Financial Ratios free essay sample

This report highlights the comprehensive financial analysis of the three well known sports brands across the world. These companies have their fair share in the dominance of selling sports goods like shoes, Tracks, t-shirts etc and this report will offer an insight of the Sports goods industry to the person who reads. The ratio examination of the companies and the industry averages enables the reader to make key comparisons and to determine the debt utilization, asset utilization, profitability as well as the liquidity of the company. Additionally the four year horizontal and trend analysis provides financial insights of the company and helps to know the future aspects of the 3 sports goods companies. Degree of Operating and Financial leverage has also been calculated which helps to know the change in earnings before income and taxes of the company and proportion of debt in the capital structure of the company. The project also includes certain analysis between the 3 companies which throws light on the areas which require improvement in each of the companies and which will further help to improve the efficiency of the companies. We will write a custom essay sample on Financial Ratios or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page On the basis of calculation and analysis, the reader will be able to conclude as to where the improvement is required by the firm in order to raise its profitability. And which of three companies is having an upper hand among each other. NIKE Inc. Nike is one of the leading sports goods company over wide in world. It’s a US based company established in 1964. Nike originally known as â€Å" Blue Ribbon Sports â€Å" was founded by Philip knight- a track athlete from a University of Oregon and his coach Bill Bowerman. Initially Nike was one of the distributor of Japanese shoe maker company Onitsuka Tiger. The company showed a remarkable profit in its market and they quickly launched their first BRS retail store in 1966 located on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. The relation between BRS and Onitsuka was on ending terms and this made BRS to launch their own line of footwear in 1971. Carolyn Davidson designed ‘Swoosh’ which was their first newly brand entered in the market and it was registered with the ‘U. S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 22, 1974. Nike the name came into existence when they sold their design to a soccer shoe named ‘Nike’ which was released in 1971. Design, development and worldwide marketing of the apparels, footwear and other accessories is the principle business activity of Nike. Nike sells their products to their owned retail stores with mix of distributors who have the license. Nike overall has 170 retail stores spread across the world. Virtually all the footwear and apparel products are manufactured outside United States, whereas other equipment are produced both in US and abroad. Even though Nike have had various bad phases regarding the working condition and human rights dilemma in china and India, Inspite of that its considered one of the leading sports brand across the world. It’s a company that began with a humble origin from selling footwear in basement to becoming the behemoth in the athletic industry. Managers for Nike are creating value for shareholders by expanding Nike operations in foreign markets as much as possible. Nikes sales and earnings outpaced Wall Street estimates FY 06. Nikes sales reached $15 billion and its earnings per share were up 18%. Over the past 5 years, Nikes earnings per share on compounded rate were up 20%, gross margins averaged 42% and in the past year, Nike delivered 44% margins in a period of rising costs. The current managers are maximizing shareholders wealth but in the footwear industry, Nikes performance still falls. The footwear industry averaged about 14. 25%, while Nikes growth in stock was 10. 48%. If the increase in value of shares is a benchmark of performance for managers, Nikes performance is unimpressive. The brand itself is considered the biggest strength of Nike. Nike earns more revenues from its international operations than its domestic market. Nike earned about $6. 5 billion FY 2005 from its international operations, compared to $5. 1 billion from its domestic market. International operations appear to be a key driver of Nikes growth. The picture below illustrates Nikes price trend for the last five years. PUMA Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport, formally branded as  Puma, is a major  German national company  that produces high-end  athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other  sportswear. Formed in 1924 as  Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik  by  Adolf and  Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities,  Adidas  and  Puma. PUMA is one of the world’s leading sportslifestyle companies that develop and designs footwear apparel and accessories. The Puma group owns brands Puma, golf and tretorn. The company, which was founded in 1948 distribute its products to more than 120 countries around the globe. The registered office of the company is in Herzogenaurach, Germany and it employs more than 9500 people worldwide. The puma share is listed for official trading on the Frankfurt and Munich stock exchanges. It is trading in the prime standard segment and the mid-cap Index Mdax of the german stock exchange. The main shareholders of the company as in 2010 were the PPR Group holding almost about 71. 58% shares and the rest of the shares are free flowed. The chairman of the company Mr Jochen Zeitz has recently decided to transform Puma AG into European Corporation- Puma SE. Puma’s main market is in the sales of footwear as we look upon the sales of 2010   | Consolidated Sales| in % of Consolidated Sales| Footwear:| â‚ ¬ 1,424. million| 52. 6 %| Apparel:| â‚ ¬ 941. 3 million| 34. 8 %| Accessories:| â‚ ¬ 340. 3 million| 12. 6 %| | | â‚ ¬ 2,706. 4 million| 100 %| The graph below shows the fluctuations in share price for puma for the last 5 years. Puma AGs 2007 revenue totalled â‚ ¬2. 74 billion, which was essentially flat from 2006s revenue of â‚ ¬2. 76 billion. However, this slight (0. 6%) drop can be attributed to foreign currencies weakening against the euro. Other than that small drop in 2007, Pumas sales have increased every year since 1993, when revenues totalled â‚ ¬541. 3 million. As Pumas sales have grown, so have its expenses. Expenses for marketing and retail, which totalled â‚ ¬272 million in 2005, came to about â‚ ¬420 million in both 2006 and 2007. Overall  operating expenses  increased by nearly 50% between 2005 and 2006, causing Pumas net income for 2006 to fall 8% despite a 15% increase in revenue. ADIDAS Adidas AG  is a  German  sports apparel manufacturer and  parent company  of the Adidas Group, which consists of the  Reebok  sportswear company,  golf company (including  Ashworth), and  Rockport. Besides sports footwear, the company also produces other products such as bags, shirts, watches, eyewear and other sports and clothing-related goods. The company is the largest  sportswear  manufacturer in  Europe  and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world, after its  American  rival  Nike. Adidas was founded in 1948 by  Adolf Adi Dassler, following the split of  Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik  between him and his older brother,  Rudolf. Rudolf later established  Puma, which was the early rival of Adidas. Registered in 1949, Adidas is currently based in  Herzogenaurach, Germany, along with Puma. The companys clothing and shoe designs typically feature  three parallel bars, and the same motif is incorporated into Adidass current official  logo. The Three Stripes were bought from the Finnish sport company  Karhu Sports  in the 1951. The company  revenue  for 2009 was listed at  Ã¢â€š ¬10. 38 billion and the 2008 figure at â‚ ¬10. 80 billion. FINANCIAL RATIOS: Financial Ratios is proved to be a powerful tool which could determine what the organisation is going through that is profit or loss in sense it determines the organisations efficiency. This tool is useful for managers, shareholders and creditors who invest depending upon the ratios they would decide whether to invest in this company or not. With the help of financial ratios we could compare with other companies annual report and our past and present reports too. This helps us to determine the companies’ strength and weakness and hence accordingly we could find out the remedy measures for it so that could organisation could yield a better profit in nearby future. Liquidity of an ongoing business is determined by the financial ratios. It suggests whether the profits we earned is sufficient for the assets we built and determine whether these assets are built by creating a debt or through shareholders equity. It also determines whether the shareowners are getting the required returns on the investment they make in the organisation. Financial ratios can be classified as follows: * Profitability Ratios * Asset Utilisation Ratios * Liquidity Ratios * Debt Utilisation Ratios Profitability Ratios: Profitability Ratios determine the organisations profit or loss. It helps us to measure return on assets and stockholder’s equity. Profitability Ratios can further be classified as: * Profit Margin = Net Income / Sales * Return on Assets = Net Income/Sales ? Sales/ Total Assets * Return on Equity = Net Income / Shareholders Equity Profit Margin: | 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| NIKE| 9. 14%| 10. 11%| 9. 65%| 10. 14%| PUMA| 11. 44%| 9. 17%| 5. 11%| 7. 4%| ADIDAS| 5. 38%| 5. 96%| 2. 36%| 4. 73%| The profit margin of Nike Company could be seen as follows. It is observed that the organisation maintains a stable profit margin near about nine to ten percent. The total sales of the organisation went low as compared to 2007, 2008 sales with 2009, 2010 and hence the net income was low. When considering Puma it have hade a fluctuating profit margin and it was not able to maintain a stable profit margin as Adidas or Nike. But in the beginning year 2007 Puma had the highest margin of 11. 44 but in the coming years it was subjected to greater fluctuation Return on Assets: The optimum utilisation of assets such as plant, equipment and other resources of the organisation are portrayed by determining the return on assets. | 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| NIKE| 13. 95%| 14. 73%| 6. 65%| 7. 02%| PUMA| 14. 58%| 12. 19%| 6. 24%| 8. 54%| ADIDAS| 6. 66%| 6. 75%| 2. 76%| 5. 34%| Nike’s trend of generating return on assets goes on increasing from 2007 till 2008 but it showed a decline in the following year that is 2009. In this respective year the net income was too low as compared to other years and hence the return on assets percentage was low. After 2009, Nike grew their income and hence in 2010 they regained their position and hence their return on assets was maintained little higher than 2009 but was low than 2007 and 2008. Puma was highest return on assets in 2007 considering the other two companies but as Nike puma’s value also declined. Adidas was able to maintain a stable return as it maintains a low level between 7% and 6% Return on Equity : Return on equity measures whether the shareholders are receiving or making a sufficient earning for the investment they make. The return on equity measured is given as follows. | 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| NIKE| 21. 23%| 23. 43%| 9. 63%| 10. 21%| PUMA| 23. 51%| 19. 67%| 10. 13%| 14. 58%| ADIDAS| 18. 36%| 19. 01%| 6. 5%| 12. 30%| Nike makes a good return on equity till 2008. In the following years 2009 and 2010 the returns decreased tremendously by 10% since the net income generated in the following years was too low compared to previous years and hence the return on equity was quite low that maintained 9. 3% in 2009 and 10. 21% in 2010. As Nike, Puma and Adidas also had an excellent 2007 and 2008 but in 2009 it decreased drastically. Adidas had to face the worst fall as it had to face a fall from 19. 01% to 6. 5%. Asset Utilisation Ratios: Asset utilisation ratios give a proper conclusion about how efficiently the organisation is maintained. Factors such as firm’s accounts receiv ables, inventory and assets are given a proper consideration while measuring these ratios. It serves as a benchmark for the organisation in which decisions can be made about the company’s operational issues. The following ratios come under asset utilisation: * Receivable Turnover = Sales(credit) / Accounts Receivable * Average Collection Period = Accounts Receivable / Average Daily Credit Sales * Inventory Turnover = Sales / Inventory * Fixed Asset Turnover = Sales / Fixed Assets * Total Asset Turnover = Sales / Total Assets Receivable Turnover: The receivable turnover of the organisation is as follows: | 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| NIKE| 6. 5| 6. 7| 3. 4| 3. 6| PUMA| 6. 09| 6. 36| 6. 18| 6. 05| ADIDAS| 7. 05| 6. 64| 7. 264| 7. 19| It is observed that the receivable turnover of Nike Company is maintained till 2008 while it went on declining till 2010. It maintained a ratio of 6. 5 and 6. 7 in 2007 and 2008 while it drooped down to 3. 4 and 3. 6 in 2009 and 2010. Adidas received a slightly high and stable turnover considering the other two companies, the lowest receivable turnover faced by Adidas was in the year 2008 but still it maintained a higher turnover than Nike or Puma for that year. Average Collection Period: | 2007| 2008| 2009| 2010| NIKE| 55 days| 54 days| 106 days| 100 days| PUMA| 59 days| 57 days| 58. 4 days| 59 days| ADIDAS| 51 days| 54 days| 50 days| 50 days| The average collection period suggests the average number of days in which accounts receivable are collected. From the table we come to know about the facts that the company’s average collection period was of 55 and 54 days in 2007 and 2008 while in 2009 and 2010 the accounts were received at an average of 106 and 100 days. Nike took more days taking into account all the five year than Puma or Adidas to collect their accounts receivables. Adidas has maintained a steady rather a strict policy to get the receivables before 55 days. This reveals that stockholders should invest on Nike shares, which in turn will produce higher return to the stock holders in due course of time.

Hester Prynne Is a Feminist Essays

Hester Prynne Is a Feminist Essays Hester Prynne Is a Feminist Paper Hester Prynne Is a Feminist Paper The Scarlet Letter can easily be audited as early feministic piece of literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne created a story that exemplifies Hester as a strong female character living with her choices, whether they were ethical or unethical (Hawthorne, 52). Hester Prynne is a feminist who refuses to accept the subordinate role of women because she has financial, emotional, and intellectual independence. Hester Prynne is comparable to a modern feminist because of her admirable actions and brave choices (suffragist). Hester reveals she is a resilient woman when she is prosecuted by the male authority and laws set down by the male population of her society. I feel her refusal to show shame or guilt at a victimless crime of passion, is an assertion of her independence in this society where womens main purpose was of procreation (Burnett). Her independence from the supporting power of a man and her own personal drive shows the power of human emotion that surpasses any historical idea of womanhood (suffragist). Hester shows that she’s a passionate woman and does not let the male authority impact her and her daughter Pearl life. Hester is comparable to a modern feminist because she feels passion for what she believes in, she does not abide to how women should act during her time, and she acts by the laws she has set up for herself. Hester Prynne shows that she is financially independent when she supports her daughter and herself by her skills (Reiss). She is coerced into being financially independent when Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillilngsworth would not help support Hester and her child Pearl financially (Hawthorne, 47). She then discovers one of her talents and that supports her family by becoming seamstress (Hawthorne). I feel this shows that she does not need a man to support her and depend on; she is a strong woman figure that could do all this on her own. Hester also shows that she is independent another way, emotionally. Hester Prynee is emotionally independent, because she is not dependent on a man figure for emotional support for her problems. She shows independence in handling her own problems and emotions that stem out of these factors (Burnett). Being emotionally independent is a good quality to possess as it shows a strong-willed and independent woman who can handle herself in tough situations and Hester does show this as a quality (suffragist). For example, she has to cope going through society as a sinner and wearing the letter alone, she can not relate to anyone and does not have anyone to â€Å"lean on† for support . As shown in this qoute â€Å"But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was altogether foreign to the clergyman. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness. . . . The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers,- stern and wild ones,- and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss (Hawthorne, 183). She is going through all of this alone. Another example is when she is standing on the scaffold. She has to stay strong for her daughter, while the public ridicules her for her actions (Hawthorne). But she also shows characteristics for being intellectually independent. As shown in this quote â€Å"She stood apart from moral interests, yet close beside them, like a ghost that revisits the familiar fireside and can no longer make itself seen or felt, no more smile with the household joy, nor mourn with the kindred sorrow; or, should it succeed in manifesting its forbidden sympathy, awakening only terror and horrible repugnance. (Hawthorne, 88) Intellectual independence is the most important form of independence. Intellectual dependence happens when Hester starts thinking for herself (suffragist). Hester does filtering ideas of her own, and she definitely does not accept other peoples’ advice blindly. Intellectual independence means she is willing to experiment, explore and leave no stone unturned in the search for understanding (Clavaron). I feel Hester does avoid ideas that do not fit neatly into her world view. She will think through ideas herself instead of blindly accepting predigested facts from other people. For example, she never listened to Roger Chillingsworths’ suggestions, such telling the identity of her lover so that she could be judged and seen differently, then her lover would then be exposed and ridiculed. As shown in his quote â€Å"Wherefore dost thou desire it? † inquired Hester, shrinking, she hardley knew why, from this secret bond. â€Å"Why not announce thyself openly, and cast me off at once†. â€Å"I will keep thy secret, as I have his. †(Hawthorne, 68-69) Like all forms of independence, intellectual independence is personal. As Hawthorne says in this quote â€Å"She had wandered, without rule or guidance, into a moral wildern ess. Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places, where she roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods. The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers stern and wild ones and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss† (Hawthorne, 186). This shows that Hester Prynne is independent through financial, emotional, and even through intellectual independence. By being this independent she is seen as a modern day feminist when she deliberately chooses to rebel against the Puritan society in her relationship with Dimmesdale and her protection of him (Hawthorne, 68). She is a feminist who refuses to accept the subordinate role of women and has financial, emotional, and finally intellectual independence Work Cited Burnett, Paula. Hester. New Statesman Society 2 Sept. 1994: 36. Academic OneFile. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. Clavaron, Yves. Etudes francophones, postcolonial studies: Entre mesentente cordiale et strategies partagees. Neohelicon: Acta comparationis litterarum universarum 35. 2. 2008: 39+. Academic OneFile. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. United States: Modern Library, 2000. Print Hester. Publishers Weekly 256. 47. 2009: 38. Academic OneFile. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. Reiss, John. Hawthorns The Scarlet Letter. . The Explicator 53. 4. 1995: 200+. Academic OneFile. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. suffrage. (Definition). The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2002. Academic OneFile. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. suffragist. (Definition). The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2002. Academic OneFile. Web. 20 Oct. 2010.

Inclusion in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Inclusion in Education - Essay Example According to the report findings  dimension to inclusion which goes beyond these narrowly school based considerations’ and thus ‘it is the wider notion of inclusion in society’. It is a wider notion mainly because special needs in Inclusive education should also be taken care of. Different groups of disabled people have different experiences. A child who is deaf and blind might be better off in a special school situation, rather than the mainstream school. This is because due to this disability, the child would be either uneducated or unable to keep pace with mainstream curriculum. The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action has discussed some pioneering and fundamental principles of inclusion that has not been discussed previously.  This discussion declares that  in terms of needs children have a wide diversity of characteristics, difference is normal, ALL children are to accommodated by schools, children with disabilities should attend neighbourhood s chools, it is essential for disabled to be a part of community, proper resources and support should be provided, efficiency and cost effectiveness is a result of inclusion, and inclusion can benefit all children. Salamanca argues that these are some core inclusion concepts.  Inclusive education serves as an exemplar for an inclusive society. In addition, it also benefits students and school personnel. Research shows that in inclusion settings the academic performance of students was found equal or better for the general education students and even for high achievers at times. It promotes the sense of cooperation and the feeling of togetherness in the learner. Furthermore, research show that there has been an improvement in the social skills of low achieving regular students and students with disabilities. It was also observed that inclusion lead to an increase in self-esteem of students related to their abilities and accomplishments. Self-esteem was increased because children with disabilities were taking classes in a regular classroom setting. Studies using quasi-experimental designs showed that the regular students were

Reserch Disaster Bonds (also known as CAT bonds or catastrophe bonds) Research Paper

Reserch Disaster Bonds (also known as CAT bonds or catastrophe bonds) - Research Paper Example lves risk taking; investors acquire disaster bonds for a principal and then enjoy the high rate interest accumulation as long as the disaster does not occur. According to leading experts in risk management, â€Å"Catastrophe bonds are fixed income securities, typically issues by insurance companies, which pay an attractive yield to investors, but with a provision that should a specific predetermined event†¦..occur, bondholders suffer the loss of their income and potentially all their capital† (197). Events may be due to natural damage or human induced disasters where the bond may cover either the whole or part of the damage preventing the buyer from reaching to unbalanced sheet. The risk is conveyed to the investors rather than the insurers. The structure of CAT bonds is expressed in CAT bonds demystified (See fig. 1). These bonds are now used widely as they may forego interest and principle either in part or whole as stated in the condition. They require investors’ specialized knowledge and skills in judgment of where to invest. However, the jurisdiction of application affects the disaster bonds effect on parties involved. In the above structure, SPV or SPE are the established entities that insurance companies forward the reinsurance agreement to, which then relay’s the default provisions, as reflected in the agreement as a note; if the terms are approved, transactions are managed to generate money market returns where the SPV or SPE transfer back the principal and accumulated interests in cases of minimal risk involved (â€Å"CAT Bonds Demystified,† Rsm). The disaster bonds act like financial instruments; they were first issued in mid 1990s and most specific in 1997 in American history. American continent has had numerous attacks, U.S blizzard and tornadoes in 1993, Northridge earthquake in 1994 and especially the numerous hurricanes in Mexico, U.S, Caribbean, and Bahamas among others. Japan has also had its difficulty during the 1995 Hanshin earthquake

Dialogues in Virtual Environment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Dialogues in Virtual Environment - Term Paper Example Numerous researches have been conducted on the application of virtual environments. Animesh et al.’s MIS QUARTELY described it as below. Virtual environments refer to interactive, head-referenced computer displays that are enhanced by special processing and nonvisual display modalities such as auditory and haptic, they convince users that they are in a computer simulated space. Organizations working on virtual environments have a virtual team and office. The popularity of working in a virtual office is becoming common. Many businesses, organizations, and institutions are not run from a central office with set hours. The workforce in the current world is more flexible,. mobile, preferable and more convenient trend with the help of the modern portable technology and wifi. One can work in a coffee shop, in another state, in airports, beaches,...just to mention but a few; all what they need is a laptop and access to internet to connect to workplace, clients and team members. As we ’ve already stated, organizations may work with a virtual team on global levels. These teams operate autonomously with directions from a manager. The major advantage of these teams is that they try to maximize geographic talents to focus on key elements of the organization. The economists believe that the virtual office will change the way our economy works as well as the nature of work. Working from home or places where we are more comfortable exerts less stress on individuals, which can adversely affect the quality of work being produced. Dialogue is a most important proponent of virtual office. It is more efficient to avoid unnecessary meetings, dealing with office chatter, gossip and commutes. Dialogue supports a wide range of applications of virtual environments in businesses, education, healthcare, government and entertainment. The usefulness is in customer service, selling, help desk, technical support, and personalized service, training, education, website navigation and simple dialogue systems. The virtual office involves space utilization, however, a the actual application requires live communications or dialogue. This is possible through various methods. First, workers can use high-tech computer telephone integration software, a voicemail, mailing, business meeting space, and many other applications for communication. Systems Theory A set of interacting, interrelated, and interdependent components that form a complex and a unified whole is known as a system. Systems are everywhere- example is functional departments in any organization, the human circulatory system, and so on. They have several defining characteristics: First, every system has a role to play within a larger system. Second, all parts of a system must be present for a system to carry out its purposes optimally. Third, system’s parts must be arranged in a particular manner, if they are rearranged, the whole system would have trouble executing its purpose. Fourth, Systems c hange in response to a feedback, and finally, they maintain their balance by making changes based on the feedback (Pokharel, 2011). Systems theory, therefore, is a trans disciplinary study of systems in general, irrespective of their kind, type, or nature of existence. It focuses on the relations and arrangement of parts which connect them into a whole rather than reducing an entity into parts like organs or cells. Systems theory as a trans disciplinary study addresses a problem regardless of discipline in diverse fields like engineering, biology, sociology, psychology, and organizational theory. There are two versions of systems theory: closed systems and open systems. Closed systems originated in classical physics which deals with relatively few variables. Its modern version is exemplified by

Innovation in Military Systems

Innovation in Military Systems Introduction Technology transfer across social sectors, industries, and national boundaries is a common phenomenon in contemporary times. These transfers are mostly driven by economic paradigms – the need to embrace radical innovations so as not to be left behind in the race to be at the forefront of technological and/or commercial envelope. It is thus obvious that the technological generators – one who invested in Research and Development (RD) and came up with ‘crown jewel’ innovations, hold the sway in today’s markets. If one were to consider the investment in RD as a benchmark of ‘invention (and probably innovativeness) potential’ then the defence sector would lead in most countries. As an example, in 2007, the US defence budget was $440 billion. Out of this, the technology development component was $73 billion. As compared to this, the largest non-military research funding went to National Institute of health, which got $28 billion in the same ye ar.[2] The costs and risks in the research for military system is not really an important feature as often in private sector or any other state investment.[3] RD for defence products is mostly sponsored by the state. This is a far cry from the conditions governing civil (private sector) RD efforts where the costs must be subsumed by the producer in the end-cost of a product, paid for  by consumers in a cost competitive market. Therefore, it makes eminent commercial sense whenever defence products (inventions) can find their way into civil markets and become truly innovative. In the context of the aforesaid, it becomes pertinent to study success stories – examples where defence inventions reached civil applications. Examples range from Internet (the US military) to packaged ready to eat food (developed by our own DRDO – Defence RD Organisation). This point would be demonstrated by two major case studies from the foreign markets that came up with radical innovative products. The forgotten story of ‘Jeep’ is a name that is synonymous with four-wheel drive, light and powerful vehicles that have spawned the contemporary Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and Multi Utility Vehicles (MUVs). The second example is that of Ray Ban glasses. Both of these have become top-notch commercial products with Jeep Cherokee and Ray-Ban aviator glasses being considered as status symbols anywhere in the world. Jeep With a brand punch line of â€Å"Go Anywhere, Do Anything†[4], Jeep has been associated with adventure and macho since the World War (WW) – II. The original vehicle was born out of sheer necessity of the US forces[5]. Since WW-I, the US army had been looking for a fast, lightweight and all-terrain vehicle that could be used in the war zones around the world. In the early 1940, with the Nazi forces on the ascendancy, the need for such a vehicle by the US army became acute. The army asked automobile manufacturers for a running prototype in just 49 days. The specifications were quite stringent and only two companies responded amongst 130 companies that were invited to bid. Bantan Car Company, worked with a Detroit engineer Karl Probst, who designed the vehicle in two days flat. His design was improved by the other company Willys-Overland (Quad and powerful) and accepted by the army. The contract was awarded to Willys and Ford as the sheer size and rate of delivery during t he war was beyond any one company to undertake. During WW-II, Willys and Ford supplied more than 700,000 orders with Willys supplying more than 330, 000 units. By 1942, long before the war came to an end, in an innovative move, Willys-Overland recognised that the vehicle could serve the civilian market by virtue of the fact that it had built a brand for itself in ruggedness and durability. An advertisement campaign was undertaken for building the civilian brand value. Even as the first civilian Jeep vehicle was built in 1945, Willys obtained a US Trademark Registration in 1950, five years later. Since then the trademark now registered internationally, has passed from Willys-Overland to Kaiser to American Motors Corporation, and most recently, to Chrysler Corporation. From 1968 to 1978, the production of Jeep rose three times to 600 vehicles a day. With the present day, Grand Cherokee being a much-cherished 4X4, still, the jeep story lives on. Over half of all Chrysler vehicles sold outside the US, are Cherokees. Ray-Ban The 1930s was an era of great strides in military aviation. Aircrafts became faster and flying envelopes expanded. Many US Air Force (USAF) pilots were reporting that the glare from sun was hindering their flying prowess. This led to invention of a new kind of glasses, with green colour that could cut the glare without obscuring vision. Thus was born Ray-Ban. This anti-glare eyewear saw many models being introduced but the traditional ‘aviator’ model with metal frames remained the favourite for a long time to come. Cashing in on the newness factor and need, the eyewear went on sale to public in 1937[6]. Within seven years, the strides were made from defence to civil usage, since the basic needs of protective eyewear were same for both. In the 1940s, innovations such as gradient mirror lens with coated upper part and uncoated lower part, for a clear view of aircraft instrument panels, were introduced. Such innovations though meant primarily for defence usage, appealed to civilians also due to the styling and ‘macho’ pilots’ looks. After the WW-II, the Ray-Ban came to be popularised by many Hollywood stars and rest as they say, is history. The Luxottica group is the owner of Ray-Ban and popular eyewear brands like Oakley, besides in license production of many other top eyewear brands. In 2011, it posted net sales of almost â‚ ¬ 6.2 billion.[7] Spill-over The technologies and the product that moved across defence research and usage to the civil markets have been coined as ‘spill over’ technologies. The opposite route has been recently coined spill-ins. The coinage of terms is quite logical. ‘Spill over’ is meant in the sense that the technology/product was originally meant for a smaller segment – the defence sector and it ‘spilled over’ to reach the outside world, a much wider segment of the populace. In India, there are instances of ‘spill over’, albeit the scale has been rather timid. A list of 140 technologies developed by the DRDO, which have duel applications are listed in the form of a publication[8], inviting the civil Industry to participate through technology diffusion. Some of these technologies have been transferred to civil sector like a novel pressure sintering/bonding technique for large clutch plates have been successfully transferred to Clutch Auto Limited.[9] By a simple comparison of the narrative given above, it would be clear to the readers, why hugely successful stories of innovations like Jeep or Ray-Ban are not scripted in India. The defence RD model followed in India is purely government centred. The government invests in defence related research in government labs of the DRDO. Such funding or initiative does not come the way of private sector for many reasons. The primary reason is the absence of a roadmap for harnessing the private industry’s efforts into the mainstream by ensuring that sensitivity associated with defence sector is not compromised. In the name of national security, the private industry has been kept out of the defence sector, till recently. Now it has been realised that without the presence of a competition to the government labs and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), their efficiency would never increase. Also it is not possible to quickly leapfrog the technological gap that exists between India and the developed (and even not so developed) world without finding a solution to the inefficiency that has somehow become a hallmark of governmental sectors. Infusion of capital and innovativeness by and into the private sector is a must for the RD efforts to realise their true potential. The methodology of sharing IPR of products developed through funding by the government and innovations by the private sector is a stumbling factor for the process to go forward. It is obvious that defence related IPRs, even those having duel use, needs to have some governmental control inbuilt. The mistrust and vested lobbying has thus far not allowed a solution to this process even though the US model is very much present to be emulated. The down side is that since the private sector is not invested in product development from the beginning, they do not have any stakes to carry forward the product so developed, to a wider market for maximising profits. What remains then is just an invitation by the Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri, to the private sector, to partake the RD efforts of the DRDO labs, as mentioned earlier. In such a scenario the defence RD efforts would not reach its true market potential. Consider that the Jeep brand received ‘2012 Silver OBIE Award’ fr om the Outdoor Advertising Association for America for the Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty ® billboard design[10]. Is it possible to see this kind of aggressive market pitch by a government entity? The markets would be penetrated predominantly by the desire to maximize profits and this desire would manifest with the private sectors and thus comes the efficiency and innovativeness. The Future Innovations require the factors of newness and commercialisation to be present in a product. While defence products are always required to retain the ‘cutting edge’ element, the motive of commercialisation is rarely a factor. However, this thought process is fast changing and defence equipment, along with providing the balance of power, are also turning out to be big business in the global arms market. The commercialisation angle though, can be really addressed if the product/technology reaches a much bigger clientele than just the security forces. Involvement of private industrial sector in development of such product/technology is thus a necessity, for them to be termed an innovation. Products like Jeep and Ray-Ban that could be termed as innovations today, were essentially made on demand of the defence forces but it brought to the fore, a latent need of the civil market. This would always be the common thread for all ‘spill over’ technologies. We all know drones can deliver death on the battlefield, but might they also soon be delivering gifts and purchases to our door? Amazon.com is counting on it. UAVs pioneered by the military are finding a home down in farmers fields. A UAV can treat an acre of steep hillsides in five minutes, which is very difficult or even impossible to do with a tractor Such technologies are now also known as ‘duel use’ technologies and controlled by the innovator nations under ‘The Wassenaar Arrangement’[11] due to their highly commercial/strategic ramifications. One such instance is the jet engine technology that is used for military as well as commercial aircrafts. India and China are striving to d evelop a jet engine and when they do, the commercial and strategic ramifications are obvious. Innovative defence technologies are very much the future to strive for. In the same vein, it is worth considering that civil technologies developed for high-end technical function may be considered for defence applications because any RD effort is time and capital intensive. Thus, a convergence of RD efforts, for defence and civil applications is the need of the hour. [1] Steven R. Rivkin Technology Unbound: Transferring Scientific and Engineering Resources From Defence to Civilian Purposes (New York USA: Pergamon Press Inc., 1968), p xii. [2] T.W. Lee, Military Technologies of the World – Vol II (Westport USA: Praeger Security International, 2009), p. 364. [3] Dr Hatice Karacay Cakmak, Department of Economics, Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey, â€Å"A Theoretical Glance at Military Expenditures†, 2009 p.3, see hrcak.srce.hr/file/74277, accessed on Aug 06, 2014. [4] History of Jeep modelS, at http://www.jeep.com/en/history/ accessed on July 21, 2014 . [5] The evolution of jeep has been traced at http://www.hrja.org/jeep.htm, accessed on July 22, 2014. [6] The history and evolution of Ray-Ban at http://www.luxottica.com/sites/luxottica.com/files/ray-ban_history_en.pdf.  Accessed on July 23, 2014. [7] Ibid. [8] DRDO, Advanced Technologies for Civil Application (DESIDOC, New Delhi, 1987) [9] Ibid, p. 117. [10]http://media.chrysler.com/newsrelease.do;jsessionid=5F352AF1915E13814ADD6F1A32B6E67D?id=2210mid= accessed on 05 Aug 15 [11] Manoj Kumar, Resources Optimisation through Environmental Leadership (New Delhi, Knowledge World, 2012), p126

Education Starts At Home Essay -- essays research papers

Some parents think that once their children are at school, they can relax and let the education system take control. But this is not the case at all. As research shows, parents have an even greater influence on their children’s academic results than the school does. Most of a child’s ability to communicate, to relate to teachers and peers and their attitude to learning, is formed from home. Parents can help give their children a head start, by beginning their education at home. Many parents don’t realise how they can help their children at home. Things as simple as baking a cake with their children can help them with their education. Measuring out ingredients for a cake is a simple form of maths. Another example of helping young children with their maths is simply planning a birthday party. They have to decide how many people to invite, how many invitations they will need, how much the stamps will cost, how many prizes, lolly bags, cups, plates, and balloons need to be bought, and so on. Children often find that real life experiences help them to do their maths more easily. Another way that parents can help their children with their maths, is to give them pocket money. It does not have to be a large amount, and they may have to do chores to earn it. This not only teaches them about the value of money, but they may need to use basic maths to work out how long they will have to save to buy the special toy that they want. This means that children are developing their money se...

MEG: A comparison with Other Functional Neuroimaging Techniques

Understanding is important to development of more complex procedure and ensuring efficiency in any area of operations. One of the tools used to develop a proper understanding and therefore diagnosis of a situation is the image of the situation. Sciences, technology, medicine and engineering all need images to be able to develop structures and operate efficiently. In neuroscience, the development of an image of inner brain tissues is important to developing an understanding of a situation as it really is and therefore coming up with proper diagnostic and management approaches that will ensure the situation is addressed as it should. Life being what it is there are a number of choices that can be made in the approach that will be used for imaging. Each of these approaches has significant advantage and disadvantages and an understanding of the differences is important in making a decision on which one is best applicable depending on the parameters that define a condition (Kretschmann,& Weinrich, 2003). MEG is one of the most common imaging techniques and the development of an understanding of the differences that it exhibits relative to others is important to its use. Advantages. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) implements a system where magnetic fields are produced by the aid of electric activity in the brain through use of highly sensitive devices. MEG which is common in research situation and clinical settings is one of the most commonly used approaches to neuroimaging. Surgeons have especially found MEG important in localising pathologies and researchers have used it in determining the various functions of parts of the brain, neurofeedback and in many other activities relating to the central nervous system. Many of the advantages of MEG are a result of its nature and principles that it applies in operations. Compared to functional imaging techniques like EEG, IMG has a number of key features that makes it more desirable; these are often considered in determining what neuroimaging technique will be applicable in either research or clinical situations (Holodny, 2008). MEG implements a system where the functions of the brain are directly measured. The main reason as to why imaging is necessary is to ensure a proper understanding of the state that the brain is and getting direct measures of the function is important and reduces the chance of error. Functional approaches like fMRI and SPECT use what can be best describes as functional measures to determine the state that the brain is in. Functional approaches which use variables that depict brain metabolisms to determine the functioning of the brain can be quite misleading for there are a number of variables that will have to be considered under such approaches. Moreover, errors can occur in translation of the metabolism variables to those that depict the state of the brain (Hillary,& DeLuca, 2007). When developing an image the clarity of the image that will be developed is important. In neuroscience and many other areas where imaging has to be done in an environment that is highly controlled the ability to develop clear temporal images is important (Anschel, Mazumdar,& Romanelli, 2007). This is due to the nature of the brain which requires low exposure to external activities and thus the idea of testing or imaging is in fact risky to the brain. MEG is considered to be an approach that has one of the highest temporal resolution. Events that have a time scale of milliseconds can be resolved accurately. Functional approaches like SPECT have much longer time scales and therefore the resolution of activities and development of a clear picture of the state that the brain is in is not as easy in such methods. It is worth noting that the brain being the centre of the nervous system is important and has a number of activities or events that occur within any given instant. The high resolution provided by MEG comes in handy and is important in capturing such events is therefore a better diagnostic tool in assessing the functionality of the brain inn consideration of the nature of the brain. In addition to the excellent temporal resolution, MEG has high levels of spatial resolution in that sources or objects can be located with millimetre precision. The brain is a small organ and it is one of the busiest in the human person. Information about the brain should be clear and precise; the high levels of precision that MEG has comes in handy and is important in coming up with clear accurate information on the performance of the brain. Neuroimaging is considered one of the most frightening event by people outside the medical fraternity. One reason as to why this is so is the invasive techniques used by functional imaging approaches. Isotopes and exposure to ray and magnetic field are used in other functional approaches and this is not only scary but also increases the health risks associated with neuroimaging and reduces the frequency of imaging allowed. MEG is unlike these functional techniques in this aspect in that EMG employs a system that is non-invasive. These property gives it an edge over other sin that it is even possible for children and infants to be studied repeatedly. Experts in neuroimaging and science are of the view that the reason as to why MEG has been widely adopted is its ability to be used alongside other approaches as it adds on to the picture to develop a clear understanding of the brain (Martin,& Caramazza, 2003). While no one can dispute this fact practical application of MEG is quite easy as compared to functional approaches which could have also played a role in its development. Technology and the employment of aid in imaging are aimed at easing understanding of the brain functionalities (Gazzaniga, & Bizzi, 2004). The ease that comes with the use of MEG is important and could be an avenue through which future generations use to reduce the complexity that neuroscience as a discipline has traditionally been linked with. The approach implemented by MEG makes it possible for its application in a variety of brain imaging processes. Sensory, language and memory cortex can all be imaged by use of MEG. An approach that is adaptable to multiple conditions is far much better that the ones that display low level of adaptability. This ability reduces the need to conduct multiple tests on individuals and therefore reduces the risk in imaging and costs in terms of finances and time associated with repainting imaging. The modern society is highly health conscious and the risks that come with functional approaches and the invasive mechanism that they employ make them undesirable. Moreover, there is increase in the need for multiple brain testing due to an unexplained increase in the number of mental and neurological cases. Cancer is fast becoming a threat and one would rather implement a system that does not pose any risk of cancer if there is an alternative. Put plainly, MEG would be the method of choice against any functional approach in consideration of the mechanism employed and risk posed. The fact that MEG affords high levels of clarity without being invasive gives it an advantage over the most commonly employed functional approach, EMG which has the con of being invasive. It is worth noting that the levels of clarity that the two approaches attain are comparable. Disadvantages MEG despite all the pros associated with its use has a number disadvantages that may make its use undesirable. Just like the advantages, the cons are resultant from the nature of mechanisms that MEG employs and are therefore internal to MEG as an approach to neuroimaging. These cons may affect the effectiveness of the approach and even increase the associated costs which may make it undesirable. A key drawback in use of MEG stems from the fact that the signals that depict the state of the brain are small and are in a magnitude order that is smaller than typical signal in a clinical environment. It is highly probable that the normal clinic environment may obscure the signals thus most MEG systems employ a shielding to deal with the interference. This is an additional cost that comes on top of installation costs. The cost of shielding and installation makes MEG one of the costly approach to imaging. Anyone who has ever been involved with a medical case that involved the brain will always remember the ordeal due to its nature and cost. The cost of neurological care is high and the employment of costly approaches definitely has a bearing on this cost. In addition, the fact that there is risk of interference by outside forces calls for proper assessment of the environment and continued assessment to ensure accuracy of findings by monitoring interference. Such costs are undesirable in the modern context of healthcare where cost of provision is high due to the high costs of operations. The brain being the centre of the nervous system engages in nearly all kinds of activities. Being a living organ, the brain metabolism is a variable that must be considered in any approach that seeks to determine the state that a brain is in. No full analysis or imaging of the brain can be done without considering its metabolic activity for it has a bearing on the state that brain is in. MEG employs a system that ensures direct measures of the brain activity and disregards any metabolic activity. This reduces the robustness of information that can be obtained by employment of this approach. Diagnosis of any clinical case and ones that involve the physiology of organs often take on an approach where direct measures and rate of metabolism are all determined and analysed (Barkovich, 2005). This is not the case in the implementation of MEG. MEG is more technical than functional approaches, there is therefore need for neuroscientists and technicians to master the internal workings of the machine that provide them with MEG functionalities. In addition to the cost that maintenance of the system has, it puts pressure on the technicians to learn more on the system and this could temporarily infringe on their performance as professionals. This also puts the assessment and imaging at risk of wrong results due to errors arising from hardware or technological failure. In its common application, MEG is used in association with other functional approaches. This is because of its failure to put into consideration the metabolic aspect on physiological assessment. Direct readings are a result of underlying metabolic activities and an understanding of both leads to development of robust analysis. When implemented with other functional approaches, MEG is employed as a secondary approach that brushes on findings from the functional approaches. Despite all its advantages, MEG cannot be used as a standalone approach to neuroimaging where a complete analysis of a condition is required. This is a disadvantage that reduces its effectiveness in application to medical conditions where there is no need for direct readings. Conclusion MEG has clear advantages and disadvantages. Its advantages provide it with high levels of adaptability, accuracy, precision and reduction of risk. All these are important if it is considered that any blunder in analysing the brain could lead to loss of life. The sensitiveness of the brain calls for approaches that are less risky and accurate. On the contrary, the disadvantages which include high cost of implementation; the fact that it cannot be implemented alone and its disregarding brain metabolism have a direct bearing on its advantages. The advantages are realisable but they have to be achieved at a cost which may be high for the ordinary person though a full analysis must often involve functional approaches. Despite this clear reduction in the impact of the advantages, the inclusion of functional approaches results in a robust analysis and a more serious approach to provision of healthcare services which is worth far much more than the cost involved.

How to Write a Memorable Author Bio (with Template)

How to Write a Memorable Author Bio (with Template) How to Write a Killer Author Bio It’s important for indie authors to know how to write an author bio that tells readers: who you are, what you write, why readers should trust you, and how you stand out from other writers.Your bio is like your calling card. â€Å"It's something that will let readers get a sense of who you are, and is an important part for pitching media and book proposals,† sums up marketer Rachel Cone-Gorham, formerly of Penguin Random House.This step-by-step guide dives into the four main components of a killer author bio and provides tips from our talented marketers for nailing each section.Why your author bio mattersFor non-fiction authors, the author bio is a critical marketing tool as who are you are is often as (or more!) important than what your book is about. If readers enjoy your books, they will likely want to get to know you better, summarizes Rob. â€Å"Use your bio as a tool to confirm your credibility, display your personality, and cross-promote other titles. By taking those steps, you can help transform readers into fans.†What are some of the best author bios you’ve seen on an Amazon page or on a back cover? Share them in the comments below and tell us why you like them.

Politics and Religion essays

Politics and Religion essays (This is about the Protestant Reformation, i believed that it has always existed strictly as a political event) Political and social struggles causes many religious uprising. Even though Religious Reformations are major breakthroughs in the Catholic Church, its premises remained strictly as a political event. Protestantism was a technique used by noble princes as well as emperors to break away from the control of the Catholic Church and also a reason to gain dominancy over other nations. However, the foremost reason that Reformations remains primarily as a political event is because it served as a reason for conflict between church and state. The first reason that the Reformation was a political event was the alliance between religious group and the state. Protestant groups, especially Lutherans and Calvinists, sided with national authorities to create international political upheaval. One mentionable historical event was the Hapsburg-Valois War. To gain control of Italy and the Burgundian realms, Francis I of France, being a Catholic, did not hesitate to form an alliance with the Protestants in his objective to crush Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, the fall heir of the Burgundian territories. On the other hand, the Protestant card was also played by Charles when he repressed Francis with the help of the Henry VIII, head of the Church of England. Thus, this showed that Protestants during the Reformation was created ideally to and was manipulated by strong political powers in their conquest to gain dominancy over other states. Another reason for the governmental event was its usage by the noble princes to gain political freedom for their states by breaking away from the control of the supreme governer. What was a religious struggles between the Protestants and the Church became a movement towards a politically freed state. One example would be the internal conflict between Charles V and his German pr ...

The Arabidopsis Myb Genes MYR1 and MYR2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Arabidopsis Myb Genes MYR1 and MYR2 - Essay Example Arabidopsis is a long day plant that flowers earlier than other plants in long day conditions than in short day conditions. In LD conditions flowering is affected by an increase in expression of the flowering locus T (FT). This gene expression is controlled by CONSTANS (CO). Under low light intensity, homozygous myr1 and myr2 mutants will flower and show an increase in petiole length, apical dominance and leaf angle. Analysis on the genetics of the mutants point out that myr1 and myr 2 phenotype need GA biosynthesis. In determination of the functions of MYR1 and MYR2 roles in plant development and growth two independent T-DNA alleles for every gene. The T- DNA were evaluated and discovered that they eliminated full length expression of MYR1 and MYR2 in plants homozygous to every mutation. The homozygous myr1 and myr2 mutants happened to be identical to WT plants in relation to their leaf color, plant size and morphology. In SD conditions plants that had any of these alleles had an ea rly flowering and this generally indicates that myr1 and myr2 had suppressive effects on flowering. Additionally, flowering locust T was also needed by the Myr1 and Myr2 phenotype responsible for flowering and these mutants also demonstrated an interface with phyB-9 mutant. When Myr1 and Myr2 are over expressed, GA deficiency symptoms are shown which are then eliminated by use of gibberellic acid (GA1). When Myr1 and Myr2 were lost, there was a double boost in GA20ox2 expression and GA1 levels increased by 30%. Myr2 over expression caused a three time GA20ox2 decrease and 50% reduction in GA1 levels. Therefore, it can be concluded that Myr1 and Myr2 ability to limit flowering and elongation of organs is slightly because of their destructive consequence on the bioactive GA levels. In this case, it is possible that the increase in expression for the GA negative regulators showed the property of having a shade avoidance phenotype. The role of MYR1 and MYR2 of affecting the GA2O0x2 expr ession could be the determinant for observed phenotypes and it is in the same line with research on GA2O0x2 genes that indicate their importance in regulating growth and fertility of the Arabidopsis plant. This essay is based on a previous research done by several researchers. It will describe the result, outline the conclusion and give an insight on future work based on this research. In the result that has indicated that MYR1 and MYR2 have a role in plant growth and development, it is indicated that as light intensity became high, the phenotype became weak and double mutants of myr1 and myr2 produced fewer than WT, rosette leaves. In relation, vegetative growth and flowering time characteristic of the myr1 and myr2 mutants exhibited a similarity with phyB mutants. When MYR1 and MYR2 are paralogous and the genes are co-expressed, lengthening of the vegetative period in SD conditions showed a weakening in the phenotype responsible for early flowering. Myr1 and myr2 that were early f lowering under a LD environment was connected with more features that were not present in single mutants. They a longer petiole, lengthy hypocotyls and the leaves were more vertically oriented with a peak in apical dominance. This features show that the early flowering phenotype had been strengthened and that both myr1 and myr2 double mutants expressed the presence of MYR1 and MYR2 redundancy property which was not shown in the single mutant’s myr1 and myr2. In addition it was discovered that MYR1 and M

Benefits of Cohabitation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Benefits of Cohabitation - Essay Example They understand that they want and need to determine if they are right for each other, if they can accept each other’s quirks and habits, and of course, if they can see themselves still being together after the honeymoon stage. As stated by Monika Johnson, â€Å"a wedding will not change your relationship. If you and your partner have difficulties living together, a marriage license will not improve things. In such a case, it may be better to end the relationship, rather than to enter into a marriage that is troubled from the start† (Johnson). What Johnson tries to point out is that marriage is not a solution for a troubled relationship. It is not a way to resolve differences and issues. Marriage should be commitment not a solution. Although the majority of people, those who believe in the traditional religious beliefs, believe that living together is in fact going against the norm by asserting that â€Å"cohabitors are partially rejecting the society's dominant value system. Those people who enter cohabitational relationships tend to perceive social rules in flexible terms† (Cohabitation). Because the dominant value system is strongly associated with traditional religious beliefs, the bulk of which are Christians, cohabitation without the institution of marriage poses great threat to the stability of traditional values. Couples entering into the arrangement of cohabitation without marriage can be seen as people challenging, or even rejecting, the norms, which places great pressure and stigma on the relationship. This may put a strain on the relationship. This may pose a question on the stability of the relationship. But a glimpse on the research on contemporary generation has proven that â€Å"young couples are most accepting of cohabitation,... Benefits of Cohabitation By living together, couples satisfy their personal beliefs and companionship without sacrificing an acknowledged vow that legally binds them through marriage. Couples opt to decide on living together before getting married for diverse reasons including compatibility, fear of the consequences of divorce and economic considerations. Young couples believe that living together before marriage is part of choosing as to how they will go on about their life. It may be seen as a test period, but consequentially this set-up allows the couple to realize whether they want to live their life with each other. For young couples, this set-up is part of expressing themselves. On the other hand, those couples who spent time living together run the risk of falling out of love eventually. Couples eventually develop psychological problems that lead to depression and anxiety due to the possibility that they are really not meant to be together in the long term. Living together before marriage shows that there may be a fear of commitment. The institution of marriage legally binds the couple. This can be viewed as fully committing oneself to the other. Cohabitation without the institution of marriage can be perceived as lack of solid foundation and structure to build a family and future together. Living together before marriage is a controversial topic. I strongly believe that couples should live together before marriage to understand whether they are willing to be bound to their partners without fear of divorce.