Monday, August 24, 2020

A case of Company Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

An instance of Company Law - Essay Example n Telecomms Plc, an open organization constrained by shares on the potential lawful results of a foreseen protest against its auxiliary organization Mobilestoyou Limited, for loss of wellbeing and property by one of the clients of the auxiliary, under the arrangements of Company Law. The Company was shaped with 30,000 completely paid conventional portions of â‚ ¤ 1 each bought in by Peter, Paul and Mary While Peter and Mary pays the estimation of the offers with money, Paul pays the expense of his offers by moving the responsibility for multi year old vehicle to the organization. The lawful situation regarding the issue of starting offers is as under: The Act doesn't indicate any base capital for the privately owned businesses. On account of Newtown the organization was framed with the approved capital of â‚ ¤30,000 which is infringing upon the arrangements of the organization law. The organization should build the approved capital by passing a normal goals (except if the articles of affiliation require an uncommon or remarkable goals). A duplicate of the goals - and notice of the expansion on Form 123 - must arrive at Registrar of Companies inside 15 days of being passed. Subsequently the portion of offers to Paul against the estimation of his vehicles doesn't represent an issue. Anyway the organization should document a structure 88(2) demonstrating the degree to which the offers are to be treated as settled up. The structure ought to likewise indicate a concise depiction of the non-money installment for which the offers were dispensed typically the sole investor) the organizations demonstrations started to perceive that rewarding each organization in a gathering as discrete was misdirecting. After some time various arrangements were acquainted with perceive this reality. Realities of the case: Until 1979, Cape, an English organization, mined and showcased asbestos. Its overall promoting auxiliary was another English organization, named Capasco. It likewise had a US advertising auxiliary fused in Illinois, named NAAC. In 1974, about 462 individuals sued Cape, Capasco, NAAC and others in Texas, for

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Incentive Plans

Companies’ presidents, CEOs, and supervisors for quite a long time have utilized motivators to draw in, reward, and hold representatives. Dessler (2011) perceives that most workers get pay or time-based compensation just as different motivating forces (Dessler, 2011). Dessler (2011) reports an assortment of motivating force plans running from piecework plans to the winning in danger pay plans (Dessler, 2011). While there are numerous motivating force designs that can be talked about, this paper will just feature the preferences and drawbacks of legitimacy pay as a motivator and benefit sharing plans.Merit Pay Dessler (2011) characterizes merit pay as a compensation increment granted dependent on execution and turns out to be a piece of the employees’ base compensation pay (Dessler, 2011). Dessler (2011) states that legitimacy pay has advocates who contends that rewards attached to execution can rouse execution and spoilers guarantee that legitimacy pay sabotage cooper ation and misinterpretation of pay overall (Dessler, 2011). As Dessler (2011) characterizes merit pay with backers and spoilers different creators, for example, Longenecker and Goff (1992) utilizes the term execution examination rather than merit pay.Longenecker and Goff (1992) states that legitimacy pay or execution evaluation is accepted to be successful by supervisors and subordinates since it help explain worker contribution about their activity (Longenecker and Goff, 1992). Simultaneously, the two chiefs and subordinates saw merit designs as incapable for connecting pay to execution, insufficient for improving inspiration and execution just as inadequate for supervisors and subordinates working relationship (Longenecker and Goff, 1992).While Longenecker and Goff (1992) alluded to justify pay more as execution examination others, for example, Hayes (1999) questions motivation programs out and out. In the article ‘Pros and Cons of Pay for Performance’ the writer guar antees that nobody truly knows whether motivating force programs really work (Hays, 1999). This article further attests that motivating force projects, for example, this arrangement make seriousness that isn't really best for an organization (Hays, 1999). This article suggests that prizes control conduct through enchantment, that it ruins connections, make intensity, that it lessens hazard taking, innovativeness, andâ innovation (Hays, 1999).Profit Sharing Plans Profit sharing plans are motivator plans where representatives get a portion of a company’s yearly benefits (Dessler, 2011). Dessler (2011) attests that there is adequate proof that benefit sharing plans help profitability, however the consequences for benefits is unimportant once one factor in costs (Dessler, 2011). Indeed, the article ‘Profit-Sharing Plans Work’ the writer recommends that money benefits are the most ideal approach to tell representatives that they are critical to the organization and b enefit sharing is a device that could turn the nation around (Profit-Sharing Plans Work, 1988).Further, the article underlines how laborers stress less over administration accepting gigantic benefits to the detriment of the employees’ income and for the executives it gives a monetary pad that limits misfortunes in financial downturns (Profit-Sharing Plans Work, 1988). At the same time, this article contends that benefit sharing plans where continues go into retirement assets rather than employees’ pockets neglect to rouse and improve execution (Profit-Sharing Plans Work, 1988).In any case, this article proposes that organization confidence can be harmed when upper administration or salaried representatives are the main members in the benefit sharing plans of the organization (Profit-Sharing Plans Work, 1988). However, Flesher (1993) article depicts the benefit sharing plans as the sort of commitment designs that empowers representatives to partake in amassed benefits o f the organization, and it is separated among the members on a master rata premise dependent on the members and the all out salary of all members in the plans (Flesher, 1993).Such plans offer the upsides of prompt duty reasonings for partnership and no quick assessment payable by the worker (Flesher, 1993). In any case, Hays (1999) questions the utilization of impetus programs for improving execution and poses the inquiry: for what reason do such huge numbers of organizations guarantee that motivating force programs directed adequately or improve organization execution? Feeds (1999) reports in his article that individual acknowledgment can be more inspirational than cash, unmistakably the circumstances are different in light of the fact that it is this author’s assessment that individuals are first propelled by money related prize, at that point material prize, and afterward close to home recognition.Conclusion Dessler (2011) portrays singular motivating force programs as exe cution based compensation and group based motivators as execution pay for the group, as factor pay pays a gathering for its profitability (Dessler, 2011). Dessler (2011) proceeded by portraying the different sorts of motivating force pay plans extending from the piecework plan to the winning in danger pay plans (Dessler, 2011). In the wake of investigating a portion of the authors’ article and this writer inferred that motivators are for the workers as well as for the businesses as well.Pay impetuses, for example, the legitimacy pay plans and the benefit sharing plans can be utilized as instruments in a successful way to expand efficiency for an organization, yet with respect to inspirational purposed for the representatives, this could be here and there for certain representatives a constructive thing and for different workers a contrary thing.Also, when posed the inquiry ðÿ™  do benefit sharing plans improve execution?), individuals like Hays (1999) assume that individ ual acknowledgment can be more persuasive than cash. While individuals like Flesher (1993) assume that legitimacy pay and benefit sharing offers points of interest of quick duty reasonings for company and no prompt expense payable by the representative (Flesher, 1993). Last, motivating force pay has been and will consistently keep on being utilized in corporate America as an apparatus to pull in, reward, and hold representatives.

The History of Gravity and Aristotle

The History of Gravity and Aristotle One of the most unavoidable practices that we experience, its no big surprise that even the soonest researchers attempted to comprehend why articles fall toward the ground. The Greek logician Aristotle gave one of the soonest and most exhaustive endeavors at a logical clarification of this conduct by advancing that articles pushed toward their regular spot. This characteristic spot for the component of Earth was in the focal point of the Earth (which was, obviously, the focal point of the universe in Aristotles geocentric model of the universe). Encompassing the Earth was a concentric circle that was the regular domain of water, encompassed by the normal domain of air, and afterward the common domain of fire over that. Subsequently, Earth soaks in water, water soaks noticeable all around, and blazes ascend above air. Everything inclines toward its normal spot in Aristotles model, and it appears to be genuinely reliable with our instinctive understanding and fundamental perceptions about how the world functions. Aristotle further accepted that articles fall at a speed that is relative to their weight. At the end of the day, on the off chance that you took a wooden item and a metal object of a similar size and dropped them both, the heavier metal article would fall at a relatively quicker speed. Galileo and Motion Aristotles theory about movement toward a substances characteristic spot held influence for around 2,000 years, until the hour of Galileo Galilei. Galileo directed analyses moving objects of various loads down slanted planes (not dropping them off the Tower of Pisa, in spite of the well known spurious stories with this impact), and found that they fell with a similar increasing speed rate paying little mind to their weight. Notwithstanding the exact proof, Galileo additionally developed a hypothetical psychological study to help this end. Here is the manner by which the advanced thinker portrays Galileos approach in his 2013 book Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking: Some psychological studies are analyzable as thorough contentions, frequently of the structure reductio promotion absurdum, in which one takes ones rivals premises and infers a conventional logical inconsistency (a silly outcome), demonstrating that they cant all be correct. One of my top choices is the evidence ascribed to Galileo that substantial things dont fall quicker than lighter things (when grating is immaterial). On the off chance that they did, he contended, at that point since substantial stone A would fall quicker than light stone B, in the event that we attached B to A, stone B would go about as a drag, easing back A down. Be that as it may, An attached to B is heavier than An alone, so the two together ought to likewise fall quicker than A without anyone else. We have inferred that binds B to A would make something that fell both quicker and more slow than A without anyone else, which is an inconsistency. Newton Introduces Gravity The significant commitment created by Sir Isaac Newton was to perceive this falling movement saw on Earth was a similar conduct of movement that the Moon and different items experience, which holds them set up inside connection to one another. (This understanding from Newton was based upon crafted by Galileo, yet additionally by grasping the heliocentric model and Copernican rule, which had been created by Nicholas Copernicus before Galileos work.) Newtons improvement of the law of widespread attractive energy, all the more regularly called the law of gravity, united these two ideas as a scientific recipe that appeared to apply to decide the power of fascination between any two articles with mass. Along with Newtons laws of movement, it made a conventional arrangement of gravity and movement that would control logical understanding unchallenged for more than two centuries. Einstein Redefines Gravity The following significant advance in our comprehension of gravity originates from Albert Einstein, as his general hypothesis of relativity, which portrays the connection among issue and movement through the essential clarification that objects with mass really twist the very texture of existence (altogether called spacetime). This progressions the way of articles in a manner that is as per our comprehension of gravity. Thusly, the present comprehension of gravity is that it is a consequence of items finishing the most brief way spacetime, adjusted by the distorting of close by huge articles. In most of cases that we run into, this is in finished concurrence with Newtons old style law of gravity. There are a few cases which require the more refined comprehension of general relativity to fit the information to the necessary degree of accuracy. The Search for Quantum Gravity Be that as it may, there are a few situations where not in any case general relativity can very give us important outcomes. In particular, there are situations where general relativity is contradictory with the comprehension of quantum material science. Extraordinary compared to other known about these models is along the limit of a dark opening, where the smooth texture of spacetime is incongruent with the granularity of vitality required by quantum material science. This was hypothetically settled by the physicist Stephen Hawking, in a clarification that anticipated dark openings emanate vitality through Hawking radiation. What is required, nonetheless, is an extensive hypothesis of gravity that can completely fuse quantum material science. Such a hypothesis of quantum gravity would be required so as to determine these inquiries. Physicists have numerous possibility for such a hypothesis, the most well known of which is string hypothesis, yet none which yield adequate exploratory proof (or even adequate test forecasts) to be checked and extensively acknowledged as a right depiction of physical reality. Gravity-Related Mysteries Notwithstanding the requirement for a quantum hypothesis of gravity, there are two tentatively determined secrets identified with gravity that despite everything should be settled. Researchers have discovered that for our ebb and flow comprehension of gravity to apply to the universe, there must be an inconspicuous alluring power (called dull issue) that helps hold systems together and a concealed horrible power (called dim vitality) that pushes far off cosmic systems separated at quicker rates.

Friday, August 21, 2020

Journals Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Diaries - Coursework Example ould consider moving piece of offer premium to benefits for the organization to follow the law and have the option to use the accessible funds to deliver profits and as such have the option to gain further funds from investors. Absence of debentures and advance notes implies that the organization is totally financed through offer capital. Equipping ratio= (Long term obligation present moment debt+ bank overdrafts/investors value). A high equipping proportion implies the organization is mostly financed through obligation capital. In any case, low outfitting proportion shows that an organization is financed for the most part by share capital. The issue of financing an organization generally by share capital is that in case of terrible showing whereby an organization constantly makes misfortunes, the investor may decrease to submit their monies further in such a business (Ariff and Hassan, 2008). By the by, the organization can obtain funds from different suppliers of capital in the event that it has a blended obligation structure. Productivity proportions decide the capacity of a business to create benefits in the wake of mesh all the costs brought about during the year. A high proportion is demonstrative of acceptable execution though lower rate shows the business is performing inadequately. These proportions include: Net benefit is contrast gotten between deals turnover and cost of merchandise or administrations. The higher the gross edge, the more benefit an organization charges for its merchandise. The proportion of 0.31 is very little according to deals made. This implies the organization is charging low edges. This proportion catches gives the figure of how much an organization makes or loses from its deals. Principally, it shows company’s level of execution as it accounts different parts of working salary other than cost of deals. The proportion of 0.09 demonstrates the benefits are generally low contrasted with deals made. This proportion is likewise generally known as speedy proportion. It quantifies the present liquidity position of an organization. This is accomplished by gauging the present resources against current liabilities (Kaminski

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

High School Student Essay Samples

High School Student Essay SamplesHigh school student essay samples have always been around and can be helpful for students who are looking to write an essay on their own. There are even guides for how to write an essay and resources that can help you take better notes or just get a general idea of what is involved in writing a better essay.Of course, the first thing that you need to do before you begin writing is to gather some of your information. The more information you have about a topic, the easier it will be for you to organize the information that you need to include in your essay. You can use this information as a guide to help you find the right type of topic, topics, and organization.A lot of writing guides and high school student essay samples will tell you that you need to make sure that you have a good flow to your writing. If you are just coming off of a study guide, this might seem easy enough, but for many people it can be a challenge to get the right amount of inform ation and order in their essays. Having proper structure and proper organization are important steps to remember when you are writing a high school student essay.If you're finding it difficult to figure out where to start with your essay, just remember that there are many different topics to choose from when you are writing. You can find free high school student essay samples online that can help you begin your research. Just be sure that you understand the types of topics you are trying to cover.Most high school student essay samples will have the basics of the subject discussed first. If the topic is just about the basics of a subject, this can be a great place to start. Just be sure that you don't lose sight of the main idea so that you can still deliver a clear and well-written essay.When looking for high school student essay samples, you will find that you will have some different topics that you can cover in your essay. One of the first topics that you can choose from is about the student's interests or passions. This is a great topic to start because it is based on the students personal life and provides a great way to give insight into who the student is outside of the classroom.Another area that you can choose to explore is about the new college course that the student has taken. If the student has taken many classes, then it can be an opportunity to add new insight to the story that they have to tell. You might also consider covering the subject of your life as a student if you are familiar with the things that you were learning.Using high school student essay samples to help you with your essays is a great way to ensure that you get started on a good topic. You might find that you are having trouble deciding on the best way to go about writing your essay, but if you know that there are many options, then you can still make sure that you have a great piece of work to present to your teacher. Your teacher may even be more willing to help you out if yo u give them some ideas for topics to write about.

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Analysing the IPO valuation of Eaton - Free Essay Example

Eatons IPO valuation is determinant on a number of factors that will discussed in this report. Raising $175M in the current equity bull market is easier than a bear market, but many of Eatons firm specific risks have the potential to reduce the offering. The purpose of this report is to discuss the timing of the IPO and address firm specific challenges in valuation, apply three valuation methods to Eatons and finally to recommend a share price range. Timing Factors and IPO Risks Eatons premium brand is its strongest marketable factor. Timothy Eaton founded the firm in 1869 only two years after Canadas inception. Because of the firms longevity and premium locations, which are recognizable as Canadian historical icons, the firms brand will remain strong through the restructuring. However, the complication for investors is determining how Eatons can capitalize its brand into stronger sales revenue. There is concern that the company will not be able to make enough restructuring changes to overcome the issues which placed them in bankruptcy to begin with. Even though the plan is to reposition the company to become a high end department store targeting moderate-better consumers, there is no guarantee that the store will be able to obtain the projected sales or that consumers will buy in to the changes at Eatons. Conversely, the move to increase the depth and expertise of management and the board of directors should offset this uneasiness somewhat. Addition ally, the department store industry is facing tightened margins and increased competition. The specific challenge in valuing Eatons IPO is the difficulty in accurately projecting sales revenue. As an investor, uncertainty will discount the amount investors are willing to pay for the IPO. If Eatons were to accomplish a few years of stable revenue and earnings growth under the restructuring plan, this factor would be diminished and the stock would be sold at a premium. The timing of the IPO coincides with the bull market run on the TSX and TSX Department Store Index in 1997 between March and October. Generally, during bull markets, IPOs fare much better than during bear markets. However, there is also concern that if the IPO fails and the price drops, Eatons will be in a much more difficult position to raise additional capital. The success of the IPO depends on Eatons being able to convince investors that its restructuring plan will be able to convert its premium brand into increas ed revenue and margins. Valuation Methods Due to the above considerations, it is beneficial to use a number of different valuation techniques to arrive at an appropriate equity valuation. Typically, a discounted cash flow model (DCF) is used, but the complication here is that a WACC is required to discount the cash flows in order to find the equity valuation. However, the value of equity is required to obtain the correct WACC. To overcome the circular reasoning, the adjusted present value (APV) method will be utilized which relies on the return on assets. The other rejected method is the enterprise value to revenue because the numbers it produced were unsubstantiated by any other method. Also, EV/Revenue is essentially a measure of the amount it would cost to buy a companys sales. Considering that some of the comparables are companies such as Bay, whose expected sales of $8 billion is many times the size of Eatons expected sales of $1.8 billion, it is likely that EV/Revenue would overstate Eatons value. Therefore, to compl ement the APV method the following multiples ratios will be used: price to earnings (P/E) and enterprise value to earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortization (EV/EBITDA). The forecasting period used for the APV is from 1999-2004 and includes a number of assumptions (Exhibit 1). First of all, the growth rate is assumed to continue at 8.0% for the next five years in accordance with the pro forma income statement, and then flatten out to Canadian GDP growth for the terminal value at 3.4%. The gross margin and SGA are the percentages of sales given in 1999 and are expected to remain constant. The figures for the net working capital and industry beta require a more detailed explanation. For NWC, the figures are obtained through an average of 1997-98 NWC as a percentage of sales. The 1998 balance sheet indicates a substantial increase over 1997, due to accounts payable being converted to notes payable. While it is unlikely that accounts payable would remain at such low le vels, suppliers are likely to be hesitant to extend credit to the firm after bankruptcy. The industry beta is an average of the Bay and Sears unlevered beta. The primary reason for using these two companies is that they fit the profile of what Eatons projects to be going forward, and are benchmarked against the TSX Composite rather than their American counterparts. As for debt, the level will remain constant as will depreciation and capital expenditure after the first two years of increased capital infusion. By using the CAPM, the firms return on asset is 11.10%. By using the value of debt expected after the IPO (Exhibit 2), the APV arrives at an equity valuation of $328M (Exhibit 3). Because of the tax loss carry forwards, Eatons is not expected to pay any taxes for the first six years which will reduce this asset significantly. Accordingly, interest tax shields are only applied to the terminal value and forecasted based on permanent debt. The ranges for stock prices are based o n a sensitivity analysis of the new equity value for old shareholders provided by the APV valuation (exhibit 4) divided by old shares outstanding. The highlight region gives an average share price of $15.50. Paramount to any comparables analysis is ensuring that the comparable companies used will provide an accurate picture of expected stock behavior. The following U.S. and Canadian firms are available for the comparison: The Bay, Sears, Dillards, Nordstroms, and Profitts. These companies best fit the profile of the type of business lines Eatons is pursuing upon restructuring. Because the P/E method is sensitive to capital structure, the comparables should be closely aligned to Eatons proposed structure which fits the following: The Bay, Sears and Dillards. The net income requires adjustment to normalize the figure (Exhibit 5). When tax loss carry forwards and income from discontinued operations are removed the net income figure is $18M. The equity value recommended is between $2 34M and $321M and based on a low estimate to average comparable because of the investor risks and timing issues aforementioned in this report. While the P/E ratio was constrained by capital structure, EV/EBITDA does not take this into consideration and it is appropriate to use the entire list of comparables mentioned above (Exhibit 6). The recommended equity value range based on this method is between $468M and $663M. Since Enterprise Value multiples can be sensitive to size, it is likely that the equity value might be overestimated since Eatons EBITDA is many times smaller than the comparables. This is between the average and the low estimate on the spectrum due to expected investor concerns over timing and the probability of a successful restructuring process. Recommendations It is our recommendation that the $175M required capital be raised offering 11,666,667 shares at $15/share. This is based on the recommended range the three valuation methods provide (Exhibit 7). Eatons proposed IPO price coincides with the low estimate of EV/EBITDA, slightly above average P/E ratio, and varies with APV calculation due to high degrees of change revealed in the sensitivity analysis. Investors will be drawn to the Eatons brand because of its historical significance, but be cautious due to timing and restructuring concerns. The book building process will further narrow down the price and offering based on supply and demand for Eatons equity. Exhibit 1 APV Assumptions Forecast Period 1999 2003 Revenue Growth 8.0% Gross Margin 34% SGA (as % of sales) 30% NWC (as % of sales) 7.0% Terminal Growth Rate 3.4% CapEx (1999-2000) $75M + $100M CapEx (2001-) $31M Depreciation $31M Risk Free Rate 5.6% Market Risk Premium 7.0% Industry Beta 0.79 Exhibit 2 Debt Calculation Debt Calculations  Values (In Thousands) Debt 80,400 Operating Line 194,000 Total Debt as of 25 April, 1998 274,400 Proceeds from IPO used to pay down debt 91,000 Proceeds from sale of credit operations to Norwest 126,000 Total Post-IPO Net Debt 57,400 Additional Average Borrowing on Operating Line for 1998 95,000 Net Debt for 1998 152,400 Exhibit 3 APV Calculation Exhibit 4 APV Sensitivity Analysis Exhibit 5 P/E and Adjusted Net Income Exhibit 6 EV/EBITDA Exhibit 7 Valuing the Offering

Friday, May 22, 2020

Charles Manson once said “You know, a long time ago being...

Charles Manson once said â€Å"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something, nowadays everyone is crazy.† Charles Manson was the man who brought fear into Los Angeles by brainwashing people to become part of his cult and together they formed â€Å"The Family† and killed 9 innocent people. During the Manson Murders many of the people in Los Angeles did not feel quite safe due to the fact that these killings were random and many felt as if anybody could be the next victim. Charles Manson was born on November 12th, 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the son of sixteen year old Kathleen Maddox, and Colonel Scott who left Kathleen during her pregnancy. (Guinn 39) According to law2.umkc.edu, in November of 1939, Manson’s mother and uncle got†¦show more content†¦The Family consisted mainly of Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel, Charles Tex Watson, Bobby Beausoleil, Mary Brunner, and Lynette â€Å"Squeaky† Fromme. Manson’s motive to begin killing all started when he had told the family â€Å"Helter Skelter† was coming, Helter Skelter was the uprising of a racial war between the blacks and the whites. Manson would facilitate this war by killing the whites and implicating the African-American community with various acts. (crimemuseum.org) Charles Manson’s first killing involved Gary Hinman, he was a very close friend of Charles Manson and allowed Manson and members of the family to stay at his house instead of staying at the Spahn Ranch. During this time Manson was having trouble with money with a guy named Crowe. Manson shot Crowe under the impression that he was part of the Blank Panthers, however Crowe did not die from the shot and Manson feared revenge and left. (law2.umkc.edu) Manson was in desperate need of money and soon later heard from a family member that Gary Hinman had gotten money from an inheritance. Charles Manson sent Bobby Beausoleil, Mary Brunner, and Susan Atkins to pay Hinman a visit and tell Hinman to hand over the money. Gary Hinman was very uncooperative and was held hostage for a couple of days. Manson finally came in and sliced Hinmans left ear, Hinman was stabbed twice in the chest and in the blood from Hinman, Manson smeared â€Å"Political Piggy† on the wall along with a BlackShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesmechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the