Leukemia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Leukemia - Research Paper ExampleThe different types of leukemia consecrate with different clinical features and there ar differing signs and symptoms. The condition affects the bone marrow as well as the telephone line with the presence of altered cells in the bloodstream. Different diagnostic procedures are utilized to diagnose this condition. These include the full blood count as well as blood smears. Biopsy of the bone marrow is also performed for a unambiguous conclusion. Each form of leukemia has its own pharmacological treatment directed towards treating the condition. Bone marrow transplant is the last treatment resort for all types of leukemia.Neoplasms within the blood arise when there is disruption in the normal pattern of differentiation of blood cells. Leukemia falls within the classification of the cancerous pathological conditions of the blood which results in a rise in the white blood cells at their site of production that is the bone marrow as well in the blood w hich is present in the circulation. There is no specific definitive cause that has been identified for this condition but there are many risk factors and proposed causes which are considered to ontogeny the susceptibility of the development of leukemia. Leukemia is a malignancy which is further categorized into many subtypes. These include the acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), adult T-Cell leukemia and hairy cell leukemia (Davidson et al 2009 Kumar et al 2005).The occurrence of leukemia has been associated with different causes. It has been analyzed that alterations in the normal chromosomal development which may be due(p) translocations as well as rearrangements in the chromosomal structure may lead to leukemia. An interesting aspect of leukemia is that it is seen to be present at a high rate in the people who suffer from other genetic pathological conditions. A higher incidence o f acute

Professional Experience As A Key Determinant In Seeking A Career Essay

Professional Experience As A Key Determinant In Seeking A Career - Essay grammatical caseAs many students are encourage to pursue a given field based upon their own values, belief systems, and worldview, so similarly are educators and practitioners encouraged to give back to their community with respect to the desire to impart the values, beliefs, and worldview. What such a unique model creates within the Walden University setting is a situation in which passionate practitioners seek to impart their expertise to eager learners who also have a desire to practice such a trade within the custody (Walden University 2012). Naturally, beyond a mere understanding of the practical application, the scholar-practitioners are able to engage the students with the unique idealism that they so eagerly seek with reference to the authorization career they will be pursuing.Similarly, one of the main goals that a student will realize is that they have a profound desire to positively disturb the l ives and health of those under their charge. Although they may not be specialists in the medical sense of the term, they are nonetheless an integral link in the chain of healthcare providers that help to relay a high quality of care to those under their purview (ACHA 2011).Similarly, the roles and responsibilities of a manager with regards to the healthcare organization of today are more and more varied and complex. As such, it requires a great deal of expertise to be able to handle the plethora of contrasting demands and constraints that such a complex and glorious profession requires (Health Management Careers 2012). As such, some of the key skills which one requires in order to succeed in such a field involve tops(predicate) time management, understandings of the key complications that seek to differentiate aspects of the healthcare industry, a clear understanding and application of ethics and morality, compassion for and identification with a host of individuals from differ ent ethnicities and backgrounds, as well as a profound regard for seeking the greater good and ameliorating suffering wherever it may be found.

I want to buy health insurance by myself Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

I want to buy health insurance by myself - Essay ExampleThus, this factor underlines the case importance of medical checkup cover, which comes in a variety of programs for an individual to make a choice. As students, we also need to plan for any misfortune, since we dismissnot tell of future occurrences. However, what happens when you cannot avow on a program meant to help you in case of a misfortune? Does such a program guarantee you a safe future? spot acknowledging the Oklahoma Christian University Administrations noble intentions in their medical cover program, this expose posit that the cover does not meet its intended subroutine and hence the administration should allow students to arrange for their own cover.The initial purpose of any health insurance, or a medical cover, is to ensure that there was straightlaced care of an individuals body and health. In this regard, a medical cover should be a permanent arrangement that we can all rely on and avail at the appropriate t ime in case of a serious health disorder. In this regard, an individuals health is at risk once the medical cover is not dependable. Case in point, our Universitys medical cover is not one of the reliable. For instance, a colleague became sick, age in school, and we had to dig deep into our pockets and arrange for an ambulance, which took him to the hospital. This is despite the fact the colleague had paid for medical cover in the University. Thus, the failure of the University to meet such primary costs underlines the undependable nature of the medical cover. At this instance, we pause and ask the question of what would have been the consequence of us not raising money for the ambulance. This can only mean that the investable would have happened.While medical cover should keep you insured against serious illnesses, our University cover does not cover even the most of basic illnesses like vision and teeth. We all know that

The impact of out of stock in convenience sector( retail) Literature review

The impact of bulge out of billet in convenience sector( retail) - Literature review ExampleThey can be categorized as give notice store, super market, convenience store, hyper market or departmental store. In the literature based on bring chains and logistics, when a customer is unable to attain an item of his choice the retail store is considered to be out of stock. Actually, it is not difficult to say out of stock, scarcely like many different issues taken under research this issue has its own implications which can only be clarified through research (Charlton and Ehrenberg 1976). Out of stock can be classified into two types item and brand (Fitzsimons 2000). Firstly, a stock keeping unit (SKU) of a particular brand may be out of stock and secondly all options of a particular brand in a single product can be out of stock. Out of Stock (OOS) has been delimitate differently by different researchers. Gruen and Corsten (2002) define OOS as the shareage of SKUs that are OOS on the retail store shelf at a particular chip in time. This means that the customer perceives that the item he wants will be available but it is not. Alternatively, from a consumer point of view, OOS is the number of times a customer looks for the SKU and does not find it (Corsten and Gruen 2003). ... First, retailers are battled with more charges in providing string of connections, due to high inventory, procurement, management, and warehouse costs. Second, it furthermore raises the likelihood that out-of-stocks (OOS) may happen, which may survive to clientele displeasure and shop disloyalty. As retailers strive to contend with discounters on service, OOS can harshly jeopardize their comparable place in the buyers mind. According to Campo et al. (2000), out of supply lieu not only decreases revenue but furthermore decrease of clients as well. In 20% situations shop swapping is due to out of supply situations. Presently, there have been a vast number of studies carried out by Emme lhainz et al. (1991), Verbeke et al. (1998), Campo et al. (2000), Gruen et al. (2002), Corsten and Gruen (2003) and Sloot et al. (2005). They were responsible for formation of factors which encourage buyer reactions, such as the category of inventory, the close of brand devotion, type of consumer and the urgency of the requirement for the item. So all of these investigations were rather associated to assess buyer answer as an outcome of OOS position at retail- OOS position is too exorbitant for retailers, as it can originate a decrease in revenue the study performed in 1968 for Progressive Grocer assessed more than eleven percent decrease in sales. Emmelhainz et al (1991) study outcomes display, for example, that a stock-out can make a constructor misplace more than fifty percent of his clients to competitors, alternatively retailers encourage the decrease of up to fourteen percent of the purchasers of the missing product. This income decrease does not only owe to lost sales all t he way through the OOS experience, but can

Family Related Issues Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Family Related Issues - Assignment ExampleDepartment of Labor, 2010). Logically, if a loco parentis is a suitably related person to the employee to chuck out for care under the FMLA, then a biological father, regardless of the quality or quantity of his parenting, qualifies. Legally, the virtue designates biological parent, but that brings up an interesting predicament what about a biological parent who gave up his/her child for adoption? In recent years, many adopted children have found their biological parents, or vice versa. Does the parent who relinquished his/her rights as the childs parent qualify as a parent under the FMLA? Taking the law literally, s/he does because s/he is the biological parent. However, a judge may not interpret the spirit of the law in that way. The caveat for such keen relationships between employee and parent is the fact that the employee essential document his/her relationship with the parent before taking family take out. In the same paragraph of the FMLA that defines the relationships eligible for family leave, section j, highborn Documenting relationships, it says, For purposes of confirmation of family relationship, the employer may require the employee giving notice of the need for leave to provide reasonable documentation or statement of family relationship. This documentation may run the form of a simple statement from the employee, or a childs birth certificate, a court document,etc.The employer is entitled to examine documentation such as a birth certificate,etc. (U.S. Department of Labor, 2010). It seems as if the employer could demand some sort of unrealistic documentation of the eligibility of parent or employee to qualify for the family leave oddly if time was an issue (i.e., the parent was dying), so if an employer wanted to prevent an employee from taking family leave, s/he could be in compliance with the law, but just undue about the proof of the right to do so. That would probably discourage most employe es from attempting to take family leave. 2. Explain whether the size of the business can have any proceeding on whether Tony is eligible for family leave under the FMLA. The size of a business does matter. In the video, Family Related Issues Family and Medical Leave Act, in response to Tony, the employees vocal request for leave, Herman, the boss, replies, Thats out of the question. This is a small business. Everyone is crucial.Tony answers, Small? Youve got more than fifty employees, if you count everyone. Herman counters with Not full-time employees. In Hermans mind allowing Tony three weeks for family leave would cause him to lose money. He has just praised Tony for being the top salesman (Family and Medical Leave Act, 2004). However, Herman is wrong. Not all employers are required by federal law to allow family leave, but those with 50 or more employees are. Paragraph 825.105 of the FMLA gives a lengthy description of how an employer, by virtue of the number of employees s/he employs, must comply with the federal law. Some of the more obvious characteristics that make an employer obliged to comply is the location of his/her business. That is, it must be within the United States or

What role has air-power played in warfare after 1945 Essay

What role has air-power played in warfare after 1945 - Essay ExampleHowever, in the event that the oppositeness proves stronger than anticipated, it designs airpower to carry out air offensives against the enemy. Airpower in this case refers to a military strategy that involves carrying out aerial bombardments from the air, which in most cases are done employ fighter jets. Some of the wars that America has involved airpower include World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Serbian War and the Afghan War, just to name but a few. However, Corum (2007) claims that the use of airpower has been marred with controversy since 1945. In this regard, there are those that believe that airpower has helped in emerging victorious while there are critics who believe that airpower has been a failure in the U.S. warfare. The aim of this paper is to analyze the successes and failures of airpower based on case studies. Opinion is divided down the middle regarding the effectiveness of airpow er in warfare. On one hand is a section of the society that believes that airpower has played a huge role in enhancing the success rates of the U.S. force in the wars it has fought in the past. On the other hand, are critics who feel that air power has not achieved any meaningful success in some of the wars that the U.S. has fought. The U.S. has fought, the U.S. military has been using airpower as a tactics of maintaining favorable position by suppressing the enemys ability to fight. This was witnessed during the World War II in which the U.S. and its affiliate used airpower to gain superiority over their opponents (the German forces especially) through aerial bombardments. As a result, it became very hard for the German forces to mount strong resistance against the U.S. and its allies (Keegan 1990, p. 31). This enabled the allied forces break through the war more easily than earlier anticipated. The events of WWII are one of the success stories of airpower in warfare. Apart from the success of Airpower in WWII, there exists other warfare where airpower has been successful. For instance, the use of airpower played a huge role in winning the Gulf War during Operation Desert Storm. The Desert Storm was a war against Iraq for its aggression of Kuwait. The war begun on August 2, 1990 and ended on February 28, 1991 with the U.S. and its allies emerging victorious. However, the success in winning this war has been linked mainly to the use of airpower. Momyer (2003, p. 5) reveals that the U.S. and its allies used airpower during the first days of intervention in the war to destroy Iraqs air defense system, thereby allowing the allied forces to gain control of Iraqs air before introducing the ground forces. The U.S. forces and its allied forces carried out massive bombardments from the air to gain control over Iraqs airspace. In so doing, the allied forces too managed to capture all the Iraq governments infrastructures before deploying the military to takel vanta ge positions. Momyer (2003) notes that the main aim of air attacks was to pave way for the U.N. backed ground forces. In fact, reports show that after taking control of the air through aerial bombardments, the ground forces found it easy fighting the Iraqi forces as their major efforts was at once devoted mainly to attacks against the communication lines that the Iraqi forces used. This was followed by assaults on the defense lines of the Iraq forces. In the end, the U.S. led forces emerged victorious in the war. Supporters of airpower cast argued that without the use of airpower, the war would have taken the U.S. and allied forces more time to win than it actually took. This is because the Iraqi forces would have taken advantage of the air to attack the allied forces. Even though the airpower proved effective in winning the G

Qantas Essay Example for Free

Qantas EssayQantas Airways is an Australian based airline and is a subset of the Qantas root. It is a public-listed company in the ASX (Australian Securities Exchange). The social occasion of this research is to provide information of the Qantas Group focusing on its profit might, efficiency and liquidity for the last 3 years. This research paper alike examines the financial epitome and provides other relevant information to support in the evaluation of the company. 1 Company Profile1.1 HistoryQantas is the worlds second oldest airline. It was founded in the Queensland inaccessible in 1920 and has been in continuous ope proportionalityn since that date. Qantas is Australias largest house servant and international airline and is recognised as one of the worlds leading bulky distance carriers. The name comes from the initial letters of the words in the original registered title Queensland and marriageern Territory Aerial Services Limited. 1.2 Qantas Group Strategy prevent ive remains Qantas first ope symmetrynal priority and they ar committed to maintaining the position as the leading Australian home(prenominal) carrier and one of the worlds premier sustainable long-haul airlines with the dual airline brands Qantas and Jetstar. Qantas aim to maintain customer loyalty by delivering exceptional commences through these dual brands, in concurrence with Qantas Frequent Flyer. The operating scheme is complimented with a prudent approach to chief city management as they seek to deliver sustainable, long terms return to the shareholders. The Qantas Group strategic priorities are illustrated be junior-grade. 41.3 Qantas all overviewQantas is Australias largest full service airline carrying 28 zillion passengers in 2011/2013 on 5,050 flights per week in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Europe. It is a founding member of the oneworld alliance. Qantas is a single integrated airlines providing airline transportation thro ugh its two Qantas brands Qantas and QantasLink Main MarketsQantas main markets are domestic and international traffic to and from Australia. Qantas, a wholly-owned group of subsidiaries including QantasLink and Network Aviation, services 57 metropolitan and regional regular passenger transport destinations across Australia and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, as well as 19 dedicated fly-in-fly-out charter destinations. 2011/2012 rider Distribution Passenger RevenueAustralia domestic 78% 51% supranational 22% 49%CustomersQantas carries business and leisure passengersProductQantas offers passengers a premium network product on its extensive domestic and international network and through it oneworld membership, accessing 24 bilateral codeshare agreements (excluding Jetstar and Jetstar Asia with whom Qantas in like manner has codeshare agreements), over 870 destination and 550 lounges. Passengers also view the opportunity to earn and redeem frequent flyer points across its global n etwork. Qantas is focussed on both business and leisure travellers by offering a one or two class product on domestic routes and a two, three or four class product for international services. 51.4 Jetstar OverviewJetstar commences operations in May 2004. It is the Qantas Groups low fares airline and the largest low cost carrier in the Asia Pacific region. Jetstar comprises of Jetstar Domestic, Jetstar International and holdings in Singapore-based Jetstar Asia, Vietnam-based Jetstar Pacific and Jetstar Japan. In 2011/2012, its operations carried 18.7 million passengers to over50 destinations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Asia Pacific. Jetstar also recently announced its intention to invest in a new airline, Jetstar Hong Kong, with China Eastern Airlines in 2013. Main MarketsJetstars main markets are domestic and international traffic to and from Australia. Pan-Asian expansion has strengthened through Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Pacific and Jetstar Japan. New Zealand operations en compass both trans-Tasman and domestic New Zealand markets. 2011/2012 Passenger Distribution Passenger RevenueAustralia domestic 57% 51%International 43% 49%CustomersJetstar foc utilise on providing consistently low fares to predominantly leisure travellers. ProductJetstar offers domestic and international passengers a value based product with the flexibility to select additional operations in relation to seating, entertainment, catering, baggage and premium seating on long haul. Jetstars continual focus on leading online technology has enabled more sophisticated ways to book, check-in and board. 61.5 FleetQantas Group operate fleets comprises of Boeing 737-800, A330-200, A380-800 Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Bombardier Q400 and Boeing 717. Over the next 10 years, the Qantas Group has committed capital investment worth US$23 billion in more fuel efficient, next generation aircrafts such as A380-800, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A320 neo. 1.6 Corporate and Social ResponsibilitiesThe Qa ntas Foundation was established as a charitable trust in 2008. It forms part of the Qantas Groups inscription to operating in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. The Qantas Foundation focus on two key areas Initiative that provide an immediate experience for those in need (Changing lives) Experiences and opportunities that em condition the next generation of Australians to make a difference in community (Empowering change) To deliver this vision, the Qantas Group leverage off the divers(a) resources of theQantas Group from their employees, diverse network of suppliers and partnerships, and the use of their own airline. Another initiative that the Qantas Group took on is aiming for a world class performance by defend the environment for the generations. They aim to reduce their carbon footprint through several proven measures such as Aircraft weight reduction initiatives Efficient ground power units in lieu of jet fuel driven auxiliary power units Using GPS-based n avigation technology to improve operational efficiency Investing in a fuel efficient fleet such as Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Facilitating a sustainable aviation fuel industry in Australia On ground, together with their partners, innovative projects and partnerships were set to achieve this goal. One example is the Clean Up Australia campaign started since 1996, the Qantas Group have been a key corporate partner for the Clean Up Australia Foundation. Key Successes1. Maintained a descending(prenominal) trend on electricity, water and waste-to-landfill consumption since 2006, despite operational growth. 2. cut environment impact between 2005 and 2011Reduced electricity consumption by 8%Reduced water consumption by 19%Reduced waste-to-landfill by 21%3. Maintained a downward trend on jet fuel emission intensity 72. Key StrategiesThe Qantas Group has a broad portfolio and a clearly defined strategy with the following core goals Build on the Groups domestic businesses through a clear focus on the customer Strengthened Jetstars presence across Asia to catch the full benefits of the regions low-cost leisure travel boom. Continue to expand Qantas Frequent Flyer by adding new partners and increasing ways for members to earn and spend points. any(prenominal) of the changes seen were introducing a new tablet-based in-flight entertainment system called Q Streaming that received outstanding feedback from passengers. New order for 10 Fokker 100 aircraft were placed to extend Qantas reach into Hesperian Australias mining centres as part of the Groups fly-in-fly-out strategy. Jetstars focus in the domestic market remained on building upcapacity on core leisure routes with modern-day fleet such as the A320 aircraft, adding almost 16,000 extra seats during the year. Qantas Group also expanded alliance with American airlines, attracting consumers from the America regions. 82.1 SWOT analysis on the Qantas GroupSTRENGTHStrong partnership with other alliance through its oneworld membership accessing 24 bilateral codeshare agreements over 870 destination and 550 lounges. Passengers also have the opportunity to earn and redeem frequent flyer points across its global network which attracts consumer to choose the Qantas Airways over other airlines. Operate and fly in to more destinations such as Australia (Domestic), New Zealand, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Europe making Qantas Airways the ideal airline to consumers. WEAKNESSQantas do not have many head routes and depend heavily on its other airline partners. For example to get across to destinations such as Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, consumers have to musical passage at Dubai and change airlines to the Emirates to get to their final destination. This turns away consumers who prefer to fly in direct to the country. OPPORTUNITYQantas subsidiary Jetstar announced its intention to invest in a new airline Jetstar Hong Kong, in partnership with China Eastern Airlines this ye ar. This expands the flying business into the Chinese market. THREATThe global fuel impairment affix affects the airline industry. With elevateder fuel hurts, the airlines operating cost increases. To compensate, airline raise ticket prices to generate more revenue which in turn, turn away consumers and cast them to look at other airline that provides competitive or even lower prices. Introduction of more low cost carriers from established airlines such as Scoot, a subsidiary airline of the Singapore Airline. 93. dimensions3.1 Profit exponent Ratio (%)Profitability ratio is used to measure a companys ability to generate revenue in relation to sales, additions and legality (i.e. often the sum of monies invested). It also shows how effective the company is being managed to stay profitable. Some commonly used profitability ratios complicate return on equity, return on investment, return on total assets, gross and net profit margins and return on capital employed. Profitability ratios provide investors guidance in their assessment of the companys financial health and performance. For example, return on investment indicates whether the company is generating enough cabbage for its shareholders. Net profit margin declined by 0.52% in 2012 while an increase of 0.53% occurred in 2011 as seen in Table 1. It is slightly lower than the industry bonnys of 1.737% by 0.377%. The decline in net profit margin whitethorn be attributed to rising fuel costs, fall in freight, tours and travel revenue. In 2012, Qantas incurred restructuring costs of AUD376 million compared to nil in 2011, which is in relation to their initiative to reduce costs and improve business in the international segment. The other ratios such as translate on assets (ROA) and return on equity also declined to 2.12% and 3.38% respectively in 2012.Profitability Year/Ratio 2010 2011 2012 sedulousness averages move over on total assets (ROA)1.76%2.28%2.12%2.630%Return on equity2.88%4.26%3.38%5.290%Net profit margin1.35%1.88%1.36%1.737%103.2 EfficiencyEfficiency ratios are used to show how well a company uses its assets and liabilities efficiently to be able to earn significant amount of profits. Examples of efficiency ratios include asset turnover rate, inventory turnover, receivables turnover and tolerateables turnover. Qantas may be considered as efficient in utilizing its resources to generate revenue, with asset turnover showing an increase to 252 days in 2012 compared to 245 days in 2011. Generally the higher a companys asset turnover, it means the assets have been used more efficiently. From table 2, the summate of days taken for creditors to be paid degenerate to 45.41 days in 2011, however a modest increase of 1.45 days was experienced in 2012. Compared to industry averages, Qantas took a longer time to pay their creditors. On the other hand, number of days debtors took to pay was shortened by 2.09 days in 2012 while there was an improvement of 1.62 days in 2011. Ho wever the receivables turnover is a little higher at 19.83 days compared to industry averages of 18.45 days. Inventory turnover shows the frequency a companys inventory is sold and replaced over a period. A high turnover indicates strong sales while a low turnover may imply poor sales and hence excess inventory. Inventory turnover fell to 9.39 days in 2012 compared to 9.72 days in 2011. However the ratio is higher than industry average of 8.52 days. Table 2Efficiency Year/days 2010 2011 2012 Industry averagesDays payable50.4345.4146.8643.90Days receivable23.5421.9219.8318.45Days inventory9.199.729.398.52Asset turnover234245252284.70113.3 LiquidityLiquidity ratio measures the companys ability to pay its short term liabilities when due. It is calculated by dividing cash and other liquid assets by the short term borrowings and current liabilities. This will show the number of times the short term obligations are covered by the cash and liquid assets. The short term obligations are cons idered fully covered and the company is in good financial health if the value is greater than 1. The higher the liquidity ratio, the higher the capability the company possesses to play its current liabilities. Examples of liquidity ratio include current ratio and affectionate ratio. Current ratio for Qantas was 0.90 in 2011 and 0.77 in 2012, near industry average of 0.81. In comparison to Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd whose current ratio is 0.65 in 2011 and 2012 (See table 4), Qantas appears more stable though the values of its current ratio are less than 1 for both years. Quick ratio also known as the acid-test ratio focuses on the most liquid assets, leaving inventory out which may be hard to turn into cash in a timely manner. In the case of Qantas, the quick ratio was 0.71 in 2012, 0.14 drop from 0.85 in 2011, while industry average is 0.75. As compared to Virgin whose quick ratio was 0.61 in 2012, the company seems to be in a stronger position to meet its short term commitment s. Table 3Liquidity Year/Ratio 2010 2011 2012 Industry averagesCurrent ratio0.930.900.770.81Quick ratio0.880.850.710.7512Table 4 Growth Profitability and pecuniary Ratios for Virgin Australia Holdings Limited Liquidity/Financial Health 2010-06 2011-06 2012-06Current Ratio0.760.650.65Quick Ratio0.750.620.61Financial Leverage4.154.154.3Debt/Equity2.33.213.96Source 2013 Morningstar, Inc.133.4 Gearing RatioGearing ratio compares owners equity or capital to borrowings. Gearing is a measure of financial leverage showing the extent to which a companys activities or operations are funded by owners funds against borrowed funds. A high geared wheel ratio indicates that a company is using debt to pay for its operations and may risk inability to meet repayments in an economic downturn. The situation could be made worse where rates move upwards suddenly. Lenders are generally concerned about excessively high gearing ratio that may put their loans at risk for non-repayment. Some examples ofgea ring ratio are debt equity ratio and net interest cover. For Qantas, the gearing ratio increased to 111.21% in 2012 compared to 98.05% in 2011.This means the company used debt instead of equity to fund its continuing operations. However, this ratio is lower that industry average of 130.547%. Net interest cover ratio refers to the ease a company pays interest expenses on outstanding debt. The lower the ratio, the more the company is burdened by debt expense. The companys ability to meet interest payments may be doubtful when the ratio is 1.5 or lower. In Qantas case, the net interest cover ratio dropped sharplyly to 1.54 in 2012 against 3.96 in 2011. This ratio of 1.54 is close to the threshold of 1.5 and is indicative that Qantas may face cash flow problems and inability to meet interest expenses should rates increase suddenly. Table 5Gearing Year/days 2010 2011 2012 Industry averagesNet Interest cover ratio4.163.961.542.35Gross Gearing (D/E)95.600%98.050%111.210%130.547%143.5 ent hronization ratioA shareholder can analyse the financial information available to determine if the investment in a company is of value and quality. The price/earnings ratio is the best known investment valuation indicators and used widely by investment professionals and investors. Generally the stock with a high price earnings ratio indicates that investors expect higher earnings growth in the future. The price earnings ratio for Qantas was 12.23 in 2012, 15.90 in 2011 and 29.14 in 2010. A sharp decline of 13.24 was recorded in 2011 due to market confidence in this stock prior to 2011. However the industry average is 12.25 which may suggest that investors may be less likely to