Custom Snowboards Essay

Custom Snowboards, Inc. is interested in securing funding to expand into the European market. Financial statistics have been provided within this report to discuss the feasibility of this expansion. To fund the project, Custom Snowboards wishes to secure capital debt of $1,000,000. Custom Snowboards has seen considerable growth in the percentage of sales and substantial increase in revenue. They expect future sales to continue to rise, which would be beneficial to the lender and Custom Snowboards. A horizontal analysis will be reviewed and will reveal the Custom Snowboards financial position over a three-year period. This will help in the actual approval process. The review will look at key points and will help to confirm Custom Snowboards ability to successfully expand into Europe. Profitability The financial health of a company reviews sales, total assets and net worth in relation to how profit was earned (Hunt, 2013). Thus, income statements from a threeyear period will be reviewed and this will help develop a picture of Custom Snowboard’s financial health. Net Sales Net sales increased 32,200 or 0.49% from year 12 to year 13. This indicates strength within Custom Snowboards, even though the increase was minimal. Year 13 to year 14 net sales dropped by 3.4% or $225,400. This does not bode well for Custom Snowboards and could cause a concern regarding the ability to repay the debt. The CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS Company’s corrective action plan should be reviewed to see if the changes implemented worked. Cost of Goods Sold The cost of goods sold in year 12 and 13 increased by 0.49% or $22,400. This  is considered strength. It makes since that net sales increased that the demand for goods sold increased as well. However, when net sales decreased in year 13 and 14 so did the demand for goods sold. This decrease is equal to a decrease in sales of 3.4%. There was no over spending during this time frame and is determined by the cost of goods sold and net sales percentages were exactly the same. Gross Profit Year 12 and 13 saw gross profit increase by $9,800. Again, sales were increased, so gross profit was increased by 0.049%. The gross profit was above $2,000,000 during year 12 and 13. Gross profit by year 14 had dropped 3.4% or $1,950,200. This is a concern for Custom Snowboards, since it represents a reduction in revenue and viability. Operating Income Operating income for year 12 and 13 dropped by $63,000 or 23.56%. The operating income continued to drop during year 13 and 14. By year 14, the operating income had fallen $109,000 or 53%. This is a concern for Custom Snowboards and they may have trouble paying all their liabilities. Custom Snowboards finance team plans to implement protocols to correct deficiencies in operating income. Earnings before income taxes Earnings before income taxes dropped by $57,800 or 30% in year 12 and year 13. This continues to drop 82.74% during year 13 and year 14. However, Custom CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS Snowboards lost $106,000 on earnings before income taxes. Earnings before income taxes help establish a measurement of profitability, but do not really represent cash earnings (Investopedia, 2013). To decide on credibility, other factors have to be considered along with this item. However, Custom Snowboards wants to ensure transparency and accuracy in trying to secure this debt. Net Income Net Income was down $43,350 or 30% during year 12 and year 13. This drop continued into year 13 and year 14 by continuing to drop 82.74% or $80,175. This is a concern for Custom Snowboards. This indicates potential problems exist, such as workflow, production, and pay. Furthermore, the financial picture of the company is not a healthy one. Liquidity Trading activity within Custom Snowboards liquidity is characterized as high. The horizontal analysis will determine how quickly cash can be converted into use. Also, the horizontal analysis will help determine the company’s liquidity and the ability to meet obligations. Cash and Cash Equivalents Shares and bonds that can be easily converted into cash are considered cash and cash equivalents. This converted cash is then immediately available for use. Custom Snowboards had a cash and cash equivalent of 83.8% during year 12 and year 13, but that dropped to 7.2% in year 13 and year 14 since sales dropped during that period of time. This would be a concern for Custom Snowboards and indicates they may not have the CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 5 assets available to keep immediate cash flow available, especially if sales are not as expected in Europe. Total Current Assets $142,260 or 19.3% represents the total current assets of Custom Snowboards during year 12 and year 13. However, in year 13 and year 14 total current assets fell 16%. This is a concern for Custom Snowboards since the company must have enough assets to fund operations and pay expenses. Continued low sales and limited assets is a concern for lenders and poses the question if Custom Snowboards would be able to meet its financial short-term obligations. Solvency Custom Snowboards appears to be financially solvent from the review of the income statement and balance sheet. Custom Snowboards has reduced liabilities and maintained consistent repayments to reduce long-term financial obligations. This is strength for Custom Snowboards since they saw sales drop. Long-term Liabilities Year 12 and Year 13 saw long-term liabilities drop 6.4% and then drop another 6.8% in year 13 and year 14. This is strength for Custom Snowboards and shows a determination in reducing these liabilities. Custom Snowboards is attempting to demonstrate they are committed to expansion and growth. They anticipate the European expansion will help generate sales and earnings that will help them meet their long-term liabilities. CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 6 Total Liabilities Custom Snowboards posted total liabilities of $54,640 in year 12 and year 13, which is down 5.5%. Total liabilities continued to show a decrease during year 13 and year 14 of 6.2% or $57,520. This is strength for Custom Snowboards and shows a determination to reduce debt. Custom Snowboard has provided transparency of its financial records to provide an understanding of the mission of the company and to help with the approval process in securing the $1,000,000 debt. A2. Risks Profitability is important in any business. To ensure profitability, cost-saving measures must be considered and initiated to reduce financial risks (Hunt, 2013). This will help Custom Snowboards continue to grow and see sales grow. Net Sales Net sales dropped $225,400 or 3.4% in year 13 and year 14. Merkgraf (2013) believes the way to increase net sales is to hold staff accountable after the implementation of specific sales strategies and the setting the bar high. To accomplish this, the focus will need to be on repeat sales. This can be accomplished through marketing and thus the marketing budget will need to be addressed and have additional funds. Marketing and public relations can help increase the drop in sales and to inform consumers Custom Snowboards is planning expansion into the European market. A realistic goal to strive for is a 20% increase in sales each year for the next five years to help recover from the loss in sales and revenue. This will make the company more profitable and increase the net operating income. Marketing must focus on repeat customers and initiating creative promotional  incentives that will bring in customer interest. Sales staff must also find CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS These incentives beneficial so they are able to be resourceful when utilizing sales tactics and to turn potential customers into actual customers. The actual plan must implement methods that are cost effective and do not increase cost during production. The goal is to reduce spending and costs and increases sales. Gross Profit Gross profit was recorded at $1,950,200 or a decrease of 3.4% at the end of year 14. This is a concern since the goal of all business is to increase gross profit to make the company more valuable. The company must increase sales to keep gross profit up. Operating Income Year 12 and year 13 saw operating income drop $63,000 or 23.56%. Operating income continued to decline in year 13 and year 14 to $109,000 or 53%. Again, sales must increase for an increase in operating income to be seen. A possible strategy to increase sales is to offer personalized snowboards. These snowboards can be priced less than other snowboards, thus making them more attractive to the customer. Also, it gives the customer a chance to obtain a product different from others and cheaper than others, which can increase the interest to purchase the product. Earnings Before Income Taxes Year 12 and year 13 earnings before income taxes dropped $57,800 or 30%. This decline continued into year 13 and year 14 with a drop of $106,000 or 82.74%. This is not a good sign for Custom Snowboards. Costs need to be cut and management will need to determine where the areas that can be trimmed exist. The goal of any business is profitability and growth. The company will need to demonstrate they are capable of CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 8 meeting financial obligations when expansion into the European market is well underway. Net Income Net income dropped 30% or $43,350 in year 12 and year 13. This drop continued into year 13 and year 14 with a total drop seen of $80,175 or 82.74%. This indicates a poor financial picture and position for Custom Snowboards. There may be production or workflow problems that may become apparent and be concerning to lenders. This drop in net income affects everyone within the company. To increase net income, sales must be increased. Thus, the minimal advertising budget must have additional funds allocated to increase sales and public relations. This is especially important during expansion to let customers know Custom Snowboards will be involved within the European market. Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash and cash equivalents were recorded at 7.2% in year 13 and year 14. This is a substantial drop from previous recordings. To avoid liquidity concerns, Custom Snowboards must increase the balance in cash and cash equivalents. Root causes for the decline must be determined and corrective plans must be implemented. An increase in marketing and public relations to increase product awareness is one example that could be implemented that would help generate sales. Total Current Assets Assets are important in the business arena and profitability needs to rise for a company to be successful. Total current assets dropped 16% in year 13 and year 14 for Custom Snowboards. This is a concern and companies that see assets drop are not profitable and over time lose money (Hammel, 2013). Total current assets need to be CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 9 raised and to do so debt needs to be paid off or even down. However, Custom Snowboards needs to redirect some monies to be utilized during the expansion process. A3. Ratio Analysis The solvency of Custom Snowboards will be reviewed and confirmed by the ratio analysis. Custom Snowboards is seeking a loan for $1,000,000 and has great potential for growth in the snowboard market. The snowboard market has seen a demand for the product and an increase in sales. Income statements and balance sheet from two years of financial information will be reviewed and presented. Profitability Gross Profit Margin Custom Snowboards financial health is determined by the gross profit margin. Year 13 Custom Snowboards gross profit margin was 30.4. This means Custom Snowboards retained $0.30 out of every $1.00 earned. Year 14 saw no change in the gross profit margin. A gross profit margin of only 30.4 is not a strong margin ratio and indicates a weakness for Custom Snowboards, especially when the industry average was 32.1%. Custom Snowboards experienced a reduction in sales and was able to maintain the $0.30 per dollar in revenue, which indicates strength within the company. It goes without saying that profitability will be low when gross profit ratio is low (Horngren, 2009). Custom Snowboards plan to help the expansion project by eliminating expensive liabilities. Net Profit Margin Custom Snowboards net profit ratio was 1.5% in year 13 and with a downturn in sales in year 14 the ratio had dropped to 0.3%. This was well below the industry average CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS of 5.1% recorded by Winter Sports. This is a concern for Custom Snowboards since the business sustainability is in question if profit drops or is absent. Custom Snowboards needs to increase sales and show an increase in profits to ease any concerns lenders may have regarding the company’s efficiency to reverse the unforeseen decrease. Return on Total Assets Custom Snowboards return on total assets was recorded at 5.4% in returns in year 13, which is considered a strong performance. The profitability and sales were strong as well. However, Custom Snowboards return on total assets had dropped to 1.0% by the end of year 14 due to poor sales and profitability. A major competitor, Winter Sports, recorded a more profitable year at 4.8% return on total assets. This demonstrates the competitor was able to control overhead better than Custom Snowboards. Return on Common Equity Return on common equity demonstrates how equity is effectively used to create  more profits and is a significant ratio for the company. The return on common equity for year 13 was 11.4% and is seen as strength for Custom Snowboards. It figures to $11 return on every $100 earned by the company. However, by year 14 the return on common equity had dropped to $2 on every $100 earned. This was subpar and below the industry average. A major competitor, Winter Sports, recorded 8.1% return on common equity ratio. Liquidity Current Ratio Problems with liquidity can be found within a common financial ratio. This will give an idea of what the working capital position is like for that company. Furthermore, CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS it will be a good indicator to determine if a company will be able to repay a debt within a 12-month time frame. A company with a high current ratio often has cash or inventory necessary to pay for short-term debts. The current ratio for Custom Snowboards during year 13 was 6.82. This is an acceptable number, as 2 often is the indicator that determines whether a company is able to pay for short-term liabilities. Again, year 14 saw a decrease in numbers and lost almost one full point in the current ratio dropping to 5.84. This is not a cause for concern, but demonstrates strength for Custom Snowboards and their position to meet short-term liabilities. This ratio is better than a major competitor, Winter Sports, who recorded a current ratio of 4.20. Acid-Test Ratio Investopedia (2013) defines an acid-test ratio as one that determines whether inventory needs to be sold to cover immediate liabilities or if a company has enough short-term assets to do so. Along with a current ratio, the acid-test ratio should have a higher number to be in a better financial position. Year 13 recorded the acid-test ratio at 6.82 and year 14 at 3.64. Year 13 and year 14 are seen as strengths, since an acid test ratio should have a 1 or higher to be considered able to meet current liabilities. Year 14 saw Custom Snowboards lose sales in a struggling economy yet maintain a higher acidtest ratio than the industry average of 3.40. Again, this is seen as strength for Custom Snowboards and the ability to meet short-term obligations. Solvency Debt Ratio A debt ratio is reviewed to see the financial ability of a company to repay its debts and the ability to have a â€Å"cushion† to fall back upon should the need arise. Custom CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS Snowboards has stringently worked to accumulate large cash and cash equivalent balances to help in case of an economic downturn and prevent a cash crisis. The debt ratio was 52.5% in year 13 and 50.4% in year 14. This reduction demonstrates company strength, since Custom Snowboards was able to continue to reduce debt while facing a decline in profits and sales. However, Winter Sports were able to record a lower debt ratio of 38%. Custom Snowboards must develop a strategic plan to increase sales, reduce costs, and reduce current debts so they are able to reduce the risks for insolvency. Time Interest Earned A higher time interest earned ratio is indicative on how well a company can make payments on interest owed for debts. To find this ratio, you must know the total earnings before interest and taxes of a company then divide by the total amount of interest due on the debt. Custom Snowboards recorded a 2.58 time interest earned in year 13 and 1.29 time interested earned in year 14. A time interest earned ratio of 1.5 is indicative of the company’s ability to make payments on the debt. Thus year 13 is strength for Custom Snowboards and was generating enough money to meet the interest payments owed. However, year 14 saw a decrease and a weakened financial position. This was due to a decline in sales and difficulty generating revenue. Winter Sports had a much stronger financial position and recorded a time interest earned ratio of 5.10. B1. Historical Analysis The past and present performance information of Custom Snowboards liability and equity will be reviewed utilizing a horizontal analysis for year 12, year 13, and year 14. The balance sheet and income statement will be reviewed and compared to measure CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 13 growth and reduction. The review will also look for insolvency so corrective actions may be implemented. Net Profit Net sales and growth in profit is important for company existence. Net sales for Custom Snowboards were recorded at $6,601,00 in year 12 and increased by $32,200 or 0.49% in year 13. Year 14 saw a decrease in net sales and recorded a drop of 3.40% and net sales of $6,407,800. Net sales, when up, indicate strength for a company and are indicative of a thriving business, but when down there is an effect on profit that everyone notices. Cost of Goods Sold The cost of goods sold in year 12 and year 13 increased 0.49% and recorded expenditures of $32,000 more in year 13 on cost of goods sold. This actually amounted to the same as net sales during the same time period. Year 13 and year 14 saw costs of goods sold drop and net sales drop to 3.40%. These can be seen as strengths for Custom Snowboards since they are meeting the demand for their product and demonstrating a relationship between profit and cost of goods sold (Kennon, 2013). Gross Profit Custom Snowboards recorded an increase in gross profits of 0.49% in year 12 to year 13. This is not surprising since net sales and cost of goods sold were recording an increase at this time. This is considered strength for Custom Snowboards because gross profits increased when sales increased. Year 13 to year 14 gross profits saw a dramatic drop of 3.40% or $600,000 due to the decline in sales from the economic downturn and the possibility of competitors selling similar products at reduced costs. CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 14 Operating Expenses Operating expenses for Custom Snowboards increased 4.21% or $733,000 in year 12 and year 13. This trend continued into year 14 and increased another 2.23% or 40,400 to a total of $1,853,200. Custom Snowboards must find a way to determine how operating expenses can be reduced without raising product prices yet increasing sales. General and Admin Expenses Custom Snowboards increased administrative salaries 4.76% in year 12 and year 13 when sales were increased as well. Salaries also increased during this  time period 13.63%. This makes sense because sales were increased, so production would need to be increased as well. Administrative compensation is a concern upon review and rose from $210,000 in year 12 to $250,000 in year 14. Year 14 saw sales drop and gross profits drop. The demand for products has been reduced and this is not feasible that compensation should continue to increase more than 13%. Executive Salaries Custom Snowboards increased executive salaries 2.63% in year 12 and year 13. The company proceeded to increase executive salaries again in year 13 and year 14 10.26%. This is not feasible and a concern for Custom Snowboards. The company needs to be cutting operating costs and compensation of executive salaries since a loss of sales and demand for products has happened. Custom Snowboards needs to standardize production practices for maximum efficiency, reduce staff hours to compensate for the decrease in production demand, and reduce costs while the demand remains low. CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 15 Utilities Custom Snowboards recorded increased utility costs of 7.14% or $17,000 in year 12 and year 13 and then a continued increase of 1.96% or $5,000 increase for year 13 and year 14. The increase in year 12 and year 13 is not surprising because the demand for products was higher and sales were increased. The cost for utilities and energy consumption should then have decreased when production demand waned. The utility budget for Custom Snowboards was not realistic, since sales increased 0.49% or $32,200 and that is less than half of what monies are provided within the utility budget. Current Assets Changes in percentages on multiple accounts can affect profitability. Custom Snowboards recorded current assets that changed period to period by increasing and then decreasing. Cash and Cash Equivalents Custom Snowboards recorded an 83.8% increase in cash and cash equivalents in year 12 and year 13. This gave the company a large cash balance and the  ability to meet short-term obligations without problems. A 7.2% reduction in cash and cash equivalents in year 14 was recorded when sales declined. The higher the cash and cash equivalents the more availability the company has to liquidate assets to cover short-term obligations. Accounts Receivables Custom Snowboards recorded a minimal increase of 0.5% in accounts receivable during year 12 and year 13. To have an increase in accounts receivable is a concern for the company since it’s indicative that customers are often having trouble making payments for products purchased. Accounts receivable was improved in year 13 and year CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 16 14 when a decrease of 3.4% was recorded. This would be strength for the company and indicate the customer has paid for products purchased and revenue is moving in the right direction. Raw Materials Inventory Raw materials inventory increased 0.5% in year 12 and year 13, but decreased 3.4% in year 13 and year 14. To have limited raw materials inventory for production is strength for Custom Snowboards. This limited inventory is easy to store when sales decline and easily accessible when sales rebound and production increases. Liabilities Liabilities are obligations owed on short-term and long-term debts. Custom Snowboards decreased liabilities 5.5% in year 12 and year 13. The company was further able to reduce liabilities 6.2% in year 13 and year 14. This is strength for Custom Snowboards and is indicative of positive financial repayments. Accounts and Notes Payable Custom Snowboards accounts and notes payable increased 0.5% in year 12 and year 13, but decreased 3.4% in year 13 and year 14. This is considered strength for Custom Snowboards and is indicative of positive financial repayments. Total Current Liabilities Custom Snowboards total current liabilities increased for year 12 and year 13 0.3%, but year 13 and year 14 recorded a decrease of 3.4%. This is strength for the company and again shows a positive repayment history that exhibits creditworthiness. This should tell lenders that Custom Snowboards is committed to repaying liabilities even when a decline in sales happens. CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 17 B1a. Future Performance A trend analysis will be conducted to view financial changes that have transpired over the multiple years within Custom Snowboards. These changes will then be calculated, evaluated and used for comparison to the base year to help develop a plan of action and provide direction for which Custom Snowboards will head financially. The base year is year 12 with $6,601,000 in net sales at 100%. Net sales recorded minimal growth in year 13 at 0.5% over base or 100.5%. Monetarily net sales recorded a $33,200 growth in year 13, which is not seen as a strong growth, especially since the demand for the product was decreasing. Year 14 recorded a drop in net sales to 97.1% from baseline in year 12 and 96.6% in comparison to year 13. This is a concern for Custom Snowboards since sales could not be maintained. Procedures may need to be reviewed to check for inconsistency and inefficiency in production and sales so this may be corrected and sales can be boosted. Pricing adjustments can be made and the product may become more appealing to potential and existing customers. Custom Snowboards forecasts a recovery of 3% in year 15 on the trend analysis, which will help strengthen their financial picture. Management envisions growth and net sales will occur and increase consistently as the economy improves. The forecast for year 16 is not as favorable as year 15 and net sales drop 1% or $100,000. The prices on products will be adjusted to remain competitive within the industry. Management believes the economy will recover then net sales and revenue will improve. Year 17 is forecasted to improve 3.7% over base line or total earnings of $6,647,452. This trend analysis shows the management of Custom Snowboards believes the company can recover and become prosperous and grow. CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 18 B2. Improvement Revision Line items in use will be reviewed in the overhead analysis to see what is profitable, cost effective and best practice for personalizing snowboards. The goal for Custom Snowboards is to increase net sales and revenue and limit liabilities, while making everyone happy. The company must maintain prices that can be competitive within the industry and European market yet maintain profit margins that are reasonable to succeed. A traditional costing method is currently implemented at Custom Snowboards. The company currently has two product lines, regular snowboards and customized snowboards. The individual type of snowboard and the inventory ordered for each determines the cost of each snowboard. The assumption is the manufacturing cost drives the price of the product. The concern with this type of cost driver is it does not take into consideration all the underlying costs that affect the overall product price (Johnson, 2013). Custom Snowboards must be more accurate in production costs to have increased profits without rising product pricing and remain competitive in the industry. Activity based costing could be something Custom Snowboards wants to implement to help obtain a more accurate picture of production costs. This method allows a company to see the overhead in manufacturing and what each activity actually costs in the production process. It is more accurate and adjustments can be made with specific activities to reduce the amount of money spent. Custom Snowboards produces regular and personalized snowboards. Activity based costing can compare these manufacturing processes and see where the overhead costs are in each step of the production process for each product. The material and labor CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS Costs for both traditional and activity based costing is $3,375,143 for the regular snowboard. The personalized snowboard material and labor costs is $1,177,344 utilizing both the traditional and activity base costing methods. Custom Snowboards has a lump sum overhead charge for manufacturing using the traditional costing method. Regular snowboards sum is $1,068,982, while the personalized snowboards sum is $334,048. Utilizing the traditional costing method the total production cost is $4,444,125 for the regular snowboard and $1,511,392 for the personalized snowboard. Activity based costing distributes costs among the activities it takes for manufacturing to help determine accurate product pricing. Some activities included in activity based costing consideration are product development, quality control, package assembly and shipping, and miscellaneous items. Regular snowboards have a manufacturing cost of $546,863 utilizing the activity based costing method. Personalized snowboards activity based cost for manufacturing is $856,167. Thus, total cost for production for regular snowboards is $3,922,006 and personalized snowboards is $2,033,511. The activity based costing method reveals Custom Snowboards has overspent during the manufacturing and production process while utilizing the traditional costing method. The new personalized snowboards have a greater factory setup cost, but should decrease over time as the product is sold. One improvement identified is packaging and shipping of both products. There is a significant difference between the cost with regular snowboard packaging and shipping costing $266,072 and personalized snowboards packaging and shipping cost of $66,516. This is quite a dramatic difference, especially CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS Since regular snowboards comprise on 20% of sales while the personalized snowboard sells 80% of the sales output. The activity based costing method can help trim costs and overspending while being able to forecast more accurate pricing and sales to ensure a better return on investment. Custom Snowboards could utilize the just in time costing method that follows the principle materials do not sit in the warehouse, but are â€Å"pulled† when the demand is there for the product. This is not an ideal costing method for some businesses, since it leaves no wiggle room when forecasting the future. The just in time method does minimize costs and production time, since these things take place when there is a demand for the product and no excess inventory is left sitting around. This leaves more cash for the company to re-invest and improve costs. For just in time costing to work requires the company to forecast sales and evaluate excess inventory and materials. Custom Snowboards had $143,136 in excess inventory in year 14. This will continue to increase by 0.1% annually if no adjustments are made to production. Custom Snowboards has previously had excess inventory and materials left over annually. Utilizing the just in time costing method can help increase income for the company and help save time, costs, and resources during the production demands. B3. Internal and External Risks Risks that can be controlled by the company are internal risks. Risks that happen outside of the company and the company cannot control are external risks. External risks often happen without warning and this is why companies must have the forethought to be prepared for many things. Some external risks include environmental issues, currency CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS Exchange rates, economic factors, and legal issues both domestic and internal. Internal risks may include production staffing, language barriers, and management structure. Management Structure and Staffing Staffing and management structure would be considered an internal risk since Custom Snowboards will have to make changes in the management structure with expansion into Europe. The company will have business operations in two countries and the goal will generally need to remain the same at both locations. The leaders will need to be both effective and efficient to guide the company to a successful transition. Staffing will play a major role, since multiple positions will have multiple people working in that role in both facilities. The leadership of the company will have to evaluate these positions to maximize efficiency to work towards increased revenue and profits. Loss of Focus Expansion may often cause a shift of business focus to change and move away from important issue like quality assurance, production efficiency, and production deadlines. Leadership must ensure the company has a strong core to stay focused on the business goals for current and future project successes. Language and Cultural Barriers Expansion into Europe is bound to cause language and cultural barriers. A new country and market can cause interactions to be strained if language and cultural barriers cannot be breached. Language is important in business to ensure communication is effective the company must have leaders that know the language in the new country and are sensitive to the cultural differences for a successful expansion. It would be CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS Deferential to offend potential customers, thus ruining company relations. The business goal is to prosper. Currency Exchange Rates The expansion into the European market will require Custom Snowboards to deal with foreign currency. The foreign currency rates change frequently and Custom Snowboards will have to convert this into US Dollars. The company will have to ensure they are not losing money on their products and they are not overspending on production costs. The company cannot control this external risk factor, but they do need to try and prepare for any eventually that may affect the company. The US economy may be strong, but a variety of things can cause this to crash and the same goes for the European economy. Foreign economy can lead to large fluctuations and for great revenue gains, but it also means it can cause big losses as well. International Legal Risks International and US legal risks are similar in nature and can cause several problems. Custom Snowboards must understand the tax laws and operations as it expands into the European market. The company must understand the legal standards of the business operations in the market. The company must ensure they have met all the obligations of the law within the countries they will be providing services to and to defray any problems that may arise. Also, by understanding these laws Custom Snowboards can eliminate costly legal fees and fines. Environmental Risk An external risk beyond Custom Snowboards control is an environmental risk. Snowboards require snow and winter. Environmental factors can severely affect sales of CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS Snowboards. Dry, warm climates are less likely to need a snowboard. Marketing is important in this aspect and should focus on areas that have winter seasons and snow. European areas vary in climate and marketing should focus on areas that are prime for skiing. Weather patterns may also play a role in environmental risk. El Nino and La Nina can affect the winter season and how much snow and how cold the area actually gets. Complete Customer Service Customer service is important with any business. The goal is to help resolve any issues a customer may have to reduce the dissatisfaction. Custom Snowboards will have a large area to cover within the European market and must be cogzignant of a wide variety of languages and customs to be aware of. Customer support should be convenient for all consumers. A positive customer service experience will lead to good reviews and word-of-mouth sales, which boost revenues. Poor customer service travels fast and would hurt Custom Snowboards and reduce sales and revenue. Reputable Suppliers Custom Snowboards must be able to get products to the European plant to produce the snowboards. Communication skills are key to dealing with business partners to reduce any potential obstacles. Business practices must be clarified to avoid any complications. Product quality must be written contractually to avoid any possible confusion. Individuals with good communication skills must be placed in the positions to help secure these suppliers to keep product quality the best and available for production. CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS B3a. Recommendation Management Structure and Staffing A management and staff model must be developed and utilized to mitigate risks. The plan must outline the company’s organizational chart and who reports to whom. The organizational chart will outline each department of the company and the staff that are identified within each department. The company will then develop specific job descriptions for each position to  clarify the role and expectations. Custom Snowboards management team will then be able to identify what positions are exactly needed and where cuts can be made. This will help ensure the strongest staff is in place for the expansion to deal with issues as they arise. A plan in place will ensure the company can ensure smooth transitions for future expansions. Loss of Focus Loss of focus in current business practices requires a business plan to keep the company trained on the goal. The business plan will actually outline the goals Custom Snowboards has and where they want them to lead to. The company will implement the staffing plan into the business plan to mitigate risk. A taskforce will be formed that will focus solely on the management of the US plant, but will receive updates on the planned European expansion. Language and Cultural Barriers Language and cultural issues require training and education to reduce risk. Employees who are educated on languages and cultures are more likely to be comfortable and less likely to offend the customer. Custom Snowboards can hire interrupters’ to help staff until all are comfortable within new positions and skills have been attained. The CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 25 company should also consider hiring staff from all different cultures to strengthen the moral and company. Custom Snowboards should hold training seminars frequently to reinforce cultural identities served, especially when employees will be traveling to a new area. Currency Exchange Rates Currency exchange rates are external risks, but Custom Snowboards are preparing to reduce any damage that affects the company. The exchange rates change frequently. The company will want to compare products with competitors to understanding pricing concerns prior to the expansion. The cost for production should carefully considered reducing all necessary overhead to increase revenue. The European financial market trends must be evaluated and then trend projections can be created. The financial market is not totally predictable so it not able to mitigate risk completely. International Legal Risks A legal team that is well versed with international law is key to reduce risk. Also, a management team that is aware of potential pitfalls and risks associated with international is key to have in charge during expansion. The company must comply with all laws and ensure they understand all the laws of the countries that they will be doing business with. The company should educate staff on what laws are pertinent to their respective departments and keep them abreast of changes. Custom Snowboards should ensure they have enough cash available to survive, should issues arise. Environmental Risks Custom Snowboards has absolutely no control over the environment. They can ensure plants and warehouses are up-to-date and in stable condition to be able to weather CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS Any type of weather they may encounter. Production needs to take place in multiple areas, so should something happen to one area they can continue production without further losses. Custom Snowboards can review and analyze annual weather reports to help forecast trends and be prepared for the unexpected. An environmental risk can take many forms and is hard to predict and control. The company must have multiple contingency plans in place for this reason. Customer Service Customers are essential to a business. The profitability of a business relies greatly on how satisfied a customer is, repeat business and potential new customers because of word of mouth advertising. A toll free call center will allow customers to call in with any questions or concerns regarding the products purchased. Custom Snowboards staff will be able to address these concerns and questions, but only after undergoing an educational training session and establishing a process standard of communication. The company will develop a communication and relationship curriculum to help focus on long-term relationships (Joseph, 2013). Reputable Suppliers Custom Snowboards must research suppliers available within the area of the  European expansion to ensure a reputable supplier is found that is both reliable and has quality products. The business terms and contractual details must be attended to minimize the chance of fraud. The contract must be written in terms that both parties understand to ensure no misunderstandings take place. It would be helpful for Custom Snowboards to employee area natives to help interpret when needed. CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS B4. Potential Returns Custom Snowboards is planning to expand into the European market. They will expand their customer base, increase revenue and experience a growth rate. Projected annual sales are expected to increase for year15 to year 19. Year 15 annual sales of $1,271,720 are projected and expected to increase to $2,390,085 at year-end of 19. Also projected to increase is net cash flow especially as this has a direct relationship with the cost of goods sold. The forecast net income peaks at $256,703 in year 19 up from $98,550 in year 15. The European expansion is projected to build a strong financial future for Custom Snowboards. The Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return are reviewed when looking at the capital budget of a business. The future value and present value of a company is indicated based on cash flows under the net present value. Custom Snowboards is ready to invest $1,000,000 into an expansion project in Europe. This is based on cash flows over five years and the present total value of the company with a market change factored in or $1,028,437. This means the company will be profitable in the European market and see a return on their initial investment. The internal rate of return looks at the rate the project grows at. Custom Snowboards looks at to return 10.8% over 5 years based on the initial $1,000,000 investment. The minimum rate of return or hurdle rate is set at 10%. This means the company will make a profit in the future on the initial investment. The net present value and internal rate of return are beneficial to companies when predicting future growth on investment. Companies tha t have a strong net present value and internal rate of return are able to secure loans and expand. This is important for the future CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 28 successes of companies. Custom Snowboards is predicting returns on their initial investment with the European expansion and increases in revenue. Custom Snowboards must evaluate their fiscal responsibility to determine if leasing or buying is in the best interest of the company. The company will need to put a $50,000 down payment from working capital and $800,000 to either buy or lease a facility. Analysis determines purchasing a facility would be in the best interest of the company. The present value outflow to lease is $653,355 and $597,723 to purchase a building. The tax deductions available would provide a benefit to the company as well. Custom Snowboards should consider obtaining borrowing money for a long-term debt from an outside source. The optimal capital structure that would provide the best return is to fund the project in Europe over five years. This would allow for 1.547 earning per share to accrue even though the debt will require a 6% interest rate on return. This will also help preserve cash flow since a constant repayment is easier to budget and earnings can continue to grow. Custom Snowboards is reliable and creditworthy. This will be easier for them to obtain the long-term debt. Debt financing can provide a benefit to Custom Snowboards since they would be able to deduct interest on the business taxes at the end of the year (Daniels, 2013). Having an outstanding debt can be a downfall for a company as well. The company is under the obligation to make payments to the lender in a timely manner and if the projected revenue is not as expected this will be detrimental to the company and capital structure. The budgeting process will help Custom Snowboards decide to expand into the European market. The management team must look at all the capital budgeting CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 29 techniques to understand the total viability of the project. The decision will not be an easy one, but will require careful review of the entire financial picture. B5. Summary Custom Snowboards has demonstrated that European expansion is an idea that is viable for the company. The company must now decide if they wish to build, merge, or acquire within the European market. This will not be an easy decision, but meticulously made after analyzing the capital structure and  corporate strategies. Custom Snowboards has the option to build a new plant within the European market. They would need to determine where the plant would be located and acquiring the necessary land and permits. The company would be required to start from scratch to get started. The plant would be built to the company’s specifications and could be economical, but would require a large amount of money for start-up initially. Buying a building is another option available to Custom Snowboards, but ties the company to the area. This would be the smartest move based on the financial data available. It would be cost effective and allow the company to move in after the building is adapted to the needs of the company. However, leasing a facility would give Custom Snowboards the opportunity to leave the area if the forecasted expectations are not attained and things are not as viable as hoped. Custom Snowboards has the option to merge with SnowFun, Inc. This would provide the expansion into the European market that Custom Snowboards desires. The merger would provide the opportunity to increase profits, earnings per share from $0.98 to $1.18, have less competition, and expect a strong return on investment. SnowFun stockholders will benefit more from the merger than Custom Snowboards in regards to CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 30 earnings per share, since SnowFun will see earnings per share will go from $0.26 to $1.18. Custom Snowboards would have 200,000 market shares pre-merger and 500,000 after the merger has taken place. Custom Snowboards can buy shares back to reduce the amount available to the public and the stockholders will increase the earnings per share. This would be beneficial to the stockholders, but is not always available immediately after a merger has taken place. Custom Snowboards would also see increased company worth if a merger took place. They would gain invaluable contacts from SnowFun and gain insight on the European snowboard market that they would not otherwise have. However, a merger would leave the company with excess employees. This can lead to disgruntled employees and low staff moral. Customers may be aware of this and shy away from purchasing products from this newly merged company. Custom  Snowboards will need to ensure everyone feels valued and is happy. It would be beneficial to find displaced employees another position, but that is not always possible. This would go along ways to reassure customers as well, as it shows the company is willing to make concessions to keep the customer happy and taken care of. Finally, Custom Snowboards could acquire SnowFun, Inc. Custom Snowboards would then have to buy out SnowFun and acquire full ownership of the products, materials, and debts they have. SnowFun is requesting $720,000 from Custom Snowboards to acquire full rights to the company. The net present value of SnowFun is $732,522. An increase of $12,522 would be seen for Custom Snowboards over a fiveyear period. This option would increase the earnings per share to $2.40. CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS As mentioned with the merger option, Custom Snowboards would gain invaluable contacts from SnowFun and gain insight on the European snowboard market that they would not otherwise have. The company would increase earnings per share for stockholders. They would have factory and production equipment readily available to start production right away without delay. They would gain product development knowledge from what SnowFun had previously completed and this could lead to refined processes of current products. However, a merger would leave the company with excess employees. This can lead to disgruntled employees and low staff moral. Customers may be aware of this and shy away from purchasing products from this newly merged company. Custom Snowboards will need to ensure everyone feels valued and is happy. It would be beneficial to find displaced employees another position, but that is not always possible. This would go along ways to reassure customers as well, as it shows the company is willing to make concessions to keep the customer happy and taken care of. Also, it is hard to integrate two companies and acquire the debt from SnowFun. This could harm the company if they do not budget for this newly acquired debt. Custom Snowboards best option is to decline the offer to acquire SnowFun, but to merge the companies. The costs to start a new company would be limited and there would be a readily accessible building, contacts, product knowledge, market  knowledge, and increased earnings per s hare. Not all employees will be able to retain their job, however the employees that remain will be the most knowledgeable regarding the product to boost sales and revenue. This will help the company attain the success it hopes to achieve. CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 32 B6. Presentation The recommendation was made to initiate a merger between Custom Snowboards and SnowFun, Inc. The financial information reviewed shows the companies will produce an increase in capital from net sales and reduce production costs. This will provide the stockholders with a higher return on investment due to growth after the merger has taken place. Merging will not require Custom Snowboards to acquire a large amount of funding or long-term debt since a stock exchange will take place. The earnings per share for Custom Snowboards will increase $0.92 and SnowFun $0.20. A total of 500,000 shares will be available after the merger. SnowFun will receive 3 shares to every 1 share that Custom Snowboards receives. There are four structures to review: Long term debt, 30% long term debt and 70% common stock, 80% long-term debt and 20% common stock, and no long-term debt (common stock only). Custom Snowboards hopes to obtain $1,000,000 through one of these types of structure. The earnings per share for each year based on earnings before interest and taxes from the European forecasts for year 15 through year 19. Earnings Per Share Year 15 Year 16 Year 17 Year 18 Year 18 Year 19 Long-Term Debt 0.034 0.203 0.407 0.589 0.720 1.953 30% Long- Term/70% Stock 0.068 0.130 0.204 0.270 0.318 0.99 80% Log- Term/20% Stock 0.052 0.165 0.300 0.422 0.509 1.448 No Long- Term Debt (Stock Only) 0.072 0.121 0.179 0.231 0.268 0.87 CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 33 The long-term debt option would be the second choice for expansion for Custom Snowboards should they not want to merge. The total earnings per share in year 19 would be $1.953 and higher than any other option. The long-term debt would also have consistent payments monthly that would be easier to budget and to forecast sales against. Custom Snowboards is a viable company that is growing and making advances. Areas of improvement do need to be made to continue this progressive growth, but they are in a position to expand into Europe. Thanks to financial responsibility they are in the position to take on debt if necessary to make this expansion happen. A merger with SnowFun, Inc. would provide virility to the company and provide a positive base for continued growth. CUSTOM SNOWBOARDS 34 References Hunt, J. 2013. What determines a Company’s Profitability? Retrieved on May 11, 2014 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com. Investopedia. 2013. Activity-Based Costing – ABC. Retrieved on May 2, 2014 from www.investopedia.org. Investopedia. 2013. Operating Income. Retrieved on April 30, 2014 from www.investopedia.com. Johnson, R. 2013. Traditional Costing Vs. Activity-Based Costing. Retrieved on May 3, 2014 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com. Joseph, C. 2013. Advantages & Disadvantages of Customer Service Jobs. Retrieved on May 11, 2014 from http://work.chron.com. Kennon, Joshua. 2013. Cost of Goods Sold – COGS. Retrieved on May 11, 2014 from http://beginnersinvest.about.com. Markgraf, B. 2013. How to Increase the Net Operating Income Without Increasing Sales Retrieved on May 7, 2014 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com. Stone, R. 2013. Language Means Business. Retrieved on April 30, 2014 from http://www.strategy-business.com.

Trend and effects of global immigration

Trend and Effects of Global ImmigrationImmigration is a major political issue in the United States. Elections are won or lost based on campaigners ‘ place on in-migration reform. Harmonizing to a 2008 Gallup Poll most people in the United States believe that in-migration should be decreased. ( Gallup, 2010 ) However, harmonizing to the same canvass, since 2005 Whites and inkinesss feel that in-migration should be decreased. Conversely, the information shows that Hispanics believe in-migration should be increased. In contrast, since 2005 Whites, inkinesss and Hispanics all believe that in-migration is a good thing for this state. Still, while Whites and inkinesss believe that immigrants cost revenue enhancement remunerators excessively much, yet Hispanics believe that immigrants do non be revenue enhancement remunerators excessively much. All those who responded to the Gallup Poll believe that immigrants are willing to take the low-paying occupations that Americans do n't desire ( Gallup, 2010 ) . While Gallup informations provides insight merely to tendencies in the United States, informations from the Ogranisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development ( OECD ) provides a snapshot of the world of in-migration around the universe. OECD information shows that since 2005 foreign populat ions have increased in the bulk of states tracked. The greatest additions in foreign workers are in the United States, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, and Spain ( 2009 ) .TendenciesThe migration of people is non a new phenomenon. History shows that people have migrated since antediluvian times ( Mueller, 2007 ) . â€Å" [ M ] igrations are non an stray phenomenon: motions of trade goods and capital about ever give rise to motions of people † province Castles and Miller ( as cited in Ryan, 2007 ) . The Gallup information illustrates a tendency in public sentiment in the United States that in-migration should be decreased ( 2010 ) , yet internationally, including United States, OECD information shows a tendency that existent in-migration is steadily increasing each twelvemonth ( 2009 ) . The addition in in-migration suggests another tendency in the occupation market in which low paying occupations in this state are taken by immigrants, which supports the Gallup study saying that wh ile there are many grounds for migration, the cosmopolitan desire of all is to acquire a good occupation ( Clifton, 2007 ) . Historically, immigrants were hapless males that were largely unskilled. These work forces immigrated by and large for economic grounds to direct money back to their households ( Ryan, 2007 ) . Since 1970 the profile of an immigrant has evolved to include females who choose to migrate for a assortment of grounds including household reunion, improved quality of life for their kids and good occupations ( Ryan, 2007 ; Piper, 2006 ; Horton, 2008 ; Clifton, 2007 ) . Since 1980 adult females outnumber male immigrants in states such as Australia, the United States, and Canada ( Ryan, 2007 ) .Impact of ImmigrationTo the extent that people migrate to reunite their households, acquire a good occupation, or better their fiscal state of affairs, migration is good to the person. However, the ultimate benefits of migration come at a cost. For illustration, Mexican adult females frequently migrate to supply â€Å" ideal † lives for their kids, influenced by their perceptual experiences of th e â€Å" . . . authoritative Western ideals of childhood as a infinite protected from grownup loads and the domain of monetized relationships. . . † ( Horton, 2008 ) . In their pursuits to supply perfect lives for their kids, these female parents are separated from their kids for months or even old ages at a clip in order to gain adequate money to transport their kids across boundary lines. Separations are frequently longer than expected because of increased post-9/11 boundary line enforcement. The cost for these female parents is the impairment of their relationships with their kids. To guarantee that their kids do non bury, them they send gifts to their kids such as playthings, confect and apparels. For the kids left behind the cost for them is, ironically, at the disbursal their childhoods. For illustration, eldest girls are left to â€Å" fuss † younger siblings. Children left behind sometimes feel abandoned, which fosters choler at their absent female parents. The se kids may besides endure emotionally at the abuses of schoolmates who make merriment of them because their parents have migrated to another county ( Horton, 2008 ) . Additionally, depending on how they enter a state ( i.e. , as refugees, refuge searchers, or trafficked ) and the occupations they perform ( i.e. , domestic labour, sex work, service industry work, unskilled labour ) , many adult females remain undocumented, which suggests that in-migration Numberss are even higher than reported ( Piper, 2006 ) . The economic impact of migration influences society both positively and negatively. Sending states benefit from unemployment alleviation and significant income through remittals from emigres ( Ryan, 2007 ) . Yet, directing states besides suffer from the loss of skilled workers. ( The US National Intelligence Council, 2001 ) Receiving states benefit from a new work force of skilled and unskilled labourers who fill the occupations the younger coevals come ining the work force typically does non desire. Unfortunately, employers whose concerns depend on skilled labour frequently take advantage of illegal workers with low wage, long hours, hapless conditions, and work jurisprudence misdemeanors. Yet without these workers many of these concerns would turn up. Paradoxically, as the demand for skilled workers additions, migratory workers will get down to demand higher rewards as companies compete for their accomplishments ( Hemme, 2006 ) . Harmonizing to Clifton, all states will vie for the cardinal trade good that creates occupations: encephalon addition. â€Å" Brain addition is defined as a metropolis ‘s or state ‘s attractive force of gifted people whose exceeding gifts and knowledge create new concern and new occupations and increase that metropolis ‘s or state ‘s economic system † ( 2007 ) . These human mega endowments and their supporting employees impact their local economic systems through their buying power. They besides impact their state ‘s GNP through the production of their companies ‘ goods. While states that are able to pull the mega-talents reap the ultimate economic benefits ( Gallup estimates one talented â€Å" star † per $ 100 million of GNP ) , conversely the states from which the endowment leaves suffer terrible encephalon drain through â€Å" the deficiency of skilled workers in wellness, air power, excavation, transportation and port operations † ( Clifton, 2007 ) .DecisionIn my professional experience, I have witnessed the effects of in-migration on instruction. There is enormous benefit to pupils and territories in the sharing of diverse civilizations and linguistic communications. However, increased registration of kids whose parents may non pay revenue enhancements places a important fiscal load on school territories because of the demand to engage extra instructors and supply repasts and transit. Districts realize a lessening in attending gross when migratory households return to their sending states for drawn-out periods of clip. Because of linguistic communication barriers, territories must supply more bilingual instructors, decision makers and paraprofessionals to guarantee communicating with migratory parents and pupils. Equally of import, test tonss suffer because of linguistic communication barriers and disparity in educational criterions of the sending state and having territory. Migration will go on, but the finishs chosen will finally depend on where people can â€Å" acquire a good occupation † ( Clifton, 2007 ) . Dramatic additions in in-migration are predicted in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America triggered by â€Å" violent struggles, economic crises, and natural catastrophes † ( The US National Intelligence Council, 2001 ) . Globalization and democratisation will do such dramatic additions hard to command. Mass migration from Mexico, Cuba and Haiti to the United States will be the consequence of poorness and political agitation ( U.S. National Intelligence Council, 2001 ) . States must mind these tendencies and anticipations, fix their substructures and develop programs to pull encephalon addition to guarantee economic success for their citizens.Mentions:Hemme, B R ( Summer 2007 ) .Global migration as a solution to worker deficits in industrialised economies.Forum on Public Policy: A Journal of the Oxford Round Table, Retri evedFebruary 23, 2010, fromAcademic OneFileviaGale: Horton, S.. ( 2008 ) . Devouring Childhood: â€Å" Lost † and â€Å" Ideal † Childhoods as a Motivation for Migration.Anthropological Quarterly,81 ( 4 ) ,925-943. Retrieved February 23, 2010, from Research Library. ( Document ID:1616811601 ) . Piper, N. ( Spring 2006 ) .Gendering the political relations of migration ( 1 ) .International Migration Review,40,1.p.133 ( 32 ) .RetrievedFebruary 23, 2010, fromAcademic OneFileviaGale: hypertext transfer protocol: //find.galegroup.com.ezproxylocal.library.nova.edu/gtx/start.do? prodId=AONE & A ; userGroupName=novaseu_main Ryan, Jan. ( 2007 ) . Globalization and migration in the twenty-first century: looking back into the hereafter. Forum on Public Policy: A Journal of the Oxford Round Table. Retrieved February 23, 2010, from Academic OneFile via Gale: hypertext transfer protocol: //find.galegroup.com.ezproxylocal.library.nova.edu/gtx/start.do? prodId=AONE & A ; userGroupName=novaseu_main The US National Intelligence Council on Turning Global Migration. ( Documents ) .Dec 2001 Population and Development Review,27,4.p.817 ( 3 ) .RetrievedFebruary 23, 2010, fromAcademic OneFileviaGale: Gallup. ( 2010 ) . Immigration. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.gallup.com/poll/1660/Immigration.aspx # 3

Analysis and Interpretation of Don Juan

Analysis and Interpretation of Don Juan canto 1 stanza LXV to LXX: Don Juan was written by Lord Byron. He started writing it from 1818. The manuscript was not complete at the time of Byron's death in 1824. Byron coined the term â€Å"Byronic Hero†. Don Juan is definitely a Byronic Hero. He has all the Characteristics of a Byronic Hero. This poem constantly takes me back to the 1800s, because at that time women had no rights at all. If they married someone then they were treated like property of their husbands and if they stayed single then their parents dictated every single thing she did with every single person.For most part women were not allowed to stay single unless they were nuns or prostitutes. Even when they were married they were not allowed to hold control of inherited wealth. They did not have the right to own a slave or even vote. Women were economically dependent. If a woman did something wrong and people find out about it, she would be tainted and blemished forev er and also banished from society but if a man does the same thing or even worse, he could still be able to hold his head up high in society. Julia married Alfonso only because she had to. Alfonso never showed his jealousy because nobody likes a jealous person.Alfonso cared about what people thought and he was cleaver and careful. He never wanted people to know about his illegal affairs. I personally think Donna Inez is a psychopath and a Sociopath both. I mean why else would she use her son to destroy the relationship of her lover and his wife. Julia is not as complicated as Inez. Julia does not realize what Inez had in her mind. I think she thought Inez actually wanted to be her friend. Being a simple girl Julia probably didn’t know about Alfonso and Inez’s affair. When Juan was a child Julia showed affection for him but that was just normal and innocent.When Juan hit puberty something changed between both of them. They felt attracted to each other. As a grown woman Julia realized why she was feeling this way. But Juan is completely different. His mother never let him mix and mingle with people of his own age. At first he didn’t even realize what was happening to him. This poem follows a third person point of view. In these stanza’s Byron talks about lot of important issues but the tone is always humorous and satiric. Don Juan is a lot like Byron himself. The difference is Byron was highly educated and Juan had no interest in that line.

Businesses Approach To the Use of Primary and Secondary Research Essay

Businesses Approach To the Use of Primary and Secondary Research - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the data gathered is put into use by a third party. In essence, it remains abroad and a diffuse data in a contained toolbox, since it does contain any virtual information useful in any market research context. The information is also very important since a large number of the organizations utilize it as they strive to improve their operations in the market. It is an all-purpose market tool, and the corporate board is always at the dispensation of seeking its reference for the sake of comparison of the market trends. It also remains the most accessible form of market research, which is also cheap in relation to the cost. The internal secondary research will entail any information that is gathered anywhere in the environmental angles of the firm. It includes categories such as sales report, the customer databases, ay past report of the primary market research. A sales report will break and dispense information in categories of region, times and the sales ext ent. Sometimes they can also give analytical reports of the distribution channels, discounts extents, and target customers categories. Databases will contain the description of the customer’s data. The primary market research will contain survey or focus group’s result that is done in the previous years. External research entails any information that is gathered by the commercial vendors, government agencies, and other diverse sources. Of utmost importance is a syndicated report, which tends to compile the data with the use of libraries, data calls, and other databases. Concisely, they aim at selling the information to as many firms as possible. The information has passed through the analyst's hands hence it is reliable.

Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 31

Journal - Assignment Example One strongly believes that a universal standard in physical examination should be designed and followed; regardless of demographic or cultural orientation of patients or doctors. This would ensure that high ideals of professionalism are adhered to; as well as prevents tendencies for legal sanctions that could ensue. Actually, from one’s personal experience, it has always been presumed that being examined by a doctor, especially in body parts below the waist, would really necessitate the presence of a family member or a chaperone; especially if the doctor is of the opposite sex. It is perfectly understood that doctors have, by nature of their profession and experience, been exposed and oriented on proper conduct and decorum while doing the physical examination. However, one is convinced that doctors are just human beings, whose senses and emotions are influenced by what is perceived. Therefore, to avoid any untoward incident that could jeopardize the patient-doctor relationship, a set of uniform professional standards should be clearly and explicitly designed on a global

Tesco Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tesco - Research Paper Example In 1997, Tesco set out a strategy to expand its core business. This later resulted in the establishment of online marketing initiative. It also set out to diversify its products and services, in existing and new markets. This strategy helped Tesco to penetrate the newer UK markets successfully, as well as Europe, Asia, and recently, the United States of America. One of Tesco’s business strategies today is to expand its UK market. This is its biggest business and there are more growth opportunities here. From back in 1997, Tesco has wanted to be the most successful international retailer. In 1997, the international business generated 1.8% of Tesco’s profits. This later increased to 25%. If their business plans succeed in the UK, it is probable that the same will even apply to other markets. It is however worrying how the shoppers in UK have lost trust in Tesco and instead prefer to shop from their competitors. If Tesco does not win back trust in their markets, then it ri sks, more major loses, as UK has been its largest market (Duff, 2006). Tesco needs new management, marketing, and business strategies, in order to revive its UK market. The fall of UK market has been growing gradually over the last five years, probably due to the founding of newer markets in the US and parts of China. In an Economist article, an anonymous author feels that, for Tesco to compensate the costs of running the new markets, it had to readjust their business operations in the UK. This involved reducing employee numbers, and lowering prices in order to attract more shoppers. The UK market was neglected as all efforts and attention were drawn on establishing the new overseas markets. Diversification is another problem that Tesco needs to address in order to regain root in UK. Apart from running food-and-drinks stores, it runs a law firm, a bank, among others. Therefore, Tesco

A Flag For Sunrise By Robert Stone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Flag For Sunrise By Robert Stone - Essay Example He segregates his time between Connecticut, where he lectures at Key West and Yale University.A Flag for Sunrise placed in the imaginary Central American country of Tecan, assault American intrusion in such countries. Frank Holliwell, once Central Intelligence Agency worker, now and an itinerant professor. By discovering the fortune of Americans whose lives develop into entwined in Tecanecan politics, Stone add up the varied reasons that sketch Americans into clashes that they merely unclearly understand. It states the introduction of the nastiest from North American civilization, maintaining of cruel and lethal governments, and obliteration and fatalities. Pablo Tabor, a suspicious psychotic on a charge of murder, finds his fortune: demise underwater. An inquisitive, anthropologist Frank Holliwell feels living only when trapped up in the secrecy and the disgust of clashes in the frightening and cruel tropics, but cannot clarify why. Holliwell finds endurance of the fittest the only value but close that strangers have "no business down there." Everybody is probing for what only the innovatory seem to have-a "flag" or rationale-but all are let down, tormented, and slaughtered.A Flag For Sunrise offers panoply of men and women on the missing who have lost their path. Sister Justin, "the earnest nun" (5) has lost confidence, and now wants some wisdom of political reason. She memorizes the civil rights progress in Mississippi, where she depleted a night in prison. She is prepared to depart life pointlessly -- which she accomplished -- for the reason. Driving to Tecan with Marie Zecca and Tom, workers of the U.S. Embassy, and Bob Cole, a temporary journalist, Holliwell comments to himself that the massive volcanoes for which the state is well-known seem to converse " a troubling sense of the earth as nothing more than itself, of blind force and mortality. As mindlessly refuting of hope as a skull and bones" (157-58). According to Holliwell the United States obscured the world beneath pop society to use his expression, "'Mickey Mouse will see [us] dead'" (108). American trademark of optimism, is, as he know it, a disappearing thing. "Its going sour and we're going to die of it" (109-10). Current history has collapsed American confidence and fetched down with it Holliwell's confidence in that non-selling asset. Holliwell's investigation is, nonetheless, about families. His recognized dealing in life "was to husband and father, to teach, even to inspire, and to endure. These things were not trivial" (245). "The world paid in blood for their articulate delusions, but it was all right because for a while they felt better. And presently they could put their consciousnesses on automatic. They were beyond good and evil in five easy steps [. . .]" (245). Holliwell distinguishes that his complete uncertainty is a symbol of misery that final and supreme confront to supporter and political performer is similar. "There was no reason to get angry," he believes. "At his age one took things as they were. Despair was also a foolish indulgence, less lethal than vain faith but demeaning" (246). The absurdities of spiritual and political faiths inhabit in Sister Justin as a longing for realistic act, and she notices an instant when an option must be through and reserved. Her outset of political realities change the energy between Holliwell and herself so that the person who reads observes Holliwell

Discuss the relationship between globalisation and corruption Essay

Discuss the relationship between globalisation and corruption - Essay Example It is therefore the role of this paper to look into corruption, globalization and international finance institutions, and their relation to one another in corruption. Globalization can be defined from different perspectives depending on the intended consequences, where there is deeper meaning and the layman definition of globalization, where the term has been used for similarly numerous purposes. The general meaning of the term as has been used by journalists and politicians is meant to describe the spread and nature of being connected of different social and economic factors around the world (Smith and Doyle, 2002). As such, then factors include production, communication and technologies, where these have seen interlacing of economic and cultural activities. In political fronts, globalization has been used to mean the ability or efforts made by different parties to create and spread free markets for goods and services around the world. Different authors attempt to define globalizati on based on the origin of the term and it has since been lost as it bears a broad definition based on the many sectors it touches meaning that globalization is not definite, but broad. This makes globalization a term that can only be used in a specific manner only if the point of reference is known. In spite of this, Anthony McGrew offers a definition saying that globalization is the multiplicity of linkages and interconnections beyond border making up the modern world system (Reich, 1998). Corruption, just like  ­Ã‚ ­globalization has numerous perspectives but they all boil down to one event that does not auger well for economies and individuals that are affected. The broad definition of corruption lies in the misuse of or abuse of public office for private gain, but this does not apply to all situations, as this is restricted to the public sector rather than private entities and individuals (Bayar, 2003). This misuse is also provided with a number of means through which it can o ccur marking the beginning and end of corruption such pilferage, embezzlement, falsification of data and kickbacks amongst other. This way, corruption is defined on a broad perspective to cater for all events of corrupt activities, and corruption can also be case specific depending on the events that occur and the situation such as the sector affected. In the insurance sector, it is termed as fraud to steal from the agency, as it is for the private sector. Corruption can again be narrowly defined on the basis institutions and spontaneity, where these two become types of corruption based on their locality and nature (Balboa and Medalla, 2006). Globalization has a number of effects on corruption, and one of them is that it has positive impacts towards the prevention and reduction of corruption cases on a global scale. This occurs with the presence of the transnational bribery act, which serves to prevent the presence and prevalence of corruption across different countries, especially with the spread of production and cooperation between different countries (Ackerman, 2002). Because of this, globalization has put mechanisms in place to ensure that corruption does not spread and therefore remains localized to one place, from which it can be dealt with effectively. Globalization, which also occurs on a large scale for private sector companies and institutions helps to eliminate corruption by use of privatization procedures. This removes assets from state control and puts them in the control of

The Impact of Using New Technology in Arts Exhibitions Essay

The Impact of Using New Technology in Arts Exhibitions - Essay Example Through the dissertation, the basic purpose of researchers is trying to whether the visitors are interested in the new technology exhibition such as the usage of visual art in this industry, and also gather the art exhibition organiser’s opinion to find out the impact of using new technology in the art exhibition industry and whether the new exhibition will replace of the traditional exhibition. Understanding the topic The topic is quite interesting and arguable base on the popularity and wide spread of the new technology usage as an exhibit art in conference and exhibition industry. Furthermore, this topic area is covering the researcher’s interest area since it have a quite wild rang to do the research about what kind of new technology were used and what will be used in the future. Evenly, the significance is trying to find out whether the new exhibition will replace of the traditional exhibition and the way to attract more audience to come to the exhibition. Basically, the researcher will interpret and analysis this topic in these three relative areas. Which are the traditional exhibition industry and the trend research, the new exhibition that existing in the industry, through the research about the attitude of audience about the art exhibition using new technology, marketing strategies for the exhibition industry and finally to find out whether the traditional exhibition will be replaced by the new exhibition or not.... ?†¦.42 4.2 Interview†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦44 5.0 Discussion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..47 5.1 The management of the Mingsheng Art Museum†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.47 5.2 The impact of using technology in the exhibition industry†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..50 Reference list†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦58 Appendices†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...59 1. Interview†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...59 2. Questionnaire†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦85 1.0) Introduction Nowadays there are a lot of new technologies used in the exhibition industry, in terms of varieties of media approaches, which are quite distinct from the previous exhibitions. The implementation of innovative new technology is a new trend in the industry currently. Through the dissertation, the basic purpose of researchers is trying to whether the visitors are interested in the new technology exhibition such as the usage of visual art in this industry, and also gather the art exhibition organiser’s opinion to find out the i mpact of using new technology in the art exhibition industry and whether the new exhibition will replace of the traditional exhibition. 1.1) Understanding the topic The topic is quite interesting and arguable base on the popularity and wide spread of the new technology usage as an exhibit art in conference and exhibition industry. Furthermore, this topic area is covering the researcher’s interest area since it have a quite wild rang to do the research about what kind of new technology were used

Saving Private Ryan Film Essay Example for Free

Saving Private Ryan Film Essay War movies often rely on the visual to communicate the events and emotion of each scene. This works up to a point, but viewers cannot fully relive battle in this way. Background music and limited sound effects make war movies generic, predictable, and sometimes historically inaccurate. In contrast, Gary Rydstrom uses sound to communicate emotion and portray realistic battle scenes in a way that makes the viewers feel as though they are actually part of Saving Private Ryan. One unique aspect of this movie, as opposed to other war movies, is that there is no background music in the battle scenes. Music in movies tends to make viewers realize they are watching the movie, but without it, the experience is so much more authentic. The battle scenes are shot with a handheld camera, giving them a shaky and chaotic feel. Because of this, the viewer does not really get the chance to experience the full breadth of the battle through the shot. Humans experience sound at all angles, as opposed to the one angle at which we experience sight. The dynamic sound effects of the battle scenes can completely engulf the viewer, helping them to have the full experience of trauma. Rydstrom paid particularly close attention to certain sound effects in these battle scenes to help them be as historically correct as possible. A variety of gunshot noises appear in each battle scene, each one corresponding to a different weapon. Also, a variety of distinct shot- impact noises illustrate the scene. The sound of the bullet hitting the soldier’s helmet in the beginning of the first battle scene is the beginning of many more shot-impact sounds to come, each representing a probably fatal wound. These shot- impact sounds enhance the viewer’s emotional response to a scene. They are so crisp that every time someone is shot, the viewer cringes and feels overwhelmed just like the characters onscreen. The shellshock noise that Tom Hanks’ character experiences happens once in the first battle scene on the beach and once in the final battle scene at the bridge right before he dies. This internal sound allows the audience to experience the battles through the eyes of Captain Miler (Hanks) and shows that his character struggles emotionally and physically in handling the situation, a side of himself that he tries to hide from the soldiers under his command. This allows the viewer to sympathize with Miller and creates a more emotional atmosphere. When the Americans learn that the Germans outnumber them and have multiple tanks in the last battle scene, this feeling of suspense becomes heightened. What really makes this feeling so ominous is the sound of the tanks approaching and how they echo off of the buildings in the quiet final seconds before the fighting begins. This external sound against the lack of much ambient sound causes the audience to experience the same anticipation as the characters onscreen because neither knows when the fighting will ensue. Ambient noise plays a large role in the realness of Saving Private Ryan. In the scene where the rescue team is resting for the night, the audience hears thunder-like explosion noises behind the conversation, which represent the continuity of the war. In addition to all of this, Rydstrom uses sound to creatively transition from one scene to the next. In one scene where the group is walking, it starts to rain. The camera pans in on the raindrops falling, and gradually, the sound of a raindrop hitting a leaf transitions into the sound of firing guns, which catches the viewer off-guard.

What Makes Us Happy?

What Makes Us Happy? During many centuries people were looking for happiness. But the question What makes us happy? still needs the answer. There is no recipe of happiness. It is very individual concept, though there are some general statements that can help person to feel complete and satisfied with his life. These statements were noted in the article What makes us happy? by Joshua Wolf Shenk. Some parts of the text deserves to take the place at the curriculum of the psychology course with a title The Pursuit of Happiness. The goal of the paper is to determine the statements that could be useful for students. To achieve the goal I divided this work into short parts devoting separate questions. Every abstract contain the idea and its value. The question What makes us happy? very philosophic and it is not so easy to find the answer. Different people see their happiness in different things. But it is extremely important to understand what happiness means for you. There are a lot of research works and books devoted this question but nobody take the liberty to give the strict determination to this phenomenon. The article What makes us happy? by Joshua Wolf Shenk contains rather interesting and important information related the question. It says about experiment that had place in Harvard in 1937th and lasted during 70 years. Harvards sophomores agreed to take a part in these researches. They took psychological tests, passed regular medical exams, sat for interviews, everything that were necessary. George Vaillant was a chief curator of these lives, he devoted all his life to this study. He also participated in similar work that was dedicated heroin addicts. W. T. Grant also participated in researches that were directed to identifying the features of successful living. But his work did not last till the end because the chief curator expected the results very fast. But Vaillant was conscious that researches as wine get better after long time. Sometimes the article shortly describes students lives that took part in investigations. It is easy to see that all details of males beings were noted: details about their family, childhood, illnesses, education, social life, marriage life, stressesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Vaillant tried to see the hidden facts that connected or differed all these males, to determine the life facts that made them satisfied with their lives and compare those facts. As it turned out during the researches all the lives were too wired, complicated and big to make any strict conclusion about successful living(Shenk J. W., 2009). After reading and examining the article What Makes Us Happy? I came to decision that it deserves to be mentioned in curriculum of the psychology course with a title The Pursuit of Happiness. But it should take its place among the informational literature as it tells about researches and describes someones experience. This article does not teach us how to be happy or what happiness is! What is important is not to mention all the information that was written in the article. Only some parts deserve students attention. These parts will be given below with explanation of their importance. Physical and psychological health. Joshua Wolf Shenk note about some phenomenon that can be a source of happiness and satisfaction for some people. Some of them are good health, adaptation in society, good family, putting and getting the goals etc. Vaillant pointed at seven factors that can promise healthy aging, he meant psychological and physical health. Employing mature adaptations was one. The others were education, stable marriage, not smoking, not abusing alcohol, some exercise, and healthy weight (Shenk J. W., 2009). This information should take a place at curriculum of psychology course because it throw light upon scientific research fact and shows the importance of living right way of life. The goal of every curriculum is not just to give scientific information but also to make a stress at importance of good habits and right life views. Alcoholism is one of the most serious problems. Vaillant is sure that alcoholism problem is one of the sharpest one: One is alcoholism, which he found is probably the horse, and not the cart, of pathology (Shenk J. W., 2009). He came back to this harmful habit again and again in the article text. This problem must be stressed during curriculum because it spoils both individuals physical and social harmony. After the person become alcohol addictive he ruins all spheres of his life, he loses the respect in society, this causes miserable feelings in his mind plus physical disharmony make person totally unhappy. This fact is very important for understanding happiness phenomenon. Defense mechanisms work to protect people, the rest depends on humans. There is very important idea that goes across the article: humans mind and body are very smart; they change under life conditions to protect us and give good feelings: unconscious responses to pain, conflict, or uncertainty (Shenk J. W., 2009). These processes were also called defense mechanisms (Shenk J. W., 2009). It means that the nature of humans body and mind is perfect, the last depends on human. This fact should make students to remember that individuals life mostly depends on him and in some range on circumstances. Every human should take care of his health, social life, education and other life aspects. He is a master of his life and fate. This kind of information should make student conscious their fortune depends on them and they can make themselves satisfied with their lives. Warm relations with family and society are necessary. The article makes a big stress at family relations. Valliant was sure that this fact is extremely important for every person. It is social aptitude, he writes, not intellectual brilliance or parental social class, that leads to successful aging (Shenk J. W., 2009). Good relationships with parents, cousins, siblings, friends are necessary. As Valliant said in interview: The only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people (Shenk J. W., 2009). This statement is one of the leading in the question What makes us happy? It is well known fact that definitely important for every society member. Some statements of the article should be mentioned during psychology curriculum but only as a literature with researches. The question What makes us happy too complicated to give exhaustive explanation. What is necessary is to explain students that such conception as happiness is totally individual. Every person should determine the things that will make him satisfied and happy. There are a lot of fake pictures of happiness that society created. In fast modernization era very hard to determine and fallow individual goals instead of that, people used to accept dictated pictures of happiness. This fact is essential because fake satisfaction never makes human feel harmony. There were million of examples when people committed suicide after getting wrong goals. Imagined feeling of happiness did not make them really happy. This fact says about emotions sincerity that gives the feeling of completeness and satisfaction. This is one of the weighty reasons to define the things that make person truly happy. The philosophic question What makes us happy? is too complicated and multilevel to give exhaustive answer. The article with a title What makes us happy? by Joshua Wolf Shenk presents the information about researches dedicated the identifying main features of successful living. Some statements of the text are worthy to be represented at curriculum of the psychology course, because it contains important information. Thought it should be noted that this kind of information is rather general, every individual can add his own criteria of successful living and happiness. Though it should be noted that all the facts are definitely incontestable. The curriculum of psychology should contain such statements as: physical and psychological health are necessary; alcoholism is one of the most serious problems that ruin both physical and psychological individuals health; defense mechanisms works to protect our body and mind, the rest depends on people; warm relations with family and society are necessary to feel complete and satisfied; extremely important to remember that the concept Happiness is individual; every human must determine the things he needs to be happy. Never accept fake form of happiness otherwise you will never be truly happy.

Speech Enhancement And De Nosing By Wavelet Thresholding And Transform Ii Computer Science Essay

Speech Enhancement And De Nosing By Wavelet Thresholding And Transform Ii Computer Science Essay In this project the experimenter will seek to design and implement techniques in order to denoise a noisy audio signal using the MATLAB software and its functions, a literature review will be done and summarized to give details of the contribution to the area of study. Different techniques that have been used in the audio and speech processing procedure will be analyzed and studied. The implementation will be done using MATLAB version 7.0. Introduction The Fourier analysis of a signal can be used as a very powerful tool; it can perform the functions of obtaining the frequency component and the amplitude component of signals. The Fourier analysis can be used to analyze components of stationary signals, these are signals that repeat, signals that are composed of sine and cosine components, but in terms of analyzing non stationary signals, these are signals that have no repetition in the region that is sampled, the Fourier transform is not very efficient. Wavelet transform on the other hand allows for these signals to be analyzed. The basic concept behind wavelets is that a signal can be analyzed by splicing it into different components and then these components are studied individually. In terms of their frequency and time, in terms of Fourier analysis the signal is analyzed in terms of its sine and cosine components but when a wavelet approach is adapted then the analysis is different, the wavelet algorithm employes a process and an alyzed the data on different scales and resolution as compared to Fourier analysis. In using the wavelet analysis, a type of wavelet, referred to as being the mother wavelet is used as the main wavelet type for analysis; analysis is then performed from the mother wavelet that is of higher frequency. From the Fourier analysis the frequency analysis of the signal is done with a simplified form of the mother wavelet, from the wavelet components that are achieved via this process further analysis can be done on these coefficients. Haar wavelet types are very compact and this is one of their defining features, its compact ability, as the interval gets so large it then starts to vanish, but the Haar wavelets have a major limiting factor they are not continuously differentiable. In the analysis of a given signal the time domain component can be used in the analysis of the frequency component of that signal, this concept is the Fourier transform, where a signal component is translated to th e frequency domain from a time domain function, the analysis of the signal for its frequency component can now be done, and based of Fourier analysis this is possible because this analysis incorporates the cosine and sine of the frequency. Based on the Fourier transform a finite set of sampled points are analyzed this results in the discrete Fourier transforms, these sample points are typical to what the original signal looks like, to gather the approximate function of a sample, and the gathering of the integral, by the implementation of the discrete Fourier transforms. This is realized by the use of a matrix, the matrix contains an order of the total amount of points of sample,  the problem encountered worsens as the number of samples are increased. If there is uniform spacing between the samples then it is possible to factor in the Fourier matrix into the, multiplication of a few matrices, the results of this can be subjected to a vector of an order of the form m log m operation s, the result of this know as the Fast Fourier Transform. Both Fourier transforms mentioned above are linear transforms. The transpose of the FFT and the DWT is what is referred to as the inverse transform matrix and they can be cosine and sine, but in the wavelet domain more complex mother wavelet functions are formed. The domain of analysis in the Fourier transforms are the sine and cosine, but as it regards to wavelets there exist a more complex domain function called wavelets, mother wavelets are formed. The functions are localized functions, and are set in the frequency domain, can be seen in the power spectra. This proves useful in finding the frequency and power distribution. Based on the fact that wavelet transforms are transforms that are localized as compared to Fourier functions that are not, the Fourier function being mentioned are the sine and cosine, this feature of wavelet makes it a useful candidate in the purpose of this research, this feature of wavelets makes oper ations using wavelets transform sparse and this is useful when used for noise removal. A major advantage of using wavelets is that the windows vary. A major application of this is to realize the portions and signals that are not continuous having short wavelet functions is a good practice to overcome this, but to obtain more in depth analysis having longer functions are best. A practice that is utilized is having basis functions that are of short high frequency and basis functions that are of long low frequency (A. Graps, 1995-2004), point to note Is that unlike Fourier analysis that have a limited basis function sine and cosine wavelets have unlimited set of basis functions . This is a very important feature as it allows wavelet to identify information from a signal that can be hidden by other time frequency methods, namely Fourier analysis. Wavelets consist of different families within each family of wavelet there exist different subclasses that are differentiated based on the coefficients that are decomposed and their levels of iteration, wavelets are mostly classified based on their number of coefficients, that is also referred to as their vanishing moments, a mathematical relationship relates both. Fig above showing examples of wavelets (N. Rao 2001) One of the most helpful and defining features of using wavelets is that the experimenter has control over the wavelet coefficients for a wavelet type. Families of wavelets were developed that proved to be very efficient in the representation of polynomial behavior the simplest of these is the Haar wavelet. The coefficients can be thought of as being filters; these are then placed in a transformation matrix and applied to a raw data vector. The different coefficients are ordered with patterns that work as a smoothing filter and another pattern whose function is to realize the detail information of the data (D. Aerts and I. Daubechies 1979). The coefficient matrix for the wavelet analysis is then applied in a hierarchical algorithm, based on its arrangement odd rows contain the different coefficients, the coefficients will be acting as filters that perform smoothing and the rows that are even will have the coefficients of the wavelets that contains the details from the analysis, it is to the full length data the matrix is first applied, it is then smoothed and disseminated by half after this process the step is repeated with the matrix., where more smoothing takes place and the different coefficients are halved, this process is repeated several times until the data that remains is smoothed, what this process actually does is to bring out the highest resolutions from that data source and data smoothing is also performed. In the removal of noise from data wavelet applications have proved very efficient and successful, as can be seen in work done by David Donoho, the process of noise removal is called wavelet shrinkage and thresholding. When data is decomposed using wavelets, actually filters are used as averaging filters while the other produce details, some of the coefficients will relate to some details of the data set and if a given detailed is small, it can then be removed from the data set without affecting any major feature as it relates to the data. The basi c idea of thresholding is setting coefficients that are at a particular threshold or less than a particular threshold to zero, these coefficients are then later used in an inverse wavelet transform to reconstruct the data set (S. Cai and K. Li, 2010) Literature Review The work done by Student Nikhil Rao (2001) was reviewed, according to the work that was done a completely new algorithm was developed that focused on the compression of speech signals, based on techniques for discrete wavelet transforms. The MATLAB software version 6 was used in order to simulate and implement the codes. The steps that were taken to achieve the compression are listed below; Choose wavelet function Select decomposition level Input speech signal Divide speech signal into frames Decompose each frame Calculate thresholds Truncate coefficients Encode zero-valued coefficients Quantize and bit encode Transmit data frame Parts of extract above taken from said work by Nikhil Rao (2001). Based on the experiment that was conducted the Haar and Daubechies wavelets were utilized in the speech coding and synthesis the functions that were used that are a function of the MATLAB suite are as follows; dwt, wavedec, waverec, and idwt, they were used in computing the wavelet transforms Nikhil Rao (2001). The wavedec function performs the task of signal decomposition, and the waverec function reconstructs the signal from its coefficients. The idwt function functions in the capacity of the inverse transform on the signal of interest and all these functions can be found in the MATLAB software. The speech file that was analyzed was divided up into frames of 20 ms, which is 160 samples per frame and then each frame was decomposed and compressed, the file format utilized was .OD files, because of the length of the files there were able to be decomposed without being divided up into frames. The global and by-level thre sholding was used in the experiment, the main aim of the global thresholding is the maintenance of the coefficients that are the largest, this not being dependent on the size of the decomposition tree for the wavelet transform. Using the level thresholding the approximate coefficients are kept at the decomposition level, during the process two bytes are used to encode the zero values. The function of the very first byte is the specification of the starting points of zeros and the other byte tracks successive zeros. The work done by Qiang Fu and Eric A. Wan (2003) was also reviewed; there work was the enhancement of speech based on wavelet de-nosing framework. In their approach to their objective, the noisy speech signal was first processed using a spectral subtraction method; the aim of this involves the removal of noise from the signal of study before the application of the wavelet transform. The traditional approach was then done where the wavelet transforms are utilized in the decomposition of the speech into different levels, thresholding estimation is then on the different levels , however in this project a modified version on the Ephraim/Malah suppression rule was utilized for the thresholdign estimates. To finally enhance the speech signal the inverse wavelet transform was utilized. It was shown the pre processing of the speech signal removed small levels of noise but at the same time the distortion of the original speech signal was minimized, a generalized spectral subtraction algorithm was used to accomplish the task above this algorithm was proposed by Bai and Wan. The wavelets transform for this approach utilized using wavelet packet decomposition, for this process a six stage tree structure decomposition approach was taken this was done using a 16-tap FIR filter, this is derived from the Daubechies wavelet, for a speech signal of 8khz the decomposition that was achieved resulted in 18 levels. The estimation method that was used to calculate the threshold levels were of a new type, the experiments took into account the noise deviation for the different levels, and each different time frame . An altered version of the Ephraim/Malah rule for suppression was used to achieve soft thresholdeing. The re-synthesis of the signal was done using the inverse perceptual wavelet transform and this is the very last stage. Work done by S.Manikandan, entitled (2006) focused on the reduction of noise that is present in a wireless signal that is received using special adaptive techniques. The signal of interest in the study was corrupted by white noise. The time frequency dependent threshold approach was taken to estimate the threshold level, in this project both the hard and soft thresholding techniques were utilized in the de-noising process. As with the hard thresholding coefficient below a certain values are scaled, in the project a universal threshold was used for the Gaussian noise that was added the error criterion that was used was under 3 mean squared, based on the experiments that were done it was found out that this approximation is not very efficient when it comes to speech, this is mainly because of poor relations amongst the quality and the existence to the correlated noise. A new thresholding technique was implemented in this technique the standard deviation of the noise was first estimated of the different levels and time frames. For a signal the threshold is calculated and is also calculated for the different sub-band and their related time frame. The soft thresholding was also implemented, with a modified Ephraim/Malah suppression rule, as seen before in the other works that were done in this are. Based on their results obtained, there was an unnatural voice pattern and to overcome this, a new technique based on modification from Ephraim and Mala is implemented. Procedure The procedure that undertaken involved doing several voice recording and reading the file using the wavread function because the file was done in a .wav format The length to be analyzed was decided, for the my project the entire length of the signal was analyzed The uncorrupted signal power and signal to noise ratio (SNR) was calculated using different MATLAB functions Additive White Gausian Noise (AWGN) was then added to the original recorded, making the uncorrupted signal now corrupted The average power of the signal corrupted by noise and also the signal to noise ratio (SNR) was then calculated Signal analysis then followed, the procedure involved in the signal analysis included: The wavedec function in MATLAB was used in the decomposition of the signal. The detail coefficients and approximated coefficients were then extracted and plots made to show the different levels of decomposition The different levels of coefficient were then analyzed and compared, making detailed analysis that the decomposition resulted in After decomposition of the different levels de-nosing took place this was done with the ddencmp function in MATLAB, The actual de-nosing process was then undertaken using wdencmp function in MATLAB, plot comparison was made to compare the noise corrupted signal and the de-noised signal The average power and SNR of the de-noised signal was done and comparison made between it and the original and the de-noised signal. Implementation/Discussion The first part of the project consisted of doing a recording in MATLAB, a recording was done of my own voice and the default sample rate was used were Fs = 11025, codes were used to do recordings in MATLAB and different variables were altered and specified based on the codes used, the m file that is submitted with this project gives all the codes that were utilized for the project, the recordings were done for 9 seconds the wavplay function was then used to replay the recording that was done until a desired recording was obtained after the recording was done a wavwrite function was then used to store the data that was previously recorded into a wav file. The data that was written into a wav file was originally stored in variable y and then given the name recording1. A plot was then made to show the wave format of the speech file recorded. Fig 1 Fig1 Plot above showing original recording without any noise corruption According to fig1 the maximum amplitude of the signal is +0.5 and the minimum amplitude being -0.3 from observation with the naked eye it can be seen that most of the information in the speech signal is confined between the amplitude +0.15 -0.15. The power of the speech signal was then calculated in MATLAB using a periodogram spectrum this produces an estimate of the spectral density of the signal and is computed from the finite length digital sequence using the Fast Fourier Transform (The MathWorks 1984-2010) the window parameter that was used was the Hamming window, the window function is some function that is zero outside some chosen interval. The hamming window is a typical window function and is applied typically by a point by point multiplication to the input of the fast fourier transform, this controls the adjacent levels of spectral artifacts which would appear in the magnitude of the fast fourier transform results, for a case where the input frequencies do not correspond with the bin center. Convolution that occurs within the frequency domain can be considered as windowing this is basically the same as performing multiplication within the time domain, the result of this multiplication is that any samples outside a fr equency will affect the overall amplitude of that frequency. Fig2 Fig2 plot showing periodogram spectral analysis of original recording From the spectral analysis it was calculated that the power of the signal is 0.0011 watt After the signal was analyzed noise was added to the signal, the noise that was added was additive gaussian white noise (AWGN), and this is a random signal that contains a flat power spectral density (Wikipedia, 2010). At a given center frequency additional white noise will contain equal power at a fixed bandwidth; the term white is used to mean that the frequency spectrum is continuous and is also uniform for the entire frequency band. In the project additive is used to simply mean that this impairment to the original signal is corrupting the speech; The MATLAB code that was used to add the noise to the recording can be seen in the m file. For the very first recording the power in the signal was set to 1 watt and the SNR set to 80, the applied code was set to signal z, which is a copy of the original recording y, below is the plot showing the analysis of the noise corrupted recording. Fig3 Fig3 plot showing the original recording corrupted by noise Based on observation of the plot above it can be estimated that information in the original recording is masked by the additive white noise to the signal, this would have a negative effect as the clean information would be masked out by the noise, a process known as aliasing. Because the amplitude of the additive noise is greater than the amplitude of the recording it causes distortion observation of the graph shows the amplitude of the corrupted signal is greater than the original recording. The noise power of the corrupted signal was calculated buy the division of the signal power and the signal to noise ratio, the noise power calculated from the first recording is 1.37e-005. The noise power of the corrupted signal is 1.37e-005; the spectrum peridodogram was then used to calculate the average power of the corrupted signal , based on the MATLAB calculations the power was calculated to be 0.0033 watt Fig4 Fig4 plot showing periodogram spectral analysis of corrupted signal From analysis of the plot above it can be seen that the frequency of the corrupted signal spans a wider band, the original recording spectral frequency analysis showed a value of -20Hz as compared to the corrupted signal showed a value of 30Hz this increase in the corrupted signal is attributed to the noise added and this masked out the original recording again as before the process of aliasing. It was seen that the average power of the corrupted was greater than the original signal, the increase in power can be attributed to the additive noise added to the signal this caused the increase in power of the signal. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the corrupted signal was calculate from the formula corrupted power/noise power , and the corrupted SNR was found to be 240 as compared to 472.72 of the de-noised, the decrease in signal to noise ratio can be attributed to the additive noise this resulted in the level of noise to the level of clean recording to be greater this is the basis for the decreased SNR in the corrupted signal, the increase in the SNR in the clean signal will be discussed further in the discussion. The reason there was a reduce in the SNR in the corrupted signal is because the level of noise to clean signal is greater and this is basis of signal to noise comparison, it is used to measure how much a signal is corrupted by noise and the lower this ratio is, the more corrupted a signal will be. The calculation method that was used to calculate this ratio is Where the different signal and noise power were calculated from MATLAB as seen above The analysis of the signal then commenced a .wav file was then created for the corrupted signal using the MATLAB command wavwrite, with Fs being the sample frequency, N being the corrupted file and the name being noise recording, a file x1 that was going to be analysed was created using the MATLAB command wavread. Wavelet multilevel decomposition was then performed on the signal x1 using the MATLAB command wavedec, this function performs the wavelet decomposition of the signal, the decomposition is a multilevel one dimensional decomposition, and discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is using pyramid algorithms, during the decomposition the signal is passed through a high pass and a low pass filter. The output of the low pass is further passed through a high pass and a low pass filter and this process continues (The MathWorks 1994-2010) based on the specification of the programmer, a linear time invariant filter, this being a filter that passes high frequencies and attenuates frequency that are below a threshold called the cut off frequency, the rate of attenuation is specified by the designer. While on the other hand the opposite to the high pass filter, is the low pass filter this filter will only pass low frequency signals but attenuates signal that contain a higher frequency than the cut off. Ba sed on the decomposition procedure above the process was done 8 times, and at each level of decomposition the actual signal is down sampled by a factor of 2. The high pass output at each stage represents the actual wavelet transformed data; these are called the detailed coefficients (The MathWorks 1994-2010). Fig 5 Fig 5 above levels decomposition (The MathWorks 1994-2010) Block C above contains the decomposition vectors and Block L contains the bookkeeping vector, based on the representation above a signal X of a specific length is decomposed into coefficients, the first part of the decomposition produces 2 sets of coefficients the approximate coefficient cA1 and the detailed coefficient cD1, to get the approximate coefficient the signal x is convolved with low pass filter and to get the detailed coefficient signal x is convolved with a high pass filer. The second stage is similar only this time the signal that will be sampled is cA1 as compared to x before with the signal further being sampled through high and low pass filter again to produce approximate and detailed coefficients respectively hence the signal is down sampled and the factor of down sampling is two The algorithm above (The MathWorks 1994-2010) represents the first level decomposition that was done in MATLAB, the original signal x(t) is decomposed into approximate and detailed coefficient, the algorithm above represents the signal being passed through a low pass filter where the detail coefficients are extracted to give D2(t)+D1(t) this analysis is passed through a single stage filter bank further analysis through the filter bank will produce greater stages of detailed coefficients as can be seen with the algorithm below (The MathWorks 1994-2010). The coefficients,  cAm(k)  and  cDm(k)  form  m = 1,2,3  can be calculated by iterating or cascading the single stage filter bank to obtain a multiple stage filter bank(The MathWorks 1994-2010). Fig6 Fig6 showing graphical representation of multilevel decomposition (The MathWorks 1994-2010) At each level it is observed the signal is down sampled and the sampling factor is 2. At d8 obeservation shows that the signal is down sampled by 2^8 i.e. 60,000/2^8. All this is done for better frequency resolution. Lower frequencies are  present  at all time; I am mostly concerned with higher frequencies which contains the actual data. I have used daubechies wavelet type 4 (db4), the daubechies wavelet are defined by computing the running averages and differences via scalar products with scaling signals and wavelets(M.I. Mahmoud, M. I. M. Dessouky, S. Deyab, and F. H. Elfouly, 2007) For this type of wavelet there exist a balance frequency response but the phase response is non linear. The Daubechies wavelet types uses windows that overlap in order to ensure that the coefficients of higher frequencies will show any changes in their high frequency, based on these properties the Daubechies wavelet types proves to be an efficient tool in the de-nosing and compression of audio signals.  For the Daubechies D4 transform, this transform has 4 wavelet types and scaling coefficient functions, these coefficient functions are shown below The different steps that are involved in the wavelet transforms, will utilize different scaling functions, to the signal of interest if the data being analyzed contains a value of N, the scaling function that will be applied will be applied to calculate N/2 smoothed values. The smoothed values are stored in the lower half of the N element input vector for the ordered wavelet transform. The wavelet function coefficient values are g0  = h3 g1  = -h2 g2  = h1 g3  = -h0 The different scaling function and wavelet function are calculated using the inner product of the coefficients and the four different data values. The equations are shown below (Ian Kaplan, July 2001); The repetition of the of the steps of the wavelet transforms was then used in the calculation of the function value of the wavelet and the scaling function value, for each repetition there is an increase by two in the index and when this occurs a different wavelet and scaling function is produced. Fig 7 Diagram above showing the steps involved in forward transform (The MathWorks 1994-2010) The diagram above illustrates steps in the forward transform, based on observation of the diagram it can be seen that the data is divided up into different elements, these separate elements are even and the first elements are stored to the even array and the second half of the elements are stored in the odd array. In reality this is folded into a single function even though the diagram above goes against this, the diagrams shows two normalized steps. The input signal in the algorithm above (Ian Kaplan, July 2001) is then broken down into what are called wavelets. One of the most significant benefits of use of wavelet transforms is the fact that it contains a window that varies, to identify signal not continuous having base functions that are short is most desirable. But in order to obtain detailed frequency analysis it is better to have long basis function. A good way to achieve this compromise is having a short high frequency functions and also long low frequency ones(Swathi Nibhanupudi, 2003) Wavelet analysis contains an infinite basis functions, this allows wavelet transforms and analyisis with the ability realize cases that can not be easily realized by other time frequency methods, namely Fourier transforms. MATLAB codes are then used to extract the detailed coefficients, the m file shows these codes, the detailed coefficients that are Daubechies orthogonal type wavelets D2-D20are often used. The numbers of coefficients are represented by the index number, for the different wavelets they contain vanishing moments that are identical to the halve of the coefficients. This can be seen using the orthogonal types where D2 contain only one moment and D4 two moments and so on, the vanishing moment of the wavelets refers to its ability to represent the information in a signal or the polynomial behavior. The D2 type that contains only one moment will encode polynomial of one coefficient easily that are of constant signal component. The D4 type will encode polynomial of two coefficients, the D6 will encode coefficient of three polynomial and so on. The scaling and wavelet function have to be normalized and this normalization factor is a factor  Ã‚  . The coefficients for the wavelet are derived by the reverse of the order of the scaling function coefficients and then by reversing the sign of the second one (D4 wavelet = {-0.1830125, -0.3169874, 1.1830128, -0.6830128}) mathematically, this looks like   where  k  is the coefficient index,  b  is a wavelet coefficient and  c  a scaling function coefficient.  N  is the wavelet index, ie 4 for D4 (M. Bahoura, J. Bouat. 2009) Fig 7 Plot of fig 7 showing approximated coefficient of the level 8 decomposition Fig 8 Plot of fig 8 showing detailed coefficient of the level 1 decomposition Fig 9 Plot of fig 9 showing approximated coefficient of the level 3 decomposition Fig 10 Plot of fig 10 showing approximated coefficient of the level 5 decomposition Fig 11 Plot of fig 11, showing comparison of the different levels of decomposition Fig12 Plot fig12 showing the details of all the levels of the coefficients; The next step in the de-nosing process is the actual removal of the noise after the coefficients have been realized and calculated the MATLAB functions that are used in the de-noising functions are the ddencmp and the wdencmp function This process actually removes noise by a process called thresholding, De-noising, the task of removing or suppressing uninformative noise from signals is an important part of many signal or image processing applications. Wavelets are common tools in the field of signal processing. The popularity of wavelets in de-nosingis largely due to the computationally efficient algorithms as well as to the sparsity of the wavelet representation of data. By sparsity I mean that majority of the wavelet coefficients have very small magnitudes whereas only a small subset of coefficients have large magnitudes. I may informally state that this small subset contains the interesting informative part of the signal, whereas the rest of the coefficients describe noise and can be discarded to give a noise-free reconstruction. The best known wavelet de-noising methods are thresholding approaches, see e.g. In hard thresholding all the coefficients with greater magnitudes as compared to the threshold are retained unmodified this is because they comprise the informative part of data, while the rest of the coefficients are considered to represent noise and set to zero. However, it is reasonable to assume that coefficients are not purely either noise or informative but mixtures of those. To cope with this soft thresholding approaches have been proposed, in the process of soft thresholding coefficients that are smaller than the threshold are made zero, however the coefficients that are kept are made smaller towards zero by an amount of the threshold value in order to decrease the effect of noise assumed to corrupt all the wavelet coefficients. In my project I have chosen to do a eight level decomposition before applying the de-nosing algorithm, the decomposition levels of the different eight levels are obtained, because the signal of in