Financial Managment worksheet 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial Managment worksheet 3 - Essay Example The investors who invest their money in the firm for hope to get a return on their investment are called stockholders or shareholders. In other words, evaluation of a proposed project should be based on the project's cost of capital (Vernimmen, 2005). This is because when a company raises capital, there is usually no direct links between the return to the supplier of the company's capital and the return on individual project. The corporation then uses the weighted average of these capitals for mixing in the firm's overall equity to analyze the capital budgeting decisions. It takes into consideration the weighted average of all the capital and is thus referred as weighted average cost of capital (WACC). The firm's mixture of debt and equity is called its capital expenditure. Although actual level of debt and equity may vary somewhat over time, most firms try to keep their financing mix close to a target capital structure. As we know that the WACC is a weighted average of relatively low-cost debt and high cost equity, so precisely we can say that capital structure change will affect the WACC to increase or decrease with respect to the change that occurs in the capital structure. The firm's mixture of debt and equity is called its capital structure. ... ecisely we can say that capital structure change will affect the WACC to increase or decrease with respect to the change that occurs in the capital structure. OPTIMAL CAPITAL STRUCTURE: The firm's mixture of debt and equity is called its capital structure. The fundamental source of a company's value is the stream of net cash flows generated by it assets. This stream is usually referred to as the company's net operating cash flow or earning before interest and taxes (EBIT). The capital structure adopted by a company divides the stream between different classes of investors. If a company is financed entirely by equity and there is no company tax, this entire stream is available to provide income to shareholders. If a company also borrows funds, the lenders have the first claim on the net operating cash flow and shareholders are entitled to the riskier, residual cash flow that remains after the lenders have been paid (Vernimmen, 2005). Manager should choose the capital structure that maximizes shareholder's wealth. The basic approach is to consider a trial capital structure based on the market values of the debt and equity, and then estimate the wealth of the sharehold ers under this capital structure. This approach is repeated until an optimal capital structure is identified. We have to take 5 steps into consideration to determine an "optimal capital structure", the steps are; 1. Estimate the interest rate the firm will pay 2. Estimate the cost of equity 3. Estimate the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) 4. Estimate the free cash flow and their present value, which is the value of the firm 5. Deduct the value of the debt to find the shareholders' wealth which we want to maximize An investor in a company with a low debt-equity ratio is likely to attach a low

What is Covenant in the Old Testament sense Research Paper

What is Covenant in the Old Testament sense - Research Paper Example These include Abraham, Noah and Adam among many others. A covenant formed an important component of the biblical history and modern day theology. The flow of the biblical covenants includes (Mason 177): First of all, God made a covenant with His Son regarding the elect before the creation of the universe and consisted of the Father promising to bring to His Son all the people the Father had given Him (John 17: 9-24 ; 6:39). Manifestation of the covenant occurred in the world through the sequence of additional covenants between God and individuals. These include Adam (Gen 2: 15-17), Abraham (Gen 17), Noah (Gen 9:12-16), Mt Sinai covenant with Israelites (Ex 34:28), David (Sam 7:12-16) and New covenant believers (Jer 31:31-37). All the additional covenants involved the ‘Covenant of Grace’ when God establishes covenants with His elect with the promise of salvation through Faith in Jesus Christ (Mason 178). According to some theologians, there is only one covenant referred as the covenant of redemption within which all other covenants originate. This involved the agreement between the Father and the Son that gave the Son as Redeemer and head of the elect. As a result, the Son took the place assigned by the Father voluntarily. This formed a twofold assurance of Son as a guarantee and surety to fulfil the requirements of God’s laws. ... Covenant in Hebrew depicted the development of God’s covenant ranging from the time of creation to the time of the new covenant. In Arabic, covenant involved the contract binding humanity and God. The concept of covenant provides a distinctive and unique fellowship with God. This fellowship depends on legal covenant, and this implies the existence of dependable and stable element in Old Testament religion (McAleese 237). Concepts of Covenant Faith inspiring Fellowship The covenant concept gave the Old Testament people a mighty anchor for their faith. This allowed them a vantage ground with their God where God remained obligated to them through the covenant. He remained to be their God, and they become His people. For instance, this covenant background enabled Jacob cling to the angel until He blessed him. This covenant required people turn away from their sins after which they could claim God’s favour (Wood 133). Exclusive Fellowship The covenant established exclusive f ellowship between Hebrews and God. Hebrews remained as His chosen people, and He remained Yahweh their God. The covenantal idea formed a background for the Jewish religion, and it demanded exclusive loyalty to preclude the possibility of multiple loyalties in other religions. The illustration of loyalty to God took place through marriages, where Hosea, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah charged Israelites against adultery. The expression of God as being their God and them being His people comprised of the legal formula taken from marriage sphere and attested through legal documents from Ancient Near east (Hosea 2:4). This explains why prophets such as Isaiah frowned on alliance made by Israelites with their neighbours (Wood 133). Douglas Stuart Guidelines on Old Testament

Constitutional and Administrative Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Constitutional and Administrative Law - Essay Example An example is the legislation in the UK popularly known as the Civil Partnership Act of 2005 to protect the minority gay community from discrimination (Spilsbury, 2008). Under this act, it is stipulated that couples of the same sex have the same rights and privileges as those of heterosexual couples with regard to child adoption as well as other family rights and therefore they can choose to acquire children provided legal processes are followed (Spilsbury, 2008). This is essential especially due to the fact that every person desires to have children whom they can share their love and wealth with. As it is known, it is biologically impossible for persons of the same sex to produce children of their own and since these marriages are recognized by law, the same law should not deny them of their rights. In the case of Martin and Neil, it is important to note that this act was active during the time when they adopted their child and as such, they acted within the law. It is also necessary to note that the act of 2005 cannot be amended without a majority vote of 75% of the House of Commons, and a similar vote in the House of Lords. It is therefore unfair , based on this, for the two houses to revoke the act in the year 2010 by a simple majority of 51% and 52% without considering the social implications it would have on the affected families who may have adopted children within the two years prior to the new act. However, it is important for Martin and Neil to understand that the UK parliament is the supreme organ in the land with legislative powers that can not be challenged by any other political or judicial organ (Young, 2008). Having this supremacy means that it can decide to make new laws or amend the existing ones regarding any issue which may come to its attention and neither the courts nor any other group or individual can override the legislation once it

The Emotions Explored in the Poems Essay Example for Free

The Emotions Explored in the Poems Essay What Emotions does Tennyson explore in the poems ‘Mariana’ and ‘In the Valley of Cauteretz’ and what methods does he use to convey a range of emotions effectively? Tennyson explores many emotions throughout Marianna, In the Valley of Cauteretz which have been reflected from his life. Born to a large family of 12, Alfred Tennyson had many fears and worries in his life. Some of these worries included money due to the fact that Aunt Elizabeth Russell and Uncle Charles Tennyson had a great deal of wealth than that of his own family. Tennyson also had a lifelong fear of developing a mental illness as several of the men in his family had a mild form of epilepsy. In those days it was thought to be a shameful disease which was made worse by the fact that his father was an alcoholic. His fathers’ condition worsened and he became paranoid, abusive, and violent. Marianna is a poem about Marianna, a woman who has been waiting for her true love and has become more and more desperate in an old lonely grange with a moat. Tennyson uses a range of techniques to portray Marianna’s emotions. The idea of loneliness and grief is highlighted with the use of pathetic fallacy and nature ‘after the flitting of the bats when the thickest dark did trance the sky’. Tennyson stresses her desperation at the last four lines of each stanza which recurs but with slight modifications ‘She only said,’ my life is dreary, He cometh not,’ she said; She said, ‘I am aweary, aweary, I would that I were dead! ’ It is almost a death wish which slowly she believes. In ‘In the valley of Cauteretz’ it is clear that grief, sorrow and loneliness are recurring themes in Tennyson’s work. Right from the beginning of this short poem the effect the reader gets is that he is writing about a time in his life from experience and he is trying to go back to when he was happiest. ‘I walked with one I loved two and thirty years ago. All along the valley, while I walked today’. Tennyson tries to hide the bad times and think about the positive ‘the voice of the dead was a living voice to me’ showing that even though someone is dead, to him he is still alive. Tennyson had a friend called Arthur Hallam who died at a very young age hich was a great shock, because of this he presented the preciousness of youth in his poems by creating images which stress youthful joy. In the valley of Cauteretz describes an experience on revisiting a valley in the Pyrenees, years after he had been there with his now dead friend. This valley appears to shoe the reader a great psychological significance. As Tennyson describes himself travelling the valley, there are different elements which are triggered and crafter to create a lasting sense of how his friends’ death still affects himself decades later. Tennyson uses a range of different poetic techniques to convey all these emotions effectively. Some may think that the use of repetition highlights the desperation and sadness of the ‘characters’ he writes about in his poems however the dactylic, experimental rhythm in my opinion helps make sentences stand out and in ‘in the valley of Cauteretz’ makes him want to portray his friend as different and that they didn’t have just an ordinary friendship but a very string bond. Tennyson makes it clear to the reader that the valley was a place he had been before and had many memories from that place and he goes back in time using language making it seem as though the past has come alive ‘i walked with one I loves two and thirty years ago. All along the valley, while i walked today; two and thirty years were a mist that rolls away. Tennyson also used rhyming couplets which add effect of time passing by and to show that nothing has changed. In Mariana Tennyson also uses some of these techniques but for different reasons. He uses nature and sounds to show that there was nothing there, no feeling, no life. The mood of ‘Marianna’ does contrast to that of ‘In the Valley of Cauteretz’ however the themes throughout both are the same and based on Tennyson’s life experiences. Marianna is a poem about a woman in a daydream that she will be rescued by her love and swept away from this forlorn, dreary place. It is clear that in the final stanza Marianna has finally accepted that she will not be rescued by her true love and her final death wish is flooded with sadness ‘The sparrows chirrup on the roof, The slow clock ticking and the sound, Which to the wooing wind aloof, The poplar made, did all confound, Her sense; but most she loathed the hour, When the thick-moted sunbeam lay, Athwart the chambers, and the day, Was sloping toward his western bower. Then, said she, I am very dreary, He will not come, she said; she wept, I am aweary, aweary, Oh God, that I were dead! In conclusion Tennyson explored many emotions linked to grief, sadness and loneliness effectively with the use of exciting language, repetition and metaphors referring to all the good times with his friend. Word Count: 886

What is the role and impact of trade in developing countries

What is the role and impact of trade in developing countries Subject: How realistic is free trade in the real world? Critically examine the competing perspectives about the role and impact of trade in developing countries. Explain why you might be pessimistic about the prospect for global growth and development in the future?. The history of free trade is a history of international trade focusing on the developments of open markets and it is common to hear that todays world economic system as being free trade or globalization. Theoretical rationalization as to why a policy of free trade would be beneficial to nations developed over time. Free trade agreements are established to enhance free trade of goods and services, in the belief that they will bring beneficial for all parties involves and lead to further economic develop and growth. But in realistic in real world it is not benefits for developing countries. That make many recession and pessimistic for growth of global in the future. Free trade is a system in which goods, capital, and labor move freely between nations, without barriers hinder the trade process. Many countries have free trade agreements, and many international organizations promote free trade between their members. A number of barriers to trade are removed in a free trade agreement (taxes, tariffs, and import quotas, subsidies and other forms of support to domestic producers), restrictions on the flow of currency are also lifted. Put simply, free trade help foreign companies to trade efficiently, easily, and effectively as domestic producers. There are many free trade agreements around the world, some of which have come into being after much controversy, protest and debate such as: WTO- The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. NAFTA -The North American Free Trade Agreement. The goal of NAFTA was to eliminate barriers of trade and investment between the US, Canada and Mexico. APEC- The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries (styled Member Economies) that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region. AFTA- ASEAN Free Trade Area is a trade bloc agreement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations supporting local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries. CAFTA- The China- Asean Free trade area. Touted as the worlds biggest Free Trade Area. In realistic, free trade between equal partners may be mutual benefits. But between a strong country and weaker or between a developed country and a developing country, the developed country tend to get more benefit as they have the capacity to sell whereas the developing country in unable to make use of the increased market access. This is so even in agriculture, where developing countries have comparative advantage. After the North American free trade agreement (NAFTA) was signed, Mexico increased exports fruits and vegetables by 50% to the US. But Mexico also increased imports tripled for corn and over 500% for soybean, wheat, poultry and beef from the US. It can see that Mexicos agricultural imports increased more than its exports, so 1.7 million rural jobs have been lost. The reason is very simple, after NAFTAs signing, Mexico reduced its tariffs to zero but the US still did not reduced its subsidies and many agriculture product of the US could sell at lower prices than the production cost. Thus the USs agriculture product swamped the Mexico market. Similar, Australia could not get extra sugar quota in free trade agreement with the US (AUSFTA- The Australia- United States free trade agreement). On beef, it only obtained 18.5% increased in its quota, confined to manufacturing grade beef spread over 18 years or extra half a cow/farm/year. And, in free trade agreement with china (CAFTA- China- Asean free trade area), from 2005 to 2008, Indonesia increased imports by over 150% from china and exports to China increased by around 77%. Moreover, the growth of Indonesians exports to China was mainly driven by raw materials, such as mineral fuels and ores, while the growth of Indonesian imports from China was due to increasing Chinese manufactured goods, ranging from electronics/electrical products and iron/steel products to furniture and textile items. Besides, between the developing countries and developed countries, explicit barriers especially Tariffs have come down but countries find other ways to block goods from other countries, if they are trying to protect domestic jobs or something like that. Or if there is some industry group that has political power and can get special protections for their business. Developed nations tend to do this for labor intensive goods which is exactly what many developing nations are trying to export. Recently Vietnam has faced barriers for selling shoes to the EU, and catfish to the United States. Anti-dumping taxes have been imposed by the US Department of Commerce on Vietnamese frozen catfish exports to the US since August 2003. Vietnamese exporters will be charged at the rate of 63,88 per cent on catfish exports to the US. The decision was made on the basis that American catfish producers claim that Tra and Basa fish imported from Viet Nam were being sold below market rates. Vietnam has prove n that it was not dumping catfish, and the tariff will lift for Vietnam on March 21, 2011. But Vietnam has to face with the new tariff for selling shrimp to US until 2016. For developing countries, instability of domestic economy increases from international trade and economies depends on global trade. Economic of America and EU go down, it would be very hard for developing countries to recover. For instance, recession in the USA led to the increase in unemployment in USA and decrease demand for Australian exports, leading to falling export incomes, lower GDP, lower incomes which leads to lower domestic demand and increased unemployment in this country. From the financial crisis in USA in 2008 which was caused by real estate bubble and under-standard lending operation with the consequence of high inflation and unemployment, lower growth. Massive action in money in the US creates pressure on US dollar, this makes US dollar depreciate against other strong currencies (EUR and Yen), which reduces competitiveness of exports of these countries, forcing the government of these countries to depreciate the domestic currencies by expanding money supply. This lea ds the currency war, causing turbulence in the currency markets and international trade, increasing inflation and restricting the consumption, lower production, lower income and decreasing growth rate of the economy, pushing back the process of the global economy recovery. As a result of the financial crisis in 2008 (the credit crunch for poor households and a decline in housing price), unemployment in USA increases strongly (8.9%) and is predicted not to improve in 2011. According to FED, the growth rate of USA is forecast about 3.4%-3.9% while the prediction of unemployment rate is from 8.8%-8.9%. Economists calculate the growth rate gains 5%, which reduces the unemployment by 1%. This means that its difficult for America to reduce the unemployment rate in the near future. This is also the main reason causing personal consumption declined. Consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of the US economy, will be hampered by unemployment when the need to save more. Moreover, deficit sit uation is estimated to gain 1,480 billion USD in 2011, equivalent with 9.8% GDP of this country (Financial Times), the highest deficit level in the history. However, the USA government still has no action to improve this situation but keep easing monetary policy. In Europe, public debt crisis is the most serious problem in these countries. As a result of global financial crisis, nations fell into deficit state due to borrowing to cover for their spending so much. But the main cause is still the excessive spending and inappropriate financial policies that lead to this situation. Firstly is the rescued package of IMF and EU of 110 billion EUR to save Greece from default threat, next is 85 billion EUR for Ireland and accompanied with tight monetary policy as increasing tax which Ireland has advantage to gain strong growth over past years, reducing spending and saving 15 billion EUR in 4 years to lessen the budget deficit rate from 32% to 3% with GDP. This threat of public debt crisis c an spread Spanish, Portugal and even Italy. Unemployment increases highly in these countries. But one question is raised that when rescued packages expire, whether the effort of IMF, EU and the government can prevent default of many nations and banks. With the total public debt can increase about 100% in the early of year 2014 in Europe, economic growth only gained 2% in 2010 and 1.5% in 2011 and unemployment rate can rise up to 8.3% (Vietnam Plus). The ability of collapse of common currency in this area may occur if this state is not improved. With the approximate rate of 20% global GDP from now to 2014, EU plays an important role in the world, if there is any breakdown in EU, it will be a detrimental consequence for global economy. In Asia, excessive growth in China leads to strong increase of inflation with predicted CPI is 10% and inflation rate is 5% in 2011 (Chinese Statistic Department). Real estate market developed excessively, landing price went up strongly, the landing pri ce in some places increased more than 20 times, even 100 times from the original price. Furthermore, the ease of fiscal and monetary policy with excess in issuing money leads to depreciation and high inflation, which raises the primary commodity price. Not for China, inflation tends to increase in other Asian countries. In the next year, to prevent inflation, the governments need to have tight monetary policies. If the money supply is tightened so much, it can lead to slow growth. But if keeping ease monetary policy, it can cause more inflation and leads the economy to overheat growth. One problem in developing countries is that fluctuations in the currency market is also creating macroeconomic instability threat even more detrimental to recovery process global economy So it is easy to see that economics of some developing countries may fall into recession and growth of developing countries will slow in 2011 and in the next few years. And the growth of global economy will growth very slow, according to World Bank predicts growth of global economy is at 3.3% in 2011 and 3.6% in 2012. Moreover, the recent Japans disasters (Earthquake and Tsunami) cause a big loss for the world economy in the short term. Japan is the place attracting the majority of FDI to some regions in Asia. Japan is the most important trade partner in Asia. Therefore, trade between Japan and other countries in the region will decrease strongly in the short term, accompanying with high inflation, the growth rate of Asia will slow down. Moreover, the economy of America will also be affected by Japans disaster. Export occupies by 10% GDP of America in which exports to Japan occupy by 5%, so this detriment on the USA economy is not small (Info TV). This calamity also affects the count ries which have big export turnover to Japanese market. One threat of the global inflation is that the increased oil price due to instability of Middle East and Africa, anxious psychology of violent prospect spreading out everywhere, the oil supply cant meet the recovery of the world economy, big demand of imported fuel of China and India (CNN, Foxnews). Economists worry about the possibility of the oil price increasing in some years, which causes a big pressure of increased price for most commodities in the world, decreasing the global growth, increasing inflation. That is reason why might be pessimistic about the prospects for growth and development in the future.

Normal Flora And Bacteria Identification Biology Essay

Normal Flora And Bacteria Identification Biology Essay The human body is naturally inhabited by a wide variety of microbes, collectively referred to as normal flora. To investigate the diversity of these microbes at different sites of the body, swabs were taken from the skin behind the ear and back of the throat and cultivated on blood agar and mannitol salt agar plates. Based on colony morphology and Gram staining, Staphylococcus Aureus and Escherichia Coli were tentatively identified as the most prominent normal flora cultured from the skin and throat respectively. Aim: To cultivate normal flora present on human skin and in the throat using differential selective media. To identify the specific bacteria grown from each region by observing the morphology of the colonies on the agar plates and Gram stained slides. Introduction: The human body is inhabited by a wide variety of microbes. In a healthy human internal tissue are normally free of microorganisms whereas surface tissues are in constant contact with environmental organisms and become readily colonized by certain microbial species (Toddar 2005). The mixture of organisms regularly found at any anatomical site is referred to as the normal flora or normal biota. Each body surface has its own characteristic resident biota made up of particular microbial species (Ingraham Ingraham, 2004). The type of bacteria found in a certain location depends on environmental needs such as ideal temperature, pH, physiology and available nutrients. For example, areas such as the armpit, navel or the back of the throat harbour more microorganisms due to the added moisture, higher body temperature and greater concentration of skin surface lipids (Baron 1996). To aid in the isolation and identification of individual types of bacteria present in our normal flora specialized growth media can be used. Selective media is used to either encourage or inhibit growth depending on the phenotype of the organism. In addition, differential media can help identify between two closely related bacteria that have small phenotypic differences (Ingraham Ingraham, 2004). Blood agar and mannitol salt agar are examples of commonly used media that are both selective and differential, aiding in the growth promotion, identification and discrimination of common human normal flora. This study aims to investigate and identify the normal flora diversity found on the human body using these standard microbiology techniques. Methods: Resident bacteria were sampled from two anatomical sites, the skin behind the ear and the back of the throat. Blood agar and mannitol salt agar plates were used; incubation time was 24 hours at temperature of 37ÂÂ °C. Gram staining tests and haemolysis were applied to detect colonies and identify them. Results: A number of different colonies were observed on both agar plates following isolation of normal flora from the skin and throat. Table 1 outlines the colony description, blood agar haemolysis and subsequent Gram stain from both anatomical sites sampled. On both plates Cocci bacteria were identified; Gram positive were present at both BA plates, and Gram negative bacteria were only identified at the back of the throat. Types of haemolysis were also different: beta type for sample from the skin, and gamma type for throat sample. Table 2 presents the findings of normal flora colonies grown on mannitol salt agar. The differences between MSA colonies were more significant than between BA colonies: samples from the back of the throat were Gram negative, and samples from the skin behind the ear were Gram negative. Based on these observations and knowledge of the most abundant normal flora at each site, a preliminary identification of the bacteria isolated was made. The bacteria in the throat is most likely Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria is most likely to be identified at the skin. Table 1: Colony morphology and Gram stain of resident microbes from the skin and throat, isolated on blood agar. Site Colony Morphology Haemolysis Cell Morphology Gram Stain Throat Filamentous flat shaped Gamma Cocci Enterococcus aureus Escherichia coli Gram negative and Gram positive Skin Circular convex shaped Beta Cocci Staphylococcus aureus (25% common) Streptococcus pyogenes (5% rare) Gram positive Table 2: Colony morphology and Gram stain of resident microbes from the skin and throat, isolated on mannitol salt agar. Site Colony Morphology Colour Cell Morphology Gram Stain Throat Punctiform flat shaped No color Cocci Neisseria sp. Neisseria meningitides Escherichia coli Proteus sp. Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Haemophilus Influenza Spirochetes Gram negative Skin Punctiform flat shaped Small pink or red colony Cocci Staphylococcus Epidermidis Staphylococcus aureus Streptococcus pyogenes Corynebacteria (Bacilli) Gram positive Discussion: To investigate the diversity of normal flora, areas from the skin and throat were sampled and the resident bacteria isolated on blood agar and mannitol salt agar plates, prior to Gram staining. BA plates are differential: MSA plates are selective and differential. Cultures grew on each half of the plates. The results obtained at BA and MSA plates are different; this may result from several factors: sampling variations, growth variations and approximateness of estimates produced by Gram staining. For throat swabs, results were negative and positive at BA plate, and only negative at MSA plate; for skin swabs, Gram results were positive at both plates. At both halves of the plates major colonies could be identified. Generally, it was expected to testify greater variety of bacteria at the throat swab compared to skin swab basing on the difference of environments (humidity, higher temperature, exposure to different microorganisms). During the experiment, a slightly greater diversity was indeed observed. Escherichia Coli was determined as major colony at throat sample because BA plate demonstrated gamma haemolysis and the throat swab shown Gram-negative results both times (and Gram-positive results only at BA plate). Different shapes of colonies also correspond to this identification as E. Coli does not have a particular cell arrangement. Staphylococcus aureus were determined as type of colony for skin swab since of its colony type, beta haemolysis reaction and Gram-positive stain, 25% common. Also, Staphylococcus aureus is common for the normal flora of humans found on nasal passages, skin and mucous membranes (Bauman 2008), In order to make more detailed analysis, it is possible to perform catala se test. To make a conclusion, the results of the experiment demonstrate the diversity and preliminary identification of common normal flora found resident on the skin and throat.

Spike Lee Analysis Essay -- essays research papers

The thread of African American history is spun from two sources: the struggle to define a place in the wider American life and the effort to maintain an authentic black presence in the larger American culture. This duality has meaning in the realm of filmmaking because the tools of cinema, film and cameras, cost more than the paper and pencil tools of writers. It is the cost of doing business that affects, indeed, threatens the black presence on the screen. The costly collaborative nature of filmmaking has blurred the definition of a "black" movie. Is it black if it is merely angled toward blacks, or must it be made by blacks, or both? Spike Lee has established himself as one of Hollywood's most important and influential filmmakers in the past decade. In the critically acclaimed...