The Cost of Capital

THE COST OF CAPITALQ1. Place the creditor's hierarchy in the correct order. (P;D)Ordinary Shareholders 1Unsecured Creditors 2Creditors with floating charges 3Preference Shareholders 4Creditors with fixed charges 5(2 marks) Q2. Gecko Co. has just paid a dividend of $0.65/share ; the current share price in the market in the stock market is $3.6. Calculate the cost of equity? (FIB)3613156159500Ke %(2 marks) Q3. A share has a current market value of 86c, and the last dividend paid by the company was 7.23c. The expected annual growth rate of dividends is 7%. Calculate the cost of equity capital? (FIB)4013205270500Ke %(2 marks) Q4. Reeve Co. is about to pay a dividend of $1 per ordinary share. The Net assets of the company are $500,000. The Earnings for the company is $180,000.The Current share price is $7 per share. Reeve Co. has in total 100,000 Ordinary shares. What is the cost of equity to the nearest whole percentage? (MCQ)27%30%33%35%(2 marks) Q5. Sago Co.'s has 5 million shares in issue & their dividend payments in the years were as follows:End of the year 20X7 20X8 20X9 20Y0 20X1Dividends ($000) 250 275 295 222 350The current share price of Sago Co is $2/share. Calculate the cost of equity? (MCQ)11%12.6%13%15.1%(2 marks) Q6. Amok Co. is about to pay a dividend of 20c per share. The share price is 300c. The rate of return is 16% & 25% of the earnings is a dividend. Calculate the cost of equity? (FIB) 3917954508500Ke %(2 marks) Q7. Which of the following is/are the assumptions used by Dividend valuation model (DVM)? (MRQ) Income stream for the shareholders are the dividends paid by the companyDividends are constant or grow at a fixed rateThe model assumes there is no need to incorporate any riskThe dividends paid by the company are till eternity (2 marks) Q8. Which of the following statements is a disadvantage for Dividend valuation model (DVM)? (MCQ)The model takes capital gains of shareholders into accountIt assumes huge cost is applicable to the issue of new sharesNo allowance is made for the taxationThe growth in earnings is incorporated(2 marks) Q9. Shares in BLACK and WHITE have a beta of 0.75. The equity risk premium is 5% and the risk-free rate of return is 3%. What is the cost of equity capital for BLACK and WHITE? (FIB)4921256223000Ke %(2 marks) Q10. The current average market return being paid on risky investments is 14%, compared with 7% on Treasury bills. Halo Co cost of equity is 17.5%. What is the beta factor? (FIB)4921256350000Beta (2 marks) Q11. The Government securities return is 7%. The overall stock market return is 11%. The expected beta is 0.9. What would be the share's expected value if it is expected to earn an annual dividend of 5.3c, with no capital growth? (FIB) 2006606096000Cents (2 marks) Q12. All companies given below operate in the same business industry. They all have same characteristics except for the fact that their capital structures are different, which are as follows:Loco Co. Choco Co. Rocco Co.Debt from the total market 27 35 49Equity from the total market 73 65 51The equity beta of Rocco Co. is 1.32 ; the equity beta of Loco Co. is 0.74.What range will Choco Co. beta fall? (MCQ)The beta of Choco Co is higher than 1.32The beta of Choco Co. is above 0.74The beta of Choco Co. is between 0.74 ; 1.32The beta of Choco Co is lower than 0.74(2 marks) Q13. Investments required return can be predicted using the Capital asset pricing model. The risk-free rate of return is 5%. Investment Beta Value Return ValueAlpha 1.5 13%Beta 0.7 15.3%Mega 1 12%Zeta 1.2 12.2%If Zeta is correctly priced then select the appropriate option for each investment? (P;D) Alpha UnderpricedBeta Correct PriceMega Overpriced(2 marks) Q14. Beak Frees Co. makes biscuits and cookies and there are some factors in the market that the investors are unable to distinguish either they are a systematic or un-systematic risk to them. Help the investors in choosing the appropriate Risk? (HA) The immediate increase in interest rates SYSTEMATIC UNSYSTEMATIC Price increments in Flour used by the company SYSTEMATIC UNSYSTEMATICThe downfall of the economy in which the company operates SYSTEMATIC UNSYSTEMATICIndustrial unrest in one of the factories SYSTEMATIC UNSYSTEMATIC (2 marks) Q15. Which of the following assumption is not related to Capital asset pricing model? (MCQ)Investors have a spread of investment in multiple companiesThere are no taxes applicableIt ignores earning a potential of the companyAll forecast made are for single period transaction(2 marks) Q16. The systematic risk of a portfolio relative to the market portfolio is measured using the beta factor. Which of the following statements is/are true? (MRQ)If Beta is greater than 1, the security is less sensitive to systematic risk than the marketIf Beta is lesser than 1, the security is less sensitive to systematic risk than the marketIf Beta equals 1, the security's exposure to systematic risk matches the marketIf Beta equals 0 the security is risk-free(2 marks) Q17. Which of the following is an advantage of Capital asset pricing model? (MCQ)It provides a basis for establishing risk-adjusted discount rates for capital investment projects.Ignores taxation for the investorsIt is unable to distinguish between dividends & capital gainsIndividual companies have different systematic risk characteristics of their shares(2 marks) Q18. The cost of equity of a company is directly unaffected by which of the following? (MCQ)The expected market returnThe company's expected betaThe expected return on the company's assetThe government securities return (2 marks) Q19. 10% irredeemable preference shares having a share price-dividend of $7/share. The tax rate is 27%. Calculate the cost of preference shares if the par value is $0.6 correct to two decimal places? (FIB) 4521207747000Kp %(2 marks) Q20. Tangerine Co. wants to invest in an Investment appraisal project. The company decided to invest using a bank loan. The company borrowed 7% $200,000 loan for the investment. What will be the cost of debt if the tax rate is 25%? (FIB)4521207175500Kd %(2 marks) Q21. 3G Co. has in issue 12% irredeemable loan notes, currently trading at $105 cum-interest.If the tax rate changes from 27% to 20% for 3G co. then the cost of debt would likely: (MCQ) Decreases to 8.4%Decreases to 9.42% Increases to 9.42%Increases to 10.3%(2 marks) Q22. A company issued their 10% irredeemable loan notes at 150. The current market price is $75. The company is paying corporation tax of 28%. What is the cost of loan notes? (FIB)4521206985000Kd %(2 marks) Q23. A company has in issue 8% redeemable debt with three years to redemption at par. The current market value of the debt is $107.59. The corporation tax rate is 30%. What is the interest cost to the company? (MCQ)$8.6$32.3$8$5.6(2 marks) Q24. A company has in issue 5% redeemable loan notes having a current market value of $103/bond. These bonds will be redeemed in three year time at par value. Calculate the cost of debt if the tax rate is 29%? (MCQ)2%2.15%2.63%3% (2 marks) Q25. A 6% irredeemable preference shares are traded for $1.5 cumulative dividend. The tax rate is 30%. What is the cost of preference shares nearest to two decimal places? (FIB) 4521207810500Kp %(2 marks) Q26. A 3% 60,000 irredeemable preference shares are being traded for $0.5 ex. Dividend. What is the cost of preference shares? (FIB)4521206985000Kp %(2 marks) Q27. A company has irredeemable loan notes currently trading at $36 ex-interest. The coupon rate is 11% and the rate of corporation tax is 30%.What is the return required by the debt providers before tax is applicable? (MCQ)21.4%27.6%30.6%33%(2 marks) Q28. Sitcom Co. has a 5% redeemable loan notes which are redeemable at a 10% premium in 5 years' time. The current market value is $100 per loan note. The tax rate is 25%. Calculate the cost of debt? (MCQ)2.7%3.53%4%5.62%(2 marks) Q29. A company has issued convertible loan notes which are due to be redeemed at a 5% discount in five years' time. The coupon rate is 7% and the current MV is $85. Alternatively, the investor can choose to convert each loan note into 10 shares in five years' time. The company pays tax at 30% per annum. The company's shares are currently worth $9 and their value is expected to grow at a rate of 4% pa. Find the post-tax cost of the convertible debt to the company? (FIB)4521207683500Kd %(2 marks) Q30. Cobol Co. has in issue 6% convertible bonds having a market value of $115. These bonds can redeem at a premium of 2% in two years' time or can be converted to 25 ordinary shares in two years. The current share price $4 and its expected growth is 3% per annum. The corporation tax rate is 29%. Calculate the net present value if discount factor is 4%? (MCQ) $1.53$4.26$8.03$10(2 marks) Q31. Fichte Co. has in issue 12% convertible bonds having a market value of $97. These bonds can be converted into 40 ordinary shares in seven years' time or can be redeemed at 12% premium in seven years' time. The current share price is $3 with an annual growth rate of 4%.The tax rate per annum is 24%. Choose whether bonds should be converted or redeemed in seven years' time? (MCQ)$108.64 Redemption $157.91 Conversion$108.64 Conversion$157.91 Redemption (2 marks) The following information is for Q32 & Q33:Trico Co. has the capital structure:Capital Structure $ m4 million $0.2 ordinary shares 0.810% irredeemable loan notes 13.58% Preference shares 10Reserves 15Total 39.3The loan notes are quoted and the ordinary shares are currently quoted at $50 and $4 respectively in the market. The cost of equity for Trico Co. is 11% and the current corporation tax is 30%. The preference shares are currently traded for $2.25 ex. Dividend. Q32. Calculate the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for Trico Co. using the Book values? (MCQ) 8.45%10.37%11.13%11.27%(2 marks) Q33. Calculate market value weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for Trico Co.?9.24%9.97%10.79%12.38%(2 marks) Q34. Zeeman Co. has 5m $1 ordinary shares, the reserves are held at $10m and there are 15% irredeemable loan notes of $9m. The market value of ordinary shares is $5, and the loan notes are currently traded at $80. Zeeman Co. has just paid a dividend of $0.7 and its corporation tax is 26%. What is the cost of capital? (MCQ)13.98%14.23%16.76%17.89%(2 marks)THE COST OF CAPITAL (ANSWERS)Q1. Creditors (payables) hierarchy:Creditors with fixed charges 1Creditors with floating charges 2Unsecured Creditors 3Preference Shareholders 4 Ordinary Shareholders 5 Q2. 18.1%Ke = (0.65 à · 3.6) Ãâ€" 100 = 18.1% Q3. 16%Ke = (7.23 [1 + 0.07] à · 86) + 0.07 = 0.1599 0.1599 Ãâ€" 100 = 16% Q4. DGrowth = b Ãâ€" re b = (1 – [1à ·1.8]) = 0.44 re = (1.8à ·5) = 0.36g = (0.44 Ãâ€" 0.36) Ãâ€" 100 = 15.84%Ke = [1Ãâ€"(1+15.84%)] à · (7 – 1) = 0.1931 + 15.84% = 0.351Ke = 0.351 Ãâ€" 100 = 35% Q5. Bg = [(350 à · 250) 1 à · (5-1) – 1] Ãâ€" 100 = 8.8%D1 = (350 à · 5000) Ãâ€" (1 + 8.8%) = 0.076Ke = [(0.076 à · 2) + 8.8% ] Ãâ€" 100 = 12.6% Q6. 12%g = (0.75 Ãâ€" 0.16) Ãâ€" 100 = 12%D1 = 0.2 (1 + 12%) = 0.224Ke = [0.224 à · (3 – 0.2)] = 0.08 + 12% = 0.2 Ãâ€" 100 = 12% Q7. All statements below are assumption of DVM: Income stream for the shareholders are the dividends paid by the companyDividends are constant or grow at a fixed rateThe dividends paid by the company are till eternity The model assumes there is no need to incorporate any risk. This is weakness not an assumption for Dividend growth model. Q8. CThe model does not take capital gains of shareholders into accountIt assumes no cost is applicable to the issue of new sharesNo allowance is made for the taxation (Disadvantage)The growth in earnings are ignored Q9. 6.75%Ke = 3 + (5 Ãâ€" 0.75)Ke =6.75% Q10. 1.517.5% = 7 + (14 – 7) Ãâ€" (beta)Beta =1.5 Q11. 50cKe = 7 + (11 – 7) Ãâ€" (0.9) = 10.6%Share price = 5.3c à · 10.6% = 50c Q12. CThe higher the debt, the riskier the company. The higher the equity, the safer the company.Loco Co. is safer as Debt lower & Rocco Co is riskier as debt is higher which indicates that Choco Co falls between both betas as its debt is between both companies debt. Q13.Alpha OverpricedBeta UnderpricedMega Correct PriceIf Investment Zeta is correctly priced, the actual return via CAPM will be 12.2 = 5 + 1.2 (Rm – 5)Rm = 12 Investment Alpha should provide a return of 5 + 1.5 (12 – 5) = 15.5Investment Beta should provide a return of 5 + 0.7 (12 – 5) = 9.9Investment Mega provides a return of 5 + 1 (12 – 5) = 12Investment Alpha does not provide a high return so is overpriced. Investment Beta provides too high return so is underpriced. Investment Mega provides the correct return so correct priced. Q14.The immediate increase in interest rates SYSTEMATIC Price increments in Flour used by the company UNSYSTEMATICThe downfall of the economy in which the company operates SYSTEMATIC Industrial unrest in one of the factories UNSYSTEMATICSystematic risk cannot be diversified by the investorUnsystematic risk can be diversified by the investor Q15. CInvestors have a spread of investment in multiple companies (Well-diversified portfolio)There are no taxes applicable (Indication of being in a perfect capital market)It ignores earning a potential of the company (Disadvantage of DVM)All forecast made are for the single period transaction (Considers single transaction rather than multiple transactions at once) Q16.If Beta is greater than 1, the security is less sensitive to systematic risk than the market (True)If Beta is lesser than 1, the security is less sensitive to systematic risk than the market (False, It is highly sensitive to systematic risk than the market)If Beta equals 1, the security's exposure to systematic risk matches the market (True)If Beta equals 0 the security is risk-free (True) Q17. AIt provides a basis for establishing risk-adjusted discount rates for capital investment projects. (Advantage)Ignores taxation for the investors (Disadvantage)It is unable to distinguish between dividends ; capital gains (Disadvantage)Individual companies have different systematic risk characteristics of their shares (Disadvantage) Q18. CThe formula for required return is Ke = risk-free rate + beta Ãâ€" (market rate – risk-free rate) Q19. 0.86%D= 0.6 Ãâ€" 10% = 0.06Ex-Dividend = 7 – 0.06 = 6.94Kp = (0.06 à · 6.94) Ãâ€" 100 = 0.86% Q20. 5.25%Kd = 7% Ãâ€" (1 – 25%) = 0.0525 Ãâ€" 100 = 5.25% Q21. DKd = [(12% Ãâ€" 100) Ãâ€" (1 – 27%)] à · (105 – 12) = 0.094 Ãâ€" 100 = 9.42%Kd = [(12% Ãâ€" 100) Ãâ€" (1 – 20%)] à · (105 – 12) = 0.103 Ãâ€" 100 = 10.3%Increases to 10.3% Q22. 9.6%Kd = [ (10% Ãâ€" 100) Ãâ€" ( 1 – 28%) ] à · 75 = 0.096 Ãâ€" 100 = 9.6% Q23. DInterest = (8% Ãâ€" 100) Ãâ€" (1 – 30%) = $5.6 Q24. BYear Cash flow ($) DF (5%) Present value ($) DF (10%) Present Value ($)MV/Bond 0 (103) 1 (103) 1 (103)Interest 1-3 3.55 2.723 9.67 2.487 8.83Redemption 3 100 0.864 86.4 0.751 75.1NPV (6.93) (19.07)IRR = 5 + [-6.93 à · (-6.93 – (-19.07)] Ãâ€" (10 – 5) = 2.15% Q25. 4.17%D= 1 Ãâ€" 6% = 0.06Ex-Dividend = 1.5 – 0.06 = 1.44Kp = (0.06 à · 1.44) Ãâ€" 100 = 4.17% Q26. 6%D= 1 Ãâ€" 3% = 0.03Kp = (0.03 à · 0.5) Ãâ€" 100 = 6% Q27. CAs the question states before tax the calculation will be:Kd = [(11% Ãâ€" 100) à · 36] Ãâ€" 100 = 30.6% Q28. DYear Cash flow ($) DF (5%) Present value ($) DF (10%) Present Value ($)MV/Bond 0 (100) 1 (100) 1 (100)Interest 1-5 3.75 4.329 16.23 3.791 14.22Redemption 5 110 0.784 86.24 0.621 68.31NPV 2.47 (17.47)IRR = 5 + [2.47 à · (2.47 – (-17.47)] Ãâ€" (10 – 5) = 5.62% Q29. 9.7%Year Cash flow ($) DF (5%) Present value ($) DF (10%) Present Value ($)MV/Bond 0 (85) 1 (85) 1 (85)Interest 1-5 4.9 4.329 21.21 3.791 15.58Convertible 5 109.5 0.784 85.85 0.621 68NPV 22.06 (1.42)Redemption= 85 Ãâ€" 95% = 80.75Convertible= 10 Ãâ€" [9 Ãâ€" (104%)5 ] = 109.5IRR = 5 + [22.06 à · (22.06 – (-1.42)] Ãâ€" (10 – 5) = 9.7% Q30. AYear Cash flow ($) DF (4%) Present value ($)MV/Bond 0 (115) 1 (115)Interest 1-2 4.26 1.886 8.03Redemption 2 117.3 0.925 108.5NPV 1.53Redemption= 115 Ãâ€" 102% = 117.3Convertible= 25 Ãâ€" [4 Ãâ€" (103%)2 ] = 106.1 Q31. BRedemption= $97 Ãâ€" 112% = $108.64Conversion= 40 Ãâ€" [3 Ãâ€" (104%)7] = $157.91 Q32. DKp= [(8% Ãâ€" 1) à · 2.25] Ãâ€" 100 = 3.56%Kd= [(10% Ãâ€" 100) (1 – 30%)] à · 50 = 0.14 Ãâ€" 100 = 14% Book Value ($m) Cost ($m)Equity (15+0.8) 15.8 15.8 Ãâ€" 11% 1.738Preference shares 10 10 Ãâ€" 8% 0.8Debt (irredeemable) 13.5 13.5 Ãâ€"14% 1.89Total 39.3 4.428WACC = (4.428 à · 39.3) Ãâ€" 100 = 11.27% Q33. CKp= [(8% Ãâ€" 1) à · 2.25] Ãâ€" 100 = 3.56%Kd= [(10% Ãâ€" 100) (1 – 30%)] à · 50 = 0.14 Ãâ€" 100 = 14% Market Value ($m) Cost ($m)Equity 4m Ãâ€" 4 =16 16 Ãâ€" 11% 1.76Preference shares 4m Ãâ€" 2.25 = 9 9 Ãâ€" 8% 0.72Debt (irredeemable) (13.5 à · 100) Ãâ€" 50 = 6.75 6.75 Ãâ€"14% 0.945Total 31.75 3.425WACC = (3.425 à · 31.75) Ãâ€" 100 = 10.79% Q34. AKe= ($0.7 à · $5) Ãâ€" 100 = 14%Kd= [(15% Ãâ€" 100) (1 – 26%)] à · 80 = 0.1387 Ãâ€" 100 = 13.87%Market Value ($m) Cost ($m)Equity 5m Ãâ€" 5 =25 25 Ãâ€" 14% 3.5Debt (9 à · 100) Ãâ€" 80 = 7.2 7.2 Ãâ€" 13.87% 1Total 32.2 4.5WACC = (4.5 à · 32.2) Ãâ€" 100 = 13.98%

“What Do Someone’s Eyes Indicate About His or Her Personality?

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- ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE - Research Paper Example Sukuk have gained popularity in Islamic finance as one of the best strategies to raise funds over the last few decades. Sukuk can be termed as legally acceptable certificates or securities issued in the Islamic economy with the intention to raise capital. These certificates serve the same purpose as bonds in the western economies. Bonds are not accepted in the Islamic finance structure since they carry an interest rate. Charging interest on securities is not acceptable under the Islamic sharia laws since it violates the principle of contractual certainty and mutual benefit between the financier and the debtor. According to the Islamic faith, wealth is God given, and mankind was created to guard and make good use of wealth and resources. In this regard, charging interest on bonds is against God’s will on equality and brotherhood. The Islamic sharia law is the foundation on which the Islamic finance is built. For any financial decision to be acceptable in the Islamic economies, it must fulfill all the requirements enshrined in the sharia law. Sukuk is an Arabic word used to refer to securities that are structured in accordance with the provisions of the Islamic law and intended to raise capital (Ariff, Iqbar, and Mohamed 13)Sukuk are used to stand in place of undivided shares in the ownership of real/visible assets concerning a specific investment undertaking. For Sukuk to be issued, there must be a clear record of the existing tangible assets on the balance sheet of the entity intending to raise capital. The process of issuing Sukuk starts by identifying the assets of the entity to assess their validity. The next step involves arrangement of an effective organizational structure that respects the Sharia law. Once an effective organizational structure has been established, the adjacent step involves the application of a suitable Sariah structure. Once that has been accomplished, a lead manager is

Financial Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Financial Risk Management - Essay Example At the business level, managers use VaR as a standard summery of market risk exposure. A benefit of the VaR which is a, the great value theory, is that it may be computed without full information of the return allocation. Semi or fully non-parametric estimation processes are obtainable for downside risk estimation. Additionally, at an adequately low confidence level the VaR calculate explicitly concentrates regulators and risk manager’s attention on uncommon losses, than on potential catastrophic great losses. The general use of VaR based risk management is that, it has become increasingly significant in the study of the belongings the option market, and the stock market of these constraints. For instance, organizations with a VaR constraint may be willing to purchase out of the money put choices on the market portfolio so as to limit their downside risk. If multiple organizations follow the similar risk management plan, then this will clearly lift the equilibrium costs of the se options. In addition the form of the returns of stock distribution in equilibrium will be influenced by the management efforts of collective risk. As an outcome, it is possible that the allocation of stock returns will become more heavy-tailed. This would involve the effort to control market risk, and therefore to decrease default risk, has it unfavorably increased the chance of such events. A part of the Long Tern Capital Management (LTCM) strategy was to expect that the increase between various rates would become limited, especially, the increases among the rates of corporate bonds and treasury bonds which are at an uncommonly high historical level. â€Å"LTCM was considered unique among hedge funds because of the large scale of its activities and size of its positions in certain markets.† (Long Term Capital Management 1999). 2. Background Barings Bank Francis Baring established Barings Bank in 1762, in UK. The British government paid commissions to Barings to raise fund s to finance wars in the mid 1800s against US and France. Barings was regarded as the London's biggest 'American House.' (The Fall of Barings Bank n.d). Between 1860 and1890, Barings was also occupied in offering loans to Argentina. Barings was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1890 when Argentina failed to make bond payments. However, major banks in London like the Bank of England came forward to assist the bank. This disaster had a key impact on Barings and it persuaded the bank to shift all its business to the North American continent. Barings started a consultancy to advice people especially like those who belong to aristocratic class, in their assets management. The bank began to grow well and continued to earn considerable profits. In 1980s, the bank commenced its operation in US again and acquired the stock broking support of Henderson Crosthwaite, which later on came to be known as BSL.  Barings Bank collapsed in 1995, because of the actions of Nick Leeson, a trader who misapp ropriated almost $1.4 billion. â€Å"The loss was due to a huge exposure to Japanese stock market.† (Barring Banks and Nick Leeson n.d). Industry analysts says that the fall of the Barings is a classic instance of poor risk management practices. The bank had entirely failed to set up an appropriate financial system, operational control system and managerial system. Due to the absence of efficient supervision and control, Leeson got the opportunity to perform his illegal trading activities and that too without being detected for a considerable period of time. The collapses of Barings Bank were happened only because of the

Qualitative Social Research Essay Example for Free

Qualitative Social Research Essay Sociological researcher, Steven Taylor, in his articles discusses the moral and ethical issues researchers must grapple with when they are carrying out studies of abusive behavior in institutions that have weak and disadvantaged people in our society. He cites his own 1 year work experience in a state institution for the mentally retarded to highlight his concerns. He describes it as being in deplorable physical condition and grossly understaffed. The attendants had little training and there were no therapy programs. They controlled the inmates through verbal and physical abuse directly to them and forcing them to clean up their own mess, including feces and urine. They also pitted some inmates against others, such as giving and withholding favors of coffee, food and drugs. Further they forced them to perform humiliating acts such as swallowing lit cigarettes and performing fellatio on each other. Mr. Taylor felt that in order to gain the trust of the attendants and thereby get more valid observations, he had to develop a rapport with them. He did so by drinking beer with them and socializing in other ways. He also played the naive student role and refrained from being critical about their methods. Nevertheless, he was troubled by the abusive behavior he witnessed, but in a quandary as to what to do about it. The attendants, for their part, rationalized their behavior by saying â€Å"the inmates don’t hurt like we do† and treating their actions as entertainment. Personally, I suspect they really didn’t know how to properly treat the inmates and were desperate to try anything that seemed to control them at least in the short run. The author then posed the question as to what the researcher should do in the face of this ethical dilemma during his study. He considered 4 alternatives ; 1)intervene. , for example to as attendant to stop or threaten to inform his supervisor. The problem with this approach is that it would spell an end to rapport with the attendants and thereby hinder the researcher’s ability to collect data on daily activities. 2) leave field. But research is needed to learn why people abuse. 3) blow the whistle. This would obviously shatter rapport and violate the confidentiality provisions of the ASA Code of Ethics. 4 continue study- which is what Mr. Taylor did. Obviously he felt that although this might not appear to be a good option it was the â€Å"least bad† to him. The author then suggests 4 ways to deal with immoral acts; 1 participation in abuses. He contends this is never justified, and that research goals can be accomplished without making human subjects suffer. Furthermore it is I clear violation of the ASA Code of Ethics. 2 ) observation of abuse. This may be the price to pay for conducting field research in immoral situations, but a person can never sit idly by in extreme cases like murder and rape. 3 inadvertently contribute to abuse because of reactive effects . It is clear that often this can’t be controlled by the researcher and therefore can’t be resolved by a professional code of ethics. However the researcher can refrain from encouraging it, for example pretending not to hear an invitation to join in such behavior. 4) doing something about abuse after study, that is, by publishing it and trying to get political action especially through mass media such as TV and newspapers. Finally Taylor concludes the researcher should 1) debate moral and ethical issues before embarking on a particular study and 2) make his own assessment about how to resolve professional ethics and personal morality. Reference Taylor, Steven J. â€Å"Observing Abuse. Professional Ethics and Personal Morality in Field Research†

Holes By Louis Sachar: Character Analysis

Holes By Louis Sachar: Character Analysis Introduction Hole is a novel written by Louis Sachar and has already won Newbery Medal. The plot of the novel is about the life of multiple characters and a leading character with whom the whole story of the novel is linked. Story is written in main two parts referring as flashback and current or present situation. Characters in the Story The major characters in the novel are Stanley Yelnats and Zero (Hector Zeroni). Present characters are Stanley Yelnats, Mrs. Bell, Stanley Yelnats III, BarfBag, Alan, Theodore, Jos ¾, Ricky, Twitch, Attorney General, Ms. Morengo, Clyde Sweet Feet Livingston and Mr. Sir. Other past characters are Elya Yelnats, Madame Zeroni, Stanley Yelnats II, Kate Barlow, Myra Menke, Igor Barkov, Charles Trout Walker, Sam, the Onion Man, Mary Lou and Sheriff. Brief Overview to Story The storyline is the story occurred in past along the present storyline. Stanley is an unfortunate young boy because his family had been cursed for many ages before his great-great grandfather had not kept his promise. Stanleys father was a failure inventor and after inventing something using waste tennis ball. Financially Stanleys family was poor and believes that it is the result of the curse that his family has been bearing for ages. On the other side there is another story of Kate Barlow who is an intelligent lady and teaches in one class room school. She used to love Sam the onion boy who a black guy. The towns people were racist and did not like Kate in love with a black man to whom Kate love because he was a nice man. One day Sam was killed after Kate kisses him and the death of Sam makes Kate furious that she decides to take revenge of Sams death. Stanleys great-great grandfather Stanley I, who had not kept his promise, migrate to America and earn money but he was robbed by K ate Barlow and after that Stanleys family consistently facing financial crises. In present situation Stanleys was falsely accused of theft and trialed. At the end of the trial he was asked to choose either going jail or Green Lake Camp. Since Stanley has always thought it as some kind of summer camp he chooses going Green Lake Camp. Having reached the camp it was revealed on him that the Green Lake Camp is not in any way like summer camp and on the contrary it is rather a digging camp. Here Stanley somehow adjusted and began to part in the digging. He also makes friends here like Zero (Hector Zeroni). One day Stanley finds that the warden is after something as she was keenly interested in digging. Stanley with his friend Zero finds the treasure which later known as his grandfathers lost treasure and he becomes legal owner of the treasure. All of sudden Stanleys fate turns in to his favor and his father finds the formula for removing feet stink and Clyde Sweet Feet become its primary endorser. Zero has confesses that he stole the shoes I actual, just because he lived by himself and was compel steal to survive. The sudden change in fate stems from the reality that Zero was actually Hector Zeroni, and was the great-great grandson of Madame Zeroni. The promise was eventually been kept. A Yelnats lifted a Zeroni up to the mountain, carrying the curse and changing his familys fate. Comparison of Stanley Yelnats IV and Kate Barlows Lives Kate Barlow was a humble, kind and intelligent lady. Nobody has thought that this kind lady will turn to become revengeful person and will cause the destruction and unhappiness of someone life. Kate Barlow was a teacher and teaches in a one-room school in Green Lake one hundred and ten years before it was made Camp Green Lake. She was in love with a guy Sam; he sells onions in the town. Kate loves him because he was compassionate, brave, and elegant. Sam was a black man and the people of town were racist and did not like when they know that she loves Sam. Though Kate was a white herself yet she was not racist and believes in good and nobility. Kate was very lucky here to find a true love in her life and it was her the luckiest moments when she knows that she is in love with Sam. But the death of Sam was revealed as disastrous for her and it was the most unlucky moment of her life because the death of Sam turns her life into another direction. Death of Sam makes her revengeful and lat er she lived a pathetic life. She later on robs Stanleys great-great grandfather and thus Kate Barlow and Stanley Yelnatss family get connected into chain of life. Stanley Yelnats, who was an ugly as he was three times heavier than other normal boys and poor young boy, was great-great grandson of Stanley I who was robbed by Kate Barlow. Stanleys family had been poor and suffering from financial crises since his great-great grandfather was robbed by Kate Barlow. Stanleys family has another tragedy in their life as his family was cursed due to miscommitment of his great-great grandfather with Madame Zeroni. The great-great grandfather of Stanley was in love with Elya Yelnats and wishes to marry her but her father had conditioned her marriage with the big pig. To him, he will allow the marriage of his daughter with the man who brings the biggest pig. Madame Zeroni helped the great-great grandfather of Stanley on the condition to take her up on the mountain to drink stream water. Her condition to take her up on the mountain was so intense that she would curse him and his generation if he had not taken her up for helping him. Due to some reason he c ould not manage to bring her up on the mountain and they migrated to America. Here he was robbed by Kate Barlow and after that he thinks that he got Madame Zeronis curse. Due to this event Stanley and his family always think in the same manner and believe that they are unlucky and cursed. However, being accused of theft which was false and he had not committed the crime was fiercely unlucky of him because he was punished for the crime which he had never committed. At the end of the trial when he was asked to choose to go either to jail or Green Lake Camp, he chose to go to Green Lake Camp because he had always dreamed of summer camps and thought it one of them. But it was very unfortunate of him when he reaches at the camp and sees that there was neither a lake nor it was green and that his decision of coming here was wrong. Apparently feels himself unlucky because there was so much hardworking involve in the camp. Boys were here to dig for building their characters. He had not real ized that destiny intends to change his life and make him lucky. He began to digging here and one day he realized that the warden is after some treasure. He eventually finds the treasure and got released from camp as a result of being proved that he is innocent. The treasure that he found later came to know that it was the same value which Kate Barlow has robbed from his great-great grandfather and buried it here. Fortune was so much in his favor that his fathers formula also works and it was successful.

The Theories of Albert Bandura Essay -- Behaviorism Behavioral Psychol

The Theories of Albert Bandura Albert Bandura was influenced by behaviorism while at the University of Iowa studying for his PhD in the early 1950s, he developed his own theories called reciprocal determinism, he believed that not only does the environment influence behavior, but behavior influences the environment, or to put it in his own words ’the world and a persons behavior cause each other‘. Bandura is often considered a ‘father’ of the cognitive movement, he looked at personality as three things that interact, the environment, behaviour and the person’s psychological processes. The psychological processes consisted of language and the ability to use our minds imagery. It was really at this stage in his life that he moved from being a behaviourist and became a cognitivist. Bandura carried out hundreds of studies but the ones that stand out more to me than any others, are the Bobo doll (a inflatable doll of Bobo the clown, with a weight in the bottom so it will stand back up when you hit it) studies. (Bandura Ross and Ross 1961) Bandura made a film of one of his female students being aggressive in actions and words towards a Bobo doll. This film was then shown to kindergarten children, who were then left to play with a Bobo doll, a lot of the children proceeded to imitate the aggressive behaviour towards the Bobo doll, they had witnessed the student carrying out. To counter criticisms that the children are just doing what comes naturally, as Bobo dolls were designed to be hit, he made another film of the woman beating up a real clown, when this was shown to children and then they were left in a room with a live... ...rcial and buy that particular product. Bandura’ s Social Learning Theory also has an important role in the study of aggression and criminal behaviour. To control aggression, he believed ‘family members and the mass media should provide positive role models for their children and the general public’ (Bandura, 1976). This statement is what influenced me to read about social learning theory, and Bandura in particular. Bibliography Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggressions through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582 Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press. Bandura, A., & Ribes-Inesta, Emilio. (1976). Analysis of Delinquency and Aggression. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, INC: New Jersey

Mass Media and it’s strong hold on the American People :: Essays Papers

Mass Media and it’s strong hold on the American People â€Å"If you vote for me, I promise a brighter future!† This is a slogan that has been used over and over by countless politicians throughout the history of our country. However, the difference between a politician who made this statement sixty years ago and one who makes it today is enormous. Somehow over the years, the leaders of our country took a once trusted and adored institution and turned it into a national symbol of distrust. Thus we now live in society where very few Americans could honestly state that they trust politicians. So, did politicians become more devious and manipulative post 1950, or has the increase in mass media turned the American people into a cynical society? As our country entered into the second half of the 20th century, many US citizens knew very little about what went on throughout the world a politics. This all changed with the introduction of mass media. Finally the American people were able to see the effects of every decision that Washington made. Presidents were now able to deliver speeches to every living room throughout the country. Everything that went on throughout the country was now being exposed to the American People, be it through television, radio or printed press. With the end of World War II, our country began to enter this new era of mass media. Almost instantaneously, the public began to have access to the world of politics. So, ready or not, the American people were now going to have front row tickets to over fifty years of deception and scandals. The show began with President Dwight Eisenhower lying to the public on national TV, attempting to deny US involvement in a espionage. They were then fortunate enough to learn about how the CIA had entered into an alliance with the mob in a failed attempt to oust Fidel Castro. This relationship is also one that many believe led to the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The government then decided its policy during the 60’s should be to lie and undermine the American people. This political decision was one that created a division in our country that had not been present since the Civil War. Finally, Nixon was elected, and the American people began to have new hope for happier times. The American people seemed hopeful for new beginnings and thought that maybe this was a president that they could trust.

Introducing the National Multiple Sclerosis Society into Singapore Essa

Introducing the National Multiple Sclerosis Society into Singapore The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is a non- profit organization that supports MS related research and provides programs for people with MS and their families. Multiple Sclerosis is an auto- immune disease. It is a chronic and often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system. The mission statement of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is to end the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis. The funds that are provided by the society are used in research, programs, and education. The Society helps to raise the awareness of Multiple Sclerosis around the world. (Reference 6) The Multiple Sclerosis Society is a worldwide organization that provides service to many different countries. One area of the world that the MS Society lacks in involvement is Southeastern Asia. MS does not appear in Asia nearly as much as in North America and Europe, but there are relevant cases. There are other parts of Asia such as Japan and India that have MS Societies. MS is also scarce in those areas and their societies are not as large as other chapters of NMSS, but it has been found that they are necessary. The Japanese society has 31 members and about 5000 people who have MS but are not involved in the society. In India the society has approximately 1005 members and 1000 people on record that have MS. (Reference 7) Putting a MS society in Southeastern Asia would be best suited in the country of Singapore. Singapore is a very prosperous country and has many international links. According to one source Chan Tse Chueen funding for non-profit organizations is very prevalent in Singapore. In Singapore there are three sources of funding. The first being the State that gives funds to social welfare organizations and research institutes. The government tries to encourage donations by pledging to match dollar – for- dollar that is raised. The second source is the corporate sector. Many corporations set up foundations and trust funds and also have donations as contribution in kinds. Companies in Singapore such as IBM Singapore and Hewlett Packard Company are dedicated to providing philanthropy to local organizations. The last source of funding is the civic sector. As the people of Singapore become more affluent more funds become available.(Reference 2) The marketing plan for NMSS in Singapore... ...n and benefit in that country. Conclusion Introducing the National Multiple Sclerosis Society into Singapore has its good sides and bad. The MS Society could benefit from the prosperous economy of Singapore and government and corporate support, but the factors that may not work are there may not be enough people in Singapore to benefit (not many with MS), also if societies are not exempt from taxes that may lead to financial problems for the society. Charities must incorporate the poor and societies are people who have common ends in this case Multiple Sclerosis. It would be difficult to change the MS society to a charity. It is certainly possible to introduce NMSS to other countries and many already have them. Even though NMSS in Singapore has its down side it might be able to work with some adaptation. References CIA World Fact Book 2000. http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ Civicus. http://www.civicus.org/pages/singapihtml About HR. http://www.abouthr.com ChangeX: Currency Calculator. http://www.numa.com ExpatSingapore. http://www.expatsingapore.com National Multiple Sclerosis Society Fact Sheet World of Multiple Sclerosis. http://www.ifmss.org.uk/

Vampire Academy Chapter 24

TWENTY-FOUR IN SPITE OF ALL THE training I'd received, all the lessons on Strigoi habits and how to defend against them, I'd never ever actually seen one. It was scarier than I'd expected. This time, when she swung at me again, I was ready. Sort of. I dodged back, slipping out of reach, wondering what chance I had. I remembered Dimitri's joke about the mall. No silver stake. Nothing to cut her head off with. No way to set her on fire. Running seemed like the best option after all, but she was blocking my way. Feeling useless, I simply backed down the hall as she advanced on me, her movements far more graceful than they'd ever been in life. Then, also faster than she'd ever moved in life, she leapt out, grabbed me, and slammed my head against the wall. Pain exploded in my skull, and I felt pretty sure that was blood I tasted in the back of my mouth. Frantically, I fought against her, trying to mount some kind of defense, but it was like fighting Dimitri on crack. â€Å"My dear,† murmured Victor, â€Å"try not to kill her if you don't have to. We might be able to use her later.† Natalie paused in her attack, giving me a moment to back up, but she never took her cold eyes off me. â€Å"I'll try not to.† There was a skeptical tone in her voice. â€Å"Get out of here now. I'll meet you there when I'm done.† â€Å"I can't believe you!† I yelled after him. â€Å"You got your own daughter to turn Strigoi?† â€Å"A last resort. A necessary sacrifice made for the greater good. Natalie understands.† He left. â€Å"Do you?† I hoped I could stall her with talking, just like in the movies. I also hoped my questions would hide how utterly and completely terrified I was. â€Å"Do you understand? God, Natalie. You†¦you turned. Just because he told you to?† â€Å"My father's a great man,† she replied. â€Å"He's going to save the Moroi from the Strigoi.† â€Å"Are you insane?† I cried. I was backing up again and suddenly hit the wall. My nails dug into it, as though I could dig my way through. â€Å"You are a Strigoi.† She shrugged, almost seeming like the old Natalie. â€Å"I had to do it to get him out of here before the others came. One Strigoi to save all of the Moroi. It's worth it, worth giving up the sun and the magic.† â€Å"But you'll want to kill Moroi! You won't be able to help it.† â€Å"He'll help me stay in control. If not, then they'll have to kill me.† She reached out and grabbed my shoulders, and I shuddered at how casually she talked about her own death. It was almost as casual as the way she was no doubt contemplating my death. â€Å"You are insane. You can't love him that much. You can't really – â€Å" She threw me into a wall again, and as my body collapsed in a heap on the floor, I had a feeling I wouldn't be getting up this time. Victor had told her not to kill me†¦but there was a look in her eyes, a look that said she wanted to. She wanted to feed off me; the hunger was there. It was the Strigoi way. I shouldn't have talked to her, I realized. I'd hesitated, just as Dimitri had warned. And then, suddenly, he was there, charging down the hallway like Death in a cowboy duster. Natalie spun around. She was fast, so fast. But Dimitri was fast too and avoided her attack, a look of pure power and strength on his face. With an eerie fascination, I watched them move, circling each other like partners in a deadly dance. She was stronger than him, clearly, but she was also a fresh Strigoi. Gaining superpowers doesn't mean you know how to use them. Dimitri, however, knew how to use the ones he had. After both giving and receiving some vicious hits, he made his move. The silver stake flashed in his hand like a streak of lightning, then it snaked forward – into her heart. He yanked it out and stepped back, his face impassive as she screamed and fell to the floor. After a few horrible moments, she stopped moving. Just as quickly, he was leaning over me, slipping his arms under my body. He stood up, carrying me like he had when I hurt my ankle. â€Å"Hey, Comrade,† I murmured, my own voice sounding sleepy. â€Å"You were right about Strigoi.† The world started to darken, and my eyelids drooped. â€Å"Rose. Roza. Open your eyes.† I'd never heard his voice so strained, so frantic. â€Å"Don't go to sleep on me. Not yet.† I squinted up at him as he carried me out of the building, practically running toward the clinic. â€Å"Was he right?† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"Victor†¦he said it couldn't have worked. The necklace.† I started to drift off, lost in the blackness of my mind, but Dimitri prompted me back to consciousness. â€Å"What do you mean?† â€Å"The spell. Victor said you had to want me†¦to care about me†¦for it to work.† When he didn't say anything, I tried to grip his shirt, but my fingers were too weak. â€Å"Did you? Did you want me?† His words came out thickly. â€Å"Yes, Roza. I did want you. I still do. I wish†¦we could be together.† â€Å"Then why did you lie to me?† We reached the clinic, and he managed to open the door while still holding me. As soon as he stepped inside, he began yelling for help. â€Å"Why did you lie?† I murmured again. Still holding me in his arms, he looked down at me. I could hear voices and footsteps getting closer. â€Å"Because we can't be together.† â€Å"Because of the age thing, right?† I asked. â€Å"Because you're my mentor?† His fingertip gently wiped away a tear that had escaped down my cheek. â€Å"That's part of it,† he said. â€Å"But also†¦well, you and I will both be Lissa's guardians someday. I need to protect her at all costs. If a pack of Strigoi come, I need to throw my body between them and her.† â€Å"I know that. Of course that's what you have to do.† The black sparkles were dancing in front of my eyes again. I was fading out. â€Å"No. If I let myself love you, I won't throw myself in front of her. I'll throw myself in front of you.† The medical team arrived and took me out of his arms. And that was how, two days after being discharged, I ended up back in the clinic. My third time in the two months we'd been back at the Academy. It had to be some kind of record. I definitely had a concussion and probably internal bleeding, but we never really found out. When your best friend is a kick-ass healer, you sort of don't have to worry about those things. I still had to stay there for a couple of days, but Lissa – and Christian, her new sidekick – almost never left my side when they weren't in class. Through them, I learned bits and pieces about the outside world. Dimitri had realized there was a Strigoi on campus when they'd found Natalie's victim dead and drained of blood: Mr. Nagy of all people. A surprising choice, but since he was older, he'd been able to put up less of a fight. No more Slavic art for us. The guardians in the detention center had been injured but not killed. She'd simply slammed them around as she had me. Victor had been found and recaptured while trying to escape campus. I was glad, even though it meant Natalie's sacrifice had been for nothing. Rumors said that Victor hadn't seemed afraid at all when the royal guards came and carried him away. He'd simply smiled the whole time, like he had some secret they didn't know about. Inasmuch as it could, life returned to normal after that. Lissa did no more cutting. The doctor prescribed her something – an anti-depressant or anti-anxiety drug, I couldn't remember which – that made her feel better. I'd never really known anything about those kinds of pills. I thought they made people silly and happy. But it was a pill like any other, meant to fix something, and mostly it just kept her normal and feeling stable. Which was a good thing – because she had some other issues to deal with. Like Andre. She'd finally believed Christian's story, and allowed herself to acknowledge that Andre might not have been the hero she'd always believed him to be. It was hard on her, but she finally reached a peaceful decision, accepting that he could have had both good and bad sides, like we all do. What he'd done to Mia saddened her, but it didn't change the fact that he'd been a good brother who loved her. Most importantly, it finally freed her from feeling like she needed to be him to make her family proud. She could be herself – which she proved daily in her relationship with Christian. The school still couldn't get over that. She didn't care. She laughed it off, ignoring the shocked looks and disdain from the royals who couldn't believe she'd date someone from a humiliated family. Not all of them felt that way though. Some who had gotten to know her during her brief social whirlwind actually liked her for her, no compulsion necessary. They liked her honesty and openness, preferring it to the games most royals played. A lot of royals ignored her, of course, and talked viciously about her behind her back. Most surprising of all, Mia – despite being utterly humiliated – managed to wiggle back into the good graces of a couple of these royals. It proved my point. She wouldn't stay down for long. And, in fact, I saw the first signs of her revenge lurking again when I walked past her one day on the way to class. She stood with a few other people and spoke loudly, clearly wanting me to hear. † – perfect match. Both of them are from completely disgraced and rejected families.† I clenched my teeth and kept walking, following her gaze to where Lissa and Christian stood. They were lost in their own world and formed a gorgeous picture, she blond and fair and he blue-eyed and black-haired. I couldn't help but stare too. Mia was right. Both of their families were disgraced. Tatiana had publicly denounced Lissa, and while no one â€Å"blamed† the Ozeras for what had happened to Christian's parents, the rest of the royal Moroi families continued to keep their distance. But Mia had been right about the other part too. In some ways, Lissa and Christian were perfect for each other. Maybe they were outcasts, but the Dragomirs and Ozeras had once been among the most powerful Moroi leaders. And in only a very short time, Lissa and Christian had started shaping one another in ways that could put them right up there with their ancestors. He was picking up some of her polish and social poise; she was learning to stand up for her passions. The more I watched them, the more I could see an energy and confidence radiating around them. They weren't going to stay down either. And I think that, along with Lissa's kindness, may have been what attracted people to her. Our social circle began to steadily grow. Mason joined, of course, and made no secret of his interest in me. Lissa teased me a lot about that, and I didn't yet know what to do about him. Part of me thought maybe it was time to give him a shot as a serious boyfriend, even though the rest of me yearned for Dimitri. For the most part, Dimitri treated me just like anyone would expect of a mentor. He was efficient. Fond. Strict. Understanding. There was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that would make anyone suspect what had passed between us – save for an occasional meeting of our eyes. And once I overcame my initial emotional reaction, I knew he was – technically – right about us. Age was a problem, yes, particularly while I was still a student at the Academy. But the other thing he'd mentioned†¦it had never entered my mind. It should have. Two guardians in a relationship could distract each other from the Moroi they were supposed to protect. We couldn't allow that to happen, couldn't risk her life for our own wants. Otherwise, we'd be no better than the Badica guardian who'd run off. I'd told Dimitri once that my own feelings didn't matter. She came first. I just hoped I could prove it. â€Å"It's too bad about the healing,† Lissa told me. â€Å"Hmm?† We sat in her room, pretending to study, but my mind was off thinking about Dimitri. I'd lectured her about keeping secrets, but I hadn't told her about him or about how close I'd come to losing my virginity. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to tell. She dropped the history book she'd been holding. â€Å"That I had to give up the healing. And the compulsion.† A frown crossed her face at that last part. The healing had been regarded as a wondrous gift in need of further study; the compulsion had met with serious reprimands from Kirova and Ms. Carmack. â€Å"I mean, I'm happy now. I should have gotten help a long time ago – you were right about that. I'm glad I'm on the medication. But Victor was right too. I can't use spirit anymore. I can still sense it, though†¦I miss being able to touch it.† I didn't entirely know what to say. I liked her better like this. Losing that threat of madness had made her whole again, confident and outgoing, just like the Lissa I'd always known and loved. Seeing her now, it was easy to believe what Victor had said about her becoming a leader. She reminded me of her parents and of Andre – how they used to inspire devotion in those who knew them. â€Å"And that's another thing,† she continued. â€Å"He said I couldn't give it up. He was right. It hurts, not having the magic. I want it so badly sometimes.† â€Å"I know,† I said. I could feel that ache within her. The pills had dulled her magic, but not our bond. â€Å"And I keep thinking about all the things I could do, all the people I could help.† She looked regretful. â€Å"You have to help yourself first,† I told her fiercely. â€Å"I don't want you getting hurt again. I won't let you.† â€Å"I know. Christian says the same thing.† She got that dopey smile she always did when she thought about him. If I'd known what idiots being in love would make them, I might not have been so keen to get them back together. â€Å"And I guess you guys are right. Better to want the magic and be sane than to have it and be a lunatic. There's no middle ground.† â€Å"No,† I agreed. â€Å"Not with this.† Then, out of nowhere, a thought smacked me in the head. There was a middle ground. Natalie's words reminded me of it. It's worth it, worth giving up the sun and the magic. The magic. Ms. Karp hadn't become Strigoi simply because she'd gone crazy. She'd become Strigoi to stay sane. Becoming Strigoi cut a person completely off from magic. In doing that, she couldn't use it. She couldn't feel it. She wouldn't want it anymore. Staring at Lissa, I felt a knot of worry coil within me. What if she figured that out? Would she want to do it too? No, I quickly decided. Lissa would never do that. She was too strong a person, too moral. And so long as she stayed on the pills, her higher reasoning would keep her from doing something so drastic. Still, the whole concept prodded me to find out one last thing. The following morning, I went to the chapel and waited in one of the pews until the priest showed up. â€Å"Hello, Rosemarie,† he said, clearly surprised. â€Å"Can I help you with something?† I stood up. â€Å"I need to know more about St. Vladimir. I read that book you gave me and a couple others.† Best not to tell him about stealing the ones in the attic. â€Å"But nobody told how he died. What happened? How did his life end? Was he, like, martyred?† The priest's bushy eyebrows rose. â€Å"No. He died of old age. Peacefully.† â€Å"You're sure? He didn't become Strigoi or kill himself?† â€Å"No, of course not. Why would you think that?† â€Å"Well†¦he was holy and everything, but he was also kind of crazy, right? I read about it. I thought he might have, I don't know, given into that.† His face was serious. â€Å"It's true he fought demons – insanity – his whole life. It was a struggle, and he did want to die sometimes. But he overcame it. He didn't let it defeat him.† I stared in wonder. Vladimir wouldn't have had pills, and he'd clearly continued to use magic. â€Å"How? How did he do that?† â€Å"Willpower, I guess. Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He paused. â€Å"That and Anna.† â€Å"Shadow-kissed Anna,† I murmured. â€Å"His guardian.† The priest nodded. â€Å"She stayed with him. When he grew weak, she was the one who held him up. She urged him to stay strong and to never give in to his madness.† I left the chapel in a daze. Anna had done it. Anna had let Vladimir walk that middle ground, helping him to work miracles in the world without meeting a horrible end. Ms. Karp hadn't been as lucky. She hadn't had a bound guardian. She hadn't had anyone to hold her up. Lissa did. Smiling, I cut across the quadrangle toward the commons. I felt better about life than I had in a very long time. We could do this, Lissa and me. We could do it together. Just then, I saw a dark figure out of the corner of my eye. It swooped past me and landed on a nearby tree. I stopped walking. It was a raven, large and fierce-looking, with shining black feathers. A moment later, I realized it wasn't just a raven; it was the raven. The one Lissa had healed. No other bird would land so close to a dhampir. And no other bird would be looking at me in such an intelligent, familiar way. I couldn't believe he was still around. A chill ran down my spine, and I started to back up. Then the truth hit me. â€Å"You're bound to her too, aren't you?† I asked, fully aware that anyone who saw me would think I was crazy. â€Å"She brought you back. You're shadow-kissed.† That was actually pretty cool. I held out my arm to it, half hoping it'd come land on me in some sort of dramatic, movie-worthy gesture. All it did was look at me like I was an idiot, spread its wings, and fly off. I glared as it flew off into the twilight. Then I turned around and headed off to find Lissa. From far away, I heard the sound of cawing, almost like laughter.

Macbeth Diary Entries Essay

I am weary and suspective of Macbeth as he questions much of my movement with Fleance that afternoon. I really feel something amiss. Maybe it is just Macbeth’s insecurity for all i know. It is late and Fleance is waiting for me in the woods. I must go now. Macbeth and I just had just came back from a battle. A great one indeed. We had came ashore and were proceeding back to Forres when we came upon this desserted and gloomy heath where we were most shcoked to be greeted by three witches that had long beards strecthing from their ragged cloaks. I was uncertain what gender they were, but i knew something was wrong. At first sight, the three creatures greeted Macbeth Thane of Glamis. They then started chanting prophesis that concerned Macbeth and me. The first witch chanted,†All hail,Macbeth! Hail to thee,Thane of Glamis† followed by the next â€Å"All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee,Thane of Cawdor† and the last of which chanted â€Å"All hail, Macbeth ,that shalt be king hereafter! † â€Å"Hail† they chanted three times together and continued prophesising. â€Å"Lesser then Macbeth, and greater. â€Å"the first witch chanted. Continued the second â€Å"Not so happy, yet much happier. â€Å"Thou shalt get kings ,though thou be none So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo. † Chanted the last of witch. I was overwhelmed by suspision when i heard those prophesies whilst Macbeth was, I should say rather engrosed and interested in their prophesies. Macbeth wanted them to stay but in a blink of an ey e, they suddenly disappeared into thin air. Macbeth was furious. â€Å"Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more†Macbeth Was truely interested in these creatures prophesy, but i just got a bad feeling about this. Dear Diary, The news my cousin brought filled me with an unimaginable grief. My family, brought to the graves by such feeble means, so defenceless and alone while I was off in England arguing with Malcolm about my loyalty, which how dare he question it! Only a monster would kill innocent children and women, there was no reason for it! How can they live with themselves? As I write I am miles away from Fife for how could I stay when that atrocity happened in the place where I would have rested? I can never forgive myself for what happened that day, that fateful day which has brought me nothing but pain. I lay in my bed last night feeling alone and confused. My thoughts were in flux; I had ranged between crushing, overwhelming depression, during which I had shed countless tears onto my blankets, and anger so volatile I got up to put on my armour and immediately head to Fife (thrice), in hopes of catching the perpetrator only to remember my family, take off my armour, and lay back down. My wife would not have liked me to be dwelling on avenging their deaths but it is the only thing my mind has been set on. I have thought of killing myself, taking away the pain but I cannot do that! What would people think? I have no heir to my title or wealth, they would think I killed my family myself! Then I think of that assassin and him off gallivanting killing more innocent people and breaking other peoples hearts and I know he’s got to be finished. If I ever find out who has killed my loved ones, I will be the death of them or they be the death of me. Macduff I am writing this entry, sitting at a desk in Scone. I have recently witnessed my dear friend Macbeth crowned King of Scotland. I am still in shock after the strange happenings of the past few days, so I am not yet overcome with neither joy nor grief. I should be happy for Macbeth, yet I feel that something inside me will not allow me to be so. These events, I fear, have not happened by chance, but that something evil, something supernatural is at work. Macbeth and I felt immense pride, on that fateful day as we rode, victorious, over the moor. We had just defeated the ghastly Norwegians, though by uncivilized means. Macbeth rightly said â€Å"So foul; and fair a day I have not seen†. Not far into our journey, we came upon three weird sisters. They all hailed Macbeth Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and king hereafter. True, he was Thane of Glamis, but we were puzzled, to say the least, about the other two statements. As I was intrigued, I questioned them about my future. In reply, they told me that my sons would me kings, and that I would be â€Å"Lesser than Macbeth, and greater†. This confuses me greatly, for had they not just said that Macbeth would be king? Of course, I chose not to believe these ‘instruments of darkness’. Amazingly, minutes after the sisters had vanished, Macbeth was announced Thane of Cawdor. We were both quite taken aback, for the beings had foretold that very thing. I think our minds both raced towards the third prediction, â€Å"All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! I believe that Macbeth began to think about how to make the third prophecy a reality. We spoke no more about it. Surprisingly, Malcolm was named Duncan’s successor, though Macbeth was firm favourite in my mind, at least.

Federal Highway Act Essay

The accounting part of the airline industry focuses on the financial statements. The financial statements are composed of the balance sheet, the income statement, and the statement of cash flows. The customers and the general public are more interested in the passenger ticket prices as well as the cargo shipping rates. The following paragraphs expounds on some of the many issues on the United States Airline Industry. In the article The Future of American Transportation Policy, the Federal Highway Act of 1956 was an important milestone in the history of American airline transportation and travel history.  For, it focused on the finished the interstate highway system. Finally, the completion occurred in the early 1990s which where the general agreement on transportation among the Americans had faded away. Many economists had expressed their concern over the American government’s management the transportation infrastructure. (Dilger, 2003). And, in the article The Law on Securities, was approved into law within the market economy development and the entrepreneurship program as the 1989 era closed. It was again revised in June of 1990. For, many airline companies trade their shares of stocks in Wall Street and other stock markets to any one who wants to own a part of airline companies. This law gives the guidelines on the issuance of treasury bills, commercial notes and bonds. This law gives a wide interpretation on how people can ‘buy’ a share of an airline company. Meaning, any airline company that has a profit character can freely offer its shares to the moneyed public. These shares are generally divided into ordinary (common) shares, preferred (as to dividend payments), cumulative, non –cumulative, bearer and registered shares of stocks. In addition, the airline companies can also enter into a creditor –debtor relationship when it offers bonds and other short term liability securities. However, the stocks offered in the stock markets must be branded as profitable in order to sell like hotcakes. To accomplish this, the airline companies offer to the interested investors free copies of their income statements that show that they have been making (passing) the grade because profits is the bottom line of the company for the past year or years of actual airline operations. And, to further give credence to the airline companies’ balance sheet and income statements, the companies attached an auditor’s reported that the financial statements are fairly presented. On the other hand, an auditor’s report stating that the financial statements are adversely presented means that the financial reported issued by the company are falsely  presented. Also, an auditor’s report that gives a â€Å"no opinion† portion shows that the financial statements have not been audited for one reason or another (Skof & Vukmir, 1993). Further, the article The CEO as an Organization Designery states that Professor Germeshausen, a Professor Emeritus in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology opined that many senior officers in the airline companies can comfortably assess ahead of time the effect ad influence of their many policies on the stableness, growth nuances and the monetary behavior of the organizations that they manage and are responsible for. (Keough & Doman, 1992) Also, the article A Problem –Finding Approach to Tactical Planning states that questions should be answered by the airline managers for tactical planning in terms of strategic planning environment. Some specific and important questions that could be asks include â€Å"What Corporate planning information is needed by top management and corporate planners to give direction to the company tomorrow? † should be renovated to the better â€Å"What tactical plans are needed by middle –level managers to insure a high level of sales (such as an annual increase in prior sales by a minimum benchmark of fifteen percent). Another good question would be to â€Å"did the company generate profits generated after deducting total costs and expense from the net sales? † One way of answering this question well is for the managers to implement a budget. A budget will state the maximum costs and expenses that the company will pay and the projected net sales and collections of accounts receivables in advance (a month or more ahead of the actual use of the expenses and cots). The budget shows the estimated amounts that will occur in the future such as the budgeted sales, budgeted purchases, budgeted production, budgeted administration expenses, the budgeted marketing and promotion expenses, budgeted balance sheet and other budgets. In addition, the planning strategy using the â€Å"what if this happens? †, and the accompanying â€Å"what must be done to win here? † approach will be a very useful tool to plan for a future action to resolve a future problem in terms of cost, expenses, sales, production and the like. To resolve this, the company must continuously update its information database because lack of information may result to a wrong decision or interpretation of data.

Managerial Personality Essay

The characteristics of a person’s personality determine his leadership capabilities. Leaders from around the world all have distinct characteristics which define their leadership style and abilities. In a corporate culture, these personality traits can be capitalized upon to direct an organization towards its goals and to do so requires an in depth understanding of the different styles of personality traits that define every individual. A grasp on this knowledge would allow any leader to have a huge impact on the culture and performance of an organization. An observation to be made is the leveraging of personality traits may be utilized in order to achieve corporate goals. To create a competitive advantage, management’s focus must be on cooperation and inspiration. A clear link exists between culture and performance, as shown by Mindy L. Hall (Hall, 2005.) A leader’s personality shapes the environment in which employees function, and can either inspire extraordinary results, or devastating outcomes. Hostile conditions in the workplace will cause anxiety, stress, lack of energy, disengagement, or high turnover. Subsequently, organizations with these issues experience a lower quality of output. This negatively affects the relationship between consumers and businesses, who may find the competition more appealing. A positive engagement between management and employees excite a higher level of performance. From this, a company experiences higher quality output and satisfied customers. A best way to manage a company doesn’t exist; it must be studied, understood, and honed to best match or shape the organization’s culture. The key issue to choosing the appropriate manager in any organization is appreciating what goals and desires are sought after. This report is focused primarily on management as leaders and employees as subordinates. However, it must be understood that subordinates can also play the role as leader in their own context, and it should be encouraged. For example, a group of four employees are assigned to a project. Among this group will emerge a leader who directs the mission to accomplish said assignment. Although this individual does not possess a management title he or she is still leading. That being stated, an organization must possess a deep understanding of its business culture, and employ these concepts when prospecting for competent employees and management. Furthermore, management can recognize certain personality traits among individuals in a team, and manipulate and combine them in a synergetic way. In general, the comprehension of the various personality traits can be used as a measurement of how an individual may respond and perform in an organization’s culture. However, there is much debate as to the extent to which personality can predict behavior, and the extent to which behavior arises from the dynamics of a given situation (Kendrick, Funder, 1991.) The key issues in a corporate context include the big five personality traits, Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, attitude, and emotional intelligence. The Big Five Personality Traits General agreement exists among researchers regarding the big five personality traits. This model categorizes personalities into five distinct categories: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. An understanding of these categories often referred to as OCEAN, gives insight to an individual’s underlying personality and how an individual would react in day to day operations of an organization. However, research has shown situational factors play a role in how individuals move between the two extremes of each personality factor. Each factor is a range of two extremes, which most individuals lie somewhere in between. Given this fact, the majority of decisions made by people are representative of their fundamental personality traits. Only when abnormal or extreme situations arise does an individual shift towards the extreme of either end on one or more factors. Managers seeking to create a winning team would do well to not only understand his own personality type, but also individual team member’s personality types. Intimate knowledge of each person among a group will allow for a more harmonious and efficient team effectively utilizing strengths and mitigating weaknesses. Attitude Attitudes of managers and employees contribute greatly to the working environment. An attitude is a collection of beliefs and feelings brought on by life experiences or learned from others, and a positive or negative analysis of one’s environment. Similar attitudes of a leader and a team can create a positive working environment that flows all the way down to the end consumer. Leaders of an organization who commit to reinforcing positive attitudes contribute to a successful business model. Individuals who are satisfied with the work environment make their duties a part of life, and commit skills and knowledge to drive progress of a business. A study conducted by MBA’s and one professor from India, (Tandon, Mishra, Singh, 2011,) explored the relationship between attitude and how an organization perceives its position in society. The study begins by stating that business behavior has both economic and relational impact. Over recent decades there have been significant changes in the social expectation from business and managers. This study found that one’s personal beliefs, values, and attitude drive commitment to social responsibility. In this writing social responsibility can be thought of as organizational commitment or responsibility. The study took a specific look into how spirituality, materialism, relativism, and idealism discriminate between high and low corporate social responsibility (CSR).The study conducted found idealism and spirituality to have a positive influence on CSR, and materialism and relativism had a negative or less of an influence. This implies that managers with more of a concern towards society’s beliefs and values, and less towards material things, will have a greater concern towards creating a positive internal working environment. Moreover, a manager with this attitude may push subordinates towards the same ideals, which create a more efficient environment. In contrast, materialistic and relativistic attitudes contributed negatively towards CSR. This suggests that individuals with these attitude types can create an environment where monetary gain and possession of assets are the only goal, and right and wrong is near irrelevant. This mentality can have a devastating effect on society’s perception of a corporation. Moreover, the connection between working peers can be non-existent, and coordination would lack causing inefficiency. A manager’s attitude can bring about the benefits of a positive working environment by keeping a positive attitude towards a given position in an organization. An attitude based on working towards an end goal, which produces the greatest good for society and a corporation, would be an ideal mentality for any organization. Attitudes contribute to a successful business model because individuals who are satisfied make their duties a part of life, and commit their skills and knowledge to driving the progress and success of the business. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a theory of human motivation based on increasing levels of needs. This theory suggests that human needs are fulfilled one at a time by accomplishing basic needs and proceeding upwards towards advanced needs. Although there is much debate as to the accuracy of these levels research has suggested a correlation between the fulfillment of these needs and happiness. Managers with an understanding of what level individuals in a team are on can manipulate motivation techniques to stimulate productivity and efficiency. Maslow’s hierarchy can be applied to compensation, job design, management techniques, or anything that requires a higher level of motivation. Maslow’s hierarchy is a systematic way of thinking about the different needs employees have at any given point and explains different reactions they may have to similar treatment (Carpenter, Bauer, Erdogan, 2009.) The definition provided implies that each individual perceives needs differently, and managerial techniques in this context must be applied more specifically. For example, two employees receive a raise after a massive project was finished. The first employee is satisfied with the raise because her safety, and subsequently her physiological, needs had been fulfilled. The second employee felt his needs had not been satisfied. His goal in finishing the project was to prove his worthiness as a manager. His intention through his hard work was to climb the corporate ladder. He was looking to fulfill his esteem and self-actualization needs. Physiological needs are satisfied through compensation, since a paycheck allows individuals to find nourishment, shelter, etc. Compensation can satisfy more than one need, however. Safety needs can be satisfied through benefits such as 401K, health plans, or paid time off. In many ways, compensation satisfies both physiological and safety needs. In addition, organizations must take in consideration the physical safety of employees. Managers have a duty to enforce safety precautions where working conditions may be hazardous. When a position requires employees to take physical risk an organization is expected to protect workers from unnecessary harm, and to compensate for the higher risk. When feelings of anxiety are low safety needs have been fulfilled. Social needs can be met through satisfactory social interaction with others in which there is interaction. The goal in satisfying this need is to cause individuals to feel accepted and loved. In a business context there must be a focus on acceptance over love. Creating a friendly environment is a great start to satisfying this need. Company sponsored games, events, holiday parties, and other social activities are great examples of how to socialize a staff. Also, team meetings where the staff can voice their concerns or ideas can allow team members to better understand each other. Esteem needs can be satisfied after one feels she has been accepted into a group. These needs can be fulfilled through recognition. It must be stressed that individuals enjoy being praised for their accomplishments, but praise only works for a limited amount of time. Managers must look to promote individuals with a high need for esteem. A raise in position and pay communicates an achieved status, and reinforces her ability to achieve corporate goals. Esteem needs lead into self-actualization. This need lies on the top of the hierarchical pyramid. Similar to fulfilling esteem needs, self- actualization can be met by giving an employee more responsibility, greater challenges, or more stimulating opportunities. Self-actualization is characterized by an individual having met all previous needs, and is now using his or her full potential and capabilities. Maslow’s hierarchy is important for organizations to apply. Humans are motivated by particular needs according to their current life situations and future goals. Furthermore, individual needs are in accordance with cultural backgrounds such as race, religion, or country of origin. It must also be noted that individuals are not always striving to fulfill the same needs. The needs model must be applied on an individual basis. Managers who realize their needs are being fulfilled can be used as a resource for understanding their subordinates needs, and act accordingly. When an organization applies this model to a workforce there is an increase in job satisfaction and loyalty. Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is the ability to control extreme changes in mood and emotions, and is a characteristic of an effective and competent leader. When a manager cannot control temporary emotions that are brought on by day to day interactions it can bring an entire organizations progress to a halt. Emotions are contagious and create a domino effect. Simply realizing when a certain emotion is present allows one to better handle temporary emotional fluctuations, while containing it as to not affect others. That being said, it is of utmost importance for a manager to possess a deep understanding of his or her own emotions (self-awareness), and how to deal with each. An individual who is self-aware is humble enough to accept constructive criticism and mature enough to address the areas of concern. The impact of hiring individuals with high emotional intelligence is high productivity and retention of high-quality employees. Golnaz Sadri, PhD, defines E.I. as the ability to accurately perceive emotions, access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth, (Sadri, 2012.) The ability to accurately perceive emotions allows one to recognize facial and bodily gestures, and interpret their meaning. A manager who has this ability can intercept other’s cues, or tells, that signal irritability. This skill is recognized as constructive when dealing with scenarios such as a team who can’t come to an agreement, a irate client or customer, or when negotiating. For the most part, emotional intelligence is a learned skill, and an indicator of useful experience. Conclusion Manipulating strong personality traits and striving to improve negative personality traits can have a huge impact on a manager’s career, and more broadly can impact a corporation in tremendous ways. Today manager’s has access to information to help them maximize team productivity using psychology. Using psychological strategies to hire the right employees and build teams is the competitive edge companies need in this tough economic climate. REFERENCES Camgoz, S., Karan, M., & Ergeneli, A. (2011). Part II Leadership, Social Capital, and Personality: Relationship Between The Big Five Personality and The Financial Performance of Fund Managers. 15, p139 Carpenter, M., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2009). Need-Based Theory of Motivation. In Principles Of Management (10th ed., p14.1) Hall, M. (2005). Shaping Organizational Culture: A Practitioner’s Perspective. 2(1), p1-16 Kendrick, D. T., & Funder , D. C. (1991). Situation versus Personality Debate. Retrieved from http://wilderdom.com/personality/L6-3SituationVsPersonality.html McCrae, R., & Costa, P. (1995). Domains and Facets: Hierarchal Personality Assessment Using The Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 64(1), p23 Pannapacker, W. (2012, April 15). Screening Out The Introverts. The Chronicle. Sadri, G. (2012). Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Development. 41(3), p536 Tandon, A., Mishra, S., & Singh, E. (2011). What Discriminates The Prospective Manager’s Attitude Towards Corporate Social Responsibility? 10(3), p54-60 Whitbourne , S. K. (2010, October 19). The Neuroticism Paradox | Psychology Today.Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201010/the-neuroticis m-paradox Witt, L.A., & Andrews, M.C. (2006). The Predisposition to Engage in Interpersonal Deviance at Work. pHR-F2

Crone v. United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) Essay

Crone v. United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) - Essay Example of Ms Crones own admission to not having appropriate skills, there is no impact on potential discrimination cases and that, within certain boundaries, it would be ethical to include part of the findings within an EEO book and training. Following the decision of the US Court of Appeal, 8th Circuit, to uphold the District Courts ruling that United Parcel Services Inc were not guilty of discrimination in not promoting Ms Crone to the position of Supervisor, two questions arise. Does this open up a possible avenue for future unlawful excuses for discrimination? Is it ethical for DWI1 to include the principals of this case in their Equal Employment Opportunity manual and as part of their training? The facts of the case are these. Ms Crone applied, through her department manager, for a vacant position as supervisor. However, the manager did not recommend Ms Crone, stating that he was afraid she might cry in a confrontational situation. The person who made the final decision also stated that she was declined â€Å"because of her inability to handle confrontational situations, her lack of leadership qualities.† Ms Crone then brought a case for sexual discrimination. However, she accepted that the position required confrontational skills and that; previously she had exhibited some difficulties in this area. The result was that the appeal was denied and the District Court judgement confirmed. The first point to note here relates to whether there was a discrimination based on sex. Section 2000e-2 [Section 703] if the Civil Rights Act (1997) states that an employers must not seek â€Å"(2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individuals race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.† In the case in question this is not the case. The decision was made on the basis of lack