The Effects of Burning Essay Example for Free

The Effects of Burning Essay This study analyzes the effect of burning on the decay process, abundance of invertebrate fauna, and the diversity of invertebrate fauna in the pig liver samples; effect of the length of decay to the diversity of soil invertebrate fauna; and, the effect of the length of decay to the numbers of the soil invertebrate fauna. Two hundred grams (440 lbs) samples of pig (Sus scrofa L. ) liver were utilized in this experiment by exposing it to the grassland soil environment around Byrom Street Complex between 2 days and 4 weeks. At day 3, 7, 10, 14, and 17 burnt and unburnt liver samples and five soil cores from underneath the liver samples were collected and placed at -20 °C to prevent further degradation and multiplication of the invertebrate fauna present in the sample. Then the invertebrates present in the pig liver samples and soil cores were extracted, identified, and counted. The study results which were tested with a two sided t-test shows evidence that there is significant effect of burning in the abundance of invertebrate fauna in the corpse of vertebrate animal species. Burning decreases the number of invertebrate fauna colonizing the dead body remains. The t-test analysis of the data gathered also proves the significance of the relationship between the rate of decay of dead body remains and the burning. The study concludes that the invertebrate fauna abundance does not increase in relation to the length of decay. The Effects of Burning on Diversity and Numbers of Invertebrate Fauna in Decaying Dead Bodies of Vertebrate Animals and Soil with Decaying Dead Matter INTRODUCTION Decaying vertebrate remains are good food source for insects whilst these insects are also of significance in the decomposition of these remains. The scavenging invertebrate fauna of vertebrate body remains today is utilized as important tools in the identification of the time elapsed since the death of the body. Continuous research has been done on the matter thus the emergence of forensic entomology which is the employment of invertebrate fauna such as arthropods, earthworms, and slugs in determining the time elapse from the death of the vertebrate animals especially human beings(Gomes, 2006). This field in forensic science known specifically as medicocriminal or medicolegal entomology which focus on the utilization of arthropod evidence for the criminal investigation of wrongful or unexplained deaths has gained significant importance in legal medicine(Tabor, 2004). Body temperature and conditions like rigor mortis or livor mortis are insignificant factors to consider during cases wherein the human carcass has been found days after his or her death. During these cases the insects that colonize the decaying dead human’s remains can provide information about the postmortem interval (PMI). Evidence that can serve as tool for the measurement of the PMI can be provided by the age of the immature stages of insects existing in the human carcass(Gomes, 2006). Established data regarding the development of arthropods which are significant in forensic investigations on the dead body remains that are derived through various controlled studies are employed in the conduct of forensic entomology(Tabor, 2004). Various conditions though like the species of invertebrate animals to be considered and the climatic condition of the location of death affect the accuracy of the information provided by this forensic entomology(Gomes, 2006). Thus, there is a necessity to conduct studies and establish arthropod colonization patterns in corpse of different locations of the globe. The progression of the global acceptance of forensic entomology in the investigation of criminal cases like murders catalyzed the various studies and researches conducted on this matter. The insects belonging to the family Calliphoridae which is commonly known as â€Å"blowflies† in particular are currently employed as biological clock for the determination of the time of death for more than two weeks. Some of the other insects found to be of significant importance in forensic entomology are: Chrysomya spp. , Cochliomyia spp. , Lucilia spp. , Fannia spp. , Drosophila spp. , Musca spp. , Nasonia spp. , Tineola spp. , Geotrupes spp. , and Necrobia spp(Gomes, 2006). The earliest invertebrates which will colonize dead body remains of vertebrate animals including humans are the necrophilus fly species which are of the family Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae. When the maggots of these invertebrates arise, beetles which belong to the families Staphylidae, Silphidae, and Histeridae are the next ones to colonize the corpse because they fed on the maggots of the necrophilus flies. Beetles that are under the family Dermestidae are usually the late ones to colonize the dead body remains of vertebrates because they thrive on dry stages of decomposing corpse. In different locations around the globe there is variation in the patterns of invertebrate fauna colonization due to the variations in arthropod families thriving factors(Tabor, 2004). The general objective of this study is to verify the utilization of invertebrate fauna as indicators of the time elapsed from the death of the vertebrate animal. The specific objectives of this study are to determine the following: the existence of the effect of burning on the decay process, abundance of invertebrate fauna, and the diversity of invertebrate fauna in the pig liver samples; effect of the length of decay to the diversity of soil invertebrate fauna; and, the effect of the length of decay to the numbers of the soil invertebrate fauna MATERIALS AND METHODS Studies associated to forensic entomology use various types of carcasses like that of the dogs, pigs, and calves. In this study, samples of the pig (Sus scrofa) liver were utilized because whilst it is the widely utilized and acceptable animal model, humans have similar characteristics with this animal specie such as the type of digestive system and the omnivorous characteristic. Two hundred grams (440 lbs) samples of pig liver were utilized for the experiments. All the pig livers were placed on the same day on the surface of the grassland soil around Byrom Street Complex between 2 days and 4 weeks. Wire coverings were utilized to prevent seagulls and other scavengers from consuming the pig liver samples placed in the grassland soil. All the samples have the same exposure to the weather and invertebrate infestation. The pig liver samples were of two types the burnt and unburned (control) samples. At day 3, 7, 10, 14, and 17 burnt and unburnt liver samples were collected and placed at -20 °C to prevent further degradation and multiplication of the invertebrate fauna present in the samples. The unburnt and burnt liver samples utilized in the experiment were identical in number. The liver samples which were used as the burnt variable were first covered with petrol before being burnt until crisp, dry, and black in the outer surface. In each same time intervals, five soil cores were collected from underneath the liver samples. The invertebrates which were present in these soil cores were extracted, identified, and counted. During the examination time, the pig liver samples from the temperature of -20 °C were weighed and then the colour and the state of decay were noted. The invertebrates which were present in the in the pig liver samples were extracted, identified, and counted. The larvae of flies were classified into first, second, or third instar. The taxonomic groupings like the phylum, orders, and genus of the invertebrates collected from the pig liver samples were included in the identification, classification, and recording of the invertebrate species present in the samples. The species considered in the identification and classification of the invertebrate fauna extracted from the pig liver samples were: species under suborder Nematocera, Stratiomyia species, Fannia spp. , Calliphora spp. (blowflies), species of family Lumbricidae (Earthworms), species of class Gastropoda (Slugs), species of Subclass Acari (Mites), species of order Collembola, species of order Diplura, Superclass Myriapoda (Millipedes and Centipedes), and species of family Carabidae. All the observations were recorded and tabulated after the experimentation proper. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS There are a variety of data gathered in this study thus the t-test was employed not only once in the analysis of the diverse gathered data. To determine the effect of burning on the abundance of invertebrate fauna in the decaying body remains a two sided t-test is done. The hypothesis (ho) is that the number of Calliphora spp. colonizing the decomposing vertebrate animal part is equal in the burnt and unburnt pig liver samples. The effect of burning on the rate of decomposition of body tissues was also analyzed through a two way t-test and the hypothesis (ho) is that the rate of decay process is equal in both the burnt and unburnt pig liver samples. Abundance of invertebrate fauna in soil in relation to the length of pig liver sample decay is determined by a two sided t-test with the hypothesis (ho) that the invertebrate fauna abundance RESULTS The primary invertebrate fauna which was observed in this study is the blowflies or Calliphora species. There are other species that were extracted from the liver sample though but the numbers are lesser than ten for each species and compared to the number of the Calliphora species the collected other invertebrate species are insignificant in number. The results of the two sided t-test done for the determination if burning has effects on the abundance of invertebrate species implies that indeed burning vertebrate animal carcass is associated with decreased number of Calliphora spp. compared to the invertebrate animal species collected in the raw pig liver samples. At ? =10%, the computed value for /ttab/ is 1. 622 which is greater than ttab =1. 303. Then hypothesis (ho) which is the number of Calliphora spp. colonizing the decomposing vertebrate animal part is equal in the burnt and unburnt pig liver samples was rejected. Thus, the ha that is the number of Calliphora spp. collected from the raw pig liver samples are greater than the number of Calliphora spp. collected from the burnt pig liver sample is accepted. Therefore, there is significant evidence which supports that burning affects the abundance of invertebrate fauna colonizing vertebrate animal corpse by creating a condition that facilitates the decrease of the number of the invertebrate fauna being able to colonize the burnt vertebrate animal corpse. The existence larvae in the control liver pig samples were observed only until day 7 and the stage of larvae development is in the 1st and 2nd instar in both the raw (unburnt) and burnt pig liver samples. On the 10th day, a reduction in the number of Calliphora spp. larvae is observed whilst there is the development of some of the larvae into the third instar stage hence the stages of larvae observed in this collection period were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd instars for the unburnt pig liver samples. In the burnt liver samples the larval stages were not identified. On day 14, the numbers of Calliphora species extracted continued to decrease whilst the larval stages are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd instar for the unburnt pig liver samples. The Callipora spp. larvae collected from the burnt pig liver samples on day 14 are on the 3rd instar. On the 17th day a greater reduction in the number of Calliphora species present is observed but mainly the larval stage is the 3rd instar (Table 1). SAMPLES DAY 1 DAY 7 DAY 10 DAY 14 DAY 17 Raw liver sample 1 no larvae 1st 2nd instar larvae 1st, 2nd and 3rd instar larvae 1st, 2nd and 3rd instar larvae no larvae Raw liver sample 2 no larvae 1st 2nd instar larvae 1st, 2nd and 3rd instar larvae 2nd and 3rd instar larvae 3rd instar larvae Burnt liver sample 1 no larvae 1st 2nd instar larvae Larval stage not identified 3rd instar larvae 3rd instar larvae Burnt liver sample 2 no larvae 1st 2nd instar larvae Larval stage not identified 3rd instar larvae 3rd instar larvae Table 1. The stages of larval development observed in the burnt and unburnt pig liver samples. The effect of burning on the rate of decomposition of body tissues (pig liver samples) were analyzed also using a two sided t-test. Since the data on the burnt and unburnt pig liver samples have two replicates the average of this data was used in the analysis. A graph of this average shows the difference of the decomposition rate of body tissues in the raw state and the burnt state (Figure 1). There is an observable greater decrease in tissue mass of the raw pig liver samples onwhen compared to the tissue mass decay of the burnt pig liver samples. The two sided t-test analysis result reject the hypothesis (ho) is that the rate of decay process is equal in both the burnt and unburnt pig liver samples. The computed value for /ttab/ at ? =10% is 1. 899. This is greater than ttab =1. 303 , thus the null hypothesis (ho) is rejected and the alternative hypothesis which is raw pig liver sample tissue decomposed (in kilograms) is greater than the tissue decomposed in the burnt pig liver samples. The rate of decomposition thus is faster in unburnt vertebrate body remains when compared to the burnt body remains. The number of invertebrate colonization in the soil in relation to the length of corpse decay in the different sample types is shown in figure 2. In each sample type (control, raw, and burnt pig liver samples) there were 6 replicates thus the values of the replicates were averaged and then tabulated and converted into a graph. The graph shows that in both the raw (unburnt) and burnt pig liver samples the peak number of invertebrates collected is in day 7. There was greater number of invertebrates collected in the soil with burnt pig liver sample (average of 234 invertebrates) on the 7th day collection compared to the collected invertebrates in the soil with raw pig liver sample. Abundance of invertebrate fauna in soil in relation to the length of pig liver sample decay is determined by a two sided t-test with the hypothesis (ho) that the invertebrate fauna abundance (number of invertebrates) increases in relation to the progression of the length of decay. The t- test result rejects the hypothesis (ho) that the invertebrate fauna abundance (number of invertebrates) increases in relation to the progression of the length of decay. The computed value for /ttab/ at ? =10% is 2. 278 which is greater than ttab =1. 303. The invertebrate fauna does not decrease with the progression of the decay due to the life cycling of the invertebrates. DISCUSSION The predominant invertebrate species that first arrive in the dead body remains of vertebrates especially humans are the blowflies which belong to the family Calliphoridae and the members of these family are commonly known as Green bottle flies, House flies, and Blue Bottle flies. The stages of the life cycle of these flies are the egg, first instar larvae, second instar larvae, third instar larvae, prepupa, pupa, and adult(Steck-Flynn, 2003). These species of invertebrate fauna are first colonizers of vertebrate dead animal remains hence there population are the predominant ones observed in this study. The pattern of colonization abundance in the soil is different in both the raw and burnt liver pig samples (Fig. 2). The colonization abundance in the soil with raw pig liver samples has a major and minor peak in the five collection days which is in day 7 and day 14 respectively. The invertebrate fauna collected on the soil with burnt pig sample on the other hand has the major peak also at day 7 but the other peak is not in the scope of the 5 collection days (day3, 7, 10, 14, 17). The soil invertebrate colonization thus has a later cycle in the burnt pig liver sample when compared to the raw pig liver sample. The invertebrate fauna species that have majority of the population of the collected specimens were the blowflies (Calliphora spp. ). The other invertebrate species that has significant numbers in the collected population are: Mites, Collembola, Diplura, Carabid/ Staphylinid larvae, and Earthworms. The faster rate of decomposition of raw vertebrate dead body tissues when compared to the burnt vertebrate dead body tissues is attributed to the presence of more materials that the invertebrates can fed on. The burnt tissues of invertebrate dead bodies have have lesser water content and the tissues are covered with carbon dioxide instead of oxygen. Palatability may be the reason behind the invertebrate animal’s preference for raw than burnt corpse. The lesser invertebrates that feed on the dead body remains the longer the decay of it hence the burnt dead body remains will take longer time to decompose(de Carvalho, 2001). ACKNOWLEDGEMENT REFERENCES de Carvalho, L. (2001).Seasonality of insect succession and pig carcass decomposition in a natural forest area in southeastern Brazil Journal of Forensic Sciences, 46(3). Gomes, L. V. Z. , CL. (2006). Forensic Entomology and Main Challenges in Brazil. Neotropical Entomology, 35(1), 001-011. Steck-Flynn, K. (2003). The Role Of Entomology In Forensic Investigations. Crime and Clues Retrieved January 19, 2008, from http://www. crimeandclues. com/entomology_intro. htm Tabor, K. B. , C; Fell, R. (2004). Analysis of the Successional Patterns of Insects on Carrion in Southwest Virginia. Journal of Medical Entomology, 41(4), 785? 795.

The Harmful Effects Of Discrimination And Segregation Essay -- essays

Discrimination and Segregation have both had many harmful effects on society in the past and exist when individuals are treated unfairly because of their particular race, gender, age, ethnic group, physical disability, or religion. Discrimination and segregation both poison the atmosphere of trust that we need in order to live peacefully. In the video 'Separate but Equal';, there are many incidences to prove that racism, segregation, and discrimination all have negative effects. The three most prominent effects of discrimination and segregation combined are Inferiority, fear, and anger.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inferiority is a major issue when discussing the effects of discrimination and segregation. In the Plessy vs. Ferguson case it was ruled that there may be segregation, but the people must be equal-Separate but Equal';. After this ruling all facilities were separated according to race, but in fact were not even close to being equal to each other. The white mans facilities were almost 100 times better than the blacks. Then in the Brown vs. Board of Education in Topeka case it was brought to attention that segregation and discrimination obviously affect the children's state of mind. In the experiment to prove this hypothesis many black children were given a variety of white dolls and black dolls. They were then told to describe what they thought of each doll. The results were in fact that majority of the young black children related the bad characteristics with th...

Bidding on the Yell Group Essay

1. Introduction Yell Group consists of two businesses that are operating across countries. Yellow Page is a classified directory business in the UK, while Yellow Book is an independent directory business in the USA. These businesses are currently owned by British Telecom which is under pressure to reduce its heavy debt load and had been wavering for months about the future of these two Yellow Pages divisions. Apax Partner and Hick Muse are two private equity firms that are interested in the acquisition of the Yell Group by using debt for a majority of the purchase price and equity for the remainder. The deal is crucially important to both Apax and Hicks Muse because of its high visibility — simply by virtue of its size and complexity, it will leave its mark on the reputations of both PE firms. But the team faces a challenge when valuing a cross border business involved in the LBO. Not only are those business located in different markets, but they also are characterized by different growth rat es and cash flow characteristics. Furthermore, each business unit faces an immediate uncertainty. 2. Overview of LBO The Equity Sponsor borrows the debt portion of the purchase price, typically through public or private bonds and bank loans issued by the company and contribute the equity portion typically through a private fund. Debt is serviced and repaid with the company’s operating cash flows. The buyer later sells all or a portion of the company and realizes a return on its initial equity investment — Sale of Sponsor equity typically through an initial public offering or a sale to a strategic buyer or another LBO firm. The LBO transaction focuses on cash flows generated by operations and the use of the cash to pay down debt, thereby increasing equity value. Additionally, improvements in operating performance can increase value. Assuming the enterprise value remains unchanged, as debt is repaid, value reverts to the equity holders, thereby generating equity returns. Through this cross-border LBO, our team wants to achieve three fundamental goals: a) Determining the enterprise value of Yell Group by measuring its ability to generate sufficient cash flows to meet required equity returns while complying with leverage parameters. b) Calculating financial ratios and other measurements to determine the balance sheet and credit impact of the LBO c) To justify whether they can get reasonable returns given financial projections and leverage assumption in the model. Our team is aim to use as much leverage as possible to minimize initial equity check and create an aggressive financing structure that can be eff ectively syndicated to the market. 3. Yell Operations When valuing Yell, we find that Yell currently has two well-established business lines in two different markets. While the environment is different in each market, Yell’s business lines achieve somewhat steady cash flows that are on pace with market growth, even the OFT is expected to recommend the imposition of a limit on the annual increase in rates for advertising in the U.K. market. The projected EBITDA for both BT Yellow Pages in the U.K. and Yellow Pages USA combined are more than enough to cover the considerable interest expense. Furthermore, with the ambitious growth plan, Yellow Book hopes to capture much of the predicted market share gains. A good LBO candidate should have some characteristics on its business specific and industry specifics. That means, the underlying Yell fundamentals and competitive advantage should be much more scrutinized by the team. Indeed, BT Yellow Pages as a market-leader in the classified directory business and Yellow Pages USA as a market leader in the independent publisher of business directories. Finally, shortly before Apax and Hicks Muse had initiated talks with BT executives about the future of Yell, the telecom giant had announced plans to pay down its debt, so this deal should be a fire-sale transaction, the sale of Yell is good for BT and its shareholders. However, BT Yellow Pages and Yellow Book USA represent two very different businesses. The U.K. business is subject to heavy regulation which will restrict the price. Thus the only way to expand profits is through the advertisement volume. Unfortunately, the growth in the classified directories advertising market has been declining over the last few decades and will probably continue in this tendency even though the total advertising market has seen increasing growth. The potential good opportunities for this business could be the additional divisions that BT Yellow Pages owned. Prospective investment indicated these businesses are in the early stages. The U.S. market is an important source of new business for SMEs throughout the country and the independents are projected to increase their market share from 11% to 30% over the 2000 — 2005 period. For Yellow Book, this growth is to be fueled by expansion efforts as launching new directories into contiguous markets and launching wide area books into cities without an independent presence. In terms of the industry life cycle, BT Yellow Pages is most likely in the late maturity / early decline stage while Yellow Pages USA was still in the growth phase. These factors combined with the buyers’ investment horizon will influence their exit strategy. Yell Group Ltd. provided Apax and Hicks Muse team with projections for both BT Yellow Pages and Yellow Book USA based on what a potential growth in the upcoming years. Since Yell is trying to sell their business, we have to be careful about the assumptions used to come up with these projections. As a financial buyer, we tend to leave the day-to-day operations with management and thus would hope that they can meet their projections. These numbers should be viewed conservatively, as Yell would want to make the company look as attractive as possible to potential buyers. For BT Yellow Pages, their growth is dependent on the number of advertisements sold in a given year and the advertisements’ prices. Thus, as a potential buyer, these areas need to be scrutinized to come up with a reasonable projection. The growth rate (nominal) of advertisement volume from 2001 to 2007 may be as high as the rate of past years at 6.6%, and for SMEs, BT Yellow Pages were considered a â€Å"must buy†, since the yellow pages are their principal means of reaching customers in UK. Yellow pages advertising expenditures tends to be more stable than other forms of media advertising and do not fluctuate widely with economic cycles. For advertisement prices, the trend is slightly increasing from 2001 to 2003 and flat thereafter. Yell’s management seems to be too optimistic here as the OFT is expected to announce its new recommendation for the following years soon. Since the cap is 6% below the inflation rate and the projections for inflation is 2.4% in 2002, 2.3% in 2003, and 2.0% thereafter, the advertising prices should be expected to show a decreasing trend. For example, the Weighted Average Advertisement Fee in 2002 should be 621.78 = 645 x (1 + 2.4% – 6%). The year-over-year revenue growth for Yellow Book USA ranges from 10.0% to 15.0% with an average of 12.5% and a compound average growth rate of 12.4%. Organic growth in the US market is 4-5% and so the additional growth for Yellow Book USA must be coming from new market launches as well as increasing market share as an independent publisher. The growth rates seem quite aggressive and so additional new market launches may be required in years 2005 and 2006, currently not projected, to ensure that there is a buffer to hit revenue projections. It may make sense to also decrease the revenue growth rate to be more realistic and use yell’s projection as an upper limit case. We think it important to segregate organic revenues from new launch revenues and only apply an EBITDA margin to organic sales while separately adding in the impact of new launches in order to roll the two very different types of markets together. This approach also affords an opportunity to give a more sophisticated treatment to operating income from new launches. We believe that a 17% EBITDA margin on organic sales is a more realistic target for 2002, improving at a 2% increase per year as business goes up until the 25% target rate is hit in 2005 and maintained thereafter. Capital Expenditure and depreciation also need to be reviewed as they are somewhat positively related, which means an increase in Capital Expenditure usually results an increase in depreciation and vice versa. Overall, the numbers for both markets should be viewed with skepticism as these are Yell’s projections and may not reflect the buyer’s expectations in terms of the growth in the market. 4. Transaction Assumption The following transaction assumptions must be considered at the beginning of LBO analysis: a) BT Yellow Pages has its price adjusted for inflation as stated by the OFT. b) The U.K. discount rate is calculated using the comps Telefonica Publicidad e Informacion and Enriro. c) The U.S. discount rate is calculated using McLeod USA and World Pages. d) The model assumes the debt is held in the U.K. and the U.S. business line will have its cash flows converted to U.K. denominated pounds at the spot rate- For the base case, the terminal value growth rate of BT Yellow Pages is 3.47% which is a forecast of the compound average growth rate of FCF from 2002 to 2007 based on our projection. Sensitivity analysis should be applied to see how the growth rate of terminal value would affect the overall valuation. e) For the base case, the terminal value growth rate of Yellow Book USA is 4.3% which is the historical growth of the RBOCs. Sensitivity analysis should be applied to see how the growth rate of terminal value would affect the overall valuation. f) New launches in the U.S. are fore casted to return 5% EBITDA to Sales in the first year. This is a conservative estimate and sensitivity analysis should be applied to see how the EBITDA margin of new launches would affect the overall valuation. g) Once launched, the new markets are assumed to reach organic EBITDA margins in the following year. h) The risk premium of both markets is set as 6.5% and sensitivity analysis should be applied to see how the risk premium would affect the overall valuation. 5. Valuation Method It is accepted that CCF valuation is widely used for LBO. WACC is not applicable here because the calculation of WACC assumes constant D/E ratio. Based on the debt repayment schedule, it is unlikely that the firm will be able to maintain a constant ratio. CCF is ideal for this transaction because the debt repayment schedule is known in advance. CCF separates the calculation into two parts: unlevered cash flow using unlevered cost of equity and tax shield using the unlevered cost of equity. For our calculation, CCF is more suitable due to the known debt repayment schedule and the more conservative valuation. Coming up with an accurate valuation becomes more complex when dealing with different currency of cash flows from cross border assets. Yell’s two business line, BT Yellow Pages and Yellow Book USA, operates and generates revenue from their respective countries; therefore, we must look each asset as a separate part. We could do a separate valuation on each asset based on the home country’s currency and financial projections. To determine a representative discount rate, we used betas and Debt/EV ratios of comparable listed companies in Exhibit 10 from each region. For example, for Yellow Book USA, we only used betas and Debt/EV of comparable American firms and not European firms and we assume the risk premium is 6.5%. We also had to take into account difference in risk-free rates by looking at country-specific yield on 30 years Treasury Bills when calculating the cost of equity for each asset. Depending on the capital structure, each asset may have tax benefit from tax-deductible interest payments. The interest tax shield must be calculated using the local country’s corporate tax rate; therefore, each business line may have different cost of debt. At Yell, we used the U.K. tax rate of 30% because the acquired company is incorporated in the U.K. thus everything is consolidated in pound. When building a valuation model, we also consider the growth potential of each asset separately as well. We take into account the firm’s local business strategy, competitors, and overall market potential to develop a representative perpetuity growth rate. Once we get the enterprise values for both assets, we can then use the spot rate to convert the enterprise values into pound for comparison. All these factors play a vital role when forecasting revenue growth / free cash flows, determining the discount rate and eventually calculating a fair enterprise value for the firm. Using our pro forma assumptions and CCF valuation, the total acquisition fee is  £2.09 billion (shown in excel). The U.S. business is valued and converted to the pound to reach a total valuation. These values include the 5% in transaction fees. 6. Sensitivity Analysis Sensitivity is done on five major variables. The first variable is the terminal growth rate of the U.K. business since BT Yellow Pages represents a huge part of the total valuation (see excel file for the sensitivity of growth rate on BT Yellow Pages valuation). If the terminal growth rate is 5%, the total acquisition price with fees is  £2.28 billion, compared to the  £2.09 billion with the base case of 3.47% growth rate. The second variable is the terminal growth rate of Yellow Book USA. This scenario analysis doesn’t affect the overall valuation much as the Yellow Book USA only accounts for a small fraction of the overall valuation. For the third variable, the analysis performed is the change in regulatory imposition when keeping the terminal growth rate of UK business at 3.47%. Currently the base case is that revenue decreases by the inflation subtracting 6% annually. The results are shown in Sheet ‘Sensitivity Tables’. When there is no regulatory imposition applied and the price grows with inflation, the acquisition price with fees is 3.01 billion. If they can negotiate with the UK government to reduce the rate to 5%, instead of 6%, the acquisition price with fees is 2.30 billion. It is highly sensitive to the change in regulatory imposition. This implies there is significant upside if the regulatory imposition is lower than 6%. For the fourth variable, we change the projections of Yellow Book USA’s EBITDA margin of new launches in order to create a range where revenue projections are uncertainty. But there is not much of a difference among those valuations. The last scenario analysis performed is the risk premium for both markets, at the very beginning we assumed a 6.5% risk premium, but we also want to get a range of the valuation as the numbers changes. The results are from 2.4 billion to 1.85 billion. Overall, we are confident that the bid would be somewhere between  £1.85 billion to  £2.3 billion. 7. Conclusion For this financial acquisition, we are more opportunistic and thereby looking for value creation based on the assets itself in order not to overvalue the target firm and thus overbidding for the company. In addition, we are looking to expand its presence on the European LBO market. We viewed Yell as a compelling investment opportunity, particularly in light of the company’s growth potential, low valuation and leverage capacity. This deal will leave its mark on the reputations of both PE firms.

Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe - 1583 Words

Things Fall Apart Essay The Story is set in Nigeria, around the Early 1900s. The story starts slightly before the European Colonization Era, It tells the story of Okonkwo, a very strong man who lives in the Igbo Tribe. On the outside, he appears very brave and masculine, but on the inside, he is a man with much insecurity. His biggest fear is become weak or showing any signs of feminism, which in this society is one of the worst things to be. Part I – Pre Colonization In Part I, We learn the story of his father Unoka. He was a complete bum to say the least. He never paid off any of his debts and was just a lazy man. He dies 10 years before the story sets. Okonkwo is like the complete opposite of his father. He’s a successful Yam farmer with 3 wives and is actually able to support his family. One morning, the Umoufia clan announces that one of their daughters was murdered by the Mbaino. This drives Okonkwo to go to war with the other clan. However, they give Okonkwo a peace offering, a virgi n girl and a boy, a 15 year old named Ikemefuna. Okonkwo grows attached to boy. Ikemefuna becomes like a bigger brother to Nwoye, one of Okonkwo sons. To Ikemefuna, Okonkwo slowly becomes his own father. During the Week of Peace, Okonkwo youngest wife leaves the house without cooking dinner, so he beats her. He is fined by the priest money and animals for his offense. The offense was not for beating his wife, but for beating her during the Week of Peace. Since then, 3 yearsShow MoreRelatedThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1415 Words   |  6 Pagesbook Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe does just that. This book should be taught in schools because it shows the values and traditions of Achebe’s Igbo culture, persistently teaches life lessons throughout the book, and shows the darker reality of European colonialism in Africa. Chinua Achebe is known as one of the most influential and famous authors to ever write. Chinua Achebe originates from an Igbo background and he expresses that through his writings very well including Things Fall ApartRead MoreThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe1324 Words   |  6 Pages Chinua Achebe chose to write his novels in English to reveal a deep response of his people to colonisation and to make that response understood to people all over the world. Things Fall Apart was written in English to teach people worldwide of the struggles he faced and the people of Nigeria faced growing up. Many authors and critics have written about Achebe’s ‘Things fall apart’ adding their valued opinion on what he was trying to say and his decision to write in English. In the followingRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe Essay1203 Words   |  5 Pages who took their land for monetary gain. This was a dark period of time for Africans that live there. The U.S. Civil War and The Great Depression both can be related, in this instance, to how down their people were because of what happened. Chinua Achebe said it best, â€Å"I would be quite satisfied if my novels...did no more than teach my readers of their past...was not a long night of savagery from which the first European acting on God’s behalf delivered them†(qtd. in â€Å"Morning Yet† 45). In theRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1452 Words   |  6 Pagesassume control over the Roman Empire. However, imperialism in Africa remained a recorded element from 1750 to 1945. This paper visits how control and changes were influences over the Africans during this time period as seen through Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. (UKEssays, 2015) Europe was experiencing a few financial and political changes that forced the major European forces to investigate abroad regions to add to their resources during the seventeenth century. In order for the EuropeanRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe2361 Words   |  10 PagesThings Fall Apart Book Critique Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a historical fiction novel describing the life of Okonkwo in a Nigerian village succumbing to European ways, in order to portray Achebe’s view on imperialism. It was chosen for us to read by our teacher because it describes imperialism and its effects in an Ibo village of Nigeria. It also shows the treatment of natives by the Europeans and how the natives reacted. Things Fall Apart is useful to our course of studies because itRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1265 Words   |  6 PagesThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is markedly relevant to our current course of studies in World History, as it tells a story based on European Imperialism in Africa. Coming off the heels of our Imperialism unit, this post-colonial novel provides very helpful context on different civilizations’ perspectives throughout the Age of Imperialism; aside from analyzing death tolls, descriptions of conflicts, and names of countries, it was previousl y hard to envision what life was actually like during thatRead MoreThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 735 Words   |  3 PagesThings fall apart. Achebe. Ernest Gaines once said, â€Å"I write to try to find out who I am. One of my main themes is manliness. I think Im trying to figure out what manliness really is.† Indeed, every society or culture has its own understanding of an ideal man. Even though these characteristics are different in various parts of the world, the significance of masculinity can never be overestimated. â€Å"Things Fall Apart† by Chinua Achebe is considered as one of the best examples of a riseRead MoreThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe692 Words   |  3 Pagesthe way to go. Through commercial trading Islam spread into Igboland, and this led to more Igbo people leaving the Igbo way of life for another, whether it be Islam or Christianity which divide the country in two. In the novel Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe British colonialism and the migration of Muslims to Nigeria led to the change in the faith, social and economic changes in the Igbo society. Traditional Igbo faith believes that there is only one creator or god known as ChinekeRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe897 Words   |  4 PagesIn the novel, â€Å"Things Fall Apart† by Chinua Achebe the Igbo tradition revolves around structured gender role. Everything essential of Igbo life is based on their gender, which throughout the novel it shows the role of women and the position they hold, from their role in the family household, also planting women crops, to bearing children. Although the women were claimed to be weaker and seemed to be treated as objects, in the Igbo culture the women still provided qualities that make them worthyRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe Essay1851 Words   |  8 Pageschoice and styles are critical not only to the reader’s understanding of the text but to his appreciation as well. How language is effectively manipulated in their writings enhances the reader’s valuing of the works. The selected novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a representation of Igbo culture and their language. It explores the life of an Igbo tribe at the time of when colonization hit Africa. It could be considered as a post-colonial text, as the protagonist of the story and the other