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Isaac Asimov: Robotics Essay Uploaded by Klownsam (20) on Jul 4, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov was born on January 2, 1920 in Petrouchi, Russia. His parents were Judah and Anna Asimov. Isaac also has a sister Veronica and a brother Stanley. In 1923 his family immigrated to the United States. He and his family grew up in Brooklyn, New York. In Brooklyn his family ran a small candy and magazine store. This is one of the places where Asimov began to learn about printing. Also it was here that Asimov learned good business and self-discipline skills (Bloom, 251). Asimov attended school and was a very bright student. He went to college at Columbia University. He graduated from there with his master's degree in Chemistry in 1941. His career was cut short though because in 1942 he moved to Philadelphia Naval Yard to work for the war. In 1945 he entered the army. In July of 1946 he was discharged from the army and he moved around for a few years till settling in West Newton, Massachusetts with Gertrude. It is there that he raised his family (Seiler,8). Asimov married Gertrude Blugerman on July 26th, 1942. They met on a blind date on Valentine's Day. In 1955 their first son was born they named him David. Four years later their daughter Robyn Joan was born. Asimov met another woman Janet Jepson at a mystery writers banquet. The two of them were immediately attracted to one another. In 1970 when Gertrude and Asimov separated he moved in with Janet. His divorce to Gertrude was officialized on November 16th, 1973. On November 30th, 1973 an official of the Ethical Culture Society married Asimov and Janet in her home. They did not have any children (7). Asimov worked for many years of his life before become just a writer. His first job was in 1929. When Asimov's mother became ill and could no longer work at the family business. This is where Asimov first learned his skills he would carry for the rest of his life. He was a hardworking diligent man. After the war and everything Asimov became an instructor at the Boston University of medicine. He was promoted to assistant professor in December of 1951. On July 1st, 1958 he gave up his teaching job and became a writer. Finally in 1979 he was promoted to professor (9). Being a very diligent writer Asimov wrote more than eight hours a day, seven days a week.

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No PSYCHOLOGY REVISION- MRS DAWSON Models of addiction There are different models of addiction, these are the biological model, the cognitive model and the social learning model. Initiation – this refers to the process where individuals start to become addictive Maintance – this is the process whereby people continue to behave addictively even in the face of adverse consequences Relapse – this is the process whereby individuals who have managed to give their addictive habit start to show signs and symptoms of the behaviour again. BIOLOGICAL MODEL They say that it is an illness.Addiction is an illness therefore the problem is within the person. Because it is an illness, it can be cured. We are born with something and that something is triggered off. More likely to be addicted to it. If a person quits their addiction, a biological predisposition makes relapse more likely. The role of dopamine in addiction Initiation- Research shows addiction always stimulates the r eward circuit in the brain. Rewarding experiences triggers the release of dopamine and effectively tell the brain to ‘do it again’. Maintance – Drugs eventually result in a reduction in the activity of positive reward circuits in the brain.The negative state then become in dominant driving force in the drug calling. The individual doesn’t take the drug for pleasure, but takes it to avoid unpleasement. Because of this, they need more of the drug. Relapse – Eventually the desire for the drug may assume more importance than more other desires. The frontal cortex has become less effective at making decisions and judging the consequences of action. Imminent reward that forces the addict to take the drugs. The endogenous opiod system This is a type of addiction. It also includes the brain. Transmitters in the brain include enkeohain and the endorphins.They are activated in pleasure. Naltexrexone – this is an alcohol treatment, which prevents opiod receptors, and this also prevents effects of alcohol. Neurodaptation KOCH AND LE MOAL says drugs dependence is to do with neuroadptations. They state that psychoactive drug’s change the brains wiring. If stopped, the changes are no longer needed and causes disruption. Genetics Good way to research this is to study twins. Family studies then to illustrate environmental factors in the development of addiction as well. Need to see if it is environmental or genetic.Agravel & Lynsky 2006 – genetic influence with heritability estimates ranging between 45% -> 79% Kender et all (1998) – 1934 female twins. Drug addiction was mainly due to genetic factor. Blum et al (1991) – addictive off springs had the A1 gene showed that they had fewer dopamine receptors. Those who have these gens are more likely to be addicted to drugs which will produce more dopamine. But this could be because they have fewer dopamine. EVAULATION OF BIOLOGICAL MODEL X range is too wide X an imals are not humans so cant verify. v explains why some people are addicted X BUT sometimes it depends on the environmentX neurotransmitters have complex effects. Not fully understood X neglects social situations X too reductionalist – US soldiers took drugs while they were away but once they were home they didn’t. X some people may be experimenters ? chicken or the egg X very correlation. Can’t connect them in a cause and effect way. X need more research in to it X people may indulge but not addicted X animal studies LEARNING THEORY OF ADDICTION Acquires habits, which are learnt according to the principles of SLT. Things can be unlearned. There are different degrees of addiction. Bandura – Bobo doll Children learnt via observationSome one who is reinforced (operant) their behaviour is more likely yo be limited Vicarious reinforcement – reinforcement received indirectly by observing someone else and being reinforced Imitating someone we admire Cog nitive labelling model An alcoholic walks pass a pub. The cue, associated with the drinking gives a psychological response and actives a memory of drinking. The sign of a high heart rate tells the person they need a drink. Outcome expectancy model Someone who has an addictive behaviour, when they are confronted with a cue for the drug, it might trigger thoughts of excitement and would do it againClassical conditioning Addictive behaviour is also seen as being explained by classical conditioning. Drug abuse became associated with certain environmental factors until these factors alone produce a high. Intuition, maintance and relapse are due to learning experiences involving environmental. The cue-reacting theory Carter and Tiffany (1999) – addicts associates things, which were similar to their addiction. Explained via classical conditioning. The cues become able to elite conditioning responses even in the absence of the action smoking or gambling behaviour. Operant conditionin gPositive reinforcement Pleasant consequences Negative reinforcement Something unpleasant (likely to be repeated) Punishment Unpleasant consequences. Less likely to be repeated. Addicts change their behaviour in response to rewards and punishment. Bring about change in mood and material changes. Skinner – worked with animals. Greater behaviour changes when he gave less reinforcement or when they are unpredictable. Can explain why gamblers may get addicted. They are not winning all the time, makes compulsion strange. Learning Model Initiation – initial rewards shapes future behaviourMaintance – continues rewards reinforce and maintain behaviour Relapse – person giving up, relapse might be less likely if they have ‘relearnt’ the addictive behaviour all individuals are equally suspicious EVAULATION X animals X learning theories are reductionalists v can explain differences COGNITIVE MODEL OF ADDICTION Cognitive is thinking. This emphasises the h abitual ways people deal with life events may lead to addicitive behabviour. A person can rely on drugs or even gambling as a way of coping with life's problems. But these may create more problems than causes.Beck et al ‘the vicious cycle' Low mood -;gt; using smoking/ gambling -;gt; finacial, medical or social problem -;gt; the cycle continues Low mood can be relieved by addictive behaviour. Addiction can lead to problems. These problems lead to low mood. The cycle begins again. Coping : self mediciation model Initation – indivduals uses the addicitive behaviour to copy with stress/psycholoigcal problems. It is not choosen at random, it has been selected to help with a particular problem. Helps fulfil the 3 main functions – mood regulation – performance management – distractionMaintance and relapse – many smaller mention stress relief as a major reason why they keep to their habit Self efficacy theory BANDORA – This refers to one bein g organised and control any actions required to meet particular goal. This plays an important part in whether or not a person will start to engage in addicitive behaviour (initation). Whether they believe they can do anything about it once established (maintance and relaspe) FAULTY THINKING – Addicters lie to themselves because they think that it may bring them luck. But not all things are luck but people believe that whhat they are doing is correct.EVALUATION OF COGNITIVE MODEL Strenghts. – v cognitive explanations help explain individuals differences. Not everyone is addicitive X relative success of cognitive treatment of addicition support there is some cognitive basis Weaknessess – X publication bias – studies show a link between positive expectations and drinking behaviour. But not all studies are publlished so we get an unrepresentative view EXPLANATIONS FOR SPECIFIC ADDICTIONS Smoking – Smoking produces a phsyical addicition to nicotine, inf luencing dopamine production and the brain reward system. The WHO (world health organisations) estimates there are 1. billion smokers worldwide and they smoke 6 trilliopn cigarettes a year. Bad for you Smoking leads to high blood pressure, heart disease, lung disease, cancer and strokes. Pregnant women who smoke are more likely to have premature babies. The fact peoe still smoke knowing the facts shows how addicitve it is. Nicotine There are about 3000 chemical components in cigarette smoke but nicotime is the addicitve chemical. HILTS (1994) compared nicotine with heroin, cocaine, alcohol,m caffeine and cannabis. He ranked nicotine lowest in terms of effect but highest in terms of dependence.Smokers why try to give up have a relapse rate of 70%. Quickly Addictive DIFRANZA (2007) found teenage smokers had strong craving cigarettes two days after staring, suggesting how quickly people became addicted. Reasons to smoke – biological model Nicotine in cigarettes is seen as affect ing production of the neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine, producing a reward effect. Genetics have more vulnerabilty to smoking addicition. SHIELDS (1992) looked at 42 twins pairs who had been reared apart. Only 9 wre discordant for smoking (one was and was a non smoker, which suggests that genes may play a part) Social FactorsMost people start smoking in their childhood or adolescence. Operant conditioning does not explain this because the first few cigarettes taste horrible. So OC says that they get rewards from peers. Social Learning Theory Children copy their role models because they think it is all right to smoke. Parents But one main influence is the parents. LADER AND MATHESON (1991) said if parents smoked, children were twice as likely to smoke. Cognitive model The cognitive model suggests that teenagers have strategies for not smoking even when pressurised by peers.But there was a group who were ready to smoke (MITCHELL and WEST 1996) Individual differences In a U S study, it suggests strong links between smoking and poor school records, low self-esteem no sport, and other illegal drug taking. Cognitive factors Smokers are seen as possessing irrational thoughts for instance that smoking improves cognitive functionoing or calm nerves. Such dysfunctional ideas can be self-fulfilling AO2 The fact that biological therapies help people quit supports the biological theory. Many people quit nicotine replacements suggesting social and cognitive factors. Supporting evidenceNIDA (2005) found that 90% of American smokers started as teenagers, mainly as a result of copying peers, suggesting SLT as a cause of initiation of smoking. A recent Canadian study (Khaled 2005) found that there was a link between depression and nicotine where depression was higher in smokers and even higher in smokers who wanted to give up. PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLERS Need to meet 5/10 to be problem gamblers. More than 5, you are a pathological gambler. 1/ preoccupation with gambling 2/ need to gamble with increasing amount of money in order to achieve the desired excitement 3/ repeated unsuccessful efforts to control/out back or stop gambling. / restlessness or irritability when trying to out down on gambling. 5/ use of gambling as means of escaping from problems or relieving dysphonic mood. 6/ return to gambling even after losing money, in the hope of winning it back 7/ lying to family members, therapists or others to conceal the extent of gambling 8/ committing illegal acts such as forgery, fraud or theft to financial gambling 9/ jeopardising or losing significant relationships/jobs/educational opportunist as a result of gambling 10/ reliance on others to produce money to relieve a desperate situation caused by gambling Getting a ‘high’One of the motivators is the ‘high’ they experience when they are close to winning. Raised levels of dopamine and noradrenalin have been found in people after episodes of gambling and in serious gamblers . These neurochemicals can be raised with the thought of gambling. Biological Stopping gambling seems to result in the same kind of withdrawal symptoms associated with stopping drugs. ROSENTHAL ET AL (1992) found that over 60% of pathology gamblers, reported physical withdraw and these could be compared with withdrawal of drugs. A number of studies have shown a link between potential brain abnormalities.It is linked between front lobe dysfunction and problem gambling (CAVEAINI ET AL 2002) Genetics There is evidence from studies that gambling could be inherited. Results of a twin study from SHAH (2005) found evidence of genetic transmission of gambling in men. Behavioural/sociocultural factors You are more likely to gamble if you are near a gambling area Alcohol It has been suggested that drinking increasing gambling, particularly in problem gambling. Young, game-machine gamblers stay on the machine longer when drinking. (POLS ET AL 1991). However, regular casino gamblers drink less when they are gambling.Behavioural SLT says that people copy from others. Operant says that people do it for rewards and getting high. Classical says that people associate the winning with the pleasure. Cognitive ZUCKERMAN (1979) claimed there are individual differences in the need for sensation seeking. They look for varied and new experiences. They have a low appreciation of risk and look forward to the ‘buzz’ more than low sensation seeks. Vulnerability of addiction Self esteem Teenagers are more likely to be linked with low self esteem and have addictive behaviours. Higher rates of depression and suicide – DEVERENSKY 2003LEVY 2009 – low self esteem increase the chances of developing addiction. Genetic vulnerability. Several factors might be required have an addiction. AO2 – Cause and effect – addiction because of low self esteem or low self esteem causes addiction. GREENBERG ET AL (1999) found that in a sample of 129-addiction student, no ne had issues with low self esteem. Psychological therapies based on realizing self esteem levels in addicts may stop them relapsing. Attributions Explanations people give for their own behaviour. Cognitive behaviour can play a part in addictive behaviour.MOORE ET AL (1999) says that young male problem gamblers sometimes have unrealistic ideas about their chances of winning and of their ability to make things happen. People with addictive behaviour often have poor self efficacy (blame the outside world) and an external locus of control. They don’t blame their selves. SENEVITNE ET AL (2000) used a questionnaire and 70 alcoholics. The found that alcoholics saw other relapse because they have poor will power while their own relapsed were beyond their control and not their fault. AO2 May have more to do with responsibility of the addict.Therapies focus on positive beliefs on the addicts own power can lead to better success rates. Fast successful quitters in clinics often relapse on the outside as they blame outside cues to starting again. Personality EYSENCH (1997) – psychological resource model which has 3 dimensions which are inherited P (psychoticism) Aggressive, coldness, impulsivity and egocentricity N (neuroticism) Moodiness, imitabilty and anxiety E (extraversion) Optimums, liveliness and sociability There is little evidence to support a link between E and drug dependence. N and P have links with addiction to heroin, alcohol and nicotine.There is a correlation between alcohol addiction and anti social personalities. Gender Men are more likely to gamble because they are more competitive. Recent evidence has shown that there is an increase of women gamblers. With females, they are more likely to be addicted to smoking because of the risks of the consequences. (FOX 1994) However, in gambling more boys are regular gamblers than girls. JACOBS 2001 says boys start gambling earlier, spend more money and enjoy competitive skill based games. Social con text Social context can influence vulnerability to dependency in many ways.Parents can be influenced through their own names to addictive behaviours. Drinking and to a lesser extent, smoking are not seen as sociability acceptable behaviours. CICCHETTIC 1999 states getting drunk and being anti-social can lead to drug abuse as can being depressed or anxious as a teenager. WAGNER ET AL 2002 found cannabis users were more likely to take cocaine so the social context can act as a ‘gateway’ to harder drugs. AO2 LESHNER 1998 believes that treatment must include social context otherwise if cue addict returns to the same social context, they will relapse.KUENTZEL 2008 found that pathological gambler give socially acceptable answers in self reports, playing down their addiction, suggesting data could be invalid. Family influence Teenagers copied off other – SLT. It also shows that a liberal attitude to drugs, poor bonding and dysfunctional relationship can lead to addictiv e behaviour. Parents are unconcerned about their children. Sociocultural background HALL 1990 found people in lower socio economic backgrounds were more likely to take drugs. Poor education + live in areas = high crime VITARA (2001) linked between alcohol abuse and problem gambling particularly in males.The role of media in addictive behaviour The media has influence on addictive behaviour. Advertising This can be used to encourage sales of alcoholic drinks and the lottery etc. or by the government to start anti-smoking campaigns etc. Alcohol and cigarettes CHAPMAN ET ALL 1982 found underage smokers preferred the more adverting brands. ATKIN ET AL 1984 found that 12-17 years old who had watched more adverts on drinking alcohol were more likely to approve of underage drinking. Banned on advert for cigarettes Cigarettes’ adverting is now banned in the UK as evidence as shown people are influenced by the advert they see.Role models Alcohol seems acceptable because of TV and film s. SLT suggests we learn what we see which means TV characterises may influence the audience. Smokers, gamblers or drinkers as long as they are ‘loveable rogues’ could be seen as role models. CHARLTON 1986 seeing adverts made children associate smoking with looking grown up GUNSEKA 2005 found that drug taking in films to be portrayed in positive fashion with little reference to negative outcomes. AO2 Media can be positive influence on addictive behaviour. Media create moral panics which would stop addicts.The impact of media on addictive behaviour is hard to assess as research is correlation so don’t know what other variables are in place. Models of prevention of addiction Addiction = bad for a person and society Behaviour can stem from biological behaviour and cognitive factors with the addictive behaviour/addiction. It is in our interest to help prevent them before they even being or help to stop someone intending to begin an addiction TRA – THE THEORY O F REASONED ACTION AJZEN AND FISHBEIN 1975 There are three general components, attitude, subjective norms and behavioural intention.This theory states the factors that are involved when people decide on their actions. People behave based on their attitudes of the behaviour and the interaction of what others will think of their behaviour. Essentially this model believes that if you have an intention to engage in a behaviour it can predict that you make a decision to carry out the behaviour. CRANO ET ALL 2008 used TRA to estimate teenager’s vulnerability to inhalant abuse, by assessing intention to use or avoid drug taking and actual behaviour. The model was found to be accurate as a predictive toll and thus useful in helping addicts to abstain.AO2 of TRA Critics see TRA as deficient in explaining behaviour of those who have little control over their behaviour, such as addicts. TRA does not consider personality and cultural factors or demographics that shape addictive behaviour. Addicts are often aware of their behaviour and that it is not rational but they cannot help their addiction. THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOUR – TPB TRA was modified to produce TPB, adding a new component, the influence of perceived control. The theory of planned behaviour ‘perceived control’ – this is similar to Bandura’s concept of self-efficacy.According to TPB behavioural intentions are the outcome of the following beliefs. Attitude this can be a positive or negative evaluation of behaviour combined with beliefs about the outcome (e. g giving up smoking will be hard but will improve health). Subjective norms, perception if social norms ‘my friends will approve of my attempt to give up smoking’. Perceived Behaviour Control: a belief that someone can give up. AO2 of TPB The model assumes behaviours are conscious reasoned and planned, which may not be the case with addicts.As with TRA, TPB often used questionnaires to gather data, which can have issues with self report and social desirability. Most research is western countries cultural bias as individuals might not be as important in eastern cultures. Types of intervention Stages of changes model PROCHASHA AND DICLEMENTE said there were 5 stages that have to be overcome to beat addiction Pre-contemplation – before you start thinking about quitting the addiction. Contemplation – when you start to quit your addiction. Preparation – seek methods to stop addiction. Action – is starting the stopping to the addiction Maintance.People sometimes switch backwards and forwards and this is called ‘the revolving door phenomenon’. People in the preparation stage were more likely to attempt to give up an addiction than those in the contemplation stage. Psychological interventions Aversion therapy Contingency contracting Cue exposure self management technique Aversion therapy Punishment rather than reward. Been used to break smoking and alco hol addiction. Electric shocks every time the individual took addiction but was not successful. The addicts have been given a drug called Antabuse, when they drink alcohol, they are sick. They will link between the two.LANG AND MARLETT – TWO LIMITATIONS X not everyone was willing to take the drug. X doesn’t explain why they become addicted to the behaviour. With smoking, therapy was successful. Had to puff every 6 seconds, made the individual feel ill and nausea, assisted the two – SPIEGLAR AND GUEVREMONT. However, not been consistent across studies and a higher risk associated with this treatment for people who have heart problems. Didn’t focus on the act of smoking rather than causing the underlying addiction. Contingency contracting Individual to identify the environmental factors that are associated with smoking/drinking.The therapist aim to gradually expose the client to different cues and helps them to develop coping strategies to deal with the cues without resorting to smoking/drinking. Reduces the patients physical dependence on alcohol. but it does not teach them to deal with cues when they return to every day life. Cue exposure Addictive behaviour are often caused in the pressure of various stimuli. Cue exposure involves presenting the cue to the individual and helping them t control their reaction to it. In this way the response of ‘smoking’ in the pressure of alcohol fades away or exiting wishes.This is thought to be more effective than simply trying to avoid the cues. For example more drinking. Self-management technique This involves a variety of behavioural techniques. The individual is usually monitored by a therapist. The individual is asked to keep a daily record of their addictive habits and the changes to try and become aware of the things that make them become addictive. The individual should question the effects of the addiction. HALL ET ALL said that techniques can be used as a broader treatment pr ogramme, but they do not seem to be particularly effective on their own. EVAUALTIONWhile these behaviours based can be effective, they all share the problem that they do not really address the underlying reason why people have become addictive in the first place. Often short term With all therapies for addiction, they work better if they are mixed with other therapies based on other treatment. Different ways/treatment to smoking/drinking/drugs Biological interventions have been widely used to help people give up on smoking. There have been different way of tackling with people’s smoking addiction. There are different types of treatment†¦ Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)This type of treatment involves nicotine gum, patches and nasal spray and others. These are effect because they help smokers stop their addiction in several ways. While the smoker take one of these replacement therapies, they are helping to withdraw the symptoms of smoking. These have also shown that the se can have positive reinforcement with the person who is trying to give up. this meaning that the person is more likely to not do it again because they have something to distract them from the actual smoking. With this the client will used varies of different formulations and will slowly used smaller formulations as gum.Even though the client will have an urge to have a cigarettes, there are other ways to come about this. Nicotine patches help because they gradually emit nicotine throughout the day. If the client has a cigarette during the treatment, they are more likely to not repeat this again because the cigarette will be less satisfying. Bupropion Another way of helping with the addiction of smoking is bupropion. This drug works by increasing the brain levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, this simulates the effects of nicotine of these neurotransmitters. This is an effect treatment because it helped to block out the nicotine receptors.This means that the client is less likely that the client will relapse and have a cigarette. It has also bee proven my psychologists WATTS that it is successful. Varenicline This type of drug released dopamine in the brain. It also blocks effects of any nicotine added to the system. Trials have found that varenicline is superior to bupropion in helping people to stop smoking. Also it has helped smokers reduce the amount of cigarettes they have after a 12-week trial. Nicotine vaccines This is a new clinical trial, which is still undergoing at the moment.The type of trial is trying to help produce anti-bodies to the nicotine. The anti-bodies bind the nicotine so it takes longer to go to the brain. This therefore reduces the effect of the cigarettes smoke. EVALUTION Nicotine replacement therapy delivers nicotine into the bloodstream much more slowly than cigarette smokers does. But then it doesn’t satisfy the smoker completely ad maybe the client will give up on the therapy and relapse. Other research has shown that it ’s the nicotine rather than other components that underlines the addiction and this maintains the cigarettes smoking.This therefore doesn’t rid the client the nicotine addiction. There also have been issues with health and safety with the nicotine. Some research has shown that it could cause cardiovascular, cancer, reproductive disorders and delayed wound healing. Because the body is still being supplied with nicotine, this could increase heart rate, coronary blood vessels and temporarily increase bloody pressure. There are quite a few side effects to take just nicotine and because of this, it is advised not to take it during pregnancy but then again it is safer to take nicotine than to smoke in pregnancy.

Google Stock Section - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2938 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/09/18 Category Business Essay Type Argumentative essay Level High school Tags: Google Essay Did you like this example? A top-down approach to stock valuation for Google Stock Section 1: Investment summary I would recommend the buying of Google stock. The company’s current strategy would probably increase their chances of gaining strategic alliances, and make them a more attractive partner. As other companies see that Google is no longer going head on with partners, they may be more willing to cooperate with Google as well. Especially in developing markets, such strategic partners can offer Google a huge advantage, which will translate to increased value of Google’s stocks . Section 2: Overview of the company Google inc. s a company that offers a wide range of products and services to online users. The most popular service the company renders is their search engine named Google. The Google search engine uses PageRank, Algortihms, Link Measurement, and Profiling as part of its objective to deliver the most accurate and most relevant results to the searcher. Google also offers a ve ry successful email product called Gmail. Gmail is unique in that it allows the email account holder much more free space (7GB) than the average free email client. In my experience, Gmail is an exceptional email client as it provides many more services than the standard email. Google Maps is another successful application in that it is not just an average web mapping system. This advanced mapping system offers satellite imagery of most urban cities in the US and around the world. It also can be integrated with many mobile phones, which allows for a GPS mapping system directly on the phone. These features allow its users to find information and easily share it to anyone in the world. With the amount of traffic Google receives on a daily basis, Google has to have some kind of strategy to generate its revenue. One of Google’s main sources of revenue is advertising. In 2007, advertising accounted for 99% of Google’s revenues. Google implements two main advertising pr oducts which are AdSense and AdWords. AdWords is Googles flagship advertising product and main source of revenue ($16. 4 billion in 2007). AdWords offers pay-per-click advertising, and site-targeted advertising for both text and banner ads. The AdWords program includes local, national, and international distribution. Section 3: The macroeconomics Google competes to attract and retain relationships with users, advertisers and Google Network members and other content providers in different strategies. Google competes to attract and retain users of its search and communication products and services. Most of the products and services that Google offer to users are free, so they do not compete on price. Instead, they compete in this area on the basis of the relevance and usefulness of their search results and the features, availability and ease of use of their products and services. Google has been an outstanding company in the marketplace ever since its inception and it continues to be and deliver exceptional service to the global market. The move into public ownership brought about more benefits to its employees as well as present and future shareholders. The founders of Google felt that the standard structure of public ownership might jeopardize the independence and focused objectivity that has been apart of Googles past success. Googles leadership team wanted to preserve this aspect of the organization, so they implemented a corporate structure that is designed to protect Googles ability to introduce and retain its most distinctive characteristics. In 2007 and 2008, cash from Google’s financing activities totaled $403. million and $87. 6 million (Google Inc. 2009). Cash from financing activities is cash flow that takes place between organizations and stockholders and includes loans from bondholders and other creditors (Financial Education 2007). According to Google’s numbers, the company is under no risk since the company does not rely solel y on outside sources to generate its cash flow. Cash flow from Google’s investing activities negatively increased in 2008 as it did in 2007. In 2007, the company had net investing activities of ($3. 68) billion and ($5. 32) billion in 2008 (Google Inc. 009) a negative increase of $1. 6 million. Based on Google’s history and the company’s ability to generate cash flow, the negative increase in investing activities may be attributed to long-term investments and purchases that will ultimately generate cash flow. In comparing the 2007 and 2008 fiscal year of Google to Yahoo! , it appears that Google still remains Yahoo’s top competitor as in past years. Over the past two years, 2007 and 2008, Yahoo! has managed to generate its cash flow from its operations. The company’s cash flow from financing ctivities of $322. 4 in 2008 million and $1,442 million in 2007 compared to its cash flow from company operations (Yahoo! Inc. 2008) is an indication that Yah oo! is following the financial pattern of Google and is not depending on it financing activities to generate its cash flow. Business Changes that occurred may have altered the use of cash from one year to the next. The financial statements of Google have showed that the company has had steady growth. Revenue and profits have increased, as well as administrative, research and development expenses. Slight operating expenses have increased from 2007 to 2008. The cash flow statement shows cash from investing activities remained in the negative only greater. Additionally, more taxes were paid in 2008 than in 2007; however, there was no change in net cash. The financial statements of Yahoo! , shows that short-term and long-term investments have drastically increased. The cash flow statement shows that Yahoo! issued or repurchased capital stock. Google and Yahoo! are constantly striving to beat out competitors using innovation and new products and services. Therefore, both companies invest heavily in research and development. Discussion of Cash Generated in a Sustainable Manner. The use of ratios and trend analysis alerts viewers of Google’s financial health. Google has maintained its profitability in the double-digit percentiles, although it slightly increased its debt. In order to Improve Cash Flows Keeping track of any cash that flows of any company is important if managers want to achieve financial goals. While the task may require a daily count of receipts, there are several recommendations a company can improve its cash flows. Before any company tries to improve its cash flow, it is important that managers determine how cash flows through the company. Inflows are cash collections added to the company’s existing cash while cash leaving the company are its outflows (Toolkit Media Group, 2009). Cash flow will improve when companies collect cash owed to them. The longer cash stays uncollected, the less cash the company has to reinvest. Compan ies can offer incentives such as free specialized services or discounts on products. This move will encourage consumers to pay debts on time and as agreed. The founders of Google wanted to make sure that in the transition process to public ownership it would be difficult for outsiders to take over or influence Google. The corporate structure would make it easier for the management team to follow the long-term innovative approach. The Googles stock was distributed with Class A common stock having one vote per share and the Class B common stock held by the current shareholders has 10 votes per share. The purpose of this structure has left the Google team of Sergey and Page with increasingly significant control over the companys decision and fate, as Google shares change hands. With the completion of the IPO, Brin, Schmidt and Page will control 37. 6% of the voting power of Google, and the executive management team and directors as a group will control 61. 4% of the voting power. This move will give new investors access to full share in Googles long-term economic future. However, they will have little ability to influence its strategic decisions through their voting rights. The move to dual voting structure was considered unusual for technology companies however; it is common among media businesses and has proven to be very successful. The owners of Google believe that a dual class voting structure enables Google, to continue its success as a public company. They have been successful as a private company and they expect this to continue. Investors were concern that this type of voting structure would only be of benefit to Google, but the corporate team made this decision after thoughtful consideration and has confidence that it would be in the best interest of all Googles shareholders. The Google executive team has also expanded the board of directors to three additional members and they are of the view that the team at Google is a world class management team. This team is expected lead the organization forward into the future. The management team has stability and looks forward to retaining its cultural uniqueness while attracting and retaining talented persons that will affect the growth of the organization. The Googles organization thrives on taking the unusual approach to business and in the course of the IPO process demonstrated this once again by taking the an auction approach to distribute their stocks. The risk in this approach was that if there were not enough bidders or if people bid lower the IPO price will be low External and Internal Factor Evaluation The Price/Earnings (P/E) ratio is a companys price-per-share divided by its earnings-per-share. Google’s P/E Ratio (TTM) is 25. 96 meaning it has a relatively high valuation. The Price to Sales (P/S) Ratio is the stock price (total market cap) / total sales (revenues). Generally, the lower the ratio, the more attractive the investment. As easy as it sounds, p rice-to-sales provides a useful measure for sizing up stocks. Google’s P/S Ratio is 5 which is really not so great. Google’s P/B Ratio is 3. 83, which is greater than the industry and sector. Its competitor Yahoo has a P/B Ratio of 1. 57 which is below the industry standard. And Microsoft, another one of Google’s competitors, has a P/B Ratio of 4. 43 which is above the industry standard. The Growth Rates in terms of Sales TTM vs. TTM 1 year ago for Google is 31. 35. This is a healthy number in terms of growth; it means that sales have gone up 31. 35% since the same time 1 year ago. The Sales TTM vs. TTM 1 year ago for Yahoo is 3. 43, and for Microsoft is 7. 05. This means that Google has had the most growth in sales within a 1 year TTM than its other two main competitors. I think Google should continue to focus its concentration on current markets and also on its current product development strategies. Google remains in an excellent strategic position. Sec tion 4: The industry Google is doing very well financially compared with other competitors such as Yahoo. The current ratio, quick ratio and total assets turnover ratio of Google is better than other companies or at least at par with those for other competitors. Current ratio: At the end of 2009, Google’s Current ratio was $8. 77 million and $8. 49 million at the end of 2008 (Google Finance, 2009). In comparison, Yahoo’s current ratio was $1,705. 02 million at the end of 2009, and $1. 41 million in 2008. (Richardson, Chris 2007) Quick ratio: The financial statements of both Google and Yahoo! show zero inventories for 2008 and 2007. Therefore, since the only difference in the current ratio and quick ratio is inventories, then the current ratio and the quick ratio are equal in this case. (Richardson, Chris 2007) Total assets turnover ratio: The total assets turnover measures the efficiency of a company and its effectiveness to produce income from reinvestments of doll ars back into an organization. In 2008, Google had an estimated total asset turnover of about 69% and in 2009, Google had an estimated total asset turnover of about 59%. For the two-year period combined, Google generated an average of 64% return on its money, which indicates that Google does possess the assets necessary for generating earnings. Moreover, total assets turnover ratio, P/E ratio and book value/share ratio of Google is also better than the other companies. However, Google does have its weakness. As we can see, profit margin on sales of Google is slightly lower compare to the other two. However, Google’s price/CF ratio is slightly lower than Yahoo, but is significantly lower than Microsoft. Google is aiming at maintaining their position as a leading innovator. Source and Application of Funds Google, in preparation for its IPO listed its shares on the Nasdaq Stock market as they provided details for the unconventional IPO process. Charles Schwab and Co. Inc c lients also became qualified for the IPO auction. Google chose to offer its shares in an open auction. Googles initial IPO was targeted to raise about $2. 7 billion for the organization. However, the price of the IPO was reduced substantially prior to the auction taking place. Google envisioned that for one year it would allocate stock-based compensation charges for grants to its employees. This figure is expected to be about $377 million. (Google 2006) Into the Future Despite all the challenges Google faced at the beginning of their IPO, they have overcome these challenges and moved forward with the public confidence. Google continues to be a competitive organization. Although there has been a decrease in its stocks in the last year, predictions are that this will not continue. Googles stock is expected to increase, and the company will remain a viable force in the technology industry. Therefore, those investors waiting for a stock-split will have to wait a little longer. Goo gle will continue to move forward to its long-term goal of services that significantly improve the lives of people who make Google their primary search engine. Section 5: The firm Proposed Valuation Model 1. The target price is determined by the Gordon constant dividend growth model 2. Assumptions ?Retained earnings represent the only source of financing ? The Rate of return is constant Cost of equity remains constant and is greater than growth rate ? The company has perpetual life The closing price of Google as at April 15 2010 was $595. 30 the company has market cap of $189. 29 billion. This stock price fairly reflects the firm’s fundamentals. â€Å"Google Inc (GOOG), the Internet search engine said first quarter revenues rose 23% to $6. 78 billion from $5. 51 billion a year ago. Net income in the quarter rose 41% to $2 billion or $6. 06 per diluted share compared to net income of $1. 42 billion or $4. 49 per share last year. Google Inc revenue rose 23% and net income rose 41%. Intuitive Surgical, Inc revenue rose 74. 4% and net income rose 203. 5%. Google Inc, in the last one year traded as high as $629. 51 in January 2010 and as low as $364. 16 in April 2009. † (Mita Yagnik 2010) (1) ROA=Profit margin X Total assets turnover= (Net income/Sales) X (Sales/Total assets) (2) ROE=ROA X Equity multiplier= (Net income/ Total assets) X (Total assets/Common equity). So, ROE=Profit margin X Total assets turnover X Equity multiplier. Projecting the 2010 financial status, if we holding the profit margin and equity multiplier constant as 2009 (profit margin=0. 3, equity multiplier=1. 59). When we pursue a 50% sales increase in 2010, this will provide us a total sale of 12,418,500,000 USD. After the comparison of the company’s financial ratio analysis to other companies, it can be seen that Google is doing a good job. This can also be seen in the fact that from year 2003 to 2009, Google’s revenue increased from 1,465 Million to 3,189 Milli on USD, which increased 117 percent while there was a 277 percent increase in Net Income. Also, revenue increased 625 percent compared with revenue in 2008, while Net Income increased 300 percent. The company’s current and quick ratios in 2009 are higher relative to its 2008 current and quick ratios. Both ratios are quite high though, which means Google has strong competitive financial position. This valuation model provides the best fit for valuing the firm, as it is quite clear that Google’s strongest service is its search engine. Besides, all Google’s services, except for search not being used much, they hardly bring in any revenue. Google is investing in these services though, making them dogs, according to the Boston consultancy matrix. Therefore, Google may be better off eliminating these services, and fully focusing on its search engine. If the company does this, they would be best off using a concentration strategy, and redirecting all resources to the improving of the search engine. They could go into horizontal growth, forming strategic alliances with other large websites. Functional strategies must also be changed in order to follow such corporate and business strategies. For example, the research and development department would no longer be able to use its hit and miss strategy. Rather, researchers would have to focus on one specific task. Also, the company would be better of becoming a technological leader, rather than a follower, since that way there would be less risk of being passed by competitors. The only negative effect such a strategy might have is on the culture; it may become less innovative. Because Google would start to cooperate with other websites, the need for any innovation outside of the search engine may become less necessary. If the company thinks a new service may be needed, they could just join forces with another company, rather than creating the new service by themselves. Since Google’ s culture relies heavily on innovation, which stimulates employees, the loss of the innovation may make Google a less attractive place to work. However, If Google continues to stimulate innovation, they may be able these innovations to their strategic partners. Works cited Brealey. R. A. , Myers. S. C. , Marcus. A. J. , (2004) How Corporations Issue Securities Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 4th edition, pp 366-390 Gibbons R. (2007). Google’s Ghoulish Trick. Retrieved from https://www. fool. com/investing/general/2004/10/27/googles-ghoulish-trick. spx? terms=Google++Trickvstest=search_042607_linkdefaultHistory of Google La Monica, P. R. (2007) Google gets 2. 7 billion IPO. CNNMoney. com. Retrieved from https://money. cnn. com/2004/04/29/technology/google/. La Monica, P. R. , (2007). Google Jumps 18% In Debut. CNNMoney. com Mita Yagnik (2010) Google, Intuitive Surgical Net Rises. DAILY EARNINGS. Retrieved from https://www. ticker. com/? page=daily_earningsstory=Google,%20In tuitive%20Surgical%20Net%20Risesid=37929 Richardson, Chris. (2007) Google IPO Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Google Stock Section" essay for you Create order