Mencap Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mencap - Essay Example Background/history Mencap began in 1953 by a group of parents and carrier from Leeds (UK) who saw the urgency to respond to the plight of children with special needs. During this period, Leeds and even the entire Uk hosted very few support services for people with special needs. Such is the case that parents who gave birth to babies with disability were often asked to surrender them to particular institutions and forget them completely; painful words for any parent. Consequently, many babies were left to suffer such a fate. Tired of this disgrace, parents with special kids, living within Leeds, began holding meetings in their houses and later formed a committee to serve the Leeds society. This committee named National Society of Parents of Backward Children became functional on 8 April 1953, immediately after its inauguration (Mencap, 2013). The inaugural meeting took place at Leeds Museum and was attended by squire Holye , the then Executive Officer of Leeds Health Department(its former name). In 1956, the organization changed its name to Leeds and District Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and later took the name Leeds Mencap Organisation structure (local&international) The day-to-day running of Mencap depends entirely on six important groups of people. This includes 1) The members 2) The board of trustees 3) The staff 4) Districts 5) Regional and country committees 6) National assembly members

The impact of Christian Religious Education Essay Example for Free

The impact of Christian Religious Education Essay Introduction: The context of studying religious in a society such as ours, Christian religious educations give me the opportunity to learn from religion (Christian religion) in an organized Manner. From my perspective, Christian religious education aims to support and develop my religious identity by giving me the opportunity to participate at Christian religious practices. Religious education like Christianity involves religious practices such as praying, caring for others, and dealing with the challenges of life. In these practices I see Christian religious education as an inspirational reality of God’s teaching; the only reliable tool that I rely on in the time of difficulties and challenges. The concepts of God, creation, redemption, or eternity are concepts that are difficult to understand unless with faith and the teaching of Christian religious education. From this standpoint, progress in Christian religious education refers to my participation at religious practices in a more proficient way. The aim of this paper is to get a clear view on the significance of studying Christian Religious Education and its impact on me as an individual. Growing up as a Kid: As a kid growing up I attended Catechism classes (first Holy Communion and Confirmation), as far as going to the seminary (Catholic seminary) after my graduation from high school. I attended catechism classes and was taught the Catholic doctrines and other Christian beliefs. Therefore, Christian religious education has impacted my life and my personal growth. Consequently, learning through religious education enables me to: Develop my knowledge and deepen my understanding of the Christian faith, especially my Catholic faith and other Christian beliefs. It helps me understand the relevance of the Catholic faith and the meaning of life. It fosters the values, attitudes and practices which are well-suited with my faith as Christian. Christian religious education develops my skills of reflection, critical thinking, and how to act in accordance when making moral decisions. It nurtures my prayer life as an individual. It helps me understand and appreciate significant aspects of other Christian traditions such as observing lent, the practice of station of the cross and advent season. The observance of all of these makes a positive difference to my Christian life and put my beliefs and values into action. The Influence of Christian Religion Education on me: The impact of Christian religious education on me is that it transfers Christian moral values and norms to me as person or individual growing up to become responsible and appreciating myself and others. It teaches me the actual duty of a Christian and acquaints me with religious practices and obedience to authorities in the neighborhood, homes, state and in the universal society. Christian religious education helps me to develop the knowledge and understanding of Christianity and especially, the catholic doctrine. Christian religious education specially the catholic doctrine have taught me some religious norms and it values and has encouraged me to learn from various religious beliefs, values and culture while at the same time, focusing my own beliefs regarding my religion. My study at the seminary and catechism classes has also help me to be mature personally and socially as well as refining my judgments and decisions on religious, moral and social issues, preparing me for life in a secular society. During my time in primary school I can clearly recall that Christian religious education in the context of catholic religious teachings popularly known as â€Å"doctrine† in catholic schools was a compulsory subject for us. It was mandatory subject, not an optional one. In fact anyone who could not pass doctrine in St. Francis high school (Pleebo, Maryland County) is assumed not to be able to do well or pass other subjects. As the result, Christian religious education gave me a stronger sense of my identity and it made me to know my place in the world that I live in through Christian religious and ethical teaching. Christian Religious education guides me through my spiritual journey. It motives me and helps me been focus on my spiritual life. If I don’t understand what I am implementing in my life, then I will end up losing focus in my Christian activities. Christian Religious education aids me in instructing me how to understand the existence of God and how to obey his commands. Christian Religious education assists me in keeping me from doing the wrong things and repeating the same mistakes over and over again. It instructs me to obey authorities and follow the teaching of the scriptures, so that I may teach the little one or my own kids the ways of life of my religion (Christian) and how to follow it teachings. Encourages me to look more into what I accept as true and reflect on that spiritual knowledge. It helps me understand the Word of God as expressed in the Christian scriptures and especially the teachings of the Catholic Church. And considering how situations can affect the way that I understand things in my lives and the world around me. Reflecting on the Catholic beliefs that my life has meaning, therefore, the essence of Christian religious education is to help me to value the teachings of the scriptures and that which God reveals in our lives. It helps me recognize such knowledge and understand issues which are never fully realized except in actual relationships with the scripture (God) or teaching of Christian religion education. It helps me truly develop and engage common issues in concrete actions. Why Christian Religion Education Matters to me? Christian Religious education makes a distinctive contribution to my well-being. It promotes my moral, social and above all my spiritual, development. It prepares me for societal challenges and future responsibilities. Religion and beliefs inform our values and are reflected in what we say and how we behave. Christian Religious education try to explain or give meaning to challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, and the nature of reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. It develops my knowledge and understanding of the nature of religion and belief including Christianity, and other principal religious issues, such as the TRINITY, (three persons in one God). God the FATHER, God the SON and God the HOLY SPIRIT, philosophy that are difficult to understand. Christian religious education offers me the opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development. It enhances my awareness and understanding of Christianity and beliefs, teachings and practices. Christian religious education had impacted my life, to be more precise, it helps me to understand issues of faith and the existence of God. There are things I cannot do because of my beliefs and faith. I cannot take away human life, because I have value for other and the life of people. I cannot encourage abortion or homosexual arts. Taking away other life is murder, murder is a crime. Christian religious education, specially my doctrine (catholic doctrines) forbids that. And Christian religious educations help enhance and foster my beliefs. Therefore, my value of God is deepening. Christian religious education today is vital. As the issue of extremism emerges, I begun to wonder how these people lost their moral direction and they have turn against society in the name of religion. One might want to look to their religion as one aspect of what shaped their thinking. Instead of judge them; I extend forgiveness, because my religion (Christianity) teaches me how to forgive. After all, Christ said in the Bible â€Å"he who is without sin should cast the first stone. † Christian religious education is priceless. Christian religion offer open debate about all moral and ethical points of view. It is open to free debate, unlike other religions which forbids open discussion of some critical issues. In order to combat ignorance, Christian religious educations enlighten my mind. It causes me to act as detects by the scripture or my doctrine. The reason a society falls is its lack of morality. Christian religious education taught me about morality, ethics and to love others, even if they don’t act very loving toward me. The skills, understanding and knowledge acquired from Christian religious education during my seminary and catechism class’s days, couple with my Christian ethics class at AMEU is very necessary. They help to broaden my knowledge and positively sharp my thinking to be mature in my attitudes. Christian religious educations help me to be open minded, value for others and self understanding. Experiencing self-assurance about my own beliefs and identity and increasing my perception of my religious, moral and spiritual ideas. Conclusion: In conclusion to this paper, I will say Christian religious education from all angle and from all area of society has shown without any doubt its significance on me as individual and society cannot be ignored. Christian Religious Education has prove to make available openings for spiritual expansion in the course of helping me to think about and act in response to questions of meaning and function in life, and questions about the s existence of God and morals in human society; to consider and react to critical issues especially issues of morality and real challenges of life. This has helped me to make clear and knowledgeable decision on religious and moral issues. Our society today is face with many moral issues, such as same sex marriage know as gay marriage and the issue of abortion. Christian religious education has helped to develop my sense of character and belonging, preparing me for life as individual in society. It gives me consciousness and understanding of my beliefs, including practices and values of Christianity. Christian Religious Education is a tool that strengthen my ethical attitude and values, including choices and behavior and my believed toward abortion, drugs and homosexuality. Bibliography: Novak, M. (2001): On Two Wings: Humble Faith and Common Sense. Fagan, P. F. (2006): The Impact of Religious Practice, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 1064, [2] Brown, D. R. , and Gary, L. E. (1991): An Empirical Assessment, Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 60, No. 3.

Is music still true?

Is music still true? Is Music Still True? Authenticity is a major issue in popular music, and it also seems to verify the differences between ‘rock and ‘pop. To musicians, rock is the genre that has authenticity and is most trusted, while the pop genre tends to be more of a commercialized type of music, which most musicians today believe that the ‘pop music is about the glamour and the money. In the end it comes down to the listeners point of view. In this argument, authenticity is understood as ‘true to its origins. Some say that with the new technology today, its hard to make anything sound authentic. In some cases, for example Jack White from such bands as The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The dead Weather, have stayed away from technology when it comes to the recording end. White also attempts to capture authenticity by using old instruments, to capture the essence of the old time sound. Like White, other artists as well find that the new technology today takes the ‘soul out of the music, as well as go far enough to use authentic old style instruments. Although some believe that you can use technology today to give it even more of a rich authentic sound. Most people believe that ‘soul is the key component to authenticity, while some believe that it is about reenacting the innovators of the past. Some believe that songs or artists can still have authentic meaning. One artists that has dealt with issues of authenticity was 60s folk star Bob Dylan. Dylans first electric album rainy day woman had a enormous impact on his fans. The fans were enraged at his desertion from the authentic folk roots that he was so well known for. He received some credit with the fact that his lyrics and song topics were still awarded as authentic. Dylans song were known to make a strong stand toward politics, and had simple lyrics but had complex understanding. Then there are artists like John Mayer, who keep to the authenticity on every level, but seems to add his own modern twist. Mayer is a well known blues guitarist who keeps to his ‘bluesy guitar riffs, but with a sound of a distorted guitar. Mayer at times has also been subjected to the ‘pop commercial genre, with his higher pitched voice and for his criticized lyrics. Artists like these prove that authenticity in music, does not mean that it has to be exactly like the origins it came from. Certain authors have pondered that this distinction may be misleading, but even so, have divided authenticity into several categories (Moore, 2002): first person authenticity, where original music is performed in a manner that makes the audience believe the music is authentic: that is, authentically created, and performed; and third person authenticity, where a performer of music succeeds in conveying the impression of having accurately conveyed the expression of an – absent – other (Moore, 2002). Authenticity is assumed, by many authors, to be inscribed to a musician or performer, yet this assumption is wholly wrong, in that authenticity is actually ascribed to musicians and performers. Authenticity, as a value, is something that must be constructed by each and every listener personally, according to their own response to the music in question. It is only after the listener sees the performance of the music by the musician, that they can begin to understand the musicians relationship to the piece, and their interpretation of the piece, and only then can the musician be said to have any authenticity. The following is based on this view of authenticity as an ascribed value. Eric Clapton and his music are used as an example by many authors on the subject of authenticity in music, and these discussions invariably fall into Moores (2002) second category of authenticity: third-person authenticity. Eric Clapton, a highly able and respected musician, gained a huge worldwide following in the 1960s for his interpretations and performances, solo and with his band, Cream. I say ‘interpretation as many of the songs that Clapton, and Cream performed, such as Crossroads, were not original songs, and were re-worked by Clapton. Crossroads was a song originally written and performed by the country blues star Robert Johnson (Moore, 2002). Johnson led a tragic life, dying early in mysterious circumstances, and living his life as a poor man, with only his guitar for comfort, on which he composed blues music, through which he explored his own life through distorting the sound of the instrument to provide an analogue for his own tortured soul (Moore, 2002). It is argued that, to a certain extent, when Clapton performed Crossroads, he did not authenticate Johnsons music by reinforcement, rather his interpretation of Johnsons song authenticated Claptons own musical presence (Moore, 2002). It was the appropriation of the ‘black blues tradition, of which Johnson was a part, which gave Clapton the material through which he constructed himself as an authentic performer (Moore, 2002). Claptons appropriation of the ‘black blues tradition was then cemented by his full discovery of this tradition, from BB King to Freddie and Albert King, from country blues through to Robert Johnson (Moore, 2002). This tracing of the origins of a practice back to the originator of the practice thus reinforces the tradition to the tracer: this phenomenon, and is well known in discussions of authenticity in popular music (Moore, 2002); this process is also necessarily circular, as Clapton was authenticated via his appropriation of Johnson, who was then authenticated by his appropriation by an artist he himself had a great deal of respect for (Moore, 2002), since only music that is worth acquiring will be appropriated. As Moore (2002) argues, Clapton conveyed the message ‘this is what it is like to be me to his audience, using the message ‘this is what it was like to be Johnson. Thus, authenticity of execution (Moore, 2002) arises when a performer succeeds in conveying the impression of accurately conveying the expression of an absent other (Moore, 2002), and Clapton is a particularly apt example of this third-person authenticity. Thus, during his performances of particular songs (for example, Crossroads) Clapton speaks the truth of his own situation, as during his performances, he can only convey his own particular expression of a particular song openly, honestly and therefore, truthfully. As to whether Clapton manages to convey the truth of the situation of absent others, this is a difficult one to answer. In order for an audience to believe that Clapton is conveying the truth of an absent other, the audience needs to know that Clapton has respect for that absent other, enough respect to have made a thorough study of the tradition to which that musician belonged, a study which allows Claptons interpretation of that particular piece of music to be authentic in the sense of being true to its origins. As to whether Clapton speaks the truth of his own culture and thereby represents present others when performing the music of absent others, this is an even more difficult point of discussion. This point needs to rely on a meaning for the word ‘culture in order to fully answer this question, and this is difficult. Can Clapton, a white man, from a white culture, ever delve deeply enough in to a tradition to be able to authentically convey music from an entirely different (‘black) culture? Cultural purists would argue not, but in todays multicultural society, the answer to this question is increasingly (and increasingly believably) likely to be yes, at least for white audiences, and for ‘blacks who agree with the idea, and principles, of cross-cultural artistic expression. However, it has to be recognized that there are certain tensions and resistance encountered in the process of cross-cultural appropriation of music, particularly in this case, as it concerns the black community, who see their musical heritage as something pure, a badge of identity entirely their own. This is entirely understandable, particularly in reference to appropriation of the blues tradition by whites, as blues is a black music, which arose out of unspeakable suppression and hardship at the hands of the white man. Tensions that arise from within the black community at the (mis)use of the blues tradition by whites should therefore be listened to, and could also be used as a lesson to learn from. A recent book by Todd Gitlin (2001) argues that we, as a society, are becoming so overwhelmed with information from the media, in so many varieties of the media, that we are becoming immune to its lure, and are even beginning to shy away from this media onslaught. It seems that one way people can avoid this media onslaught is to search out authentic performances from authentic musicians, as this would guarantee quality and purity of enjoyment. Authenticity of an artists like Clapton, really come down to the listeners and their opinion on whether or not the artists is authentic. Music has always been about the listeners, so they are the only ones who can really decide what is authentic. Most fans will say the authentic ones are the ones who ‘keep it real, which is just another way of saying keeping it true to the original genre. Which makes Authenticity in music a very long ongoing topic. There will always be those who say ‘he is to commercial for me and those who will think that that artists perfected and recreated a new side of the authentic origin. Artists, like Clapton, who appropriate music from other cultures, and who we can argue do this in a compassionate manner, are perhaps the guiding lights for many of todays media-overwhelmed generation; they serve, for many, as a good introduction to the traditions from which such music is drawn, from which point the interested can do their own research and discover the authentic music from which such adaptations are developed. Cross-cultural musical evolution can only be a process for good in terms of the development of music, as long as authenticity and the ‘donor culture are respected.

Investment Appraisal Reading

Investment Appraisal Reading Section 1 Introduction 1.1 This report is an investment appraisal for the property Pink Plaza. Pink Plaza is a 17 year old six storey office building located in the centre of Reading. 1.2 The report includes both a short and long term appraisal of Pink Plaza. The short term appraisal assumes a five year holding period, whilst the long term appraisal assumes a major refurbishment of the whole building after the lease expiry of the ground and first floors (from March 2019). In each scenario an investment value for Pink Plaza has been calculated. 1.3 Pink Plaza was constructed as prime office space in 1989. It is located in Reading town centre and is in close proximity to the mainline railway station. The property is a six storey office block currently let to 4 different tenants. Each storey has a gross internal area of 34,432 sq ft, of which 31,204 sq ft is useable office space. The property has never been refurbished. Section 2 Reading Office Market 2.1 Reading is an established regional commercial centre, located approximately 40 miles west of central London, and 4 miles north of junctions 10, 11 and 12 of the M4 Motorway. The town has good rail, road and air links. 2.2 In terms of employment 9% of the Reading workforce is employed in financial intermediation compared to 4.7% in England and Wales. 2.2 The Reading office market benefited particularly from the rapid growth of high-tech industries in the 1990s. However 2000 saw rapid consolidation in this sector of the market with the sudden end of the â€Å"Dot Com† boom. As a result take-up of office space in Reading fell significantly. Since then take-up has gradually begun to improve with 2005 seeing the highest Reading town centre office take-up (107,331 sq ft) since 2001. 2.3 With the end of the â€Å"Dot Com† boom the Reading office market saw a considerable increase in the amount of surplus office space available. Since then the market has stabilised with the amount of available office space still high but the lack of occupier demand putting developers off building any new speculative office developments. Office supply in the town centre now stands at 761,109 sq ft (2004: 809,647 sq ft). Section 3 Reading Rental Values 3.1 Recent deals on Grade A space suggest that prime market rents in Reading town centre are  £23- £25 per sq ft. This can be seen with Apex Plaza (Barclays Bank plc) achieving a rent of  £23.50 per sq ft, Davidson House (Lloyds TSB) achieving a rent of  £24 per sq ft and Abbey Gardens (Huntswood Ltd) achieving a rent of  £25 per sq ft. Therefore within this appraisal it will be assumed that a prime market rent within Reading is currently  £24 per sq ft. The current rental value of Pink Plaza is estimated to be  £20.90 per sq ft. This figure is based on rental evidence from four comparable properties. 3.2 Apex Plaza -3.2.1 Apex Plaza is a landmark office building in central Reading. It consists of four linked office buildings totalling approximately 205,000 sq ft. -3.2.2 It was originally built in 1989, and is located in a prime position next to Reading railway station. In 2004 Apex Plaza underwent a  £2 million re-fit. -3.2.4 On 2 October 2006 Barclays Bank plc took 6148 sq ft of office space within Apex Plaza on a 14-year lease at  £23.50 per sq ft. -3.2.5 Apex Plaza is a very good comparable property with similarities in size, location and age. However due to the fact that it underwent a re-fit in 2004 its rental value of approximately  £23.50 per sq ft will be higher than that of Pink Plaza. 3.3 Aquis House -3.3.1 Aquis House is a 5 storey office property of approximately 50,000 sq ft. The property is located directly opposite the railway station in the centre of Reading. -3.3.2 The property is on the site of the former Reading central post and sorting office and was redeveloped in 1994. -3.3.3 On 1 May 2006 Horwath Clark Whitehill took 9815 sq ft of second-floor office space on a 7-year lease at  £21 per sq ft. -3.3.4 Aquis House is a good comparable property due to its similarity in terms of location. The property was redeveloped in 1994, five years after Pink Plaza was built, and therefore its rental value of approximately  £21 per sq ft will be higher than that of Pink Plaza. 3.4 Minerva House -3.4.1 Minerva House is located in central Reading. It comprises of office accommodation arranged over 5 floors totalling approximately 59,200 sq ft. -3.4.2 The property was originally built in 1987 and now requires a major refurbishment. -3.4.3 On 1 July 2005 Provecta Car Plan Ltd took 465 sq m of office space on a new three year FRI lease at  £17 per sq ft. -3.4.4 Despite similarities in terms of age and location the property currently requires major refurbishment. It can therefore be concluded that Pink Plaza would command a higher rental value. 3.5 Abbey Gate -3.5.1 Abbey Gate was constructed in 1986 and comprises of a headquarter specification office building arranged over the ground and three upper floors together with storage space on the fourth floor, totalling approximately 44,203 sq ft. -3.5.2 The property is reasonably centrally located with Reading railway station approximately 0.6 miles away. -3.5.3 On 4 November 2005 an undisclosed tenant took 13,117 sq ft of third floor office space on a sublease expiring in May 2010 at  £20.80 per sq ft. -3.5.4 Abbey Gate is three years older than Pink Plaza and is less centrally located. Pink Plaza would therefore be expected to command a higher rental value. 3.6 Conclusion From looking at evidence from four comparable properties it is possible to establish a current rental value for Pink Plaza. Its rental value appears to be between  £20.80 and  £21 per sq ft. It has therefore been concluded that the current rental value for Pink Plaza is approximately  £20.90 per sq ft. From this estimate it can be concluded that Pink Plaza is currently over rented as passing rents in the building range from approximately  £22 per sq ft up to  £28 per sq ft. Section 4 Rental Growth 4.1 Office rental growth The Investment Property Forum forecasts rental growth for all offices between 2006 and 2010 to be approximately 4.5% pa. 4.2 Depreciation 4.2.1 Depreciation has been defined as â€Å"the rate of decline in rental/capital value of an asset (or group of assets) over time relative to the asset (or group of assets) valued as a new contemporary specification.† (Law, 2004) 4.2.2 There have been a number of previous studies of the impact of depreciation on real estate, particularly in the UK. Law (2004) analysed all of these studies and found that the seemingly consistent results were an illusion as they all used a variety of measurement methods and data. 4.2.3 The figure used for depreciation in this report is based on findings from the Investment Property Forum report, ‘Depreciation in Commercial Property Markets (2005). 4.2.4 It must be highlighted that results are complicated by the period of analysis that the report uses, with analysis starting in the aftermath of the major U.K. real estate recession of the early 1990s. 4.2.5 The report, using a 19 year sample, from 1984 to 2003, establishes office rental depreciation to be approximately 1.0%. 4.3 Conclusion 4.3.1 From these findings the assumed net rental growth rate used in this appraisal will be 3.47%. 4.3.2 This figure is established using the following formula: -Net rental growth rate = ((1 + Rental Growth) / (1 + Depreciation)) -1 = ((1 + 4.5%) / (1 + 1.0%)) -1 = 3.47% Section 5 Reading Office Yields 5.1 In the second quarter of 2006 it has been reported that in the Thames Valley prime yields are just below 5% net initial yield (NIY). Within Reading prime yields appear to be higher than this figure. This can be seen in the example of Prudential Campus, 121 Kings Road: 5.2 Prudential Campus, 121 Kings Road -121 Kings Road is located in central Reading. It comprises of office accommodation arranged in three linked blocks with five floors totalling approximately 179,929 sq ft. The property was completed in 1992 and was formerly Huntley Palmer factory. -On 9 August 2006 Oppenheim Property Fund Management purchased the freehold interest from IM Properties plc for  £66 million, as an investment, reflecting a NIY yield of 6.17% and an ARY of 7.22%. 5.3 Using figures from the CBRE UK Prime Rent and Yield Index it can be seen that there has been a steady compression of yield levels in the South East office sector and in the overall national office sector since 2004. Graph 1 below demonstrates this. Graph 1 5.4 This yield compression can be linked to the strong investor demand for U.K. property that has been seen during this period. Direct property has performed extremely well during this period and once again 2006 sees direct property outperforming gilts and equities. 5.5 Despite continued investor demand for U.K property, latest forecasts predict that yield compression in the office sector will gradually slow. But higher levels of rental value growth over the next few years will provide valuable support to maintain current yield levels. 5.6 This report has forecasted an ARY for a refurbished Pink Plaza of 6.75%. This figure is based upon current prime ARY comparables and by forecasting an ARY trend line using the CBRE UK Prime Rent and Yield Index. 5.7 Clearly the unrefurbished Pink Plaza cannot expect to achieve such a low yield as an equivalent prime (new or refurbished) property in Reading. There are a number of comparables that can be used when forecasting an ARY for an unrefurbished Pink Plaza. 5.8 Minerva House -Minerva House is located in central Reading. It comprises of office accommodation arranged over 5 floors totalling approximately 59,200 sq ft. The property requires major refurbishment. -On 10 June 2006 Schroders plc purchased the freehold interest from Miller Developments Ltd for  £12 million, as an investment, reflecting a NIY of 6.75% and an ARY of 8.0%. 5.9 Reading Bridge House -Reading Bridge House is located in central Reading. It comprises of office accommodation arranged over 9 floors totalling approximately 114,960 sq ft. The property was built in 1975 and was refurbished in 1986, since then no further work has been carried out. -On 1 December 2006 Jones Lang LaSalle Limited purchased the freehold interest from Exemplar Properties Limited for  £30 million reflecting a net initial yield of 6.40% and an ARY of 7.65%. 5.10 Added to this comparable evidence it is forecasted that in the Thames Valley office sector investors will continue to chase well-located, rack-rented stock with a significant percentage seeking active management and refurbishment/development opportunities. Therefore it is likely that there will be continued yield compression for properties that match these characteristics such as Pink Plaza. 5.11 The ARY for Pink Plaza unrefurbished is estimated to be 7.75%; this is based upon comparable evidence and forecasted information. Section 6 Building Costs 6.1 The BCIS provide current estimate building costs for office refurbishment. Unfortunately the BCIS only provide estimate figures for (a) 3-5 storey and (b) 6+ storey buildings. Pink Plaza is a 6 storey building. Within this appraisal the figures provided for a 3-5 storey building will be of greater accuracy and would be more appropriate to use than those of a 6+ storey building. The BCIS estimates that it currently costs  £37.64 per sq ft to refurbish an office building of 3-5 storeys. This figure is a mean average and may differ significantly from the actual cost of refurbishing Pink Plaza. 6.2 The building will be available for refurbishment in March 2019, the refurbishment will take up to two years (including sale period) and therefore the building cost is inflated over a 14 year period. The assumed growth rate is 5.84%. This figure is an average of the building cost inflation forecast for 2006 to 2011. Section 7 Other Costs 7.1 The management cost of this property is calculated as 1% pa of the value of the rental income. 7.2 The cost of rent review is assumed to be 4% of the new annual rent at each review. 7.3 The cost of purchase is assumed to be 5.75% of the purchase price. 7.4 The cost of sale is assumed to be 2.5% of the sale price. Section 8 Target Rate of Return 8.1 The Target Rate of Return (TRR) is 3% above the rate on a medium term Government bond. 8.2 The current rate on a medium term Government bond is currently 5.09%. 8.3 TRR= Risk Free Return + Risk Premium = 5.09% + 3% = 8.09% Section 9 Pink Plaza- Lease Considerations 9.1 It has been reported that during 2005, in the U.K office market, 26% of expired leases were renewed. 9.2 In terms of occupiers exercising break clauses it has been reported that in the office sector the propensity to break for over rented units is 61%. More detailed analysis has shown that it was tenants in larger office units that have been taking advantage of the option to exercise their breaks. 9.3 The standard void rate for South East offices is approximately 14 months. Within this report it has been assumed to be 15 months. This is due to the high supply of office space that exists within Reading (See 2.3) in comparison to other areas within the South East region. 9.4 In the U.K office sector the tenant default rate was 0.6%. 9.5 Large Financial Institution A occupies a net usable space of 62,408 sq ft on the ground and first floors of Pink Plaza. They currently pay  £1,750,000 pa which works out as  £28.04 per sq ft. Their thirty year lease began in March 1989 and provides for upwards only rent reviews (UORRs) every 5 years. There are no breaks. Therefore it is assumed that the space will be occupied until March 2019. 9.6 A Major Bank occupies a net usable space of 62,408 sq ft on the second and third floors. They currently pay  £1,750,000 pa which works out at  £28.04 per square foot. Their twenty-five year lease began in March 1990 and provides for UORRs every five years. There is a break at years ten and twenty. It has been assumed within this report that the Bank will exercise its break clause in March 2010. This is due to the fact that the property is currently over rented and that it has been found that tenants in larger office units are more likely to exercise their break clauses. There will then be a void period for five quarters until it is re-let for the current market rent on a seven year lease. It has been assumed that this lease will have an UORR in year five, and will expire in June 2018 with the occupiers then vacating the premises ready for the refurbishment in March 2019. 9.7 Large Financial Institution B occupies a net usable space of 31,204 sq ft on the fourth floor. They currently pay  £775,000 pa which works out at  £24.84 per sq ft. Their ten year lease began in December 2000 and provides for UORRs every 5 years. There are no breaks. It is assumed that the accommodation will be occupied until December 2010. It has then been assumed that the space will remain vacant for five quarters until it is re-let for the current market rent. The new lease will be a seven year lease with a UORR in year five. The lease will expire in March 2019 with the occupiers vacating the premises in time for the planned refurbishment. 9.8 Large Solicitors occupies a net usable space of 31204 sq ft on the fifth floor. They currently pay  £700,000 pa which works out as  £22.43 per sq ft. Their fifteen year lease began in March 1998 and provides for UORRs every 5 years. There is an opportunity to break at year ten. The company has just recently laid off 10% of its staff. It has been assumed that the solicitors will exercise their break in March 2008 due to the property being over rented and the fact that they are downsizing. It has then been assumed that the space will remain vacant for five quarters until it is re-let for the current market rent. The new lease will be a nine year lease with a UORR in year five. The lease will expire in June 2018 with the occupiers vacating the premises for the planned refurbishment. Section 10 Summary 10.1 Based upon the specific requirements set out in the clients instructions and the figures that have been forecasted within this report, a short term investment appraisal of Pink Plaza estimates an investment value of  £66,859,450. Therefore if the client, based on their current requirements, decided to purchase Pink Plaza as a short term investment with an assumed five year holding period their maximum offer should be equal to this figure. 10.2 The long term investment appraisal estimates an investment value for Pink Plaza of  £70,129,034. This assumes a 15 year holding period with a major refurbishment planned after the lease expiry of the ground and first floor in March 2019. Therefore if a long term strategy is adopted for Pink Plaza the clients maximum offer should be equal to this figure. 10.3 It should be noted that these figures do not include any purchase costs which are currently estimated to be 5.75% of the purchase price. 10.3 Many of the figures used in this investment appraisal are based upon short-term forecasts and current comparables. Forecasting 15 years in advance on the basis of this data is problematic. Therefore close attention should be paid to the Reading business market in relation to the wider office market. Current trends suggest that Reading will maintain its position as a key location for business services. Constraints on town centre supply will also favour growth in this sub-market and with Pink Plazas prime location in Reading there is reason for optimism.

The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst Essay -- James Hurst Scarlet Ibis

The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst Foreshadowing, symbolism, and image are all elements which compose style.   All are very important; foreshadowing adds suspense, and symbolism contributes to interpretation.   Image contributes "visual aids" which, also, aid interpretation.   In this classic short story, "The Scarlet Ibis," by James Hurst, foreshadowing, symbolism, and image combine to create a true literary masterpiece. Foreshadowing is one of the elements of style which make "The Scarlet Ibis" great.   For example, the author states, "The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted [through] our house, speaking softly the names of our dead."   This passage clearly foreshadows the death of Doodle.   Also, Hurst comments on Doodle's full name, "William Armstrong," that "such a name sounds good only on a tombstone," again foreshadowing Doodle's death.   Later, Doodle's cries of "Don't leave me!   Don't leave me!" are a parallel to the moment when the terrified little boy once again cries out, "Don't leave me!" when his older brother does actually leave him.   Moreover, Aunt Nicey says... ...n image of desolate grief that the lone brother feels for his lifeless sibling.   Image is truly the most important element in the style of this story. In "The Scarlet Ibis," foreshadowing, symbolism, and image are demonstrated to their full potential.   The frequent foreshadowing hints darkly at Doodle's death, and the unmistakable symbol of the scarlet ibis for Doodle heightens the effect of the image created when the brother huddles over his "fallen scarlet ibis."   Foreshadowing, symbolism, and image really contribute to this story's unique style.

The Genome Revolution :: Genetics Biology Hereditary Essays Papers

Ever since the rediscovery of Gregor Mendal’s pea plant experiments through which he determined the laws of hereditary, new interests in the Genome Revolution ignited. Opinions were across the charts from being drastically pessimistic to the contrasting optimistic. Through the years up to recent day, issues concerning the impact of the fields of medicine, reproduction, insurance, law and even our sense of self have completely filled the minds of those who are in touch with the happenings of the Genome Revolution, whether they are against or for it. The affects of the Genome Revolution will be felt both individually and also as a society. In the Rio Grande Valley, the mentality of the people is for the most part that of indifference, because they feel they are not affected by most occurrences through out the world. For instance, when the horrible catastrophe of 9-11 occurred, the rest of the country was frightened of another attack, but my peers and myself disregar ded the possibility of the attack being in our particular part of Texas. With the Genome Revolution moving along at full throttle, the Rio Grande Valley will receive a shocking revelation: that people in the Valley will be affected by the changes and discoveries in this particular field of science, and that they may be able to afford to sequence their own genome. With the advancement of the Genome Revolution, the consequences will start being felt in the near future. The field of Medicine will greatly be furthered with the help of genome sequencing. By making it possible to make plants with drugs in their DNA structure, people will be able to take the drug in a purer, safer form because the plant is not susceptible to human or animal diseases such as potatoes that contain a drug for liver cirrhosis. With the Rio Grande Valley being so close to the border of Mexico, many diseases tend to get passed over to the United States causing the people in the Valley to take precaution of these dangers by using injected vaccinations. I know that I would rather eat a fruit that contained the vaccine for influenza than get a shot every year. On the other hand, the seeds of a plant such as this could somehow get released uncontrollably into the environment and effect it in an unpredictable way.

Ethnic Literature Essay

American literature is just that American literature. American literature is stories of people lives that are based on American standards. Early American standards where based around slavery and oppression but now they are based on freedoms like freedom of speech and press. America has been through many time periods that has shaped it into the wonderful nation that we have today. True American literature is about life in the United States. This paper will create an understanding about American ethnic literature. What is literary canon? How does literary canon relate to what is going on in society? Is traditional American literature multicultural? Literary canon is a classification of literature that is used to describe books or literature that is considered to be important of a time period or place. For writing to become canonized, it has to become widely respected by influential literary critics, scholars, teachers, and anyone that is respected in opinions and judgments regarding literary work. A canonized piece of literature becomes very popular and is studied by students in thousand of classrooms around the world (Casey, 2009) Canonized literature reflects the norms or standards that society follows for a certain time period and location. As society changes so does the type of literature that is canonized (Casey, 2009). For example the biggest topic that people are writing about now is the so called end of the world but about one hundred years ago it was about freedom and anti slavery. In my opinion traditional American Literature is multicultural because the American population is a mixture of so many other cultures. The United States is a melting pot of cultures of the world and that is what makes the US so interesting. Please define â€Å"ethnic literature† and then indicate what you think the value is in studying it, in your opinion? What special challenges do ethnic writers have within the American literary experience? Ethnic literature is piece of writing that is written by people from different cultures, languages, or religion. For example, Native American literature includes â€Å"memories of creation stories, the tragic wisdom of native ceremonies, trickster narratives, and the outcome of chance and other occurrences in the most diverse cultures in the world† (Vizenor, 1995, p. 1). People with the mix of Spanish, Native American, and African cultures have created Hispanic American literature (Kanellos, 1995). In my opinion, there are many reasons why ethnic literature should be studied. Reason One: When you read â€Å"true† literature writing from other religions, you can gain â€Å"true† understanding of what the religion is all about. For example I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The LDS or Mormon Church as known by many is a very misunderstood religion. A study of â€Å"true† ethnic literature in this case would eliminate any misunderstanding that people have about the LDS Church. Reason Two: There are certain cultures that we do not know anything about and when we read about them, we will be able to understand why they do certain things. I want to call this cultural understanding. We have all heard the saying, â€Å"You can’t judge a book by its cover. † then we shouldn’t judge a religion or a culture by the things they do until we understand why they do those things. How do ethnic writers define literature? How does that differ from the canon of traditional American literature? â€Å"Traditional† American literature and ethnic literature differ based on the back ground of the author. â€Å"Traditional† American literature is influenced by culture within the United States. Ethnic literature is influenced by culture outside of the United States. The author Mark Twain comes to mind first because he is a talented American author that wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and later Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. Both of these novel get their story lines and settings from Twain life and growing up in Hannibal Missouri. Twain based these novels culturally in the United States and not in another country. If Twain would have based these novels in another country they would be considered ethnic literature is stead of â€Å"traditional† literature. These novels would have been totally different based in another culture. Life in the United States is far different then life in Africa or Nigeria. Parts of Africa are considered third world countries. Traditional America literature is based in the US. What historical, socio-political, and cultural topics might be covered by ethnic writers? How does this differ from the canon of traditional American literature? Slavery and Voting Rights are major topics covered by ethnic writers. How are the American literary themes of liberty, opportunity and equality addressed in ethnic literature? American history is full of stories about liberty, opportunity, and equality for other ethnic groups. For example Blacks had to fight for the same freedoms that where give to Whites in the early years of our wonderful nation. Many novels where written trying to Early American standards where based around slavery and oppression but now they are based on freedoms like freedom of speech and press. America has been through many time periods that has shaped it into the wonderful nation that we have today. True American literature is about life in the United States. References Casey, J. (2009). Canon Issues and Class Contexts: Teaching American Literature from a Market Perspective. Radical Teacher, (86), 18-27. Dickstein, M. (2007). Going Native: When American literature became good enough for Americans, what happened to the literary canon?. American Scholar, 76(1), 150-155. Kanellos, N. (1995). Hispanic American literature. A brief introduction and anthology. New York, NY: Addison-Wesley. Vizenor, G. (1995). Native American literature. A brief introduction and anthology. New York, NY: Addison-Wesley.