Advance Financial report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Advance Financial report - Essay Example The credit crunch in 2008 and 2009 saw the fall of big financial institutions including Lehman brothers, AIG, Bear Stearns, and the others. The US government and other governments in Europe tried to provide bail-out funds to save companies because of the economic consequences of the problem but the crisis was unstoppable (Ryan, 2008). In an effort to prevent the occurrence of similar problem in the future, the issue on the influence or effect of the use fair value accounting in the preparation of financial statements becomes a subject of investigation and debate. Fair value is close related to market price as SFAS 157 defined as â€Å"the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date†. (FASB, 2006). First, compared with other measurements, FVA permits or requires companies to report in the financial statements more accurate, timely and comparable information on amounts, regardless of the condition in the economy (Ryan, 2009). This means that fair value is more relevant than historical cost when it comes to understanding the assets and liabilities of business organizations. It is believed that fair value does reflect the underlying fundamentals most specifically the risk of the asset. In other words the quality of information is enhanced in giving relevancy more importance than reliability for decision makers (Scott, 2010, citing Plantin, Sapra & Song Shin, 2008). The use of fair value in the financial statements would come closer to valuation conducted by investors or finance people for decision making purposes (Brigham and Houston, 2002). Second, the reported amounts under FVA would more updated on a regular and on-going basis (Ryan, 2009) allowing decision makers to know that the company would still an on-going concern. On the premise that accounting information are meant to inform the decision makers, then the purpose of

I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life Theological Study Essay Example for Free

I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life Theological Study Essay Jesus answered, â€Å"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. â€Å" When examining a Biblical verse, it is important to understand the historical context in which it’s written. Originally recorded by John, Son of Zebedee, whose main purpose in writing his Gospel can be found in John 20:31, â€Å"But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. , is Jesus’ declaration â€Å"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me†. The passage of John 14:6 is part of an extensive conversation that Jesus had with his disciples during the â€Å"Last Supper† on the eve of the Passover Feast. Immediately preceding the statement, we read that Judas has been identified as the betrayer of Jesus and that Peter will deny Jesus three times before sunrise. Jesus has just advised his followers that he will be leaving them soon and He is attempting to comfort them. This one statement which focuses on the four thoughts, â€Å"way, truth, life, and coming to the Father†, is in essence a â€Å"recipe† for Christianity and completely fulfills the prophesy of the coming Messiah in the Old Testament. In examining the first word â€Å"way†, we find numerous accounts of The Way in the New Testament. The Way was a term used within the Jewish community to identify the â€Å"sect† of Jesus- the true Israel- as opposed to the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and the Zealots. We can see an example of this usage by Paul in the text of Acts 24:14, â€Å"However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There are also Old Testament accounts such as in Isaiah 35:8 which speaks of the joy of the Redeemed, â€Å"And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. † Jesus is the Way. He is the only way to Salvation; He is the only way the Father. Looking at the second word, â€Å"truth†, we can obtain a direct definition from the Expository Dictionary, in which the Greek translation means the â€Å"truth of God†. We can find many references to the word truth in the Bible. John 14:16-17, 1 John 4:6, and 2 John 2 contain multiple references to the Spirit of Truth and John 15:26 declares â€Å"When the Counselor comes whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who goes out from the Father, He will testify about me†. In John 14: 9, Jesus says â€Å"†¦ Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. And in verse 11, He says â€Å"Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The Truth is Jesus is the Christ- the Son of God, the personification of God, and part of the Trinity. Life, the third main word in the verse refers to Eternal Life. This is affirmed in various biblical verses such as John 3:16 â€Å"For God so loved the world that he gave his o ne and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life†. There are also several verses such as in John 5:40 and Acts 3:15 where Jesus is referred to as the Author of Life. In John 1:1-5 we can find the Prime Author idea expanded upon with â€Å"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it†. I do not believe it was an accident that Jesus was crucified in conjunction with the Passover Festival. Jesus became our sacrificial lamb and shed his blood so that the judgement of death would â€Å"pass over† us and allow us to obtain salvation.

Media Portrayal of Gender Roles in the Household

Media Portrayal of Gender Roles in the Household The Right Man for the Job She suddenly snaps. Her infant accidentally bursts open her bottle and floods the car with milk, she jams on her brakes and parks her car in the middle of the bridge, blocking traffic. The police try to convince her to move her car, to no avail. The news reports An overworked and underappreciated housewife has parked on the bridge, refusing to budge. A crowd has gathered to observe the scene, some extend their sympathies: Sweetheart, whats the matter? and Not getting enough of the good stuff? Finally, her husband arrives and convinces her to get out of the car, and she is promptly arrested by the police. Theres a debate between the Mayor and the police chief on if the city should press charges or not. The Mayor, concerned about the optics of the situation, flatly states I can kiss the chick vote good-bye and if I go down, youre breaking my fall! This is the opening for Homer Alone, an episode of the Simpsons in which Marge, the quintessential housewife suffers a nervous breakdown and takes some time away from the chaos of family life, leaving Homer in the role of caretaker for the house and their infant daughter. In their investigation into the topic of masculinity in the media, Ronald Jackson and Jamie Moshin find that shows like The Simpsons can function as witty satires regarding American myths of normalcy and desirability in the public and private spheres. (184) The medias portrayal of the masculine role in the household has evolved over the decades, much of the time keeping pace with the general social trends. The post war show Father Knows Best, described by TV Guide as a normal, intelligent businessman controlling his family sensibly, even wisely and as a classic example of American Pop Culture at its best an idealized nuclear family with the patriarch providing for his stay at home wife, teaching their children to play catch, but if a situation required emotions, it was go talk to your mother. These tropes in the gave way to more multicultural families such as The Cosby show as the Reagan years approached. In the 90s, we had Roseanne a glance into the lower middle class, blue collar duel income familys struggles. These TV fathers roles became less of the father-knows-best stereotype and more involved roles as caregivers, taking active roles in their childrens lives and being equal partners in the decisions of the household. Despite this progress the media has made in showing men to be at least capable of sharing childcare burdens, men depicted in the media are showing to be essentially domestically-illiterate. The everyday activities, such as cooking, washing, cleaning, shopping for own household, caring for the elderly, the sick, and the disabled are still shown to be primarily womens work. The US Department of Labor, Womens Bureau reports that since 1940, the percent of women participating in the labor force the increased from just 24.3 percent 47 percent of the total U.S. labor force, and are projected to account for 51 percent of the increase in total labor force growth by 2018. Similarly, the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that In 1967, 49 percent of mothers were stay-at-home mothers. That proportion steadily dropped through the decades until 1999, when only 23 percent of moms stayed at home. The fight for Womens equality in political, economic, and social spheres has made great progress, however the division of household labor remains virtually unchanged. Domestic work and childcare are still seen as primary responsibilities of the women. After their shifts at work are completed, women are expected to complete chores and childcare. This double-burden was dubbed the second shift by American sociologist and academic Arlie Russell Hochschi ld in her book The Second Shift, written in 1989. Hochschild found that working women averaged three hours a day on housework while men averaged 15 minutes (259) Though nearly 20 years has passed since the publication, there has been little change in the balance of housework between male and female households. Theodore Greenstines 2005 study found that In general, regardless of income, education, ideology, or extent of paid employment, women tend to do far more domestic labor than their male partners (1039). Medias portrayal of the working mother has rarely been accurate, as Hotchschild describes an advertisement she presented to working mothers during interviews: She is not the same women in each magazine advertisement, but she is the same idea. She has that working mother look as she strides forward, briefcase in one hand, smiling child in the other. Literally and figuratively, she is moving ahead. Her hair, if long, tosses behind her; if it is short, it sweeps back at the sides, suggesting mobility and progress. There is nothing shy or passive about her. She is confident, active, liberated. She wears a dark tailored suit, but with a sick bow or colorful frill that says, Im really feminine underneath. She has made it in a mans world without sacrificing her femininity. And she has done this on her own. (258) Its not only advertisements that sell the idea of a Super-mom, but the stories of Celebrity Moms that dominate tabloid magazines, television, movies, and now social media that not only delegitimize the labor involved in housework, but also reinforce both the gendered stereotypes of who is responsible for the work, and the ease in which the work is completed. Women as consumers is not a new idea. PG productions, producers of the soap opera As the World Turns, spanned for 72 years and over 10,000 episodes, chiefly marketed towards women. PG productions is a subsidiary of Procter Gamble, an American multinational consumer goods company and makers of Swiffer, Tide and Bounce, who spend nearly $10 billion per year advertising budget. Product placement in womens media isnt just a happy coincidence, PQ Media, a media research company found that Product placements were worth $6.01 billion, up 12.8% from the previous year, the fifth straight year of growth. PQ Media projects that product placement revenue will reach $11.44 billion in 2019. Globally, women account for $20 trillion in annual consumer spending. Most of the income growth in the U.S. during the past 15 to 20 years is attributed to women, per the television consumer specialist firm Nielsen. The media doesnt only focus on the perceived stereotypical womens role as housekeeper, but often puts its female characters into traditionally feminine roles. In TV Guides list of best TV shows for the past year, the trend continues. The Walking Dead shows us that even in the zombie post apocalypse, women are the ones performing the childcare, nursing, preparation of food and forming community ties. Additionally, theres Penny in The Big Bang Theory. Penny, a waitress (typical female job) is shown to be living in a one bedroom apartment in LA, near a prestigious college. Most of her role in the series to function as a catalyst for the lead characters lack of social lives. As the show progressed, the other characters girlfriends are seen in having successful, professional careers, but are still expected to fill the emotive role in the relationship. An egregious example of this is Carrie Bradshaw of Sex the City. A struggling journalist is seen living an extravagant life, living in the upper east side of New York City. These women shown living above their means perpetuate what is considered an ideal life, contributing to the feminization of poverty. This phenomenon is described in United Nation reports revealing that there are 1.5 billion people living on 1 dollar a day or less, the majority of which are women. In addition, the gap between women and men caught in the cycle of poverty has continued to widen in the past decade. While women earn on average seventy-seven cents for every dollar earned by men, they are disproportionately concentrated in the lowest-paying fields. Furthermore, most the pay gap between men and women actually comes from differences within occupations, not between them and this gap widens in the highest-paying occupations such as business, law, and medicine (S. Pressman, The Shriver Report) One might think that such a significant economic impact would lead to more progressive representations in the media, however this does not seem to be the case. Advertisements, both televised and otherwise, very rarely show housewives or mothers outside of their stereotypical gender roles. The pick them back up add, produced by our friends at PG productions, was heavily broadcast during the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games. Mya Frazier observes that Men are unmentioned, even if their breadwinner status is implicit: What working mother could devote herself solely to the making of an Olympian without substantial financial support? (Frazier). The question of where is dad? can be answered by considering other media. A meta-analysis shows that the odds of women being depicted at home (vs. at work) are approximately 3.5 times higher than for men (qtd. in JÃ ¶rg et. al). These gender stereotypes are nearly ubiquitous across not only American media, but society in general. Webster dictionary defines our idea of gender as the role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender are determined by the prevailing cultural norms. The perceived femininity or masculinity of a task is equally as culturally subjective. The hegemonic frame tends to constitute a good father as the responsible breadwinner/provider and protector gender identity for men has traditionally been associated with the competitive rationality of work rather than the intimate emotionality of family. (J. Gentry and R. Harrison, 77). This hegemony is reinforced by our real-life experiences, mass media exposure, and the ever-present social media feeds. Traditionally feminine tasks such as cooking, laundry, and cleaning are overwhelmingly performed by women; traditionally masculine tasks such as yard work and auto maintenance tend to be done by men (T. Greenstein, 1039). With the Simpsons family, the fault of the self-destructive pragmatic Family First idea that sends Marge over the edge. The husband and forever needy kids who will never appreciate her were hardly subtle ideas, even in a comedic or satirical format. In media, when the gender roles are reversed, how often is it successful? We often see the TV dad portrayed as inept, typically uninvolved or uncaring, unless the situation calls for a sardonic wit, then TV dad is your man. Among the worst offenders, we have Al Bundy of Married with Children, a blue-collar-everyman who either by laziness or ineptitude is completely absent from any domestic labor or parenting duties, unless they call for violence or a punchline. While satirical, the presentation of the masculine role in the family is to provide the paycheck, grumble, and be the butt of the joke. The inability or failure when gender roles are reversed is also a common trope. The Tim Taylors (Home Improvement) and to a lesser extent Phil Dunphy (Modern Family) all reflect the masculine breadwinner who may find themselves in an occasional feminized role, only to learn that they woefully under equipped to deal with the task at hand. While Marge Simpson was relaxing in a resort after her nervous breakdown, Homer struggled with even the most basic of household chores, inevitably getting drunk with his bar-fly best buddy Barnie and losing Maggie in the process. (Homer Alone) Even in the TV homes where there was a closer semblance to equality when it came to social, political or economic issues, we would rarely any flexibility or male housewifization (househusbandization?). Dan Conner (Roseanne) was shown in a more active role in the parenting of his children -but the shows namesake was the primary housekeeper, child raiser, and do-it-all blue-collar mom a much better representation of the second shift idea. Cliff Huxtable (The Cosby Show) and his wife Clair were equals, but the gender roles were never questioned. Despite the forward progression and increased airtime of a less oafish and more, helpful father, research has consistently indicated that husbands are not doing much more housework than they ever did (although they are on a relative basis, as wives are doing much less; (qtd. Robinson and Godbey, 1997) Typically, its only representations of single fathers like Danny Tanner (Full House) that are not only shown in the house husband role, but are not failing at it. Only by not having a wife or mother in the house to fall back on, would the male take on the traditionally feminine tasks. In James Gentry and Robert Harrisons study of gender portrayals in the media, they found that single fathers needed to redefine their masculinity as they become involved parents. Traditionally (or at least in the 20th century), only one form of masculinity was conceived; this masculinity is non-feminine (or anti-feminine), independent, heterosexual (or anti-homosexual), tough, and takes risks (qtd, 79). The persistence of gendered labor inequality within the home is caused in part by the reluctance of men to participate in the lesser-valued roles that women perform and to avoid being emasculated by performing womens work. For example, in The Second Shift, Hochschild describes the division of household labor between Nancy and Evan, married parents of one child who both worked full-time. Evan refused to share the housework equally with his wife, feeling that this was not his responsibility as a man and that he was entitled to refuse to participate in tasks that he saw as his wifes (261). This suggests that at their core, men are psychologically predisposed to reject housework due to its apparent femininity, an idea that mass media has all but reflected and marketed back to consumers. The difference being that in the media examples, there is rarely a cost to only one parent working the second shift. When it comes to duel income families, Rebecca J. Rosen of The Atlantic writes The statistics on this are a bit of a mess, as moms and dads report different household divisions of labor, both when it comes to chores and parenting. Dads are more likely to see the division as equal, and it can be tricky business to sort out whos right. While its unlikely that there is a shadowy cabal of men and fathers looking to shrug off their housework to their presumably exhausted wives by influencing mass media outlets, the perception of inequality at home is a tricky subject. Greenstein explores this idea: Just as differences in gender ideology (at the individual level) have been found to lead women to different choices of comparative referents and consequently to reach different conclusions about the fairness of the division of household labor, national context provides a comparative referent for married women from which they might form their perceptions of justice relevant to the division of household labor. I propose that women not only compare themselves to other individuals when making determinations of fairness or justice but that they also compare themselves to the more generalized conception of the level of support for gender equity in their nation. That is, women who perceive a high level of support for gender equity in their generalized comparative referent- for example, their perception of the beliefs of the people in their nation or society-are more likely to perceive microlevel inequalities as inequities (1040). If ideals of fairness or inequality are founded in the perception of what is happening in others lives, then what we see in the media must be included in that. If there were more Rosannes and less Peg Bundys, would women feel more shortchanged by the division of household labor. If the they (the media, or shadowy cabal of lazy men) could show men performing reproductive labor without appearing emasculated, would that change things? Its not as if the advertising and entertainment is completely bereft of positive household-male examples. After the Pick Them Back Up ad ran during the Sochi Olympic, they produced a similar ad directed towards males. Unfortunately, it was a social media non-starter. Consider the forgettable 2013 Power of Dads Oral-B spot. It offers a succession of heartwarming clips of dads joyfully engaged with their children, but didnt exactly burn up the viral charts. An ad about a stay-at-home dad doing laundry for Tide? A measly 60,000 views on YouTube. (M. Frazier) We can plainly see that it was ingratitude and an unequal share of work that led to Marge Simpson breaking down on a bridge, going ballistic was a cry for help that could resonate with anybody whos work has been chronically underappreciated, even the police woman taking Marges mug shot gives her the sisterly empathy, Off the record, maam. All the girls on the force knew just how you felt (Homer Alone). If the lesson was to show how we underappreciate the women in our lives, the return to normalcy at the end of sitcoms is the undoing of any lesson or basis for comparative basis. Ronald Jackson and Jamie Moshin quote In these spaces, however, the critiques of dominant norms fall short when the characters return to their traditional roles at the conclusion of the episodes. (qtd. 184). Without the continuity of lessons learned, there is no real impact. In the next episode, Homer and the kids are right back to their scheming, lazy, and unappreciative selves. Marges breakdown, subsequent c atharsis has meant nothing. Its not all hopeless, the gap in the division of household labor is slowly closing. The status quo has protected male privilege, but its not permeant. The ultra-masculine western cowboy is now seen as nothing more than a cultural relic (J. Gentry and R. Harrison, 98). Fathers depicted in Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 80s was killing entire private militias in the movie Commando then in the 90s he was performing literal reproductive labor in Junior. Our views of what emotional value labor holds and if our ideas about masculine and feminine work can change. If Homer Simpson can, even for a short while, perhaps the rest of us can too. Works CitedHochschild, Arlie Russell, and Anne Machung. The Second Shift. New York, Penguin Books, 2003. Web. Frazier, Mya. Honor Your Mother: Dont Watch That Patronizing Viral Ad. New Republic, 8 May 2014, newrepublic.com/article/117693/mothers-advertising-regressive-stereotypes-dominate-pg-and-others. Greenstein, Theodore N. National Context, Family Satisfaction, and Fairness in the Division of Household Labor. Journal of Marriage and Family 71.4 (2009): 1039-051. Web. Lafayette, Jon . Product Placement Revenue Climbing 13.2% This Year. Product Placement Revenue Climbing 13.2% This Year | Broadcasting Cable. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2017. Paek, Hye-Jin, Michelle R. Nelson, and Alexandra M. Vilela. Examination of Gender-role Portrayals in Television Advertising across Seven Countries. Sex Roles 64.3-4 (2010): 192-207. Web. 1 Feb. 2017. Pressman, Sonja. Top 18 Issues Challenging Women Today. The Shriver Report. N.p., 21 May 2014. Web. 04 Feb. 2017. Gentry, J., and R. Harrison. Is advertising a barrier to male movement toward gender change? Marketing Theory 10.1 (2010): 74-96. Web. 2 Feb. 2017. Rosen, Rebecca J. Money-Rich and Time-Poor: Life in Two-Income Households. The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. Matthes, JÃ ¶rg, Michael Prieler, and Karoline Adam. Gender-Role Portrayals in Television Advertising Across the Globe. Sex Roles 75.7-8 (2016): 314-27. Web. 1 Feb. 2017. Jackson, Ronald L., and Jamie E. Moshin. Communicating marginalized masculinities: identity politics in TV, film, and new media. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print. Homer Alone. The Simpsons. Fox, 6 Feb. 1992

Giorgione: the Adoration of the Shepherds Essay -- Italian Art Paintin

Artist: Giorgione (*1477/1478; † 25.10.1510) Title: The Adoration of the Shepherds The Adoration of the Shepherd about 1505, oil on panel, 35 4/5" x 43 4/5" (91 x 111cm) National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA This essay attempts to describe analyze and evaluate the famous painting "The Adoration of the Shepherd" by Giorgione (originally Giorgio Barbarelli). In the following essay there will be three main sections: 1 Inventory - (WHAT?) 2 Formal Analysis - (HOW?) 3 Interpretation/Meaning (WHY?) The Inventory (I) will include: a.) subject matter b.) function/intention c.) description The Formal Analysis (II) will include: a.) Pictorial Elements i. Line ii. Form and shape iii. Colour iv. Space b.) Pictorial Elements i. Balance ii. Emphasis iii. Contrast iv. Pattern The Interpretation/Meaning (III) will be written without any guideline points, the aim of this part will be to determine what the painter wanted to express with his piece of work and what it tells us in a symbolic or not instantly clear way. This part will also handle why the artist drew the painting the way he did it and why he chose various techniques or tools. 1. About the Painter Giorgione or Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco was born in 1477 or 1478, the exact date is not known, in Castelfranco. Even though there were no more than about twenty paintings officially associated with him, of which only about six are attributed to him without doubt, his originality was so powerful that these few works have come to represent not only the first stage in the Venice High Renaissance, but a new trend in Italian art as well. Surviving documentation of his life and work is sparse. Giorgione d... ...aw the background so detailed? Giorgione "loved to paint landscapes." Especially in "The Adoration of the shepherds" you can see how much effort he invested in painting a detailed background in form of a piece of coast and part of a village. When isolated this part takes on a life of its own (If concentrating you can see tiny details such as two persons standing at the edge of the coast. Why is there a cow in the back of the cave? This cave is a stable and Jesus was born in a stable. This is the place where the messiahs saw daylight for the very first time in his life. The houses in the background are probably part of Bethlehem. What's the meaning of the completely blue sky in the background? Blue is the colour of hope and the birth of Jesus is the beginning of hope. Bibliography Discovering Art History; Gerald F. Brommer; Davis Publications, Inc.

Charles Dickens most famous Bildungsroman novel Essay

How Does Dickens’ Presentation of Pip as a young boy contrast to Pip as an Adult?  Great Expectations is one of Charles Dickens most famous Bildungsroman novel. This story is serialised in journals from 1860 – 1861. It was published chapter at a time therefore would leave every chapter at a cliff-hanger.  Due to this novel being published in journals it made this semi-autobiographical narrative available to the mass of people; soaring its popularity.  The main theme of this novel is associated with the main factors of Victorian era; Being Gentlemen; Education and Crime and Punishment. Dickens was a social observer and would therefore base his narratives on his concerns for the social laws. Great Expectations was an example of this. This story is based on Pip, the main character, and how his life changes as he comes into possession of a lot of money from an unknown benefactor breaking the wall of social mobility on his way to become a Gentleman. The whole essay shows the retrospective view of Pip looking back on his life. Furthermore most of the events experience by Pip could also be his past experiences. This is why ‘Great Expectations’ is Charles Dickens most semi-autobiographical piece of writing. This general aim of this essay is to describe the way Pip was presented as a young boy and later on in his life by this worldwide known author, Charles Dickens.  The key scenes in this novel which will be analysed in detail. The chosen key scenes are; chapters 1-8 where Pip is growing up as a young kid and ahs his first encounter with the convict. The significance of these chapters is that it shows Pip’s childhood and also describes his first meeting with Magwitch, who plays a huge role in this novel. The central point of this report will be focused on chapter 27-38. This shows Pip as a young gentleman. This is very vital as it shows the way Pip has changed from his childhood ways. In these chapters it shows when Pip is reunited with his benefactor.  The Last key scenes will be chapter 57 and 58. This is when Pip is comes together with Joe hoping to propose to Biddy. The significance of this is that Joe is going to get married to Biddy; therefore Pips reaction to this news is very interesting. Pip was bought up an orphan. The only living family member of Pip was his sister Mrs Joe Gargery. â€Å"My first fancies regarding what they were like were unreasonably derived from their tombstones† This quotation emphasis the fact that Pip was an orphan who had never seen his parents and is an example of dual narrative as it is quite humorous but also sad at the same time. At the beginning of the play Dickens makes the readers fell sympathetic towards Pip. This makes the readers like Pip throughout the story no matter what he does. In the Victorian Era being an orphan was very common. It meant they had no prospects for the future, would be illiterate and would therefore lead a very poor life. They would usually be homeless or taken in by gentlemen’s to be their slaves. â€Å"I was at that time undersized for years and not very strong†. This quotation shows that Pip had a lack of prospects which emphasised he came from a poor background. The term undersized could be used for physical terms but also could be used that he had no say in the community as he was a child and he had no say generally as him and his family were very poor. Charles Dickens reversed these points about a poor person and made social mobility possible for Pip.  At the beginning of the narrative Pip is a naive young boy who has no knowing of the outside world. Most of this is due to being brought up without education. Education in that era was very important as only the rich could afford it. This immediately brought up the aspect of class issues in this novel. Education led to people being in a higher social group to those who weren’t educated and possibly shaped their future. Pip suffered abuse from many people. He was bought up ‘by hand’ by his sister Mrs Joe. She had a reputation for this. This showed that Pip was brought with discipline and wouldn’t dare to do a thing wrong as he would get punished for this. Another quotation that explains that Mrs Joe beats Pip to teach him manners and discipline is â€Å"Be grateful boy to them which bought you up by hand†. â€Å"What’s worse she’s got the tickler with her†, this quotation shows how much Pip feared the tickler and getting beaten by Mrs Joe. As well as receiving physical abuse from Mrs Joe he received verbal abuse from many family friends such as Mr Pumblechook and also Estella. It was from the Victorian times that the saying ‘Children should be seen but not heard’ was created. This saying applied to Pip. Many guttural sounds were used to describe the abuse that was inflicted upon Pip such as â€Å"rampage†. This emphasises the un-human like behaviour of Mrs Joe towards Pip.

Monopoly and marginal cost Essay

Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly The following questions practice these skills: ? Explain the sources of market power. ? Apply the quantity and price affects on revenue of any movement along a demand curve. ? Find the profit maximizing quantity and price of a single-price monopolist. ? Compute deadweight loss from a single-price monopolist. ? Compute marginal revenue. ? Define the efficiency of P = MC. ? Find the profit-maximizing quantity and price of a perfect-price-discriminating monopolist. ? Find the profit-maximizing quantity and price of an imperfect-price-discriminating monopolist. Question: Each of the following firms possesses market power. Explain its source. a. Merck, the producer of the patented cholesterol-lowering drug Zetia b. Chiquita, a supplier of bananas and owner of most banana plantations c. The Walt Disney Company, the creators of Mickey Mouse Answer to Question: a. Merck has a patent for Zetia. This is an example of a government-created barrier to entry, which gives Merck market power. b. Chiquita controls most banana plantations. Control over a scarce resource gives Chiquita market power. c. The Walt Disney Company has the copyright over animations featuring Mickey Mouse. This Is another example of a government-created barrier to entry that gives the Walt Disney Company market power. Question: Skyscraper City has a subway system, for which a one-way fare is $1. 50. There is pressure on the mayor to reduce the fee by one-third, to $1. 00. The mayor is dismayed, thinking that this will mean Skyscraper City is losing one-third of its revenue from sales of subway tickets. The mayor’s economic adviser reminds her that she is focusing only on the price effect and ignoring the quantity effect. Explain why the mayor’s estimate of a one-third loss of revenue is likely to be an overestimate. Illustrate with a diagram. Answer to Question: A reduction in fares from $1. 50 to $1. 00 will reduce the revenue on each ticket that is currently sold by one-third; this Is the price effect. But a reduction in price will lead to more tickets being sold at the lower price of $1. 00, which creates additional revenue; this is the quantity effect. The price effect is the loss of revenue on all the currently sold tickets. The quantity effect is the increase in revenue from increased sales as a result of the lower price. Question: Consider an industry with the demand curve (D) and marginal cost curve (MC) shown in the accompanying diagram. There is no fixed cost. If the industry is a single-price monopoly, the monopolist’s marginal revenue curve would be MR. Answer the following questions by naming the appropriate points or areas. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly a. If the industry is perfectly competitive, what will be the total quantity produced? At what price? b. Which area reflects consumer surplus under perfect competition? c. If the industry is a single-price monopoly, what quantity will the monopolist produce? Which price will it charge? d. Which area reflects the single-price monopolist’s profit? e. Which area reflects consumer surplus under single-price monopoly? f. Which area reflects the deadweight loss to society from single-price monopoly? g. If the monopolist can price-discriminate perfectly, what quantity will the perfectly price-discriminating monopolist produce? Answer to Question: a. In a perfectly competitive industry, each firm maximizes profit by producing the quantity at which price equals marginal cost. That is, all firms together produce a quantity S, corresponding to point R, where the marginal cost curve crosses the demand curve. Price will be equal to marginal cost, E. b. Consumer surplus is the area under the demand curve and above price. In part a, we saw that the perfectly competitive price is E. Consumer surplus in perfect competition is therefore the triangle ARE. c. A single-price monopolist produces the quantity at which marginal cost equals marginal revenue, that is, quantity I. Accordingly, the monopolist charges price B, the highest price it can charge if it wants to sell quantity I. d. The single-price monopolist’s profit per unit is the difference between price and the average total cost. Since there is no fixed cost and the marginal cost is constant (each unit costs the same to produce), the marginal cost is the same as the average total cost. That is, profit per unit is the distance BE. Since the monopolist sells I units, its profit is BE times I, or the rectangle BEHF. e. Consumer surplus is the area under the demand curve and above the price. In part c, we saw that the monopoly price is B. Consumer surplus in monopoly is therefore the triangle AFB. f. Deadweight loss is the surplus that would have been available (either to consumers or producers) under perfect competition but that is lost when there is a single-price monopolist. It is the triangle FRH. g. If a monopolist can price-discriminate perfectly, it will sell the first unit at price A, the second unit at a slightly lower price, and so forth. That is, it will extract from each consumer just that consumer’s willingness to pay, as indicated by the demand curve. It will sell S units, because for the last unit, it can just make a consumer pay a price of E (equal to its marginal cost), and that just covers its marginal cost of producing that last unit. For any further units, it could not make any consumer pay more than its marginal cost, and it therefore stops selling units at quantity S. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Question: Bob, Bill, Ben, and Brad Baxter have just made a documentary movie about their basketball team. They are thinking about making the movie available for download on the Internet, and they can act as a single-price monopolist if they choose to. Each time the movie is downloaded, their Internet service provider charges them a fee of $4. The Baxter brothers are arguing about which price to charge customers per download. The accompanying table shows the demand schedule for their film. Price of download Quantity of downloads demanded $10 0 $8 1 $6 3 $4 6 $2 10 $0 15 a. Calculate the total revenue and the marginal revenue per download. b. Bob is proud of the film and wants as many people as possible to download it. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? c. Bill wants as much total revenue as possible. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? d. Ben wants to maximize profit. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? e. Brad wants to charge the efficient price. Which price would he choose? How many downloads would be sold? Answer to Question: a. The accompanying table calculates total revenue (TR) and marginal revenue (MR). Recall that marginal revenue is the additional revenue per unit of output Price of download Quantity of downloads TR MR demanded $10 0 $0 $8 1 $8 $8 $6 3 $18 $5 $4 6 $24 $2 $2 10 $20 $-1 $0 15 $0 $-4 b. Bob would charge $0. At that price, there would be 15 downloads, the largest quantity they can sell. c. Bill would charge $4. At that price, total revenue is greatest ($24). At that price, there would be 6 downloads. d. Ben would charge $6. At that price, there would be 3 downloads. For any more downloads, marginal revenue would be below marginal cost, and so further downloads would lose the Baxters’ money.e. Brad would charge $4. A price equal to marginal cost is efficient. At that price, there would be 6 downloads. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Question: Suppose that De Beers is a single-price monopolist in the market for diamonds. De Beers has five potential customers: Raquel, Jackie, Joan, Mia, and Sophia. Each of these customers will buy at most one diamond—and only if the price is just equal to, or lower than, her willingness to pay. Raquel’s willingness to pay is $400; Jackie’s, $300; Joan’s, $200; Mia’s, $100; and Sophia’s, $0. De Beers’s marginal cost per diamond is $100. This leads to the demand schedule for diamonds shown in the accompanying table. Price of Diamond Quantity of Diamonds Demanded $500 0 $400 1 $300 2 $200 3 $100 4 $0 5 a. Calculate De Beers’s total revenue and its marginal revenue. From your calculation, draw the demand curve and the marginal revenue curve. b. Explain why De Beers faces a downward-sloping demand curve. c. Explain why the marginal revenue from an additional diamond sale is less than the price of the diamond. d. Suppose De Beers currently charges $200 for its diamonds. If it lowers the price to $100, how large is the price effect? How large is the quantity effect? e. Add the marginal cost curve to your diagram from part a and determine which quantity maximizes De Beers’s profit and which price De Beers will charge. Answer to Question: a. Total revenue (TR) and marginal revenue (MR) are given in the accompanying table. Price of Diamond Quantity of Diamonds TR Demanded $500 0 $0 $400 1 $400 $300 2 $600 $200 3 $600 $100 4 $400 $0 5 $0 MR $400 $200 $0 -$200 -$400 The accompanying diagram illustrates De Beers’s demand curve and marginal revenue (MR) curve. b. De Beers is the only producer of diamonds, so its demand curve is the market demand curve. And the market demand curve slopes downward: the lower the price, the more customers will buy diamonds. c. If De Beers lowers the price sufficiently to sell one more diamond, it earns extra revenue equal to the Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly price of that one extra diamond. This is the quantity effect of lowering the price. But there is also a price effect: lowering the price means that De Beers also has to lower the price on all other diamonds, and that lowers its revenue. So the marginal revenue of selling an additional diamond is less than the price at which the additional diamond can be sold. d. If the price is $200, then De Beers sells to Raquel, Jackie, and Joan. If it lowers the price to $100, it will also sell a diamond to Mia. The price effect is that De Beers loses $100 (the amount by which it lowered the price) each from selling to Raquel, Jackie, and Joan. So the price effect lowers De Beers’s revenue by 3 ? $100 = $300. The quantity effect is that De Beers sells one more diamond (to Mia), at $100. So the quantity effect is to raise De Beers’s revenue by $100. e. The marginal cost (MC) curve is constant at $100, as shown in the diagram. Marginal revenue equals marginal cost at a quantity of 2 diamonds. So De Beers will sell 2 diamonds at a price of $300 each. Question: Use the demand schedule for diamonds given in the previous question. The marginal cost of producing diamonds is constant at $100. There is no fixed cost. a. If De Beers charges the monopoly price, how large is the individual consumer surplus that each buyer experiences? Calculate total consumer surplus by summing the individual consumer surpluses. How large is producer surplus? Suppose that upstart Russian and Asian producers enter the market and the market becomes perfectly competitive. b. What is the perfectly competitive price? What quantity will be sold in this perfectly competitive market? c. At the competitive price and quantity, how large is the consumer surplus that each buyer experiences? How large is total consumer surplus? How large is producer surplus? d. Compare your answer to part c to your answer to part a. How large is the deadweight loss associated with monopoly in this case? Answer to Question: a. The monopoly price is $300. At that price Raquel and Jackie buy diamonds. Raquel’s consumer surplus is $400 ? $300 = $100; Jackie’s is $300 ? $300 = $0. So total consumer surplus is $100 + $0 = $100. Producer surplus is $300 ? $100 = $200 for each diamond sold; 2 ? $200 = $400. b. In a perfectly competitive market, P = MC. That is, the perfectly competitive price is $100, and at that price 4 diamonds will be sold—to Raquel, Jackie, Joan, and Mia. c. At the competitive price, Raquel’s consumer surplus is $400 ? $100 = $300; Jackie’s, $300 ? $100 = $200; Joan’s, $200 ? $100 = $100; and Mia’s, $100 ? $100 = $0. So total consumer surplus is $300 + $200 + $100 + $0 = $600. Since the price is equal to marginal cost, there is no producer surplus. d. Under perfect competition, the sum of consumer and producer surplus is $600 + $0 = $600. Under monopoly, the sum of consumer and producer surplus is $100 + $400 = $500. So the loss of surplus to society from monopoly—the deadweight loss—is $600 ? $500 = $100. Question: Use the demand schedule for diamonds given in the previous questions. De Beers is a monopolist, but it can now price-discriminate perfectly among all five of its potential customers. De Beers’s marginal cost is constant at $100. There is no fixed cost. a. If De Beers can price-discriminate perfectly, to which customers will it sell diamonds and at what prices? b. How large is each individual consumer surplus? How large is total consumer surplus? Calculate producer surplus by summing the producer surplus generated by each sale. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Answer to Question: a. If De Beers can price-discriminate perfectly, it will charge each customer that customer’s willingness to pay. That is, it will charge Raquel $400, Jackie $300, Joan $200, and Mia $100. De Beers does not want to sell to Sophia since she will only buy at a price of $0, and that would be below De Beers’s marginal cost. b. Since each consumer is charged exactly her willingness to pay, there is no consumer surplus. De Beers’s producer surplus is $400 ? $100 = $300 from selling to Raquel; $300 ? $100 = $200 from selling to Jackie; $200 ? $100 = $100 from selling to Joan; $100 ? $100 = $0 from selling to Mia. So producer surplus is $300 + $200 + $100 + $0 = $600. Question: Download Records decides to release an album by the group Mary and the Little Lamb. It produces the album with no fixed cost, but the total cost of downloading an album to a CD and paying Mary her royalty is $6 per album. Download Records can act as a single-price monopolist. Its marketing division finds that the demand schedule for the album is as shown in the accompanying table. Price of album Quantity of albums demanded $22 0 $20 1,000 $18 2,000 $16 3,000 $14 4,000 $12 5,000 $10 6,000 $8 7,000 a. Calculate the total revenue and the marginal revenue per album. b. The marginal cost of producing each album is constant at $6. To maximize profit, what level of output should Download Records choose, and which price should it charge for each album? c. Mary renegotiates her contract and now needs to be paid a higher royalty per album. So the marginal cost rises to be constant at $14. To maximize profit, what level of output should Download Records now choose, and which price should it charge for each album? Answer to Question: a. Total revenue (TR) and marginal revenue per album (MR) is shown in the following table: Price of album Quantity of albums TR MR demanded $22 0 $0 $20 1,000 $20,000 $20 $18 2,000 $36,000 $16 $16 3,000 $48,000 $12 $14 4,000 $56,000 $8 $12 5,000 $60,000 $4 $10 6,000 $60,000 $0 $8 7,000 $56,000 -$4 b. If the marginal cost of each album is $6, Download Records will maximize profit by producing 4,000 albums, since for each album up to 4,000, marginal revenue is greater than marginal cost. For any further albums, marginal cost would exceed marginal revenue. Producing 4,000 albums, Download Records will charge $14 for each album. c. If the marginal cost of each album is $14, Download Records will maximize profit by producing 2,000 albums, and it will charge $18 per album. Practice Questions and Answers from Lesson III-3: Monopoly Question: The movie theater in Collegetown serves two kinds of customers: students and professors. There are 900 students and 100 professors in Collegetown. Each student’s willingness to pay for a movie ticket is $5. Each professor’s willingness to pay for a movie ticket is $10. Each will buy at most one ticket. The movie theater’s marginal cost per ticket is constant at $3, and there is no fixed cost. a. Suppose the movie theater cannot price-discriminate and needs to charge both students and professors the same price per ticket. If the movie theater charges $5, who will buy tickets and what will the movie theater’s profit be? How large is consumer surplus? b. If the movie theater charges $10, who will buy movie tickets and what will the movie theater’s profit be? How large is consumer surplus? c. Now suppose that, if it chooses to, the movie theater can price-discriminate between students and professors by requiring students to show their student ID. If the movie theater charges students $5 and professors $10, how much profit will the movie theater make? How large is consumer surplus? Answer to Question: a. If the movie theater charges $5 per ticket, both students and professors will buy tickets. The movie theater will sell to 1,000 customers (students and professors), at a price of $5 each. Since the movie theater’s cost per ticket is $3, its profit is $2 per ticket for a total profit of 1,000 ? $2 = $2,000. Students will experience no consumer surplus, but each of the 100 professors will experience consumer surplus of $10 ? $5 = $5 for a total consumer surplus of 100 ? $5 = $500. b. If the movie theater charges $10 per ticket, only professors will buy tickets. The movie theater will sell to 100 customers (professors) at a price of $10 each. Since the movie theater’s cost per ticket is $3, its profit is $7 per ticket for a total profit of 100 ? $7 = $700. Students experience no consumer surplus since they do not buy any tickets. Each of the 100 professors experiences no consumer surplus since the price is equal to their willingness to pay. So consumer surplus is $0. c. If the movie theater charges students a price of $5, it sells 900 tickets at a profit of $5 ? $3 =$2 each for a profit from selling to students of 900 ? $2 =$1,800. Charging professors $10, it sells 100 tickets at a profit of $10 ? $3 =$7 each for a profit from selling to professors of 100 ? $7 =$700. So the theater’s total profit is $1,800 + $700 =$2,500. Since each customer is charged exactly his or her willingness to pay, there is no consumer surplus. Question: A monopolist knows that in order to expand the quantity of output it produces from 8 to 9 units that it must lower the price of its output from $2 to $1. Calculate the quantity effect and the price effect. Use these results to calculate the monopolist’s marginal revenue of producing the 9th unit. The marginal cost of producing the 9th unit is positive. Is it a good idea for the monopolist to produce the 9th unit? Answer to Question: The quantity effect is $1 (the increase in total revenue from selling the 9th unit at $1). The price effect is 8 ? (? $1) =? $8 (the decrease in total revenue from having to lower the price of 8 units by $1 each). So the marginal revenue of producing the 9th unit is $1 ? $8 =? $7. Since marginal revenue is negative, producing the 9th unit is definitely not a good idea: it lowers revenue (since marginal revenue is negative), and it increases the total cost (since marginal cost is positive). So it will definitely lower profit. Instead, the monopolist should produce less output.