Symbolism in Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway Essay -- Ernest Hemin

Symbolism in Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway In his short story Cat in the Rain, Ernest Hemingway uses imagery and subtlety to convey to the reader that the relationship between the American couple is in crisis and is quite clearly dysfunctional. In other words, the reader has to have a symbolic reading of the images. In fact, what seems to be a simple tale of an American couple spending a rainy afternoon inside their hotel room serves as a great metaphor for their relationship. This symbolic imagery, hided behind common objects, gives the story all its significance. This short story contains a great number of striking and literary symbols. In a symbolic reading, the opening paragraph describes the crisis that exists in the marriage of the couple. In other words, the description of the bad weather, of the "empty square"[1](l.10) and of their isolation, reflects this conflict and also sets the negative mood. In fact, since the beginning, Ernest Hemingway insists on the isolation of the couple that "does not know any of the people they passed" (ll.1-2) and are "only two Americans"(l.1). Here it is interesting to notice that they are isolated from the outside world but also from each other. There is no communication and they have no contact, they are distant from each other. Then this isolation is accentuated because of the weather, it is raining. The rain is part responsible for the fact that they have to stay in their room. Nevertheless, the rain has a symbolic meaning together with the description of the public garden. It represents as suggests the critic John V. Hagopian the "lack of fertility"[2] (p.230) . This lack is a... ...t the cat, the story would lose much of both their colour and clarity. Moreover, Ernest Hemingway has succeeded very well in this story in showing that individualism of the people living with their own problem is in many case the cause of split and despair. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1]All further references are to this edition : Ernest Hemingway, "Cat in the Rain" . The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, ed. Jackson J. Berson (Dwham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1975). [2] John V. Hagopian, "Symmetry in 'Cat in the Rain'", College English, XXIV (December 1962). [3] John V. Hagopian, "Symmetry in 'Cat in the Rain'", College English, XXIV (December 1962). [4] John V. Hagopian, "Symmetry in 'Cat in the Rain'", College English, XXIV (December 1962).

The Shock of the novel The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay -- The Lot

The Shock of the novel The Lottery by Shirley Jackson The first time I read â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson, I thought it would be about someone in a desperate situation who wins a large amount of money. However, after reading the story I was shocked and disgusted like millions of other readers because of what the â€Å"lottery† was all about. After my shock wore off I thought about why the author had chosen to be so cynical. It occurred to me that she needed to shock people into changing for the better. She believed that the biggest problem in her society were the people who would live their lives without thinking about changing themselves for the better. She stresses the importance of questioning the validity of everything as opposed to conforming blindly to the majority. She portrays her message best through the characters that actually voice their opinion against the lottery and the characters who respond to them. While those opposed are the voice of reason, they are dismissed by the majority in different ways throughout the story. Firstly we see Mr. Adams questions Old Man Warner about the validity of the lottery when he says, â€Å"over in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery.† Old Man Warner, who represents the extreme right part of the majority, retorts with disgust and calls them a â€Å"pack of crazy fools.† The next person to speak up is Mrs. Adams, who is defending her husband to Old Man Warner. She informs the old man that there are place...

Free Essay: The Odor of Chrysanthemums :: Chrysanthemums Essays

The Odor of Chrysanthemums The locomotive engine may be symbolic of Walter. It is an overwhelming thing, strong and powerful, the way that Walter is a huge part of her life. However, it is also impersonable and cold, just as her relationship to her husband is. Her moments with her husband, like "the winding engine" are hurried "with brief pauses" (2113). Lawrence describes their intimacy as an "exchanging of nakedness," but without any real connection for long periods of time. The color red seems to symbolize death. The beginning of the story presents the pit bank with "flames like red sores like its ashy sides" (2111). However, death is not presented as a dreadful thing in this story. In the end, death is freedom for Elizabeth. Even John says, " I do think its beautiful to look in the fire . . . . It's so red, and full of little caves-- and it feels so nice" (2114). In a way, he is commenting on the mystery and beauty of passing on to the afterlife. When Elizabeth goes to look for her husband, there, again, is "The red smear of the burning pit bank on the night (2117). Finally, she lays her dead husband on "the old red tablecloth" (2121). D. H. Lawrence's parents did not have a good marriage. They probably did not know each other well before their marriage, as they were ill-suited for each other. The Bates do not really know one another; they are married but strangers. Lawrence's father was an abusive alcoholic. Walter Bates frequents the public house. Characters: Elizabeth Bates: stifled, long-suffering, distant but caring with her family. John Bates: curious, headstrong. Walter Bates: Insensitive, absent. "Was this what it all meant--utter, intact separateness, obscured by the heat of living?" Elizabeth is questioning the reason for living. Particularly, she is wondering at her own existence. Her life seems to have no meaning and she does not connect with any one, especially her husband. "I have been fighting a husband who did not exist . . .and her soul died in her for fear." Walter did exist, but not as a true husband to her, nor she a true wife to him.

Marriott Corp: the Cost of Capital

To : President, Marriott Corporation From : FLO299 Subject : Marriott Corporation – The Cost of Capital Date : April 6, 2010 The Importance of the Cost of Capital The cost of capital is important as it forms the basis for Marriott’s investing and financial decisions. By understanding and knowing the cost of capital, Marriott is able to select relevant investment projects for the company, determine incentive compensation, and repurchase undervalued shares when needed. The returns of a project were found by discounting the appropriate cash flows against the appropriate hurdle rates. Without knowing the cost of capital, Marriott would not be able to determine hurdle rates that would help Marriott’s growth. Also, knowing the cost of debt would allow Marriott to optimize the use of debt in the company’s capital structure. Knowing the hurdle rates on a divisional level would also enable Marriott to reward their managers using incentive compensation. By using hurdle rates, Marriott managers would be â€Å"more sensitive to Marriott’s financial strategy and capital market conditions† and would give the company a more accountable method of rewarding their employees. Lastly, Marriott’s method of calculating a â€Å"warranted equity value† for its common shares required knowing the company’s equity cost of capital. A share price that was below the â€Å"warranted equity value† signaled to Marriott when the company needed to step in to repurchase its stock as the company believed that repurchases of shares were a better use of Marriott’s cash flow and debt capacity than acquisitions or owning real estate. Computing Marriott’s WACC The cost-of-capital was computed both divisionally and overall for the company. It required using the formula WACC = (1-t_)RD(D/V) + RE(E/V). D and E are the market values of the debt and equity respectively and V (market value) = D+E. RD and RE are the pretax cost of debt and cost of equity respectively and t is the corporate tax rate. The Numbers Used in Marriott’s WACC A 34% tax rate rate will be assumed for simplicity's sake so more effort can be focused on other issues . The above WACC calculation uses market value of debt. Cost of debt can be observed directly by calculating the yield to maturity of outstanding bonds, but since the bond market is not very transparent and we know Marriott's unsecured debt is A-rated, the company can expect to pay a spread above some base rate. Which index to use should be determined by project life, and as lodging is based on a long term business model, a 30-year treasury bond is appropriate. In this case, the base is 8. 95% according to Tabe B and the spread for the overall company is 130 basis points according to Table A. Also found in Table A, Marriott set a target of the debt percentage in its capital structure to be 60% for the overall company. Because there is no way of directly observing the return that equity investors require, we rely on a couple of methods to estimate it. A dividend growth model can be used, and although simply to use, this approach assumes steady dividend growth. This approach also does not directly adjust for the riskiness of a project. An alternative approach is to use CAPM, which does not rely on dividend growth and does take both the market risk premium and systematic risk into consideration. Using CAPM to estimate the cost of equity we use the following formula: _E(R)=Rf+ {draw:frame} *MRP_. Rf is the same risk-free base rate used to calculate cost of debt, in this case, 8. 95% from Table A. The {draw:frame} is obtained from regression using market data and therefore is affected by leverage. To adjust for this, the B is unlevered and then relevered so that it is the B for business risk only, independent of capital structure. With due consideration given to each input, Appendix A is a computation of Marriott's WACC, 11. 87%, which is also the required rate of return for the company overall. The Use of Marriott’s WACC in Divisional Decisions Marriott can use the computed WACC to support its stock repurchasing decisions because it allows the equity cash flows to be discounted at a company level rate. But because each cost of capital input could differ amongst its divisions, the cost of capital varies across each. If Marriott used the above calculated WACC for all divisional decisions, it would cause the company to take on riskier projects, projects that once risk adjusted would likely cause the company to lose money in the long run. A better approach would be to use individual {draw:frame} for each project with CAPM to calculate the WACC for each project and compare it to IRR. Determining Divisional WACC To estimate the WACC for each division, we need their corresponding {draw:frame} . To do this we use comparable companies for each division; this is because we cannot run regressions at the divisional level as that information is not available. For the lodging division, we compare other hotel companies, for the restaurant division, we compare other restaurants, and for the contract services division we use the identity: {draw:frame} M=WL* {draw:frame} L+WR {draw:frame} R+WCS {draw:frame} CS. The identifiable assets in Exhibit 2 will be used to compute the weights of each division. Once again, because the information is actual market numbers, {draw:frame} E is affected by leverage and must be unlevered by multiplying it by 1 – market leverage. This results in {draw:frame} A which is business risk, independent of capital structure. Asset risk is the only thing that is comparable across firms. Within each divisional comparison to comparable companies, weighted average of {draw:frame} A is used as smaller companies have less impact on the overall segment. These numbers are shown in Exhibit 3. The WACC for each division is found in Appendix B to D. Differences in WACC Appendix A: Marriott’s Overall WACC Calculation Appendix B: Marriott’s WACC for Lodging Appendix C: Marriott’s WACC for Restaurants Appendix D: Marriott’s WACC for Contract Services Identifiable lodging assets = 2777. 4 WL = 60. 61% {draw:frame} L = . 57 Identifiable restaurant assets = 567. 6 WR = 12. 39% {draw:frame} R = . 75 Identifiable contract services assets = 1237. 7 WCS= 27. 00% {draw:frame} CS = solve for this below {draw:frame} M=WL* {draw:frame} L+WR {draw:frame} R+WCS {draw:frame} CS 0. 57 = . 6061*0. 42 + . 12390. 75 + . 2700 {draw:frame} CS {draw:frame} CS = 0. 57

Dozier: Foreign Exchange Market and Forward Contract

Dozier Industries has three options to choose from when deciding on the best way to handle their first non-US dollar denominated receivable: 1. Entering into a forward contract in which Dozier would sell forward British Pounds. 2. Execute a spot market transaction to create a synthetic forward hedge. 3. Do not hedge against any fluctuations between the Pound and the Dollar. For the purpose of the analysis, there are several assumptions made which are pertinent to the analysis that follows (see appendix). Forward Contract Hedge The first option available to Dozier Management to hedge the risk of the Great British Pound (GBP) depreciating against the United States Dollar (USD) is to enter into a contract to sell forward ? 1,057,500 for USD in 90 days. Therefore, on April 14th, when Dozier receives the remaining GBP from the security system contract, it would be required to deliver these GBP to the counterparty of the forward contract. This option would make the firm immune to any fluctuations in the value of GBP relative to USD over the next 90 days as the firm would lock in the USD/GBP exchange rate for their receivable of ? ,057,500. At the current 3-month forward rates of (1. 4198 USD/GBP), Dozier would capture guaranteed proceeds of $1,501,438. 50. Dozier also received ? 117,500 as deposit for the contract. The firm could sell this deposit on the spot foreign exchange market at the current rate of 1. 437 USD/GBP and receive $168,847. 50. Investing the proceeds of the deposit in a U. S. money market accou nt would yield $171,988. 00 in 90 days. It is important to note that since the contract was settled on December 3rd, the GBP depreciated by over 3% (from (1. 820 to 1. 437 USD/GBP). As a result of this movement, the USD value of the deposit was reduced by the same 3% from $174,135. 00 to $168,847. 50. Under the strategy of using the forward contract hedge, the firm would be assured of receiving a total of $1,673,426. 50 ($1,501,438. 50 plus $171,988. 00). Given the total cost of the project of $1,642,783, the firm would realize a profit of $30,643. 50, a margin of 1. 87%. This profit margin would be significantly below the projected 6% return. Spot Market Hedge An alternative to the forward contract hedge is Dozier could create a matching liability for the GBP receivable by borrowing GBP from the bank, immediately exchanging the GBP for USD in the spot foreign exchange market and then investing the USD proceeds in a three month deposit. At the time the receivable comes due, Dozier would use the GBP proceeds to repay the liability and keep the USD amount of the three month profit. These series of transactions would eliminate the risk of the depreciation of the Pound. GBP funding is available at a rate of 15% (13. 50% GBP prime rate plus 150 basis point credit spread). To create a GBP liability of ? 1,057,500 GBP in 90 days, the firm would need to borrow its present value of ? 1,021,188. 50. The firm would then receive $1,467,447. 88 at the current exchange rate. As the USD investment would be over $1. 0 million it would be classified as a large deposit and qualify for the premium interest rate. As in the previous scenario, Dozier would immediately exchange the ? 117,500 deposit into $168,847. 50. The total proceeds of $1,636,295. 38 could then be invested in a deposit bearing 8%, earning interest of $31,787. 57 over 90 days. The firm would receive a total of $1,668,082. 4 from the initial deposit, the principle and interest in the three month investment. Given the project costs stated above, the firm would realize a profit of $25,299. 94, representing a margin of 1. 54%. Spot Market Hedge The final option available to Dozier Management is to leave the 1,057,500 GBP receivable un-hedged. If the GBP were to appreciate against the USD over the next 9 0 days, Dozier would reap the full benefit of this appreciation. Conversely, should the GBP depreciate versus the USD over the next 90 days, Dozier would suffer a loss equal to the percent depreciation of the pound to the dollar. In a scenario where the USD/GDP exchange rate moves by  ±10%, the Dozier’s profits would range between negative $96,471. 13 (or 5. 9% of cost, making the project a loss) and $207,819. 16 (or 12. 65% of cost, effectively doubling the profit margin). Conclusion Dozier can capture a profit through both of the hedging strategies albeit it being smaller than the target six percent originally built into the bid. An un-hedged position is unacceptable due to the firm’s recent financial difficulties – it is critical that Dozier profits from this initial venture into this new market. While leaving the receivable un-hedged alternative does offer the greatest potential profit at the current prevailing FX rates, these profits are not guaranteed (see appendix for profit/loss possibilities given GBP/USD FX fluctuations). Given the importance of locking in a profit and the uncertainty of the GBP/USD future exchange rates, we recommend Dozier hedges the ? 1,057,500 receivable by exchange rate in Appendix Assumptions: †¢All transactions are executed immediately. †¢All transaction costs surrounding the forward contract are negligible. †¢All rates given in Exhibit 4 will not fluctuate over the 90 day time span. Deposits over $1 million are eligible for the three month deposit rate. Calculation of Profits: Spot Market Hedge Deposit Amount $ 168,847. 50 Interest Received $ 28,507. 45 Principal Amount $ 1,467,447. 88 Total $ 1,664,802. 82 Cost of Project $ 1,642,783. 00 Interest on Initial Deposit $ 3,280. 12 Net Profit on Project $ 25,299. 95 Profit Margin on Project1. 54% Currency Forward Hedge Receivable GBP $ 1,057,500. 00 Short GBP $ (1,057,500. 00) Long USD @ 3 month Fwd $ 1,501,438. 50 Deposit $ 168,847. 50 Cost of Project $ 1,642,783. 00 Interest on Initial Deposit $ 3,140. 50 Net Profit on Project $ 30,643. 50 Profit Margin on Project1. 87% Profit Margin Scenario Analysis FX Rates% ChgUSD EquivalentCost of ProjectDepositProfit/LossProfit Margin 1. 30 -10. 0% $ 1,374,323. 87 $ 1,642,783. 00 $171,988. 00 $ (96,471. 13)-5. 87% 1. 31 -9. 0% $ 1,388,205. 93 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ (82,589. 07)-5. 03% 1. 33 -8. 0% $ 1,402,228. 21 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ (68,566. 79)-4. 17% 1. 34 -7. 0% $ 1,416,392. 13 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 0 $ (54,402. 87)-3. 31% 1. 35 -6. 0% $ 1,430,699. 13 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ (40,095. 88)-2. 44% 1. 37 -5. 0% $ 1,445,150. 63 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ (25,644. 37)-1. 56% 1. 38 -4. 0% $ 1,459,748. 11 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ (11,046. 89)-0. 67% 1. 39 -3. 0% $ 1,474,493. 04 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 3,698. 04 0. 23% 1. 41 -2. 0% $ 1,489,386. 91 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 18,591. 91 1. 13% 1. 42 -1. 0% $ 1,504,431. 23 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 33 ,636. 2 2. 05% 1. 44 0. 0% $ 1,519,627. 50 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 48,832. 50 2. 97% 1. 45 1. 0% $ 1,534,823. 78 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 64,028. 77 3. 90% 1. 47 2. 0% $ 1,550,172. 01 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 79,377. 01 4. 83% 1. 48 3. 0% $ 1,565,673. 73 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 94,878. 73 5. 78% 1. 50 4. 0% $ 1,581,330. 47 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 110,535. 47 6. 73% 1. 51 5. 0% $ 1,597,143. 77 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 126,348. 77 7. 69% 1. 3 6. 0% $ 1,613,115. 21 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 142,320. 21 8. 66% 1. 54 7. 0% $ 1,629,246. 36 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 158,451. 36 9. 65% 1. 56 8. 0% $ 1,645,538. 83 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 174,743. 83 10. 64% 1. 57 9. 0% $ 1,661,994. 22 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 191,199. 22 11. 64% 1. 59 10. 0% $ 1,678,614. 16 $ 1,642,783. 00 $ 171,988. 00 $ 207,819. 16 12. 65% Notes: *All numbers rounded to the nearest one-hundredth decimal place. *No probability weighting given to each sc enario.

Economics commentary †China set to introduce new rules on smoking in public Essay

China’s economy is known as one of the strongest economies in the world, as they achieved a very high recorded rate of growth domestic product in 2010 with 10.3%, as well as china is one of the main exporters worldwide, all of these are reasons why China has a powerful role in the world economy. But unfortunately this power could be in dangerous if the economy faces market failure. Market failure occurs when there is a misallocation of resources according to the price mechanism towards the social optimal way caused by the failure of the market signal function to identify the efficient and exact outcomes (Mankiw, 2011). Which consequence externalities, In our market failure case, there is something called negative externality, which means that the third party, who are neither the consumer nor the producer, they are the society, known as the marginal social (MSb/c). This good produced is harmfully or damagingly affecting the society. Therefore there is misallocation of resources. Traditionally Government intervenes by adding to the basic price, taxes to lower the demand on the good which influences the social and private cost positively by lowering their quantities as shown in {figure A}. Concerning the article, the negative externality is present in china due to cigarettes supported by the fact that 1 out of 3 people is smoking, which is considered a negative pick rate, which surely affects the environment and the third party, as mentioned above. This fact, and the increase of cigarettes consumption, makes â€Å"The country’s authorities believe smoking kills more than one million people every year and that figure is predicted to triple by 2030†. This statement is a very dangerous signal for china, mentioning that Chinese future is unsafe concerning both socially and economically as well, because â€Å"Smoking is a very old Chinese tradition† , which actually affects negatively the economical issues. Cigarettes are considered as demerit good. The Government has different ways to intervene and to either stop selling this kind of product or to lower its impact on the society. They can either put legislations by law to limit the quantity produced by the supplier for example for this particular good, or by banning, ban the production or consumption of a certain good that causes a negative externality, or may be by advertising to influence producers and consumers and warn. or finally by taxation, the act to put a high tax on demerit goods, which is the very known and traditional way of lowering the consumption of a good having negative externalities (Mankiw, 2011), Also the tradable permits, which could be a solution in other situations, but it may have a relation to the Chinese one, as we know the production of cigarettes is surely harming the environment so that they can use the tradable permits to minimize the supply of cigarettes. All of these are ways for the government to attempt to correct market failure by influencing both supply and demand for goods. This is exactly the situation in China, cigarettes has a negative impact generally and increasing day after day its negative effects on the society, thus the government decided to make new strict rules to lower this impact as mentioned in the article, so this directly mean that the Chinese government has decided to weather apply legislation or ban more powerfully beside their stable taxation and their advertising influence. But in the situation of china they have many limitations and variable parameters that will surely affect their decisions as that The tobacco companies have huge influence in the whole Chinese industry, which means that banning couldn’t be the correct way to solve their problem as The government operates a monopoly on tobacco sales, which brings in huge amounts of source to the government as tax receipts, also at legislation may be at the same situation of banning because some Campaigners say it is difficult to promote anti-smoking policies for the reason that china is one of the biggest suppliers and producers of cigarettes as the foreign countries franchise in china for the low labor income, (Arnold, 2007) so that puts china in a bad situation as lack of transparency which may lead to internal political problems†¦for example, if they legalize and allow franchisor to come, they may lose the confidence of people. For the reason that foreign companies come to china to produce their cigarettes because â€Å"The cost of a packet of cigarettes is significantly lower in China than in many western countries†. The solution which may help the Chinese government to interfere and either to correct the market failure economically if happens or socially to help the society to maintain good health and social wellbeing (Arnold, 2007), is actually the taxation by increasing very high percentage of tax {figure B}, after putting in consideration all of the limitations, the use of taxation is the ideal solution. To conclude, we can say that the government has to keep the market under surveillance because the market is left totally free, surely will appear overproduction of goods having negative externalities as demerit goods, as cigarettes or goods that passes from steps in production that pollute the environment, causing circumstances as spreading different diseases and danger for all living organisms which leads socially to high death rate and economically on the long term to economical crisis. Therefore, government has to interfere, to limit the extent of demerit goods on the free market, to insure a safe future both economically and socially. Bibliography Arnold, R. A. (2007). Microeconomics. switzerland: thomas south-western. Mankiw, N. G. (2011). Principles of Economics Study Guide. New City : Cengage Learning.

Post Facto Research

1. What is the meaning of research? There are various definitions of research. According to John . W. Best, research is a systematic and objective analysis and recording of controlled observations that may lead to the development of generalizations, principles, theories and concepts, resulting in prediction for seeing and possibly ultimate control of events. On the other hand, Clifford Woody defined research as a careful enquiry or examination in seeking facts or principles, a diligent investigation to ascertain something. Furthermore, Mouley defined research as a process of arriving at dependable solution to the problems through the planned and systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data. According to Martyn Shuttleworth (Oct 3, 2008), in the broadest sense of the word, the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge. Kothari (2002) described research as a systematic investigation to find solution to a problem. 2. What is the importance of research? Research is very much beneficial to everyone in the society. According to Ayesha Afsar, research is important because it gives direction to deal with a specific problem. Whether the problem is thoroughly solved or not is not the forte of the research work. Accumulating amicable and all the possible solutions hypothetically are in itself considered a commendable achievement. Moreover, as stated by Michelle Lowe, research can help us to explore education and the education process. It can help us to answer questions about learning and teaching. Prince Samuels also added that research is very vital to our everyday decision making. It arms us from wrong information and save time and money. It is important to our success as we take on life's challenges and career decisions making. Furthermore, Joe Gilbert stated that research is important when conducted correctly because it helps us to understand and possibly even solve existing or possible problems in the world. This could be anything from social issues to medical breakthroughs. Governments carry out research all of the time in order to come to conclusions about policies and strategies. They will often choose experts in the particular field to go out and carry out in-depth research to help them out. Without this research and knowledge, it would be difficult to make a change in the world. It would also mean that changes wouldn't be fully considered which could result in bigger problems in the long run. 3. What are the kinds of research? As emphasized by C. R. Kothari, the following are the different kinds of research: Basic Research deals with the formulation of theory; gathering knowledge for knowledge’s sake is ‘pure’ or ‘basic’ research; pure research is â€Å"research made without any idea of application to industrial matters but solely with the view of extending our knowledge of the Laws of Nature. † * Applied {action} Research focuses at finding a solution for immediate problem; helps in discovering a solution for some pressing practical problem; is the application of knowledge from one or more natural scientific fields [pure research] to solving practical problems Descriptive/ex post facto research includes survey facts finding inquires it focuses on two aspects: {a}What has happened? {b}What is happening? * Correlational research attempts to discover or establish the existence of a relationship/ interdependence between two or more aspects of a situation. * Explanatory research attempts to clarify why and how there is a relationship between two or more aspects or a phenomenon. Exploratory research is undertaken to explore an area where a little is known or to investigate the possibilities of undertaking a particular research study {feasibility/ pilot study}. It is the development of hypothesis rather than their testing. Exploratory research often relies on secondary research such as reviewing available literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal discussions with consumers, employees, management or competitors, and more formal approaches through in-depth interviews, focus groups, projective methods, case studies or pilot studies Historical research is the type of research that examines past events or combinations of events to arrive at an account of what has happened in the past. * Experimental research is defined essentially as research in which the causal (independent) variable(s) can be manipulated in order to change an effect Because of this element of manipulation, researchers in using experimental methods are expected to maintain a good degree of control throughout the period of the study to establish with confidence that cause and effect occurred. (Dr. Anthony G. Picciano) * Constructive research is mainly done by many technological corporates in order to find new/alternative solutions to any particular crisis or problems. For example-renewable energy research or development of the capacity of optical fiber may fall into this category of research. * Empirical research is very impressive observational type of research, where one observes or test on real-life data or analysis the pattern of some specific events in order to identify the nature or the class of trend that specific phenomenon maintains. Based on the test result, researchers try to draw lines in order to predict the result of that type of incidents with certain level of confidence. 4. What are the characteristics of research? According to Ranjit Kumar, the following are the characteristics of research: * Empirical. Research is based on direct experience or observation by the researcher. * Logical. Research is based on valid procedures and principles. * Cyclical. Research is a cyclical process because it starts with a problem and ends with a problem. Analytical. Research utilizes proven analytical procedures in gathering the data, whether historical, descriptive, experimental and case study. * Critical. Research exhibits careful and precise judgment. * Methodical. Research is conducted in a methodical manner without bias using systematic method and procedures. * Replicability. The research design and procedures are replicated or repeated to enable the researcher to arrive at valid and conclusive results.