Falsifiability of the Big Bang Theory Essay

In one of Karl Raimund Popper’s works, he discussed the demarcation that differentiate the sciences from the non-sciences or those that are merely subjects of faith and pseudo-sciences. Popper believes that sciences are falsifiable. If something can be falsified it can be considered as a science. He argued that unlike the work of Einstein which is â€Å"capable of conflicting with possible, or conceivable, observations†, the works of Freud, Marx and Adler proves every event as compatible to their theories which in Popper’s argument was not scientific. No matter what the situation is, Freud, Marx and Adler would explain it in terms of their theory which is somehow a subjective way of explaining or looking into things. For instance, a selfish capitalist could be analyzed as someone who was fixated to a certain Freudian psychosexual stage or was suffering from Adler’s concept of inferiority. Marx would analyze the man from a class-struggle perspective. Popper believes that although there are evidences and observable facts that could prove the three theories through experimentation, these experiments are not falsifiable and are therefore merely based on faith and subjective judgments. In the case of the Big Bang theory, it argues that the universe is expanding. The theory stated that the universe had started from an initial bang or explosion of a very dense material. The impact of the explosion, according to the theory, is still observable today. Evidences shows that the space was expanding as quasars and galaxies are perceived to shift in their perceivable wavelengths. Hubble assumed, with respect to his observations, that either the universe is moving away from a center were an explosion had originated or that the universe was in constant expansion. Unlike the three theories mentioned above, the Big Bang theory left space for debate and possible changes. The three previous theories would always hold true in past and future circumstances and would always have an explanation about the phenomena that they are concerned with (personality or human nature). On the other hand, the Big Bang theory may be false whenever a new discovery proves that a Big Bang had not occurred. Big Bang theory passed the falsifiable criterion set by Popper. References: Balashov, Y. & Rosenberg, (2002). A. Philosophy of Science Contemporary Readings. Routledge. Pages 294-300. Edwards, R. E. (2001). What Caused the Big Bang? New York; Rodopi B. V.

Capital Budgeting Essay

This paper will give a comparison between the various preferred capital budgeting evaluation techniques in the corporate business setting. There will be a recommendation given for the Guillermo Furniture Company based on the results of one or more evaluation techniques, which in turn will help direct the financial health of the organization. Corporations are continually striving to improve the financial health of its organization and one strategic way many corporations are doing that is through capital budgeting. Capital budgeting involves choices. The choices revolve around projects that will add value to the organization. The projects can include acquiring land, purchasing a truck, or replacing old equipment. Many times, corporations are encouraged to undertake projects that will increase its profitability. The challenge is to find the appropriate evaluation method to bring the intended profitability into reality. The three preferred evaluation methods that many corporations use are net present value, internal rate of return, and payback period. Many corporations often calculate capital budgeting solutions using all three methods. However, each method often produces contradictory results. The net present value method is the most accurate valuation approach to capital budgeting issues (smallbusiness). If a corporation can discount the after tax cash flow by the weighted average cost of capital, managers can determine if the project will be profitable or not. The net present value method reveals exactly how profitable a project will be to the corporation versus the alternative methods (Chen, 2012). With the various evaluation methods, corporations can base the decisions for the future on the results of the evaluation. The net present value method takes the time value of money by discounting an investment’s future return to a present value (Chen, 2012). The thought behind the time value of money concept is that a dollar in hand today is worth more than the same dollar in the future. In capital budgeting decisions, the net present value discount is taken into consideration when the present value of the future return is compared with the present value of the cash outflows on any investment (Mason, 2011). If a corporation, such as Guillermo Furniture, is considering using the net present value method, the return on the investment would show clearly whether it is more than sufficient to increase the financial health of the corporation or not. Another preferred evaluation method is the internal rate of return. The internal rate of return is a discount rate that results from a net present value equal to zero (Mason, 2011). When the internal rate of return is higher than the weighted average cost of capital, it would be considered a profitable endeavor and thus should be pursued (Steven, 2010). A major advantage of the internal rate of return method is that it provides a benchmark for every project (Steven, 2010). This can allow a corporation to compare projects on the basis of the return on invested capital. For example, if Guillermo Furniture’s internal rate of return results higher than the cost of capital, it would be determined that the project is acceptable, and the corporation should move forward on the project. However, if the results are less than the cost of capital, the corporation should abort the project as it would hurt the financial health of the corporation. The final preferred evaluation method used by corporations is the payback period method. The payback period method reveals the amount of time it would take to recover the initial investment on a particular project (smallbusiness). Even though this method is considered preferred, it can result in disappointment for many corporations who value the results (Steven, 2010). The main reason is the results do not factor in the cash flow in its entirety from a certain project, which can skew the overall result of the return on the potential investment (Steven, 2010). When a corporation analyzes this method, it is determined that it results in a break even measure and only measures the economic life of the particular investment revolving around the payback period (Steven, 2010). This method is used mainly as a comparative measure for the net present value and the internal rate of return giving a time frame of recovering the initial investment. After considering the three preferred evaluation methods, it was determined that the net present value method would be the method of choice for the Guillermo Furniture scenario for a couple of reasons. First, the corporation cannot rely solely on the payback method because it does not take into account the entire cash flow for the project. After calculating how much time it would take to recover the initial investment, it was found that it would take more than 50 years, which is unrealistic for capital budgeting purposes. The focus shifted to the second preferred method of internal rate of return. The internal rate of return proved that the return on the investment would only yield 10%. The calculation was based on taking the total investment of $1,354,141. 21 and dividing it on the number of years the profit was expected to continue, which totaled $133,742. 20. The expected rate of return for the project had to be at least 12% for the project to be acceptable. Based on the net present value calculations and taking the required rate of return of 12%, the number of years the profit is expected to continue, which is 5, and the future annual cash flows amount of $26,748. 4, the present value of future cash flows equaled $96,422. 14. The net present value is measured by taking the investment outflow ($96,422. 14) minus the present value of future cash flows ($1,354,141. 21), which equals $1,257,719. 07. By dividing this amount by the investment outflow, the rate of return on investment yields 13%. Therefore, it would be recommended that Guillermo Furniture use the net present valu e method for this project as it would improve the financial health of the corporation.

Hypothetical Quantitative Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hypothetical Quantitative Study - Essay Example No indication is given as to whether this change will be a positive or negative one; the alternate hypothesis would be considered correct, or at least fail to be rejected, if parents spend more or less with children (Karp, 1993; Kimball, 2004). Spending consumption is best measured in actual dollars spent by a household. A proposed study would therefore focus on gathering and analyzing such numbers (Simmons, Bickart, and Lynch, 1993). One set of surveys would be sent to households with or without children, asking them to fill out a questionnaire on their spending habits. These questions would ask for the number of children in the household, the average yearly income of the household, the percentage of that income spent on necessities, and the dollar amounts for various categories of luxury spending. An assumption is being made that the change in consumption habits will primarily be either from luxury to necessities or within luxury spending (Ambert, 2001). The second set of surveys w ould be for salespeople to judge the effect the physical presence of a child has on spending. These surveys would be anonymous recordings at the registers of the dollar amount spent and if the consumer was shopping with children.

Brand Life Cycle and Brand Knowledge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Brand Life Cycle and Brand Knowledge - Essay Example These parameters can be applied in brand positioning as well but the thought process needs to be different. For example, product positioning may possess metrics like product look, product features, product variants, overall analogous products in the industry, supply chain, customer support, replacement guarantees, etc. These aspects require a lot of operational considerations to be embedded in the product strategic framework. Hence, product life cycle assessed & planned by virtue of the realities in the market that includes customer perceptions, changing end user tastes, supply chain weaknesses (like obsolescence of raw materials) & creative destruction by new innovation activities by the competition. But brand positioning requires lot of thought process about the in-depth cultural & emotional aspects of the customers in the process of introduction, elaboration & fortification of brands that builds an overall "expectation framework" of end customers from the organization as a whole ( Park and Jaworski et al. 1986. pp137-139). It requires lot of strategic thinking at much wider perspective without looking much into the operational aspects. For example, going for an ISO 9001 certification can have one of the benefits as improved branding given that the customers develop better trust in the organization's commitment to quality of products. When we talk about products here, it is not specific to a particular product but is pertaining to the organization's overall quality commitment to its products. The products may become obsolete but such impressions last much longer - may die only if the next branding effort has not been made amidst changing market dynamics. For example, if the quality expectations of the consumers are modified to the latest version of ISO 9001 (ISO 9001:2008), the companies certified with the older versions may face brand obsolescence unless they tangibly demonstrate innovations in their internal quality control as per the new standard. Consumers may immediately realise this differentiating factor once one of the companies starts marketing their compliance with the latest version of the standard. Brand Knowledge and its impact on Retro Products and Brand Life Cycle Keller (2003. pp596) presented the key dimensions of brand knowledge as awareness, brand attributes, benefits, images (visualizations), thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and experiences. These dimensions form an important part of consumer memory that impact their buying behaviour. However, a closer look reveals that all these dimensions are volatile and possesses definitive risk of coming out of the consumer memory if the organization does not practice effective "memory refresh" or "brand reminder" techniques. Banbury & Mitchell (1995. pp178) and Hendricks & Singhal (1997. pp44) emphasized that incremental innovations and regular new product introductions impacts the business performance of organizations positively. These can result in complete refreshing of brand knowledge in the consumer's mind due to their door knocked by the innovative companies periodically to present new innovations & product releases.

Health improvement in nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Health improvement in nursing - Essay Example In order to improve health in nursing, nurses require collaboration with other different bodies, such as governments, the local communities, as well as their patients.Nurses utilize various strategies, which will promote positive health and well-being of individuals. Therefore, nurses are core in health improvement, and these are committed to their patients and aim at improving the health status of their patients, including those who suffer from long-term conditions. Nurses also provide care to the marginalized in society, and participate in a variety of public health programmes. Nonetheless, different people today need health improvement, but sometimes might lack to access it. Therefore, this paper will focus on overweight people with a BMI of 25-30kg kg/m2.Overweight people need health improvement and promotion, mainly because, today this is a worrying health issue, as a great number of people are overweight. The large number of overweight people is therefore, an indication that en ough efforts have not been adopted to address this health issue. In order to improve health for this group of people, it is important to increase their awareness of sugar intake, as is an important aspect that is overlooked by most overweight people, while some lack reliable information about this. Diabetes is experienced today at a higher rate compared to past decades. When one is overweight, they are at risk of being diabetic. Therefore, the increased prevalence of diabetes shows that one of the root causes, which is excessive weight in people, has not been given the attention it needs for improvement. Globally, the prevalence of diabetes is expected to hit a high of 552 million people by the year 2030. In 2011, prevalence of diabetes stood at 366 million people (Diabetes UK 2011). On the other hand, the UK is one of the countries, which is registering increased cases of diabetes every year. In the year 1996, the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK was 1.4 million. However, this number has increased to 2.9 million, and it is expected to reach 5 million in 2055. This therefore, makes diabetes to be one of the health challenges in the UK today (Diabetes UK 2011). In order to improve this case and promote good health of the people in the UK, it is crucial that information about diabetes, its cause and effects, and prevention be disseminated to the whole population, to increase their awareness so that they can adopt the correct preventive and control strategies (Diabetes UK 2011). The most prevalent diabetes type in the UK is Type 2 diabetes, which is highly associated with being overweight or obese. Initially, this affected people aged above 40 years, but today, this affects even young people and children (Public Health England 2013: London Health Improvement Board 2011). Nonetheless, the number of obese and overweight people in the UK keeps rising, thus the rise in the prevalence of diabetes (Diabetes UK 2011). Similarly, government records from the UK department of health show that in England, 61.3% of adults are overweight and obsess, in addition to 30% of children. Evidence also shows that overweight or

History of International Terrorism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of International Terrorism - Assignment Example s throughout the world and how different religious-extremist or nationalist groups that are still active contribute to the history of international terrorism.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   People often tend to think that terrorism did not exist before the 9/11 incident, that is not true. The roots of terrorism are deep-seated through the annuls of history. The word itself has been given many different meanings. In an online article, â€Å"The history of terrorism is as old as humans willingness to use violence to affect politics† (Zalman, n.d.). Based on what she says, we may trace the history of terrorism to the earliest of times when the common people used force to revolt against the tyranny of their monarch. As a term, terrorism isn’t quite simple to be limited by a definition. For some, it means to stand up for what you believe in and fight for it, to others it’s a crime. For some, it’s a strategy to break the hold of the tyrant, for others it may be tyranny in itself. For some, it’s their duty to God, to others it’s simply fanaticism by the name of God. Clearly, terrorism does not have an apparent definition. Although ter rorism may not be new, its interpretations and definitions throughout history have changed. What was considered an act of terrorism in the past may not fit the modern definition of terrorism. Zalman mentions how terrorism is more of a modern trend and how the mass media facilitates its purpose to invoke fear among the masses and how it is part of the international system itself (Zalman, n.d.). Let’s now look at a few important time periods in the history of international terrorism and the events that occurred before 9/11, it is important to note that it was not always centered around Muslims unlike modern terrorism. The phenomenon of terrorism has existed throughout history. Firstly, 1793: It is said that the foundations for modern terrorism were laid during this time, Zalman mentions, â€Å"The word terrorism comes from the Reign of Terror instigated by

Advertising plan for Vodafone Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Advertising plan for Vodafone - Assignment Example In the current world, it’s not only about sending text messages and vocal communication; there is also the need to send photos, videos etc.  Vodafone  provides all these options. Because of all these facilities more customers are attracted to  Vodafone. Their Broadband services are also used by most of the customers. Apart from the products and services they offer, they have started a Vodafone Group Foundation. The fund of this foundation is collected from the Vodafone Group annually. The Foundation has been started in more than 25 countries and they are involved in many community involvement and social activities.   Vodafone was awarded the UK's first mobile license in the year 1982. They started the first international mobile roaming service in the year 1991.In 2002 they started providing the facility to access internet in mobile. Apart from all these, recently they started the Vodafone money transfer service through mobile. Through this the customers can send and re ceive money through safest and easiest way. Vodafone have around 45% stake on Verizon Wireless services. They acquired a company named Telsim from Turkey in the year 2006 with an investment of around 2.5 billion Euros. In 2007 they acquired a company Vodafone Essar and entered into the Indian Mobile Market with an investment of around 5 billion Euros. The Vodafone Group is listed in the Stock Exchanges of London and NASDAQ and the headquarters of Vodafone is in London. Vodafone is mainly based on Middle East, Europe, Africa, United States and Asia Pacific. They have expanded their network in other countries also. Partner Market Agreements were made between Vodafone and their partners. With their co-operation, they entered into the marketing of global products and services with different levels of brand. By this strategy  Vodafone  enters into different countries and expanded their network and made their partners and customers getting more values and services. Also for the Vodafo ne customers who are travelling to other countries, they no need to invest again in that country because of this facility and they can make use of their partner network. The main products of Vodafone are  Vodafone live,  Vodafone Connect to Friends, Vodafone Euro-traveller,  Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Modem,  Vodafone 710,  Vodafone Freedom Packs, Vodafone at Home and Vodafone Money Transfer. In 2009 Vodafone launched a new business unit for health named as mHealth.   In 2010, they launched another product named  Vodafone 150. It is labelled as the world's cheapest mobile phone. Some of the main markets of Vodafone are Germany, Spain, UK, Netherlands, Turkey, Portugal, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand etc. In these countries Vodafone have 100% ownership. In South Africa 94% of the stake is owned by Vodacom Group and from these 94%, 65% is owned by Vodafone Group. In Italy 76% of stake is owned by Vodafone. In India 65% of stake is owned by Vodafone. Voda fone also invested in a company named  Safari com  it is a market leader in Kenya and it has an ownership of 40%. They have around 25 million subscribers. They have an indirect investment of 4% in Bharti Airtel. Product & Service A wide range of services are offered by Vodafone. A few of them are 1) Voice 2) Messaging 3) Data and fixed line solutions and devices to assist customers in meeting their overall communication