Income elasticity of demand Essay

World trade for wheat is greater than for all other crops combined and is cultivated in 128 counties. A farming company specializing in wheat and barley production (Silo Pty Ltd), one of many producers in the international market, is greatly affected by storms in the U.S and South America. These storms have reduced the global wheat yield by 50 per cent. Wheat continues to be the most important food grain resource as it is used in a large majority of foods around the world. Its production leads other crops such as rice, maize and potatoes. Despite wheat’s great importance in the food industry, it would still be regarded as being price ‘elastic’ and have a positive income elasticity, as there are many competitive suppliers around the world, which could possibly lead to fluctuations in prices and prevent large shortages. Price elasticity of demand arises due to the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good to change its price, when all other influences on buyers’ plans stay the same. Income elasticity of demand is the responsiveness of demand due to a change in income. Factors that generally affect the supply of goods or services include, the price of factors of production, the prices of related goods produced, expected future prices, the number of suppliers, technology and the state of nature. Demand is also effected by such factors as, the prices of related goods, expected future prices, income, expected future income and credit, population and preferences. If ever there were a shortage of wheat due to bad weather or storms, such that has happened to Silo Pty Ltd, other crops such as barley or maize could be used as an alternative resource, thus the supply would decrease and eventually the demand would decrease slightly as well as there are alternative resources at possibly cheaper prices. This would result in wheat being considered as a normal good in western society as for which demand increases as income increases. Graph 1 shows the situation before the storms hit and the effects after the storms. The demand curve is D and the original supply curve is labelled S0. After the storms hit, the supply curve shifted left to S1. This represents the supply decreasing, further increasing the price. Graph 2 shows the effects of the expected future price rise. Demand increases, shifting from D0 to D1, supply decreases shifting the supply curve from S1 to S2.

John Marshall Court Cases

Marbury vs. Madison What was the case: Marbury was a soon-to-be appointed justice of the peace when Adam’s presidency came to an end, resulting in his successor, Thomas Jefferson denying credibility of the appointments because they were not completed during the time of Adam’s presidency. Jefferson’s Secretary of State, James Madison, was asked to allow the commissions. Decision: The Supreme Court denied Marbury’s writ of mandamus and he was denied the commissions. Reasoning: Congress cannot expand the Supreme Court’s power past Article three, and the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus.Significance: The significance of this court case is that it affirmed the judicial review and helped make the judicial branch co-equal with the two other governmental branches. Fletcher vs. Peck What was the case: In Georgia, legislators were bribed to allow 30 million acres of land to be sold for less than two cents per acre. This scam was ca lled the Yazoo land scam. In purchasing land from Peck during the Yazoo land buying and selling in Georgia, Fletcher sued Peck for selling land against the 1796 act claiming the land was not yet constitutional impaired by an act in Georgia.Decision: The land was given a clear title to Fletcher and the act was unconstitutional. Reasoning: A law that deems a property unconstitutional established under a previous law is unconstitutional. Significance: This was the first time a state law had been overturned by the Supreme Court. McCulloch vs. Maryland What was the case: Maryland enacted a law that requires all banks without a charter from the state to pay a tax and they are prohibited to print money without stamped paper from the state.McCulloch, a cashier in a branch of the Second National Bank in Baltimore, did not pay the taxes, resulting in the suing of McCulloch by Maryland. McCulloch questioned the constitutionality of the act. Decision: McCulloch won. Reasoning: The Bank of the U nited States is permitted to establish a branch in any state, the state has no power. Significance: This case gave the United States government implied powers ontop of those listed in the constitution. Dartmouth College vs. WoodwardWhat is the case: The charter was to Dartmouth College by the King of England in 1769 and had specific purposes for its establishment. In 1816, New Hampshire’s state legislature passed a law changing the school from a private school to a public school. The school argued that the state did not have the right to do so. Decision: The verdict came as a win for Dartmouth College. The New Hampshire law was removed. Reasoning: The charter was between the King and the trustees so any American laws that would change such a charter would become invalid.Significance: The decision on the court case increased business investment and growth due to the security businesses have without the interference of the state on their charters. Gibbons vs. Ogden What was the case: Gibbons was granted permission from the federal government to operate steamboats between New Jersey and New York. Ogden was given permission by the state by being granted a monopoly to operate steamboats between New Jersey and New York. Ogden saw it unfair the special treatment Gibbons had over Ogden and he filed a lawsuit. Decision: The verdict came to be judgment for Gibbons.Reasoning: The Commerce Clause of Article one allows Gibbons to continue his trade in the trading waters. Significance: The decision on this case gave the federal government the ability to regulate commerce between states. Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia What was the case: The Cherokee Nation brought this case to the Supreme Court against the state of Georgia in order to receive justice over the laws that destroy the Cherokee Nation as a separate political society and forbid them from the lands that they had set out for their Nation in treaties between the Nation and the United States government.Decision: T he Supreme Court denied the Cherokee Indians the request against the state of Georgia. The Cherokee Nation lacked jurisdiction for the case. Reasoning: The United States Supreme Court only deals with cases with â€Å"foreign nations† and the Indian nation was excluded from the foreign nations when this was determined. Significance: This case left the Cherokee Indian nation dependent on the United States. This case also led to the Trail of Tears which moved the Cherokee Indians and many more West where along the way, thousands lost their lives.Worcester vs. Georgia What was the case: After hearing about the Cherokee Nation v. Georgia case decision and reasoning, Samuel Worcester took Georgia to court again because he felt that the state had no authority to pass laws that go on in the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation which is a nation recognized by treaties signed by both the Indians and the United States. Decision: Worcester won, disregarding his conviction of living in the C herokee Nation without a state permit.Reasoning: The law passed by Georgia was unconstitutional and went against the treaties signed by both the Cherokee Nation and the United States government in agreement that the Nation would be politically independent and its own nation from the country around it. Significance: The ruling on this case made the Cherokee Nation recognized as a politically independent nation from the country that envelopes it. Part C Evidence from this lesson such as his fairness in his decisions in the Supreme Court cases and his respect from high officials from part A if this assignment, this statement is made true.John Marshall represents American law as a whole by his contributions to the laws and relationships between state government and federal government proven in the McCulloch v. Maryland case, for example. Also, his contributions to the â€Å"foreign nations† and our relationships with them such as the Cherokee Indians was strengthened and made his tory. John Marshall truly was the leader of American law and he would represent it proudly.

Poop

Proposition Number six in California: what did it say? How was it decided? Rights from working in public schools in California. It was not passed due to the support of Harvey Milk, Pres. Carter, and other gay activists who argued for that act. 4. Why did Dan White resign?Why wasn't he allowed back? Dan White resigned because the salary he was receiving was not enough to support his family. Also found politics to be corrupt and unethical. He was not allowed back because of his arguments with Harvey Milk and other politicians. 5. How do you feel about the public response to Milk's and Anemone's murder? I believe the protestors had every right to gather in silence and try to accept what had happened to such great politicians. I completely agree with that one old women that was interviewed on the street that said â€Å"l am a very old women, and I do not want to be around when Dan comes out.I feel as though the protestors were so full of anger with the murders that the violent acts were almost inevitable. I feel as though they did need a way to grieve, but burning police cars took it a little too far, and people got hurt. 6. What happened in the trial of Dan White? Dan White said that he was not planning on killing anyone that day, although he had a gun in his pocket, extra bullets, and went through the window into the building. He also used the â€Å"Twinkle Defense† that he had consumed so much Junk food causing him to do such horrible things. He was sentenced for 5 years in prison for man slaughter.

SLP2 THE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Essay

SLP2 THE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS - Essay Example Therefore, it is pivotal for the company to ensure operations run smoothly amidst the political instability and economic problems afflicting the region. More often than not, peaceful protests and rallies lobbying for political reforms turn violent and destructive, as protestors adopt more extremist ideologies. For example, Venezuela has experienced 6,369 protests in the first six months of 2014, which were triggered by the escalating anti-government sentiments supported by the growing opposition faction (Shackman, 2014). Both public and private infrastructures get damaged during clashes between protestors and the police. Besides political instability, DirectTV faces other challenges while operating in Latin America, which include the imposition of price controls and the planned strategy by Latin American governments to update foreign exchange rules. Price controls adversely affect business operations, as they undercut fair competitiveness, a prime feature of the free market. For example, in Venezuela, price controls facilitate expropriations with a 30 percent cap on profits acquired (Avadhani, 2010). Foreign investors operating in hostile markets defined by unwarranted price controls shy away from committing to more investment opportunities. Conversely, Latin American governments are prone to updating foreign tax rules to further their personal interests. Therefore, foreign investors in the region are always wary of the foreign policies, as they might translate into adverse consequences for their businesses. In the case of Argentina, which ended the previous year with major challenges, as exemplifie d by long lasting blackouts in various major cities, the government struggled to contain social dissatisfaction on public security and prices of basic goods. This was likely to lead to heightened political and social polarization, with a high probability of industrial unrest. In order to safeguard itself against these

Explain why,and how,an English-based Creole is being promoted in any Essay

Explain why,and how,an English-based Creole is being promoted in any one country - Essay Example Consequently, an individual’s language also undergoes the interactions with other languages existing in his surroundings and such interactions between the languages result into the structuring of a new form of language, called Pidgin that the individuals of different languages can use at their own conveniences. Such Amenities and conveniences that a Pidgin provides its speakers evolves from the amalgamation of the convenient forms and contents of both of the languages (Kachru & Nelson, 2006). Indeed a Pidgin exists to serve a particular set of purposes such as economic, political, social, religious, etc. When along the passage of social transformation a Pidgin or a set of varied Pidgins is widely used by the people of a country, a Creole happens to exist in the form of a stable language with particular grammatical rules and norms. So it is difficult to distinct the separate existence of a Creole along the Pidgin-Creole continuum (Bickerton, 1975). This paper aims to substantia te the development of a Creole in a country, particularly in Jamaica. Various linguists have defined Creole in different ways. The commonalities of these is that all of them consider a Creole as a stable language with a set of grammatical norms and rules that evolve from its prior form, Pidgin, whereas the later serves as a lingua franca used by several linguistic communities for a particular purpose. Pidgin and Creole are often described as â€Å"trade language† and â€Å"contact language† and necessarily a Creole originates from a Pidgin. As Foy (2007) says in this regard, A Creole language is usually described as the descendant of a pidgin language and created when a pidgin language acquires native speakers and develops into a mother tongue, hence the popular assertion that a Creole language is any language with a pidgin in its ancestry (p. 9). An overall analysis of the development of a Pidgin and therefore, a Creole in any region is bound to reveal

What do you understand by the term the Washington Consensus Does it Essay

What do you understand by the term the Washington Consensus Does it adequately describe the ideology which informs the policies of the IMF in the new millenniu - Essay Example From a technical viewpoint, the term ‘Washington Consensus’ is a name given to the policies which were suggested by Washington based institutes to the Latin American countries in order to bring up and improve their economies. The term was originally created by Williamson and has been a part of political and economic terminology ever since. The defenders of the consensus call it a boon and a path to greater economic freedom for the less developed countries of the world. Those who oppose it call it a cruel implementation of new liberalism and a tool for the global hegemony of America (Williamson, 2000). Williamson himself is well aware of the detractions and has said that people misunderstand the notion completely. He says that audiences around the world think that the Washington Consensus are a name given to neo-liberal policies that have been forced upon various weaker countries by the Washington-based international financial organisations that have led those countries towards a state of crisis and created misery for their people (Harvard University, 2003). The vastly different opinions created by the implementation of the Washington Consensus shows that the policies are controversial if nothing else. The policies themselves were outlined by Williamson (2000) as the implementation of monetary discipline in terms of trade, redirection of public expenditure towards projects that could given high economic returns to the people as well as alleviate poverty (healthcare, education etc.), a broader tax base, free floating interest rates, liberalized trade policies, creation of foreign investment opportunities, privatization of national enterprises, deregulation of the economy and the establishment of competitive exchange rates. While the policies mentioned above might be seen as helpful and useful for a developing economy, there are situations where such policies can be harmful if the implementation is weak or uncontrolled

The slave trade in Latin America. Profit and human misery Research Paper

The slave trade in Latin America. Profit and human misery - Research Paper Example As early as the 15th century the Spanish were gaining a stranglehold on Mexico and the various tribal lands of Latin America. A series of conquistadors, essentially privateers, more adventurers than soldiers, struck out on their own to secure the spoils and riches of the new lands. Up to the 16th century activities in this part of world were predominantly exploratory treasure hunts. Standing in their way, however, were the multitude of sedentary and fierce nomadic indigenous tribes which had to be overcome if the land was to be subjugated. By 1502 the first shipload of Africans had been landed in Hispanola. By the time of the full conquest of Mexico in the 1520 and Peru in the 1530s, all the elements of the colonial system of Latin America were falling into place. In Mexico, farming and mining were underway. In Brazil, under the Portuguese, the initial period of some coexistence through bartering and trade with the Indians was morphing into formal Spanish and Portuguese royal control .1 Along with it came the beginnings of a plantation economy. On the main land, as in the Caribbean, indigenous resistance and subsequent depopulation was spreading throughout Latin America, and by 1570 war and disease had taken its toll. Traditional sources of free labor diminished, and within thirty years of the Spanish landing tribes had been decimated. Along with depopulation and the emerging economy came the recognition that a large labor force would be needed to work the mines, ranches and sugar plantations cropping up like seedlings throughout Latin America.... rld, the need for slaves expanded, prompting the Portuguese traders to explore new markets for their â€Å"product.† Within thirty years of Columbus’s discovery, the Portuguese, beginning in Brazil, tapped into the growing market and before long were supplying an unending cache of slave workers for a burgeoning sugar industry. Assessing the northeastern coast of Brazil as particularly adopted to sugar growth, they began importing thousands of African slaves to that area, each of which was â€Å"not a mere captive but a commodity†¦ an investment†¦[that]†¦ impelled a vast expansion of the American sugar dominions. 2—an expansion that would eventually evolve as a lucrative commercial enterprise over the next three centuries via numerous other European slave traders. Estimates say that â€Å"By 1700 nearly three-quarters of the population of the British West Indies was African.† 3 Many countries including the French, Dutch and British eventuall y became prominent in the slave trade. The details of the actual practice seem today stunningly inhumane. And least it be forgotten, the truth remains that â€Å"The slave trade [its practices] was so awful in itself that one is apt to forget that it was merely a means to an end.† 4 That end was profit. Life on the Slave Ship Numerous accounts exist of the misery, suffering and dehumanizing environment of the slave ship that defy all modern sense of morality â€Å"as a brutally efficient piece of technology and site of struggle.† 5 All of the Europeans—Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, British, French and Italians--freighted ships laden with barter to trade with Africans for African slaves. To those slave traders 16th through the 18th century, practices that would now be condemned universally as nothing short of â€Å"deliberately concealed

Drosophila Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Drosophila - Essay Example Mutant flies, with fault in any of numerous thousand genes are presented, and the entire genome has lately been sequenced. The drosophila egg is about mm long. It takes about one day after fertilisation for the embryo to grow and emerge into a worm-like larva. The larva eats and develops constantly, moulting one day, two days, and four days after hatching (first, second and third instars). After two days as a third instar larva, it moults one more time to form a motionless pupa. Over the next four days, the body is totally altered to give the adult winged form, which then hatches from the pupal case and is prolific within about 12 hours. Drosophila is so admired; it would be nearly unfeasible to list the number of effects that are being done with it. Initially, it was mainly used in genetics, for example to learn that genes were associated to proteins and to learn the rules of genetic legacy. More lately, it is used mainly in developmental biology, stare to see how a multifaceted organism arises from a comparatively simple fertilised egg. Embryonic development is where most of the concentration is determined, but there is also a great deal of attention in how a variety of adult formation develop in the pupa, mainly purposeful on the development of the complex eye, but also on the wings, legs and other organs. Mutation analysis Mutation analysis is a pre-eminent investigation too in modern biology. In broad, new mutations are produced and monitor to recognize genes that influence a biological trait of attention. The goal is to recognize the fundamental genes domineering trait manifestation and the role of these genes in the progression. Mutations in D. melanogaster have recognized genes that can raise longevity. In all cases, identical DNA (P elements) was used to encourage the mutations. When a P constituent moves and reinserts itself in another place in the genome it can cause a mutation. As disparate to transgenic over expression, all of the mutations illustrated reduce the expression of, or completely inactivate, precise genes. The first D. melanogaster longevity-extension mutation was in the Methuselah (mth) gene (Lin et al. 1998). The mth alteration results in incomplete loss of function of the gene and widen longevity by 35 percent. The mth gene generates a protein, most probably a G protein--coupled receptor, that fit in to a family of proteins related with a range of functions in higher organisms together with endocrinology, neurology, and reaction to external incentive. The recognized G protein product of the mth gene is not analogous to any of the G proteins of known function in other organisms, and thus the precise function of the mth gene is not compulsory by comparison with other organisms. There is evidence that the mth gene plays a role in regulation of neuromuscular neurotransmitter function (Song et al. 2001). Again, neuromuscular function might be particularly significant for aging and longevity. The mt/i mutation resulted in improved stress resistance (Lin et al. 1998), and the mutant flies were roughly one-third larger than controls. Mutant flies were significantly more resistant to malnourishment,

Nucor Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nucor Corporation - Case Study Example Generically, a value strategy is the pattern of decisions and actions that constitute the firm's overall approach toward providing realizable net value to customers. A value strategy inherently involves all parts of a firm's functional and organizational strategies that provide value realized by customers or require sacrifices by customers (see Appendix Table 1) Nucor follows a four-part growth strategy to increase its production capacities and quality that improve product quality. This strategy: "involves new acquisitions, new plant construction, continued plant upgrades and cost reduction efforts, and joint ventures" (Thompson et al 2008 p. C 115). Despite the use of strategic management process and content models, many managers fail to maintain or improve their firm's competitive position. The new globally competitive context requires that top management alter its current predispositions toward certain stakeholders and financial performance measures and refocus on continuously improving net customer value. "By 1985, Nucor had become the seventh largest steel company in Alnerica, with revenues of $758 million. With 18 plants having the capacity to produce 25 million tons of steel annually, 2006 revenues of$14.8 billion, and net profits of$I.8 billion" Thompson et al 2008 p. C-113). These changes suggest new strategic management processes and new strategy content paralleling those in current models. All firms have a value strategy, but few have completely conceptualized and clearly articulated value as the basis for competing. In fact, many firms are more competitor-oriented than customer-oriented. As a result, many managers are more familiar with their firm's competitive strategy than its strategy for improving customer value. Some inadvertently compromise net customer value either by producing products/services perceived to be of low quality or by requiring excessively high sacrifices of customers. Ironically, the most competitive firms are the customer-oriented, not the competitor-oriented firms. In financial terms, "new plant construction and boosting tons sold from 11.2 million in 2000 to 22.1 million in 2006" (Thompson 2008, p. C114). The uniqueness of Nucor is the synergistic combination of low cost and differentiation that may come with a value-based strategy is a direct result of managing critical systems that contribute to value. For Nucor, the acquisition process is limited to broadening the product line is erroneous (Nucor Corporation 2008). Many other business goals can be fulfilled by acquisition. These include strengthening the company's financial position, procuring the services of one or more key personnel or new executive talent, obtaining land, buildings, and equipment for expansion, stabilizing cyclical or seasonal types of business, avoiding concentration in a government-regulated area of industry, acquiring the technical skills of highly trained scientists, and many other critical elements in business which determine growth and success. The process of acquisition, then, is one that ought to be considered by the management of any enterprise as its plans for growth are executed (see Appendix Table 3, 4). Acquisition is one way to be considered in achieving the complete set of defined objectives. And many companies have found it a very satisfactory way. Annual report shows that acquisition strategy allows the company to achieve a steady growth and increase its

Information System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Information System - Essay Example Technology is considered a major component of human activities; besides, there is a theory of technological determinism, which contends that technology is a determinant of the direction of cultural advancement, though it does not determine growth of social foundation. Moreover, there are assumptions that technological innovation is considered a driving force behind the social chances, hence establishing the social actors and relations (Hanks, 2009, 23). Nevertheless, this paper will present a discussion to support the motion that information systems have revolutionised the way people work. Technology is considered practical application of knowledge in an urbanized way in which improves the human life. Technology has a greater influence on the society in various dimensions. This has led to finding ways of doing things more efficiently and effectively. This is due to the application of some devices like computers. On the other hand, Revolution refers to the gradual increase complexity as time goes by things change within the perspective of technology improving (Eisenstein, 2002, 87). This is due to the increased innovation through the application of knowledge in order to come up with new things. ... Feature of technology relates to patterns of social consumption and establishment of consumer logic in developing countries leading to the change of cultures (Pacey, 1985, 12). However, technology has been associated with negative cultural aspects, whereby it also results to transmission of bad culture, which affects people negatively. Information systems through the internet by use of computers has influenced their behaviours in a way that alters the way individual identifies and recognizes the social sphere of action, tradition cultures, values systems and factors of social harmony (Hanks, 2009, 26). There are special cultural identities to members of a certain community that relates to the need for endogenous developing, whereby there s a compulsory process of social evolution and change that results to the establishment of values and models of external behaviours (Hanks, 2009, 26). These behaviours are inspired by the advent of foreign technologies and cultural systems. For insta nce, communication through the internet has established ability to transmit sounds and images across the world, thus leading to reproduction of altered face of contemporary culture, and this influence the way people work (Grint and Woolgar, 1997, 20). Science has a substantial role in the modern life with a profound impact on the civilization of human beings. Information systems have lead to the provision of remarkable insights in the modern world. It resulted from scientific revolution in the 20th century, which marked a quantum leap to the modern world (Lara, 2010, 3). This led to many technologies and the development of various devices and machines that have

Marine Bio Essay Example for Free

Marine Bio Essay You can determine the turtle’s species by the upper shell brown/reddish brown color, the lower shell creamy/yellow color, body skin brown/yellow color, the rusty brown scales on their head, and the weight and length of the turtle varying from 77-227 kilograms and 1. 2 meters. b) You can determine the sex by many features. The turtle’s sexual maturity isn’t achieved until they are 15-20 years old. Adult males have longer tails and are much larger than adult females. A pair breads at sea and the female come to shore to nest her eggs. Loggerheads nest from April to July. Usually, there can be 105-120 eggs laid in a clutch. Single females of the species can have many clutches during a season. Some nest every year, whereas others alternate years. The incubation period can last from 55 -60 days. Like most sea turtles, they nest at night. c) The age of a sea turtle is determined by growth of in length and weight gain. d) Loggerheads also bury themselves in the mud during winter months. 2. The most common reasons turtles become sick or injured in Florida are because lights on coastal highways and housing developments disorient the hatchlings often causing them to move away from the water and be killed by automobiles or predators. 3. The specific type of turtle rescued was The Loggerhead Sea Turtle or â€Å"Loggerhead† 4. The type of food we will need to feed the rescued turtle is a variety of crabs, jellyfish, shellfish, and sponges. 5. This species needs to stay around fresh-water for means of drinking and stay at seas for breading (if more than one is in rehabilitation). 6. The rehabilitation area should be kept at a warm temperature and should be no smaller than 39ft.

Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Mice and Men Essay John Ernst Steinbeck was born on 27 February 1902, in Salinas, California, USA. The Salinas River is mentioned in the first line of Of Mice and Men. The whole novel is centred on the landscape around Salinas. Steinbeck was the third of four children, of mixed German and Irish descent. His parents owned a considerable amount of land, and his mother was a schoolteacher who encouraged him to read widely. His background was neither rich nor poor, and his parents wanted him to follow a respectable career. John Steinbeck wrote the novel called Of Mice and Men. It was published in the depression years of the 1930s. Steinbeck raises questions in the mind of the reader that the novel would be based on loneliness. The first line read A few miles south of Soledad. This is a clever idea by Steinbeck as Soledad means loneliness in Spanish. John Steinbecks family was wealthy, but was interested in the lives of farm labourers. It gave him a inspiration to write books about migrant workers. He could of been a doctor or a teacher but he chose to become an author. John Steinbeck must of met a lot of people like Lennie and George, so he has ideas to write a good book. The historical context of the novel is that its all about the depression years in the 1930s. It was illegal to be unemployed. People living in the 30s didnt have a choice but to go to work. The main characters in this story are George and Lennie. They travel around together, share their minds together, and what ever trouble Lennie gets into, George had to get him out of it. George didnt like Lennie that much because of all the trouble that he gets into. He didnt want to stay with Lennie, but his mother told George to look after him. Lennie was always trying to find a good opportunity to go off alone in the hills. George didnt want that, he liked Lennie as a friend, but Lennie gets into too much trouble. But they always say; You got me, and I got you. This novel called Of Mice and Men was set in a town called Soledad. It meant Lonely in Spanish. The ranch is located in the middle of no where. Its 4 miles to the town. The characters in this novel are ranch workers who are described as lonely. Ranch work is not long term. All of the workers except for Candy and Crooks are only passing through. When George and Lennie get jobs, the boss is suspicious of them because they look like theyve known each other from somewhere and are close friends. The other ranch workers see that George is always answering for Lennie. But they cannot understand why they are always together. George says that ranch workers are the loneliest people in the world and dont belong nowhere. In this paragraph, Im going to write about Crooks. Crooks is a black guy. Hes not allowed to stay in the bunkhouse with the other ranch hands because he is black. He doesnt have the same status as the other white workers. Crooks was also excluded because he suffered an injury and so is not as capable as the other ranch hands. His possessions show that he is lonely. Everyone can see that because he loves to read his books but was excluded. Crooks doesnt like when Lennie tries to talk to him. Crooks get angry every time he tells Lennie to go away from him. But after that, he admits that he is lonely. Lennie will also get lonely and even sick when no one is with him. He needs someone beside him all the time so that he feels supported. For this, he always wants George. In this paragraph, I have looked at the way Crooks treat other people and what his appearance looks like to everyone else. I will now write about Candy. Hes an old man who wants to join up with George and Lennie and get a place where they can live. Candy provides a parallel to George and Lennie in that he relies on his dog Im so used to im (p.46) just as George and Lennie are an elevated version of a master/dog relationship. Candy clings to his dog, despite all that logic and common sense dictate. He loves to be with his dog because he had him since he was a puppy. It was the best sheepdog he had ever had. The other workers didnt realise the relationship between Candy and the dog. It meant nothing to everyone except for Candy. Theyve been together for all of Candys life. But now Lennies life has ended. Candy cleans out the farm buildings, and shows George and Lennie the bunkhouse. Candy lost his hand whilst working on the farm, and was allowed to stay on in this lowly position as cleaner. Candy soon asks George and Lennie if he can come in with them. George said We werent thinking of a third person. Cause we was gonna do it on our own. George knew that it was owned by old people who might be willing to sell it for $600 or so. Candy confesses he has $350 saved up and asks if he can come in with them. George really begins to believe that his dream might become a reality. He needs to work for another month or two and not spend anything so that they will have the stake to buy the farm. This will be good for Candy because then he can live a happy life and avoid the loneliness in the life of a ranch worker. Hes worked here for so long and wants to change his miserable life and make it peaceful. Candy was moaning that he just let a stranger shoot his dog. By the look of him, he could see that Carlson didnt like the smell of Candys old dog. Carlson asks Slim to give Candy one of the other pups so that the old dog can be shot. Once the dog has been shot, he feels strong pressure because he had him since he was a pup. When George and Lennie were talking about their dream, Candy steps in and instead of being sad, George and Lennie gives pride and gives Candy more confidence. In this paragraph I have explained Candys life and the way he lives. I am now going to write about Curleys wife. She doesnt like Curley very much and wants to go elsewhere but cannot because of Curley. The other ranch workers avoid Curleys wife as they know that if they befriend her, they will get into trouble. She also said that she could hang Curley at anytime if she felt like it (Showing that she can be dangerous as well as Lennie). She also visits the bunkhouse a lot, she wanted company, but had to ask where Curley was. On Saturday nights she is left at the ranch alone. When she is left alone at the ranch, she tells everyone about her life and story. Its very miserable for Curleys wife. She tells everyone the truth that she doesnt really like Curley. Everyone else has names except for her. She has to be called Curleys wife. That is why she doesnt appear much in the story. Shes being treated like an object. Slims dog name is Loulou. We have looked at the character of Curleys wife and how she got on. George and Lennie are different to the other ranch hands. The way they respond to each other shows very close friendship. Lennie always get into trouble and George is there to get him out of it. They share a dream together of working and then getting a lot of money so that they can live comfortably in the place that there going to get. Every time George says Were gonna get the place. Lennie gets very excited and says I get to tend the rabbits. But when George is about to shoot Lennie, he keeps saying this so that Lennie puts his mind fully onto the house in his head and imagining him tend the rabbits, George wanted this because when he looked the other way, there was a time to shoot him. George wanted him to see it as he is talking. It was related to the shooting of Candys dog too which gave George more confidence in shooting Lennie. But at the end, it is George who will feel guilty. George often insults Lennie and gives him hell, but he doesnt really mean it. Although he often talks about how well off he could be without Lennie he secretly doesnt want Lennie to leave, and when Lennie offers to do so in the first chapter, George virtually pleads with him to stay. This is because George also depends on Lennie to a certain extent for his unconditional friendship. I didnt think that Steinbeck would make George shoot Lennie. At first, those two was good friends, I thought they would actually get that bunkhouse. But it ended in a bad way. It made the readers / watchers feel shocked and feel that his life has ended with just one shot. George always gets annoyed of Lennie and Lennie says that he will go up to the hills. George knows that hes the only one who has to get him out of trouble. But then decides if Lennies gone, then he can have total freedom and do anything he wants. At the end, it might of been a mistake to shoot Lennie. The first paragraph tells us about the introduction of John Steinbeck. It tells the readers what is going to happen. The second paragraph describes the setting and ranch workers. Its the setting of the story and the ranch workers. The third paragraph lets the readers understand Crooks. It also describes his ethnic group and his rights. The fourth paragraph tells us about Candy. It tells the readers about his loving dog and his dreams towards the ranch. The fifth paragraph also describes Curleys Wife. The way she acts in the story, and how lonely she is. Finally, the last paragraph tells the readers about the friendship of George and Lennie. It tells us how George and Lennie travel together, live together and the trouble that they get into. It also summarises George and Lennies dream. John Steinbeck is trying to say that life in the 1930s in California was lonely. He doesnt just write it down, because that will just give the point away. He wants the readers to imagine it for themselves.

Tescos Strategic Management Processes: SWOT Analysis

Tescos Strategic Management Processes: SWOT Analysis Introduction: Tesco was founded by Jack Cohen in 1919 when he started to sell surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London from which he earned a profit of  £1 from sales of  £4 on his first day. After 10 years, in 1929, Jack Cohen opened his first Tesco Store in Burnt Oak, Edgware, North London (http://www.tescoplc.com). Strategic management theory â€Å"Strategic management refers to the art of planning the business at the highest possible level. It is the duty of the companys leader or leaders to implement the strategic management focuses on building a solid essential structure to your business that will consequently be fleshed out through the collective labours of every individual was employed† (www.allbusiness.com). Strategic management hinges upon answering three key questions: What are the businesss objectives? What are the best ways to achieve those objectives? What resources are required to make that happen? (www.allbusiness.com) Strategic business environment PESTEL Analysis of Tesco: Political Factors: Tesco is now operating in seven countries in the Europe including the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Turkey. It also operates in the South East Asia including China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand (www.tescoplc.com). Tesco perform according to the political and legislative rules of all of these countries. With the influence of the Governments employment legislation Tesco employs following the equal opportunity employment policy (Doyle 1987). For employment legislations, the government encourages retailers to provide a mix of job opportunities from flexible, lower-paid and locally-based jobs to highly-skilled, higher-paid and centrally-located jobs (Balchin, 1994). Economical Factors: The economic environment includes interest rates, inflation, business cycles, unemployment, disposable income and energy availability and cost (Kaplan, 2007). Keeping these factors in mind Tesco implemented the strategy of marketing mix to continue the steady growth in the UK local market and in the International business. In the recent credit crunch due the high unemployment levels Tesco tried to keep the price of the most of the products in the range of the customers by lowering the cost and the profit (http://ivythesis.typepad.com). Social or Cultural Factors: Social factors change the buying behaviour of the customers. Like the British customers moved towards bulk shopping to get cheaper unit price. Due to female workers in the city areas the big retail shops increases ready meal to the office going customers. They may also include changes in the demographic make-up of a population (Kaplan, 2007). In Thailand, customers are used to shopping at traditional wet markets, interacting with vendors and rummaging through piles of produce to choose what they want. Rather than adopting the Western approach of neatly packaged, convenient portions, Tescos Rama IV store in Bangkok tries to meet local customers expectations (www.tescoplc.com). Technological Factors: Technological factors changed the retailing methods, like direct selling through cash or Debit/Credit card from in-store and/ via internet. Tesco stores use the following technologies all over the world: Integrated link-up computers within the stores Electronic shelf labelling Self check-out to reduce the queue of the customers Barcode reader for every products Electronic point of sale Electronic Funds Transfer Systems Environmental/ Ecological Factors: Tesco encourages re-using the shopping bags, plastic bottles, paper boxes and other recyclable products by gaining more and more club card points. This include product stewardship, which considers all raw materials, components and energy sources used in the product and how more environmentally friendly substitutes could be used (Kaplan, 2007). Tesco also like to sell the organic foods to the customers in their affordable price range. f) Legal Factors: â€Å"Various government legislations and policies have a direct impact on the performance of Tesco. For instance, the Food Retailing Commission (FRC) suggested an enforceable Code of Practice should be set up banning many of the current practices, such as demanding payments from suppliers and changing agreed prices retrospectively or without notice† (Mintel Report, 2004). â€Å"The presence of powerful competitors with established brands creates a threat of intense price wars and strong requirements for product differentiation. The governments policies for monopoly controls and reduction of buyers power can limit entry to this sector with such controls as license requirements and limits on access to raw materials† (Mintel Report, 2004; Myers, 2004). In order to implement politically correct pricing policies, Tesco offers consumers a price reduction on fuel purchases based on the amount spent on groceries at its stores. While prices are lowered on prom oted goods, prices elsewhere in the store are raised to compensate.† (www.ivoryresearch.com) SWOT analysis of Tesco   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Strengths TESCO have protected commercial standing in the place of global market and achieved Retailer of the Year 2008 at the â€Å"World Retail Awards†. It may be used for marketing campaigns to get advantage for future development and sustainability. Where global retail sales are declining, TESCO have announced sales gain of 13% for UK markets and 26% growth in international markets (www.businessteacher.org.uk).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Weaknesses TESCO Finance income levels were affected by bad debt, credit card arrears and household insurance claims. Grocer outlets are not set up to activate as expert retailers in specific areas of product that can be capitalised on by other smaller customized retailers. TESCO is a low price leader in UK markets which can lead to reduced profit (www.businessteacher.org.uk).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Opportunities TESCO is the third largest global grocer that indicates a level of retail power to ensure conventional economies of scale. The acquirement of Homever provides the prospect to develop the brand through Asia, particularly South Korea and further grow International markets for TESCO. The development of Tesco Direct through online and catalogue shopping will grow the use of technology, providing the launch pad for larger non food based items with reasonable to high margin profits and less focus on sales and margin per foot return to space. TESCO mobile have developed  ¼ million clients in 2008 and encouraged into profitable status suggesting further growth and expansion within this technological area can be developed (www.businessteacher.org.uk).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Threats UK and American markets have been affected by economic concerns through the â€Å"credit crunch†. Lower available profits will impact and strategic focus may need to change to lower priced fundamental products with less focus on higher priced brands telling a switch in price architecture. Growing raw material costs from both food and non food will affect overall profit margins. Require further analysis for changes to consumer buying manner because technology develops consumer buying habit and it is need to evaluation (www.businessteacher.org.uk).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Strategic capability of Tesco Strategic capability is quite simply the capacity of a business to continue to exist, grow and deliver future importance. Clarity of thinking and action in objectives and strategy; evidence of strategy in action and strategic progress in operational attainment; sensitivity to the future and to the impact of convenient and uncontainable trends and factors upon future performance; venture in capital, strengths and less concrete drivers of value; and, an approach to social ethical and environmental matters that is important to the strategy of the business (www.futurevalue.co.uk)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Expectation and purpose Tescos main purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty Tesco believes that it continually demonstrate that it is good at getting things done, good at ‘what it does, and it takes pride in being good at the way in which it achieve the target (www.tesco.com). As an example, Tescos shares were trading at 369.6p in the month of August 2009, increased to 421p mid of the month of January 2010 which shows the reliability of Tesco in the share market. Numerous analysts stated that with a good sales performance in the UK with its loyal brand, Tesco observer can now get on with looking at the big picture (www.telegraph.co.uk). There is far more to Tesco than UK shops it has stores in more than a dozen other countries, has a sizeable and growing banking arm and a large non-food operation. Analysts believed that the year 2010 will be a good year for Tesco. They expected that Tescos massive investment in its overseas operations will start to pay off within that year. Encouraging growth in Asia and the US was reported over Christmas 2009 and the chain will open its long-anticipated venture in India in the year 2010 (www.bbc.co.uk). It is pushing on with an ambitious expansion in China too. These two markets presented a strong opportunity for the retail chain. Tesco had also invested millions of pounds in the Information Technology platforms for its fledgling banking arm, which is set to launch current accounts which is expected to become a significant source of the revenue (www.telegraph.co.uk)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Strategic choose of Tesco   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Business level strategy Tesco has a well-established and consistent strategy for growth, which has allowed the organisation to strengthen its core UK business and drive extension into new markets. The grounds for the strategy is to widen the scope of the business to enable it to deliver strong sustainable long-term growth by following the customer into large expanding markets at home such as financial services, non-food and telecoms and new markets abroad, initially in Central Europe and Asia, andmore recentlyin the United States (www.tescoplc.com). The strategy of Tesco had diversified the business was laid down in 1997 and has been the foundation of Tescos success in recent years. The new businesses had been shaped and developed over the last 12 years from the year 1997. As part of the strategy which established Tesco as a market leader in many of its markets inside and outside of the UK. The Group has continued to make good advancement with the strategy, which has five elements, reflecting its four est ablished areas of focus, and also Tescos long-term commitments on community and environment (Lowe, 2009). The objectives of the strategy are as followed: â€Å"To be a successful international retailer To grow the core UK business To be as strong in non-food as in food. To develop retailing services such as Tesco Personal Finance, Telecoms and Tesco.com To put community at the heart of what we do† (www.tescoplc.com). Corporate level and international The full appearance of international retailing is not as simple as it may happen within a short period of time; it requires a long term approach. Over more than ten years of experience overseas, Tesco has stated a strategy based on six elements: Be flexible Act local Maintain focus on a few countries Use multi-formats Develop capability Build brands (www.Tescocorporate.com) By the year of 2002 Tesco was operating 174 stores in Eastern Europe and Asia, most of them hypermarkets; they represented 42 per cent of the groups total selling space. As it was presented that the UK remained by far the most important source of Tescos profits, and the aim was to keep ahead through innovation with unique differentiation was a prize that can only be won by continually being first. Tesco has followed its customers into the growing world of retailing services. Its aim was to bring simplicity and value to complex markets (www.tescofinance.com). Change management within Tesco Tesco has become Britains most successful food retailer, send-off most of its competitors in its rising. It was predicted in the year of 1999, a decade before that the company was regarded as falling behind. In order to be a success, the company had to build bigger and better stores, place higher priority on customer services, change management attitudes and revise their store culture (www.orsoc.org.uk). A pilot programme exposed in a research that the stores and store managers were performing at a lower level than their competitors. As an example the store managers performance was 75 per cent below that of other retail managers. Between Tesco and Verax, one of the World Leader in Business Performance Information, Diagnostic, Measurement Support Systems, designed a development programme for all store managers and departmental managers in the stores of Tesco to put into practice a programme to measure their performance and the Stores performance. The measure covered five areas: â€Å"Managers attitudes Managers management skills Retail-specific skills, including customer service The rewards system used (e.g. praise and recognition of pay/bonus) The store culture† (www.orsoc.org.uk). Now a days Tesco had developed its own in-house materials as the next move on from the Verax model. It is clear that the cultural changes taking place within Tesco as a whole are continuing. After the inter-company surveys held in the year 1993 cross functional workshops have been stopped now and the line managers are taking on the progression themselves (www.orsoc.org.uk). Corporate culture of Tesco Corporate culture is one of the main determinants of achievement or disappointment in a business development practice, because it mainly determines how flexible, accommodating of change and pioneering a company tends to be (www.itchybrainscentral.com). Fairfield-Sonn (2001: 36) â€Å"provided a four-layer model of corporate culture which includes cultural artefacts, cultural history, core ideology and core values that helps to quantify and describe the corporate culture of an organization. Therefore, Tescos corporate culture can be resolute from its corporate responsibility statements, which describe its main values and core ideologies as well as some aspects of cultural artefacts. Tescos corporate culture priorities allowed the company to consider opening stores in areas where native supermarkets were hesitant to go, and to provide services to the area that the local providers either couldnt or didnt consider. Thus, they opened stores in underserved regions, not only allowing them to express their core ideals, but also providing an opportunity to enter an almost untapped market. Although native retailers have twisted to enter the markets in which Tesco is now providing services in the United States, Tesco will continue to have the advantage in terms of the markets it has already entered; it also has a corporate culture that encourages the extension and service of these areas† (www.itchybrainscentral.com) Knowledge management of Tesco Knowledge management is treating the knowledge component of business behavior as a clear concern of business reflected in strategy, policy, and practice at all levels of the organisation (http://www.media-access.com). Tesco and its competitor Wal-Mart are both masters of enterprise knowledge management, especially as relates to their POS (point-of-sale) data. The two firms influence the same skills data mining analysis to drive their achievement, but use the skill in slightly different ways (http://tscg.biz). Knowledge management is not only about information; it is also about the people the company has recruited, trained, developed, and promoted within the organization. KM involves not only the implementation of a software system; it involves understanding your business needs, your organizations culture, and your personnel. To succeed, any KM initiative requires that you know your people and clearly define the behaviors that need to be changed or reinforced (www.connectioneconomy.com). Conclusion Over more than ten years of experience overseas, Tesco has evolved a strategy based on six elements: Be flexible each market is unique and requires a different approach. According to (Heizer and Barry. 2006), proximity to competitors (clustering) is important to get the customer base. In Tokyo, customers like to shop for small amounts of extremely fresh food, every day. Existing hypermarket formats dont meet the needs of local customers, so Tescos entry into the Japanese market was through the acquisition of a discount supermarket operator. Act local local customers, local cultures, local supply chains and local regulations require a tailored offer delivered by local staff. Locating a company in a different country need to deal its local cultures, and local staff. In that case company need to be ware about the local government policies, and labour productivity. Employees with poor training, poor education, or poor work habits may not be a good buy even at low wages. In Thailand, customers are used to shopping at traditional wet markets, interacting with vendors and rummaging through piles of produce to choose what they want. Rather than adopting the Western approach of neatly packaged, convenient portions. So Tesco tries to meet local customers expectations. Use multi-formats no single format can reach the whole of the market. A whole spectrum from convenience to hypermarkets is essential and company need to take a discounter approach throughout Tesco have a wide range of business all over the world, for diversify demand in various location. They are growing their non-food product business in different locations. Develop capability Its not about scale, its about skill so Tesco make sure they have capability through people, processes systems. Proximity of suppliers is another important issue for new location. For that when Tesco open new retail outlets they consider perish ability, transportation costs of a new location. They also train their stuff and improve their competence. Build brands brands enable the building of important lasting relationships with customers. Brand image among the new location customers is very helpful to setup new location for any business. Tesco have an emerging brand image, so most of the customer in the probable location already knows about Tesco products. Thats how Tesco easily get a strong customer base for new location. (http://www.tescoplc.com) To be a global retail leader Tesco is going ahead. Their successful management team implementing their total organisational strategy worldwide and maintaining steady growth every year. Though Tesco is an establish brand in but it needs to spend some more money in marketing to promote their brand outside UK. Especially the big market like USA they need to create their own brand rather than using some other name or brand. They enter in US market by using other name but it is also a part of their strategy. References ACCA Paper 3 (2007). Business Analysis- Complete text, Berkshire: Kaplan Publishing. Balchin, A. (1994). Part-time workers in the multiple retail sector: small change from employment protection legislation?, Employee Relations, Vol. 16 Issue 7, pp.43-57 Doyle, B (1987) Disabled Workers, Employment Vulnerability and Labour Law, Employee Relations Vol. 9 issue 5 pp 20-29 Fairfield-Sonn, J (2001) Corporate culture and the quality organization. London: Quorum Books. Heizer, J and Render, B (2006) Operation Management (8th edition), New jersey : Pearson Education. Lowe, M (2009) Challenges in Retail Innovation Aspects of Innovation in Tesco plcs Market Entry into the USA, Case study at http://www.managing-innovation.com/case_studies/Tesco.pdf Mintel Report (2004). Food Retailing UK, Retail Intelligence, November. Myers H. (2004). Trends in the food retail sector across Europe, European Retail Digest, Spring, Issue 41, pp.1-3. http://www.futurevalue.co.uk/future-value-strat-key-facts.html#Key01 http://www.allbusiness.com/management/2975129-1.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2009/05/should_we_save_building_societ.html http://www.businessteacher.org.uk/business-resources/swot-analysis-database/tesco-swot-analysis/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/6976691/Questor-share-tip-Tescos-figures-trump-all-expectations.html http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/about_us/strategy/ http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/about_us/strategy/international/ http://www.orsoc.org.uk/orshop/(i3srha45nvdixbia444zierm)/orcontent.aspx?inc=article_news_tes.htm http://www.itchybrainscentral.com/tesco-business-strategy.html http://www.orsoc.org.uk/orshop/(i3srha45nvdixbia444zierm)/orcontent.aspx?inc=article_news_tes.htm http://www.media-access.com/whatis.html http://www.tesco.com/recruitment/html/careers/compInfo/values.htm http://tscg.biz/saintblog/2008/12/tesco-is-walmarts-worst-nightmare-turning-customer-data-into-rightsize-stores.html http://www.connectioneconomy.com/2006/02/18/why-knowledge-management-fails/

My First Experience of Camp - Original Writing Essay -- Papers

My First Experience of Camp - Original Writing "AHHHHHHHHHH!" The cry of my fellow companion echoed throughout the musty wooden cabin. "A massive spider!" was the next shout from the top bunk of my bed. Disorientated, and still half asleep, I asked what the matter was. I fumbled for the compulsory torch we had been issued with and switched it on. There was no electricity in the cabin; the torch light cast weird shadows and created an eerie atmosphere. I got out of my sleeping bag to check on him. My friend was quite agitated and clearly scared. He looked at me, with fear etched into his face. He was holding his pillow as if it was something that would make it all go away, but I knew it could not. His whole body was shaking. I sympathised with him and told him he could sleep in my bed. On hearing this, he leapt down without hesitating. I was now faced with the prospect of having to sleep on the floor. I looked down and all I could see was dirty floorboards, laden with lumps of dried mud. I knew this was going to be a rough couple of days. The sun shone brightly in the morning and beamed over the whole of the camp. This was meant to be 'something that you can take a lot out of', but, now, I saw it differently. When we were told that we would be going, as a class, to a camp, I immediately smiled. I had always wanted to experience what camp life would be like and how much I would enjoy it. At the time, to a ten year old, it seemed like Christmas had come early. However, the night before as I lay on the cold, hard floorboards of the cabin everything had changed. Now, to a deflated ten year old, it seemed like hell. The only thing I had ... ...ingers were crossed and I was praying that it was our poster that won. The winning poster was held up and it was not ours. My heart sank and my face dropped. I felt sick. I turned to my friends and they did not seem bothered; that made me feel worse. The next two days were action packed. In the mornings, we went orienteering, and the evenings were spent round the campfire drinking sweet hot chocolate from the plastic mugs we had brought from home. By this time, everyone had got used to camp life and needless to say I had put the two unfortunate incidents (getting lost and losing the poster competition) behind me. It was going to be sad leaving the camp, but I was looking forward to going back to the comforts of home. The sleeping bag on the hard, wooden floor was beginning to hurt my back - my warm soft bed beckoned.

Edgar Alan Poe Essay -- essays research papers

The Life Of Edgar Alan Poe a Biography 1809 -- 1849   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He gained some fame from the publication in 1845 of a dozen stories as well as of The Raven and Other Poems, and he enjoyed a few months of calm as a respected critic and writer. After his wife died in 1847, however, his life began to unravel even faster as he moved about from city to city, lecturing and writing, drinking heavily, and courting several older women. Just before marrying one, he died in Baltimore after being found semiconscious in a tavern - possibly from too much alcohol, although it is a myth that he was a habitual drunkard and drug addict.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Admittedly a failure in most areas of his personal life, he was recognized as an unusually gifted writer and was admired by Dostoevsky and Baudelaire, even if not always appreciated by many of his other contemporaries. Master of symbolism and the macabre, he is considered to be the father of the detective story and a stepfather of science fiction, and he remains one of the most timeless and extraordinary of all American creative artists.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Edgar Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809, the second of the three children of David Poe and Elizabeth (Arnold) Poe, both of whom were professional actors and members of a touring theatrical company. Eclipsed by his more famous wife, his own promising career ruined by alcoholism, Poe's father deserted the family when Edgar was still an infant; nothing conclusive is known of his life thereafter. While appearing professionally in Richmond, Virginia, Poe's mother became ill and died on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  December 8, 1811, at the age of twenty-four. Her three children, who would maintain contact with one another throughout their lives, were sent to live with different foster families. Edgar became the ward of John Allan, a successful tobacco merchant in Richmond, and his wife Frances, who had no children of their own. Although never formally adopted by them, Poe regarded the couple, especially Mrs. Allan, as parents, and he took their surname as his own middle name. In 1815, business reasons led Allan to move to England for what would be a five-year stay. Both in London and then in Richmond after the family's return, Poe was well educated in private academies. In 1825, he became secretly engaged to... ...d, plunging Poe into an emotional and physical collapse that lasted for most of the year. In 1848, he was briefly engaged to marry Sarah Helen Whitman, a widowed poet several years his senior, but their relationship was tense and strained, and the engagement was broken off. He went to Richmond in the summer of 1849, hoping to find financial backing for yet another journal, and while there he was reunited with and re-engaged to Elmira Royster, his first love, now herself a widow. He sailed from Richmond to Baltimore, where on October 3, 1849, he was found outside a polling place (it was election day), in a state of delirium and wearing shabby and ill-fitting clothing. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he raved feverishly for several days before dying on October 7 at the age of forty. Neither the circumstances that had led to his condition nor the exact cause of his death have ever been satisfactorily determined. Poe's posthumous reputation sustained grievous and long-lasting damage from a libelous biography by Rufus Griswold, whom Poe himself had appointed his literary executor, and rumors, mostly unfounded, circulate to this day about Poe's mental state and personal habits.

U.S. vs Microsoft Essay -- Justice vs Microsoft

Microsoft Case Part I: The government has been looking into Microsoft since 1990, when the Federal Trade Commission first started examining charges of monopolistic behavior. In 1995, Microsoft and the U.S. Justice Department reached a settlement that required the company to change a variety of business practices, including key aspects of its licensing agreements with personal computer makers (2). Microsoft has grown into an enormous and powerful corporation by a combination of aggressive business practices and having written operating systems (DOS and Windows) for personal computers. From operating systems it branched out into other software which has, along with the operating system, become something of an industry standard. These software products include, but are not limited to, the Microsoft Office Suite and Internet Explorer browser. One of the leading questions is if this is a â€Å"good† state of affairs: should one company so dominate computing and the Internet when we rely so heavily upon it? The most recent lawsuit involves the Justice Department and 20 state attorneys general. They believe that Microsoft has used its monopoly in operating system software to protect its dominance and eliminate competitors. The government says that in the long run, consumers will be harmed, because there will be less competition and fewer choices. More specifically, the government contends that Microsoft has engaged in actions to preserve its Windows monopoly that violate antitrust laws. The government also maintains that the company has used the power of its Windows monopoly to attempt to monopolize the market for Internet browsing software. In addition, government lawyers allege that the company has committed other anti-competitive acts (2). In addition to the DOJ and the 20 states, several other players are part of the government team against Microsoft: Netscape/AOL, Sun Microsystems, Linux and the Open Source movement, and the Consumer Project on Technology. The keys concerns are illegal tying arrangements with Windows and Internet Explorer; illegal market division between Microsoft and Netscape; and predatory conduct/pricing between Microsoft and Netscape, MS Office and Word Perfect Office and Lotus Office Suite (3). Microsoft contends that it is simply trying to innovate its products. The company contends that its actions are legal and says that t... ... it has the ability to sell that software as it sees fit. Microsoft has a very large share of the operating system market, but Jackson is off base equating Microsoft to Standard Oil. As a consumer, I have a hard time getting upset with Microsoft in general. I like the idea of being able to go to most any computer in this country and immediately be able to use the software. Whether it be Windows or Office products, the look and feel are the same at home or at any workstation. Bibliography 1. Cringely, Robert X. â€Å"Hit Me, Slap Me, Make Me Write Bad Code†. I, Cringely – The Pulpit, (November 11, 1999). [http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit19991118.html] 2. Chandrasekaran, Rajiv. â€Å"U.S. vs Microsoft†. Washington Post, (January, 2000). [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/basics.htm] 3. Meeks, Brock. â€Å"Justice vs Microsoft†. MSNBC, (February 24, 2000). [http://www.msnbc.com/news/343334.asp] 4. Zittrain, Jonathan. â€Å"U.S. vs Microsoft: The Expert Opinion†. Chicago Tribune Internet Edition, (February, 2000). [http://chicagotribune.com/tech/news/ws/indx/0,1306,8297-16796,00.html]

Death and Afterlife Beliefs Essay

There remains no scientific evidence or facts which can prove the existence of the after life. Such concepts like reincarnation, salvation, and near-death experiences have been very controversial topics of debate over the years. However, different religions, philosophies and spiritual beliefs from different cultures amazingly provide very detailed and meticulous explanation about the concept of death and the afterlife. These explanations vary as their core of ideologies and philosophies vary as well. The Mesopotamian civilization has been known for its very rich culture and tradition. During the reign of the civilization, a lot of discoveries and inventions have been made which eventually led to some modern advancement as well. In addition to this, the Mesopotamian culture also had a very interesting view of death and eternal life. According to the ancient Mesopotamian belief, the world can be divided into three different layers: these are the heaven, the netherworld and the living world (Cornell University [CU] academic site, 2004). The divine beings or the gods and goddesses are believed to reside the heavens. This place is said to be exclusive for these holy beings. The netherworld on the other hand was believed to be the â€Å"imprisoning† place after death which is also described as the house of darkness and a place, where no one, to any further extent, can escape. According to Mesopotamian myths in relation to King Gilgamesh’s adventures and stories about Ishtar, the descent to the netherworld is really frightening but inevitable, and that in fact, even Gilgamesh himself went on his adventures in trying to escape this place. Lastly, the living world was described to be the world where all living beings reside and survive the days with their humane and worldly needs. Although this culture recognizes the existence of death and afterlife in the netherworld, Mesopotamians believed that a man can still escape the course of death and the dark netherworld by being righteous and trying to connect and have an intimate relationship with God. The Egyptian tradition and beliefs of death and the afterlife on the other hand, can also be considered one of the most culturally rich traditions in the world. Deaths of Egyptians are rather commemorated and venerated than mourned. They were more focused on the preservation of the body as a positive ritual in giving the dead a pleasant afterlife state. Ancient Egyptians would also design the tombs of the dead with scriptures, holy verses, poems, and beautiful sculptures of scenes of the afterlife in the hope that the spirit of the dead will be at a peace and be granted prosperity in the afterlife. The tomb of the dead is also packed with necessities that the owner might need or want to bring with him/her in the afterlife. The afterlife in Egyptian culture was described as a place where there are beautiful canals, dams, and farms where the yield of the fruit-bearing trees and crops is never-ending (Williams, 2008). Life in ancient Egypt in general has been blessed being resided along the banks of the Nile River where people always have sufficient resources. This somehow explains why Egyptians also looks forward to a blessed afterlife. They have been used to living life bountiful with resources that is why they would always hope to find the same bountiful afterlife like the life of the living. On the other hand, the culture of the Greeks and the Romans (Greco-Romans) was rather more personified and mythical. Concepts of death and afterlife were incorporated with very detailed descriptions of gods and goddesses. The life of ancient Greeks was always bounded and guided by these gods and goddesses who were believed to have the ability to talk and live with them. According to the ancient Greek mythology, as a person dies, his/her psyche or soul is being release through a puff or breath of wind (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Death in ancient Greek tradition also had very elaborate rituals that were divided into three parts: the prothesis, ekphora and the internment. During the prothesis, relatives and loved ones of the dead come and pay respect. And during the ekphora, the dead shall be brought to the cemetery through a procession which happens before dawn. And then finally, the deceased will come to its final rest through the internment. The concept of afterlife for the Greeks was clearly described through the stories of the Iliad and Odyssey which was able to write a very detailed account of the Greek mythology. Homer noted in the Odyssey the early description of the underworld where the dead people all go. The place was described as a place underneath the earth where Hades, the brother of Zeus and Poseidon reigns. A person who enters the underworld can never go back. However, there were also stories told about great people who were able to go to the underworld to talk to their deceased loved ones and were able to go back to the world of the living. But the success of these people required trickery and deception of the king of the underworld, Hades. Hercules was one of the great Greek characters, who was able to return from the underworld. But knowing that Hercules was half-immortal, it was also understandable that he could do such a thing. And because the life of the Greeks has been closely guided by several gods and goddesses, it was also believed that a person can possibly escape the deep and frightening walls of the underworld by having a close and intimate relationship with the gods. Through this, people to whom gods and goddesses are mostly pleased are sometimes brought to the heavens (Olympus) to live an immortal life with them. The most popular story about death and afterlife in Christianity is probably that of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Christians, it was taught that Christ died on the cross, then after three days he rose from the dead and eventually rose up to the heavens, body and soul. This story has been the inspiration for the spiritual lives of all Christians. The resurrection of Christ from the dead has been the greatest affirmation to Christians that there really is life after death. And from this story, a lot have already been told in Christian bible about the life after death. This concept has been argued by the apostle Paul to the disbelievers, he said: â€Å"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. † (1Corinthians 15. 12-14 qtd. in Houben). For Christian believers, every person has a soul (dualism) and that soul is what lives after the person dies. The soul can either rest in heaven or continuously suffer in hell depending on how s/he was able to live his/her life. These concepts of heaven and hell have been the guiding idea of the Christians to how they live their lives. According to teachings, one shall be accepted in heaven if s/he was able to follow the commandments of the Lord, and if s/he was able to be righteous in his life in accordance to the word of the Lord. On the other hand, one shall suffer the pains of hell if s/he did bad things in considerably most of his/her life and s/he chose to live against the will of the Lord and his teachings. Over the years, this has been the main teaching to Christians about heaven and hell. Christians would describe the heaven as the place where there are golden roads and castles. A place where there are bountiful trees and crops that never runs out of yield, and also, a place where there is no more suffering. The heaven was indeed taught as a paradise after death, where hell on the other hand was described as the complete contrary and was further depicted as the worse place one can ever be in. The burial and commemoration rights for the dead among Christians are also somewhat detailed. They would lament and pay respect to the dead for a couple of days, gathering the family, and offering flowers and prayers to the dead and to the family. During these gatherings, the dead is often remembered and prayed for. The prayers were believed to help the soul of the departed reach to the heavens easily. After the lamentation, the dead shall now be brought to its last venue where flowers and significant items to the dead are being buried with it into the grave. And the commemoration of the dead does not end there because Christians celebrate the life of the dead on the same day of their deaths every year which is called their death anniversary. Looking at these different perspectives about death and the afterlife, we can observe that there are several similarities and differences among the religions or spiritual beliefs discussed. The Mesopotamian, Greco-Roman and Christian cultures all believe in the concept of heaven or paradise and hell or underworld after death. This concept of a very beautiful and peaceful place after death has been evident in the teachings of the three cultures. All of them also taught that only righteous people can ascend to the heavens and be with the gods. The Mesopotamian and Greco-Roman cultures similarly described the underworld as the place where the dead inevitably go. These two cultures also described the underworld as place where people cannot escape anymore once they are there. While the Christians believed in the concept of hell as a frightful place where people who chose to be bad shall go after they die. The Egyptian culture also shared that similarity with that of the Christians and the Greco-Romans in terms of lamentation and burial rights. All these three cultures lament or commemorate the death of their loved ones in belief that this would please the dead. These cultures also practice very detailed burial rights in order to give the dead a peaceful cross over. There may be similarities in the practices of these religions or cultures; however their core beliefs are completely different from each other. Over the years, we have relied on spiritual and religious teachings to find hope and explanation if there really is life after we die. We as human beings have that natural urge to find out what can possibly happen to us after death, but even how different or similar religious teachings might explain death and afterlife; we must understand that the answer will always depend on what specific religious belief we stick to and what beliefs we have about life itself. These religions or spiritual beliefs may vary in explaining the concepts of death and afterlife, but these differences come from the differences they have with their ideologies.

Criminology Theory †Rational Choice Theory Essay

Rational choice theory was inspired in the 1700’s by a man name Cesare Beccaria, whose utilitarian views and ideas were accepted throughout Europe and the United States. This theory is also known as rational action theory meaning the framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior. It is the dominant theoretical paradigm in microeconomics. It is also the central to modern political science and is used by scholars in other disciplines such as sociology and philosophy. Rational Choice Theory is used by social scientists to understand human behavior. This theory is the belief that man is a reasoning actor who weighs means and ends, costs and benefits, and makes a rational choice. Beccaria’s helped to eliminate cruel and unusual punishment in the nineteenth century, which at the time was very common, and formed the basis for the classical theory of crime, a school of thought that influenced the French Revolution and the establishment of the Eighth Amendment in the United States Constitution. Beccaria believed that people choose to engage in all behavior, criminal and non-criminal, and without the fear and certainty of severe punishment for criminal offenses. People will continue to choose to commit those crimes. Beccaria believed that all individuals possess free will. People use free will to make rational decisions, such as whether or not the personal benefits are worth the risk of violating the law by committing a crime. It is by free will that people are able to follow through with those â€Å"rational† decisions. To Beccaria, punishment should address prevention rather than revenge. He believed that the only way to deter criminals from continuing to commit more serious offenses is to ensure that the punishment is well suited for the crime. He believed the punishment should only be severe enough to outweigh the personal benefits gained from committing the crime. A British philosopher named Jeremy Bentham elaborated on Beccaria’s views and proposed the id ea that people choose their actions by whether or not they produce happiness and avoided  unpleasant conditions. With this theory laws were created to keep the community happy and punishment is only justified if it is used as a method of prevention. The popularity of the classical theory peaked in the 1800s but began to decline and was eventually neglected altogether by the majority of criminologists by the end of the twentieth century. During the mid-1970s, as positivist approaches towards the rehabilitation of known criminals began to prove ineffective, the popularity of the classical approach improved. Criminologists began to portray criminals to the public as rational planners who deserve to be punished. This modernized view of the classical school of criminology is now known as the rational choice theory and is used to explain why criminals commit crimes. According to the rational choice theory, criminals are people who share the same goals and ambitions as ordinary citizens, but choose to obtain those goals by illegitimate means. The rational choice theory is based on the assumption that before choosing to commit a crime, the criminal considers personal factors or motivation for the crime, such as their immediate need for benefits, revenge, or excitement, and also situational factors, such as the severity of the consequences and the risk of apprehension. The rationality described by rational choice theory is different from the colloquial and philosophical uses of rationality. Rationality means in colloquial language sane or in a thoughtful clear headed manner. Routine activity theory is a sub-field of rational choice criminology, which was developed by Marcus Felson. Routine activity theory says that crime is normal and depends on the opportunities available. For example after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, meaning poverty, inequality and unemployment became a problem this gave people a reason to commit crimes.

Global Financial Crisis and Nigerian Stock Market Volatility

GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS AND NIGERIAN STOCK MARKET VOLATILITY Abdul ADAMU Department of Business Administration, Nasarawa State University, Keffi – Nasarawa State. [email  protected] com [email  protected] com Tel. +2348029445391, +2348064851648. Paper presented at the National Conference on â€Å"Managing the challenges of Global Financial Crisis in Developing Economies† organised by the Faculty of Administration, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nasarawa State – Nigeria held between March 9 – 11, 2010. Abstract The current global financial crisis is no longer news but a reality. Our policy makers in the country have been proven wrong based on their argument that the country was insulated. Some of the sectors that have felt the heat of the crisis are the banking sector and the stock market. In the stock market, investors lost trillions of naira due the downward fall in the prices of stock. Based on this, the study assesses the extent of the stock market volatility in the period preceding the crisis and the period of the crisis. Using the All Share Index, the returns for various months were computed, descriptive statistics of the returns was calculated and the volatility of the market was estimated using the standard deviation. It was found that the stock market is highly volatile in the period of the financial crisis than the period preceding it. The recommendation is that the depth of instruments in the stock market should be varied in terms of fixed securities than equity instruments. Introduction The global economic crisis, which first emerged as a financial crisis in one country, has now fully installed itself with no bottom yet in sight. The world economy is in a deep recession, and the danger of falling into a deflationary trap cannot be dismissed for many important countries (UNCTAD, 2009). The recent global economic crisis was a result of economic and political events in the United States. What started with amended federal policy and poor mortgage lending practices, resulted in a world-wide economic meltdown that spread like a virus (Beck, 2008). The US sub-prime mortgage market triggered the crisis as a result of credit crunch within this market. Most countries around the world have approached this ‘tsunami’ pragmatically with emergency funding support for relevant sectors, so as to mitigate the impact of the crisis on economies as well as avoiding the entire collapse of the international financial system (Ajakaiye & Fakiyesi, 2009). Despite these supports by various governments in the form bailout, it does not stop some countries to go into recession, because of large decline in their wealth, manifesting itself in falling productive capacity, growth, employment and welfare. At first, the direct impact of the financial crisis on the African economies was limited as African countries has weak integration with the global economy and most commercial banks in the region refrained from investing in the troubled assets from the US and other part of the world (Adamu, 2008). This is why most commentators argue that Africa is so far insulated from the direct effects of the financial crisis at least in the short-run. But now, this is not the case as the rate of unemployment and liquidity squeeze is becoming unbearable. In Nigeria, like other African developing countries, the initial response to the crisis was rather meek, as if our policy makers do not understand the gravity of the crisis. While the developed countries were busy trying to bailout their economy in order to mitigate the effects of the crisis, our leaders were hiding under the shadow of insulation. The most visible sector being hit by this crisis in the Nigerian economy is the capital market. The Nigerian Stock Exchange, the flagship of Nigeria’s capital market has witnessed unprecedented turbulence since April, 2008. First, the downward slide of the stocks on the market dominated by the banking sector made experts restive and regulatory authorities jittery. While accusing fingers were being pointed at different directions as the cause of this volatility in the prices of stocks, the market began a free-fall never witnessed in the history of capital market operations in Nigeria. Both local and foreign investors who had taken advantage of the optimal return on investments on the stock exchange began to scamper elsewhere in desperation. Some of the questions that are critical to this trend in the capital market are; what is the extent of the stock price volatility on the Nigerian Stock Exchange? What are the factors that impacted the stock price volatility? To what extent has this volatility in stock price affected investors? What can the regulatory authority do to contain this problem? This paper will address the first question raised above. This part is the introduction and the rest of the paper is arranged as follows; section two discussed the concept of financial crisis, the Nigerian capital market and the crisis, then stock market volatility. In section three, we discuss data and methodology, then results and discussions in section four and finally, summary and conclusions in section five. The concept of financial crisis The term financial crisis is applied broadly to a variety of situations in which some financial institutions or assets suddenly lose a large part of their value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and many recessions coincided with these panics. Other situations that are often called financial crises include stock market crashes and the bursting of other financial bubbles, currency crises, and sovereign defaults (Kindleberger & Aliber, 2005, Laeven & Valencia, 2008). Some economic theories that explained financial crises includes the World systems theory which explained the dangers and perils, which leading industrial nations will be facing (and are now facing) at the end of the long economic cycle, which began after the oil crisis of 1973. While Coordination games, a mathematical approach to modelling financial crises have emphasized that there is often positive feedback between market participants' decisions (Krugman, 2008). Positive feedback implies that there may be dramatic changes in asset values in response to small changes in economic fundamentals, Minsky’s theorised that financial fragility is a typical feature of any capitalist economy and financial fragility levels move together with the business cycle, but the Herding and Learning models explained that asset purchases by a few agents encourage others to buy too, not because the true value of the asset increases when many buy (which is called â€Å"strategic omplementarity†), but because investors come to believe the true asset value is high when they observe others buying (Avery & Zemsky, 1998, Chari and Kehoe, 2004, Cipriani & Guarino, 2008). The Nigerian Capital Market and the Crisis The All Share Index and the market capitalisation of the 233 listed equities capture activities and performance on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Before the crisis, there has been a consistent growth in these performance indicators over the year (see fig. 1). For instance, the All Share Index according to data from www. cashcraft. com grow from a value of 12,137 in 2002 to 66,371. 2 points on March 5, 2008, with a market capitalisation of about N12. 640 trillion, after which values fell to 20,827. 17 points on December 31, 2009, with a market capitalisation of 4. 989 trillion because of the meltdown. This shows that by the end of the year 2009, the All Share Index had lost a total share of about 69%, while market capitalisation had lost 61% of its value. There are concerns regarding how rapidly the global financial crisis affected the Nigerian Capital Market, especially given that there is virtually no cross-ownership of banks (investment or otherwise) between Nigeria and foreign countries, and there is hardly any domestic mortgage market for there to be a sub-prime problem as found particularly in the UK and the USA (Aluko, 2008; Ajakaiye & Fakiyesi, 2009). The decline of indicators of activities on the NSE before the escalation of the crisis on the global scene in July 2008 became a source of concern for many. It is difficult to attribute this decline to any particular factor, but those factors that may have direct or indirect impact are as follows; i. Foreign portfolio investments withdrawals and reduced foreign direct investment affect investor confidence in Nigeria (Adamu, 2008; Aluko, 2008; and Ajakaiye & Fakiyesi, 2009). This is the case because most foreigners withhold their investments in order to service their financial problems at home. This exposed the country to FDI uncertainties and vagaries, particularly in an era where public-private partnership (PPP) of huge investment plans such as oil and gas – LNG projects, power plants, railways, housing and roads are being encouraged. ii. Another factor which according to Ajakaiye & Fakiyesi (2009) that had serious impact on the stock market is what they called the ‘intensifiers’. These include policy interpretations by the market, which may have been induced by the slow government initial stand on the economy. This also includes interpretation of announcements, proclamations and rumours by the market. Examples include the proposed recapitalisation plan of the stock market players (stock broking firms), as well as rumours on the termination of margin lending by banks. iii. The phenomenon of marginal lending in Nigeria, whereby investors borrow money from banks to invest in other financial instruments like IPOs of banks with the hope of making quick returns. This may also be termed Nigeria's own version of the ‘sub-prime problem’, as it resulted in an exploding domestic stock market and stock prices and astounding returns to both the speculators and providers of the margin funds. This make the banks to feel the heat of the crisis as most margin loans become difficult to repay due to the downward trend in the market. iv. With the currency overdependence on oil revenue, the downward trend in the price of crude oil and prospects for economic recession in the developed world and Europe which are the markets for the oil, also contributed for the fall in the stock market. Because it look as if Nigeria's capital market bear cycle actually began with the decline of oil prices in July, and accelerated with its further decline in September and October (Aluko, 2008; Ajakaiye & Fakaiye, 2009). Stock Market Volatility Stock volatility refers to the potential for a given stock to experience a drastic decrease or increase in value within a predetermined period of time. Investors evaluate the volatility of stock before making a decision to purchase a new stock offering, buy additional shares of a stock already in the portfolio, or sell stock currently in the possession of the investor. In recent months, it has not been unusual to see the value of major stock indexes, such as the S 500, NIKKEI, DOW JONES, KOSPI, FTSE, and our own NSE-ASI change by as much as 3% in a single day. Unfortunately for many investors, the general direction of those changes has been downward. To many, this volatility is driven by the recent global financial crisis. Stock market volatility tends to be persistent; that is, periods of high volatility as well as low volatility tend to last for months. In particular, periods of high volatility tend to occur when stock prices are falling and during recessions. Stock market volatility also is positively related to volatility in economic variables, such as inflation, industrial production, and debt levels in the corporate sector (Schwert, 1989). The persistence in volatility is not surprising: stock market volatility should depend on the overall health of the economy, and real economic variables themselves tend to display persistence. The persistence of stock market return volatility has two interesting implications. First, volatility is a proxy for investment risk. Persistence in volatility implies that the risk and return trade-off changes in a predictable way over the business cycle. Second, the persistence in volatility can be used to predict future economic variables. For example, Campbell, Lettau, Malkiel, and Xu (2001) show that stock market volatility helps to predict GDP growth. Volatility may impair the smooth functioning of the financial system and adversely affect economic performance (Mala & Reddy, 2007). Similarly, stock market volatility also has a number of negative implications. One of the ways in which it affects the economy is through its effect on consumer spending (Campbell, 1996; Starr-McCluer, 1998; Ludvigson & Steindel, 1999; and Poterba, 2000). The impact of stock market volatility on consumer spending is related via the wealth effect. Increased wealth will drive up consumer spending. However, a fall in stock market will weaken consumer confidence and thus drive down consumer spending. Stock market volatility may also affect business investment (Zuliu, 1995) and economic growth directly (Levine & Zervos, 1996; and Arestis, Demetriades, & Luintel, 2001). A rise in stock market volatility can be interpreted as a rise in risk of equity investment and thus a shift of funds to less risky assets. This move could lead to a rise in cost of funds to firms and thus new firms might bear this effect as investors will turn to purchase of stock in larger, well known firms. While there is a general consensus on what constitutes stock market volatility and, to a lesser extent, on how to measure it, there is far less agreement on the causes of changes in stock market volatility. Some economists see the causes of volatility in the arrival of new, unanticipated information that alters expected returns on a stock (Engle, 1982). Thus, changes in market volatility would merely reflect changes in the local or global economic environment. Others claim that volatility is caused mainly by changes in trading volume, practices or patterns, which in turn are driven by factors such as modifications in macroeconomic policies, shifts in investor tolerance of risk and increased uncertainty. The degree of stock market volatility can help forecasters predict the path of an economy’s growth and the structure of volatility can imply that â€Å"investors now need to hold more stocks in their portfolio to achieve diversification†(Krainer, 2002). Data and Methodology This research relies on the daily All Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange as reported by the exchange and on Cashcraft database. There are 233 listed companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the ASI is the major index that captures the performance of all the shares of the listed companies. Using the ASI, the monthly returns (%) were calculated using the formula below; Where Vf is the ASI at the end of the month, and Vi is the ASI at the beginning of the month. These returns were calculated for all the 48 months used in this study. We measure volatility using the standard deviation and/or variance. This is done by dividing the period under study into two. The first period comprises of 24 months observation for 2006 and 2007, the period prior to the crisis and the second 24 observations were for 2008 and 2009, the period of the crisis. In examining volatility changes over time, we compare the variances or standard deviations of the different periods and determine if they are statistically significantly different from each other. To estimate volatility, the expected returns or mean for these periods returns were computed using the equation; This implies that is the average of the return values. Using this value for and the variance estimate results in a formula for the volatility is given as; . It follows that the estimation of the volatility constant given by Wilmott, Howison and Dewynne (1995) is: Lastly, the expected returns and the standard deviations will be used in testing the hypothesis whether there is a significant difference between the means of the two observation using t – statistic for testing difference of two means. Results and Discussions Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics of the monthly returns for the two periods. For the period 2006 – 2007, the average return was 3. 42% with a standard deviation of 5. 37%. This is showing that during this period, stock market returns was less volatile because a less volatile stock will have a price/return that will deviate relatively from the mean little over time. This is the period when investors have consistent positive returns on their investment and there are willing to invest because stock returns are less volatile and their exposure to risk is less. Table 1. Descriptive Statistics RETURNS %2006-072008-09 Mean3. 4233 -4. 3658 Standard Error1. 09552. 5003 Median3. 550-4. 8400 ModeN/AN/A Standard Deviation5. 367012. 2489 Sample Variance28. 8050150. 0365 Kurtosis0. 67236. 3865 Skewness0. 39191. 4372 Range24. 6669. 15 Minimum-7. 44-30. 95 Maximum17. 2238. 2 Sum82. 16-104. 78 Count2424 Source; excel output On the other hand, during the period 2008 – 2009, there was a negative average return of –4. 37% with a standard deviation of 12. 25% showing high volatility in returns. This is as a result of the accelerated downward fall of the stock prices on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as a result of loss of investors’ confidence due to the global financial crisis. This period is characterised by negative returns which results to high volatility, and as we can see, the more volatile that a stock is, the harder it is to isolate where it could be on a future date. Since volatility is associated with risk, the more volatile that a stock is, the more risky it is. Consequently, the more risky a stock is, the harder it is to say with any certainty what the future price of the stock will be. When people invest, they would like to have no risk. The least amount of risk that is involved, the better the investment is. Since almost every investment has some risk, investors have looked for ways to minimize risk, so their best reaction was to avoid the stock market and this affected the market. The other descriptive statistics showed that both distributions are positive or right – skewed, meaning that most of the returns are in the lower portion of the distribution and there are some returns that has extremely large values and this pull the mean return upward to be greater than the median, specifically for the second period. Both has a positive kurtosis value of 0. 6723 and 6. 865 indicates a distribution with a sharper peak than a bell – shaped curves. The result of the test for the hypothesis to determine whether there is a significant difference between the means of the two observations is presented in table 2 below. The hypothesis is; Ho:  µ1 =  µ2 i. e. there is no difference in the means of the two observations H1:  µ1 ?  µ2 i. e. there is difference in the means of the tw o observations. From the result of the t- test, the null hypothesis is rejected at 5% level of significance. This is because t = 2. 85 ; t = 2. 01. the p – value computed is 0. 064 and it indicates that if the means are equal, the probability of observing a difference this large in the sample means is only 0. 0064. Based on this, there is sufficient evidence to conclude that the mean returns are different for the two periods, and that returns are lower in the period of the crisis than the period before it. This confirms the reason why there is higher volatility in this period than the other period. Table 2. t – Test for differences in Two means (assumes equal population variances) Data Hypothesized Difference0 Level of Significance0. 05 Population 1 Sample Sample Size24 Sample Mean3. 233 Sample Standard Deviation5. 367 Population 2 Sample Sample Size24 Sample Mean-4. 3658 Sample Standard Deviation12. 2489 Intermediate Calculations Population 1 Sample Degrees of Freedom 23 Population 2 Sample Degrees of Freedom23 Total Degrees of Freedom46 Pooled Variance89. 42012 Difference in Sample Means7. 7891 t Test Statistic2. 853384 Two-Tail Test Lower Critical Value-2. 012896 Upper Critical Value2. 012896 p-Value0. 006463 Reject the null hypothesis Source; Excel output Conclusion and recommendations The paper studied the extent of the stock market volatility in the period of 2006 – 2009. The period is divided into 24 months each to study the volatility of market returns between 2006 – 2007, and between 2008 – 2009. On the basis of the results it was found that the period 2006 – 2007 is less volatile than the period of 2008 – 2009; and this is due to the global financial that have affected investors’ confidence. Since volatility is associated with risk, the more volatile that a stock is, the more risky it is. Consequently, the more risky a stock is, the harder it is to say with any certainty what the future price of the stock will be. When people invest, they would like to have no risk. The least amount of risk that is involved, the better the investment is. Since almost every investment has some risk, investors have looked for ways to minimize risk, so their best reaction was to avoid the stock market and this affected the market. The recommendation is that the stock market instruments need to be diversified away form equity instruments to more of fixed security instruments. References Adamu, A. (2008). The Effects of global financial crisis on Nigerian Economy. 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The Mathematics of Financial Derivatives. New York: Cambridge University Press. Zuliu, H (1995). Stock market volatility and corporate investment†, IMF Working Paper, 95/102. www. cashcraft. com Appendices 1. Monthly returns computed using the NSE-ASI MONTHS/ YEARSRETURNS %MONTHS/ YEARSRETURNS % Jan-06-1. 69Jan-08-0. 02 Feb-060. 30Feb-08-11. 1 Mar-06-2. 00Mar-08-4. 01 Apr-06-0. 75Apr-08-5. 67 May-065. 45May-08-0. 33 Jun-065. 66Jun-080. 00 Jul-066. 75Jul-08-6. 90 Aug-0617. 22Aug-08-9. 22 Sep-060. 67Sep-08-6. 07 Oct-060. 35Oct-08-20. 96 Nov-06-3. 84Nov-08-9. 08 Dec-064. 92Dec-08-2. 37 Jan-078. 93Jan-09-30. 95 Feb-0710. 62Feb-097. 17 Mar-074. 87Mar-09-12. 60 Apr-078. 44Apr-098. 15 May-075. 9 5May-0938. 20 Jun-072. 44Jun-09-12. 63 Jul-070. 94Jul-09-7. 09 Aug-07-7. 44Aug-09-10. 42 Sep-07-0. 12Sep-09-2. 2 Oct-07-0. 16Oct-09-3. 08 Nov-077. 82Nov-09-3. 64 Dec-076. 83Dec-090. 05 Figure 1. Stock market performance, 2002-2009 Source: Extracted from Ajakaiye and Fakiyesi (2009)