Need essay help: November 2019

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Software Requirements Specification free essay sample

Saturday, November 23, 2019

The Impact of Airport Security Breaches essays

The Impact of Airport Security Breaches essays Airport Security has always been a major concern for the United States as well as many other countries. However, September 11, 2001 forced the world to re-evaluate standard airport security procedures and forced the United States Congress to enact numerous aviation security improvements designed to strengthen aviation security (Aviation 2004). These improvements included the development of a passenger prescreening system and the federalization of airport screeners (Aviation 2004). Yet, despite these changes, the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration still face challenges to improve aviation security (Aviation 2004). Airport security breaches not only effect national security and possible loss of human life, but depending on the severity of the breach, may effect financial markets, both nationally and globally. The September 11th tragedies exposed the vulnerability of the world's greatest superpower, leaving the United States to face the challenge of recovering emotionally and physically (Recovery 2001). Already threatened by recession before the September 11th, the U.S. economy suffered a number of blows during the weeks following attacks (Recovery 2001). Although, many industries, especially the airline industry, suffered heavy financial losses during the aftermath of September 11th, most did rebound in a relatively short span of time (Recovery 2001). The September 11th events led the U.S. Senate to approve a war bonds bill, putting the Treasury savings bond on the market for the first time since World War II (Recovery 2001). Wall Street, as well as other global markets went into a decline, with Nasdaq and Dow Jones showing sharp dips in composite indexes (Recovery Airport security breaches breed a myriad of concerns. When shipments of dangerous and hazardous substances, such as flammable liquids or radioactive ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Hunter S. Thompson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hunter S. Thompson - Essay Example Unlike her teeth, reality has the power to bite. So have I and here comes Lola the lesbian with the pizza. Her boots thump and stomp up the stairs, shaking but not stirring the peace, momentarily. Lola's cool. She's kind, she knows the right people to score the best stuff, she shares. Lola's lonely, an angry, aging remnant of the Women's Movement. She's discarded it, but in truth, it discarded her. She was too loud, too active, too passionate, too public. Honesty was her worst policy. So here she is with her pristine apartment and pedigree pussycat, Comfort. And me, worn out, washed-up, woozy and unpredictable. Or am I But for now, just on the edge, the brink of a life, new and shiny or corroded and crusted with the rust of broken promises "Napkins, forks, here you go, sweetie" Lola croons. "Who the fuck eats pizza that way!" - but I hold the scream inside, there are larger issues at stake. I have a duty to be nice, for now. We need each other, we share a place, a history and a hatred of Bush/Blair. I know we will get to them, come what may, never mind the pepperoni, the buzz and the Bud. Like war, it's inevitable. I hold onto the buzz, see the lights but they become the nights of 'Shock and Awe', bigger lights, more impact, you know Am I myself or somebody else, and who gives a shit I go forward with Lola to Guantanamo Bay, hearing the voices of expert salesmen. "Yes we have a nice range of used cattle-prods, or if they don't appeal, how about some out of date sodium pentathol" Now ain't that their truth, the inhuman, dehumanized leaders of the civilized world. The anger rises, then subsides, Lola and me, we think on and speak on. "And Bush tells Blair: "If I put my hand in the fire, you must do it too, to prove you are my friend. If burning ash, cinders and shit fall on innocent bystanders, why, what the hell, it's the price they pay for us showing strength." And we are right to loathe and fear these creatures from the dark side. This bullshit hurts. Lola rolls another joint and the hiss and clink of beer and glass make it easy, like Sunday morning. I eat, I drink, I feel the need to expel these bastards from the vicinity. I don't want Lola's tears to dilute the purity of my anger. The poison of these creatures is enough to keep my resolve alive. But for now, let's party with warm love. There's Lola, the cat, the lights, the grass and me. A soft breeze, the comfort of kindred spirits, all anybody needs. A muted scream from over the way brings a shadow of fear to Lola's soft face. Eyebrows raised in alarm, old memories surface, she's going weird on me. I could show her weird, but I won't, keeping my scars to myself and feeling no pain. A sweeping swarm of locusts now encircle me, are in me, and time moves me onwards to the edge. The soft murmur of her voice forms the backdrop, but cannot drown them out. No matter, I want to finish it. The tide is high but I'm holding on, and ask myself why All I have fought for, all I believe in, destroyed, denigrated and demeaned. The American dream is now my waking nightmare. I could end this and wake up elsewhere. I bought the ticket. I will take the ride. She sighs, shifts, leans to plant a kiss on my head, and leaves to sleep. Thank Jesus she's gone, it's just me and my decision. Exciting, nerve-wracking, life-changing, no, life-ending. Another slice of pizza,

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

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

Financial Institutions and Markets - Essay Example A monetary policy employed by a country can either be an expansionary monetary policy or Ã¢â‚¬ËœcontractionaryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ monetary policy. Expansionary monetary policy helps in increasing the money supply in the economy of a country at a faster rate than normal and in case of Ã¢â‚¬ËœcontractionaryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ monetary policy, the money supply increases at slower rate or even fall behind in the economy. Expansionary monetary policy is often employed to prevent unemployment during recession. It happens because of interest rates going lower which therefore attracts credit facility to be available easily for the business concerns to help themselves expand. In the United States, expansionary monetary policy is implemented through the combination of three things. They are: a) Using Open Market Operations, by purchasing securities in the open market. b) Federal Discount Rate is lowered. c) Reserve Requirements are also lowered. Now, all these three steps have a direct impact on the interest rates, including mortgage rates. This leads to increase in borrowing of mortgage loans, as well as increase in rates of capital investments by business concerns. Most countries follow an expansionary monetary policy to ensure higher economic growth and go on decreasing the interest rates. It helps in growth of employment opportunities but at the same time has its limitations too. This can only have a short term effect on the economy. In the long run, it will lead to higher inflation rate and would also affect the economy in an adverse way (Mishkin, 2007, p.39). Thus, effect on long term mortgage rates are less predictable and the effect is on a lower proportion as compared to the extent of expansionary economic measures taken by a country. This happens mainly due to two reasons. Firstly, real factors like market demand influences the long term mortgage interest rates more than the monetary factors. Secondly, the effect or impact of monetary factors operates mainly on the expected future l ong term mortgage rates (Gwartney, et. al. 2008, p.301). Although the expansionary economic measures reduce the short term mortgage interest rates, it may lead to a rise in interest rates in long term. This unpredictability problem creates a surmounting problem in creating a balance between the mortgage rates and expansionary economic measures followed by a country. Expansionary Monetary Policy Expansionary monetary policies are used by countries to help stimulate the economic growth of the country. It leads to increase in supply of money in the country. It usually leads to lowering of interest rates in the country. This in turn reduces the borrowing cost and also reduces the return on savings. This helps in increasing the aggregate demand of goods and services in the economy. People are more attracted towards investing in housing by taking loans at lower interest rates. These types of expansionary monetary policies are often employed in countries to counter the recessionary gap. It helps in reducing or preventing unemployment

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Kant Categorical Imperative Essay Example for Free

Kant Categorical Imperative Essay KantÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Categorical Imperative is made up of two formulations, Formula of Universal Law and The Formula of the End in Itself. The first formulation is best described by the following statement, Ã¢â‚¬Å"Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction. Ã¢â‚¬ (Kant, 1785, 1993). What does this mean? A maxim is the fundamental rule of conduct or your moral belief upon which you chose to act. A universal law is a law that everyone must follow regardless of the outcome. How do we determine if the maxim can become universal? One of the first things to do is to ask yourself if it would be acceptable that everyone do the same thing that you are considering doing in that situation. We were given several examples in The Elements of Moral Philosophy and the one that made the most impact was Ã¢â‚¬Å"suppose a man needs money, but no one will lend it to him unless he promises to pay it back-which he knows he wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t be able to do. Should he make a false promises to get the loan? Ã¢â‚¬ (Rachels, 2012). If this happened the maxim or universal rule would be anytime you need a loan tell a lie that you will repay it and you will get the loan. This is not something that everyone would be willing to do because you will no longer believe others when they tell you this statement and no one would be willing to make the loans. The second thing you should do to determine if the maxim can become universal is look at your answer to the first question. Did you say Ã¢â‚¬Å"yes, I think that everyone will do it? Ã¢â‚¬ . If so, then ask yourself if it makes rational sense to want everyone in the same situation to do what you are contemplating doing. If your answer was no to either question then your maxim cannot become universal law because it is not considered moral. Overall, based on Kant, an act is morally right only if the primary rule of behavior, which is how you decide to act morally, can constantly and universally relate to you and others. The second formulation is best described by the following statement, Ã¢â‚¬Å"Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end. Ã¢â‚¬ (Kant, 1785, 1993). Basically, this means that morality consists of doing your duty to treat people, including yourself, and an end, never as a means to an end. Kant combined the second formulation with the first because we have a perfect duty to not use the humanity of ourselves or others merely as a means to some other end. Most ends are somewhat subjective because they need only be pursued if they are in line with some particular hypothetical imperative that a person may choose to adopt. (Categorical Imperative Explained, 2012). The second formulation also leads to the imperfect duty to further the ends of ourselves and others. If any person desires perfection in themselves or others, it would be their moral duty to pursue that end for all people equally, so long as that end does not contradict perfect duty. The question of whether or not Kant adequately addresses the problems evident in comparison of the two formulations cannot be summed up with a simple yes or no answer. He makes a good argument for both sides just as he opposes both sides. The difference is whether or not we have the right moral sense to determine why and how our decisions affect ourselves and others. Kant shows that you have struggles when rationality and practicality are conveyed to cover the same matter. So after all this we ask the question, Ã¢â‚¬Å"How plausible is the theory? Ã¢â‚¬ I think that it is a logical theory that clearly assists in making decisions. It provides a plausible account of morality because you can look at others and have a tendency to complete your actions based on those of others. Kantianism is a more consistent theory because it can be universally applied to all. It is more believable because even if the penalties of carrying out an action arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t necessarily the best, the individual is still obligated to perform the action because it is their duty to do so. KantÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s theory focuses on the motivation of actions and has a clear and distinctive set of universal rules, and is morally sound. Consequently, ethically and morally they are doing the right thing. Bibliography Categorical Imperative Explained. (2012, April 12). Retrieved from Everything Explained: http://everything. explained. at/categorical_imperative/ (1993). In J. W. Ellington, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals (p. 30). Hackett. Kant, I. (1785, 1993). Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals 3rd ed.. . In J. W. Wllington. Hackett. Rachels, J. (2012). The Elements of Moral Philosophy. McGraw-Hill. Reason Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Reason Chicago: Reason Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Reason (accessed April 17, 2012). The Elements of Moral Philosophy. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://jamesrachels. org/78improvedsentences. htm Chicago: The Elements of Moral Philosophy, http://jamesrachels. org/78improvedsentences. htm (accessed April 17, 2012).

Friday, November 15, 2019

Market Analysis and International Investment

Market Analysis and International Investment 1-(A) From various editions of the Economist, collect time series data of Big Mac prices for 3 countries and assess whether Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) holds. Discuss whether the (Big Mac Index) is a good Price index to be used in this analysis. Answer: The economistÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Big Mac index shown in table 1 has been used since 1986 as an indicator aimed to assess how PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) stands against most traded currencies such us the US dollar. Before entering into further analyses, it is worth providing some relevant information on the PPP theory and assess whether the Big Mac index implicitly delivers points of comparison that subsequently reflect exchange rate parity conditions across 120 nations where this worldwide known burger is largely sold.[1] Purchasing power parity theory by Rudiger Dornbush (Salamanca School) attempts to explain that two currencies adjust in compensation owing to the difference between the rates at which the two countries under watch are inflating. In relation to this, the underlying principle of the PPP theory lies in the law of a single price. This law can be simply explained based on the commodities trade whereby companies around the world tend to purchase goods from countries where these are more competitive in terms of price.[2] Following this first hypothesis, there is a determination mechanism starting when goods are purchased abroad and at the same time the demand for foreign currency results in increasing the value of the currency and putting extra pressure on the price of the good itself. Based on this scenario, the PPP entails that two currencies should stand at a level where buying the same goods in the two countries is equivalent. Furthermore, the theory projects that real effective exchange rate will remain constant through time. Based on further research, this work lays out some elements that intervene as potential culprits for not letting the PPP system operates over a short and medium-term horizon. As a relevant consideration to the findings and major setback to the PPP theory, the foreign exchange market framework has changed considerably over the last years moving exchange rates from fixed to floating. In the same context, capital movements and internal policies now explain differentials in exchange rates rather than a simplistic scenario of supply and demand of goods.[3] For instance, in 1973 the oil embargo led unexpectedly the United States, Japan and Italy to depreciating their currencies as a result of currency pressure. According to Buiter and Miller (1992), the exchange rate accommodation mechanism has a much broader significance than the one explained by PPPÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s scope; the exchange rate is a measurement of competitiveness as a progressive or Ã¢â‚¬Å"non-casualÃ¢â‚¬ variable. Therefore, exchange rate is a price that reflects an efficient international financial market as opposed to a predetermined state controlled through market forces exclusively. Supporting the previous introduction and with regard to the Big Mac index headway between two years in a row, PPP does not always hold. Moreover, due to the composition of the product, Big Mac does not reflect a truthful price index to determine whether an exchange rate is undervalued or overvalued. According to the economist magazine, Big Macs are not cross-border trading goods as approximately 55% to 60% of the product costing is represented by non-traded goods such us labour, rent and services. Therefore, a price index with no dependence on international trading cannot fully reflect exchange rate comparisons; every country has a unique competitive position mainly produced by internal structures and factors such us labour market, productivity and purchasing capacity. Purchasing power parity theory brings cear shortcomings and most of them can be determined superficially by the Big Mac index and its trend. The most commonly mentioned problems behind the use of PPP: Trade Barriers Changes in patterns of demand and output Similar purchasing patterns and taste in products Varying price indices Taxation Long-term vs. short-term outlook Table 1 shows full coverage for the Big Mac index over a large group of countries. As a complementary part of the analysis this work has chosen two currencies to compare against the US dollar and determine the PPP trend between 2004 and 2005. In 2004 the Big Mac price in the US was US$ 2.90 compared to US$1.26 in China and US$ 5.18 in Norway. In 2005 the corresponding prices represented an increment of the US price by 5.5% to US$ 3.06, 0.7% in China and 16.9% in Norway reaching prices of US$1.27 and US$6.06 respectively. Following the PPP theory, it indicates that exchange rates move to rectify changes in inflation rates. In 2004 ChinaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s currency was 57% undervalued and Norway 79% overvalued; the model expects that an inflationary process in the US of 5.5% would have generated a rectifying movement to close gaps. On the contrary, while the Big Mac price index in the US rose by 5.5%, ChinaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s currency dropped further from 57% undervalued to 59% and Norway continued the other direction and got appreciated dramatically from 79% to 98%. If Big Macs could be exported, no buyers would be looking at Norway since its real international competitiveness is far below. However, in terms of purchasing capacity the Norwegians are potentially capable of purchasing Big Macs as their income per head is considerably higher than in US and China. (B)Choose any two countries and collect (approximately) one year of daily data of a forward exchange rate, the spot exchange rate and the two corresponding interest rates. Can you make any arbitrage profits? Carefully discuss. Answer: To open the discussion about the exchange rate market and its relationship with interest rates, the answer introduces the concept of Eurocurrency market. This is a marketplace where participants make money through borrowing and depositing currencies at a price dictated by interest rates. In this regard, the transactions period varies as short as overnight and in some cases as long as five years. For this exercise the answer considers one participant and two currencies, US Dollar and GBP based on data from 2005 central bank statistics. On January 31st 2005, this person borrowed US$ 18Ã¢â‚¬â„¢833.000 in the US and made the decision to arbitrage in GPB pounds. Diagram 1.0 illustrates the foreign exchange arbitrage based on the use of financial instruments to generate profits. Diagram 1.0 Source: Author calculations Borrowed at US$ 18Ã¢â‚¬â„¢833.000 at 4.83% and one repayment at the end of the first year (365 day repayment of US$ 19Ã¢â‚¬â„¢743.633) Evaluate potential arbitrage: Sell US$ 18Ã¢â‚¬â„¢833.000 to buy sterling pounds at GBP/USD 1.8833 and obtained Ã‚ £10Ã¢â‚¬â„¢000.000 Made deposit of Ã‚ £10Ã¢â‚¬â„¢000.000 at 6.20% for 12 months and agreed to received Ã‚ £10Ã¢â‚¬â„¢482.999 Same take a forward contract to buy US$ 19Ã¢â‚¬â„¢742.633 1year forward at sustaining GBP/USD at 1.8526 and sell: Ã‚ £10Ã¢â‚¬â„¢657.256; losses: (Ã‚ £36.716) The arbitrage would produce losses as USD appreciates against the US dollar on a 12-month period; you cannot make profits. 2-(A) Discuss the importance of the exchange rate as an economic variable for international investment decisions or for importers and exporters. Answer: Exchange rates are a key factor that concerning their mechanisms of adjustments and vulnerability originates differential positions and volatility risk within an economic outlook. In relation to this effect, Buiter and MillerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s approach (1992) explains that monetary policies combining prices stabilisation, capital freedom and rational expectations in the foreign exchange market produce a Ã¢â‚¬Å"transitionalÃ¢â‚¬ effect on the level of international competitiveness and leave industry sectors exposed.[4] For financial assets and exchange rates levels, international trade activities have rapidly evolved into a more developed and complex sector that operates freely within a global economic system and lead economies to frequently reaching higher levels of surpluses or deficits. On a daily basis scenario, portfolio strategist search for competitive positions worldwide that match investment targets. Concerning the structure of the investment, foreign exchange forecasts are a driving force at the stage of resources allocation and use of financial instruments (Derivatives). But how the exchange rates intervene as a decisive economic variable and in which sectors they deliver benefits or vice-versa? Milton Friedman gives his opinion to this question, starting by responding on the effects over exchange rates through monetary policies; he says Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..monetary policy actions affect asset portfolios in first instance, spending decisions in the second, which translate into effects on output and then on prices. The changes in exchange rates are in turn mostly a response to these effects of home policy (on output and prices?) and of similar policy abroadÃ¢â‚¬ ¦..Ã¢â‚¬ [5]. If one assumed FriedmanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s comments, domestic policies move exchange rates affecting decisions in a certain order. With regards to international trade, one of the most compelling examples on how exchange rates affect the performance of particular sectors compared to others is the case of the British economy. On one hand an overvalued pound has jeopardised to some extent the lack of competitiveness of the industrial production and exports in the UK by soaring internal prices and changing the productive structure of the country. Conversely, on the other hand the levels of interest rates together with a strong currency have triggered capital inflows, which are being allocated on different asset classes and also in the continuous boost of service sectors (i.e. Financial Services). To understand the mechanism linking imports and exports with exchange rates, Maurice Levi (1990) explains that on a supply and demand setting the supply curve of a currency illustrates the quantity of that currency supplied and the price of the currency, given by the exchange rate, the supply curve of a currency is calculated as a result of a countryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s demand for imports. This event occurs when buyers pay for imports that are sold in foreign currency, then the countryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s recipients of the goods must sell their domestic currency for the requested foreign exchange and when imports are invoiced in local currency the foreign beneficiary of the currency sells it. In any case imports result in the countryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s currency being supplied. The amount of the currency supplied is equal to the value of imports.[6] On the contrary, the demand curve for a currency shows the value of the currency that is demanded at each likely exchange rate. The need to buy a countryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s currency takes off from the need to pay for the countryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s exports; the currencyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s demand curved is derived from the countryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s export supply curve, which shows the volume of exports at each price of exports[7]. To summarise the answer, exchange rates send strong signals to both, portfolio investors and international traders; however the degree of the effect varies depending on the competitive position of the economy. In terms of traded goods, exchange rates place the level of international competitiveness of goods compared to the same goods in other country. On investment allocations such us bonds and equities, an exchange rates outlook is essential to sustain or withdraw positions. In relation to investments, exchange rate risk is generated by uncertainty in the future exchange rates at which the asset or liability will be converted into dollars. Thus, bonds, foreign stocks, real estates and accounts receivable and payable may be subject to exchange rate risk if their value in home currency is beaten by exchange rates. Concerning imports and exports of services such us tourism, banking services, consulting, engineering amongst others react to exchange rates variations in the same way as imports and exports of goods. (B) Collect data for 3 countries of your choice and assess the importance of the exchange rate for international equity investors. Use different investment horizons. Equity investors react to market sentiments, set out overall investment positions and individual strategies underpinned by economic forecasts. Decisions are based upon a group variables and future scenarios; for instance it is widely recognised the existing inverse relation between interest rates and equities. When interest rates are moved up by major central banks such us the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of England and Bank of Japan, shares lose momentum and in most of the cases fall. In terms of foreign exchange conditions, investors go long on equities when they feel comfortable with correct valuation of the currency and if the economyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s balance of payments works in line with the external position of the country. In other words, the exchange rate is determined by the aggregated equilibrium between currency demand and supply. If any country is not in the position to sustain its competitiveness on its currency it sends strong signal for investment decisions. The following three countries US, UK and China have been selected to understand how bursaries respond or relate to changes in exchange rate: US Dow Jones (1-Y Horizon) US is a highly liquid market, Chart 1.0 shows market transactions above 2 billion US dollars a day sustaining levels over 1 year horizon. The Dow index moved up from 10500 (approx) in June 2005 growing by 3.8% (approx) to June 9th 2006. In chart 2.0 Euro gains grounds on the US dollar by almost 5% over the same period as shown on the Dow Jones outlook above. Thus, Euro appreciated by 5% against US dollar and Dow Jones with a slight growth without losing transaction levels. Hence, no particular direct correlation is found on the two variables (Exchange rate and Stock Index). However, it is relevant to clarify that more components such us interest rates expectations, unemployment levels in the US and Euro land, mortgage activities, retail index and companies profitability have an effect on these trends. UK FTSE (2-Year Horizon) In a 2-year Horizon, FTSE shows strong momentum soaring by 22% (approximately from 4500 to 5500); uptrend with a relevant drop in June 2006 due to oil prices and decision on interest rates accommodation by the FED and ECB. This analysis in terms of the pound outlook shows two scenarios for the currency. In 2004 starts at GBP/USD1.82 falling to its 18-month lowest level to 1.72 (5.8%), then it picks up again and in less than 5 months rebounds to 1.85. Again the analysis does not find a direct relationship between a positive steady FTSE trend and sterling variations. CHINA Shanghai Composite 6-Month Horizon The third example involves Chinese Yuan and US Dollar, which have experienced international trade growth five times faster than in 1990s decade. On one hand, Chinese moved from being the 9th most important destination for US Exports to being currently the 4th delivering an impressive uptrend in 2005 above 20% increase (United States Trade Representatives, 2006). On the other hand, the effect of Chinese exports has been stronger, in 2004 chinaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s trade surplus with the US increased by 24.5% to 202 billion US dollars, the largest between two economies according to the Economic Policy Institute in 2006. Over the last 6 months, the Chinese Yuan has not followed a revaluation against the US Dollar; as it would have been expected due the international trade context explained before (only 2% appreciation). In relation to the Shanghai composite index, it has experienced spectacular growth outperforming other stock markets (44% increases in the same period). Based on these figures, the analysis indicates, exchange rate is not the driving factor to buy stock in China; investors continue forecasting strong growth in Chinese listed companies due to strong internal market performance, domestic consumption as well as industry development. 3- Today is the 16th of December 1998.You are a small importer/exporter having to pay Ã‚ £5,000,000 on the 26th of February 1999.You are concerned about exchange rate risk and you are considering using currency futures to hedge your currency risk. What would be your hedged and unhedged outcome with hindsight? Carefully explain what will happen over this hedging period with your margin account. One Pound Sterling futures contract is Ã‚ £62,500 and the initial and maintenance margins are $2,295 and $1,700 respectively. Answer: (Using spreadsheet Ã¢â‚¬Å"MarketÃ¢â‚¬ ) and concepts from Brian Kettell (Financial Economics p321-330) In futures the principle is to sell what is overpriced and buy what is underpriced. In this example if the GBP/USD is overpriced (futures) less US dollars per Sterling pounds you should sell the futures contract on February 26th 1999 (Long Position in the Spot Market), which means purchase GDP/USD at the Spot Rate Spot Price Futures GBP/USD 1.6750-08 1.6060-1.5998 (at a Premium) The advice for the US importer is to protect the US value by hedging 80 contracts of Sterling Pounds using futures contracts. However, in this case the US dollar as of February 26th when the payment will be made, the futures price shows a US dollar at a premium, which means, the dollar will appreciate. Action: Unit of Trading Ã‚ £ Pounds Go long in the future market selling your futures contract (right to deliver at 1.6060) and holding on at the the Spot Market. Currency Hedge US dollar against British Pound: Ã‚ £5.000.000 at a spot rate February 26th 1999: Action buy future Contracts: Ã‚ £62.500 Number of contracts: 80 Value locked on December 16th 1998: Ã‚ £62.500 x 1.6750= US$ 104.687 Value of each futures contract on February 26th 1999:Ã‚ £62500 x 1.6060 = US$ 100.375 Net Profit of each contract: US$4. 312 x 80 = US$ 344.960 (Hedging profits) At the end of the period, without hedging you would have benefited as US dollar got appreciated. However, with hedging you will obtain profit margins of US$ 4312 in each contract improving your initial margins. Bibliography Bank of England Statistics available at: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/index.htm Economic Policy Institute available at: http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_econindicators_tradepict20060210 The Economist Big Mac Index available at: http://www.economist.com/markets/bigmac/displayStory.cfm?story_id=4065603 Federal Reserve Statistics available at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/datadownload/Build.aspx?rel=H15 Kettell, B. (2001) Financial Economics, Making Sense of Market Information: Prentice Hall: London Levi, M (1990). International Finance, the Markets and Financial Management of Multinational Business. McGraw-Hill Series in Finance: United States MacDonald R, Taylor M, (1992). Exchange Rate Economics Volume I Ã¢â‚¬Å"Monetary Policy and International Competitiveness: The problems of adjustments Willem H. Buiter and Marcus Miller, Published by Edward Elgar: England Walmsley, J. (1996). International Money and Foreign Exchange Markets, An introduction. Published by John Wiley Sons Ltd Baffins Lane Chichester. West Sussex Appendix Appendix I. Daily Data End month average Daily forward weighted interest premium/discount rate, instant Daily average of 4 rate, 12 months, US Spot exchange rate, access deposit, UK Banks base rates Dollar US $ into Sterling Bank branch accounts IUDAMIH XUDLDFY XUDLUSS IUMTHAI 04-Jan-05 4.75 -3.075 1.8833 n/a 05-Jan-05 4.75 -3.005 1.8881 n/a 06-Jan-05 4.75 -2.97 1.8754 n/a 07-Jan-05 4.75 -2.925 1.868 n/a 10-Jan-05 4.75 -2.905 1.8748 n/a 11-Jan-05 4.75 -2.85 1.877 n/a 12-Jan-05 4.75 -2.895 1.8932 n/a 13-Jan-05 4.75 -2.85 1.8806 n/a 14-Jan-05 4.75 -2.755 1.8684 n/a 17-Jan-05 4.75 -2.715 1.8593 n/a 18-Jan-05 4.75 -2.85 1.8669 n/a 19-Jan-05 4.75 -2.895 1.8769 n/a 20-Jan-05 4.75 -2.93 1.8706 n/a 21-Jan-05 4.75 -2.92 1.8693 n/a 24-Jan-05 4.75 -2.94 1.8757 n/a 25-Jan-05 4.75 -2.89 1.8647 n/a 26-Jan-05 4.75 -2.955 1.8815 n/a 27-Jan-05 4.75 -2.945 1.8864 n/a 28-Jan-05 4.75 -2.935 1.8829 n/a 31-Jan-05 4.75 -2.92 1.8859 2.18 01-Feb-05 4.75 -2.9 1.8799 n/a 02-Feb-05 4.75 -2.895 1.8848 n/a 03-Feb-05 4.75 -2.84 1.8794 n/a 04-Feb-05 4.75 -2.885 1.8858 n/a 07-Feb-05 4.75 -2.835 1.8657 n/a 08-Feb-05 4.75 -2.855 1.8561 n/a 09-Feb-05 4.75 -2.965 1.8578 n/a 10-Feb-05 4.75 -2.95 1.8712 n/a 11-Feb-05 4.75 -2.96 1.8654 n/a 14-Feb-05 4.75 -2.945 1.8869 n/a 15-Feb-05 4.75 -2.935 1.8872 n/a 16-Feb-05 4.75 -2.83 1.8786 n/a 17-Feb-05 4.75 -2.81 1.8906 n/a 18-Feb-05 4.75 -2.79 1.8944 n/a 21-Feb-05 4.75 -2.8 1.897 n/a 22-Feb-05 4.75 -2.9 1.9057 n/a 23-Feb-05 4.75 -2.985 1.906 n/a 24-Feb-05 4.75 -2.955 1.9077 n/a 25-Feb-05 4.75 -2.89 1.9153 n/a 28-Feb-05 4.75 -2.89 1.9257 2.18 01-Mar-05 4.75 -2.875 1.9198 n/a 02-Mar-05 4.75 -2.94 1.9101 n/a 03-Mar-05 4.75 -2.9 1.9084 n/a 04-Mar-05 4.75 -2.885 1.9258 n/a 07-Mar-05 4.75 -2.87 1.9139 n/a 08-Mar-05 4.75 -2.86 1.9311 n/a 09-Mar-05 4.75 -2.835 1.9212 n/a 10-Mar-05 4.75 -2.77 1.9236 n/a 11-Mar-05 4.75 -2.72 1.927 n/a 14-Mar-05 4.75 -2.64 1.9119 n/a 15-Mar-05 4.75 -2.61 1.9157 n/a 16-Mar-05 4.75 -2.65 1.9284 n/a 17-Mar-05 4.75 -2.595 1.9237 n/a 18-Mar-05 4.75 -2.555 1.9155 n/a 21-Mar-05 4.75 -2.515 1.8962 n/a 22-Mar-05

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Lehman Brothers Essay

In year 2008, financial crisis had led to the collapse of many banks in United States. Lehman Brothers was one of the banks that had filed its bankruptcy on 15 September 2008. It was the biggest bankruptcy in the history and it still is for now. Being the fourth largest investment bank in United States that had been established for 158 years, its failure had brought a big impact to the world financial markets. The failure of this large investment bank had triggered people around the world. After the failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008, there are a number of analysts and researchers that had tried to figure out the root of such event, the causes of the collapse, the effects of the failure and some lessons that could be learned from the failure of Lehman Brothers. All these papers and analysis have their own point of view. Therefore, there are a few objectives that I would like to focus on. In this paper, we will first focus on Ã¢â‚¬Å"What caused its failure?Ã¢â‚¬ Everything that happened will have its own reasons and causes. Next we are going to focus on Ã¢â‚¬Å"what is the effect of its failure?Ã¢â‚¬ Another objective that we are focusing on is the lessons that we gained from this failure. It is very important to study the story of Lehman Brothers who was a legend because it was established in 1850 until 2008 and they had survived through the world financial crisis. 1.0 History of Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers was first founded by a new German immigrant Henry Lehman in Montgomery, Alabama in year 1844. He started up a shop named Ã¢â‚¬ËœH. LehmanÃ¢â‚¬â„¢, which sells groceries and dry goods to some local cotton farmers. In 1847, his brother Emanuel Lehman arrived, and they change the name again to Ã¢â‚¬ËœH. Lehman and BroÃ¢â‚¬â„¢. In 1850, their youngest brother Mayer Lehman arrived in Montgomery and once again they changed its name and Ã¢â‚¬ËœLehman BrothersÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ founded by then. During that time, cotton was one of the important crops thus they have a high market value. The three Lehman brothers started to accept raw cotton from their customers as a source of payment for merchandise. Within a few years, the trading of cotton had become their most important part of their operation. In 1855, Henry Lehman passed away at the age of 33 from yellow fever. After HenryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s death, Mayer and Emanuel continued their business on commodities trading. They have their own policy, only their family members-sons, brothers, and cousins-that were permitted to be their partners. This policy carries on until 1920s. Their business grow and they formed a partnership with a cotton merchant John Wesley Durr to build their own storage warehouse. They used this warehouse to store their mass amount of cotton to enable them to support larger sales and trades. Their business continued to expand and they set up an office in New York in year 1858. However, Lehman Brothers faced hardship during the period of Civil War but they managed to rebuild their business after the war, and focusing their operations based in the New York office. Lehman Brothers expand to include sales and trading of other goods. Besides forming the New York Cotton Exchange, they were involved in establishing the Coffee Exchange and Petroleum Exchange. In 1867, Lehman Brothers became the agent of the Alabama government in selling the stateÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s bonds. In 1906, under the leadership of Philip Lehman, son of Emanuel, he partnered with Goldman Sachs, together they brought the General Cigar Co. to market followed by Sears, Roebuck and Company. There were around one hundred new issues that were underwritten by Lehman Brothers in conjunction with Goldman. Philip Lehman retired in 1925, and the company was taken over by his son, Robert Lehman. Under RobertÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s leading, the company survived through the Great Depression, and they carry on their operation focusing on venture capital. In 1930s, they underwrote the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the first television manufacturer, DuMont. They also helped to finance companies like Halliburton and Kerr-McKee. In 1969, Robert Lehman passed away and he was the last member of Lehman family to lead the company. RobertÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s death had led to problems that brought hard times to the firm. In 1973, an important person, Pete Peterson was brought in to save the firm from its difficulties. He as the Chairman and CEO had led the firm from operating losses to record profits in five consecutive years. Lehman Brothers merged with Kuhn, Loeb Inc., and formed the countryÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s fourth largest investment bank preceded by Salomon Brothers, Goldman and First Boston. In 1984, American Express acquired Lehman Brothers to merge with retail brokerage Shearson to form Shearson Lehman Brothers. However, a few years later in 1993, the firm spun off and became known solely as Lehman Brothers. In 2001, the World Trade Center offices were destroyed by terrorist attack therefore their headquarters was moved to Manhattan in 2002. The firm continue to shine until 2008, it had recorded a high profit in 2007 but in less than a yearÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s time they was entangled in the subprime mortgage lending crisis. On September 15 2008, they filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court. 2.0 Causes of its Failure The collapse of Lehman Brothers was a huge impact because everyone was thinking that it is impossible for such a large bank to collapse. Lehman Brothers had just reported a large profit in 2007, in less than a year time they filed for their bankruptcy. After the failure of Lehman Brothers, there were many people discussing about the causes that led to the failure of this large investment bank. Although they managed to pass through the past economic downturn with their business strategies but they could not survive the collapse of the housing market of United States of America. Until today, the causes of its failure were still being discussed among people around the world. Some would say that the poor management of the firm itself was the key to the collapse of the bank. The top management of Lehman Brothers failed to detect the problem that might occur with their balance sheet and their Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Richard J. Fuld had miscalculated the severity of the market upheaval. Lehman began to emerge into home mortgages in 2005 without bothering the early warning that the housing market in United States is being overheated and it will burst anytime. In 2007, two hedge funds sponsored by Bear Sterns collapsed and the marketÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s attention had focused on the value of subprime mortgages. The firm has confidence with itself because they consider itself as an expert in the financing real estate. Lehman Brothers did not manage to detect the alarm yet because their balance sheet was heavily weighted in commercial real estate which had nothing to do with the residential housing sector. Although the lower management might have detected the danger earlier but the news could not reach until the top management. The firm failed to realize that it was actually a ticking time bomb that might explode anytime. It is a norm that the top management was the last one to know whenever there is a danger because the employees would try to cover up. That is why the top management could not react to save the firm at an earlier stage. Some would argue that the CEO, Fuld was to blame because of his overconfidence and failure to recognize that Lehman faced a crucial crisis. Besides, Lehman paid an extremely high salaries and bonuses for their employees which total up more than half of the company earned in pre-tax profit. In addition, the accounting system of Lehman itself was a big flop. They used Ã¢â‚¬Å"Repo 105 transactionsÃ¢â‚¬ that was described by their own accounting personnel as an Ã¢â‚¬Å"accounting gimmickÃ¢â‚¬ . First of all, some would question what does Ã¢â‚¬Å"repoÃ¢â‚¬ means. Ã¢â‚¬Å"RepoÃ¢â‚¬ means repurchase agreements, transaction which banks use it to borrow cash for short term. It involves raising cash by lending out high-quality assets for a short period of time. The banks will agree to repurchase their collateral in a few days or weeks. This way of recording their accounts created a false portrayal of their true financial status. Even the external auditor, Ernst & Young did not take further action to investigate the Ã¢â‚¬Å"repoÃ¢â‚¬ . According to Stern Stewart (2002), he said that accounting is no longer counting what counts and those in charge have not been wise enough or strong enough to resist their ploys to make the auditorsÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ definition of earning into a reliable measure of value. Accounting fraud and accounting manipulation are the major reasons to companiesÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ failure and financial crises. They intend to keep this matter and hide it from the shareholders and the public. In this case, the external auditors did not do what they a re supposed to do. They failed to give any warning to the shareholders about the non-disclosure of their financial statements. According to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, Ã¢â‚¬Å"an external auditor has a responsibility to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether caused by error or fraudÃ¢â‚¬ Lehman BrothersÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ reckless way of lending made the firm into more liabilities. The subprime mortgages were to meet the needs of Americans who could not be qualified for long-term mortgages. Subprime mortgages were targeted on credit unworthy person but also had low interest rates on long term basis. Therefore, subprime mortgages were loans that are high in risk but low in return compared to the property to be purchased. Meanwhile, Lehman also encourages the Ã¢â‚¬Å"ninja (no income, no job, and no assets) or better known as liar loansÃ¢â‚¬ . These loans were banned in United Kingdom because Ã¢â ‚¬Å"ninja loansÃ¢â‚¬ are loans offered to public without any form of collateral. Anyone could loan from the bank even he is without a job, without stable income and without any assets in hand. These loans are another key for the failure of Lehman. Such loans are the breeding ground of unethical behaviour in the financial market. These loans encourage the moral hazard to happen because the borrowers had nothing to lose as they have no assets to be held as collateral. Following the incident of the failure of Lehman, there are people questioning the decision of the Fed for not bailing out Lehman. Federal Reserve does not bail out Lehman because Lehman could not prove that they have the ability to repay the loan from Fed. There is a theory in the economics called the Ã¢â‚¬Å"Big Bank TheoryÃ¢â‚¬ which means that governments will not allow a large bank like Lehman to collapse because it will bring a huge impact to the economic. This theory does works when American International Group (AIG) and Bear Sterns were being helped by Fed to prevent it from falling. Everyone thought the same fate will happen to Lehman as well because of the theory Ã¢â‚¬Å"too big to failÃ¢â‚¬ . However, Lehman Brothers could not escape from the bankruptcy fate. Fed had conducted assessments and it showed that the failure of Lehman would not bring such a big impact to the whole world compared to AIG or Bear Sterns. Federal Reserve chose to bailout Bear Sterns but not Lehman Brothers because when the Fed bailed out Bear Stern in March 2008, it claimed that the bailout was an Ã¢â‚¬Å"extraordinary eventÃ¢â‚¬ , thus it is impossible for Fed to save another troubled financial firm because it is not possible for Ã¢â‚¬Å"extraordinary eventsÃ¢â‚¬ to occur that often. Competitions are very common in each and every sector including banking and finance sector. Banks will compete among themselves on both assets and liabilities. According to Bolt and Tieman (2004), to survive the competition for loans and remain profitable, banks undertake measures that will drive the loan volumes and enhance profitability but ultimately compromise their asset quality and increase the probability of collapsing. Bank therefore started to increase the risk in their portfolio by lowering the criteria or terms and condition for a loan. Wilmarth (2009) agreed that competition impacts negatively on lending standards, based on events leading to the global financial crisis in 2007. Banks compete blindly with each other neglecting the possible danger that might arise and harmful towards the banks. They keep on offering subprime mortgages with low payments in order to attract more customers. When the housing prices collapsed in 2007, the borrowers could not refinance their mortgages and defaults happen eventually lead to the subprime financial crisis. 3.0 Effects of Its Failure In March 2010, it emerged that the bankruptcy was not just the largest ever to be experienced in the American financial system, but it was also one of the largest accounting scandals ever (Connerty, 2010). The failure of Lehman Brothers is similar to that Enron experienced earlier in 2001. Such failure and the present case of Lehman show how an investment bank had successfully fool all the investors and financial analysts. The investors of Lehman Brothers were badly affected because they could not escape from the financial crisis impact. In many countries, the investors were badly affected because most of them are holding the bonds issued by Lehman before it collapses. In Hong Kong, there are 43,000 individuals who had bought the so-called mini bonds up to a total of $ 1.8 billion. Pension funds, such as the New York State TeachersÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ retirement plan had also incurred losses due to the collapse of Lehman (Bryan-Low, 2009, cited in Swedberg, 2010). Once Lehman declared its bankruptcy on September 2008, investors lose their money and some investors are even senior citizens. Although some investors do suffer a huge loss, but most of the worldÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s leading investment banks made big profits again in 2009. Investment banks have always been a very volatile business and it will still continue on to have its ups and downs. The failure of investment banks does not affect the long run of the business because it is a very profitable business. The consequences of the collapse of Lehman are not that long because some banks started to record profit within a year. However, United States of AmericaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s economy was seriously affected and the US government needs to prop up the markets in order to avoid any further catastrophe and to avoid the history of the Great Depression 1930s to happen once again. 4.0 Lessons Learned after the Collapse Caplan et al., (2010) mention that in 2006, Lehman made a deliberate decision in pursuing a higher-growth business strategy. To achieve their goal they switched from a low-risk brokerage model to capital-intensive banking model that required them to buy assets and store them as opposed to acquiring assets to primarily moving them to a third party. This strategy at the time also brought a higher risk because most of the assets were long term and they were highly illiquid. As the subprime crisis happened, Lehman had to act quickly to liquidate its illiquid assets in housing mortgages. The crisis caused the assets to be bought at lower price due to the negative perception in the public. Lehman should have forgone its high-growth strategy because its cost had outweighed the benefits. Holding on with the strategy kept dragging Lehman into deeper danger because they should have sacrifice part of the profits to protect themselves from massive loss. Besides that, the top managers should have eliminated dubious accounting practices by holding to a high ethical standard. Lehman used Repo 105 was only one of the way of many wrongful action used by Lehman to show that their financial statements are still stable and at a healthy state. Lehman practiced the Repo 105 in an unethical way in order to acquire new loans by displaying a healthier situation compared to the actual situation. A standard accounting system open the way for unethical managers to take advantage of it. They practice the standard according to their own unethical behaviour in order to achieve or to display a healthy situation to the public. Therefore, the accounting standards must be modified to avoid any of the unethical behaviour that could affect the benefits of the public. The financial statements must meet the necessary accounting standard and the external auditors should point out the mismatch of the balance sheet and investigate for any problem occurred. In this way, it is easier to trace the problem earlier and the management could not have the chance to hide the true condition of their firm. Caplan et al., (2010) suggest that substance must be taken into consideration over form, in which the fairness and the health of the organization must be judged based on the substance of the statements and not simply the ratios inferred from them. Basically, expanding safety nets involves providing all-embracing guarantees to both creditors and depositors of both commercial and investment banks (Rochet, 2010). Expanding the safety nets is to maintain funding especially during the economic downturn times and to rebuild the investor confidence after such a major economic crisis. The strategy to stabilize the economic is very important and it needs to be carrying on a long term basis in order to prevent future failures. All these strategies should be carried out by investment banks themselves as they were one of the factors that caused the Lehman Brothers to collapse. In addition, we should have come out with strategies that were directed at dealing with the problem assets and implement the strategies in advance before the financial system failure occurs. It is better to prepare earlier rather than waiting for the failure to occur by its own. These strategies are basically of two types; they can either be in terms of government guarantees on specific high value loans but still keeping the loans on the failing firmÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s balance sheet or acquisition of some or all structures securities and loan assortments (Stephanou, 2009). Although dealing with those problematic assets does not really reduce the firmÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s vulnerability to such exposures but at least these strategies could tackle the liquidity problems and improve their creditworthiness. Government plays an important role to motivate the private investors to acquire the problematic assets or government can co-finance the acquisition of these assets. There is need for the industry regulators to enforce more stringent measures to ensure that investment banks do not bite more than they can chew. The regulators should have regular monitoring done on all the investment banks to ensure that they are on the right path and did not take up too much risky investment. From the collapse of Lehman Brothers, we could see that most of the investment banks faced financial crisis with insufficient capital bases and inadequate liquidities. The regulatory measure must be able to ensure that banks have the ability and quantity capital bases that could buffer the financial institutions from massive losses and to be strong enough to withstand any failures in the future. Banks need to have a good number of liquid assets all the time so that the assets could easily be transformed into cash to face any panics. To conclude, it is very important to enforce standards on the capital, leverage and liquidity of every investment banks to prevent financial cris is in the future. 5.0 Conclusions The recent competition in the banking industry has led to most of this banks engaging in risky exposures (Raghavan, 2003). This is very clear in the collapse of Lehman Brothers. We should learn up from the mistakes and ensure that we do not repeat it in the future. In the collapse of Lehman we could see that corporate governance plays an important role in every firm. The management must be clear with the firmÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s condition and to make the right decision for the firm and to be alert towards any kind of possible danger. The Board and regulator could have intervened if Lehman practiced sound corporate practices and had not withheld information regarding the risk levels of the firm. Besides, the external auditors are also a part in this failure because they failed to detect the malpractices in their financial statements. According to Greenfield (2010), the main indicators of fraud could be detected in the financial statement apparently; the external auditors could not discover this activity. Looking forward, there is no crystal ball. However what is known is that the international financial system is a complex web of dealings, relationships and dependencies. It must however be noted that the demise of Lehman had not impacted on the US economy alone but the world as a whole. Lastly, never assumes too big to fail. Even the most sophisticated financial tools, cannot predict or time the market properly. No one and nothing guarantees you that having past successes, you can be granted the same in the future.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

The values and ideologys that a Head Teacher should have

A leader is considered to be a individual who knows about the people being led and managed, pass oning values and precedences and patterning good pattern. Effective leaders adopt a strategic attack and lead by illustration. Most significantly they know that people are their cardinal resources and without them, there would be no organisation to take and managed ( Kydd, 2003 ) . An effectual headteacher should hold some basic features that distinguish him from the other staff of the school. As Smith ( 1993 ) implies, Ã¢â‚¬Å" an effectual headteacher has a vision and a mission for the school. He inspires committedness to the school Ã¢â‚¬Ëœs mission and so gives way and aim to its work. He coordinates the work of the school by apportioning functions and deputing duties, promoting staff engagement in professional development programmes and makes usage of the accomplishments instructors get in these programmes Ã¢â‚¬ . He recognizes the work that is done by others ( particularly instructors ) and gives feedback and support whenever he considers necessary. He can therefore foster an apprehension of the school vision and set up the school clime. Ubben and Hughes ( 1992 ) stated that principals could make a school clime that improves the productiveness of both staff and pupils and that the leading manner of the principal can further or curtail teacher effectivity. Decidedly, a positive school clime can heighten staff public presentation, advance higher morale, and better pupil accomplishment ( Freiberg, 1998 ) . It may be considered as the one of the most of import constituents of the school reform. A positive school clime promotes higher academic accomplishment, helps pupils recognize and make their maximal potencies and by and large lend to the betterment and effectivity of the school. If principals are extremely skilled, they can develop feelings of trust, unfastened communications, collegiality, and advance effectual feedback. In the complex environment of schools, all headteachers need to understand instructors Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ perceptual experiences of their behaviours. They must cognize and understand how to supply the foundation for making an atmosphere conducive to alter. They must besides be able to go witting of the demands of their instructors, authorise them to portion the vision, and enable them to make an effectual school clime. A skilled headteacher is the 1 that has sensitiveness towards personal jobs of the others. He is able to understand peoples Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ demands, harmonizing to their background and their emotional issues ( Smith, 1993 ) . He is non merely a typical, professional headteacher, but besides a human with feelings and rules. Besides, by demoing involvement towards instructors Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ and students Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ jobs, he can cut down the employees Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ negative attitudes in their school working environment and do both instructors and students feel valuable. In a school Ã¢â‚¬Ëœs environment, good communicating and coaction between the instructors, is of great importance. Collegiality is strongly related with the mutuality of the instructors in the school. The good relationships among them are indispensable and critical, because, as Barth ( 1990 ) argues Ã¢â‚¬Å" relationships between them are the sine qua non that allow, stimulate, and sustain all other efforts at school betterment Ã¢â‚¬ . Andrew Hargreaves ( Bennett et al. , 1992, p.81 ) argues that: Ã¢â‚¬Å" Collegiality forms a important board of policies to reconstitute schools from without and to reform them from withinaÃ‹â€ Ã‚ ¦ School betterment, course of study reform, instructor development, and leading development are all seen as being dependent, to some extent, on the edifice of positive collegial relationships for their success Ã¢â‚¬ . Sing the impacts of a positive clime in a collaborative school environment, we can non dissent with the above statement. It is true that when the interpersonal and professional dealingss of the school staff, and specifically instructors Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ dealingss are good, so the communicating within the school flourishes. In instances where instructors develop friendly dealingss, discoursing non merely school Ã¢â‚¬Ëœs affairs, so the communicating between them is improved, given that they interact non merely as co-workers but as friends excessively. From my small experience in schools, I have to state that in school environments, where instructors were really pass oning, their public presentation was much better comparing with those whose dealingss were non every bit collegial as they should hold been. After all as Willi Unsoeld, ( Johnson and Johnson, 1994, p.8:7 ) a celebrated mountain climber, one time said to a group of mountain climbers, Ã¢â‚¬Å" Pull togetheraÃ‹â€ Ã‚ ¦ in the mountains you must depend on each other for endurance Ã¢â‚¬ . Teaching is strongly related with mountain mounting. Like mountain climbers, instructors should hold assurance to the abilities of their co-workers, back up the attempts that are made by the others, acknowledge their part and eventually believe that their competencies are being utilised and valued by the other instructors. It is doubtless acceptable and understood that the headteacher Ã¢â‚¬Ëœs function in the procedure of bettering communicating in school is significant. He is considered to be the cardinal figure in enabling the development of human dealingss, particularly between instructors, developing to work within the school as a whole. Colin Riches ( Bush and West- Burnham, 1994, p.261 ) points out that Ã¢â‚¬Å" Effective direction has to get down from a full apprehension of the inside informations of how the communicating procedure impacts on every direction activity Ã¢â‚¬ . Because of the headteacher Ã¢â‚¬Ëœs influence, it is of import that he or she communicate efficaciously with the others. However, in order for good communicating to be achieved, communicating channels should be unfastened both ways. By this I mean that the principal should be accessible to everyone in the school. Coursen and Thomas ( Smith and Piele, 1991, p. ) write that Ã¢â‚¬Å" it is of import for people to experience you are available and welcome personal contact with them Ã¢â‚¬ . Roger Major ( Smith and Piele, 1991, p. ) argues that Ã¢â‚¬Å" principals can utilize sincere congratulations whenever possible to make a more constructive ambiance in schools Ã¢â‚¬ . Indeed, acknowledging the work that instructors do in the school, can better the relationships between them, since the instructors will experience valued and appreciated. Even the negative feedback will non act upon school Ã¢â‚¬Ëœs positive clime, if it is done in the right manner, like in a personal treatment and non in public. In reexamining the literature, we find that dialogue accomplishments are besides indispensable for an effectual headteacher who wants to cultivate good communicating and better the conditions in the school. Riches ( Bush and West- Burnham, 1994, p.260 ) defines dialogue as Ã¢â‚¬Å" a manner of accommodating involvements and cut downing struggle in state of affairss where people have to interact with one another but where no side is powerful plenty to enforce its will Ã¢â‚¬ . The headteacher should be able to snuff out all the struggles that may happen between the staff, and reconstruct the concerted clime in school ; therefore, it is so of import for the principal to avoid favoritism, be just, nonsubjective and diplomatic. From all written above, the function of the headteacher in the development of a positive, communicative and collaborative clime in schools is incontestible and undisputed. All these accomplishments are gathered in the definition of the headteachers Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ function, given by Southworth ( Bush and Middlewood, 1997, p.40 ) who writes that: Ã¢â‚¬Å" The caputs take an active involvement in the instructors Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ work and lives ; they attend to instructors Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ person and corporate demands and involvements ; they set up ways in which staff can portion and speak about their work in the schoolrooms ( e.g. demoing assemblies, staff meetings, informal visits by the caput to instructors in their schoolrooms after school ) Ã¢â‚¬ . Acting in this manner, most of the headteachers seek to set up and keep an organisational civilization that facilitate openness, sharing and communicating in their schools.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Pain essays

Pain essays Vaccine Could Protect Against Stroke And Epilepsy Damage A new oral vaccine has offered new hope because of its effectiveness in protecting laboratory rats against brain damage from epilepsy and stroke, and might one day be used to help humans with the same conditions. The vaccine blocks a protein in the brain called NMDA, but does so only when epilepsy or stroke occur. The vaccine is released in the brain as needed and is protected from any side effects. During and colleagues immunized another group of rats and after five months induced stroke in them by blocking an artery in the brain. The rats still experienced strokes, but the size of the brain damage was 70 percent less in immunized rats compared with animals that didn't receive the treatment. This concept could be useful in treating other neurological disorders as well. NMDA is a receptor that responds to the chemical glutamate in the brain, the glutamate/NMDA complex is responsible for many normal brain functions like the development of neurons, learning and memory. Blocking the NMDA receptor in general could have damaging effects. However, the NMDA receptor is also involved in a chain of events that contribute to neurological damage from epilepsy, stroke and head injuries. To create the vaccine, the researchers added the gene that codes for the NMDA receptor to a virus. When this gene and virus combination enter the animal's bloodstream, the immune system creates antibodies to both the virus and NMDA. These antibodies circulate in the blood, but are prevented from entering the brain by the blood brain barrier, a tightly packed group of cells that line blood vessels in the brain. The blood brain barrier is a protective mechanism that prevents many large molecules, such as these antibodies, from entering the brain. Yet during times of neurological insult, like epilepsy and stroke, the blood brain barrier is compromised, and the antibodies do enter the brain. They then s...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Best Guide for Selecting Topics for Exemplification Essays

Best Guide for Selecting Topics for Exemplification Essays Deciding the topic of a paper is the most critical stage in the whole process of writing. The entire paper depends upon the quality and adequacy of the topic. Probably you are having a problem deciding the topic of your paper. ThereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s nothing to worry about because weÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re here for your assistance. The right topic truly captures the gist of a paper. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s neither too long nor too short. Get a good idea of deciding a topic by reading our guidelines. We offer you good exemplification essay topics related to all sorts of areas. If you still require help, you can have a customized topic generated just for you by our experts. What Is an Exemplification Paper? Before getting into a discussion of the selection of topics, itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s customary to have a quick look into the concept of this kind of essay. The word Ã¢â‚¬ËœexemplifyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ means to show or demonstrate. Therefore, the significance of examples in these essays is a lot. ItÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s essentially argumentative in tone and nature. The writer incorporates cases in it which validate an opinion. The arguments are supported and substantiated by concrete evidence and examples. Hence, the readers get a clear understanding of the viewpoint of the writer and also have reasons to believe in the information they are offered. Here are easy tips to get you started in the right direction: Provide correct details. Incorporate examples that suit the paperÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s prime subject. Use a persuasive tone by using excellent examples and using logical writing. Distribute the arguments and examples throughout the essay so that each part has them. How to Decide the Topic for Your Paper Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Expert Tips Many times, teachers provide students with topics for exemplification essay themselves. However, if you have to come up with a topic yourself, make sure that you have a good knowledge of your chosen topic and that you can easily grab evidence and facts in support of the points you will make in it. Remember that the real challenge of finding good examples lies ahead. So if you select a unique topic, the chances are that youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll fail to find appropriate examples for it. Think deep while choosing your topics to write an exemplification essay on. LetÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s suppose your teacher asks you to write a paper on an author. While you can choose any writers of your choice, try to select one for your paper who has written more books than others. This will make it easy for you to find relevant information and examples from the authorÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s books because of the simple reason that they will be plenty. Important points to consider while selecting the topic of your paper is: It shouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t be more than 70 characters in length Ã¢â‚¬â€œ spaces included Avoid the use of punctuation in the topic DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use complicated words in the topic How to Write the Paper So It Attracts Readers The importance of best exemplification essay topics in improving the readership of essays cannot be overemphasized. But everything is not done only by selection of the correct topic Ã¢â‚¬â€œ your starting section should have the pulling power in it as well. You can start the paper with a popular question or phrase to grab the attention of readers. You have to identify your target audience to come up with the best examples in your paper. Examples for a topic will be different for children audience as compared to those for an elderly audience without any change in the topic. Good behavior for a child may mean behaving well with parents and cleaning the teeth every day, but for an adult, you will exemplify good behavior as giving charities and donations, and consuming less natural resources. Here Are Some Interesting Exemplification Essay Topics You donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t just have to find a topic for the paper, and you also have to ensure that itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s interesting. The topic should have a wow factor so that it sparks interest in the audience. Here are some easy exemplification essay topics that have this quality: Teaching children manners Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the fine line between parenting and harassing. No meal is free in this world. Why not immigrate to Canada? Are people from all races related? Why we need vacations Find the Best Exemplification Essay Topics for College Students Topics for essays at the college level have to be academically very strong. Essays contain strong arguments, and strong practical examples substantiate them. Some topics you can select from the following ones: Is social media a reliable source of information? Technology has changed education. Is polygamy ethically justifiable? Can teachers deter bullying and violence in schools? Should students be taught subjects of religion in schools? Can a strict vegan diet be nutritionally sufficient? Is plastic surgery a necessity or a luxury? As you may have noticed, the above good topics for an exemplification essay relate to different fields of knowledge. The best way to phrase a topic for this kind of paper is as a question. As you try to answer it in the paper, you discuss examples that justify your opinions. Get Our Guru to Devise a Fine Topic for You Have you found the topic you were looking for in the ones we have suggested? If not Ã¢â‚¬â€œ donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t panic. Our experts are here to help you with the college exemplification essay topics. What subject, area, or field you want to choose the topic from? Let us know by filling out a simple form so that we can assign you one of our most talented writers. We devise good topics for essays all the time as we have over ten years of experience in this field. Fill out the form.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Internationalization Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Internationalization Theories - Essay Example Due to the generality of the OLI, the theory has been limited to the task of explaining particular types of foreign behaviors or production of specific enterprises, unless there is an application of the framework to a specific predefined context. As opposed to other theories, OLI is specific to particular contexts of application, especially in its configuration that is likely to differ in different regions, firms, countries, industries, or in the value-added practices. On the other hand, the OLI application is most likely to rely on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) motivators (Demos, Fragkiskos and Marina, 2004). The primary assumption of the OLI is that the FDI returns, and thus the entirety of FDI, may be explained using three factors. They include: the firmÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s ownership advantage Ã¢â‚¬ËœOÃ¢â‚¬â„¢, which indicates who produces abroad, as well as other types of international activities; internationalization advantage Ã¢â‚¬ËœIÃ¢â‚¬â„¢; and the location advantage (L), which gives reasons forÃ‚ firms Ã‚ to take part in FDI as opposed to licensing the foreign companies to make use of their proprietary assets (Adner and Kapoor, 2010).For the firm to effectively compete within a foreign location, it must have particular ownership advantages, which are also referred to as monopolistic or competitive advantages, which compensate for the extra costs incurred during the setting up of its operations in the foreign country, which are not faced by the producers from within the country (Desbordes, 2007).

Friday, November 1, 2019

Giving economic circumstances over the last five years of how Tesco, Essay

Giving economic circumstances over the last five years of how Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrisons have coped - Essay Example 1, the economy is contracting. The situation affects retailers because of the low purchasing power of consumers. BBC said that the rise in sales will be slower than expected, with a rise predicted at only 1%. Analysts blamed rising prices are the cause of the slow growth of retail sales. Economic outlook of UK for 2013 as raised by the Confederation of British Industry will stagnate and the Bank of England will refrain from a stimulus expanding. Their forecast is that the recession economy will stay until 2014. Purpose of the study is to analyze steps taken by the giant superstores to cushion the effect of recession, and strategies they plan to stay in competition. Since recession is not over yet, the study will benefit smaller retail stores in designing strategies that will reduce impact of recession in its operations. 4. Methodology . This study will make an analysis of performance of the three retail giants in UK during recession period using comparative analysis of its financial performance as an indicator. Review of its annual reports will show strategies implemented to survive the economic recession challenge. Government policies to stimulate economy will also be inspected TESCO is one of the worldÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s largest retailers with operations in 14 countries, employing over 500,000 and serving tens of millions of customers every week. Diversified businesses: retailing of books, clothing, electronics, furniture, petrol and software, financial services, telecoms and internet services, DVD rentals and downloads. It has repositioned itself from a cheap retailer to finest ranges of higher quality merchandise. SAINSBURY was founded in 1869 and operates over 1000 stores including 440 convenience stores. It operates joint ventures with Land Securities Group plc and the British Land Company PLC. It has on-line ordering system and a roll-out delivery system. Sainsbury Finance provides credit cards, insurances, and savings and loans, and an