The Constitutional Convention Of The United States Essay

After the colonies had seceded from Britain they realized that the lack of a strong central government created a United States that was not so â€Å"united†. As described in a Brilliant Solution, by Carol Berkin, the problems derived from the Articles of Confederation required a resolution that no one would have ever imaged. That solution would be the Constitutional Convention, taking place from May to September of 1787 in Philadelphia. This convention would result in our Constitution, the living, breathing, vital document we still use to this day. Throughout its early years, America didn’t have many rules that it was governed by. Henry Knox once declared, â€Å"Our present federal government is a name, a shadow, without power, or effect.† Under the rules of the Articles of Confederation, the government could declare war, conduct foreign affairs, and make treaties; however, the states held the majority of power and were treated like countries. With that in mind, bills couldn’t be passed because, with no executive or judicial branch, congress couldn’t levy taxes and required the consent of the states to pass the aforementioned bills. Since the government was weak, it was easy for the British to overpower them. Eventually, people realized how wrong the Articles were, and each state sent their own delegates to a convention that was soon to begin in Philadelphia in order to fix its problems. The 55 men invited to the Convention were not gods, but they were far from ordinary; most of theShow MoreRelatedTh e Constitutional Convention Of The United States895 Words   |  4 PagesThere would never be progress if humans took a step back for every step they took forward. The delegates at the Constitutional Convention encountered this issue when discussing the creation of an independent executive. The nation needed a leader without the risk of reverting back to the tyranny of King George. Without it, they feared that the natural rights of its citizens would be jeopardized. Despite the possible benefits, there were well-founded fears that this could lead to the destruction ofRead MoreThe Constitutional Convention Of The United States989 Words   |  4 Pagescalled for a â€Å"Grand Convention† of the newly independent American states to amend the struggling Articles of Confederation. He did so with the approval of twelve delegates from five states that convened in Annapolis originally for the purpose of discussing interstate trade. What these delegates didn’t realize is that the convention they were calling for would produce a document that would shape the course of human history. On Friday, May 25, 1787, fifty-five delegates from twelve states (only Rhode IslandRead MoreThe Constitutional Convention Of Philadelphia Signed The United States Constitution1107 Words   |  5 PagesDelegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787. Designed to replace the weak Articles of Confederation previously in place, the Constitution delineates and outlines the powers of the different branches of government. The Constitution also includes the Bill of Rights that states the rights of the citizens. As of this year, the Constitution is two hundred and twenty-nine years old. The Constitution continues to have an impact onRead MoreConstitutional Conventions Of The United Kingdom1711 Words   |  7 PagesConstitutional conventions are the un-codified agreements that are practiced based on the informal procedures followed by state institutions. According to Mills, they are the guidelines that the political and state actors feel obliged to follow as a matter of doing what is right. By doing this, the political actors and institutions align to the fulfillment of doing what is morally expected of them. This makes the constitutional conventions act like the procedural agreements that make people thinkRead MoreThe Main Role As Part Of The Constitution1710 Words   |  7 Pages Despite the fact that definition and nature of conventions is uncertain it is obvious that they have a significant role as part of UK constitution. To understand how conventions are sufficient as a sources of the constitution it is necessary to discuss their nature first, then continue with analysis on how they operate from a wider prospective and finally, emphasize their strengths and weaknesses. Constitutional convention is an informal agreement which is not signed or codified by any authorityRead MoreThe Constitutional Convention Essay1198 Words   |  5 Pagesafter the Revolutionary War. These Articles provided a weak political document that was meant to keep the states united temporarily. The states had all the power, so any changes made to the Article of Confederation would take every state to approve it or amend it. In February 1787, Congress decided that a convention should be convened to revise the Article of Confederation (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2009). Congress felt the Article of Confederation was not enough to effectively deal withRead MoreThe Articles Of Confederation During The American Revolution1133 Words   |  5 PagesAfter fighting for our country against Great Britain in the American Revolution, the United States gained independence. We had to figure out how to govern ourselves since we would no longer be under the power of the monarch. The Articles of Confederation was the answer to our problems; even though it established a very weak central government and had many problems, it was our first constitution and our first step towards a solid government. Some of the problems with the Articles included thatRead MoreArgument Resume : Samuel Bryan Centinel Essay873 Words   |  4 Pages Greg Peterson DOB: 1759 ANTI-FEDERALIST STATE OF BIRTH: Samuel Bryan was born in Pennsylvania in 1759. Pennsylvania at the time was very ethnically and religiously diverse; at one point one third of the population was German. Even before the Constitutional Convention, Pennsylvania was very important. For example, during the pre-Revolutionary War and Revolutionary War years, Pennsylvania held both Continental Congresses. Even then, the state excelled economically, especially in the iron andRead MoreThe On The Workings Of The Constitution Convention Essay1319 Words   |  6 PagesWorkings of the Constitution Convention â€Å"The fundamental importance of the 1787 Constitutional Convention is indisputable, not only as a turning point in the history of the United States, but also as an event that continues to affect contemporary politics† (Pope and Shawn 1). Indeed, the historical significance of the Constitution Convention and its direct impact on American contemporary politics cannot be ignored. For over two-hundred years, the Constitution of the United States has served as the foundationRead MoreThe Connecticut Compromise Between The New Jersey Plan And The Virginia Plan1473 Words   |  6 Pageswas critical to the government back then and now because it would determine how each state would be represented in Congress. The cause of the Great Compromise was because the small populated states wanted to have the same amount of representatives as the states with large populations and the larger populated states wanted to have more representatives than the smaller states. In 1787, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between May and September. The purpose of the event

Book Eight And Nine Of Nicomachean Ethics - 1698 Words

In Book eight and nine of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses the variations of friendships that are present in human nature. He further goes into detail on the terms and grounds on forming these friendships. I will be analyzing the different types of friendship discussed in Aristotle’s Ethics and answer the difficulties and obstacles present in trying to achieve the perfect friendship, the friendship based on goodness. The beginning of Book eight of the Nicomachean Ethics states that friendship is a â€Å"kind of virtue and it is also most necessary for living† (Book VIII, 1155a, 1-2). Friendships connect to all walks of life, with friends we can help young from making mistakes and assist the elderly in life through their delicate state they cannot do themselves. The most significant power friendship has is the ability to hold communities and how it’s closely connected to justice (Book VIII, 1155a, 20-26). Which is interesting because it seems that by human nature we strive for the sense of harmony in a community. We aim for happiness between community members and happiness as a whole. Aristotle later comments that a possession of many friends are one of the fine things of life and it is a splendid thing to obtain. The second part of Book eight is Aristotle defining the objects and definitions of affection. These are goodness, usefulness, and pleasure. These are the three reasons humans have for loving an object or person. Aristotle continues to explain the each

Essay on South And Whitaker Street On The Park Essay Example For Students

Essay on South And Whitaker Street On The Park Essay The sun is staring directly at me as I began to hide for cover .I can hear laughing voice everywhere. The sound of a soft country melody that just went flying passed my ear. I can stretch out anywhere on this thirty acres. Where am I? If you was thinking a park you are exactly right. I am visiting one of the city largest park in Savannah, GA which is known as Forsyth Park .Forsyth Park is extremely huge. The park is bordered by Gaston Street on the North, Drayton Street on the East, Park Avenue on the South and Whitaker Street on the West. Where should I began? This park is open to the public. There’s a lot of tourists who come down to view the different historic place here in Savannah, Ga. Forsyth Park is one place many tourists seem to walk upon. This park is broken up into many sections. There is a place to walk to grab a bite to eat, which is known as the Forsyth Cafe. There’s a two sided children’s play area that is sectioned off by the age in which the child is, how interesting. There is even a Fragrant Garden for people who are blind .There also an area for sports lovers, whether you play tennis and or basketball court .Wow there’s even a place for Frisbee lovers to have a toss around. As I begin to walk down the end of the park. I can see that the park has been sectioned off tremendously. As I move out of the way so that the people who are working out can have their space on walk path that goes around the entire park. On the left side of the bottom of the park, there’s a fence in basketball court. The only people to be inside is boys or men having a one on one game or five men playing basketball against one another as a team. This entire area seems to be crowd men of all ages and nationality . I am not surprise to not se. .amounts of material and non-material resources (such as the wealthy vs. the poor) and that the more powerful groups use their power in order to exploit group From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedias with less power based on information from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In my opinion I don’t believe that theirs is a social conflict with the park itself anyone can come to this public park and have a great time. Many people often travel to view or experience the beauty in which the park has been founded on . Forsyth park is a historical park you will never forget once experience. As I bring my observation to a closed I believe the park will fall under a social interactionism experience because of it’s a major framework of sociological theory. This perspective relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction.

Pridi Banomyong Essays - Thai People, Thailand,

Pridi Banomyong Pridi Banomyong Pridi Banomyong was born on May 11, 1900 in Ayudhya, the former capital of Thailand. He was the eldest son of a relatively well to do farming family. Pridi became interested in revolutionaries when he was very young. At the age of 14, he completed his secondary education. Too young to enroll in any institution for higher education, Pridi stayed with his family for an extra two years, helping them in rice farming before darting off to law school in 1917. Pridi was a bright student, he finished law school when he was 19, a year short of the minimum age requirement to enter the bar (Naeti-Banditya Sapha). He became a barrister at law and was simultaneously awarded a scholarship to do Master's and Ph.D. studies in France. In 1924, he obtained his Bachelier en Droit, Licenci en Droit and in 1926 a Doctorat d'Etat and Diplme d'Etudes Suprieures d'Economie Politique from Universit de Paris. Pridi was the first Thai to earn this appellation. It was during his time in Paris, that he and a few like-minded Thais set up the People's Party (Khana-Rassadorn). They vowed to transform the Thai system of governance from absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. The group elected Pridi as their provisional leader.... Later in 1927, Pridi returned to Thailand and joined the bureaucracy and rose quickly through the ranks. He was granted a non-hereditary title of Luang Praditmanuthum. At dawn on 24 June 1932, the People's Party, consisting of government officials, military officers, and ordinary civilians rapidly and bloodlessly took control of the government, changing it from absolute to democratic, constitutional monarchy and installing the 1932 provisional constitution as the supreme law of the land. Between 1933 and 1947, Pridi held various important positions including.. Minister of Interior, Minister of Foreign affairs, Minister of Finance, Regent and Prime Minister. King Rama VIII officially appointed him a Senior Statesman for life. Throughout these years as government official and leader, Pridi assiduously worked to realize the Six Principles.. 1. To maintain absolute national independence in all aspects, including political, judicial, and economics... 2. To maintain national cohesion and security... 3. To promote economic well being by creating full employment and by launching a national economic plan... 4. To guarantee equality to all... 5. To grant complete liberty and freedom to the people, provided that this does not contradict the aforementioned principles...and... 6. To provide education to the people. While in power, Pridi succeeded in making a number of changes which radically changed certain aspects of Thai society. Among his notable accomplishments, some of them having long term impacts ,for example: The drafting of the nation's first economic plan. The founding of the University of Moral and Political Science [Thammasart University]. The Municipality Act which allowed the people to elect their own local governments. The revocation of unequal treaties that Thailand had been forced to sign with foreign powers. The reformation of the unfair tax system. The compilation of the country's first revenue code. The founding of what ultimately became the Bank of Thailand. Stabilizing the country's financial resources. Prior to WWII, Pridi foresaw an imminent devaluation of the Pound Sterling, and bought 1,000,000 ounces of gold which continue to be used as the country's foreign reserve. Promoting the concept of peace and political neutrality by proposing the 1939 bill on neutrality. On the eve of WWII, Pridi made a film entitled The King of the White Elephant, which urged peace and sought to argue how wars are exploited by rulers to obtain power at the expense of civilians. During the WWII , once the Japanese had invaded and occupied Thailand, even as Regent, Pridi clandestinely led the Free Thai Movement (Seri Thai) to resist such action. In recognition of the brave cooperation and assistance rendered by this movement, the United States government subsequently recognized Thailand as an independent country that had been under Japanese military occupation as opposed to a belligerent state subject to Allied post war control. On 16 August 1945, at the advice of Lord Louis Mountbatten (the Allied SEA commander), as Regent and Leader of Free Thai Movement, Pridi declared null and void Pibulsonggram government's declaration of

To be or not to be essays

To be or not to be essays One memorable moment that I found quite funny was in the film, To Be or Not to Be. While there were several hilarious scenes, the title line that pops up frequently in the film got the greatest laugh out of me. The Shakespearian line, to be, or not to be isnt funny in and of itself. In fact, in the context of Hamlet, its part of quite a serious, agonizingly introspective monologue. What makes these words so funny is the context of the movie, and the way in which it is repeated throughout the film. The first time the audience hears the title line is when, in a slight act of marital indiscretion, the actress notifies the young suitor to visit her in her dressing room. To ensure her husband wont find out, the soldier must do so when her husband enters his to be or not to be monologue where hell be occupied on the stage for quite some time. The soldier gets the message and stands up rudely during the beginning of the monologue, precisely after the words or not to be are uttered. Taken aback, the actor is beside himself that someone would lose interest in his acting ability and walk out during one of his big scenes. What makes this truly funny is that he is portrayed as an egocentric stage actor who suddenly has his dignity deflated, saying rather melodramatically, Oh, I knew this day would come. The fact that his wife has completely gotten away with seeing the young soldier adds to the comedic irony while the actor dwells at great length on the interruption and its implication of the future of his career. The line gets funnier every time it is repeated throughout the film. Each time the soldier walks out of the performance, the actors vain ego is placed deeper in jeopardy as he becomes visibly flustered on stage. In another scene where the actor is portraying the professors Nazi superior, the professor relays to the actor tha...

ACT Book Guide The Best Books for Intense Study

ACT Book Guide The Best Books for Intense Study SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Albert Einstein, who's generally considereda pretty smart guy, said, "It's not that I'm so smart. It's just that I stay with problems longer." That type of commitment, as anyone who's studying for the ACT knows, is its own formof intelligence, and it's what will help you accomplish your long-term goals. This book guide is meant for students looking to "stay with problems longer" and study intensively, like 100 or more hours, to maximize their scores on the ACT.If you're a student who wants to leave no stone unturned as you prep for the ACT, then these are the books for you. Before delving into the ACT prep book list, a word about what perspective I'm coming from in my recommendations. Perspective Check The ACT books on this list all have strengths and weaknesses, but taken together they can provide you with comprehensive instruction, insightful strategies, and a huge number of practice questions. Since all these books add up to hundreds of pages, I'll suggest an agenda below to help you study from them in a coherent sequence. These recommendations are based off of the experiences of myself, ACT experts, and students. These are the ACT preparation books that offer a level of detail and insight into the testbeyond the ordinary. They'll help you achieve mastery in each section of the test. At the same time, I think that self-studying from books presents some extra challenges for students. One lies in the comprehensive nature of these ACTprep books. Because they're so comprehensive, they can feel overwhelming. It can be difficult to know where to start and how to use them in a more effective way than attempting(and struggling) to read them cover to cover. The best ACT study plan is customized to your individual needs, target scores, and strengths and weaknesses. You don't want to waste time drilling yourself on vocabulary you already understand or probability questions you could do in your sleep. Instead, you want to make sure you're making an effective use of your time, targeting your weak areas, and building your confidence where you need it most. PrepScholar's online ACT prep program was created with these challenges in mind. It has all the best parts of these books, with critical lessons, strategies, and practice questions, plus it adds the unique feature of customization. The prep program diagnoses your level and individualizes the study plan to you, ensuring your prep is as focused and effective as possible. Plus it helps you design a schedule and stay accountable, two things that are tough to prioritize when you're studying completely on your own with ACTprep books. Regardless of whether or not you're interested in trying the 5 day free trial of PrepScholar's ACT prep program, you should explore our detailed study guides on the ACT. We have answers to all your questions about the ACT, from how to read the passages to saving time on math to how to best review your practice test mistakes. Our goal is to make sure all students can access the resources they need on their path to college. That being said, read on for a thorough assessment of the best ACT preparation books for intense study, starting with the critical book all serious students need. The Critical ACT Prep Book The book that's essential to your ACT prep comes from the testmakers themselves. The Real ACT Prep Book, also known as the Red Book, is a must-have. At the same time, it's not sufficient as the only book you use. Let's look at the pros and cons of the Red Book. The Real ACT Prep Book (or the "Red Book") Amazon price: $18.18 Pros Because The Real ACT Prep Bookwas created by the ACT and contains previously administered ACT tests, its practice questions are the best ones available. There are definitely high quality practice questions that aren't "official," but they are still an imitation. The questions in the Red Book are real, and therefore they're the most useful ones you can use to get ready for the test. The Red Book has 5full length practice tests, allof which were administered to students in past years. That adds up to over17hours of practice testing with more than1,000 practice questions! Students doing intensive prep can gain a lot from all this practice testing. As I'll explain further down,students could benefit from using these tests throughout their test prep, first to diagnose their level, then to measure to progress, and finally to finish up their studying with a post-test. You can gain a ton both from the experience of practice testing and the post-test scoring and analysis. Make sure to thoroughly understand your mistakes and use them to fuel further review. While the Red Book is the best prep book for authentic practice tests and sample questions, it's lacking in some other key areas. Let's consider what it's missing and why you need to supplement it with other books. Cons There are other parts to ACT studying besides practice tests, like lessons in content and time management strategies. The Red Book has some general information in these areas, but it doesn't go as deeply as you're looking for. That's why it's best used alongside other books to reinforce your understanding, experiment with strategies, and measure your progress as you go. Another word of caution: according to ACT experts and students, the ACT has been secretly but steadily getting harder in the past few years!The Science section, especially, has been getting more complex and time-consuming, plus the Reading is tough to finish within the given time limit. While the ACT has not announced any changes, there is general agreement that the test has, in fact, changed. This means that practice tests developed and/or administered before 2010 are probably not as representative of the test you'll see today as more recent ones. They still resemble the current ACT and are useful, but they're somewhat easier in terms of content and pacing. When taking these earlier practice tests, keep a critical eye on any differences amongthe tests. Also keep in mind that you might score higher on these than you would on the more challenging test given today. Finally, the last downside to the Red Book is that the answer explanations for each question are not as thorough as they could be. Students who want to prep deeply for the test should not just understand why a correct answer is correct, but also what exactly is wrong with the other answer choices. None of the answer choices are going to be totally off base or random, so students should develop a discerning eye about the common misleading answer choices that seem reasonable, but aren't quite right in some way. Luckily, the next book in this list provides more thorough answer explanations to many of the questions in the Red Book. It explains each answer choice while also suggesting helpful thought processes to use when approaching each question type. The Best ACT Book for Strategy The similarly named ACT Black Book is my highest recommendation for gaining strategies and insights into how the ACT works. It refers directly to questions from the ACT Red Book, so the two are best used together. The ACT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective ACT Strategies Ever Published Amazon price: $19.79 Pros Can this book live up to its bold title? Actually, I do think it's one of the best books for pure strategy and in-depth understanding of the ACT. According to its author, Mike Barrett, the ACT is a predictable, standardized test. The content knowledge is not particularly advanced, but the questions are unique, even designed to trick students, in their wording. Because of this predictability, Barrett says, students can learn to see through the tricks and beat each question in the least amount of time possible. He talks about patterns and process, and gives you practical strategies for answering math, reading, science, and English questions. The Black Book also shows you over 200 solutions for some of the hardest questions in the ACT Red Book. He walks you through how to solve and think about ACT questions in a way that the Red Book doesn't. While the ACT doesn't want to reveal its secrets, Barrett's mission is to pierce through the workings of the ACT and provide a concise roadmap of the test to students. The Black Book works well for focused students who are interested in going a step beyond the usual in their ACT prep. If you're interested in taking a big picture approach to the testand analyzing its patterns, then the ACT Prep Black Book is an indispensable study aid. Cons You mightbe starting to suspect that some of these books are so high quality because they're focused on a particular aspect of test prep. The Red Book is focused on practice tests, while the Black Book is focused on strategy. Because of its singular emphasis, the Black Book does a really good job in that area. Inevitably, though, this means that it's lacking in other key areas of test prep, namely content review. The Black Book is not particularly useful for instruction in geometry or grammar rules, nor is it going to help you develop your critical reading skills. In addition, the Black Book has no practice questions of its own. While the Red Book has 5 practice tests, you'll probably want to seek even more ACT questions to apply your understanding and improve your time management. Finally, the Black Book requires a certain amount of dedication and focus from its readers. It's not the easiest read, because it dives deeply into the ACT. That's why it can be so helpful for intense study, but be aware that you'll really have to engage with the material to get the most out of it. So far we've talked about practice tests and strategies, with less of an emphasis on reviewing concepts and enhancing skills. Below are my recommendations for the best comprehensive book for content review, followed by the best books for spotlighting each individual section of the ACT. The Best ACT Book for Overall Content Review My recommendation for an ACT prep book with an in-depth breakdown of concepts and skills is Barron's ACT. Students aiming for top scores who are looking for additional practice can also check out Barron's ACT 36: Aiming for the Perfect Score(Amazon price: $9.99). This assessment will focus on Barron's ACT. Barron's ACT Amazon price: $15.15 Pros Barron's ACT thoroughly reviews the concepts and skills being tested on the Reading, Math, English, Science and Writing sections of the ACT. The Englishand Math reviews are particularly strong, with each concept broken down into subtopics like a grammar review of parallelism, transitions, and word order and a math review of intermediate algebra, plane geometry, and trigonometry. It starts with a diagnostic test, encouraging students to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and plan their test prep accordingly. Purchase of the book will also give you access to an online component that helps you establish your skill profile and access video lessons. In addition toexampleand practice questions that illustrate and drill various concepts, Barron's ACT also has 3full-length practice tests. These aren't authentic ACT questions, but they are still high quality and useful in your prep. This is another 10+ hours of practice testing and over 600 practice questions, an essential part of intensive study. Barron's also excels in its answer explanations. Like the Black Book, it explains both why an answer is correct and what's wrong about the incorrect answer choices, an understanding that should not be overlooked in your test prep. While it's a traditional prep book written in a straightforward style, Barron's also acknowledgesthe feelings of its readers with sections on optimizing your test-taking mindset and managing any anxiety you have around the ACT. Cons As I mentioned earlier, big traditional prep books can be very useful in their thoroughness, but they can be daunting at the same time. Barron's ACT is a perfect illustration of this - chock full of content and practice questions, but intimidating in its breadth. The book suggests some study plans based on the amount of time you have to prep, but you'll also have to do some extra work to break it up into smaller, more manageable goals. Perhaps the biggest downside to Barron's ACT is how realistic the practice tests are. While they're relatively high quality, a lot of students agree that they are sometimes more difficult than the questions that will actually appear on the ACT. Their wording can be overly complicated, or sometimes they test a concept that's too advanced. While overpreparing isn't the worst thing, you want to mimic the test as much as possible so you have a strong understanding of what to expect. Again, try to keep a critical eye when taking practice tests and take factors like difficulty level into account if you notice unexpected fluctuations in your practice test scores. Finally, Barron's ACT is particularly strong on Englishand Math,and pretty useful on Reading. Its Science review is less strong than the other sections, something which occurs often across ACT prep books. While it describes the sources of passages, types of passages, and strategies for reading, along with science practice questions, you probably would want to supplement your science studying with another resource. Given this, let's look at the best resourcesspecific to each section of the ACT, starting with Science. Best Book for ACT Science Even though many students find the Science section to be the most challenging part of the ACT, until recently there were no books specifically dedicated to helping you on ACT Science. At PrepScholar, we know all the tricks for making ACT Science easier, so we decided to compile them into a book. The PrepScholar Guide to ACT Science Amazon price:about $5 Pros The PrepScholar Guide to ACT Sciencecovers every topic, skill, and question type you'll see on ACT Science which means that nothingon this section will come as a surprise on test day.That includes a list of every science fact you could be tested on, so you're only studying the science information you need to know. It also containsmultiple strategies for tackling Science passages so you can choose the method that works best for you. Most importantly,this bookalsoincludes all of our best ACT Sciencetest-taking tricks.Many students get tripped up ontheScience section because it's so different from the science tests they've taken in school. Even if you're a science whiz, you'll likely need to study how the Science section works before you can ace it. This book is your key to doing that. It shows you how to identify every trick inACTScience and learn how toavoid getting fooled by them so you can find the correct answer quickly and more easily. Cons While every chapter in this book includes sample questions to help you see and understand different concepts, there is no final quiz or exam section at the end of the book. For every section of the ACT, it's critical to take regular practice tests and quizzes to track your practice and see where you still need to improve. To fully practice everything you've learned from this book,we recommend takingfull-length Science sections. Best ACT Book for Math If you want to hone in on the math section and improve your algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and problem-solving skills, then you can do so withthe Ultimate Guide to the Math ACT. Let's take a look at where it excels and where it's not as strong. The Ultimate Guide to the Math ACT Amazon price: $17.54 Pros The Ultimate Guide to the Math ACTis a solid review of all the concepts you need to know for the Math section of the ACT. It doesn't get too advanced, but sticks to the topics that will show up on the test. Like PrepScholar, this book breaks each area - algebra, geometry, trigonometry - into small subtopics, like fractions, averages, square roots, functions, and trigonometry for rights triangles. Each lessonis illustrated with high quality practice problems, along with techniques and strategies for answering various question types. In addition to its own practice questions, this book cross-references questions in the Red Book. Overall it walks you through each and every concept you need to know for the Math section of the ACT in a clear and succinct way. Cons This book takes a minimalist approach in terms of its lessons. Some students will appreciate its straightforward, not overly explanatory style, while others might wish they hadmore description and explanation in each lesson. It's not a wordy book, but a lot of students look for that when they study math. On a similar note, this book isn't the most helpful for walking you through a problem from beginning to end. Some of its explanations are helpful, especially as they cross reference the Red Book, but it doesn't offer a lot of guidance for thinking through a problem. Nor does it evaluate problems by difficulty level or provide a frequency guide to help you prioritize more important concepts over others. Finally, this book has some errors in printing, especially in matching up the questions with the answer key. While this doesn't detract much from its overall quality, it can be distracting as you're scoring and understanding your practice questions. Just as this book dives into the math section of the ACT, my next two recommendations closely examine the verbal, or English and Reading sections. Best ACT Books for English and Reading I'm grouping these books together for two reasons. First, the skills you develop for English are helpful for Reading, and vice versa. Secondly, both guides come from the same author, Erica Meltzer, and have similar pros and cons. Let's look first at Meltzer's book on the English section of the ACT. The Complete Guide to ACT English by Erica Meltzer Amazon price: $26.52 Pros 75 questions in 45 minutes, oh my! The English section is definitely fast-paced. To make sure you finish in time, you need toquickly and efficiently identify each grammar rule being tested and pick the right answer choice. Erica Meltzer explains all the grammar rules you need to know for this section in The Complete Guide to ACT English, like verb agreement, word pairs, and transitions. Similar toPrepScholar's approach, she breaks the section down by skills and drills you on each one to ensure you can apply them in context. Throughout the text are cumulative reviews so you can practice your widening range of concepts. The practice questions in this book are realistic and take the same passage format as you'll see on the ACT. Meltzer's lessons are straightforward, clear, and to the point. You can also find extra tips for both the English and Reading sections onher blog, The Critical Reader. Cons One immediately evident con of this book is the cost. At almost $30, it is relatively expensive considering it only covers one of four sections. Plus you'll need to use it alongside the Red Book, if not other books for even more practice tests and questions. This book is "no frills," meaning it doesn't have a lot of description or creative graphics. Some students find it dry, while others appreciate that she cuts out extraneous material. The formatting can get a bit tedious with a lot of small font on each page, but the content remains high quality. Finally, you have to be careful about answering questions that are arranged by skill. While it's a great way to learn and reinforce each grammar rule, you also must practice applying these rules on real practice tests. Real tests won't be arranged in order for you, so you need to ensure you can quickly identify and apply each rule randomly without them being labeled for you. In addition toher grammar rules in The Complete Guide to English Grammar, Erica Meltzer also does a great job of presentingthe Reading section of the ACT. The Complete Guide to ACT Reading by Erica Meltzer Amazon price: $30.39 Pros Like her English book, Erica Meltzer's The Complete Guide to ACT Reading is a great resource for students serious about gaining a strong Reading score. She has realistic passages from prose fiction, humanities, social science, and natural science with high quality practice questions. The Reading section can be harder to break down than, for instance, the Math section, but Meltzer manages to clearly outline the skills and concepts you need. She categorizes the Reading question types into literal comprehension, big picture, vocabulary in context, inference, and tone/attitude questions. Along with a clear lesson, she has questions illustrating each of these important types. Along with these skills, this ACT book teaches you how to manage both your time and your stress. Meltzer gives strategies for mapping the passage, strategically reading them in order, and using skimming techniques to your advantage. She offers a few different approaches so that students can figure out what works best for them. At the end of the book are two practice tests, each with four passages and 40 questions each. That's another 70 minutes of practice testing to add to the hours you get from the Red Book and Barron's ACT. Cons Like its English counterpart, this book is relatively expensive, especially for a book of only 120 pages that covers just one section. It's also not all that creative in its layout, with small font filling up thepages. Some students find its style to be dry, which can make self-study harder to maintain if you're not engaged with the material. Like the English guide, this book is arranged by question type and skill, like big picture questions and determining tone. This is a great way to recognize question types and apply skills, but you also want to make sure you can identify and apply skills when the questions are in random order. All of the books I mentioned are exceptionally strong in some areas and not so useful in others. Taken together, they might feel a bit overwhelming - where exactly do you start? Read on for my suggestions on how to come up with a study plan that uses these books in a logical way. X marks the treasure(d ACT score)! Study Plan with ACT Prep Books Should you start reviewing content or learning about strategies? Is it better tobreak into your first practice test or leave it until you've done some studying? What if you juststackthe books in a pileand try again tomorrow? So many questions, somuch time....if you're planning to study intensively and devote many hours to ACT prep, that is. I wouldn't recommend attempting to read these books from cover to cover without a thoughtful plan. Instead, I recommend mapping out a plan and schedule that concentrate your review on the areas in which you need it most. First off, you need to uncover those areas where you need the most intensive prep. I recommend using a practice test as a diagnostic test, just as Barron's ACT suggests. For your most accurate diagnostic tool, you should use one of the official practice tests from the Red Book. Time yourself in a quiet room with no distractions. After you score your test, mark the ones you got wrong and figure out the reasons for your mistakes. Go over the answer explanations thoroughly, and take notes on where you need to review. If you struggled on geometry questions, for instance, you could start with geometry review. If you kept running out of time on Science, consult the time management study guides on the Science sections. You should review every section, but concentrate your prep on your weaker areas. Consult this guide of recommended ACT prep books for content review. Barron's is a comprehensive breakdown of all the sections, while The Ultimate ACT Math Guide and Erica Meltzer's books focus intensively on one section at a time. Teach yourself these concepts, drill them with practice problems, and measure your progress with practice tests spaced out along the way. The Black Book is best for students who have a strong foundation in the math, verbal, and science concepts and skills. You could save Black Book strategies for after you've done some content review. As you study, continue to keep a critical eye on question types and difficulty level of questions, as well as analyze themistakes you make on practice tests. Focus on the areas where you need to improve your performance and confidence the most. Dive into your weaknesses to see the biggest score improvements. Since this type of planning is so unique to each individual, it can be tough to know exactly what the best approach is for you. Before you start planning, I would encourage you to explore your options for test prep. Are Books the Best Option for Intensive Study? Taken together, these ACT books have a huge amount of knowledge to impart. It can be a big challenge, though, to get all that knowledge...imparted. You have to havea tremendous amount of self-discipline and sustained motivation to spend 100+ hours poring over these books. In addition, you have to design an effective study plan, rather than repeating the same kinds of questions that won't end up improving your score. Besides these challenging efforts, books can also get expensive. All together, these add up to over$100.In the old days of test prep (ie, 5 to 10 years ago), books were a mainstay of SAT prep. But with the advent of online prep programs, which combinethe unparalleled advantagesof technology with human expertise, books are no longer the only, nor necessarily the best, option. One of the reasons I'm a big fan of PrepScholar's approach is because it makes the test prep process more enjoyable. It does a lot of the behind-the-scenes work for you, by diagnosing your academic profile and building a study regimen that complements your skills and learning style. It incorporates all the strengths of these books while seamlessly taking care of the customization and accountability aspect. Besides trying out PrepScholar's 5 day risk-free free trial, you can also explore our detailed study guides on all sections of the ACT. Some especially helpful ones include The Best Way to Review Your Mistakes on ACT Questions Should You Guess on the ACT? 5 Guessing Strategies The 31 Critical Math Formulas You Must Know The Complete Guide to ACT Grammar Rules ACT Vocabulary: Words You Must Know How to Write an ACT Essay, Step by Step How to Get a Perfect ACT Score, by a 36 Full Scorer If you're looking to devote a good amount of time to prepping for the ACT, then you want to ensure you're making the most of it. By exploring your test prep options and the abundance of free resources online(though no ACT preparation books pdf free download), you can make an informed decision that will help you enjoy the process and ultimately achieve the scores you seek for your college applications. What's Next? For more detailed strategy guides on all sections of the ACT, including the best ways to study and manage your time, explore our continually updated articles here. Are you deciding when to take the ACT for the first time (or second or third)? Read about how to choose your test dates here. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes your prep program to your strengths and weaknesses. We also have expert instructors who can grade every one of your practice ACT essays, giving feedback on how to improve your score. Check out our 5-day free trial:

MDCM (B) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MDCM (B) - Case Study Example In light of this fact, it was decided to alter the overall IT systems. The CEO and the CIO decided to present before the board 12 numerous potential projects. However, the members were to keep into consideration that they ought to accomplish the desired goal within short period of time (Jeffery, M & Norton, J. F. â€Å"MDCM, Inc. (B): Strategic IT Portfolio Management†) The main goal of these set of projects according to the IT Portfolio Management (ITPM) team was to overhaul MDCM’s IT system in the period ranging thirty-six months. In total, twelve major potential projects and initiatives were identified. The main objective of the team was to eradicate innumerable standards as well as IT methodologies all over the country. It can be examined that this initiative would require all the IT professionals, contractors and consultants to be trained as per the new methodology. This project would therefore require three months (Jeffery, M & Norton, J. F. â€Å"MDCM, Inc. (B): Strategic IT Portfolio Management†) Network consolidation leads to increased needs for storage consolidation. Some companies as well consolidate the data centers together with the intranets, traditional LANs and computing networks (Blade, â€Å"Introduction†). The company found it beneficial to consolidate the data centers to three locations and therefore shift the network of the company to a virtual private network (VPN). It was estimated that the savings from this project would be approximately $1.1 million and the time required for successively completing the project would be six months (Jeffery, M & Norton, J. F. â€Å"MDCM, Inc. (B): Strategic IT Portfolio Management†) The main objective of the company was to standardize the hardware and the platforms. The main benefits that the organisation receives on standardizing them include reduced cost of IT deployment and easy IT support and training (Gantz & Turner, â€Å"Standardisation†). There are many underlying

Our Secret by Susan Griffin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Our Secret by Susan Griffin - Essay Example This helps her to conduct a research in order to find the connections between childhood and human fate. As for me, it is a really important topic because I also feel the influence of parental upbringing during all my life. Practically every day I notice some characteristic in myself that actually belong to my parents. So, the research conducted by Susan Griffin is relevant to the contemporary life and should be applied by educators in order to achieve better results. Each word and phrase in Our Secret and its unusual structure help the writer to prove that people reflect the things they see during their childhood. When Griffin describes one of the characters of the book, she inserts the sentences that seem to have nothing in common with Laura. The text itself starts with a rather strange passage that makes the readers think that it is some article for scientific journal. It is the following phrase: â€Å"the nucleus of the cell derives its name from the Latin nux, meaning nut. Like the stone in the cherry, it is found in the center of the cell, and like this stone, keeps its precious kernel in a shell† (Bartholomae 340). However, a bit later the reader may see that this type of scientific insertions is an integral part of Our Secret. The analysis of scientific data helps Griffin to learn more about the characters and their fate; it becomes the major method of her research that helps to look at life and people from a new perspective. Even the first phrase written by Susan Griffin has deep sense. It helps to demonstrate that human life depends greatly upon parents and the way they educate. Heinrich’s life is the most vivid example of this. In fact, he had no childhood. His father made him older much earlier. So, the boy became an adult when he was only ten years old and had to follow the lifestyle indicated by his father. This seed had a huge impact upon Heinrich during all his life. The things started by father’s upbringing were finished by military service. From very childhood he is taught to establish friendly relations only for benefit and with those who are worth this. When Heinrich enters a new school, his father prepares the list of his would-be classmates. Thus, â€Å"he writes the child’s father’s name, what his father does for a living, and his social position. Heinrich must be careful to choose whom he befriends† (Bartholomae 367). There is one more character in Our Secret who suffered unhappy childhood. It is Leo. This person came under his older brother’s influence and became a killer in some time. This happened because of improper attitude towards his brother. He seemed to be an ideal person for Leo; that is why the latter did everything possible in order to look like him. However, all his attempts became fatal for Leo. It can be easily proved with the help of the following quotation: â€Å"While he was in the campus, he began to worship the uniformed members of the SS and the SA, just as he had loved his brother† (Bartholomae 345). In fact, Leo became one more victim of the wrong seed sowed into a person during the childhood period. To my mind, Griffin does not only describe the lives of several characters in her story. She tries to conduct a research in order to find out the reasons for people’s behavior and miserable life. According to her point of view a lot of things are closely connected with one’s childhood, parental influence, DNA and all the seeds that were put into the person. It is the main reason why the writer uses numerous â€Å"scientific† insertions in her story. They seem to be her own considerations of every character and situation described in the text. They are very important and useful for

Diary on Elizabethan Times Essay Example for Free

Diary on Elizabethan Times Essay Today I was filled to the top with euphoria because mother promised me she would take m to London for my birthday. I woke up abnormally early and washed my face with cold water and put on my favourite polka-dotted dress. I fixed my bed sheets and sprayed a small amount of perfume onto my clothes. I glanced at my pocket watch and found that it was already five o’clock; it would take two hours to get there. I raced down the stairs and shoved a few spoons of rice into my mouth and sprinted back upstairs to awake my sleeping mother. My mother took an everlasting period of time to get ready and when she did she started putting make up on. Whilst I was waiting I was reading a book about the history of London and how Henry the Eighth’s palace was there. When my mother had finally got ready, we clambered into the awaiting carriage; it was pulled by a beautiful, black mare, who, before I climbed into the carriage, stroked. When we arrived at London I was greeted to the smell of fresh baked bread, but I also heard screaming and shouting. As we drove past I felt sick and turned green, it was law day and someone was being executed. Their intestines had just been ripped out and the man’s face had a look of pure terror. His intestines were probably the last thing he saw. I turned away. These people were barbaric. As we passed my mother ordered the driver to stop and I opened the door and found myself looking at St. Marys of Bethlehem, I had always wanted to come here. As I entered I could hear laughter, I turned round the corner and found myself staring at dancing peasant. At first I was extremely confused, and then I saw the people poking them. Anger boiled in my stomach, people were provoking the poor people by hitting them with sharp sticks forcing them to dance. I had had enough. I stormed back to the carriage fuming and my mother gave me a strange look. She told the driver to go somewhere, I couldn’t hear her because she was whispering, and the man grinned. The man was driving, I didn’t know where to, I was lost in my thoughts of anger. But when the man did stop I was shocked to find myself in front of The Globe, the most famous theatre in the world. I raced over and hugged my mother as hard as I could; she laughed and kissed me on the head. We held hands and sauntered into the theatre. My mother paid two one penny pieces and we walked into the theatre. We then watched Romeo and Juliet.

An Overview of the Website Buying Process :: Sell Website Buy Web Site

An Overview of the Website Buying Process Buying a website: It's a brand new ball game Unless you've bought or sold a website in the past, you'll find that buying a website can be a confusing and even trying experience for the unprepared. That's why it's important for you to take the time to read this explanation of the process. Even if you're a veteran in website transfers, understanding the process will assist you in working with our firm. Getting Started: Questions and more questions The search for a website almost always starts with a visit to a web site like the one we host at Votan. Sometimes the prospective Buyer is a Corporation, Private Investment Group or a sophisticated Private Investor who has a very definite idea of the type of website wanted. But, often the website Buyer is a first time Buyer and is still in the formative or exploratory phase of the search. Many times a Buyer's first question is, "What kinds of websites do you have?" Well, we have lots of websites, so that's a tough question to answer without some idea of the Buyer's resources, skills and needs. In order for us to find you a match made in heaven, we need to uncover answers by questioning you and learning more about you. So the first and most important step is telling us about you. Be patient when we ask, "How many days per week are you comfortable working?" and "Do you like having employees?" and "How much cash do you have for a down payment?" and many other questions. We're not just asking: We're narrowing your search and saving you time and aggravation. Our web site Buyer registration offers a questionnaire that is a great way to narrow your search and help us help you find the business of your dreams. Defining the search: Non-confidential Summaries After we've talked for a while, we can probably begin narrowing the search to a few appropriate business opportunities. At this point, we communicate non-confidential summaries of our exclusive opportunities to you in a number of ways. Since you're viewing our web site you can see the non-confidential summaries of our exclusive listings by simply using the "Businesses For Sale" button. VR non-confidential summaries show our profile #, a description of the business, a summary of financial performance, the reasons why we think it may be a good opportunity and the asking price.

Ikea Supply chain

How old are the students studying MU 123 ? Knowing that the number of students in MU 123 is 80 a questionair is been made to know the ages of those students as they are consider small segment from the AOU and we can from that know from this study know the avarage age of AOU students. 28 students were in the age of 18 – 21 18 student were in the age of 22 – 28 11 students were in the age of 25 – 28 9 students were in the age of 28 – 31 7 student s were in the age of 32 – 35 6 students were in the age of 35 – 40 1 student on were age above 40Part (b) Collect relevant data needed to answer your question (stage C). This will involve choosing samples or designing questionnaires and key the data into a spreadsheet. Most of the data you will need is secondary data that already exist in the internet or published literature and can be adapted for your investigation. You may refer to your text book, (Book A, pages 183 & 184) and learn more how to deal with data. When presenting your data it is important to provide the reference to the data source you are adapting. (30 marks).As it shows in the table below How old are the Students studying MU 123 Age Range 18-21 22 – 25 26-29 30-33 34-37 38-40 40 + Number 28 18 11 9 7 6 Percentage% 22. 50% 13. 75% 11 . 25% 8. 75% 7. 50% whenever the age increase the number of students decreases. 35% are the highest percentage with 28 students in their fresh years. 1. 25% are the lowest percentage with only 1 student enrolled above the age 40. 27. 5% are the number of students attending between 30 to 40 Part (c) Analyse the data that have been collected (stage A).This stage involves steps in summarising and measuring the collected data. The associated measures that we expect you use in your TMA are the mean, the mode, the median, range, interquartile range and standard deviation. You can use Microsoft Excel in presenting your data in bar charts or graphs as part of summarising your data. (mo re details on how to draw statistical pictures are explained In book D, Unit 1 1) (30 marks) calculating the mean: 1+6+7+9+11+18+28= = 1 1. 4 Calculating the meadian: Arrange the numbers by order: 1 6 7 9 11Range = 28-1 = 27 QI-6 18 IQR= 18-6=12 Standard Deviation: Meadian Deviations (d) d (power of 2) 1-114 . = -10. 4 108. 6 = -5. 4 29. 16 -4. 4 19. 36 = -2. 4 5. 76 11-11. 4 . 4 0. 16 18-11. 4 = 6. 6 43. 56 28-11. 4 = 16. 6 275. 56 The mean of d(to power of 2) 108. 6 + 29. 16 + 19. 36 + 5. 76 + 0. 16 + 43. 56 + 275. 56 = 462. 8/7 66. 11 = 8. 13 is the standard deviasion = 66. 11 Square root of At the end we realize from all the above charts how the number of students will decrease as the age increases.

Jimmy Carter and Political Maxim Essay

Hardball by Chris Matthews is an interpretation of what many know as â€Å"hard-politics†. The book describes the skill of playing the game in Washington and how to be successful at it. The book is a guide that teaches a series of maxims that would be in favor of politicians to learn in order to be successful. The different tactics provided in the book hold a lot of knowledge that would make the life of anyone following these strategies much easier when trying to get ahead in life. Matthews describes a countless number of examples of successful politicians that rose to the top. Those politicians are the ones who learned how to play hardball in Washington. Matthews provides many of his observations over the years and describes them with quotes from various sources. Quoted by Chris Matthews, he states â€Å"JFK would call 5 or 6 †¦ LBJ would take 19 names and call them all. † The quote lies deep in the heart of the political maxim retail politics. Retail politics is the management of one-to-one communication among voters or other politicians. Lyndon B. Johnson was a mastermind of retail politics and embraced every moment of it. Johnson’s success came from his unique instinct to work at a man’s ego. While JFK was more of a wholesaler, Johnson worked retail politics like it was candy. That is exactly what the quote is symbolizing, the difference between a wholesaler and a retail politician. JFK was more widespread and focused more on voters than other politicians. Johnson had the patience and humility to work with every legislator one at a time and get that connection that he needed. This type of networking is what made LBJ successful in politics and it’s what made him stand out from an average politician. Another quote provided in the book Hardball was in Chapter 3. It stated, â€Å"He’s not going to win. It’s a Republican district. He’d be better for us is he loses. He’ll work for me. He’ll bring his organization with him. † This was a strategy that President Jimmy Carter used to benefit his campaign. Jimmy Carter played smart politics in this quote that is connected to the â€Å"it’s better to receive than to give maxim. † The maxim means to let others give to you because it makes them feel involved. Carter played this strategy to a tee. Carter knew that his best line of defense would come from those who had lost their elections and were looking for a job. The quote symbolizes the tactic Carter used and how his intelligence allowed him to take advantage of the situation. He knew that those individuals faced a tough race and when they lost, they would become his support because people like to be used and not ignored. Another quotes that is related to the â€Å"it’s better to give then to receive,† maxim is a quote I found to be very witty. The quotes states, â€Å"I’ve lived across the street from you for 18 years †¦ I shoveled your walk in winter. I cut your grass in summer†¦ I didn’t think I had to ask you for your vote. He never forgot her response. ‘Tom, I want you to know something: people like to be asked. † The lady knew Tip O’Neil and all he had done for her over the years, but out of respect she found that all he needed to do was ask. She wanted to make sure she was considered and thought about, so she wouldn’t be taken for granted. The main point from this quote is that people don’t mind being used, but they do mind being taken for granted. It’s important to know that asking favors only brings in more supporters. People want to invest in others and are often not critical of that person because they also have a lot invested in them. An important maxim that a politician can learn is â€Å"don’t get mad, don’t get even; get ahead. † The following quotes states, â€Å"Cry Baby†, screamed the headline of the New York Daily News above a picture of Newt in diapers. â€Å"Newt’s Tantrum: He closed down the government because Clinton made him sit at the back of the plane. I find this quote to be the funniest of the rest of the quotes. It clearly demonstrates the fallout of trying to get even with someone. It doesn’t work so ignore the revenge part and surpass your expectations. The political maxim â€Å"don’t get mad, don’t get even; get ahead,† means to maintain calm and concentrate all your power on progressing and becoming a success. Newt Gingrich didn’t apply the political maxim to his career which resulted in the quote above. His ego allowed a government shutdown to occur and the pressed slammed him in all newspapers. Gingrich forgot to concentrate on moving past the government shutdown, but instead played a game and lost the political game. My favorite political maxim in the book is â€Å"Leave no shot unanswered. † The following quote corresponds with the political maxim as it states, â€Å"The purpose of the war room was not just to respond to Republican attacks †¦ It was to respond to them fast, even before they were broadcasted or published, when the lead of the story was still rolling around in the reporter’s mind†¦ † Bill Clinton knew of that certain political maxim and he knew it well. Attacks to a candidate are harmful if left alone. They stick to you and become a reality if they are not disputed. Aided by George Stephanopoulos, Bill Clinton was alerted of the lethal combination of an unanswered shot. It was an important strategy because if a shot is unanswered, people start to believe that it is true which can sometimes ruin an entire campaign. The quote also makes you realize the necessity of responding to an attack. Clinton had to create an entire new room named, â€Å"the War Room† in order to fire back. That shows how much of an importance it is to leave no shot unanswered.

Free Essays on Marketing Strategies

By: bareerah burki Four basic categories define the business market: 1. the commercial market 2. trade industries 3. government organizations 4. institutions Commercial markets include individuals and firms that acquire goods and services to support, directly or indirectly, production of other goods and services. Example: When Lufthansa buys aircraft built by the European consortium Airbus Industry, when Sara Lee purchases wheat to mill into flour for an ingredient in its cakes. Trade industries include retailers or whole sellers that purchase products for resale to others. Example: retail meat markets may carry out bulk purchases of sides of beef and then cut individual pieces for their customers. Institutions include a wide range of organizations, such as hospitals, churches, nursing homes, colleges and universities, museums and not: state universities. Government organizations include domestic units of government: national defense or pollution control. Q2. What are the characteristics of the commerc ial market? Show how each characteristic affects the marketing strategies of firms serving that market. The commercial market is the largest segment of the business market. It includes all individuals and firms that acquire goods and services to supports directly or indirectly, production of other goods and services. Some products aid in producing another good or service. Others are physically used up in the production of a good or service. Still others contribute to the firms day to day operations. Q3. What are the SIC codes? How do the marketers use these codes? Standard Industries Classification codes are the US government classification system that subsides the business market place into detailed market segments. Businesses use SIC code data for more then segmentation. These codes also help them to estimate the demand and forecast s... Free Essays on Marketing Strategies Free Essays on Marketing Strategies By: bareerah burki Four basic categories define the business market: 1. the commercial market 2. trade industries 3. government organizations 4. institutions Commercial markets include individuals and firms that acquire goods and services to support, directly or indirectly, production of other goods and services. Example: When Lufthansa buys aircraft built by the European consortium Airbus Industry, when Sara Lee purchases wheat to mill into flour for an ingredient in its cakes. Trade industries include retailers or whole sellers that purchase products for resale to others. Example: retail meat markets may carry out bulk purchases of sides of beef and then cut individual pieces for their customers. Institutions include a wide range of organizations, such as hospitals, churches, nursing homes, colleges and universities, museums and not: state universities. Government organizations include domestic units of government: national defense or pollution control. Q2. What are the characteristics of the commerc ial market? Show how each characteristic affects the marketing strategies of firms serving that market. The commercial market is the largest segment of the business market. It includes all individuals and firms that acquire goods and services to supports directly or indirectly, production of other goods and services. Some products aid in producing another good or service. Others are physically used up in the production of a good or service. Still others contribute to the firms day to day operations. Q3. What are the SIC codes? How do the marketers use these codes? Standard Industries Classification codes are the US government classification system that subsides the business market place into detailed market segments. Businesses use SIC code data for more then segmentation. These codes also help them to estimate the demand and forecast s...

All About Halifax, the Capital of Nova Scotia

All About Halifax, the Capital of Nova Scotia Halifax, the largest urban area in Atlantic Canada, is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia. It sits in the center of Nova Scotias east coast and is an important seaport that looks out over one of the worlds largest natural harbors.  Its been strategic militarily since its founding for just that reason and is nicknamed Warden of the North. Nature lovers will find sandy beaches, beautiful gardens, and hiking, birding, and beachcombing. Urbanites can enjoy the symphony, live theater, art galleries, and museums, along with a lively nightlife that includes brewpubs  and a great culinary scene. Halifax is a relatively affordable city that provides a mix of Canadian history and modern living, with the constant influence of the sea. History The first British settlement that became Halifax began in 1749 with the arrival of about 2,500 settlers from Britain. The harbor and the promise of lucrative cod fishing were the main draws. The settlement was named for George Dunk, Earl of Halifax, who was the main supporter of the settlement. Halifax was a base of operations for the British during the American Revolution and also a destination for Americans loyal to Britain who opposed the Revolution. Halifaxs remote location hindered its growth, but World War I brought it back into prominence again as a shipping point for supplies to Europe. The Citadel is a hill overlooking the harbor that from the citys beginnings was  valued for its view of the harbor and surrounding lowland and was from the start the site of fortifications, the first being a wooden guard house. The last fort to be built there, Fort George, stands as a reminder to the historical importance of this key area. Its now called Citadel Hill and is a national historic site that includes re-enactments, ghost tours, changing of the sentry and walks around the inside of the fort. Statistics and Government Halifax covers 5,490.28 square kilometers or  2,119.81 square miles. Its population as of the 2011 Canadian census was 390,095. The Halifax Regional Council is the main governing and legislative body for the Halifax Regional Municipality. The Halifax Regional Council is made up of 17 elected representatives: the mayor and 16 municipal councilors. Halifax Attractions Besides the Citadel, Halifax offers several interesting attractions. One not to be missed is the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which includes artifacts from the sinking of the Titanic. The bodies of 121 victims of this tragedy in 1912 are buried in Halifaxs Fairview Lawn Cemetery. Other Halifax attractions include: Pier 21: Canadian Museum of ImmigrationProvince House, the Legislative Assembly of Nova ScotiaArt Gallery of Nova Scotia Trans Canada Trail Halifax Climate Halifax weather is strongly influenced by the ocean. Winters are mild and summers are cool. Halifax is foggy and misty, with fog on more than 100 days of the year, especially in spring and early summer. Winters in Halifax are moderate but wet with both rain and snow. The average high temperature in January is 2 degrees Celsius, or 29 degrees Fahrenheit. Spring comes slowly  and eventually arrives in April, bringing more rain and fog. Summers in Halifax are short but beautiful. In July, the average high temperature is 23 degrees Celsius, or  74 degrees Fahrenheit. By late summer or early fall, Halifax may feel the tail end of a hurricane or tropical storm.

Hamlet Analysised Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hamlet Analysised - Essay Example There are only a few scenes that happen outside of it, most famously the scene at the graveside when Hamlet laments the loss of his old jester, Yorick, and then fights in Ophelia’s grave with her brother Laertes. The play is set sometime in the middle ages and there are clearly delineated family relations and moral codes of honour that drive much of the play’s action. Because most of the characters are members of the royal family they are responsible for Denmark. The family is under threat from within because of the actions of Claudius and the revenge that Hamlet seeks, but it is also under threat from the outside as the Swedish under Fortinbras are preparing to invade it. There are existential threats everywhere—and this is an important aspect to consider. Indeed, this is an important theme of the story: the threat of death that seems omnipresent. Ellsinore still has a cloud over it: the death of Hamlet’s father. It affects everyone, but Hamlet worst of all. From his first words in the play we understand the state of mind he has: He is virtually suicidal after meeting his uncle and mother, married so shortly after his father’s death. The threat from within is a theme personified by Hamlet’s suicidal feelings which are later further explored in the famous soliloquy: â€Å"To be or not to be . . .† People worry about Hamlet, but as the play continues their worry is extended to others. Ophelia, spurned by Hamlet, goes mad and drowns herself. A fear begins to grip everyone. Hamlet, anxious for revenge, kills Ophelia’s father behind the arras when visiting his mother’s room. The threat is not just at the point of the knife—it is that people are listening everywhere. Throughout the play characters are always spying on one another and reporting to others. Even Rosencrantz and Guilderstern, Hamlet’s best friends are convinced to betray him—for this they are rewarded with death

10 different companies selected to watch with relation to their stock Coursework

10 different companies selected to watch with relation to their stock prices - Coursework Example Each of these stocks are a part of the banking sector. Seven of the stocks are companies based in America. Two are based in the UK, and one is based in Canada. The objective of this project is to pick stocks which will rise in value during the length of this project, which spanned from April 16 to May 14. Additionally, an analyses of the banking sector in the UK and the United States is explained, because the environmental and exogenous issues which surrounding the banking sector will impact if the stocks will rise or fall during the time period. What was found was that the banking stocks lost much of their value during the time period, with two exceptions, both of which were smaller banks. Introduction Stock prices are inevitably affected by different events in the world. In this case, we are entering a period of instability in Europe, as well as recovering from a global recession which was largely caused by the meltdown of the large banks in the UK and especially the United States. Because of this recession, the UK has been forced to implement austerity measures which, among other things, cuts financial resources to its largest banks. Because these financial resources were important to these banks, in that it helped the banks recover from the recession and lend money, it stands to reason that the largest banks might be affected. Moreover, in the United States, the banks are going through a transition period with greater regulation. That said, a recent scandal involving JP Morgan Chase, which lost $2 billion in trading losses, show that the Wall Street banks might still be engaging in risky behaviour. Because of these factors, the stocks in our portfolio lost money, so the objective was not met, in that the objective was to pick stocks which would rise in value. This paper will explain how much the $10,000,000 fund was worth, week by week, and how much it was finally worth, along with explanations as to why the stocks performed the way that they did. Also incl uded is a comparison of our stocks with stocks from the Dow Jones average and the automotive sector. The automotive sector’s performance was similar to the banking performance, which denotes that stocks, in general, are having a rough go. Stock Fund Creation Overview of Sector Because the banks which have been selected are banks based both in the UK (HSBC and Barclays) and the United States (every other bank on the list except the Bank of Canada), the main thrust of this analysis will involve the banking sectors in these two countries. United Kingdom As noted above, HSBC and Barclays is based in the UK. The UK’s banking sector is having a difficult time right now because of the austerity measures that the UK has implemented, which has caused Moody’s to downgrade the rating of 12 UK financial institutions (US Banks Downgraded as Confidence Slumps). To understand why this downgrade might

Questioning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Questioning - Assignment Example In any case, the ultimate aim of a question is to collect information from another person or to test the knowledge of another person. In academic world, questions have more importance than anything else. In fact according to the modern educational philosophies, the teacher should ask questions to the students and the students should give answers to that. When the student fails to answer the question, the teacher should guide him to find out the answer. Curiosity is necessary for the students to learn a topic well. In order to develop curiosity, the teacher should ask interesting questions to the students. These questions should be asked in particular patter; easy to difficult. Initial questions should be easy so that the student may answer it easily. However the last questions should be difficult so that the students fail to answer it. In other words, the teacher should create a scenario in which the students were guides from a known situation to an unknown situation. Only in such an unknown situation, the students develop interest or curiosity in the topic and will attend the class properly. Questions are asked i n classes in order to: To develop interest and motivate students to become actively involved in lessons; To evaluate students’ preparation and check on homework or seatwork completion; To develop critical thinking skills and inquiring attitudes; To review and summarize previous lessons; To nurture insights by exposing new relationships; To assess achievement of instructional goals and objectives; To stimulate students to pursue knowledge on their own (Cotton, n. d. p.1). The teacher normally asks two types of questions to the students; high and low level questions. Low level questions are intended to test the knowledge level of the students whereas the high level questions may test the understanding level of the students. For example, who is the president of America is a low order question which tests only the

Catholic Rosary Practical And Pious Religion Essay

Catholic Rosary Practical And Pious Religion Essay Introduction Throughout history numerous devices have been created and used for the purpose of counting. Within the field of mathematics the abacus and its beads was of great importance because of its ability to maintain a numerical tally. Religions have since adapted this method to items more applicable to the faith due to the repetition of prayers. For example within Islam, beads are used to count the ninety nine names of Allah, and Buddhists also use beads to recite 1,000s of mantras.  [1]  However, beads are a merely a compliment to the ritual it is used in. A religious sect within Christianity have not only used beads to count but termed the object the same name as the ritual practice it is used in. General Description Within the Christian faith, Catholics use a rosary as a means of devotion to Mary, who is known as the Mother of Jesus.  [2]  The word rosary can be used within two contexts: a physical set of beads and the ritual of devotion. The beads are used as a method to track the prayers completed during the practice. The rosary when referring to the material object is a string composed of five sets of ten beads, each separated by one large bead respectively.  [3]  The string is held together with a circular image, which is similar to that of a necklace. The image has two large and three smaller beads along with a pendant attached  [4]  (Appendix A). Rosaries come in all shapes and sizes, in various colours and can be made from anything from wood to plastic. The term rosary, when referred to in the context of the ritual, consists of the repetition of three main prayers along with the statement of beliefs in the beginning.  [5]  This practice can be completed by anyone, at any t ime, regardless of whether in a group or praying by ones self. The rosary can be viewed as a non-discriminatory practice wherein people from all faiths can partake in it. It can also be said in any location, but preferably in a Catholic place of worship, the church. Technical Description The descriptions mentioned above are but an outline for what the physical rosary is, as well as the Catholic practice of the rosary. Further details will now be given in order to develop a better understanding of the rosary as exemplified within both of its contexts. In terms of the physical object, the pendant attached to the beads is better known as a crucifix, a term Catholics use symbolizing an article in the form of a cross depicting Jesus death  [6]  . In addition the circular image is one of Mary, it joins the five sets of ten beads to the separated five other beads and crucifix. This image embodies the fact that the rosary as devotion, was first offered to Mary. The traditional material used to manufacture rosaries is olive wood, which is said to have been the wood of the cross that Jesus was hung on.  [7]  However, due to modern adaptations rosaries are now are made from various materials. The Catholic practice of the rosary begins with the sign of the cross. This symbolic custom is one that commences every ritual within the Catholic faith.  [8]  The action occurring is simply using ones hands to touch the forehead, then the heart, and each shoulder, left to right respectively in order to make a cross. After completing this action, practitioners complete a set of preliminary prayers starting with the Catholic prayer titled the Apostles Creed (Appendix B). The words contained within this prayer express the faith of the practitioner and the main system of beliefs for Catholics.  [9]  This would then lead to the praying of the Our Father (Appendix B), followed by three Hail Marys (Appendix B) and ending with a Glory Be to the Father (Appendix B). This would mark the ending of the preliminary portion and lead to a meditation which changed depending on the day the rosary was said. After this begins another Our Father, but this time with ten Hail Marys, followed by y et another Glory Be to the Father. This sequence of prayers starting with the meditation and ending with the Glory Be to the Father is referred to as one decade.  [10]  There are a total of five decades within one rosary, but four different versions of the rosary. As previously mentioned, the meditations of the rosary change depending on the day of the week it is said. There are four different versions referred to by Catholics as mysteries, including: Joyful (Monday and Saturday), Sorrowful (Tuesday and Friday), Glorious (Wednesday and Sunday) and Luminous (Thursday)  [11]  (Appendix B). Each mystery has five meditations on specific events pertaining to the theme. Each of these five meditations is reflected on while praying the rosary. Location within the Religion Within Catholicism, the rosary is considered to be a symbolic item as well as an informal practice. The first appearance of the physical set of beads is early within the religion and can be seen in various images depicting early practitioners. The ritual itself is viewed as secondary means of devotion (primary being sacraments and liturgy) that can be completed at ones own will.  [12]  Though the act of praying the rosary is not formal in the sense that it is not a requirement, it serves as a meditative method of prayer for those seeking a deeper spiritual faith. Historical Information and ties to Doctrines The praying of the rosary traces its origins to the Book of Psalms contained within the Bible. Catholics refer to Psalms as songs of praise to God.  [13]  During the early days of the Catholicism, many lay people wanted to partake in the praying of the Psalms but could not commit all 150 to memory, thus a substitute was created. There is evidence in the early sixteenth century of a book titled the Chiropsalterium, which instructed practitioners to use their hands as a mnemonic device when praying.  [14]  This also incorporated 150 repetitions of the Our Fathers as substitutions for the psalms. The Our Father is said to be the most perfect of all prayers, since it was composed for our needs by our Lord himself as stated by John S. Johnson.  [15]  He goes on further to state that within the Gospel of Matthew in the Catholic Bible, Jesus declares that this is the method in which one should pray to God.  [16]  Catholics today take these words with a few alterations and co nsider it the Lords Prayer. These 150 repetitions were later divided into three sets of 50, a fact attesting to the rosarys adaptability.  [17]  During this time, the popularity of the famous prayer, the Hail Mary grew, and was added as an alternative to some of the many Our Fathers owing to its simplicity. The initial wording of the Hail Mary comes from the Gospel of Luke when Mary is first greeted by the angel Gabriel along with the greeting Elizabeth gives to her cousin Mary.  [18]  The rest of the text was contributed to various other leaders within the faith to create the prayer that is commonly used today. With the majority of the rosary as repetitions of the Hail Mary, it was then associated with devotion to Mary. This is where the term rosary comes from. The Latin word rosarium, meaning rose garden was evident in early images of Mary.  [19]  The word rosary simply stemmed from there. The addition of the Glory Be to the Father occurred over time by various leaders as the ritual grew in accept ance throughout the faith. This prayer is shorter than the other two but is filled with praise and worship type phrases. Deep roots are found pertaining to the theme of the Holy Trinity, denoting the expression of how three persons exist in one God.  [20]   As Catholicism grew in numbers, so did the need for meditations pertaining to Jesus life. It was out of convenience that each of the three sets of 50 was then further cut down to groups of 10, with each mystery having five important events relating to a respective theme.  [21]  It is St. Dominic, who during the fifteenth century, is attributed to the founding of what is now referred to as the Rosary. According to tradition, Mary is said to have appeared to him and told him to spread the word contained within the Psalter.  [22]  This then formalized to the three mysteries with five decades in each. In 2002, the fourth mystery was added by the Pope completing what is now known as the Catholic Rosary.  [23]   Analysis Praying by hand distinguished the Catholic rosary from other forms of popular devotion. Even with the absence of the string of beads, ones ten fingers could easily serve as a counter and reminder that when meditating the whole body and mind should be focused on the mysteries. The essence behind repetition is to ingrain the message behind the words into ones mind in order to make application easier. Though the practice of the rosary appears repetitive by nature, it is important to look at the big picture. The ritual is said to be a method of prayer offered to Mary. Why then are the mysteries pertaining to the life of Jesus? One might answer that the Christianity is rooted in Jesus, thus all element must relate to him. Mary is viewed as a means to Jesus and her importance within the rosary has decreased significantly since its initial development.  [24]   Another issue to be raised is the fact that the Catholic Church prides itself on its traditions. The roots of the Rosary relate to The 150 Psalms contained within the Bible, yet the modern rosary appears to have no relation to that whatsoever. The answer to this can simply be attributed to the fact that the rosary is an informal practice and has adapted through time.  [25]  The mysteries of the rosary play a larger role when compared to the Psalms. Conclusion Though the history of beads serves as a useful method of counting, Catholicism has adapted its utility into a practice and object that provide far greater service to practitioners within the faith. The rosary as discussed earlier plays a vital role in methods of devotion to both Jesus and Mary. The physical beads of the rosary serve as a practical counter during prayers. The actual custom of praying the rosary is completed in order to build a stronger relationship with God or to be pious. Appendix Ahttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Rosary.svg/424px-Rosary.svg.png Source: Microsoft ClipArt Appendix B Apostles Creed I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead: I believe in the Holy Spirit: I believe in the holy Catholic Church: the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins: The resurrection of the body: And the life everlasting. Amen. Our Father Our Father, Who art in heaven Hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary Hail Mary, full of grace. Our Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory Be to the Father Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Mysteries of the Rosary The Five Joyful Mysteries The Annunciation The Visitation The Birth of Our Lord The Presentation of Our Lord The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple The Five Sorrowful Mysteries The Agony in the Garden The Scourging at the Pillar The Crowning with Thorns The Carrying of the Cross The Crucifixion The Five Glorious Mysteries The Resurrection The Ascension The Coming of the Holy Spirit The Assumption of our Blessed Mother into Heaven The Coronation of our Blessed Mother The Five Luminous Mysteries   The Baptism in the Jordan The Wedding at Cana The Proclamation of the Kingdom The Transfiguration The Institution of the Eucharist

Consumer Good and Evil :: essays research papers

Consumer Good and Evil   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is the difference between good and evil? What is good? What is evil? These are questions we humans ask ourselves at least once in our short lives. Is good right? Is Evil wrong? We waste out lives pondering these meaningful questions. I believe the definition of good and evil can be defined by the economic services offered to the public. For example the difference between Charitable Crusaders* and Stuff Mart*, Mom and Pap’s cafà ©* and McDoogles*, Joe’s barbershop and Bidel Basson Hair salons*, I believe good and evil, right and wrong, are evident through these stores and businesses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Charitable Crusaders is an independents organization similar to a thrift store. This organization cares for the people they serve. In the month of December they raise a lot of money so they can afford to sell their items cheaper. Charitable Crusaders cares, unlike Stuff-Mart, who is stingy and only care for the profit. They care nothing for the people they serve or the people that they employ. Stuff-Mart is the definition of evil because of its greedy and uncaring ways. Because of Stuff-Mart’s practices, people have to spend more money and life is just overall harder. Charitable Crusaders is good and right because they love the people that they serve. They strive to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, unlike fairytales, the evil wins over good. Stuff-Mart is shopped at more because the quality is better and more survives are available, at a fe e. Charitable Crusaders, being a nonprofit organization, cannot compete with Stuff-Mart and lives off do nations. In this case, evil triumphs over the good in the form of profits and overall consumerism. I believe that, sometimes, this is how life works out.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McDoogles is the spawn of all evil in the restaurant world. It was crated to be a prostitute: fast, cheep, and easy! But in the process of being so has stopped caring about the people it was serving. Their food is high in fat, unhealthy and has contributed greatly to the obesity that is becoming rampant in America. Because of its cheap prices it is more readily available than other restraints. If McDoogles is the spawn of all evil then Mom and Pap’s cafà © is all that is good and right in the world. These small restaurants are privately owned and well-taken care off. In this respect, the people who own them care more about the people that they serve.

Wal Mart Annual Report Analysis

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Eduardo Castro-Wright Vice Chairman, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. M. Susan Chambers Executive Vice President, Global People Brian C. Cornell Executive Vice President, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sam’s Club 2 010 Financial Report 15 Five-Year Financial Summary 16 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 30 Consolidated Statements of Income 31 Consolidated Balance Sheets 32 Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity 33 Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 34 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 52 Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 3 Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting Thomas M. Schoewe Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer 54 Management’s Report to Our Shareholders 55 Fiscal 2010 End-of-Year Store Count H. Lee Scott, Jr. Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directo rs 56 Corporate and Stock Information Leslie A. Dach Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Government Relations Michael T. Duke President and Chief Executive Officer Rollin L. Ford Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer Thomas D. Hyde Executive Vice President, Legal, Ethics, nd Corporate Secretary C. Douglas McMillon Executive Vice President, President and Chief Executive Officer, Walmart International S. Robson Walton Chairman of the Board of Directors Steven P. Whaley Senior Vice President and Controller 14 Walmart 2010 Annual Report 107077_L01_FIN_02. indd 14 4/6/10 12:10:45 AM 2010 FINANCIAL REVIEW Five-Year Financial Summary (Amounts in millions except per share and unit count data) As of and for the Fiscal Years Ended January 31, 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 (1) Operating Results Net sales Net sales increase Comparable store sales in the United States (2) Walmart U. S.Sam’s Club Gross pro? t margin Operating, selling, general and administrative expens es, as a percentage of net sales Operating income Income from continuing operations attributable to Walmart Per share of common stock: Income from continuing operations attributable to Walmart, diluted Dividends $405,046 1. 0% -0. 8% -0. 7% -1. 4% 24. 8% $401,087 7. 3% 3. 5% 3. 2% 4. 9% 24. 2% $373,821 8. 4% 1. 6% 1. 0% 4. 9% 24. 0% $344,759 11. 6% 2. 0% 1. 9% 2. 5% 23. 4% $308,945 9. 8% 3. 4% 3. 0% 5. 0% 23. 1% 19. 7% $ 23,950 14,414 19. 3% $ 22,798 13,254 19. 0% $ 21,952 12,863 18. 5% $ 20,497 12,189 18. 0% $ 18,693 1,386 3. 72 1. 09 $3. 35 0. 95 $3. 16 0. 88 $2. 92 0. 67 $2. 72 0. 60 $ 33,160 102,307 170,706 36,401 70,749 $ 34,511 95,653 163,429 34,549 65,285 $ 35,159 96,867 163,514 33,402 64,608 $ 33,667 88,287 151,587 30,735 61,573 $ 31,910 77,863 138,793 30,096 53,171 Unit Counts Walmart U. S. Segment International Segment Sam’s Club Segment 3,708 4,112 596 3,656 3,605 602 3,550 3,098 591 3,443 2,734 579 3,289 2,158 567 Total units 8,416 7,863 7,239 6,756 6,014 Financia l Position Inventories Property, equipment and capital lease assets, net Total assets Long-term debt, including obligations under capital leasesTotal Walmart shareholders’ equity $ (1) In connection with the company’s ? nance transformation project, we reviewed and adjusted the classi? cation of certain revenue and expense items within our Consolidated Statements of Income for ? nancial reporting purposes. Although the reclassi? cations impacted net sales, gross margin and operating, selling, general and administrative expenses, they did not impact operating income or income from continuing operations attributable to Walmart. The changes were effective February 1, 2009 and have been re? ected for ? scal years 2010, 2009 and 2008. 2) Comparable store and club sales include fuel. For ? scal 2006, we considered comparable sales to be sales at stores and clubs that were open as of February 1st of the prior ? scal year and which had not been converted, expanded or relocated since that date. Fiscal 2008 and ? scal 2007 comparable sales includes all stores and clubs that have been open for at least the previous 12 months. Additionally, for those ? scal years, stores and clubs that are relocated, expanded or converted are excluded from comparable sales for the ? rst 12 months following the relocation, expansion or conversion.Fiscal 2010 and 2009 comparable sales include sales from stores and clubs open for the previous 12 months, including remodels, relocations and expansions. Fiscal 2008 and prior ? scal years’ comparable sales do not re? ect reclassi? cations effective February 1, 2009, as noted above. Walmart 2010 Annual Report 15 107077_L01_FIN_02. indd 15 4/6/10 12:10:45 AM Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Overview Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (â€Å"Walmart,† the â€Å"company† or â€Å"we†) operates retail stores in various formats around the world and is committed to saving people money so they can live better.We earn the trust of our customers every day by providing a broad assortment of quality merchandise and services at every day low prices (â€Å"EDLP†), while fostering a culture that rewards and embraces mutual respect, integrity and diversity. EDLP is our pricing philosophy under which we price items at a low price every day so that our customers trust that our prices will not change under frequent promotional activity. Our focus for Sam’s Club is to provide exceptional value on brand name merchandise at â€Å"members only† prices for both business and personal use.Internationally, we operate with similar philosophies. Our ? scal year ends on January 31 for our U. S. , Canada and Puerto Rico operations. Our ? scal year ends on December 31 for all other operations. We intend for this discussion to provide the reader with information that will assist in understanding our ? nancial statements, the changes in certain key items in those ? nancial statements from year to year, and the primary factors that accounted for those changes, as well as how certain accounting principles affect our ? nancial statements.We also discuss certain performance metrics that management uses to assess our performance. The discussion also provides information about the ? nancial results of the various segments of our business to provide a better understanding of how those segments and their results affect the ? nancial condition and results of operations of the company as a whole. This discussion should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements as of January 31, 2010, and the year then ended, and accompanying notes. Our operations comprise three business segments: Walmart U.S. , International and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U. S. segment includes the company’s mass merchant concept in the United States, operating under the â€Å"Walmart† or â€Å"Wal-Mart† brand, as well a s walmart. com. The International segment consists of the company’s operations outside of the 50 United States. The Sam’s Club segment includes the warehouse membership clubs in the United States, as well as samsclub. com. Sales By Segment Net sales in ? scal 2010 were a record $405. 0 billion, up 1. 0% from ? scal 2009. Sam’s Club 11. 5% International 24. 7%Throughout this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, we discuss segment operating income and comparable store sales. The company measures the results of its segments using, among other measures, each segment’s operating income which includes certain corporate overhead allocations. From time to time, we revise the measurement of each segment’s operating income, including any corporate overhead allocations, as dictated by the information regularly reviewed by our chief operating decision maker.When we do so, the segment operating income for each segment affected by the revisions is restated for all periods presented to maintain comparability. In connection with the company’s ? nance transformation project, we reviewed and adjusted the classi? cation of certain revenue and expense items within our Consolidated Statements of Income for ? nancial reporting purposes. The reclassi? cations did not impact operating income or consolidated net income attributable to Walmart. The changes were effective February 1, 2009 and have been re? ected in all periods presented.Comparable store sales is a measure which indicates the performance of our existing U. S. stores and clubs by measuring the growth in sales for such stores for a particular period over the corresponding period in the prior year. In ? scal 2008, our method of calculating comparable store sales included all stores and clubs that were open for at least the previous 12 months. Additionally, stores and clubs that were relocated, expanded or converted were exclud ed from comparable store sales for the ? rst 12 months following the relocation, expansion or conversion. During ? scal year 2008, the company reviewed its de? ition of comparable store sales for consistency with other retailers. As a result of that review, since February 1, 2008, Walmart’s de? nition of comparable store sales includes sales from stores and clubs open for the previous 12 months, including remodels, relocations and expansions. Changes in format continue to be excluded from comparable store sales when the conversion is accompanied by a relocation or expansion that results in a change in square footage of more than ? ve percent. Since the impact of this revision is inconsequential, the company will not restate comparable store sales results for previously reported years.Comparable store sales are also referred to as â€Å"same-store† sales by others within the retail industry. The method of calculating comparable store sales varies across the retail indus try. As a result, our calculation of comparable store sales is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. In discussions of our consolidated results and the operating results of our International segment, we sometimes refer to the impact of changes in currency exchange rates. When we refer to changes in currency exchange rates or currency exchange rate ? ctuations, we are referring to the differences between the currency exchange rates we use to convert the International segment’s operating results from local currencies into U. S. dollars for reporting purposes. The impacts of currency exchange rate ? uctuations are typically calculated as the difference between current period activity translated using the current period’s currency exchange rates and the comparable prior year period’s currency exchange rates, respectively. We use this method for all countries where the functional currency is not U. S. denominated. Walmar t U. S. 63. 8% 16 Walmart 2010 Annual Report 107077_L01_FIN. ndd 16 4/6/10 8:25:50 PM Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations The Retail Industry We operate in the highly competitive retail industry in both the United States and the countries we serve internationally. We face strong sales competition from other discount, department, drug, variety and specialty stores, warehouse clubs, and supermarkets, many of which are national, regional or international chains, as well as internet-based retailers and catalog businesses. We compete with a number of companies for prime retail site locations, as well as in attracting and retaining quality employees whom we call â€Å"associates†). We, along with other retail companies, are in? uenced by a number of factors including, but not limited to: general economic conditions, cost of goods, consumer disposable income, consumer debt levels and buying patterns, consumer credit availabili ty, interest rates, customer preferences, unemployment, labor costs, in? ation, de? ation, currency exchange ? uctuations, fuel and energy prices, weather patterns, climate change, catastrophic events, competitive pressures and insurance costs. Further information on risks to our company can be located in â€Å"Item 1A.Risk Factors† in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the ? scal year ended January 31, 2010. Company Performance Metrics The company’s performance metrics emphasize three priorities for improving shareholder value: growth, leverage and returns. The company’s priority of growth focuses on sales growth; the priority of leverage encompasses the company’s metric to increase our operating income at a faster rate than the growth in net sales by growing our operating, selling, general and administrative expenses (â€Å"operating expenses†) at a slower rate than the growth of our net sales; and the priority of returns focuses on how ef? ientl y the company employs our assets through return on investment (â€Å"ROI†) and how effectively the company manages working capital through free cash ? ow. Growth Net Sales Fiscal Years Ended January 31, (Dollar amounts in millions) 2009 2010 Percent increase Net sales Percent of total 2008 Percent increase Net sales Percent of total Net sales Percent of total Walmart U. S. International Sam’s Club $258,229 100,107 46,710 63. 8% 24. 7% 11. 5% 1. 1% 1. 3% -0. 4% $255,348 98,840 46,899 63. 7% 24. 6% 11. 7% 6. 9% 9. 1% 5. 8% $238,915 90,570 44,336 63. 9% 24. 2% 11. 9% Net Sales $405,046 00. 0% 1. 0% $401,087 100. 0% 7. 3% $373,821 100. 0% O ur net sales increased by 1. 0% and 7. 3% in ? scal 2010 and 2009, respectively, when compared to the previous ? scal year. Net sales in ? scal 2010 increased due to increased customer traf? c, continued global expansion activities and the acquisition of our Chilean subsidiary, Distribucion y Servicio (â€Å"D&S†) in January 2009 , offset primarily by a $9. 8 billion unfavorable currency exchange rate impact in our International segment and price de? ation in certain merchandise categories in our Walmart U. S. segment. Net sales in ? cal 2009 increased due to our global expansion activities and comparable store sales increases, offset by a $2. 3 billion unfavorable currency exchange rate impact. Despite the unfavorable impact of currency exchanges rates, the International segment’s net sales as a percentage of total company net sales increased in ? scal 2010 and 2009, respectively. Volatility in currency exchange rates may continue to impact the International segment’s net sales in the future. Comparable Store Sales Comparable store sales is a measure which indicates the performance of our existing U. S. tores by measuring the growth in sales for such stores for a particular period over the corresponding period in the prior year. Comparable store sales in the United States decreased 0. 8% in ? scal 2010 and increased 3. 5% in ? scal 2009. Although customer traf? c increased in ? scal 2010, comparable store sales in the United States were lower than ? scal 2009 due to de? ation in certain merchandise categories and lower fuel prices. Comparable store sales in the United States in ? scal 2009 were higher than ? scal 2008 due to an increase in customer traf? c, as well as an increase in average transaction size per customer.As we continue to add new stores in the United States, we do so with an understanding that additional stores may take sales away from existing units. We estimate the negative impact on comparable store sales as a result of opening new stores was approximately 0. 6% in ? scal 2010 and 1. 1% in ? scal 2009. With our planned slower new store growth, we expect the impact of new stores on comparable store sales to stabilize over time. Fiscal Years Ended January 31, 2010 2009 2008 Walmart U. S. Sam’s Club (1) -0. 7% -1. 4% 3. 2% 4. 9% 1. 0% 4. 9% Total U . S. -0. 8% 3. 5% 1. 6% (1) Sam’s Club comparable club sales include fuel.Fuel sales had a negative impact of 2. 1 percentage points in ? scal year 2010, and positive impact of 1. 2 and 0. 7 percentage points in ? scal years 2009 and 2008, respectively, on comparable club sales. Walmart 2010 Annual Report 17 107077_L01_FIN_02. indd 17 4/6/10 12:10:46 AM Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Leverage Fiscal Years Ended January 31, (Dollar amounts in millions) 2009 2010 Operating income Percent of total Percent increase Operating income 2008 Percent of total Percent increase Operating income Percent of total Walmart U.S. International Sam’s Club Other $19,522 5,033 1,512 (2,117) 81. 5% 21. 0% 6. 3% -8. 8% 5. 2% 1. 9% -8. 1% -9. 9% $18,562 4,940 1,646 (2,350) 81. 4% 21. 7% 7. 2% -10. 3% 6. 8% 4. 6% -0. 1% 30. 3% $17,383 4,725 1,648 (1,804) 79. 2% 21. 5% 7. 5% -8. 2% Total operating income $23,950 100. 0% 5. 1% $22,798 100. 0% 3. 9% $21,952 100. 0% We believe growing operating income at a faster rate than net sales growth is a meaningful measure because it indicates how effectively we manage costs and leverage operating expenses. Our objective is to grow operating expenses at a slower rate than net sales. nd ending total assets of continuing operations plus accumulated depreciation and amortization less accounts payable and accrued liabilities for that period, plus a rent factor equal to the rent for the ? scal year multiplied by a factor of eight. Operating Expenses In ? scal 2010, operating expenses increased 2. 7% when compared to ? scal 2009, while net sales increased 1. 0% over the same period. Operating expenses grew at a faster rate than net sales due to higher health bene? t costs, restructuring charges and higher advertising expenses. In ? scal 2009, operating expenses increased 9. % compared to ? scal 2008 while net sales increased 7. 3% over the same period. Operating expenses grew at a faster rate than net sales in ? scal 2009 primarily due to higher utility costs, legal matters, higher health bene? t costs and increased corporate expenses. ROI is considered a non-GAAP ? nancial measure under the SEC’s rules. We consider return on assets (â€Å"ROA†) to be the ? nancial measure computed in accordance with GAAP that is the most directly comparable ? nancial measure to ROI as we calculate that ? nancial measure. ROI differs from ROA (which is income from continuing operations for the ? cal year divided by average total assets of continuing operations for the period) because ROI: adjusts operating income to exclude certain expense items and adds interest income; adjusts total assets from continuing operations for the impact of accumulated depreciation and amortization, accounts payable and accrued liabilities; and incorporates a factor of rent to arrive at total invested capital. Operating Income For ? scal 2010, we met our objective of growing operat ing income at a faster rate than net sales. Our operating income increased by 5. 1% when compared to ? cal 2009, while net sales increased by 1. 0% over the same period. Our Walmart U. S. and International segments met this objective. Our Sam’s Club segment fell short of this objective primarily due to a $174 million charge to restructure its operations, including the closure of 10 clubs. For ? scal 2009, we did not meet our objective because our operating income increased by 3. 9% when compared to ? scal 2008, while net sales increased by 7. 3% over the same period. The Walmart U. S. and Sam’s Club segments fell short of this objective due to increases in operating expenses.The International segment fell short of this objective due to accruals for certain legal matters and ? uctuations in currency exchange rates. Although ROI is a standard ? nancial metric, numerous methods exist for calculating a company’s ROI. As a result, the method used by management to cal culate ROI may differ from the methods other companies use to calculate their ROI. We urge you to understand the methods used by another company to calculate its ROI before comparing our ROI to that of such other company. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Operating Income (Amounts in millions) 24,000 Returns Return on Investment Management believes return on investment is a meaningful metric to share with investors because it helps investors assess how effectively Walmart is employing its assets. Trends in ROI can ? uctuate over time as management balances long-term potential strategic initiatives with any possible short-term impacts. ROI was 19. 3 percent for both ? scal years ended January 31, 2010 and 2009. $18,000 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operating income increased 5. 1% in ? scal 2010, driven by a 5. 2% increase in Walmart U. S. $12,000 $ 6,000 We de? e ROI as adjusted operating income (operating income plus interest income, depreciation and amortization and rent expense) for the ? scal year divided by average invested capital during that period. We consider average invested capital to be the average of our beginning 0 08 09 10 Fiscal Years 18 Walmart 2010 Annual Report 107077_L01_FIN. indd 18 4/6/10 10:19:20 PM Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations The calculation of ROI along with a reconciliation to the calculation of ROA, the most comparable GAAP ? nancial measurement, is as follows: For the Years Ended January 31, Dollar amounts in millions) 2010 2009 Numerator Operating income (1) + Interest income (1) + Depreciation and amortization (1) + Rent (1) $ 23,950 181 7,157 1,808 $ 22,798 284 6,739 1,751 = Adjusted operating income $ 33,096 $ 31,572 Denominator Average total assets of continuing operations (2) + Average accumulated depreciation and amortization (2) – Average accounts payable (2) – Average accrued liabilities (2) + Rent x 8 $166,900 38,359 29,650 18,423 14,464 $162,891 33,317 29,597 16,9 19 14,008 = Average invested capital $171,650 $163,700 CALCULATION OF RETURN ON INVESTMENT Return on investment (ROI) 19. 3% 19. 3%CALCULATION OF RETURN ON ASSETS Numerator Income from continuing operations (1) $ 14,927 $ 13,753 Denominator Average total assets of continuing operations (2) $166,900 $162,891 Return on assets (ROA) 8. 9% 8. 4% As of January 31, 2010 Certain Balance Sheet Data (1) Total assets of continuing operations Accumulated depreciation and amortization Accounts payable Accrued liabilities 2009 2008 $170,566 41,210 30,451 18,734 $163,234 35,508 28,849 18,112 $162,547 31,125 30,344 15,725 (1) Based on continuing operations only and therefore excludes the impact of closing 23 stores and the divesture of other properties of The Seiyu, Ltd. now Walmart Japan) pursuant to a restructuring program adopted during the third quarter of ? scal 2009. All of these activities have been disclosed as discontinued operations. Total assets as of January 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008 in the table above exclude assets of discontinued operations that are re? ected in the Consolidated Balance Sheets of $140 million, $195 million and $967 million, respectively. (2) The average is based on the addition of the account balance at the end of the current period to the account balance at the end of the prior period and dividing by 2. Walmart 2010 Annual Report 19 107077_L01_FIN_02. indd 19 /6/10 12:10:47 AM Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Free Cash Flow We de? ne free cash ? ow as net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations in a period minus payments for property and equipment made in that period. We generated positive free cash ? ow of $14. 1 billion, $11. 6 billion and $5. 7 billion for the years ended January 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The increase in our free cash ? ow is primarily the result of improved operating results and inventory management. The following table sets fort h a reconciliation of free cash ? w, a nonGAAP ? nancial measure, to net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations, a GAAP measure, which we believe to be the GAAP ? nancial measure most directly comparable to free cash ? ow, as well as information regarding net cash used in investing activities and net cash used in ? nancing activities. Fiscal Years Ended January 31, (Amounts in millions) Free cash ? ow is considered a non-GAAP ? nancial measure under the SEC’s rules. Management believes, however, that free cash ? ow, which measures our ability to generate additional cash from our business operations, is an important ? ancial measure for use in evaluating the company’s ? nancial performance. Free cash ? ow should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, income from continuing operations as a measure of our performance and net cash provided by operating activities as a measure of our liquidity. Additionally, our de? nition of free cash ? ow is limited, in that it does not represent residual cash ? ows available for discretionary expenditures due to the fact that the measure does not deduct the payments required for debt service and other contractual obligations or payments made for business acquisitions.Therefore, we believe it is important to view free cash ? ow as a measure that provides supplemental information to our entire statement of cash ? ows. Although other companies report their free cash ? ow, numerous methods may exist for calculating a company’s free cash ? ow. As a result, the method used by our management to calculate free cash ? ow may differ from the methods other companies use to calculate their free cash ? ow. We urge you to understand the methods used by another company to calculate its free cash ? ow before comparing our free cash ? ow to that of such other company.We generated positive free cash flow of $14. 1 billion, $11. 6 billion and $5. 7 billion for the years ended Jan uary 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The increase in our free cash flow is primarily the result of improved operating results and inventory management. Net cash provided by operating activities Payments for property and equipment Free cash ? ow Net cash used in investing activities Net cash used in ?nancing activities 2010 $26,249 (12,184) $ 14,065 2009 2008 $ 23,147 $ 20,642 (11,499) (14,937) $ 11,648 $ 5,705 $(11,620) $(10,742) $(15,670) $(14,191) $ (9,918) $ (7,422)Results of Operations The following discussion of our Results of Operations is based on our continuing operations and excludes any results or discussion of our discontinued operations. Unusual or infrequent items that impacted our income from continuing operations during the ? scal years ended 2010, 2009 and 2008 were as follows: †¢ In ? scal 2010, the company announced several organizational changes, including the closure of 10 Sam’s Clubs, designed to strengthen and streamline our operations. As a result, we recorded $260 million in pre-tax restructuring charges. †¢ In ? cal 2010, we recorded $372 million in net tax bene? ts primarily from the repatriation of certain non-U. S. earnings that increased U. S. foreign tax credits. †¢ In ? scal 2009, the company settled 63 wage-and-hour class action lawsuits. As a result of the settlement, the company recorded a pre-tax charge of approximately $382 million during the fourth quarter of ? scal 2009. †¢ In ? scal 2008, we reduced our accrued liabilities for our general liability and worker’s compensation claims. As a result, operating expenses were reduced by a pre-tax amount of $298 million. 20 Walmart 2010 Annual Report 07077_L01_FIN. indd 20 4/7/10 12:14:15 AM Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Consolidated Results of Operations Fiscal Year Net Sales (1) % Change from Prior Fiscal Year 2010 2009 2008 $405,046 401,087 373,821 1. 0% 7. 3% 8. 4% Operating Income (1) Operating Income as a Percentage of Net Sales Comp Sales Unit Counts Square Footage (2) $23,950 22,798 21,952 5. 9% 5. 7% 5. 9% -0. 8% 3. 5% 1. 6% 8,416 7,863 7,239 952,204 918,008 867,448 (1) Amounts in millions (2) Amounts in thousands Our consolidated net sales increased by 1. 0% and 7. 3% in ? cal 2010 and 2009, respectively, when compared to the previous ? scal year. Net sales in ? scal 2010 increased due to increased customer traf? c, continued global expansion activities and the acquisition of D&S in January 2009, offset primarily by a $9. 8 billion unfavorable currency exchange rate impact in our International segment and price de? ation in certain merchandise categories in our Walmart U. S. segment. Net sales in ? scal 2009 increased due to our global store expansion activities, comparable store sales increases, offset by a $2. 3 billion unfavorable currency exchange rate impact.Volatility in currency exchange rates may continue to impact the International segme nt’s net sales in the future. Our gross pro? t, as a percentage of net sales, (our â€Å"gross pro? t margin†) was 24. 8%, 24. 2% and 24. 0% in ? scal 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Our Walmart U. S. and International segment sales yield higher gross pro? t margins than our Sam’s Club segment. In ? scal 2010, gross pro? t margin increased primarily due to the continued focus on enhanced merchandising strategies and better inventory management in our Walmart U. S. and Sam’s Club segments. The gross pro? margin increase in ? scal 2009 compared to ? scal 2008 was primarily due to lower inventory shrinkage and less markdown activity as a result of more effective merchandising in the Walmart U. S. segment. Operating expenses, as a percentage of net sales, were 19. 7%, 19. 3% and 19. 0% for ? scal 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. In ? scal 2010, operating expenses increased primarily due to higher health bene? t costs, a pre-tax charge of $260 million rel ating to the restructuring of U. S. operations and higher advertising expenses. In ? scal 2009, operating expenses increased rimarily due to higher utility costs, a pre-tax charge of approximately $382 million resulting from the settlement of 63 wage-and-hour class action lawsuits, higher health bene? t costs and increased corporate expenses compared to ? scal 2008. Our effective income tax rate was 32. 4% for ? scal year 2010 and 34. 2% for ? scal years 2009 and 2008. The ? scal 2010 effective tax rate decreased compared to ? scal 2009 due to $372 million in net tax bene? ts that primarily resulted from the repatriation of certain non-U. S. earnings that increased our utilization of U. S. foreign tax credits.As a result of the factors discussed above, we reported $14. 9 billion, $13. 8 billion and $13. 3 billion of income from continuing operations for the ? scal years ended January 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. Walmart U. S. Segment Fiscal Year Net Sales (1) % Change from Prior Fiscal Year 2010 2009 2008 $258,229 255,348 238,915 1. 1% 6. 9% 5. 6% Operating Income (1) Operating Income as a Percentage of Net Sales Comp Sales Unit Counts Square Footage (2) $19,522 18,562 17,383 7. 6% 7. 3% 7. 3% -0. 7% 3. 2% 1. 0% 3,708 3,656 3,550 602,908 589,299 566,629 (1) Amounts in millions (2) Amounts in thousands The segment net sales growth in ? cal 2010 resulted from an increase in customer traf? c and strength in our grocery and health and wellness categories, as well as our continued expansion activities. In ? scal 2009, the segment net sales growth resulted from a comparable store sales increase of 3. 2%, in addition to our expansion activities. Strength in the grocery, health and wellness and entertainment categories, as well as strong seasonal sales throughout the year also contributed to the ? scal 2009 net sales increase. The segment net sales growth in fiscal 2010 resulted from an increase in customer traffic and strength in our grocery and health and ellness categories, as well as our continued expansion activities. Walmart 2010 Annual Report 21 107077_L01_FIN. indd 107077_L01_FIN. indd 21 4/6/10 8:25:51 PM Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Comparable store sales were lower in ? scal 2010, despite increased customer traf? c, due to a decrease in average transaction size per customer driven by price de? ation in certain merchandise categories. Comparable store sales were higher in ? scal 2009 due to an increase in customer traf? c, as well as an increase in average transaction size per customer. In ? scal 2010, gross pro? margin increased 0. 7 percentage points compared to the prior year due to more effective merchandising, better inventory management and lower inventory shrinkage. In ? scal 2009, gross pro? t margin increased 0. 4 percentage points compared to the prior year primarily due to decreased markdown activity and lower inventory shrinkage. The improvements in b oth years were attributable to merchandising initiatives that have improved space allocation, enhanced our price leadership and increased supply chain ef? ciencies. Segment operating expenses, as a percentage of segment net sales, increased by 0. 4 percentage points in ? cal 2010 compared to ? scal 2009 due to lower segment net sales increases compared to the prior year, higher health bene? t costs, higher advertising expenses and a pre-tax charge of $73 million relating to the restructuring of Walmart U. S. operations. Segment operating expenses, as a percentage of segment net sales, increased 0. 4 percentage points in ? scal 2009 compared to the prior year due to hurricane-related expenses, higher bonus payments for store associates, higher utility costs and an increase in health bene? t costs. International Segment Net Sales (1) 2010 2009 2008 Operating Income (1) Operating Income a s a Percentage f Net Sales Unit Counts Square Footage (2 ) $100,107 98,840 90,570 Fiscal Year % Ch ange from Prior Fiscal Year 1. 3% 9. 1% 17. 8% $5,033 4,940 4,725 5. 0% 5. 0% 5. 2% 4,112 3,605 3,098 269,894 248,803 222,583 (1) Amounts in millions (2) Amounts in thousands At January 31, 2010, our International segment was comprised of our wholly-owned subsidiaries operating in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom, our majority-owned subsidiaries operating in ? ve countries in Central America, and in Chile and Mexico, our joint ventures in India and China and our other controlled subsidiaries in China.The ? scal 2010 increase in the International segment’s net sales primarily resulted from our expansion activities and the inclusion of the results of D&S, acquired in January 2009, offset by the unfavorable impact of changes in currency exchange rates of $9. 8 billion. For additional information regarding our acquisitions, refer to Note 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. The ? scal 2009 increase in the International segment’s n et sales was primarily due to net sales growth from existing units and our international expansion program, offset by the unfavorable impact of changes in currency exchange rates of $2. billion. The fiscal 2010 increase in the International segment’s net sales primarily resulted from our expansion activities and the inclusion of the results of D&S, acquired in January 2009, offset by the unfavorable impact of changes in currency exchange rates of $9. 8 billion. In ? scal 2010, the International segment’s gross pro? t margin increased 0. 2 percentage points compared to the prior year. The increase was primarily driven by currency exchange rate ? uctuations and the inclusion of D&S. In ? scal 2009, the International segment’s gross pro? t margin decreased 0. percentage points compared to the prior year. The decrease was primarily driven by growth in lower margin fuel sales in the United Kingdom and the transition to EDLP as a strategy in Japan. Segment operating e xpenses, as a percentage of segment net sales, increased 0. 3 percentage points in ? scal 2010 compared to the prior year primarily as a result of the inclusion of D&S, acquired in January 2009. Segment operating expenses, as a percentage of segment net sales, in ? scal 2009 were consistent with ? scal 2008. In ? scal 2010, currency exchange rate changes unfavorably impacted operating income by $540 million.In ? scal 2009, currency exchange rate changes unfavorably impacted operating income by $266 million. Volatility in currency exchange rates may continue to impact the International segment’s operating results in the future. 22 Walmart 2010 Annual Report 107077_L01_FIN. indd 107077_L01_FIN. indd 22 4/6/10 8:25:51 PM Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Sam’s Club Segment Fiscal Year Net Sales (1) % Change from Prior Fiscal Year Operating Income (1) Operating Income a s a Percentage of Net Sales Comp Sales Unit C ounts Square Footage (2 ) $46,710 46,899 44,336 0. 4% 5. 8% 6. 6% $1,512 1,646 1,648 3. 2% 3. 5% 3. 7% -1. 4% 4. 9% 4. 9% 596 602 591 79,401 79,906 78,236 2010 2009 2008 (1) Amounts in millions (2) Amounts in thousands The decrease in net sales for the Sam’s Club segment in ? scal 2010 primarily resulted from lower fuel prices compared to the previous ? scal year. In ? scal 2009, the segment net sales growth resulted from a comparable club sales increase, including fuel, of 4. 9% and continued club expansion activities. Membership and other income, as a percentage of segment net sales, decreased slightly for ? scal 2010 when compared to ? scal 2009.Membership and other income, as a percentage of segment net sales, decreased slightly for ? scal 2009 when compared to ? scal 2008. Liquidity and Capital Resources Comparable club sales decreased during ? scal 2010 due to the negative impact of 2. 1 percentage points from lower fuel prices when compared to the previous ? scal year, partially offset by sales increases in fresh food, consumables and certain health and wellness categories. In ? scal 2009, comparable club sales increased due to growth in food, pharmacy, electronics and certain consumables categories, as well as an increase in both member traf? and average transaction size per member. Fuel sales had a positive impact of 1. 2 percentage points in ? scal 2009 on comparable club sales. Gross pro? t margin increased 0. 6 percentage points during ? scal 2010 compared to the prior year due to continued strength in sales of consumable, fresh food and other food-related categories. Gross pro? t margin increased 0. 1 percentage points during ? scal 2009 compared to the prior year due to strong sales in fresh food and other food-related categories, consumable categories and the positive impact of a higher fuel gross pro? t rate.Segment operating expenses, as a percentage of segment net sales, increased 0. 8 percentage points in ? scal 2010 compared to the p rior year due primarily to a pre-tax charge of $174 million related to the restructuring of Sam’s Club operations, including the closure of 10 clubs. Segment operating expenses, as a percentage of segment net sales, increased 0. 2 percentage points in ? scal 2009 compared to the prior year. In ? scal 2009, operating expense increases were impacted by higher utility and health bene? t costs and hurricane-related expenses. Cash flows provided by operating activities upply us with a significant source of liquidity. We use these cash flows, supplemented with long-term debt and short-term borrowings, to fund our operations and global expansion activities. Generally, some or all of the remaining free cash flow funds the dividends on our common stock and share repurchases. Cash ? ows provided by operating activities supply us with a signi? cant source of liquidity. We use these cash ? ows, supplemented with long-term debt and short-term borrowings, to fund our operations and global expansion activities. Generally, some or all of the remaining free cash ? w funds the dividends on our common stock and share repurchases. Fiscal Years Ended January 31, (Amounts in millions) 2010 Net cash provided by operating activities Payments for property and equipment Free cash ? ow 2009 2008 $ 26,249 $ 23,147 $ 20,642 (12,184) (11,499) (14,937) $ 14,065 $ 11,648 $ 5,705 Net cash used in investing activities Net cash used in ?nancing activities $(11,620) $(10,742) $(15,670) $(14,191) $ (9,918) $ (7,422) Cash ? ow provided by operating activities was $26. 2 billion, $23. 1 billion and $20. 6 billion for the years ended January 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The increases in cash ? ws provided by operating activities for each ? scal year were primarily attributable to an increase in income from continuing operations and improved working capital management. Working Capital Current liabilities exceeded current assets at January 31, 2010, by $7. 2 billion, an increase of $7 89 million from January 31, 2009. Our ratio of current assets to current liabilities was 0. 9 at January 31, 2010 and 2009. We generally have a working capital de? cit due to our ef? cient use of cash in funding operations and in providing returns to shareholders in the form of stock repurchases and payment of dividends.Walmart 2010 Annual Report 23 107077_L01_FIN. indd 107077_L01_FIN. indd 23 4/7/10 1:06:36 AM Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Capital Resources During ? scal 2010, we issued $5. 5 billion of long-term debt. The net proceeds from the issuance of such long-term debt were used for general corporate purposes. During ? scal 2009, we issued $6. 6 billion of long-term debt. Those net proceeds were used to repay outstanding commercial paper indebtedness and for other general corporate purposes. Management believes that cash ? ws from continuing operations and proceeds from the issuance of short-term borrowings will be suf? cient to ? nance seasonal buildups in merchandise inventories and meet other cash requirements. If our operating cash ? ows are not suf? cient to pay dividends and to fund our capital expenditures, we anticipate funding any shortfall in these expenditures with a combination of short-term borrowings and long-term debt. We plan to re? nance existing long-term debt as it matures and may desire to obtain additional long-term ? nancing for other corporate purposes. We anticipate no dif? culty in obtaining long-term ? ancing in view of our credit ratings and favorable experiences in the debt market in the recent past. The following table details the ratings of the credit rating agencies that rated our outstanding indebtedness at January 31, 2010. The rating agency ratings are not recommendations to buy, sell or hold our commercial paper or debt securities. Each rating may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating organization and should be evaluated independently of any other rating. Global Expansion Activities Cash paid for property and equipment was $12. 2 billion, $11. 5 billion and $14. billion during the ? scal years ended January 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. These expenditures primarily relate to new store growth, as well as remodeling costs for existing stores. We expect to incur capital expenditures of approximately $13. 0 billion to $15. 0 billion in ? scal 2011. We plan to ? nance this expansion and any acquisitions of other operations that we may make during ? scal 2011 primarily from cash ? ows from operations. Fiscal 2011 capital expenditures will include the addition of the following new, relocated and expanded units in the U. S. : Fiscal Year 2011 Projected Unit Growth Walmart U.S. Segment Sam’s Club Segment 145-160 5-10 150-170 Total U. S. Additionally, the International segment expects to add more than 600 units during ? scal year 2011. The following represents an allocation of our capital expe nditures: Rating Agency Commercial Paper Standard & Poor’s Moody’s Investors Service Fitch Ratings DBRS Limited Long-term Debt A-1+ P-1 F1+ R-1(middle) AA Aa2 AA AA To monitor our credit ratings and our capacity for long-term ? nancing, we consider various qualitative and quantitative factors. We monitor the ratio of our debt to our total capitalization as support for our long-term ? nancing decisions.At January 31, 2010 and January 31, 2009, the ratio of our debt to total capitalization was 36. 9% and 39. 3%, respectively. For the purpose of this calculation, debt is de? ned as the sum of short-term borrowings, long-term debt due within one year, obligations under capital leases due in one year, long-term debt and long-term obligations under capital leases. Total capitalization is de? ned as debt plus total Walmart shareholders’ equity. Our ratio of debt to our total capitalization decreased in ? scal 2010 primarily due to a decrease in short-term borrowings. W e expect to incur capital expenditures of approximately $13. 0 billion to $15. billion in fiscal 2011. We plan to finance this expansion and any acquisitions of other operations that we may make during fiscal 2011 primarily from cash flows from operations. Allocation of Capital Expenditures Projected Capital Expenditures New stores, including expansions and relocations Remodels Information systems, distribution and other Total U. S. International Total Capital Expenditures Actual Fiscal Year 2011 Fiscal Year Fiscal Year 2010 2009 31% 15% 29% 17% 34% 10% 21% 23% 20% 67% 69% 64% 33% 31% 36% 100% 100% 100% Common Stock Dividends We paid dividends of $1. 09 per share in ? scal 2010, representing a 15% increase over ? cal 2009. The ? scal 2009 dividend of $0. 95 per share represented an 8% increase over ? scal 2008. We have increased our dividend every year since the ? rst dividend was declared in March 1974. On March 4, 2010, the company’s Board of Directors approved an increase in the annual dividend for ? scal 2011 to $1. 21 per share, an increase of 11% over the dividends paid in ? scal 2010. The annual dividend will be paid in four quarterly installments on April 5, 2010, June 1, 2010, September 7, 2010 and January 3, 2011 to holders of record on March 12, May 14, August 13 and December 10, 2010, respectively. 4 Walmart 2010 Annual Report 107077_L01_FIN. indd 107077_L01_FIN. indd 24 4/6/10 8:25:52 PM Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Company Share Repurchase Program From time to time, we have repurchased shares of our common stock under a $15. 0 billion share repurchase program authorized by our Board of Directors on June 4, 2009 and announced on June 5, 2009, which replaced and terminated a $15. 0 billion share repurchase program approved by our Board of Directors on May 31, 2007 and announced on June 1, 2007.As was the case with the replaced share repurchase program, the new program has no exp iration date or other restrictions limiting the period over which we can make our share repurchases, and will expire only when and if we have repurchased $15. 0 billion of our shares under the program or we terminate or replace the program. Any repurchased shares are constructively retired and returned to unissued status. We spent $7. 3 billion, $3. 5 billion and $7. 7 billion in share repurchases during ? scal year 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively.We consider several factors in determining when to execute the share repurchases, including among other things, our current cash needs, our capacity for leverage, our cost of borrowings and the market price of our common stock. As of January 31, 2010, the program had approximately $9. 2 billion remaining authorization for share repurchases. Contractual Obligations and Other Commercial Commitments The following table sets forth certain information concerning our obligations and commitments to make contractual future payments, such as debt and lease agreements, and contingent commitments:Payments Due During Fiscal Years Ending January 31, (Amounts in millions) Recorded contractual obligations: Long-term debt Short-term borrowings Capital lease obligations Unrecorded contractual obligations: Non-cancelable operating leases Interest on long-term debt Trade letters of credit Purchase obligations Total commercial commitments Additionally, the company has approximately $11. 2 billion in undrawn lines of credit and standby letters of credit which, if drawn upon, would be included in the liabilities section of the Consolidated Balance Sheets.Purchase obligations include legally binding contracts such as ? rm commitments for inventory and utility purchases, as well as commitments to make capital expenditures, software acquisition/license commitments and legally binding service contracts. Purchase orders for the purchase of inventory and other services are not included in the table above. Purchase orders represent authorizati ons to purchase rather than binding agreements. For the purposes of this table, contractual obligations for purchase of goods or services are de? ned as agreements that are enforceable and legally binding and that specify all signi? ant terms, including: ? xed or minimum quantities to be purchased; ? xed, minimum or variable price provisions; and the approximate timing of the transaction. Our purchase orders are based on our current inventory needs and are ful? lled by our suppliers within short time periods. We also enter into contracts for outsourced services; however, the obligations under these contracts are not signi? cant and the contracts generally contain clauses allowing for cancellation without signi? cant penalty. Total 2011 2012-2013 2014-2015 Thereafter $37,281 523 5,584 $ 4,050