Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Profile and Key Facts About President Harry Truman

Profile and Key Facts About President Harry Truman Truman was conceived on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. He experienced childhood with ranches and in 1890 his family settled in Independence, Missouri. He had awful vision from a young however he wanted to peruse having been instructed by his mom. He particularly enjoyed history and government. He was a fantastic piano player. He went to neighborhood evaluation and secondary schools. Truman didn't proceed with his training until 1923 in light of the fact that he needed to help bring in cash for his family. He attended two years of graduate school from 1923-24. Quick Facts: Harry S Truman Conceived: May 8, 1884, Lamar, MODied: December 26, 1972Parents: John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen Young TrumanTerm of Office: April 12, 1945 - Jan. 20, 1953Spouse: Elizabeth Bess Virginia Wallace (1919)Children: Mary Jane TrumanMajor Events in Office: Atomic Bombsâ dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945), finish of World War II (1945), making of United Nations (1945), Nuremburg Trials (1945-1946), Truman Doctrineâ (1947), Taft-Hartley Act (1947), making of Israel, Marshall Planâ (1948-1952), NATO Treaty (1949), Korean Conflictâ (1950-1953), Twenty-Second Amendment Ratifiedâ (1951), Hydrogen Bomb Detonated (1952)Famous Quote: Im going to contend energetically. Im going to make some serious trouble for them. Family Truman was the child of John Anderson Truman, a rancher and animals merchant and dynamic Democrat and Martha Ellen Young Truman. He had one brother, Vivian Truman, and one sister, Mary Jane Truman. On June 28, 1919, Truman married Elizabeth Bess Virginia Wallace. They 35 and 34, separately. Together, they had oneâ daughter, Margaret Truman. She is a vocalist and a writer, composing life stories of her folks as well as puzzles. Harry S Trumans Career Before the Presidency Truman worked at unspecialized temp jobs in the wake of moving on from secondary school to enable his family to make a decent living. He helped on his dads ranch from 1906 until he joined the military to battle in World War I. After the war he opened a cap shop which flopped in 1922. Truman was made an adjudicator of Jackson Co., Missouri, which was a managerial post. From 1926-34, he was the head judge of the area. From 1935-45, he filled in as a Democratic Senator speaking to Missouri. At that point in 1945, he accepted the bad habit administration. Military Service Truman was an individual from the National Guard. In 1917, his unit was called up into standard assistance during World War I. He served from August 1917 until May 1919. He was made an authority of a Field Artillery unit in France. He was a piece of the Meuse-Argonne hostile in 1918 and was at Verdun toward the finish of the war. Turning into the President Truman assumed control over the administration upon Franklin Roosevelts demise on April 12, 1945. At that point in 1948, the Democrats were from the start uncertain about sponsorship Truman yet inevitably energized behind him to choose him to run for president. He was restricted by Republican Thomas E. Dewey, Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond, and Progressive Henry Wallace. Truman won with 49% of the well known vote and 303 of the conceivable 531 appointive votes. Occasions and Accomplishments of Harry S Truman’s Presidency The war in Europe finished in May, 1945. Nonetheless, America was still at war with Japan. One of the most significant choices made by Truman or conceivably some other president was the utilization of theâ atomic bombs in Japan. He requested two bombs:â one against Hiroshimaâ on August 6, 1945 and one against Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Trumans objective was to stop the war rapidly keeping away from further misfortunes of partnered troops. Japan sued for tranquility on August tenth and gave up on September 2, 1945. Truman was president during the Nuremberg Trialsâ which rebuffed 22 Nazi pioneers for various violations including wrongdoings against humankind. 19 of them were seen as liable. Also,â the United Nationsâ was made so as to attempt to stay away from future universal wars and to help settle clashes calmly. Truman made the Truman Doctrineâ which expressed that it was the obligation of the U.S. to help free people groups who are opposing endeavored enslavement by furnished minorities or outside weights. America got together with Great Britain to battle against a Soviet barricade of Berlin via carrying more than 2 million tons of provisions to the city. Truman consented to help revamp Europe in what was calledâ the Marshall Plan. America spent over $13 billion dollars to help get Europe in a good place again. In 1948, The Jewish individuals made the province of Israel in Palestine. The U.S. was among the first to perceive theâ new country. From 1950-53, America took an interest in the Korean Conflict. North Korean Communist powers had attacked South Korea. Truman got the UN to concur that the U.S. could remove the North Koreans out of the South. MacArthur was sent in and called for America to do battle with China. Truman would not concur and MacArthur was expelled from his post. The U.S. didn't accomplish its goal in the contention. Other significant issues of Trumans time in office were the Red Scare, the entry of the 22nd Amendmentâ limiting a president to two terms,â the Taft-Hartley Act, Trumans Fair Deal, and anâ assassination attemptâ in 1950. Post Presidential Period Truman chose not to look for re-appointment in 1952. He resigned to Independence, Missouri. He stayed dynamic in supporting Democratic contender for the administration. He kicked the bucket on December 26, 1972. Authentic Significance It was President Truman who settled on a ultimate choice to utilize the nuclear bombs on Japan to accelerate the apocalypse War II. His utilization of the bomb was not just an approach to stop what could have been a wicked battle on the terrain yet in addition to make an impression on the Soviet Union that the U.S. was not hesitant to utilize the bomb if fundamental. Truman was president during the beginnings of the Cold War and furthermore during the Korean War.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Baldwin Water Works free essay sample

In 1996 the city of Cleveland started a $750 million Plant Enhancement Program. The program’s objective was to revamp and modernize the city’s four water treatment offices, which are among the 10 biggest in the US, and were worked in 1856; more than 500 million gallons of water are siphoned to Cleveland occupants every day. In the accompanying paper I endeavor to furnish with a diagram of the Baldwin Water Work Plant Enhancement Program (PEP) (one of the four water treatment offices) scope, time plan, expenses, and goals; portray the program’s life cycle stages required to execute all activities included; indentify and examine the conceivable related dangers, and present the separate hazard reactions; characterize the controlling and observing procedure of the program; indentify and break down the structure things of the program’s plan that were basic to arrive at key accomplishments. Targets, Scope of Work, Budget The initial move towards the meaning of the Plant Enhancement Program’s (PEP) goals is indentifying the need that this arrangement of activities endeavor to fulfill: created in 1924, Baldwin Water Works Plant needs redesigns and upgrades. We will compose a custom article test on Baldwin Water Works or on the other hand any comparable subject explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page The subsequent stage is for the program the executives expert (PMC) to appreciate the projects goals. Around here case, as in numerous different cases, PMC isn't doled out early enough so as to partake in the arrangement of the destinations; the targets are set up by the program’s support. Besides, so as to comprehend and approve PEP’s destinations should, the PMC must mull over PEP’s open nature; open programs’ goals â€Å"should be lined up with the significant needs in the general public and the necessities of the users† (Samset as refered to in Shiferaw and Klakegg, standard. 1, pg. 14). As per the need and PEP’s nature, PMC must arrive at the accompanying goals: Evaluate and upgrade water flexibly Rehabilitate and modernize water treatment office, guaranteeing it is at its most elevated operational productivity and wellbeing Develop and actualize new plant working framework Remake offices bringing about the most reduced water rates conceivable Limit future facilities’ operational and support costs Renovate the current organization building, while at the same time keeping up its authentic structure Supply Cleveland’s downtown and eastside networks with spotless and safe consumable water (City of Cleveland 2010, pg. 20). When the PMC has recognized the PEP’s objective, it needs to approve these destinations in the extent of work (Kezner 2013, pg. 521). The Project Management Consultant is answerable for all task exercises including arranging, structure, and development, and cost, time and quality administration. PMC will: remake and improve water treatment offices by supplanting plant’s valves and channels, restoring plant’s channels, and moving from a manual operational framework to PLC-based operational framework; give preparing and hands-on help on the new operational framework for all representatives; meet and surpass existing and future guidelines set by the province of Ohio; perform design and basic restoration of Baldwin Water Works chronicled organization building. At long last, during recreations and redesigns the PMC will keep the plant operational. After the foundation of the program’s targets and extent of work, the PMC must gauge the project’s fruition time, and all costs included; PMC must build up the program’s time plan and financial plan. One of the most helpful devices for achieving those two undertakings is Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) (Lewis 2007, pg. 56). The program can be separated into four levels, as delineated in outline 1, page 4. By separating the program into explicit ventures and assignments the PMC can all the more likely characterize expenses of the material, gear and exertion required for the projects exercises, and furthermore the time required. Notwithstanding the WBS and so as to figure generally the PEP’s costs, the PMC will utilize inexact gauge. The PEP’s cost is assessed by relationship to the Morgan Water Plant Rehabilitation program, in Cleveland, OH, which has a comparable extent of work and limit (Shook Construction 2013) (Kerzner 2013, pg. 680). The all out expense for the Morgan Water Plant Rehabilitation program was $26 million; the Baldwin Water Works Plan Enhancement Program is 15 percent progressively troublesome, thinking about the fragile work fundamental for the redesign of the verifiable organization building. These outcome in an expected expense of $30 million for the culmination of our PEP (Kezner 2013, pg. 680) (www. shookconstruction. com). At long last, the PMC recognizes two kinds of spending plans: appropriated financial plan is characterized by the worker hours a required for the accomplishment of the errands and subtasks set up in the WBS, and the basic materials and gear required (for example 2,500 tons of 20† by 48† bendable iron funneling, 48† electrically initiated valves, PLC-Based control instruments, channel medias, record shingles, crane, drillers, solid, iron gunnels, stone work, outside windows); the executives hold of $3 million utilized if there should arise an occurrence of accelerations in development laborers pay rates, unexpected postponements coming about during faculty preparing on the new PLC-Based working framework, dangers Diagram 1. Baldwin Water Works Plant Enhancement Program WBS (Shook Construction 2013) (Bowen Associates Inc. 2013). Engaged with the instance of the organization building many-sided structures unsettling influence, changes in costs of fundamental material and hardware (Kezner 2013, pg. 751). The complete PEP’s spending plan coming about after the ID of the two spending types is $33 million. Life Cycle, Time Plan notwithstanding WBS and so as to evaluate the time plan for the PEP’s finishing, PMC must characterize the projects life cycle. The most usually kind of life-cycle program utilized for development ventures is the consecutive one or cascade program life-cycle; this is the one that PMC will use for this particular case. As indicated by cascade life-cycle the accompanying system stages are characterized: Diagram 2. Baldwin Water Works Program Life-Cycle (Hallows 2005, pg. 84) To all the more likely gauge the project’s time of fruition or timetable, PMC needs to expound on the recognized stages. During Phase 1, the PMC completes a plausibility study; at this stage the program’s objectives and targets, specialized perspectives, challenges, quotes and advancement plan are characterized. At this stage and on account of the project’s open nature, the responsibility and cooperation of neighborhood, state and government specialists are of a high significance. The City of Cleveland Water Division gives the PMC the general rules, however it needs to take an interest in the advancement of the possibility concentrate so as to ensure that the sum total of what rules have been comprehended and thought about by the PMC. Moreover, now the project’s money related possibility is being assessed. Out of the aggregate of $750 million to be given towards the city’s four water treatment plants upgrade program, $33 million are disseminated towards the Baldwin Water Works Plant Enhancement program. The time required for the consummation of the achievability study is a half year. Toward the finish of the examination the two activities, Renovation and Reconstruction, under the PEP are considered plausible and affirmed for advancement by the City of Cleveland Water Division (proprietor). The finish of Phase 1 starts Phase 2; arranging of the PEP. At this stage the extent of work, referenced previously, is built up, goals are refined, expectations named, spending plan and timetable characterized. Also, the City of Cleveland Landmarks Commission’s rules towards the redesign of the noteworthy organization building are being assessed and specialized attributes of that undertaking recognized. Besides, State and Federal Governing Bodies guarantee that the program’s destinations and specialized perspectives are adjusted to momentum water guidelines, and that future improvements are being contemplated. At long last, dangers are recognized by the given inward and outer difficulties, assessed, and reactions are created. One year for the fruition of Phase 2. The PMC at that point is pushing ahead with the detail plan of the undertakings and the errands required so as to arrive at goals and expectations; Phase 3. The two assignments under the Renovation venture are being created at this stage (Case Study). The PMC builds up an office plan by mapping out and organizing all the important upgrades of the plant’s offices. Furthermore an office arranging advisor is recruited to direct assessments of every single existing structure and indentify the Renovation’s extent of work. At that point Bowen Associates Inc. is employed to give detail plan of the undertaking, give material, hardware, structural specialists, designers, and development laborers for the building and auxiliary assignments and subtasks delineated in Diagram 1 WBS (Bowen Associates Inc. 2013). Besides, Shook Construction Company is employed for the plan of the Reconstruction venture. Shook Construction is liable for giving all material and gear, structural designers, planners, electrical and mechanical specialists, and development laborers required for the fruition of the project’s undertakings and subtasks portrayed in Diagram 1 WBS. The time required for completing Phase 3 is one year. After the detail structure of the two projects’ undertakings and subtasks, it is the ideal opportunity for the PMC to start the usage of the program; Phase 4. Both Shook Construction Company, liable for the Reconst

Monday, August 17, 2020

From The Midst Of Selection

From The Midst Of Selection Sorry to have been ignoring my poor blog, folks! Heres my excuse Thursday 12/1: The day Id set aside to catch up on email, blogging, work, etc. before heading into selection. Instead I read late-arrival apps all day with MadMatt and Nance Nance Revolution to make sure were ready for committee. That night I edit 50 pages of copy for the new viewbook in preparation for a meeting the next morning. (Lunch: Mass Ave food truck.) Friday 12/2: Viewbook copy meetings all morning. Afternoon: selection begins! 3098 applications, up ~10% from last year. Doing the math, its easy to see that the admit rate will drop this year. This makes committee even more difficult, but doesnt change the fact that its still enormously rewarding. After we all gather around the table, Marilee offers some words to inspire us, which are really powerful to me so I write them down. She says: MIT is not just a university its a concept, an ideal. The group we admit in the next few days is going to change civilization. And thats not an exaggeration. Theres a bit of silence as we all digest the words. And then the first folders hit the table, and we begin another year on our quest to make the world better. (Lunch: Mass Ave food truck again.) Saturday 12/3: We begin around 9AM and pick up where wed left off the night before. The process: grab a folder, read the summary, consider the numbers, look at the short answers, ECAs, etc. Debate the case until the group comes to a unanimous decision. If one cant be reached, the folder goes back on the pile. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Playing over and over in my head like a broken record: deferred is not rejected. Its the only way to keep from getting sad about some folks I really want here. Anthony captures a stunning picture of me and MadMatt towards the end of the day. The sun has been down for while by the time a bunch of us head over to The Miracle of Science to decompress for a bit. MIT is not discussed. (Lunch: Indian food, delivered.) Sunday 12/4: I wake up to a snowstorm. The roads have not been plowed nor salted. I slide all over Route 2 on my way in to MIT. On the way I pick up Nance Nance Revolution who looks tired. Were in the committee room by 8:30. It snows all day. MadMatt takes a picture of President Hockfield. Towards the end of the day, someone notices that there are no buckets on the table, which means the last of the folders have been distributed to the teams. Were almost there. At the end of the day we count. I cant give you details (so dont ask!) but suffiice it to say that we have hundreds more than we can actually admit EA. The same thing happens every year. I tell you this so youll know that Im really not lying when I say if you dont get in its likely an issue of space. Tomorrows a new day. (Lunch: Mexican food, delivered.) Monday 12/5: We start again. There is blood. There are tears. The committee room looks like a war zone. It smells like Doritos and day-old takeout. But there is some serious love happening as well. One of the things I like most about selection is the way our team comes together into a single shimmering organism, with direction and purpose and clarity. I love the way we balance each other; the way the process is designed to bring our individual strengths together. I know from reading your applications that most of you understand how it feels to really be part of something truly magical. This is sortof like that. At the end of the day weve finished with the big committee. (Lunch: Pizza. This concludes our five days af artery poisoning.) A lot of stuff will happen this week, so no decision is set in stone. Decisions will be reviewed by various subcommittees, and finally Marilee will go over each admit to give her final stamp of approval. Depending on a variety of factors, we will mail sometime between Friday and Monday. If all goes well, it will be Friday. Ill keep you posted. I hope you all are doing well, and Im hoping to finish my QA post in the next day or two. Until then, keep rocking hard. Its the only way to rock. -B P.S. Nance Nance Revolution me at the end of Monday:

Sunday, May 24, 2020

The Accomplishment of Gertrude B. Elion - 1153 Words

Elion accomplished a lot in her 81 years working. She started out teaching biochemistry at New York hospital school of nursing, and then she was an unpaid chemistry lab assistant. She stuck with this job, hoping to eventually get paid and even made $20 a week, which is one of the reasons she was able to attend New York University (Koenig, 2006). She scrimped and saved and had help from her boyfriend, Leonard Canter (McGrayne, 2002). While in school, she taught as a teacher in training as well as a substitute (Elion, 1988). At the same time she was doing research for her Master’s at night and on the weekends to keep up. She eventually got a job doing analytical work for a food company. She did gain excellent instrumentation skills in this job even though she thought of it as quite boring. After this, Johnson and Johnson hired her, but that was short lived. Many people wanted to work with Elion, but she refused many job offers and agreed to work with George Hitchings at Burroug hs Wellcome Company. IV: Scientific Contributions George Hitchings allowed Elion a lot more freedom. She was able to perform research at her own pace, which she loved because she was highly motivated to learn as much as possible, as fast as possible. She got involved with areas outside of chemistry, like immunology, pharmacology, and virology (McGrayne, 2002). Little was known about enzymes or nucleic acids at the time, so her main focus was on purines. Hitchings would always let Elion know that he was

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

The Influence Of Jazz Music - 2019 Words

Jazz is one of few purely American art forms. Its creation came out of the southern United States and the social conditions associated with the relationship between the white and African American communities there (Larson 1). African American musicians in particular were the key proponents in the development of jazz in the early 20th century. The creation and shaping of jazz music came from a combination of the musical styles of spirituals, the blues, ragtime, and Western European classical music (Larson 37-38). Although jazz originated from these four styles, defining jazz itself cannot be done so plainly. Since its origin, jazz has continued to progress and branch out into a wide variety of musical styles and genres. At its root, jazz is about the individual expression of the musician (Larson 2). John Coltrane was one of many musicians that used jazz as this medium. Through his early works in the bebop and hard bop styles to free form and more spiritual styled music later in his career, Coltrane pursued deeper expression from his music (Wikipedia). John Coltrane’s upbringing and early interest in music led to a successful career of highly innovative works that have left a lasting legacy and influence on the jazz community. John William Coltrane was born September 23, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina. His family moved to High Point, North Carolina shortly after his birth and would remain there throughout his childhood. Coltrane’s family embraced music and it became anShow MoreRelatedJazz Music And Its Influence On The Music3105 Words   |  13 Pages Jazz music as we know it today has evolved since the early twentieth century. Its’ evolution is due to the influence of many different players who have added their own styles, interpretations and techniques. Two masters of Jazz who have been a big influence on the music are cornet and trumpet player, Louis Armstrong, and piano player, band leader and arranger, Duke Ellington. Each came from different socio-economic and geographical backgrounds, but both became masters of their trade, reached worldwideRead MoreAmerica s Original Music Form : The Influence Of Jazz2552 Words   |  11 PagesAmerican Literature 1 April 2015 America’s Original Music Form: The Influence of Jazz The creation of jazz at face value is normally credited to the minorities in the United States, mainly the African Americans, but was modified and adapted to be culturally and socially acceptable to the middle and upper classes of white Americans. While the jazz movement was eventually dominated by the middle class white population in the US, the conception of this music form was influenced and inspired by African traditionsRead MoreBlues and Jazz Influence Paper1698 Words   |  7 Pages The Influence of 1920 Blues and Jazz on Modern Music Mark Carter The Influence of 1920 Blues and Jazz on Modern Music This paper is will try to show how the music that started with singing of old songs by the slaves to influences the music that the world listens to today. Shaping the music of Rock and Roll, Country and Western, and Easy Listening that influences every aspect of society’s everyday life are Blues and Jazz. In an interview many years ago on television, heard by thisRead MoreEssay on Ragtime and Blues Influence on Jazz1377 Words   |  6 PagesOctober 14, 2011 Seeing Ragtime and Blues as Parents of Jazz Jazz is a music genre that has complex characteristics and history of development and thus many musicians and scholars face troubles in defining what jazz is. In general, jazz is believed to have born in New Orleans. Jazz developed for the pleasure of the social dancers. According to the â€Å"Understanding Jazz: What Is Jazz?† of John F. Kennedy center for the Performing Arts, Jazz was created mainly by Afro-Americans, and had elements ofRead MoreIts All About Jazz Fusion807 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"It’s All About Jazz Fusion† Of the jazz styles studied in this module, I prefer jazz-rock-fusion. I enjoy listening to this style of jazz because it creates a rock mood by its different melodies, complex rhythms, tones and harmonies. Jazz –fusion, â€Å"melds rock rhythms and the use of electronic instruments with collective improvisation† (Ferris). Jazz music in general is mostly improvised music, so its melody is an interesting element to its listeners. I feel that being a jazz musician has toRead MoreThe Ragtime And The Blues1184 Words   |  5 Pagesthe blues were essential and influential in their contributions to the development of jazz. Together, they served as the primary predecessors to the later, more complicated genre. Key elements from each brand are incorporated and mixed to create jazz. Without the creative geniuses of ragtime such as Scott Jopin and James Reese Europe and Blues propagators W.C. Hady and Robert Johnson, the distinctive genre of jazz would not have emerged. Ragtime and blues are both unique in their respective stylesRead MoreLouis Armstrong And Jazz Age1128 Words   |  5 PagesThe 1920s was known as the Jazz Age, Francis Scott Fitzgerald said â€Å"it was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire. Music also plays a big role in The Great Gatsby. One singer that was popular in the 1920s was Louis Armstrong he was known as the King of Jazz. Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Armstrong was born and raised in New Orleans he was the son of a prostitute and an absent father. Louis ArmstrongRead MoreAfrican Americans Influence On Music1229 Words   |  5 Pagesblack culture represented in most hip-hop; that is the dominating music genre that expresses African American views. It’s not so easy to remember where African Americans influence on music al began. Black influence on music today is really unrecognized but it’s important to bring to light just how much African Americans really have contributed to the sound, style, and feel of today’s music. Not just hip-hop or rap, but all kinds of music. There was one particular sound that really changed America andRead MoreMusic is an art that has been in this world for tens of thousands of years and has proven its900 Words   |  4 PagesMusic is an art that has been in this world for tens of thousands of years and has proven its abilities to bring people together and sometimes even make people happy. Although the jazz era ended almost a century ago, this time influenced by Louis Armstrong was a huge cultural shift that still remains in our society in which African-Americans are a vast part of our music industry amongst pop, rap, reggae, and more. Jazz was a unique form of music, there had never been anything like it before. ItRead MoreRagtime And Blues : The History And Their Influence On Jazz1581 Words   |  7 PagesRagtime and Blues: The History and Their Influence on Jazz In the city of New Orleans, from parades to clubs and from weddings to funerals, one element usually remained constant throughout all these events: the music that permeated the air. At most of these occasions, a band often performed as entertainment, providing many opportunities for musicians in the area to work. By the early 20th century, due to various factors such as mix of ethnicities and cultures with syncopated musical styles influenced

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Relationships and Breakup Free Essays

* When two parties disclose personal information with each other the consensus is that the two persons will like each other more. (Rowland Miller, 2012) * Disclosure within a relationship is beneficial by raising intimacy, trust and closeness levels between two partners (Dindia Fitzpatrick, 1985: Duck, 1994a) * Strangers who open up to each admire each other more than couples who reveal less personal information to each other (Slatcher, 2010) * That being said, this shows that there is a very strong bond when disclosing personal information to each other and that it plays a large role when building a relationship. * Social penetration theory (Altman Taylor,1973) * New relationships have a large breadth of topics discussed, while the depth of the topics is very shallow. We will write a custom essay sample on Relationships and Breakup or any similar topic only for you Order Now Self-disclosure is rare to be found at this level of relationship. Break ups * If a person’s past relationship was broken off early within the relationship, that is the depth of the topics discussed was very shallow and little self-disclosure occurred, than it would be safe to say that within a new relationship they would seek that acceptance and self-disclosure earlier on. They never really got to disclose personal information with their ex, therefore they may pursue that self-disclosure more ambitiously within the new relationship. * If a person’s past relationship was broken off at a later stage where self-disclosure between two partners was a common occurrence the parties may misattribute the separation with rejected disclosed information. Within new relationships it may take longer for them to disclose information with their new partners. Revised Filter Theory New Relationships Hypotheses/Questions we want to ask: * Does the denial of disclosed information from previous relationships have an outcome on newly formed relationships? That is, is it harder to disclose information to new partners? Does it take longer? * If past the past relationships ended early on before self-disclosure could occur. Do people pursue self-disclosure earlier on in the newly formed relationship? How to cite Relationships and Breakup, Papers

Monday, May 4, 2020

Things I’ll Never Say to You by Chasing Trains free essay sample

Discovering a band that plays the emotion-provoking genre of music I like is a fulfilling feeling. Over the past month, I was lucky enough to stumble upon an all-female indie band from Mahwah, New Jersey, that deserves immense attention for their spellbinding music. Their first album, ironically titled â€Å"Things I’ll Never Say to You,† is a combination of tear-jerking lullabies and sultry love songs. In their first song, â€Å"Fade Away,† the listener is taken on a romance-swept roller coaster between two unnamed lovers who forget their inhibitions and fall in love for just one night. Although not afraid of her love, the boy reveals he is afraid of â€Å"too much wasted time.† These words are completely relatable to anyone who has ever experienced a relationship, and to anyone who has ever been heartbroken. Likewise, so is the idea that â€Å"love’s just a game we play; whether it’s forever, or three years, or just a day. We will write a custom essay sample on Things I’ll Never Say to You by Chasing Trains or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † These lyrics are accompanied by a slowly strummed guitar. The melody, along with the heartfelt words, combine to form a magnificent ballad that is more than suitable for anyone who has ever struggled in a challenging romance. On a completely different note, â€Å"Avalanche† provides the listener with the subtle details of a seemingly catastrophically scandalous relationship. Mysteriously, it is sung â€Å"let’s take too many chances.† The song is also filled to the brim with mystifyingly beautiful harmonies that are really pleasing to the ears. This song is very interesting, because it uses deep imagery while still maintaining a vague storyline. This leaves a lot of interpretation up to the listener, allowing the song to mean many things depending on the audience. There is something very gratifying about finding obscure bands that produce quality music. Although Chasing Trains has only released one EP so far, I am hoping for much more from them, as their current content is fantastic. They also have published â€Å"Shhhh† and â€Å"Bottles.† Their music can be found on Bandcamp, and I truly hope you spare a minute or two to check it out. I promise you, you will not regret supporting this brilliant, up-and-coming group.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Global Warming Outline Research Paper Example

Global Warming Outline Paper Global warming poses a serious threat for tomorrows future. We are already seeing a disturbing change in tornadoes, and weather patterns this year. This paper will focus on global warming,the impact due to human actions, and the efforts that the human race must take to stop global warming to reinstate our earth for the sake of our future generations. (Turk Bunsen, 2011 II. Body paragraph #1 A. Greenhouse gases trap heat radiated from the Earth’s surface after it has absorbed energy from the sun, but it wasn’t until 1896 when a Swedish physicist and chemist named Savant Awareness showed that doubling the arbor dioxide content of the air would gradually raise global temperatures by 5 to 6 ‘C which was a remarkably prescient result that was virtually ignored by other scientists who were obsessed with explaining the ice ages. Global warming has been caused by an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. Scientist now had to consider the possibility that human actions were contributing to global warming. (Turk ; Bunsen, 201 1). Ill. We will write a custom essay sample on Global Warming Outline specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Global Warming Outline specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Global Warming Outline specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Body paragraph #2 A. Greenhouse effect is ‘the global warming of our atmosphere caused by he presence of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which trap the sun’s radiation. â€Å"(Turk Bunsen, 2011, sec 7. 1). The Greenhouse gases are the main culprits of the global warming, and they are projected to keep going up. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide trap heat in earth’s atmosphere and thus result in increasing the temperature of earth. The excessive emission of these gases is the major cause of global warming. ‘V. Body paragraph #3 A. The impact on global warming due to human actions. Global warming is increased by human actions and demand on resources. The human race increases the emissions Of greenhouse gases on our atmosphere through the use of vehicles, facilities, electrical and industrial plants. The supply and demand of the human race on agriculture is another major factor in regards to global warming. Agriculture requires the use of fertilizers, gases, destruction, and clearing of our forests. Each year more and more trees are being removed to meet the global food demand. Trees store large quantities carbon dioxide and help maintain a natural balance. Human actions have created less forest which in return means more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for global warming. V. Body paragraph #4 A. The human race must become more conscious of their environment, and immediately start taking actions to reduce of impact on global warming. There are many things that the human race as a whole can do to help reduce and stop global warming. First thing the human race can do is to limit the greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Riding bikes, buses, Van, or carpooling are just a few ways we all can individually help reduce necessary emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which in return could significantly reduce the effects of global warming. VI.

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Musical Piracy essays

Musical Piracy essays The topic of this project is musical piracy. Everybody is familiar with the Napster case about copyright infringement. However, Napster isnt the only example of this, MP3.com, and other file sharing sources are targeted also. There is a diverse field of opinions about whether it should be legal or not. The arguments for legalization feel that the record labels are charging exorbitant amounts of money for compact discs, and the artists net pennies from the sales of their records. The argument for eliminating file sharing software is the record labels loss of revenue for recording, advertising, and distribution of the records. My two articles are both from the New York Times, and show both sides of the issue. They dont seem to be editorialized very much to me. The news sources are the musicians, consumers, and the corporation/record labels. They all seem to be saying the same thing but, they are framed the opposite way. Alec Foeges article is showing how the artists are held back by the record labels from making enough money to go out on their own. Courtney love, the singer of the band Hole, says that the corporations have all the copyrights and use the songs for commercials and the artists dont see a penny in royalties from it. She was fighting her record label, Geffen Records to end their recording deal, and artists were watching her case and would follow her if she succeeded. Sheryl Crow, a singer and songwriter, spoke at a congressional hearing and criticized the record labels insistence on owning the copyrights to most of her songs. Some artists have already left the labels and instead market their material to fans via the internet, by offering free downloads, concert schedules, and even sell their records online. Courtney feels that the labels are the gatekeepers, and thats where the money is because they have unlimited power. In fact, some independent record label ...

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Human Life Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Human Life Cycle - Essay Example To be specific, women do not usually develop facial hairs like their male counterparts on their faces as a sign of puberty at common instances (Bolin & Whelehan, 1999). During pre-puberty stages, the development of female body takes place with the initial development of the breasts. It is a common phenomenon among female approaching their adolescence. In the stage of the pre-pubertal development, nipple enlargement occurs with the enlargement of the breasts and enlargement of the projected areola. With the maturity of the female, the breasts develop and the nipple appears to be the second mount. The development of breasts does not take place among males at such an apparent rate though. However, their chests expand as a sign of development at the time of their puberty (Bolin & Whelehan, 1999). In both females and males, the development of pubic hair is quite common. However, for females, the pubic hair grows sparsely along both sides of the labia, wherein with pigmentation, the hairs become coarse and curls as well as spreads to the medial of the thighs. For males, the pubic hair grows below the penis around the testes. The pubic hairs grow in the genital areas for both the sexes as a representation of the secondary sex characteristics (Bolin & Whelehan, 1999). The rate of women fertility is reduced during the late 20s and has a substantiate rate of decrease during the late 30s. Probabilities of pregnancy are high among women who are between the ages of 19-26 years than the women who are in their 30s. The female reproductive system is observed to age faster than any other organs. Even though the average age of menopause is 51 years for women, the reproductive system starts ageing at the age of 20s itself. Observably, there is a gradual as well as the drastic loss of fertility after the age of 35 years in females. Conversely, women maintain a regular ovulatory menstrual cycle even after 40s although the rate of fertility declines at an earlier age

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Sensory Perceptions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Sensory Perceptions - Essay Example A person’s knowledge will determine if he perceives information on people or things as accurate or inaccurate (Robinson, 1994). Perception refers to people’s sensory knowledge of the surrounding and entails both actions in reaction to stimuli or detection of environmental stimuli. Perceptual processes enable humans to acquire information about elements and properties of the surrounding, and also enable individuals to operate within their surroundings. The perceptual processes determine the accuracy or inaccuracy of a person’s sensory information. In addition, interpretation is created to divulge relationships, and meanings of people’s natural and cultural heritage, through involvement with landscapes and sites, artifacts, and objects. It also depicts how people perceive different circumstances through beliefs and thoughts. Interpretation helps people to believe whether sensory information is accurate or inaccurate (Robinson, 1994). The factors that may play a part in determining the accuracy of sensory information include reliability of observed facts, source of data and cognitive capacity, and the brain and interpretation of received data. The reliability of observed facts will play a role in determining if sensory information is accurate. Receiving sensory information through precise observations will give information and facts that are essential for accurate sensory perception or thinking connection. Also, source of data and cognitive capacity contributes to the accurateness of sensory information. The source of information or data should be got through the sense of touch, sight, smell, and hearing to acquire precise sensory information (Foster, 2000). An individual’s senses must be extremely sensitive to function like gauges, lenses, particle detectors, gauges, and amplifiers to nourish the brain to create accurate sensory perception of the received information. The brain and interpretation of received data also determines

Monday, January 27, 2020

Microbial Production Of Industrial Enzymes Biology Essay

Microbial Production Of Industrial Enzymes Biology Essay Enzymes are biocatalysts produced by living cells to bring about specific biochemical reactions generally forming parts of the metabolic processes of the cells. Enzymes are highly specific in their action on substrates and often many different enzymes are required to bring about, by concerted action, the sequence of metabolic reactions performed by the living cell. All enzymes which have been purified are protein in nature, and may or may not possess a nonprotein prosthetic group. The practical application and industrial use of enzymes to accomplish certain reactions apart from the cell dates back many centuries and was practiced long before the nature or function of enzymes was understood. Use of barley malt for starch conversion inbrewing, and of dung for bating of hides in leather making, are examples of ancient use of enzymes. It was not until nearly the turn of this century that the causative agents or enzymes responsible for bringing about such biochemical reactions became known. Then crude preparations from certain animal tissues such as pancreas and stomach mucosa, or from plant tissues such as malt and papaya fruit, were prepared which found technical applications in the textile, leather,brewing, and other industries. HISTORY:- Dr. Jokichi Takamine (1894, 1914) was the first person to realize the technical possibility of cultivated enzymes and to introduce them to industry. He was mainly concerned with fungal enzymes, whereas Boidin and Effront (1917) in France pioneered in the production of bacterial enzymes about 20 years later.Technological progress in this field during the last decades has been so great that, for many uses, micro-bial cultivated enzymes have replaced the animal or plant enzymes. Once the favorable results of employing such enzyme preparations were established, a search began for better, less expensive, and more readily available sources of such enzymes.It was found that certain microorganisms produce enzymes similar in action to the amylases of malt and pancreas, or to the proteases of the pancreas and papaya fruit. This led to the development of processes for producing such microbial enzymes on a commercial scale Example, in textile desizing, bacterial amylase has largely replaced malt or pancreatin. At present, only a relatively small number of microbial enzymes have found commercial application, but the number is increasing, and the field will undoubtedly be much expanded in the future. Enzyme classification:-Presently more than 3000 different enzymes have been isolated and classified. The enzymes are classified into six major categories based on the nature of the chemical reaction they catalyze: 1. Oxidoreductases :- Catalyze oxidation or reduction of their substrates. 2. Transferases :- Catalyze group transfer. 3. Hydrolases :- Catalyze bond breakage with the addition of water. 4. Lyases :- Remove groups from their substrates. 5. Isomerases :- Catalyze intramolecular rearrangements. 6. Ligases :- Catalyze the joining of two molecules at the expense of chemical energy. Only a limited number of all the known enzymes are commercially available . More than 75 % of industrial enzymes are hydrolases. Protein-degrading enzymes constitute about 40 % of all enzyme sales. More than fifty commercial industrial enzymes are available and their number is increasing steadily PRODUCTION OF MICROBIAL ENZYMES Enzymes occur in every living cell, hence in all microorganisms. Each single strain of organism produces a large number of enzymes, hydrolyzing, oxidizing or reducing, and metabolic in nature. But the absolute and relative amounts of the various individual enzymes produced vary markedly between species and even between strains of the same species. Hence, it is customary to select strains for the commercial production of specific enzymes which have the capacity for producing highest amounts of the particular enzymes desired. Commercial enzymes are produced from strains of molds, bacteria, and yeasts Up until less than 10 years ago, commercial fungal and bacterial enzymes were produced by surface culture methods. Within the past few years, however, submerged culture methods have come into extensive use. For fungal enzymes, the mold is cultivated on the surface of a solid substrate. Takamine used wheat bran and this has come to be recognized as the most satisfactory basic substrate although other fibrous materials can be employed. Other ingredients may be added, such as nutrient salts, acid or buffer to regulate the pH, soy bean meal or beet cosettes to stimulate enzyme production. In one modification of the bran process, the bran is steamed for sterilization, cooled, inoculated with the mold spores and are then spreaded .Incubation takes place in chambers where the temperature and humidity are controlled within limits by circulated air. It may be stated that instead of trays for incubation, Takamine, as well as other producers, at one time used slowly rotating drums. Generally tray incubation gives more rapid growth and enzyme production. Bacterial enzymes have been and are also produced by the bran process. .Incubation takes place in chambers where the temperature and humidity are controlled within limits by circulated air However, until recently the process originally invented by Boidin and Effront was most extensively employed In this process, the bacteria are cultivated in special culture vessels as a pel licle on the surface of thin layers of liquid medium, the composition of which is adjusted for maximum production of the desired enzyme. Different strains of Bacillus subtilis and different media are employed, depending on whether bacterial amylase or protease is desired. PRODUCTION PROCESS OF INDUSTRIAL ENZYMES USING MICROBES Solid State Fermentation Solid-state fermentation (SSF) is a method used for the production of enzymes. Solid-state fermentation involves the cultivation of microorganisms on a solid substrate, such as grains, rice and wheat bran. This method is an alternative to the production of enzymes in liquid by submerged fermentation. SSF has many advantages over submerged fermentation. These include, high volumetric productivity, relatively high concentration of product, less effluent generated and simple fermentation equipment.. SSF requires moisture to be present on the substrate, for the microorganisms to produce enzymes. As a consequence the water content of the substrate must also be optimized, as a higher or lower presence of water may adversely affect the microbial activity. Water also has implications for the physicochemical properties of the solid substrate. Enzymes of industrial importance have been produced by SSF. Some examples are, proteases, pectinases, glucoamylases andcellulases Microorganisms used for the production of enzymes in S.S.F. A large number of microorganisms, including bacteria, yeast and fungi produce different groups of enzymes.Selection of a particular strain, however, remains a tedious task, especially when commercially competent enzyme yields are to be achieved. The selection of a suitable strain for the required purpose depends upon a number of factors, in particular upon the nature of the substrate and environmental conditions. Generally, hydrolytic enzymes, e.g. cellulases, xylanases, pectinases, etc. are produced by fungal cultures, since such enzymes are used in nature by fungi for their growth. Trichoderma spp. and Aspergillus spp. have most widely been used for these enzymes. Amylolytic enzymes too are commonly produced by filamentous fungi and the preferred strains belong to the species of Aspergillus and Rhizopus. Although commercial production of amylases is carried out using both fungal and bacterial cultures, bacterial a -amylase is generally preferred for starch liquefaction due to its h igh temperature stability. In order to achieve high productivity with less production cost, apparently, genetically modified strains would hold the key to enzyme production. Substrates used for the production of enzymes in SSF systems Agro-industrial residues are generally considered the best substrates for the SSF processes, and use of SSF for the production of enzymes is no exception to that. A number of such substrates have been employed for the cultivation of microorganisms to produce host of enzymes .Some of the substrates that have been used included sugar cane bagasse, wheat bran, rice bran, maize bran, gram bran, wheat straw, rice straw, rice husk, soyhull, sago hampas, grapevine trimmings dust, saw dust, corncobs, coconut coir pith, banana waste, tea waste, cassava waste, palm oil mill waste, aspen pulp, sugar beet pulp, sweet sorghum pulp, apple pomace, peanut meal, rapeseed cake, coconut oil cake, mustard oil cake, cassava flour, wheat flour, corn flour, steamed rice, steam pre-treated willow, starch, etc.Wheat bran however holds the key, and has most commonly been used, in various processes. The selection of a substrate for enzyme production in a SSF process depends upon several factors, mainly related with cost and availability of the substrate, and thus may involve screening of several agro-industrial residues. In a SSF process, the solid substrate not only supplies the nutrients to the microbial culture growing in it but also serves as an anchorage for the cells. The substrate that provides all the needed nutrients to the microorganisms growing in it should be considered as the ideal substrate. However, some of the nutrients may be available in sub-optimal concentrations, or even absent in the substrates. In such cases, it would become necessary to supplement them externally with these. It has also been a practice to pre-treat (chemically or mechanically) some of the substrates before using in SSF processes (e.g. ligno-cellulose), thereby making them more easily accessible for microbial growth. Design of bioreactor in Solid State Fermentations Over the last decade, there has been a significant improvement in understanding of how to design, operate and scale up SSF bioreactors. The key to these advances has been the application of mathematical modelling techniques to describe various physicochemical and biochemical phenomena within the system . The basic principle of SSF is the à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"solid substrate bedà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ . This bed contains the moist solids and an inter particle voids phase. SSF has been conventionally more applicable for filamentous fungi, which grow on the surface of the particle and penetrate through the inter particle spaces into the depth of the bed. The process in most of the cases is aerobic in nature. The suitable bioreactor design to overcome the heat and mass transfer effects, and easy diffusion and extraction of metabolites has become the topic of hot pursuit. While tray and drum type fermenters have been studied and used since long, much focus has been paid in last f ew years on developing packed bed fermenters as they could provide better process economics and a great deal of handling ease . A tray bioreactor could have unmixed beds without forced aeration of (manually) mixed bed without forced aeration. However, there has been no significant advances in tray design. Packed beds could be unmixed beds with forced aeration and rotating drums could have intermittent agitation without forced aeration, operating on continuous or semi-continuous mode. The bed could be agitated intermittently or continuously with forced aeration. Factors affecting enzyme production in SSF The major factors that affect microbial synthesis of enzymes in a SSF system include: selection of a suitable substrate and microorganism; pre-treatment of the substrate; particle size (inter-particle space and surface area) of the substrate; water content and aw of the substrate; relative humidity; type and size of the inoculum; control of temperature of fermenting matter/removal of metabolic heat; period of cultivation; maintenance of uniformity in the environment of SSF system, and the gaseous atmos-phere, i.e. oxygen consumption rate and carbon dioxide evolution rate. Submerged Fermentation Submerged fermentation is the cultivation of microorganisms in liquid nutrient broth. Industrial enzymes can be produced using this process. This involves growing carefully selected micro organisms (bacteria and fungi) in closed vessels containing a rich broth of nutrients (the fermentation medium) and a high concentration of oxygen. As the microorganisms break down the nutrients, they release the desired enzymes into solution. Due to the development of large-scale fermentation technologies, the production of microbial enzymes accounts for a significant proportion of the biotechnology industry total output. Fermentation takes place in large vessels (fermenter) with volumes of up to 1,000 cubic metres. The fermentation media sterilises nutrients based on renewable raw materials like maize, sugars and soya. Most industrial enzymes are secreted by microorganisms into the fermentation medium in order to break down the carbon and nitrogen sources. Batch-fed and continuous fermentation processes are common. In the batch-fed process, sterilised nutrients are added to the fermenter during the growth of the biomass. In the continuous process, sterilised liquid nutrients are fed into the fermenter at the same flow rate as the fermentation broth leaving the system. This will achieve a steady-state production. Parameters like temperature, pH, oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide formation are measured and controlled to optimize the fermentation process. Firstly, in harvesting enzymes from the fermentation medium one must remove insoluble products, e.g. microbial cells. This is normally done by centrifugation. As most industrial enzymes are extracellular (secreted by cells into the external environment), they remain in the fermented broth after the biomass has been removed. The biomass can be recycled as a fertiliser, but first it must be treated with lime to inactivate the microorganisms and stabilise it during storage. The enzymes in the remaining broth are then concentrated by evaporation, membrane filtration or crystallization depending on their intended application. If pure enzyme preparations are required, they are usually isolated by gel or ion exchange chromatography. Certain applications require solid enzyme products, so the crude powder enzymes are made into granules to make them more convenient to use. Sometimes liquid formulations are preferred because they are easier to handle and dose along with other liquid ingredients. Enzymes used in starch conversion to convert glucose into fructose are immobilised, typically on the surfaces of inert granules held in reaction columns or towers. This is carried out to prolong their working life as these enzymes normally go on working for over a year. Advantages of Submerged Technique Measure of process parameters is easier than with solid-state fermentation. Bacterial and yeast cells are evenly distributed throughout the medium. There is a high water content which is ideal for bacteria. Disadvantages: High costs due to the expensive media Large reactors are needed and the behaviour of the organism cannot be predicted There is also a risk of contamination. A TYPICAL LARGE SCALE MICROBIAL ENZYME PRODUCTION PROCESS Recovery of the enzyme It generally depends upon precipitation from an aqueous solution, although some enzymes may be marketed as stabilized solutions. In the bran process, the enzyme is extracted from the koj i (the name given to the mass of material permeated with the mold mycelium) into an aqueous solution by percolation. In the liquid processes, the microbial cells are filtered from the beer. The enzyme may be precipitated by addition of solvents, such as acetone or aliphatic alcohols, to the aqueous enzyme solution, either directly or after concentration by vacuum evaporation at low temperature. The precipitated enzyme may be filtered and dried at low temperature, for example in a vacuum shelf dryer. The dry enzyme powders may be sold as undiluted concentrates on a potency basis or, for most applications, may be diluted to an established standard potency with an acceptable diluent. Some common diluents are salt, sugar, starch, and wheat flour. Most commercial enzymes are quite stable in the dry form, but some require the presence of stabilizers and activators for maximum stability and efficiency in use. In theory, the fermentative production of microbial enzymes is a simple matter, requiring an appropriate organism grown on a medium of optimum composition under optimum conditions. The stocks in trade of microbial enzyme manufacturers are thus the selected cultures, the composition of media, and the cultural conditions, all of which are usually held confidential. In practice, enzyme manufacturers suffer the samedifficulties in fermentation, frequently in even greater degree, as antibiotics producers. Total loss of fermentation batches may result from contamination, culture variation, failure of cultural control, and other like causes. Furthermore, knowledge and careful application of the best methods for recovery and stabilization APPLICATIONS OF MICROBIAL ENZYMES IN INDUSTRIES Detergents were the first large scale application for microbial enzymes. Bacterial proteinases are still the most important detergent enzymes. Some products have been genetically engineered to be more stable in the hostile environment of washing machines with several different chemicals present. These hostile agents include anionic detergents, oxidising agents and high pH. Amylases are used in detergents to remove starch based stains. Amylases hydrolyse gelatinised starch, which tends to stick on textile fibres and bind other stain components. Cellulases have been part of detergents since early 90s. Cellulase is actually an enzyme complex capable of degrading crystalline cellulose to glucose. In textile washing cellulases remove cellulose microfibrils, which are formed during washing and the use of cotton based cloths. This can be seen as colour brightening and softening of the material. Alkaline cellulases are produced by Bacillus strains and neutral and acidic cellulases by Trichoderma and Humicola fungi. Starch hydrolysis and fructose production The use of starch degrading enzymes was the first large-scale application of microbial enzymes in food industry. Mainly two enzymes carry out conversion of starch to glucose: alpha-amylase cuts rapidly the large alpha-1,4-linked glucose polymers into shorter oligomers in high temperature. This phase is called liquefaction and is carried out by bacterial enzymes. In the next phase called saccharification, glucoamylase hydrolyses the oligomers into glucose. This is done by fungal enzymes, which operate in lower pH and temperature than alpha-amylase. Sometimes additional debranching enzymes like pullulanase are added to improve the glucose yield. Beta-amylase is commercially produced from barley grains and used for the production of the disaccharide maltose. An alternative method to produce fructose is shown in Figure 4. This method is used in Europe and uses sucrose as a starting material. Sucrose is split by invertase into glucose and fructose, fructose separated and crystallized and then the glucose circulated back to the process. Drinks And Brewing Industries Enzymes have many applications in drink industry. The use of chymosin in cheese making to coagulate milk protein was already discussed. Another enzyme used in milk industry is beta-galactosidase or lactase, which splits milk-sugar lactose into glucose and galactose. This process is used for milk products that are consumed by lactose intolerant consumers. Enzymes are used also in fruit juice manufacturing. Fruit cell wall needs to be broken down to improve juice liberation. Pectins are polymeric substances in fruit lamella and cell walls. They are closely related to polysaccharides. The cell wall contains also hemicelluloses and cellulose. Addition of pectinase, xylanase and cellulase improve the liberation of the juice from the pulp. Pectinases and amylases are used in juice clarification. Brewing is an enzymatic process. Malting is a process, which increases the enzyme levels in the grain. In the mashing process the enzymes are liberated and they hydrolyse the starch into soluble fermentable sugars like maltose, which is a glucose disaccharide. Additional enzymes can be used to help the starch hydrolysis (typically alpha-amylases), solve filtration problems caused by beta-glucans present in malt (beta-glucanases), hydrolyse proteins (neutral proteinase), and control haze during maturation, filtration and storage (papain, alpha-amylase and beta-glucanase). Textiles Industries:- The use of enzymes in textile industry is one of the most rapidly growing fields in industrial enzymology. Starch has for a long time been used as a protective glue of fibres in weaving of fabrics. This is called sizing. Enzymes are used to remove the starch in a process called desizing. Amylases are used in this process since they do not harm the textile fibres .The same effect can be obtained with cellulase enzymes. The effect is a result of alternating cycles of desizing and bleaching enzymes and chemicals in washing machines. Laccases are produced by white-rot fungi, which use them to degrade lignin the aromatic polymer found in all plant materials. Laccase is a copper-containing enzyme, which is oxidised by oxygen, and which in an oxidised state can oxidatively degrade many different types of molecules like dye pigments. Pulp And Paper Industry Intensive studies have been carried out during the last twenty years to apply many different enzymes in pulp and paper industry. The major application is the use of xylanases in pulp bleaching. Xylanases liberate lignin fragments by hydrolysing residual xylan. This reduces considerably the need for chlorine based bleaching chemicals. Other minor enzyme applications in pulp production include the use of enzymes to remove fine particles from pulp. This facilitates water removal. In the use of secondary (recycled) cellulose fibre the removal of ink is important. The fibre is diluted to 1% concentration with water, flocculating surfactants and ink solvents added and the mixture is aerated. The ink particles float to the surface. There are reports that this process is facilitated by addition of cellulase enzymes. In paper making enzymes are used especially in modification of starch, which is used as an important additive. Starch improves the strength, stiffness and erasability of paper. The starch suspension must have a certain viscosity, which is achieved by adding amylase enzymes in a controlled process. Pitch is a sticky substance present mainly in softwoods. It is composed of lipids. It is a special problem when mechanical pulps of red pine are used as a raw material. Pitch causes problems in paper machines and can be removed by lipases. This facilitates water removal. In the use of secondary (recycled) cellulose fibre the removal of ink is important in the process Baking Industry :- Similar fibre materials are used in baking than in animal feed. It is therefore conceivable that enzymes also affect the baking process. Alpha-amylases have been most widely studied in connection with improved bread quality and increased shelf life. Both fungal and bacterial amylases are used. Overdosage may lead to sticky dough so the added amount needs to be carefully controlled. One of the motivations to study the effect of enzymes on dough and bread qualities comes from the pressure to reduce other additives. In addition to starch, flour typically contains minor amounts of cellulose, glucans and hemicelluloses like arabinoxylan and arabinogalactan. There is evidence that the use of xylanases decreases the water absorption and thus reduces the amount of added water needed in baking. This leads to more stable dough. Especially xylanases are used in whole meal rye baking and dry crisps common in Scandinavia. Proteinases can be added to improve dough-handling properties; glucose oxidase has been used to replace chemical oxidants and lipases to strengthen gluten, which leads to more stable dough and better bread quality. Various Important Microbial Enzymes Carbohydrases Carbohydrases are enzymes which hydrolyze polysaccharides or oligosaccharides. Several carbohydrases have industrial importance, but the amylases have the greatest commercial application. The various starch-splitting enzymes are known as amylases, the actions of which may be expressed in greatly simplifiedform as follows: The terms liquefying and saccharifying amylases are general classifications denoting the principal types of amylase action. f-Amylase, which is not of microbial origin, is a true saccharifying enzyme, forming maltose directly from starch by cleaving disaccharide units from the open ends of chains. The a-amylases from different sources usually have good liquefying ability, but may vary widely in saccharifying ability and thermal stability. Bacterial amylase preparations generally remain operative at considerably higher temperature than do fungal amylases, and at elevated temperatures give rapid liquefaction of starch. A significant application of the bacterial enzyme is in the continuous process for desizing of textile fabrics Another is in preparing modified starch sizing for textiles and starch coatings for paper High temperature stability is also important in the brewing industry where microbial amylases have found use in supplementing low diastatic malt, and especially for initial liquefaction of adjuncts such as rice and corn grits Additional specific uses for bacterial amylase is in preparing cold water dispersible laundry starches and in removing wall paper. Fungal amylases possess relatively low thermal stability but act rapidly at lower temperatures and produce good saccharification. An enormous potential use for fungal amylase is as a saccharifying agent for grain alcohol fermentation mashes. At least two alcohol plants in this country regularly use fungal amylase for this purpose An extremely important use for fungal amylases isin conversion of partially acid hydrolyzed starch tosweet syrups Amylases find extensive use in baking. Use of fungal amylase by the baker to supplement the diastatic activity of flour is common practice. The fungal amylase has the advantage of low inactivation temperature. This permits use of high levels of the amylase to improve sugar production, which increases gas formation and improves crust color, without danger of excessive dextrinization of the starch during baking Other applications of microbial amylases where both fungal and bacterial enzymes are utilized are in processing cereal products for food dextrin and sugar mixtures and for breakfast foods, for preparation of chocolate and licorice syrups to keep them from congealing, and for recovering sugars from scrap candy of high starch content. Fungal amylases are also used for starch removal for flavoring extracts and for fruit extracts and juices, and in preparing clear, starch-free pectin. Microbial amylases are used for modifying starch in vegetable purees, and in treating vegetables for canning PROTEASES Industrially available proteolytic enzymes produced by microorganisms are usually mixtures of endopeptidases (proteinases) and exopeptidases. In addition to microbial proteases, the plant proteases bromelin, papain, and ficin, and the animal proteases, pepsin and trypsin, have extensive industrial application. Because of the complex structures and high molecular weights of proteins made up of some 20 different amino acids, enzymic proteolysis is extremely complicated. Most proteases are quite specific with regard to which peptide linkages they can split Hence, it is necessary to select the appropriate protease complex or combination of enzymes for specific applications. Usually this can only be determined by trial and error methods. By means of such experimentation, however, many and diverse uses have been found for the various proteases. With proper selection of enzymes, with appropriate conditions of time, temperature, and pH, either limited proteolysis or complete hydrolysis of most proteins to amino acids can be brought about. Microbial proteolytic enzymes from different fungi and bacteria are available. Most fungal proteases will tolerate and act effectively over a wide pH range (about 4 to 8), while with a few exceptions, bacterialproteases generally work best over a narrow range of about pH 7 to 8. Fungal protease has been used for centuries in the orient for the production of soy sauce, tamari sauce, and miso, a breakfast food After maximum enzyme production has taken place, the koji is covered with brine and enzymatic digestion allowed to take place. Limited use is made of this process for making soy sauce in this country also. In these uses, no attempt is made to separate the enzymes from the producing organisms. For most industrial applications, the microbial proteases are extracted from the growth medium as described in an earlier section of this paper. One of the largest uses for fungal protease is in baking bread The proper amount of protease action reduces mixing time and increases extensibility of doughs, and improves grain, texture, and loaf volume. However, excess of protease must be avoided, and the time for enzyme action and quantity of enzyme used must be carefully controlled by the baker or sticky, unmanageable doughs will result. Cereal foods are also treated with proteolytic enzymes to modify their proteins, resulting in better processing

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Democrats and Republicans

Aida Krafess Rosie Branciforte ENC 1101 April 8, 2013 Democrats and Republicans The United States of America is known to have two major political parties. The Republican party and the democratic one. Both parties are based on views and principles being completely opposites of each other. The Republican party is known to be a conservative party, while the democratic party is known to be liberal. Two concepts that are opposites to each other.The democratic party will most certainly convince the majority of the people that it is the ideal party to remain in office because it promotes economic equality, it advocates civil rights and individual freedom, and because it is a liberal party. The two major U. S political parties have different policies and views. These two parties being Democrats and Republicans. Economically, republicans promote more equality because their taxes are the same for everyone. This means that taxes should not be higher for people with a higher income or lower for people with a lower income.They also believe that by minimizing government spending they would be able to balance their budget. Republicans also support the constitution to the highest degree. They are convinced that its laws are flawless, and want the constitution to become the base of U. S law, and do not believe in the majority rule. A rule that states that the vote of of the majority of the people should either make or banish a law. Republicans are also known to be conservatives. The word conservative is defined as the holding to traditional attitudes and values and being cautious about change or innovations.Republicans would very much like to live their lives the way the founding fathers of America had without having to go through change or innovation. (Gould 565-483) At a first glance at the economic views of the republicans, it is common to find it more equal. However, why should a person that makes minimum wage pay same taxes as the C. E. O of an international corporation. T he democratic party has different points of views on tax reform policies. The party believes in equality therefore it constructed its 2012 tax reform policy to cut taxes for every working family, and not for millionaires. Black, 565-483) This means that every working family still pays taxes, however their taxes would be cut, meaning they would be paying less taxes than before. As for the â€Å" millionaires† and higher class of society they will still pay the same taxes as they did before. This policy is more likely to be considered as equal because it is not rated fair when people from different social classes with a big difference in their incomes pay the same taxes. Especially because the taxes will eventually be lowered for the lower classes because they would be unable to afford paying the regular and high taxes.This will also lead in the cut of taxes for the high social class, which then makes the whole concept unequal. Not just for the people but also for the national economy (Witcover, 791-545). A democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. The democratic party is also known for being the party of the people. It is the the oldest political party and has origins that fall back all the way to Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson.Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers, one of the main authors of the Declaration of independence, and the third president of the United States. As for Andrew Jackson he was the seventh president of the United States and influenced his followers to create a modern democratic party. In a democracy it is essential for everyone to vote. It is considered as defending a point of view and opinions (Bass, 437-83). The democratic party is mostly concentrated on making all the people have equal rights, both women and men. Allowing each of them to have individual freedom.A freedom that a person has full control over until it is misused and breaks the law. The democratic party is for women having complete right to make their own decisions. For example, if a women decides to get an abortion, it would be possible for her to do so. (Black, 565-483) It remains a choice the woman has to make. A choice that is not restricted by law. In a democratic party, people are allowed to vote to promote what they would like. For example if it is illegal in a state for a homosexual couple to get married, and the majority of the state votes for this law to be banished.It is most likely that gay marriage will become legal in that state. These concepts all advocate individual freedom, and equality (Bass 437-84). The democratic party is a party that favors liberal positions. The word liberal is defined as being open to new behavior or opinions and will to discard traditional value (Bass 437-84). Modern American liberalism unifies social liberalism, social justice, and a mixed economy. Theses three theories have allowed abort ion rights for women, gar rights, and government strategies for education and healthcare.Liberals also favor diplomacy over military action. Which could only make the people of any country feel safer. Diplomacy would help resolve many word conflicts, and could even prevent war, or incidents that might result in tragic outcomes. Liberals also favor the separation of church and state. This measures the restraint between a religion and the way laws of a nation are built. All of these facts influence the chain of thoughts democrats have. However, their chain of thoughts could not be influenced by a bias opinion based on religion or tradition.It could only be influenced by current events, and new ways to deal with different and repeated situations, and by the majority of votes (Witcover, 791-545). To conclude, in this actual context, the socio-democrat political model of the democratic party seems to be the one that fits best the expectations of the vulnerable population. This political party also compromises between the conservative values of the american society and its constant changes. Therefore,   the arguments mentioned above explain the mandate renewal that americans expressed in the last elections.Works cited Bass, Harold Franklin. Historical Dictionary of United States Political Parties. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2000. 437-84. Print. Black, Earl, and Merle Black. Divided America: The Ferocious Power Struggle in American Politics. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007. Print. Gould, Lewis L. Grand Old Party: A History of the Republicans. 1st ed. New York: Random House, Inc. , 2003. 565-483. Print. Witcover, Jules. Party of the People: A History of the Democrats. New York: Random House, 2003. 791-545. Print.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Belgacom Case Study

Belgacom Case Question 1 a) Why did the share price of Belgacom increase following the announcement of the acquisition? b) Why did the ratings of Belgacom drop (S&P) or put on negative watch (Moody’s)? a) As Belgacom secured the purchase of the remaining 25% share of Proximus it did not own yet, the share price of the Belgian company increased by 0. 92 % the same day and 9. 8% over the following month. An announcement can lead to pre-event abnormal returns as markets react to this information to get a premium.Investors will try to assess the increase in expected earnings and dividends. The impact of this assessment will depend on how the merger is done, how the transaction is paid, the sector it concerns, etc. However, according to market efficiency theories, overreaction on stock prices tend to disappear in the long-run and the price reflects the present value of expected returns. (FAMA, 1998) That being said, several reasons may explain this jump.First, we can underline the fact that this operation enables Belgacom to collect all the benefits of Proximus. Before the purchase, 25% of the earnings of Proximus were placed in minority interests, these were payable to Vodafone. After the operation, Belgacom owns 100% of the shares and can enter all the cash of its subsidiary in its accounts. It represents an increase of the future cash flow not only for the firm but also for its current shareholders, which will be comforted to receive more in the future or that their shares represent more cash.This is due to the decision of Belgacom to finance its acquisition by debt which doesn’t give ownership rights to the bond owners. Fig. 1: Evolution of Belgacom Share Price (2005-2008) Second, Belgacom was familiar with Proximus business as Belgacom (75%) founded the company with Airtouch (25%) in 1994, creating by this way the first mobile phone operator in Belgium. b) Unlike the market, rating agencies did not welcome positively this transaction: Moodyâ€℠¢s changed its outlook to negative and Standard&Poors downgraded Belgacom rating to A from A+. Moody’s xplained that it keeps Belgacom’s rating unchanged because according its methodology designed for GRI (Government-Related Issues), there is no change in Belgacom solvability. Moody’s GRI methodology use three inputs: the rating and the outlook of Belgium, the low level of default dependence and the medium level of support from the Belgian government. While there is no change in those inputs, there should be no change in Belgacom rating. That being said, several indicators lead the agency to wonder about the ability of the Belgian company to deal with its creditors.First, Belgacom announced a bunch of outflows for the months to come: just at the same time, Belgacom decided to sell its 5,8% stake in Neuf Cegestel to SFR: the outcome of the operation was EUR 187 million plus a share buyback (maximum 200 million) and a dividend in 2006 for EUR 100 million. Futhermo re, Belgacom decision to use its current financial stability and therefore weaken its debt ratios. As for Standard&Poors, the agency decided to downgrade the rating of the Belgian firm from A+ to A.S&P said this decision lies on the fact that the Belgacom debt will rise of about EUR 2 billion, making notably increase the debt/Ebitda ratio from 0,8 to 1,9. Moreover, its business in a competitive and liberalized market, as well as the decline of fixed lines market make fear for future results of the company. However, the outlook remains stable, that can be explained by the strong position of the company on the Belgian telecom market and its huge ability to generate cash. Question 2 a) Why was the acquisition financed by a bridge loan? ) What were the alternative financing sources? a) Bridge loans are short-term financial instruments usually used to lock-in a settled price( (frequent in Real Estate Market). This practice buys time for the deal maker to sort things out and to better str ucture its financing scheme. This seems to be the main rationale for Belgacom in this case. The management wanted to lock-in the price agreed on with Vodafone and as the deal was subordinated to the Belgian Authorities approval, it was more cautious to make it happen right away.Yet there is another way to see a bridge loan as a temporary expensive loan serving the purpose of being an intermediate financing mean for the company that benefits from it (Fabozzi, 1991). Later on, this bridge loan is reimbursed with more advantageous types of loans. was in fact a syndicated loan underwritten in order to finance an acquisition. As a matter of facts, the loan was made by several lending institutions called the mandated lead arrangers i. In the case of Belgacom, the company took a bridge loan for several reasons that are detailed below.The bridge loan e. BNP Paribas, Citi, Fortis, ING and JP Morgan. For the investment banks that underwrite the syndicated loan, the main interest resides in th e fact that they gain a fee. In this specific case, the bridge loan was arranged as a revolving credit instrument type. This meant Belgacom had to pay a fee plus interest expenses and can draw-repay-redraw as many times as needed. As said before, a first valid reason would be that the cash was needed quickly (maybe) and bridge loans are arranged more quickly.In any case it is in the best interest of the company (Belgacom here) to reimburse the bridge loan as quickly as possible because it is very expensive and the interest rate generally increases with the maturity. Moreover issuing corporate bonds takes time. In fact, there are four main steps to issue a bond in the bond market. First, there is the pre-mandate phase which aims to determine the funding needs or whether it is the right time to tap the bond market. Additionally, the currency has to be determined, the market as well plus the targeted investors.After that, comes the book building process which is one of the most importa nt tasks that consists of taking the orders from the investors. Then, a range for the coupon rate has to be determined and the amounts have to be allocated to the investors. Those steps could typically take weeks. Helping companies with short term funding is thus a major need for the client. Another reason may be that it gives Belgacom time to wait for more favourable economic conditions for issuing the bonds. Depending on investor’s appetite, timing is in fact crucial in such deals.Now, from the investment bank’s perspective, there is possibly a conflict of interest as the investment bank is at the same time creditor (through the bridge loan) and the entity that prices the securities that will be used to reimburse this loan. One could argue the investment bank could lack objectivity (Glazer, 1989). However, this constitutes an additional incentive for the book runners to successfully carry the deal to its end. Additionally, four of the five banks that granted the brid ge loan became the joint book runners. To that extent, there are clearly business interests which are involved.This can be interesting for the investment bank in order to get closer to the client. Moreover, this form of short term financing is more expensive for the company because it bears higher risks. Alternatively, it means that it is more lucrative for the investment bank as well. To sum up, bridge loans seem to be a lucrative source of profits for investment banks. First, they place themselves in a comfortable position to issue bonds for the company later on. Second, they can diversify their revenues and be a good candidate for the bond issuance.As a matter of facts, four of the five banks providing the bridge loan took care of bond issuance. b) Alternatives to bridge loans were traditionally letters of comfort written by the investment bank stating that the bank was ‘highly confident’ that the additional financing needed by the company could be obtained. This imp lies no bridge funding at all. Hence the alternative would be to wait for the bonds to be issued. The risk here however would consist of being too late for acquiring the target. Another alternative would be to use your own capital to fund the acquisition in the short run.This depends, of course, on the ability of Belgacom to generate such a large amount of cash. Yet another option would have been to raise more capital by issuing shares with the agreement of its existing shareholders. However, this option could have been detrimental to existing shareholders: the Belgian state which had a major stake in Belgacom with 50. 1% of the shares. Here is a summary of all the plausible alternatives: * Pay with retained cash: Belgacom could put 2Bnâ‚ ¬ on the table for Vodafone’s stake (assuming that the amount was available at the time).Although, this is known as the worst case scenario for current shareholders. Putting the cash in an acquisition would also have constrained Belgacom to lower (even cancel) its expansion investments. * Go straight to the Market: Belgacom could issue the bonds without taking the bridge loan but since the company had no prior bonds outstanding in the secondary market, the pricing would have been necessary anyway and it takes time and money to process it. The risk in that case is the agreement with Vodafone; other players could profit from the info and buy the stake in order to sell it back to Belgacom at a premium.Question 3 Assuming the 5-year swap rate was 3. 922% and the 10-year swap rate was 3. 977% at the time of pricing the deal (primary market), could you calculate: a) The yield for investors The yield is composed of the risk-free interest rate and the risk premium. The risk-free rate is usually defined as the rate of a government bond or the interbank rates (ex: Euribor) for the same maturity. However, the swap rate is used for maturities beyond 12 months. Here, the explanatory statement assumes that the 5-year and the 10-y ear swap rate were respectively 3,922% and 3,977%.The credit spread or risk premium depends on the maturity and the quality of the issuer. After comparing the coupon offered by companies with the same risk profile from the telecom peer group in the secondary market, the explanatory note explains banks’ position which suggested to issue the 5Y bond and the 10 Y bond with a spread guidance of respectively 30-35 bp and 60-65 bp. Bonds 5 and 10 years| Years to| 2006| | | Maturity| 5 years| 10 years| | | Swap Rate (rf)| 3,92%| 3,98%| | | | Min| Max| Min| Max| | | Risk Premium| 0,30%| 0,35%| 0,60%| 0,65%| | |Face Value| â‚ ¬ -100,00| â‚ ¬ -100,00| â‚ ¬ -100,00| â‚ ¬ -100,00| | | Yield to Maturity| 4,222%| 4,272%| 4,577%| 4,627%| | | Coupon Rate| 4,125%| 4,250%| 4,500%| 4,625%| | | Price â‚ ¬| â‚ ¬ 99,57| â‚ ¬ 99,90| â‚ ¬ 99,39| â‚ ¬ 99,98| | | Price %| 99,57%| 99,90%| 99,39%| 99,98%| | | Fees| 0,15%| 0,15%| 0,25%| 0,25%| | | Proceeds| 99,42%| 99,75%| 99,1 4%| 99,73%| | | Cost %| 4,256%| 4,306%| 4,609%| 4,659%| | | Table 1: Results for the Bond Issuance Thus, the yield for investors should be the sum of the risk-free and the risk premium rate: * Min. 4,222% and max. 4,272% for the 5-year bond * Min. 4,577% and max. 4,627% for the 10-year bond ) The coupon rate The coupon rate is the amount of interest payable on the bond. It is important to keep in mind that the market practices want the yield to vary by steps of 0,125%. Therefore, according to table 1, the yield for the investor varies between 4,125 and 4,250 for a 5-year maturity bond and 4,5% and 4,625% for a 10-year maturity bond. c) The issue price The issue price is the price at which investors buy the bonds in the primary market. The bond issue price is the present value of the bond’s cash flow. To obtain this price, we have to use the coupon rate, the face value and the yield for investor as described in this formula:Issue Price = Coupon 1(1+y)+ Coupon 2(1+y)? +†¦ +Coupon n1+yn+ Face value1+yn At issuance, the subscriber will pay: * Min. 99,57%, Max 99,90% for a maturity of 5-year * Min. 99,39%, Max 99,98% for a maturity of 10-year d) The cost for Belgacom The cost to maturity for the issuer y is defined as: Issue Price – Fees of the bookrunners = Coupon 1(1+y)+ Coupon 2(1+y)? +†¦ +Coupon n1+yn+ Face value1+yn The rate y solving (cost to maturity) this equation is: * Min. 4,256%, Max 4,306% for a maturity of 5-year * Min. 4,609%, Max 4,659% for a maturity of 10-year e) Cash Flows Here are the cash flows for the issuer. For a maturity of 5 years: At inception (time 0), the issuer receives (99,57%-0,15%)=99,42% multiplied by the total face value. Every year for 5 years, the issuer pays the coupons of 4,125% * face value of the bonds At maturity, the issuer has to repay the whole face value plus the last coupon. | | | | | | | | | | | | Cash Flows as % of Face Value| 5y-Bond| 0| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| | | | | | Bottom| 99,42| -4,125| -4,125| -4,125| -4,125| -104,125| | | | | | Up| 99,75| -4,25| -4,25| -4,25| -4,25| -104,25| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10y-Bond| 0| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10|Bottom| 99,14| -4,50| -4,50| -4,50| -4,50| -4,50| -4,50| -4,50| -4,50| -4,50| -104,50| Up| 99,73| -4,63| -4,63| -4,63| -4,63| -4,63| -4,63| -4,63| -4,63| -4,63| -104,63| | | | | | | | | | | | | Question 4 Consider an outstanding corporate bond in the secondary market (issued a few months ago). All else being equal, the market suddenly perceives a more important credit risk associated with the considered issuer. What impact should it have on: a) The credit spread The credit risk is the risk that the issuer may default and not pay back the full amount he owes to bondholders (the total face value of the bonds).The credit spread translates the uncertainty about potential future stock price movements†. (Berk, 2011) If the market suddenly perceives more important credit risk associated with the issuer, the credit spread will widen as the market is perceived has being relatively safer. The payoff associated to extra credit risk is a higher yield. Therefore, the credit spread represents a bonus for investors when supporting extra risks. Fig 2: Yield curves Source: CFA b) The yield There are two components in the yield: the risk free rate and the credit spread. All else being equal, if the credit spread widens, the yield increases. ) The price Investors want to pay less for a risky bond having the same pay-offs as a risk-free bond. By taking more risk, the final amount the investor expects to receive may be less than what he will get as there is a credit default risk. (Berk et al. , 2011) The variable on which the market has a direct influence on in order to adjust for a higher yield is the market price. Due to the negative relation between the yield and the price and if the coupon payments and the principal repayment remain unchanged, the price must decrease in order to translate the surge in the yield.T his is particularly relevant when the issuer is the target of a leveraged buyout, which, in most cases, is leveraged by the issuance of new bonds. The increased debt used in order to make such financial actions often decrease the totality of the bonds of the issuer to a status of  «Ã‚  junk bonds  Ã‚ ». Question 5 How would you assess Belgacom’s position with regard to the qualitative factors enumerated to assess the pricing ? * Issue premia for recent transaction First of all, this is the first bond offering issued by Belgacom.Therefore, it cannot be referred to a previous premium offered in its own recent transactions. Therefore, the reference will be the telecom peer group having the same risk profile. * After market performance of recently launched deals The issue premia have widened for two main reasons. First, a trend towards more acquisition in the Telecom sector since 2005. Second, the Telecom sector suffers from the fact its services are more and more commoditize d which in turn may hurt the profitability of a Telecom company. At the time it was expected the bond could be split in three types.A floating rate note and two fixed rate notes. It was expected the 3-year FRN had a spread of 15bp to 20bp whereas the fixed 5-year note would have a 30bp to 35bp spread. Finally the 10-year note would have had a spread of 60bp to 65bp. With regards to recent transactions, Deutsche Telekom was offered a spread of 20bp for a 3-year floating note. 15-20bp is thus potentially better for Belgacom. As far as the fixed notes are concerned, Belgacom seems to benefit for a slightly better spread for 10-year notes but not for the 5-year ones as the one of Deutsche Telekom was only of 17bp in April 2006. Date| Swap 5-y| Swap 10-y| Coupon| Spread(bp)| Currency| Amount| Deutsche T| April 2006| 3. 83%| | 4%| 17| EUR| 750m| Deutsche T| May 2006| | 4. 13%| 4. 75%| 62| EUR| 500m| Telefonica| Feb 2006| 3. 42%| | 3. 75%| 33| EUR| 2250m| Telefonica| Feb 2006| | 3. 68%| 4. 37%| 69| EUR| 1750m| Vodafone| Jun 2006| | 4. 07%| 4. 75%| 68| EUR| 300m| * Are investors liquid? (hedge funds) However, according to the case, investor’s appetite remained high at that time. In fact, bond issuances remained low because corporates generated increasingly more cash flows and made use of cheaper ways of funding. Market sentiment? (world, Belgium, politics) There has been a lot of deleveraging followed by acquisitions in the past years. Moody’s says the economy of Belgium is only weakly correlated with Belgacom’s credit quality. However, for companies that are partly owned by the state, the credit quality of the Sovereign may play a greater role. At that time however, there was no political complications in Belgium yet. In 2006, the subprime crisis had not begun yet either. Hence one could argue the political setting was relatively clear.Moreover, there were strong liberalization policies pushed by the EC and investors were afraid that the Belgian state would disinvest in Belgacom after the following elections. The Belgian state had already to divest, keeping 50,1% of the share. Therefore, investors wanted an insurance against a change of control in case the Belgian State sold his participations but also to cover the risk against an LBO. As Belgacom could not introduce a step-up language, it could have had an impact on the credit spread by increasing it. * Credit Spread volatility Credit spread rose significantly more for telecom companies in 2005-2006.This was due to the fact the telecom companies ventured more in acquisition activities during that period. 5-year and 10-year credit spread for A-rated telecom companies respectively rose 10bp and 20bp during that period. * Saturation effect in investors portfolio? Are investors sick of telecom bond issuances? In principle, investors were not sick of telecom bond issuances as the one of Belgacom would add diversification to their portfolio. What is more, Belgacom was seen as a safe and relatively liquid company as they were previously weakly leveraged. * Amount raised in the pastAs far as Belgacom is concerned, the company has never issued any bond. Hence this was a premiere for the company. If we look at the issue amount of comparable transactions in the peer group of the same year, telecom issuers have issued in 2006 from three to 5 times with an issue amount from 500 million. For example, Telefonica issued in 2006 a total of 11. 750 million â‚ ¬ * Credit quality of issuer and peers In terms of credit quality, Belgacom is better than most competitors. This is mostly due to the fact that Belgacom was weakly leveraged before the issuance.For instance, EBITDA/Interest expenses of France Telecom, Telecom Italia and KPN was between 2. 4x and 7. 2% while Belgacom’s was 93x. However, Belgacom wasn’t the best according to credit rating agencies. The considered peer group is made of France Telecom, Telecom Italia, KPN and Belgacom. Moreover, Moo dy’s seems to give to Belgacom a better rating that Fitch. Therefore, we may suppose that Belgacom’s cost of issuance may be slightly lower than those of his peer group. Question 6 What is a change of control put provision? How would it have protected investors?Why did some investors think the step-up language would not be useful? Looking at the step-up language, what would be the coupon rate if the rating of Belgacom was downgraded a) to BBB- (S&P)/Ba1 (Moody's)? b) to BB+ (S;P)/Ba1 (Moody's)? A change of control put provision is an option given to the bondholder to get its bond repaid before maturity at par or above, in the event of change of control followed by a rating downgrade (e. g. after an LBO). Companies may be reluctant to issue bonds including this clause, because it can place more constraints on their finances as investors have the power to control repayments.Besides, it protects investors so they can have the opportunity to change their investment decisio n strategy if the issuer would happen to change its ownership. In case of a LBO, for example, the ownership of the company is transferred by using debt relying on the future cash flows of the company. According to (Rosenbaum et al. , 2007), â€Å"a target only represents an attractive LBO opportunity if it can be purchased at a price and utilizing a financing structure that provides sufficient returns with a viable exit strategy. In such a case, a former bondholder would see the credit risk he faces considerably increase, given the amount of additional debt supported by the company. This clause should then enable a bond investor to exit his position without bearing that increased risk because firstly, the change of control was likely, since the Belgian government was seeking to sell its stake in Belgacom and secondly because some argued that the inclusion of a step-up language taking the form of a +50bp in interest payment per downgrade below investment grade would be far from comp ensating the additional risk they would be bearing.In the case of Belgacom, there were some concerns about this possible withdrawal of Belgian state from its majority stake, intensified by the fact that the company could also be the target of a potential LBO operation as explained above. In order to reassure prospective investors and consequently lower interest rates for long term bonds (10 years), it has been considered to include such a clause in the deal. Therefore, Belgacom finally decided to add a step-up language despite the concerns emitted by some investors.The main benefit of the step-up language is that investors will usually get the initial coupon above the market and will also know what is to expect from their bond(s) over a longer-term period. However, bonds including a step-up language present the disadvantage of being callable by the issuer in order to issue it at lower rate to reduce their cost of borrowing which is the reason why some investors were reluctant concer ning the step-up. In the case of Belgacom, a downgrade in the rating would have had the following impact on the coupon rate: ) If the rating of Belgacom would have been downgraded to BBB- (S&P) / Ba1 (Moody's) and if the lowest rating is taken into account which is Ba1 (one grade below investment grade), the interest paid (coupon rate) would have increased by +50bp. b) In this scenario, both rating agencies consider a one notch downgrade below investment grade leading therefore to a +50bp increase in the interest rate paid. Bibliography BERK J. , DeMARZO P. (2011) â€Å"Corporate Finance – Global edition† Second edition, Pearson edition, pp. 001 FABOZZI F. (1991) â€Å"The handbook of Fixed Income Securities†, Mc Graw-Hill edition, Third edition, p. 224 FAMA E. (1998) â€Å"Market efficiency, long-term returns, and behavioral finance† Journal of Financial Economics, 49, pp. 283-306 GLAZER A. (1989) â€Å"Acquisition bridge financing by investment banks à ¢â‚¬â€œ bridge financing, as source of revenue for investment bankers, poses risk and conflict of interest† Business Horizons magazine, Sep-Oc 1989, Website: http://findarticles. om/p/articles/mi_m1038/is_n5_v32/ai_8120675/ (Seen in April 2012) ROSENBAUM J. , PEARL J. (2009)  «Ã‚  Investment Banking  : Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts and Mergers ; Acquisitions  Ã‚ » Wiley finance Vodafone Non Official Website  : www. vodafonews. com/belgique. html (Seen in April 2012) ——————————————– [ 1 ]. www. vodafonews. com/belgique. html [ 2 ]. Exhibit 13