Fly Away Peter :: essays research papers

'The characters of Imogen, Ashley and Jim counter the despair created by war'. Discuss. This idea of a countenance between the peaceful world of the sanctuary and the the chaotic world of war is one adapted by many, and with good reason. Through his novel, Malouf seeks to convey to the reader various themes. This is cleverly done in a number of ways, just one of which is this juxtaposition of the relationship between Imogen, Ashley and Jim and how it represents a peaceful world, and the 'despair created by war', its destructive nature and the effect it has on the world. The bond between Imogen, Ashley and Jim is founded on their passionate interest and love of the birds, and the individual gifts that each brings to that interest: Jim's special knowledge, Imogen's photography and Ashley's sense of the land and nature. The relationship between the three reflects the calm, balanced and tranquil order of the natural world. Their appreciation of the 'primitive power' of the bush represents a harmony, it goes 'beyond mere convention or the law'. Malouf, in creating such a powerful representation of the natural world, has prepared us well for the impact of war. The relationship established between Imogen, Ashley and Jim in the first half of the novel is skilfully juxtaposed with the trauma and upheaval of war in the second half. It is indeed a stark contrast to the tranquility of the sanctuary. The 'catastrophe' and 'madness' of the war hearlds Jim's 'fall from innocence'. This provides a dramatic contrast in mood, setting and action from the harmonious peace of the sanctuary section. The 'natural cycle of things' that Jim has been so in tune to has disappeared with the disturbance and destructive nature of war. Throughout the latter half of the novel, during which Jim is caught like a fly in the web of war, the layers of discontent are evident - disharmony is a constant theme. This is made far more apparent through the way in which Malouf uses Jim as a reference to the old world, when everything was ordered and followed a pattern. Jim was there because of the unnatural act of war, but as 'a kind of private reassurance for himself alone', there is 'the presence of the birds'. This allows him 'to find his way back at times to a natural cycle of things that the birds still followed undisturbed'.

Polaroid Corporations Essay

In late March 1996, Ralph Norwood was faced with the task of restructuring Polaroid’s capital structure. In the past, Polaroid had a monopoly in the instant-photography segment. However, with upcoming threats in the emerging digital photography industry and Polaroid experiencing recent losses in their market share due to Kodak’s competition, Gary T. DiCamillo, recently appointed CEO of Polaroid, headed a restructuring plan to stimulate the firm’s performance. The firm’s new plan has goals such as to aggressively exploit the existing Polaroid brand, introduce product extensions, and enter new emerging markets such as Russia in order to secure Polaroid’s future. In addition to the plan, DiCamillo has included certain core objectives that Norwood would need to consider in his recommendation. These values include goals of value creation, financing flexibility, and staying with the â€Å"investment-grade† rating for bonds. His plan would have to afford Polaroid low costs and continued access to capital under alternative debt policies. Norwood would need to access the right optimal strategy with these restrictions; that is to say that even if the most optimal capital structure was to force Polaroid’s bond rating under BBB-rated, Norwood would need to settle for some middle ground. Financing Requirements: Polaroid faces several business risks in March of 1996 that will affect its financial policy. The company must consider foreign risk exposure, demand variability, and the ability to develop new products in time and compete in a developing, innovative market. Polaroid is still essentially a one-product line company, deriving 90% of its revenues from photographic products. Polaroid must also consider the threat that digital imaging technologies pose towards the company’s future. With the start up development of these new technologies, it is clear that Polaroid will not have a monopoly in these markets. In addition, Polaroid experiences business risk with their increasing revenues coming from developing countries. Approximately 9% of Polaroid’s sales in 1995 came from Russia. Exhibit 2 (Information on International Revenues) shows the percent of total international sales is on the rise, while U. S sales are on the decline. Even though, Polaroid does have international lines of credit and probably other strategies to reduce currency risk, their business in these developing international markets does pose increasing market risk. The business risk from competitors and international markets does signify that Polaroid will need additional funding to keep up. The company must maintain a strong and flexible balance sheet to accommodate for future financing needs. Another area of concern is Polaroid’s earnings coverage ratios. While Polaroid has a relatively low debt ratios that are comfortably in the AA-BBB range, the company is struggling to maintain safe earnings coverage multiples on its interest payments. The issue is magnified in the future as market equity grows thus increasing WACC. Without better earnings, Polaroid will not be able make interest payments on the additional debt required to balance the company’s optimal capital structure. The use of debt and the resulting additional financial risk is a decision that Norwood must ultimately make. Norwood is also concerned with developing a long term financial strategy for Polaroid that will enable the company to grow according to DiCamillo’s plan. Virtually all of Polaroid’s debt is maturing within the next six years. The major components are listed below. – $150 million in notes at 7. 25%. which mature on January 15, 1997 – $200 million in notes at 8%, which mature on March 15, 1997. Employee Stock Option Plan Loan with scheduled semiannual principal payments through 1997. Interest rate has varied over time, but is very low due to tax benefits to ESOP lenders. – $140 million in convertible subordinated debentures at 8%, which mature in 2001. They are convertible to common stock at $32. 50 per share. They are not redeemable until September 30, 1998 unless the stock price exceeds $48. 75 for 20 of 30 consecutive trading days. Norwood wants to restructure Polaroid’s debt and equity to maximize the company’s future potential. During this restructuring, Norwood wants to keep the cost of capital low, create value, and preserve Polaroid’s investment grade in order to allow for future borrowing at investment grade status. Polaroid’s Current Position The current capital structure is not appropriate for Polaroid, and it will inhibit the company’s ability to meet future financial demands. After analyzing Polaroid’s current debt maturity structure, the group concluded an eventual downgrade of the company’s BBB bond rating by the end of 1996 according to the coverage ratios. The cost of debt drastically increases when a company enters the non-investment-grade status, while the switch amongst investment-grade ratings is relatively marginal. Exhibit 1 shows the maximum amount of debt Polaroid could have for each credit rating. Polaroid’s current investment-grade rating must be maintained to keep costs low and protect the Polaroid brand name. To maintain this rating, Polaroid needs to stop repurchasing stock and have an issuance of equity in 1996 to avoid a downgrade to junk status. Polaroid needs to make these changes to its capital structure to have flexibility and preserve its bond rating. Any persisting needs can be funded through debt financing. Our Recommendation We recommend issuing $200 million in equity initially to pay off the $150M and $37. 7M debts. This will not only allow the firm access to much needed capital, but will also decrease the leverage ratio and minimize financing risk. Also, the ESOP program will be temporarily suspended to reduce leverage. Currently, Polaroid’s D/E is far too high at . 4. This additional equity brings it to a more manageable . 22. By analyzing the coverage ratios, we predicted that if equity was not issued by 1996, the company would lose its BBB rating. Our recommendation first and foremost considers the preservation of Polaroid’s BBB status. The advantage to a new equity issuance is that it will provide needed capital without damaging the company’s financial statements. This will provide flexibili ty for further borrowing in the future and make it easier for Polaroid to maintain its debt rating. Furthermore, when capital is needed in 1998, we will issue $425M in 5-year bonds. This gives Polaroid the lowest WACC and maximum leverage while maintaining BBB status. At this point the ESOP program will resume with the company re-levering. With a somewhat flat yield curve, longer term bonds are not significantly cheaper to outweigh the flexibility that 5-year bonds offer. If earnings improve in 5 years, a capital structure with more leverage may be preferable. Having 5-year bonds gives Polaroid this flexibility. Exhibits 2 and 3 show that a capital structure with a D/E between . 22 and . 26 is optimal. Given the consistent growth in market equity capital, additional borrowing and possible share repurchases will be necessary in the future to stay in this range. This strategy would open the door for Polaroid to find the optimal capital structure while still adhering to the values of the new CEO. The objective would be to choose the option with the lowest weighted average cost of capital, thus creating the most value, maintaining a minimum of a BBB rating, and also allowing flexibility.

Assisted Suicide Right Or Wrong - 880 Words

Stacey Hillard 01/14/15 Nursing Roles I Professor Rodgers Assisted Suicide: Right or Wrong? The article I selected is called Assisted Suicide: Right or Wrong? By: Claire Andre and Manuel Velasquez. This article talked about a researcher named Matthew Donnely. For over 30 years Matthew conducted research on x-rays. Matthew was diagnosed with a terminal skin cancer. During his battle with cancer he had lost his nose, his left hand, two fingers on his right hand and part of his jaw (Andre Velasquez). Matthew’s condition was worsening. His body was deteriorating and he was in constant pain. Many days he lay in bed with his fist bald and teeth clenched from the pain (Andre Velasquez). Matthew pleaded with his physicians to assist him in ending his suffering. The physicians refused. 1. Explain how you would decide if you were in the same situation. If I were the physician in this situation, I would have also refused to assist in physician assisted suicide. Instead I would have provided the patient with comfort until the end. A physician has a responsibility to care for patients regardless if recovery is impossible. It is the physician’s responsibility to respond to the needs of the patient and to attempt to make the patient as comfortable as possible. A physician takes an oath of non-malfeasance which means to do no harm. 2. What values are reflected in your decisions? As a human first with Christian beliefs, physician assisted suicide would be a moral issue for me. It isShow MoreRelatedPhysician-Assisted Suicide: Right or Wrong?1053 Words   |  4 PagesHead: RIGHT OR WRONG? Physician-Assisted Suicide Physician-assisted suicide occurs when a physician helps in the requested death of a voluntary patient (Smith, 2012). In most cases, the patient is terminally ill. A recent study revealed that pain or unbearable pain is not a major motivating factor for the request (Foley et al, 2001). Rather, the motivating factors are the effects of illness, the patients sense of self, and fears about the future. Methods used in conducting physician-assisted suicideRead MoreAssisted Suicide, Morally Wrong or Your Right?2852 Words   |  12 PagesAssisted Suicide, Morally Wrong or Your Right? Is assisted suicide your right as a human; is it moral or ethical? First we must look at what is assisted suicide. Assisted suicide is a common term that most people know of, suicide that is facilitated by another person. (Dictionary.com) However, there are three terms that are sometimes used interchangeable when discussing assisted suicide; physician assisted suicide, assisted suicide and euthanasia. Physician assisted suicide is when a physicianRead MoreAssisted Suicide: Blurring the Moral Lines Between Right and Wrong 732 Words   |  3 Pagesdeath, making the question of the morality of assisted suicide hard to weigh-. For me, humanity is what it all comes down to. 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On November 1, 2014, Maynard decided to end her life. Assisted suicide is a controversial topic that has been debated for many years. In a few countries, this procedure has already been legalized. ThereRead MoreThe Rights Of Physician Assisted Suicide1347 Words   |  6 PagesThe Right to Die By: Antony Makhlouf Antony Makhlouf PHR 102-006 Contemporary Moral Issues Final Paper The Right to Die Physician-assisted suicide, also known as euthanasia, has been a hot topic as of late. If you do not know what this is, physician-assisted suicide is the taking of ones life. This usually occurs when a patient is in a irreversible state, and must live through a tube. With multiple cases occurring in the past, current and the more to occur the in the future, this looksRead MoreThe Death Of Terminally Ill919 Words   |  4 PagesAs Americans, we are granted rights in this country and these rights, according to the Declaration of Independence, grant us â€Å"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness†. So tell me why someone that is terminally ill cannot use these rights to end their life of pain and suffering. Some states have rallied and given those who are terminally ill the right to die. However, some simply see this means of ending a life, inhumane, unethical, immoral, and just plain wrong. As a citizen of the United StatesRead MoreExplanation Of Physician Assisted Suicid e1262 Words   |  6 PagesPhysician assisted suicide has been legal in Oregon since November 1997. Over 750 people have taken advantage of this law since it was passed. Many people think there is something wrong with such this and it should be outlawed. I will argue that there is no moral basis for the outlaw of such a practice. Explanation of physician assisted suicide Physician assisted suicide occurs when an ill patient consults a doctor and decides that they would like to end their life. Typically, the patient is prescribedRead MoreThe Catholic View of Euthanasia Essay856 Words   |  4 Pageseuthanasia is morally wrong. it has always been taught the importance of the commandement you shall not kill. The church has said that nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an innocent person, whether a foetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person, or one suffering from an incurable disease, or a person who is dying. the church says any law permitting euthanasia is a unjust law. the catholic church does not accept that people have a right to die. Euthanasia