Myth Of Sisyphus And The Allegory Cave Essay Example for Free

Myth Of Sisyphus And The Allegory Cave Essay In the world of philosophy, it is widely known conception that Socrates and Plato had been the first few philosophers. A friend of mine once told me that some things that are said by philosophers could be footnoted to Plato. However, the validity of this statement may still be dubitable or debatable. But there is a point in this statement. It would then be hard for me to identify which philosopher had presented a compelling vision of the struggles and meaning of human life. Plato had presented as an idealist may have claimed that the man from the cave who had accepted the glaring sun would have to be the person who had sought the truth. Taking out the metaphorical aspect in the allegory, it seems that what Plato wants to convey is that man and his folly could not be reined at times especially when they are presented with the Truth. A man then who is trying to present this Truth would then be deemed as insane or they would shun his/her assertions as false or even wrong (Brians). On the other hand, Camus has presented us with a different side of human nature. Upon reading the Myth, I could fairly deduce that Camus wanted to convey the idea that Sisyphus’ ordeal could be taken in twofold. First is that it may just be pure torture to not be able to fulfill an ultimate goal and it could be seen as a victory on his part viz. being able to fulfill the destiny and be happy about it (Keefer). Reading what was said above and reading further the original text, there seems to be a connection between the two philosophers. The connection here is that Plato in his search for the truth is like Camus’ where it could be inferred that Camus’ discussion about life in general could mean finding the truth about life by doing the best we could in what we have in life. The connection may be arbitrary for others but this is what I could fairly deduce, so far. This certain connection then is making it hard for me to actually choose which philosopher had best described the meaning and struggles of human life. I could always go for the idiosyncratic or eccentric way that people tend to cling to ignorance and half-truths, which would be taken here as the little ‘t,’ or I could always go for the peculiar way where people would tend to find happiness in the absurd. Whichever philosopher I would choose, it would still trickle down to one idea, which is that the meaning and struggles that is present in human life could no longer be grasped in just choosing between the two philosophers. What they could present to us though is that a certain view about it but taking this question into the big picture would make it hard for a person to actually present an answer as quickly as one could blink the eye. Alas, the specifications had been set. In lieu of what were mentioned above, it is in great belief that Albert Camus has presented us a unique and dark approach in the struggles and meaning of human life. Not because his time is much closer than the present time but his approach has given me a new perspective that Plato did not. Camus, description of human life could be construed as something ‘absurd. ’ It seems that he believed in finding happiness in the absurdities that are presented to us and still say that â€Å"all is well (Keefer). † In a way, his assertion could be observed through other people in this world. Some people rejoice in the merest things and some people find it hard to be happy about the simplest things. To sum up what constitutes human nature and life would take me a lifetime or more to make me come up with an answer. What could be done though is the speculation that Camus’ claim could be justified in few of the people that I know. What is essentially a big score for Camus’ work is that he had been able to deduce a certain aspect of human nature and life where there are those who could rejoice in the mundane thinking that this is their life and the struggles that they have vary with such embracing of life. Plato, by using his works, could be deemed as an idealist. His concept of the world of forms and world of objects (â€Å"The Philosophy of Plato†), itself could be a way to rationalize his idealism. Yet, Plato had been one of the first few philosophers of his time and his deductions are commendable. This would not mean though that Plato would not have his flaws. One of this could be his assertion that man would continually find truths and few or nobody could be able to truly grasp the Truth since this Truth resides in the world of forms and it is what could be found in our soul (â€Å"The Philosophy of Plato†). What could be presented to us then is the replica of those Truths. This assertion may have been reasonable enough but as the course of the changing path of philosophy, Plato’s work could now be compared to other philosophers. The struggle then that a person would have according to Plato is to be able to find the truth and hopefully discover the big ‘T,’ Truth (Brians). In this aspect, what could be the strongest point that the opposition could present then is the fact that indeed some people are still struggling to find the truth. The meaning of life or our real identity is few of the truths that could still be found. This may be a big point for the opposition but not all of the people would believe this as so. They would naturally attribute this as curiosity that we have regarding the concept of life and some people usually get lost along the way that they tend to just accept the absurdities that are happening around them. Finding the meaning of life and wondering about the struggles that presents us would have taken us a lifetime. It is actually a tedious and sometimes a disappointing exercise. Yet most of the people are still, consciously or unconsciously, tries to resolve this big matter. I may not be in a position to prescribe how a person would be able to achieve these feats but I may be able to give out my own opinions about it. Choosing Camus’ work would definitely imply that I am under the impression that human life and conditions would not be easily resolved by trying to look for it in the form of the big ‘T’ or Truth like Plato had insinuated in his allegory. It is in my opinion that some people would not be actually be able to find the real meaning of life but he/she could more or less find a certain idea of what it would mean to live out the life that he/she has. Camus had summed it up through his Myth. In a way, it would be up to us on how we would be able to address the jackpot question that is life. We may be the defeated hero or we could take it out as the defiance against the forever frustration of the question and try to live out the life that we already know it to be. Although this would not necessarily mean stagnation but it would be called embracing what we have and try to make it our own ultimate goal to succeed. This mean then that people would be able to change the course or path that they could take especially when it could change in the long run. The only assertion that I could make then is that it would then depend on perspectives. Work Cited Article from the link given : Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus The Allegory of the cave. htm The Philosophy of Plato. 2002. September 21, 2007. http://radicalacademy. com/philplato1. htm.

Behavioral Family Therapy

Behavioral Family Therapy Behavioral family therapy focuses on numerous techniques such as operant conditioning, education, communication and problem solving, and contingency management. These techniques were developed through numerous years of observation and research done by researchers known as Gerald Patterson and Robert Liberman. Many issues can be addressed by Behavioral family therapy such as anorexia, alcoholism, mental illness, childhood developmental issues, marital issues, and family problems. By addressing the familys problem directly, the therapist attempts to place the therapy in the familys hands and during this process engagement in the therapy becomes exceedingly important. Behavioral family therapy aims to find the process that fits the family, not fitting a family inside a therapeutic process. Keywords: Behavioral family therapy, communication, mental illness, therapeutic alliance, engagement Behavioral family therapy, also known as BFT, is a type of therapy that focuses on the family as a unit (Lipps, 1999). This family intervention looks at the elements of information giving and skills achievement, as well as aiming to reduce relapses by supporting and improving communication and problem solving skills (Campbell, 2004). With the support of empirical studies, BFT has developed its approach over years of research and practice. Behavioral family therapy not only addresses behavioral issues within the family, but individual family members with mental disorders as well. This type of therapy covers a broad scope of different types of families and issues. Beginning information on behavioral family therapy started with simple cases regarding children that included bedtime tantrums, nocturnal enuresis, aggressive behavior, and language training with autistic children (Falloon, 1991). Outside of working with children, spouses were involved in BFT to support in the desensitization of anxiety disorders (Falloon, 1991). During these early stages of behavioral family therapy the techniques were individually centered rather than family focused, but the family was still considered a large part in the individuals life. During the start of behavioral family therapy it was thought that negative behaviors from family members came from other family members operant reinforcements. From this concept, it was concluded that the strategies used in behavioral family therapy should involve changing; not only the family member with the negative behavior, but the family members behavior who was reinforcing the negative behavior (Falloon, 1991). During therapy, therapists instructed family members with specific directions on how they should respond to undesirable behavior. While in session, the therapist would then mimic the appropriate behavior towards the undesired behavior when a family member was displaying the negative behavior. The success of the treatment was founded on how many times the deviant behavior occurred, and then the amount the deviant behavior decreased. A pioneer in Behavioral family therapy, Gerald Patterson, created an understanding that laboratory experiments are much different than clinical experiments due to the complexity of the family life style (Falloon, 1991). He was a key individual when it came to formulating behavioral family therapy. Patterson provided several research studies that employed several different therapeutic techniques. One strategy that Patterson tried to incorporate into therapy was to develop a method to move the therapists role as the key mediator away from the family, so that the family would be able to make use of social-learning techniques by themselves (Falloon, 1991). In order to change the behavior within the family, Patterson found that it was important to not only change the parents behavior, but the other family members behavior as well, so that the family could then create a sense of reciprocity (Falloon, 1991). Patterson also noted in his research that the coercion of family members only incre ased the negative responses and only provided a short term correction to the negative problem (Falloon, 1991). Patterson created the pathway for behavioral family therapy through his research and application in the therapy session. Other strategies that elevated behavioral family therapy to its current status, were suggested through research done by several other researchers. One strategy includes the give to get approach. The give to get approach is when a family member unconditionally and positively rewards another family members behavior; specifically, with a family member that they are in conflict with (Falloon, 1991). The thought behind this approach is that it is much more likely that the family members behavior will change in order to please someone, who pleases them (Falloon, 1991). Another strategy includes the contingency contract. The contingency contract is an approach where each family member creates a list of behaviors that the individual will perform for other family members (Falloon, 1991). After deciding between family members which behaviors will be able to be performed, a contract is drawn up. These behaviors serve as tokens that are exchanged as rewards for their targeted positive behaviors, not negative behaviors (Falloon, 1991). These strategies are ways for therapists to help families change negative behaviors into positive behaviors by working together and implementing approaches that work for that specific family system. Robert Liberman was a psychologist that worked with mentally ill adult population within the guidelines of behavioral family therapy. Liberman furthered Behavioral family therapy by including two strategies, role rehearsal and modeling (Falloon, 1991). These strategies were used by Liberman with therapeutic alliance and a detailed assessment of functional relationships. Liberman not only looked at the symptoms the family was having, but the interaction patterns, achievement of short and long term goals, and the extra familial issues that affect the family system (Falloon, 1991). The extra familial issues that affect the family system include education, social-services, and medical services. Liberman had the idea to include the extra familial factors within the therapy so that the symptoms were not the only focus in the sessions, but the long term achievement of stability. In a family system with an individual with a mental illness, Liberman found it important to look at all aspects t hat would affect the family (Falloon, 1991). Within behavioral family therapy there are several behavioral-changing strategies that are used, which include contingency contracting, operant conditioning, and communication-skills training (Falloon, 1991). These strategies are applied to produce a specific change that is within the familys therapeutic goals. During therapy the therapist makes the decision when to use certain strategies based on the familys functioning. When reviewing behavioral family therapy, the practice of therapy has found that only a few interventions were used across a broad range of therapy (Falloon, 1991). These interventions include education, communication and problem solving training, operant conditioning approaches, and contingency management (Falloon, 1991). Education can vary in the way it is displayed. Educating families about issues they deal with in their family, such as mental illness or the development of child milestones can provide families with the information they need to reach their goals. Communication training provides families with the ability to directly transfer information from one family member to another member. Effective communication can provide resolution to problems and attainment to their goals (Falloon, 1991). Operant conditioning strategies include time-out and shaping procedures to increase sought-after behaviors. Operant conditioning approaches are often taught to parents with children or families who have severe disabilities (Falloon, 1991). Operant conditioning goes along with education in that both deal with training and learning. The contingency contract is used to substitute hostile, coercive, blaming patterns of family behavior with more satisfying behaviors (Falloon, 1991). The therapists role in behavioral family therapy is to maintain a supportive therapeutic alliance and to be able to keep an ongoing assessment of the family so that accurate interventions can be used (Falloon, 1991). As the therapist, it is important to look at the responses made by the family member and use those responses to help the family best cope with their situation. Encouraging family members to take advantage of their strengths by focusing on their own feedback will allow the family members to move towards resolving problems and reaching goals (Falloon, 1991). It is important for the therapist to convey positive and negative feelings in a direct manner that works towards positive behavior within the family. The therapist is the individual who matches the intervention to the family (Falloon, 1991). It is important for the therapist to match the intervention to the family instead of forcing the family into an intervention that may not be able to assist the family with their go als (Falloon, 1991). Not only are interventions thoroughly thought through, but the termination of therapy begins in the beginning of therapy. The therapist tells the family members how many session the family will be given and reminds the family every other session that the termination period is getting closer. By the therapist planning the termination in the beginning it gives the family a chance to become independent from the therapist (Falloon, 1991). Behavioral family therapy can be used with several different types of issues. Three common issues that were found in the research were schizophrenia, anorexia nervosa, and alcohol abuse issues. Past research supports that family interventions for schizophrenic members demonstrates helpful engagement in the family (James, Cushway, Fadden, 2006). James, Cushway, Fadden (2006) provide statistical reasoning that behavioral family therapy has a lower dropout rate than other familial therapy groups by twelve percent. Once families became engaged in behavioral family therapy the entire family was more likely to stay engaged (James, Cushway, Fadden, 2006). Those families who do not begin engaged or stay engaged in the therapeutic process are more likely to drop out. In James, Cushway, Faddens (2006) qualitative research it was found that the more reflective the therapist was towards the family the more engaged the family was able to become with the therapy. Being reflective becomes impor tant when creating a therapeutic alliance because reflection creates trust between the family and therapist. The therapeutic alliance in behavioral family therapy becomes the most important quality due to the amount of change that is going to occur (James, Cushway, Fadden, 2006). When working with schizophrenia, a therapist tends to work harder to gain that therapeutic alliance. This could be due to the family not wanting to change what already works with certain members, or that the family members do not trust anyone making changes in their family when they are worried about the outcome of the mentally ill family member. Being able to engage with each member of the family, including a schizophrenic member, will gain the therapist a trusting relationship; which will in turn, help the family create positive change in their familial structure. Anorexia nervosa and alcohol problems are both issues that behavioral family therapy can address. Ball Mitchell (2004) found through their research that with anorexic clients and their families BFT had shown a high trend towards less negative communication after treatment. The research had also shown that significant improvements over time included eating attitudes and behaviors, self-esteem, depression, and state anxiety (Ball Mitchell, 2004). Regarding alcohol problems, Lipps (1999) found that reinforcement is important in behavioral family therapy. When involving the family in the process of changing an alcoholics behavior supporting the reinforcement from the family towards the family member is particularly important. It is important for family members to reinforce the modification of the environment so that drinking behaviors are changed (Lipps, 1999). Operant conditioning can also be utilized with changing an alcoholics behavior with family members. When behavioral family the rapy addresses alcoholism it assumes that environmental factors manipulate behavior from members (Lipps, 1999). Both, anorexia and alcoholism use a type of reinforcement to work within the context of behavioral family therapy to push for changes within family members. Due to the openness of behavioral family therapy, my family and I went through BFT numerous times, but each time there was a different situation being addressed. Going through behavioral family therapy for the first time when I was younger, my family and I needed help dealing with my ADHD. I was having trouble in school and at home. Our therapist worked with my parents in training them how to respond to desirable behaviors and how to ignore negative behaviors. I was reinforced through the behaviors that my parents displayed towards me. Eventually, my behavior started to change into more positive and desirable ways. I began doing my homework and started doing my chores at home. Concentration was hard for me, but in time with behavioral therapy and medication my ability to concentrate gradually increased. Behavioral family therapy has helped me and my family deal with a hardship. By working through this hardship with my family in therapy I learned to love school and I am now in my mast ers, somewhere my parents and I never thought Id be. Behavioral family therapy addresses numerous issues and involves several interventions that can be used to work within the specific family system. This type of therapy not only puts the family members in the driver seat, but allows the family to work, support, and value the relationships and changes in their system (Campbell, 2004). Behavioral family therapy also allows the family to acquire new skills and these new skills help open communication and trust with in the family (Campbell, 2004). Overall, behavioral family therapy gives the family choices in how they want to run their sessions. The therapist allows the family to run the session while educating and teaching the family techniques along the way. Along with the numerous techniques, it is important for individuals going into BFT to take control and engage in their therapy. Without trying and wanting change, behavioral family therapy can only give the family what the family wants to take from the therapy.

Got Sanity? :: Creative Writing Essays

Got Sanity? It was a quiet night. No cars driving by, honking their horns. No sounds of little kids yelling. No dogs barking. Just peaceful and quiet. A gentle breeze blew with an occasional smell of spring in it. The air was just right, cool and fresh. Keith sat on his favorite porch rocking chair. He was just relaxing and gathering his thoughts. He liked to think. He liked to think. He thought about his dreams, he thought about his life and how it was going. He thought about his dog and how it used to be a playful puppy full of energy. It sure grew up fast. Keith thought about a girl he once fell in love with. He should probably get married before he turned thirty. Who knows maybe he'll never get married. As Keith sat there, now thinking about his new, red truck, he noticed his shoe was untied. He stretched down to retie it and saw a small card beside his foot. Funny, he hadn't noticed it there before. Maybe it blew up in the breeze. Yes that's what happened, the wind had blown it there when he was off in dreamland. Oh well, he thought and then he picked it up. The card had printing on it. It simply read, "go look in your mail box". Keith gave out a small chuckle and thought about his mailbox. Was someone joking around with him? It was probably that pesky neighbor boy, James. He was always coming up with something new and unusual to try out on his neighbors. "What the hell", Keith said aloud. He then stood up and walked over to his mailbox and opened it up. "Yep, another card", he said. The same small, black print on it too. Except this card said something just a little different. As Keith ran to his back yard where his dog house was, all he could think of was what the card had said in his mailbox. "YOUR dog is DEAD". Keith suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He could see blood. The dog house, which he had just painted a nice fresh coat of white, was now covered with red, blotchy stains. Blood everywhere. Who could have done such a deed? The golden retriever that Keith had loved so much and raised for four years now lay dead. There was hardly anything left of it. Its legs had been ripped completely off and were thrown around the yard. Its head was nailed to the front of the dog house. The body of his favorite and only pet was cut wide open and staked to the

Free Great Gatsby Essays: Criticism of American Society :: Great Gatsby Essays

The Great Gatsby as Criticism of American Society    In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald is criticizing American society of the 1920s. He uses the characters to demonstrate the power than men had over women during these times, as well as their mindless, self-indulgent actions, where consequence was only an afterthought. The attitude towards and the role of women is shown throughout the novel. Fitzgerald also shows how many people in America during this time were delusional and had meaningless existences.    Fitzgerald has used Tom in The Great Gatsby, to demonstrate the power that men had during the 1920s. In order to understand Tom's purpose in the book, it must be known that he has been purposely set up as a character the reader does not like. Fitzgerald has done this, as he does not like men whose lives mirror Tom's. Tom is a violent man, who is completely in control of the women in his life. He shows how disrespectful some men were to women. For example, he breaks his mistress Myrtle's nose.    Making a short, deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand    Another example showing the disrespect for women is the fact that Tom is cheating on Daisy quite openly. She knows that he is having an affair, but there is nothing that she can do about it. Fitzgerald comments on this power and disrespect that men had for women because he disagrees with it himself. He believes that men should not do these terrible things. Tom never once expresses his guilt for his actions, and never considers Daisy's feelings. His life is full of selfish actions which lead him nowhere.    Fitzgerald comments on the changing role and attitudes of women of the 1920s in America. He shows this through the characters Daisy and Jordan. Daisy and Jordan both drink, smoke and drive, and associate freely with men. Daisy's flirtatiousness is an example of this, along with her drunken state in the first chapter when she says 'I'm p-paralysed with happiness'. Daisy also shows the attitude Fitzgerald felt was common in this society, when talking about her daughter.    'I'm glad it's a girl. I hope she'll be a fool -that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.'    This demonstrates that during the 1920s, women were not regarded as equals, and had little chance of making something of their lives.

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Introduction As the number of Americans covered by managed care plans grows, it becomes more important to understand how managed care organizations (MCOs) control costs and how these controls affect access, quality, and health outcomes. This paper will examine patterns in referrals from primary care physicians (PCPs) to specialists in order to evaluate physicians’ satisfaction with this inter-physician communication and to identify problems in the referral process. Prior authorizations will also be studied in order to learn the criteria considered when deciding if a treatment or medication is medically necessary and appropriate. The reasons prior authorization systems are utilized and their effectiveness in controlling costs and constraining access will also be examined. Case management as a function of utilization management and methods for measuring quality and patient satisfaction will be discussed. Historical patterns of case management will be studied in order to evaluate the effecti veness of case management in managing costs. The implications of referral and prior authorizations systems for all stakeholders, MCOs, purchasers, providers, and consumers will be considered. Background/Understanding In MCOs, there are a variety of processes that are used to influence the practice style of a PCP. The method that causes one of the most controversial and frustrating aspects of managed care for the members and their PCP is the use of referral systems (Grumbach et al, 1998). A referral system is the process in which PCPs determine whether services that are performed outside of their office are medically necessary and appropriate. These referrals are used to send members to other physicians in order to gain the excess amount of care t... ...spects of care including, rehabilitation, home care, and health education. MCOs can also utilize disease management, which is a specialized form of case management to monitor and control certain individuals with specialized needs. Like case management, disease management is targeted at specific high risk and high cost medical cases but with a focus on diseases. Disease management is unique because it offers patients access to not only physicians but also other types of health care professionals including pharmacists and dieticians. The idea behind this is to provide each patient with all available resources to help control or eliminate their disease. Pharmacists can provide specialized knowledge on medication techniques and types while dietitians can provide information on healthy eating habits that can help ease symptoms of particular diseases (Kongstvedt, 2009).

Camisea Gas Project

The already drilled gas extraction operations for â€Å"block 88† wants to expand to destroy even more indigenous native land. The area has suffered a range of direct and â€Å"indirect† impacts, from the loss of local fish and hunting populations on which native indigenous people of that land live on, to landslides, infectious diseases and SST outbreaks. Peruvian health ministry confirmed that incidences of infectious diseases had increased among one group, the Anti, to such a disturbing rate that only one in four now reaches adolescence.Expansion of the gas project is the most damaging project In the Amazon Basin. From the improper development loans, scars to primary rainforest's, and damage to semi- nomadic peoples who live In Isolation we can see why this Is true. This project has upset many In Peru, especially because It was bullet within the Fracas Marine Reserve, considered to be an internationally Important wetland area by the RAMS. Despite repeated appeals by P eruvian society, the consortium refused to choose an alternative.There was a lot of push back and criticism from indigenous groups, Peruvian society, international Nags, USA congressional representatives and its own environmental auditors. They all agreed that this project would not only harm the people living there, but their own economy and image to the outside world. But even after all the signs they were given not to do it, the Inter-American development bank approved a direct loan of $75 million and a syndicated loan of $60 million to the transportation consortia In September 2003.Evidence from the field indicates that Inter-American Development Bank endorsement effectively gave the project companies a green light to continue even though they knew of the projects flaws. The development bank gave an â€Å"Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Report† woo years after the project had started. Of the reports 138 pages, only 21 actually dealt with environmental and socia l impacts, and even then they were minimized. In the whole report there was only one paragraph that was about socio-cultural change, one of the biggest issues for the affected communities.The development bank failed to honor loan conditions by refusing to release numerous documents about environmental and social management which in turn made them quickly close their loan provision deal. They didn't touch on concerns of native rights being abused, local development, or community compensation for the land and lives they strayed. The Seamless gas project certainly left their mark on the Amazon. This Seamless project has without a doubt devastated some of the most diverse and threatened biological ecosystems In the world.The remote, roadbeds, Aruba and Hecatomb regions have been considered by conservationists to be of almost unparalleled biological richness and the pipe is cutting its way through these areas. Migrants, loggers and developers to the area resulting in deforestation, envir onmental degradation and social pressures on the vulnerable aboriginal communities. The companies in charge have breached both modern industry tankards and international environmental guidelines.The workers do not care for safety and because of this it has led to the death of nine workers and one Machinating child, drowned in the wake of a speeding consortium boat. Technical experts have documented that there are critical impacts to natural habitats because of persistent multiple landslides, massive soil erosion, and river sedimentation from the pipelines extremely steep route. Since the company consistently disregards the erosion control during and after construction, it has allowed heavy rainfall to wash thousands of tons of soil and vegetation into local rivers.This is all unfortunate proof that this expansion of the gas project is scaring the Amazon forest. The Samisen project continues to Jeopardize not only the environment but the health and safety of the Machinating indigenou s communities living in small communities along the Aruba and Samisen rivers. The pipeline construction and spills have caused a reduction in fish and animals that the natives need to survive. Illness has increased significantly throughout Aruba.Dozens of cases of syphilis reported by the health post in the indigenous community of Grittier and on top of that, local health rockers testified that small children are at risk from chronic malnutrition. These semi-nomadic peoples live in voluntary isolation and choose to live the way they do, yet companies come in destroying their land and causing sickness. The government of Peru created the reserve in 1990 to protect these vulnerable people from intrusion, but this was obviously recognized as an international violation of indigenous rights.Forty-two percent of the Nah population had already died from introduced diseases which they have no immunity to when shell conducted gas exploration in he mid-asses. The Nah took a first-time step of publicly communicating through local advocates their rejection of all oil and gas operations within their lands: â€Å"In the past, Shell worked here and almost all of us died from the diseases†¦ We know that if another company comes here, our rivers and land will be destroyed.What will we eat when the rivers are dead and the animals run away? ‘ Looking at the impacts that this project has done to the Peruvian Amazon, it's easy to say it has not benefited anything other than the fact that the company gets their money. Its improper loans room the inter-American development bank, damages to one of the most biological sound places on earth, and the lasting effects it has on the indigenous peoples all play a part in this destruction of the nature of the Amazon.If we could somehow take a look at how the Amazon would have turned out if it was UN-touched by this project, we might find the indigenous people still living in their voluntary isolation, with no increase in deaths to their population and no harm to their reserve, but unfortunately this is not the case. Without a doubt the expansion of this gas project has been the most damaging project in the Amazon Basin.

New Heritage Company

NEW HERITAGE DOLL COMPANY Capital Budgeting NEW HERITAGE DOLL COMPANY Capital Budgeting Brief Case Brief Case Brief Case Brief Case Brief Case Brief Case Brief Case Brief Case To: CFO (New Heritage Doll Company) From: Date: 11/16/12 RE: NEW HERITAGE DOLL COMPANY To: CFO (New Heritage Doll Company) From: Date: 11/16/12 RE: NEW HERITAGE DOLL COMPANY Here a composite report is advanced on the toy industry, New Heritage Doll Company and the evaluation of its investment projects. Here a composite report is advanced on the toy industry, New Heritage Doll Company and the evaluation of its investment projects. Index Index | | 1. Introduction| 4| | | | | | 2. The Doll Industry| 6| | | | | | | 3. New Heritage Company| 9| | | | | | | 4. Capital Budgeting| 11| | | | | | | 5. Investment Proposals| 17| | | | | | | 6. Projects analysis| 20| | | | | | | 7. Election of one project| 26| | | | | | | 8. Exhibit. 1. Match My Doll Clothing| 32| | | | | | | 9. Exhibit. 2. Design Your Own Doll| 35| 1. Intro duction 1. Introduction ————————————————- ————————————————- 1. 1 New Heritage Doll Company: Capital budget In September 2010 Emily Harris was considering two proposals for investment for the company New Heritage Doll Company.As always, there are certain financial constraints that force the choice of a project and discard the other. The evaluation process for each project is hard, there are many details to consider, other data are not known with certainty and the only thing that can be done is an estimate as closely as possible. Our role here is to help interpret information, work with it, develop surveys and help clarify the dilemma so that the end result is the choice of the most suitable investment project for New Heritage Doll Company. Sport toys Sport toys 2. The doll industry 2. The doll industryNew Heritage has created a durable franchise for its line of heirloom dolls. New Heritage has created a durable franchise for its line of heirloom dolls. Revenue in the toy industry in the United States were 42 billion in 2008 and is expected to grow 4. 6% per year to reach 52. 5 billion in 2013 (graph 1). The market is divided into two broad segments: video games (48%) and traditional toys and games (52%) (Figure 2). The second segment is further divided into preschool toys (14. 5%), wrist (14. 1%), sports toys (12. 3%) and other toys and games (59. 1%) (Figure 3). Figure 2 Figure 2 Toys segmentsToys segments Figure 1 Figure 1 Sport toys Sport toys Figure 3 Figure 3 Traditional toys and games Traditional toys and games Preschool toys Preschool toys Sport toys Sport toys Other toys Other toys Dolls Dolls Sport toys Sport toys Sport toys Sport toys 3. New Heritage Company 3. New Heritage Company By the year 2009, New Heritage had grown to 450 em ployees and generated approximately $245 million of revenue and $27 million of operating profit. By the year 2009, New Heritage had grown to 450 employees and generated approximately $245 million of revenue and $27 million of operating profit. ———————————————— 3. 1 New Heritage Dolls The New Heritage Dolls Company was founded in 1985 by Ingrid Beckwith, a retired psychologist specializing in child development and the grandmother of two young girls. Figure 4 Figure 4 It sought to extend the New Heritage brand and capitalize on high levels of customer loyalty by selectively licensing the company’s doll characters and themes to a variety of media that reached the firm’s target demographic of toddler to pre-teen girls. New Heritage Dolls Production DivisionNew Heritage Dolls Production Division 4. Capital Budgeting 4. Capital Budgeting ———â⠂¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- 4. 1 Capital budgeting Capital budgeting is the planning process used to determine whether an organization's long term investments such as new machinery, replacement machinery, new plants, new products, and research development projects are worth pursuing. It is budget for major capital, or investment, expenditures. ————————————————- 4. 2 Ranked Projects The real value of capital budgeting is to rank projects.Most organizations have many projects that could potentially be financially rewarding. Once it has been determined that a particular project has exceeded its hurdle, then it should be ranked against peer projects. The highest ranking projects should be implemented until the budgeted capital has been expended. ———————â €”————————- 4. 3 Need for capital budgeting 1. As large sum of money is involved which influences the profitability of the firm making capital budgeting an important task. 2.Long term investment once made cannot be reversed without significance loss of invested capital. The investment becomes sunk and mistakes, rather than being readily rectified, must often be born until the firm can be withdrawn through depreciation charges or liquidation. It influences the whole conduct of the business for the years to come. 3. Investment decision are the base on which the profit will be earned and probably measured through the return on the capital. A proper mix of capital investment is quite important to ensure adequate rate of return on investment, calling for the need of capital budgeting. 4.The implication of long term investment decisions are more extensive than those of short run decisions because of time factor involved, capital budgeting decisions are subject to the higher degree of risk and uncertainty than short run decision. ————————————————- 4. 4 Capital Budgeting at New heritage Doll Company Currently the capital budgeting process in New Heritage is conducted by a panel consisting of the CEO, the CFO, the COO, the controller and the division of presidents. Historically, capital budgeting was about 15% of Ebitda. Three formal methods are used in New Heritage capital budgeting: 1.Net Present value (NPV). 2. Payback period. 3. Internal rate of return (IRR). These methods use the incremental cash flows from each potential investment, or project. Under accrual accounting, revenues and expenses are reported based on accounting principles. This means that revenues are reported when they are earned, and expenses are matched to the periods of the revenue. In other words, revenues and expenses are not reported on the income statement when the money is received or spent. Further, the revenue and expense amounts are not adjusted for the time value of money because of the monetary unit assumption.Capital budgeting decisions should be based on cash flows that are adjusted for the time value of money. The time value of money recognizes that a dollar received or spent in the future is less valuable than a dollar received or spent in the present. Calculations such as the internal rate of return or net present value include adjustments for the time value of money. In these calculations present value factors, financial calculators, or computer software are used to discount the cash flows to their present values. ————————————————- 4. Incremental cash flows They are additional operating cash flows that an organization receives from taking on a new project. A positive incremental cash flow means that the company's cash flow will increase with the acceptance of the project. There are several components that must be identified when looking at incremental cash flows: the initial outlay, cash flows from taking on the project, terminal cost or value and the scale and timing of the project. A positive incremental cash flow is a good indication that an organization should spend some time and money investing in the project. ———————————————— 4. 6 Free cash flows A measure of financial performance calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Free cash flow (FCF) represents the cash that a company is able to generate after laying out the money required to maintain or expand its asset base. Free cash flow is important because it allows a company to pursue opportunities that enhance shareholder value. Without cash, it's tough to develop new pro ducts, make acquisitions, pay dividends and reduce debt. FCF is calculated as:EBIT (1- Tax rate)| | | + Depreciation ; Amortization| – Change in Net Working Capital| – Capital Expenditures|   | Free Cash Flow| | | Where: Current assets| – Current liabilities| Net working capital| Where: Cash| | | + Accounts receivable| + Inventories| | Current assets| | It is important to note that negative free cash flow is not bad in itself. If free cash flow is negative, it could be a sign that a company is making large investments. If these investments earn a high return, the strategy has the potential to pay off in the long run. ———————————————— 4. 7 Sunk cost It is a cost that has already been incurred and thus cannot be recovered. A sunk cost differs from other, future costs that a business may face, such as inventory costs or R&D expenses, because it has alre ady happened. Sunk costs are independent of any event that may occur in the future. ————————————————- 4. 8 Opportunity cost It is the best return that could be earned on assets the firm already owns if those assets are not used for the new project.Now suppose the initial cost shown in each project was based on the assumption that the project would save money by using some equipment the company now owns and that equipment would be sold for certain amount of money, after taxes, if the project is rejected. The amount is an opportunity cost, and it should be reflected in our calculations. We would add that amount to the project's cost. The result would be an NPV- Asset value. ————————————————- 4. 9 Terminal value The terminal value of an asset is its anticipated valu e on a certain date in the future.It is used in multi-stage discounted cash flow analysis and the study of cash flow projections for a several-year period. The perpetuity growth model is used to identify ongoing free cash flows. The exit or terminal multiple approache assumes the asset will be sold at the end of a specified time period, helping investors evaluate risk/reward scenarios for the asset. An asset's terminal value is a projection that is useful in budget planning, and also in evaluating the potential gain of an investment over a specified time period. 5. Investment proposals 5. Investment proposals ————————————————- . 1 Match My Doll Clothing (MMDC) line expansion This line consisted of a set to match clothes for girls and dolls and some accessories. Due to the good publicity, it is thought to be a good time to expand this line. It is believed that this expansio n will be profitable because the current line is very popular and allows charging premium prices. This project involves the expenditure of large sums for research and development, market research and marketing. Table 1 Table 1 Initial expenditures ($ thousands)| 2010| Upfront R&D| $625 | Upfront Marketing| 625| Investment in Working Capital| 800|Property, Plant ; Equipment| 1,470| Total| $3,520 | The R;D and marketing expenditures would be deductible for tax purposes ta New Heritage’s 40% corporate tax rate. ————————————————- 5. 2 Design Your Own Doll (DYOD) Research suggested that many loyal customers would purchase yet another doll if they could customize the doll’s features to create a â€Å"one-of-a-kind† addition a girl’s or family’s existing collection of dolls. However, even a limited degree of customization increased manufacturing complexity and expense. Table 2 Table 2 Initial expenditures ($ thousands)| 2010| 2011|Upfront R;D| $841 | | Upfront Marketing| 360| | Investment in Working Capital| | 1,000| Property, Plant ; Equipment| 4,610| | Total| $5,811 | $1,000 | As with Match My Doll Clothing, the required R;D and marketing costs would be tax deductible. To complete development work, it is planned to use some of the company’s existing IT staff. The majority of the work would take place during calendar 2011. The number of people is shown in the table below. Table 3 Table 3 Application Development Personnel Costs| Number| Salary| Total| Web Application Developers| 1| $150 | $150 | Database Manager| 1| 160| 160|Systems Integration Specialist| 1| 125| 125| Total Cost| | | $435 | If this project stumbled for some reason, New Heritage risked damaging relationship with its best customers. 6. Projects analysis 6. Projects analysis For each project, three metrics are going to be calculated: 1. Net Present va lue (NPV). 2. Payback period. 3. Internal rate of return (IRR). ————————————————- 6. 1 Net Present Value (NPV) The difference between the present value of cash inflows and the present value of cash outflows. NPV is used in capital budgeting to analyze the profitability of an investment or project.NPV compares the value of a dollar today to the value of that same dollar in the future, taking inflation and returns into account. If the NPV of a prospective project is positive, it should be accepted. However, if NPV is negative, the project should probably be rejected because cash flows will also be negative. For example, if a retail clothing business wants to purchase an existing store, it would first estimate the future cash flows that store would generate, and then discount those cash flows into one lump-sum present value amount, say $565,000.If the owner of the store was w illing to sell his business for less than $565,000, the purchasing company would likely accept the offer as it presents a positive NPV investment. Conversely, if the owner would not sell for less than $565,000, the purchaser would not buy the store, as the investment would present a negative NPV at that time and would, therefore, reduce the overall value of the clothing company. ————————————————- 6. 2 Payback period The length of time required to recover the cost of an investment. The ayback period of a given investment or project is an important determinant of whether to undertake the position or project, as longer payback periods are typically not desirable for investment positions. ————————————————- 6. 3 Internal rate of return (IRR) The discount rate often us ed in capital budgeting that makes the net present value of all cash flows from a particular project equal to zero. Generally speaking, the higher a project's internal rate of return, the more desirable it is to undertake the project. As such, IRR can be used to rank several prospective projects a firm is considering.Assuming all other factors are equal among the various projects, the project with the highest IRR would probably be considered the best and undertaken first. ————————————————- 6. 4 How to work with working capital assumptions To know the value of current assets (cash, accounts receivable and inventories) and accounts payable a set of assumptions are given, with which we must work: 1. Cash Minimum Cash Balance as % of Sales. It is easy to know the amount of cash together by applying the percentage to sales revenue. 2. Days Sales OutstandingIn this case the data is provided are the days. Using the formula of Days Sales Outstanding, we can solve for the value of accounts receivable. DSO = Accounts receivableSales365 3. Days Payable Outstanding. In this case the data is provided are the days. Using the formula of Days Payable Outstanding, we can solve for the value of accounts payable. DPO = Accounts payableCost of sales365 ————————————————- ————————————————- 6. 5 Metrics results for both projects Clarifications: For the terminal value, it has been employed the following formula:Terminal value=FCF10 (1+G)(R-G) Where: * FCF10 is the free cash flow of year 10 (2020). * G is the growth rate. In this case a growth rate of 2% has been used, for New Heritage prefer more conservative forecasting. * R is the discount rate used. T hree different discount rates have been used depending on the level of risk is low, medium or high. ————————————————- 6. 6 Metrics for Match My Doll Clothing Line Expansion These are the results obtained from free cash flows provided by Match My Doll Clothing Line Expansion: Table 4 Table 4 RISK LEVEL| RATE| NPV| PAYBACK PERIOD| IRR|Low| 7. 70%| 7,285. 27| 7. 52| 23. 08%| Medium| 8. 40%| 5,938. 36| 7. 52| 22. 12%| High| 9%| 5,002. 43| 7. 52| 21. 40%| ————————————————- 6. 7 Metrics for Design Your Own Doll These are the results obtained from free cash flows provided by Design Your Own Doll project: Table 5 Table 5 RISK LEVEL| RATE| NPV| PAYBACK PERIOD| IRR| Low| 7. 70%| 9,219. 21| 9. 06| 18. 17%| Medium| 8. 40%| 7,010. 46| 9. 06| 17. 09%| High| 9%| 5,483. 73| 9. 0 6| 16. 29%| ————————————————- 6. 8 Other aspects to consider in capital Budgeting FlexibilityCapital budgeting techniques used by large businesses often run into flexibility problems. Many companies use a standard capital budgeting form where an analyst plugs numbers into specific categories to come up with net present value, cash flows, ROI and other basic results. However, not all costs and revenues from a project fit into such a fill-in sheet and can be difficult to classify. The best type of capital budgeting is the kind that can be customized for each project. Accuracy Capital budgeting depends largely on the quality of information that is used to for the budget analysis.This opens the process up to flaws if the incoming data is incorrect. For example, if someone underestimates a key cost, capital budgeting will show the project as less expensive than it will be. This is a common risk, and managers should always consider that the financial information behind the capital budgeting process is usually not 100 percent accurate. Benefit Type There are two general benefits associated with capital budgeting and projects. Hard benefits directly affect the project and loss statement and have easy, tangible results.There are also soft benefits, which are quantifiable but do not easily affect profit or loss directly. A third group, intangibles, is related to intellectual, emotional and environmental gains. Companies tend to only concentrate on hard benefits and forget that projects can produce other advantages as well. Emotions and Assumptions Capital budgeting is ultimately a tool that can help managers make decisions, not a process for making the decision itself. Managers are susceptible to energy behind a project and may support a project because it appears exciting or the end results are highly noticeable.Sometimes it is better to go with more boring, stable results that will keep the company strong than always moving for flashy projects. 7. Election of a project 7. Election of a project In the case of the Match My Doll Clothing, given the current economic situation and the inherent characteristics thereof, it seems most reasonable to choose the medium risk discount rate (8. 4%). At this rate, the following results are reached: Table 6 Table 6 RISK LEVEL| RATE| NPV| PAYBACK PERIOD| IRR| Medium| 8. 40%| 5,938. 36| 7. 52| 22. 12%|In the case of the Design Your Own Doll, as it has a fairly long payback, it has new unknown processes for New Heritage and because if the project fails the customer relationships will be damaged, it seems that it is more appropriate to assign the high risk discount rate (9%). At this rate, the following results are reached: Table 7 Table 7 RISK LEVEL| RATE| NPV| PAYBACK PERIOD| IRR| High| 9%| 5,483. 73| 9. 06| 16. 29%| Match My Doll Clothing Line Expansion and Design Your Own Doll are Mutually Exclusive P rojects which means that are a set of projects from which at most one will be accepted.For example, a set of projects which are to accomplish the same task. Thus, when choosing between â€Å"Mutually Exclusive Projects† more than one project may satisfy the Capital Budgeting criterion. However, only one, i. e. , the best project can be accepted. Of these three, Net Present Value, Payback Period and Internal Rate of Return, only the Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return decision methods consider all of the project's cash flows and the Time Value of Money.And, only the Net Present Value decision method will always lead to the correct decision when choosing among Mutually Exclusive Projects. This is because the Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return decision methods differ with respect to their Reinvestment Rate Assumptions. The Net Present Value decision method implicitly assumes that the project's cash flows can be reinvested at the firm's Cost of Capital, where as, the Internal Rate of Return decision method implicitly assumes that the cash flows can be reinvested at the projects IRR.Since each project is likely to have a different IRR, the assumption underlying the Net Present Value decision rule is more reasonable. Nevertheless, the NPV method has some disadvantages. One major disadvantage is that the method requires a detailed prediction of the project’s future cash flows. It is not that difficult if the project life is four years. But generally the life of a project is much longer. For example, computing the NPV for one these projects would require forecasting cash flows for the entire life of the project.This period could be 20 years, 30 years but we don’t know exactly how many and forecasting revenues for so many years is extremely difficult. A second disadvantage of the NPV method is that it assumes that the discount rate will remain the same over the life of the project. In many instances, the cost of capital, and the refore the discount rate, changes as firms refinance debt. ————————————————- 7. 1 Projects NPV Profiles The figure bellow presents the net present value profile (A graph showing the relationship between a project’s NPV and the firm’s cost of capital)For both Match My Doll Line Expansion and Design your Own Doll projects. To make the profile, we find the project's NPV at a number of different discount rates and then plot those values to create a graph. We can see that at a zero cost of capital, the NPV is simply the net total of the undiscounted cash flow. This value is plotted as the vertical axis intercept. It is also seen that the IRR is the discount rate that causes the NPV to equal zero, so the discount rate at which the profile line crosses the horizontal axis is the project's IRR.When we connect the data points, we have the NPV profile. IRRMMDC IRRMMDC NPV ($) NPV ($) Cost of capital (%) Cost of capital (%) IRRDYOD IRRDYOD DYOD DYOD Crossover rate; conflict if r is to the left, no conflict if r is to the right Crossover rate; conflict if r is to the left, no conflict if r is to the right At r = 10% NPVMMD > NPVDYOD but IRRDYOD > IRRMMD, so there is a conflict At r = 10% NPVMMD > NPVDYOD but IRRDYOD > IRRMMD, so there is a conflict MMDC MMDC The IRRs are fixed, and DYOD has the higher IRR regardless of the cost of capital. * However, the NPVs vary depending on the actual cost of capital. * The two NPV profile lines cross at the crossover rate that is the cost of capital at which the NPV profiles of two projects cross and, thus, at which the projects’ NPVs are equal. * MMDC project has the higher NPV if the cost of capital is less than the crossover rate, but DYOD has the higher NPV if the cost of capital is greater than that rate.Besides, MMD has the steeper slope, indicating that a given increase in the cost of capital caus es a larger decline in NPVMMDC than in NPVDYOD Finally, although MMDC is more sensitive to the variation of the discount rate, we think the most reasonable for New Heritage, as to these two investment proposals, is to choose Match My Doll Clothing Line Expansion for the following three reasons: * NPV is greater ($5,938. 36) than that of Design Your Own Doll ($5,483. 73). * The payback period is shorter (7. 2 years) than that of Design Your Doll (9. 06 years). Years Years * The IRR is greater (22. 12%) than the Design Your Own Doll (16. 09%). New Heritage Doll Company Exhibit 1. Cont New Heritage Doll Company Exhibit 1. Cont New Heritage Doll Company Exhibit 1. Cont New Heritage Doll Company Exhibit 1. Cont | | | | | | | | | | New Heritage Doll Company Exhibit 2. Cont New Heritage Doll Company Exhibit 2. Cont New Heritage Doll Company Exhibit 2. Cont New Heritage Doll Company Exhibit 2. Cont