An Multidisciplinary Art Form Of Experimental Music...

In its current incarnation, the multidisciplinary art form of Experimental Music Theatre is relatively new in the art world. It encompasses a wide range of musical and theatrical forms and styles and is often presented in unconventional venues. Similar to Wagner’s notion of Gesamtkunstwerk, Experimental Music Theatre seeks to integrate all the arts to create one complete art form. For Wagner, this ideal materialized in his Operas, which he labelled music dramas. However, in contrast to Wagner’s dramas, where music, voice, poesy, painting, lighting, costume design, choreography, and more came together to form a grand spectacle, an Experimental Music Theatre work normally â€Å"eschews or subverts scenic illusions, dramatic representation, role playing, and fictional time.† There are no plots or roles to play; the musicians and actors are themselves, there and then, creating the artwork in the moment thus blurring the lines between Life and artistic expression; a concept not new in the art world. Nontraditional music theatre has rarely attracted the volume of attention that Opera or Broadway musicals have achieved. Perhaps because it has no traditional form, no set parameters to construct or convey an artistic idea. It embraces and makes use of all forms and styles of music, theatre, and media. This broad spectrum of available techniques, methods, styles, forms, technologies, etc., has created endless possibilities by which to create and perform art. Though the term ExperimentalShow MoreRelatedContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 PagesPress 2006 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scopeRead MoreMonsanto: Better Living Through Genetic Engineering96204 Words   |  385 PagesFaucet: Global entrepreneurship in an emerging market C A S E T W O DaimlerChrysler: Corporate governance dynamics in a global company C A S E T H R E E Gunns and the greens: Governance issues in Tasmania C A S E F O U R Succeeding in the Sydney indie music industry C A S E F I V E Nuc or in 2005 C A S E S I X News Corp in 2005: Consolidating the DirecTV acquisition C A S E S E V E N Shanghai Volkswagen: Implementing project management in the electrical engineering division C A S E E I G H T TelevisionRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagestheory matters. I felt in good hands here, confident that I was being offered a deeply informed, reliable and intelligently constructed account. The opening chapter carefully and helpfully explains terms, including ‘theory’ and ‘epistemology’ that can form an unexplored bedrock to texts in the field. It then offers thoughtful, scholarly and well-illustrated discussions of prominent theoretical perspective, including managerialism and postmodernity, supported by specified learning outcomes and guides

The Beachfront Plain Is Undulating With Heights Somewhere...

Study area The beachfront plain is undulating with heights somewhere around zero and 600m above ocean level. The hinterland is portrayed by a moving low level. Transformative rocks constitute this level while the seaside plain is made out of sedimentary arrangements and outcrops of changeable rocks. Mean yearly precipitation is around 3000mm in Kribi. In the same station the mean yearly temperature is 260c. The vegetation is central timberland. The central atmosphere is described by exchanging dry and wet period. The zone has an area surface territory of 11.280km2 with a populace of around 30.000 tenants in view of a projection of the 1986 National Population Census (Okolo Etekpe, n.d.). The indigenous tribes are overwhelmingly seekers, agriculturists, and anglers who rely on upon the common habitat for their survival. This timberland harbors pigmies whose livelihoods are exclusively subject to rummaging and chasing. There are three urban focuses and a few little towns in the zone. There was a n uncontrolled inundation of individuals looking for development occupations or seeking to give administrations to the vagrant work constrain around the pipeline course and at the Kribi Port. This flood of to a great extent male occupation seekers prompted genuine social disturbance of urban and town groups (Grimes, 2005). The pipeline undertaking crosses the South Western piece of Cameroon which is a zone possessed by the Bakola Pygmies. As per the World Bank, the Pygmies are

Know Your Competitors Free Essays

Know Your Competitor A healthy competition among fellow people is always good for improvement in every field. Especially, a businessman needs to be aware of his competitors and the steps they are taking to draw more and more clients. There are a lot of ways, got with the help of advanced technologies, which can be used for acquiring enough data related to the market: Track the Ad: To track the advertising websites and the keywords used there by the competitors you need monitoring tools like Adbeat, AdGooroo, MixRank, Moat, SocialAdNinJa, WhatRunsWhere – any one of these. We will write a custom essay sample on Know Your Competitors or any similar topic only for you Order Now With the help of Adbeat, you can know about the strategies of the advertisements the competitors are using, many unknown fellow competitors and their advertising agenda. Even there is a 30-day free trial available. While with AdGooroo, the page-ranks and page views are available on a giant Display board. It includes SEM Insight Tool that helps to know the keywords, competitive intelligence, PPC and SEO related information. In MixRank the mixture of ll types ads companies are using are available like display ads, text ads, demographics etc. If you put the speculative competitor’s brand mane in the free search tool of Moat, the search bar will produce some results on your screen showing the top ads they are using recently. Tracing the Keywords: Tracing the keywords is equally necessary to know about the recent trend of the market, what are the keywords that are attracting more page views and what are keeping rage ranks in the static position. For discovering avourable keywords, KeywordSpy, KeywordCompetitor, iSpionage, SEMrush, SpyFu and The Search Monitor are always helpful. All of them are used more or less for the same purpose, but the difference lies in the use of advanced technology. Researching on Backlinks: You can even check the backlinks by pasting the URL links, know about the present and historical records, IPs, top pages, anchor texts etc from Ahrefs, Majestic Site Explorer, and Open Site Explorer etc. Checking Web Ranking: Get a detailed graphic picture of the targeted audience and nteractive clients of your competitor from Alexa, Compete, SimilarWeb which is famous for tracking web traffic along with many other important data. Social Media: It is really tiring and time consuming to go to the same website regularly to know about the competitor’s next step. Google Alert, Social Mention, Talkwater, Topsy and Twitter – there are many options for monitoring the social media spaces of the competitors. Social media is a space with optimized potentiality and from Fan Page Karma, Twitter, How to cite Know Your Competitors, Papers

Nursing Quiz for Mental Health Subject -myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theNursing Quiz for Mental Health Subject. Answer: It is true that one to one mental health nursing care applied to identified clients is among the most successful intervention for preventing depressed, vulnerable clients from taking their own lives. Bulechek, (2012) emphasizes that associating closely with the patients, knowing where they are, and safety checking after every fifteen minutes among other activities such as staying with them till medication is over, helps in preventing them from committing suicide. Constant observation often prevents the patient from further indulging in detrimental activities such as drug abuse and thus suicide. This is due to the fact that highly depressed and vulnerable individuals often turn to drugs in attempt to alleviate their emotions which Bulechek argues that might subject them into severer repercussions such as attempted suicide. It is true that discussing suicide will not make the person more likely to attempt the crime. Asking somebody whether he or she is suicidal provokes their minds to come up with ideas they lacked before concerning the act. At this juncture, they will be more honest and comforted when interrogated about their emotional states and intentions. Thus talking about suicide with suicidal people may be the initial step in assisting them to opt to live. (Pope Vasquez, 2010) point out that most suicidal clients tend to acknowledge their feelings once questioned directly. They normally find an approach of expressing their emotions to their counterparts- mostly through speaking about their intents. It is at this point experts may find a way to convince them otherwise and hence choose to live. Bibliography Bulechek, G. M. (2012). Nursing interventions classification (NIC). St. Louis, Mo. ; London: Mosby. Pope, K. S., Vasquez, M. J. (2010). Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling : A Practical Guide. Hoboken : Wiley.

Ethiopian Culture Research Paper Essay Example

Ethiopian Culture Research Paper Essay Ethiopian culture is the set of cultures of various peoples of Ethiopia. Among many traditional customs, compliance is especially important, including respect to elders. It customary for Ethiopian culture, when some one rises from his seat or bed to offer it to a friend or an older family member, even if there he is only a year older. The educational system in Ethiopia has been historically dominated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for several centuries, until 1900 when a secular education system was adopted. However, until the 1974 revolution, members of the essentially Christian aristocracy and those of Amhara origin occupied a privileged position. Languages other than Amharic were absent, the teaching Afaan oromo, for example, was not practiced. The education system now includes a process of regionalization increased with a significant proportion of the budget allocated to the education. The school curriculum in Ethiopia consists generally of six years of primary school, four years of secondary school and two years of higher secondary course. We will write a custom essay sample on Ethiopian Culture Research Paper specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Ethiopian Culture Research Paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Ethiopian Culture Research Paper specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Due to the existence of the Ge’ez writing system, Ethiopia maintains a very ancient literary tradition dating back to the Aksumite epoce. Ancient literature dominated by religious teaching is essentially moral in its content. Dominant ancient Ethiopian literature genres are the Chronicles, the hagiographies, hymns, sermons, and the legendes. The medium of literary expression is the so-called Ge’ez, the liturgical language of the Church. Ethiopian literature is heavily influenced by the Orthodox Christian religion. However, a Muslim literature developed during the 16th century; there also are specific books about the Jews of Ethiopia, including Te’ezaza Sanbat (order of the Sabbath). A large number of religions are traditionally used in Ethiopia, the most widespread being today Christianity which is the majority religion of more than 61% of the population, Islam is practiced by a third of the population and animism as well as various tribal religions. The Ethiopian written philosophy extends over twelve centuries of literary production. The first period of literary translation was dominated by the Fisalgwos (â€Å"the physiologist†) and bia’afa Mikael (â€Å"the book of the philosophers†). Claude Sumner studies helped to show that this period consists not of a simple translation of the texts of Greek origin or Egyptian, but is characterized by a considerable enrichment both in style and content. Finally, in the second period, we can distinguish typically Ethiopian works, including life and maxims of Skendes, and certainly the most important, the Treaty of Zera Yacob (Hatata), as well as the Treaty of his disciple Walda Heymat. In his treatise written in the 17th century, Zara Yaqob develops a rational philosophy, by adopting a critical positioning necessary to appeal to reason above all. Ethiopian music is extremely diverse, with each people of Ethiopia developing its own sound. Some forms of traditional music are strongly influenced by folk music from other parts of the Horn of Africa, particularly Somalia. The influence of Christianity can also be felt in Egyptian music. Use free sample research papers on Ethiopian culture to learn more on the topic.

Energy Resources essays

Energy Resources essays For this paper, I am going to explain different geological energy resources. Along with the different types of resources, you will learn about what they are made of and how they are used. One can divide the energy resources of the world into two divisions: Renewable and Non-renewable. Renewable resources include chemical and nuclear energy, while non-renewable resources are solar, hydro, wind, and geothermal. (See Table 1 in the Appendix to see the worlds usage.) Although working with a group was recommended for this research paper, I found out all the information by myself. Because the internet is often unreliable, all of my information is gathered from the Fremont Main Library. I checked out books four weeks before the paper was due and spent the first two weeks getting information and making notes of what I read. Moreover, as previously learned in high school, I used index cards to make note cards. With the note cards, I organized them by types of energy, so when writing, all the information I had would be in order. When the time came to write the paper, I found Microsoft Word easiest to use. Most of our energy comes from non-renewable resources. However, chemical and nuclear energy is being used faster than it can be replaced. Chemical energy consists of all the energy bound up in fossil fuels and biomass, and it supplies over 90% of the current US energy needs. Commonly used fossil fuels are oil, natural gas, and coal. Oil is made of a mixture of hydrocarbons, which consist of carbon and hydrogen atoms. It is found underground between folds of rock and in areas of rock that are porous and contain the oils within the rock itself. Nearly 45% of a typical barrel of oil is refined into gasoline. An additional 45% is transformed into other fuels such as propane, jet fuel, diesel fuel, home-heating oil, and heavy fuel oils for industries, ships, and electric power plants. The remaining 10% is used to make p...

Southwest Airlines Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Southwest Airlines - Case Study Example Some actions required for Southwest Airline during that period were decreasing income, market share, intensifying competition, and degrading operational effectiveness. Reason In 1978, after deregulation of Airline industry in U.S. the entire airline industry become too competitive as many of the privet companies tried to grab the market share by expanding their coverage and by reducing the service price significantly. In the mean time, Shuttle by United becomes the biggest threat for Southwest Airlines. In fact, Shuttle by United competed with Southwest Airline by matching the latter’s price and services. However, suddenly United BY Shuttle decided to incorporate two major changes that left the management of Southwest airline in state of confusion. Firstly, it discontinued its services from the most wanted markets i.e. California, Oakland-Ontario. Secondly, it also increased first class coach fare by $10. State objectives To respond against intensifying competitive forces spec ifically, rivalry among the market players likes Shuttle by United. To increase the revenue through an effective promotional and pricing strategies To expand the services coverage in the most profitable market areas. To enhance the operational performance in comparison to market leaders. Market Research After the deregulation U.S. airline industry, the entire market became highly attractive and degree of competition also increased significantly. By 1994, the U.S. airline markets turned into giant sectors as all types of carriers including major, national regional was accounted more than 2 billion annual revenue per year. The big five companies excluding Southwest Airline held more than 80% market share. One the hand, with increasing completion, the industry operating performance kept enhancing. Comparing to 1974, in 1994, there had been significant growth in revenue passengers-miles, available seat-miles, load factors etc. Since, 1990 till 1994, Southwest Airlines was the best perfo rmer as it significantly enhanced its operating performance and income. Market Segmentation Southwest along with Shuttle by United used to compete directly in same markets mainly, in California regions. The news of United’s withdrawal from a major route i.e. Oakland-Ontario might indicate that low fare strategy negatively impacted operational performance and United tried to avoid such situation. However, it kept focusing on California market. Therefore, this markets was also the best suited for Southwest airline. Southwest Airline also did not offer its services in many markets of California like in San Francisco. This would have a highly profitable. Southwest Airline did not compete with Shuttle by United on basis of fare classes like first class, business and economy class. By focusing on fare classes it was possible to specify and define customers’ marker segment. Price During that period, the competition in Airline industry was also based on pricing strategy. South west Airlines started to focus on low fare pricing strategy and it emphasized on its discounting offers. Southwest airline found difficult to compete with Shuttled by United. However, in order to compete with the key rival, Southwest reduced its fare price causing diminishing yield factor. Promotion Southwest mainly focused on creative marketing and promotional activities was meant to create brand differentiation. The prime agenda for

The Intelligence Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Intelligence Cycle - Essay Example It involves "Drawing up specific collection requirements, and.finished intelligence which supports policy decisions" (FAS "The Intelligence Cycle").This is the same standard of prioritizing which is applied to many other government bodies. Each year, there is an annual assessment and analysis of these priorities. This is otherwise called the intelligence 'Process'; the beginning is a threat assessment, which suggests sources of collection, the next stage. In this planning stage, these is an assessment of the balance between respect for others rights, and the need for the investigation. In short, Planning and Direction are involved in the beginnings and the endings of the process of intelligence gathering. The end results of the gathering for this section may also cause the beginnings of the another Intelligence cycle. relationships" (FBI "The Intelligence Cycle"). These sources do not need to be discovered by wire-tapping, or surveillance, but may be obtained through what are known as 'open sources' - the internet is one famous example of an open source being used in an intelligence investigation. Not all gatherers are direct security operatives - in Canada, for example, some of them are "Security Liasion Officers (SLOs) posted at Canadian diplomatic" (CSIS "Security Intelligence Cycle"), as well as public, agents from other Security Services. Collection is the term for basic information provided by Security services of a government agent. Processing Processing is the method by which the basic information collected in the last part of the cycle is converted into useful information there are a number of methods "Decryption, language translations, and data reduction" (FBI "The Intelligence Cycle") As well as processing this data, rather like rolling pasty, the analyst will input the data into computer networks, databases, and other areas where this information can be used. Processing whittles the information into useful pieces, which are then inserted into databases to be analysed. Analysis The information which has been collected and processed is now studied by intelligence experts, and then is used to prepare a report based around the information. This process is seen by the FBI as "Integrating, evaluating, and analyzing available data" (FBI "The Intelligence Cycle"). This information in integrated, and the experts decide whether the information is worth anything, and connecting the dots by tying up different pieces of processed information, and drawing conclusions. Analysis involves creating reports and threat assessments. Dissemination The information, now gathered, processed and analyzed, is sent out to other agencies, and also to intelligence operatives. "The FBI disseminates information in three standard formats: Intelligence information Reports (IIRs), FBI Intelligence Bulletines, and FBI Intelligence Assessments" (FBI "The Intelligence Cycle"). The reports which have been created are sent out, both internally, and externally, to the media and to the public. Other bodies use these reports to establish the safety of the public,

Teenage Cosmetic Surgery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Teenage Cosmetic Surgery - Essay Example Branded clothes have firmed their place in the wardrobes of the teens. Apart from that, many teenager girls develop anorexia, a condition, which was earlier attributed to models, and actors who were in their mid twenties. In addition, the self-consciousness has elevated to such a high level that many teenagers indulge in cosmetic surgery at a very young age to enhance their looks. According to Quart, the rate of cosmetic surgery rate has increased from 1% to 3% of the total 4.6 million surgeries during the period of 2001 to 2003. In this study, the attempt is to explore the various aspects of cosmetic surgery among teenagers and how it has affected their lives. Consumerism and Teenage Cosmetic Surgery Consumerism does not always correspond to physical goods, but it propagates itself through other notions too. For example, the television programs, which show teenage prodigies in music and movies looking glamorous, teenage magazines, that show girls with a great body clad in skimpy clo thes, advertisements that appeal to teenagers with young girls and boys who have the perfect smile, nose, face and body (Quart, 2003). These tendencies send out a message showing that these are the elements that would make the popular among their own group and among the opposite sex. This phenomenon applies to teenage boys as well, as they want to look as masculine as possible at the earliest. While the boys resort to excessive gym sessions, protein shakes and steroids, the teenage girls typically take the route of cosmetic surgery. For teenagers and adolescents, the two major cosmetic procedures, liposuction as well as breast enhancement are gaining immense popularity. In 2003, around 223, 000 cosmetic surgeries were performed on teenagers and out of that, around 39,000 were enhancement procedures such as breast enhancement, silicone implants, tummy tucks and nose reshaping (American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2003). Hence, it is necessary to take a detailed look, under stand and evaluate the circumstances in which cosmetic surgery is appropriate and can be recommended to teenagers. While, there is very less research on this topic, it is necessary to explore it, in light of increasing number of surgeries. Cosmetic Reconstructive Surgery – When is it recommended? It goes without doubt that reconstructive surgery is a great boon for many teenagers as well as preteens. The surgeries that are conducted to correct conditions like cleft lips or palates can be classified under those. In addition, surgery to remove big warts or moles on the face that mar the appearance is also popular. These procedures are necessary because they help the teenagers and the children lead a normal life and prevent them from being objects of ridicule. Hence, removal of these conditions can help the teenagers get rid of any psychological negative effects because of the deformity. However, with the advent of showbiz world and television programs, it has become very challe nging to define what constitutes a ‘normal’ physical appearance and when the desire to look stylish and noteworthy takes dominance in such a way that they consider opting for surgery. The definition of this ‘normal’ appearance has various facets as the teenage girls become increasingly conscious if the nose is slightly small or if the breasts are not as large as of their favourite teen diva. Cosmetic surgery and Teenagers The biggest concern with regard to teenagers and plastic surgery is that the body is not fully

Culture As Eldridge And Crombie Commerce Essay

Culture As Eldridge And Crombie Commerce Essay Culture, as Eldridge and Crombie (1974, cited in Burnes, 1996, p.112) stated, refers to the unique configuration of norms, values, beliefs, ways of behaving and so on, that characterize the manner in which groups and individuals combine to get things done. Every organization has its own unique culture even though they may not have tried to change, manage or manipulate it. Rather it will have been probably changed, managed or manipulated , based on the values of the top management or core people who build and/or direct that organization. Over time individuals (particularly the organizations leaders) attempt to change, manage or manipulate the culture of their organizations to fit their own preferences or changing marketplace conditions.Then this culture influences the decision-making processes, it affects styles of management and what everyone determines as success. When an organization is created, it becomes its own world and its culture becomes the foundation on which the organization will exist in the world. In the past decade, more and more companies have attempted to make significant changes in the way that they manage their businesses. In a world where rapid change has become the norm, a variety of forces have driven organizations to undertake task of changing their culture (Heifetz Hagberg, 2003). 1.1 Definition of Organizational Culture: There is no single definition for organizational culture. A variety of perspectives ranging from disciplines such as anthropology and sociology. Some of the definitions are listed below: Organizational culture is a series of understandings about action that is organized, and find expression in language whose nuances are special to the group (Becker and Geer 1960, cited in Michelson, 1996, p.16 ). Organizational culture is a series of understandings and meanings shared by peoples that are relevant to special group which are passed on to new members, and are tacit among members (Louis 1980, cited in Michelson, 1996, p.16). Organizational culture is a system of knowledge and standards for believing, evaluating and understanding etc that serve to environmental backgrounds (Allaire and Firsirotu 1984, cited in Michelson, 1996, p.16). Basic assumptions and beliefs have deeper level that are: learned responses to internal integrations problems and survivals problems in groups external environment; are shared by members of an organization; that operate unaware; and that define in a basic taken -for-granted mode in an organizations view of itself and its environment (Schein 1988, cited in Michelson, 1996, p.16 ). 2.0 CHANGING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: All the organizations culture isnt static: because the internal and external factors influence culture change, so culture will change. According to Burnes(1991, cited in Burnes, 1996, p.115): assumed that culture is locked into personal values, beliefs and norms of organization, because these conceptions change is difficult. This type of organic culture will be slow if there isnt major shock to the organization. Its a big problem whether organizational culture can be changed or not. In the following, this problem will be discussed: analyzing whether culture can be changed, and if it does, in what way. 2.1 Culture can be Changed: Many people take a more considered view while sharing the belief that culture can be changed. Schein(1985,cited in Burnes, 1996, p.117) who is one of the more influential, believed that before any attempt is made to change an organizations culture, it is first necessary to understand the nature of its existing culture and how this is sustained. He argued that it can be achieved by: For new members, analyzing the process of employment and induction; Analyzing responses to critical events which are often translated into unwritten in history of organization. But rules of behavior are still very strong. Beliefs, values and assumptions of guardians and promoters of organizations culture are analyzed; Paying especial attention to puzzling characteristics which have been observed. Scheins approach is to treat culture as an adaptive and tangible learning process, and emphasizes the way in which an organization communicates its culture to new members. For a variety of reasons, organizations may find that their existing culture is unsuitable or even harmful to their competitive needs. In such a situation, many organizations have decided to change their culture. After a survey carried out in 1988 by Dobson (1988, cited in Burnes, 1996, p.116), Dobson states that these organizations sought to change culture by shaping the beliefs, values and attitudes of employees. Dobson identified a four-step approach to culture change based on these companies actions: Step 1 To change the composition of workforce, organization can change policies of recruitment, selection and redundancy so that prospects of promotion and employment are dependent on those controlling and displaying the beliefs and values that organization wishes to promote. Step 2 Organization may reorganize the workforce in order to make employees and managers who display the required traits to occupy positions of influence . Step 3 Organization can effectively communicate the new values by using a variety of methods such as one-to-one interviews, briefing groups, quality circles, house journals, etc. Step 4 Organization can change systems and procedures that related with rewards and evaluations. Many peoples advocating culture change adopt a similar approach. Some of these underestimate the difficulty involved in changing culture. For example, Egan(1994, cited in Burnes, 1996, p.117) took just four pages to show how organizations could quickly, and with apparent ease, identify and change their cultures. Gordon et al.(1985, cited in Burnes, 1996, p.117) conclude that : this type of generic approach to culture has been criticized as being too simplistic, and putting forward recommendations which are far too general to be of use to individual organizations. Schwartz and Davis (1981, cited in Burnes, 1996, p.118) suggest that: it should compare the strategic significance(importance to the organizations future) of the change with the cultural resistance when an organization is considering any form of change. They term this the cultural risk approach. They argue, it is possible for an organization to decide with a degree of certainty whether to ignore the culture, manage round it, attempt to change the culture to fit the strategy, or change the strategy to fit the culture. Though Schein (19841985, cited in Burnes,1996, p.118) believes that culture can be changed, he also argues that there is a negative side to creating a strong and cohesive organizational culture. Shared values make organizations resistant to certain types of change or strategic options regardless of their merit. Although many peoples believes the advisability of culture change and strong cultures in some situation, and someone question this , there are also people who believe that culture can not be changed or managed at all. Meek (1982, cited in Burnes,1996, p.119) commented that: culture as a whole can not be manipulated, turned on or off, although it needs to be recognized that some [organizations] are in a better position than others to intentionally influence aspects of ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ culture should be regarded as something an organization is, not something it has: it is not an independent variable nor can it be created, discovered or destroyed by the whims of management. Filby and Willmott(1988, cited in Burnes, 1996,p.119) also questioned the notion that management has the capacity to control culture. They point out that this ignores the way in which an individuals values and beliefs are conditioned by experience of exposure to the media, social activities, and previous occupationa l activities. A further factor against the feasibility of managing/changing culture is the ethical dimension. Van Maanen and Kunda(1989,cited in Burnes,1996, p.120) argued that: managers attempt to control what employees feel and what they say or do behind the interest in culture. Their argument is: culture is a mechanism for training emotion that is a method of guiding the way people are expected to feel. It can be conceived that they attempt to change culture. Cooper (1998) conclude three views relevant whether culture can be changed : Root Metaphor: If peoples believe that culture is a root metaphor, they believe that there is no instant means about changing a culture which will be developed and which is passed on from generation to generation of the workforce. Cultural change will happen only through the hundreds of forces acting between all the actors, but slowly. It cannot be pre-determined. External and independent variable : If peoples believes that culture is an external and independent variable, they believe that there is little one can do to change a culture in the face of external social behaviours, values and beliefs that employees bring into the work place. Internal variable: If peoples believe that culture is an internal variable, they believe that the culture can be directed and changed. However some focus on the more visible symbols and artifacts, many on peoples behavioral patterns, and others on peoples underlying behavior norms, values, and beliefs. 2.2 How to Change Culture: There are many solutions to changing culture, some prescriptive (directive) others more philosophical (enabling) (Cooper,1998). The need for a change in culture is invariably precipitated by some significant, even critical, external environmental change. 2.2.1 Management Directed : Culture change through the actions and behavior of leaders rather than a process they prescribe a set of actions to create an environment. Peters and Austin (1985,cited in Cooper,1998) equates business and leadership with show business and thus the need to create the right atmosphere. So they advocate shaping values, symbolizing attention even to the point of saying it is the opposite of professional management . Drama can be just for impact and creating stories that get told time and time again, such as the when the founder of McDonalds ordered all managers chair backs to be sawn off so they would be more inclined to get out and meet the customer. Consensus building based on sharing: developing high-trust between individuals; allow time for people to change; to set the direction but allow the employees to work out the details, more direct intervention, provide the training to develop the new skills needed. Within atomized organization, managers will be both the bearers of culture as well as its promoters. 2.2.2 Management Enabled: According to Schein(1985, cited in Cooper,1998):organization need leadership to help the group learn new assumptions and unlearn some of its cultural assumptions when culture becomes dysfunctional. Leaders encourage groups to undergo group cue. The aim is to surface the unconscious assumptions and values of the group as a prelude to changing them to meet the needs of a new environment. Schein had process models: General Evolutionary Process [this is change from within a group that is natural and inevitable and passes through predictable stages]. Adaptation, Learning, or Specific Evolutionary Process [here the environment causes responses by which the group learns and adapts]. Revolutionary Process [in this power is a key variable]. Managed Process [here there is a focus on what can and cannot be changed].         Schein proposes that leaders are responsible for which model to adopt and for ensuring the group knows and agrees which model it is using. Burnes (1996) conclude: If organizational culture lack clear fuidelines, managers must make themselves to choice based on their own circumstances and perceived options as to whether to attempt to change their organizations culture. If organization lacks strong or suitable cultures which bind their members together in a common purpose and legitimate and guide decision-making, managers may find it difficult either to agree among themselves or to gain agreement from others in the organization. 3.0 MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Cultures are hardly planned or predictable; they are the natural products of social interaction and develop and emerge over time. Someone believes that cultures can be shaped to suit strategic ends. Even if cultures can be managed is this necessarily a good thing? This is the tendency for culture to be promoted as a device for increasing organizational effectiveness. Culture spans the range of management thinking. Organizational culture has been one of the most enduring buzzwords of popular management. Why? Perhaps most importantly culture penetrates to the essence of an organization it almost analogous with the concept of personality in relation to the individual and this acute sense of what an organization is its mission, core values seems to have become a necessary asset of the modern company. There is the contentious question of whether or not organizational culture can be managed or not. While there may be no definitive answer to the question. According to Bate (1994,cited in Willcoxson Millett, 2000, p.97): there exist two basic approaches to culture and strategy: conforming (maintaining order and continuity) and transforming (changing and breaking existing patterns). The effectiveness of the chosen approach to organizational culture and strategy at any given time is dependent on contextual factors that relate to both the internal and the external environment. Thus, context determines a culture needs to be maintained or changed, but the strategies adopted are very much determined by the perspective subscribed to by the manager or change agent. In dealing with the management of organisational culture, it is firstly necessary to identify as fully as possible the attributes of the existing or new target culture the myths, symbols, rituals, values and assumptions that underpin the culture. Allen et al.(1985, cited in Willcoxson Millett, 2000, p.97) concluded that: action can be instigated in any of several key points of leverage: recruitment, selection and replacement -organization ensure that oppointments strength the existing cultures or support a culture change, that can affect culture management. Organization can change the culture by using removal and replacement; socialization -which is especially critical in fragmented organisational cultures. An existing or new culture can be provided by induction and subsequent development and training for acculturation and for improved interpersonal communication and teamwork; performance management/reward systems -organization can highlight and encourage desired behaviors which may (or may not) in turn lead to changed values through using performance management/reward systems. leadership and modelling executives, managers, supervisors can reinforce or assist in the overturning of existing myths, symbols, behaviour and values, and demonstrates the universality and integrity of vision, mission or value statements; participation it is essential that participation of all organization members in cultural reconstruction or maintenance activities and associated input, decision making and development activities if long-term change is to be achieved in values, not just behaviors. interpersonal communication an existing organizational culture can be supported much by satisfying interpersonal relationships. Satisfying interpersonal relationships integrate members into a culture; effective teamwork supports either change or development in and communication of culture; structures, policies, procedures and allocation of resources need to be congruent with organizational strategy and culture and objectives. The above constitute a number of many strategies and leverage points that can be used in organizations to manage an organization in terms of its overall culture. The management of culture is based on a understanding of the tacit and explicit aspects that make-up the existing culture. 4.0 MANIPULATING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: Culture determines what a group pays attention to and monitors in the external environment and how it responds to this environment. Thus, as Bate (1994, cited in Willcoxson Millett, 2000 ) notes, for those who take an anthropological stance, organisational culture and organizational strategy are inextricably linked and dependent each other. Culture is not a separable aspect of an organisation, it is not readily manipulated, and it is not created or maintained primarily by leaders. For the peoples who called as scientific rationalists, organisational culture is one aspect of the component parts of an organisation, a aspect that can be measured, manipulated and changed as organisational variables such as skills, strategy, structure, systems, style and staff. Organisational culture is primarily a set of values and beliefs that articulated by leaders to guide the organisation, translated by managers and employees into appropriate behaviours and reinforced through rewards and sanctions. Scientific rationalist peoples thus tend to talk about culture as if it is a definable thing the culture of the organisation; the organisation has a service culture and their strategies for change focus on modular, design-and-build activity often related to structures, procedures and rewards. 5.0 CONCLUSIONS: Organizational cultures are created or changed by people. In part, an organizations culture is also created and cahnged by the organizations leadership. Leaders at the executive level are the principle source for the generation and re-infusion of an organizations ideology. What constitutes organisational culture and its perceived role in organisational are argued, resting on perceptions of culture either as a historically-based, change-resistant, deep social system which underpins all organisational strategy and action, or as just one aspect of the total organisational system, manipulable though surface structures such as rewards. The model adopted will determine which of the key points of leverage are deemed most likely to achieve the desired outcome of cultural maintenance or change. The perspective adopted will determine the focus of cultural change, development or maintenance activities. There are no definitive answers to questions about whether culture can be changed, managed an d manipulated or not. There are different views about this question. The view of yours based on your knowledge, experience about organizational culture. Although there are no definitive answer to question, you can conclude a answer which fit your view through analyzing of this paper.

Business Analysis of 20th Century Insurance Essay -- Insurance Compani

Business Analysis of 20th Century Insurance Table of Contents History, Position, Targeted Market, Goals  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 3 Northridge Earthquake, Crisis  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 4 Comeback Kid, Results of PR Campaign  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 6 Developing a Crisis Plan,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 7 Crisis Team, Milestones for Communication  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 8 Issues  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 9 Plan Approval, Anticipated competitive responses  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 11 Recommended press release  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 14 References  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 15 Appendix A  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 16 History 20th Century Insurance was established in 1958 and was the first company of its kind to sell automobile insurance without a middleman, known in the industry as a broker or agent. This direct sales approach allowed 20th to offer insurance at a much lower premium than its competitors. To date, 20th Century Insurance is still recognized as one of the most economical full service automobile insurers in the California market. Position In terms of market share, 20th Century is the fifth-largest car insurer in the state. The company's credit rating was recently upgraded from a B- to BBB+ and its stock is being traded around $21.50. 20th Century is also among the Valley's (headquarters office location) largest firms in both market capitalization and employees. The company currently employs in over 2,000 people. Targeted market For the first 30 years of the company's existence it enjoyed huge profits from selling only automobile insurance. These large profits were achieved, due in part, to its targeted market which are generally people in the age range of 30-60 who are classified as a low risk "good drivers". The company's structure of selling insurance directly to the customer while providing excellent customer service is also a driving force to its success.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1982 the company began offering homeowner's insurance and this venture also proved to be financially successful for the company. The vast majority of the homes insured by 20th Century are located in the Valley cites and at one time the homeowner's insurance made up about 10% of the company's business, however, to date it onl... ... business.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   References   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gross, A. (1998). Catastrophe planning: An essential part of comprehensive risk management. Insurance Advocate Kamer, L. (1997). Crisis planning's most important implement: The Drill. Communication World Littlejohn, F. Robert (1983). Crisis Management a Team Approach New York: AMA Management Briefing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Newsom, D., Turk-Vanslyke, J., & Druckeberg, D. (1996). This is PR: The realities of public relations 6ed. United States: Wadsworth Publishing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sanders, E. (1994). Some hard lessons in survival: Insurer faces own problems during quake. Daily News Schnaible, R. (1994) 20th Century Times: Earthquake!, January Shinkman, R. (1996) 20th Century bounces back to solid profitability:Insurer's 1996 net income may hit $100 million., Los Angeles Business Journal April 29-May 5   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sparks, D. (1995) On the Road Again. Financial World, December 5 Stavro, B. (1995) 20th Century on the Rebound After Settling Quake Claims. Los Angles Times September 12 Sullivan, B.(1999) Daily News: Comeback for 20th Century Insurance, January 13 Yoshitake, D. 20th Century puts quake trials behind. Daily News   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Psychology and Emotions Essay

Famous Film Critic Roger Ebert has said â€Å"Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.†. Honorable members of the jury, respected teachers and my dear friends †¦A very pleasant good morning to one and all! Today I stand before you to speak for the motion on the topic â€Å"MAN IS A BUNDLE OF EMOTIONS†. Emotion is one of the most controversial topics in psychology. Love and hatred, joy and sorrow, sympathy and jealousy, disappointments and fulfillments always tear and toss him. His entire life moves around these emotions. He can ruminate on the past and can plunge into the future. Man is never satisfied with what he has. The more he has the more he wants. In simple words He is full of ambitions. It can be proudly proclaimed that we human beings are nothing but a bundle of emotions. Emotions represent us, shape us, make us and even have the capacity to break us. Emotions serve as a sophisticated system of internal guidance that can help us survive, develop and successfully compete. Emotions help us in making decisions as our feelings help us to make choices , help us in predicting and understanding behavioral responses in self and in others , facilitate in opening channels of communication, and enhance our capacity for relating to and connecting with each other . If emotions are so important then isn’t it natural that we should be the in the driver’s seat controlling and managing emotions, rather than letting them hijack our intellect, values and thinking. We should rule over our emotions rather than allowing our emotions to rule over us. I find it rather hilarious that importance of emotion is often neglected on the false pretext that man is a rational being. As the tumult of emotions unfolds within our bodies, intelligence is often forced to take a back seat. In the light of potency and power that emotions have over us is shaping our very own existence, it seems natural to infer that all of us must learn the art of managing our emotions. In the words of Rainer Maria â€Å" All those emotions are pure which gather you and lift you up; whereas those emotions are impure which seizes only one side of your being and so distorts you. If you hold back on the emotions–if you don’t allow yourself to go all the way through them–you can never get to being detached, you’re too busy being afraid. You’re afraid of the pain, you’re afraid of the grief. You’re afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails. But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your heard even, you experience them fully and completely. An old proverb says that â€Å"You are what your thoughts are†. In this sense man is a bundle of thoughts, emotions and experiences. Every day we embark on a journey towards the University of World where we come across different people, different experiences and new learning’s. Every person acts as a teacher, only if we are ready to learn. In conclusion I quote Frank Luntz â€Å"Eighty percent of our life is emotion, and only 20 percent is intellect. I am much more interested in how you feel than how you think. I can change how you think, but how you feel is something deeper and stronger, which I won’t be able to interpret†.

Machine Language Essay

1- Machine independent languages The high level programming languages are machine independent, which means they don’t rely on specifications of a particular machine. Brookshear (2012, p.242) indicate that â€Å"Since the statements in a third-generation language did not refer to the attributes of any particular machine, they could be compiled as easily for one machine as for another†. Since machines can understand and execute instructions written in machine language, then a program has to be machine-specific, although the program source code language may be machine-independent, but the compiler target specific machine output. Brookshear (p.243) â€Å"A program written in a third generation language could theoretically be used on any machine simply by applying the appropriate compiler†. The pros of compiling code into machine-specific output is to perform optimizations on the output for the target machine on which the program will run, such optimization won’t be doable if the program is compiled to run on unknown target machine. Machine-independent language may offer optimization in their abstract concepts like structures, objects, loops and conditions, those are machine independent, but the most effective optimizations are those that best exploit special features of the target platform. E.g.: Instructions which do several things at once, such as decrement register and branch if not zero. Wikipedia(2013). 2- Four programming paradigms. Imperative paradigm: is the traditional approach and also known as procedural paradigm. the process of programming is a procedure has one or more actions or commands executed in sequence. the commands or steps are derived by an algorithm in order to produce the desired result. it describes the details of HOW the results are to be obtained, in terms of the underlying machine model. Functional paradigm: functional programming is to do computation by calling or applying functions. each function is an abstract of single or multiple expressions which can be evaluated. Brookshear (p.245) define how functional programming is constructed by having smaller units connected in order so that output of each unit is used as an input in another unit till the desired overall output is obtained. the functional paradigm is simple functions are nested together to build to build main one. As per (Laird ,2009, p.17), The main ideas of functional programming are high-order and pure functions, recursion, evaluation of equations, and pattern matching. Logic paradigm: This paradigm logic based and is different from other main programming paradigms. It’s designed for Artificial intelligence to deal with problems that requires extraction of knowledge and training driven from facts and making use of rules and relations. Nà ¸rmark(2010) highlighted one of its characteristics in program execution becomes a systematic search in a set of facts, making use of a set of inference rules Prolog language is one of the languages that uses logical paradigm. (Laird ,2009), In logic programming, set of facts and rules are analyzed in each step, referred as clauses. Prolog is the widely known language of logic programming. Object Oriented paradigm: Any top language is known by its support of object-oriented programming (OOP). it has gained great popularity in the recent decade. It has 3 main features: Encapsulation: classes are types that are self-contained modules and an instance of the class is an object. Inheritance: Classes could have relationships and organized in hierarchies, inheritance passes the structure and methods in one class down to child classes in the hierarchy. Polymorphism: common types can be presented by using a uniform interface. These features facilitates programming process when programs become larger and complex. Brookshear (p.247) in OOP a software system is represented as a collection of objects,each object is capable of performing actions or requestion actions from others objects. These objects interacts with each other to work out the domain problem. As per (Laird ,2009), All four of the main programming paradigms are useful in their own way, but pure programmg languages of only one paradigm are known to be slightly more limiting. Object-oriented design is currently the most versatile and widely used programming paradigm. 3- Machine language vs. assembly language Assembly Language: is the first step in the evolution of programming languages. (Rajaraman , 1998) â€Å"In an assembly language, mnemonics are used to represent operations to be performed by the computer and strings of characters to represent addresses of locations in the computer’s memory†. There’re one-to-one correspondence between assembly statement and machine code instructions. Thus, assembly language is machine dependent as it’s matched to a particular processor structure. A program written in assembly language has to be translated by an assembler to set of machine code/instructions, thus it can be executed by computer. a disassembler performs reverse function. Machine language: called machine or native code, is the lowest level representation of program. every program is made of a series of instructions executed directly by CPU. Machine language is set of instructions executed directly by CPU. every task has one or more specific instructions. Wikipedia(2013). â€Å"Unfortunately, writing programs in a machine language is a tedious task that often leads to errors that must be located and corrected (a process known as debugging) before the job is finished.† Brookshear (p.240). Although assembly language is low-level language, but is higher level than machine code. It’s more logical and human readable than machine code.

MS Word tips for a great-looking resume

MS Word tips for a great-looking resume No matter how impressive your education and career have been so far, if you can’t find a polished way to put it all down on paper no one will give you a second look. Put it this way: according to TheLadders, recruiters only spend six seconds looking at each resume. If what they see in that flash of time is sloppy, disorganized, and hard to follow, you won’t be contacted any time soon. Your resume is such a crucial document, so why not make it the best it can be? We’ve compiled some basic Microsoft Word tips you can fold into your resume that will help you show off in a way that’s organized and easy to scan.Save and send as a PDF.Not only does saving your resume as a PDF (â€Å"Save As† and then change file type to PDF) increase the security of your document, it ensures that the person reading your resume will see the document exactly as you intend them to- with no risk of their computer or software messing with your carefully chosen formatting. Just make sure to open up your saved PDF and do a quick check to make sure it looks the way you want it to before you send.Get extra space with a header.If you’re having trouble cramming all your information into the one page and everything is squished together, try creating a header and moving your contact information there. Just make sure you match the formatting (font and general style) to the rest of your resume so it looks like a cohesive document.Use bolding and underlines to set sections apart.Set your job titles and section headings apart from the rest of your text by bolding them. This makes it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to skim through your experience. Also, adding a line beneath section headers can increase readability if space is tight.At the same time, take care not to overuse bolding- its purpose is to call attention to key parts of your document. If too much is bolded, the eye doesn’t know where to go and the point is lost. Stick with headings and you’ll be fine.Use bullets with lists.Bullet points are a great way to organize subsections,  such as a list of your relevant skills, in a way that’s easy to skim. Make sure to list the big ticket ones first, as these will be the ones a recruiter or hiring manager will definitely see at a quick glance.Separate text in the same line with bullets.Setting items apart within a single line (say, a list of skills in a summary or headline that stretches across the top of your document) is a polished way to make a list that doesn’t take up a lot of vertical room. Select the space between words, go Insert/Advanced Symbol, then select your desired bullet.Align your dates.Use the spacebar or tab key to move your dates all the way out to cozy up to the right margin, making sure they all align going down the page. This makes your job titles and descriptions look less cluttered.Cheat on line spacing.If you need to free up space and can’t cut any text, try decrea sing the line spacing in sections that can be tightened without becoming hard to read. Highlight the text in question, and then fiddle with the Line Spacing Options in the character spacing tab on your home tab. If it looks silly to you, though, it will look silly to a recruiter. It’s better to cut text than to have a block of small text mashed together that’s impossible to read.

ISIS CAMPAIGN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

ISIS CAMPAIGN - Essay Example is absolute and when such freedom is abused and already poses a threat to national security, such freedom should be regulated to the effect of asking these social media companies not to be used as a medium by ISIS to recruit fighters from the West. To the end of social media companies, following this mandate of the US government is consistent with CRM or Corporate Responsible Management where the company refuses to be used as a tool of evil. Most media outfit no longer air or cover the propaganda materials of ISIS. In fact, ISIS beheading of people and burning of a Jordanian pilot was not aired not only due to its gruesome image but also as a responsible practice of journalism not to be used by terrorist organizations to spread their propaganda messages. Companies must do the same and should contribute to defeating and ending of terrorist organizations that had killed so many people and destroyed so many infrastructures including those important ones such as heritage structures. They should therefore ban any propaganda messages from ISIS in their

Phenomenology and Building seminar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Phenomenology and Building seminar - Essay Example The place where I was born, the place where I grew up, the place which I learnt was called a house, a place that was so much more. It is difficult for me to describe how much this place means to me. It is the place where I took my first steps. Where I laughed and cried and grew up. It is a tangible representation of all my memories. Moving towards the history of my home, the historic value of this house is also very sentimental. When my parents got married they moved into this house. Thirty years ago it was constructed by the housing development in Tehran. However it seems older to me. Looking back at the last time I visited my childhood home I remember it all so clearly. Last year during my winter break as I went to Tehran I decided to go visit the old neighborhood. My cousin dropped me at the mosque near my home and I silently stared at it for a minute listening to the sound of the azaan. I was overcome with emotion because of the beauty of that sound and the way people left what t hey were doing and headed to the mosque to answer the call for prayer. The sound of azaan had always calmed me down and filled me with peace and hope. I had missed it a lot Moving on I walked on the footpath as I had done many times before. Then I was finally there. I was in my old neighborhood. There are so many times in life that we think that we would know how we would feel in a particular situation. Its times like these that we realize for our all knowledge, for all our experiences, for all our perceived understanding of things, how little we really know. I was here after twelve years. We had moved into a new house as I turned sixteen. Everything had changed so much.. I walked down the street and I smell the faint but familiar aroma of xangak and chelo kebab. I smile at the little children riding their bikes and running around. I see their mother’s watching them with such fondness from their driveways. I see so many faces. Strangely I recognize none of them. I see the tre es nearby and so many birds flying in different directions. I see the yellow bridge and it makes me happy as I remember standing on it as a child hoping to catch a fish. At this point Martin Heidegger’s concept of dwelling crosses my mind. I had initially struggled to grasp what he had meant when he had related buildings to dwelling. How he had mentioned the fourfold elements of earth, sky, divinities and mortals as essential for the idea of dwelling. At this point I could see with certain clarity what he had meant. My house was located near a natural environment. It was how I had related to the overall environment, also known as ‘place’ as Christian Norberg-Schulz would call it, and not just a structure of a building in which I spent a majority of my time in. I’m standing outside my house now. It’s a building of modest proportions. It’s a two storey family house built along a minimalist design. The character of which is defined from its semi hanging open terrace, a set of white pillars that start at the base and finish lightly touching the roof top, with huge glass windows and a small courtyard that provides shielding enclosure from the street while maximizing light and views.  I stare at the white residential security gate and I smile as fond memories flood my mind. I see myself struggling to climb over that gate and when tiring from the effort of doing so sitting right at the base with my feet hanging out and waving at people passing by. I can see my

Markerting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Markerting - Essay Example Design/methodology/approach – The scope of the study qualitatively considered university student consumer behavior. The methodology implemented a case study and 100 questionnaires derived from the internet database (survey monkey), as well as 50 questionnaires from campus. The study implements a non-probability, self-selecting sampling technique. The qualitative methodology consisted of interviewing five university students. A semi-structured technique was used. Finding – A number of significant findings were determined. A significant number of university students owned netbook computers and they found the following things significant: battery life, price, product quality, storage memory, Bluetooth, design and elegance. The participants generally had a high knowledge of computer knowledge. They are also brand conscious. There were a few problems detected but most were anticipated in the literature review. The research investigates the university students’ perspectives on netbooks, in order to get the information about the students’ consumer trends regarding netbook products. And to determine the wants and needs university students have for netbook products. Netbook is an extremely lightweight personal computer. Intel introduced the netbook in February 2008 to describe small, low cost, light weight, and lean functioning subnotebooks designed for optimal internet use. PCWORLD (2008) towards the end 2008, netbooks had ultimately become a larger commodity than laptops. Figures estimate that nearly 30 times more netbooks were sold in (11.4 million, 70% of which were in Europe than in 2007 (400,000). For 2009 sales are expected to increase to 35 million, and an estimated 139 million in 2013. This trend is reinforced by the rise of web-based applications as well as mobile networking and, according to Wired Magazine, netbooks have changed into "super-portable laptops for professionals". PCWORLD (2008),

States and Territories of India and Chandigarh Essay Example for Free

States and Territories of India and Chandigarh Essay Chandigarh is a city and union territory in India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as The Fort of Chandi. The name is derived from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, near the city.[3] The city of Chandigarh was the first planned city in India post independence in 1947 (pre-independence planned cities include Dispur in Assam, New Delhi in Delhi, Jaipur in Rajasthan, etc.) and is known internationally for its architecture and urban design. [4] The city has projects designed by architects such as Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Jane Drew, and Maxwell Fry. The city tops the list of Indian States and Union Territories with the highest per capita income in the country at Rs.99,262 at current prices and Rs.70,361 at constant prices (2006–2007).[5] The city was reported in 2010 to be the cleanest in India, based on a national government study,[6] and the territory also headed the list of Indian states and territories according to research conducted using 2005 data by Human Development Index.[7] The Union Territory, Chandigarh lies in the foot of the Shivalik Ranges and shares its capital, Chandigarh city with that of Haryana and Punjab. Chandigarh finds Haryana in the East and Punjab in the North, West and South as its neighbours. After independence and partition of India in 1947, the capital Lahore of Punjab state had fallen in Pakistan and hence a need to construct a new capital was felt. Eventually, French Architect Le Corbusier was selected to design the new city, as a result of which, India saw its first planned city, Chandigarh, that acquired its name from the temple of Chandi (goddess of Shakti) and the adjoining garh (fort) to the temple. This cosmo-politan city, Chandigarh represents the flavour of modern India in its architecture, culture and life style. Well planned wide roads, spacious residential colonies and square markets take you to visit a completely different side of India which is affluent, systematic and serene unlike the metros and big cities of the country. The splendid view of Shivalik Hills guarding the city furtively is what makes Chandigarh even more charming.

Influence of Terror on Pakistan Stock Market Returns

Influence of Terror on Pakistan Stock Market Returns Abstract This paper examines the influence of political instability and terror on Pakistan stock market returns between 1997 and 2010. The study constructs three variables that quantify political instability and terror and examine the effect on country stock return. This study seeks to apply the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model to assess the impact of these variables on stock market returns and volatility using daily time series data for KSE. Results for KSE showed strong support for the hypothesis that bad news exerts more adverse effect on stock market volatility than good news of the same magnitude. Furthermore, terror and regime have significant negative impact while war has positive but insignificant effect on stock market volatility. JEL Classification: O40, C32. Keywords: Terror, Regime, political instability, growth, ARCH/GARCH. Introduction Many people agree that stock prices sometimes behave in bizarre ways. Markets are pretty tough and quite difficult. In the world of todays no one can negate the importance of stock markets. Stock market acts as a barometer for any countrys economy. In todays information-oriented world, news travels very fast and contagion can spread quickly and capital markets become more flexible and are absorb shocks brought on different news such as terrorism, political instability etc. Stock market of Pakistan is going through quite rough patch from many years. The change of political government and later on the terrorists attacks have badly affected the stock market and make the Pakistan Stock Market unreliable place for investment. As by seeing the overall scenario of Pakistans stock market during that time period it was not difficult for prices to follow certain patterns that support the rejection of Random Walk Hypothesis. This paper examines the impact of change in government, war and terror on economic growth in the Pakistan. Pakistan is one of those episodic-democratic countries who are facing continuous upheavals and socio-political disruptions since their inception. Military interventions could be witnessed in the political history of Pakistan. More over intervallic wars with India, strikes, antigovernment demonstrations and most importantly the ongoing war on terror have popped Pakistan to prominence on the socio-political platform. Such sociopolitical flux, terrorist attacks and other disruptions can have serious implications for stock price movement because stock prices reflect investors expectations about the future and these stock price movements on aggregate can generate a surged wave of activity. There has been an extensive work on study of stock market returns and volatility with respect to the fundamental variables and the macroeconomic variables but a diminutive work has been done so far to study the impact of socio-political factors on the stock market volatility in Pakistan. The existing literature on impact of socio-political factors on stock returns volatility is quite inadequate especially if we talk in context of Pakistani market. Masood Sergi (2008) analyzed Pakistans political risks and events that have affected the Pakistani stock market since its independence but their study chiefly covers the political events. Terrorism and strikes which have recently become the matters of intense interest and the source of unrest in the economy are the missing part there. The Karachi stock market is rapidly converting into a volatile market. If we see figure below it showed that there are high volatility during 1997 to 2010. This cannot be viewed as a positive sign for this emerging markets like Stock market of Pakistan. Though heavy fluctuations in stock prices are not an unusual phenomena and it has been observed at almost all big and small exchanges of the world. But focusing on the reasons for such fluctuations is instructive and likely to have important policy implications. The efficient market hypothesis argued that changes in stock prices are mainly dependent on the arrival of information regarding the expected returns from the stock and risk associated with that stock. (See Figure 1.1) So the purpose of our study is to examine empirically the impact of socio-political instability on Pakistani stock market. This study examines the three factors and their impact on the Pakistani stock market; the political instability due to military interventions, 1999 Kargil war, and terrorism. Literature Review A number of theoretical and empirical articles argue that these factors hinder economic growth of a country. Cutler, Poterba and Summers (1989) claimed that the sock prices move in response to the information other than about the fundamental values. They estimate the fraction of stock returns that can be accredited to various kinds of economic and non-economic events including assassinations of important political or national figures, war, invasions, raids and major policy change but their findings suggests a very small effect of non-economic news on the share price. Most of the studies have found a significant impact of political news or events on the stock market behavior. Chan Wei (1996) studied the impact of political news on the stock market volatility in Hong Kong and using GARCH-M model they found the strong evidence of the impact of political news on stock market volatility inferring that unfavorable political news is correlated to negative returns for the Hang Seng Index and vice versa. Mei Guo (1999) examined the impact of political insecurity on the financial crises in emerging markets and they observe that market volatility increased during political election and transition periods and political uncertainty could be a major contributory factor to financial crisis. Similarly Kim Mei (2001) infered through empirical analysis using GARCH(1,1) filter that the political risk affect the stock market volatility but this impact of political events or news is asymmetric, with bad news having a greater influence on volatility relative to good news. However Voth (2001) have argued that the impact of political factors in studies on German market has been over stated. He argued that the majority of events escalating political uncertainty had a minute or no effect on the value of German assets and the volatility of their returns. Instead, it was inflation that is mainly responsible for most of the variability in stock returns. He suggests that there is no direct linkage between the political factors and the stock market, however through channel it impacts. But Voth (2002) in a panel study of a set of 10 countries using panel regression confess that during great depression political risks changed dramatically over the period, and are adequate to account for a large part of the boost in stock price volatility. Beaulieu, Cosset Essaddam (2002) examined the impact of political risk in Canada on the volatility of stock returns, covering important political events in the country. Their study suggested that political news performs a significant role in the volatility of stock returns. Moreover the volatility of stock returns also depends on the degree of how much a firm is exposed to political risk i.e. the structure of its assets and the level to which there is foreign involvement. Kutan Perez (2002)Â  also found a significant impact of social and political factors on stock return volatility in their study conducted on Colombian stock market. Bautista (2003) applied Regime-switching-ARCH regression on Philippine stock returns to estimate its conditional variance and the estimated volatility was then related to major political and economic events. Their study revealed that the Philippine stock market is sensitive to radical changes in the political situation. Moreover the series of military takeover attempts during late 1980s in Philippines lead to hefty fluctuations in stock market index. Masood Sergi (2008) analyzed political risks and events that have affected the Pakistans stock markets since its foundation. They have found that Pakistans political risk carries a significant risk premium of between 7.5% and 12%. They made forecasts using Bayesian hierarchical modeling and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques and found that there is relatively high probability of occurrence of events with an average arrival rate of approximately 1.5 events per year. Many others also wrote that political instability warped the future path of investment decisions (Calvo and Drazen (1997), lessened public investment leading to a shift of government budgets from capital spending to government consumption (Darby, Li and Muscatelli (1998), and makes governments less inclined to make improvements to the legal system (Svensson (1993) Wars and unrest at the borders creates instability and panic among the investors that could affect the stock market movement at large. The affect of war has been analyzed in many studies including Cutler, Poterba and Summers (1989), Aggarwal, Incaln Leal (1999) and in Pakistan Masood Sergi (2008). Aggarwal, Incaln Leal (1999) examined the sort of events that cause large swings in volatility of emerging stock markets. For this purpose they examine various social, political and economic events both at global and domestic level to find out their explanatory power in context of the returns volatility in the emerging markets including the impact of gulf war. Though at small scale but the impact of gulf war was felt in those emerging markets. Similarly Masood Sergi (2008) found that among other factors that they studied, wars with India, 1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999 kargil war negatively influenced the Pakistani stock market. Evia et al. (2008) examined the affect of socio-political conflict in Bolivia on economic performance. Factors studied widespread during the conflicts as strikes, demonstrations, road blockades, and conventional rent-seeking. Their results showed that economic growth due to external factors is positively related to conflict while growth due to productive investment is negatively related to conflict. Terrorism is another as put that has been studied in relation to economic activity. Many studied in this distance; produced conflicting results as Becker and Murphy (2001) argue that economic performance are not much affected, because terrorist attacks usually devastate only a small portion of the overall stock of capital in a country. By contrast, Abadie and Gardeazabal (2005) repeated that terrorism shape overall economic risk in a country and lead to the economic shakiness in the country. They also conclude their study that higher level of terrorism risks results into the lower levels of foreign direct investment (FDI). Almost all studies on terrorism and its influence on stock prices limited to only on a single or few events, such as the 11 September 2001 attacks, as considered by Hon et al. (2004) Chen and Siems (2003) study. Chen Siems (2003), used event study methodology to capture the aftermath of terrorism on global capital markets. They studied on the reaction of U.S. capital markets in response to terrorist attacks. Their results showed that capital markets of US are more resilient flexible than in the past and recover quicker from terrorist attacks than other global capital markets. Their study suggests this increased market resilience to be partially explained by a stable financial sector in US that provides adequate liquidity to support market stability and reduce the spread panic. Methodology and Data Description Stock index data is taken from Karachi Stock Exchange, Yahoo Finance. This is a well known and reliable source of business information in Pakistan. The daily closing value of KSE-100 index is used for calculating the daily returns. The continuously compounded annual rate of return is used to measure the returns for the specific period as; Rt = ln (Pt / Pt-1) The closing prices of KSE-100 index for Karachi Stock Exchange are taken for the period July 2, 1997 to Oct 13, 2010. Our proxies are TERROR, a dummy variable of terrorist incidents during this period; REGIME, a dummy variable for government changes from fully democratic government to Marshal Law or democratic under such condition; a dummy variable for the period of the Kargal War in 1999. We applied regression model and Arch/Garch technique to capture the results. ARCH/GARCH Study Models This section presents the methodology of the paper. Daily data for Karachi stock markets were obtained from Yahoo finance and data for terror, kargal war and regime were obtained from South East Asia Terrorism Portal, and Different News Paper of Pakistan. Study apply ARCH/GARCH tools to see the long term relationship of these variable taking stock return as dependent variable and terror, regime and kargal war as independent variables. As aggregate uncertainty may be a function of political instability, we proceed to model uncertainty directly. It is natural to look at the conditional variance of output. Thus, we examine GARCH processes, in a more general framework than in the previous section. The model estimated here is a GARCH (1,1) process. Engle (1982) argue that in high frequency data large and small disturbance errors appear in group therefore error term variances can be shown as a function of their lagged values. He calls it Autoregressive conditional Heteroskedasticity (ARCH). As an investor or policy maker, we might be interested in investigating the returns and variance financial assets over observable period of time (conditional) rather than long run estimate of variance (unconditional). Engle (1982) shows that it is possible to describe the conditional mean and conditional variance of a financial asset using information set of previous period; Where is the return of financial asset in time t conditional on the information set at time t-1. E represents the expected value in statistics. Consider the simple model Where Where the rate of is return and are the regression parameters. A typical ARCH model can be written as follows: Conditional Mean Equation; Error Decomposition OR where ‘v is the part of variance which is homoskedastic and is the conditional variance which is Heteroskedasticity. This conditional variance can be shown as ARCH Conditional variance Equation, i.e. where and are non negative. Engle (1982) has also derived a Lagrange Multiplier (LM) based principle to test the hypothesis of. Another useful variant of ARCH methodology, proposed by Bollerslev (1986) is the generalized ARCH or GARCH model. Bollerslev (1986) argues that conditional variance in financial series is not only the function of its lagged error term but also the function of its lagged conditional variances. Therefore, GARCH (1, 1) process would be So GARCH model helps to explain the conditional variance with the help of past squared error term and conditional variance lag value. Which also means that conditional variance at time‘t would be function of long run variances and also variances conditional on past information set (short run) or observed shocks i.e. . Testing for ARCH/GARCH effects: Before estimating Arch/Garch techniques, it is first important to check for possible presence of Arch effect in order to know which model is requires the ARCH estimation instead of OLS (Ordinary Least Squire). The presence of ARCH effects in a regression model does not invalidate OLS estimation. However it implies that there is more efficient nonlinear estimator than OLS. (See Table 1.1) Obs*R-Squared is 147.26 and has a probability limit of 0.000. This clearly suggested that ARCH effect is present and presence of Heteroskedasticity suggested that ARCH/GARCH is appropriate model for this type of time series data. So we can apply ARCH/GARCH model on this data instead of ordinary least squire regression. Result of GARCH effects: The results of GARCH are presented in Table 1.3. The first column presents the regression results when we include as independent variables dummy values of the regime, terror, and war. In most of the cases, the variables enter with the anticipated signs, but not all of them are consistently significant at the 0.05 level. We can see an evidence of significant negative impact of terror, regime that show due to bomb blast in Pakistan and change in government negatively impact the country stock return in long run while insignificant positive impact of war on the country stock return. The results can further explained that stock return volatility every day is explained by approximately 71% of the previous months return volatility for Karachi stock exchange. This is significant for KSE returns. The coefficient of return innovation are statistically significant for market implying that new information arrival into the markets has significant impact on predicting next days stock market volatility. Because, the constant term in the variance equation for KSE is significant. The results of GARCH (1,1) are presented in Table 1.3 (Table 1.2) The model can be written as; Mean Equation: = 0.001188+ 0.064048* R_KSE(-1) Variance Equation: GARCH = 4.01E-05 + 0.20721*ARCH+ 0.713458 GARCH(-1) 1.21E-05*Terror + 1.93E-05*War -1.48E-05*Regime The persistence parameter for KSE Durbin-Watson stat = 1.943, which is > 1. This show a very explosive volatility in KSE returns. It also demonstrates the capability of past volatility to explain current volatility (Engle and Bollerslev, 1986) and because it is very high, the rate at which it diminishes is rather very slowly. For ACRH/GARCH, conditional standard deviation and conditional varience graph were as shown in figure 1.2 and 1.3; The GARCH coefficient is both statistically significant and conforms to expectation. This implies that past variances exert significantly positive effect on stock return volatility in KSE. On the basis of these results, it is evident that there is significant time varying volatility in Pakistan stock market returns during the sample periods. Conclusions and Recommendations In this paper, we have estimated a nonlinear GARCH model for daily stock returns volatility and terror, Kargal war and regime in Pakistan. Data for the estimation of GARCH (1,1) models was obtained from Yahoo finance and South Asia Terror Portal and news paper of Pakistan. The asymmetric effect of terror, war and regime on stock returns and volatility was investigated. Preliminary investigation into the nature of the data reveals that study had to employ ARCH/GARCH techniques for data analysis. Firstly, results show evidence of time varying volatility in stock market returns across the market and from the asymmetric model, results indicate that bad news has larger impact on stock volatility than good news in the KSE. The result for KSE showed that terror and regime has negativity impact on returns of KSE while war has positively effect, it may be due to short term period of the war. All three variable are significantly have their impact on the returns.

Anorexia and Bulimia Essay -- Causes of Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bulimia Nervosa [also known as Bulimia] is a very serious and dangerous eating disorder. The disorder can be describe as bingeing and then followed by purging or a person who eats a large amount of food in short periods of time and then vomits after eating to prevent on gaining the weight cause by the food. There is different ways of going about ways to prevent the weight gain, making oneself throw up, taking pills, or laxatives which will increase how fast the food will move through your body, exercising excessively, eating a little amount or not at all, or taking other pills to pass urine This disorder is mostly between the ages of 15 and 35, even if they have no specific food disorders. Studies made in Europe and USA have underlined the fact that roughly 10% of women in this age bracket say they and provoke vomiting occasionally 2% vomit once or more per week. This disorder is most commonly found in girls and in their late teen years, but that’s not to s ay it does not happen to boys it does but it is very rare. With a person who has bulimia it is very hard to tell by their appearance because when you have Bulimia you look average weight or just below it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This disorder is split up into 3 different illnesses they all have a lot in common but also have differences. The first type is Simple, simple bulimia nervosa usually affects girls at age 18 years old. The cause for this illness is under confident about oneself but come from good backgrounds. This illness is usually triggered by a short time of depression, such as a break up with a boyfriend. The girls who have simple bulimia nervosa have had a normal life as made friends normally and then they will have the short depression period and they will learn to hate themselves and their appearance. Usually diets start to boost up ones self esteem and then they cheat during the diet and vomiting will occur after eating. This form of bulimia is the least out of all 3 forms severe. But that is not to say that the girls who do this don’t progress into worst conditions. Another form of the disorder is Anorexic Bulimia Nervosa this is almost a mixture between Anorexic a nd Bulimia. It starts off as just a brief period of anorexic and then when that is over the sufferer recovers the illness by a short period of stabilized weight... ... and mental health professionals come in to help the patient recover. In different cases of the disorder family therapy is the best way to help overcome the disorder and helps eat healthy again. The family has a big effect on the sufferer and has to help the person realize that there body shape if perfectly fine and doesn’t need to be thin to make anyone happy. There is always Clinics that may help treat the disorder, the treatment is structured and controlled so that they have to eat in a better and healthier way. If there is no desire and hospitalizing is not necessary for the sufferer then there is the choice of outpatients by having weekly visits to a therapist and sometimes needs psychotherapy for the medicine, which can be more effective in worst cases. These disorders should not be left alone or untreated they can damage the body and soul and if left untreated the disorder can kill and at the best leave you looking terrible and feeling worse. These disorders may hel p you lose weight or not let you gain any, but in the long run it can seriously harm one and not only do these disorders affect the sufferer it also affects the people around them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Hot Seat Chapter 16 Essay

1 . The fundamental ideas associated with the mercantile theory were: that everything was to benefit the mother country, each nation was trying to achieve self-sufficiency, colonies and agriculture would improve economy and raw materials, and the country must benefit at the expense of others. For the most part, these ideas along with a few other minor pieces helped European nations to conquer much of the New and old world. Great Britain was the most successful with a vast overseas empire through North America, the West Indies, Africa and into India. They governed their colonies effectively and efficiently maximizing power and economic strength over the world. The least successful would probably be Portugal. They initially started out strong, finding trade routes along Africa into Asia and conquering Brazil, however by the 18th century their empire had diminished to slight control of Brazil and almost no other colonies. 2. The main points of conflict between Britain and France in North America were in the St. Lawrence River valley and the Ohio River valley. These areas were huge enters of trade and influence of the Native Americans that both the French and English desired. In the West Indies the conflict was mainly over crops and through naval battles. These skirmishes affected overseas trade and the flow of resources. In India, the conflict was mainly restricted to port cities and factories set up by the early English and French settlers along the Indian subcontinent. 3. Triangle trade was an extremely useful trading method to transport goods, raw materials, and resources between Europe, the Americas, and Africa. European sailors ould travel down to Africa and exchange weapons (mostly) for African slaves from West African kings. These slaves were typically prisoners of war that the rival African cities wanted to get rid of. Europeans would transport these slaves to the West Indies and North American colonies were they would be traded for bullion and raw materials found and grown in the New World. Finally those ships would take the materials back to Europe were they could be sold and traded to the rest of the world. Triangle trade was an effective way for mercantilist empires to become more self- ufficient and grow economically. 4. Initially, the Spanish conquered and controlled the largest empire in the Americas. They had colonies in much of the rich West Indies, all throughout Central America, most of South America, and the South West of North America. They would split much of their territories into Judicial councils called audiencias. Each audiencia had a local official loyal to the Spanish crown called a Corregidor. Before the Bourbon reforms, Queen Isabella had assigned much of the colonial control to the Council of the Indies, hich nominated viceroys for the New World. Trade was mostly ruled by a flota system of yearly shipping with Spain. With the Bourbon reforms, Charles Ill attemoted to reassert Spanish control over the colonies. He allowed more than one Spanish city (Cadiz) to trade with the New World and opened more Caribbean ports. colonists) as the heads of society. They were the elites while the creoles were subordinate. 5. Slavery was introduced to the Americas through the triangle trading networks where large numbers of blacks were brought over form Africa. This wasn’t the first nstitution of slavery, however it is one of the worst recordings of slavery throughout history. Slavery became a fundamental part of the plantation system and completely necessary to the New World colonies’ economies. Without slaves, much of the intense economic growth experienced by the New World and Europe would not have occurred. The plantation system helped drive inhumane treatment of slaves because they were then seen as property, farm tools, that could be replaced. When they misbehaved or didn’t function properly, the plantation owners would either fix them through torture) or kill them. Despite the harsh treatment of slaves, our country and many others would arguably never have gotten to where it is today without them. 6. By the end of the Seven Years’ War, France and Austria came out defeated. In Europe, almost no borders or politics changed. Germany was still disputed and Prussia remained a strong power with England at its back. In North America, France lost all of their colonies and possessions. England and her North American colonies defeated the French and with the Treaty of Paris, cast them out. The only real foothold France now held in the New World were through its West Indies possessions. Great Britain now came out as a world power and probably the strongest nation up until the USA’s uprising. 7. Many European, especially British, events and ideas helped influence the American Revolution and drive the colonists to rebel. The John Wilkes affair which challenged the Kings power and the influence of Parliament. John Wilkes criticized the peace negotiations with France after the Seven Years’ War and gained much support from mall property owners and the nobles who wished to drain the kings power. America saw these demonstrations of proof as to the tyrannical nature of a monarchy. The Glorious Revolution also showed to the colonists how sometimes a new government must be instated to protect the people. Thinkers like John Locke and Thomas Paine also widely influenced the minds of many Americans. The American Revolution also caused a domino effect over much of the New World colonies like Haiti and other South American areas. It displayed the Enlightenment characteristics and helped inspire the French revolution. Great British political radicals saw that taxation of their North American colonies as far and Just. England had protected and defended them throughout the Seven Years’ War and they must share some of the burden. Also, American colonists paid significantly less taxes than the English citizens in Great Britain so they had no reason to complain. Americans were outraged because they were only represented through virtual representation. They felt that if the Parliamen t wished to tax the colonies, they must give them fair representation in Parliament, â€Å"no taxation without

SPSS analysis on modern portfolio theory-optimal portfolio strategies in today’s capital market

Abstract This paper provides information on specific ideas embedded in single index model/construction of optimal portfolios compared to the classic Markowitz model. Important arguments are presented regarding the validity of these two models. The researcher utilises SPSS analysis to demonstrate important research findings. This type of analysis is conducted to explore the presence of any significant statistical difference between the variance of the single index model and the Markowitz model. The paper also includes implications for investors. Introduction In the contemporary environment involving business investments, selecting appropriate investments is a relevant task of most organisations. Rational investors try to minimise risks as well as maximise returns on their investments (Better, 2006). The ultimate goal is to reach a level identified as optimal portfolios. The focus in this process is on initiating the portfolio selection models, which are essential for optimising the work of investors. Research shows that the Markowitz model is the most suitable model for conducting stock selection, as this is facilitated through the use of a full covariance matrix (Bergh and Rensburg, 2008). The importance of this study reflects in the application of different models so as to develop adequate portfolios in organisations. It is essential to compare certain models because investors may be provided with sufficient knowledge about how they can best construct their portfolios. In this context, the precise variance of the portfolio selection model is important, as it reflects portfolio risk (Bergh and Rensburg, 2008). Information on the parameters of different models is significant to make the most appropriate decisions regarding portfolio creation. Markowitz is a pioneer in the research on portfolio analysis, as his works have contributed to enhancing investors’ perspectives on the available options regarding specific models of constructing optimal portfolios (Fernandez and Gomez, 2007). Research Methodology The research question presented in this study referred to the exploration of ideas embedded in single index model/construction of optimal portfolios and comparing them with the classic Markowitz model. The focus was on the construction of optimal portfolios, as the researcher was concerned with the evaluation of constructed portfolios with specific market parameters (Better, 2006). Moreover, the researcher paid attention to the stock market price index, including stocks of organisations distributed in three major sectors: services, financial, and industrial (Fernandez and Gomez, 2007). The behaviour of this index was explored through the implementation of SPSS analysis. The data covered a period of seven years, starting on January 1, 2000 and ending on December 31, 2006. It was essential to evaluate the effectiveness parameters of the single index model/construction of optimal portfolios and the Markowitz model. The criteria for the selection of companies included that all organisati ons shared the same fiscal year (ending each year on December 31) as well as they have not demonstrated any change in position. Results and Data Analysis The research methodology utilised in the study is based on the model of single index/optimal portfolios and the Markowitz model. The exploration of the relationship between these two models required the selection of 35 equally weighted optimal portfolios, as two sizes of portfolio were outlined. An approximate number of 10 optimal portfolios represented the first size, which further generated 12 portfolios. In addition, the researcher considered the option of simulating of optimal portfolios represented at second sizes (Bergh and Rensburg, 2008). The criterion of queuing randomise portfolio selection has been used to generate approximate 23 portfolios from the second size category. The researcher selected five and 10 stocks to analyse the data. The portfolio size split allowed the researcher to explore how the portfolio size could be used to affect the relationship between the single index model/optimal portfolios and the Markowitz model (Fernandez and Gomez, 2007). Results of testin g the data are provided in the table below: Optimal portfolio numberVariance of Single Index ModelVariance of the Markowitz ModelOptimal portfolio numberVariance of the Single Index ModelVariance of the Markowitz Model 100.00370.003950.00210.0023 100.00140.001750.00280.0038 100.00210.002850.00420.0051 100.00200.002150.00250.0030 100.00310.003550.00260.0024 100.00190.001950.00330.0038 100.00880.008650.00670.0071 100.00280.003750.00370.0053 100.00250.002450.00380.0043 100.00220.002350.00210.0020 100.00190.002050.00630.0061 100.00230.002650.02120.0202 Table 1: Variance of Five and 10 Optimal Portfolios Based on the results provided in the table, it can be concluded that the variance between the single index model/construction of optimal portfolios and the Markowitz model is similar. For instance, values of 0.0020 and 0.0019 for the variance of the two models are similar. This means that the results do not show substantial statistical differences between the two models. The tables below contain a descriptive summary of the results presented in the previous table: MeasureSingle Index ModelMarkowitz Model Mean0.00440.0047 Minimal0.00210.0020 Maximum0.02120.0202 Standard Deviation0.00370.0035 Table 2: Descriptive Summary of 10 Optimal Portfolios The results in Table 2 were derived from testing the performance of 10 optimal portfolios. It has been indicated that the mean for the single index model of 10 portfolios is 0.0044, while the mean for the Markowitz model is 0.0047, implying an insignificant statistical difference. The minimal value of the single index model is reported at 0.0021, while the minimal value of the Markowitz model is 0.0020. The difference is insignificant. The maximum value of the single index model is 0.0212, while the same value of the Markowitz model is 0.0202. Based on these values, it can be argued that there is a slight difference existing between the two models. The standard deviation of the single index model is 0.0037, while the standard deviation of the Markowitz model is 0.0035, which also reflects an insignificant statistical difference. MeasureSingle Index ModelMarkowitz Model Mean0.00280.0031 Minimal0.00140.0017 Maximum0.00880.0086 Standard Deviation0.00200.0019 Table 3: Descriptive Summary of 5 Optimal Portfolios Table 3 provides the results for five optimal portfolios. These results are similar to the ones reported previously (10 optimal portfolios). The mean for the single index model of 5 optimal portfolios is 0.0028, while the mean for the Markowitz model is 0.0031, implying an insignificant statistical difference. There are insignificant differences between the two models regarding other values, such as minimal and maximum value as well as standard deviation. Furthermore, the researcher performed an ANOVA analysis of 10 optimal portfolios, which are presented in the table below. It has been indicated that the effective score for the single index model and the Markowitz model is almost the same. Yet, an insignificant difference was reported between the two means and standard deviations for both models. ANOVA AnalysisSum of squaresDfConditionMeanStandard DeviationStandard Error MeanFSig. Between Groups.00011.000.003125.0018704.0005399.089.768 Within Groups.000222.000.002892.0019589.0005655 Total.00023 Table 4: ANOVA Analysis for the Variance between the Single Index Model and the Markowitz Model of 10 Portfolios From the conducted analysis, it can be also concluded that the F-test presents an insignificant statistical value, implying that the researcher rejected the hypothesis of a significant difference existing between portfolio selections with regards to risk in both models used in the study (Fernandez and Gomez, 2007). Hence, the hypothesis of a significant difference between the variance of the single index model and the Markowitz model was rejected (Lediot and Wolf, 2003). In the table below, the researcher provided the results of an ANOVA analysis conducted on five optimal portfolios: ANOVA AnalysisSum of SquaresDfConditionMeanStandard DeviationStandard Error MeanFSig. Between Groups.00011.000.004852.0036535.0007618.096.758 Within Groups.001442.000.004509.0038595.0008048 Total.00145 Table 5: ANOVA Analysis for the Variance between the Single Index Model and the Markowitz Model of 5 Portfolios The results from Table 5 show that the variance between the single index model and the Markowitz model of five optimal portfolios is almost the same. Regardless of the stock number in the selected optimal portfolios, there is no significant statistical difference between the single index model and the Markowitz model. The main finding based on the reported data is that the single index model/construction of optimal portfolios is similar to the Markowitz model with regards to the formation of specific portfolios (Bergh and Rensburg, 2008). As indicated in this study, the precise number of stocks in the constructed optimal portfolios does not impact the final result of comparing the two analysed models. The fact that these models are not significantly different from each other can prompt investors to use the most practical approach in constructing optimal portfolios (Haugen, 2001). Placing an emphasis on efficient frontiers is an important part of investors’ work, as they are focused on generating the most efficient portfolios at the lowest risk. As a result, optimally selected portfolios would be able to generate positive returns for organisations. This applies to both the single index model and the Markowitz model (Fernandez and Gomez, 2007). Conclusion and Implications of Research Findings The results obtained in the present study are important for various parties. Such results may be of concern to policy makers, investors as well as financial market participants. In addition, the findings generated in the study are similar to findings reported by other researchers in the field (Bergh and Rensburg, 2008). It cannot be claimed that either of the approaches has certain advantages over the other one. Even if the number of stocks is altered, this does not reflect in any changes of the results provided by the researcher in this study. Yet, the major limitation of the study is associated with the use of monthly data. It can be argued that the use of daily data would be a more viable option to ensure accuracy, objectivity as well as adherence to strict professional standards in terms of investment (Better, 2006). In conclusion, the similarity of the single index model and the Markowitz model encourage researchers to use both models equally because of their potential to generate optimal portfolios. Moreover, the lack of significant statistical differences between the variance of the single index model and the Markowitz model can serve as an adequate basis for investors to demonstrate greater flexibility in the process of making portfolio selection decisions (Haugen, 2001). The results obtained in the study were used to reject the hypotheses that were initially presented. As previously mentioned, the conducted F-test additionally indicates that the single index model and the Markowitz model are almost similar in scope and impact (Fernandez and Gomez, 2007). Investors should consider that portfolio selection models play an important role in determining the exact amount of risk taking while constructing optimal portfolios. Hence, investors are expected to thoroughly explore those models while they select their portfolios (Garlappi et al., 2007). Both individual and institutional investors can find the results generated in this study useful to facilitate their professional practice. A possible application of the research findings should be considered in the process of embracing new investment policies in the flexible organisational context (Bergh and Rensburg, 2008). Future research may extensively focus on the development of new portfolio selection models that may further expand the capacity of organisations to improve their performance on investment risk taking indicators. References Bergh, G. and Rensburg, V. (2008). ‘Hedge Funds and Higher Moment Portfolio Performance Appraisals: A General Approach’. Omega, vol. 37, pp. 50-62. Better, M. (2006). ‘Selecting Project Portfolios by Optimizing Simulations’. The Engineering Economist, vol. 51, pp. 81-97. Fernandez, A. and Gomez, S. (2007). ‘Portfolio Selection Using Neutral Networks’. Computers & Operations Research, vol. 34, pp. 1177-1191. Garlappi, L., Uppal, R., and Wang, T. (2007). ‘Portfolio Selection with Parameter and Model Uncertainty: A Multi-Prior Approach’. The Review of Financial Studies, vol. 20, pp. 41-81. Haugen, R. (2001). Modern Investment Theory. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Lediot, O. and Wolf, M. (2003). ‘Improved Estimation of the Covariance Matrix of Stock Returns with an Application to Portfolio Selection’. Journal of Finance, vol. 10, pp. 603-621.