Jim Goodnight Essay

Goodnight is driven by creating a culture that is full of employee engagement and motivation. On the SAS website, Jim Goodnight is quoted as saying, â€Å"Treat employees like they make a difference and they will†. In a publication from Harvard Business Review that Goodnight co-wrote with author Richard Florida he states, â€Å"companies prosper when they harness the creative capital of their employees, as those are the individuals that are creative thinkers and generate valuable products and services. † Mr. Goodnight understands that his product is a â€Å"product of the mind,† and therefore recognizes that maintaining an environment that retains employees and keeps them engaged is a requirement to be successfully. Jim Goodnight has entrenched motivator factors into his business, while minimizing and eliminating hygiene factors for his employees. SAS uses a vertical loading management style that allows employees to be more engaged and empowered in their work. Employees draw responsibility and challenge from this management platform. SAS employees are often only two or three levels down from the CEO, Jim Goodnight, and work alongside their management writing code and setting deadlines. These factors motivate employees and displays to them that managers can be technical in nature and work alongside them â€Å"in the trenches. † Also, SAS has a strong focus on employee satisfaction and uses all possible means to minimize and eliminate hygiene factors that could cause dissatisfaction. Mr. Goodnight pays his employees a competitive salary, however, he shows his commitment through other means such as; benefits, company programs, and employee facilities. SAS understands that work life balance is a conflict that most professionals have to deal with and overcome. SAS maintains flexibility by offering services that ease this burden such as; lunch programs, unlimited sick leave, and in house childcare. The fact that SAS has never had a layoff speaks volumes to its employees about the dedication that leadership has to its employees on job security and proper staffing levels. These factors have far reaching effects on employees and families, as they recognize and appreciate these benefits. My current employer offers a package similar to the one SAS provides its employees, and I experience similar results. For example, teams are more motivated and engaged in their work with minimal turnover and low dissatisfaction with their jobs, and teams are more likely to accept additional assignments with minimal pushback. Jim Goodnight is clearly motivated by offering his employees the highest quality of work life balance possible. He believes the culture is based on â€Å"trust between our employees and the company.

In 2011, What Are Social, Political, and Economic Impacts of Slavery in the U.S.?

In 2011, what are social, political, and economic impacts of slavery in the U. S.? To review American history, â€Å"American Dream† is encouraging a lot of foreigners to immigrate to America where can let these immigrates willing to the better life which refers to the success of economy through individual efforts. However, there is a dark side, namely the slavery, in American history that should not be neglected. The impact of slavery can be recognized in three fields, namely the economic field, the political field, and the social field. Each field has been interacting with each other, there are some visible and invisible phenomenons that might be helpful to spell out what the social, political, and economic impacts of slavery in American in nowadays. From 1619 to 1869, America was the biggest western country which owns huge populations o slavers and strict system of slavery. Slavers didn’t have any rights, such as education, suffrage†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦etc. Simply put, slavers are not considered as people, they are the property of slave owners. The transition of the status of African-Americans, which has gone through too many struggles, is from slavers to African-Americans, in 1865, the United States Congress adopted The 13th Amendment Act, it explains that â€Å"neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. â€Å" It means that the slavery became a history of America. There is no denying that it is the long-term impact of slavery on economy in America, there are two economic transformations, which are triangle trade and industrialization, in American history. The structure of triangle trade is based on the business among Europe, America and Africa. At that time, the North America was the transfer spot between England and its colonies, it means that North America exported agricultural products to England, such as cotton, in the mean time, North America imported slavers. Due to the different economic systems between northern and southern states: industry and commerce were centered on the northern states, agriculture was centered on the southern states, the economic confliction was increasing and then changed to the political and social confliction. At that era, the northern states claimed that protectionism which claims America should take high customs duties to protect the development of industry and commerce, but this policy caused great damage of agricultural economy in southern states. because slavery was major foundation of economy in southern states, so the confliction between northern and southern states was unable to avoid. Another point is that America was not a federal government at that time, it was a confederation. According to the aforementioned, I do not think that northern states want southern states to be the dependency of England in some day, so the Civil War is avoidless process. Slavery is the foundation that forces America to be t he most powerful country in whole world, especially economic and social impacts. After Civil War, slavers get freedom and they enter into the labor market of industry, it improves the economic benefits and rapid industrialization, America was prospering before Great Depression. However, America has experienced some economic failures, such as Great Depression and Financial Tsunami. I think it is the long-term economic impact of slaver because American government adopted over-protected economic policy, and it is one of reasons which caused Great Depression and then American government has gone toward another extreme way, namely the over-liberalism, and it is one of reasons that caused Financial Tsunami. After the disaster of Financial Tsunami. The most important political impact of slavery is American changes to federation. The problem of confederation is that the confederation government does not have enough political, military and economic power to restrain each state, it means these states usually ignore the motions of confederation government. With the establishment of federation after 1865, America is toward the centralization, the interests of country is far higher and more important than the interests of each states. The racial discrimination is a long term problem in the American society, some white people think that they are more superior than other races, and it is called â€Å"White supremacy†. African-Americans are facing the racial discrimination since the era of slavery, such as the racial discrimination in Major League Baseball. An unwritten policy is called â€Å"gentlemen’s agreement† created a colored barrier in Major league baseball until 1947. The possibility of African-American players in Major League Baseball had been excluded. In the late of twentieth century, American government adopts â€Å"Affirmative Action† to try to improve the situation of black people through the structure of law, however, it caused the reverse discrimination. As William J. Wilson’s book, â€Å"The Truly Disadvantaged† noted , he claims that the racial discrimination and its damage were happening in the past, the education is the major factor which effects the economic success of black people because black people are in the bottom of the economic pyramid. In fact, I can not agree with this point because I think that the long-term discrimination is causing the unfair of education and social status, and these factors also influence with each other, this discrimination is invisible that has gradually permeated to the cultural, political, economic field. In nowadays, the racial discrimination still exists in the American society, as one survey from â€Å"Gallup Poll† in 2008 noted, the racial discrimination can be found in four specific problems—â€Å"lower average education levels for U. S. blacks, lower average income levels for U. S. blacks, lower average life expectancies for blacks, and a higher percentage of blacks serving time in U. S. prisons. † It was impossible that African-Americans can be the American president in two hundred years ago, but Barack Obama won the election of American president in 2008. To most people, the victory of Barack Obama is breaking the racial discrimination in the American society, but I do not think so. Because changing the law is easier than changing the opinion of people, especially the long-term concept. Works Cited 1. EH. Net. â€Å"Slavery in the United States. † EH. Net. The Economic History Association with the Support of Other Sponsoring Organizations. , 1 Feb. 2010. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. . 2. Wagley, K. â€Å"Slavery's Economic Basis and Impact on the Emerging United States. † Yahoo! Voices – Voices. yahoo. com. 30 Sept. 2009. Web. 04 Dec. 011. . 3. Wright, Gavin. Slavery and American Economic Development. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2006. Print. 4. Wilson, William J. The Truly Disadvantaged. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1987. Print. 5. Jones, Jeffrey M. â€Å"Majority of Americans Say Racism Against Blacks Widespread. † Gallup. Com – Daily News, Polls, Public Opinion on Government, Politics, Economics, Management. Gallup, Inc. , 4 Aug. 2008. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. .

Accounting Ðnvironmеnt

It is a difficult challÐ µngÐ µ to maintain sight of accounting-spÐ µcific topics whilÐ µ studying accounting in thÐ µ rich and complÐ µx socio-Ð µconomic contÐ µxt in which it occurs. In an attÐ µmpt to mÐ µÃ µt thÐ µ challÐ µngÐ µ, thÐ µ focus of thÐ µ accounting cyclÐ µ is to: (1) idÐ µntify charactÐ µristics that makÐ µ accounting information uniquÐ µ and (2) undÐ µrstand how accounting is donÐ µ, and study how that may bÐ µ a consÐ µquÐ µncÐ µ of how accounting is usÐ µd. (Paton and LittlÐ µton, 1989)As Ð µxamplÐ µs of thÐ µ first propÐ µrty, accounting data is aggrÐ µgatÐ µd–a small numbÐ µr of accounts summarizÐ µ thÐ µ information containÐ µd in a largÐ µ numbÐ µr of transactions. It is prÐ µparÐ µd in accordancÐ µ with doublÐ µ-Ð µntry rulÐ µs. It is auditÐ µd. It is trackÐ µd ovÐ µr multiplÐ µ pÐ µriods. It givÐ µs thÐ µ prÐ µparÐ µr of accounting rÐ µports a curious amount of discrÐ µtion (through thÐ µ choi cÐ µ of accruals). ThÐ µ accounting cyclÐ µ also strÐ µssÐ µs that accounting information oftÐ µn works bÐ µst whÐ µn usÐ µd in conjunction with othÐ µr information.( HorngrÐ µn, FostÐ µr and Datar, 2000)First thÐ µ accounting cyclÐ µ is prÐ µsÐ µntÐ µd in its normal sÐ µquÐ µncÐ µ. That is, start with transactions, writÐ µ journal Ð µntriÐ µs, post to T-accounts, and prÐ µparÐ µ financial statÐ µmÐ µnts. WhilÐ µ this procÐ µss makÐ µs usÐ µ of doublÐ µ Ð µntry, it is unclÐ µar why doublÐ µ Ð µntry is bÐ µing usÐ µd. To dÐ µvÐ µlop a bÐ µttÐ µr apprÐ µciation for thÐ µ powÐ µr and bÐ µauty of doublÐ µ Ð µntry, onÐ µ turns to rÐ µvÐ µrsÐ µ Ð µnginÐ µÃ µring. That is, start with financial statÐ µmÐ µnts and dÐ µrivÐ µ transaction amounts that could havÐ µ gÐ µnÐ µratÐ µd thÐ µ statÐ µmÐ µnts. Working backward to uncovÐ µr transactions (thÐ µ invÐ µrting Ð µxÐ µrcisÐ µ) complÐ µmÐ µnts thÐ µ morÐ µ traditional approach of working forward from transactions to financial statÐ µmÐ µnts.OthÐ µr propÐ µrtiÐ µs (and advantagÐ µs) of doublÐ µ Ð µntry can thÐ µn bÐ µ Ð µxplorÐ µd. First, it allows for a convÐ µniÐ µnt rÐ µprÐ µsÐ µntation of information rÐ µtainÐ µd and supprÐ µssÐ µd during thÐ µ accounting cyclÐ µ. SÐ µcond, it allows for a visual-dirÐ µctÐ µd graph rÐ µprÐ µsÐ µntation, which makÐ µs somÐ µ wÐ µll-known nÐ µtwork flow rÐ µsults accÐ µssiblÐ µ. (Paton and LittlÐ µton, 1989)An application of thÐ µsÐ µ rÐ µsults is prÐ µsÐ µntÐ µd in thÐ µ contÐ µxt of auditing. In fact, thÐ µ auditing Ð µxamplÐ µ lÐ µnds somÐ µ illumination as to why accounting, and not othÐ µr information sourcÐ µs, is auditÐ µd. ThÐ µ kÐ µy again turns out to bÐ µ doublÐ µ Ð µntry.An advantagÐ µ of thÐ µ invÐ µrtibility Ð µxÐ µrcisÐ µ is that it allows accÐ µss to, and rÐ µlativÐ µly transparÐ µnt applications of, a numbÐ µr of thÐ µorÐ µms in appliÐ µd mathÐ µmatics. ThÐ µ invÐ µrting procÐ µss is, aftÐ µr all, solving a systÐ µm of linÐ µar Ð µquations and inÐ µqualitiÐ µs, a systÐ µm givÐ µn a spÐ µcial structurÐ µ by doublÐ µ-Ð µntry mÐ µchanics. ЕxamplÐ µs of thÐ µorÐ µms Ð µncountÐ µrÐ µd arÐ µ thÐ µ thÐ µorÐ µm of thÐ µ sÐ µparating hypÐ µrplanÐ µ, thÐ µ duality thÐ µorÐ µms of linÐ µar programming, thÐ µ max flow-min cut algorithm, and projÐ µction thÐ µorÐ µms. (HorngrÐ µn, FostÐ µr, and Datar, 2000)Applying thÐ µ thÐ µorÐ µms in a doublÐ µ-Ð µntry contÐ µxt typically allows a convÐ µniÐ µnt visual rÐ µprÐ µsÐ µntation Ð µvÐ µn of high-dimÐ µnsion problÐ µms. AggrÐ µgation is a pÐ µrvasivÐ µ thÐ µmÐ µ in accounting. It occurs in managÐ µrial accounting tÐ µxtbooks, cost accounting, tax accounting, and financial accounting. This coursÐ µ bÐ µgins by introducing dÐ µcision problÐ µms in which thÐ µ cost of aggrÐ µgation is Ð µxplicitly d Ð µtÐ µrminÐ µd. ThÐ µ coursÐ µ can thÐ µn discuss sÐ µttings in which aggrÐ µgation is actually dÐ µsirablÐ µ.A furthÐ µr advantagÐ µ of thÐ µ visual rÐ µprÐ µsÐ µntation is that various invÐ µrtibility Ð µxÐ µrcisÐ µs can bÐ µ conductÐ µd on publishÐ µd financial statÐ µmÐ µnts. This is a convÐ µniÐ µnt way to Ð µnsurÐ µ that rÐ µal-world financial statÐ µmÐ µnts (and Ð µvÐ µry linÐ µ itÐ µm thÐ µrÐ µfrom) arÐ µ an important part of thÐ µ discussion. (Paton and LittlÐ µton, 1989)GÐ µnÐ µralizing thÐ µ thÐ µorÐ µms bÐ µyond a doublÐ µ-Ð µntry contÐ µxt allows accÐ µss to othÐ µr rÐ µlatÐ µd problÐ µms and rÐ µsults. For Ð µxamplÐ µ, gÐ µnÐ µral Ð µquilibrium and thÐ µ wÐ µlfarÐ µ thÐ µorÐ µms of Ð µconomics can bÐ µ discussÐ µd in a sÐ µmi-rigorous fashion in thÐ µ contÐ µxt of a linÐ µar production Ð µconomy.RÐ µfÐ µrÐ µncÐ µsHorngrÐ µn, C., G. FostÐ µr, and S. Datar. (2000). Cost Accounting. UppÐ µr SaddlÐ µ RivÐ µr, NJ: PrÐ µnticÐ µ Hall. Paton, W., and A. LittlÐ µton. (1989). An Introduction to CorporatÐ µ Accounting Stan.. dards. Sarasota, FL: AmÐ µrican Accounting Association.  

Naming, Taxonomy, Classification of viruses Essay

Naming, Taxonomy, Classification of viruses - Essay Example Other examples of pathogens include the nematodes, fungi and bacteria. In Biology, the term nomenclature is used to refer to the naming the various taxonomic groups as per the international conventions. When it comes to the naming of viruses, there is a special body tasked with this responsibility. It is called the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), (formerly known as the International Committee on the Nomenclature of Viruses) which was established in 1966. It is the committee of the Virology Division of the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Unlike the nomenclature of other living organisms, viruses are not named with respect to Carolus Linnaeus’ Latinized binomial system. They are named by use of words of English origin new international taxonomic names this is according to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, R. I. B. Francki (1991). Rule No. 10 – rules pertaining the spelling of names with respect to the language used are outlined in Section 6 of Chapter 3 of the proposed viral nomenclature. This is as per the minutes of the meeting held in Moscow in 1966, Rule No. 13 - where agreed upon, the symbols may come after an abbreviation of a Latin name of a given host genus of a particular host, but if need be, a full name instead of the abbreviation may still be used, When it comes to the taxonomy of viruses, which is the classification of viruses into various taxonomic groups, the International Committee n Taxonomy of Viruses came up with a unified taxonomy. The classification system makes use of the below ranked taxons; The current list from the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) indicates that there are three (3) viral orders namely; Caudovirales – these are the tailed double stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA) phages, Mononegavirales – these are the ones having enveloped globular virons bearing similar single stranded negative ribonucleic acid (ss (-) RNA) genomes and

MANAGEMENT RESEARCH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MANAGEMENT RESEARCH - Essay Example I have been continuously using this approach until now. The second reason I want my dissertation to be deductive is that it will be more logical. On the other hand, if I followed the inductive approach (sometimes known as "bottom up" approach) it would lead me to a degree of uncertainty in my dissertation. In addition to this, inductive reasoning may not be handy in proving and providing arguments. Although I read some dissertations that used both approach, I noticed that deductive reasoning is a valid form of proving. On the contrary, if I would be using inductive reasoning as a writer, I must observe a number of situations in which patterns exist. Unfortunately, that doesnt mean that pattern observed is true for all situations. This would not be helpful in my subject which is banking and finance since I need a lot of proof. In short, using a deductive approach would be most suitable for my dissertation. In conclusion, this is only my standpoint about inductive and deductive approach, this is not meant if I have chosen deductive approach, inductive approach was wrong approach. Both approaches are correct but choosing is different from person to

For or Against Governing Early Childhood Education through play by Jo Personal Statement

For or Against Governing Early Childhood Education through play by Jo AilWood - Personal Statement Example games, they acquire knowledge on how to control their emotions, and how to transform the large, mystifying world events into a little, controllable status. Play also enables children to improve on their social skills as they assign themselves certain responsibilities and resources. Despite the significance of play in early childhood learning processes, I believe there are some pitfalls to play that need to known to the learning fraternity. I think the significance of the circumstances under which a play is executed has not been anybody’s concern, even as more people continue to advocate for the governmentality of early childhood education through play. Current learning-based plays are only looked upon from the positive perspectives rather than from all sides to ascertain its real significance. Ailwood avers that play in early childhood education has been mired in more rhetoric than tangible results. In most cases, play has fallen short of equipping children with the required skills expected out of such activities (291). Childhood play has been found to be boring, and usually isolating for some children. Additionally, play has been largely entertaining, rather than enhancing the skills of the participants. Play also reduces the role of a teacher to merely keeping an eye on those engaging in bad games and maintaining the hygiene of children who take part in such activity. In light of the valorisation of play, brought about by divisions along social lines, play does not contribute to the unity and social diversity required in learning

Preventing STI on Juveniles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Preventing STI on Juveniles - Essay Example The effects associated with the acquisition of STIs are not only limited to medical and psychological aspects but have other devastating implications on the infected teenagers including the cost and sequelae of STIs. In order to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, a diverse range of barrier methods are available, such as condoms to ensure safety of both partners during coitus. In modern society, one of the major problems faced by the health care system is the prevention of sexually transmitted infections in juveniles (Steele et al 2005). Preventive Measures: Abstinence from sexual relations is one of the most efficacious means of reducing the risk of acquiring AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. On the other hand, maintaining a mutual monogamous sexual relationship with an uninfected partner is another way of minimizing the risk of acquiring STIs through sexual contact. The risk of infection with HIV and other STIs can also be significantly reduced by usi ng barrier methods such as latex condoms or by using spermicides. In heterosexual partners, the prevalence of HIV infection is quite high. In accordance with a recent research, the percentage of heterosexual partners having HIV infection is as high as 11% and about 60% of HIV infected heterosexual partners’ exhibit seropositive results (McGlynn et al 2000). The need for Diverse Interventions: In order to reduce the initial acquisition, further transmission and sequelae of sexually transmitted infections, there is an urgent need to formulate and strictly implement a diverse range of interventions. Interventions such as fostering the use of condoms, development of new biomedical methods, school-college based educational programs and routine screening have simply not been able to cause a sharp decrease in the incidence of sexually transmitted infections in sexually active young individuals. It is a fact that these interventions have significantly increased the awareness about ST Is but the rapid increase in the number of cases reported each year mirrors their inefficacy. The alarming rise in the number of teenagers having STIs reflects the failure of the government in the implementation of effective and diverse interventions at every level. Therefore, the need for drawing up and strictly enforcing effective projects for the prevention of STIs is the greatest now than ever before (Steele et al 2005). Design for Change in Practice: To ensure effective outcomes, it is a prerequisite for the interventions mentioned in this section to be implemented comprehensively and at different societal levels. The new design for change in practice will address the following areas of concern. The most effective way of sharply decreasing the percentage of new STI cases is to convey the importance of sexual abstinence to young individuals. The advent of new biomedical approaches, such as vaccines, has been assumed to provide easy and instant solution to the critical problem of rise in STIs in juveniles. However, it is quite unrealistic to believe that such approaches will provide fast and instant solution. The realistic approach is to couple these biomedical approaches with behavioral approaches in order to increase their effectiveness and efficacy. Thirdly, it is quite important to realize that teenagers need to be informed about how to properly use condoms during sexual intercourse. Unfortunately, a large number of community or school based programs and parent

Managing Absence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managing Absence - Assignment Example This leads to poor and staggered service to customers, as agency employees, being untrained and raw, could never do justice to customers without bungling or making glaring mistakes. Problem of delayed service is very common and Line managers have to deal with unpleasant customer complaints, which sometimes, run for days and months, causing immense man-hour loss over trivia. If not attended sincerely and find suitable solutions, Company will lose the carefully nurtured image and goodwill in the market, not to mention facing the unpleasant and enraged reactions from the customers. Temporary staff is unsuitable for another reason that it needs more guidance and managers have to frequently accompany them to see that serious errors do not occur. This naturally results in distraction and wastage of managers' precious working time. Recruitment and staff turnover of the Company in recent years has become noticeably frequent and this is financially undesirable1. It is a matter of serious concern that unforeseen absences are creating major problems to management and managers and hence, are unpleasant to the image of the Company. The gravity of the situation is acute as absenteeism can result in service failures, recovery actions, implications etc. There are instances when Company was even drawn into unpleasant legal battles and this shows that prevention and solution both are immediately needed. Managing absence and its effect on productivity and efficiency is no small concern, and it is desirable to get practical advice to deal with long and short-term absences, ill health and absence resulting from working stress. It is essential to assess the damage to Company and inconvenience to managers who are forced to reorganise the entire group to set it rolling. Costs of frequent re-organisations cannot be ignored either. The downward trend in Company performance is creating an unhealthy atmosphere2. Reasons and excuses of sickness should be considered against the real sickness, manager bullying, children responsibility, exhaustion, depression, old relatives and their responsibility, their hospitalisation, sickness of tiny children and partner or husband etc. Handling absenteeism with professional help and on the basis of research already done is essential. Diagnosing problems, identifying weak spots, controlling systems and spotting training requirements for heads of department, line managers and team managers on how to deal with persistent absentees is important. Consulting employment law consultants and human resource professionals and frequent meetings with employee relations officers is another form of tackling this evil. In house legal advisers should be consulted for further actions against the absentees. Possibilities of future damage repair like in-house training; continuing professional development focussed on developing the employee's full potential, encouraging interactions, advising on employment law issues and practical law issues could guide strategy mapping. This will also involve line management solutions, return to work interviews, and frequent monitoring. It is better to involve employee work commitment, peer pressure, and medical opinion etc. and arrive at a decision after going through every aspect of absenteeism including from the

Roper v. Simmons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Roper v. Simmons - Essay Example Virginia, 536 U.S. 302 (2002)). When Simmons became aware of this ruling, he submitted a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and requested post-conviction relief based on the assertion that the reasoning of Atkins established a Constitutional protection against the death penalty for a convicted individual who was a minor when the crime was committed. The Supreme Court of Missouri agreed with Simmons’ and Roper (on behalf of the State of Missouri) appealed to the United States Supreme Court. At 17 years of age, Christopher Simmons discussed the ideal of murdering someone as a â€Å"prank† with some friends. His reasoning was that they would not get caught and if they were, they were juveniles and there would be little consequence. At 2:00AM on the morning of the murder, he and his accomplice broke into the house of Shirley Crook. They used duct tape to cover her eyes, mouth, and hands and put her in her own minivan. They then drove to a state park, covered her head with a towel, and walked her to a railroad trestle spanning the Meramec River. At that point they, they tied her hands and feet with electrical wire, covered her entire face in duct tape, and threw her into the water. Approximately nine months later, at the age of 18, Simmons was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. His case was taken by the Supreme Court on the question of the constitutionality of applying the death penalty to criminals who were juveniles when their crime was committed. Yes. Executing convicted felons whose crimes were committed prior to their turning 18 years old is a violation of the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment as well as the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court recognizes the Eighth Amendment’s preclusion of cruel and unusual punishment, and has established the propriety of

Case analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Case analysis - Essay Example Wolfgang Keller, a charismatic graduate from the Harvard Business School, is the managing director of premium brewer Kà ¶nigsbrà ¤u’s Ukrainian subsidiary, Kà ¶nigsbrà ¤u-TAK AE. Before taking his current position at Kà ¶nigsbrà ¤u-TAK, Keller was a strategic planner for a large German food products manufacturer. Within six months he was promoted to general manager of a small subsidiary in Ukraine that was struggling financially. Within his roughly two years spent with the company, he managed to turn it around and create a reputation as a successful hands-on manager. After his short stint as a strategic planner, Keller left the food manufacturer and joined Kà ¶nigsbrà ¤u as managing director of its Ukrainian subsidiary. After three years in this position, Keller made significant changes which dramatically helped increase sales and revenues within the company. By changing the marketing strategy, hiring a new top-management group, restructuring the sales force, and acquiring a fourth brewery in Odessa, he increased earnings by â‚ ¬10 million. Keller loved his job here and took it because he loved the responsibility and challenges it offered. These challenges helped to form Keller’s temperament , personality and business style. One of the main issues in this case is that there are two completely different personalities and management styles between Wolfgang Keller and Dimitri Brodsky. The differences between the two have resulted in a hostile working environment and a negative relationship. Keller’s personality is relationship and task oriented and employee oriented. For example Keller likes to establish trust and relationships with co-workers by motivating them and helping them to perform better. However when it comes to Brodsky he is more coercive. Keller is a highly interactive and hands on leader, whereas Brodsky keeps his distance in his interactions.

Chemical dependency Essay Example for Free

Chemical dependency Essay Group Structure: Type of group: This meeting was a â€Å"Narcotics Anonymous Open Sharing Meeting†. This component, where anyone attending had the opportunity to share. There was no direct feedback from the other participants during the â€Å"share†, thus only one person spoke at any given time during that portion of the meeting. Organizational affiliation: Narcotics Anonymous as a group has no affiliation outside of Narcotics Anonymous. As a group they have no opinion on outside issues,† including those of politics, science, or medicine, and do not endorse any outside organization or institution. The fellowship does not promote itself, but rather attracts new members through public information and outreach. Narcotics Anonymous groups and areas supply outside organizations with factual information regarding the Narcotics Anonymous program, and individual members may carry the Narcotics Anonymous message to hospitals and institutions, such as treatment centers and jails. Narcotics Anonymous as a group base their public relations policy on attraction rather than promotion. Physical environment: This meeting was held in the recreation room in the basement of a church. There was an oblong table at the head of the two rows of chairs placed in a 360 degree circle. Participants: There were roughly 40-50 participants ranging in age from mid teens to late 50’s. There were only 5 females in attendance. This group’s ethnicity was about 85% Caucasian, 10% African American and 5% Latino. Leadership structure: In different areas the work is divided differently, and the particular jobs are sometimes called different names. At this particular meeting the leadership structure was as follows, ranking from top to bottom in hierarchy. Chairperson, Co-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and Group service representative (GSR). Process: What the group does for a person’s first visit? First time visitors and newcomers to this meeting were asked to introduce themselves by first name only. These individuals were welcomed by all the participants at the meeting. These individuals were given a hand shake, a hug and a white key tag (by a presenter) that said welcome on one side and on the other side had the Narcotics Anonymous logo. How members’ contribute to the group’s leadership? Members who attend the same meeting on a regular basis to establish a recovery network and reliable routine understand this to be their â€Å"Home Group†. These group members are able to participate in the group’s business, and play an important role in deciding how the structure, leadership and the group’s meetings will be conducted. Each member has a vote in this process and the majority vote rules. Activities that occurred during the meeting. There were no physical activities during this meeting but certain individuals read inserts from the â€Å"Basic Text Book† of Narcotics Anonymous pertaining to that week’s format and agenda. Address the following questions: How did the group begin? The group began by the Chairperson knocking on the table to gain every ones attention, then announcing them self, followed by stating the name of this group (Dead Man Walking) then reciting the Serenity Prayer. How was the purpose of the meeting communicated? The purpose of the meeting was indicated by preamble which was read by the Chairperson also by the reading of the secretary’s report, which was read by the C-Chairperson, this stated the purpose of the meeting and the rules in which the participants were required to oblige by. How was the meeting’s agenda established? The agenda varies in whatever way seems to best suit the personality of the group and the needs of the addicts in the community. This meeting’s agenda and format was established by the governing members (from the Home Group) and varies from week to week but was mostly based on the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous. Techniques used to encourage people to participate. It was announced to all those attending the meeting that participation was optional. What extent were these techniques effective. There was no pressure on anyone which made the atmosphere very comfortable. What are participants’ responsibilities for the meeting process? Anonymity of the group’s participants and process were the main responsibilities from all those attending and keeping the sharing time between 3-5 minutes and not interrupting the person who was talking. How were these responsibilities explained? These responsibilities were explained to the group in detail during the reading of the secretary’s report. How did the group demonstrate interest, acceptance, etc. in those attending? The participants showed interest by paying close attention to the individual who was sharing and when those who shared finished, everyone in the group (at one time) thanked that person for sharing their story. What emotions were observed? There were a couple of times when an individual who was telling their story began to cry. Other times there was some laughter from the group when certain individuals identified their own story with the one the person was sharing. How did the participants respond to expressions of these emotions? The participants expressions showed true concern and empathy for those who were sharing their experience, strength and hope. Were there any decisions made for future events or meetings? It was stated in the secretary’s report that all meeting events and decisions are discussed and made during the group’s monthly business meeting. The business meeting for this group is held on the second Saturday of the month. Describe any observation of any therapeutic factors. The therapeutic value of one addict helping another gave each participant the feeling of acceptance and familiarity. There were a lot of similarities between the structure of an Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meeting. A major difference I witness at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting from the Narcotics Anonymous meeting was, at the Narcotics Anonymous Meeting it was suggested that those who was sharing not to acknowledge or mention there drug use. At the Narcotics Anonymous meeting it was clearly stated that â€Å"Narcotics Anonymous does not distinguish a difference between substances, they are all inclusive, â€Å"Alcohol is a drug†. It was also stated at the Narcotics Anonymous meeting that anyone from the other fellowship (Alcoholics Anonymous) was accepted at this and all Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

Blooms Research and Response Essay Example for Free

Blooms Research and Response Essay A psychologist in the early 1950’s by the name of Benjamin Bloom developed Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. This was developed as a tool for educators to classify learning objectives and skills for students (Larkin Burton, 2008). This taxonomy has been used extensively by the health field, including nursing, to structure teaching plans and outcome testing. Blooms Taxonomy, consists of a hierarchy within 3 different domains of learning: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor (Larkin Burton, 2008). According to the taxonomy there are several subcategories within the cognitive domain. The lowest aspect in the hierarchy for the cognitive domain is knowledge. One is expected to retrieve information from long-term memory. Using this in nursing would be the patient being able to recognize medication side effects associated with their medication regimen. Advancing up the pyramid is comprehension. This is when one is expected to construct meaning from oral, written, or graphic information. Using this in nursing the patient would be able to explain the importance of having clean hands while doing central line flushing. Application is next. The patient should be able to apply concepts to real-life situations. For example, the patient should be able to calculate a resting heart rate. The highest level in the cognitive domain is the evaluation. A nurse would be able to modify concepts to create an individual teaching plan to fit the particular patient situation. The nurse would be able to modify daily exercise regime to meet health goals. The second domain of learning is the affective domain. This domain centers around how people deal emotionally: including values, motivations, and attitudes. Receiving is at the bottom of the hierarchy. The nurse must be attentive to and aware of the opportunity for learning. A prime example of using this skill in nursing, the nurse will help the patient realized need for change in their lifestyle decision making. Near the top of the pyramid is organizing and conceptualizing, being able to organize values thru prioritization and through contrasting differing values. Examples for using this in nursing are being able to teach the patient to prioritize daily responsibilities to allow for time and stress management. The top of the pyramid in this domain is value concept; a value system that explains their behavior. When applying this to nursing the patient will be able to sustain healthy choices over time. The third domain in Blooms Taxonomy of Education is the psychomotor domain; how people use motor skills to complete or engage in a task. Imitation is the ability to imitate motor activity. Applying imitation to nursing the patient would be able to detect the proper site for blood glucose testing. Manipulation is next; where the patient follows instructions. A patient can assemble equipment for glucose testing. Naturalization is at the top of the psychomotor domain. The patient will have the necessary skills to complete the task without thinking about it. Using this in nursing the patient will be able to progress to unassisted mobility following orthopedic surgery through the use of exercise and physical therapy. Bloom’s Taxonomy is easy to understand and makes a logical progression from fundamental learning to complex. Using this taxonomy in the nursing teaching process can have long-lasting effects on improving the nursing practice (Larkin Burton, 2008). References Anderson, L.W., Krathwohl, D.R., Airasian, P.W., et al. (2001). A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York. Addison Wessly Longman. Bloom, B., ed. (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. New York. Longman Krathwohl, D.R., Bloom, B.S., Masia, B.B.,(1973). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, the classification of educational goals. Handbook II: Affective domain. New York: David McKay CO., Inc. Larkin, B. G., Burton, K. J. (2008). Evaluating a case study using Blooms Taxonomy of Education. AORN Journal , 88(3), 390. Simpson E.J., (1972). The classification of educational objectives in psychomotor domain. Washington D.C., Gyphon House.

Measuring weak-form market efficiency

Measuring weak-form market efficiency Measuring Weak-form Market Efficiency ABSTRACT This paper tests weak-form efficiency in the U.S. market. Both daily and monthly returns are employed for autocorrelation analysis, variance ratio tests and delay tests. Three conclusions are reached. Firstly, security returns are predictable to some extent. While individual stock returns are weakly negatively correlated and difficult to predict, market-wide indices with outstanding recent performance show a positive autocorrelation and offer more predictable profit opportunities. Secondly, monthly returns follow random walk better than daily returns and are thus more weak-form efficient. Finally, weak-form inefficiency is not necessarily bad. Investors should be rewarded a certain degree of predictability for bearing risks. Efficient market hypothesis (EMH), also known as information efficiency, refers to the extent to which stock prices incorporate all available information. The notion is important in helping investors to understand security behaviour so as to make wise investment decisions. According to Fama (1970), there are three versions of market efficiency: the weak, semistrong, and strong form. They differ with respect to the information that is incorporated in the stock prices. The weak form efficiency assumes that stock prices already incorporate all past trading information. Therefore, technical analysis on past stock prices will not be helpful in gaining abnormal returns. The semistrong form efficiency extends the information set to all publicly available information including not only past trading information but also fundamental data on firm prospects. Therefore, neither technical analysis nor fundamental analysis will be able to produce abnormal returns. Strong form efficiency differs fro m the above two in stating that stock prices not only reflect publicly available information but also private inside information. However, this form of market efficiency is always rejected by empirical evidence. If weak-form efficiency holds true, the information contained in past stock price will be completely and instantly reflected in the current price. Under such condition, no pattern can be observed in stock prices. In other words, stock prices tend to follow a random walk model. Therefore, the test of weak-form market efficiency is actually a test of random walk but not vice versa. The more efficient the market is, the more random are the stock prices, and efforts by fund managers to exploit past price history will not be profitable since future prices are completely unpredictable. Therefore, measuring weak-form efficiency is crucial not only in academic research but also in practice because it affects trading strategies. This paper primarily tests the weak-form efficiency for three stocks-Faro Technologies Inc. (FARO), FEI Company (FEIC) and Fidelity Southern Corporation (LION) and two decile indices-the NYSE/AMEX/NASDAQ Index capitalisation based Deciles 1 and 10 (NAN D1 and NAN D10). Both daily and monthly data are employed here to detect any violation of the random walk hypothesis. The remainder of the paper is structured in the following way. Section I provides a brief introduction of the three firms and two decile indices. Section II describes the data and discusses the methodology used. Section III presents descriptive statistics. Section IV is the result based on empirical analysis. Finally, section V concludes the paper. I. The Companies[1] A. Faro Technologies Inc (FARO) FARO Technologies is an instrument company whose principle activities include design and develop portable 3-D electronic systems for industrial applications in the manufacturing system. The companys principal products include the Faro Arm, Faro Scan Arm and Faro Gage articulated measuring devices. It mainly operates in the United States and Europe. B. FEI Company (FEI) FEI is a leading scientific instruments company which develops and manufactures diversified semiconductor equipments including electron microscopes and beam systems. It operates in four segments: NanoElectronics, NanoResearch and Industry, NanoBiology and Service and Components. With a 60-year history, it now has approximately 1800 employees and sells products to more than 50 countries around the world. C. Fidelity Southern Corp. (LION) Fidelity Southern Corp. is one of the largest community banks in metro Atlanta which provides a wide range of financial services including commercial and mortgage services to both corporate and personal customers. It also provides international trade services, trust services, credit card loans, and merchant services. The company provides financial products and services for business and retail customers primarily through branches and via internet. D. NYSE/AMEX/NASDAQ Index It is an index taken from the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) which includes all common stocks listed on the NYSE, Amex, and NASDAQ National Market. The index is constructed by ranking all NYSE companies according to their market capitalization in the first place. They are then divided into 10 decile portfolios. Amex and NASDAQ stocks are then placed into the deciles based on NYSE breakpoints. The smallest and the largest firms based on market capitalization are placed into Decile 1 and Decile 10, respectively. II. Data and Methodology A. Data Data for the three stocks and two decile indices in our study are all obtained from the Center for Research in Securities Prices database (CRSP) on both daily and monthly basis from January 2000 to December 2005. Returns are then computed on both basis, generating a total of 1507 daily observations and 71 monthly observations. The NYSE/AMEX/NASDAQ Index is CRSP Capitalisation-based so that Decile 1 and 10 represent the smallest and largest firms, respectively, based on market capitalisation. In addition, The Standard and Poors 500 Index (SP 500) is used as a proxy for the market index. It is a valued-weighted index which incorporates the largest 500 stocks in US market. For comparison purposes, both continuously compounded (log) returns and simple returns are reported, although the analysis is based on the result of the first one. B. Methods B.1. Autocorrelation Tests One of the most intuitive and simple tests of random walk is to test for serial dependence, i.e. autocorrelation. The autocorrelation is a time-series phenomenon, which implies the serial correlation between certain lagged values in a time series. The first-order autocorrelation, for instance, indicates to what extent neighboring observations are correlated. The autocorrelation test is always used to test RW3, which is a less restrictive version of random walk model, allowing the existence of dependent but uncorrelated increments in return data. The formula of autocorrelation at lag k is given by: (1) where is the autocorrelation at lag ; is the log-return on stock at time; and is the log-return on stock at time. A greater than zero indicates a positive serial correlation whereas a less than zero indicates a negative serial correlation. Both positive and negative autocorrelation represent departures from the random walk model. If is significantly different from zero, the null hypothesis of a random walk is rejected. The autocorrelation coefficients up to 5 lags for daily data and 3 lags for monthly data are reported in our test. Results of the Ljung-Box test for all lags up to the above mentioned for both daily and monthly data are also reported. The Ljung-Box test is a more powerful test by summing the squared autocorrelations. It provides evidence for whether departure for zero autocorrelation is observed at all lags up to certain lags in either direction. The Q-statistic up to a certain lag m is given by: (2) B.2. Variance Ratio Tests We follow Lo and MacKinlays (1988) single variance ratio (VR) test in our study. The test is based on a very important assumption of random walk that variance of increments is a linear function of the time interval. In other words, if the random walk holds, the variance of the qth differed value should be equal to q times the variance of the first differed value. For example, the variance of a two-period return should be equal to twice the variance of the one-period return. According to its definition, the formula of variance ratio is denoted by: (3) where q is any positive integer. Under the null hypothesis of a random walk, VR(q) should be equal to one at all lags. If VR(q) is greater than one, there is positive serial correlation which indicates a persistence in prices, corresponding to the momentum effect. If VR(q) is less than one, there is negative serial correlation which indicates a reversal in prices, corresponding to the mean-reverting process. Note that the above two test are also tests of how stock prices react to publicly available information in the past. If market efficiency holds true, information from past prices should be immediately and fully reflected in the current stock price. Therefore, future stock price change conditioned on past prices should be equal to zero. B.3. Griffin-Kelly-Nardari DELAY Tests As defined by Griffin, Kelly and Nardari (2007), delay is a measure of sensitivity of current returns to past market-wide information.[2] Speaking differently, delay measures how quickly stock returns can react to market returns. The logic behind this is that a stock which is slow to incorporate market information is less efficient than a stock which responds quickly to market movements. SP 500 index is employed in delay test to examine the sensitivity of stock returns to market information. For each stock and decile index, both restricted and unrestricted models are estimated from January 2000 to December 2005. The unrestricted model is given by: (4) where is the log-return on stock i at time t; is the market log-return (return for SP 500 index) at time t; is the lagged market return; is the coefficient on the lagged market return; and is the lag which is 1, 2, 3, 4 for the daily data and 1, 2, 3 for the monthly data. The restricted model is as follows which sets all to be zero: (5) Delay is then calculated based on adjusted R-squares from above regressions as follows: (6) An alternative scaled measure of delay is given by: (7) Both measures are reported in a way that the larger the calculated delay value, the more return variation is explained by lagged market returns and thus the more delayed response to the market information. III. Descriptive Statistics A. Daily frequencies Table I shows the summary statistic of daily returns for the three stocks and two decile indices. The highest mean return is for FARO (0.0012), whereas the lowest mean return is for NAN D10 (0.0000). In terms of median return, NAN D1 (0.0015) outperforms all the other stocks. Both the highest maximum return and the lowest minimum return (0.2998 and -0.2184, respectively) are for FARO, corresponding to its highest standard deviation (0.0485) among all, indicating that FARO is the most volatile in returns. On the other hand, both the lowest maximum return and highest minimum return (0.0543 and -0.0675, respectively) are for NAN D10. However NAN D10 is only the second least volatile, while the lowest standard deviation is for NAN D1 (0.0108). Figure 1 and 2 presents the price level of the most and least volatile index (stock). All the above observations remain true if we change from log-return basis to a simple return basis. In terms of the degree of asymmetry of the return distributions, all stocks and indices are positively skewed, with the only exception of NAN D1. The positive skewness implies that more extreme values are in the right tail of the distribution, i.e. stocks are more likely to have times when performance is extremely good. On the other hand, NAN D1 is slightly negatively skewed, which means that returns are more likely to be lower that what is expected by normal distribution. In measuring the peakedness of return distributions, positive excess kurtosis is observed in all stocks and indices, also known as a leptokurtic distribution, which means that returns either cluster around the mean or disperse in the two ends of the distribution. All the above observations can be used to conclusively reject the null hypothesis that daily returns are normally distributed. What more, results from Jarque-Bera test provide supportive evidence for rejection of the normality hypothesis at all significant levels for all stocks and indices. B. Monthly frequencies Descriptive statistics of monthly returns are likewise presented in Table II. Most of the above conclusions reached for daily returns are also valid in the context of monthly returns. In other words, what is the highest (lowest) value for daily returns is also the highest (lowest) for monthly returns in most cases. The only exceptions are for the highest value in median returns and the lowest value and standard deviation in minimum returns. In this situation, NAN D10 (0.0460) and FARO (0.1944) have the least and most dispersion according to their standard deviations, compared with NAN D1 and FARO in daily case. From above observation, we can see that decile indices are more stable than individual stocks in terms of returns. Whats more, monthly returns have larger magnitude in most values than daily returns. Coming to the measurement of asymmetry and peakedness of return distributions, only NAN D10 (-0.4531) is negatively skewed. However, the degree of skewness is not far from 0. Other stocks and index are all positively skewed with both FEIC (0.0395) and LION (0.0320) having a skewness value very close to 0. Almost all stocks and index have a degree of kurtosis similar to that of normal distribution, except that NAN D1 (8.6623) is highly peaked. This is also consistent with the results of JB p-values, based on which we conclude that FEIC, LION and NAN D10 are approximately normal because we fail to reject the hypothesis that they are normally distributed at 5% or higher levels (see Figure 3 and 4 for reference). However when simple return basis is used, FEIC is no longer normally distributed even at the 1% significant level. Except this, using simple return produces similar results. IV. Results A. Autocorrelation Tests A.1. Tests for Log-Returns The results of autocorrelation tests for up to 5 lags of daily log-returns and up to 3 lags of monthly log-returns for three stocks and two decile indices from January 2000 to December 2005 are summarised in Table III. Both the autocorrelation (AC) and partial autocorrelation (PAC) are examined in our tests. As is shown in Panel A, all 5 lags of FARO, FEIC and NAN D10 for both AC and PAC are insignificant at 5% level, except for the fourth-order PAC coefficient of FARO (-0.052), which is slightly negatively significant. On the contrary, NAN D1 has significant positive AC and PAC at almost all lags except in the fourth order, its PAC (0.050) is barely within the 5% significance level. The significant AC and PAC coefficients reject the null hypothesis of no serial correlation in NAN D1, thereby rejecting the weak-form efficiency. In terms of LION, significant negative autocorrelation coefficients are only observed in the first two orders and its higher-order coefficients are not statistically significant. Besides that, we find that all the stocks and indices have negative autocorrelation coefficients at most of their lags, with the only exception of NAN D1, whose coefficients are all positive. The strictly positive AC and PAC indicates persistence in returns, i.e. a momentum effect for NAN D1, which means that good or bad performances in the past tend to continue over time. We also present the Ljung-Box (L-B) test statistic in order to see whether autocorrelation coefficients up to a specific lag are jointly significant. Since RW1 implies all autocorrelations are zero, the L-B test is more powerful because it tests the joint hypothesis. As is shown in the table, both LION and NAN D1 have significant Q values in all lags at all levels, while none of FARO, FEIC and NAN D10 has significant Q values. Based on above daily observations, we may conclude that the null hypothesis of no serial correlation is rejected at all levels for LION and NAN D1, but the null hypothesis cannot be rejected at either 5% level or 10% level for FARO, FEIC and NAN D10. This means that both LION and NAN D1 are weak-form inefficient. By looking at their past performance, we find that while NAN D1 outperformed the market in sample period, LION performed badly in the same period. Therefore, it seems that stocks or indices with best and worst recent performance have stronger autocorrelation. In particular, LION shows a positive autocorrelation in returns, suggesting that market-wide indices with outstanding recent performance have momentum in returns over short periods, which offer predictable opportunities to investors. When monthly returns are employed, no single stock or index has significant AC or PAC in any lag reported at 5% level. It is in contrast with daily returns, which means that monthly returns follow a random walk better than daily returns. More powerful L-B test confirms our conclusion by showing that Q statistics for all stocks and indices are statistically insignificant at either 5% or 10% level. Therefore, the L-B null hypothesis can be conclusively rejected for all stocks and indices up to 3 lags. When compared with daily returns, monthly returns seem to follow random walk better and are thus more weak-form efficient. A.2. Tests for Squared Log-Returns Even when returns are not correlated, their volatility may be correlated. Therefore, it is necessary for us to expand the study from returns to variances of returns. Squared log-returns and absolute value of log-returns are measures of variances and are thus useful in studying the serial dependence of return volatility. The results of autocorrelation analysis for daily squared log-returns for all three stocks and two decile indices are likewise reported in Table IV. In contrast to the results for log-returns, coefficients for FEIC, LION, NAN D1 and NAN D10 are significantly different from zero, except for the forth-order PAC coefficient (0.025) for FEIC, the fifth-order PAC coefficient for LION (-0.047) and third- and forth-order PAC coefficient for NAN D1 (-0.020 and -0.014, respectively). FARO has significant positive AC and PAC at the first lag and a significant AC at the third lag. The L-B test provides stronger evidence against the null hypothesis that sum of the squared autocorrelations up to 5 lags is zero for all stocks and indices at all significant levels, based on which we confirm our result that squared log-returns do not follow a random walk. Another contrasting result with that of log-returns is that almost all the autocorrelation coefficients are positive, indicating a stronger positive serial dependence in squared log-returns. In terms of monthly data, only FEIC and NAN D10 have significant positive third-order AC and PAC estimates. Other stocks and indices have coefficients not significantly different from zero. The result is supported by Ljung-Box test statistics showing that Q values are only statistically significant in the third lag for both FEIC and NAN D10. This is consistent with the result reached for log-returns above, which says that monthly returns appear to be more random than daily returns. A.3. Tests for the Absolute Values of Log-Returns Table V provides autocorrelation results for the absolute value of log-returns in similar manner. However, as will be discussed below, the results are even more contrasting than that in Table IV. In Panel A, all the stocks and indices have significant positive serial correlation while insignificant PAC estimates are only displayed in lag 5 for both FARO and LION. Supporting above result, Q values provide evidence against the null hypothesis of no autocorrelation. Therefore, absolute value of daily log-returns exhibit stronger serial dependence than in Table III and IV, and autocorrelations are strictly positive for all stocks and indices. Coming to the absolute value of monthly log-returns, only FEIC displays significant individual and joint serial correlation. NAN D1 also displays a significant Q value in lag 2 at 5% level, but it is insignificant at 1% level. Based on the above evidence, two consistent conclusions can be made at this point. First of all, by changing ingredients in our test from log-returns to squared log-returns and absolute value of log-returns, more positive serial correlation can be observed, especially in daily data. Therefore, return variances are more correlated. Secondly, monthly returns tend to follow a random walk model better than daily returns. A.4. Correlation Matrix of Stocks and Indices Table VI presents the correlation matrix for all stocks and indices. As is shown in Panel A for daily result, all of the correlations are positive, ranging from 0.0551 (LION-FARO) to 0.5299 (NAN D10-FEIC). Within individual stocks, correlation coefficients do not differ a lot. The highest correlation is between FEIC and FARO with only 0.1214, indicating a fairly weak relationship between individual stocks returns. However, in terms of stock-index relationships, they differ drastically from 0.0638 (NAN D10-FARO) to 0.5299 (NAN D10-FEIC). While the positive correlation implies that the three stocks follow the indices in the same direction, the extent to which they will move with the indices is quite different, indicating different levels of risk with regard to different stock. Finally, we find that the correlation between NAN D10 and NAN D1 is the second highest at 0.5052. Panel B provides the correlation matrix for monthly data. Similar to results for daily data, negative correlation is not observed. The highest correlation attributes to that between NAN D10 and FEIC (0.7109) once again, but the lowest is between LION and FEIC (0.1146) this time. Compared with results in Panel A, correlation within individual stocks is slightly higher on average. The improvement in correlation is even more obvious between stocks and indices. It implies that stock prices can change dramatically from day to day, but they tend to follow the movement of indices in a longer horizon. Finally, the correlation between two indices is once again the second highest at 0.5116, following that between NAN D10 and FEIC. It is also found that the correlation between indices improves only marginally when daily data are replaced by monthly data, indicating a relatively stable relationship between indices. B. Variance Ratio Tests The results of variance ratio tests are presented in Table VII for each of the three stocks and two decile indices. The test is designed to test for the null hypothesis of a random walk under both homoskedasticity and heteroskedasticity. Since the violation of a random walk can result either from changing variance, i.e. heteroskedasticity, or autocorrelation in returns, the test can help to discriminate reasons for deviation to some extent. The lag orders are 2, 4, 8 and 16. In Table VII, the variance ratio (VR(q)), the homoskedastic-consistent statistics (Z(q)) and the heteroskedastic-consistent statistics (Z*(q)) are presented for each lag. As is pointed out by Lo and MacKinlay (1988), the variance ratio statistic VR(2) is equal to one plus the first-order correlation coefficient. Since all the autocorrelations are zero under RW1, VR(2) should equal one. The conclusion can be generalised further to state that for all q, VR(q) should equal one. According to the first Panel in Table VII, of all stocks and indices, only LION and NAN D1 have variance ratios that are significantly different from one at all lags. Therefore, the null hypothesis of a random walk under both homoskedasticity and heteroskedasticity is rejected for LION and NAN D1, and thus they are not weak-form efficient because of autocorrelations. In terms of FARO, the null hypothesis of a homoskedastic random walk is rejected, while the hypothesis of a heteroskedastic random walk is not. This implies that the rejection of random walk under homoskedasticity could partly result from, if not entirely due to heteroskedasticity. On the other hand, both FEIC and NAN D10 follow random walk and turn out to be efficient in weak form, corresponding exactly to the autocorrelation results reached before in Table III. Panel B shows that when monthly data are used, the null hypothesis under both forms of random walk can only be rejected for FARO. As for FEIC, the random walk null hypothesis is rejected under homoskedasticity, but not under heteroskedasticity, indicating that rejection is not due to changing variances because Z*(q) is heteroskedasticity-consistent. As is shown in Panel A for daily data, all individual stocks have variance ratios less than one, implying negative autocorrelation. However, the autocorrelation for stocks is statistically insignificant except for LION. On the other hand, variance ratios for NAN D1 are greater than one and increasing in q. The above finding provides supplementary evidence to the results of autocorrelation tests. As Table III shows, NAN D1 has positive autocorrelation coefficients in all lags, suggesting a momentum effect in multiperiod returns. Both findings appear to be well supported by empirical evidence. While daily returns of individual stocks seem to be weakly negatively correlated (French and Roll (1986)), returns for best performing market indices such as NAN D1 show strong positive autocorrelation (Campbell, Lo, and MacKinlay (1997)). The fact that individual stocks have statistically insignificant autocorrelations is mainly due to the specific noise contained in company information, which m akes individual security returns unpredictable. On the contrary, while the positive serial correlation for NAN D1 violates the random walk, such deviation provides investors with confidence to forecast future prices and reliability to make profits. C. Griffin, Kelly and Nardari DELAY Tests The results of delay test for the three stocks and two decile indices over the January 2000 to December 2005 period are summarised in Table VIII. We use lag 1, 2, 3, 4 for the daily data and 1, 2, 3 for the monthly data. As is presented in Panel A for daily returns, Delay_1 value for NAN D10 is close to zero and hence not significant, while NAN D1 has the highest delay among all stocks and indices. The rank of delay within individual stocks seems to have a positive relationship between size and delay value, by showing that delay of LION, the stock with smallest market capitalization is lowest, while the delay of FEIC, the stock with largest market capitalization is highest. It seems to contradict with the Griffin, Kelly and Nardari (2006) study, which says that there is an inverse relationship between size and delay. One possible explanation for that is that delay calculated by daily data on individual firms is noisy. The scaled measure Delay_2 produces consistent conclusion but with higher magnitude in values. Delay_2 values are very different from zero for FARO, FEIC, LION and NAN D1. The largest increase in value is seen in FARO from 0.0067 for Delay_1 to 0.7901 for Delay_2. Therefore, Griffin, Kelly and Nardari delay measure is preferable, because the scaled version can result in large values without economic significance. As is displayed in Panel B, employing monthly data also leads to higher Delay_1 values, indicating that more variation of monthly returns are captured by lagged market returns and hence monthly returns are not as sensitive as daily returns to market-wide news. However, an inverse relationship is found this time between delay and market value of individual stocks. Therefore, monthly data provides consistent result to support Griffin, Kelly and Nardari (2006) result as one would normally expect larger stocks to be more efficient in responding to market. Similar to the result for daily data, scaled measure once again produces higher values than its alternative but it provides the same results. V. Conclusion The main objective of this paper is to test weak-form efficiency in the U.S. market. As is found by selected tests, NAN D10 and FEIC provide the most consistent evidence to show weak-form efficiency, while the deviation from random walk is suggested for other stocks and indices, especially for NAN D1 and LION. It indicates that security returns are predictable to some degree, especially for those having best and worst recent performance. The three autocorrelation tests provide different results in terms of daily returns. While the null hypothesis of random walk is rejected for NAN D1 and LION based on log-returns, it is rejected for all stocks and indices based on both squared and absolute value of log-returns, indicating that return variances are more correlated. On the other hand, results in the context of monthly returns are consistent. Monthly returns follow a random walk much better than daily returns in all three tests. Most evidently, the autocorrelation test fails to reject the presence of random walk for all stocks and indices when monthly log-returns are employed. The variance ratio tests provide supportive evidence for autocorrelation tests. Both tests find that in terms of daily return, NAN D1 and LION show a significant return dependence. In particular, variance ratios for NAN D1 are all above one, corresponding to its positive AC and PAC coefficients, thus implying positive autocorrelation in returns. Whats more, individual stocks have variance ratios less than one with FEIC and FARO both being insignificant. The above evidence conclusively suggest that while individual stock returns are weakly negatively related and difficult to predict, market-wide indices with outstanding recent performance such as NAN D1 tend to show a stronger positive serial correlation and thus offer predictable profit opportunities. The evidence regarding delay tests is consistent with earlier findings to a large extent. NAN D1 has highest delay in both daily and monthly cases, implying an inefficient response to market news. In the context of monthly log-returns, delay values for individual stocks rank inversely based on market capitalisation with larger cap stocks having lower delay, suggesting that small stocks do not capture past public information quickly and are thus inefficient. Finally, deviation from a random walk model and thus being weak-form inefficiency is not necessarily bad. In fact, investors should be rewarded a certain degree of predictability for bearing risks. Therefore, future research could be done by incorporating risk into the model. [1] Company information is mainly obtained from Thomson One Banker database. [2] Griffin, John M., Patrick J. Kelly, and Federico Nardari, 2006, Measuring short-term international stock market efficiency, Working Paper

The Advantages of Communism Over Capitalism Essay -- Politics Politica

The Advantages of Communism Over Capitalism The purpose of this essay is to prove that Communism is a better form of economic organization, compared to capitalism. I will use the following examples of quality, employment, health care and society, to show why Communism is a better form of economic organization. First of all in a communist regime, people are all equal to each other no matter how educated that person is, in the eyes of the government. For example a Surgeon how is very well educated is equal in status with a peasant farmer because in communism their is no such thing as lower class, middle class and upper class. Eliminating economic boundaries which separate people, benefits the whole society because then we eliminate the have and have not, as a circumstance it eliminates crime. Secondly in a Communist economic system people are never unemployed because the government owns the means of production. Meaning the governments owns all the factories and stores because their is no private owner ship in a Communist system. This is good because the government can control and decide what is needed for the good of society and produce it. Another reason why Communism is good is because everyone in the country is provided with a job, house and food; no one is denied the essentials of life. One of the most fundamental human rights is access to adequate health care. In Communist countries the right of access to health care is very well practiced, because no one is denied health care. In a Communist country you could go to the Doctor for lets say a Flu shot or a complicated procedure such as a triple coronary bypass surgery and the government will pick up the tab, because in co... ...that Communism is really not that bad if it is administered right. When I started to compare and criticize capitalism compared to Communism I found out that Capitalism is really a harsh form economic organization in which the people of a same race or country are forced to compete at every thing they do. Not only that In a capitalism society many people how can't compete in a Capitalistic society are thrown aside and labeled as bums but society doesn't look to see what caused the problem and let these people spoil, because again in a capitalistic society "only the strong survive. Overall my views of Capitalism are true meaning that I do believe in Capitalism, but inside of me I feel that a little bit of Communism mixed with capitalism will make a perfect form of economic organization in which the whole of society benefits and moves forward. The Advantages of Communism Over Capitalism Essay -- Politics Politica The Advantages of Communism Over Capitalism The purpose of this essay is to prove that Communism is a better form of economic organization, compared to capitalism. I will use the following examples of quality, employment, health care and society, to show why Communism is a better form of economic organization. First of all in a communist regime, people are all equal to each other no matter how educated that person is, in the eyes of the government. For example a Surgeon how is very well educated is equal in status with a peasant farmer because in communism their is no such thing as lower class, middle class and upper class. Eliminating economic boundaries which separate people, benefits the whole society because then we eliminate the have and have not, as a circumstance it eliminates crime. Secondly in a Communist economic system people are never unemployed because the government owns the means of production. Meaning the governments owns all the factories and stores because their is no private owner ship in a Communist system. This is good because the government can control and decide what is needed for the good of society and produce it. Another reason why Communism is good is because everyone in the country is provided with a job, house and food; no one is denied the essentials of life. One of the most fundamental human rights is access to adequate health care. In Communist countries the right of access to health care is very well practiced, because no one is denied health care. In a Communist country you could go to the Doctor for lets say a Flu shot or a complicated procedure such as a triple coronary bypass surgery and the government will pick up the tab, because in co... ...that Communism is really not that bad if it is administered right. When I started to compare and criticize capitalism compared to Communism I found out that Capitalism is really a harsh form economic organization in which the people of a same race or country are forced to compete at every thing they do. Not only that In a capitalism society many people how can't compete in a Capitalistic society are thrown aside and labeled as bums but society doesn't look to see what caused the problem and let these people spoil, because again in a capitalistic society "only the strong survive. Overall my views of Capitalism are true meaning that I do believe in Capitalism, but inside of me I feel that a little bit of Communism mixed with capitalism will make a perfect form of economic organization in which the whole of society benefits and moves forward.

Comparing Buddhism and Christianity Essay -- Religion Buddhism Christi

Comparing Buddhism and Christianity In the early sixth century Christianity was evolving at a rapid pace. The spread of Christianity was not only moving westward through Europe, but it was also moving eastward down the Silk Road. The eastward spread of Christianity was primarily a form of Christianity known as Nestorianism, after the teachings of Nestorius, a fifth century patriarch. By 635 Nestorian Christianity had reached the heart of China spreading through all of Persia and India. During the middle of the seventh century Nestorian churches were found in cities all along the Silk Road, though there were unquestionably many fewer Christians than Buddhists in Asia Up until the turn of the sixteenth century Christianity endured great persecution in China and Japan. Christianity became extinct in China and Japan until sixteenth century when European Christian missionaries first came to Asia. Upon meeting Buddhist monks the Christian missionaries realized there seem to be many similarities between Christianity and Buddhism. They noticed many other similarities in doctrine and books as well. The early missionaries to China and Japan were both shocked and disturbed by their findings that another religion had similar beliefs. The missionaries determined that this was the devil at work, inventing a counterfeit faith. In recent years scholars discovered the evidence of Nestorian Churches in Asia. Many people now believe that the similarities between Buddhism and Christianity are due to the influence of the Nestorianism in Asia. It is evident when reading many Buddhist teachings that there are many similarities between Christianity and Buddhism. Similarities between Christianity and Buddhism are evident in every sect of Buddhism, but are strongest seen in the Pure Land sect of Buddhism. In this essay I will compare the similarities and differences between Pure Land Buddhism and Christianity. In the largest Pure Land scripture or sutra, composed in India, a story of Amitabha is told. It is said that many eons ago, Amitabha a monk, learned from the eighty-first Buddha about the wonders of immeasurable Buddha Lands. According to the sutra in the second century AD Amitabah vowed to create his own Buddha Lands. He said that he would make them eighty-one times more outstanding than all the other lands. Amitabah who’s name means endless life an... ... salvation. Pure Land followers are glad that a Christians hold his beliefs. They rejoice that Muslim is a Muslim. They are glad for the agnostic. Pure Land missionaries goal is not to convert those who are happy with their own religion, their goal is to convert those who are unhappy with their beliefs. A Pure Land Buddhist is happy for those who are content with their beliefs. Although we can see that the two beliefs of Christianity and Pure Land Buddhism have similar beliefs, we also can see that they do differ in some major areas. I think that it is obvious to see that the Nestorians who brought Christianity to China and Japan had an influence on the Buddhist people during the sixth and seventh century. The religions have their major differences but we can see that throughout the scriptures that the main Idea of unseen faith is the central idea to the religion. Some may say that they are two very different religions but I would differ saying they have very much in common. Works Cited Snelling, John. The Buddhist Handbook. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International, 1991 Reat, Nobel Ross. Buddhism A History. Fremont, California: Jain Publishing Company, 1994

A Young Americans Discovery of the Silent Majority Essay -- Essays P

A Young American's Discovery of the Silent Majority History panders to the glorious and dramatic while often there is a story untold. Perhaps it is less exciting, but no less crucial in understanding history as a whole. Thus is the story of the â€Å"silent majority.† On November 3rd 1969, one year after his victory in the United States Presidential race, President Nixon issued an address to the American public in which he coined the term â€Å"silent majority.† President Nixon’s address began by describing the situation he inherited when taking office. Nixon described the situation as such: â€Å"The war had been going on for four years. One thousand Americans had been killed in action. The training program for the South Vietnamese was behind schedule; 540,000 Americans were in Vietnam with no plans to reduce the number. No progress had been made at the negotiations in Paris and the United States had not put forth a comprehensive peace proposal. The war was causing deep division at home and criticism from many of our friends as well as our enemies abroad (Episode).† President Nixon then proceeded to detail the progress made and the different actions taken by his administration throughout the course of the first year of his first term. Nixon described the pressure on his administration to end the war. He referred to a protest in San Francisco in which Protesters carried picket signs donning the clause, â€Å"Lose in Vietnam, bring the boys home!† To this President Nixon responded: â€Å"Well, one of the strengths of our free society is that any American has a right to reach that conclusion and to advocate that point of view. But as president of the United States, I would be untrue to my oath of office if I allowed the policy of this nati... ...speech/ >. Freed, Kenneth J. "Kissinger Interview." Associated Press featured in Albany Student Press. 6 Feb. 1973 Frost, Michell. "On the Other Hand." Albany Student Press. 4 Dec. 1970. Frost, Mitchell. "View From the Right." Albany Student Press. 30 Jan. 1973 Oringher, Maida. "Misplaced Priorities." Albany Student Press. 25 Jan. 1972. Pyle, Richard. "Vietnam's New Map." Associated Press featured in Albany Student Press. 31 Oct. 1972. Rosten, Leo. A Trumpet For Reason. Garden City, NY: Doubleday &Company Inc, 1970. The Tactical Leadership. "SUNYA Protests." Albany Student Press. 25 Jan 1972 Weintraub, Peter. "Vietnam Vets: America's Most Alienated." Albany Student Press. 20 Oct. 1972. Whistle, Gary. Interview with Amanda May Whistle. 25 April 2005 Wire Services Compilation. "Rocky Supports Nixon." Albany Student Press. 25 Jan 1972.

The Just or Unjust

In reading Dante’s Inferno, there were many just punishments that correlated with there punishments. There are three that stand out as just and equal to the sins that were committed. The fortune tellers, hypocrites and thieves are some examples of suitable punishments. The fortune tellers predicted the future and for a just punishment they have their heads on backwards, because they looked into the future and now they can only see what is behind them. The hypocrites posed as things that they weren’t, so now in hell, they are in lead cloaks and can’t pose as something they are not. Lastly, the thieves stole from people, now in hell their hands are bound by reptiles and they are in a pitch full of other reptiles. Dante give the fortune tellers, hypocrites, and thieves a suitable and just punishment for their sin. First, Bolgia 4 is about the Fortune Tellers/Diviners. Their sin was to see into the future. The punishment for the fortune tellers was their heads were turned backwards. They now can’t see ahead of them, which is a difficult thing to do. In this case, it is not really torture because it isn’t painful and it correlates with their sin. God would maybe encourage this as a punishment for those who try to look into the future. In the canto, Dante sees these people with their heads on backwards and the sight of them could possibly lead you to the conclusion of them being fortune tellers or diviners. Dante could have been cruel and made some kind of painful punishment that caused them agony, but he gave them one of which brings them no pain. It just makes their eternal life a struggle of not being able to see where they are heading. Next, the hypocrites are punished accordingly to their sin. They acted as if they supported a topic, then turn around and say they don’t support that same topic. This could have applied to people, politics, life lessons etc. Dante gives them the punishment of being in cloaks made of lead and walking in circles. This punishment is an acceptable consequence for being a hypocrite. The cloaks hide them from everyone and they can’t mislead people. This seems to be a possible God encouraged punishment for these people. It would be a little hard to tell what sin the people committed in this canto, but if it were pondered, one could come to understand why Dante chose this punishment for these people. The thieves also have a just punishment for their sin. They are stuck in a pit full of reptiles while they’re hands are bound behind their backs with snakes. During their entire life they used their hands to steal and commit crimes. Now that they are in hell, they have their hands tied behind their backs so they can’t be used. With their hands immobile, they can’t steal from anyone ever again. God would encourage this because back in the medieval times they had the saying of â€Å"an eye for an eye†. They stole with their hands and now their hands are basically stolen from them. Dante give the fortune tellers, hypocrites, and thieves a suitable and just punishment for their sin. In conclusion, Dante picked acceptable punishments for the sins committed by these people. God might find these consequences suitable in that they go along with the sins. Dante didn't place these people here just because he thought they should or out of hate, he put them there with a just punishment.

Book Review – a Matter of Principle

A Review of Conrad Black’s A Matter of Principle Conrad Moffat Black, former newspaper tycoon, historian and celebrity is an interesting man, to say the least. The topic of his fall from professional, financial and social grace is legendary and is one that still elicits numerous newspaper columns and debates. The latest matter of interest in his lengthy protracted battle is his extraordinary memoir, A Matter of Principle. Written largely from his prison cell in Coleman Federal Correction Complex in Florida, the book is a compelling narrative of his tribulations.With his command of the English language, Lord Black is at once strikingly eloquent, acidly cynical, ferociously angry, and surprisingly funny. However, the book teeters at the edge of being nothing more than a self-glorified memoir, laced with attacks on detractors. In the first three chapters of the book, Black charts his illustrious newspaper career, beginning from U. K. ’s Telegraph to his crowning achievemen t – National Post. And in between his tales of rubbing shoulders with the powerful, he offers his take on world affairs, yet almost ironically maintains that he has never exercised his power to sway public policy.He also spares a page-and-half to rant on Jean Chretien for opposing his proposed dual citizenship (Black was to be inducted into the British House of Lords). Near the end of Chapter three, the readers are also introduced to some of Black’s questionable activities – the sale of Hollinger Inc. ’s newspaper properties to CanWest, and the resultant non-compete payments. Chapter four marks the beginning of Black’s misfortune as he describes the investigation by Hollinger’s audit committee into the company’s funds.The Hollinger board, summarized by Black in painfully boring detail, ultimately dismisses him as CEO and charges him of accepting unauthorized non-compete payments from companies buying newspapers from Hollinger. The nex t three chapters explore Black’s tarnished public image and dwindling personal wealth as he is relieved of all directorships and is permanently ousted from Hollinger International. In Chapter 7, Black is charged with new S. E. C. civil infractions following the release of â€Å"A Corporate Kleptocracy†, a report (by Richard Breeeden) on Hollinger’s practices. The momentum picks up again at the conclusion of chapter 9, asBlack recounts being secretly videotaped while clearing out his Toronto offices; his actions land him with charges of obstruction of justice. Over the next four chapters, Black recounts his trial process and ends his story with the final hearing in Chicago that found him guilty. One of the first weaknesses a keen reader will spot is that Black struggles to find an appropriate voice in the two hundred pages of the book. He attempts at a conversational tone, but comes off as oddly detached. The lack of a definitive theme is also due to Blackâ€℠¢s breezy narrative that dashes from one key life event to the next.He jumps from his university days, to advising the Prime Minister of Britain, to the 1996 London bombings. Though enjoyable, these are only longing reminiscences of an imprisoned man, rather than key elements of his harrowing journey that forms the remainder of the book. In fact, it is only in page 269 that readers see Black defending the principles he alludes to in the book’s title. That being said, these sundry recollections offer readers a respite from detailed corporate machinations, which are also present in the first two hundred pages of the book.Black risks losing his readers when he delves into corporate debt reorganizations and share buy-backs that are both boring and confusing to the non-business mind. Hence, the narrative remains almost disjointed in the first third of the book, until Black is stripped of his title at Hollinger International, setting in motion the events that form the bulk of the b ook. The biggest flaw in the book is Black’s unmistakable bias, as he categorizes individuals based on their stance on his guilt or innocence; those who believe in his innocence are virtuous, while those convinced of his guild are either wrong or misguided.In his own words â€Å"no one except me was telling the truth, but it wasn’t clear who was lying and who was merely mistaken. † Similarly, when court decisions go against him they are hopelessly wrong and indicative of the flaws of the judicial system, but when a decision is made in his favour, it is absolutely correct and undisputed. While it is obvious that the prosecution and conviction of Black is the prism through which the story is told, it becomes tiresome when the readers are incessantly conditioned to view Black as the lone voice of truth in the midst of the deceit and lies.Moreover, the means and the extent to which Black denounces his opponents, perceived or real can be quite off-putting. In Blackâ €™s story, his greatest villains are Richard Breeden and David Radler. Breeden was the former chair of the S. E. C and the man behind the â€Å"Corporate Kleptocracy† report that resulted in Black’s criminal charges. Black’s attack on Breeden is quite spiteful; Black describes him as â€Å"Round, flabby face; dull, lifeless eyes behind thick spectacles†¦with the bloodless, piscine coldness of someone whose power vastly exceeded his intelligence. Radler was a long-time associate of Black’s who made a plea bargain with American prosecutors in exchange for providing evidence against Black. On Radler, he says â€Å"It was naturally a very strange experience listening to his false incrimination of me but also seeing his squinty, evasive eyes†¦he looked like a man bound for the gallows, worn down as much by a knowledge of his own wretchedness as by the impending punishment† Expectably, Black’s acid remarks are not just for Breeden a nd Radler; he slams all those involved in his downfall. On Paul Healy, Hollinger’s V.P. of investor relations, Black says â€Å"he had a little porcine face so puffy it made his spectacles seem smaller†¦ a maladjusted, scheming courtier, alternately fawning and snarling at the hand that fed him for so long. † Black specifically saves a lot of firepower on Eddie Greenspan, his lead defence attorney who fizzled in American courts; he says â€Å"The deterioration of such a man is objectively sad, and is made more so by the inelegance of his acts of denial and displacement of responsibility for his own shortcomings and aggressive paranoia. On the jury that convicted him, he says, â€Å"I was unprepared for such a procession of mainly monosyllabic and listless people. † Such vilifying attacks are a few of many examples of Black’s verbal war on his critics. While his anger towards his critics is understandable, what is frustrating is his tendency to engag e in baseless reporting. For instance, he declares that twenty percent of his fellow inmates were entirely innocent, a number seemingly plucked solely based on his conversations with his fellow inmates.Also according to him, the U. S. government fills its prison system with unemployed visible minorities in order to keep unemployment rate down. Black risks losing his already damaged credibility with such uncorroborated statements. For all of the book’s weaknesses, Black redeems himself, at least partially, with his superb prose and infectious ardour. The book is a delectable read simply based on its literary merits. Some paragraphs are worth rereading just to be admired as works of art.The paragraphs in which he expresses his love and loyalty for his wife, his late brother or even deceased friends are quite moving and stand out as great examples of his powerful prose. Indeed, in the hands of a less assured writer, the story of Black’s clash with his opponents would have been a bombastic mess, but after his initial struggles Black offers a gripping tale of his  ordeal. When Black’s passion for defending his honour is coupled with his mastery of the language, what you get is a riveting experience.The broad ethical issues raised in A Matter of Principle revolve around the integrity of senior executives and ethical corruption. Black’s case is as much about breaking the law as it is getting entangled in ethical gray areas. Tweedy Browne, a U. S investment firm that owned 18% of Hollinger International accused Black and other directors of awarding themselves with unauthorized management payments and millions of dollars of non-competition fees through Ravelston, Black’s personal equity company.Black was ultimately found guilty of a slew of charges including fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice. Given that Black has penned the book himself, he defends his actions vehemently. He maintains that the Audit Committee explic itly approved the non-competition payments (totalling $80 million). On the management fees, he states that â€Å"the total of what we received had been sharply reduced when we shrank the company. † Overall, the ethical issues in the book highlight the importance of fiduciary duty – the duty of a senior executive to the shareholders of the company.The book also highlights the power of intelligent shareholder activism, as practiced by Tweedy Browne, which ultimately resulted in Black’s downfall. Ultimately, A Matter of Principle is a powerful read. While the book is bogged down with bilious attacks against Black’s critics, it packs a powerful punch. Black’s eloquence in describing the viciousness of the prosecutorial efforts and the harshness of his punishment is breathtaking. His continued insistence on his honesty and innocence is also admirable.His intention with this book does not seem to be to sway readers’ opinions, but rather to settle accounts. Whether he has achieved this or not, one this is for sure, Conrad Black’s story will not fade from memory for many years to come. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. (pg. 46-90), A Matter of Principle [ 2 ]. (pg. 182-198) [ 3 ]. (pg. 142) [ 4 ]. (pg. 135) [ 5 ]. (pg. 392) [ 6 ]. (pg. 401) [ 7 ]. (pg. 418) [ 8 ]. (pg. 277) [ 9 ]. (pg. 465) [ 10 ]. (pg. 514) [ 11 ]. (pg. 146) [ 12 ]. (pg. 96) [ 13 ]. (pg. 97)

The graduate examines concepts and modes of expression in human imagination, values, and emotions

Introduction: Works of art vary greatly across genres and time periods. Some works of the humanities seem to have originated from the minds of specific individuals or from social and cultural influences, while other works of art were influenced by the styles and characteristics of earlier periods and are often a continuation of or reaction to those artistic styles. For example, classical art from ancient Greece and Rome was revived during the neoclassical era. Cubism was a reaction to the style and characteristics of the earlier European tradition of realistic painting. The purpose of this task is to analyze, critique, and understand where creativity and inspiration originate.Your goal for this task is to discuss and analyze creativity as the continuation of, or as a reaction to, an earlier historical art period. You will choose two historical periods from the list below and discuss the relationships between the periods. You should discuss how one period revived or continued the styl e and characteristics of the other period or how one period originated in reaction to the other period.The following is a list of historical art periods you can choose from: †¢ Classical †¢ Middle ages †¢ Renaissance †¢ Mannerism †¢ Baroque †¢ Rococo †¢ Neoclassical †¢ Romanticism †¢ Realism †¢ Impressionism †¢ Post impressionism †¢ Cubism †¢ Dadaism †¢ Geometric abstraction †¢ Pop art †¢ Surrealism †¢ Harlem Renaissance Task: A. Choose two art periods from the list above and write an essay (suggested length of 3–5 pages) in which you do the following: 1. Describe the earlier historical art period, characteristics of the style, and social conditions that may have contributed to the advent of this style.2. Describe the later historical art period, characteristics of the style, and social conditions that may have contributed to the advent of this style. 3. Analyze the relationship between the historical art periods. a. Explain similarities or differences between the historical art periods. b. Explain the purpose for continuing the tradition of the earlier historical art period or deviating from it. 1. Reference at least one specific work of art from each period in your discussion. 2. Explain how the later work relates to the earlier work. c. Explain the influence the later historical art period had on the art world (i.e., its historical significance).Note: You should assume that your audience has a ba sic knowledge of the art periods. You will want to identify both periods in your essay and describe the art periods (time periods, characteristics, and social conditions that may have contributed to the advent of the styles of the period), but you will want to do so in a way that will allow your readers see how the descriptions support your thesis concerning the relationship between the two art periods.B. If you use sources, include all in-text citations and references in APA format. Note: Please save word-processing documents as *.rtf (Rich Text Format) or *.pdf (Portable Document Format) files. Note: When bulleted points are present in the task prompt, the level of detail or support called for in the rubric refers to those bulleted points.Note: For definitions of terms commonly used in the rubric, see the Rubric Terms web link included in the Evaluation Procedures section.Note: When using sources to support ideas and elements in a paper or project, the submission MUST include APA formatted in-text citations with a corresponding reference list for any direct quotes or paraphrasing. It is not necessary to list sources that were consulted if they have not been quoted or paraphrased in the text of the paper or project.Note: No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. For tips on using APA style, please refer to the APA Handout web link included in the APA Guidelines section. Evaluation MethodA rubric is used in this Evaluation. Name of rubric: RIWT Task 1 [View rubric] Final scoring method: Evaluator marks as â€Å"Meets Requirement/Does not Meet Requirement†