Domestic and Cross-Border Merger and Acquisition Factor

Domestic and Cross-Border Merger and Acquisition Factor Determinants Of Domestic And Cross-Border Merger And Acquisition Activities In Banking Sector Abstract Global announced mergers and acquisitions (MAs) in banking sector rose to a new high record in 2007. Although now MA activity has been hit notably because of the global financial crisis, it will have different performance in the time of post-crisis. Both China and UK will be the most active MA areas in the future, especially in the financial service industry. To secure the success in future MA wave, identifying the right potential targets is crucial. The purpose of the study is to identify the determinants of banks domestic and cross-border acquisitions in China and UK over the two specific periods which are before global financial crisis (2005-2007) and during crisis (2008-August 2009). This study will help bank managers to identify the right targets for future acquisitions and also help policy makers to understand which factors can increase the likelihood of bank acquisitions. Three aspects are examined by employing Logit analysis for the likelihood of domestic bank acquisitions which include banks characteristics, market features and regulatory factors. Additional geographic factors will also be considered into cross-border bank acquisitions by using the same model. The result of this study reveals the determinants of likelihood of being acquired for UK and Chinese banking industry respectively. It also shows the difference of determinants between domestic and cross-border acquisitions, and between the two specific time periods as well for two banking industries respectively. Detailed analysis is also provided for comparing the difference of determinants between China and UK, these two significantly different banking markets. Introduction ABN AMRO, which created as of result of the 1991 merger between Amsterdam Rotterdam (AMRO) and ABN whose history dated back to 1824 and was one of the largest banks in Europe, was acquired by RFS Holdings B.V., a company jointly owned by RBS, Fortis N.V. and Banco Santander S.A. for a consequent amount of 71 billion Euros in October 2007 (Financial Times, 2007). This was the biggest banking takeover in history and together with other deals made global mergers and acquisitions (MAs) rose to a new high of US $ 4.8 trillion in 2007 (Francis and Hasan, 2008). However, the following global credit crunch has created a new international financing and banking network where MAs may be mainly involved as a survival solution for many entities. This study will examine the determinants of banks domestic and cross-border acquisitions both in UK and China, the most active and representative country in developed financial market and emerging market respectively. Therefore, this chapter will give the overview of UK and Chinese banking industry, then focus on MA activities, and illustrate objectives and the value of this study. Background Global Banking Industry Overview The global banking industry experienced strong growth before the end of 2007. Assets of the largest 1,000 banks in the world grew 16.3% during 2007 to a record $74.2 trillion (Figure 1). This growth rate is 5.4% higher than the previous year. Worldwide assets of banking industry The Banker database) EU banks held the largest share, 53% in 2006/2007, up from 43% in 1999/2000. And among this, the share of UK banks is always on the top of other EU countries. US banks share in term of assets remained relatively stable at the level around 14%. The left shares are from other Asian and European countries (IFSL, 2008a). However, the global credit crunch which originated in the US sub-prime market impacted the whole financial system world widely. And it came close to collapse in the autumn of 2008, following the failure of Lehman Brothers and the ‘breaking the buck of a large US money market mutual fund (MMMF). The subsequent panic was then across global financial markets especially the western world. Although in recent months, market conditions have picked up which improves the outlook for banking systems, there has been a dramatic shift based on market capitalization in global banking industries (Bank of England, 2009). In 2007, the average level of world top 20 financial institutions market capitalization was peaked around $125bn, and banks from US and UK dominated the main financial market. However, in 2009, the market capitalization decreased by more than 50% for all financial institutions, and the top three largest ones are all Chinese banks. HSBS, which based on emerging markets at heart , is UKs sole representative in the list (Figure 2) (Financial Times, 2009a). Banking industry in both UK and China experienced great change through the global financial crisis. Financial Times UK Banking Industry The UK banking industry is a vital and essential part of the UK economy. It has experienced a deep level of restructure since the 1980s which includes regulatory change and banking system reform etc. Four major changes are associated with this restructure: increasing level of competition, both in market and out-of-market; deregulation; increased diversification and acquisitions (Drake, 2001). In 2007, UK banking industry reached a new high record for its assets and contribution percentage to UK economy comparing to other sectors. Assets of UK banking sector reached  £6,964bn at the end of 2007, up 11% on 2007. And there were 331 banks authorized to conduct business in UK. The 254 foreign banks physically located in the UK which is more than in any other country (IFSL, 2008a). Banking industry accounted for 7.6% of UK GDP in 2007, increased from 5.7% in 1997 (IFSL, 2008b). However, the following global financial crisis impacted the UK banking industry materially. During 2008, the return on the major UK banks total assets turned negative and the impact of this on return on equity was amplified by banks high level of gearing (Figure 3). Meanwhile, the mark-to-market losses of major UK banks book assets roughly doubled between October 2008 and January 2009, exceeding fresh capital raising over that period which partly reflected increase in expected losses (Figure 4) (Bank of England, 2009). But in recent months, market conditions have been improved, and it can be expected that UK banking industry which experienced restructuring and changed policies on bank regulations during the crisis will seek substantial domestic and cross-border business opportunities afterwards to strength its position in global financial market which gives great potential for MA activities (Economics Outlook, 2009). Bank Of England, Bloomberg) Chinese Banking Industry Chinas economy has been growing about 8% per year in real terms over the last decade. Even during the financial crisis, the Chinese economy continued to grow in a steady way (Peoples Bank of China, 2008). This rapid growth may be largely linked to the globalization of trade, but China has yet to ‘globalize its banking sector. The Chinese banking industry was dominated by four large state-owned banks with about 80% of industry assets, and very few foreign banks before WTO entry in December 2001. After 2001, the existing regulations and laws such as the Central Bank Law and Commercial Bank Law were revised to be aligned with the WTO agreement. There will be more liberalization of interest rates, more fair treatment of tax rates, less restrictions on ownership of takeovers and MAs, and great freedom of operational and geographical scope in the Chinese banking industry (Berger et al., 2009). In 2003, China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) updated guidelines to encourage foreign share purchases. Foreigners then can own up to 25% of any domestic bank, with the ownership from any one investor allowed between 5% and 20%. This led to a historical high level of cross-border MA activities in Chinese banking industry later on (CBRC, 2005). At the end of 2007, total assets of banking institutions increased by 19.6 8% to RMB 52.6 trillion than 2006. And the reform and opening up of Chinese banking industry continued to advance, the assets share of large state-owned commercial banks decreased from around 80% in 2001 into 53.25% while others includes foreign banks increased into 15.98% (Figure 5). This indicated that Chinese banking industry encouraged foreign investors more than before which gave big potential for further cross-border MAs in China. Peoples Bank Of China) Even in 2008s special context, Chinese banking industry followed the reform strategy and promoted the reform and opening up policy of banking industry, and its total bank assets amounted to RMB 62.4 trillion, 18.7% higher than in 2007 while most banks in western world decreased their bank assets by more than 50%. The Chinese banking industry took the financial crisis as an opportunity for further reforms, development and finally achieving globalization in banking sector (CBRC, 2009). This growth trend also provides great potential for both domestic and cross-border MAs in China which can help strength the market position and substantial development for Chinese banks. The Merger And Acquisition Market There are two primary mechanisms by which ownership and control of a public corporation can change: merger and acquisition. In both cases, the acquiring entity must purchase the stock or existing assets of the target either for cash or for something equivalent value (such as shares in the acquiring or newly merged corporation). Mergers and acquisitions (MAs) are part of what is often referred to as ‘the market for corporate control (Berk and DeMarzo, 2007). The global merger and acquisition market is highly active, averaging more than $1 trillion per year in transaction value. Global announced mergers and acquisitions (MAs) rose to a new high of US $4.8 trillion in 2007, up 23% from US $3.9 trillion in 2006. Since the increasingly fierce competitions in banking sector during this time, banks conducted large-scaled MA within and across the border in aim to expand operation and enhance competitiveness. In 2007, MAs in banking increased 32.5% from US $543 billion in 2006, was again the most active sector for MAs (Francis and Hasan, 2008). But MA activities correlate with bull markets and are often greater during economic expansions than during contractions. During the past year when global banking industry was suffered by the credit crunch which originated in the US sub-prime market, MA activities were hit notably in financial service sector. The worldwide MA volume decreased significantly during the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008. But, against all the negative factors, the trend of selective MA still exists as ‘acquirers take advantage of the lower market valuations to strengthen their business with synergistic deals and ‘the ongoing strength of emerging market (Financial Times, 2009b). From August 2008 by monthly comparison, the MA volume increased again increased gradually and kept vibrating. On average, the announced deal number is around 3,000 and total rank value is about $160,000 million per month (Figure 6). Thomson ONE Banker Database) MA Activities In UK Banking Industry Banking industry is the most active sector in MA market. And UK, despite of US, is more involved in MA process than any other EU country in financial service industry (Ahammad and Glaister, 2008). During 1999 to 2007, the number of UK incorporated banks which include commercial banks, investment banks, foreign owned banks and banks operated by retail companies declined from 200 to 157 mostly due to the severely competition and MAs in its banking industry (IFSL, 2008). Also, the rapid economic expansions during this period drive peaks in both domestic and cross-border MA activities in UK banking industry (Harford, 2008). At the end of 2007, the total announced MA deals in UK financial industry was 1,806, which represented as 38.3% of all MA deals announced in this year. And among 1806 ones, UK banking industry contributed significant amount of deal values comparing to other financial sectors. However, the following global financial crisis hit the UK banking industry significantly. Although the number of MA activity is less during economic contractions than expansions, it still has its market due to various business strategies. There were 79 MA deals totally in UK banking industry for 2008, and the number for 2009 as so far is 35. According to Economics Outlook, the post-crisis restructuring, recapitalization and seeking for re-strengthening business positions in UK banking industry will provide substantial opportunities for MA activities both domestically and internationally. This will produce an urgent demand for identifying right potential merger and acquisition targets which gives great practical value for this study. MA Activities In Chinese Banking Industry While the economic market get more international and worldwide, to be globalization has become an irreversible trend for all nations in the world, especially for developing countries (Bonin and Hasan, 2005). Although Chinese banking industry has achieved sustainable development during these years even in the global financial crisis, its still far away from globalization. Entry to WTO in 2001 and new policy for foreign investment in Chinese banking industry in 2003 brought momentums for encouraging Chinese banks to participate in global competitions. To strength their own positions in global financial market, most Chinese banks took actions of within or cross border MA activities which led by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) acquiring 20% share of South Africas Standard bank for $5.6 billion, the largest MA deal in Chinese banking industry in 2007 (Munroe, 2008). Further opening up in Chinese banking industry also attract strategic foreign investors invest in Chinese domestic banks through MAs. At the end of 2007, foreign financial institutions invested in 25 domestic banks totally through partially acquisition (Peoples Bank of China, 2008). With the rapid development and increased opening-up of Chinese banking sector, banks MA activities will be increasingly active. According to Peoples Bank of China, effort will be made to vigorously support qualified commercial banks to conduct MA and create favourable policy environment based on international experiences to encourage cross-border MAs in China. Moreover, the ongoing strength of Chinese economic will help to fund or attract domestic and overseas acquisitions in China (Wilson, 2008). It can be expected that China will be the most active MA area in the emerging market in future. To sum up, both UK and Chinese banking industry have the great potential for future MA activities. To secure the successful performance in the present and future MA waves in order to obtain sustainable business growth, identifying the right potential acquisition targets is crucial (Rossi and Volpin, 2004). However, investigating the relationship between bank and the features of market where banks are within and the likelihood of being a right potential acquisition targets in banking industry is relatively under-researched(Pasiouras et al., 2007). And it will be interesting to investigate and compare the determinants of potential MA targets between UK and Chinas banking industries which have significant differences in characteristics, and also for two special periods which are before and during the global financial crisis. Research Objectives And Value The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of banks domestic and cross-border acquisitions in China and UK, and detailed analysis will also be provided for the difference of determinants between China and UK, the two relatively different banking sectors. Moreover, it will compare the difference between two time periods which are before global financial crisis (2005-2007) and on crisis (2008- August 2009). Three aspects will be examined for the likelihood of domestic bank MAs which included banks characteristics, market characteristics and management incentives. Another two aspects which are geographic factors and regulatory barriers will be also considered in cross-border bank MAs. Same Logit analysis model will be employed to analyze the domestic and cross-border MAs for the purpose that the comparisons have the same base. This study has the value for bank managers in China and UK to identify the most suitable targets or to check if their own bank has developed a profile that similar to typical target. And also, its meaningful for policy makers to understand which factors would increase the possibility for bank acquisitions (Scott, 2007). The study has the originality in three aspects. First, it combines all the important factors that will influence the likelihood of acquisitions in banking industry and distinguishes the domestic and cross-border acquisitions according to the gaps in the literatures. Second, this study investigates and compares two important banking sectors (China and UK) which havent done by any researchers before. Last but not the least, this research focus on bank acquisitions over a most recent time period, from 2005 to August 2009, which is the period includes prior global financial crisis when MAs rose to a new high record and on-crisis period. This differs from the prior studies that focused on earlier time periods and will reflect the new trend for MAs. According to Hagendorff et al. (2008), the more recent MAs may be qualitatively different from those in earlier periods which suggests that studies focusing on more recent MAs may provide more relevance to likely future takeovers. Literarure Review The relationship between the bank and features of the market where banks are within and the probability that a bank will be a potential target remains an open question (Cyree et al., 2000; Wheelock and Wilson, 2000). Few studies in the literature have examined the major features of banks which are acquired by other organizations (Hannan and Rhoades, 1987; Moore, 1996; Hadlock et al., 1999; Wheelock and Wilson, 2000, 2004) are focused on the US market, while Pasiouras et al.(2006), Shen and Lin (2007) and Hernando et al.(2009) have studied the Greece, Asia and EU banking industry respectively. Gaps In Previous Studies Hanna and Rhoades (1987) examined the likelihood of an acquisition based on the banks performance using a sample which was consisted 1046 acquired and non-acquired banks in Texas between 1970 and 1982. The results showed that market concentration and high capital asset ratios have negative relationship with the probability of banks acquisition. Moore (1996) also investigated the characteristics of US banks acquired between 1993 and 1996 using multinomial logit analysis. However, both studies mainly focused on financial characteristics of banks, but ignoring the external factors such as regulations. Based on these, some other studies focused on the search of the best predictive variables included bank characteristics, market features and regulatory factors (Bartley and Boardman, 1997; walter, 1998; Cudd and Duggal, 2000). Hadlock et al. (1999) researched a sample of 84 acquired and non-acquired US banks during 1982 and 1992 by employing both univariate and multivariate methods to identify the determinants of acquisitions. However, the variables they analyzed mainly focused on the management incentives. In more recent studies for US banking sector, Wheelock and Wilson (2000, 2004) used proportional hazard models and a two-part hurdle model by collecting massive amount of available data and employing relatively comprehensive variables included financial, market and regulatory factors to investigate the determinants of likelihood of banks acquisitions. They found that regulatory approval process and market concentration are negatively related to the likelihood of MA activities, while management incentives, location, banks size, and capital strength are positively related. However, they didnt identify the difference of determinants between domestic and cross-border acquisitions. More recently, Pasiouras et al.(2006) investigated the Greece banking industry to analyze the determinants of bank acquisitions, but they ignored the management incentives and corporate governance factors due to lack of data available. In a later study, Parisouras and Gaganis (2007) also investigated the financial characteristics of bank acquisitions covering the 5 principal EU banking sectors (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK). However, they didnt distinguish domestic from cross-border takeovers in their studies. Shen and Lin (2007) studied the determinants of financial institutions which engaged in cross-border MA activity before and after the 1997 Asia financial crisis. They found that regulation barrier and market opportunities have less impact on the takeovers after crisis while geographic factors are important determinants both prior to and post Asian crisis. Hernando et al. (2009) analyzed the determinants of bank acquisitions both within and across 25 members of the European Union during the period 1997 to 2004. Their results suggested that determinants of domestic and cross-border takeovers appear to be different in several aspects such as market concentration and profitability of banks performance. However, they examined all the variables according to the experiential model which generated from the US banking sector. The model can be argued if it is applicable to the EU banking industry. Other studies about the determinants of bank acquisitions mainly focused on the search of the most effective empirical method for the development of the prediction models (Cheh et al., 1999; Doumpos et al., 2004; Espahbodi, 2003). This study is based on previous research, and will cover the above identified gaps which include examining domestic and cross-border MAs respectively by using the same Logit analysis model, studying the two typical and representative banking markets in UK and China, and analyzing all the various factors typically found to be the most likely determinants of bank MA activities in the literature. And these factors will be detailed in the following section related to previous studies. Possible Determinants Of Banking MAs In Literature Bank Characteristics Seven factors of bank features are mainly analyzed in the literature which are related to the likelihood of being acquired. Bank Performance The main motive underlying acquisitions is the target bank is underperforming. The inefficient management hypothesis (Manne, 1965) argues that if management cant maximize the shareholders wealth by using the resource it has, then the firm is more likely to be acquired so the inefficient management will be replaced. Then there will be the space for the acquirer to improve the performance and efficiency of target and increase total profitability. Therefore, indicators of bank performance should contain explanatory power on the likelihood of being required. But the empirical results are mixed. Hannan and Rhoades (1987) found no evidence to support this hypothesis while Moore (1996), Focarelli et al. (1999), Wheelock and Wilson (2000), Pasiouras et al. (2006) and Hannan at el.(2007) found that less efficient and profitable banks are more likely to be acquired. Loan Activities However, while underperforming banks may provide greater opportunities for further improvement of profitability, they are also more risky, especially if the source of the underperformance is a high level of loans (Hernando et al, 2009). Hannan and Rhoades (1987) demonstrated that a high level of loans would indicate the aggressive business strategy of target bank and a penetrated and strong established client networking which will make it more attractive as a target while a bank with a low level of loans due to its conservative management may also be attractive to the acquirers since acquirers can use more aggressive way to increase returns of the target. And they found loan activity was negatively related to acquisition likelihood but not ‘statistically significant. But Moore (1996) found a negative and significant relationship for both in-market and out-of-market acquisitions. Moreover, the results of Wheelock and Wilsons studies (2000, 2004) were mixed. They found it depende d on the specification of the estimated model, in some cases it was negatively related but in others, it was positively related with not always statistically significance. Liquidity As stated by Pasiouras et al. (2007), liquidity is an additional factor that can affect the attractiveness of banks as targets since ‘the process of managing assets and cash flow to maintain the ability to meet current liabilities as they come due is an important decision for managers. This argument is supported by Wheelock and Wilson (2000) in their study. But it is also possible that some banks be acquired because they have liquidity issues and turn to help to acquirers. In the study of Pasiouras et al.(2007), it found no significant correlation between liquidity and likelihood of being acquired. Capital Strength Another important bank characteristic for likelihood of being acquired is the capital strength while there are different hypotheses associated with this (Hernando et al, 2009). Several hypotheses predict a positive relationship between banks capitalization and the likelihood of involving into acquisitions. One is that if high capitalization indicates inefficiency of a bank to diversify its assets, then better diversified acquirers will be attracted by such banks. Another one is that if acquirers face regulatory pressure of capital requirement, they may seek highly capitalized targets. Finally, banks with high capital ratios may be operated further below their potential profit due to less pressure to managers. While on the other hand, some hypotheses predict a negative relationship. One of them is an acquisition by a well capitalized acquirer might be stimulated by the supervisor if the target has low level of capitalization. And Hanna and Prilloff (2007) also argue that ‘acquir ers prefer low capitalized targets because it enables them to maximize the magnitude of post-acquisition performance gains relative to the cost of achieving those gains. The empirical results for this are mixed as well. Akhigbe et al. (2004) found a positive relationship between capitalization and the likelihood of being a target in study of publicly traded banks in the U.S. While most studies found the relationship is negatively related (Hanna and Pilloff, 2007; Lanine and Vander, 2007; and Pasiouras et al., 2007). Size Banks size is another characteristic which may influence the likelihood of being acquired. Smaller banks may be more attractive to the acquirers since its easy to finance and even integrate after the acquisition. However, if the acquirer is seeking economies of scale or market power through acquisition, especially for the cross-border acquisitions, size may have a positive influence on the likelihood of being acquired. Hannan and Rhaodes (1987) and Moore (1996) have not found a significant relationship between bank size and the probability of being a target while Wheelock and Wilson (2000), Focarelli and Pozzolo (2001) and Hannan and Pilloff (2007) find that larger banks are more likely to be acquired when they estimate their model using full samples. Lanine and Vander (2007) and Pasiouras et al. (2007) also have positive results in their studies. But Hanna and Pilloff (2007) also point out that for the acquisitions by smaller banks, larger banks are less likely to be acquired due to the difficulty of post-acquisition integration. Market Share Market share is an additional variable for the reasons of MA activities. Bodie et al. (2008) argues that market share is one of the most important factors which impact the acquirers decision in domestic and cross-border acquisitions in banking industry. It is similar to the variable of banks size, but provides a relative standard to evaluate the target comparing with others in the same industry. In the banking industry, a bank with small share is likely to be acquired since only banks with substantial market share can compete effectively and the assets of banks with smaller shares will be more valuable after being acquired by the large bank. But regulatory concerns about anti-monopoly for banks with large market share will give the negative effect on the likelihood of being acquired and high market share. The empirical results for this factor are mixed as well. Moore (1996) and Pasiouras et al. (2007) found that it is significantly and negatively related with the probability of acqui sition in in-market MAs while Hanna and Rhoades (1987) found it has positive impact on the acquisition probability. Future Growth Finally, prospects of banks future growth can affect the acquirers MA decision as well. Banks which experience high growth may be more attractive to the acquirers as potential gains raised from the expanding markets after acquisition can be expected more than before. Consistent with this hypothesis, Hannan and Rhoades (1987) and Cheng et al. (1989) find that the likelihood of acquisition is positively related to the potential growth rate of the assets of the target banks in their studies of U.S. banks in 1980s. However, Moore (1996) argues that slower growing banks may attract a buyer who is looking to increase the targets growth rate through efficient management. Together with Moore (1996), Pasiouras et al. (2007) find a negative relationship between banks growth rate and the acquisition probability. But Hanna and Pilloff (2007) and Lanine and Vander (2007) do not include this variable into their studies. Market Features Three main independent factors are discussed in literature about market characteristics which may influence the acquisition probability of a particular bank. First one is market concentration. Through the impact on bank competition, the degree of bank market concentration potentially affects the likelihood of acquisitions. Increased concentration may increase the attractiveness of the target banks in that market. But buyers that would want to increase the concentration further may face the pressure from anti-monopoly authorities (Hernando et al, 2009). Hanna and Rhoades (1987) found there is a negative relationship between market concentration and the takeover probability for out-of-market acquisitions while it is significantly positive for in-market acquisitions. Moore (1996) found no statistically significant relationship between them for in-market takeovers but a positive sign for out-of-market ones. Hannan and Pilloff (2007) also fail to find any statistically significant evidence that market concentration is a determinant of takeover targets. However, Pasiouras et al. (2007) stated a significantly negative coefficient on the five lar ge banks concentration ratio in their sample of European takeovers. Harford (2008) argues that there is a correlation between industry profitability and MA activities within this industry. MA deals are often greater in more profitable industries than those less profitable ones. According to Thomson ONE Banker database, there are less MA deals in UK banking industry in 2008 than ones in 2007 when the whole banking industry was experienced the global financial crisis. This also gives the evidence that the level of industrial profitability has the positive relationship with the likelihood of acquisitions. However, Ali-Yrkko (2002) points out that in the beginning of 1990s, the entire banking was restructured due to the extremely deep bank crisis with large bankrupts. Low profitability may be one of the main reasons which lead to higher level of acquisitions in banking in

Criminal Justice and Computers :: Technology Essays Police

Criminal Justice and Computers Technology affects almost all aspects of society today. Family life, medicine, business, telecommunications, and social life have all been changed for both good and bad. Interesting me in particular, technology (mainly computers) has influenced the criminal justice/law enforcement field. That is my chosen profession that I hope to accomplish. A few summers ago, I had the privilege to ride along in a patrol car two times with the Michigan State Police Bay City Post. As I was side by side with the troopers, I observed many things. I never knew how much they used technology. Not only computers, but other things as well. Throughout one’s shift, the officer communicates on his radio frequently. This radio can broadcast all around the county to other police officers and stations. That is the way that the word about a crime gets spread. If an officer is down, he or she can just talk into their radio and help will come as soon as possible. I thought that when the police officer pulled over a speeding car, they walked up to it, issued the violator a ticket, and went on their merry little way. I was wrong. When they first pull them over, the officer enters the license plate into the mini computer. There is a small device that is latched into the console between the seats in the patrol car. It looks like a small computer with the keyboard and screen attached together. There are many different options to choose from on the main screen. After the officer enters the license plate number, a whole bunch of information comes up. Who owns the car, the make of the car, and information similar to that come up on the screen. After the officer gets the driver’s license, he or she enters that into the police blotter also. The information that comes back now is if there is a warrant out for the driver’s arrest, if he or she has any unpaid tickets, and also all the other times he or she has gotten pulled over for traffic violations with in the past year show up. Without this technology, police officers would be in a lot of danger. There could be a convicted felon in that car, but the officer would be unaware. So with this computer, a lot of information is stored, the safety of lives is increased, and the police can find out about the driver without asking him anything. Criminal Justice and Computers :: Technology Essays Police Criminal Justice and Computers Technology affects almost all aspects of society today. Family life, medicine, business, telecommunications, and social life have all been changed for both good and bad. Interesting me in particular, technology (mainly computers) has influenced the criminal justice/law enforcement field. That is my chosen profession that I hope to accomplish. A few summers ago, I had the privilege to ride along in a patrol car two times with the Michigan State Police Bay City Post. As I was side by side with the troopers, I observed many things. I never knew how much they used technology. Not only computers, but other things as well. Throughout one’s shift, the officer communicates on his radio frequently. This radio can broadcast all around the county to other police officers and stations. That is the way that the word about a crime gets spread. If an officer is down, he or she can just talk into their radio and help will come as soon as possible. I thought that when the police officer pulled over a speeding car, they walked up to it, issued the violator a ticket, and went on their merry little way. I was wrong. When they first pull them over, the officer enters the license plate into the mini computer. There is a small device that is latched into the console between the seats in the patrol car. It looks like a small computer with the keyboard and screen attached together. There are many different options to choose from on the main screen. After the officer enters the license plate number, a whole bunch of information comes up. Who owns the car, the make of the car, and information similar to that come up on the screen. After the officer gets the driver’s license, he or she enters that into the police blotter also. The information that comes back now is if there is a warrant out for the driver’s arrest, if he or she has any unpaid tickets, and also all the other times he or she has gotten pulled over for traffic violations with in the past year show up. Without this technology, police officers would be in a lot of danger. There could be a convicted felon in that car, but the officer would be unaware. So with this computer, a lot of information is stored, the safety of lives is increased, and the police can find out about the driver without asking him anything.

Poetic Reflections of the National Spirit Essay -- Literary Analysis,

Sir Philip Sidney wrote in the Defense of Poesy that â€Å"only the poet, disdaining to be tied to any such subjection, lifted up with the vigor of his own invention, doth grow in effect another nature, in making things either better than nature bringeth forth, or quite anew, forms such as never were in nature† (Sidney, bartleby.com). While history describes the actual and philosophy explores the abstract, only poetry is capable of weaving the two concepts together. Reading a nation’s history enlightens an individual to the significant events of a country’s past, but it cannot reveal the immaterial spirit of an era or people. Likewise, it is necessary to look at poetry to perceive the void left vacant by history’s restriction. There have been several poets throughout history who have bridged this gap and captured their nation’s essence. Poets such as Whitman, Goethe, and Yeats communed directly with the soul of their nations and deservedly are recog nized as national poets. During the post-World War II era, both Robert Lowell and Seamus Heaney emerged as the pre-eminent poets of their day who were thrust into the public forum. The poets are well-known, acquiring Pulitzer and Nobel prizes amongst other accomplishments, and thus are worth analyzing as potential national poets. Historically a national poet fulfills the following criteria: an interest in creating poetry for the public sphere, a focus on the socio-political intricacies of their respective state, and an embodiment and understanding of the collective conscious of their people. Although Robert Lowell and Seamus Heaney were both well known politically concerned, dedicated, celebrated, and criticized poets, through an analysis of their work using the aforementioned criteria, only... ...of Ireland today . Both Robert Lowell and Seamus Heaney are poets that have significantly affected both their culture and poetry through their compositions of verse. However, through an analysis of the two writers on the basis of their intention, focus on socio-political concerns, and ability to connect to their national conscious, Heaney emerges as a true national poet, while Robert Lowell is better understood as a generational poet. Ultimately as the world becomes increasingly globalized and homogeneity is displaced by multi-culturalism, the distinction of the national poet will fade. While the change is inevitable, a reading of either Seamus Heaney or Robert Lowell affords an incomparable glimpse into the Irish experience or an American perspective during the post-war era and thus is necessary for truly understanding those nation’s histories.

Ted Hughes Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow Essay -- Crow Fr

Social Issues and Creation Stories in Ted Hughes' Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow      Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many mythological stories that exist in this age.   Within these different myths, there are many answers to how our world was created.   Yet, one must become open-minded to other myths that do not necessarily discuss creation; Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow can be seen to fall into this category.   This collection of Ted Hughes' poetry is intertwined with social issues and creation stories.   Throughout this collection, the poems not only involve Classical and Christian related ideas they also include several twentieth century advancements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The myths that Hughes creates have the central character as the crow.   In the book Myth in the Poetry of Ted Hughes, Hirschberg gives a brief statement of how crows are viewed in different mythologies, "In folk mythology the crow is an animal figure predominantly associated with the twin motifs of death and guilt, a stark figure who embodies boldness, intelligence, adaptability to change and a twisted vitality" (126).   This description is widely evident throughout Ted Hughes' collection.   Crow goes through many phases and meditations.   Among the topics found in Crow   are views of religion, human actions, and destruction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout Crow, there are many references to Christianity.   Yet, in each poem that includes this topic, the original stories are altered to give a new style of myth.   "A Childish Prank" is one of the poems that Hughes begins altering the original biblical references.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "A Childish Prank" is a poem about a malicious trick that Crow plays on Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.   This poem is about Adam and Eve l... ...en though we hear ideas from different sources, we must still make our own interpretations. Crow is a great mythology that has unique parallels with society and human struggles.   A mythology is meant to relate to people, and give them warnings and answers.   Through looking at the religious, emotional, and destructive implications in the collection, we see that it is a mythology; thus, if we are open-minded enough to study and accept other mythologies, why not accept the life, songs, and philosophy of Crow as well? Works Cited Hirschberg, Stuart.   Myth in the Poetry of Ted Hughes:  A guide to the poems .   Totowa, New Jersey: Barnes and Noble, 1981. Hughes, Ted.   Crow:   From the Life and Songs of the Crow.   New York:   Harper and Row, 1971. Scigaj, Leonard M.   The Poetry of Ted Hughes:   Form and Imagination.   Iowa City, Iowa: U of Iowa P, 1986.

Joint Stock Company

Joint Stock Company Company A company is an artificial person created by law, having a separate legal entity, with a perpetual succession and a common seal. It is an association of individuals for the purpose of earning profit. It has a capital divided into a number of shares, of which each member possesses one or more shares and which are transferable by its owners. Joint Stock Company has been defined by many eminent authors, jurists and institutions. Some of these definitions are given below – According to L. H.Haney – â€Å"A company is an artificial person created by law, having a separate legal entity, with a perpetual succession and a common seal. † According to Company Act 1994 – â€Å"Company means a company formed and registered under this Act or any existing company. † [Section 2(1. c)] According to Chief Justice Marshall – â€Å"A company is an artificial being invisible, intangible and existing only in the eyes of law. † T he system of joint stock organization is very useful for large undertakings for which large capital is required.It is an incorporated association created by law, having distinctive name, a common seal, perpetual succession, limited liability etc. formed to carry on business for profit. Characteristics of Joint Stock Company The most distinguishing characteristics of a joint stock company can be stated as follows – 1. Incorporated association : A company is an incorporated association. It comes into existence only after registration under the Companies Act. 2. Voluntary association : A company is an association of many persons on a voluntary basis. So, a company is formed by the choice and consent of the members. . Artificial legal person : A company has a legal personality and as such it is regarded by law as an artificial legal person. A company has the right to acquire and dispose of the property. 4. Separate legal entity : A company has a legal entity distinct from its mem bers. It has an independent existence. 5. Common seal : The common seal with the name of the company engraved on it, is used as a substitute for its signature. 6. Perpetual succession : The company has perpetual succession as its existence is not affected in any way by the death, insolvency or exit of any shareholders. . Transferability of shares : The shareholders can transfer their shares to any person of their choice. It enables a shareholder to increase or decrease his investment in a company at any time. 8. Limited liability : Liability of the members of a limited company is restricted to the face value of the shares purchased by them. The personal property of the members cannot be attached to satisfy the claims of creditors of a company. 9. Separation of ownership from management : The company is not managed by all the members because the number of members may be large.The authority to manage the whole affairs is conferred to elected representatives of members known as directo rs. 10. Statutory regulations and government control : The company is governed by the Company Act and it has to follow various provisions of the aforesaid Act. A company has to comply with numerous statutory requirements. 11. Rigidity of objects : The type of business in which the company would participate must be mentioned in the ‘object clause’ of its Memorandum of Association. 12.Strict legal formalities to commence business : In order to form a company, it is necessary to submit certain documents to the Registrar Companies such as memorandum of association, articles of association, prospectus, list of directors etc. 13. Social benefits : Company form of business enables better utilization of available resources and thus ensures that society have benefited. 14. Accountability to shareholders : All the affairs of the company are to be disclosed to the shareholders so that they may come to know about the prospects and other problems of the company as a whole. 5. Public confidence : The financial statements of a company are published every year. Thus public can have clear idea about the activities of the company so a company enjoys greater public confidence. 16. Scope for expansion : A company is better placed as regards the facilities of the growth, development and expansion of its business. Memorandum of association According to Company Act 1994 – â€Å"Memorandum means the memorandum of association of a company as originally formed or as altered in pursuance of this Act. â€Å"According to Lord Cairns – â€Å"The memorandum of association of a company is its charter and it defines the limitation of the power of the company. † So we can say that the memorandum governs the relationship of the company with the outside world and it is the foundation upon which the super-structure of the company is built. Clause of Memorandum of association 1. Name clause : The name of the proposed company is mentioned in this clause. The name of a company must end with the word ‘Limited’ the word ‘Public Ltd† and the word â€Å"Private Ltd†. All the time of selecting the name of the company the promoter should follow the following things – . The name should not be identical with the name of any existing company. b. The name should not create and impression that the company is carrying on the business of some other existing companies. c. The name should exclude words like crown, emperor, empire, president or prime minister’s name. 2. Address clause : The memorandum must contain the full address of the register office. 3. Object clause : This is the most important clause in the memorandum which states what the company can do. The object must include all the possible lines of business in which company is likely to be engaged.Usually this clause is so drafted that the company may enjoy wide fields for activities in future. 4. Liability clause : This clause states the nature of l iability of the members of the company. a. Incase of a company limited by shares, member’s liability is limited to face value of the shares. It means that when the shares are fully paid up, members are free from any liability. b. Incase of a company limited by guarantee, the liability clause must state the extent of liability of each individual member in the event of its being wound up. c. Incase of an unlimited company, the liability clause does not appear in the memorandum of association. . Capital clause : This clause states the amount of capital with which the company is registered or authorized to conduct business and the division of capital into equity share and preference share capital should be mentioned. 6. Association clause : This clause contains a declaration by the person(promoter) who signed the memorandum to form the company in a legal way for a legal purpose and to take minimum share of the company. Memorandum of association According to Company Act 1994 †“ â€Å"Memorandum means the memorandum of association of a company as originally formed or as altered in pursuance of this Act. â€Å"According to Lord Cairns – â€Å"The memorandum of association of a company is its charter and it defines the limitation of the power of the company. † Articles of association The Articles of Association is the second important document of Joint Stock Company. It contains the rules and regulations for the internal management, administration and organization of the company |Memorandum of association |factors of distinguish |Articles of association | |Memorandum is the fundamental charter of a |Nature |Articles are subsidiary to the charter. |company. | | | |Memorandum states the relationship between |Scope |Articles contain provisions for internal management of| |the companies an outsider. | |the company. | |Memorandum defines the objects of the |Objectives |Articles define the rules for carrying out the objects| |company. | |of the company. | |Memorandum can’t be altered easily.It |Alteration in the document |Articles can easily be altered without the | |requires court information. | |confirmation of the court. | |Registration of memorandum is compulsory |Registration |Registration of articles is not compulsory for a | |for any company. | |public company. | |Memorandum of association is based on the |Application of rules |Articles of association are based on the doctrine of | |doctrine of constructive notice. | |indoor management. |It has no optional. |Optional |Public company may optional for table A for the | | | |incorporation purposes. | |Memorandum of association is always |Misunderstandings. |Articles of association can be changed in | |unchanged in misunderstandings. | |misunderstandings. | |Any work out of its subject matter is |Illegal work |Any work can be done beside it but in the range of | |illegal. | |memorandum. |Memorandum definite the working area. |Working area |Articles are not any wo rking area. It orders process. | Dissolution means dissolve or close. Dissolution of company means to close or dissolve of any existing company. The process by which a company can be closed is called company’s dissolution or winding up of a company. Company is an artificial personality organized by an individual organization created by law. According to 1994 company act, â€Å"To dissolve or winding up of any existing company the activities of company’s is called dissolution of company. † A company is said to be dissolved when it ceases to exist as a corporate entity. † —C. B. Gupta â€Å"Winding up company is a process by which its life comes to end and the assets of company is utilize for the help of creditors and members. † —Prof. Gower In 1994 company act section 234(1) there mentions three methods of dissolution of company. These are: 1. Mandatory dissolution by court. 2. Dissolution by own will. . Dissolution by court’s su pervision. 1. Mandatory dissolution by court [Section 234-1(A)]: In circumstances the causes by which a company can be dissolved mandatorily by the law of court by the application of company’s shareholders, creditors or company’s registrar are: 1. Taking decision of dissolution in special meeting. 2. Failing to start a business in one year after the date of registration. 3. To close any company one or more year continuously without any legal reason. 4. Lacking of minimum members of a company according to law. 5. Failure to pay the loan five thousand or above. . Any reason of followings: a. Inefficiency in direction. b. Related with illegal job. c. Facing loss continuously. d. Neglecting of shareholders or their rights etc. Based on above causes court can take the decision of winding up and recruit a liquidator who firstly distributed the asset between third parties and rest of between shareholders. B. Dissolution by own will [Section 234-1 (B)]: Creditors or shareholde rs of any company can dissolve their business whenever they wish. In this circumstances, shareholders and creditors can winding up the business without taking any help of court.Causes by which a company can be dissolved by own will: 1. Taking decision of dissolution in special meeting by creditors or shareholders. 2. Formed any company for pre-determined purpose or objective. 3. If any company is not able to pay their liabilities. 4. Direction of company is proved not profited. C. Dissolution by court’s supervision [Section 234-1 (C)]: In the circumstances of company’s dissolution by own will by the application of any parties a company can be dissolved by court’s supervision. Causes of dissolution by court’s supervision: 1.To take decision for mistreating with creditors or shareholders. 2. Collection and selling of company’s asset illegally. If court takes responsibility of dissolution for any reason it recruits a liquidator to solve dissolution pr ocess. (Section 319) Share is a unit of capital. Capital is created by selling of shares or exchange. But, share can be different according to their price, rights, transferability, advantages etc. Mainly share is divided into four types. Such as: 1. General share. 2. Preference share. 3. Deffered share. 4. Special share. 1.Ordinary share: Ordinary shares are those shares on which no special privilege is attached. In other words, all the shares except preference shares are called ordinary shares. It also known as equity share. Ordinary shareholders collect their profit after distributing profit among the shareholders of the preference share. But, the rights, responsibility, duties etc. of the company are performed by them. â€Å"All the shares except preference are called equity share. † —J. K. Mitra Some characteristics of ordinary share are given below: . Ordinary shareholders get their profit after distributing to the preference shareholders. 2. In case of dissolutio n of company they have equal rights to get their assets. 3. They can take participation to direct the company. 4. They can take part in company’s meeting. 2. Preference share: Preference shares are those shares to which some preference is attached in terms of: (a) payment of dividend, (b) return of capital. (c) both. In the first case, the preference shareholders are entitled to receive a fixed rate of divided before the dividends given to equity shareholders.In the second case, preference shareholders are entitled to get back their capital in priority to equity shareholders in the event of liquidation of the company. Some characteristics of preference share are given below: 1. Rate of return is guaranteed. Thus, the amount of dividend to be received is certain. 2. Preference shares are better suited for conservative investors, who care more for security of investments and certainty of income. 3. The holders of this share get a fixed rate od dividend even if the company makes a larger amount of profit.Preference share can several types. Such as: 1. Cumulative preference share: Preference share are cumulative where the preference dividend, if not paid in one year is carried forward to succeeding years. 2. Non-cumulative preference share: The holders of these shares have no claim for the arrears of dividend. They are paid a dividend if there are sufficient profits. 3. Participating preference shares: These share holders are entitled to participate in the surplus profits of the company in addition to their usual fixed rate of dividend. 4.Non-participating preference shares: Preference shares on which only a fixed rate of dividend is paid, are known as non-participating preference shares. 5. Redeemable preference share: The holders of redeemable preference shares can get back their capital at the expiry of a certain period or at the option of the company as may be mentioned in the articles of association. 6. Irredeemable preference share: The preference sha res that can’t be redeemed unless the company is liquidated are known as irredeemable preference shares. 3. Deffered share: The owner of those shares get chance to take profit or to exchange capital after meeting.To bear the preliminary or other expenses company provide these shares in exchange of cash. 4. Special share: Some special shares are given below: 1. Bonus share: Company can’t provide all of its profit to shareholders. It deposits some part of profit at the reserve fund. When the amount of reserve fund is more than sufficient or in crisis of company; the amount of reserve fund is brought to company as capital as like as cash and shares are distributed to shareholders. According to J. K. Mitra,† Shares which are issued free of cost to the existing equity shareholders are known as bonus shares. 2. Right share: Sometimes Company increases their capital by distributing new shares. Old shareholders are get preferences at the time of distribution of new share s. In this case new shares are divided among them by their profit ratio. 3. Non-par value share: Non-par share refers those shares which are not fixed from the beginning but it determines based on asset after a specific year is called non par value share. In Bangladesh it is not popular. Minimum subscription means the minimum amount of capital which a company requires for the starting of the business.The minimum subscription should be received within 120 days after the date of the issue of the prospectus. A company can’t allot any shares unless the minimum subscription has been raised through the application for shares. If this minimum amount is not collected within the stipulated time period, the amount received from the applicants must be returned within the next 10 days (i. e. within 130 days after the issue of shares) â€Å"The minimum subscription is to be fined by the directors or by the persons who have signed the memorandum. —Sen. & Mitra â€Å"Minimum subscr iption is the minimum amount which is the opinion of the directors or of the signaturories of the memorandum arrived at after due enquiry. † —M. C. Shukla The amount of minimum subscription is fixed by the directors. Minimum subscription is necessary to cover the following expenses: 1. Preliminary expenses. 2. Underwriting commissions on sale of shares. 3. Working capital. . The cost of any property purchased or to be purchased. 5. Payment of any money borrowed for the above purpose. 6. Any other necessary expenditure. A prospectus is a document inviting the general public to subscribe to the share capital of a public company. A prospectus is issued by a public company after obtaining the â€Å"Certificate of Incorporation’ from the register. â€Å"Document containing offer of shares or debentures for sale to be deemed a prospectus. † –According to company act 1994 section 142 A document containing detailed information about the company and invit ation to the public subscribing to the share capital and debentures issued is called prospectus. † —S. S. Sarkar and Others From the view point of above discussion we can say that- 1. Prospectus is an invitation letter to public. 2. It must be served from company. 3. It is a complete description of shares and debentures. Finally it can say that to raise capital from public limited company issues prospectus.If the shares are divided between the partners then to start the business, partners should prepare an additional prospectus. To apply for commencement it is necessary to submit prospectus or additional prospectus. 3. Distinguish between Private limited Company V/S Public Limited Company. |Private limited company |Basis of differentiation |Public limited company | |Two |Minimum number of members |Seven | |Fifty Maximum number of members |Unlimited | |Restricted |Transferability of shares |Freely transferable | |Not allowed |Raising capital from public |Allowed | |Mini mum-Two |Number of directors |Minimum-Three | |Maximum-Unlimited | |Maximum-A specified by the articles | |After obtaining certificate of |Commencement of business |After obtaining certificate of | |incorporation | |commencement. |Not required |Holding of statutory meeting and submission of |Required to be submitted to the | | |statutory report |registrar of the companies. | |Not required |Filing of prospectus or a statement in the lieu of |Required | | |prospectus | | |Name must end with the words |Name of company |Name must end with the word ‘Limited. ’| |‘Private Limited. | | | |Two |Quorum at the annual general meeting |Five | |Need not retire by rotation. |Rotation of directors |Retire by rotation. | |Simple and cheap. |Procedure for formation |Complicated and relatively costly. | |No need to maintain |Index of members |Index to be maintained. | |Low protection |Protection to members |High protection. | |Possible. |Ability to make quick decisions |Not possibl e. | |Small |Financial and managerial resources |Large. | |Low Scope for expansion |High. | |Not allowed. |Disposal of shares |Allowed. | |Less liquid. |Liquidity of investment in shares |Greater liquidity. | 4. What is artificial personality? Joint Stock Company is an organization which is formed and directed by company act 1994. According to 1994 company act,† Any Company is formed and registered under this act is called company. † â€Å"A company is an artificial being invisible, intangible and existing only in contemplation of law† —John Marshal Company is an incorporated association which is an artificial person created by law having a common seal and perpetual succession,† —Sherlekar and Sherlekar Artificial personality of the company means the personality as like as person. These are: 1. Lawful: It is formed and registered by company act. 2. Common seal: It has a common seal which is used in all documents. 3. Lawful rights: Company act gives some right to it. 4. Transaction by own name: It can deal by its own name like other person. 5. Direction of case: A company can able to case on another company like person. 6. Fixed existence: A company is formed by law.So, it has fixed existence. From the above discussion we can say though company is not any person but it seems as a person because it is created by law. So Y. K. Bushan said,† A company may be defined as an artificial person recognized by law. † 5. Who is underwriter? The person or organization who takes responsibilities to sale the shares of public limited company by an agreement is known as underwriter. Underwriter takes responsibilities to sale the shares of public ltd. company by a certain commission. If the underwriter fails to sale the shares then he takes the liability for rest of the shares. Functions of underwriter are known as underwritten. The term underwriter means any person who has purchased from an issuer with a view to, or sells for an issuer in connection with. † —Securities act 1933 2(11) â€Å"A person who underwrites issue of stocks,bonds etc. † —Webster’s new World Dictionary â€Å"A person or company that underwrites an issue of securities. † —Charles J. Woelfel From the above definitions we found some characteristics of underwriter: 1. Underwriter may be any person or organization. 2. It can be performed underwritten activities as a part of business. 3. They purchase shares, bonds, debentures etc. for a certain commission. 4. They provide surety to sale shares, stock, debentures of company. 5. They take all responsibilities though the shares are not sold.Finally it can be said that underwriter is a businessmen who helps company to collect capital by selling shares, debentures etc. 6. Method of retirement of company directors. Director of the company means the members who are voted for directing the company. They are also determined company policies and man y other activities for business. Directors take their position by the vote of members, board of directors, company act as well as government. To remove the director for its place is also maintain some rules. Such are given below: 1. Special decision: In special meeting, by the decision of shareholders any directors can be removed from his post. 2. Statutory removal: In company act 108(1) is said,† The position of director can be removed if- 1.If the director failed to gain preference share in given time. 2. If the director is announced mentally sick. 3. If the director be 4. If he failed to pay the call money in between six months. 5. If the director was absent in meeting of board of directors without permission. 6. If the director make any agreement without the permission of board of directors. 7. If the director involved in any illegal work. 8. If the director involved in crime. 3. Removal by government: Director can be removed from his post by government and also by shareho lders and creditors with the help of government. 7. What is an article of association? Articles of AssociationThe Articles of Association is the second important document of Joint Stock Company. It contains the rules and regulations for the internal management, administration and organization of the company. They define the power, rights and duties of directors or other officers of the company and regulate the relations between the company and its members. The main purpose of articles of association is to execute the object clause of the memorandum. â€Å"Articles are the internal laws of a company. Article devise ways for the internal management of the company. † —Lord Brobene The articles of association are the regulations or bye-laws which govern the internal management and conduct of the affairs of the company. † —M. C. Shukla It must be framed within the items of the memorandum of association and provisions of the Company Act. A company limited by sh ares (Public Limited company) may adopt ‘Table A’ a model-Article as provided by Company Act as its articles. But a Private Limited company or a company limited by guaranty must have their own articles. 8. What is ‘Certificate of commencement’? A private company can commence business immediately after the grant of Certificate of Incorporation.A public company cannot commence business until it obtains a ‘Certificate of Commencement’ in addition to the ‘Incorporation Certificate’ from the register of companies. At first public limited company submit a application to registrar according to Company Act 1994 Section- 4. If all the responsibilities are performed by public limited company accurately then registrar gives a letter or certificate to public limited company. The matters which are included in certificate of commencement are described at below: 1. Name and address of registered office. 2. Issuing date of Certificate of commencem ent. 3. Date of Commencement. 4. Certificate no. 5. Office seal. 6. Name and profession of registrar with seal and signature. 7. Description of conditions. (If exists. )The ‘Certificate of commencement’ is issued in favour of a public company by the registrar, only when the following conditions are fulfilled: 5. Describe the advantages of public limited company than private limited company. Private limited company: A private company is an incorporated body registered under the Companies Act with three important respective provisions in the ‘Articles of association’. Public limited company: A public limited company is an association consisting of seven or any higher number of members, which is registered under the Companies Act. The advantages of public limited company over private limited company are described at below: 1. Liability: In public limited business the liability of each share holders are limited by their shares.But, in private limited company th e liability of shareholders is huge. 2. Sufficient capital: The shareholders of public limited company are more than private limited company. So, public limited company enjoys more capital than private limited company. 3. Membership: In public limited company there is no upper limit to the number of members. But, in private limited company it is limited. 3. Financial resources: Public limited company generally refers a huge organization. So, collection of financial resources is comparatively more than private limited company. 4. Economies of large scale production: Huge financial resources lead to a phenomenal growth in the size of the company.Economies may relate to greater division of labour, specialization, more effective use of resources, bulk purchase of raw materials at lower prices etc. Private limited company can’t get sufficient advantages as like as public limited company. 5. Large size: Private limited company is not a large size business. It generally established in one specific area. Public limited company is a large scale business. It has branches at all over. 6. Transerferibility of shares: The shares of private limited company are not easily transferable. But, the shares of public limited company are simply transferable. 7. Perpetual succession: Public limited company is formed by law.So, it the company is not being closed for the poor condition of shareholders. But, private limited company can be closed on its measurable condition. 8. Public confidence: Public limited company is directly related with public. So, they can acquire confidence of public. But, in private limited company this possibility is not exist. 9. Creation of employment: Pubic limited company is a huge company. So, the opportunity of creation of employment is more than private limited company. 10. Research: Public limited company always tries to distribute their products worldwide. So, they always research to develop their product more and more. In that case private li mited company is not so superior.Finally we can say that public limited company is more advanced than private limited company. But, private limited company has enjoyed some special advantages which can’t be enjoyed by public limited company. Merits or Advantages of a company form of organization The following are the merits of a joint stock company – 1. Accumulation of huge financial resources : The company form of business facilitates mobilization of large amounts of capital for investment in industries. 2. Economies of large-scale production : The company form of business can enjoy all the benefits of large-scale production such as minimum cost of production and maximum profit. 3.Scope for expansion : A company can easily expand its managerial capacities and financial resources. It has great potential for diversification and growth. 4. Stability of existence : The organization of a company as a separate legal entity gives it a character of continuity. As an incorpora ted body, a company enjoys perpetual existence. 5. Transferability of shares : The shares of a public company are freely transferable. The shareholders are at full liberty to dispose of their shares to any person they desire. 6. Democratic control : The company is managed on the principle of democracy. The boards of directors who manage the company are elected by the shareholders.The directors are responsible and accountable to the shareholders. 7. Managerial efficiency : A company can secure the services of highly qualified persons who are experts in different fields of business management. 8. Stimulation to savings and investments : The company is an effective media of mobilizing the scattered savings of the community and investing these savings for commercial purposes. Insurance companies, banks and other financial institutions invest their money in the shares of different joint stock company. 9. Tax relief : The company enjoys greater tax relief as compared to other forms of bus iness. Company pays lower tax on a higher income as it pays tax on the flat rates. 10.Diffused risk : The membership of a public company is large. The business risk is divided among several members of the company. 11. Statutory regulation and control : Formation and working of companies are well regulated by the provisions of the Company Act. These strict regulations safeguard the interests of shareholders and people who deal with the company. 12. Public confidence and popularity : A company is guided and controlled by strict regulations and government control. These ensure public confidence and popularity. 13. Social responsibilities : Due to the existence of the company form of business, society is benefited in different ways.So we can say that the joint stock company constitutes an important advancement in the modern emerging commercial structure with its different advantages. Demerits or disadvantages of Joint Stock Company The following are the disadvantages of a joint stock co mpany – 1. Adherence of too many legal formalities : The formation of a company requires adherence of too many legal formalities. The establishment and running of a company would prove to be troublesome because of complicated legal regulations. 2. Concentration of power in few hands : Shareholders of the company have practically no say in the affairs of the company. The directors of the company become self-centred and they do not care for shareholders. 3.Excessive Government control : A company has to observe too many provisions of different laws imposed by the government. 4. Undue speculation in shares of the company : Undue speculation in shares of a company is injurious to the interests of the shareholders. 5. Fraudulent management : The promoters and directors may indulge in fraudulent practices. The unscrupulous directors may present a rosy picture of the company in its annual report. 6. Bureaucratic control : Quick decisions and prompt action are absent in the managemen t of a company. It makes a company an inflexible enterprise. 7. High nepotism : In companies, employees are selected not on the basis of ability but on the basis of personal interest of the management. 8.Inflexibility in management : A company cannot quickly adjust with the changing conditions in the market because of its complex structure and legal obligations. 9. Monopolistic control and exploitation of consumers : Joint stock companies facilitate formation of business combinations which ultimately lead to monopolistic control and exploitation of consumers. 10. Social abuses : Evils of factory system like installation, pollution, congestion of cities are attributed to the company form of organization. Moreover, the close and cordial relationship between the management and employees is difficult to maintain. Formation of Joint Stock Company Joint Stock Company is formed under the Company Act followed by the country where the company is established.In Bangladesh a joint stock compan y whether a public or a private may be formed by registration under the Company Act 1994. The whole process of company formation in any country may be divided into three Distinct stages – a. Promotional stage : The process of conceiving an idea and developing it into a concrete of project to be accomplished by the incorporation and floatation of company is called promotion. The number of promoter in Public Limited company who take necessary steps are minimum two and maximum 50 in case of Private Limited company and minimum seven, maximum contains by share in Public Limited Company. These are four main stages in the promotional stage of a company – ) Identifying the idea : The promoters at first conceive an idea and identify the business opportunities. ii) Detail investigations : Detail investigations of – a. Market condition b. Demand for the products c. Estimated cost of production d. Estimated profit margin e. Capital requirement iii) Assembling: After a throu gh investigations of project the promoters decides whether they will take risk or not. iv) Selection of the name of the company and submission : In this step, the company prepare two documents – a. Article of association b. Memorandum of association b. Incorporation stage : When the promoters can finish the primary arrangements, they apply in prescribed from to the register of joint stock company.And along with the application, they submit with the register, the registration fee as per Table(B) of the Company Act and a copy of each of the following documents for the registration of the company. a. A copy of the memorandum of association b. A copy of the articles of association c. A statement of nominal capital d. The address of the registered office of the company (selected by the registrar) e. A declaration to the effect that all legal requirements have been duly complied with. Incase of Public Limited Company the following document is to be estimated – a. A list of d irectors b. A written contest of each director to act as such and to take up the qualifications shares.The registrar will examine all this documents and if he is satisfied that every thing is in order, he will then enter the name of the company on the register maintain his office and issue a certificate known as the Certificate of Incorporation which gives the company a legal existence. c. Floatation stage : When a company has been incorporated it has to raise capital sufficiently to commence business and to carry it on with satisfactory. The Private Limited Company may obtain this capital from friends and relatives. A Public Limited company raises the greater part of the capital from the general public by issuing a prospectus. d. Commencement: A Private company can start its business after obtaining a Certificate of Incorporation but a Public Limited company cannot. It must receive another certificate known as Certificate of Commencement.The registrar will issue this certificate on fulfillment of the following requirements – a. Minimum subscription has been raised. b. The direction has been taken up and paid for their qualification shares. c. The prospectus on the statement in lieu of prospectus has been filled. d. A declaration has been made to the effect that all legal requirements have been duly complied with. It is to be noted that, a Public Limited company is to start business within one year from the date of receiving the Certificate of Commencement. Memorandum of association According to Company Act 1994 – â€Å"Memorandum means the memorandum of association of a company as originally formed or as altered in pursuance of this Act. â€Å"According to Lord Cairns – â€Å"The memorandum of association of a company is its charter and it defines the limitation of the power of the company. † So we can say that the memorandum governs the relationship of the company with the outside world and it is the foundation upon which the su per-structure of the company is built. Clause of Memorandum of association 1. Name clause : The name of the proposed company is mentioned in this clause. The name of a company must end with the word ‘Limited’ the word ‘Public Ltd† and the word â€Å"Private Ltd†. All the time of selecting the name of the company the promoter should follow the following things – d. The name should not be identical with the name of any existing company. e.The name should not create and impression that the company is carrying on the business of some other existing companies. f. The name should exclude words like crown, emperor, empire, president or prime minister’s name. 2. Address clause : The memorandum must contain the full address of the register office. 3. Object clause : This is the most important clause in the memorandum which states what the company can do. The object must include all the possible lines of business in which company is likely to be e ngaged. Usually this clause is so drafted that the company may enjoy wide fields for activities in future. 4. Liability clause : This clause states the nature of liability of the members of the company. d.Incase of a company limited by shares, member’s liability is limited to face value of the shares. It means that when the shares are fully paid up, members are free from any liability. e. Incase of a company limited by guarantee, the liability clause must state the extent of liability of each individual member in the event of its being wound up. f. Incase of an unlimited company, the liability clause does not appear in the memorandum of association. 5. Capital clause : This clause states the amount of capital with which the company is registered or authorized to conduct business and the division of capital into equity share and preference share capital should be mentioned. 6.Association clause : This clause contains a declaration by the person(promoter) who signed the memoran dum to form the company in a legal way for a legal purpose and to take minimum share of the company. Articles of Association The Articles of Association is the second important document of Joint Stock Company. It contains the rules and regulations for the internal management, administration and organization of the company. They define the power, rights and duties of directors or other officers of the company and regulate the relations between the company and its members. The main purpose of articles of association is to execute the object clause of the memorandum. It must be framed within the items of the memorandum of association and provisions of the Company Act.A company limited by shares (Public Limited company) may adopt ‘Table A’ a model-Article as provided by Company Act as its articles. But a Private Limited company or a company limited by guaranty must have their own articles. Private Limited Company A private company is an incorporated body, registered under t he Company Act with three important restrictive provisions in its ‘Articles of Association’. A private company is one which – 1. Restricts the rights of its members to transfer their shares in the company. 2. Limits the number of its members to fifty. 3. Prohibits any invitation to the public to subscribe for any shares or debentures of the company.

This Boys Life

The film we watched was called This Boys Life directed by Michael Caton- Jones and produced by the following men; Jon Peters, Art Linson and Fitch Cady. The movie takes place around 1957 where a son and mother flee the East and an abusive boyfriend to find a new life, and end up on Seattle, where the mother meets a polite garage mechanic. The boy continually gets into trouble by hanging out with the wrong crowd.The mo marries the mechanic, but they soon find out that he's an abusive and unreasoning alcoholic, and they struggle to maintain hope in an mpossible situation as the boy grows up with plans to escape the small town by any means possible. This movie was based Offa true story by Tobias Wolff that was written by Ed Sutton. The main characters in the movie are Jack, Caroline, and Dwight. Jack who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio is the main protagonist in the story. First his name was Tibias Wolff but then he changes it to Jack. He has a troubled childhood, which is plagued by dom estic abuse and misbehaviour.Despite his grim upbringing, he remains hopeful and is convinced that he is capable of a better life. Caroline whose nickname is Rosemary is played by Ellen Barkin. Carline is Jacks mother who struggles financially to support herself and her son, through she is neglectful at time you can tell that she has a special love for Jack. Rosemary was abused as a child and cannot bring herself to inflict violence or any sort of punishment on Jack, even though she has the habit of taking up with violent men who inflict the same abuse on both of them.Dwight is played by Robert De Niro is Jacks stepfather and is the main antagonist of the story. He is a cruel and violent man ho convinces Rosemary to marry him and move to Chinnok to live with him. Dwight is especially resentful of Jack and treats him with the utmost brutality. Dwight drinks to excess, steals Jacks and Rosemary's money, and often instigates physical altercations with Jack. One interesting part that I always wished I could do is being able to Just pack up and move. Not have any worries about the future and be like Caroline and have high hopes for the future, life would be great.There are three stages of Erik Erikson's eight stages of life that are recognizable in the film. There are; dentity versus confusion, intimacy versus isolation and generativity versus stagnation. Erik describes the first stage (identity versus confusion) as a dilemma during adolescence and early adulthood. Every individual is challenged to define who he or she is and who they will be in the future (Holloway et al 99). You can clearly see Jacks struggle during this stage in the film. He is constantly getting into trouble because of the group of friends he is hanging around.For example when they are in the bathroom smoking and they make fun of him he writes inappropriate words on the stale. Him and his so called friends also release the break from a car and let it roll down the hill until it crashes. An exam ple of this stage is when Jack is trying to figure out where he belongs and where he wants to go after high school. Jack hangs out with the wrong crowd but then starts to hang around another boy who seems to His grades are not good at all, has C's in every course, the battle to get into a post secondary school is hard.He was to look up to his dad and brother who went to a â€Å"top notch† high school. He has everyone saying that he won't get accepted anywhere because of his attitude and grades. Through it all he gets accepted and Dwight is immediately Jealous. Intimacy versus isolation is based on the ability to trust a person enough to reveal your personal thoughts and feelings to him or her, it is necessary to have a clear sense of who you are (Holloway et al 100). I think there are two examples in the film of this stage. First being Caroline and Dwight.Caroline has always been with another man and is used to having someone there but she was never really able to trust them or let her true self out because both men were abusive to her. When Dwight and her got married and had sexual intimacy later he efused to want to look at her face and actually held her head down on the bed so that she could not look up. She had no other choice but to accept how she was living because she was scared to be on her own. She also had no money and no where else to go so that factor was stopping her from running away.This is the opposite of what Erik Erikson is trying to portray. On the other hand, Jack and Caroline share an intimate relationship but on a parent to child level. They both are able to reveal their true feelings to each other and trust each other so greatly. At the end of the film Caroline finally has the courage to stand up to Dwight and escape. They both ‘pack their bags ‘ (not actually) and run off. I believe that you have to have a high level of trust if you are able to Just run away with someone and hope that whatever happens the outcome will be positive.The last stage called generativity versus stagnation. Erikson's theory suggests that this task follows the formation of identity and the development of intimate relationships. On the social clock, it requires fidelity and love. The tasks of early adulthood are to determine first who you want to be and what ou want to do so that you are true to yourself (Holloway et al 100). This age occurs during middle adulthood between the ages of about 40 to 65. People in this stage are focused on nurturing or creating things that will outlast them. Feeling useful and contributing to society are important stages.I think it shows stage because I feel that deep down Caroline knew she was doing the wrong thing. She knew marrying Dwight was the wrong thing and dating Rob before was also wrong, she knew that she was hurting Jack. That I think is the example of stagnation; her â€Å"failure† to find a way to ontribute, not so much to society but to herself and Jack. Also because Dwi ght would not let her work she never got the chance to go outside of the house and see what was happening in the real world. She was disconnected to society and therefore could not contribute anything.Near the end of the film we see her wanting to work for the government, the want to help society is there but Dwight is stopping her. Generativity refers to â€Å"making your mark† on the world, through caring for others, creating things and accomplishing things that make the world a better place. Caroline did not necessary make the world a better place but she made her sons future a better place. By running away from Dwight and realizing that Jack was right and finally taking a stance she saved not only herself but Jack from anything bad that could have occurred in the future.Daniel Levinson's theory of the seasons of life is explained as â€Å"a person's life structure is shaped mainly by their social and physical that is Jack kept hanging out in his social environment and no t thinking about the future he would end up no where but thankfully he came to realization. He applied to umerous schools and finally got accepted to one. Other developmental theories that I found interesting to this film is the Conflict Theory. Conflict theory is an interdisciplinary sociological and political theory that explains how power, not functional interdependence, holds a society together.It states that conflict exists between groups in society because of inequalities in power (Holloway et al 41). I think this theory applies to the film because in the household Dwight held all the power, whatever he says goes, his rules and no exceptions. It also states that if groups are in ompetition, then the needs of all will not be met equally. Since Dwight had the power of the house everyone else got yelled at if they stepped out of line. For example when Jack leaves the toothpaste cap open Dwight comes in and harasses him.I also think that there is conflict between Jack and himself. Jack is unable to carry out his plan to escape Alaska because there is a conflict between his desire for freedom from Dwight and his desire to belong. A part of him is scared of being alone and taking responsibility for himself. His inner conflict about trying to be someone hat he isn't is also present. He attempts to involve himself with a dangerous crowd in school, often getting in trouble, but when he applies for private boarding school he writes that he is am A student.You can see that he is eager to change and reinvent himself to be a good person. Daniel Levinson's theory of the seasons of life also can be compared to the movie. His theory has four major points; forming a dream and giving it a place in the life structure, forming mentor relationships, forming an occupation and forming love relationships, marriage and family. The dream is the ndividual's sense of self in the adult world and is the core of the life structure (Holloway et al 103-104).The dilemma is that until ind ividuals begin to live out the life structure, all of the possibilities are not known, yet without some commitment to the choice they have made, it is not possible to determine whether the life structure might be realistic or satisfying (Holloway et al 104). You can clearly see that Jack is faced with many problems that likely every person will have to face at some point in their face. Commitment to a school, commitment to yourself and commitment to your tudies all play a whole in shaping who you are.Jack could not commitment himself to school; he would slack and then would expect others to help him. The term serial monogamy is when a woman ‘marries several spouses, one after the other' (Holloway et al 506). This does apply to Caroline. She is with her first husband Duke, then has an on and off relationship with Rob, then after she moves she marries Dwight. After she gets away from Dwight and her and Jake go their separate ways she marries another man. I would like to conclude this response with my personal opinion on the film. I really enjoyed this film; it made me relate to my own childhood.Although I was not as unfortunate as the author, I was also raised in a single parent family and had to adjust to each of my parent's new partners. I also daydreamed a lot when I young as did Jack. I think the film successfully tells the story with real people in it and has real problems, which are very common in society. I thought Robert De Niro's performance is one of high points of the film, and he is extraordinary as the abusive father who seems pleasant and Jovial at time, but can turn violent when you hat he has acted in I think this one was his greatest.Ellen Barkin I thought looked absolutely stunning but I wish her character could have been developed a little more. I kept wondering, during the film why she felt like withstanding Dwights abuse for such a long period was okay or why she couldn't stand up. This is was based Offa true story it made me extremely sad to see that such people can abuse any human or animal. It's a story of the growing pains of youths and an individual's struggle to find identity and independence which at this stage in our life we can all relate too. This Boys Life The film we watched was called This Boys Life directed by Michael Caton- Jones and produced by the following men; Jon Peters, Art Linson and Fitch Cady. The movie takes place around 1957 where a son and mother flee the East and an abusive boyfriend to find a new life, and end up on Seattle, where the mother meets a polite garage mechanic. The boy continually gets into trouble by hanging out with the wrong crowd.The mo marries the mechanic, but they soon find out that he's an abusive and unreasoning alcoholic, and they struggle to maintain hope in an mpossible situation as the boy grows up with plans to escape the small town by any means possible. This movie was based Offa true story by Tobias Wolff that was written by Ed Sutton. The main characters in the movie are Jack, Caroline, and Dwight. Jack who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio is the main protagonist in the story. First his name was Tibias Wolff but then he changes it to Jack. He has a troubled childhood, which is plagued by dom estic abuse and misbehaviour.Despite his grim upbringing, he remains hopeful and is convinced that he is capable of a better life. Caroline whose nickname is Rosemary is played by Ellen Barkin. Carline is Jacks mother who struggles financially to support herself and her son, through she is neglectful at time you can tell that she has a special love for Jack. Rosemary was abused as a child and cannot bring herself to inflict violence or any sort of punishment on Jack, even though she has the habit of taking up with violent men who inflict the same abuse on both of them.Dwight is played by Robert De Niro is Jacks stepfather and is the main antagonist of the story. He is a cruel and violent man ho convinces Rosemary to marry him and move to Chinnok to live with him. Dwight is especially resentful of Jack and treats him with the utmost brutality. Dwight drinks to excess, steals Jacks and Rosemary's money, and often instigates physical altercations with Jack. One interesting part that I always wished I could do is being able to Just pack up and move. Not have any worries about the future and be like Caroline and have high hopes for the future, life would be great.There are three stages of Erik Erikson's eight stages of life that are recognizable in the film. There are; dentity versus confusion, intimacy versus isolation and generativity versus stagnation. Erik describes the first stage (identity versus confusion) as a dilemma during adolescence and early adulthood. Every individual is challenged to define who he or she is and who they will be in the future (Holloway et al 99). You can clearly see Jacks struggle during this stage in the film. He is constantly getting into trouble because of the group of friends he is hanging around.For example when they are in the bathroom smoking and they make fun of him he writes inappropriate words on the stale. Him and his so called friends also release the break from a car and let it roll down the hill until it crashes. An exam ple of this stage is when Jack is trying to figure out where he belongs and where he wants to go after high school. Jack hangs out with the wrong crowd but then starts to hang around another boy who seems to His grades are not good at all, has C's in every course, the battle to get into a post secondary school is hard.He was to look up to his dad and brother who went to a â€Å"top notch† high school. He has everyone saying that he won't get accepted anywhere because of his attitude and grades. Through it all he gets accepted and Dwight is immediately Jealous. Intimacy versus isolation is based on the ability to trust a person enough to reveal your personal thoughts and feelings to him or her, it is necessary to have a clear sense of who you are (Holloway et al 100). I think there are two examples in the film of this stage. First being Caroline and Dwight.Caroline has always been with another man and is used to having someone there but she was never really able to trust them or let her true self out because both men were abusive to her. When Dwight and her got married and had sexual intimacy later he efused to want to look at her face and actually held her head down on the bed so that she could not look up. She had no other choice but to accept how she was living because she was scared to be on her own. She also had no money and no where else to go so that factor was stopping her from running away.This is the opposite of what Erik Erikson is trying to portray. On the other hand, Jack and Caroline share an intimate relationship but on a parent to child level. They both are able to reveal their true feelings to each other and trust each other so greatly. At the end of the film Caroline finally has the courage to stand up to Dwight and escape. They both ‘pack their bags ‘ (not actually) and run off. I believe that you have to have a high level of trust if you are able to Just run away with someone and hope that whatever happens the outcome will be positive.The last stage called generativity versus stagnation. Erikson's theory suggests that this task follows the formation of identity and the development of intimate relationships. On the social clock, it requires fidelity and love. The tasks of early adulthood are to determine first who you want to be and what ou want to do so that you are true to yourself (Holloway et al 100). This age occurs during middle adulthood between the ages of about 40 to 65. People in this stage are focused on nurturing or creating things that will outlast them. Feeling useful and contributing to society are important stages.I think it shows stage because I feel that deep down Caroline knew she was doing the wrong thing. She knew marrying Dwight was the wrong thing and dating Rob before was also wrong, she knew that she was hurting Jack. That I think is the example of stagnation; her â€Å"failure† to find a way to ontribute, not so much to society but to herself and Jack. Also because Dwi ght would not let her work she never got the chance to go outside of the house and see what was happening in the real world. She was disconnected to society and therefore could not contribute anything.Near the end of the film we see her wanting to work for the government, the want to help society is there but Dwight is stopping her. Generativity refers to â€Å"making your mark† on the world, through caring for others, creating things and accomplishing things that make the world a better place. Caroline did not necessary make the world a better place but she made her sons future a better place. By running away from Dwight and realizing that Jack was right and finally taking a stance she saved not only herself but Jack from anything bad that could have occurred in the future.Daniel Levinson's theory of the seasons of life is explained as â€Å"a person's life structure is shaped mainly by their social and physical that is Jack kept hanging out in his social environment and no t thinking about the future he would end up no where but thankfully he came to realization. He applied to umerous schools and finally got accepted to one. Other developmental theories that I found interesting to this film is the Conflict Theory. Conflict theory is an interdisciplinary sociological and political theory that explains how power, not functional interdependence, holds a society together.It states that conflict exists between groups in society because of inequalities in power (Holloway et al 41). I think this theory applies to the film because in the household Dwight held all the power, whatever he says goes, his rules and no exceptions. It also states that if groups are in ompetition, then the needs of all will not be met equally. Since Dwight had the power of the house everyone else got yelled at if they stepped out of line. For example when Jack leaves the toothpaste cap open Dwight comes in and harasses him.I also think that there is conflict between Jack and himself. Jack is unable to carry out his plan to escape Alaska because there is a conflict between his desire for freedom from Dwight and his desire to belong. A part of him is scared of being alone and taking responsibility for himself. His inner conflict about trying to be someone hat he isn't is also present. He attempts to involve himself with a dangerous crowd in school, often getting in trouble, but when he applies for private boarding school he writes that he is am A student.You can see that he is eager to change and reinvent himself to be a good person. Daniel Levinson's theory of the seasons of life also can be compared to the movie. His theory has four major points; forming a dream and giving it a place in the life structure, forming mentor relationships, forming an occupation and forming love relationships, marriage and family. The dream is the ndividual's sense of self in the adult world and is the core of the life structure (Holloway et al 103-104).The dilemma is that until ind ividuals begin to live out the life structure, all of the possibilities are not known, yet without some commitment to the choice they have made, it is not possible to determine whether the life structure might be realistic or satisfying (Holloway et al 104). You can clearly see that Jack is faced with many problems that likely every person will have to face at some point in their face. Commitment to a school, commitment to yourself and commitment to your tudies all play a whole in shaping who you are.Jack could not commitment himself to school; he would slack and then would expect others to help him. The term serial monogamy is when a woman ‘marries several spouses, one after the other' (Holloway et al 506). This does apply to Caroline. She is with her first husband Duke, then has an on and off relationship with Rob, then after she moves she marries Dwight. After she gets away from Dwight and her and Jake go their separate ways she marries another man. I would like to conclude this response with my personal opinion on the film. I really enjoyed this film; it made me relate to my own childhood.Although I was not as unfortunate as the author, I was also raised in a single parent family and had to adjust to each of my parent's new partners. I also daydreamed a lot when I young as did Jack. I think the film successfully tells the story with real people in it and has real problems, which are very common in society. I thought Robert De Niro's performance is one of high points of the film, and he is extraordinary as the abusive father who seems pleasant and Jovial at time, but can turn violent when you hat he has acted in I think this one was his greatest.Ellen Barkin I thought looked absolutely stunning but I wish her character could have been developed a little more. I kept wondering, during the film why she felt like withstanding Dwights abuse for such a long period was okay or why she couldn't stand up. This is was based Offa true story it made me extremely sad to see that such people can abuse any human or animal. It's a story of the growing pains of youths and an individual's struggle to find identity and independence which at this stage in our life we can all relate too.