Saturday, September 7, 2019

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 29

Economics - Essay Example At this specific combination of price and quantity, both the agents are maximizing their self interests, keeping in mind the other agent’s behavior and satisfying the condition of Pareto-Optimality (Google Docs, page 57-58). A competitive market is identified by three main characteristics: many consumers and many sellers, freedom of choice under the umbrella of perfect information, and the assumption that the agents have a rational behavior in determining their choice, which essentially maximizes their self-interests. To ensure optimality of outcome, the existence of externalities is unacceptable (Howard, 1994, page 384) The market model of a competitive market is thus based on the general assumption that industries seek to maximize their profits, and therefore are competitive. However, given the condition that a single firm is just one part of the many firms in the market, it is projected that it cannot affect the price of the commodity which in this case is ‘the rainwater tanks’. Hence an individual seller is just a price taker, it can be rightly said that it faces a flat demand curve (John and Akila, 2009, page 246) Referring to the diagram (perfect competition) below, the Supply Curve (Ms) interacts with the Demand Curve (Md) in the Industry model, to determine the equilibrium price which is P1, that will become the demand curve of an individual firm i.e. the flat line AR=MC in the Individual Firm model. The quantity supplied by the individual firm is Q1, and the quantity supplied by the overall industry would be the amount on the x-axis (Industry Output), corresponding to P1. The shaded area denoting the profit of any individual firm is an assumption based on the consideration that the supplier has an average cost below the price; However, depending upon every individual firm’s own capacity to supply rainwater tanks and the respective average costs they face, they shall determine their supply curve, and all the individual

Friday, September 6, 2019

Slaughterhouse Five Essay Essay Example for Free

Slaughterhouse Five Essay Essay Kurt Vonnegut wrote the book Slaughterhouse-Five in order to express his feeling of disgust towards the brutality of World War II. It was written as a general statement against all wars. Vonnegut focuses on the shock and outrage over the havoc and destruction man is capable of reeking in the name of what he labels a worthy cause, while learning to understand and accept these horrors and ones feelings about them. Through his character, Billy Pilgrim, he conveys not only these feelings and emotions, but also the message that we must exercise our free will to alter the unfortunate happenings that might occur in our lives. Vonnegut had tremendous difficulty writing this novel. He says, I thought it would be easy for me to write about the destruction of Dresden, since all I would have to do would be to report what I had seen (Vonnegut 2). He did not count on his emotions interfering with his attempts at a factual and logical report of such atrocities. It took Vonnegut twenty years to directly face his private demon of the firebombing of Dresden in the form of this novel. He had trouble recalling any memories of substance about his time in Dresden. It could be said that he was blinded by the firebombs of Dresden. It was not until Vonnegut returned to the sight of the bombing twenty years later, along with one of his war buddies, that he was able to recall the disastrous and horrific incidents in Dresden. The novel served as a form of therapy for Vonnegut; it enabled him to examine the events of the past that impacted on his life, and to come to terms with them. Vonnegut chooses to focus the novel on events surrounding the firebombing of Dresden, Germany.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Parmenides Argument For All Things Being Continuously One Philosophy Essay

Parmenides Argument For All Things Being Continuously One Philosophy Essay Describe and assess Parmenides argument for all things being continuously one. Parmenides argument for things being continuously one begins with the ways of inquiry into the reality of the world. He shows there to be the Way of truth and the Way of opinion. His criticism in his poem entitled On Nature is that the true nature of the reality of the world cannot be known by the way of opinion. The Way of opinion being the perception of the world as one would see it, not the reality of the world as these observations or perceptions only give truth to the appearance of the world. Appearance can be illusory. The way of truth on the other hand gives the follower of this route a true idea of the reality of the world as it is based on logical deduction and it is from this that Parmenides reasons that all things are continuously one. In On Nature Parmenides presents the possible way of truth in two ways with which one could deduce the world, one way being the way of it is the other being it is not. It in these propostions can be thought of as anything one is thinking about, the is to be thought of as exist. Accepting that is means exist Parmenides comes to the conclusion that thinking it is not is impossible. His argument is as follows. Anything that one can think of is something that can exist For something to be it is not cannot exist (something cannot be nothing) Therefore if thinking about something that cannot exist is impossible, one cannot think about something that is nothing (that is not) Armed with this conclusion, Parmenides then follows the way of truth that he has presented. In the world there is only it is as it is not is impossible and to think of the latter is impossible. To just empirically observe the world is not to know the reality of the world, such empirical observations would have you believe that the world is in constant motion; going through the constant changes of generation and destruction as a result of such movement. An example being Heraclitus statement that one cannot step into the same river twice as the waters are constantly moving and changing. In order these changes happen there must be space in the world in which all this movement can take place. This space; to be thought of as nothing or nothingness, is impossible by following the route of the way of truth. Thinking of nothing is thinking it is not and therefore impossible. There is no nothing, or what Democritus and Leucippus named a void, in which movement is possible. Without a void, Par menides states that everything must be unchanging. Heraclitus example of the river is to Parmenides the way of opinion; the appearance of the world but not the reality or truth. Generation and destruction also require nothing, generation; that something comes from nothing and destruction; that something will turn into nothing. Both are impossible to Parmenides and what he concludes from the impossibility of nothing is that all that what is is eternal. As well as eternal the world must be infinitely continuous as if it did end at some point then what would be beyond that point? Parmenides cant say nothing. Continuous with no spaces of nothingness the world is, in Parmenides own words from On Nature, full of what is. Let us look at Parmenides argument that concludes that thinking of something that is not is impossible. The first premise that anything we think about can exist seems valid. How would it seem possible to think of something that doesnt exist? Hume named thoughts ideas and reasoned that all ideas can be broken down to simple ideas built up in different ways, where these ideas came from was an impression of something perceived in the world. For example the idea of a blue horse is the amalgamation of the impressions of the colour blue and the animal named a horse. What about imaginative thoughts though? Imagine magic, the Harry Potter books are testament to the human imagination but magic doesnt exist. Hume would defend his argument by saying magic was the amalgamation of more simple ideas and mixed into something not possible, but Parmenides argument seems not allow for one to think of magic, but by typing these words or reading or them one has already thought of it. Also in this premis e how does Parmenides justify the existence of anything? To justify any existence would be to justify through the way of opinion, but he has said himself in On Nature that this is not the route to seek truth, in order seek truth one must follow the course started by the first premise in question. It seems almost contradictory of Parmenides to justify the way of truth by the way of opinion when the way of truth is taken by Parmenides to know the reality of the world as oppose to just the appearance granted by the way of opinion. The second premise, something cannot be nothing, seems sound, something indeed cannot be nothing. But let us in assessment accept the argument that Parmenides gives for the impossibility of it is not and see what we can make of this interpretation of nothing. Having accepted this must we accept the following conclusions that run from this argument, in entirety that the universe/world is continuously one? Accepting the conclusions depends upon the role played by nothing. Here in Parmenides argument the interpretation of nothing would be that nothingness is the necessary ingredient of change; the other being movement. Movement would be impossible if there was no place to move and a place to move must be unoccupied place; that being nothing. Does movement require nothing? Could there not be another form of vacantness that isnt necessarily nothing but allows movement? Aristotle replaces nothingness with space, space being a receptacle in which objects are placed in. By doing this Aristot le could be seen as accepting the argument of Parmenides that there is no nothing but not accepting what follows logically for Parmenides that everything is continuously one. Aristotles space is part of Parmenides what is and allows for the movement and all that follows it to happen; allowing Heraclitus to step in different rivers forever. Parmenides conclusion that there is no movement, no change, no destruction, no generation etc. almost seems counter intuitive. It seems that in the world there is movement and change. Parmenides said that his insight is an insight derived through logic; his central tenant being the impossibility of nothing, due to the contradiction pointed out that for nothing to exist; something would have to be nothing. But do his conclusions that the world is without start or end, and that it is infinite ask a few questions of logic themselves? If something never started how then can it exist? Everything it seems requires a start. The infinite has it self some strange paradoxes, one in mathematics being that there are as many even numbers in infinite as there are combined even and odd numbers; an infinite amount. Parmenides begins On Nature attempting to know the world without nothing something that he sees as illogical. Discarding nothing his logical conclusion leaves him with a set of descriptio ns of the world that seem slightly illogical in themselves.

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Socrates Essay -- essays research papers

Socrates (470-399 BC)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Socrates was born to a poor Athenian family in 470 BC He spent most of his time teaching others. One of his pupils was Plato. Socrates was a believer in absolute truth rather than relative truth. His main interest was the process by which people learned how to think for themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He would usually talk to whoever would take the time to listen. He asked many questions and criticized answers. His style of conversation has been given the name Socratic dialogue. Socrates would often ask students questions without giving them answers. When the students did give answers, he opposed them with clear logical arguments. This method forced his students to defend their statements and to clarify their thinking.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Socrates was the wisest philosopher of his time. He was one of three great teachers of ancient Greece. Socrates was short and fat, with a snub nose and wide mouth. Despite his ugly appearance, many said he was a very moral teacher and a pleasant man to be around. Socrates married a lady named Xanthippe. She was notorious for her sharp tongue and quick temper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Athenian mob and its self-serving leaders did not appreciate Socrates and his teachings. In 399 BC, they accused him of â€Å"corrupting the young† and of â€Å"not worshipping the gods worshipped by the state.† These men took Socrates to trial and brought hi...

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Early Colonial Settlements :: American America History

Early Colonial Settlements In the early seventeen hundreds, after the establishment of both New England and the Chesapeake, many similarities and differences arose between the two settlements. Some of the similarities and differences included such things as family life, economy, life expectancy, and society. In the Chesapeake area, the life expectancy and general healthiness of the settlers was dangerously low. Diseases like malaria, typhoid, and dysentery had a deadly effect on the inhabitants of the area, cutting 10 years off the life expectancy. Family life in the Chesapeake was also a problem. Women were very scarce which made a strong family life almost impossible. Unmarried pregnancies were everywhere and marriages did not usually last for very long due to a death of one of the partners. This lifestyle was greatly contrasted in the area of New England. New Englanders enjoyed clean water and moderate temperatures that slowed the spread of diseases among the people. The people of New England actually had a life expectancy of ten years more than that of a person living in England. Also, in New England the family life was very strong and important. Women usually wed by their twenties and had around ten children, with about eight of those that would survive. Another contrast in the lifestyle of the New Englanders to that of those in the Chesapeake was that women in the south would usually acquire land from their husbands after they died. In New England, however, the women would give up their property rights at marriage because widowhood was much less common and also because it did not promote the unity of marriage. One common point between the two civilizations was the very prominent class distinctions. In both areas settlers also fought to restructure these systems. Rebellions such as Bacon's 1676 rebellion in Virginia, and Leisler 1689 to 1691 rebellion in New York were due to the settler's unhappiness with the social class distinctions. Another similarity was that of relatively cheap and wages which almost tripled that of the English. Unity in New England was something that was not commonly found in the Chesapeake. New England's puritan ways easily molded this tightly knight colony. In the Chesapeake this was not the case. Farmers were more of loners who did not move or live in very close communities. New England grew in a more organized way, unlike the Chesapeake that was very spontaneous in its growth. Early Colonial Settlements :: American America History Early Colonial Settlements In the early seventeen hundreds, after the establishment of both New England and the Chesapeake, many similarities and differences arose between the two settlements. Some of the similarities and differences included such things as family life, economy, life expectancy, and society. In the Chesapeake area, the life expectancy and general healthiness of the settlers was dangerously low. Diseases like malaria, typhoid, and dysentery had a deadly effect on the inhabitants of the area, cutting 10 years off the life expectancy. Family life in the Chesapeake was also a problem. Women were very scarce which made a strong family life almost impossible. Unmarried pregnancies were everywhere and marriages did not usually last for very long due to a death of one of the partners. This lifestyle was greatly contrasted in the area of New England. New Englanders enjoyed clean water and moderate temperatures that slowed the spread of diseases among the people. The people of New England actually had a life expectancy of ten years more than that of a person living in England. Also, in New England the family life was very strong and important. Women usually wed by their twenties and had around ten children, with about eight of those that would survive. Another contrast in the lifestyle of the New Englanders to that of those in the Chesapeake was that women in the south would usually acquire land from their husbands after they died. In New England, however, the women would give up their property rights at marriage because widowhood was much less common and also because it did not promote the unity of marriage. One common point between the two civilizations was the very prominent class distinctions. In both areas settlers also fought to restructure these systems. Rebellions such as Bacon's 1676 rebellion in Virginia, and Leisler 1689 to 1691 rebellion in New York were due to the settler's unhappiness with the social class distinctions. Another similarity was that of relatively cheap and wages which almost tripled that of the English. Unity in New England was something that was not commonly found in the Chesapeake. New England's puritan ways easily molded this tightly knight colony. In the Chesapeake this was not the case. Farmers were more of loners who did not move or live in very close communities. New England grew in a more organized way, unlike the Chesapeake that was very spontaneous in its growth.

Monday, September 2, 2019

Essay --

To most people ethnicity is shown by values, lifestyles, customs, and rituals that are personal to an individual ethnic group or religion. The feeling of belonging to a certain group is a basic need for mankind. In a sense, ethnicity can be separated into two particular categories, a unique social structure and culture heritage passed down from one generation to the next. I come from a Mexican family. This has shown me the many similarities, as well as differences in a Mexican family compared to an American family. From a young age we are taught that the value of family is the most important thing in the world. Most Americans encourage their children to move out after graduation from either high school or college, Mexicans believe that their children should live with them until they are married or around the ages of 25-30 years old. The most important family member in the Mexican family are the elderly. They are given special treatment and attention. For example our beliefs is that the elders shouldn't go to retirement homes. They are welcome in the family and are cared for until there last days. Grandchildren are taught to be respectful and to aways Listen to the elders, especially if they're your grandparents. Most Mexican families are extremely traditional, with the man as the head of the house hold, and the authority figure. Machismo (masculinity) in all latino countries is a huge problem, not only because women are being deprived of their freedom, but because men abuse their power. I asked five Mexican women how they felt about Machismo in Mexico. Two of the five women told me kind of the same thing; They believe that it is not a bad thing, but it depends on the man. The other three were very against it, and they ... ...ing aspect for Americans, because most Americans have their life planed out on a cellphone or on a planner and too often it doesn't include their family. Mexican food is influenced by the ancient civilization. For examples the Mayans ate corn tortilla with a bean paste that covered the tortilla. The Aztec found out that mixing and squishing different types of vegetables makes a savory appetizer they call salsa. They also learned how to make what are now called tamales. When the Spaniards came they brought over milk, rice and other products that were new to Mexico. But have now remained in the cuisine. Mexico has an amazing culture. It is full of wonders and mystery that are yet to be discuss. Mexico just like any other country has its fall backs, but one day Just like the United States it will rise up and be one of the most powerful countries in the world.

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Ppi and the Big Mac Index

Estimating the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of currencies using the Big Mac Indexâ„ ¢ Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Purchasing Power Parity and Theory of one Price 3. Over/Under Valuation of currencies against the Dollar 5. Comparative analysis of the most overvalued to the most undervalued 6. Observation and Alternative indexes 7. Limitations 8. Appendix INTRODUCTION Purchasing power parity (PPP) is an important and critical topic in international economics. It arises when the purchasing power of an amount of money is the same in different countries. This is when prices of two different countries are converted to a common currency. The idea is based on the law of one price, where in the absence of official trade restrictions, similar goods will have the same price in different markets, with the prices being expressed in the same (common) currency. Deviations from parity infer differences in purchasing power of goods across countries, which means that for the purposes of many international comparisons, countries' GDPs or other national income statistics need to be â€Å"PPP adjusted† and converted into common units. There can be a huge difference when adjusted by purchasing power and when converted via market exchange rates. For ex:- If calculated at nominal exchange rates, India has the tenth largest economy while adjusting by PPP, India has the fourth largest economy. Thus, to remove this discrepancy, a common currency of measurement is highly essential. The Big Mac Index is an example of a measure of law of one price. It refers to the prices of a Big Mac burger in McDonald's restaurants in different countries. It helps in determining whether a currency is undervalued or overvalued and thus accordingly gives an idea about the direction in which currencies should move. The Big Mac was selected because it is available for a common purpose in many countries around the world as local McDonald's franchisees have significant responsibility for converting input prices(at least in theory). The Big Mac Index is useful because it is based on a very well-known food item whose final price can be easily tracked in many countries. PPP and the Theory of One Price The One-Price Theory The theory of PPP and One price go hand in hand. It is imperative to understand the implication of â€Å"One Price† to understand the Purchase Power Parity as it is based on that. The Law of One Price proposes that if a gadget costs $2 in USA and the same gadget costs Rs 5 in India , then the exchange rate should be 2/5 = 0. 40 for the real prices to be same in both the countries. Let us denote it empirically as Price of a good in one country A be X and Price of the same good in some other country B is X* , then equalization of both the prices can be done using exchange rate denoted by the formula Exchange Rate = X/X* Suppose in the above example where the exchange rate is calculated to be 0. 4, increases to 0. 6, and then the same gadget would cost Rs 8. 33 in India. This would result in the inflow of gadgets to India from USA causing increase in the demand of dollars and increase in supply of Rupees. Law of One Price (LoOP) It states that identical goods should sell at same price in two different markets when there are no transportation costs and no differential taxes applied in two markets One Price Theory and PPP While this concept of one –price here in the example is being applied to one commodity, it can be applied universally to all other commodities in market as well. The Big Mac burger is one of the brightest examples of the application of One-Price to a commodity. It looks at the price of a big Mac burger across different countries. This way Purchase Power Parity applies not just to a single commodity but on general price level. This way we can universally derive a relation of One-Price theory and Purchase Power Parity. The Big Mac was created by Jim Delligatti in the year 1967 and introduced throughout the US in 1968. The Big Mac is now available in around 120 countries around the world and its composition is generally the same throughout – two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun. Since beef is not consumed in India, a special Mac known as the â€Å"Maharaja Mac† can be found with chicken patties replacing beef patties. In Islamic countries the Big Mac is made with Halal beef and in Israel it is made with Kosher beef. The price of a Big Mac in US is calculated by the average of 4 cities – Atlanta, New York, Chicago and San Francisco. The price of Big Mac in Euro area is calculated by the weighted average of prices in Euro area. The Big Mac considered in India is the Maharaja Mac. Country| Big Mac Price| Implied PPP rate +| Today's| Over(+) / Under(-) Valuation against the USD, % ++| | | | Exchange Rate| | in Local Currency| in US dollars| | 1 USD =| | US| $ 4. 07| 4. 07| —| 1| —| Argentina| Peso 20. 0| 4. 4153463| 4. 92| 4. 530| 8. 6175| Australia| A$ 4. 56| 4. 6373416| 1. 12| 0. 983| 13. 8996| Brazil| Real 9. 50| 5. 2511951| 2. 34| 1. 809| 29. 3452| Britain| ? 2. 39| 3. 7447139| 0. 59| 0. 638| -7. 5573| Canada| C$ 4. 73| 4. 6363004 | 1. 16| 1. 020| 13. 7021| Chile| Peso 1850| 3. 6281104| 455| 509. 907| -10. 7681| China| Yuan 14. 7| 2. 3129209| 3. 6| 6. 356| -43. 3570| Colombia| Peso 8400| 4. 326| 2066| 1941. 748| 6. 3990| Czech Republic| Koruna 69. 3| 3. 6412205| 17. 1| 19. 32| -10. 1517| Denmark| DK 28. 5| 5. 1401734| 7. 01| 5. 545| 26. 4302| Egypt| Pound 14. 1| 2. 3477628| 3. 47| 6. 006| -42. 2217| Euro area| Euro 3. 44| 4. 6013727| 1. 18| 0. 748| 57. 8378| Hong Kong| HK$ 15. 1| 1. 9404672| 3. 71| 7. 782| -52. 3236| Hungary| Forint 760| 3. 3439474| 187| 227. 276| -17. 7213| India| Rupee 84. 0| 1. 6163756| 20. 7| 51. 968| -60. 1679| Indonesia| Rupiah 22534| 2. 501274| 5543| 9009. 009| -38. 4727| Israel| Shekel 15. 9| 4. 2277811| 3. 91| 3. 761| 3. 9662| Japan| ? 320| 4. 1212269| 78. 7| 77. 647| 1. 3564| Malaysia| Ringgit 7. 20| 2. 2981176| 1. 7| 3. 133| -43. 5046| Mexico| Peso 32. 0| 2. 3459637| 7. 87| 13. 640| -42. 3040| New Zealand| NZ$ 5. 10| 3. 9382574| 1. 25| 1. 295| -3. 4741| Norway| Kroner 45. 0| 7. 832 1279| 11. 1| 5. 746| 93. 1925| Pakistan| Rupee 205| 2. 3019159| 50. 5| 89. 056| -43. 2943| Peru| New Sol 10| 3. 7022146| 2. 46| 2. 701| -8. 9255| Philippines| Peso 118| 2. 7064108| 29| 43. 600| -33. 4865| Poland| Zloty 8. 63| 2. 5572242| 2. 12| 3. 375| -37. 1806| Russia| Rouble 75. 0| 2. 3810975| 18. 5| 31. 498| -41. 2663| Saudi Arabia| Riyal 10. 0| 2. 6661761| 2. 46| 3. 751| -34. 4121| Singapore| S$ 4. 1| 3. 4060498| 1. 08| 1. 295| -16. 5865| South Africa| Rand 19. 45| 2. 3850647| 4. 78| 8. 155| -41. 3850| South Korea| Won 3700| 3. 2782| 910| 1128. 668| -19. 3740| Sweden| SKr 48. 4| 7. 1816695| 11. 9| 6. 739| 76. 5741| Switzerland| SFr 6. 5| 7. 036772| 1. 6| 0. 924| 73. 2128| Taiwan| NT$ 75. 0| 2. 4825847| 18. 5| 30. 210| -38. 7629| Thailand| Baht 70. 0| 2. 2628537| 17. 2| 30. 934| -44. 3985| Turkey| Lire 6. 5| 3. 5532705| 1. 6| 1. 829| -12. 5349| + The Purchasing Power Parity or the PPP rate is the price of Big Mac in local currency divided by the price in the US. Price of Big Mac (and corresponding implied PPP rates from The Economist and is the latest). ++ The Over/Under valuation against the dollar is calculated using Exchangerate’s latest rates ( i. e as of 09/12/2011): 100 x ( P P P – Exchange Rate) / Exchange Rate (Source http://www. exchangerate. com/) OBSERVATION The most overvalued of currencies is the European Nordic countries’ currencies and most undervalued is the Indian Rupee. At market exchange rates, the Burger is 60% cheaper in India than in US. In other words, the Indian rupee is 60% undervalued against the dollar. However it should be noted that cheap burgers in India don’t mean that the Indian rupee is highly undervalued. Average prices should be lower in poor countries than in rich ones because labor costs are lower. The chart in the Appendix A shows a strong positive relationship between the dollar price of a Big Mac and GDP per person. Purchasing Power Parity is actually an indicator where exchange rates should move in the long run. For estimating the current fair value of a currency, a best fit line is drawn between Big Mac prices and GDP per person. The price thus predicted after the best fit line is drawn is compared with the actual price and this provides a better estimation of the currency over and under valuation than the above index. The â€Å"beefed up† index shows that the Brazilian Real is the most overvalued in the world; the Euro is also slightly overvalued. However the two major developing countries – India and China appear to be almost equal to its fair values. ALTERNATIVE INDICES An index similar to the Big Mac index has also been developed by the financial company UBS as part of general compilation of differences in prices and incomes around the globe. The Economist  also comes out with variants of the same. For example in the month of January in 2004, it proposed a  Tall Latte index  by replacing the Big Mac with a Starbucks Tall Latte. Refer Appendix B for the same. Commonwealth Securities, an Australian bank's subsidiary, proposed to create the iPod index by using the concepts behind the Big Mac index. The banks contention that since the Big Mac index can be distorted by taxes, transport costs, labour laws and trade barriers in each country and the iPod was made in a single country – China, it made more sense to use the iPod as a measuring index. Since the iPod was made in a single country, the price should be broadly be the same all over the world and if the price difference were substantial, customers would switch their purchases to other countries (thanks to internet). However it was found to be ineffective since freight charges vary from country to country and countries such as US may get volume discounts. Bloomberg LP also introduced an alternative index known as Billy index after the iconic Ikea’s bookshelf. The index was calculated after converting the bookshelf’s price to US dollars. LIMITATIONS aapendix a APPENDIX B APPENDIX C (Exchange Rates as Of 9th December 2011) | | Country| Currency| ISO| 12-08-2011| 12-09-2011| % Change| | | ARGENTINA| Peso| ARS| 4. 52995| 4. 529656| -0. 01%|   | | | AUSTRALIA| Dollar| AUD| 0. 975877| 0. 983322| 0. 76%| |   | | AUSTRIA| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%|   | | | BELGIUM| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%| | | BRAZIL| Real| BRL| 1. 804477| 1. 809112| 0. 26%|   | | CANADA| Dollar| CAD| 1. 014437| 1. 02021| 0. 57%| | | | CHILE| Peso| CLP| 508. 4706| 509. 9073| 0. 28%|   | | | CHINA| Yuan| CNY| 6. 362878| 6. 3556| -0. 11%| | | CZECH REP. | Koruna| CZK| 18. 90629| 19. 3208| 0. 67%|   | | DENMARK| Krone| DKK| 5. 542461| 5. 54456| 0. 04%| | | | EUROPEAN UNION| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%|   | | | FINLAND| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%| | | FRANCE| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%|   | | | GERMANY| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%| | | | | GREECE| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%|   | | HONG KONG| Dollar| HKD| 7. 776135| 7. 781631| 0. 07%| |   | HUNGARY| Forint| HUF| 227. 0945| 227. 2763| 0. 08%|   | | | ICELAND| Krona| ISK| 119. 1911| 118. 9654| -0. 19%| | | | INDIA| Rupee| INR| 51. 73987| 51. 96812| 0. 44%|   | | INTNL MON. FUND| SDR| XDR| 0. 642256| 0. 642147| -0. 02%| |   | | IRELAND| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%|   | | | ISRAEL| Sheqel| ILS| 3. 775473| 3. 760838| -0. 39%| |   | ITALY| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%|   | | JAPAN| Yen| JPY| 77. 60051| 77. 64678| 0. 06%| | | | KOREA (SOUTH)| Won| KRW| 1132. 612| 1146. 365| 1. 21%| | | KUWAIT| Dinar| KWD| 0. 277164| 0. 277164| 0. 00%| -| | | MEXICO| Peso| MXN| 13. 62357| 13. 64045| 0. 12%|   | | | NETHERLANDS| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%| | | | NEW ZEALAND| Dollar| NZD| 1. 28856| 1. 294989| 0. 50%|   | | | NORWAY| Krone| NOK| 5. 70238| 5. 745565| -0. 43%| | | | PAKISTAN| Rupee| PKR| 89. 01636| 89. 05625| 0. 04%|   | | PERU| Sol| PEN| 2. 701086| 2. 701086| 0. 00%| -| | | PHILIPPINES| Peso| PHP| 43. 29727| 43. 60018| 0. 70%|   | | | POLAND| Zloty| PLN| 3. 360573| 3. 374753| 0. 42%| | | | PORTUGAL| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%|   | | ROMANIA| Leu| RON| 3. 23797| 3. 23797| 0. 00%| -| | | RUSSIA| Ruble| RUB| 31. 43216| 31. 49808| 0. 21%|   | | | SAUDI ARABIA| Riyal| SAR| 3. 750569| 3. 75069| 0. 00%| | | | SINGAPORE| Dollar| SGD| 1. 291813| 1. 294755| 0. 23%|   | | SLOVAKIA| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 4%| | | | SOUTH AFRICA| Rand| ZAR| 8. 204971| 8. 154915| -0. 61%|   | | | SPAIN| Euro| EUR| 0. 74732| 0. 747603| 0. 04%| | | SWEDEN| Krona| SEK| 6. 771076| 6. 73938| -0. 47%|   | | | SWITZERLAND| Franc| CHF| 0. 925818| 0. 923719| -0. 23%| | | | TAIWAN| Dollar| TWD| 30. 16208| 30. 21045| 0. 16%|   | | THAILAND| Baht| THB| 30. 77703| 30. 93439| 0. 51%| |   | | U. A. E. | Dirham| AED| 3. 673236| 3. 673236| 0. 00%| -| | | UKRAINE| Hryvnia| UAH| 8. 000472| 7. 998369| -0. 03%| |   | UNITED KINGDOM| Pound| GBP| 0. 637984| 0. 638233| 0. 04%|   | | | UNITED STATES| Dollar| USD| 1| 1| 0. 00%| -|