Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Using the Spanish Auxiliary Verb Haber for the Perfect Tenses

Using the Spanish Auxiliary Verb Haber for the Perfect Tenses Just by learning the conjugation of one verb, you can vastly increase the verb tenses and forms you have available in Spanish. It may come as no surprise that the verb is haber, which is translated as the auxiliary verb to have. As an auxiliary verb, haber in Spanish and to have in English are used to form the perfect tenses. Perfect Tenses Used for Completed Actions No, they arent called the perfect tenses because theyre better than the others. But one meaning of perfect, one we dont see very often today outside of literature, is complete. The perfect verb tenses, then, refer to completed actions (although they arent the only way of referring to completed actions). Contrast two ways of referring to something that happened in the past: He salido (I have left) and estaba saliendo (I was leaving). In the first instance, it is clear that the act described by the verb is completed; its something that was over at a specific time. But in the second case, there is no indication when the departure was completed; in fact, the act of leaving still could be occurring. In both English and Spanish, the perfect tenses are formed by using a form of the verb haber or to have followed by the past participle (el participio in Spanish). In English, the participle typically is formed by adding -ed to verbs; the Spanish participle, which has origins related to the English participle, typically is formed by using the ending of -ado for -ar verbs and -ido for -er and -ir verbs. Numerous irregular forms, such as seen and visto, exist in both languages. Types of Perfect Tenses The tense of the resulting verb depends on which tense of haber is used. Use the present tense of haber to create the present perfect tense, the future tense to create the future perfect tense, and so on. Here are examples of the various tenses using haber salido (to have left) in the first-person singular and unconjugated forms. Present perfect indicative: He salido. I have left.Past perfect indicative (pluperfect): Habà ­a salido. I had left.Preterite perfect indicative: Hube salido. I had left.Future perfect indicative: Habrà © salido. I will have left.Conditional perfect indicative: Habrà ­a salido. I would have left.Present perfect subjunctive: (que) haya salido. (that) I have left.Past perfect subjunctive: (que) hubiera salido. (that) I had left.Perfect infinitive: haber salido (to have left)Perfect gerund: habiendo salido (having left) Note that the preterite perfect indicative tense isnt used much in speech or modern writing. Youre most likely to find it in literature. Note also that when standing alone, the subjunctive forms are indistinguishable in English from the indicative forms. In Spanish, the structure of the sentence, not how the verb is translated into English, will determine when the subjunctive is used. See the lessons on the subjunctive mood for more information on this verb mood. Sample Sentences Using the Perfect Tenses Here are some more involved sample sentences that you can examine to see how the perfect tenses are used. You will notice that they generally are used like the same tenses in English. He comprado un coche nuevo pero no puedo manejarlo. (I have bought a new car but I cant drive it. Present perfect indicative.)El traficante de armas no habà ­a leà ­do a Shakespeare. (The arms trafficker had not read Shakespeare. Past perfect indicative)Si yo hubiera hecho esa pelà ­cula  ¡los crà ­ticos me habrà ­an comido vivo! (If I had made that film, the critics would have eaten me alive! Past perfect subjunctive.)Hoy estoy aquà ­; maà ±ana me habrà © ido. (I am here today; tomorrow I will have gone. Future perfect.)No creo que hayan ganado los Rams. (I dont believe the Rams have won. Present perfect subjunctive.)Querà ­amos que hubieran comido. We wanted them to have eaten. Past perfect subjunctive.)Para morirse bien es importante haber vivido bien. (In order die well it is important to have lived well. Perfect infinitive.)Habiendo visto Bogot en pantalla cientos de veces, creo que nada va a sorprenderme. (Having seen Bogota on a screen hundreds of times, I think not hing is going to surprise me. Perfect gerund.) Key Takeaways Haber is an common auxiliary verb in Spanish that functions as the equivalent of the English have as an auxiliary verb.Haber forms the perfect tenses, which are used similar to the perfect tenses of English and indicate that an action has or will be completed.Perfect tenses can be used in Spanish for the past, present, and future in both the indicative and subjunctive moods.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Destruction of Jerusalem Predicted by Ashkelons Fall

Destruction of Jerusalem Predicted by Ashkelon's Fall The Destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. caused the period in Jewish history known as the Babylonian Exile. Ironically, as with the prophets warnings in the book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible, Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar also gave the Jews fair warning of what could happen, if they crossed him, in the way he devastated Ashkelon, the capital of their enemies, the Philistines. The Warning from Ashkelon New archaeological findings in the ruins of Ashkelon, Philistias main seaport, are providing evidence that Nebuchadnezzars conquest of his enemies was utterly merciless. If Judahs kings had heeded the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah about imitating Ashkelon and embracing Egypt, Jerusalems destruction might have been avoided. Instead, the Jews ignored both the religious rantings of Jeremiah and the unequivocal real-world implications of Ashkelons fall. In the late 7th century B. C., Philistia and Judah were battlegrounds for the power struggle between Egypt and a resurgent neo-Babylonia to take over the remnants of the late Assyrian Empire. In the mid-7th century B.C., Egypt made allies of both Philistia and Judah. In 605 B.C, Nebuchadnezzar led Babylonias army to a decisive victory over Egyptian forces at the Battle of Carchemish on the Euphrates River in what is now western Syria. His conquest is noted in Jeremiah 46:2-6. Nebuchadnezzar Fought Through the Winter After Carchemish, Nebuchadnezzar pursued an unusual battle strategy: he continued to wage war through the winter of 604 B.C., which is the rainy season in the Near East. By fighting through sometimes torrential rains despite the hazards posed to horses and chariots, Nebuchadnezzar proved to be an unorthodox, persistent general capable of unleashing terrifying devastation. In a 2009 article titled The Fury of Babylon for the Biblical Archaeology Societys e-book, Israel: An Archaeological Journey, Lawrence E. Stager cites a fragmentary cuneiform record called the Babylonian Chronicle: [Nebuchadnezzar] marched to the city of Ashkelon and captured it in the month of Kislev [November/December]. He captured its king and plundered it and carried off [spoil from it ...]. He turned the city into a mound (Akkadian ana tili, literally a tell) and heaps of ruins ...; Evidence Sheds Light on Religion and Economy Dr. Stager writes that the Levy Expedition uncovered hundreds of artifacts at Ashkelon that shed light on Philistine society. Among the items recovered were dozens of large, wide-mouth jars that could hold wine or olive oil. The climate of Philistia in the 7th century B.C. made it ideal to grow grapes for wine and olives for oil. Thus archaeologists now think its reasonable to propose that these two products were the Philistines principal industries. Wine and olive oil were priceless commodities in the late 7th century because they were the basis of food, medicines, cosmetics, and other preparations. A trade agreement with Egypt for these products would have been financially advantageous to Philistia and Judah. Such alliances also would pose a threat to Babylon, because those with wealth could better arm themselves against Nebuchadnezzar. In addition, the Levy researchers found signs that religion and commerce were closely intertwined in Ashkelon. On top of a pile of rubble in ​the main bazaar they found a rooftop altar where incense had been burned, usually a sign of seeking a gods favor for some human endeavor. The prophet Jeremiah also preached against this practice (Jeremiah 32:39), calling it one of the sure signs of the destruction of Jerusalem. Finding and dating the Ashkelon altar was the first time an artifact confirmed the existence of these altars mentioned in the Bible. Sobering Signs of Mass Destruction The archaeologists uncovered more evidence that Nebuchadnezzar was ruthless in conquering his enemies as he was in the destruction of Jerusalem. Historically when a city was besieged, the greatest damage could be found along its walls and fortified gates. In Ashkelons ruins, however, the greatest destruction lies at the center of the city, spreading outward from areas of commerce, government, and religion. Dr. Stager says this indicates that the invaders strategy was to cut off the centers of power and then pillage and destroy the city. This was precisely the way the destruction of Jerusalem proceeded, evidenced by the devastation of the First Temple. Dr. Stager acknowledges that archaeology cant precisely confirm Nebuchadnezzars conquest of Ashkelon in 604 B.C. However, it has proven clearly that the Philistine seaport was utterly destroyed around that time, and other sources confirm the Babylonian campaign of that same era. Warnings Unheeded in Judah The citizens of Judah may have rejoiced to learn of Nebuchadnezzars conquest of Ashkelon  since the Philistines had long been enemies of the Jews. Centuries earlier, David had mourned the death of his friend Jonathan and King Saul in 2 Samuel 1:20, Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice.... The Jews rejoicing at the Philistines misfortunes would have been short-lived. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in 599 B.C., conquering the city two years later. Nebuchadnezzar captured King Jeconiah and other Jewish elites  and installed his own choice, Zedekiah, as king. When Zedekiah rebelled 11 years later in 586 B.C., Nebuchadnezzars destruction of Jerusalem was as merciless as his Philistine campaign. Sources: Exile of the Jews - Babylonian Captvity, http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/israeljudaea/a/BabylonianExile_2.htmThe Fury of Babylon by Lawrence E. Stager, Israel: An Archaeological Journey (Biblical Archaeology Society, 2009). The Oxford Study Bible with the Apocrypha, New Revised Standard Version (1994 Oxford University Press). Comments? Please post in forum thread.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Sustainable Management Futures Specimen Examination Essay

Sustainable Management Futures Specimen Examination - Essay Example The virtue theory explains about the morals behaviors which should be followed in the society. It argues that child labor is no longer good because in the developing world, they employ the child with less than 18 years hence they violate the laws. Children rights should be honored in every developing country though may not follow the law of the government and that is the reason why child labor is increasing instead of reducing. According to this theory, 2002, the cocoa boycott came in to practice the children placed in the plantation inform of labor. Mean while, the plantation was banned and then child labor stopped immediately. According to all the theories, there should be an effective and efficient strategy set-aside to protect the child labor from exploitation because no child who is allowed to work. b) Rawls Theory of Justice In this article, a value comes from the people in the society, and â€Å"therefore† justice is termed as a provision for entire basis in every indiv idual. Some of the circumstances may force a human being to face some of the conditions with out the moral justice and judgment demands. Rawls arguments are based on the side of the system of justice where the idea of an individual is based on the area of his or her fate. Therefore, human beings deserve the ways of achieving their doings hence the provision of human rights should be maintained in the society. This is because of the commencing time which will really determine one fate. c) Ideological Ethics According the philosophers, they defined ideological ethics as a right for all human beings to make decisions and follow the moral values that pertains them. This theory states that child labour at this level is illegal because it affects the ability and also physical development of the child especially when the child is used as prostitution or drug trafficking in the society. This action firstly violates the law naturally because these children are supposed to be in learning inst itution. d) Teleological Ethics The philosophers try to have a concern on what happens after the moral dimension in an individual. This is compared to the consequences after the good doings of the ethical values in the society. This theory determines what comes after the moral values in the society done by individuals. The code of morality in the society is advocated inform of a natural duty performed by all man made creature in the society. According to this theory, children are not supposed to work under any condition because it is termed as an illegal to the law and a way of violating the laws in the government. The aim of the Teleological ethics is to promote the nature in relation to individual actions to be good at the end of the outcome (Baker 2012). a) Definition of Sustainable Development The sustainable development is the development that helps in achieving the needs of the present time without the relating to the ability of the future generation in meeting their own needs . These needs are termed to be the poor conditions in the world. The main aim of the sustainable development is to solve the problem in the environment and come up with the solutions of meeting the future needs. According to the common future in the environment, the

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Business Improvement and Creativity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Improvement and Creativity - Essay Example To maintain the company’s market shares, the top management of RIM is being challenged to constantly improve its business processes and product quality and design. (See Appendix I – Summary of Mobile Phone Sales Volume Around the World on page 11) As part of analyzing the main drivers behind the business improvement of BlackBerry, this study will purposely analyze the theory behind John Kotter’s model of organizational change and DEbono’s six hat thinking. After critically analyzing these two particular business improvement theories, it will be applied in the case of RIM – BlackBerry. According to Nelson and Quick (2008, p. 416), organizational change is inevitable yet manageable. To compete in the market, implementing product innovation and organizational change is necessary (Sabri, Gupta and Beitler, 2007, p. viii). is commonly used in â€Å"planning, implementing, and sustaining change† (Sabri, Gupta and Beitler, 2007, p. 176). According to Kottler (1996), the eight steps towards a successful organizational change include: (1) establishing a sense of urgency; (2) creating a guiding coalition; (3) developing a vision and strategy for change; (4) communicating the vision and strategy for change; (5) empowering employees for action; (6) generating short-term wins; (7) consolidating gains and producing more change; and (8) anchoring change in organizational culture [cited in Sabri, Gupta and Beitler, 2007, p. 176]. (See Appendix II – Kotter’s Model of Organizational Change on page 12) The model presented by Kottler is clear and straight-forward. Using the SWOT matrix, this model encourages the managers to reflect on the need to implement organizational change (Kottler, 1996, p. 21). It also encourages the managers to use their leadership skills to effectively communicate the vision and strategy to persuade employees to support organizational

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Efficiency tests Essay Example for Free

Efficiency tests Essay Day of the week test The day of the week efficiency test is the investigation of a particular stock market to see whether it reveals day of the week effect in volatility of returns, that is, whether stock returns in that particular stock market follow a certain pattern which is associated with what day of the week it is. Investing in the stock market is a wonderful way to make money, but it has a risk attached to it in the form of uncertainty. Stock market returns do not operate independently of the economic, political and technological environment of a country. In fact the stock market of a country is completely driven by the aforementioned environmental stimuli. However the relationship is indirect. Changes in these environmental stimuli do not directly affect the stock market. What they do directly affect is the investor mindset. The investor mindset in turn directly affects whether the stock market returns are likely to be good or bad. A bleak economic prospect for example will make the average investor wary of investing in assets. As a result he/she will stay away from investing in the stock market and as everyone, unsettled by the bleak economic prospect, follows suit, share prices, due to lack of demand, will drop drastically and, as returns hit the bottom, it will not make sense any more to invest in the stock market. In this manner, the stock market can behave very erratically as it is held hostage by hundreds of environmental stimuli the behavior of which few can predict to a certainly. This is why the day of the week test is important, because by applying it, the stock market investor can predict whether stock market returns on a particular day will be high or low. He can tweak his investment pattern accordingly. The stock market is highly volatile and it has been explained above what accounts for this volatility. As mentioned before, this volatility gives rise to substantial risks which give the investor second thoughts about investing in the stock market. However, this means that if the element of risk were to be eliminated to some extent, then that would make the stock market the original Aladin’s lamp as far as making money is concerned. Therefore every investor is always looking for ways to eliminate risk. The way the investor tries to eliminate risk to some extent, or to minimize it, is to find a way to predict what the return of a particular stock is likely to be at a certain point of time. That is why we, as the investors, use the day of the week. If we are investing in the US equity market for example, then we apply the test to find out whether the market has a presence of the day of the week effect in it. If so, we invest only on those days on which the return of the stock we are investing in is likely to be high. In other words, we use the day of the week test to maximize the returns and minimize the risks of our portfolio. The question as to whether we benefit from this test has already been answered. We most certainly do as otherwise we wouldn’t be able to predict how the market is going to behave on certain days and as a result our investment decisions would be very risky indeed. So we do benefit from applying the day of the week test. But how do we benefit from it? We benefit from it because the day of the week test allows us to detect whether there is an element of seasonality in stock returns of our portfolio. As soon as we have detected seasonality, that is, returns are high or low depending what time period it is, we have immediately minimized the investment risk. An equity market for example which boasts the presence of the day of the week effect in it will tell us that returns on Mondays will be significantly lower than they are on other days of the week. Under the circumstances, the decision as when to buy stock and when to sell is not so difficult any more. In the aforementioned equity market, we should obviously stay away from making any stock purchases on any other day than Monday because the day of the week test that we have applied to the market tells us that prices will be lowest on Mondays. Therefore, to minimize expenses, we should buy stock on Mondays. By the same reasoning, when the time comes to unload the portfolio, we should obviously do the selling on any day of the week other than Monday, because in the six days other than Monday, prices will be higher, which translate into higher returns for us investors. So clearly the benefits from applying the day of the week test are substantial. They all center around the ability of the day of the week test to introduce an element of regularity into the midst of what on first sight seems unconquerable chaos. This test tells us there is a day of the week regularity functioning in the equity market and that if we invest accordingly, we shall have maximized our returns and minimized the associated risks. End of month test This is a test that seeks to establish the presence of a calendar anomaly in the behavior of stock market returns whereby returns are higher over a time period beginning with the last trading day of the current month and continuing over the first five days of the next month. The importance of this test is in taking advantage of the fact that stock returns are not completely volatile, that they do have a certain pattern hidden deep under the apparently wildly fluctuating numbers. This directly contradicts the efficient market hypothesis which states that any information, whether public and private, that is available to the investors, has already been taken into account in stock pricing, therefore no single investor is in a position to take advantage of the market. According to the efficient market hypothesis, risk is the same for all investors. However it has been recently discovered that there is a end-of-month or turn-of-the-month effect when stock returns are shown to be consistently higher on the last trading day of a month and over the first five days of the following month. This probably happens because during this time period the general level of liquidity goes up as a result of settling liabilities so that the investor has more cash with which to play around in the stock market. As has been mentioned before, the performance of the stock market is a direct function of the general mindset of the investing public. If the investing public are in a good mood, then the market will perform well. If they are in a bad mood, the market will perform badly. These mood swings on the part of the general investor are a direct function of the macroeconomic news items which they are exposed to though the different media. Therefore the timing of the release of these macroeconomic news items is an important factor in determining how the stock market will perform afterwards. Usually these news items are released during the first few days of a particular month. Stock market returns have been shown to maintain an upbeat trend as time approaches the scheduled release of macroeconomic news. That is why end-of-month testing is important because it shows the existence of calendar anomalies in stock returns brought about by scheduled release of macroeconomic news items. That is also the reason why we use this test. By using this test, we can detect the presence of calendar anomalies in the stock in which we are investing and take advantage of it to make capital gains. By using this test, we prove that the efficient market hypothesis is by no means the last word in the world of finance, that the risk inherent in investing in a particular stock is by no means the same and a test that gives us the ability to predict risk is a worthwhile exercise by any standards. As can be seen from above, we can benefit from the day of the month effect. The benefit to be gained from this test is inarguable inasmuch as we have the ability to minimize systematic risk inherent in any investment decision. According to the risk-return relationship, the risk in investing in a particular stock has two components. One is the unsystematic risk and the other is the systematic risk. Investors do not worry about the unsystematic part as it can be eliminated by means of diversification. Investors put their money in a wide variety of financial instruments so that even if one company is performing not so well thus dragging down its share performance as well, there are other companies in which the same investor holds shares and which is performing well thus canceling the negative effect of the under-performing company. It is highly improbable that all the companies will be underperforming at the same time. What is more probable is that one will outperform the other thus eliminating the unsystematic risk. However it is well nigh impossible to eliminate or to even reduce the systematic risk which affects entire market to the same extent so that no amount of diversification will cushion the effect of a high systematic risk. However that is according to the traditional finance theory. According to the new theory whereby there is a end of the month effect in every stock market, systematic risk is definitely lower in the last trading day of the month and in the first few days of the next month. So the benefit we get from this test is that we can predict a little better how the systematic risk is likely to be at what point in time in the month. Moving average As has been mentioned before, stock prices can fluctuate significantly over a certain period of time. If these prices are charted on a graph, then the trend line will zigzag substantially, making it difficult for us to evaluate whether a particular stock is underperforming or otherwise. Moving average is a technical analysis tool which allows us to smooth out these fluctuations, so that there is a consistent trend line which can serve as benchmark for the evaluation of stock performance. Moving average is a very important technical analysis tool. Inasmuch as it enables us to impose order upon chaos by creating a consistent trend of the performance of a particular stock, its importance can hardly be overemphasized. If the returns of a particular stock were to be presented in the form of a scatter plot, then on first sight it would appear as white noise. It would be impossible to make head or tail of this extremely chaotic scatter plot. However if one were to apply the moving average technical analysis tool, the widely scattered points would give in to a rising or declining trend line which could then indicate whether a particular stock is performing below that trend line or above. In this respect, moving average is a very important indicator of stock market returns. Before we make any investment decisions in respect of the stock market, it is obviously important for us to find out which stocks are performing above expectations and which stocks are performing below. Moving average allows us to make that determination and that is why we use this tool. The problem that every stock market investor faces is that the returns on the face of it seem to be impossible to predict. Charted on a scatter plot, as mentioned before, the returns are all over the place. That would not be the case however once we apply the moving average tool to these returns. Once the moving average technical analysis has been applied, it would appear that the returns conform to a predictably progressing trend line. And that is why we use the moving average technical analysis, to introduce an element of predictability into an area which would otherwise seem impossible to predict in any way. We certainly benefit from using the moving average analysis as it allows us to determine whether a stock at a particular point of time is performing below the trend line or above. This would enable us to determine when to buy and sell. When to buy and sell is the toughest decision that a stock market investor faces. Obviously an investor would like to buy a stock when the price is at its lowest and would like to sell when the price at its highest. But how does an investor know when the price has bottomed out so that he should buy and when it has topped out so that she should sell? These points the investor must determine and the benefit of using the moving average technical analysis lies in the fact that it allows the investor to determine those points. An additional benefit of the moving average analysis is that it can be calculated both short-term and long-term. A short term moving average can be defined as a 15-day moving average while a long-term moving average can be defined as a 50-day moving average. Thus there are two trend lines and when the short-term trend line moves below the long-term, the stock is on a downward momentum and it is time to sell. Conversely, when the short-term trend line is passing above the long-term, the stock is on an upward momentum and it is time to buy. In this way the moving average technical analysis allows the investor to decide when to buy and when to sell a particular stock. Correlation Correlation allows us to test whether there is any relationship between two variables and if there is a relationship, whether the relationship is positive or it is negative. For example, a correlation of +1 indicates a positive relationship exists between two variables. A correlation of -1 indicates that the relationship between two variables is negative. When the relationship is positive, it indicates that the two variables move in the same direction and when the relationship is negative, it indicates that the two variables move in opposite directions. Correlation is an important indicator of the future behavior of a particular variable in relation to another variable. It allows us to determine what other variables affect the performance of the variable of interest and to what extent. Once we have correlation figures quantifying the relationship between the variable of interest and other variables, we can predict how the variable of interest will change when the other related variables change. Inasmuch as correlation allows us to reduce uncertainty by enabling us to enhance predictability, it is an important indicator. We use it for example when we are trying to decide whether or not to invest in a particular stock market. As has been mentioned before, the performance of a stock market is affected by a wide variety of factors. The most prominent environmental stimuli are the economic, sociological, political and technological changes taking place both nationally and internationally. It is important to know therefore to what extent these stimuli affect the performance of a particular stock market. Correlation allows us to determine that extent. By applying correlation, we can find out how a certain change in the economy is likely to affect the stock market performance of that country. We come to know about these changes in the form of microeconomic news items which can be categorized based on their content. If we already have the correlation figures for these categories of news items, then as soon as they are announced, we can reasonably expect to be able to apply the correlation statistics to assess how the news items are likely to affect the performance of the stock market we are interested in. This reduces risk to a substantial extent. Risk reduction is the most important consideration in the mind of an investor. For this reason, we use the correlation statistic. We do benefit from the use of correlation inasmuch as it gives us a window into the future regarding the performance of particular stock market. An example of a benefit would be an US investor considering investing in one of the Arab stock markets. In assessing whether it would be a good idea or not to go ahead with the investment, the investor would find use of correlation of immense value. The investor would have to collect a great deal of knowledge connected to the economic, sociological, political and technological scenarios of the Arab country and determine by means of correlation how the different environmental factors are correlated to the portfolio performance in that stock market. Once that is done, he or she would be in a position to foresee how the different changes in the Arab country would affect the performance of the stock market in that country. This would enable the investor to buy and sell at the right time. As has been mentioned before, there are also international forces at work which will affect stock market performance in the Arab country. In this respect, what the investor can do is to run correlation tests between the Arab stock market and the US stock market to see how the two markets are related. In this respect, the two markets would be two variables which the correlation test will examine to find out whether any relationship exists between the two variables and if so, if the relationship is positive or whether it is negative. If the relationship is a positive one, then whenever the US market is performing well, the Arab market can also be expected to perform well and vice versa. Clearly this is of immense value to the investor as it allows him to pick the time as to when he should invest in the Arab stock market. That is the benefit. Descriptive Statistics So far the discussion has focused on predicting the future performance of the stock market. Now it’s time to focus on assessing the current performance of the stock market. That is what the descriptive statistics are for. Descriptive statistics such as the mean and the standard deviation and the normal distribution help us evaluate the existing performance of a particular stock market. Descriptive statistics are very important because they quantify the performance of the stock market. The most widely used descriptive statistic is the mean. We can calculate the mean stock return by calculating the average of several stock returns from past time periods. This tells us the return we are likely to get if we invest in that stock. However the mean does not take into account the risk that comes associated with investing in stock. As has been mentioned before, the stock market is a wonderful way to make money but every rose has it thorn and that thorn in this case is the risk. Stock returns are affected by so many variables both internal and external to the company that it is impossible to take into account all of them. This is where risk springs from. Because there are so many forces at work playing sixes and sevens with stock market returns, wild fluctuations are a necessary evil for the stock market investor. However even here, descriptive statistics can help by introducing order into chaos. The descriptive statistic in question is the standard deviation. Because stock returns fluctuate extensively, they are scarcely at the mean. Sometimes they are above the mean and sometimes they are below. Standard deviation tells us the percentage of returns which will deviate from the mean to a certain extent. Most stock returns conform to the normal distribution, that is, most of the returns are clustered around the mean return. 66% of the observations fall within one standard deviation away from the mean. 95% of the observations fall within two standard deviations away from the mean. And 99% of the observations fall within three standard deviations away from the mean. Inasmuch as stock market returns, given a sufficiently large sample size, follow the normal distribution, descriptive statistics are very important as they enable the formation of the normal distribution. This facilitates investment decisions. Descriptive statistics also come into play when determining the risk-return relationship. Risk is a prime consideration in any investor’s mindset. Investment in the stock market is meaningless unless a way can be found to minimize the influence of risk. To complicate matters further, there are two categories of risk: systematic risk and unsystematic risk. There is hardly anything the investor can do about the systematic risk. It affects all the stocks present to an equal extent. An example of a systematic risk is when there is a sudden political eruption. The political turmoil will have a negative effect in all areas of the business sector. Therefore even if the investor is holding a portfolio of stocks, it will be of little avail. The other element of risk however, the unsystematic risk, is more manageable. It means not putting all eggs in one basket. Managing a portfolio of stocks is key to eliminating or reducing unsystematic risk. An investor who has invested in a portfolio of stocks will reap more than an investor who has invested in only one stock. This is for the simple reason that external environmental stimuli do not hit all industries of the business sector to the same extent. If there is a technological change for example, some industries will benefit more and some less. Therefore the wise investor will invest in those industries which benefit more as a result of the technological change. Alongside the technological change, there will be other changes, economic or political or sociological, which will have a negative impact on some of the industries. As a result the stock returns in those industries will take a nosedive. However an investor who is maintaining a portfolio of a wide variety of stocks will not be hit adversely as he will have stocks in that portfolio of his which were immune to the economic or political or sociological change in question. In this manner the unsystematic part of the risk has been eliminated. The stocks present in a portfolio will be negatively correlated. That is, if one stock goes down in terms of returns, then another will go up. Thus the investor is well protected. However he is by no means protected from the systematic risk which no amount of diversification can eliminate. However all is not lost because descriptive statistics are there to help the investor. He already knows from the central limit theorem that most stock returns conform to the normal distribution. Once that is known, the investor can make an accurate prediction as to where the stock returns are likely to fall. This substantially reduces systematic risk. As mentioned before, there are some exceptions in terms of stock market returns which do not strictly follow the normal distribution pattern. These returns follow a different probability distribution. The use of kurtosis and skewness can help to identify that particular category of probability distribution. Determining which probability distribution a particular stock market conforms to, in which the use of descriptive statistics is key, is vital for picking the optimum portfolio. An investor would obviously want to invest in only those stocks the returns of which stick most closely to the mean. What the investor can do is to collect the percentage returns of a stock for a number of time periods and calculate the mean and standard deviation of these percentages to find out whether that stock shows a high volatility or a low volatility. The intelligent investor will obviously want to pick those stocks which have low volatility because their returns will be more predictable. So what descriptive statistics are very good at making sense of historical information to the immense benefit to the investor. As has been discussed so far, the historical returns examined without the benefit of descriptive statistics will not generate a lot of information. To the naked eye, stock returns on a historical basis reveal no pattern. There is no discernible trend. Viewed through the lens of descriptive statistics however, stock market returns suddenly become very orderly and systematic. Now the investor knows which stocks to embrace and which stocks to keep away from. Now the investor knows what the optimum portfolio will be which will take into account both systematic risk and unsystematic risk and generate the highest returns.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Nobel Nomination of David Graeber Essay example -- Anthropology

Graeber has been one of the most prominent anthropologists within the last 5 years. His impact as an Anthropologist has, in many aspects, rejuvenated some part of the field at large and given direction to anthropologist of the twenty first century. Currently, many anthropologists consider the field at several crossroads. First, on defining what and how anthropology will move into the twenty first century, be it a social study lacking the fundamental scientific method or if it will embrace the scientific method and lose its social aspects. Secondly, as anthropologist begins to see the spread of unbridled western culture, some anthropologists believe we study a dying subject or a subject that may march towards completion. What the field of anthropology is without is social study aspects? One might deconstruct it Biology with some psychological aspects. In this moment of doubt, Anthropologist have see a great individual arise, who has demonstrated the fields uses and its power within the today’s society. David Gaerber is an anthropologist from Yale University. He has made his impact as a member of the labor union Industrial Workers of the World and as a social and political activist. His work as an anthropologist resulted in sparking the fire that has become the Occupy Wall Street Movement, which has refocused national attention to one greatest economic injustice in the American financial and political system. As an anthropologist David Graeber's research focused on relations between nobles and former slaves in a rural community in Madagascar. As a theorist, he has also worked extensively on value theory, and has done work on a research project on social movements dedicated purely to principles of direct democracy and direct ac... ...aduation and understanding the complex system of debt, leading and financial difference that Graeber has brought into the limelight will allow me to better understand the system how globalization is affecting whatever people I am working with. Graeber has been the unsung champion for too long. As anthropologist, it is our responsibility to maintain our field and the justice in equality anthropology can and should represent. Graeber is a model example of this and deserves our recognition, as a new and bright mind within our field that represents a new way forward by fighting for equality. That is why Graeber deserves the Nobel Prize in Anthropology. â€Æ' Work Cited Graeber, David 2011 Debt: The First 5000 Years. Brooklyn: Melville House Publishing. Weise, Karen 2011 David Graeber, the Anti-Leader of Occupy Wall Street. Bloomberg Businessweek, October 26 Nobel Nomination of David Graeber Essay example -- Anthropology Graeber has been one of the most prominent anthropologists within the last 5 years. His impact as an Anthropologist has, in many aspects, rejuvenated some part of the field at large and given direction to anthropologist of the twenty first century. Currently, many anthropologists consider the field at several crossroads. First, on defining what and how anthropology will move into the twenty first century, be it a social study lacking the fundamental scientific method or if it will embrace the scientific method and lose its social aspects. Secondly, as anthropologist begins to see the spread of unbridled western culture, some anthropologists believe we study a dying subject or a subject that may march towards completion. What the field of anthropology is without is social study aspects? One might deconstruct it Biology with some psychological aspects. In this moment of doubt, Anthropologist have see a great individual arise, who has demonstrated the fields uses and its power within the today’s society. David Gaerber is an anthropologist from Yale University. He has made his impact as a member of the labor union Industrial Workers of the World and as a social and political activist. His work as an anthropologist resulted in sparking the fire that has become the Occupy Wall Street Movement, which has refocused national attention to one greatest economic injustice in the American financial and political system. As an anthropologist David Graeber's research focused on relations between nobles and former slaves in a rural community in Madagascar. As a theorist, he has also worked extensively on value theory, and has done work on a research project on social movements dedicated purely to principles of direct democracy and direct ac... ...aduation and understanding the complex system of debt, leading and financial difference that Graeber has brought into the limelight will allow me to better understand the system how globalization is affecting whatever people I am working with. Graeber has been the unsung champion for too long. As anthropologist, it is our responsibility to maintain our field and the justice in equality anthropology can and should represent. Graeber is a model example of this and deserves our recognition, as a new and bright mind within our field that represents a new way forward by fighting for equality. That is why Graeber deserves the Nobel Prize in Anthropology. â€Æ' Work Cited Graeber, David 2011 Debt: The First 5000 Years. Brooklyn: Melville House Publishing. Weise, Karen 2011 David Graeber, the Anti-Leader of Occupy Wall Street. Bloomberg Businessweek, October 26

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

My Name Is Chimezirim Amadi

Being the Curious four year old that I was, I darted reading the dictionary not even knowing what the words said or meant. The reason I did that was because I liked looking at the words, wondering what It said, I was too preserved to ask anyone to teach me how to read, so I tried to teach myself. I never wanted anyone to see me reading because I did not understand anything I was reading. At night when everyone went to sleep, I snuck out of my bed, went and got the dictionary, and started looking and reading the words out loud one by one. One night I snuck out, and my father heard a little voice talking.He snuck over behind me ND asked what I was doing. I tried to hide the dictionary but he grabbed it and asked what was I doing with it, I was stunned and speechless, I was so speechless that I started mumbling. I mumbled all the way to my room. The next morning, right before he went to work he told my mom what happened. My mom decided to sit me down and ask me about the situation, fina lly I was ready to face the truth. That was when I told her, I wanted to learn how to read. She smiled and told me I did not have to be shy about It, so she bought me some easy to read books with pictures and theseHUGE words. It was excellent to read books with so much art. I loved reading and everything thing about it, so much that by the age of eight I started making my own fiction books. First I told my mom to buy me a big composition book with brand new colored pencils, crayons and markers so that I could make an Illustrated book, she said no, I should Just use blank paper and the art supply I already had. I begged her so many times and I kept getting the same answer â€Å"NO†. When my dad came home from work. Asked him and he said yes, so he took me to Wall-Mart and bought me a full set.I as so excited to make my own book. But the only thing was that I could not really think of anything to write about. I sat in my room for twenty minutes thinking, so I started drawing th is huge monster and that was when I figured out what my story line was. I loved to write and draw, so every year until the age of thirteen, I made an Illustrated book. When I was thirteen, there was a contest for junior writers and whoever won the contest gets five hundred dollars. Immediately when I heard of the contest, I joined. The end result was that I lost.I was so disappointed in myself cause I thought I was a good writer. Even though I did not win, my teacher read my story and gave it to the Literary Magazine In my school and they loved It. They put It as a flirt page story so that everyone can see what a great writer I was. I did not think I was a good writer after I lost that contest, even though I did make 1 OFF stories. I thought I was not going to write for pleasure again, until I got to sophomore year of high school. When I became a sophomore, I Joined the year book club. Our teacher assigned each person a Job to do.I really wanted to be the one to take all the strictu res, but she decided to put me in charge of writing the cover letter and some photo captions. I told her that I was a terrible writer and she should reassign me, but she disagreed. I stalled on writing the cover letter for two months because not only could I not think of anything to write, but I did not want to write for pleasure. One boring day, I decided to sit down and write my cover letter, It went from it being a requirement to pleasure. When I started writing the cover letter, I could not stop.I had so many ideas running through my head that I Just kept writing and it felt good. The next day I handed the cover letter to my teacher, she read it and she thought it was remarkable. It was so remarkable that she had to read it to the whole class. I felt like I accomplished something. My senior year of high school, we started learning about Shakespearean most extraordinary play, Hamlet. The longest play Shakespeare ever wrote and also one of the greatest story in English literature. The story of Hamlet is about a prince who grieves of his father's death.His mother Queen Gertrude marries his uncle Claudia, who killed his father. The ghost of the late king kept appearing to Hamlet to tell him that Claudia poisoned him in the garden so that he could become king. Hamlet decides to get revenge on his uncle. He killed Polonium because he was eavesdropping. Aphelia, Polonium's daughter drowns herself because Hamlet drove her to madness with his confusion of his love for her. Polonium's son Alerts returns to Denmark for revenge of his father and his sister's death. A battle took place in the castle, to end with the death of Hamlet, Gertrude, Alerts, and Claudia.Hamlet was such an influential play to me because Hamlet was hell bent on revenge and his wit and determination reminded me of myself. I was so influenced, for my senior paper in high school, I wrote a 21st century story similar to Hamlet. English as a subject has had an ongoing role in my life. From Reading th e dictionary and not knowing anything it said, to making my own illustrated stories and to Just writing for pleasure. English has had a remarkable influence in my life. I always had a personal connection with English since my childhood to the present.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Discipline and Punishment

The words discipline and punishment can often be used to mean the same thing. But they are very different from each other. To me discipline is a means of helping a child to learn how to act when they are in public as well as when the parent is not around; for example whether it be at school, their grandparents house, or when being babysat a child should always act as if their parents are there which means; being respectful, listening as well as doing what you are told. I feel like discipline should never stray away from the fact the you are trying to focus on the positive aspects and self esteem of the developing child. The reason for discipline is to help a child learn how to control their behavior as well as their emotions and the child should be reassured with firm reminders. Punishment is also another form discipline. There are several methods to physical punishment which would including spanking, push-ups, squatting against a wall, or even hitting. There are psychological punishments such as taking away privileges, extra chores, writing sentences, or sending a child to their room. The reason for punishments is to discourage unacceptable behavior. To most people discipline and punishment can be viewed as the same, but there are certain methods to discipline and punishment that are different. Punishment and discipline methods both have some similarities that attempt to correct the negative behavior at hand. Punishment removes the accountability for the misbehavior from the child. Punishment is not really teaching a child what they did is wrong and what to right the next time. Punishment is ultimately telling the child if they do something wrong then they will be punished whether it be push ups, extra chores, or TV. taken away. Children need to learn that they need to take accountability for their own actions to be able to exercise self-control so that they can be successful as well respected adults. The objective of punishment is to stop a child from misbehaving. However, punishment usually only stops the behavior for that short period of time the punishment is given. Punishment does not necessarily not teach a child how to not do the same behavior again in the future. Severe punishments can cause physical and emotional damage that could last throughout a child's life. Harsh punishments can also lead to abuse which could follow on to their children as well. Another difference between discipline and punishment is that punishment only works in the present. If a child is punished by being spanked or screamed at, they will learn not to misbehave when someone can see what they are doing but, they are not learning how to not misbehave in the future. Discipline is designed to teach a child how to exercise self-control and how to not repeat the misbehavior in the future. For example if the child is with a group of friends who decided to do drugs, that child has been taught through the discipline and guidance of their parents that drugs are bad. So as a result the child has enough self-control and discipline to know not to follow in their friends footsteps. Discipline and punishment are different in that discipline is an on going learning process that allows parents to teach their child self-control, respect, and the importance of acceptable behavior and non-acceptable behavior. In life a child is going to become an adult and be faced with obstacles and barriers; that will test their morals and values that their parents instilled in them. Parents have a responsibility to communicate their expectations to their child in a manner that the child will understand. Which also means knowing what is acceptable behavior and what is not acceptable behavior. There are many types of discipline, and punishment is one of them. Punishment can work in the moment, but as a parent it is their job to commit to a discipline process that is ongoing throughout their child's development to truly change the behaviors in a child Discipline and Punishment

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Life of Henry Ford essays

The Life of Henry Ford essays The nineteen hundreds were a difficult time for most people living in the United States. The railroad was the biggest employer in the country. Most people living in this time period were poor. They were sharecroppers who still lived on their former masters land or freed slaves who had little or no education. Even though it was a difficult time quite a few of the technologies we enjoy today, were invented in the early nineteen hundreds. Henry Ford was one of the great inventors of that difficult time period. The oldest of six children Ford was born July 30, 1863 on a farm near Dearborn, Michigan. Ford attended a one-room schoolhouse until he was fifteen years old. While attending school he developed a strong dislike for farm work and a fascination for machinery. Ford left his family in 1879 and moved to Detroit to work as an apprentice machinist. Ford remained working as an apprentice machinist for three years, then returned to Dearborn to help out with the farm work. While at home he still found ways to work with engines and machinery, he often operated and repaired steam engines. Ford then moved back to Detroit were he became chief engineer for the Edison Illuminating Company. Although Fords father wanted him to be a farmer and offered him forty acres of land Ford continued his work with machinery. In 1888 Ford married Clara Bryant, the daughter of a neighboring farmer in Dearborn. Mrs. Ford took an active part in her husbands experiments with engines. Some of the first tests of Fords trial engines were made in the family kitchen, with Mrs. Ford checking the engines oil supply. While working for the Edison Illuminating Co. Ford designed and built and automobile in his home workshop. By mounting a gasoline engine on a four-wheeled carriage body. The car did not look impressive at all. The body shook when the two-cylinder engine was running. The car was steered by a le ...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Tips About 10 Technological Terms

Tips About 10 Technological Terms Tips About 10 Technological Terms Tips About 10 Technological Terms By Mark Nichol Which tech terms merit capitalization, and which are generic? Which terms are open compounds, and which are treated as one word? Here’s a guide to treatment of some of the most common names for technological phenomena: 1. App: This abbreviation of application has existed for nearly a quarter century but has only recently entered general usage. Few publications bother to use the full term on first reference. 2. E-mail: This abbreviation of â€Å"electronic mail† prevails in usage over email. (Note that the e should not be capitalized.) The formal plural is e-mail (or, if you prefer â€Å"e-mail messages,† to distinguish the transmissions from the term for the concept); e-mails is the informal plural form. E-book, e-commerce, and associated terms follow the hyphenation style of e-mail. 3. Global Positioning System: This satellite-based navigation system is a specific entity enabled by the US government and is therefore initial capitalized. It is also identified by the abbreviation GPS, which is so ubiquitous that some publications don’t bother to spell the name out on first reference. However, to distinguish between the system and a device that employs it, I recommend using the abbreviation as an adjective in that context for example, â€Å"GPS receiver† rather than the letters alone. 4. Home page: This term for the page from which all other pages on a website are accessed is generally treated as an open compound, though some publications close it. 5. Initial lowercase letters: Honor initial lowercase letters (iPhone), midcaps (YouTube), and the like, but in the case, so to speak, of the former, avoiding starting a sentence with such aberrant branding gimmicks. 6. In-box: This word for your e-mail program’s main folder for incoming messages, borrowed from the name for a tray on the top of a desk in which papers are delivered to the desk’s occupant, is often hyphenated, though Gmail, at least, treats it as a closed compound, as do some publications. 7. Internet: Some publications, arguing that the Internet is an amorphous network of interconnected computers, lowercase this term, but most treat it as a proper noun as do organizations that set international standards and maintain technological infrastructure. (However, intranet, which refers to a closed, internal online network for example, that of a company is generic.) Some day, though, Internet may, like many other once capitalized terms, be downgraded to generic status. 8. Software names: Capitalize names of all software. Also, when referring to word-processing software, include the brand name â€Å"Microsoft Word,† â€Å"Adobe Acrobat,† and so on at least on first reference. 9. Smartphone: This term for is a mobile phone with sophisticated recording and communication functions is a closed compound. 10. Web: When the word appears by itself to refer to the World Wide Web, or when it appears in open compounds such as â€Å"Web page† and â€Å"Web host,† retain initial capitalization. When it is the first component of a closed compound (webmaster, website), lowercase it. (You’ll find the latter example as two words, with web capitalized, elsewhere on this site, because I just recently accepted the inevitable and started styling the term in the prevailing form rather than the one long favored by the technorati.) Also, observe the distinction between the Web and the Internet; the former is but one component of the latter. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comparative Forms of AdjectivesThe Four Sounds of the Spelling OUUlterior and Alterior

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Technological Developments For The Field Of Art And Design Case Study

Technological Developments For The Field Of Art And Design - Case Study Example The different developments in the field of art and design have enhanced the level of designs developed and created more complicated designs that were originally not possible. Considering the different efforts and thoughts that are invested in designing, the complexity of the subject makes it mandatory and challenging for the designers to satisfactorily develop designs that they desire. The development of these designs in a manual manner creates difficulties and errors that may result in poor works and poor designs. It is therefore of vital essence to have technology applied in the field of art and design to create better designs that can have sophisticated compositions that can create a good product that matches the needs of the current technological world. The area of art has for years since its earlier developments relied heavily on bare talent that may not sustain the ideas of the developer for long. The consideration of technology into the field creates an avenue for the designers to feature more in the field and continuously produce products for a longer period without failures. The content of this paper discusses the different approaches that technology has enhanced in the field. Among the many aspects, that the world has had to do away with to pave way for technology is the association of life aspects to culture. Many of the developments and resistance that technology faced during the years was related to cultural associations that originally centered in all aspects from the way we perceive art and the different designs. Embracing culture in all these aspects makes it difficult for technology to develop better results, make the field of art, and design more successful. The resourcefulness of the field has also slowly has transformed the field with other changes that have seen to the development of better designs and more enhanced.

Friday, November 1, 2019

[narrative]A little learning is a dangerous thing Essay

[narrative]A little learning is a dangerous thing - Essay Example Little did we know that our mode of dressing was termed skimpy and irritated some people in Saudi Arabia. Our ignorance led to the climax of conflict when my friend Jerry attempted to shake the hands of a lady who was passing near our hotel room. This act created a scene that cost us endless explanations in a bid to explain that our intentions were not wrong. We were caught and locked up in a room for hours for indecent behavior. After long hours of discussion, we managed to convince the security men that we were simple visitors and had no intention of any kind with the lady. We even explained we found it courteous to greet people. We were later released with severe warnings. At the end of the day we learnt that had we researched more on the culture of the Middle East, we would not be in trouble for behaving badly. With the tough lessons learnt, life continues. My friends and I are very cautious especially when we do not have enough information on some aspects of