to innovatively shield themselves from competition in the market by incorporating their brand an d consumer insight in their products. For example, coming up with colors and logos that geared towards helping their clientele base to differentiate original and counterfeits and also their competitors’ products and services.In the spirit of globalization, the world has turned itself to a global village thus the business sector has extensively widened to cover global markets. In this regard, the term global branding was fronted.Randall (2000 p.121) further asserts that global branding is the systematic change by corporate market players to ostensibly incorporate themselves to the foreign markets for competition. Global branding, therefore deals with the effective application of the brand symbol to all products across the globe for easier identification by the customers. For example, the Coca Cola Company extensively uses global branding to capture its niche market across the globe. This means that their customers can easily identify their products regardless of their products.Howe ver, international brands should not be confused with global brands. International brands are only recognized in several nations unlike global brands that have penetrated the global market and are universally distributed. This implies that global brands are found in every nation state across the world. In this regard, the positioning of a brand in the global arena is geared towards the realization of broader market base and also maximization of profits. All in all, the global branding is hindered by various factors including language barriers, different import export regulation across nations and also political and economic stability of target market geographies.Global branding (Cato 2001 p.13) is divided into two mega categories to effectively bring out the meaning. They include global societal persuasion branding and global commercial persuasion branding. In global societal persuasion branding the presence of powerful beliefs systems represented by recognizable names is primarily intended to provoke emotional responses thus providing motivational commitment and action. This helps in the construction of brand loyalty.On the other hand, global commercial persuasion branding is a process that is aimed at provoking emotional responses in a bid to realize the motivation to sell products and services for commercial gains.Ways in which Global branding is hampered by language differencesUniversalityGregory and Wiechmann (2002 p.37) argues that language is predominantly the worse barrier for global branding. This is because of the dynamic characteristic of language. In light of this, language as an essential tool for brand marketing serves an integral role in the realization of business goal. For example, although English is a widely used language across almost all demographics, it is a hindrance to global branding since it is not entirely used in all regions. It is for this reason that it derails the success of global marketing.Reduced niche market and profitsGlobal branding as an effective marketing tool is largely hampered by language differences culminating in low turnovers. This implies that lack of understanding of language used in global brands triggers competition from local brands. In light of this, consumers turn to products and services that they effectively comprehend leaving out global products since they are unable to understand the language used thus reducing the profit margins of global brands in the competitive markets.  For example, an American automobile called ‘Nova’ has had troubles with marketing in Mexico because ‘no va’ means ‘doesn’t go’ in Spanish. This explains the ways in which global branding is hampered by language differences. Language differences give amicable room for proliferation of distortion of the intended message. For example, the intended message by the brand is wrongly interpreted by the consumers.CarrierLanguage (Munch 2001 p.150) is used as key determinant of a persons’ way of life, be liefs and traditions. In light of this, the incorporation of language helps in global branding. However, it can also play a significant role in hindering global branding. This implies that the clientele base only associates themselves with a product or service that uses their language. For instance, using the hip-hop music language that is vulgar helps a business meet its goal. In light of this, the language is either instrumental or detrimental to the success of the business company. Language hampers global branding in the event that the language used is decoded differently across the market scoop. For example, a certain English word might be perceived differently by consumers. This implies that the usage of language in global branding should be decisive not to alienate clientele base. In this regard, the language hampers global branding as it segregates the clientele.This means that the clientele base reduces massively as a result of language barrier and differences in meaning. Ho wever, this hindrance serves as a wake-up call for global brand managers to effectively come up with universally acceptable language connotations aimed at not only profit maximization but also consumer numbers increment. Moreover, lack of understanding reduces brand loyalty among the consumers who in response turn to other complimentary products and services. This implies that they turn to other products that are similar in use. For example, consumers turning to other soft drinks at the expense of the multinational Coca Cola Company. The loyalty shift impacts negatively on the company’s turnovers.PortrayalLanguage use in global marketing serves as an analytical tool for the company. This implies that language used by the various companies in the global arena effectively furnish the clientele with vital information about the multinationals. For example, language use segregates consumers across economic lines. Use of language filled with heavy vocabulary alienates consumers. This im plies that consumers assume the selective exposure and retention modes of behavior.In light of this, consumers of products position themselves to the products they easily understand and brands they are confident with in relation to language.Communication technology The rise and rise of information communication technology arguably changed the language platform for the better. This implies that the use of communication technology tools such as social networking sites is leading to not only language inconsistency but also digital divide. For example, global branding has resulted to communication technology tools such as Facebook to advertize their products and in the process acquiring new language that does not conform to the needs of all niche market. In light of this, the incorporation of such language in global branding may be vulnerable to other consumers as a result of digital divide. This implies that not all individuals are aware of such changes. For instance, selling a Nokia h andset with Facebook might not ringer sense to an old adult who neither uses Facebook nor uses handsets in the first place.ConclusionAs stated above, language is a critical ingredient in the design and final approach to branding. In this regard, the concerned parties such as brand managers should effectively realize the impacts both negative and positive on language in the formation of brands. This will amicably help in realizing the multinational’s goals, mission and vision. Moreover, the effective language use will have considerable impacts on the profit margins of the company and also play a significant role in either reducing or increasing their clientele numbers. For example, poor global branding negatively affects a company’s profits.In conclusion, it is only wise for global brand managers to try as much as possible to remain unique and specific in their overall objective of remaining at the top of the competitors. All in all, adherence to national laws by multinationals i s vital for success.

How Patanjali Is Considered A Divine Messenger - 1188 Words

Upanishadic wisdom converged on a shared belief in a universal law that guided the abiding presence of religious and metaphysical forces in the lives of individuals and of the collective destiny of all things in the universe. The Upanishadic teachings help us to understand how yoga evolved. Patanjali is historically understood to have been a divine messenger, born some time between 500 BC and 200 BC. The dates are uncertain to this day as the lives of the great sages and mystics were not measured according to modern calendars, but rather, were imbued by the living oral traditions that defined Upanishadic wisdom and knowledge. Some traditions held that Pantanjali was not born of mother and father but was rather the incarnation of the god Adiesea. Adisesa is a great king cobra whose body is the seal of the god Vishnu. The legend continues that the god Shiva, the king of dance, invited Vishnu and other deities to see his famous dance, Tandava Nritya. As Shiva danced, Vishnu immersed his own consciousness in the moment. His physical being undulated in rhythm with the graceful movements of Shiva. During the performance of the dance, Vishnu was seated on Adisesa, the great cobra. The cobra became short of breath under Vishnu’s weight, which seemed to increase with his enrapturement in the dance. The great cobra began to gasp for air. At the end of the dance, Adesisa immediately felt release from the heavy pressure of Vishnu’s body. Adesisa asked Vishnu, â€Å"How could it be

Italian Verb Conjugations Cadere

Italian Verb Conjugations: Cadere  Conjugation table for the Italian verb  cadere cadere: to fall (down), collapse; come down/out; flopIrregular second-conjugation Italian verbIntransitive verb (does not take a  direct object) INDICATIVE/INDICATIVO Presente io cado tu cadi lui, lei, Lei cade noi cadiamo voi cadete loro, Loro cadono Imperfetto io cadevo tu cadevi lui, lei, Lei cadeva noi cadevamo voi cadevate loro, Loro cadevano Passato remoto io caddi tu cadesti lui, lei, Lei cadde noi cademmo voi cadeste loro, Loro caddero Futuro semplice io cader tu caderai lui, lei, Lei cader noi caderemo voi caderete loro, Loro caderanno Passato prossimo io sono caduto/a tu sei caduto/a lui, lei, Lei caduto/a noi siamo caduti/e voi siete caduti/e loro, Loro sono caduti/e Trapassato prossimo io ero caduto/a tu eri caduto/a lui, lei, Lei era caduto/a noi eravamo caduti/e voi eravate caduti/e loro, Loro erano caduti/e Trapassato remoto io fui caduto/a tu fosti caduto/a lui, lei, Lei fu caduto/a noi fummo caduti/e voi foste caduti/e loro, Loro furono caduti/e Future anteriore io sar caduto/a tu sarai caduto/a lui, lei, Lei sar caduto/a noi saremo caduti/e voi sarete caduti/e loro, Loro saranno caduti/e SUBJUNCTIVE/CONGIUNTIVO Presente io cada tu cada lui, lei, Lei cada noi cadiamo voi cadiate loro, Loro cadano Imperfetto io cadessi tu cadessi lui, lei, Lei cadesse noi cadessimo voi cadeste loro, Loro cadessero Passato io sia caduto/a tu sia caduto/a lui, lei, Lei sia caduto/a noi siamo caduti/e voi siate caduti/e loro, Loro siano caduti/e Trapassato io fossi caduto/a tu fossi caduto/a lui, lei, Lei fosse caduto/a noi fossimo caduti/e voi foste caduti/e loro, Loro fossero caduti/e CONDITIONAL/CONDIZIONALE Presente io caderei tu caderesti lui, lei, Lei caderebbe noi caderemmo voi cadereste loro, Loro caderebbero Passato io sarei caduto/a tu saresti caduto/a lui, lei, Lei sarebbe caduto/a noi saremmo caduti/e voi sareste caduti/e loro, Loro sarebbero caduti/e IMPERATIVE/IMPERATIVO Presente — cadi, cada, cadiamo, cadete, cadano INFINITIVE/INFINITO Presente ​— cadere Passato — essere caduto PARTICIPLE/PARTICIPIO Presente — cadente ​ Passato  Ã¢â‚¬â€ caduto GERUND/GERUNDIO Presente  Ã¢â‚¬â€ cadendo Passato — essendo caduto

Microsoft Office and Figure Free Essays

string(156) " To change the style of numbering or bullets, select the last list you created and click on the downward arrow to the right of the bullet or number tool 6\." Table of Contents Introduction This session is targeted at those who wish to learn the new key features of MS Word 2007. It will cover use of the ribbon, adding tools to the Quick Access Toolbar and using live preview before making selections. By the time you have completed this session you should be able to: 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Microsoft Office and Figure or any similar topic only for you Order Now Work with the new ribbon in Word 2007 2. Add tools to the Quick Access Toolbar 3. Use the Office Button 4. Use Live Preview and make selection 5. Create, save and format a document 6. Indent paragraphs and change line spacing 7. Create bullet and number list 8. Change format of bullets and number list 9. Apply borders and shading to paragraphs 10. Add a header or footer and page numbers to documents 11. Select tools from the Mini Toolbar 12. Work with Super tool tips 13. Use Launchers to display dialog boxes 14. Create and modify tables 15. Add and remove items from the Status Bar 16. Select Word Options 17. Understand the new file formats 18. Use the Compatibility Checker 19. Understand and apply the different security features Documents needed for practical are contained within the EssentialsInWord folder on the desktop or download from http://www. qub. ac. k/student Click on the Training Materials link (under Useful Information), scroll down to Microsoft Office 2007. Click on the Zip files for Word Essential. zip and download either to desktop or H drive. Right click on the zip file and select Extract All (or unzip to here) This practical should take you approximately 2 hours to complete Microsoft Word’s 2007 Ribbon When Word 2007 is first opened, a new blank document is automatically created. The ribbon displayed across the top of the screen replaces the old toolbars and menus. The ribbon is divided into eight tabs (if Developer tab is shown), plus an additional tab if add-ins are being used. The number of items shown in the ribbon will vary depending on the size and resolution of the monitor. For example, figure 1 below shows four heading styles on the ribbon, whereas a larger monitor with a higher screen resolution would display six or more heading styles. By clicking on the downward arrow to the right of the styles, the full range of styles will be displayed. By selecting the tabs across the top of the ribbon, i. e. Insert, Page Layout, References, Mailings, Review and View, a different section of the ribbon will be displayed. Notice that the Home ribbon/tab contains many of the tools previously displayed on the Standard and Formatting toolbars. Figure [ 1 ]: The Ribbon (Home Position) To hide the ribbon, (which will allow more room on the screen) double click one of the tabs across the top. To access a tool from the collapsed ribbon, click once on the tab to expand the ribbon and select the tool. To bring the ribbon back, double click on a tab or use the keyboard option Ctrl+F1. Note that when the ribbon is collapsed it is possible to use the Alt key on the keyboard to show the shortcut keys. For example Alt+N will access the Insert tab. See . Figure [ 2 ]: Short Cut Keys for Ribbon ————————————————- Across the top of the ribbon (or just below it), at the left hand side of the Title Bar, you will notice the Quick Access Toolbar (see figure 3). To add tools from the ribbon to the toolbar, right click on the tool and select Add to Quick Access Toolbar. Note: tools on the Quick Access Toolbar are saved to the computer, therefore if you use a different computer, you will not be able to access tools saved earlier. Figure [ 3 ]: Quick Access Toolbar Many of the tools contained in the earlier Edit menu, can now be accessed from the Office Button See figure 4 for list. Note that if the current document is saved on a SharePoint server, there will also be a Server Tasks button, between Publish and close. 1. ————————————————- Click on the Office Button 2. ————————————————- Right click on the Save icon 3. ————————————————- Select Add to Quick Access Toolbar Note: If the tool is already on the Quick Access Toolbar, the option will be unavailable. If this is the case, select another tool of your choice to add to the toolbar. Office Button Click on the arrows to see an extended menu in each case Live Preview Live Preview shows formatting results on text such as heading styles, font colour, background colour, etc, without actually clicking on the choice. For example by highlighting text and moving the mouse over the styles, on the Home tab, a preview of the effect of each style will be displayed without actually selecting the style. Note that not all formatting options use live preview. Click on the Office Button and select Open Browse to where you have saved the Word Essentials folder and open the document ECDL Leaflet Select the first heading ECDL and ECDL Advanced Ensure the Home tab is selected and move the cursor over the heading styles Notice how the heading changes to allow a preview (without clicking on a style). Click the downward arrow to the right of the styles to access the full range. Select Heading1 style by clicking on it. (Note: the name of the style will appear as you move the cursor over each style). Bullets and Numbering 1. ———————————————— Under the heading Why Study for an IT Qualification, select the five lines of text after By studying for the ECDL at Queen’s†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2. ————————————————- Select the Bullets tool from the Paragraph group on the Home tab. 3. ————————————————- Scroll down to the heading What will you learn and select the seven lines of text beginning Basic Concepts of IT and select the Numbering tool from the Paragraph group. 4. ————————————————- Under the heading Moving forward with ECDL Advanced, select the text Word processing, down to Presentations and select the bullets tool. 5. ————————————————- To change the style of numbering or bullets, select the last list you created and click on the downward arrow to the right of the bullet or number tool 6. You read "Microsoft Office and Figure" in category "Papers" ————————————————- Choose a style or select Define New Bullet to choose a picture/symbol. See figure 5. (Note Live Preview of bullets before selection) : Change Bullet types * Note: within the Paragraph group there is also a Multilevel list. See figure 6, which is a useful feature for creating sub level lists. Also under the font group there is a tool to remove all formatting from a document. See figure 7. : Multilevel List : Clear Formatting Borders and Shading 1. ————————————————- Ensure the Home tab is selected. 2. ————————————————- Select the last paragraph in the document beginning ECDL and ECDL Advanced and click on the downward arrow beside the Border tool (on the Paragraph group). See figure 8. 3. ————————————————- Select Outside Borders, see figure 8. Figure [ 7 ]: Border 4. ————————————————- With the paragraph still selected click on the downward arrow beside the Shading tool (next to the border tool) on the Paragraph group. 5. ————————————————- Select a shade of grey, i. e. 25% * The MiniBar/Mini Toolbar Select any line of text in the ECDL leaflet document. Notice that the mini toolbar appears. See Figure 9. At first the toolbar will be quite faint but as the cursor is moved closer to the toolbar it becomes more solid. Moving the cursor off the mini toolbar and back may cause it to disappear. Right click on the selected text and it will reappear. Note that the mini toolbar does not produce live preview results. Figure [ 8 ]: Mini Toolbar By right clicking on text such as bullets or numbering, extended shortcut options will appear (see figure 10). Figure [ 9 ]: Extended Short Cut Menu * Super Tooltips Move the cursor over the tools on the ribbon. Notice that an extended tool tip appears. For example in Figure 11 below, the mouse was hovered over the Format Painter tool. In most cases the keyboard short cut keys also appear. Figure [ 10 ]: Super Tooltip for Format Painter * Dialog Boxes and Launchers Dialog boxes can be displayed in several ways. One example is to use the launchers. These are indicated by the small arrow in the lower right hand corner of ribbon groups, see figure 12. Click on the launcher to open the dialog box. Note that not a lot of changes have been made to dialog boxes in Word 2007 see figures 13a and 13b for one example. Figure [ 11 ]: Launcher Launcher Figure [ 12 ]a: Paragraph in 2007 Figure 13b: Paragraph in 2003 The Insert Ribbon Click on the Office Button and create a new blank document. Click on the Insert tab to display the insert section of the ribbon, see figure 14. Figure [ 13 ]: Insert Ribbon From the Pages group there is the option to insert a cover page, a blank page or page break. Section breaks can now be accessed from the Page Layout tab (covered later). Note that page breaks can also be accessed from the Page Layout tab. Tables Click on the downward arrow under tables and select a three column by three row table. See figure 15. Alternatively select Insert Table to make your selection. See figure 15. Figure [ 14 ]: Insert Table Three columns by three rows Note the table tools in the ribbon with Design and Layout tabs. See figure 16 with Design tab selected and Figure 17 with Layout tab selected. Design tab Layout Table Tools Border Launcher Figure [ 15 ]: Table Tools (Design) 1. ————————————————- Click into the first cell of the table and ensure the Layout tab is selected (see figure 17) 2. ————————————————- Select the top row of the table and click on the Merge Cells button within the Merge group 3. ————————————————- Select the Design tab and from the table styles (use the arrow key to the right of the styles), select Light List Accent 2 style, i. e. move the cursor over the styles and a name box will appear. Figure [ 16 ]: Table Tools (Layout) 1. ————————————————- Select the table and with the Design tab still selected, click on the Draw Borders launcher (see figure 16) to access the full range of borders and shading options. Alternatively click the downward arrows next to the borders and shading buttons to see the full range of options (within table styles of the Design tab). 2. ———————————————— Select All borders 3. ————————————————- Select 1 point width for the b order and the colour blue. 4. ————————————————- Right click within a table cell to bring up additional options such as insert row/column, delete row/column, etc. See figure 18. 5. ————————————————- Alternatively, select the Layout tab, see figure 17 to insert rows, columns, delete table, etc. 6. ————————————————- Using figure 19 as a guide, complete the remaining cells within the table. . ————————————————- Save the document as Table Example within the WordEssentials folder and close the document. Figure [ 17 ]: Table options Courses Microsoft Office 2007 Training Courses| October| Word| Essentials| October| Excel| Essentials| October| PowerPoint| Essentials| October| Access| Essentials| November| Word| Advanced| November| Excel| Advanced| November| PowerPoint| Advanced| November| Access| Advanced| A range of other course are available in each Microsoft application Shapes and SmartArt Click on the Office button and create a new document and ensure the Insert tab is selected. The Illustrations group on the Insert tab has buttons for inserting pictures, ClipArt, Shapes and Charts, there is also an option to use SmartArt which is a new feature on the Insert ribbon. 1. ————————————————- Click on the downward arrow below shapes. A range of shapes, lines, arrows are available. See figure 18. Note the option New Drawing Canvas at the bottom of the list (this appeared automatically in Word 2003) 2. ————————————————- Select three flow chart shapes of your choice and draw them on the page, one beneath the other. Draw connecting lines from the first shape to the second and a line from the second to the third shape. Figure [ 18 ]: Shapes 1. ————————————————- With the Insert tab still selected, click on Blank Page (from the Pages group). 2. ————————————————- Click on the SmartArt control and browse through the different categories down the left hand side. See figure 21 3. ————————————————- Select Block cycle from the Cycle category and click OK. See figure 21 with block cycle selected. Note the SmartArt ribbon appears. See figure 22. Figure [ 19 ]: SmartArt Figure [ 20 ]: SmartArt Ribbon Add Shape Change Colours 4. ————————————————- Click into each area of the cycle in turn and type the tasks associated with completing the ECDL qualification. See figure 23. 5. ————————————————- Click anywhere on the page when the cycle is complete. To access the SmartArt ribbon, double click on the shape and it will reappear. 6. ————————————————- To change the colour of the cycle, click on the Change Colours control, see figure 22. 7. ———————————————— To delete a shape, selec t the shape and press delete on the keyboard. 8. ————————————————- To insert a shape, select a shape next to where you want the new shape and click on Add Shape, see figure 22 9. ————————————————- To change the layout use the arrows to the right of the Layouts group and click a layout to select. 10. ————————————————- To change the SmartArt style, click on the arrows to the right of the Styles group and click the style to select. Figure [ 21 ]: Steps to complete ECDL Note: for more advanced features of SmartArt, see Advanced courses in Word and PowerPoint. Headers and Footers 1. ————————————————- Ensure the Insert tab is selected. Click the downward arrow under Header, (within the Header Footer group) to see the full range of header styles. Click the arrow beneath Footer and Page Number to view the styles available. See figure 24. 2. ————————————————- Click on the Footer button and select Alphabet style. Type your name in the [Type Text] box. The page number will appear on the right of the footer. . ————————————————- Notice the view of the ribbon/tab has changed, i. e. a design tab for header and footer appears. See figure 25. 4. ————————————————- Click Close Header and Footer (see figure 25). Note: Another way to access headers or footers is to double click the header or footer area of the page. Figure [ 22 ]: Headers and Footers Note: When in the header or footer area the header and footer tools/controls appear, see figure 25. To return to the main document, click the Close Header and Footer button see figure 25. Figure [ 23 ]: Header and footer tools Quick Parts and Building Blocks Quick Parts and Building Blocks provide a menu of reusable document parts, for example headers, footers, cover page, tables, etc. 1. ————————————————- With the Insert tab selected, click on Quick Parts from the Text group. Any quick parts created will be displayed. In figure 26 below, a cover sheet for IT courses has been created and saved as a quick part. 2. ————————————————- Click on Building Blocks Organizer to see the full list and type. Select a building block and note the preview displayed. To use a building block, select it and click Insert Figure [ 24 ]: Quick Parts 1. ————————————————- With the Building Blocks Organizer open, click on the heading Name, to sort items by name. To sort by Gallery, Category or Template, click on the particular heading. 2. ————————————————- Select one of the building blocks and click Edit properties. The Modify Building Block box opens (see figure 27). Changes can be made, click OK Figure [ 25 ]: Modify Building Blocks 1. ———————————————— To add a document part to Quick Parts or Building Blocks, select the item (for example to create a heading with QUB l ogo): 2. ————————————————- Ensure the Insert tab is selected, click Header and select Edit Header 3. ————————————————- Click on Picture within the Insert tab and insert Logo_QUB from the folder saved to your desktop. 4. ————————————————- Click on the downward arrow next to Quick Parts and select Save selection to Quick Part Gallery (see figure 27). . ————————————————- Type a name for the Quick Part, i. e. QUBLogo, select the Header gallery from the drop down list. See figure 28 Figure [ 26 ]: Create Quick Part 1. ———â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Open a new blank document 2. ————————————————- Click on the arrow next to Quick Parts and select Building Blocks Organizer 3. ————————————————- Click on Name to sort by name and scroll down to QUBLogo 4. ————————————————- Click Insert The Page Layout Ribbon Click the Page Layout tab to display the page layout section of the ribbon, see figure 29. Figure [ 27 ]: Page Layout Ribbon Margins 1. ————————————————- Ensure the ECDL Leaflet document is opened. 2. ————————————————- Within the Page Setup group, click the downward arrow under Margins, to change the margins of the document 3. ————————————————- Note the range of page set up styles provided but in this case choose Custom Margins 4. ————————————————- Change the top margin to 3. cm and the bottom to 3. 00 cm (see figure 30). 5. ——â⠂¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Note the option to change page orientation (leave as Portrait) 6. ————————————————- Click OK Figure [ 28 ]: Page Set up Indents and Spacing 1. ————————————————- Select the first paragraph of text under the heading â€Å"Is your CV missing something? † 2. ————————————————- Ensure the Page Layout tab is selected and click on the launcher button to the right of the Paragraph group (see figure 12 for launcher button) 3. ———————————————â⠂¬â€ Ensure the Indents and Spacing tab is selected and from Special select First line indent (see figure 31). 4. ————————————————- Change the line spacing to 1. 5 lines with 10 pt spacing after the paragraph (see figure 31). Click OK Figure [ 29 ]: Indents and Line Spacing As mentioned earlier section breaks can be inserted from the Page Layout tab, from within the Page Setup group, (click the arrow beside Breaks to select section breaks), see figure 29. The References Ribbon Click on the References tab to display the ribbon, see figure 32. The References tab is used for working with long documents, i. e. generating a table of contents and index, inserting footnotes and endnotes, inserting captions for tables and figures, etc. It will not be covered in this practical. Figure [ 30 ]: References Ribbon The Mailings Ribbon Click on the Mailings tab to display the ribbon, see figure 33. Tools on the Mailings tab are used to create mail merged documents, labels and envelopes. A document has been created named ExamResults containing student exam results (three topics) for seven students. Figure [ 31 ]: Mailings Ribbon 1. ————————————————- Open the document StudentResults and ensure the Mailings tab is still selected 2. ————————————————- Click on the Start Mail Merge button and select Normal Word document 3. ————————————————- Click on the downward arrow next to Select Recipients and choose Use Existing List 4. ————————————————- Browse to the WordEssentials folder and select the file ExamResults. Click Open 5. ————————————————- Position the cursor after the text Student Name and click on the downward arrow beneath Insert Merge Field 6. —————†”—————————— Select Student Title (see figure 34), leave a space and repeat, inserting Student_First_Name and Student_Surname 7. ————————————————- Position the cursor in the first blank cell of the table (beneath Module Result) 8. ————————————————- Insert fields for Introduction to Pure Maths, 9. ————————————————- Repeat point 8 above for Applied Maths and Programming (should resemble figure 35) Figure [ 32 ]: Insert Merge Field Merged Fields 10. ————————————————- Click on Finish and Merge 11. ————————————————- Click Edit Individual documents, select OK 12. ————————————————- Exam results for 7 students should be completed. The Review Ribbon Click on the Review tab to display the ribbon, see figure 36. The Tracking group is used to track changes made to a document and the Changes group is used to accept or reject changes. These will not be covered in this practical. The spell and grammar checker, thesaurus word count and translate tools can be accessed from the Proofing group of the Review tab. To spell check the ECDL leaflet, click on Spelling Grammar. As with previous versions of Word, suggestions will be given, along with the option to add to dictionary. Figure [ 33 ]: Review Ribbon Proofing group The View Ribbon Click on the View tab to display the ribbon, see figure 37. Within the Document Views group the various views with text description is displayed. Also note the views are displayed in the status bar across the bottom of the window. Figure [ 34 ]: View Ribbon Developers Ribbon To show the Developers ribbon, click on the Office Button and select Word Options. Ensure the Show Developer tab in ribbon is ticked. See figure 38. The Developers tab is not covered in this practical. Figure [ 35 ]: Show Developer Tab in Ribbon Click on the Developer tab to display the ribbon, see figure 39. Figure [ 36 ]: Developer Tab * The Status Bar The Status Bar is positioned across the bottom of the window, see figure 40. There are over 20 choices on the bar, see figure 41. To display the Customize Status Bar dialog box, right click on the Status Bar. Items with a tick beside them will appear on the Status bar. To add an item, click on it. To remove an item, click on the ticked item. Figure [ 37 ]: Status Bar Figure [ 38 ]: Status Bar Options Word Options Previously Word options were accessed from the Tools menu by selecting Options. Word Options is now accessed by clicking on the Office button and selecting Word options. The Word Options menu will then appear. See figure 42. Click on the tabs down the left hand side to access features associated with the tab. In figure 42, the Popular tab is selected showing the top options for working with Word. Figure [ 39 ]: Word Options Customize Quick Access Toolbar 1. ————————————————- With Word options still open, click on Customize 2. ————————————————- Click on the downward arrow next to Choose Commands From (see figure 43). Notice all the tabs are listed along with options to add tools not displayed on the ribbon. 3. ————————————————- Select the Insert Tab and select Convert Text to Table. See figure 43 4. ————————————————- Click the add button to add the tool to the Quick Access Toolbar 5. ————————————————- Click OK. See figure 43 Figure [ 40 ]: Add to Quick Access Toolbar File Formats Most Word files created in 2003 can still be opened in 2007. Word 2007 uses four file extensions: 1. .docx – file ending for ordinary Word 2007 documents 2. .docm – file ending for macro enabled documents 3. dotm – file ending for Word 2007 templates (does not contain macros) 4. .dotm – file ending for macro enabled templates By clicking on the Office Button and selecting Save As, you have the option to save as a Word Document (2007 version), Word Template, Word 97-2003 or select Other Formats, see figure 29. Even if the document is saved in Word 2007 format, Word 97/2003 users can still open it if they have downloaded the compatibility pack from Microsoft online. Figure [ 41 ]: File Formats Note: Word’s . doc used binary, whereas . docx uses XML. .docx creates smaller files than . doc and are less likely to become corrupt. Use SaveAs to save one type of document as another Save the Document 1. ————————————————- Click on the Office Button and select Save As 2. ————————————————- Save the document as ECDL Information (notice the file ending), see figure 45 3. ———————————————— Save it in the WordEssentials folder, see figure 45 4. ——— —————————————- Close the application Figure [ 42 ]: Save Compatibility Checker Provided Word 2000-2003 users download the free Office 2007 compatibility pack, they will be able to read and write to Word 2007 files. Occasionally users will get a message stating that certain features might be lost when converting between these different formats. Word automatically runs compatibility checks if a document is being saved in a different format from the current one. If you prefer, you can run a compatibility check at any time to find out if features would be lost in saving to another file format. To run the compatibility checker, click on the Office button and select Prepare, Run Compatibility Checker. See figure 46 Figure [ 43 ]: Run Compatibility Checker Ensure the Check compatibility when saving in Word 97-2003 formats check box is ticked. See figure 47. If the checker is turned on, whenever you use a feature in Word 2007 that is not supported in Word 97-2003 the Compatibility Checker will pop up highlighting the issue, see figure 48. Figure [ 44 ]: Compatibility Checker Security Features There are a range of different types of protection methods that can be used with Word 2007 Restricting Permission: Information Rights Management: This option allows users to access Microsoft’s service to restrict access to those who can open or make changes to a document. Click on the Office Button, select Prepare, Restrict permission and Restricted Access, see figure 48. Note you may need to download the software from Microsoft (see figure 47) and sign up to the service the first time you use it, see figure 50. Figure [ 45 ]: Restricted Access Figure [ 46 ]: Information Rights Management At this stage it is a free trial service but it is possible Microsoft might charge for the service in the future. Figure [ 47 ]: Sign Up Style Formatting, Tracked changes, comments and filling forms Restrictions * Restricts formatting to particular styles * Protection is by password * Accessed from Review ribbon, Protect Document, Restrict Formatting and Editing (see figure 51). * Make selection from Restrict formatting and Editing pane, see figure 52. Figure [ 48 ]: Formatting Restrictions Limit formatting to a selection of styles – tick box Figure [ 49 ]: Restrict Formatting and Editing Select type of editing allowed from drop down list Click Yes, Start Enforcing Protection to enter password Password to Open/modify Click the Office Button, select Save As – Tools – General Options and enter the password to either open and modify or modify only, see figure 53. Figure [ 50 ]: General Options Inspect Document To inspect a document to see if it contains personal data or comments, click the Office Button, select Prepare, Inspect Document. Click Inspect on the Document Inspector, see figure 54. Figure [ 51 ]: Inspect Document Mark as Final A document can be marked as final if it had no further modifications to be made. This option will render the document read only. Users with Word 2007 can remove the feature if necessary. Users with earlier versions of Word, even with the compatibility pack won’t even see the file as Read Only. Word Help To access Word help, click on the question mark at the right hand top of the window. Type keyboard shortcuts in the box provided and click on Search. See figure 55. Links to a range of possible solutions will be provided. See figure 55 Figure [ 52 ]: Help The Get Started Ribbon For additional help on using the Office 2007, download to your own computer the Get Started ribbon (also provided for Excel, PowerPoint). See figure 56. A range of interactive materials, videos, online training and discussion forum is provided. See figure 56. To download the Get Started Ribbon (when you return to your own computer), open a web browser and go to http://office. microsoft. com/en-us/help/HA102146851033. aspx Figure [ 53 ]: Get Started Ribbon Bibliography TitleAuthor(s)Publisher Goal Directed Project ManagementE S. Anderson et al. Kogan Page Coopers Lybrand, 1987 The Handbook of Project ManagementTrevor L YoungInstitute of Directors, 1999 Introducing Prince – The Structured Project Management MethodC. BentleyNCC Blackwell, 1992 Project Management – 5th EditionDennis LockGower, 1994 Project Management – A Managerial Approach 4th EditionJ. R. Meredith S. J. Mantel, Jr. John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2000 Project Management – A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and ControllingHarold KerznerJohn Wiley and Sons, Inc, 1998 Project Management ToolsJacques SurveyerSoftware Development Magazine, July 1997 Project Management for the 21st CenturyB. P. Lientz K. P. ReaAcademic Press, 1998 Project SkillsSam Elbeik Mark ThomasButterworth Heinemann, 2000 Step by Step – Microsoft Project 2000C. S. Chatfield T. D. JohnsonMicrosoft Corporation, 2000 How to cite Microsoft Office and Figure, Papers

Ubuntu Technologies Plc

Question: ExplainUbuntu Technologies Plc. Answer: Introduction Ubuntu Technologies Plc is a Midlands based organization, operating for the past 20 years. The company has specialized in manufacturing a special type of versatile motor engine part. Initially, Ross-Royce engines used this part. However, over the years the client base of Ubuntu enhanced and it included large automakers such as Toyota, Ford, Honda and Mercedes. Formerly, the business activities of Ubuntu Technologies Plc were limited to United Kingdom and some other parts of Europe. Presently, the market of Ubuntu has expanded in various parts of India, China, Japan and North America. In the past decade the sales of Ubuntu outside the European market has been increasing while it is declining in the European market. In the post global financial crisis era, the company has encountered difficult situation. Actually, the entire, motor manufacturing industry has suffered in that period. The impact of global financial crisis was severe in the USA, EU and UK. The traditional market of the co mpany automatically declined and Ubuntu faced major challenges. Consequently, the company has focused on exploring the emerging markets of Asia. However, the company do not have adequate knowledge regarding the Asian markets. Additionally, it has been observed that the emerging markets are highly competitive and penetrating those markets will require effective strategies and adequate knowledge. Due to increased competition and some other factors the company has encountered a loss in the last financial year. In this situation, the board members of the company are very much concerned about the future prospect and they have been looking for various options. It has been observed that a board of director of Ubuntu arranged a meeting for exploring the possibility of acquiring the outright of the organization. Though some board of directors are willing to sell off the company the managing director is hopeful about the long term prosperity of the company (Klemstine and Maher, 2014). The man aging direction of the organization has been preparing to represent some strategies that would help in reviving the financial position of the company. This paper will focus on analyzing the financial position of the company along with estimating the value of the organization. Analysis of the Performance and Financial Position Ubuntu Technologies have been encountering some issues and it is important to analyze its performance and present financial position for making rational decision. Financial performance analysis focuses on considering the financial information of the company and analyzes its performance over the past few years. Analysis of the financial performance provides an insight to the major weaknesses as well as strengths of the company. The results of the financial performance analysis will identify the weakness of the organization and the company can focus on overcoming those issues in order to maximize the performance of the company. On the other hand, the major strengths of the company can be recognized which will be helpful in maintaining the position of the company. In order to analyze the financial performance, ratio analysis can be used for analyzing various performance aspects of Ubuntu. This analysis will be helpful for the board of directors of the company for making rational decisio n on the basis of past performance analysis. This section will include ratio analysis for analyzing the financial performance of the firm over the last three years. Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis is a useful tool for analyzing the financial performance of an organization. It considers the important and relevant financial information of the company in order to calculate some financial performance indicators (Oliver and Horngren, 2010). Financial statements such as balance sheet, income statement and balance sheet are considered for gathering relevant information which will be used in order to calculate various performance indicators or financial ratios. This effective too has been extensively considered by various organizations in order to analyze the financial performance of the company. Ratios are considered by the internal as well as external users of the companies for making decision (Epstein and Lee, 2014). Different type of ratios such as profitability ratio, efficiency ratio, liquidity ratio etc helps in getting an insight regarding organizational performance (Garrison, Noreen and Brewer, 2010). Profitability ratio gives an overview of the potential of th e organization in making profits in relation to revenue. On the other hand, liquidity ratios estimate the short term cash position of the business firm. Efficiency ratio helps in understanding the efficiency level of the organizational activities. Investors ratios are largely considered by the investors in order to assess the return on investment in this organization. In this section, important financial ratios of Ubuntu Technologies Plc have been calculated for three consecutive years 2012, 2013 and 2014. Profitability Ratio Profitability ratios help in estimation of the profit generation capacity of the company. Gross profit margin is calculated for indicating how much money is available to the company after deducting the cost of goods sold (Klemstine and Maher, 2014). There are two important profitability ratios that will be calculated in this section: gross profit margin and net profit margin. Gross profit margin estimates the ratio of the revenue to the amount left after considering the cost of goods sold. From the following table, it can be found that the gross profit margin of the company has declined over the past 3 years. It can be found that the cost of goods sold is increasing but the revenue is not increasing in the same proportion (Oliver and Horngren, 2010). It does not have a positive indication for the financial health of the organization. It can be stated that the marketing strategies have not been effective in enhancing the revenue of the organization. On the other hand, net profit margi n is calculated after considering the total expenditure of the company (Horngren, Harrison and Oliver, 2009). It is calculated by the ratio of revenue of that organization for that financial year to the amount left after costing all the expenses of that firm (Peterson Drake and Fabozzi, 2006). In case of Ubuntu, the net profit margin of the company has been found to be negative in 2014. It started declining since 2012 and in 2014, the company encountered loss of 3.87%. It does not indicate a favourable financial position of the company (Garrison, Noreen and Brewer, 2010). The expenditures of the company have increased significantly. However, the sales revenue has not increased in the same proportion. Hence, it can be clearly implied that Ubuntu Technologies have not been able to generate consistent profit over the three financial years (Kieso, Weygandt and Warfield, 2012). (*values are in millions) 2014 2013 2012 Profitability Ratio Gross Profit 115.00 125.00 135.00 Revenue 630.00 610.00 580.00 Gross Profit Margin 18.25% 20.49% 23.28% Net Profit - 24.40 5.00 12.00 Revenue 630.00 610.00 580.00 Net Profit Margin -3.87% 0.82% 2.07% (Source: (Peterson Drake and Fabozzi, 2006)) Liquidity Ratio Liquidity ratios are very important for understanding the short term liquidity of the firm (Seal, Garrison and Noreen, 2009). It basically focuses on estimating the cash position of the company in order to meet the obligation that is short term (Wernz, 2014). Liquidity ratio helps in assessing whether the company has adequate potential to conduct its day to day operational activities. Current ratio and quick ratio are considered to be two important ratios for evaluating the solvency of an organization. Liquidity ratios consider the short term assets and short term liabilities form the balance sheet in order to determine the short term cash position of that business firm. Current ratio is the proportion of short terms assets and short term liabilities of the company. If the ratio is greater than 1, it indicates the company has potential to meet the short term obligations with the aid of its current assets. In contrast, if the current ratio is less than 1, it implies the business firm does not have adequate current asset for meeting the short term liabilities of the firm. The company needs to arrange short term assets such as cash, bank balance, inventory, and accounts receivable for maintain moderate level of current asset which can be sufficient for meeting the requirement of the company. The liquidity position of Ubuntu has declined over the period and in 2014 the current ratio is less than 1. In 2012, current ratio was 1.15 which indicates the company had adequate current asset that helps in meeting the short term obligation of the company. However, the current ratio declined in the consecutive two financial years: 2013 and 2014. It indicates an un favourable position for the company. Quick ratio is another important liquidity ratio that helps in estimating the short term cash position of the organization. Quick ratio does not consider inventories as current asset as it cannot be converted to cash quickly (Kieso, Weygandt and Warfield, 2012). The quick ratio of Ubuntu has declined over the three years and it is very poor in 2014. It means the company has been struggling to meet its short term liabilities in the past three financial years. Moreover, it can be implied that the inventory of the company is significantly high and when it is not considered in the current asset, the liquidity ratio declined sharply. 2014 2013 2012 Liquidity Ratio Current Asset 278.30 225.00 230.00 Current Liabilities 349.30 239.00 200.00 Current Ratio 0.80 0.94 1.15 Current Assets 278.30 225.00 230.00 Inventories 120.00 100.00 110.00 Current Liabilities 349.30 239.00 200.00 Quick Ratio 0.45 0.52 0.60 Efficiency Ratio Efficiency ratios are calculated in order to assess the efficiency level of the organizational activities in terms of inventory conversion, utilization of assets etc (Cummins and Weiss, 2013). The efficiency ratios are determined in terms of the asset turnover ratio and the inventory turnover ratio. The asset turnover ratio determines the ability of the company to use the assets in an efficient manner for generating revenue. This section will focus on discussing two major efficiency ratios: inventory turnover ratio and asset turnover ratio for 2012, 2013 and 2014. Asset turnover ratio is calculated for estimating the capacity of the company in utilizing its assets for generating revenue (Kieso, Weygandt and Warfield, 2012). It has been found that the asset turnover ratio is less than 1. It clearly indicates that the company has been unable to utilize its assets effectively. On the other hand, inventory turnover ratio indicates the time taken for converting its inventory into sales (P eterson Drake and Fabozzi, 2006). If the inventory turnover ratio is high it implies that it takes greater time to convert its inventory into sales and the chance of obsolesce increases (Drury, 2012). It has been found that the inventory turnover ratio was highest in 2012 and then it decreased in 2013. Again in 2014, it has increased which is not favourable for the company (Horngren, Harrison and Oliver, 2009). It is seen that in the year 2012, the revenue of the company was 580 millions. The total asset of the company comprising of the current assets and the tangible assets is 730 million dollars. The asset turnover ratio for 2012 is 0.79. The revenue of the company for 2013 is 610 million dollars and the total assets have been 825 million. In the year 2014, the revenue of the company is 630 million and the total assets of the company are 957 million. The ratio for the year is 0.66. It is seen that the investment of the company in the total assets has been increasing from the year 2012 to the year 2014. The increase in investment in total assets of the company for the year 2014 has been 31%. This has resulted in the increase in the revenue of the company. The revenue of the company has increased from 2012 to 2013 is 30 million and the increase in the revenue from the year 2013 to 2014 is 20 million. There has been 8% increase in the total revenue of the company. This has resulted in the v ariation of the ratio from 2012 to 2014 as it is seen below. Similar change in noticed in the inventory turnover ratio as the inventory of the company has been increasing in the year 2014. The cost of sales for the year 2014 has increased by 2012 to 2014 by 13%. But the increase in number of days is not favourable for the business. The company must reduce its inventory amount and use it efficiently. 2014 2013 2012 Efficiency Ratio Revenue 630.00 610.00 580.00 Total Asset 957.30 825.00 730.00 Asset Turnover 0.66 0.74 0.79 Inventories 120.00 100.00 110.00 Cost of Sales 515.00 485.00 445.00 Inventory Turnover ratio (days) 85.05 75.26 90.22 Capital Structure Ratio Capital structure plays a crucial role in analyzing the risk associated with the business operations (Peterson Drake and Fabozzi, 2006). Gearing ratio and interest coverage ratio are the important ratio that will help in analyzing vulnerability relating to debt and equity. Gearing ratio helps in estimating the ratio between debt and equity of the firm (Kieso, Weygandt and Warfield, 2012). Higher amount of debt indicates greater level of risk (Seal, Garrison and Noreen, 2009). In case of Ubuntu, gearing ratio has been estimated to be greater than 1 in 2014. Debt was significantly low in 2012 and in 2014 it had exceeded the equity. The company has become more leveraged and the risk has increased (Horngren, Harrison and Oliver, 2009). Interest coverage ratio indicates the ability of the company to meet liability associated with debt (Zhu, 2009). In 2012, the interest coverage ratio of Ubuntu indicated that the company had significant potential to pay off its liability (Kieso, Weygandt a nd Warfield, 2012). However, in 2014, the company encountered loss and does not have the capability to pay interest against the borrowings. Hence, it can be stated the financial position of Ubuntu is not good in 2014 and it has deteriorated over the three years period. The capital structure ratio shows the percentage of equity and debt of the company. It is favourable for the business to have a low debt than equity. The financial risk of the company reduces. But in the present situation it is seen that the amount of debt capital of the company is increasing rapidly. The debt capital of the company has increased by 100% in the year 2014 from the year 2012. However the equity capital is same. This is risky for the company during financial turmoil. Thus it is favourable of the company to lower the debt capital so that the burden of the company is reduced in times of financial turmoil. The interest coverage ratio shows that ability of the company to pay its interest with the profit. The interest expense of the company has been increasing from the year 2012 to the year 2014. The company has suffered from huge loss in the year 2014. Thus the company will not be able to repay its interest expense within the profit. The financial risk of the company will i ncrease in near future. Thus in such a financial turmoil, the increase in debt burden of the company will pose serious threat for the company in future. 2014 2013 2012 Capital Structure Ratio Debt Capital 345.00 230.00 145.00 Total Equity 310.00 310.00 310.00 Gearing Ratio 1.112903226 0.741935484 0.467742 Profit before interest and tax - 11.40 18.00 25.00 Interest Expenses 12.00 10.00 8.00 Interest Coverage Ratio -0.95 1.8 3.125 Value of the Organization If the anticipation of the managing director is considered to be true, i.e. introduction of a new approach will help in saving cost of 25 million, in calculating the value of the firm, profit and loss can be ignored. Adjusted book value method or cost approach can be adopted for estimating the value of the organization. First of all, the balance sheet must be considered to assess the value of the assets. The assets will include both current and non-current assets. Cash, accounts receivable, inventories, non-operating assets, fixed assets (tangible) and intangible assets must be considered for calculating the total assets of the organization. Current assets are already in book value and hence, adjustments are not required. In order to calculate goodwill, the company can be adopting excess earnings method. Therefore, liabilities and equities need to be calculated by considering long term date, deferred tax, contingent liability and stockholders equity (Williams and Naumann, 2011). The refore, net assets can be calculated by subtracting liabilities from assets. The value of the company can be understood from the above ratio analysis of the financial statements of the company. The ratio analysis clearly shows that in the last three financial years the liquidity ratios have decreased which shows the companys failure in paying away its suppliers and also there is lack of liquid assets which could be easily transferable to cost. The liquidity position of this company is not at all good due to which it is unable to meet its short term obligations and resulted in mistrust among its investors. The profitability position of this company also showing a steady falls, where the net profit has gone to negative which means that the company has made a net loss in the year 2014. The investors and shareholders of the company will lose interest on this company and the owners are opting to sell it away to recover the loss. The capital structure of the company is also not at all good; with the source of capital shifting more from equity capital to long term d ebt capital is a clear indication of huge leverage the company is bearing at present. The efficiency ratios are also deteriorating which shows the lack of efficiency on the part of the company in making use of its assets and liabilities. This determines the value of the company which for Ubuntu Technologies PLC is clearly showing negative results. The value of the organization acts as a base for the organization to take important strategic decisions. It helps in decision making and all the future objectives of the organization are set based on it. The study of the financial situation of the company at present supports the decision of the Board of Directors that it is better to sell the organization. Even if the new approach can decrease the cost of production but the capital structure and the liquidity position cannot be changed with a cost control approach. The value statement of the company shows the financial problem it is facing and despite showing good growth in the initial years it has fell miserably. The value of the organization can only be changed with a strict approach on the part of the management. So, comparing the current position of the company and understanding the approach of the managing directors selling the company is the only way to revive the value of the organization. Conclusion This paper has demonstrated that the Ubuntu Technologies Plc has not been performing well and the financial position of the company has deteriorated over the last three years period. Ratio analysis of the firm has demonstrated that the company has not been able to earn significant revenue by utilizing its assets properly. The inventory turnover ratio is high and it can be concluded that the efficiency of the company has been significantly poor. Additionally, the company had encountered loss in 2014 which has created a doubt among the shareholders. Liquidity ratios such as current ratio and quick ratio are estimated to be lower than 1 which clearly indicated that the company does not have enough potential to meet the short term obligations. Moreover, the gearing ratio demonstrated the proportion of debt has exceeded equity capital which has enhanced the level of risk. As the directors are planning to sell off the company, the estimated value of the business can be calculated by the ab ove stated method. The ratio analysis of the financial statements of Ubuntu Technologies PLC for the last three years clearly indicates its declining financial condition. We have made use of several accounting ratios to understand it better. The ratio analysis covers the income statements, balance sheet and the cash flow statements of the company. The ratio analysis supports the decision of the Board of Directors, so even though the effort of the managing director to revive the company with a new cost control approach is appreciated but it is not enough to recover the company from its poor financial condition. So, we can conclude the financial study of Ubuntu Technologies PLC. References Braun, K., Tietz, W. and Harrison, W. (2010).Managerial accounting. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Cummins, J. and Weiss, M. (2013). Analyzing Firm Performance in the Insurance Industry Using Frontier Efficiency and Productivity Methods.SSRN Journal. Drury, C. (2012).Management and cost accounting. Andover: Cengage Learning. Epstein, M. and Lee, J. (2014).Advances in Management Accounting. Bradford: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Garrison, R., Noreen, E. and Brewer, P. (2010).Managerial accounting. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Horngren, C., Harrison, W. and Oliver, M. (2009).Accounting. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Horngren, C., Harrison, W. and Oliver, M. (2012).Accounting. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. Kieso, D., Weygandt, J. and Warfield, T. (2012).Intermediate accounting. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Klemstine, C. and Maher, M. (2014).Management accounting research. London: Routledge. Oliver, M. and Horngren, C. (2010).Managerial accounting. Boston: Prentice Hall. Peterson Drake, P. and Fabozzi, F. (2006).Analysis of financial statements. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Seal, W., Garrison, R. and Noreen, E. (2009).Management accounting. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. Wernz, J. (2014).Bank management and control. Heidelberg: Springer. Williams, P. and Naumann, E. (2011). Customer satisfaction and business performance: a firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ level analysis.Journal of Services Marketing, 25(1), pp.20-32. Zhu, J. (2009).Quantitative Models for Performance Evaluation and Benchmarking. New York: Springer.

Animal Farm, The Significance Of Squealer Essays - British Films

Animal Farm, the significance of Squealer Animal Farm, the significance of Squealer The novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell, is an allegory portraying the dangers of a totalitarian government. It seeks to show how a society where all live completely equal has not been, and cannot be achieved. Orwell, through the use of the character Squealer, shows how propaganda can affect members of a communist society in a negative way. By drawing parallels to events in communist Russia, Orwell's Animal Farm illustrates how propaganda was used to control the Soviet people by deceiving them, threatening them and keeping them ignorant in an attempt to maintain order. The story uses simple language to explain and expose the corruption of communist Russia. Throughout the story, Orwell uses Squealer to illustrate how propaganda persuaded and victimized Russian citizens. Squealer is a sly, crafty pig who is not only intelligent, but a manipulative speaker as well. His cunning is key to the deception of the other animals. In chapter three, Squealer deceives the animals of the farm for the first time. The animals find out that the milk and apples are given solely to the pigs, and Squealer is sent to explain the uneven distribution of farm resources. "'Comrades' he cried. 'You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege?'" (Orwell 42) He goes on to explain, " 'Milk and apples (this has been proved by science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers (42). Here, Squealer tries to convince the animals that it's for health reasons that they take the apples and milk, but he tries to persuade them in other ways as well. Squealer continues, " 'The whole management and organization of this farm depend on us.... It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples'"(42). Finally, he convinces them with fear. " 'Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back!'" (42) Here, Squealer frightens the animals into submission with the threat of the return of Mr. Jones, the abusive farmer that was driven out of the farm by the animals. Squealer is desperate to obtain the apples and milk and will stop at nothing to manipulate the other animals into believing that the pigs should be the sole recipients of this luxury. By masking their true intentions by misleading the animals, the pigs are soon able to acquire whatever they want with little resistance. Orwell uses Squealer to represent the Pravda, the Russian newspaper controlled by the government during Joseph Stalin's regime. Orwell points out the corruption of the Soviet authority in his criticism of the propaganda used to subdue opposition from the masses. Orwell also criticizes the monopoly of all Russian media by the government. Squealer was the messenger of the government. It was his responsibility to inform the animals of the arrangements of labor distribution and any other relevant legislation or news. Orwell establishes that a government-run publication as the only source of public information will inevitably be biased. Napoleon, Orwell's representation of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, stops his association with the animals in chapter eight. "All orders were now issued through Squealer or one of the other pigs" (89). Squealer is the only source of data the farm animals have. The animals have no way to dispute or question any of the statistics he delivered. "There were times when it seemed to the animals that they worked longer hours and fed no better than they had in Jones's day. On Sunday mornings Squealer, holding a long strip of paper with his trotter, would read out to them lists of figures proving that the production of every class of foodstuff had increased by two hundred per cent, three hundred per cent, or five hundred per cent as the case might be" (89). Squealer is the liaison between the government and the public. Though the animals believe they are being fed the same amount as when Mr. Jones was in power, their government information source showed figures to the contrary that the populace couldn't dispute. Orwell was able to show that by keeping the public in ignorance, communism can be carried out without interference. In addition to being a corrupt media source, Orwell shows how the Pravda was used completely as a tool to glorify Joseph Stalin and Communism as well as slander capitalism and anyone that might oppose him. Squealer is a pawn of the Animal Farm government. He

The Delayed Subject with There

The Delayed Subject with There The Delayed Subject with There The Delayed Subject with There By Maeve Maddox In conversation we’d probably find ourselves tongue-tied if we couldn’t begin sentences with the grammatical subject there: There are only three eggs left in the refrigerator. There’s a lot of traffic on the freeway this morning. In each example there begins the sentence, but the true subjects eggs and a lot of traffic are delayed until after the verb. There is nothing grammatically wrong with this construction. Did you notice that I just wrote a sentence beginning with â€Å"There is†? Simply placing the true subject first would create Yoda-speak: Nothing grammatically wrong with this construction is. Rewriting an expletive sentence (the kind that begins with a subject place-holder like â€Å"There†) requires a little more effort than simple reversal. That’s probably why we let so many of them creep into our first drafts. Compare the following: There is research that shows that phonics is the most important component of beginning reading. Research shows that phonics is the most important component of beginning reading. Not only is the delayed subject pattern wordy, but it can also lead to a lack of subject-verb agreement. Here are some examples from websites offering professional services: Theres good reasons EmCare is the industry leader Theres areas  of freezing drizzle/mist out there this afternoon. Theres schooling costs, theres health costs and theyll continue to be provided out of the centres for those who are being temporarily resettled(This was a government minister.) Informal conversation is one thing, but writing for a professional purpose is something else again. If the â€Å"There is† opener is the preferred stylistic choice, then the delayed subject should agree with the verb that precedes it: There are good reasons EmCare is the industry leader There are areas  of freezing drizzle There are schooling costs Linguistically speaking, there’s may be the equivalent of French il y a, which can mean either â€Å"there is† or â€Å"there are† and there’s no reason for this article. Practically speaking, a great many English speakers–potential customers and clients–cringe when they hear â€Å"there’s reasons,† let alone see it written in a business context. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a US Business LetterConfused Words #3: Lose, Loose, Loss13 Theatrical Terms in Popular Usage

Financial System at NEXT Plc in Relation to Its Performance Case Study

Financial System at NEXT Plc in Relation to Its Performance - Case Study Example Exploring the impact from the global conditions on the performance of the company being highly effective on firm understudy the report also assessed the future prospects for NEXT brand. The assessment upon developing concluding remarks suggests recommendations for business to maintain success. The recommendation includes a business suggestion to expand with a premium brand and adopting acquisition strategy and efforts to enhance value to gift line and sports. Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 Table of Contents 2 MANAGING THE ORGANISATION 5 The Financial Statements and Current Performance 5 Company Performance Comparison with Industry and Sector 8 The Impact of the Global Economy 12 Future Prospects of the Company 14 CONCLUSION 14 RECOMMENDATION 15 List of References 16 Appendix 18 INTRODUCTION NEXT has been in the business for around 150 years. Group in 1982 revolutionized business and created the brand NEXT. The brand put forward the retailing business for NEXT corporate with co llections of branded women wear and accessories. NEXT Plc offered an affordable line of offerings with distinctive styled products. Over years NEXT expanded the range to men wear in 1984; home interiors line has been introduced in 1985; children wear were introduced in 1987; in 1988 Next Directory was introduced offering a range of products for home shopping. In 1999 NEXT has launched online shopping version entitled NEXT Directory. This expansion credited NEXT Plc pioneer among the businesses offering sales services from triple modes i.e. from shops, by phone and then online. NEXT started day delivery standard and transferred almost 80% of the business online by 2001. NEXT Plc then launched ‘NEXT flowers’ followed by the launch of ‘NEXT gift line’ in the year 2005 (Next, 2012). Continuing with affordable offerings with distinguished style, NEXT Plc has expanded the signature brand in 2007 offering homeward and fashion. 2010 noted NEXT’s launch of NX Sports and then became official staff ware and another textile supplier for the Olympics Athletes Village (Next, 2012). Next Plc currently has 540 stores in the UK while NEXT Directory is serving almost 60 counties of the world with the majority of them being served directly and 14 countries being served through six partners. The success of NEXT can be gauged with fact that only NEXT Directory has 3.3 million active customers. NEXT Plc international has 170 stores in around 33 countries operated through a franchise business. The brand also has 19 company-owned stores in 7 countries (Next, 2012). Other areas of operation include NEXT Sourcing, the segment responsible for designing, sourcing, buying, merchandising and quality control operations of Next Plc products. NEXT Sourcing has the operation in the UK as well as China, Sri Lanka, India, and Hong Kong. In 2008, Next has also acquired fashion brand which is targeting younger women entitled Lipsy and the firm also generates busine ss through property management (Next, 2012). Figure 1 shows the share of business and profits in segments of business in all of Next Corporation for the year 2013. A share price of NEXT Plc has been trading at ? 43.36 as on 11/04/2013 with market capitalization? 6.99 billion (Next, n.d). Share price performance of Next Plc in comparison with FTSE and the general retailer has been shown in figure 2 in the appendix section.  

Examining of SCM models and practices and implement on Iran Automotive Thesis

Examining of SCM models and practices and implement on Iran Automotive Industry - Thesis Example Types of mixed research There are two types of mixed research: the mixed model research and the mixed method research. The former is a mixed research in which quantitative and qualitative approaches are mixed within or across the stages of the research process (South Alabama University, 2011). In the within-stage mixed model research, the researcher mixed the quantitative and qualitative approaches within one or more of the stages of research. For example, the researcher both utilized the closed-ended and open-ended questionnaire in the collection of data. The close-ended is used to obtain quantitative data while the open-ended is used to obtain qualitative data. Likewise, in across-stage mixed model research, the researcher mixed the quantitative and qualitative across at least two of the stages of research. For example, the researcher utilized open-ended interviews in order to both obtain qualitative data and quantitative data. ... For example, the researcher could perform quantitative experiment and qualitative study through conducting interview study to the respondents in order to find out if the experiment agreed with the results. Mixed method research is also categorized into two major dimensions: time order (i.e., concurrent versus sequential) and paradigm emphasis (i.e., equal status versus dominant status) (Leech & Onwuegbuzie, 2007). Stages of Mixed Research Process The mixed research process has 8 stages, although they are numbered, the researcher/s could still use the stages in different orders or move in multiple directions especially steps 4 through 7. The purpose of this is to address the particular needs and concerns that arise during the research study (SAU, 2011). The first step is to determine whether a mixed design is appropriate to the research study. Therefore it is important to consider the following questions: Can it best answer your research question(s)? and Will if offer the best design for the amount and kind of data you hope to obtain? Mixed research was applicable in this study because it both required quantitative and qualitative analysis. The quantitative research provided the detailed description of the implication of SCM to reduce Forrester effect in the automotive industry. It basically gives the generalization of the gathered data with tentative synthesized interpretations (SAU, 2011 & Traynor, 2011). The second step is to determine the rationale for using mixed design. It is important to consider because it ensures the validity and reliability of the research study. There are 5 most important rationales for mixed design: the triangulation,

Detecting Plasma Leakage in Patients with DHF

Detecting Plasma Leakage in Patients with DHF CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Dengue disease is one of the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. Dengue has become a major international public health concern. The incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. Over 2.5 billion people over 40% of the worlds population are now at risk from dengue. WHO currently estimates there may be 50–100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. Dengue is transmitted to humans by the bite of Aedes mosquitoes. According to WHO (2014), â€Å"Dengue causes a severe flu-like illness, and sometimes a potentially lethal complication called dengue haemorrhagic fever†. About 2.5% of those that are infected by dengue die since dengue has neither treatment nor vaccination.Plasma leakage is the major cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever. So that early recognition of plasma leakage and prompt initiation of appropriate treatment are vital. There are only few researches which are done for plasma leakage detection in patients with DHF. Dengue virus infections may be asymptomatic or may lead to undifferentiated fever, dengue fever (DF) or Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) with plasma leakage that may lead to Dengue shock syndrome (DSS). DF is generally an acute febrile illness, with severe headache, myalgia, arthralgia and rashes. Leucopenia and thrombocytopenia may also be observed. Although DF may be benign, it could be an incapacitating disease with severe headache, muscle and joint and bone pains. Occasionally unusual haemorrhage such as gastrointestinal bleeding, hypermenorrhea and massive epistaxis may occur. Undifferentiated fever and classical dengue fever can be managed as any other viral fever with symptomatic treatment. However, often it is difficult to differentiate DF from DHF in the early phase (febrile phase) of the illness. DHF is characterized by the acute onset of high fever and is associated with signs and symptoms similar to DF in the early febrile phase. Plasma leakage is the hallmark of DHF which occurs soon after the end of the febrile phase. There is a tendency to develop DSS due to plasma leakage. Therefore suspected DF and DHF patients should be closely monitored to identify patients with DHF. The degree and the rate of plasma leakage in DHF can vary. It can be minimal in some patients while in others it can be very significant. The leak usually starts slowly, increases gradually, slows down and then ceases altogether at the end of leakage phase (usually within 48 hours from the onset). (Ministry of Health, 2012) 1.1 Description of the Research project The main purpose of this research study was to design a system to detect the plasma leakage in patients with DHF by analyzing patients’ medical records .Further, by using this system doctors can intervene early treatment of shock. In recent years machine learning methods have been widely used in medical diagnosis. Medical diagnosis is one of major problem in medical application. Several research groups are working world wide on the development of neural networks in medical diagnosis. Neural networks are used to increase the accuracy and objectivity of medical diagnosis.Detecting plasma leakage is considered as a non-linear problem that shows the complex causal relationship between the variables. However, an artificial neural network that is suitable for problems of extreme complexity not addressable with conventional technologies, either by the conventional computer programming or statistical method. In this research project multilayer feed forward neural network was used to train and test medical records of patients with DHF and DF. The trained network used to test more records of DHF patients to see the network performance and in order to make system practical to use in a real time hospital setting. The diagnostic performance of the proposed network is validated with Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity. 1.2 Literature Survey 1.2.1 Current methods for plasma leakage detection 1.2.1.1 Hemoconcentration Currently, clinical identification of plasma leakage is difficult until DHF develops. The most common method of monitoring leakage relies on identification of haemo-concentration, determined by tracking changes in HCT measurements, with a rise of more than 20% from baseline considered evidence of significant leakage. However, this method can be rather insensitive, particularly if the patient is receiving parenteral fluid therapy, and it is also limited by the fact that an individual’s baseline value is rarely known. (Ministry of Health, 2012) 1.2.1.2 Ultrasonography Studies using ultrasound have demonstrated that pleural effusions, ascites and gall bladder wall oedema are common during the critical phase, and correlate with disease severity. In addition, serial ultrasound studies indicate that subclinical plasma leakage can be detected as days 2 to 3 of fever, and is better at predicting likely disease progression than other marker of plasma leakage such as HCT measurements. Gallbladder wall oedema appears to precede the development of ascites and effusions, and may therefore be a helpful early predictor of outcome. Thus ultrasonography is a useful monitoring tool, and where available, should be considered in the overall assessment during the febrile phase. However, there are certain limitations, particularly the lack of defined normal ranges for the parameters of interest, the variability in measurements obtained by different operators, and the lack of specificity of the findings. (Srikiatkhachorn, Krautrachue, Ratanaprakarn, al, 2007) 1.2.1.3 Chest X-Ray Chest X-ray is recommended to increase the sensitivity of detecting pleural effution. Pleural effusion detected clinically may not be obvious in a Chest X Ray (CXR)-PA, but may be seen only in a CXR right lateral decubitus film. (Ministry of Health, 2012) 1.2.2 Expert Systems An expert system can be divide into two sub-systems the inference engine and the knowledge base. The knowledge base represents facts and rules. The inference engine applies the rules to the known facts to deduce new facts. Inference engines can also include explanation and debugging capabilities CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND AND THEORY 2.1 Vital Parameters 2.1.1 Pulse The pulse is how many times a minute that our arteries expand and contract in response to the heart. This rate is exactly equal to the heartbeat. 2.1.2 Pulse Pressure 2.2 Neural network 2.2.1 Artificial Neural network vs Biological Neural Network An artificial neural network is a mathematical model or computational model based on biological neural network. In other words, it is an emulation of biological neural system. An ANN is a network of highly interconnecting processing elements (neurons) operating in parallel. Natural neurons receive signals through synapses located on the dendrites or membrane of the neuron. When the signals received are strong enough (surpass a certain threshold), the neuron is activated and emits a signal though the axon. This signal might be sent to another synapse, and might activate other neurons.(Gershenson,2003) 2.2.2 Model of Neural Network Artificial neuron is a highly abstracted model of the natural neuron. Inputs of artificial neuron behave like synapse of a biological neuron which are multiplied by weights (strength of the respective signals), and then computed by a mathematical function which is called Transfer function (also known as Activation function) in order to determine the activation of the neuron. The model of a neuron also includes an externally applied bias (threshold) that has the effect of lowering or increasing the net input of the activation function. 2.2.3 Multilayer Feed forward (MLF) Neural Network A MLF neural network consists of neurons that are ordered into layers. The first layer is called the input layer, the last layer is called the output layer, and the layers between are hidden layers. A neural network that has no hidden units is called a Perceptron. However, a perceptron can only represent linear functions, so it isn’t powerful enough for the kinds of applications. A multilayer feed forward neural network can represent a very broad set of nonlinear functions. Therefore, it is very useful in practice. 2.2.4 Transfer function The behaviour of an ANN depends on both the weights and transfer function that is specified for the units. There are three transfer functions most commonly used for multilayer networks. 2.2.5 Supervised Learning Supervised learning is an approach to find the input-output relationship based from the training using a set of data. Fig. 2.6 represents the block diagram of supervised learning. Learning system is fed with the input data and generates output, which is then compared with the target to compute the error signal by arbitrator. The error is sent to the learning system for further training until the minimum value of error is generated. (Muhammad Akmal Sapon, 2011) 2.2.6 Backpropagation Algorithm The backpropagation algorithm is used in feed-forward ANNs. Artificial neurons are organized in layers and send their signals â€Å"forward†, and then the errors are propagated backwards. The network receives inputs by neurons in the input layer, and the output of the network is given by the neurons in the output layer. There may be one or more intermediate hidden layers. The backpropagation algorithm used for supervised learning. The network computes the error that is the difference between output and desired target and the backpropagation algorithm calculate how the error depends on the input, output and weights. The backpropagation technique reduces this error, until the ANN learns the training data. 2.2.7 Training the network CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND IMPLEMENTATION In this research project Microsoft Excel 2010 was used to analysis the collected data and MATLAB R2013a (8.1.0.604), 64-bit(win64) software was used as a tool to implement and to train the Neural Network. 3.1 Data Collection The records of 10patients with DHF and 6 patients with DF from September 2013 to April 2014which are obtained from centre for clinical Management of Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic fever government hospital in Negombo. The data consists of total 1081 instances which 164 instances belonged to the leaking phase and 139 instances belonged to the non-leaking phase. Each data consists of 10 variables such as heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, PCV, Temperature and all are coded as numeric values. The patients are both male and female between 18 to 60 years old and who have over 50kg weight. These measurements are taken at equally spaced time points (hourly) since the patient was admitted to the hospital. 3.2 Data Preparation One of the most important parts in data preparation is to determine the best variables that contribute to the decision-making. The data selection step requires some detailed knowledge of the problem domain and the underlying data. Therefore, the selections of the variables are based on the advice of the doctors and also the review of the literatures. Even though there are quite a number of variables entered into the Observation Chart, only five variables are identified as the important variables that contribute to the detection of plasma leakage. They are as follows, 3.3 Neural Network Training The training method was supervised training. Input vector contained 490 data for leakage phase and 591for non-leakage phase. The respective target for each was2-element class vector with a 1 in the position of the associated leaking or non-leaking. A two-layer feed-forward network with 20 sigmoid hidden neurons was created. The tansig(Tan-Sigmoid) is chosen as the transfer function for both hidden and output layers. The input vectors and target vectors are randomly divided into training, validation and test sets. From input vector 70% are used for training set,15% are used to validate that the network is generalizing and to stop training before overfitting, and the last 15% are used as a completely independent test of network generalization. The network was retrained until the network performance approach a satisfactory level (beyond 85%) of supervised training by using different training algorithms and increasing number of hidden neurons. 3.4 Testing The trained neural network saved and it was used to test the new dataset. The new dataset consist of 50 leakage phase and 50 non-leakage phase data. Correct classifications and misclassifications were recorded. CHAPTER 4: DATA AND ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 4.1 Performance Performance is measured in terms of mean squared error, and shown in log scale below figure 5.1. It rapidly decreased as the network was trained. Performance is shown for each of the training, validation and test sets. The version of the network that did best on the validation set is was after training. This figure does not indicate any major problems with the training. The validation and test curves are very similar.If the test curve had increased significantly before the validation curve increased, then it is possible that some over fitting might have occurred. 4.2 Confusion Matrix Confusion matrix contains information about actual and predicted classifications done by a classification system for supervised learning system. In confusion matrix, diagonal cells (in green cells) show the number of cases that were correctly classified, and the off-diagonal cells (in red cells) show the misclassified cases. The blue cell in the bottom right shows the total percent of correctly classified cases (in green) and the total percent of misclassified cases (in red). In this study, as shown in above figure 5.2, accuracy of training, testing and validation process are 90.9%, 80.9% and 79.0% respectively. Overall accuracy for correct classification is 87.6% and misclassification is 12.4%.Therefore the results show fairly good recognition. 4.3 Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves The coloured lines (green and blue) in each axis represent the ROC curves for training, testing and validation. The ROC curve is another visualization of quality of the network. It is a plot of the true positive rate (sensitivity) versus the false positive rate (1-specificity) as the threshold is varied. A perfect test shows points in the upper-left corner, with 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity. In this study, the network performs fairly good.