Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Nicole Kozik-Ayers Essays (745 words) - Film, United States

Nicole Kozik-Ayers Gina Crawford English 10 1 09 March 201 8 Malcolm X Who is Malcom X? Malcolm X was an uncommon extremist for the African American people group. Malcolm X was gazed upward as an insightful individual with a major eye for change and having any kind of effect on the planet. Like any African American childhood during his time, Malcolm experienced isolation and prejudice. He considered this to be a danger to society. With everything going on around him, this filled Malcolm's enthusiasm to have a constructive outcome in the public arena. Malcolm CX is viewed as a solid extremist for change as a result of his childhood, the associations he was subsidiary with and his organization with Martin Luther King Jr., before his demise. At first, Malcolm X was brought into this world as Malcolm Little. Malcolm was conceived on May 19 th , 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mom is Loise Little and father is Earl Little. Before birth Malcolm as of now had two social personalities. The negative character gave by a white-ruled society and a positive one related with B need pride (Barresi, P. 202 ). Malcolm's life was troublesome growing up. After once his dad died, at six years old, killed by this savage bigot bunch called the Black Legion who is viewed as like the Klu Klux Klan. His mom wound up in a psychological ward which at that point left Malcolm and his kin as dependent of the government. This was the establishment of where Malcolm's life began to roll out an improvement. Also, the associations he was partnered with is the purpose behind why his learning changed as a grown-up . Malcolm's learning is progressively self-realized, particularly while in jail, and change in the wake of visiting Mecca (Haley, P. 254 ). In the long run he got associated with the Black Muslims. The Black Muslims considered the white race as the fiend race. In the long run Malcolm turned into an extremist for the Black Muslim Faith. During the social equality development, Malcolm had tested Marten Luther King Jr' s peaceful methodology. Malcolm's methodology was for his devotees to guard themselves regardless of what it took. Malcolm X in the long run quit supporting the Black Muslim Faith after his undertaking to Mecca. Once back to the United States, his perspectives on the white race additionally changed. He no longer considered the to be race as the villain race any longer. At last, Malcolm's organization with Marten Luther King Jr. came after he left the Black Muslim Faith. Malcolm then would begin supporting the Afro-American solidarity association. The Afro-American solidarity had various perspectives on the white race. The Afro-American solidarity was on favorable terms in keeping up a relationship with the white race. The new Malcolm X in the long run began banding together with Martin Luther King Jr, and supporting the social liberties development. When the Black Muslim Faith found out about Malcolm's choice, his life immediately got undermined. Malcolm X on February 21 st , 1965 by means of death. He was killed in New York City while introducing a discourse . ( Harley, P.272) Taking everything into account, Malcolm X was known for his steadiness in battling for the human rights for the African American Community. Others saw Malcolm X as a vicious man also. Malcom's greatest perspectives on protecting the isolation and prejudice changed. When in Mecca he saw how the white and dark race cooperated calmly to roll out an improvement. From that point on, Malcolm's perspectives on the Black Muslim Faith had changed and he realized the association wasn't right. Malcolm X's heritage ought to be grasped in methods of stopping the isolation and prejudice issues in the public arena. Rather we should all follow Malcolm's backing and be joined to roll out a positive improvement in the public eye. Work Cited Page Barresi, John. In Identity and story: Creating self in account, by McAdams, Dan p. (ed);Josselson, Ruthellen (ed) ; Lieblich, Amia (ed.) . 201-222, Chapter x, 284 pages. Washington , DC, US: American Psychological Assocation, 2006. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docview/614197899?accountid=8289 Haley, A (1965). The life account of Malcolm X. New York: Grove Press Eric. The self-Education of Malcolm X., 2006 Do you comprehend your input? Indeed, I do. Straight to the point. Do you have any inquiries for your educator? No everything appeared to be straightforward Do you have any issues or worries that

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Ways Social Media Is Changing the World Free Essays

Online networking has could propel the world. In short measure of time, we have reformed such a great amount of, for example, accepting the news and correspondence. Because of online networking, the way that we find out about and react to anything influencing our reality has changed. We will compose a custom exposition test on Ways Social Media Is Changing the World or then again any comparable point just for you Request Now We can accomplish such a great deal like find out about new sicknesses in a couple of snaps. Web based life isn't only a spot to eyewitness a friend’s profile and see what they are doing. It is likewise an enormous source where individuals can meet up. Huffington Post makes reference to that, â€Å"Interestingly, online networking as a mode for associating, sorting out and conveying is controlling and spreading vote based system far superior than billions of dollars of help or war in corners of world exceptionally impervious to such change.† Social media makes an enormous stage where a network can rapidly, have an effect on the world and for a reason. Innovation is continually propelling each day. In this season of internet based life, we have both online life activism (or advanced activism) and hashtag activism. Today is a lot simpler than it was to before to spread mindfulness on a significant social issue. Utilizing both hashtags and online life serves to effortlessly spread and bring issues to light. Another post from Huffington Post expresses that, â€Å"Hashtags have the ability to point out and assemble an enormous populace. Petitions, fights, letters to lawmakers and people with great influence are spread through social media.† InMyArea has referenced a couple of the numerous hashtags that have brought mindfulness throughout a couple of years. â€Å"Social media’s job in activism can be credited to territories like these Abilene-Sweetwater, TX †#OccupyWallStreet Los Angeles, CA †#OscarsSoWhite Boston, MA †#ALSIceBucketChallenge Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN †#BlackLivesMatter #Charlottesville, VA† Internet based life activism incorporates bringing issues to light by utilizing an assortment of sites, for example, Facebook, Twitter, and so forth. By doing this, the world gets the chance to get familiar with causes and development just as their needs. Most online life stages have certain calculations that will advance the most mainstream hashtags, doing this assists with carrying basic social issues to the spotlight. Phycology Today makes reference to that there are, â€Å"four significant ways that online life is reclassifying activism and advocacy.† First is that web-based social networking can change open mindfulness. Second, is that â€Å"social media appropriation implies we are getting data from somebody in our network.† Third being that web-based social networking systems cross various stages and makes a brisk effect that gives it criticalness. Ultimately, web based life improvement has changed the impression of imparting by adjusting our assumptions regarding investment. Online networking has the astounding capacity to furnish the stage to anybody with access to the advanced world and offers them the chance to call for change. The stages that online networking give offer individuals and networks the chance to make occasions to anyone nearly anybody. The web has consistently been a stage that has offered anybody to frame new networks and offer assets. There are an expanded number of gatherings who are presently going to useful devices, which permit them to make brought together stages to build social change. There are a few distinct devices utilized by online activists being on the web petitions, informal organizations, websites, miniaturized scale blogging, mobile phones and intermediary servers. One of the other significant qualities of social activism is that it is quite often a peaceful type of dissent. American Press Institute demonstrated that 69% of recent college grads get their day by day news while 85% state that â€Å"keeping up with the news is at any rate to some degree imperative to them.† the reality of the matter is that this age get to their news in an unexpected way, they do get to their news routinely to stay aware of any new data and things that are changing around them. Alluding back to the examination, an enormous part of twenty to thirty year olds posted as of late about a subject they thought about via web-based networking media. In spite of the fact that it very well may be difficult to stay aware of now and again, it is pivotal to know about everything that is going on the planet. With online networking as often as possible being refreshed each second of consistently, individuals are effectively ready to acquire steady information. Internet based life stages have gotten something other than an approach to share how you are feeling. Because of web based life, individuals are not, at this point constrained to simply getting their significant news from one just one source. Online networking has had the option to propel the spread of mindfulness just as the pace at which we can help as a network. Web based life is a ground-breaking enough device for bringing issues to light. It gives everybody voice while it can likewise interface all of us to a huge assortment of foundations, and societies. Step by step instructions to refer to Ways Social Media Is Changing the World, Papers

Friday, July 31, 2020

$1.67 Billion Typo - Forgiven

$1.67 Billion Typo - Forgiven Image via Wikipedia Ive always thought that typos, so long as they are few and far between, are less egregious errors than misspellings and other errors that stem from lack of knowledge. Apparently a U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals judge agrees that people and multi-billion dollar companies who make typos should be given a second chance: Verizon $1.67 bln typo can be fixed: court I imagine my own typos and yours wont have such monumental consequences. Our readers are our judges, and we can only hope they have the same understanding as our nations highest courts. That said, if you are applying for jobs, your resume and cover letter are not the most ideal places to err. Make sure to read, re-read, and re-read again. There’s no need to risk judgment from a hiring manager that costs you a job. For editing help, contact The Essay Expert.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Economics - 611 Words

Economics - Assessment Task 1 1. Total cost is the figure that describes the total cost of production for an organisation. It is made up of both fixed costs, which are costs that are fixed in relation to output, and variable costs, which are costs that vary depending on the level of output. Before production commences, the total costs of the organisation will be the same as the fixed costs, as no raw materials or labour have been utilised. Although when production increases, variable costs will also rise, meaning the total costs will increase. This can be shown by the diagram below: Average cost is the production cost per each unit of output. This can be calculated by dividing the total costs of the business by the number of units†¦show more content†¦This means that firms must take into consideration the possible reactions of all other competing firms. Another characteristic is that products within an oligopoly will be similar. In an oligopoly market, prices are stable. This is because firms within this market fear a price war occurring. When it comes to lowering or increasing price, oligopoly firms will consider the likelihood of competing firms doing the same thing, in order to avoid triggering a price war. 3. Another market structure is a monopoly. This is a situation in which a single company owns all of the market. It is defined by a lack of competition meaning high prices being charged by the solitary company operating in the market, and the restriction of other producers entering the market. In their attempts to maximise profits, these firms will charge high prices and rarely respond to consumer needs. This is because consumers have no other choice in terms of competition, so they will buy from monopolist firms regardless. There are several characteristics of a monopoly. Firstly, extreme economies of scale are available to monopolist firms, giving them a huge advantage over any other company. Because of this and relatively low costs despite large product ranges, supernormal profits are achieved. Another characteristic is the inelastic demand for these firm’s products.Show MoreRelatedEconomics And Economics On Economics Essay1142 Words   |  5 PagesWhen we talk about economics we must first defined the word. Economics is a social science that studies human behavior and how to allocate our limited (scares) resources, efficiently and effectively to meet our unlimited human wants. Now as we dive deeper in to the field of economics we realized that there are two separate categories that the study of economics breaks off into. The first is macroeconomics, macroeconomics is the study of the whole picture when it comes to economics. Macroeconomics willRead MoreEconomics : Economics And Micro Economic s1238 Words   |  5 Pages Economics is the study of how our unlimited demand of certain things can be met by our limited amount of supply. For instance, if there was an unlimited amount of money for everyone, then everyone would have everything they had always wanted and would not have to work to get the money. Everyone would have billion dollar homes and the nicest cars in the world. Unfortunately, we do have a limited amount of money, so the economists find ways to get around that. There are two types of economicsRead MoreEconomics : Economics Of Business1361 Words   |  6 PagesHND Accounting Economics FINAL REPORT: The Economics of Business DUE DATE: 20 May 2015 Catherine Macintosh 11006620 For the attention of Sarah Sutherland Word count: 1,243 (Excluding Acknowledgements, Abstract/Executive Summary, Terms of Reference, References Appendices TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1.0 Costs 3 1.1 Total costs 3 1.2 Average costs Read MoreEconomics1291 Words   |  6 Pageshis profit. Do you agree? Use a graph to illustrate your answer. The argument is incorrect. As the graph shows, a reduction in marginal cost will cause a monopolist to reduce his price. 2. Economist Harvey Leibenstein argued that the loss of economic efficiency in industries that are not perfectly competitive has been understated. He argued that when competition is weak, firms are under less pressure to adopt the best techniques or to hold down their costs. He referred to this effect as x-inefficiencyRead MoreEconomics1444 Words   |  6 Pagesresource is inefficient it means the resources are not used in the best distribution by firms or organizations. An ETS is executed when the environment has been polluted and the government intervenes in order to control the pollution by providing economic encouragements towards the firms and organizations to reduce the amount of pollution emitted in the environment (Brown* 2001). When ETS is implemented it reduces the pollution of the environment caused by different firms thus making it its main goalRead MoreEconomics1654 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿1. What is the ‘economic problem’? The fundamental economic problem is related to the issue of scarcity. Scarcity means that resources are limited and short in supply in the world (e.g. diamond). Because of limited resources and unlimited demands, society needs to decide how much to produce and distribute these relatively scarce resources. The basic economic problem can be define as what to produce, how much to produce and for whom to produce. Some countries are lucky to have great naturalRead MoreEconomics999 Words   |  4 PagesManagerial Economics MIDTERM Exam What changes can you envision to the real economy, should Rifkin’s vision of a zero marginal cost society, become reality? For me, Jeremy Rifkin is a great social theorist. I’m mostly agreeing with him, with his conclusions and visions of the future economy. They looks like perfect and definitely it’s a â€Å"think big† way of delivering the information. His book â€Å"The Zero Marginal Cost Society† is must read, of course. Trigger is a zero marginal cost. I’m completelyRead MoreEconomics1000 Words   |  4 Pagesconsumer change, there will be a much greater change in the production output in the capital equipment required to make those consumer goods. This change in the production of capital equipment, that is , investment spending speeds up the rate of economic growth or slump Since we are focused on short-run business-cycle fluctuations here, it is reasonable to ignore changes in K/Y that may be associated with long-run advances in technology. 15 – 10 proportional to the level of output in t, Kt Read MoreEconomics1134 Words   |  5 PagesMF 7701 Managerial Economics Quiz #1 Fall 2014 Instructions: 1. You may work on this quiz alone or with as many other students as you wish. If you work with other students, please submit only one (common) answer. 2. You may not talk about this exam with anyone outside of the two managerial economics sections. 3. You may work with people from the other section if they are taking this course. In all cases, please submit only one, common answer. 4. You must e-mail your finalRead MoreEconomic Growth And Economic Development917 Words   |  4 PagesEconomic growth refers to an increase in the capacity for an economy to produce goods and services as compared from one period of time to another. It can be measured either in nominal terms which include inflation, or in real terms that are adjusted for inflation. It is mainly influenced by unemployment, inflation, technology levels, rate of investment, population growth rate, among other factors. These factors are used further to explain the differences in the varying level of output per capita

Sunday, May 10, 2020

The Need to Address Poverty in Canada - 990 Words

Poverty is a serious issue in Canada needs to be addressed promptly. Poverty is not simply about the lack of money an individual has; it is much more than that. The World Bank Organization defines poverty by stating that, â€Å"Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time†. In Canada, 14.9 percent of Canada’s population has low income as Statistics Canada reports, which is roughly about two million of Canadians in poverty or on the verge of poverty. In addition, according to an UNICEF survey, 13.3 percent of Canadian children live in†¦show more content†¦The government needs to provide more support and police hours to these types of neighbour hoods. The only reason the crime rates are up is due to the lack of cops in that area. Furthermore, the prices of h ouses have been increasing in Canada rapidly. To find a suitable place to live which is affordable is becoming really rare due to the increase in real estate. As the prices rise, the people who are not as fortunate as the rest of us are forced to live in deprived areas. This will cause the upbringing of children to be difficult which might ultimately lead to poverty. Thus, through providing funding for affordable and appropriate housing, Canada can start to diminish the homeless population. The issue of economic inequality has ruined the economy of the United States completely. This issue is making its way to Canada, which is causing more of its citizens to go into poverty. When this problem first started to arise, it was strongly ignored by the government because they believed it would not cause a problem. However, over the past twenty years, it has increased rapidly which caused the gap between rich and poor to became enormous. Moreover, the wealth of the rich strongly depends on the disadvantage of the poor. The only way the rich will stay rich is if the poor stay poor. The top one percent of Canadians receive 318,000 dollars on average whereas the bottom ninety percent receive only 28,000 dollars. If the poor start getting highShow MoreRelatedPoverty And The Poverty Of Canada1236 Words   |  5 Pagesevery group of seven people in Canada there is one person who knows this isn’t impossible at all; it’s their reality, and it’s called poverty . Being one of the eight richest and highly industrialized countries in the entire world, and apart of the G8 countries, Canada is still the only one that hasn’t devised a national anti-poverty plan or even a housing plan. Which is absurd, because according to a 2010 report by the Wellesley Institute titled Precarious Housing in Canada between 150,000 –to 300,000Read MoreMurders And Death Of Indigenous Women933 Words   |  4 Pagesthere has always been discrimination against these groups since they are seen at the bottom of the social class scale. This was the first time in Canadian history where a certain social group were marginalized; the white people who first settled in Canada looked at indigenous people and didn’t believe that they belonged to there society. However, in todays society we have laws that prevent decriminalization, but that does not resolve the problem since many indigenous people are constantly being murderedRead MoreHomelessness : A Revie w Of Literature Essay1212 Words   |  5 PagesHomelessness: A Review of Literature A vast amount of studies have been conducted on homelessness in Canada and what the looks like in our society. How can we change this to become a mare successful ideas of help?The main topic that is going to try to be addressed is Homelessness and how help may be provided to those who are in need. The first thing that needs to be addressed is how displayed in the following articles and are they beneficial to our society. The ideas that the following articleRead MoreSocial Determinants Of Health And Health1170 Words   |  5 Pagesbehaviors, and determines food security. In Canada, people with lower incomes are more susceptible to disease/ conditions, higher mortality rate, decreased life expectancy and poorer perceived health than people with high incomes. In numerous Canadian studies and reports, there has been more emphasis on health being based on an individual’s characteristics, choices and behaviours, rather than the role that income plays as a social determinant of health. Although Canada has one of the highest income economiesRead MorePoverty : Causes And Consequences Of Poverty1484 Words   |  6 Pages(CURRENT CANADIAN ISSUES) TITLE: POVERTY IN CANADA DUE APRIL 12, 2017 SECTION A: Cause and Consequences of Poverty: a) Cause of Poverty: When a country is facing a change in its’ trends such as economy, inadequate education, high rate of divorce, overpopulation, epidemic and spreading diseases such as AIDS, climate and environmental issues such as insufficient rainfall, it could be a potential victim of poverty someday. Poverty is becoming so broad across Canada and approximately one out of sevenRead MoreEssay about Making Social Rights a Human Right1741 Words   |  7 PagesThis paper will discuss why social rights should be human rights. Poverty, capitalism, and government will be the motives used to explain why social rights should be considered human rights and be enforceable in a court of law. Although the costs of social rights would result in higher taxes, the benefits would far exceed the costs. It would greatly reduce the majority of poverty and crime as well as improve overall health within our society. Various aspects of social rights will be examined whichRead MoreStroke In Nicaraguaagua Case Study851 Words   |  4 Pages there is an increasing need to eliminate the incidence of IHDs in the economy and reduce its impact by setting key priorities in place that targets primary disease prevention measures. In addition, there is a need to address the social determinants of health that can maximize a supportive environment to en-able individuals especially in low and middle countries to make informed choices that can have favourable benefits on their health and well being. 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Each of these women will experience a different standard of living and financial well-being based on the circumstances of their life course (Davies Denton, 2002). In 2008 women living alone had the highest rate of low income with an after-tax poverty rate of 17%, while men had a 12% after-tax poverty rate (Milan Vezina, 2011Read MoreProblems And Challenges Of Poverty1595 Words   |  7 PagesPROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF POVERTY IN SASKATCHEWAN Literally, poverty is a condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor1. It is a multi-faceted issue that include problems regarding income, cost-of-living, health and social cohesion1. Poverty affects multiple group of persons in the society and no one is immune to its consequences. Overtime, there has been a strong association between poverty and many health conditions such as chronic diseases (diabetes

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Momentum trading and Business Cycle Risk Evidence from BRIC Countries Free Essays

string(249) " investors who have quick access to information are capable of making superior abnormal returns while those who do not have quick access to information tend not to make superior risk-adjusted returns by using such information as a basis of trading\." 1. Introduction. BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries are growing at an alarming rate. We will write a custom essay sample on Momentum trading and Business Cycle Risk: Evidence from BRIC Countries or any similar topic only for you Order Now This growth can be attributed to a number of factors including globalisation, financial liberalisation which has led to an increase in cross-border capital flows, technological developments and the internet. These countries are forecast to witness tremendous growth in the years ahead. The alarming growth of BRIC countries has attracted investors in search of suitable environments for portfolio diversification to consider BRIC countries as potential destinations for diversifying their portfolios. This paper presents a proposal to study the link between business cycles and momentum trading in the BRIC stock markets. The paper aims at understanding how business cycle risk affects momentum profits in BRIC countries. The study also seeks to provide an understanding of how momentum profits are affected by firm specific characteristics such as firm size and book-to-market ratios in BRIC countries. 2. Objectives of the study The objective of the study is to determine the impact of business cycle risk on momentum profits and thus momentum trading in BRIC countries. Research Questions The study aims at answering the following questions: Are there momentum profits in the stock markets of BRIC countries If so, what is the impact of Business Cycle risk on these profits What are the regulatory implications of momentum profits in BRIC countries Significance of the Study The study is significant to market regulators in that it will enable them design regulatory requirements aimed at reducing inefficiencies in BRIC stock markets thereby increasing their ability to attract capital. The study will also help foreign investors to gain more confidence in BRIC countries. Finally, the study will serve as a reference point for future researchers interested in conducting research on momentum profits. Limitations of the Study The study is limited only to BRIC countries. This limitation means that generalising results to other countries may not be possible. It is also limited only to a number of firms in these countries which suggests that results obtained may not be generalised to all firms. Finally, the variables employed in the study may not adequately measure momentum profits or adequately conceptualise how momentum profits are affected by business cycle variables. 5. Literature Review. A momentum trading strategy is a trading strategy that is designed based on past performance. The trading strategy is based on the assumption that â€Å"history will repeat itself†. A momentum trading strategy is therefore a strategy, which assumes that the return performance will persist in the medium term (Signos and Chelley, 1994). Momentum profits were first observed by Jegadeesh and Titman (1993). Accordingly, the study observed that stocks that performed well in a previous period also performed well in the current period, while those that performed poorly in the previous period also performed poorly in the current period. This means that a trading strategy that went long on previous winners while shorting previous losers would result in positive abnormal returns. In particular Jagadeesh and Titman (1993) observed the realisation of positive abnormal returns of 1 percent with the momentum strategy. In addition, a number of other studies have observed significant positive abnormal returns with the momentum trading strategy (e.g., Moskowitz and Grinblatt, 1999; Jegadeesh and Titman, 2001; Liu et al. (1999), Hong and Tonks, 2003; Gregory et al., 2001; Griffin et al., 2003; Gregory et al. 2001; Rouwenhorst 1998). The implication of the existence of such a Band Wagon (money making strategy) is that markets were not efficient. According to the weak- and semi-strong form efficient market hypotheses, all information available to the general public is already reflected in stock prices. This means that investors cannot realise superior risk adjusted returns by adopting a particular trading strategy such as the one proposed by momentum trading (Ross et al., 1999; Bodie et al., 2007). Attempts to attribute this finding to inefficient markets have been opposed by Fama and French (1993, 1995, 1996) who argued that observing momentum profits cannot be attributed to inefficient capital markets. Rather the single factor capital asset pricing model (CAPM) has been criticised for not being able to properly explain the variability of the cross-section of stock returns. This model suggests that stock market returns depend on a single factor (i.e., the return on the market portfolio). However, Fama and French (1993, 1995, 1996) contest this view and argue instead that stock returns could be explained by additional factors such as the book-to-market ratio and firm size. A three factor model is therefore proposed which takes into account the impact of size and book-to-market ratio and is found to perform better than the single factor CAPM (Fama and French, 1993, 1995, 1996). In addition, the three factor model was extended to a four-factor model to include a momentum factor w hich measures the difference between the return on portfolios of stocks that performed well in the previous period and the return on portfolios of stocks that performed poorly. Including a momentum factor in the three-factor model thus making it a four-factor model enabled the model to be able to explain the momentum profits observed in Jagadeesh and Titman (1993) and the other studies identified in the Literature. In summary, Fama and French argue that anomalies such as those observed in momentum trading cannot be attributed to inefficiencies in capital markets. Rather they should be attributed to inadequacies in the models that are used in explaining the cross-section of stock returns. Other explanations have been offered for the observation of momentum profits. According to behavioural finance theorist, momentum profits are a result of slow movement of information. Behavioural finance theorists are against market efficiency theorists who argue that information is rapidly reflected in stock prices. Among behavioural theorists, Hong and Stein (1999) argue that momentum profits can be attributed to slow diffusion of information across interested investors. This means that some investors receive information about stock prices earlier than others and as such appropriate action faster than others. By so doing, investors who have quick access to information are capable of making superior abnormal returns while those who do not have quick access to information tend not to make superior risk-adjusted returns by using such information as a basis of trading. You read "Momentum trading and Business Cycle Risk: Evidence from BRIC Countries" in category "Essay examples" Barberi s et al. (1998) argues that momentum profits can be attributed to overreaction or underreaction of stock prices to news. The explanation from behavioural theorists conflict with those of Fama and French because behavioural theorists also suggest that there is nothing like an efficient market. Given the conflict between behavioural theorists and proponents of market efficiency, alternative explanations have been provided by recent studies. These studies argue that momentum profits are influenced by business cycle variables (e.g., Antoniou et al., 2007; Liew and Vassalou, 1999). Contrary to this view Griffen et al. (2002) in a study examining the link between business cycle variables and momentum profits across many countries argue that momentum profits are not a function of business cycle variables. While many studies have investigated the relationship between business cycle variables, most of these studies focus on developed markets with very little attention paid to emerging markets such as those of BRIC countries. Given the increasing role that BRIC countries play in the global economy, it is important to understand whether there are momentum profits in these countries as well as the role that business cycle risk has on momentum profits. This study is therefore a positive step toward contributing to the literature on momentum profits and business cycle risk by extending previous studies to stock markets in BRIC countries. 6. Research Methods This study will employ an econometric model to study the relationship between momentum profits and three sets of variables: (i) business cycle variables; (ii) firm specific variables (iii); and behavioural finance variables. The relationship between momentum profits and these variables can be represented using the following econometric model: (1) Where is a measure of the momentum profit of country i at in year t; is a vector of firm specific variables; is a vector of the past cumulative raw returns; and are the sensitivities of the momentum profits to changes in firm-specific variables and past cumulative returns respectively. The magnitude of the effect of these variables will be determined by testing the significance of the parameters at the 5% level of significance. In order to study business cycle variables, a model was developed by Chordia and Shivakumar (2002) and later extended by Antoniou et al. (2007). The model is an econometric model which establishes the relationship between momentum profits and business cycle variables. The model can be stated as follows: (2) Where is the return (inclusive of dividends) of firm i in month t, BC is a vector of j (j=1-6) macroeconomic variables representing business cycle variables (DY, Rf, TERM, DEF, FX, and GDP), and is the error term of stock i in month t. DY is the dividend yield; Rf is the risk-free interest rate; DEF is the premium for default risk premium which is estimated as the difference between the yield on long-term corporate bonds and the yield on long-term government bonds; The term spread (TERM) is the difference between the yield on long-term government securities minus the yield on short-term government securities; FX is the foreign exchange rate; and GDP is the change in GDP (Antoniou et al., 2007). As earlier mentioned, stock returns depend on two factors: market factors and firm-specific factors. There is a trade-off relationship between the manner in which each group of factors affect stock returns. That is the higher the impact of firm-specific factors, the lower will be the impact of market factors and vice versa (Antoniou et al., 2007). To estimate equation (1) equations 3 has to be estimated and its parameters used as inputs to equation (2). After estimating equation (2) its parameters can then be used as inputs to equation (1). In this study, both time-series and cross-sectional regressions are used. Cross-sectional regressions are preferred over time series regressions because they help to avoid data-snooping biases which tend to occur in time-series regressions. In the time-series regressions, individual stocks are used which help to reduce the degree of loss of information that tends to occur when portfolios are used. Using first-pass time series regression, which allows the parameters to also fluctuate with firm-specific variables. The firm-specific factors include firm size and book-to-market ratio. The first-pass time-series regression can be stated as follows: (3) is the return on firm i at time t, BC is a the vector of business cycle risk variables identified earlier, FF (Fama and French factors) are the firm-specific variables. Once equation (3) has been estimated, the parameters will be used as inputs to the second pass regression equation (4) below: (4) Where is the output of equation (3). It is the unexplained variation from equation (3). These include the intercept coefficient and the residual term (+) of the regression equation (3); is a vector of firm characteristics, which include firm size and book-to-market ratio for security i at time t. represent the three sets of past cumulative raw returns (for m=1-3) over the second through third (RET 2-3), fourth through sixth (RET 4-6) and seventh through twelfth (RET 7-12) months prior to the current month t. (Antoniou et al. 2007). 6. Data Stock price data for stocks in the BRIC countries will be retrieved from the Thomson Financial Datastream Database. Data on dividend yields will also be retrieved from this database. The database also reports data on exchange rates. GDP, interest rate and exchange rate data will be retrieved from the IMF International Financial Statistics (IFS) database. Stock price data will be used to calculate the monthly return for each stock over the 60 monthly holding periods from January 2007 to December 2011. The returns will be used as inputs to the first-pass regression. Given that this study is based on quantitative models that have been applied in other studies, there would be no need for pilot testing. Conclusion This paper was aimed at providing a research proposal to study how momentum trading is affected by business cycle variables. The proposal began by providing a general background on the topic. It later focused on the literature review, methodology and data description. The study will apply quantitative analysis to quantitative data from BRIC countries. The findings will provide a better understanding of momentum trading in BRIC countries and help policy formulation on how markets can become more efficient in these markets so as to enable investors make invest with greater confidence. References Antoniou A., Lam H. Y.T., Paudyal K. (2007). Profitability of momentum strategies in international markets: The role of business cycle variables and behavioural biases. Journal of Banking Finance volume 31, issue 3, pp. 955-972. Barberis N., Shleifer A., Vishny R.W.(1998). A model of investor sentiment, Journal of Financial Economics 49, pp. 307–343. Chelley-Steeley, Patricia and Siganos, Antonios, (2004). â€Å"Momentum Profits in Alternative Stock Market Structures†. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=624583 Fama E.F., French K.R. (1996). Multifactor explanations of asset pricing anomalies, Journal of Finance 51 (1996), pp. 55–84. Griffin, John M., Martin, J. Spencer and Ji, Susan, â€Å"Momentum Investing and Business Cycle Risk: Evidence from Pole to Pole† (March 18, 2002). AFA 2003 Washington, DC Meetings; EFA 2002 Berlin Meetings Presented Paper. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=291225 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.291225 Hong H., Stein J.C. (1999). A Unified Theory of Undereaction, Momentum Trading, and Overreaction in Asset Markets. Journal of Finance. Vol. 6, pp 2143-2184 Jegadeesh N., Titman S. (1998). Returns to buying winners and selling losers: Implications for market efficiency, Journal of Finance 48, pp. 65–91. Liew, Jimmy K.yung Soo and Vassalou, Maria, (1999). â€Å"Can Book-to-Market, Size, and Momentum Be Risk Factors That Predict Economic Growth?† Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=159293 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.159293 Rouwenhorst, K.G. (1998). International momentum strategies, Journal of Finance 53, pp. 267–284. Wu, X. (2002). A conditional multifactor analysis of return momentum, Journal of Banking and Finance 26 (2002), pp. 1675–1696 How to cite Momentum trading and Business Cycle Risk: Evidence from BRIC Countries, Essay examples Momentum trading and Business Cycle Risk Evidence from BRIC Countries Free Essays string(57) " suggest that there is nothing like an efficient market\." 1. Introduction. BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries are growing at an alarming rate. We will write a custom essay sample on Momentum trading and Business Cycle Risk: Evidence from BRIC Countries or any similar topic only for you Order Now This growth can be attributed to a number of factors including globalisation, financial liberalisation which has led to an increase in cross-border capital flows, technological developments and the internet. These countries are forecast to witness tremendous growth in the years ahead. The alarming growth of BRIC countries has attracted investors in search of suitable environments for portfolio diversification to consider BRIC countries as potential destinations for diversifying their portfolios. This paper presents a proposal to study the link between business cycles and momentum trading in the BRIC stock markets. The paper aims at understanding how business cycle risk affects momentum profits in BRIC countries. The study also seeks to provide an understanding of how momentum profits are affected by firm specific characteristics such as firm size and book-to-market ratios in BRIC countries. 2. Objectives of the study The objective of the study is to determine the impact of business cycle risk on momentum profits and thus momentum trading in BRIC countries. Research Questions The study aims at answering the following questions: Are there momentum profits in the stock markets of BRIC countries If so, what is the impact of Business Cycle risk on these profits What are the regulatory implications of momentum profits in BRIC countries Significance of the Study The study is significant to market regulators in that it will enable them design regulatory requirements aimed at reducing inefficiencies in BRIC stock markets thereby increasing their ability to attract capital. The study will also help foreign investors to gain more confidence in BRIC countries. Finally, the study will serve as a reference point for future researchers interested in conducting research on momentum profits. 5. Literature Review. A momentum trading strategy is a trading strategy that is designed based on past performance. The trading strategy is based on the assumption that â€Å"history will repeat itself†. A momentum trading strategy is therefore a strategy, which assumes that the return performance will persist in the medium term (Signos and Chelley, 1994). Momentum profits were first observed by Jegadeesh and Titman (1993). Accordingly, the study observed that stocks that performed well in a previous period also performed well in the current period, while those that performed poorly in the previous period also performed poorly in the current period. This means that a trading strategy that went long on previous winners while shorting previous losers would result in positive abnormal returns. In particular Jagadeesh and Titman (1993) observed the realisation of positive abnormal returns of 1 percent with the momentum strategy. In addition, a number of other studies have observed significant positive abnormal returns with the momentum trading strategy (e.g., Moskowitz and Grinblatt, 1999; Jegadeesh and Titman, 2001; Liu et al. (1999), Hong and Tonks, 2003; Gregory et al., 2001; Griffin et al., 2003; Gregory et al. 2001; Rouwenhorst 1998). The implication of the existence of such a Band Wagon (money making strategy) is that markets were not efficient. According to the weak- and semi-strong form efficient market hypotheses, all information available to the general public is already reflected in stock prices. This means that investors cannot realise superior risk adjusted returns by adopting a particular trading strategy such as the one proposed by momentum trading (Ross et al., 1999; Bodie et al., 2007). Attempts to attribute this finding to inefficient markets have been opposed by Fama and French (1993, 1995, 1996) who argued that observing momentum profits cannot be attributed to inefficient capital markets. Rather the single factor capital asset pricing model (CAPM) has been criticised for not being able to properly explain the variability of the cross-section of stock returns. This model suggests that stock market returns depend on a single factor (i.e., the return on the market portfolio). However, Fama and French (1993, 1995, 1996) contest this view and argue instead that stock returns could be explained by additional factors such as the book-to-market ratio and firm size. A three factor model is therefore proposed which takes into account the impact of size and book-to-market ratio and is found to perform better than the single factor CAPM (Fama and French, 1993, 1995, 1996). In addition, the three factor model was extended to a four-factor model to include a momentum factor w hich measures the difference between the return on portfolios of stocks that performed well in the previous period and the return on portfolios of stocks that performed poorly. Including a momentum factor in the three-factor model thus making it a four-factor model enabled the model to be able to explain the momentum profits observed in Jagadeesh and Titman (1993) and the other studies identified in the Literature. In summary, Fama and French argue that anomalies such as those observed in momentum trading cannot be attributed to inefficiencies in capital markets. Rather they should be attributed to inadequacies in the models that are used in explaining the cross-section of stock returns. Other explanations have been offered for the observation of momentum profits. According to behavioural finance theorist, momentum profits are a result of slow movement of information. Behavioural finance theorists are against market efficiency theorists who argue that information is rapidly reflected in stock prices. Among behavioural theorists, Hong and Stein (1999) argue that momentum profits can be attributed to slow diffusion of information across interested investors. This means that some investors receive information about stock prices earlier than others and as such appropriate action faster than others. By so doing, investors who have quick access to information are capable of making superior abnormal returns while those who do not have quick access to information tend not to make superior risk-adjusted returns by using such information as a basis of trading. Barberis et al. (1998) argues that momentum profits can be attributed to overreaction or underreaction of stock prices to news. The explanation from behavioural theorists conflict with those of Fama and French because behavioural theorists also suggest that there is nothing like an efficient market. You read "Momentum trading and Business Cycle Risk: Evidence from BRIC Countries" in category "Essay examples" Given the conflict between behavioural theorists and proponents of market efficiency, alternative explanations have been provided by recent studies. These studies argue that momentum profits are influenced by business cycle variables (e.g., Antoniou et al., 2007; Liew and Vassalou, 1999). Contrary to this view Griffen et al. (2002) in a study examining the link between business cycle variables and momentum profits across many countries argue that momentum profits are not a function of business cycle variables. While many studies have investigated the relationship between business cycle variables, most of these studies focus on developed markets with very little attention paid to emerging markets such as those of BRIC countries. Given the increasing role that BRIC countries play in the global economy, it is important to understand whether there are momentum profits in these countries as well as the role that business cycle risk has on momentum profits. This study is therefore a positive step toward contributing to the literature on momentum profits and business cycle risk by extending previous studies to stock markets in BRIC countries. 5. Research Methods This study will employ an econometric model to study the relationship between momentum profits and three sets of variables: (i) business cycle variables; (ii) firm specific variables (iii); and behavioural finance variables. The relationship between momentum profits and these variables can be represented using the following econometric model: (1) Where is a measure of the momentum profit of country i at in year t; is a vector of firm specific variables; is a vector of the past cumulative raw returns; and are the sensitivities of the momentum profits to changes in firm-specific variables and past cumulative returns respectively. The magnitude of the effect of these variables will be determined by testing the significance of the parameters at the 5% level of significance. In order to study business cycle variables, a model was developed by Chordia and Shivakumar (2002) and later extended by Antoniou et al. (2007). The model is an econometric model which establishes the relationship between momentum profits and business cycle variables. The model can be stated as follows: Where is the return (inclusive of dividends) of firm i in month t, BC is a vector of j (j=1-6) macroeconomic variables representing business cycle variables (DY, Rf, TERM, DEF, FX, and GDP), and is the error term of stock i in month t. DY is the dividend yield; Rf is the risk-free interest rate; DEF is the premium for default risk premium which is estimated as the difference between the yield on long-term corporate bonds and the yield on long-term government bonds; The term spread (TERM) is the difference between the yield on long-term government securities minus the yield on short-term government securities; FX is the foreign exchange rate; and GDP is the change in GDP (Antoniou et al., 2007). As earlier mentioned, stock returns depend on two factors: market factors and firm-specific factors. There is a trade-off relationship between the manner in which each group of factors affect stock returns. That is the higher the impact of firm-specific factors, the lower will be the impact of market factors and vice versa (Antoniou et al., 2007). To estimate equation (1) equations 3 has to be estimated and its parameters used as inputs to equation (2). After estimating equation (2) its parameters can then be used as inputs to equation (1). In this study, both time-series and cross-sectional regressions are used. Cross-sectional regressions are preferred over time series regressions because they help to avoid data-snooping biases which tend to occur in time-series regressions. In the time-series regressions, individual stocks are used which help to reduce the degree of loss of information that tends to occur when portfolios are used. Using first-pass time series regression, which allows the parameters to also fluctuate with firm-specific variables. The firm-specific factors include firm size and book-to-market ratio. The first-pass time-series regression can be stated as follows; is the return on firm i at time t, BC is a the vector of business cycle risk variables identified earlier, FF (Fama and French factors) are the firm-specific variables. Once equation (3) has been estimated, the parameters will be used as inputs to the second pass regression equation (4) below: Where is the output of equation (3). It is the unexplained variation from equation (3). These include the intercept coefficient and the residual term (+) of the regression equation (3); is a vector of firm characteristics, which include firm size and book-to-market ratio for security i at time t. represent the three sets of past cumulative raw returns (for m=1-3) over the second through third (RET 2-3), fourth through sixth (RET 4-6) and seventh through twelfth (RET 7-12) months prior to the current month t. (Antoniou et al. 2007). 6. Data Stock price data for stocks in the BRIC countries will be retrieved from the Thomson Financial Datastream Database. Data on dividend yields will also be retrieved from this database. The database also reports data on exchange rates. GDP, interest rate and exchange rate data will be retrieved from the IMF International Financial Statistics (IFS) database. Stock price data will be used to calculate the monthly return for each stock over the 60 monthly holding periods from January 2007 to December 2011. The returns will be used as inputs to the first-pass regression. References Griffin, John M., Martin, J. Spencer and Ji, Susan, â€Å"Momentum Investing and Business Cycle Risk: Evidence from Pole to Pole† (March 18, 2002). AFA 2003 Washington, DC Meetings; EFA 2002 Berlin Meetings Presented Paper. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=291225 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.291225 Antoniou A., Lam H. Y.T., Paudyal K. (2007). Profitability of momentum strategies in international markets: The role of business cycle variables and behavioural biases. Journal of Banking Finance volume 31, issue 3, pp. 955-972. Liew, Jimmy K.yung Soo and Vassalou, Maria, (1999). â€Å"Can Book-to-Market, Size, and Momentum Be Risk Factors That Predict Economic Growth?† Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=159293 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.159293 Rouwenhorst, K.G. (1998). International momentum strategies, Journal of Finance 53, pp. 267–284. Wu, X. (2002). A conditional multifactor analysis of return momentum, Journal of Banking and Finance 26 (2002), pp. 1675–1696 Jegadeesh N., Titman S. (1998). Returns to buying winners and selling losers: Implications for market efficiency, Journal of Finance 48, pp. 65–91. Barberis N., Shleifer A., Vishny R.W.(1998). A model of investor sentiment, Journal of Financial Economics 49, pp. 307–343. Fama E.F., French K.R. (1996). Multifactor explanations of asset pricing anomalies, Journal of Finance 51 (1996), pp. 55–84. Hong H., Stein J.C. (1999). A Unified Theory of Undereaction, Momentum Trading, and Overreaction in Asset Markets. Journal of Finance. Vol. 6, pp 2143-2184 Chelley-Steeley, Patricia and Siganos, Antonios, (2004). â€Å"Momentum Profits in Alternative Stock Market Structures†. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=624583 How to cite Momentum trading and Business Cycle Risk: Evidence from BRIC Countries, Essay examples

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

The Bloomabilities of Life free essay sample

I still remember those book club days like they happened yesterday. All eleven of us third and fourth graders would find a spot on the library floor in a circle. Pillows propped, shoes taken off, and blankets brought out as everyone settled in. Our teacher would sit â€Å"pretzel style† on the floor in our circle, seeming to be one of us. After taking out a book, the aroma of lemon poppy seed muffins wafted throughout the snug space. When everyone was settled, my teacher would ask a question to get our minds thinking. Did the tollbooth really take Milo to a land far away from his bedroom? Did we think Mr. Popper’s penguins could actually live in his house? Eagerly we all participated, calling out what we wanted to say. I looked forward to this Wednesday ritual. In this small, high ceiling room, I met Domenica Santolina Doone. She was my age, shy, and about to experience a big change. We will write a custom essay sample on The Bloomabilities of Life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We had these things in common. But unlike me, she was used to change. Although she was a fictional character, we could always relate to each other. Together, we went on adventures. Dinnie took me around the United States. She brought me along when she skied in the Swiss Alps. She let me listen in on her Global Awareness classes where she learned about the poverty of the world. She taught me how to accept the things you are given in life with thanks, not anger or guilt. Domenica Santolina Doone changed my views on the world. Dinnie changed schools and moved from the United States to Switzerland. When the time came for me to switch from private to public school in fifth grade, I was unprepared. I took her everywhere with me: school, the grocery store, dance class, riding my bike. As a child, I was always afraid of getting rid of old clothes that did not fit me anymore. I was not afraid of monsters, or ghosts, or the dark. No, I was afraid of change. When the initial shock of the scho ol switch was over, I began to think about Dinnie. At first she was scared, like me. Little by little she made new friends, just as I was doing. We both began to see that change is not necessarily a bad thing, and that it can open up many new possibilities, or â€Å"bloomabilities,† as her friend said. Since reading Bloomability by Sharon Creech in that third grade reading group, I have reread it over thirty times. Each time I pick up that book, I think about my life from a new perspective. As I grow and mature, Dinnie seems to grow and mature with me. The meaning of the book is forever changing just as the world around me is. That scared little girl is no longer here. She transformed when she saw that the wonderful â€Å"bloomabilities† of life only result from change.

Friday, March 20, 2020

Capital Punishment Research essays

Capital Punishment Research essays Whenever the word "death penalty" comes up, extremists from both sides of the spectrum begin to wildly express their opinions. One side says deterrence, the other side says there's a potential of executing an innocent man. One says justice, retribution, and punishment, the other side says execution is murder. However, all arguments aside, the best way and the only way to truly make a rational decision about capital punishment is to examine the purpose of our criminal justice system. Once the purpose of the criminal justice system is established, one must find out the purpose of capital punishment. This paper will show that the purpose of capital punishment is consistent with and embodies the purpose of the criminal justice system. Then, this paper will determine whether or not the present form of the death penalty is fulfilling its purpose, and what could be changed to make the death penalty more efficient and effective. The first question that must be faced is, "What is the purpose of the criminal justice system and does the death penalty help to fulfill that purpose?" In The Law, Frederic Bastiat says that humans have inalienable rights that existed outside of and before government. These rights are life, liberty, and property. He contends that the only legitimate purpose of government is to protect these rights. When one person inflicts on another's rights or takes advantage of another person, he is plundering. Bastiat asks, "When, then, does plunder stop? It stops when it becomes more painful and more dangerous than labor. It is evident, then that the proper purpose of law is to use the power of its collective force to stop this fatal tendency to plunder instead of work. All the measures of the law should protect property and punish plunder," (Bastiat 24-26). People will plunder, take advantage of others, and commit crimes as long as it is in their best interest to do so. The purpose our entire criminal justice system is to...

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

The PSAT Score Range (Updated for New 2015 PSAT)

The PSAT Score Range (Updated for New 2015 PSAT) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips College Board is mixing things up. With the new suite of assessments starting to roll out this fall, the new PSAT is one of the first tests to debut. Apart from changes in content and structure, the new PSAT will use a different scoring system than the one used in previous years. This new scale will correspond with, though not match exactly, the scale for the new SAT. This article will go over the new PSAT score range, along with explaining what your PSAT scores will mean for National Merit and your performance on the SAT. Let's check out the new scoring system. What's the New PSAT Score Range? Gone is the old PSAT score range of 60 to 240. The new PSAT will be scored on a scale from 320 to 1520. Math will actually count for one half of this composite score, and the Reading and Writing (which will be called Writing and Language) sections will count for the other half together.You'll get subscores for Math, Reading, and Writing and Language between 8 and 38. Then Reading and Writing will be considered together, and Math will make up for the other half. To get your Math scaled score, you simply multiply your section score by 20. A score of 30 on math, for instance, would convert to a scaled score of 600 (30 x 20 = 600). To get your Reading and Writing score, which again are combined, you add each section score and multiply by 10. Let's say you get a 32 on Reading and a 35 on Writing. Your scaled score would come out to 670 (e.g., (32 + 35) * 10 = 670). Here's another example, where the student scored a 28 on Reading, 32 on Writing, and 34 on Math. Test Test Score Section Score Total Score Reading 28 (28 + 32) * 10 = 600 600 + 680 = 1280 Writing and Language 32 Math 34 34 * 20 = 680 For each section, you could get a minimum scaled score of 160 and a maximum of 760. Your PSAT score report will further break down your performance by question type so you have a detailed sense of how you did. The verbal sections will show additional scoring between 1 and 15. Another major change is that the new PSAT will have rights-only scoring. You won't get any point deductions for wrong answers. Instead, your raw score will be added up one point at a time for each correct answer. Why Do PSAT Scores Matter? Your PSAT scores are important for a few reasons. One, as a measure of your college readiness, they give you a sense of your academic strengths and weaknesses and the skills you need to focus on to get ready for college. In a more immediate sense, they help predict how you'll do on the very important SAT. The new SAT will be scored between 800 and 1600. The PSAT scale is shifted slightly lower to account for the fact that it's a slightly easier test than the SAT. While a 1520 on the PSAT doesn't necessarily equate to a 1600 on the SAT, it still suggests you'll get a very strong score. If you're scoring lower than you'd like, you can use your score report to figure out how to prep to improve on the SAT. Apart from helping you predict and get ready for the SAT, your PSAT score is important for National Merit distinction and scholarships. Since National Merit looks at scorers in top percentiles, it's important to know your percentiles, along with your scores. Your percentiles compare you to other students who took the PSAT, so you can know how competitive your scores are. You'll actually get a few different percentile measures on your score reports, which I'll explain below. How Do PSAT Score Percentiles Work? Your scores will be assigned a percentile, which compares them to the scores of other test-takers. If you score in the 75th percentile, for instance, then you scored the same as or higher than 75% of other test-takers. The other 25% scored higher than you. You'll actually see three types of percentiles, the Nationally Representative Sample percentile, the User percentile, and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation percentile. The first compares all the other U.S. students in your grade, while the second compares a sample derived from a research study. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) percentile is the important one for National Merit. NMSC uses its own percentile to compare students by state who participated in the same PSAT administration.Read more about National Merit here. Preparing for the PSAT As you can see in the chart above, scoring in the top 1% requires a high score with very few wrong answers in each section. The highest scorers on the PSAT usually take months to a year or more before the test to study with official PSAT practice tests and questions. Older PSAT practice tests are also very helpful, as are practice tests for the new SAT, since the two tests will be very similar. You can use these practice tests to figure out what subjects and question types you need to study most, as well as to time yourself and practice answering questions quickly and efficiently under time limits. One of the best ways to learn and improve is to write down any mistakes or questions you're unsure about. Then take the time to thoroughly review the answer explanations, and drill the same concepts with similar practice questions. That way you can break patterns and answer the same question types correctly the next time. Some students also choose to take the PSAT earlier, like in 9th or 10th grade to gain valuable test-taking experience. Additionally, College Board now offers the PSAT 8/9 and the PSAT 10 for eighth graders, freshmen, and sophomores to gain experience with these tests. Finally, once you do take the PSAT, make sure to check your scores right away. Then you can see if you made it into the top 1% and need to start on your National Merit application. Either way, you can learn what you need to study to further improve your scores on the SAT. What's Next? Are you a sophomore wondering if you should take the PSAT 10 or the PSAT NMSQT? Read all about the differences and how to decide here. If you are taking the PSAT NMSQT as a sophomore, check out what makes a good score for sophomores here. When are you planning to start studying for the SAT? This article helps you figure out your study schedule, as well as gives suggestions for how many hours you need to prep to see certain score improvements. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Monday, February 17, 2020

Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Analysis - Case Study Example Two thousand and five was the first time when Dietary Guideline for Americans (DGA) made a major federal nutrition policy guideline on the specified limit of the amount of sodium that should be consumed. The policy recommends that any individual of two or additional years are supposed to consume less than 2,300 mg of sodium every day. In addition, individuals perceived to be at high risk of contracting diseases caused by over consumption of sodium such as hypertension, middle-age, and older adults are recommended by the DGA to take sodium of not more than 1,500 mg a day. The analyses that have been made so far indicate that 69 % of American adults would fall under the recommended people to take low level of sodium (CDC, 2009). According to DGA, measures of salt during cooking and use at the table fairly have been stable and relatively small as compared to other amount of sodium found from other sources. In addition, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) has su ggested that platforms for reducing the salt consumption of a populace may be utmost fruitful if they are intended to focus on decreasing salt additional in the course of food processing in addition to changes in food variety. The recommendation to consume sodium that is lower than 2,300 mg every day by an organization known as the  Dietary Guidelines for Americans  is similar with the recommendations that were made by the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s). In their reports, it is evident that a majority of adults consume foods that have high level of potassium, water, chloride, sodium, and (IOM, 2005). In addition, their findings ascertains the necessity for public health tactics to moderate sodium consumption as well as the progress of substitute handling skills to ease the sodium content of nutrition. The IOM also emphasizes that distinct devotion should be specified to maintain texture, taste, low cost, and satisfactoriness of the end user. There has been many co ntroversy surrounding recent recommendation regarding the extension of the amount of sodium intake from groups that have the highest risk to the general American populations. According to experts, Americans need to reduce their intake of sodium, and this will promote a longer lifespan for the American population. Their recommendation is on the basis of different panels that offer their expert advice regarding human health. Studies based on the results of clinical results as well as other studies show that there are many advantages of consuming low sodium (Kovner et. al, 2011). These findings indicate that a diet that involves a low amount of sodium lowers the chances of individuals to succumb to cardiovascular related deaths. This finding serves to add strength to the recommendation by experts that Americans ought to reduce their sodium intake. It is important that people with hypertension or older individuals to consume low amounts of sodium to reduce the degree of putting their li ves at risk. Public health policies in America are then able to include not only the citizens who are at a high risk but the general American population. This is why the experts who made recommendations that Americans need to

Monday, February 3, 2020

Marketing of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company - Essay Example When you go to a hotel, the hotel tries to emulate this feeling by trying to make your stay convenient and comfortable. In more common occasions, the hotel falls short of this and the guest would need to frequently or occasionally call for room service just to be able to make the hotel more comfortable. Therefore, with their personalize system, you don't really need to call room service anymore because it is already automatically provided for and it gives the hotel the opportunity to call and inform the guest for point of interest that they might enjoy. Rewarding loyal customers. - Through constant visits in the hotel, more data would eventually be gathered for the guest. Therefore, making it possible to give even more precise and better service to its guests. Food preference - knowing the food preference not only makes it convenient for customers to give the company decisions for their own food, especially convenient for people who would stay for a considerable amount of time and make a routine service for food. It is like having a personal cook which knows what you want to eat without telling them. Also, it helps the company prepare the food before hand, thus cutting preparation time. No need to call for room service - Since the hotel would know what each client would like, there would virtually be less need for clients to call room service.

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Culture Sources Of Conflict Than Of Synergy Cultural Studies Essay

Culture Sources Of Conflict Than Of Synergy Cultural Studies Essay Cultures can be high context or low context depending on the ways of communication. Low context culture is the one which is more explicit, communication is direct and things are fully but concisely spelled out. People dont think about what other people are going to think of them if they behaved in a particular way. A high context culture is the one in which the communicators assume a great deal of commonality of knowledge and views, so that its less explicit. People act according to the situations in this culture, there is more emphasis on gestures. One has to read between the lines. Cultures can also be monochronic or polychoronic, monochronic is when the managers like to do one thing at a time, they value orderliness and sense of there being an appropriate time and place for everything on the other hand polychronic culture encourages multitasking and doing multiple things at a time. Then there is future, present and past oriented cultures. Past oriented societies are more bound by the traditional values and ways of doing things. These cultures tend to be more conservative in management and less adaptive. Present oriented societys focuses on the present, they prefer short term benefits over the long term goals. Future oriented societies have a great deal of optimism about the future. They focus on long term benefits, expansion and growth. Discussion: Communication can be greatly affected by the difference in cultures and the languages spoken, or unspoken? Well yes, we are talking about the silent language here which can impact international business. There are different languages which are non-verbal and are not communicated directly but communicate up to ninety percent of the meaning in the high context cultures, like the language of time, space, friendship, business patterns, etc. There are different unspoken languages just like there are different spoken languages. The unspoken languages are informal yet they can have a great impact. There is language of time which is different for people belonging to different cultures. For example, In the U.S. a delay in answering a communication could be because of the backlog of work, and a large volume of business causing the request to be postponed, but on the other hand, the person awaiting response might think that the matter has low priority on the part of the other person -lack of interest. A similar kind of delay in another foreign country may mean something altogether different. Like time, language of space has a different meaning everywhere too. Americans measure their importance or position in the organization according to the size of their offices. The president or the chairman has the biggest office, and so on down the line. French on the other hand are more likely to layout space as a network and often find a supervisor in the middle of his subordinates. Also body distance is very important factor of language of space, in countries like middle east, people get to o close ,crowd the physical being whereas in, UK people prefer being a little cold and distant. But at the same time it is important to know the extent to which people are acceptable about the distance. Though Saudi-Arabia is a high touch culture inappropriate use of touch in advertising messages may cause problems. For example, Drakkar noir perfume advert in Europe is a mans hand clutching the perfume bottle and a womans hand seizing his bare forearm, whereas in the Saudi-Arabian version a mans arm is clothed in a dark jacket sleeve, and woman is touching the mans hand only with her fingertip. The sensuality is toned down and made less explicit in the Saudi-Arabian version (Hollensen, 2007). So though these countries are high touch cultures, we should also remember that these cultures are also high-context cultures. Then there is also language of agreements between people in various countries wherein rules are legally bound and the executives are expected to have a basic awareness of the rules. These rules can be laws and regulations of a country or maybe a moral practice that is followed in that country as a tradition or the informal customs to which everyone confirms without being able to state the exact rules. (Hall, 1960). Culture influences various attitudes towards food, health, media, consumption, country of origin, lifestyle, values, sex and love related attitudes, etc The factors are very closely related and in turn affect the marketing strategies a company adopts like pricing of a product, advertising and promotions, choosing a target market, product adaptation (Hollensen, 2007). For example, In India, The Hindu religion doesnt permit to eat beef. Therefore McDonalds in India doesnt serve the big Mac, instead the product has been adapted to suit the Indian consumers renamed as the maharaja Mac consisting of lamb (Harding, 2000). These aspects influence the consumer behaviour. In many countries, colors represent various holidays; they are also used to express feelings. The language of colour can influence international business, if its not promoted properly. One example of this can be Pepsi, Pepsi cola lost its dominant market share to coke in south-east Asia when Pepsi changed the colour of its v ending machines and coolers from deep regal blue to light ice blue as light blue is associated with mourning and death in south east Asia. There also a need to be careful with the brand designs, product and package design, colour, brand name and symbols because the attitudes of people towards these symbols or names could be different in different countries. Some conventional brand names that communicate positive messages in one country might have a totally different meaning in another which may substantially damage the corporate image and marketing effectiveness. When Pepsi was expanding in china a few years ago, the slogan Pepsi brings you back to life was literally translated in Chinese which meant brings your ancestors back from the grave. The above mentioned parts of a culture are the most fundamental ones, yet other parts also have a large impact on the culture. Things such as tradition, customs, humour, and education are all components of a culture that, if studied and understood, will reduce potential misunderstandings. It is important for companies to engage in business abroad in order to stay competitive. Even though the decision to start trading with foreign countries may seem rational and unavoidable, for many companies there are obstacles that could and will affect the business Outcome. It is important to have a thorough understanding of all impacts the international Trade will have on the business and its performances and there are several ways to overcome these obstacles. One way is to educate and inform the workers about the cultural differences and the specific business procedures in the countries. Managers should also try to make use of the local employees that possess valuable knowledge about the market that is adopting a regiocentric approach. Also the managers should be less ethnocentric and more polycentric towards the foreign culture. A deeper economic integration through EU and ASEAN and other such trade agreements will eliminate tariffs among the member countries and harmonize business procedures and regulations. With this free trade liberalization, non-tariff barriers to trade will also be reduced as countries and cultures become more unified (Kogut Singh, 1988). For companies doing business overseas it is crucial to not only know your own companys Customs, but in addition compare these with the honouring countrys customs of behaviour. This applies, in particular, to companies which operate in countries where the home culture is that of a complete different nature. In order to understand different peoples behaviours it is imperative to look at the different levels of culture and how these affect the individuals in different scenarios. The different levels are national cultu re, business culture, organizational Culture and individual behaviour. The countrys national culture is directly impacting the business culture in the country. In turn, the business culture will have an apparent influence over each and every company within that country. All of these levels will ultimately affect the individuals behaviour. In countries where religion has a major impact on the business procedures, managers should prepare themselves and their personnel by collecting information about the religion and the typical behaviours and manners that are incorporated. By increasing the knowledge and familiarity with the specific religion, it will become easier to accept and understand why certain procedures are taking place, especially when doing business. The culture of a host country is sometimes completely different to culture in the home country. Thus, when striving to recruit the right people companies need to focus on internal training and trying to shape the person in respect to the corporate culture instead of finding the perfect match in an interview process. It is absolutely crucial that the companies start looking beyond the persons abilities at the early stage and instead try to sell the corporate culture as an alternative to changing the personality. Since the national culture and as well the business culture are directly correlated to how the individuals act, it is crucial to understand the individual behaviours in the specific country that the company is operating in. Cultures are embedded in every conflict because conflicts arise in human relationships. Though conflicts cannot be completely eliminated in an organization it can definitely be minimized. Forcing 100% cultural assimilation of those who fall outside the cultural norm is one path as well, but it breeds resentment and ultimate conflict. Sometimes the cultural diversity in an organization is seen as having no impact at all and the diversity is ignored also known as the parochial philosophy, but this results in the marginalization of people who fall outside the cultural norm (Mooij, 2003). Therefore, it is important to implement useful strategies that would reduce the conflicts rather than instigating them. Managers must be skilled at resolving and understanding cross cultural conflicts so that if at all conflicts arise managers are able to resolve the conflict without affecting the productivity. Employ people from the host country so that they have adequate knowledge about the culture and the language of the host country, these regional managers can thus provide further training to the employees from home country. When a company relocates to a new site abroad, relocation services offered by organization should go beyond moving and new community information as employees require orientation to the realities and opportunities of the new cultural environment. When an organization moves to a new place, quickening of the work pace can result in resentment and burnout, therefore involving employees in co-operative efforts to regulate and monitor change in the work environment would be a good idea. There are various cross cultural approaches which can be used by the managers. Cultural dominance, when one organization is in a more powerful position than the other, the more powerful one dominates, insisting on doing things as they are done in the home culture. Cultural accommodation approach, this is opposite of cultural dominance, this is when managers tend to imitate the culture of the host country, attempting to blend in. Cultural compromise approach, this approach is a combination of the two approaches mentioned above, with both the sides conceding something to work together more successfully. This approach can be used by the managers to minimise cultural conflicts and function efficiently. Cultural avoidance, this approach emphasizes on working and managing as if no cultural conflict exists, most often used by managers when the unresolved issue is less important than the final outcome of the situation or the negotiation. Cultural synergy approach, this approach develops new solutions that respect all cultures involved and often increases the chances fo r working effectively in a transcultural environment. For example, if a French firm insists that negotiations with a German to be done in French it is an example of cultural dominance approach, if Germans agree immediately then it is an example of cultural accommodation. If both parties decide to get an interpreter, it is an example of cultural compromise. However, if both German and French agree to negotiate in a third language, it is the cultural synergy approach. This third language can be a language known to both the parties so that none of the parties have a language advantage over the other But we can end the topic saying, what comprises of conflict in one culture is daily difference of opinion in another. A serious insult in one setting -crossing ones leg -is a matter of comfort in another. An arrogant challenge in one culture -putting ones hands on hips -is a sign of openness in another. Human boundaries are cultural creations; social boundaries, legal boundaries and emotional boundaries are all drawn according to each cultures value (Mooij, 2003). So culture can act as a catalyst in bringing people together if used appropriately and to the organizations benefit, but if disrespected and ignored can also create major conflicts eventually leading to failure of the business.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Contempory Management Functions Essay

How do the theories proposed in your chosen reading inform your understanding of contemporary management functions and the employer-employee relationship? The Purpose of this essay is to determine how scientific management impacts contemporary management functions and the employer-employee relationship. This essay is based on the journal article [Locke,E (1982)The Ideas of Fredrick W Taylor: An Evaluation, Academy Management review,7(11),pp.14-24] and is regarding scientific management started by Fredrick Winslow Taylor which was a theory developed regarding management which analysed workflows. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to management. Scientific management’s main objective was to improve economic efficiency and productivity in the workforce. In most simple terms some of the many concepts were having a standardised method for doing a job, providing increased compensation to the worker as reward for being efficient and hiring the right person for the right job. Many of these theories are very commonly used in management today. Contemporary is a word meaning existing or occurring at the same time (Robbins,2012) . Management functions refer to the way somebody manages a business (Robbins,2012). Therefore contemporary management functions are how we typically manage today. Employer- employee relationship is the relationship in which a manager has with their employee’s and how they complete their work day together and if they are efficient together (Robbins,2012). The four contemporary management functions are Planning, Organising, leading and controlling. Planning is defined as a management function that involves defining goals, establishing strategies for achieving those goals and developing plans to integrate and coordinate activities (Robbins,2012). Organising is a management function that involves arranging and structuring work to accomplish the organisations goals (Robbins,2012). Leading is working with and through people to accomplish organisational goals and controlling involves monitoring, comp aring and correcting work performance (Robbins,2012). Scientific management theories proposed in this reading do apply to  contemporary management functions. Although many of these theories could be argued as common knowledge today, when Fredrick Taylor established them they were prehistoric terms. He wanted to find out ‘one best way’ for everything in the workplace. Taylor’s most well known experiment was the pig-iron experiment (Locke, 1982 ). The experiment involved workers loading ‘pigs’ of iron on to rail cars. He knew their current daily output, but believed more was possible using scientific management. This was done due to many things. First of all putting the right person on the job with the right tools and equipment. In today’s management people hire the best person they can for the job. Secondly he had the worker follow his instructions exactly. This is also normal in today’s management functions, because people do things the way the employer wants them to. Taylor also motivated successful and productive workers with higher pay (Locke, 1982). This is also very common in today, with higher salary packages for good workers and pay increases for productivity fairly common. This improves employer and employee relationships by making the employee feel valued. Although many people believe in Taylors scientific management functions Lawerence (2010), Green (1986) both argue that that this is not the case and that scientific management is the problem in today’s management. Although there arguments are well presented there seems to be no evidence suggesting that Taylor’s theories do not work. Chung(2013) Agrees with Taylors contemporary management theories but argues the point that people could be to caught up on contemporary management functions and forgetting some key aspects of general managing. Taylor’s scientific management theories help the understanding of the employer-employee relationship by making it easier to understand what the relationship is actually for. This relationship is primarily about productivity .Many things Taylor did such as relaying messages from the employer to the employee to improve productivity) are also widely used in today’s management(locke,1982) . He also discovered that giving feedback to your employees will increase there skills and there productivity ( Locke,1982). This method is also very commonly used today with weekly meetings in many companies between employee and employer. Many large companies today use contemporary management functions in the work place. Companies Such as subway, burger king and McDonald’s are all very structured from top to bottom of the company and people are constantly striving to think of ways to improve productivity thus maximising profits. Yang (2012), Talks about all the hugely complex mathematical equations that now go into various parts decision making in Burger King and McDonald’s. Although the equations are to complex to understand to the average person it is clear that management is a lot more planned and structured in today’s workplace. Williams (2008) statesâ€Å"Consistency is a priority at McDonald’s† (p.15). This is true because anytime you walk into a McDonalds anywhere in the world you know what to expect. This is due to the contemporary management functions of a large scale to plan and organise and regulate what every individual McDonalds can do to ensure people know what they are getting and what to expect every time they walk through that door. Williams (2008) also discusses the change between old management styles and new management styles that have produced positive results for the company. The new management styles are all very similar to what Locke (1982) says about Taylor’s theories. For example Williams (2008) speaks about all the new rewards McDonalds have brought in for successful franchises and employees ranging from bonus’s to promotions to higher positions which like Taylor suggests encourages people to work harder hence greater profits (Locke, 1982 ) . Williams (2008) also talks about the extensive process in training managers and staff and the new expectations of every employee within the company that has increased greatly over the years to insure everythi ng runs according to contemporary management functions. Taylor’s theories of scientific management are helpful in informing you of contemporary management functions and employer-employee relationships. The way the workplace is shaped today seems very relevant to Taylor’s theories. Many of his theories are normal in today’s management functions. Although he has had many critics of his work It is shown in the articles that not many have been able to prove there arguments. Using evidence such as Williams (2008) journal on the change in managing McDonalds makes it clear that Taylor has had a big influence on typical management functions in today’s  workplace. Chung, C. (2013) The Road Not Taken: Putting ‘Management’ Back to Taylor’s Scientific Management, Journal of multidisciplinary research, 5(1), pp. 45-56. Green, M. (1986) A Kantian Evaluation of Taylorism in the Workplace, Journal of Business Ethics, 7 (2), pp. 165-169. Lawrence, P. (2010)The key job design problem is still Taylorism, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 31 (2), pp. 412-421. Locke, E. (1982) The Ideas of Fredrick W .Taylor: An Evaluation, Academy of Management Review, 7 (1), pp. 14-24. Robbins,S.R., Bergman, Stagg, Coulter. (2012). Management (6th ed.). Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd. Williams, E. (2008) Accelerated leadership development tops the talent management menu at Mcdonald’s ,27(4),pp. 15-31. Yang,N. (2012) Burger King and McDonald’s: Where’s the Spillover?, 19(2),pp.255-281

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Learn All About German Plural Nouns With -e Endings

There are several different ways to make a noun plural in German. A common way is to add an -e at the end of the word.   When to Add an -e Most German nouns of all genders that consist of one syllable will add -e at the end  to form plurals. Some nouns will also have umlaut changes. Example 1: Here, the noun gains an -e at the end and the noun becomes plural instead of masculine. der Schuh (the shoe, singular) becomes  die Schuhe (plural). Ich habe meinen Schuh verloren. (I lost my shoe.) Ich habe meine Schuhe verloren. (I lost my shoes.) Example 2: Here, the noun not only gains an -e at the end, but the u gets an umlaut.   die Wurst (the sausage, singular) becomes  die Wà ¼rste (plural). Ich esse eine Wurst. (I’m eating a sausage.) Ich esse die Wà ¼rste. (Im eating sausages.) When Plural Nouns Take a Different Ending The only time a different plural ending is added  is when the noun is dative. In this case, the noun always adds an -en ending. See the chart below for a summary of this plural group in all cases. In this chart, nom. stands for nominative, acc. stands for accusative, dat. stands for dative and gen. is genitive.   Plural Nouns With -e Endings Read more about plural nouns here.   Case Singular Plural nom.acc.dat.gen. der Hund (the dog)den Hunddem Hunddes Hundes die Hundedie Hundeden Hundender Hunde nom.acc.dat.gen. die Hand (the hand)die Handder Handder Hand die Hndedie Hndeden Hndender Hnde nom.acc.dat.gen. das Hemd (the shirt)das Hemddem Hemddes Hemdes die Hemdedie Hemdeden Hemdender Hemde

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Chemistry Definition of Ionic

You may come across the term ionic in your studies of chemistry. This term is an important term to know as it relates to multiple types of chemical and physical concepts. Definition of Ionic In chemistry, the term ionic means pertaining to something carrying a net electrical charge, as an ionic bond or ionic compound.