Theological Language and Digital Media Research Paper

Theological Language and Digital Media - Research Paper Example This essay is about the relationship between theology and the digital media. More specifically, this essay discusses how theological ideas might better be communicated digitally. Thus, this essay includes a comprehensive analysis of the nature of theological language and the challenges they face in the 21st century, and how digital methods and tools could enhance communication of theology. Historical Overview Before discussing the contemporary relationship between theology and the media, it is important to take into consideration the influence of the codex book on current interpretations of theology. Throughout the history of Christianity, the codex Bible has been used not just as a book of narratives, insights, and guidelines but as the medium of mystical transformation and spiritual communication (Elwell 2011, 15). When Anthony Bernard learned Matthew 19:21 and surrendered all his material belongings to lead a Christian life, or when Agnes Ozman personified the declaration of gloss olalia, in every chapter, a person was changed spiritually by God’s divine utterance (Kling 2004, 311). The codex Bible has been a life-transforming testimony. The codex Bible is not only a life-transforming instrument but are reconstructed and revived in the historical and discursive practice. As a specific text evolves over time, it goes through different interpretations and relevance. For example, African Americans translated the exodus narrative into their own narrative-- first a narrative of emancipation from slavery, then eventually God’s salvation from all kinds of repression and abuse. In certain instances a text which is dead eventually becomes alive (Soukup, Buckley, & Robinson 2009, 3). For instance, Matt. 16:18-19, or also called the Petrine text, was dead for hundreds of years before it was summoned as an evidence of the pre-eminence of Rome’s bishop. A specific book of Scripture works to authorise what has already taken place or to strengthen the e xisting context of opinion. In certain instances, nevertheless, texts are clearly quoted to validate a current historical truth. For instance, the Petrine text embodies a â€Å"retreat from exegesis to later history,† (Fouracre 2005, 745) because it was quoted as the biblical evidence for the pre-eminence of Rome’s bishop. A developing field in the conversion of the Bible is the presentation of the codex book in digital formats. The theological language was a largely oral tradition wherein the readings were read vocally, normally in group contexts. Contemporary bibles are printed manuscripts (Waters 2006, 71). The technological world introduces the digital media or electronic formats. Books contend with digital technologies like computer, television, film, and so on. The digital world presents new media for the translation of the Bible. What is discussed here is the issue of actual translation, not merely the issue of how to create multimedia productions or films †˜adapted from’ the Bible. This relationship between digital media and ancient Bible translation perhaps clarify why several scholars of biblical media are particularly interested not just in the study of new media for translating and presenting the Bible but also in bringing back antique oral types of Bible presentation (Knauss & Ornella 2007, 116). This twofold interest is particularly apparent in the work of Thomas Boomershine—a widely renowned lecturer and author in the translation o

My interest in fashion Essay Example for Free

My interest in fashion Essay I have always been passionate about fashion. My interest in fashion led me to pursue my Bachelors in Fashion Design from Pearl Academy of Fashion in Delhi, affiliated to Nottingham Trent University in UK. I was one of the top students of my class and was given an award for the best portfolio of garments. During the course I got an opportunity for intern at Ritu garments. It was here that I developed a keen interest in Fashion Styling. After a lot of research, I found that Birmingham City University in UK was offering the course that best fit my requirements. My prime concern with any course I chose to undertake is that the programme should enable me to nurture my professional and technical skills alongside creative and conceptual initiatives through practical and theoretical assignments. I found MA in Fashion Styling in Birmingham City University to be the perfect course. I wish to handle wide spectrum of styling assignments from re-vamping a celebrity’s image or styling them accompanied by styling for magazine photo shoot and design campaign for it as well and in the future work towards being a successful Fashion stylist. I would like to have more in depth look at the rise of fashion stylist within the fashion industry and many different roles of fashion stylist today. I would also like to explore the fashion. To have hands on experience of working with professionals from the industry and to realize my ideas in an excelling way. I would like to challenge convention through the work I do in my project and break boundaries with flare. As a Fashion stylist I would like to be responsible for enhancing a product and bringing life to a photographer’s vision for layout in a magazine, music video and also deal in color and style coordination and placement of wardrobe. I would like to work on TV, films, ad agencies, fashion house, magazines as a fashion stylist. I have developed this knowledge and experience through my style of working while in my graduation and also my internship experience which enabled me to understand my zeal towards the field of fashion. Thus I would like to widen my horizons in these respective areas.

Halfords business analysis | Free essay | Management essays

Halfords business analysis | Free essay | Management essays Introduction Halfords is the UKs leading retailer, on the basis of turnover, in each of the key product markets in which it operates, being, car maintenance, car enhancement and leisure (including cycles and cycle accessories and roof boxes etc. Founded as a local hardware store in Birmingham in1892by F W Rushbrooke, Halfords has since grown to establish its position as the leading retailer of car parts, car enhancement, cycles and travel solutions in the UK. In this report the value of the company is evaluated on the basis of its current statutory accounts. In this report the alternative sources of finance available for the company are also discussed. The areas of corporate risk when raising finance, paying particular attention to funds available to the company are also discussed. Business valuation: A formal assessment of the value of a business using pre-determined and generally agreed upon formulas. Theres a range of ways to value a business. Valuations based on multiples of future earnings and the capitalisations of future cashflows are the most common. There are a number of common valuation methods: Asset based business valuation methods total up all the investments in the business. Asset-based business valuations can be done on a going concern or on a liquidation basis. Agoing concern asset-based approachdetermines the business net balance sheet value of its assets and subtracts the value of its liabilities. Aliquidation asset-based approachrepresents the net cash that would be received if all assets were sold and liabilities paid off. Earning value approaches Earning value business valuation methods are predicated on the idea that a businesss true value lies in its ability to produce wealth in the future. The most common earning value approach is about Capitalizing Past Earning. With this approach, a valuator determines an expected level of cash flow for the company using a companys record of past earnings, normalizes them for unusual revenue or expenses, and multiplies the expected normalized cash flows by a capitalization factor. The capitalization factor is a reflection of what rate of return a reasonable purchaser would expect on the investment, as well as a measure of the risk that the expected earnings will not be achieved. Discounted Future Earningsis another earning value approach to business valuation where instead of an average of past earnings, an average of the trend of predicted future earnings is used and divided by the capitalization factor. Market value approaches Market value approaches to business valuation attempt to establish the value of the business by comparing the business to similar businesses that have recently sold. Obviously, this method is only going to work well if there are a sufficient number of similar businesses to compare. Valuation of Halfords Using the Market Value approach: In the report the Halfords Company is going to be evaluated using the market value approach. Valuation Multiple A value, typically expressed as a factor, used to multiply a business economic benefit to arrive at the business value. Market-derived business valuation multiples Valuation multiplesderived from similar business sales are often used to estimate the likely selling price of a business. These multiples are calculated as ratios which relate some measure of business financial performance to its potential selling price. The most popularmultiplesare: Currant finance structure: Treasury policy The Groups Treasury Policy is structured to ensure that adequate financial resources are available for the development of its business whilst managing its currency, interest rate and counterparty credit risks. The Groups treasury strategy, policy and controls are approved by the Board. The main elements of treasury activity and associated risk are outlined below: Funding The treasury function arranges sufficient secure financial resources to enable the Group to meet its medium-term business objectives, whilst arranging facility maturities appropriate to its projected needs. The Group has a syndicated five-year term facility, maturing with a bullet repayment in July 2011, totalling  £300m of committed bank facilities, comprising a non-amortising term loan of  £180m and a revolving credit facility of  £120m, which, together with cash surpluses, provide adequate funding for the Groups operations. Counterparty credit risk The Group actively manages its relationships with a panel of high quality financial institutions. Credit risk is controlled by the treasury function setting counterparty credit limits by reference to published rating agency credit ratings and the Corporate Default Swap market. All such counterparties, which constitute the syndicated bank group, held at least an A credit rating at the time of the facility agreement. The Treasury Policy recognises that an exposure to a counterparty arises in relation to investments, derivatives and financial instruments. The Groups treasury departments main responsibilities are to: Ensure adequate funding and liquidity for the Group; Manage the interest risk of the Groups debt; Invest surplus cash; Manage the clearing bank operations of the Group; and Manage the foreign exchange risk on its non-sterling cash flows. The Groups debt management policy is to provide an appropriate level of funding to finance the Business Plan over the medium term at a competitive cost and ensure flexibility to meet the changing needs of the Group. The Group has a syndicated five-year term facility totalling  £300m that provides the Group with committed bank facilities until July 2011. The key risks that the Group faces from a treasury perspective are as follows: Financial risk The Business Plan and cash flow forecasts are subject to key assumptions such as interest rates and the significance of these risks is dependent upon the level of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and the strength of the balance sheet. Interest rate risk The Groups policy aims to manage the interest cost of the Group within the constraints of the Business Plan and its financial covenants. The Groups borrowings are currently subject to floating rate and the Group will continue to monitor movements in the swap market. Foreign currency risk The Group has a significant transaction exposure with increasing, direct source purchases of its supplies from the Far East, with most of the trade being in US dollars. The Groups policy is to manage the foreign exchange transaction exposures of the business to ensure the actual costs do not exceed the budget costs by 10% (excluding increases in the base cost of the product). The Group does not hedge either economic exposure or the translation exposure arising from the profits, assets and liabilities of non-sterling businesses whilst they remain immaterial. During the 53 weeks to 3 April 2009, the foreign exchange management policy was to hedge between 75% and 80% of the material foreign exchange transaction exposures on a rolling 15-18 month basis. Hedging is performed through the use of foreign currency bank accounts, spot rates and forward foreign exchange contracts. Credit risk The Groups policy is to minimise the risk that foreign exchange and interest rate derivative counterparties, the holders of surplus cash and the providers of debt will be unable to fulfil their obligations and also, in the case of lenders, unwilling to extend the loan facilities when they expire. The Group ensured that such counterparties used for credit transactions held at least an A credit rating at the time of syndication (July 2006). Ancillary business, in the main, is directed to the eight banks within the syndicated group. The Treasurer is responsible for determining creditworthiness of each counterparty, based on the overall financial strength of the counterparty. The counterparty credit risk is reviewed in the Treasury report, which is forwarded to the Treasury Committee and the Treasurer reviews credit exposure on a daily basis. Conclusion: Depending on the financial data provided by the Halfords Company the current financial stability of the company is successfully analyzed. References Annual report: Halfords PLC http://www.halfordscompany.com/hal/ir/fininfo/reports/ http://www.valuadder.com/glossary/valuation-multiplier.html http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/costofcapital.asp http://www.lse.co.uk/shareprice.asp?shareprice=THTshare=thorntons_plc_ord_10p

AIDS :: Free AIDS Essays

AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, better known as AIDS, is caused by the incurable HIV virus. AIDS is a deadly disease that deteriorates the immune system. There are two groups of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), HIV-1 that occurs throughout the world and HIV-2 that mainly occurs in Africa. The HIV virus enters the white blood cells and takes over the reproductive system of that cell and uses the system to reproduce itself. The white blood cell dies and the new HIV cells infect other white blood cells and repeat the process. If you have become infected with the AIDS disease you may not have any symptoms of the for the next ten years. The AIDS disease makes the less serious conditions harder for your body to control or get rid of because of the loss of many of the white blood cells in your body. The most common causes of death for the people with AIDS are pneumonia and Kaposi's sarcoma, which afflict 70% of the infected people. AIDS is transmitted in three ways. Intimate s exual contact is the most common. While direct contact with infected blood and transactions to babies from the infected mother's fetus will also cause the disease. Although some speculation, you cannot receive the disease from air, food, water, or insects. AIDS is a life and death issue. To have the AIDS disease is a sentence of slow but inevitable death. There currently is no cure or vaccine for this disease. There are drugs that have been proven effective in slowing the spread of this deadly disease. We know enough about how the infection is transmitted to protect ourselves from it. But too few people are hearing the AIDS message. Perhaps many simply don't like or want to believe what they hear, preferring to think that AIDS "can't happen to them.

John F. Kennedy – the Speaker

I choose John F. Kennedy to write about as he epitomizes a great speaker to me. As I learned in class and in reading the textbook, credibility is key for any speaker to be fully respected. I believe that John F. Kennedy not only meets this qualification but surpasses it. Over the years I have looked at his speaking methodology and tried to follow his direction in speaking with knowledge, truth, and having the credibility on the subject matter. After being sworn into office, one of the best speeches was given by John F. Kennedy on January 20, 1961. His inauguration speech gripped the whole nation, and it was so powerful that people still quote it to this day. It is one of the greatest speeches of all time that was ever written. The reason so many people remember quotes from this speech word for word is that there is a strong reaction to the pathos, ethos and logos in the people who hear it. John F. Kennedy was the United States’ thirty fifth president. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard and then entered the Navy. He started out as a reporter before he entered politics. Afterwards he wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning â€Å"Profiles in Courage†. Because Kennedy was the youngest president to take office, he faced much skepticism from his critics. This speech gave him recognition that was positive, although it had many purposes. In order to encourage the public of America to become actively involved with their country is why the inaugural address was written (Goldzwig & Dionisopoulos, 1995). Evident throughout John F. Kennedy's speech is energy that is youthful. Even though he just won a difficult campaign, his focus was not on the policies that contributed to his victory. The objectives he has are shown in powerful appeals to emotion, through establishing a link with the common American citizen. Drawing from his past but focusing on his future, he is able to personalize his speech (Boller, 1967). Kennedy's words stress his active goal of uniting two divisive camps. He discusses the great responsibilities he carries as a president and worldwide symbol of peace, and toward the end of his speech, he says: â€Å"I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. His listeners are allowed to hear the strength of this determination from the showing of his persistence as a leader. His stance is that the world can only be bettered by accumulated effort therefore he extends his energies to everyone. When he places the focus on what can be done for the solving of the problem, the activism in his speech can be seen very clearly. His fina l aim for peace between debatable forces becomes obvious with his idea to, â€Å"have strong power to eliminate other nations with complete control of every nations. â€Å"Complete† emphasizes the bold diction applied to his speech, and it unites zeugma. He knows that people are afraid of this world, and he represents the boldness to let them know somebody is available that is not scared to have a peace negotiation (Barnes, 2005). Some of Kennedy's appeals that were the best to the audience were created by the diction that was metaphorical. An example of such use of metaphor is his vow to southern nations â€Å"to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. Here, his metaphor not only clarifies his goal of liberation but emphasizes that freedom means not repeating historical injustices. He speaks of evil tyrants in history stating, â€Å"Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside,† plainly illustrat ing his plans of becoming a moral figure on the international level. Formal diction evokes a sense of national pride, especially by respectfully referring to past Americans as â€Å"forebears. † In the beginning sentence he ingeniously calls upon other citizens and addresses lots of government types. He places the Americans on course with the others spoken about (Heath, 1976). Kennedy does not drag on too long on a point, which is allowed with his use of paragraphs that are short, and some cases paragraphs that are composed of one sentence. His short rhetorical questions, applicable to almost anybody, make his speeches appeal to a great deal of people. A prime example of these short questions is, ‘Will you join us in this historic effort? ‘, which was intended to bring individuals together against a common enemy, but longer and more intricate sentences are more common in this speech. Incongruous remarks such as the famous â€Å"Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country,† are visible all over, and they work well in making his intended points. These sentences are characteristic of his use of parallelism, where he lists many key ideas to make one long sentence (Liebovich, 2001). Kennedy takes advantage of declarative sentences to convey his strength. An example of this includes, â€Å"to those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free,† as well as, â€Å"to those people in huts and villages across the globe. By repeating these declarations, he makes it appear as if he will definitely implement his plan. A good part of his speech is to call people into action. He uses exhortation sentences, such as his mentions of â€Å"let both sides†¦ † that show his collaborative approach. He remains with his active approach with the use of sentences in the imperative; however, the humility shows through in t hese calls to action. He tells citizens to come up, themselves, with ways to help. The use of antithesis in writing is seen through the skillful arrangement of sentences, where he first says what not to do and follows up with a statement of what must take place. He effectively groups ideas together when rhetorically necessary, such as his description of man's common struggle against, â€Å"tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. † As Kennedy shows, strong points require firm diction and even occasionally backwards syntax. Soviets sent the first man out to space on April 26, 1961. This success was used by Khrushchev as prime evidence of the superiority of communism over decadent capitalism. Ashamed, the US worried it was behind the Russians and not winning the race to get into space. After speaking with political types and NASA workers, Kennedy thought the US should bravely go ahead and put a man on the moon. The United States, after this feat, would not only surpass the Soviet Union by far, but, in the words of Neil Armstrong, accomplish â€Å"one giant leap† for humankind's knowledge of science and space. And by the end of the '60s, it would be â€Å"mission accomplished. † Kennedy set timeline for its success and was straightforward and strong with his goal that was ambitious. By offering a notable speech imploring Americans to put the effort in to be the first to put a man on the moon, Kennedy contributed a huge force towards the success of this space exploration program goal (Heath, 1976). Kennedy stated,† I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. † Kennedy also said, at the time of the Berlin wall problem, â€Å"All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore as a free man, I take pride in the words: â€Å"Ich bin ein Berliner! (â€Å"I am a Berliner†). Finally, but of equal importance, we can view his speaking and leading talents working, at the Cuban – Missile crisis where U-2 jets discovered that the Soviet Union were quietly giving Cuba missiles. President Kennedy decided to employ a naval blockade (Barnes, 2005). â€Å"All ships of any kind bound for Cuba will, if found t o contain cargo of offensive weapons, be turned back. † The greatest service he made was laying the foundation for passing a civil rights bill that gave all Americans equal rights. For this to be a reality, black America fought very hard. Speeches John F. Kennedy’s knack for the spoken word was unrivalled. His oratorical mastery coupled with a dosage of the Boston accent continues to inspire and influence speechwriters decades later. Kennedy magnificent speeches made interesting watching and listening. The moving speeches that played a central role in his candidacy and eventual presidency were written in team mode by one Ted Sorenson. Ted Sorenson, who was Kennedy’s close advisor, did not work in isolation as he incorporated a team of brilliant writers. Phrases authored by Sorenson captured the imagination of a generation which are highlighted in his book-Counsellor- that looks at the attributes of Kennedy as a communicator. John F. Kennedy’s life was rich with memorable moments that provided fodder for his speechwriters to pen the memorable speeches. Such moments include his heroics in the war front, clinching the senate seat and rising to the presidency. His dazzling speeches gave his ever keen audience the feeling that they knew him. Kennedy had the audience eager and expectant to hear his speech even before he uttered a word. Barrack Obama oratorical abilities are similar to those of John F. Kennedy. Ted Sorenson Legendary speechwriter, Theodore Chaikin â€Å"Ted† Sorensen was born in May 8, 1928. Sorenson, who President Kennedy referred to as an â€Å"intellectual blood bank† is of counsel at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Sorensen is synonymous with John F. Kennedy’s speeches, counsel and adviser. He effectively played the role of John F. Kennedy counsel and adviser and most importantly was the architect of his spellbinding speeches. He coined the phrase that exhorted listeners to â€Å"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country† in Kennedy’s inaugural speech. Sorensen states that although he was pivotal in the composition of the inaugural speech the phrase that became a clarion call of the Kennedy administration was â€Å"written by Kennedy himself† contrary to what many believe. Sorensen’s entry to foreign policy was necessitated after the debacle that was the Bay of Pigs when the President asked him to take part in the discussion. He was handy in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis, assisting in preparing John F. Kennedy correspondence with Nikita Khruschev. He initially served as a special counsel and advisor in charge of the domestic agenda. Following the assassination of Kennedy, Sorensen helped Lyndon B. Johnson who succeeded John F. Kennedy, in his first few months, according to LBJ memoirs. He authored Lyndon B. Johnson’s maiden speech to the congress and also his state of the union address. He departed to the White House to write John F. Kennedy biography that was published in 1965. The biography that went on to become an international bestseller and was subsequently translated to several languages illuminating the life and times of John F. Kennedy in the White House. A Legacy John F. Kennedy is credited with minimal legislative accomplishment. Although he was the brainchild of the landmark legislation of the civil rights action, he did not live to see it materialize. John F. Kennedy’s aspirations, spirit, lineage, and perceived strengths continue to inspire people across the world and leaders who want to emulate his oratorical skills. Kennedy’s mastery in the art of speaking was helped by the fact that he was not bitter. He would occasionally point for effect. He effectively used these public speaking basics. John F. Kennedy remains a phenomenal even today with politicians from all political spectrum and business leaders across the continent listening to his speech structures and delivery. ? REFERENCES Barnes, J. A. (2005). John F. Kennedy on Leadership: The Lessons and Legacy of a President. New York: AMACOM. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? =o=111448711 Boller, P. F. (1967). Quotemanship: The Use and Abuse of Quotations for Polemical and Other Purposes. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist University Press. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o=10910248 Goldzwig, S. R. , & Dionisopoulos, G. N. (1995). In a Perilous Hour: The Public Address of John F. Kennedy. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o=35345061 Heath, J. F. (1976). Decade of Disillusionment: The Kennedy-Johnson Years. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o=84371896 Liebovich, L. W. (2001). The Press and the Modern Presidency: Myths and Mindsets from Kennedy to Election 2000. Westport, CT: Praeger. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=o=101157275 Simon Maier and Jeremy Kourdi. (1999). The 100 Insights and lessons from 100 of the greatest speeches ever delivered. Retrieved from: http://www. leadershipexpertise. com/resources/The %20100%20Excerpts. pdf

Edgar Allen Poe essays

Edgar Allen Poe essays Edgar Allen Poe, was a very famous writer, mostly for writing dismal short stories and poems. He wrote many poems and short stories, such as the Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Raven, all are very famous. Edgar Allen Poe was known through many places and times, and still is, he also had his share of good times and bad times. He lost both of his wives to death and faced an alcohol problem late in his life. Also Poe was Editor of newspapers and small town writings, and many famous people congratulated him for his well-respected stories and poems. Poe was born January 19, 1809, in Boston Massachusetts. After his mother died in 1811, he was sent to his grandparents in Scotland where he was given a classical education. Later he returned to his hometown of Richmond Virginia, where he discovered his sweetheart (Sarah) Elmira Royster, and were engaged. Then he began to write poems and short stories, some were not very successful, and did not go over well, but he kept writing. Poe kept writing stories and poems until his wife Elmira died, but he eventually got over it and remarried. He began writing again, he then wrote The Cask of Amontillado. Poes writing brought him much joy. Famous people even read his writings, and some enjoyed them so much the mostly read Poes writings. Soon Poe became very sad, for his second wife had died as well. So he started drinking and became an alcoholic, and sometimes became very violent and much not like himself, and everything in Poes life began to go downhill. One of Edgar Allen Poes famous short story The Black Cat, was about a character (Poe) where he was happily married to a beautiful woman, and they had a cat with a white spot on it. They were all living happily together when Poe snapped and became very drunk. He took the cat that he loved so much, and cut the cats eye out of its socket. His wife soon found out and got very angry with...

Dissertation Topics

Dissertation Topics Dissertation Topics Useful Dissertation Topics IdeasWhat is the main reason of your having not started to write your dissertation yet? Well, the point is clear, you just cannot choose among lots of dissertation topics and failed to invent your own, original one. Perhaps the dissertation topics you provided to your tutor were rejected. The reasons for this could be the following:The dissertation topics you provided were not original. It does not mean, of course, that you were going to present somebodys ideas as your own, but it is clear that somebody has already investigated the topics that you might like. Your supervisor might not like the dissertation topics provided by you because he or she does not find them interesting or his\her knowledge in the field you chose is not deep enough.Your dissertation topics are original, but do not present genuine interest. It means, the results of the investigation, presented in your dissertation, should be potentially useful in the field of science you work in. The dissertation topics you presented are not manageable in the time available. Remember, the narrower the topic you choose the better. The dissertation topic, appealing to you, is new, interesting and original, but you will not be able to find the necessary number of books, journals etc to write your dissertation on it, i.e. you do not have enough of material.So, the search for an interesting, original topic is something like a treasure hunt. You can come across it during your lessons and seminars or while preparing you assignments and then develop and follow it up through numerous books, journals, reports etc. When, finally, you are sure that you have produced that very topic that really appeals to you, and you will be able to write the dissertation on it within the available period of time, try and write some dissertation topics more. These topics may overlap with the one that you have personally decided on, but keep in mind that your supervisors opinion may be a little bit different from yours. In this case it would be good to have some 3-5 topics to choose from. Remember, that your supervisor has helped many students through their dissertations, and he will be your guide through all the difficulties that may arise during your work. And, though your decision on the dissertation topic will be decisive, your tutor will give you some useful piece of advice and will surely help you when needed.

Free Essays on Debunking The Myth Of Global Warming

Debunking the Myth of Global Warming At various times since WW II warnings were sounded about the Earth entering another ice age. As a matter of fact, until the mid-seventies, average Northern Hemisphere temperatures actually went down, but by less than one degree Celsius ("Global Warming Treaty" 1-2). In the seventies, a number of scientists took this bit of data and predicted dire consequences for the Earth. The popular press picked up on this, and even Science magazine stated in 1975 "the approach of a full-blown 100,000-year ice age [was] a real possibility" (Shackleton 28). Although most Americans believe that humans cause global warming, there are many scientists who believe global warming is only a natural cycle. Since the 1970's, temperatures have gone up again, and the tiny decrease in temperatures since WW II has now been replaced with an equally tiny increase in nighttime global temperatures. Nighttime global temperatures have risen about 0.065 degrees Celsius, according to measurements by Tiros II, a temperature measuring satellite ("Instant" 5). So what happens? The doom and gloom about another ice age is replaced with the doom and gloom about global warming. What people are seeing now and what people were seeing then are merely natural variations in temperatures around the globe. They are due to natural variations in all kinds of variables, including solar flares. Greenhouse gases allow incoming solar radiation to pass through the Earth's atmosphere, but prevent most of the outgoing infrared radiation from the surface and lower atmosphere from escaping into outer space. Many gases exhibit such â€Å"greenhouse† properties, including those that occur naturally in the atmos phere, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. This process occurs naturally and has kept the Earth's temperature about 60 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it would otherwise be. Current life on Earth could not be sust... Free Essays on Debunking The Myth Of Global Warming Free Essays on Debunking The Myth Of Global Warming Debunking the Myth of Global Warming At various times since WW II warnings were sounded about the Earth entering another ice age. As a matter of fact, until the mid-seventies, average Northern Hemisphere temperatures actually went down, but by less than one degree Celsius ("Global Warming Treaty" 1-2). In the seventies, a number of scientists took this bit of data and predicted dire consequences for the Earth. The popular press picked up on this, and even Science magazine stated in 1975 "the approach of a full-blown 100,000-year ice age [was] a real possibility" (Shackleton 28). Although most Americans believe that humans cause global warming, there are many scientists who believe global warming is only a natural cycle. Since the 1970's, temperatures have gone up again, and the tiny decrease in temperatures since WW II has now been replaced with an equally tiny increase in nighttime global temperatures. Nighttime global temperatures have risen about 0.065 degrees Celsius, according to measurements by Tiros II, a temperature measuring satellite ("Instant" 5). So what happens? The doom and gloom about another ice age is replaced with the doom and gloom about global warming. What people are seeing now and what people were seeing then are merely natural variations in temperatures around the globe. They are due to natural variations in all kinds of variables, including solar flares. Greenhouse gases allow incoming solar radiation to pass through the Earth's atmosphere, but prevent most of the outgoing infrared radiation from the surface and lower atmosphere from escaping into outer space. Many gases exhibit such â€Å"greenhouse† properties, including those that occur naturally in the atmos phere, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. This process occurs naturally and has kept the Earth's temperature about 60 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it would otherwise be. Current life on Earth could not be sust...

Financial Markets and Institutions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Markets and Institutions - Essay Example A number of investors had seen these signs as warnings for the development of the crisis situation. Based on these signs, some of the investors had predicted that the tremendous growth of the US economy was a temporary phenomenon and the US economy was ultimately going to collapse (Connolly and Wall, 2011). Several researches have been conducted since then, and are being continued still now, regarding the causes and the warnings of the crisis. Several leaders belonging to different countries have predicted the inevitable collapse of the economy of United States. However, some of the leaders made legitimate and confident forewords about the critical elements within the economy’s financial structure and the extent of dire consequences that the economy was going to face in the near future (McDonnell and Burgess, 2013). Several logical analyses were made on the facts and data that were collected from the-then economic and financial condition of the economy. A considerably large fr action of investors, including buyers of private homes, received credible warnings about the occurrence of a housing bubble. According to some researchers and market observers, the root to this crisis lied in the policies and regulations developed by the Federal Reserve. Additionally, many of the investors ignored these messages received and did not make any changes in their course of action. Banks were also bound by the need to meet the credit needs of local investors. This policy forced the â€Å"banks to make subprime loans† (Gramm and Solon, 2013). Bank authorities transferred this pressure to the banking personnel and regulators to make more loans of the subprime category. The banks performance was measured on the basis of the loans that they were able to extend to the investors (Wang, Ali, and Al-Akra, 2013). In this process, the issue of credibility of the investors was ignored. The quota to provide affordable housing loans was fixed at 30 percent in the year 1993 (Gra mm and Solon, 2013). This was made during the era of President Bill Clinton of the USA. Within three years this quota was increased to 40 percent. The quota further increased within a few years and reached the target of 50 percent by 2000. At that point of time, the administration of President George W. Bush took control of the American economy. Under his control the affordable housing loan goals were increased further. Documents from that period of time reveal that â€Å"these quotas were promoting irresponsible policy† (Gramm and Solon, 2013). The risks involved in these subprime loans were severely high as due to lack of credibility check a large proportion of the borrowers would be found to be defaulters. According to some sources, researchers claim that as high as 28 million high risk loans were provided to borrowers. Although the safety enforcement laws advised the banks to reduce high loans, there existed conflicting regulations regarding the promotion of affordable ho using loans. Thus, the safety and soundness measures were ineffective in restraining the pattern of loan giving, conflicting laws regarding providing housing credit

M2 Disease Frequency Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

M2 Disease Frequency Paper - Assignment Example For example, the incidence of dental caries in the U.S. during the second half of the 20th century was significantly less than the incidence of dental caries in the first half of the 20th century. This can be attributed to the fact that public health authorities began fluoridating community drinking water in the middle of the 20th century (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2001). 2. Prevalence: It measures the occurrence of existing cases of a disease in a population for a specific period of time (Aschengrau & Seage, 2003). For example, researchers in India have found that the prevalence of oral cancer (especially squamous cell carcinoma) is extremely high among the poor (Yada, 2008). In fact, the prevalence of tobacco consumption increased up to the age of fifty years after which it leveled or declined (Yada, 2008). 3. Cause-specific mortality rate: It measures the number of deaths from a specific cause per 100,000 people per year (Aschengrau & Seage, 2003). Tobacco use can cause premature death from lung and other cancers, coronary heart disease, stroke and chronic respiratory diseases. In this context, smoking-attributable mortality rate (SAM) can be defined as the number of smoking related deaths per 100,000 people per year. For example, a recent study in Minnesota has revealed that the smoking attributable mortality rate in the state for adults aged 35 years and above is 215.1/100,000 people (CDC, 2011a). 4. Years of potential life lost: It refers to the estimated number of years that an individual would have lived if he or she had not died (Aschengrau & Seage, 2003). Cigarette smoking has been found to be responsible for one in every five deaths which is approximately 438,000 deaths each year (CDC, 2008). Therefore, cigarette smoking results in 5.5 million years of potential life list in the United States each year (CDC, 2008). 5. Case fatality rate: It is the number of deaths due to a specific disease as compared to the total number of

The Kite Runner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Kite Runner - Essay Example The relationship that is first going to be explored is the one between Amir and his father (Baba). In the first half of the movie, they are shown to possess different characteristics. Baba is brave and powerful, while Amir is a coward. Unlike them, the relationship between their Hazara servant, Ali, and his son, Hassan, is very similar. Ali is defined by his modesty and is very loyal to his master, catering to his needs diligently. His son has the same personality and will do literally anything for Amir, as is seen in various incidents in the movie. However, when I got to know that Hassan was Baba’s illegitimate son further on in the movie, I realized how similar Baba really is to Amir. He acted out of impulse and consequently made a blunder in their lives and never disclosed what he had done. Moreover, he tried to atone for his action in other ways to clear his guilty conscience. Amir had a lot more to atone for. Somehow, the guilt of not being able to stop what happened to Hassan transformed into anger. This was further fuelled when Hassan remained impassive when Amir insulted him repeatedly. Not only had he abandoned his friend at the time when he most needed him, but he also tried to get rid of him later; he planted false evidence to ‘prove’ that Hassan stole Baba’s watch. However, not once does Hassan betray Amir; he ‘admits’ to the ‘crime’ in order to make Amir happy. ... It could also be because Hassan was a Hazara, which was termed as a lower cultural class in Afghanistan, due to which Amir only ‘used’ him by letting him stand up to Amir’s bullies alone. However, their bond must have been pretty strong, owing to how burdened Amir became with the guilt of what he had done. Moreover, after finding out that Hassan’s son, Sohrab, was taken by Assef (the bully who had raped Hassan in his youth), Amir courageously steps forward and receives a beating from Assef for the sake of Sohrab’s freedom. In addition, he took Sohrab to safety and later adopted him. These acts of his prove that he did indeed redeem himself (indirectly, through Sohrab) in front of Hassan. This also shows that this is a buildungsroman story; Amir developed from being a selfish boy to a selfless adult. On the other hand, Assef has an extremely selfish and remorseless character, as he never even thinks of redemption for the sins he committed to Hassan an d Sohrab. Sacrifice has been a major recurring motif in The Kite Runner; Hassan, knowing how important the blue kite was for Amir, refused to give it up even if it caused himself to get sexually abused. He also sacrificed his honesty for Amir by owning up to a crime he did not commit (stealing Baba’s watch). However, even Amir later selflessly put himself in danger’s mouth to save Sohrab. Kites symbolize the difference between Amir and Hassan’s social class and status in their friendship; the kite flyer (Amir) is important and controlling, while the kite runner (Hassan) is minor and ever-available. This movie also showed me that if there is hope for a better future for Sohrab-who has suffered in the hands of Assef-then there is hope for Afghanistan-which has suffered in the hands of the Taliban-as

Product Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Product Report - Essay Example Keeping this theory in mind, it is quite obvious that the product category of ‘ketchup’ is in the maturity stage. This is apparent due to the following reasons: i. The market has become saturated with many variants of the basic product. For example, tomato chilly ketchup, sweet and sour ketchup. ii. Market share growth is at the expense of some other competitor rather than actual growth in the market (this is quite clear from the fact that competitors try to motivate consumers to try their product and appear superior to other brands of ketchup rather than just sell the idea of having ketchup with one’s fries or burgers). iii. The product is constantly being modified by players in the industry to differentiate their product from those of competitors (Ex: Heinz Dip & Squeeze Ketchup). iv. Emphasis of the promoters in the industry is to build brand loyalty and give customers incentives to switch over to their brand (As Heinz has done in this case study by offering fr ee fried chicken with the dip and squeeze and earlier by offering free fries and ketchup in their mobile vans). There are many strategies that marketers use to manage their product’s life cycle.

Bobcat Hospital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Bobcat Hospital - Essay Example Proper documentation, resource optimization and reduced complications lead to low cost and improve the billings. This ensures profits for the health care. Bobcat county hospital also has to ensure that it has all the necessary equipments used to treat the patients, so it has to invest in the machines. This is usually based on the amount of money that the hospital is able to raise. It will have to invest on the machines that they are able to afford depending on the revenue that it can raise. Having a good financial system enable them to calculate how much money can be saved for a long term investment. The hospital should have a vision and mission that motivates the patients and give them a feeling of getting better. The main objective of the hospital is to offer quality treatment (Cawsey et al, 2012). Doctors sand nurses should be well trained professional who are qualified and are able to deliver quality services to the patients. Each and every person at bobcat county hospital has go od work ethics. Doctors need to be in their places of work at the right time, this enable them to respond quickly to any emergency that occur. They should also be able to report to work during early hours of the morning if they are needed to do so. All these can be attained if all the information about the residential places, the contacts of the hospital workers is easily accessible. All the information about the capital of the hospital should be well kept. This enable the organization to know how much is spending. For the hospital to achieve its goals which is to offer quality services to the patients, it has to be up to date of how much money is available to buy the necessary things like medicine and gloves used by the doctors, food for patients and also equipments used in the hospitals. This can be achieved if the amount of revenue raised is more than the amount that is spend. Well kept information about the capital also enables easy scrutiny and accountability of the funds. A go od management of the information bout the patient is important in the service delivery. An electronic record about the patients gives the doctor easy access and this enable them to give easy treatment (Institute of Medicine (U.S.). (2000). This, also ensures that a lot of time is not wasted while trying to treat the patients and also saves time in the organization of task and activities in the hospital. A good management of information also gives details about all the professionals that attend to a patient and this enable them to interact and discus on how to give quality treatment to the patient. References Cawsey, T. F., Deszca, G., Ingols, C., & Cawsey, T. F. (2012). Organizational change: An action-oriented toolkit. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications. Institute of Medicine (U.S.). (2000). Protecting data privacy in health services research. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press. Part Two The purpose of Clinical Information System is to avail all relevant information, at a ll places, fast, easily, in clarity and concisely. The upgrade of the clinical information system is of great benefit to the hospital. It will ensure: Information about the Patients Is Easily Accessed This system is important to providing convenient access to all medical records available during the process of caring for the patient. This enhances continuity of

Innocent Drinks Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Innocent Drinks - Case Study Example Additionally, it ensures the endorsement of recycling and sustainability of its products packaging. This paper, therefore, analyzes the business operations of Innocent Drinks Company including booms, bumps and the overall SWOT analysis of this company. The dominant market share of Innocent Drinks Company in the Juice and Smoothie market has been on the decline due to daily emergence of soft drinks companies into this industry. For example, in the recent past, this company’s market, which initially was over 70%, has been threatened by an unfair competition and consumer downturn (Sahlman 356). Even though Innocent Company upholds a higher degree of ethical standards towards natural, healthy, delicious and sustainable production, the only market worry is the identification of best marketing strategies that would decisively keep this company the market leader in soft drink production. Additionally, the development and success of this company continues to create its unusual share of challenges as the company adversely faces threat of consumer’s downturn and an inclusive out of business bigger rival efforts. In order to curb these market competition challenges, Innocent Drinks Company has resolved into being a flexible sof t drink organization with various branches. This strategy is primarily aimed at capturing wider markets. Fruit juice revolution may act as the best case study to analyze and understand the development and success of Innocent Drinks Company and their products. In the practical perspective, innocent drinks packages range from (250ml) to (1L). The appearance of this smoothie is plain one and unappealing, which is due to the natural nature of innocent drinks. Innocent soft drinks are in natural form hence lack chemical substances. This makes these soft drinks some of the best drinks for human consumptions. Labelling of Innocent Drinks juice

Product Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Product Report - Essay Example Keeping this theory in mind, it is quite obvious that the product category of ‘ketchup’ is in the maturity stage. This is apparent due to the following reasons: i. The market has become saturated with many variants of the basic product. For example, tomato chilly ketchup, sweet and sour ketchup. ii. Market share growth is at the expense of some other competitor rather than actual growth in the market (this is quite clear from the fact that competitors try to motivate consumers to try their product and appear superior to other brands of ketchup rather than just sell the idea of having ketchup with one’s fries or burgers). iii. The product is constantly being modified by players in the industry to differentiate their product from those of competitors (Ex: Heinz Dip & Squeeze Ketchup). iv. Emphasis of the promoters in the industry is to build brand loyalty and give customers incentives to switch over to their brand (As Heinz has done in this case study by offering fr ee fried chicken with the dip and squeeze and earlier by offering free fries and ketchup in their mobile vans). There are many strategies that marketers use to manage their product’s life cycle.

Innocent Drinks Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Innocent Drinks - Case Study Example Additionally, it ensures the endorsement of recycling and sustainability of its products packaging. This paper, therefore, analyzes the business operations of Innocent Drinks Company including booms, bumps and the overall SWOT analysis of this company. The dominant market share of Innocent Drinks Company in the Juice and Smoothie market has been on the decline due to daily emergence of soft drinks companies into this industry. For example, in the recent past, this company’s market, which initially was over 70%, has been threatened by an unfair competition and consumer downturn (Sahlman 356). Even though Innocent Company upholds a higher degree of ethical standards towards natural, healthy, delicious and sustainable production, the only market worry is the identification of best marketing strategies that would decisively keep this company the market leader in soft drink production. Additionally, the development and success of this company continues to create its unusual share of challenges as the company adversely faces threat of consumer’s downturn and an inclusive out of business bigger rival efforts. In order to curb these market competition challenges, Innocent Drinks Company has resolved into being a flexible sof t drink organization with various branches. This strategy is primarily aimed at capturing wider markets. Fruit juice revolution may act as the best case study to analyze and understand the development and success of Innocent Drinks Company and their products. In the practical perspective, innocent drinks packages range from (250ml) to (1L). The appearance of this smoothie is plain one and unappealing, which is due to the natural nature of innocent drinks. Innocent soft drinks are in natural form hence lack chemical substances. This makes these soft drinks some of the best drinks for human consumptions. Labelling of Innocent Drinks juice

Coca-Cola Fizz Factor Essay Example for Free

Coca-Cola Fizz Factor Essay 1) The Coca-Cola Company in my opinion has all the resources listed in the chapter. They have been such a successful organization over the years that they posses; financial, physical, human, intangible, and structural-cultural resources. It is because of their Global nature that I believe that they have these resources, and these are needed to for organizations to have capabilities and core competencies. Understanding that because Coca-Cola is such a global brand it means that their capabilities must stretch through culture so I do believe it is very hard to develop unique resources and distinctive capabilities. However, because of the resources behind them in some ways it is easier to develop strategies and gain that competitive advantage. 2) Coca-Cola has a number of distinctive capabilities. Its brand is one by itself, they have created a competitive advantage just by their name, Coca-Cola is known globally and it is a testament to the organization that it is so powerful. Another distinctive capability would be the shape and design of their bottles and cans, it may not seem like much but it can create nostalgia for and again turn in to a competitive advantage. Also with the patent for their designs it makes it impossible for competitors to imitate and take away that competitive advantage. 3) 127 Years of Happiness – This is a major strength; Coca-Cola’s history and tradition automatically give it credibility and make customers trust the brand. Other newer competitors just cannot compete with this, however it is extremely important that they continue to change and innovate. 200+ countries – This may mean a global organization, but this brings about some weaknesses. You have to deal with so many different cultures, languages, climates, and beliefs that it can be very difficult to keep everyone happy and keep providing a quality product. 3500 products worldwide – Again this is like the example above, it can be very challenging due to the diversity and target audience of all the products. However, it can be an advantage because of the variety of products you provide sets Coca-Cola apart from it competitors, giving them yet another competitive advantage. 1,322,000 Tweets per quarter – Twitter is becoming huge, and we saw during the Superbowl blackout how powerful a marketing tool it can be. Oreo cookies tweeted â€Å"Power out? No problem. You can still dunk in the dark† so in my eyes I see this growing number to be a huge positive on a marketing front. Although on the other hand, social media can be very damaging, and if Coca-Cola does something bad, a negative reputation could spread around the world in a matter of moments. Protest Group of 100,000 people wanting the original Coke back – this shows that if you get it wrong you can face a major backlash from your customers. But this also showed how loyal people were to the original Coke, yes it was a negative result but it really highlights to the Coca-Cola Company what a great product they have. 4) It has to be the capabilities assessment profile, by following the five steps of this option Muhtar Kent can truly analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the organization on a global scale. The key competencies and capabilities are what set Coca-Cola apart and they need to continue to focus on these aspects, it creates the competitive advantage and this must be maintained in the future. This is vital if Coca-Cola want to remain up there as on of the most popular brands in the world.

Sport And Social Class

Sport And Social Class Today sport is seen as a symbol of unity for the young people, something you can do no matter what is your skin color or your social status. In the past the difference between social classes was notable, and often people were not allowed to train or participate in games because of their social status. In his book The Ancient Olympic Games, Judith Swaddling shows us the first social differences in sport. In those Olympics almost everyone was allowed to participate except the slaves, who were counted as items back then and giving any kind of freedom to these people was something unheard of. The big difference between classes back then was shown in the horse racing. In this sport you could participate only with your own horse, and since the one race was long at least 6 tracks the only people who could afford such training, and also to feed both the horse and rider. Also the Olive wreath was not awarded to the jockey, but to the horse owner which discriminated all of the jockey effort. There were also chariot races were chariot were pulled by two or four horses, there the principle remain the same and the horse owners gained all the fame, instead of the hard working jockeys. In the Middle Ages the difference between the rich and poor in the sport continued to grow. The Olympics of that time The Knight Tournaments were allowed only for aristocrats and royals and the poor were not allowed even as spectators. The poor people were left to be in a league of their own. During this period for the rich people the Bowls became one of the biggest sports in the country only because they loved to gamble on it. Also Colf (the today`s Golf) was very popular among the nobles . The peasants mainly trained with the sole purpose to be prepared for war, and this is the biggest reason why sword fighting and archery were so popular back then. ( Medieval Sports (2012). www.middle-ages.org.uk) During the Georgian era the class difference decreased. The main sport played back then was cricket and both rich and poor played it. The main changing factor was gambling to cricket which was something very popular for the rich. Often they hired people from the lower classes to play for their teams in exchange for money. Many of the lower class cricket players were offered work in the Lords mansions. A lot of the richer players were against this, mainly because they believed sport must remain clean, without any financial stimulation to the players. Of course the rich could afford to play and spend the time, but for the poor who needed to work extra hard to get their food this was unbelievable. This is the period when the first disputes between amateurs and professionals came up. In a popular article Sandiford (1983) shows us the difference between the social classes during the Victorian era is increased again. The amateurs (upper-class) were distancing themselves from the lower class professionals. Class distinctions were so big that both sides used different dressing rooms, used different trains to travel and etc. E.J. Tiger Smith of Warwickshire wrote- Even the stands were built with the idea of separating the elite from the multie. There were members pavilions, balconies, grandstands, and open areas-each denoting, trough price and usage, a certain social status. (Sandiford 1983, page 33). The amateurs officially claimed that they do everything because they want to keep the sport clean but, many historians doubt this and claim they dont want their games to attract attention from the lower classes and to be played for fun just between them. Even many clubs organized cricket games between the amateurs and the professionals the difference in the social class stayed many years ahead. The upper and lower class often hated each other and the games where the lower class won were remembered as remarkable. Many people nowadays claim that cricket is so unique game because of the amateurs and the fact that in so many years no one was remembered but the game was still the number 1 sport in the country. Many amateurs actually made money from cricket, by going to different countries on tours and making huge profit from it, but since it was unofficial payment nobody protested. Even until 1952 the difference between crickets remained as the journalist from the Financial Times, Rob Has tings wrote: When Len Hutton led the England team out to field against India at Headingley in the summer of 1952, so becoming the countrys first professional captain, he was quietly cocking a snook at the cricketing establishment. Cricketers in England had, for as long as anyone could remember, being divided by social hierarchy. There were the Gentlemen; and then there were the Players. For the Players, cricket was a living. They were from the working classes and were paid fees to play for their counties and their country. The Gentlemen, on the other hand, were from aristocratic backgrounds and were sufficiently well off to play for the love of the game alone. In his book Rugbys Great Split Tony Collins presents to us one of the biggest social battles in sport. In 1890 the working class clubs from North were in a big conflict with the southern clubs of gentlemen, (the upper class) because they could not turn professionals, and after furious disputes and refuse to step back from both sides. For a long time the working class people in the North liked to play the hacking game of rugby than any other. This sport was among the most popular ones in the north of England and most of the players were workers in the mines or the factories. The dream to play the game they love and get paid for doing this was so close to them, but the rich amateurs from the south were strictly against this and the Rugby Union federation which was located in the south did not let them to accept payments. The rugby players and official from the north decided to start their own league, which will be fully professional and players can be payed for playing their favorite g ame. The rivalry between the working class north and the upper class south increased after this decision. After the new found Rugby League was found mainly from teams from the North many amateurs came there to play for money, and also many northern clubs players and administration workers quit because they still believed in amateurism. This made the Rugby Union league even weaker causing a big problem for the Rugby Union, taking them 18 years to win another international championship.

Stanley Kubricks Full Metal Jacket and Eisenharts You Cant Hack It Little Girl :: essays papers

Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket and R Wayne Eisenhart's â€Å"You Cant Hack It Little Girl: A Discussion Of The Covert Psychological Agenda of Modern Combat Training,† Stanley Kubrick uses his film, Full Metal Jacket to say that people today are brainwashed products of decades of conditioning. Kubrick strongly encourages us to relish individual thought. He expresses that society’s ideology encourages conformity, which can eventually cause fatality. Also the article â€Å"You Cant Hack It Little Girl: A Discussion Of The Covert Psychological Agenda of Modern Combat Training† by R Wayne Eisenhart realizes the extreme repression on individuality in the Marines. We all like to think of ourselves as individuals. However, in truth, we all live in a mass denial created be ourselves to feel less guilty about instituting severe pressure to, and the consequences if one does not, conform. The way one learns about oneself is often through others’ words and actions. This outside feedback creates a role for a person that he/she accepts as â€Å"who he/she is.† Therefore, it is the words and actions of another that forms the self-identity of a person, and ad this relationship develops, positive, reinforcing words and actions become necessary for ones healthy existence. Of course, there are varying degrees of conformity, and in most people there is the struggle to hold on to their individuality. This struggle is apparent in the scene in Full Metal Jacket when Gomer Pyle is beaten with soaps in towels. The other members of the troop become upset at Pyle’s nonconformity, and their negative feelings eventually reached the point of v iolence. Then Pyle’s struggle was ended and he became like the others, a killing machine. In his article, Eisenhart recognizes that â€Å"the training process created intense emotional conflicts generated by the formation of a male role,† and that there was a â€Å"continual structured effort to degrade and shape the individuals self-image.† Because all throughout history conformity was a necessary way of life, one may see society now as completely brainwashed. Kubrick depicts the longstanding tradition of the US Marines as a kind of cult where everyone is uniformly behaved and not one thought is individual. Even Joker, who has an image of originality in the film, eventually gives in to the group. First in the scene where he is cajoled in to hitting Pyle with the soap, and second when he struggles with himself, but ultimately conforms by killing the Vietnamese sniper at the encouragement of his peers.

Creature or Monster? How does Shelleys presentation of the Creature Es

Creature or Monster? How does Shelley's presentation of the Creature and Frankenstein create sympathy or horror at different stages of the novel? Who is the real monster? The novel "Frankenstein" was written by Mary Shelley as a teenager during the 19th century. It was set in Germany in the 18th century, as this was a time of exploration and discovery with scientists and astrologists challenging the accepted order of things and breaking through new boundaries with their discoveries. Many were beginning to question the existence of God, the creator of life and the universe, too. This was in keeping with Shelley's novel because it is a story about a young man who discovered the secret of life, which is the equivalent of doing what only God can do, how to create it and the problems his discovery led to. This man was called Viktor Frankenstein. He came from a wealthy family who were both loving and supportive. He falls in love with Elizabeth, his adopted sister, and all is well until his mother dies of Scarlet Fever. This tears him apart as they were very close and influences him and his future greatly. He determines to become a doctor to find the secret of life so no one need ever die again. This leads him to Ingolstadt University where he is further influenced when he finds out that one of the professors there has also experimented with creating life. He uncovers the truth and ignoring all warnings, begins making his creature from the parts of dead bodies. His unhealthy obsession leads him to neglect his family, friends and studies while he works day and night in a hidden attic. It is this unnatural obsession that gives the novel its first spark of horror. Frankenstein is shocked, horrified and disgus... ...r, he was kind and caring and compassionate just like any other human being, and due to his loneliness and grief he became something that he deeply despises. It is this tremendous guilt that leads him to die with his creator. As he says, "Polluted by crimes and torn by the bitterest remorse, where can I find rest but in death?" He knows that Frankenstein should never have created him and decides it would be best for everybody, including himself if he no longer lives. I don't think either Frankenstein or his creature were monsters. I just think that Frankenstein was a misguided man who made a tragic mistake, albeit a large one to which he had to accept the consequences. The creature was also misguided, his treatment from others led to him becoming a monster but he realized this and did the right thing in the end, showing that he was just misunderstood.

Business memo for “I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Way,” Essay

After reading Kyle Wiens’ recent article, â€Å"I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Way,† in July, 2012 issue of Harvard Business Review, I would like to make some recommendations about whether or not to add grammar testing to ABC Company’s hiring practice to improve ABC Company’s hiring standards. In Kyle’ article, he writes people who make grammar mistakes â€Å"deserve to be passed over for a job† and he puts a mandatory grammar test in hiring process. To better assess a grammar test to be a must in hiring people, Kyle emphasized the importance of grammar by giving the following reasons: 1. Grammar is relevant in all companies, not only limited to writing companies. 2. Grammar signifies people’s business sense 3. Grammar reflects one’s attention to details From the reasons showed by Kyle, grammar is really important in business. Not only does it leave the first impression of a company on the mass, but also it shows an employee’s sense to details. With the development of modern society, the competition among companies is more and more fierce. One detail could help a company to differentiate from others and make profits. To adapt to the intense competition, companies needs to recruit those who are qualified in skills and in details. The current hiring practice in ABC Company is limited in identifying person’s character on details. Grammar testing could be a litmus test that helps justify whether a person is detail-oriented to be qualified for the job. As Kyle mentions, â€Å"†¦details are everything†, I would recommend the ABC Company  to add grammar testing in hiring practices to better hiring more both skill-qualified and detailed-oriented people.

Chapter 01 Gitman

Part One Preparing to Invest Part One Includes Chapter 1Investment Environment Chapter 2Markets and Transactions Chapter 3Online Information and Investing Chapter 1 Investment Environment Outline Learning Goals I. Investments and the Investment Process A)Types of Investments 1. Securities or Property 2. Direct or Indirect 3. Debt, Equity, or Derivative Securities 4. Low or High Risk 5. Short or Long Term 6. Domestic or Foreign B)The Structure of the Investment Process 1. Participants in the Investment Process 2. Government 3. Business 4. Individuals 5.Types of Investors Concepts in Review II. Investment Vehicles A)Short Term Vehicles B)Common Stock C)Fixed Income Securities 1. Bonds 2. Preferred Stock 3. Convertible Securities D)Mutual Funds E)Derivative Securities 1. Options 2. Futures F)Other Popular Investment Vehicles Concepts in Review III. Making Investment Plans A)Steps in Investing 1. Meeting Investment Prerequisites 2. Establishing Investment Goals 3. Adopting an Investment Plan 4. Evaluating Investment Vehicles 5. Selecting Suitable Investments 6. Constructing a Diversified Portfolio 7. Managing the PortfolioB)Considering Personal Taxes 1. Basic Sources of Taxation 2. Types of Income a. Ordinary Income b. Capital Gains and Losses 3. Investments and Taxes 4. Tax-advantaged Retirement Vehicles C)Investing Over the Life Cycle D)Investing in Different Economic Environments 1. Stocks and the Business Cycle 2. Bonds and Interest Rates Concepts in Review IV. Meeting Liquidity Needs: Investing in Short-Term Securities A)Role of Short Term Securities 1. Interest on Short Term Securities 2. Risk Characteristics 3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Short Term InvestmentsB)Popular Short Term Investment Vehicles 1. Deposit Accounts 2. Federal Government Issues 3. Nongovernment Issues C)Investment Suitability Concepts in Review Summary Putting Your Investment Know-How to the Test Discussion Questions Problems Case Problems 1. 1Investments or Golf? 1. 2Preparing Caro lyn Bowen’s Investment Plan Excel with Spreadsheets OTIS—Online Trading and Investment Simulator Key Concepts 1. The meaning of the term investment and the implications it has for individual investors. 2. Review the factors used to differentiate between different types of investments. . The importance of and basic steps involved in the investment process. 4. Popular types of investment vehicles, including short term vehicles, common stock, and fixed income securities such as bonds, preferred stock, and convertibles. 5. Derivative securities such as options and futures, and mutual funds. 6. Other popular investment vehicles such as real estate, tangibles and tax advantaged investments. 7. Investment goals including income, major expenditures, retirement, and sheltering income from taxes. The latter includes analysis of tax-advantaged retirement vehicles. . Building a diversified portfolio consistent with investment goals. 9. Sources of taxation, types of taxable income , and the effect of taxes on the investor. 10. Developing an investment program that considers differing economic environments and life cycle stages. 11. The use of short term securities in meeting liquidity needs. 12. The merits and suitability of various popular short term investment vehicles including deposit accounts and money market securities. Overview This chapter provides an overview of the scope and content of the text. 1.The term investment is defined, and the alternative investment opportunities available to investors are classified by types. 2. An examination of the structure of the investment process is presented. This section explains how suppliers and demanders of investment funds are brought together in the marketplace. 3. The key participants in the investment process—government, business, and individuals—are described, as are institutional and individual investors. 4. Returns are defined as rewards for investing. Returns to an investor take two forms —current income and increased value of the investment over time.In this section the instructor need only define return, since there will be another opportunity to develop the concept of return in Chapter 4, however providing information about recent investment returns is always well-received by students. 5. Next, the following investment vehicles available to individual investors are discussed: short term vehicles, common stock, fixed income securities, mutual funds, real estate, tangibles, tax-advantaged investments, and options and futures. The text describes their risk return characteristics in a general way.The instructor may want to expand on the advantages and disadvantages of investing in each, although they will be treated in greater detail in subsequent chapters. It is vital for any investor to establish investment goals that are consistent with his or her overall financial objectives. 6. Once the investment goals have been well specified, the investor can adopt an i nvestment plan consistent with these goals, select suitable investments, build a diversified portfolio and manage it. 7. Personal taxes are discussed in terms of types of income and tax rates. The investment process is affected by current tax laws.Examples of tax shelters, especially tax-advantaged retirement vehicles, and tax planning are provided. 8. Once investment goals are established, it is important to understand how the investment process is affected by different economic environments. The chapter talks about types of investments—stocks, bonds, and tangibles—as they are affected by business cycles, interest rates, and inflation. 9. Liquidity is defined and short term securities that can be used to meet liquidity requirements are described. The discussion includes a look at short term interest rates and the risk characteristics of various short term securities. 0. The next section covers the various types of short term vehicles available to today’s invest or. There is enough detail about everything from passbook accounts to money market funds to commercial paper that the students should get a good grasp of the differences between the vehicles. Producing information on current rates helps bring realism into the classroom and enhances student perception of the lecturer as a knowledgeable instructor. Answers to Concepts in Review 1. An investment is any vehicle into which funds can be placed with the expectation of preserving or increasing value and earning a positive rate of return.An investment can be a security or a property. Individuals invest because an investment has the potential to preserve or increase value and to earn income. It is important to stress that this does not imply that an investment will in fact preserve value or earn income. Bad investments do exist. 2. (a)Securities and property are simply two classes of investments. Securities are investments, commonly evidenced by certificates, that represent a legal claim. Fo r example, a bond represents a legal claim on debt, and a stock represents a proportionate ownership in the firm.An option, on the other hand, represents the legal right to either buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price within a specified time period. Property constitutes investments in either real property (land and buildings) or tangible personal property (Rembrandt paintings, Ming vases, or antique cars). (b)With a direct investment, an individual acquires a direct claim on a security or property. For example, an investment in one share of IBM stock directly provides the stockholder a proportionate ownership in IBM. An indirect investment provides an indirect claim on a security or property.For example, if you bought one share of Fidelity Growth Fund (a mutual fund), you are in effect buying a portion of a portfolio of securities owned by the fund. Thus, you will have a claim on a fraction of an entire portfolio of securities. (c)An investment in debt represents funds loane d in exchange for the receipt of interest income and repayment of the loan at a given future date. The bond, a common debt instrument, pays specified interest over a specified time period, then repays the face value of the loan (Chapters 8 and 9 cover bonds in detail).An equity investment provides an investor an ongoing fractional ownership interest in a firm. The most common example is an investment in a company’s common stock. We will study equity instruments in greater detail in Chapters 5 through 7. Derivative securities are securities derived from debt or equity securities and structured to exhibit characteristics different from the underlying securities. Options are derivative securities that allow an investor to sell or buy another security or asset at a specific price over a given time period. For example, an investor might purchase an option to buy Company X stock for $50 within nine months. d)Short-term investments typically mature within one year while long-term in vestments have longer maturities, like common stock, which has no maturity at all. However, long-term investments can be used to satisfy short-term financial goals. 3. In finance, risk refers to the chance that the return from an investment will differ from its expected value. The broader the range of possible values (dispersion), the greater the risk of the investment. Low risk investments are those considered safe with respect to the return of funds invested and the receipt of a positive rate of return.High risk investments are those which have more uncertain future values and levels of earnings. 4. Foreign investments are investments in the debt, equity, derivative securities of foreign based companies and property in a foreign country. Both direct and indirect foreign investments provide investors more attractive returns or lower-risk investments compared to purely domestic investments. They are useful instruments to diversify a pure domestic portfolio. 5. The investment process brings together suppliers and demanders of funds. This may occur directly (as with property investments).Most often the investment process is aided by a financial institution (such as a bank, savings and loan, savings bank, credit union, insurance company, or pension fund) that channels funds to investments and/or a financial market (either the money market or the capital market) where transactions occur between suppliers and demanders of funds. 6. (a)The various levels of government (federal, state, and local) require more funds for projects and debt repayment than they receive in revenues. Thus, governments are net demanders of funds. Governments also demand funds when the timing of their revenues do not match their expenditure.The term net refers to the fact that, while governments both supply and demand funds in the investment process, on balance they demand more than they supply. (b)Businesses also are net demanders, requiring funds to cover short and long term operating needs . While business firms often supply funds, on balance they also demand more than they supply. (c)Individuals are the net suppliers of funds to the investment process. They put more funds into the investment process than they take out. Individuals play an important role in the investment process—supplying the funds needed to finance economic growth and development. 7.Institutional investors are investment professionals who are paid to manage other people’s money. They are employed by financial institutions like banks and insurance companies, by nonfinancial businesses, and by individuals. Individual investors manage their own personal funds in order to meet their financial goals. Generally, institutional investors tend to be more sophisticated because they handle much larger amounts of money and they tend to have a broader knowledge of the investment process and available investment techniques and vehicles. 8. Short term investment vehicles are those which usually have lives of less than one year.These vehicles may be used to â€Å"warehouse† temporarily idle funds while suitable long term vehicles are evaluated. Due to their safety and convenience, they are popular with those wishing to earn a return on temporarily idle funds or with the very conservative investor who may use these short term vehicles as a primary investment outlet. In addition to their â€Å"warehousing† function, short-term vehicles provide liquidity- they can be converted into cash quickly and with little or no loss in value. This characteristic is very useful when investors need to meet unexpected expenses or take advantage of attractive opportunities. . Common stock is an equity investment that represents a fractional ownership interest in a corporation. The return on a common stock investment derives from two sources: dividends, which are periodic payments made by the firm to its shareholders from current and past earnings, and capital gains, which result from selling the stock at a price above the original purchase price. Because common stock offers a broad range of return-risk combinations, it is one of the most popular investment vehicles. Two sources of potential return are dividends and capital gain. 10. a)Bonds are debt obligations of corporations or governments. A bondholder receives a known interest return, typically semiannually, plus the face value at maturity. Bonds are usually issued in $1,000 denominations, pay semiannual interest, and have twenty to forty year maturities. Bonds offer fixed/certain returns, if held till maturity. (b)Preferred stock is very much like common stock in that it represents an ownership interest in a corporation. But preferred stock pays only a fixed stated dividend, which has precedence over common stock dividends, and does not share in other earnings of the firm. c)A convertible security is a fixed income security, either a bond or preferred stock, that has a conversion feature. Typically, it can be converted into a specified number of shares of common stock. Convertible securities are quasi-derivative securities as their market value would depend on the price of the common stock and the conversion ratio. (d)A mutual fund is a company that invests in a large portfolio of securities; whereas a money market mutual fund is a mutual fund which solely invests in other short-term vehicles.Investors might find mutual funds appealing because a large portfolio may be more consistent with their investment goals in terms of risk and return. As we will see later, a mutual fund offers the investor the benefits of diversification and professional management. Mutual funds do not offer fixed/certain returns. Mutual funds are quasi-derivative securities as their market value would depend on the price of the assets that make up the fund’s portfolio. (e)Options are derivative securities that provides holders the right to buy or sell another security (typically stock) or property at a s pecified price over a given time period.Factors like the time until expiration, the underlying stock price behavior, and supply and demand conditions affect the returns. (f)Futures represent contractual arrangements in which a seller will deliver or a buyer will take delivery of a specified quantity of a commodity at a given price by a certain date. Unlike an option, which gives the investor the right to purchase or sell another security, futures contracts obligate the investor to deliver or take delivery. Factors affecting returns on commodity contracts include changes in government policy, unpredictable weather, trade embargoes, and so on. 1. Before developing and executing an investment program, an investor must ensure the following: (1)Necessities of life such as funds for housing, food, transportation, taxes etc are fully provided for. (2)Investor is adequately insured against the losses resulting from death, illness or disability, property etc. (3)Establish Retirement Goals Th e seven steps in investing are as follows: (1)Meeting Investment Prerequisites: Providing for Necessities of life, adequate protection against losses, and Setting retirement Goals as iscussed above (2)Establishing Investment Goals: Investment goals are the financial objectives that one wishes to achieve by investing. Common investment goals are: †¢Accumulating retirement funds †¢Enhancing current income through interest income and dividends †¢Savings for major expenditure like home, education etc. †¢Sheltering income from taxes (3)Adopting an Investment Plan: A written document describing how funds will be invested is an investment plan. The more specific the investment goal, the easier it will be to establish an investment plan consistent with your goals. 4)Evaluating Investment Vehicles: In this step, the measures of risk and return are used to estimate the perceived worth of an investment vehicle. This process is called valuation. (5)Selecting Suitable Investm ents: This step involves careful selection of investment vehicles that are consistent with established goals and offer acceptable levels of return, risk, and value. (6)Constructing a Diversified Portfolio: Diversification is the concept of forming a portfolio using different investment vehicles to reduce risk and increase return. This concept is central to constructing an effective portfolio. 7)Managing the Portfolio: Portfolio management involves monitoring the portfolio and restructuring it as dictated by the actual behavior of the investments. 12. Investment goals are the financial objectives you wish to achieve by investing in any of a wide range of investment vehicles. Common investment goals are: (a)Enhancing current income means choosing investment vehicles that regularly pay dividends and interest that can provide all or some of the money needed to meet living expenses. This is a common goal of retired persons and sometimes an important part of a normal family budget. b)Savi ng for major expenditures includes money set aside for such things as the down payment on a home, college tuition, and even an expensive vacation. The amount of money needed and the time period over which one can save will determine the amount set aside and, frequently, the investment vehicle employed. (c)The single most important reason for investing is to accumulate retirement funds. The amount that must be set aside is determined by the level of expected expenditures, expected income from social security and other sources, and the amount of interest expected to be earned on savings. d)Sheltering income from taxes involves taking advantage of certain tax provisions that permit reduction of the income reported to the government or direct reductions in taxes. Investments in certain assets, such as real estate, may be attractive due to their tax advantages. 13. Federal income taxes are charged against all income individuals receive from all sources (with the exception of interest rec eived on some bonds issued by state and local governments). (a)Active (ordinary â€Å"earned†) income is the broadest category and includes income from wages, salaries, bonuses, tips, pension income, and alimony.It is made up of income earned on the job as well as most other forms of non-investment income. (b)Portfolio (investment) income is earnings generated from various types of investment holdings. For the most part, it consists of interest, dividends, and capital gains earned on most types of investments. Passive income is a special category that consists of income derived chiefly from real estate, limited partnerships, and other forms of tax shelters. (c)Capital gains are the profits earned on the sale of capital assets—pleasure, or investment.They are measured by the amount by which the proceeds from the sale of the capital asset exceed its original purchase price. Currently capital gains are taxed at the same rate as ordinary income. Capital gains are appealing to investors because they are not taxed until they are actually realized. (d)A capital loss is the amount by which the proceeds from the sale of a capital asset are less than its original purchase price. Up to $3,000 of net losses can be applied against ordinary income in any one year, with the unused portion carried forward to offset future income. e)Due to the opportunities and challenges created by the tax laws, tax planning is an important part of the investment process. Tax planning involves looking at an individual’s current and projected earnings and developing strategies that will defer or minimize the level of his or her taxes. Tax plans involve current income, capital gains, or tax-sheltered investments. For example, one strategy is to take losses as they occur and to delay taking profits. One deducts the losses and delays inclusion of profits in order to minimize current taxable income. f)In general, tax-advantaged retirement plans allow individuals to defer taxes on the contribution and/or portfolio earnings until some future date when retirement withdrawals take place. There are employer-sponsored plans, such as 401(k) accounts and individual-created plans, such as Keogh plans, and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). 14. (a)Young investors, ages 20 to 45, tend to prefer growth-oriented investments that stress capital gains rather than income. These investors have little investable funds, and capital gains are seen as the quickest way to build up investment capital. b)By middle-age, ages 45 to 60, there is a consolidation taking place as family demands and responsibilities change. While growth-oriented securities are still used, investing becomes less speculative. Quality-growth vehicles are employed, and more attention is given to current income. The foundation is being set for retirement. (c)As the investor moves into the retirement years, age 60 on, preservation of capital and current income become the principal concerns. High-quality stocks and bonds and money market instruments are used as the investor’s objective is to live as comfortably as possible from the investment income.During retirement one tries to reap the rewards of a lifetime of saving and investing. 15. The four stages of the economic/market cycle are recovery, expansion, decline, and recession. Recovery is the strengthening of the economy after a recession. Expansion reflects continued strength and optimism about economic growth. Decline involves a slowing-down of the economy after an expansion which may have been moving too fast. Then the cycle moves into recession, the economy contracts and pessimism reigns. Just as things look the worst, the recovery cycle begins again. a)Stocks and equity-related securities (such as mutual funds and convertibles) are highly responsive to the economic cycle. During recovery and expansion stock prices are up. As the decline approaches, stock prices begin to decline as well. Growth-oriented and speculati ve stocks tend to do especially well in an expanding economy. (b)Bonds and other fixed-income securities are sensitive to movements in interest rates. Bond prices also move in the opposite direction of interest rate changes. This means that if interest rates are expected to rise, bond prices would fall, and bonds would not be a good place to hold investment funds.Interest rates generally shift with the economic cycle. Rates rise during normal recovery and fall during economic declines. 16. An asset is liquid if it can be converted to cash (sold) easily and quickly, with little or no loss in value. You would want to hold liquid assets as emergency funds or to accumulate funds for some specific purpose. IBM stock is not considered a liquid investment even though it can be easily sold. As with stocks in general, you can never be sure that, when funds are needed, you can quickly sell the stock without taking a loss. 17.Purchasing power risk for short-term investments occurs when the rat e of return on these investments falls short of the inflation rate. This generally happens to fixed-rate investments such as passbook savings accounts. Most other short-term investments have managed to provide rates of return about equal to the inflation rate when one looks at these short-term rates over long periods of time. Default (nonpayment) risk is very small with most short-term investments. The deposits in banks and other federally-insured savings institutions are protected up to $100,000 per account by agencies of the federal government. U. S.Treasury Bills are perfectly safe and sometimes called a risk-free investment. Commercial paper and repurchase agreements are extremely safe, based upon past experience, even though there have been rare instances of problems. These latter two instruments are also not insured. Money market mutual funds have also had an exceptionally safe history. Of course, the safest money market funds are those which invest solely in government securi ties and are virtually default-risk free. 18. Passbook savings accounts and NOW accounts (a checking account), offered by banks, generally pay a low rate of interest and have no minimum balance.Passbook savings and NOW accounts are primarily used by investors as savings accounts, providing the investor with a highly liquid pool of funds. MMDA’s are bank deposit accounts with limited check-writing privileges. Central asset accounts are comprehensive deposit accounts and combine checking, investing and borrowing activities. MMDAs and asset management accounts are more likely used by investors to earn a competitive short-term return while maintaining liquidity. Each type of account, except for asset management accounts, is insured. All but the passbook account typically require a minimum balance which varies. 19. a)Series EE savings bonds are accrual-type securities, which means that interest is paid when the bond is cashed, on or before maturity, rather than periodically over t he life of the bond. The purchase price of all denominations is 50% of the face value. The interest rate paid is variable. The higher the rate of interest being paid, the shorter the period of time it takes for the bond to accrue from its discounted purchase price to its face value (b)U. S. Treasury bills are short-term (less than one year) debt obligations of the federal government. T-bills are exempt from state and local income taxes, and federal taxes are deferred.They are regarded as the safest, but generally lowest-yielding of all investments, and, the secondary market for T-bills is highly liquid. (c)Certificates of deposits (CDs) are savings vehicles in which funds must remain on deposit for a specified period. Premature withdrawals incur interest penalties. Because of the requirement that they remain on deposit, CDs are less liquid than T-bills, but they are convenient to buy and hold, offer highly competitive returns, and have federal insurance protection. (d)Commercial pap er is unsecured short-term debt issued by corporations with very high credit standings.The secondary market for commercial paper is very limited and yields are comparable to yields on large-denomination CDs. Typically only larger institutions deal directly in this market because the denominations range from $25,000 to the more commonly issued $100,000. Commercial paper is not federally insured. (e)Banker’s acceptances are short-term credit arrangements between business firms and banks. Firms use banker’s acceptances to finance transactions, most often involving firms in foreign countries or firms with unknown credit capacities.Banker’s acceptances typically are denominated in $100,000 units, are low-risk securities, and have active secondary markets. Yields are slightly below CD yields and commercial paper, and above T-bills. (f)Money market mutual funds (MMMF) pool capital of many investors and invest it exclusively in high-yielding, short-term securities, such as T-bills, large CDs, commercial paper, and other similar securities. Because these high-yielding securities are in denominations of $10,000 to $1 million, the MMMF makes them available to individual investors.MMMFs are convenient, offer check writing privileges, and yields are based on the ability of the fund manager to invest in various short-term securities. Although they are not federally insured funds, their default risk is nearly zero because the securities they invest in are very low risk and the fund is relatively diversified. Suggested Answers to Investing in Action Questions Test Your Investment IQ (p. 4) How high is your Investment IQ as measured by the quiz? Answer: The average score was only 37 %, or well less than half. Remember that this is just one of many instruments that could be used to measure Investment IQ.For example, another assessment tool would be essay-oriented explanations of a specified investment’s strengths and weaknesses. Lessons For Investme nt Success (p. 15) (a)Why is it important to start investing now? Answer: One should start investing now in order to take advantage of compounding. A $1,000 amount invested for ten years at 7. 2 percent will double. The same amount invested at the same rate for twenty years will quadruple. Instead of just adding another $1000, you earn an extra $1000 from interest being earned on interest. Furthermore, there will never be an â€Å"ideal time† to invest.Terrorist threats, economic concerns, and alternative uses for the money are always with us. Studies have shown it is more important to invest than to pick the right security. Money not invested is likely to be spent and not provide future benefits. (b)Why is it a good idea to diversify? Answer: Diversifying allows you to spread out the risk that a unique firm or industry event will have a devastating impact on your investment. It is important to diversify across types of assets and nations. Suggested Answers to Discussion Que stions 1. a)Since you fall into the category of a young investor, your key investment goals should be to purchase a house and save for the education of your children. Appropriate investments should focus on the education of your children. (b)You should consider the effects of taxes when investing, especially the tax relative treatment of capital gains and dividends. Your focus should be on maximizing the after-tax return on your investments. (c)Since you have a relatively long investment horizon, it is appropriate to focus on higher-risk investments such as common stocks in your portfolio. . Short-term vehicles play an important part in your investment program. Most importantly they will provide a pool of reserves that can be used for emergencies such as replacing cars, appliances and clothing that wear out over time. Savings or Investment VehicleMinimum BalanceYieldFederal InsuranceMethod and Ease of Withdrawing Funds (a)Passbook savings accountNone0. 5% to $4. 0%, depending on eco nomyYes, up to $100,000 per depositIn person or through teller machines; very easy (b)NOW accountNo legal minimum, but often set at $500 or $1,000At or near passbook ratesYes, up to 100,000 per depositUnlimited check- writing privileges (c)Money market deposit account (MMDA)No legal minimum, but often set at $2,500Slightly above passbook ratesYes, up to $100,000 per depositLimited check- writing privileges (d)Asset management accountTypically $5,000 to $20,000Similar to MMDAsYes, up to $100,000 in banks, varies elsewhereLimited check- writing privileges (e)Series EE savings bondInitial deposit is 50% of face valueAbout two percent above passbook savings accountNo, but Federal government issuePenalty of 3 months interest for early withdrawal (f)U. S. Treasury ill$25Slightly above passbook and NOW accounts No, but Federal government issueSecondary market exists (g)Certificate of depositTailored to investor needsSlightly above asset management accountNo, but as secure as most bank savi ngs and checking accountsPenalty for early withdrawal (h)Money market mutual fundNo legal minimumSlightly below passbook savings accountNo, but has invested in a variety of government and bank issuesMay take a few days to receive check from fund Solutions to Problems 1. (a)Goal$250,000 $31,500 at 8% for 15 yrs. 100,000 Additional requirement$150,000 b)Annual deposit: ? ? $5,524. 50 2. (a)Tax on Allens’ income of $130,000. Looking at the joint tax return rate, we find ? (10% ? $14,000) ? [15% ? ($56,800 – $14,000] ? [25% ? ($114,650 – 56,800] ? [28% (130,000 – 114,650)] ? $1,400 ? [15% ? $42,800] ? [25% ? $57,850] ? [28% ? 15,350] ? $1,400 ? $6,420 ? $14,462. 50 ? $4,298 ? $ 26,580. 50 Tax on Zell’s income of $65,000. Looking at the joint tax return rate, we find ? ($10% ? $14,000) ? [$15% ? ($56,800 – $14,000)] ? [25% ? ($65,000 – $56,800)] ? $1,400 ? [15% ? $42,800] ? [25% ? $8,200] ? $1,400 ? $6,420 ? $2,050 ? 9,870. (b)Allan makes twice as much as Zell. Ratio of Allen’s total tax to income is ($26,580. 50/130,000) ? 20. 45% Ratio of Zell’s total tax to income is ($9,870450/65,000) $ ? 15. 18% Hence higher income earners pay a higher proportional of their income as tax. 3. (a)$50,000. 00/$50. 00 ? 1,000 shares of stock. (b)1,000 shares ? $2. 00 ? $2,000. 00 per year before tax. $2,000. 00 ? 0. 85 ? $1,700. 00 after tax. (c)($1,700. 00 ? 10) ? $50,000. 00 ? $67,000. 00. (d)$50,000. 00 ? 0. 05 ? $2,500. 00 per year before tax. $2,500. 00 ? 0. 67 ? $1,675. 00 after tax. (e)($1,675. 0 ? 10) ? $50,000. 00 ? $66,750. 00. (f)They should purchase the stock. Even though the annual interest from the bonds is more than the dividend income from the stock, after taxes the Pangs will have more money from the dividend income than from the interest income. 4. Cash FlowAmountRateTax (a)Interest$1,00028%$280 (b)Dividends$3,00015%$450 (c)LT Cap Gains$2,00015%$300 (d)ST Cap Gains$2,00028%$560 Solutions to Case Pro blems Case 1. 1? Investments or Golf? This case illustrates the many facets of the investment process; it involves much more than common stock.The authors recognize the value of physical education and emphasize the importance of sports, but a course in investments offers the student a lifetime of financial benefits. Thus, our arguments for selecting the investments course should not be interpreted as a negative statement on physical education, but rather as a positive discussion of the merits of investments. (a)The term investments refers to the process of identifying, evaluating, selecting, and monitoring the placement of funds with a view of preserving or increasing value and/or earning a positive return. Judd has simply identified one investment vehicle stock). He will not know how to evaluate other vehicles, select investments, or monitor them without a course in investments. In addition to looking at his own investments, a course in investing will give Judd a new perspective on the role of investments in the economy. He will learn that as an investor, he is actually supplying funds to government and business which will enable the continued strength and growth of the general economy. (b)Clearly, Judd has ignored short term securities, bonds, options, commodities and financial futures, mutual funds, real estate, tangibles, tax shelters, and limited partnerships.Each one of these vehicles offers another risk reward relationship that may meet certain unique investment requirements that cannot be met by common stock alone. (c)Judd does not have the knowledge needed to carry out the investment process described in question 2. Knowing about common stocks is not the same as understanding investments. There is no reason whatsoever to assume that common stock is the best investment available to Judd. Besides, the investment decision has to be compatible with his goals. Since Judd is just starting his career, in all probability he will not want to choose risky inves tments.Stocks are far riskier than, say, an investment in CDs. There are other considerations too. Does Judd have plans for the future when he will need the money? If so, is it a short term or a long term need? Answers to these questions will help determine whether he should make short term or long term investments. In summary, to gain an understanding of the investment decision and management process, Judd should pass up the golf course in favor of the investments course. Case 1. 2? Preparing Carolyn Bowen’s Investment Plan This case allows students to evaluate a proposed investment plan aimed at achieving certain retirement goals. a)The amount currently available to Carolyn includes $60,000 from the proceeds of the life insurance and $37,500 from her savings account, or a total of $97,500. At 6 percent compounded annually, her money will be worth: If she retires at age 62 (7-year investment): $97,500 1. 504 $146,640 ? $112,500 (house) ? $259,140 If she retires at age 65 ( 10-year investment): $97,500 ? 1. 791 $174,622. 50 ? $127,500 (house) ? $302,122. 50 (The future-value interest factors can be found in Appendix B, Table B. 1. ) (b)Value of Carolyn’s assets at 62 ? value of savings account ? alue of house: $146,640 ? $112,500 ? $259,140 Similarly, value of assets at 65 ? $174,622. 50 ? $127,500 ? $302,122. 50 Carolyn’s annual income at age 62 would be $259,140/12. 659 ? $20,470. 81 Carolyn’s annual income at age 65 would be $302,122. 50/11. 118 ? $27,174. 17 (c) Annual Retirement Income Age 62 RetirementAge 65 Retirement Annual S. S. & Pension Fund Benefits$16,308. 00$20,256. 00 ?Annuity Income20,470. 8127,174. 17 Total Annual Retirement Income$36,778. 81$47,430. 17 (d)Carolyn needs $45,000 per year (before taxes) of retirement income.Without considering the change in her tax status upon retirement, she will not satisfy this goal if she retires at age 62. At age 65 she meets her requirement. The nature of tax legislation and t he reduction in Carolyn’s tax liability upon retirement may make retirement at age 65 viable. (e)Carolyn’s plan is extremely conservative and low risk. The returns from the plan are very secure and probably assured. Carolyn can be confident that the accumulated worth of her investments will be available to her at retirement. Her plan to retire at age 65 meets her retirement -income goal. Carolyn’s plan offers low risk and low return..Through only a slight increase in risk, she might improve her return on investment and have more â€Å"cushion† to allow for inflation and unexpected expenditures. Carolyn could purchase highly rated bond, CDs, and other blue chip security investments. In this manner, her risk aversion would be satisfied, and she would earn a higher return on her investments. This should permit more likely achievement of her retirement-income objectives. Therefore, with very little increase in risk, Carolyn could invest her funds in vehicles that will increase the probability that she will meet or surpass her requirement of an annual retirement income of $45,000.