Coffee Ulbs Essay Example for Free

Coffee Ulbs Essay Coffee is a brewed beverage with a distinct aroma and flavor from the roasted seeds of the coffea plant. Coffee comes in many types of colour such as dark brown,white,beige,black,light brown,and more. Coffee was first discovered in the northeast region of Ethopia. Cofee cultivation first took place in southern Arabia,appears in the middle of the 15th century in the Sufi shrines of Yemen. According to the ancient chronicle,Omar who was known for his ability to cure sick through prayer was once exiled from Mocha,Yemen to a desert cave near Ousab. Starving,Omar chewed berries from nearby shrubbery but found them to the bitter. He tried roasting the seeds to improve the flavor,but they become hard. He then tried boiling them to soften the seeds,which resulted in a fragrant brown liquid. Upon drinking the liquid,Omar was revitalized and sustained for days. As stories of this ‘miracle drug’ reached Mocha,Omar was asked to return and was made a saint. In production of coffee,it consist of many steps such as processing,roasting,grading the roasting seeds,decaffeination,stored,brewing and finally be served. When processing the coffee,the berries of coffee have been traditionally and selectively picked by hand,only the berries at the peak of ripeness would be selected. After that,green coffee is process by one of two methods. Whether by dry process method or wet process method. Then,it will be sorted by ripeness and colour. After that,the seeds are fermented to remove the slimy layer of mucilage still present on the seeds. When the fermentation is finished,the seeds are washed to remove the fermentation residue. Then,the seeds are dried. Finally,the coffee is sorted again and been labeled. The roasting process influences the taste of the beverage by changing the coffee seed both physically and chemically. During roasting,caramelization occurs as intense heat that breaks down starches,changing them to simple sugars that begin to brown,which alters the colour of seeds. Then the seeds will be grading depends on the colour of roasting seeds. It will be labeled as light,medium light,medium,medium dark,dark or very dark. The degree of roast has an effect upon coffee flavor and body. Many methods can remove the caffeine from coffee,but all involve either soaking the green seeds in hot water or steaming them and using a solvent to dissolve caffeine that containing oils. Once roasted,coffee seeds must be stored properly to preserve the fresh taste of the seeds. Coffee seeds must be ground and brewed to create a beverage. Almost all methods of preparing coffee require the seeds to be ground and mixed with hot water long enough to extract the flavor,but without overextraction that draws out bitter compounds. The roasted coffee may be ground at a roaster,in a grocery store or in the home. Then,the coffee may be brewed by several methods such as boiled,steeped,or pressurized. Once brewed,coffee may be served in a variety of ways. As an example,the white coffee was made into dairy product such as milk or cream or dairy substitute or as a black coffee with no such addition. It may be sweetened with sugar or artificial sweetener.

The Diary of Anaïs Nin Essay -- Sexuality

Sex and desire. Few words evoke such complexity of meaning. For some, it is a sexual act. Whereas one might describe it as the sensual pleasure of two bodies fused into one being, another may define it as the fulfillment of animalistic desire, an unleashing of the beast. But, beyond an act charged with various meaning, it can also serve as an identity–heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or transsexual. Whether act or identity, societal dictates define the norm and the deviant. Because of this, the artist who departs from the "acceptable" and embraces the "aberrant," arouses the consciousness of self and society. In doing so, sex and desire become a vehicle, a means of communication between artist and audience, and an object that demands our attention. Whether it is the subtle and sensual language of Anaà ¯s Nin in The Diary of Anaà ¯s Nin (1966), the coarse and explicit vocabulary of Henry Miller in Tropic of Cancer (1934), or the poetic and surrealistic prose of Djuna Barne s in Nightwood (1934), sex and desire, as a vehicle in the literature of these authors, exposes the chaos and confusion within their world and suggests the establishment of a new order for self and/or society. Written between 1931 and 1934, The Diary of Anaà ¯s Nin chronicles one artist’s psychological journey. Deserted by her father as a girl, Anaà ¯s experiences an â€Å"initial shock† that leaves her â€Å"like a shattered mirror† (Nin 103). The shards of glass, each developing a life of their own, come to be the â€Å"several selves† of Anaà ¯s (103). Through the pages of The Diary, reflecting upon and dissecting these various selves, she concludes, â€Å"one does not need to remain in bondage to the first wax imprint made on childhood sensibilities. One need not be branded by the fir... ...dea briefly has been to present a resurrection of the emotions, to depict the conduct of a human being in the stratosphere of ideas, that is, in the grip of delirium.† (243). As an artist, his task has been to â€Å"overthrow existing values, to make of the chaos about him an order which is his own, to sow strife and ferment so that by the emotional release those who are dead may be restored to life† (253). While there are those who might disagree with his methods, his language and vivid imagery not only awaken the conscious, but they also provide a much-needed dose of humor in Modernist literature. Works Cited Barnes, Djuna. Nightwood. New York: New Directions Books, 2006. Print. Miller, Henry. Tropic of Cancer. New York: Grove Press, 1961. Print. Nin, Anaà ¯s. The Diary of Anaà ¯s Nin: Volume One 1931-1934. San Diego: Swallow Press and Harcourt, 1966. Print.

Marriott Corporation: the Cost of Capital Essay

Dan Cohrs of Marriott Corporation has the important task of determining correct hurdle rates for the entire corporation as well as each individual business segment. These rates are instrumental in determining which future projects to pursue and thus fundamentally important for Marriott’s growth trajectory. This case analysis seeks to examine Marriott’s financial strategy in comparison with its growth goals as well as evaluate a detailed breakdown of Marriott’s cost of capital – both divisionally and as a whole. Financial Strategy and Growth Marriot’s current financial strategy is in line with its overall goal of steady growth. By building and then promptly selling their hotels to limited partners, the company recoups its costs almost immediately. They then run the hotels, taking a 20% cut of the profits in addition to a 3% management fee. This results in fast, stable returns, which is good for continued growth. They may run into issues with overexpansion in the future, but for the time being, their strategy is sound. The other elements of Marriott’s financial strategy are also in line with their overall goals. By seeking projects that would increase shareholder value and repurchasing undervalued shares, they ensure that the value of their equity does not decrease. When coupled with the use of debt in the company’s capital structure, they are creating a good framework for future growth. Cost of Capital – Lodging and Restaurant Divisions We begin with an analysis of hurdle rates for the Lodging and Restaurant divisions, for which public comparable company figures are provided, to back into cost of capital for Contract Services in the next section, for which public comparables are not available. Restaurant D/V D/E ÃŽ ²lev ered ÃŽ ²unlev ered Church’s Chicken 4.0 % 0.04 0.75 0.73 Frisch’s 6.0 % 0.06 0.60 0.58 Collins Foods 10.0 % 0.11 0.13 0.12 Luby’s Cafeterias 1.0 % 0.01 0.64 0.64 McDonald’s 23.0 % 0.30 1.00 0.86 Wendy’s Int. 21.0 % 0.27 1.08 0.94 Rf 8.72 % Market Premium 7.92 % Median ÃŽ ²unlev ered 0.685 Target Debt % 42 % ÃŽ ²lev ered 0.962 Cost of Equity 16.57 % Cost of Debt 10.52 % WACC 12.08 % Lodging D/V D/E ÃŽ ²lev ered ÃŽ ²unlev ered Hilton 14.0 % 0.16 0.88 0.81 Holiday 79.0 % 3.76 1.46 0.47 La Quinta 69.0 % 2.23 0.38 0.17 Ramada 65.0 % 1.86 0.95 0.47 Rf 8.95 % Market Premium 7.92 % Median ÃŽ ²unlev ered 0.468 Target Debt % 74 % ÃŽ ²lev ered 1.213 Cost of Equity 18.56 % Cost of Debt 10.05 % WACC 8.98 % For these two divisions, we found the unlevered beta for each company in the division’s peer set, then relevered the median of this set with respect to Marriott’s target debt percentage of 74% and 42% for Lodging and Restaurant divisions, respectively, as a proxy for Marriott’s Lodging levered beta. The risk-free rates are based on U.S Treasury interest rates: we used the 30-year for Lodging and the 10-year for Restaurant due to the longevity of the assets in each respective division. Lodging assets consist mostly of real estate and have lives spanning decades, while restaurants are more likely to have a life cycle closer to 10 years. The geometric average in 1987 for the spread between the S&P 500 and U.S. Government Bonds at 7.92% is used as the market risk premium in all cases, and the cost of debt is calculated by adding the debt rate premium for each division to each division’s risk free rate. A tax rate of 44.1% is extrapolated by dividing income tax expense by EBT in the historical financials. With the entire infrastructure in place, we can calculate each division’s cost of equity through the CAPM model: Cost of Capital – Contract Services Division Comparable companies are not given for the Contract Services Division, but information about the division can be backsolved using some simple algebra as we are given Marriott’s balance sheet breakdown by segment in Exhibit 2: Since it is given that Marriott’s unlevered beta is .97, its tax rate is 44.1%, and has 60% debt in its capital structure, we can unlever to see that Marriott as an entire firm has an unlevered beta of .79. Assuming that Marriott’s unlevered beta can be calculated as a weighted average of its divisions’ betas based on identifiable assets, we can find Contract Services unlevered beta by solving: Using some algebra, this yields an unlevered beta of 1.55 for Contract Services. Relevering with the 2/3 desired debt-to-equity ratio yields a levered beta of 2.13. This time, we use the 1-day risk-free rate due to the even shorter lifespan of contracts. Cost of Capital – Marriott as a Whole There are several ways to approach Marriott’s cost of capital as an entire firm. One way is to use CAPM to find its cost of equity, long-term interest rates for the cost of debt, and weigh according to its capital structure to find WACC. Under this method, we lever the previously found firm-wide ÃŽ ²U of .79 to the desired 3/2 debt-to-equity ratio to find a cost of equity of 17.12%. Next, we apply the CAPM using the 10-year Treasury for 1987 Assets % of total ÃŽ ²unlev ered Lodging 2777.4 60.6 % 0.47 Contract Services 1237.7 27.0 % Restaurants 567.6 12.4 % 0.68 Total 4582.7 100.0 % Contract Services Rf 6.90 % Market Premium 7.92 % ÃŽ ²unlev ered 1.550 Target Debt % 40 % ÃŽ ²lev ered 2.131 Cost of Equity 23.78 % Cost of Debt 8.30 % WACC 16.12 % the risk-free rate and the one-year arithmetic return for 1987. We use the arithmetic rather than geometric since CAPM is a one-period model. For Marriott’s cost of debt, we add the credit spread of 1.3% to the ten-year Treasury yield of 8.72%. Plugging all these variables into CAPM, we arrive at a WACC of 10.53%. Another method to finding Marriott’s cost of capital is by taking a weighted average of its three segments. Since its three segments have different business models – it may be helpful to see the cost of capital as a mix of its three divisions rather than an aggregate Marriott unit. Weighing each division by the same weights in the Contract Services section, we calculate that WACC is 11.3% A couple of items to note on Marriott’s firm-wide cost of capital are noted here. Marriott’s WACC measures the cost of capital for the whole Marriott Corporation. Marriott has three lines of business –each line of service has its unique cost of deb t and beta, so when valuing investments in those three service lines, we would use their own WACC instead of using Marriott’s WACC. If the firm only uses one hurdle rate for evaluating investment opportunities in each line of business, it may accept or reject some investment project improperly. From the question below we already found that the WACC for lodging and restaurants is not the same. So for example, if just using one hurdle rate, like 10%, to evaluate the project among these two line of service, the lodging service may reject this project while the restaurant service may accept it. Appendix Below are the costs of equity, debt, and capital for all of Marriott as well as its three divisions. Weight WACC Lodging 0.60606 8.98 % Contract Services 0.27008 16.12 % Restaurants 0.12386 12.08 % 11.30 % Contract Marriott Lodging Restaurant Services Cost of Debt 10.02 % 10.05 % 10.52 % 8.30 % Cost of Equity 17.12 % 18.56 % 16.57 % 23.78 % Cost of Capital 10.53 % 8.98 % 12.08 % 16.12 %

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin - 1161 Words

Feminism is played out in a major way in Kate Chopins’ â€Å"The Story of an Hour.† The story portrays a story about the lack of freedom that all woman had in the 1800’s. The word feminism as defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. A woman’s job and duty in the 1800’s was to tend to the needs of their husband’s needs. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour† Mrs. Mallard, one of the main characters, was told about her husband’s death and she was initially very emotional. Her sadness was quickly turned into a burst of joy because she felt a sense of freedom. The story takes a very weird and ironic twist because her husband was really not dead and when Mrs. Mallard finds out about this she regretted abandoning her moment of freedom. If we were looking at this story through the historical and feminist lenses one would suggest that this story is about a male dominate d society in the 1800s. This male dominated society caused the woman to have a lack of freedom and really made it hard for woman to have a self-identity. Males were the dominant gender during the 1800s. Woman had absolutely no rights and the reality was that feminism did not exist. One of the things that was really frowned upon in the 1800s were divorces. In fact if there was a divorce, everything would be given to the male. In the Declaration of Sentiments, Stanton enumerated specific complaints concerning the oppressed status of women in American society:Show MoreRelatedThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin1241 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin is a wonderful short story bursting with many peculiar twists and turns. Written in 1894, the author tells a tale of a woman who learns of her husband’s death, but comes to find pleasure in it. Many of the elements Kate Chopin writes about in this story symbolize something more than just the surfac e meaning. Through this short story, told in less than one thousand one hundred words, Kate Chopin illustrates a deeper meaning of Mrs. Mallard’s marriage with herRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin855 Words   |  4 PagesThe Story of an Hour In the â€Å"Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin, is about pleasure of freedom and the oppression of marriage. Just like in Kate Chopin’s story, inside most marriages, even the ones that seem to be the happiest, one can be oppressed. Even though, one might seem to be happy deep inside they miss the pleasure of freedom and living life to the fullest. Just like, in this story Mrs. Mallard feels trapped and when she hears about her husband’s death she first feels distraught, but ultimatelyRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin1457 Words   |  6 PagesEmotions and Death Everyone who reads a story will interpret things slightly different than the person who reads it before or after him or her. This idea plays out with most every story, book, song, and movie. These interpretations create conflict and allow people to discuss different ideas and opinions. Without this conflict of thought there is no one devoting time to debate the true meaning of a text. Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† tells about a woman who is informed of her husbands deathRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin987 Words   |  4 PagesIn Kate Chopin’s short story, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† reader’s see a potentially long story put into a few pages filled with rising action, climax and even death. In the beginning of the story, character Louise Mallard, who has a heart condition, is told of the death of her husband by her sister and one of her husband’s friends. Afterwards Mrs. Mallard is filled with emptiness and then joy of freedom. This joy of freedom is actually what consequently leads to her death in the end when she discoversRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin1061 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout the short story, â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, readers are introduced to characters whose lives change drastically in the course of this writing. Through Kate Chopin’s story we can identify many different themes and examples of symbolism in her writing. Chopin’s choice of themes in this writing are no surprise due to the time frame of which this story was written. Chopin often wrote stories with of women’s rights, and is noted as one of America’s first open feminists. As this story of an ill, helplessRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin972 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin expresses Ms. Mallard’s feelings towards her husband’s death in an appalling train accident. Due to her bad heart, her sister Josep hine had to be the bearer of bad news and approach his death gently to her. According to the quote, â€Å" But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought†, it lets us know thatRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin998 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The story of an hour† by Kate Chopin was a story that was ironical yet profoundly deep. As a student I have been asked to read â€Å"a story of an hour† many times, and every time I’m surprised by how I enjoy it. People can read thousands of stories in their life times and only a handful will every stand out to them, stories that can draw out an emotion or spark a thought are the ones that will standout more. For me and â€Å"a story of an hour† the thought of freedom is what draws me the most as a teenageRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kat e Chopin1542 Words   |  7 PagesIn the short story, â€Å"Story of an Hour†, Kate Chopin writes about a woman with heart trouble, Mrs. Mallard, who, in finding out about the death of her husband, Mr. Mallard, experiences some initial feelings of sadness which quickly transition into the exhilarating discovery of the idea of a newfound freedom lying in front of her. When it is later revealed that her husband is not actually dead, she realizes she will not get to taste that freedom. The devastation kills her. What Mrs. Mallard goes throughRead MoreThe Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin596 Words   |  2 PagesIn â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† Kate Chopin focuses on the idea of freedom throughout the story. Mrs. Mallard is a lonely wife who suffers from heart trouble. She is told by her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend Richards that her husband has passed away in a train accident. She locks herself in a room expecting to be devastated, but instead feels freedom. Later, she exits her room and her husband walks through the door, causing her to die of a heart attack. Chopin uses this story to demonstrateRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin886 Words   |  4 Pages In Kate Chopin â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, the reader is presented with the theme of prohibited independence. In Kate Chopin â€Å"The Storm†, the scenery in this story builds the perfect atmosphere for an adulterous affair. The importance of these stories is to understand the era they occurred. Kate Chopin wrote stories with exceptional openness about sexual desires. In â€Å"The Storm†, a short story written by Kate Chopin in a time when women were expected to act a certain way and sexual cravings was considered