The Truman Show Essay Example for Free

The Truman Show Essay The Truman Show is a film directed by Peter Weir. It is all about how the public spend too much of their time watching television and how we also like the idea of voyeurism. The film has two main characters Christof and Truman Burbank, the latter being the star of the show, which charters Trumans life, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, all year round. Christof has been filming Truman ever since conception. Truman doesnt know this, and in fact he knows nothing about his real family. Everything around him has been scripted and he is on a film set all the time. He is like Christofs pet, he controls everything Truman does. He controls whom Truman meets and talks to e. g. when Truman sees his father again in the streets and from out of nowhere some people come and take him away, preventing Truman from talking to him. Even the weather is controlled in the Truman Show when Truman attempts to leave the island a storm conveniently starts and only affects his boat and not the island, but when he reaches the end of the shows set the storm comes to a sudden end. The set in question is the second only manmade structure completely visible from space. He chose to pick Truman instead of the other babies in the ward, purely on the basis that Truman was born on the day of the shows launch. This was the first time in history that a television corporation has been able to adopt a baby. Because of this fact the viewers who have watched the programme since then in a way regard Truman as a surrogate child, they eagerly follow his every move. The affection the audience feel for Truman has helped the show to attract billions of viewers worldwide. This is kind of a similar affection as to that of the affection the viewers of the 7 Up television series felt towards the children who starred in the series. This programmes is a good comparison to make to The Truman Show because we follow a group of random seven year olds and every few years we return to the same group and see how they have changed in the way they think and feel, a fly on the wall programme if you will. Also The Truman Show is like a soap opera were we are familiar with all the characters but are also the cliff hangers at end of each programme are interlinked in to the next programme and help to keep the continuous flow of the series. Due to the fact that the show does not sleep. Also we finish this hybrid of modern television with an element of reality T.V. For example the Big Brother series, a show where a group of television producers headhunt the nation for an elite group of contestants to compete for a cash prize. The contestants normally consist of a funny person, a beautiful person, a homosexual, someone of different race to the rest of the group and someone who they know will act as a catalyst in the whole situation, some to upset all the other characters. There is also a connection to The Truman Show because there are multiple camera angles to let the viewer see the contestants every move. Its other appeal is that the environment is that of the classic 1950s America, Everyone knows everyone, everyone likes everyone. Everything about this small fictional town of Seahaven, a small picturesque island an island so perfect that no one has yet found reason to leave. This town is perfect for multiple reasons it could be perfect due to the perfectly manicured lawns, the white clapperboard houses or the picket fences. There is the classic old style grocery store on the corner with its brown paper bag and every worker from the shop assistant to the newspaper retailer quite often gives the American trademark phrase of Have a nice day! Which, quite honestly everyday is perfect in the sense of weather anyway. The parks and public space in this town are also super clean, there is always someone cleaning up these public areas, especially when Truman is around, all the cleaners all have earpieces on, the audience know they have earpieces to keep in contact with the shows headquarters so they can make sure Truman is still following routine, but Truman may believe they are deaf or something. But if this was 1950s America there should be no black Americans socialising with the whites due to integration. This is a sign to the audience that there are modern aspects to this classic 1950s seaside town. The Truman Show has some amazing technology going on, with over 5000 cameras constantly beaming out to the world. These cameras have multiple angles, which allow them to follow Trumans every single move, the camera loves him. These cameras are able to follow his every move thanks to the multiple places were they are hidden. They are hidden for example in the bathroom cabinet when we see him grooming himself every morning, in his mums necklace she moves it to show us what Trumans up to on several occasions, in the cars dashboard we see Truman every morning driving to work, in the bin at work we see him piecing together his first love Lauren Garlands face back together as a collage of articles from beauty magazines for the wife, also last of all we see the cameras in his boat in the mast and boats main cabin watching Christofs attempted assassination on Truman when he tries to sail away to from the island. The camera also seems to cut frequently to the shows viewers, for example, the man who always seems to be in the bath watching The Truman Show, the old ladies with their Truman show cushions and blankets who have to reassure each other that Truman is going to be OK when sailing away to freedom, the security guards eagerly watching the show in anticipation of the first televised conception. There is even a mother who leaves her baby crying in the back room just so she doesnt miss out on any of the programmes. Also, the Truman Show cut to various Truman Show bars around the world, bars that are covered in Truman memorabilia and were Truman Show fans can socialise with other Truman Show fans. These people appear to spend all their time watching the Truman Show, there is a certain sense of privileged voyeurism. They can watch other peoples lives on television without having their lives watched and interfered with, they also may be a little nosey and like to know all about other peoples lives. But with all this technology and overheads you may wonder how the Truman Show manages to cover their finances the answer to this question is answered throughout the film. At the start of the film the director informs us that the show generates the Gross.

Four Views of The Sick Rose :: sick

Four Views of The Sick Rose Four Works Cited By analyzing more information from different authors, I was able to draw a greater amount contrast from the authors. I had a better feel for what they were trying to convey when they wrote their critical essays in their books. Whatever the case, it was easier to judge "The Sick Rose" by having more sources to reflect upon. Michael Riffaterre centers his analysis of "The Sick Rose" in "The Self-sufficient Text" by "using internal evidence only [to analyze the poem] and to determine to what extent the literary text is self-sufficient. It seems to [Riffaterre] that a proper reading entails no more than a knowledge of the language" (39). Riffaterre identifies psychological, philosophical, and genetic interpretations (connected to "mythological tradition") as "aiming outwards." These approaches find the meaning of the text in the relationship of its images to other texts" (40). Riffaterre argues for a more internal reading of the poems. Riffaterre emphasizes the importance of the relationships between words as opposed to their "corresponding realities" (40). For example, he states that the "flower or the fruit is a variant of the worm's dwelling constructed through destruction. Thus, as a word, worm is meaningful only in the context of flower, and flower only in the context of worm" (41). After Riffaterre's reading and interpretation of the poem, he concludes that "The Sick Rose" is composed of "polarized polarities" (44) which convey the central object of the poem, the actual phrase, "the sick rose" (44). He asserts that "because the text provides all the elements necessary to our identifying these verbal artifacts, we do not have to resort to traditions or symbols found outside the text" (44). Thus, "The Sick Rose" is a self-sufficient text. Hazard Adams takes a different approach to reading "The Sick Rose" than most critics by cautioning the reader that often one "overlook[s] the fact that a literary image primarily imitates its previous usages and secondarily what it denotes in the outer world or in the realm of ideas" (13). Adams begins his analysis with examining the rose, and by reminding the reader that in a "literary world where the rose is seen archetypally, all things have human form" (14). Thus he allows for the rose to be able to become part of the speaker. He carries his idea one step further by suggesting that the speaker always "address[es] some aspect of himself" when speaking to an object.

Fieldwork

NYC is one of the areas in US with the highest concentration of schools. These schools range from kindergarten schools to even higher level. This has presented unprecedented challenges to school managers and especially classroom teachers. Teachers play a very important role of imparting of knowledge into the children so that they can change their entry behaviour by the time they come out of the learning process. A lot of incidents occur in the process of learning between the teacher and the children or amongst the children. These incidents are inevitable as conflicts are part and parcel of the learning process. The classroom setting brings together children from different backgrounds. In the NYC area, some of the challenges facing the children especially from the pre-K level to the second grade level include delinquency, a significantly high drop out rate, environmental as well as peer pressure as well as challenges in socializing and obeying to the set school rules and regulations. These children are in a very low level of development and most of them feel that a school is just a place of passing time, chatting and playing. It is the way the teacher manages these incidents when they are manifested in the classroom that enables the children to experience a conducive learning environment, develop self-competence as well as self-esteem and be able to improve in academic performance. According to Edmondson D. (1999), there have been quite a lot of critical incidents that have been observed between the teacher and children and amongst children in the NYC learning institutions. For instance, in a classroom setting, many teachers have been burdened with the problem of most of most children fighting one another due to minor differences among them such as being denied to join in a play. This fighting among the children has distracted the learning environment and even affected the emotional and psychological well-being of the children. These effects consequently have resulted to poor academic performance among the children, something that has affected their learning motivation and led to loss of interest in learning. Most students through this turn out to be joy riders in the class and this has also led to loss of morale in teaching on the part of the teacher. it is therefore very important that the teachers chips in to address this problem. The teacher should seek to establish a conducive learning environment by inculcating good social skills into the children and teaching them the need to respect one another. For quality and improved academic performance, this incident needs to be addressed and controlled in future.   Proper and strict ways should be put in place and highly practiced on the children who have this behaviour. Behaviour modification techniques such as use of a token should be reviewed and practised by the teacher in order to discourage this incident.   Although Slavin, (1978) notes that, punishment is one of the best deterrents for bad behavior, this is disputed by, Astin (1985) who notes that, there is enough evidence to conclude that, punishment can have negative effects for classroom teachers.   Hence punishing the misbehaved children should be exercised with caution. There are incidents like overlooking of the needs of all children that have occurred between the teacher and the children.   Most teachers for instance in classroom situation tend to treat all the children as having similar needs and similar levels of understanding.   This has had a very negative impact on the academic performance of most children. The children who are slow in learning and also those who have special problems like hearing difficulties have always lagged behind as far as ranking in academics is concerned. To curb this problem in future, the teacher should understand and clearly define the problems that each child faces in learning.   This way, better approaches of teaching the slow learners and those with special needs like hearing problems, blind children will be applied.   Use of tutorial classes and giving remedial work to learners who learn slowly will be of great use in solving this problem.   Building of different learning institutions and providing adequate learning materials and resources for the exceptional children should be practiced.   Braille and the relevant learning resources as well as materials should be provided to the children who are blind. However, teachers have had critical incidents with children whereby they have encountered very bright, clever and talented children.   These incidents and many others which have become rampant in the NYC area have helped the classroom teacher to be able to come up with ways in which these children should be encouraged so that they do not get disinterested in the learning process. These children can be said to be exceptional and also require special concern so that they continue participating in learning process. To manage this situation in future, teachers should also employ other techniques like giving challenging tasks but those which are within the ability of the clever children, encouraging the children to read ahead of where the teacher reaches in class as well as helping them to set realistic goals. They should also be given responsibilities such as class room monitors so that they continue perfecting their leadership skills and be engaged in fruitful activities Critical incidents like stress have also arised between teachers and the children.   A teacher in a classroom situation has been able to encounter children who have stress.   Stress among children arises from family backgrounds and academic performance (Slavin, 1978).   Those children who come from poor families have been observed to be the mostly affected by stress due to financial constraints in the family set-up, something that have widely resulted to hardships in paying fees, unlike those children from stable families who have everything at their disposal, right from in time payment of fees to other secondary needs. Continued failure in academics as well as poor reinforcement from the part of the teacher also result to stress among children.   Stress has led to very poor performance among children since the children who suffer from it tend to spend too much time in thinking about their problems than in learning.   Teachers have tried to control stress among the students in many ways. Many more ways should however be put forward in an effort to fight stress among the students.   Such ways like guidance and counselling of the students suffering from stress, organizing for sources of funds so as to facilitate their education as well as encouraging them should be emphasized in order to achieve positive results from these children. In addition, the parents of these children have been involved to encourage the children in learning   through trying to groom them and advice the accordingly.   According to, Astin (1985) use of reinforcements and rewards are among the most important ways that can be used to improve performance among children.   The stressed children should always be positively reinforced and rewarded every time they make a positive improvement of their situation. Another critical incident between a teacher and the children is the realization that children have different talents.   Teachers have been able to meet children who are very talented in sports and athletics.   This incident has helped these children a lot since teachers have had an opportunity to help them broaden and practice their talents to the best of their ability. They have been able to do   this by organizing for physical education beaks and allowing the children to engage in playing different games. This has enriched learning process since cu-curricular activities are also part of learning especially where socialization is encouraged. Children also during interaction with one another have had several critical incidents.   The realization by children that some of their colleagues shine in academics only through hard work but not because they are geniuses has created an atmosphere of hard work among the children fraternity. In the process of working hard so as to attain the level that their colleagues are enjoying, they have improved their performance and consequently the entire performance of the schools has improved. The slow learners have been able to seek for assistance from the teacher until they understand fully the concepts for example how to perform addition and multiplication in mathematics. This attitude should be more encouraged in future and rewarding of the best children be sustained in order to create a competing atmosphere. There are incidents among the children whereby they have come to realise that some students are being favoured by the teachers.   This has really suppressed the morale of the other children since they have believed that no matter how hard they try, they will never shine. Favouritism has been practised through marking assignments and in reinforcing the children. This behaviour of teachers favouring some children should in future be discouraged because it leads to discouragement on children who are not experiencing the favours, and later translate to poor academic performance. Moreover, there have been critical incidents whereby teachers have realized that some children can become good leaders.   This has been helped by the evident leadership skills that these children portray at their early age. Through identifying these children, teachers have been able to help the children through providing enough guidelines and encouraging them to maintain as well as improve their qualities. This has really been an opportunity for the children to succeed, improving their self-esteem and acquiring much confidence to pursue the education.  Ã‚   In future, more encouragement should be given to these children and leadership posts be awarded to them in the school so as to perfect their skills. In addition, there are things that have happened such as children stealing from each other and this has really demoralised most children. Children who take to this behaviour tend to grow up practising it even to their higher educational levels. The teacher should put into place the necessary disciplinary measures so that this stealing behaviour can be modified. This contributes to a better learning environment and consequently to a improved academic performance. Critical incidents have also occurred among the children whereby they have been able to realize that some of them are quite anti-social and cannot even work in groups.   Group work is one of the most effective ways of learning (Joyce, & Weil, 1986).   It is through group work that children learn new ideas as well as develop confidence and social skills.   Children who engage in group work and participate fully tend to broaden their views and acquire diverse thinking ways.   They stand a good chance of improving in their academic performance unlike those children who are anti social and defect from group work. In future, group work should be highly encouraged among the children and means of motivation the groups devised.   This will see to it that performance among the children is improved. Conclusion All education stakeholders in the NYC area need to join hands in order to handle the numerous challenges facing the sector. There is a need to create learning environmental that is ample enough to allow an interaction between the teachers and the children.   The numerous incidents that the teacher encounters should serve to formulate clear policies to govern the learning process. This in turn will lead to a better learning environment.   Finally all children-children incidents, needs to be solved by applying the necessary psychological theories in order to create a conducive learning environment. REFERENCES Astin, A. W. (1985). Achieving educational excellence: A critical assessment of priorities and practices in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Dover. Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behaviour in Work Teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44, 350-383. Slavin, R. (1978). Student teams and achievement divisions. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 12. Joyce, B., & Weil, M. (1986). Models of teaching. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Anderson, J. A. (1998). Cognitive styles and multicultural populations. Journal of Teacher Education. 39. Wlodkowski, R., & Ginsberg, M. (2003). Diversity and motivation: Culturally responsive teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Analysis On Financial Statements Of Verizon Communications Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2393 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? ATT Inc. (NYSE: T) is a United States telecommunications corporation headquartered in Texas. Founded in 1983 as SBC Communications, it became ATT Inc. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Analysis On Financial Statements Of Verizon Communications Finance Essay" essay for you Create order upon purchase of ATT Corporation in 2005. It is the leading U.S. provider of wire-line and wireless communications. ATT delivers 3G wireless services through ATT Mobility LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary. Other major segments include broadband internet, digital television, directory publishing, and business communications. In 2006, ATT Inc. acquired BellSouth communications corporation, valued at $86 billion, absorbing its wire-line, wireless, and broadband interests. ATT has stated specific future goals in 4G wireless, speech recognition, telehealth, and digital convergence. Recently, ATT selected Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson as equipment providers for its LTE (4G) wireless deployments. ATT has over 150 million customers and 280,000 employees. ATT reported a $124 billion operating revenue and $23 billion net income as of Dec. 31, 2008. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is a United States telecommunications corporation headquartered in New York. It was founded in 1983 as Bell Atlantic. Bell Atlantic acquired GTE Corp. in 2000 and changed its name to Verizon Communications Inc. It is the second largest U.S. provider of wire-line and wireless voice services. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture, with Vodafone Group holding 45 percent ownership. Through its FiOS product, Verizon provides fiber-optic delivery of internet, television, and digital voice. Other major operations include IP networks, applications, and professional services for business. In 2008, Verizon stated its goal to surpass ATT as the U.S. market leader in wireless voice and data communications in the United States. It is aggressively pushing fiber-optic deployments to combat industry-wide access-line losses. Verizon has over 91 million customers and 220,000 employees. Verizon reported a $97 billion operating revenue and $6.5 billion net income as of Dec. 31, 2008. Balance Sheet unusual items ATT: At Dec. 31, 2008, ATT reported a current ratio of 0.53, and a long-term assets / long-term liabilities ratio of 1.92. This mismatching indicates that too much short-term financing has been used to acquire long-term assets. ATT may have problems meeting its short-term obligations without additional refinancing. If additional financing cannot be obtained, a lack of asset liquidity poses a bankruptcy risk. At Dec. 31, 2008, ATT reported goodwill at $71.8 billion, accounting for about 27% of their total reported assets. This stems from ATTs aggressive acquisition strategy. The high amount poses a great asset impairment risk. Only losses, not gains, can be recorded for goodwill. If the acquired entities lose value, as judged by an annual impairment test, the loss of recorded assets and corresponding write-offs against stockholders equity can be substantial. Verizon: At Dec. 31, 2008, Verizon reported wireless licenses valued at $62.0 billion. These are indefinite-lived intangible asset which account for 30.6% of Verizons total assets. Wireless licenses are extremely important for a telecommunications company, but placing such large valuation on an intangible is a serious risk. Estimating fair value is very subjective, and any significant write-offs (as judged by a periodic impairment test) could threaten stockholders confidence. At Dec. 31, 2008, Verizon reported cash and cash equivalents of $9.8 billion. Having such a large amount of cash and cash equivalents (investments with a maturity of 90 days or less) is good for liquidity. However, a significant portion of this $9.8 billion could be converted to less-liquid, higher-interest investments that mature within a year, or even long-term investments. Having so much cash-on-hand is a problem because it is not being invested to return additional value to the business. Income Statement unusual items ATT: At Dec. 31, 2008, ATT reported basic earnings-per-share of $2.17. During the same period, their nearest market competitor, Verizon, reported $2.26 basic earnings-per-share. To the common stockholder, this is one of the most important factors to attract and maintain investment. Unless ATT can achieve higher earnings-per-share, investors will be more likely to invest in their competitors, posing a threat to ATTs future growth. At Dec. 31, 2008, ATT recorded a net other income (expense) of -$589 million (versus +$615 million in 2007). A closer look at Note 4 to the financial statements reveals that this is entirely attributable to Consolidation and Elimination expenses. Reorganization due to acquisition and restructuring has been a significant part of ATTs market-growth strategy, but they must take care not to incur excessive expenses for the sake of growth. That could lead to an overall loss of competitiveness and lack of stockholders confidence. Verizon: At Dec. 31, 2008, Verizon recorded a net income of $6.4 billion. Their nearest market competitor, ATT, posted a net income of $12.9 billion. In terms of absolute numbers, this gives Verizon less power in the market and also serves as an indication to investors that Verizon might not be managing its finances well enough. Income is essential to future value creation and expansion, so Verizon should strive to improve operational efficiency and attain an income thats more aligned with (or better than) its competitor. At Dec. 31, 2008, Verizon recorded a net profit margin (ratio of net income to revenues) of only .066, up from their 2007 profit margin of .059, but still lower than their 2006 profit margin of .070. In general, Verizons profit margin seems low compared to other U.S. telecommunications corporations (especially ATT), a sign of managements inability to generate strong returns. This weak financial performance should raise concerns for shareholders and financers, and it poses a surviva l risk to Verizon. Cash Flow Statement unusual items ATT: In 2008, ATT issued $9.5 billion in dividends to stockholders (which has been increasing gradually since 2004). Consistent dividends are good to attract sustained stockholders confidence and investment, but a dividend payout of $9.5 billion is unusually high. By paying out too many excess funds to stockholders, ATT may be missing out on more lucrative investment opportunities that would generate better returns. In 2008, ATT reported $5.6 billion in accounts payable and accrued liabilities. This amount, due to ATTs suppliers or banks, must be paid off within 12-months in order to avoid default. This significantly high amount is a constraint against ATTs working capital. If the company is not able to fully pay off the debt in time, its future operations could be hindered. Verizon: In 2008, Verizon reported net $15.9 billion in acquisitions of licenses, investments, and businesses. Such a substantial investment introduces a high level of business risk. If Verizons inv estments do not demonstrate profitability, not only will significant funds have gone to waste, but more doubt will be cast on the corporations future investing decisions by investors and financers. In 2008, Verizon accumulated net cash inflows from financing activities of $13.6 billion. In particular, $21.6 billion were proceeds from long-term borrowing, while there was a repayment of only $4.1 billion in long-term borrowing and capital lease obligations. It seems that Verizon is using this leverage to achieve their investing activities discussed previously. Such aggressive financing this fiscal year can put heavy constraints on Verizons ability to acquire additional financing in future years. Verizon is in a precarious position where, if they cannot repay the financing in a timely manner, they enter a high risk of declining into bankruptcy. Notes to Financial Statements unusual items ATT: At Dec. 31, 2008, ATT reported that $14.1 billion of its outstanding debt would mature within one year, compared to just $6.9 billion in the previous year (see Note 8). This current debt introduces a liquidity problem, since ATT must be able to generate enough cash in the next year to repay its financers. This is a significant business risk for ATT; if it is unable to cover its debts in time, its future financing options will be limited and its business operations could be in jeopardy. As of Jan. 1, 2007, ATT indicated a loss of $123 million in goodwill related to the settlement of IRS audit in its wireless segment (see Note 6). Excess goodwill is already a problem because a high risk of asset impairment is introduced, but devaluation due to an IRS audit raises serious concerns about managements judgment for proper accounting. Investors are cautious about missteps such as this, and a recurring incident could further unsettle their confidence in ATT. Verizon: On Jan . 9, 2009 (beyond the reporting date of the financial statements), Verizons wireless segment closed the acquisition of Alltel Corporation, paying $5.9 billion for its equity, but also acquiring $22.2 billion of its debt obligations (see Note 2). Acquiring such a massive debt puts Verizon at a significant financing risk. The notes reveal that Verizon has relied on credit to immediately cover the acquisition cost and debt prepayments, with $2.5 billion debt that remains outstanding. Verizon faces potential insolvency in other words, a high risk of adequate repayment and future refinancing. At Dec. 31, 2008, Verizon reported obligations for all defined benefit pension plans at $29.4 billion (see Note 15). The future collection of this large liability poses a financial risk to Verizon, should they not be suitably prepared to cover the costs. Along with Verizons already large debt obligations, this is a noteworthy threat to the companys viability. Balance Sheet differences At Dec. 31, 2008, ATT had a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75 (total liabilities / total equity) and Verizon had a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.85. ATT and Verizon hold similar levels of total liabilities ($169 and $161 billion, respectively), but ATT has a great deal more stockholders equity ($96.3 versus $41.7 billion, respectively). ATTs much larger stockholder interest provides increased financial flexibility and an ability to service its debt, in comparison to Verizon which should be more cautious in its debt accumulation, at risk of being unable to generate enough cash to satisfy its debt obligations. ATTs lower debt-to-equity ratio may boost stockholders confidence since their investments are better protected in the event of business decline. On the other hand, ATTs lower debt-to-equity ratio may signify that it is not taking advantage of enough financial leverage to generate increased profits. At Dec. 31, 2008, ATT lists Customer Lists and Relationships as a long-term asset valu ed at net $10.6 billion. Verizon does not such an item listed on their balance sheet, but Note 4 to the financial statements reveals that customer lists and relationships are a net $820 million component of Other Intangible Assets. This item is a limited-life intangible asset, and is subject to amortization accumulation. The relatively similar size of each companys customer base suggests that these valuations shouldnt be so drastically different. Estimating fair value of customer lists and relationships is very subjective, based on how each company judges the ability to generate returns. ATTs high valuation compared to Verizon leads to higher annual write-offs of the asset. Stockholders confidence could be shaken by too high write-offs arising from higher valuations, so Verizons more conservative valuation may be safer in the long-term. Income Statement differences As of 2008, ATTs income statements divide operating revenues into five segments: wireless service, voice, data, directory, and other. Verizons income statement only specifies a catch-all operating revenues item, but Note 17 to the financial statements identifies two segments: domestic wireless and wireline. Both companies wireless segments are equivalent in scope. Verizons wireline segment is the equivalent of ATTs voice data segments combined. Notably, ATT has a more diversified business portfolio, including its directory services which include the publishing of print directories, directory advertising, internet-based advertising, and local search; and the other segment which includes information services, payphone, and corporate operations. The presentation of ATTs income statement emphasizes their diversity of operations in comparison to Verizon. This shows two different approaches to business diversification. For Verizon, if one of its two segments were to fail, the financial impact would be catastrophic. For ATT, the failure of a single segment would be less severe on the company as a whole. Verizon lists minority interest as a distinct item under operating income with a recorded expense of $6.16 billion. ATT does not list a distinct item, but Note 4 to its financial statements indicate that $256 million of minority interest expense is part of its other income (expense) item. Minority interest expense refers to the share of profit belonging to minority shareholders. In this case, Vodafone owns a 45% interest in Verizon Wireless and receives that share of the generated income. For Verizon, this is a very large amount of income that it could be collecting for itself, if it was to take full control of its wireless subsidiary. If Verizon recognized the full income of its wireless subsidiary, its overall net income would be more competitive with ATT. Also, by giving Vodafone such a large stake in its wireless subsidiary, there is the potential for a futur e takeover. Cash Flow Statement differences In 2008, Verizon recorded $13.6 billion in net cash provided by financing activities, while ATT recorded $4.7 billion in net cash used in financing activities. That is, Verizon acquired net debt in its financing activities, while ATT was able to pay back more financing that it acquired. Because of this, ATT shows more financial solvency than Verizon, as its ability to repay previous financing activities boosts shareholder confidence and enhances its record as a reliable borrowing partner for future financing. Verizons big borrowing introduces significant business risks and a potential for bankruptcy if their operations dont return considerable income. On the other hand, Verizons aggressive financing activities may prove beneficial if it uses the finances to successfully grow its market-share, which would be a threat to ATT. In 2008, Verizon recorded $1.4 billion of purchase of common stock for treasury, while ATT recorded $6.1 billion of the same. The goal of these treasury stoc k repurchases is to increase the value of the shares held by stockholders. Both ATT and Verizon have repurchased shares over the past 5 years, with ATT averaging $4.3 billion in repurchases per year versus Verizons $1.3 billion per year. ATTs consistently larger repurchasing may signify that it views its shares as undervalued, or that it wants to improve its reported earnings-per-share. As noted earlier, ATTs 2008 earnings-per-share were $0.09 lower than Verizons, so this might be a legitimate strategy to attract future stockholder investment. However, the consistent treasury stock repurchases may be a sign that ATT is struggling to obtain legitimate interest from investors, so they are instead just acquiring their own shares to inflate the stocks value.