Net Present Value and Papa Geo free essay sample

The restaurant would be located in Orlando, Florida and would majorly target middle to lower-middle class families with children, as well as adults and seniors, thus making it a friendly and family place. The major product and service provided by the restaurant would be Italian food served buffet style with an all-you-can-eat format with a lot of variety including a salad bar, pizza, several different types of pasta with three or four types of sauces, soup, desserts, and a self-serve soda bar. There would also be a gaming area within the restaurant with gaming machines installed which would be of interest to children. The business would provide wholesome and fresh food, in a simple format, with very good prices and is located in a densely populated area, all of which would help the restaurant to do well and establish itself as a popular and profitable business. * * * Also, provide a second paragraph which describes how the budget supports the company’s strategy. We will write a custom essay sample on Net Present Value and Papa Geo or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page * * Finally, provide a third paragraph where you summarize the key points from your budget, including the planning horizon, the amount of up-front investment, the NPV, Payback and IRR of the project, as well as key figures from your income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet. * Remember, this is not a thesis or introduction of what you will talk about – it contains the major, specific content of each section. The second and third paragraph should be written after you have completed all other sections of this template. * * As you complete sections of this template, please remove all italicized text in all sections of this template and replace it with your own or you will lose points! * * 2. 0 Sales Forecast 2. 0 Sales Forecast * * This section forecasts the sales of Papa Geo’s restaurant over a five-year period. Section 2. 1 gives the estimated sales figures and a brief explanation on the changes in these figures over the planning period. * Section 2. 2 delves into the details of how this sales estimate has been arrived at, calculations involved and the methods and assumptions used in the process. * Overall, this section is useful is providing an estimate of how much the restaurant can make in sales, given its internal specifics and external environment. * 2. 1 Sales Forecast * * The yearly sales forecast for Papa Geo’s restaurant is given below. In $ | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Sales | 933,504. 00 | 1,555,840. 00 | 1,616,517. 76 | 1,679,561. 95 | 1,745,064. 87 | * My methods and assumptions for arriving at the sales figures in the table are detailed in section 2. 2 The sales figure estimated per my calculations is taken as the sale figure for Year 2. This is because the sales figure arrived at from the calculations cannot be assumed to be sales for Year 1 as the restaurant might not be able to realize its full potential and attract the estimated number of customers from day one itself. Also, teething problems with marketing, operations etc might not lead to optimum sales. Therefore, we will project only 60% of this figure as first year sales and use the estimated figure as the sales figure for Year 2. Over the planning period, starting from Year 2 onwards, sales are expected to grow at a rate of 3. 9% every year, in line with industry estimates of the average growth of the restaurant industry in the US (Source: Mintel International, cited in section 6. 0). * * 2. 2 Methods and Assumptions * According to the brief given on Papa Geo’s restaurant, there are about 10,000 families living within 15 minutes of the restaurant. Of these, between 3% and 5% are rich households (Phoenix marketing international, Wikipedia) and it is assumed that another 15% comprise of high income and upper middle class households. That leaves about 80% of the 10000 families in the area,that are the target market for the restaurant. * * According to a research paper (in restaurant. org), American families eat out about 4 times a week. However, considering that our target market comprises of mostly middle and lower income families, I’ve assumed that they eat out only about 2 times a week on an average. This means that, about 16000 families [(80%*10,000)*2] eat out in a week in that area in Ohio, Florida. * * In terms of competition, although it is mentioned that McDonalds, Taco Bell and Wendy’s operate in the area, we assume there are other small places that people might visit to eat out. Also, people might venture out beyond their areas to eat out. Keeping these in mind, we’ve assumed that these four places (Papa Geo’s, McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Wendy’s) will be able to capture only about 85% of these families. (16000*85%=13600/week). Of these four places, since the others are fast food and fast food restaurants generally command a larger footfall than other format restaurants we assume the following about their share in the pie of families: Taco Bell: 30%, McDonald’s: 30%, Wendy’s: 30% and Papa Geo’s: 10% * * i. e, Papa Geo’s can expect to capture 1360 (10%*13600) families per week. Since this is a family dining place, we make another assumption about the composition of the family. We assume that out of a family of 4, two are kids and two adults. Which means that about 2720 (1360*2) kids and 2720 adults (1360*2) will eat from Papa Geo’s per week. * * Given that a meal (including drinks) cost about $7, we make the following assumptions: * Adults visiting the restaurant will have meals (@ $7), on an average. * Kids visiting the restaurants with their families will make a bill of about $4 per head. Given this, we now estimate the weekly sales for adults and kids. Therefore, d * Sales from Adults per week: 2720*7 = 19040 * Sales from Kids per week: 2720*4 = 10880 * * Now, the total sales (both adults and kids, as part of families) per week can be estimated at: 19040+10880 = $29920 * Therefore, average sales per year = 1,555,840 * The sales figure estimated by these calculations is taken as the sale figure for Year 2. This is because the sales figure arrived a t from the calculations cannot be assumed to be sales for Year 1 as the restaurant might not be able to realize its full potential and attract the estimated number of customers from day one itself. Also, teething problems with marketing, operations etc might not lead to optimum sales. Therefore, we will project only 60% of this figure as first year sales, and use the estimated figure as the sales figure for Year 2. Over the planning period, starting from Year 2 onwards, sales are expected to grow at a rate of 3. 9% every year, in line with industry estimates of the average growth of the restaurant industry in the US (Source: Mintel International, cited in section 6. 0). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 3. Capital Expenditure Budget 3. 0 Capital Expenditure Budget * * Capital Expenditure Budget: * Item| Cost| Quantity| Total cost| Source| Notes and Assumptions| Cost of registering a business| 300| | 300| ehow. com| Cost of registering includes: actual cost of registering ($70), legal fees and misc expenses (approx $230)| Renovation of facility| 15000| 1| 15000| Given| This includes all kinds of beautification etc that the restaurant needs to start operations| Soda fountain ba r| 3621| 1| 3621| Soda-dispenser. om| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| 2 pizza ovens| 849| 2| 1698| ebay| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| salad and Pizza/dessert bar| 1450| 1| 1450| ebay| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Commercial Refrigerator| 3529| 1| 3529| Coldtechcommercial. com| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Cash Register| 170| 2| 340| ebay| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Video game vending machine| | | | | | Type 1| 550| 2| 1100| ebay| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Type 2| 750| 2| 1500| ebay| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Laptop for management| 275| 1| 275| ebay| Laptop purchased with Warranty, Price quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| desk for mgmt| 25| 1| 25| ebay| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Staff Microwave| 319| 1| 319| ebay| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Staff cupboard| 100| 1| 100| Assumed| | taff refriferator| 700| 1| 700| ebay| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Tables for the restaurant| 279| 20| 5580| tableschairsbarstools. com| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Chairs for the restaurant| 55| 80| 4400| restaurant-services. com| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Busing cart for restaurant| 50| 1| 50| ebay| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Commercial dishwasher| 2500| 1| 2500| ebay| Prices quoted may or may not be the same at later dates| Restaurant signage| 124| 1| 124| brightledsigns. om| Although this is a form of advertising, this wouldnt be considered as an operating cost given the long term (more than a year) nature of its use| Total| Â  | Â  | 42611| | | * * The above table provides an estimate of the capital budget required for Papa Geo’s restaurant. For each item, sources and assumptions used are explained towards the right side of the table. Other generic assumptions beyond those already mentioned are provided below: * Miscellaneous cooking and handling equipment cost will be considered operational expenses and will not be capitalized given the short term (less than a year) use of such assets.

Colonial Virginia Essay

Colonial Virginia Essay Colonial Virginia Essay The colony of Virginia was a very important part of American history. Virginia is now known as â€Å"the mother of states†, but there is a reason for this nickname. Not only was it one of the original 13 colonies, it was the first colony established, thanks to an English man named John Smith. There were many key events in our history that happened in the colony of Virginia. The government, language, customs, and beliefs of these early Virginians are all part of the United States’ heritage today. In the early 1600’s, English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh wanted to make more money for the Virginia Company, so he wanted to create a settlement. English queen, Queen Elizabeth I, wanted to expand trade, so she granted Sir Walter Raleigh a charter to go to the new world and create a settlement there. With one hundred forty four colonists on board, the first settlers left England on December 20th, 1606, with one goal on their mind: to find land where they would be concealed from the Spanish, seeing as the Spanish were a competitive threat to the British. On May 13th, 1607, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery ships arrived in Jamestown. The Virginian Company of London financed the settlement of Jamestown. They made sure that the settlers and colonists made it to the new world. Once they arrived, King James I granted charters to the Virginia Company that then gave them the right to establish settlements in Virginia. This colony at first did not last long be cause the settlers wanted to find gold and get rich, so they did not bother building houses or finding food. Also, this group of settlers did not include any women or children, so they couldn’t expand the colony. In 1609, John Smith came to Virginia and established trade with the Indians that had already been living there. Captain John Smith became the colony’s leader in September 1608. Once he became the leader of the colony, he put the settlers to work. He made them build houses and find food for themselves, so they could survive. He wasn’t leader for long, though because he was injured in a gunpowder explosion and sent back to England. Then, a man named John Rolfe took over. He also put the settlers to work, and introduced the growing of tobacco into their farms. Before the colonists started growing tobacco, they had many economic problems. This may have been because they were lacking detailed geographic knowledge of the North American continent. Now, with tobacco, they could really start making money. Tobacco was the main economic activity in Virginia at this time. This cash crop became so popular that any farmer who wanted to grow it also had to grow 2 acres of corn, which was also an important crop for profit. In 1610, more settlers arrived with supplies and also came to find wealth. Virginia’s population grew rapidly. As more and more men came in, the need for indentured servants grew as well. The indentured servants did all the labor in the fields. Almost a decade past when the first black slaves arrived. The first few years they were treated as indentured servants. Soon black slaves replaced indentured servants and the primary source of labor. By this point, Native Americans had become a real problem. They went on raids to kill any settlers and burn their

Behavior Management Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Behavior Management Project - Research Paper Example At some point, Brian has difficulties in interpreting academic instructions more particularly in absence of an adult help. When presented with academic instructions or exams, Brian would progressively become angry, uneasy, breaking down and crying profusely. In order to help Brian deal with these problems, the following behaviour intervention plan was designed. For a period of two weeks, Brian will be required to have a full time company of an adult helper while in class who will help him read questions whenever he is unable to read or finds it difficult. The adult will leave at a scheduled three time period every hour. Each break will last utmost 3 minutes in duration. It is expected that during this period, Brian will most likely face individual reading exam and would either get angry or cry uncontrollably causing a halt in exam administration. In addition, he may fail to complete his exam. The behavioural plan designed is aimed at teaching him the essence of self-control in his co nduct while dealing stressful situations in school and life after. During the interaction session, he will be taught how to manage his behaviour. In this regard, on the event he faces difficulty and senses a feeling of anger he will be required to stop whatever he does and raise up his hand for a short break. This would then be followed by a support schedule that would be given consistently and then slowly withdrawn. This is important in instilling in him the expected end behaviour without necessarily using reinforcement. After numerous weeks of implementing the intervention plan, it was found that on average the difficulties experienced in reading reduced considerably. However, some traces of anger would still be witnessed for example Brian would occasionally be noticed frowning during or after the exam or a reading session in class. If this recommended plan is continued, the end result would be desirable. Introduction Target behaviour Brian, a third grade student, is a normal stud ent like others except that he has difficulties in reading and working out questions by himself. This behaviour normally begins some few minutes after the start of examination session and worsens as it nears the end. The tension first rises then followed by a show of frustration and anger and eventual loud cry sobbing uncontrollably. The crying can last for a period of between 5 and 10 minutes and always happens whenever examinations are administered across all subjects. Hypothesis It is hypothesized from his behaviour that Brian engages in crying when he fails to recall what was taught in class prior to exam administration. He therefore thinks the exam given is too difficult and meant to frustrate him. He engages in crying as a means of letting off stress and as a show of frustration on the teachers. This behaviour is normally caused by inadequate preparation and excessive parental expectation. At the beginning of every examination, he actually needs the presence of one of the pare nts or an equivalent helper whose work is to acknowledge every simple step he makes in doing the exam. Rationale In order to assist Brian to do his work independently and deal adequately with his unworthy behaviour, there is a need to design and teach him necessary tools required to enhance self-control. His behaviour of crying whenever he fails to memorize what was earlier taught in class can effectively be minimized by teaching

Chapters 1-6 Summary of Forensic Science from the Crime Scene to the Essay

Chapters 1-6 Summary of Forensic Science from the Crime Scene to the Crime Lab - Essay Example These laws are applied so as to control the accomplishments of the forensic community. Forensic science is an enormous field that has a wide history of its appliance. The first documented autopsy belonged to Julius Caesar. This was during the 15th century that he produced his first textbook on forensics. In the book a murder occurred, and the murder weapon was identified by science. Times have developed, and forensic science is used in investigations to find out the causes of crimes. In the United States, a department of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was developed in the 1930s by J. Edgar Hoover, who is considered as the father of FBI. This department is used for investigating crime scenes and until today it mainly uses forensics science to come up with evidences. Edgar founded nation-wide laboratories to offer services in forensics. These crime laboratories delivered quality forensic services to all law implementation organisations in the United States. Thus, they play a significant role in providing proof of crimes by using fingerprints, Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and may more. Forensic scientists visit crime scenes to gather and analyse evidence by collaborating with the investigators and define their findings through comprehensive written reports. When investigating a crime scene, one has to know ways on how to secure the scene, take a survey and how to search it in order to find evidence. Therefore, first one should establish the dimensions of the scene and find the potential health and safety risks. This can be done by locating the focal point. At the scene, safety is very vital all through the primary approach to the crime scene. Individuals should be keen on biohazards, weapons, chemical hazards and deliberate traps might be waiting for the responders. Hence, people on the scene including medics, coroners and fire fighters should be given advice on evidentiary

How Sound Is Used Expressively in M Essay Example for Free

How Sound Is Used Expressively in M Essay In the beginning of the movie everything appears normal but within minutes you are thrown into a frantic time in Germany. A serial killer of children is on the loose and a mother waits at home for her young daughter. When are then shown her growing anticipation for her daughter to get home but at the same time shown her daughter talking to a shadowy figure who buys her a balloon. Her mother screams her name over and over as the camera shows different scenes. This is expressive because the sound of her voice shows how worried she is and the interchanging scenes show she is nowhere to be found. Then the scene of her ball rolling into the brush and her balloon tangles in the electrical wires signifies her death. Without the mothers screams the scene would not have delivered the dramatics that it did. Another instance of sound being used expressively was the part in the movie where the minister and the chief of police are discussing finding Elsie’s killer. They show many scenes of the police doing various investigations including combing areas for clues, interrogating people, night raids and trying to pick up scents with a dog. This scene shows how intense there investigation is and the chief’s monologue gives you the added intensity of the situation. With the chief talking about how they plan to find the killer and the scenes of the police doing their investigation being shown, Lang manages to expressively show a wide scale investigation in a short time with aural and visual aspects. It’s something that could not be done with a silent movie. The essence of the movie is then truly captured with the parallel sequence shots depicting the criminal underworlds meeting and the police meeting. M is not only a story about a serial killer but, it shows the similarities at the time of the criminals and the police due to the lack of control in postwar Germany. This comparison is very expressively shown when Lang uses what they are saying to show how very similar they are. Everything from both the rooms being filled with cigarette smoke to dialogue that is seemingly mirrored from their separate meetings, is a great

Friar Lawrence Caused the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet Essay -- Romeo a

‘Romeo and Juliet’ The play ‘Romeo and Juliet’, by William Shakespeare is a tragedy which tells of the tragic deaths of the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet. In Verona there were two families the Montague and the Capulet’s who had an old argument. Their children Romeo and Juliet fall in love and because of their families old arguments can never be together. Because of Romeo ‘s killing of Tybalt, Romeo is banished and through series of misunderstanding Romeo and Juliet take there lives at the end of the play. In this essay I am going to consider which characters are to be blame for the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. There are many characters who could be said to have some responsibility for the deaths of the two main characters, but in my opinion, Romeo himself, Friar Lawrence and the Nurse are the most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Before I go on to discuss the character that who is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, I will consider what the word blame means; the word blame means ‘responsibility for a fault or wrong.’ Romeo the youngest son of the Lord and Lady Montague was in fact a major influence on the events leading up to the deaths of himself and his wife Juliet. He acted too hastily throughout the play. He shouldn’t have asked Juliet to marry him so suddenly, and he should have thought more carefully before rushing back to Verona after hearing of Juliet’s death. He also acted violently and without thinking when he killed Tybalt. In the beginning of the play, he was deeply in love with Rosaline. He was acting like he will never love any other person in his life and when Benvolio... ...essage to Romeo. ‘I’ll sent a friar with speed to Mantua, with my letter to thy lord. It shows that it was Friar Lawrence’s responsibility to get the plan to Romeo and he acted as an irresponsible by just sending only one letter and not thinking that this letter will reach to Mantua or not. In conclusion I think the most responsible is Friar Lawrence because he made a risky plan which led to the deaths of the two lovers. The second character that I think is the most to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet is Romeo himself, because he was too quick to fall in love, he was in love first with Rosaline then Juliet. He was making decision without thinking and too quick to act. The third character I think the Nurse, because she carried Romeo and Juliet’s messages and helped the two lovers to get married secretly.

Positive Psychology – a Well Lived Life

What constitutes a well-lived life? Defining the meaning of life and the conditions, traits and features of a well-lived life is a question that throughout history engrossed theologians, philosophers, artists and, more recently, positive psychologists. This essay outlines findings from a selection of the literature and research to answer this question with the aim of identifying whether happiness is the true sign and the ultimate goal and marker of a well-lived life.This review of the literature has yielded findings that possessing a disposition towards gratitude is not only indicated to be present in a well-lived life, but can enhance and improve mental, physical and spiritual life outcomes. The different research models used to explain, measure and identify the markers of a well-lived life are briefly outlined, and finally further research directions are indicated to expand understanding about how gratitude affects life satisfaction outcomes in specific populations.A challenge in r esearching this topic is that the literature describes happiness and well-lived in terms that are used by different researchers interchangeably and inconsistently. In this essay and in accordance with the literature reviewed, the terms happiness and the well-lived life are used synonymously. Definitions A problem with defining a well-lived life is that the terms well-being and happiness (Frey, 2011; Kristjansson, 2010), and the good life and happiness (Dunn & Brody, 2008) are used by researchers interchangeably.Indeed Diener (2000) notes that the very term well-being has come to be known in common usage as happiness. Seligman (2011, pp 420) notes that sometimes the terms happiness and well-being define emotions whilst at other times refer to activities. This ambiguous terminology has caused some to criticize Positive Psychology but, as both Lazarus (2003) and Kristjansson (2010) point out, precise definitions to describe a well-lived life have also eluded philosophers and other acad emics for over 2,000 years.Imprecision of terminology aside, many have attempted to describe the conditions required to nurture a good or well-lived life. Some researchers have described the good life as one full of the hedonistic pursuit of frequent positive experiences (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005). Others have described it in terms of the result of employing unique talents to achieve abundance (Seligman, 2002), whilst still others have argued that the good life involves personal growth (Bauer, McAdams, & Sakaeda, 2005).Seligman (2002) argues that these descriptions are all valid because there are different pathways to happiness, although it is by combining them that one lives a full or well-lived life. He describes these pathways as the pleasant life, concerned with hedonistic pursuits, the good life, concerned with gratification of desire and the meaningful life, using ones talent to serve a higher purpose (Seligman & Royzman, 2003). Research Findings And ChallengesEar ly studies involved in identifying precisely what elements contribute to life satisfaction involved field research with participant self-reported satisfaction ratings recorded against a range of factors (Diener, 2000; Lazarus, 2003; Lyubomirsky et al. , 2005). Self reported satisfaction ratings are problematic because they are, as noted by Kristjansson (2010), by their very nature subjective. People in difficult situations can report themselves as living a good life, whereas people who are in happier circumstances can report themselves as having low life satisfaction.Additionally the factors used to measure life satisfaction are problematic because what some would consider critical to a well-lived life may be anathema to another (Bauer et al. , 2005) or not supported by the participants culture (Diener, 2000; Peterson, Ruch, Beermann, Park & Seligman, 2007). Further research is indicated to firstly identify what factors are actually desired in a good life, rather than simply measuri ng and reporting happiness levels (Kristjansson, 2010). Diener’s (2000) and Peterson et al. 2007) findings appear to support Kristjansson’s suggestion (2010). Both research studies identified significant cross country differences not only in the rates of life satisfaction but also the factors rated as important to life satisfaction. The findings appear to indicate that individualistic cultures, or those that place high value on individual choice and desires, and collectivist cultures, where the needs of group are paramount, prioritise factors contributing to life satisfaction differently (Diener, 2000).By way of example, Diener (2000) notes that participants from collectivist cultures may sacrifice personal desires for the common good, and this is not a normative feature of individualistic cultures. Diener further notes that sacrifice in collectivist cultures may, in fact, benefit the individual by providing them with the knowledge they are performing their duty. The c oncept of personal sacrifice as a factor affecting life satisfaction does not appear to be studied in the literature reviewed for this essay.Despite the significance of the findings in both studies, the researchers note a limitation of their design is that is that they relied upon self-selected participants who were motivated enough to complete the survey (Diener, 2000; Peterson et al. , 2007). This may have resulted in bias. Conclusions concerning differences in cross cultural impacts upon life satisfaction levels and factors are not unanimous. A study conducted by Linley, Joseph, Harrington and Wood (2006) found no significant difference in life satisfaction ratings or factors amongst participants from different cultures, ages or gender.A limitation of this research however, as noted by the authors, is that the study only included a small number of countries with participants who could speak and respond in English (Linley et al. , 2006). It may well be that the participants who re sponded to the survey were Westernised. Linley et al. (2006) indicate that the study should be repeated using a multi-lingual questionnaire so that participants are drawn from a wider sample. The Social Component of a Well Lived Life Examining the literature outlining models related to a well-lived life yields important clues towards determining the ultimate signs of a well lived life.The three pathways model of a full life which includes the pleasant life of hedonistic pursuits, the good life full of desire gratification and the meaningful life (Seligman & Royzman, 2003), has been criticized because the model could be applied to the non ethical, such as drug dealers, as well as those engaged in more ethical activities alike (Kristjansson, 2010). Seligman (2000) noted this as a possibility but argues this is not problematic because science is not concerned with morality.Morality aside, anti-social activities do not necessarily promote relationships and research indicates that a well lived life does indeed involve actions that promote positive social relationships (Bauer et al. , 2005; McCullough, Kimeldorf & Cohen, 2008; Peterson et al. , 2007). One way that Kristjansson (2010) suggests that the thorny issue of morality and psychology could be overcome is by applying values to define those behaviours that fall outside of societal norms, although this may result in other issues if these norms are restrictive.Although Kristjansson is not a psychologist, the idea that a well-lived life should involve societal norms does seem to be supported by Diener (2000) who suggests that societal pressures do have some bearing upon individual life satisfaction reporting. Building on the concept that a life satisfaction includes a social component, Bauer et al. (2005) argue that a well lived life includes social experiences and the ability to ascribe those experiences to a positive meaning. They go on to explain that in psychological terms this translates to having a balance b etween social interactions and having positive feelings about them (Bauer et al. 2005). These findings imply that there is indeed a social element to a life well lived which is supported by further research. Peterson et al. (2007) found that the sociable character traits such as gratitude have strong effects upon life satisfaction. Indeed Peterson et al. (2007) note that social character traits such as gratitude are more strongly correlated with life satisfaction than the three pathways to happiness (Seligman & Royzman, 2003, pp 153). Gratitude As with a well-lived life, gratitude is not easily defined (Wood, Froh & Geraghty, 2010).Although gratitude is variously described as an emotion, a trait and an action, nevertheless the literature indicates that a grateful disposition tends to be positively associated with happiness and a well-lived life (McCullough, Emmons & Tsang, 2002; McCullough et al. , 2008; Wood, Joseph & Maltby, 2008). Typically, gratitude is described as a response t hat occurs after the receipt of something perceived as positive due to the prosocial actions of another (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).Aware of the limitations of previous field research, Emmons and McCullough (2003) attempted to apply a study design that randomly assigned participants to different treatment conditions. They found a difference in mean well being scores across gratitude treatment groups from the comparison group, although less than expected, concluding that gratitude tended to increase psychological, social and spiritual well-being. One of the limitations noted in the study design (Emmons & McCullough, 2003), however, was that the study period was only three weeks long which ay not have been long enough to identify changes in responses. This limitation has been commented upon by others (Lazarus, 2003). Indeed, Lazarus (2003) notes in particular that the lack of longitudinal studies in Positive Psychology studies concerning life satisfaction makes it difficult to identif y causation and track precisely how different circumstances affect individuals, whatever the factors that contribute to a well lived life. Kristjansson (2010) notes that this is not a problem unique to studies of well-lived lives. Wood et al. 2010) noted that the definition of gratitude used in the Emmons and McCullough (2003) study did not include all of the things participants reported gratitude for that did not include a benefactor. He proposed that gratitude includes an eight level hierarchical life orientation including in ascending order; noticing and appreciating life could be worse, life is short, the present moment, engaging in ritual acts of thankfulness, admiring beauty, focusing on what one has, appreciating other people and reflecting upon what one has to be thankful for (Wood, et al. 2010). Using this expanded definition, Wood, linked gratitude to the Big Five traits, used to broadly describe human personality (Watson, Clark, & Harkness, 1994) and that people who are g rateful tend to be more agreeable, sociable, less neurotic, conscientious and extroverted. Commenting upon the benefits of gratitude, Lyubomirsky et al. (2005) note that an attitude of gratitude appears to be incompatible with negative life feelings such as greed and envy.They note that appears to encourage individuals to reflect on experiences and social relationships in a positive way. It has also been suggested that gratitude appears to protect individuals from depression (Wood et al. , 2010) and support recovery from injury (Dunn & Brody, 2008). Possible Future Research Directions The literature indicates several interesting areas for future research. The first, based on observations by Wood et al. (2010) is that there have been only a few studies studying the direct relationship between gratitude and happiness.Given the lack of longitudinal research to date as noted by Lazarus (2003) and alluded to by Emmons and McCullough (2003), it may well be promising to conduct intra-indiv idual longitudinal research of the impact of gratitude on an individual’s perception of happiness when experiencing the normal stressors of daily living (Lazarus, 2003). It may also be useful to apply a longitudinal study to examine if the things that make one grateful change across cultures, ages and genders (Diener, 2000; Linley et al. , 2006; Peterson et al. 2007) although it would be highly recommended to avoid using self-selected participants in the study. Conclusion Defining a life well-lived and the factors associated with it is a problem that has defied easy explanation for philosophers and other academics across the ages. Much of the previous research has involved recording self-reporting by participants. Given this and the fact that the very nature of happiness and a life well lived is a subjective experience, it has been argued that a propensity for gratitude impacts on an individual’s ability to view their lives in a positive way, despite individual circums tances.It has also been argued that an attitude of gratefulness has several physical and mental benefits for the individual, although these studies have not yet examined precisely if the factors that make an individual grateful change across cultures and genders. Further research is indicated in this fascinating area, possibly using longitudinal studies to explore how gratitude enables individuals to view adverse circumstances differently over time. References Bauer, J. J. , McAdams, D. P. , & Sakaeda, A. R. (2005). Interpreting the Good Life: Growth Memories in the Lives of Mature, Happy People.Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 88, 203-217. doi:10. 1037/0022-3514. 88. 1. 203 Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34-43. Dunn, D. S. , & Brody, C. (2008). Defining the good life following acquired physical disability. Rehabilitation Psychology, 53(4), 413-425. doi:10. 1037/a00137 49 Emmons, R. A. , & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 84, 377-389. oi:10. 1037/0022-3514. 84. 2. 377 Kristjansson, K. (2010). Positive psychology, happiness, and virtue: The troublesome conceptual issues. Review Of General Psychology, 14(4), 296-310. doi:10. 1037/a0020781 Lazarus, R S. (2003). 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