A Splendid Exchange Essay Example

A Splendid Exchange Paper Dennis BerkA. P. World Dr. Andrews Summer Assignment The accelerating pace of international trade is one of the most dominating, and important features, of contemporary life. Globalization is creating widespread changes for societies, economics, and governments. Since the invention of the steam engine, transportation and communication limits have faded away and, with the development of the Internet, practically disappeared. A case can be made for the proposition that trade, throughout history, has been the main engine for the development of the world as we know it today. In his book, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, William J. Bernstein makes this case. The main thesis of A Splendid Exchange by William J. Bernstein is to describe how, where, and why trade goes on in certain parts of the world, and how it affects completely different regions on Earth. Bernstein does this by using facts, details, and accounts of other economists and writers. A Splendid Exchange is not just about the trading of silk, tea, or coffee. It also speaks about the movement of diseases throughout the world. For example, when Christopher Columbus sailed the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria into the New World, disease quickly spread throughout the Americas, such as small pox. Obviously at the time the diseases made life miserable for many of the people living in the Americas, killing loved ones, friends, and family making it much more difficult for everyone to live. However, because the disease was spread, many people that now live in the Americas are immune to these diseases, including small pox. This is a classic example of the idea of natural selection, stating that only the fittest survive. We will write a custom essay sample on A Splendid Exchange specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on A Splendid Exchange specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on A Splendid Exchange specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Bernstein writes about this again in his novel while talking about the plague that rampaged through the streets of cities in Europe during the Dark Ages. This plague killed off an enormous amount of the European population, but eventually Europeans grew immune to the disease and now many cities in Europe are prospering. A Splendid Exchange has greatly changed my view of history. It has shown me how important trade was and how difficult it used to be compared to now. Today, many people have cell phones and even more people have access to a elevision, radio, or the Internet, so, for example, if an event occurs in South Korea in less than an hour news stations all over the world are reporting about it and have analysts debate about it for hours. However, back in the 1000’s and 1100’s, if you were living in France, and an event occurs in China, there is a good chance that the person living in France would never know about it. Also, in the 1000’s or 1100’s if y ou were born in a village in England, unless you were a merchant, chances are that you would not go further than 50 miles in any direction from where you were born. Transportation in the 1000’s and 1100’s was limited to walking and sea travel. Sea travel was very dangerous, due to pirates and poorly made ships, so many Europeans didn’t risk it. Today, with the invention of the steam engine, automobile, and airplane to go from New York to California by plane takes only six hours, although you are traveling around 3000 feet. In today’s world it’s no big deal if you travel 3000 feet in one day, but in the 1000’s and 1100’s this was such a radical thought that no one had ever even wasted their time trying to think about it. William J. Bernstein asks many questions in his novel. One of them is how goods got from China to Rome. Bernstein answers this question by saying the trade was very slow, and the process went in stages. Bernstein describes how Chinese merchants sailed their ships down to Indochina and how the goods were exchanged by six different nations before reaching Rome. Obviously, this is a very long process, and the trade was only sped up by the invention of better ships, and eventually the airplane. Another question asked in A Splendid Exchange is what drove early man to trade? This question is answered by Bernstein stating that political stability was most important for man to want to trade, and he says that the technological innovations of land and sea transport are secondary. With political stability, nations are able to expand and then there is a sudden increase in demand for more goods, which can only be completed by trade. In A Splendid Exchange, the thing I was most surprised to learn about was the great impact that the Peloponnesian War had on trade. Greece’s city-states didn’t have the best soil to plant on before the Peloponnesian War, and certainly not after it. Because of all the battle that took place, much of Greece’s fertile land was destroyed. Because Greece now had less arable land, and less people to farm this land because of all the deaths during the Peloponnesian War, the city-states of Greece had to rely heavily on trade. Another thing I was surprised to learn about was how a country 1000s of miles away from another country can be the reason that country continues to live on. As an example, the Greeks could not grow wheat. Clearly, without wheat a country simply cannot prosper, as it is put into so many foods necessary for the body to properly function. In order for the Greeks to continue living, they would need to trade for wheat. As many countries of the Mediterranean did, Greece got its wheat from Egypt. Had the Egyptians not traded their wheat to Greece, it is very possible that Greece would have been conquered by another nation. It’s amazing how trade that went on centuries ago has affected the world as we know it today. In Bernstein’s novel, the thing I was most disappointed to learn about was Zaccaria opening the Strait of Gibraltar to plague ships. These plague ships eventually spread the black death. Had Zaccaria not opened the Strait of Gibraltar, the Black Death could’ve came in more methodically, allowing Europeans more time to prepare for it, as opposed to the Black Death being thrown onto the Europeans, thus giving them less time to prepare for it and try to stop the plague or evacuate from the cities. Because the housing in the cities of Europe during the Dark Ages were so tightly packed together, once one person got a disease it would spread almost instantaneously, and had there been more warning for the plague, actions could’ve been taken so that less people would have died. I enjoyed A Splendid Exchange by William J. Bernstein very much. The book has given me invaluable knowledge about the ancient world and how the ancient world has affected the modern world. Bernstein does a great job explaining how trade affects the entire world, and he backs it up with facts and quotes from economists and historians. Bernstein also shows how trade developed, starting with the trading of ancient Sumer all the way up to modern day trade and what this all means. I thought the novel was worthwhile, and so did many others because it won the Financial Times and Economist Best Book of the Year award. If I were having a discussion with a friend about A Splendid Exchange by William J. Bernstein, I would tell them that it completely changed my view of history. Bernstein’s novel has taught me many new things and has shown me how important trade is in today’s world. A Splendid Exchange really makes you think of how important events that occurred over 1000 years ago are today. The novel also describes how trade developed from not only adjacent countries trading, but how countries from different sides of the planet were able to trade. I absolutely would recommend this book to my friend because it teaches you so many things about world history and how important trade is. In Bernstein’s novel, he showed some preconceived biases. One of these biases is that Bernstein seems to favor protectionism and tariffs rather than free trade. In the chapter, The Triumph and Tragedy of Free Trade, Bernstein seems to speak more about the tragedies of free trade rather than the triumphs of it. This shows that Bernstein has a bias towards free trade and prefers tariffs and protectionism. In A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, by William J. Bernstein, he shows how and why certain things are today because of trade. Bernstein proves how trade from thousands of years ago has had an impact on today’s world. William J. Bernstein has shown that trade on one side of Earth affects the other side in many different ways. Bernstein also shows how natural selection played a big role in trading thousands of years ago. A Splendid Exchange has changed my view of history and my view on the importance of trade.

Breadmaking Essays

Fermantation Lab/Breadmaking Essays Fermantation Lab/Breadmaking Essay Fermantation Lab/Breadmaking Essay Fermentation Lab Introduction For bacteria and many single-celled protists fermentation is a common anaerobic pathway that the cells use to collect energy from carbohydrates to form ATP. The process for fermentation begins in the cytoplasm with a process called glycolysis, which converts one molecule of glucose into two molecules of pyruvate. When glycolysis is complete four ATP would be produced but the net yield would be two ATP taking into account the initial investment of two ATP. In the next stage of alcoholic fermentation the pyruvate splits itself into carbon dioxide and acetaldehyde. NADH is then taken from the acetaldehyde and ethanol is left. (Starr, Evers Starr, 2011) Bread making is an example of alcoholic fermentation, the yeast being the reason that the bread rising. As explained before the carbon dioxide molecules that are given off during the second stage of fermentation caused the dough to rise and the ethanol that was left bakes out of the bread. Methods and Materials In order to start this experiment we first needed to get two bowls and two spoons in order to have a control bowl and an experimental bowl. We then put the one cup of flour in the control bowl followed by all the other dry ingredients; three quarters of a tablespoon of sugar, one quarter of a tablespoon of salt, one and one quarter tablespoon of dehydrated milk, and one tablespoon of yeast. We then mixed that together and added one half tablespoon of margarine we mixed that while gradually mixing the one half cup of warm tap water. As we did before we then put one cup of flour in the experimental bowl followed by all the other dry ingredients; three quarters of a tablespoon of sugar, one quarter of a tablespoon of salt, and one tablespoon of yeast. We mixed that together and added one half tablespoon of margarine we mixed that while slowly mixing in the one half cup of warm tap water. In order to expedite the process of rising we took out a hot plate and heated it to one hundred and ninety degrees Celsius. We then put both the control and the experimental dough into two two-hundred milliliter beakers, labeled them, recorded how full they were when we started and covered the tops with plastic wrap. We then put the two beakers on the hot plate and watched them rise. The lab group decided that we would not test it for any certain amount of time; we would heat it until one of the beakers had two hundred milliliters of dough in it. Finally we recorded the end results and cleaned up our lab station. Results In this experiment while both of the experimental and control dough rose, the experimental dough rose faster and had more than the control dough, the difference is illustrated in that data section with table one and graph one. The plastic wrap rose while on both the beakers while the dough was rising. The dough at the bottom of the beakers turned a toasty brown color. Summary The experiment this week was meant to show fermentations and all the factors that could influence it. While the dough did rise on both the doughs, it proved my hypothesis wrong; I thought that reducing the milk in the dough would reduce the rate at which the bread would rise and reduce how much it did rise. We watched the dough until it reached the two-hundred milliliter mark and that took about twenty-five minutes. Looking back on what we did I do realize that there were some mistakes that could affect the outcome, while fermentation did happen it could have an effect at what rate and how much the dough rose. First of all we probably had that hot plates set to a temperature that was too high, this conclusion came due to the fact that that dough at the bottom of the beakers was toasty looking. This could mean that we were actually killing off the yeast instead of quickening the process of fermentation. Milk contains bacteria normally and that is why we used dry milk to cut down on the bacteria and enzymes. The water also could have been too warm for the control dough causing it not to rise as much. Though the dough did rise more without the milk, I am unsure of the cause. It could be a number of reasons why the dough without milk rose more than the dough with milk rose more though it appeared when they had the plastic wrap on them they had the same amount of carbon dioxide. In all it shows that while not using the milk in dough did effect fermentation. References Starr, C. , Evers, C. A. , Starr, L. , (2011) Biology: Concepts and Applications. Belmont: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Data Table 1 Started Stopped Difference Control dough 125 mL 177 mL 52 mL Experimental dough 140 mL 202 mL 62 mL

Achieving and Sustaining Growth at Lenovo Research Paper

Achieving and Sustaining Growth at Lenovo - Research Paper Example The Company has ranked behind only two companies – Hewlett Packard and Dell in profitability for 2006. However, customer perception of the Company does not appear good on certain issues such as installation, after sales service and availability of credit, based on a survey conducted as a part of this research effort. Lenovo must improve on these aspects, as well as build upon its success factors in order to sustain its current levels of growth. Japan, the United States and Europe represented the majority of global production and sales of computers and related products during the 2000s. One division of the computer industry is Personal Computers – which are systems with inbred processing facilities embedded in one silicon chip, and these computers are primarily intended for single users. Personal computers first appeared in the 1970s with Apple II being introduced in 1977. IBM PCs became competitive in 1981. (Snapshot). The two major types of personal Computers are PC and Macs, which are Personal Computers manufactured by the Apple Company. In the computer industry, Japan and the United States were the largest supercomputer manufacturers. Mainframe sales dropped in the 1980s and 1990s due to the development of client/server technology, with mid-range systems developing in the 1990s. With increasing sales, IBM and Hewlett Packard emerged as the major players and Hewlett Packard’s partnership with Intel has facilitated its growth in the marketplace (Snapshot). With an increase in globalization, smaller, cheaper, standardized systems like PCs have been gaining popularity. In an effort to improve sales volumes and reduce costs, PC companies have been entering into networking arrangements with other companies to share research and development costs. One example is that of Microsoft and Intel that worked together to develop the Net-PC and NEC’s PC operations with Packard Bell, forming a new venture known as Packard Bell-NEC (Snapshot).  Ã‚  

Memphis City school system & Shelby county school system a Term Paper

Memphis City school system & Shelby county school system a consolidated school system for or aganist - Term Paper Example School consolidation has been visualized as a means to resolve various rural issues. However, the application of this concept has also resulted in many potential complications along with solving issues, as discussed in this paper. Public perception of consolidation: Early educationalists, policy makers and reformers consented that unionization of schools was the fundamental requirement of the industrialized society. Their mutual consensus led them to speak in favor of the formulation of a centralized and increasingly urban educational model (Kay, Hargood, and Russell, 1982). However, not many parents in the present age favor the practice. This is because they want their children to be given due attention by the mentors, and want the educational environment to be conducive for good learning and academic growth of the children. My personal perception of consolidation: I personally am against the consolidated school system as it adversely affects the educational system and the learnersà ¢â‚¬â„¢ tendency to gain knowledge. People today are highly conscious and possessive about the quality of education their children are provided with in schools. Consolidated school systems crowd the classes with students. ... People generally hold a view that if the charter gets surrendered, it would consolidate Memphis City School and Shelby County School into one unit. Shelby County School has been running a successful academic record and has been managing and administering its system rationally. On the other hand, the Memphis City School is currently going through a crisis. Memphians have to pay a lot of tax, and the record is not up to the mark. The following SWOT analysis depicts the potential consequences of this consolidation. SWOT analysis of the consolidated school system: Strengths: Memphians may see a relief from the double taxation, who have to pay the taxes first for the county and secondly for the city. The City would find a relief from the payment for Memphis City School. MCS would hence, be able to save $78 million every year (Memphis, 2011). Weaknesses: MCS has a poorer record as compared to SCS. It might have to compromise upon many decisions that SCS would propose because of its inferio rity. There is likelihood of emotional distress in the Memphis students because of this union. Opportunity: Memphis schoolchildren would have equal opportunity of education as enjoyed by other schoolchildren that live in suburbs. The kids will have facilities as per their individualistic needs irrespective of their place in city or the county. The consolidation would keep the Shelby County School from acquiring the district status of a special school. If SCS acquires that status, it would separate the Memphis students from those in the suburbs and also, reduce tax base for the Memphis City School, which would potentially raise the tax for taxpayers in Memphis. The consolidation would prevent that from happening. Threats: There is an increased likelihood of frequent encounters

Essay 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 14

1 - Essay Example More importantly, immigration had a significant impact on cultural identity for the Chinese family struggling to make a living in an American culture. Therefore, since this engaging story was systematically written by an immigrant, Tan, who uses her experiences and that of her mother to explain real life situations, makes this story a magnificent piece of writing. Globalization has merged the world into one small global village eliciting the need for accommodating cultural diversity. The case of Tan moving from a Chinese cultural background to an American culture provides a good example of cultural integration. Cultural background determines the language we speak, how we speak it as well as expectations from others. More importantly, cultural beliefs are best reflected through language as people communicate. For instance, whereas Tan may shake hands and bow down as a show of respect, an American might not understand the meaning. Moving into a new cultural territory, like Tan’s family did when they moved to America, presents a myriad of challenges not only cultural difference but in communication as well. In this story, Tan places an emphasis on the theme of alienation and discrimination, through focusing on the various prejudices that she and her mother went through as a result of language imperfection. For instance, Tan shows how her mother has for long been looked down due to the fact that she spoke â€Å"limited† or â€Å"simple† English, most of which quite ironically could be understood by most people (Tan 59). Moreover, Tan also shows how her mother is a victim of prejudice by explaining how doctors had presumably said that her CAT scan results could not be found. But later, when Tan arrives and talks in perfect English, the doctors admit that the scan results would be found and offers apologies for any sufferings that her mother had

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.

Alcohol Misuse Among Minors In The UK :: essays research papers

The law in this country states that it is illegal for anyone under 18 years to consume alcohol or to work in licensed premises; to buy alcohol or to have it bought for them anywhere. Those over 16 may drink a small amount with a meal in a specially allocated area, but beyond that they face arrest and prosecution.In spite of this the law is frequently broken. Following the example of adults, for whom alcohol is the most used drug, several surveys show that children try alcohol. 68% of boys and 54% of girls (in the UK) appear to have tried it by the age of thirteen. The majority may not drink to excess but many have already experimented with the effects of intoxication. The young do not seem to know the dangers and public houses frequently hold discos which attract them in. Stewards find it difficult to assess who is below the age limit. The increase in consumption expected when the price of alcohol falls is bound to include youngsters. the serious implications of this must be faced, not least because drug abuse is closely linked to alcohol abuse.Clearly the law has a role to play. The police must be encouraged to enforce age limits, and, if necessary, licensing hours should be restricted. Unfortunately, this may inconvenience legitimate drinkers and deprive landlords of potential legal business. Having extra police and stewards may be useless since 16 year olds are not easy to pick out anymore. One solution offered by the Portman Group is the identification card system whereby only 18 year old will carry age identification cards. This should help, but even one of the director involved admits it is only a contribution.The alternative lies in education. Adults can help by example and by de-glamorising alcohol. Children can be taught about the risks to health and to performance, about the chances of being involved in violence or serious accidents and the dependency which lands many in hospital wards.