Ocean carrier Essay Example for Free

Ocean carrier Essay The purpose of this report is to evaluate whether Ocean Carriers Inc. should immediately commission a new capesize carrier that would cost $39 million, and would be completed two years hence, in order to finalize a lease of the ship for a three-year period with a potential charterer in very good faith. The contrasting tax regulations between the two countries where the company locates its office, and the different cost-benefit circumstances under different length of time in service are considered in the analysis. Taking all available information into consideration, we highly recommend that the company should purchase the new capesize carrier, have it registered under the Hong Kong office, and put it on a scheme for a 25-year service. Industry Prospects Capesize carriers are mainly used to carry iron ore and coal worldwide. The daily hire rates are therefore determined by the total exports of iron ore and coal, the distance between the exporting countries and the destinations, and the fleet size of capesizes in service. According to the market trends, in the next few years, Australian production in iron ore is expected to be strong and Indian iron ore exports are expected to take off. However, imports of iron ore and coal are expected to be stagnant in next two years. Therefore, total exports of iron ore and coal will be flat in the coming two years, and will rise remarkably in the following few years. Besides, as East Asia countries absorb the largest portion of the iron ore imports, the joining of India to the iron ore exporting won’t significantly increase travel distance because Australia is almost the same distance away by water. Moreover, in 2001 and 2002, 63 and 33 new capesize vessels would be delivered adding up to about 17% of total capesizes currently in service. Consequently, in the first two years, the supply of capesizes would be greater than the demand, the daily hire rates are expected to decrease. But in the mid-to-long run, the daily hire rates are expected to increase continuously. Revenues and Costs Intuitions Before going into the numbers, we want to discuss some intuitions of this project that support the decision of purchasing the capesize. First, the increasing mid-to-long run daily hire rates will provide basis for promising future cash flows. Secondly, although the daily hire rate for the first two years are expected to be low, the charterer had already offered a rate higher than expected to compensate the company. Thirdly, a great portion of the expenditures come from the preparation for special surveys which should be renewed every five years if the ship needs to stay in the business. The high escalation of costs between the second and third surveys, and the fourth and fifth surveys, indicates that maximum net present value of the project would be achieved when the carrier serves for either 15 years or 25 years. Free Cash Flows In this part, we will discuss the detailed numbers. Some assumptions are made based on the economic outlook and company characteristics when calculating free cash flows. We assume that inflation rate is 3% per annual, and that operation cost would increase 1% above inflation rate per annual. We assume that discount rate is 9%, and will discuss the impact of a rate change later. Provided that the scrape value is estimated to be $5 million at the end of the fifteenth year, we estimate that the value would decrease to $4 million due to more wear in the steel. Please refer to Exhibits 1 to 4 for the calculations of estimated free cash flows and NPVs. We can see that if the company chooses to purchase the capesize, have it registered in Hong Kong instead of USA, and runs it for 25 years, the NPV will be the highest compared to other alternatives. Besides, the Hong Kong option (have the vessel registered in Hong Kong) dominates the USA option (have the vessel registered in USA) because no tax is required in Hong Kong in these operations. Also, the 25-year option dominates the 15-year option because, even if the scrap value is reduced to zero after 25 years, the NPVs for options that keep the capesize for 25 years are still higher than for 15 years. Sensitivity Analysis In the above calculations for the NPVs, we assume discount rate to be 9%. If the discount rate is higher, the NPVs for the projects will be reduced because the benefits from recording depreciation and tax deferring will increase. For example, we found that the USA-25-year option will produce a positive NPV if the discount rate is lowered to 6.67%. However, even if the discount rate is as low as 0.1%, the HK option still dominates the US option, and the 25-year option still dominates the 15-year option. Conclusion To sum up, if Ocean Carriers Inc. purchase a $39 million capesize carrier immediately, register it in Hong Kong, sign the three-year contract with the charterer, and keep the vessel in business for 25 years, based on estimations, it would acquire the largest possible NPV of $3.89 million on the project.

The Downfall and Destruction of a King in the Play, Oedipus the King :: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

The Downfall of a King in the Play, Oedipus the King I found the tragedy of "Oedipus the King" to be quite interesting. It was not as hard to read as an epic. "The purpose of tragedy is to arouse the emotions of pity and fear and thus to produce in the audience a catharsis of these emotions." (p488, A Handbook of Literature) A tragedy has more drama and builds to the climax. Oedipus' fate was set into motion by the circumstances he created himself because of his own rashness and arrogance. This is called an inciting incident. "He is headstrong and foolish (in not questioning Polybus and Merope in more detail or pursuing his original question with the Delphic oracle)." (Duke) For instance, Oedipus could have asked these questions: (1) How was King Laius killed and where? (2) Who are my real parents? He would not have married his mother and had children with her. He would have become King of Corinth. Jocasta would not have hung herself. Oedipus would not have blinded himself. The city would not have been plagued because Laius killer had not been punished. In today's society Oedipus would not have gotten away with murder. That was very different in the Greek society; murder was viewed as making someone a hero and more powerful. Although, if one had too much pride that was a sin. How can someone get away with murder and not be affected by it? He killed Laius in cold blood and that is all there is to it. However, this is how the overall plot of the play evolved. "When the play opens, the city of Thebes is wasting away under a plague that leaves its fields and women barren. Oedipus, the king of Thebes, has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to ask the house of Apollo to ask the oracle how to put an end to the plague. Creon returns, bearing good news: once the killer of the previous king, Laius, is found, Thebes will be cured of the plague (Laius was Jocasta's husband before she married Oedipus). Hearing this, Oedipus swears he will find the murderer and banish him. He asks Creon some questions: where was Laius murdered? did anyone see the crime? how many men killed him? Creon answers: Laius was killed outside the city by a group of robbers, and the only witness was a shepherd who still lives nearby.

Affirmative Action: Racial Inequality

Michael Parkes Professor Minichillo Writing 1020 25 March 2013 Affirmative Action: Racial Inequality After many years of immigration, the United States has become a melting pot for people all over the world with a wide-range of races and ethnicities. Although American culture emphasizes diversity and equal opportunity, its unique history of immigration has shown that people of different races are not created equal. The White race is dominating throughout all aspects of the American society.Fact: â€Å"White males are 33% of the population, but 80% of tenured professors, 90% of the U. S. senate, 97% of school superintendents, and 100% of U. S. Presidents† (Jackson 9). What happens to the rest of the American races? Where are the Blacks, Latinos and Asians? Some experts believe that, people who belong to those groups are grossly misrepresented. In 1964, racial inequality in American was being recognized as a problem that needed to be addressed on a national level. A systematic s olution was urgently needed to address the racial inequality.Affirmative action was thus born in 1964 with the ideal of creating a better society with equal chances of success for people from different backgrounds and races. Broadly defined, affirmative action refers to efforts to increase educational and employment opportunities for minorities and women. More specifically, it applies to various policies and programs designed to increase the number of minorities and women hired by government and industry and admitted into colleges and universities. As good as the ideal sounded, we have encountered many obstacles implementing the idea into reality.For many decades, because of its impact on individuals, races, and social economic classes, affirmative action has become a source of controversy and a focus of many heated debates. In his book, Hunger of Memory, Richard Rodriguez expressed his belief that affirmative action has devalued the achievements of people of color, and that a syste m that prefers one race over another is nothing more than another form of racism. For some individuals of minority the existence of affirmative action is a threat rather than an aid to their personal success.They believe that affirmative action undermines their personal achievements. Granting certain privileges to minority groups creates the perception that their positions were given to them rather than earned and that minority people are incapable of competing with white people. Richard Rodriguez testifies to this with his personal experience. Growing up in a poor Mexican immigrant family, he has invested a tremendous amount of effort to achieve the academic level of a scholar. To him it was a scholarship boy's dreams come true (Rodriguez 164). However, his academic success was always associated with his minority status.Mr. Rodriguez speaks his unpleasant feelings towards such an association. Mr. Rodriguez was extremely sensitive about the issue. He believes that being â€Å"label ed† as a â€Å"minority† has put him in a position that he can never compete with other people without prejudice. Meanwhile, the supporters of affirmative action believe that being racially conscious is merely acknowledging one's social identity. Understanding one's own social identity means recognizing the differences as well as the advantages and disadvantages of being an individual in a diverse society.Affirmative action simply gives people who are socially disadvantaged a â€Å"leg up† so that they can compete equally with rest of the society. In an 800-meter race, the runner at the outermost lane gets to start ahead of the runner at the innermost lane, simply because it is a longer run to complete the race at the outer lane than the inner lane. This analogy can be applied to the racial disadvantages of minority students as well. Because of their lack of educational resource and unfavorable study environment, they have to endure many more difficulties to achi eve the same academic goals of the majority.Affirmative action is simply putting them ahead of the starting line to finish the longer run. Not all minority races are on an equal ground. Statistics show that about 12 % of Whites, 15% of Asians, and 30% of Blacks and Latinos are under the poverty line; 42% of Asian, 25% of White, and only less than 14% of Black and Latino adults finish college. The numbers clearly show that Asian Americans are way ahead of other racial minorities with respect of income and education, despite the fact that Asian Americans have the least amount of population and shortest history of immigration among the key minority races in the United States.Some people question that, Asian Americans have made it without affirmative action so why can't everyone else? It is a recognizable fact that Asian Americans have extraordinary performance on their educational achievements; they are nowhere near being misrepresented in higher educational institutions. Thus, Asian A mericans have sometime been imaged, as model minority by opponents of affirmative action to perpetuate the idea that affirmative action is unnecessary for racial-class advancement.However, if we step back from the campus and look at the bigger picture, we cannot overlook the reality that the racial discrimination still exists in all aspects of modern society. Asian people as a minority group are no exception as victims of a much broader system. At government jobs and management level jobs in large corporations, Asian Americans are in no doubt under the confinement of the â€Å"glass ceiling. † Because Asian Americans continue to be subjected to racist stereotyping and scapegoating, there is still a need for affirmation action to break the â€Å"glass ceiling† and make it a fair game for all.While the ideal of affirmative action is to assist the disadvantaged, and give them an aid in the race of social competition, the racially based system certainly could not accuratel y identify the poor and socially disadvantaged from a few elite individuals within the same racial group. Eighty five percent of African Americans are under the poverty line, while two percent of them have a yearly income over 150K. There are also a considerable number of Whites who are categorized as under-class. The priority given to race over class has inevitably exacerbated white racism.Purely race determined preference does not justify the purpose of affirmative action on many occasions. The reverse discrimination seems to have a firm ground at some higher educational institutions, which practice affirmative action on their admission processes. Cases like those of University of Michigan have certainly heated up the smoking controversy. Jennifer Gratz, a White university applicant sued the University of Michigan for denying her application because of the school's racially conditioned admission policy.At the University of Michigan as well as many other universities around the cou ntry, minority group students receive 20 extra points when they apply. This gives them a considerable jump to their chances of being accepted over White students with same academic level. It may sound disturbing to many people: one person may be accepted by the top university over another person just because of his/her race. In an effort to improve the current affirmative action, many scholars have proposed that we should consider social class as a determining factor instead of race. Among them,Richard Rodriguez believes that a class based, as opposed to a racially based system may be a better solution to help the disadvantaged. By judging an individual based on his or her class instead of race, schools and other social institutions can assist those who are really are in need. As good as the idea sounds, still others believe that class oriented affirmative action is misleading. Affirmative action was designed to help racial inequality with respect to class stratification, not to res olve class inequality. The class stratification is a by-product of a capitalistic economic system.It exists now, and will exist for as long as the capitalist society persists. Social class stratification is universal to all countries with capitalist economic systems in varies of degrees, even in â€Å"racially pure† countries like the UK, France, and Japan. When race is not a factor, the hierarchical structure of class stratification remains the same, but the people that make up the class may change over time without the barrier that concerns about their race. This forms a dynamic, stable class system. However, when race is being introduced into the matter, there are physical features to stereotype people's class allocation.Discrimination becomes institutionalized. It prevents class movement for colored people. The systematical solution – affirmative action thus was designed to compensate for these discriminating factors that are inevitable in a diverse society such as ours. After hearing all the voices, both satisfied or disappointed, enthusiastic or pessimistic, it is evident that affirmative action is certainly an exciting and yet elusive topic. It is far from perfect, and flawed in many aspects, but the goals and ideals of affirmative action are unquestionably encouraging.Like all grand missions over history, its goal of creating a utopia of equal opportunities for people of all backgrounds and colors is no doubt a difficult one, if not impossible. Democracy does not come overnight, and it is under constant challenge, debate, and amendment. Therefore, I believe that we should not abandon such a policy, but to embrace it, perfect it, and apply it to all areas of social institutions where discrimination is evident. While living in a diverse society, we should accept our differences, and not conserve our compassion for people in need.We should let all people who value freedom and the idea of equal opportunity share the â€Å"American Dream. â⠂¬  Works Cited Bender, David. Affirmative Action. San Diego: Greenhaven Press Inc, 1996. King, Sabrina. Racism and Racial Inequality : Implications for Teacher Education. Washington, D. C. : American Association Of Colleges, 2002. Web. Rodriguez, Richard. Huger of Memory The Education of Richard Rodriguez. New York: Bantam Books, 1982. Rosenblum, Marc. Racial Inequality. Seattle, WA: Monthly Labo Review, 1986. Print.

The Debate Between Mark Steyn And The Muslim Petitioners...

Under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, everyone is guaranteed certain rights. One that stands out and is essential to our society is the fundamental freedom of expression. Anyone can speak their opinion in public. However, the government can in some instances limit these freedoms. The question that causes a lot of debate is in what instances can the government genuinely limit people’s rights while being justified in doing so. I believe the restrictions on speech in Canada are appropriate. I believe that the government was correct in not intervening with the debate between Mark Steyn and the Muslim petitioners because his article did not warrant enough to risk the safety of Muslims, and by coercing Maclean’s to post an opposing viewpoint would be a violation of their fundamental freedom of expression. Per Mill’s framework the government should not intervene in this case. Mill’s belief is that government intervention should only occur when there is physical harm. In this case, there is no physical harm, but there is offence as Muslims are targeted by the article. Mill believes that if something is offensive, society cannot do anything about it but avoid it or try to persuade the author to believe otherwise. The students attempted to persuade Maclean’s that the opinion stated in Steyn’s argument was incorrect and hateful, and to post an opposing view but had no luck. I believe the students should have then just informed people in Canada that Maclean’s is offensive, and