Monday, September 30, 2019

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 4

It was the little changes that surprised Elena the most. She had expected the Guardians to bring Fel ‘s Church back. And they had. The last time she'd seen the town, probably a quarter of the houses had been rubble. They'd been burned or bombed, some ful y destroyed, some only half-gone, with police tape dangling dismal y across what was left of their entrances. Around and above the ruined houses, trees and bushes had grown and stretched strangely, vines draping over the debris, giving the streets of the smal town the look of an ancient jungle. Now Fel ‘s Church was – mostly – the way Elena remembered it. A picture postcard – perfect smal Southern town of deep-porched houses surrounded by careful y tended flower gardens and big old trees. The sun was shining and the air was warm with the promise of a hot and humid Virginia summer day. From a few blocks away came the muted roar of a lawn mower, and the smel of cut grass fil ed the air. The Kinkade kids in the house on the corner had dragged out their badminton set and were batting the birdie back and forth; the youngest girl waved to Elena and Stefan as they passed. Everything took Elena back to the long July days she'd known al the previous summers of her life. Elena hadn't asked for her old life back, though. Her exact words had been: I want a new life, with my real old life behind me. She'd wanted Fel ‘s Church to be the way it would have been now, months later, if evil had never come to town back at the beginning of her senior year. But she hadn't realized how jarring al the little changes would be. The smal colonial-style house in the middle of the next block had been painted a surprising shade of pink, and the old oak tree in its front lawn had been cut down and replaced with a flowering shrub. â€Å"Huh.† Elena turned to Stefan as they passed the house. â€Å"Mrs. McCloskey must have died, or moved to a nursing home.† Stefan looked at her blankly. â€Å"She never would have let them paint her house that color. There must be new people living there,† she explained, shivering slightly. â€Å"What is it?† Stefan asked instantly, as attuned to her moods as ever. â€Å"Nothing, it's just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena tried to smile as she tucked a silky lock of hair behind her ear. â€Å"She used to feed me cookies when I was a kid. It's strange to realize she might have died of natural causes while we've been gone.† Stefan nodded, and the two walked silently to Fel ‘s Church's smal downtown. Elena was about to point out that her favorite coffee shop had been replaced by a drugstore, when she grabbed Stefan's arm. â€Å"Stefan. Look.† Coming toward them were Isobel Saitou and Jim Bryce. â€Å"Isobel! Jim!† Elena shouted joyful y, and ran toward them. But Isobel was stiff in her arms, and Jim was looking at her curiously. â€Å"Uh, hi?† Isobel said hesitantly. Elena instantly stepped back. Oops. In this life, did she even know Isobel? They'd been in school together, of course. Jim had gone out with Meredith a couple of times before he and Isobel started dating, although Elena hadn't known him wel . But it was possible she had never even spoken to quiet, studious Isobel Saitou before the kitsune came to town. Elena's mind worked busily, trying to figure out how to get out of this without seeming crazy. But a warm buzz of happiness kept rising up in her chest, keeping her from taking the problem too seriously. Isobel was okay. She'd suffered so much at the hands of the kitsune: She'd pierced herself in horrible ways and slit her own tongue so severely that even after she'd recovered from the kitsune's thral , she'd spoken in a soft slur. Worse, the kitsune goddess had been in Isobel's house the whole time, pretending to be Isobel's grandmother. And poor Jim†¦ Infected through Isobel, Jim had torn himself apart, eating at his own flesh. Yet here he was, as handsome and carefree – albeit mildly confused – as ever. Stefan smiled broadly, and Elena couldn't stop giggling. â€Å"Sorry, guys, I'm just†¦ so happy to see familiar faces from school. I must miss good old Robert E. Lee High School, you know? Who would have thought?† It was a pretty weak excuse, but Isobel and Jim smiled and nodded. Jim cleared his throat awkwardly and said, â€Å"Yeah, it was a good year, wasn't it?† Elena laughed again. She couldn't help herself. A good year. They chatted for a few minutes before Elena casual y asked, â€Å"How's your grandmother, Isobel?† Isobel looked at her blankly. â€Å"My grandmother?† she said. â€Å"You must be confusing me with someone else. Both my grandmothers have been dead for years.† â€Å"Oh, my mistake.† Elena said good-bye and managed to contain herself until Isobel and Jim were out of earshot. Then she took Stefan by the arms, pul ed him toward her, and gave him a resounding kiss, feeling delight and triumph passing back and forth between them. â€Å"We did it,† she said when the kiss had ended. â€Å"They're fine! And not just them.† More solemn now, she gazed up into his green eyes, so serious and kind. â€Å"We did something real y important and wonderful, didn't we?† â€Å"We did,† Stefan agreed, but she couldn't help but notice something hard in his voice as he said it. They walked hand in hand, and without discussing it, they headed for the edge of town, crossing Wickery Bridge and climbing the hil . They turned into the cemetery, past the ruined church where Katherine had hidden, and down into the little val ey below that held the newer part of the graveyard. Elena and Stefan sat down on the neatly trimmed grass by the big marble headstone with â€Å"Gilbert† carved into the front. â€Å"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad,† Elena whispered. â€Å"I'm sorry it's been so long.† Back in her old life, she had visited her parents' graves often, just to talk to them. She'd felt like they were able to hear her somehow, that they were wishing her wel from whatever higher plane they'd ended up on. It had always made her feel better to tel them her troubles, and before her life had gotten so complicated, she had told them everything. She put out one hand and gently touched the names and dates carved on the tombstone. Elena bent her head. â€Å"It's my fault they're dead,† she said. Stefan made a soft noise of disagreement, and she turned to look at him. â€Å"It is,† she said, her eyes burning. â€Å"The Guardians told me so.† Stefan sighed and kissed her forehead. â€Å"The Guardians wanted to kil you,† he said. â€Å"To make you one of them. And they accidental y kil ed your parents instead. It's no more your fault than if they had shot at you and missed.† â€Å"But I distracted my father at the critical moment and made him crash,† Elena said, hunching her shoulders. â€Å"So the Guardians say,† Stefan replied. â€Å"But they wouldn't want it to sound like their fault. They don't like to admit they make mistakes. The fact remains that the accident that kil ed your parents wouldn't have happened if the Guardians hadn't been there.† Elena lowered her eyes to hide the tears swimming in them. What Stefan said was true, she thought, but she couldn't stop the chorus of myfaultmyfaultmyfault in her head. A few wild violets were growing on her left, and she picked them, along with a patch of buttercups. Stefan joined her, handing her a sprig of columbine with yel ow bel -shaped blossoms to add to her tiny wildflower bouquet. â€Å"Damon never trusted the Guardians,† he said quietly. â€Å"Wel , he wouldn't – they don't think much of vampires. But beyond that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He reached for a tal stalk of Queen Anne's lace growing beside a nearby headstone. â€Å"Damon had a pretty finely tuned sense for detecting lies – the lies people told themselves and the ones they told other people. When we were young we had a tutor – a priest, no less – who I liked and my father trusted, and Damon despised. When the man ran off with my father's gold and a young lady from the neighborhood, Damon was the only one who wasn't surprised.† Stefan smiled at Elena. â€Å"He said that the priest's eyes were wrong. And that he spoke too smoothly.† Stefan shrugged. â€Å"My father and I never noticed. But Damon did.† Elena smiled tremulously. â€Å"He always knew when I wasn't being total y honest with him.† She had a sudden flash of memory: of Damon's deep black eyes holding hers, his pupils dilated like a cat's, his head tilting as their lips met. She looked away from Stefan's warm green eyes, so different from Damon's dark ones, and twisted the thick stalk of the Queen Anne's lace around the other flowers. When the bouquet was tied together, she placed it on her parents' grave. â€Å"I miss him,† Stefan said softly. â€Å"There was a time when I would have thought†¦ when his death might have been a relief. But I'm so glad we came together – that we were brothers again – before he died.† He put a gentle hand beneath Elena's chin and tilted her head up so that her eyes met his again. â€Å"I know you loved him, Elena. It's okay. You don't have to pretend.† Elena gave a little gasp of pain. It was like there was a dark hole inside her. She could laugh and smile and marvel at the restored town; she could love her family; but al the time there was this dul ache, this terrible sense of loss. Letting her tears loose at last, Elena fel into Stefan's arms. â€Å"Oh, my love,† he said, his voice catching, and they wept together, taking comfort in each other's warmth. Fine ash had fal en for a long time. Now it settled at last and the smal moon of the Nether World was covered with thick, sticky piles of dust. Here and there, opalescent fluid pooled against the charred blackness, coloring it with the rainbow of an oil slick. Nothing moved. Now that the Great Tree had disintegrated, nothing lived in this place. Deep below the surface of the ruined moon was a body. His poisoned blood had stopped flowing and he lay unmoving, unfeeling, unseeing. But the drops of fluid saturating his skin nourished him, and a slow thrum of magical life beat steadily on. Every now and then a flicker of consciousness rose within him. He had forgotten who he was and how he had died. But there was a voice somewhere deep inside him, a light, sweet voice he knew wel , that told him, Close your eyes now. Let go. Let go. Go. It was comforting, and his last spark of consciousness was holding on for a moment longer, just to hear it. He couldn't remember whose voice it was, although something in it reminded him of sunlight, of gold and lapis lazuli. Let go. He was slipping away, the last spark dimming, but it was al right. It was warm and comfortable, and he was ready to let go now. The voice would take him al the way to†¦ to wherever it was he would go. As the flicker of consciousness was about to go out for the last time, another voice – a sharper, more commanding voice, the voice of someone used to having his orders obeyed – spoke within him. She needs you. She's in danger. He couldn't let go. Not yet. That voice pul ed painful y at him, holding him to life. With a sharp shock, everything shifted. As if he'd been ripped out of that gentle, cozy place, he was suddenly freezing cold. Everything hurt. Deep within the ash, his fingers twitched.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Pirandello: Six Characters in Search of an Author Essay

A theatre company is preparing to rehearse one of Pirandello’s plays, â€Å"which no one understood when it was written and which makes even less sense today† (Director, I). Before they are able to begin, however, the Characters enter and explain who they are, and that the author that created them had not been able to finish their play, and that they were in search of someone who would help them by finishing the job. The director agrees, and the characters tell their story, demonstrating scenes that were to be played. Not long after the first scene is played, it appears that there is some disagreement between the Characters and the Company, regarding the direction that the scenes should take. The Characters argue that they way that the Company play their roles is not â€Å"real† enough, not â€Å"true† enough. Contrariwise, the Director argues that some license must be allowed for the physical and temporal restrictions that stage production puts on their â€Å"reality.† The Characters insist on continuing their demonstration, culminating in the suicide of the Boy. The Company is horrified, some believing the child to be truly dead, others insisting that it was a trick. The Father replies to their questions with â€Å"What do you mean, a trick? It is reality, reality, ladies and gentlemen! Reality!† (Father, III). The Director, horrified and confused, calls for lights. When the lights have come up, the Characters are gone. Exasperated, the Director cries, â€Å"They’ve cost me a whole day of rehearsal!† DRAMATIC ELEMENTS: Point of Inciting Interest: The Characters appear during rehearsal and reveal that they are seeking someone to tell their story. The director agrees to help. Major Crises: *The Director realizes that the Characters are not actors looking to rehearse, and that they expect him to serve as their author and write their play. After some discussion with the Father, he agrees to continue. *At several points during the play, the Director is confronted with situations in which the Characters are unhappy with the scenery or the look or performance of the actors, or the direction that the Director is giving. Each time, there ensues a discussion on the â€Å"reality† of what the Company is portraying, versus the reality of the Characters’ story. Each time, the Characters eventually decide, reluctantly, to accept a less-than-perfect portrayal of their story. These crises have been condensed into one bullet point for conciseness. Climax: The Boy, demonstrating the final scene, shoots himself and dies. Denouement: The Company is horrified. The Father explains to them simply that this is â€Å"reality, ladies and gentlemen!† The Director calls for lights and finds the Characters have gone. He then cancels the remaining rehearsal time and exits. REACTION/ANALYSIS: Pirandello takes on quite a challenging question in Six Characters. This question, of how reality can be defined, goes all the way back to Plato,  with his Allegory of the Cave. While Pirandello does not answer that question, perhaps an ultimate answer is impossible to conceive, he does take it to a different level, and leaves the audience thinking. This universal question, in Six Characters, takes on a great depth. We, the audience, are presented with two realities, and are asked to define which is more â€Å"real† of the two. On one side, we have the Company, composed of â€Å"real† people who create â€Å"fabricated† stories through their work on the stage. However, Pirandello gives them absolutely no depth. It is clear that they are merely vessels for portraying this â€Å"fiction,† creating real stories in their shows, but they seem to have no â€Å"real† stories of their own. Contrariwise, the Characters, who are not â€Å"real† people, i.e. they have been â€Å"created† by some unknown Author; have a story, a life, that is much more â€Å"real† than those of the Company. Conflict ensues when the â€Å"reality† that is created by the Company does not acceptably conform to the exacting standards of the Characters. The problem is that the Company must conform to the physical and temporal limitations inherent in stage productions, and sometimes they do not fully grasp the nature of the Character that they are portraying. This bothers the Characters, as they feel that it affects the â€Å"reality† of their story, to have it altered. â€Å"But that’s not the way it really happened,† seems to be their continual complaint. The question that Pirandello presents to us, and leaves us to ponder at the end of the play, is: â€Å"Which is more real, the â€Å"true† reality of the â€Å"fictional† Characters, or the â€Å"fictional† reality of the â€Å"real† Company? Being a non-dualist, I would personally argue that they are both real, however that is only my opinion. One final item that I will present for consideration is the religious connotation of the creator-deity figure, the Author. It is interesting to note, than when the Author of the Characters’ work is referred to, it is always Author, not author. The Characters are searching for an author to help them bring to life the story that was created by the Author. Perhaps Pirandello is drawing a subtle connection between the Characters’ quest, and our own search for â€Å"truth.† In the end of the play, the Characters vanish after completing their demonstration.  Through their quest for self-definition, the Characters actually achieve self-definition. Perhaps Pirandello is trying to say that, in a circular fashion, it is our human quest to define ourselves that, in the end, defines us.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Unethical decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unethical decisions - Essay Example The growing technological advancement has led to integration of the communication all over the world. Integrated information system has been a great relief to many people as well as organization when it comes to conducting electronic transactions. However, this development has been met and strained by serious unethical practices that have led to great loss of finances and jobs. Unethical practices and decisions made on the information systems have also led to disrepute to many organizations (Collier & Spaul, 1990). The integration of information system witnessed an advantageous introduction of credit cards that have been used to carry transactions involving purchasing and sales of goods and services. However, this system has since undergone intrusion occasioned by unending frauds (Shortland & Scarf, 2007). Credit cards of certain individuals have been stolen and used in purchase of goods and services by the fraudsters, thus leading loss of colossal amounts of money by the credit card companies. The same problem has been witnessed even with the use of virtual credit cards. Fraudsters have used complex techniques to get to know the secrete information of the credit cards of particular individuals and have been conducting transactions with such cards at the expense of the true holders. To confront, tackle and curb credit card frauds, Shortland and Scarf (2007) illustrate that various individuals have come with systems to assist achieve the alleviation of these widespread unethical practices. The ideas have included metalearning, and cardwatch among others that uses modifiers and classifiers to mine data and detect frauds in the system. Even though, these technologies have failed to bear desirable fruits as disorganized distribution of data and mixing of the genuine and fraudulent transactions that have complicated the functionality of the systems. Continuing research on this field has led to invention of the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) that works

Friday, September 27, 2019

Industrial Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Industrial Relations - Essay Example The collective bargaining of the union has greatly facilitated the welfare of the workforce and has promoted their interest amongst the management. According to Claude Bernard, ‘Art is I; Science is We’ (Bernard). Indeed, the strategic leadership of the management and the union significantly promote better relationship to maintain smooth operation. Like science, the union leaders are much more informed and constantly make efforts to improve and improvise relationship between the employee and employer and ensure that workforce is not exploited. They strike hard bargain with the management in the interest of the working class. Then again, one can broadly define art as a creative expression of oneself. It is individualistic and normally confined to the interest of one person, even though it might have significance for others. The science, on the other hand, is not exclusive and the outcome of scientific experiments has direct impact on people at large and applies universally. Indeed, in science, what affects one person, has the same concern for others also. This works best for labor unions because if the union fights for the injustice of one employee in an organization, the result of that negotiation applies for others also. This has specially become significant in the contemporary times of recession when businesses are going in for large lay off of the workforce. The repercussion of loss of job for one person is as traumatic as for others. So the unions across the regions and nations are working hard towards coming come up with creative forms of negotiations to wards of employees lay off. A case in point is the role of unions in Virginia where ‘unions have played a major role in local races, including making a $50,000 contribution to Fairfax County Supervisor Sharon Bulovas campaign for board chairman. And they are preparing to dedicate significant resources to this years hotly contested campaign for governor’

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 200

Assignment Example A significant portion of the consumers in North America are Millennials who are dependent on their electronic gadgets in their daily lives. This trend has a negative impact to Bic because it undermines one of its primary products which are stationery, notebooks and pens. The trend says that the more the millennial market spends on electronics and gadget, the less they will spend to stationeries and pen which are Bic’s products. In addition, the pervasive use of gadgets also provided an alternative to Bic’s other traditional products which are coloring, drawing pencils, crayons and felt pens. They can now also be done in softwares such as photoshop, Corel Draw or other apps and this means reduction in demand and consequently, market share. Other traditional products however such as sticky notes and writing pens (white board) will not be affected by the trend of increased use of gadgets. Their demand could even increase as their use are becoming popular in presentations and group meetings. Another trend that could run counter to Bic’s profitability interest in the long run is its lighter market. At present, 40% of Millennials and 21% of adults may be smoker but this trend is going down. The increasing awareness for health and the ill effects of smoking will have negative impact on the demand for cigarettes and along with it is the decreasing demand for lighters which is Bic’s product. Various interests groups and advertising campaigns are increasingly becoming aggressive in convincing people to quit smoking. At present, many people are already trying to quit smoking or are resorting to e-cigarettes as an alternative. The figures are discouraging because 44% of men and women are already using e-cigarettes which have no use of Bic’s lighters. Either way, this does not spell good for Bic because it undermines its lighter products.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Tata Steel in India Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Tata Steel in India - Research Paper Example Tata Steel is recognized as India’s first Iron and Steel company, having been founded in the year 1907 during the British colonial era. (Indicus Analytics, 2009) Tata Steel operates as part of the Tata Group, allowing it to pursue integrated supply and distribution facilities to automotive manufacturing, heavy industry, and consumer goods production within the conglomerate’s structure. (Economy Watch, 2010) Tata Steel competes with a large number of different Iron and Steel companies within India’s domestic economy and internationally, including the Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Arcelor-Mittal, POSCO, Hindustan Steel, JSW Steel, and other companies. The Indian Government has pursued a policy of progressively opening India’s local economy to foreign competition, and there is currently no levy or tax restriction on the import and export of iron and steel products. (India Ministry of Steel, 2009) The consequence of this is considered to be increased compet ition in the sector, and lower prices, particularly as set by Chinese steel producers for export. China produced over 10 times the steel capacity of India, at 567 million metric tons in 2009 compared to 56.1 million metric tons produced by India in the same period. (India Ministry of Steel, 2010) Nevertheless, Tata Steel has produced a corporate strategy to meet these competitive challenges, and this includes sustainability policies directed at the greater welfare of workers, the environment, and community. Tata Steel and Economic Conditions in India Tata Steel states publicly that â€Å"the primary purpose of a business is to improve the quality of life of people.† (Tata Steel, 2011) This tenet constitutes the cornerstone of the company’s sustainability policy and represents the wider mandate held by corporate management on behalf of stakeholders. In India, there is a need for social and economic development that uplifts people out of poverty. One of the main processe s that enable individuals to improve their living condition in the modern, globalized economy is the possession of a professional, well-paying job. Another factor is the level of education that an individual receives in the formative years of development. Education is recognized as vital to the long-term sustainability of business and industry, as well as being one of the main constituents of what is required of a good employee. As India’s economic development needs change on a national level from addressing the dire threats of the poverty situation of the post-colonial era through socialist policies to supporting the booming economy expanding at a rate of 8% to 10% annually in the 21st century through progressive market policies, it should be expected that the sustainability policies at Tata Steel are also updated and analyzed by management teams to reflect the changing requirements of the communities themselves that are being served.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Definition of honor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Definition of honor - Essay Example Concept Honor is a gesture or an attitude that others display for an individual for all the deeds and accomplishments that is earned or procured for the endeavor that is beyond the scope of a common man. It is an immense pride that any group of individuals or any nation exhibits towards the undertakings performed. Honor is an encouragement for others, an ethos and own confrontation clinched by any nation to recommend for all the actions that has made the result in its favor, may it be war where the bravery has turned the consequences in favor of the nation. May it be any sports accomplishment or any research that has brought glory to the nation in front of the entire world. A statement of belief or faith that a parents who worth the conception of reputation and examination would be lawfully conceited to comprise, a son or daughter entrust to (A Concept of Honor). Honor is also institutional that is regulated by the rules that one has to abide by. This Code of Honor should never be vi olated. The Code is equally applicable to all the laws and orders that any nation prescribes. Infringement of these laws is considered as a misconduct, such behavior brings defame or dishonor to any nation or an organization. These acts could be criminal or scandals that is against the set rules and regulations. Violations of laws are accountable to punishment, retributions or expulsions (A Concept of Honor). Thus, honor also encompasses an enormous pact of tasks. These responsibilities are being taught, guided and evaluated over the time as the providence of any organization or a country relies upon set guidelines. To receive and act dependably as well as sensibly is a great deal of responsibility. These principled as well as forfeited actions bring nobility to the institution. To procure graciousness and dignity for any nation it becomes imperative for every individual to work conscientiously and meticulously within the frames and parameters of the nation's rules and regulations. It is obvious that if any individual does wrong then it directly affects that pride of the organization (A Concept of Honor). It could be understood that by means of cultural unfairness or discriminations or by sustaining dual standards, conceit of the nation is influenced. It is imperative that for the sake of honor of any organization such strokes should be evaded. There could be a variety of condone to keep the spirits of the employees at a high pace and to let them enjoy the freedom of work. This not only promotes confidence and support in favor of the nation or the organization but also brings rewards and honor for the institution (A Concept of Honor). Rewards and honor could not be forced but they are self- generated by means of actions and the feeling of belongingness that an individual possess for the nation. Unless, this feeling of belongingness is generated from within, honor of any form can never be procured. This feeling is essential for the safety of nation and to eradi cate terrorism from its roots. It is observed that in some of the developing as well as developed nations women are highly ill-treated and there is little wages for their hardships. This could not bring any honor to the nation. It is therefore essential that both men and women work in co-ordination and respect for each other to bring pride, appreciation, magnificence and glory to the nation (Honor). Conclusion In social perspectives it is

Monday, September 23, 2019

2_Economics for Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

2_Economics for Sustainability - Essay Example Hundreds of millions of individuals might suffer water shortages, hunger and coastal flooding as a result of global warming. Scientists warn that if the world does not aggressively control climate change, the consequences will be disastrous. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are collecting in the atmosphere resembling a thickening blanket. The blanket traps the heat from the sun, thereby causing the earth to warm up (Houghton 2004, p. 30). Although temperatures vary naturally, over the past five decades, the average worldwide temperature has augmented at the fastest rate witnessed in history. Greenhouse gases emissions to the atmosphere emanates from the human activities. It is approximated that ninety percent of greenhouse gases emissions are human produced. Greenhouse gases such as methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide have caused much of the observed increase in world’s temperatures. Failure to lower level of greenhouse gases emissions, especially carbon dioxide, will destroy the global economy (Maslin 2007, p. 15). As Weart (2008, p. 37) notes, life on Earth relies on energy emanating from the sun. Approximately half the light getting into the globe’s atmosphere passes via the clouds and air to the surface. The light is absorbed and subsequently radiated upward in the form of infrared heat. Approximately ninety percent of this heat is subsequently absorbed by the conservatory gases and emitted back towards the earth’s surface, which is warmed to a life supporting average of fifteen degrees Celsius. A layer of greenhouse gases principally water vapour and smaller amounts of methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide act as a thermal blanket for the planet. The thermal blanket absorbs heat and warms the Earth surface. Scientists have come to an agreement that the primary cause of the recent trends in global warming entails expansion of the greenhouse effect by

Sunday, September 22, 2019

W2CapD Vision and Mission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

W2CapD Vision and Mission - Essay Example e benefit – a vision statement gives the picture of the preferred future†¦ the vision is a statement that describes how the future will look if the organization meets its mission† (Wilkinson, 2013, p. 1). Thus, the mission statement defines the specific strategies that are to be undertaken to ensure that the vision is achieved. Values play a crucial role in the vision and mission of an organization. The beliefs, principles, and philosophies of the officers and leaders in the organization influence the manner by which vision and mission statements are designed. As emphasized, â€Å"vision and mission statements should articulate the essence of your organizations beliefs and values and define its place in the world† (Foundation Center, 2015, p. 1). Likewise, core values are further asserted as the â€Å"the principles and standards at the very center of our character, and from which we will not budge or stray. (As such), even though we frequently talk about mission and vision first, the basic underlying foundation for both are our core values† (Grusenmeyer, n.d., p. 2). As such, the theoretical or conceptual framework which becomes the foundation of the mission and vision statements are the values set ingrained in the incorporating owners or members of the organization. What they believe they n eed or want to achieve in the long term would define the mission and vision that would be explicitly communicated to the rest of the stakeholders. Wilkinson, M. (2013, January 30). There’s a difference: mission v. vision. Retrieved from managementhelp.org:

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Explain Why Treasure Island Is So Highly Regarded Essay Example for Free

Explain Why Treasure Island Is So Highly Regarded Essay Treasure Island is written using a first person narrative, which has its own advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages consist of being able to experience how the character narrating feels, in this case we get to learn a lot about Jim Hawkins and how he feels throughout the novel just because he is the narrator of the novel. However, when Jim decides stow away in one of the boats heading for the shore R.L. Stevenson is faced with a problem in that he cannot let the reader know what is happening on board the Hispaniola. \ Stevenson finds a way around this problem by swapping the narrator to Doctor Livesey. This seems to sort out the problem for a while but if the reader was reading the novel at a fast pace then he might not read the chapter headings and know that the narrator has changed and therefore get confused with whats happening in the story and where the characters are. I think that R.L. Stevenson knew that this problem would occur somewhere in the novel and anticipated it, he may have even planned it. But he still chose to use the first person narrative, although it is not always the easiest narrative to follow as I and we are used which often makes it hard to distinguish who I and we are, and who the speech is being directed at. However, I believe Stevenson chose this narrative as it makes it easier to let the reader know and understand the feelings of the character that is narrating the novel at any time in the novel. R.L. Stevenson describes the island very well throughout the novel by using all of the senses of a human being: Sight The appearance of the island when I came on deck next morning was altogether changed. Sound and the whole ship creaking and groaning, Taste like someone tasting a bad egg. Smell a smell of sodden leaves and rotting tree trunks. Touch The Hispaniola was rolling scuppers under in the ocean swell. The quotation I chose for sight was one of the many I could have used as part three of Treasure Island has many references to sight and how things look. Although there is not nearly as many R.L. Stevenson still makes a point of describing the sounds that are a part of the island and boat, like the creaking of the boat, and the sounds that the birds make. Chapter thirteen contains only one reference to taste and that is in the form of a simile. The effect this has is that most people know or can at least guess what a bad egg tastes like which gives the reader a good idea of how bad the island smelt. The chapter also has only one reference to smell which can also give the reader a good idea of how he island smelt, giving them quite a clear image of the island in their minds eye. Explaining how movement and how something feels is a difficult task to achieve when writing a novel, however I feel that R.L. Stevenson manages to accomplish this quite well. Describing how the boat was rolling gently in the water, how the temperature was very hot and describing how Jim had to hold on because he felt as though everything was spinning around him. Part of the tension of Treasure Island is built up at the end of part one when Dr. Livesey tells Squire Trelawney that he is afraid that the Squire will tell someone what the voyage is about and that there is treasure involved, Theres only one man Im afraid of. `And whos that? cried the squire. `Name the dog, sir! `You, replied the doctor; `for you cannot hold your tongue.' The feeling this gives to the reader is one of untrustworthiness and a lack of faithfulness between friends which may cause the reader to become somewhat tense as there is a part of them that knows what is going to happen but they are not completely sure what or when it is going to happen. And when Jim and the doctor receive a letter from the squire it brings the doctors fears to light as the letter he receives from the squire says that the squire told every man, woman and child that he met, and that he had hired a man with one leg. At this news, the reader may again feel tension in them, as they do not know what the people the squire told will do or if the man with one leg is the same person that Billy Bones was so scared of. Personally, I think that there are five reasons that this novel is so widely known and read; Firstly the book appeals to people of all ages, it has something that appeals to everyone that can read. Secondly, R.L. Stevensons choice of narrative, it lets the reader know exactly how the character narrating feels, making you feel like apart of the novel. Thirdly, The way in which R.L. Stevenson chose to describe the island and everything surrounding it, almost making the Island a character. Fourthly, the amount of tension that is built up throughout the novel is huge; some readers might find the book hard to put down because of the tension as they feel they need to know what will happen next. Lastly, R.L. Stevenson thought up ideas about the setting, story, and narrative issues for Treasure Island himself, instead of doing what a lot of writers might do which is to take ideas from other people, modify them a bit, and then pass them off as their own. Due to this Treasure Island is unpredictable and lively, yet it is as easy to follow as a nursery book. I found Treasure Island to be quite an enjoyable book even though I do not usually read adventure novels.

Friday, September 20, 2019

La Bolsa De Valores De Colombia

La Bolsa De Valores De Colombia QUE ES UNA BOLSA DE VALORES Una bolsa de valores es un establecimiento, que puede ser pà ºblico o privado, autorizado por los gobiernos de los paà ­ses, en el cual se negocian (compran y venden) tà ­tulos valores como acciones, bonos, tà ­tulos de deuda pà ºblica etc. La negociacià ³n de los tà ­tulos la realizan personas autorizadas las cuales se denominan corredores de bolsa (|brokers en ingles). Los corredores de bolsa son intermediarios entre un vendedor y un comprador de tà ­tulos, generalmente representan a uno de à ©stos y negocian por orden de à ©ste. Por realizar esta actividad, los corredores de bolsa cobran una comisià ³n. Sà ³lo los corredores de bolsa autorizados pueden llevar a cabo las negociaciones. Existe una serie de exigencias y normas muy estrictas que los rigen tanto a ellos como a las empresas que deseen negociar sus valores en la bolsa. Lo anterior permite que los inversionistas (personas o empresas que quieran invertir dinero en tà ­tulos valores) sientan confianza y seriedad a la hora de negociar en la bolsa. Las bolsas, por lo tanto, se pueden considerar como un mercado centralizado y regulado (mercado que recibe el nombre de MERCADO BURSATIL. Este mercado le permite a las empresas financiar sus proyectos y actividades a travà ©s de la venta de tà ­tulos. Igualmente, permite a los inversionistas opciones de inversià ³n a travà ©s de la compra de los tà ­tulos. Existen bolsas de valores en muchos lugares del mundo: ciudades importantes como Nueva York, capitales de paà ­ses como es el caso de Londres o Tokio, etc. Es importante anotar que las bolsas se comunican entre sà ­. HISTORIA DE LA BOLSA DE VALORES DE COLOMBIA La Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (BVC), creada el 3 DE JULIO DEL 2001, es el à ºnico mercado de acciones y otros valores de Colombia organizado a travà ©s de la estructura de bolsa. Anteriormente operaban tres bolsas de valores independientes Bolsa de Bogotà ¡ (1928), Bolsa de Medellà ­n (1961) y Bolsa de Occidente (Cali, 1983) que se fusionaron para crear la BVC. Tiene oficinas en Bogotà ¡, Medellà ­n, Cali, Barraquilla y Pereira. El resto del mercado se organiza a travà ©s de sistemas centralizados de transaccià ³n de operaciones que no hacen parte de la Bolsa de Valores de Colombia. MISION DE LA BOLSA DE VALORES DE COLOMBIA Contribuir al crecimiento y desarrollo del mercado de capitales a travà ©s de la canalizacià ³n del ahorro hacia la inversià ³n productiva mediante la administracià ³n de mercados eficientes, transparentes, equitativos, competitivos, seguros y supervisados, en beneficio de emisores, inversionistas e intermediarios, y generar valor para sus accionistas mediante un adecuado equilibrio entre los objetivos de rentabilidad y el desarrollo de los objetivos de mediano y largo plazo. VISION DE LA BOLSA DE VALORES DE COLOMBIA En el 2015 la BVC serà ¡ el principal foro de negociacià ³n de activos financieros en el paà ­s, administrando un 55% del total transado en el mercado nacional. Para lograrlo, la organizacià ³n crearà ¡ valor para sus accionistas, trabajarà ¡ en conjunto con intermediarios y reguladores, ejecutarà ¡ procesos confiables orientados estratà ©gicamente hacia los resultados e incorporarà ¡ el mejor capital humano y tecnolà ³gico disponible. VALORES DE LA BOLSA DE COLOMBIA ïÆ' ¼ Excelencia o aquello que hacemos y cuando lo hacemos proactivamente bien. ïÆ' ¼ Liderazgo o el deber para crear un mejor futuro. ïÆ' ¼ Innovacià ³n o la imaginacià ³n y la creacià ³n. ïÆ' ¼ Orientacià ³n al mercado o el compromiso total con los clientes. ïÆ' ¼ Trabajo en equipo o la cooperacià ³n y el genio colectivo. ïÆ' ¼ Pasià ³n o la entrega de corazà ³n y razà ³n. ïÆ' ¼ Competitividad o en lo que participamos, ganamos. PRESENCIA INTERNACIONAL Contexto internacional Consciente de la responsabilidad como administradora de sistemas transaccionales a travà ©s de los cuales el mercado de activos financieros en Colombia realiza sus operaciones, la BVC mantiene un contacto permanente con las diferentes bolsas del mundo y organismos internacionales. El objetivo de su gestià ³n internacional es conocer y adelantar gestiones encaminadas a elevar la calidad de sus servicios y homologar sus actividades a està ¡ndares internacionales a travà ©s de instrumentos y mecanismos de negociacià ³n que tiendan a generar nuevas alternativas de inversià ³n y financiacià ³n en un escenario de seguridad y transparencia para todos los actores que en ella intervienen. A continuacià ³n, la BVC presenta un resumen sobre la actividad que adelanta con el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, BID, su vinculacià ³n y beneficios para Colombia al ser miembro de la Word Federation of Exchange, WFE y, finalmente como parte de la Federacià ³n Iberoamericana de Bolsas, FIAB. La presencia internacional de la BVC ante los organismos internacionales anteriormente citados, responde a la iniciativa de la BVC de integrar el mercado de valores colombiano para ofrecer nuevas alternativas de inversià ³n y financiacià ³n a los empresarios, inversionistas e intermediarios. Banco Interamericano de desarrollo BIP En abril de 2002 el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, BID, como administrador del Fondo Multilateral de Inversiones, Fomin, y la Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, BVC, firmaron un convenio de cooperacià ³n tà ©cnica no reembolsable para fortalecer el mercado de capitales nacional mediante el desarrollo de los siguientes proyectos. Bolsa de futuros y opciones Sus objetivos son la estructuracià ³n, diseà ±o operativo, adquisicià ³n de la plataforma tecnolà ³gica y puesta en marcha de una Bolsa de Instrumentos Derivados. En principio, esta bolsa operarà ¡ sobre contratos de divisas y tasas de interà ©s en pesos. Mà ¡s adelante, podrà ¡n transarse instrumentos sobre opciones y contratos basados en à ­ndices bursà ¡tiles y otros instrumentos de cobertura. à ¼ Cà ¡mara de compensacià ³n riesgo central de contraparte La Bolsa se apoya en servicios de consultorà ­a experta en el tema de buenas prà ¡cticas de gobierno corporativo, con el fin de evaluar, desear e implementar mejores prà ¡cticas en los emisores de valores en Colombia. Con base en los resultados de la evaluacià ³n, la BVC hoy realiza un programa de divulgacià ³n que permite promover los resultados del proyecto y redunde en mayor confianza de los inversionistas hacia los tà ­tulos emitidos por compaà ±Ãƒ ­as con dichas prà ¡cticas. à ¼ World Federation of Exchanges, WFE La Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, BVC, desde octubre de 2003 hace parte de la Word Federation Exchange, organismo internacional que agrupa a las 56 Bolsas y mercados mà ¡s grandes del mundo, para ser miembro de la WFE, la BVC cumplià ³ con requisitos propios de la industria financiera en el mundo, que aseguran una operacià ³n y funcionamiento acorde con està ¡ndares internacionales. à ¼ Beneficios para la BVC al ser miembro de la WFE à ¼ El reconocimiento internacional que le permite a la BVC interactuar con las principales bolsas de mundo. à ¼ Posibilidad de acceder a foros de intercambio de conocimientos y experiencias de otras bolsas de valores à ¼ Participacià ³n en eventos, seminarios y congresos mundiales de interà ©s para el mercado, asà ­ como acceder a los resultados o conclusiones que se generan en los mismos. à ¼ Afianzar los và ­nculos profesionales y comerciales con las Bolsas mà ¡s importantes del mundo ïÆ' ¼ A las Sociedades Comisionistas de Bolsa les beneficia en la medida que el mercado colombiano alcanza està ¡ndares internacionales y logra un reconocimiento global.  ¿Quà © es la World Federation of Exchanges? ïÆ' ¼ La World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) es la organizacià ³n comercial para las seguridades y los mercados derivados regulados, instituciones del establecimiento y cà ¡maras de compensacià ³n relacionadas, y sus diversos servicios a los mercados de capitales. ïÆ' ¼ La federacià ³n es una organizacià ³n internacional privada que abarca a los operadores mà ¡s importantes del mundo y con los niveles mà ¡s altos de la calidad de mercado. La organizacià ³n proporciona un foro para la comunicacià ³n, el anà ¡lisis y la discusià ³n entre sus miembros ïÆ' ¼ Asà ­ mismo, compartir la experiencia y el conocimiento del negocio entre los miembros de la WFE es un factor crà ­tico para el desarrollo de la industria, aà ºn mà ¡s cuando los operadores de mercado financiero ofrecen servicios en un ambiente cada vez mà ¡s competitivo. ïÆ' ¼ Su propà ³sito es facilitar la representacià ³n, el desarrollo de mercados organizados y regulados, y resolver las necesidades de los mercados de capitales para ofrecer un mejor servicio a sus usuarios. La calidad de miembro de la federacià ³n es un criterio para que reguladores e instituciones nacionales de la gerencia de activos financieros permitan el acceso privilegiado para la inversià ³n INDICES BURSATILES 1. GINI Este à ­ndice nos permite conocer el nivel de concentracià ³n de la propiedad accionaria entre sus beneficiarios reales. Cuando se habla de concentracià ³n de la propiedad accionaria se dice que la mayor parte de las acciones en circulacià ³n de una organizacià ³n esta en manos de unos pocos accionistas. Este indicador busca llegar a la propiedad accionaria de las personas naturales como objetivo mismo del indicador, basado en que las personas naturales puedan ser propietarias en forma directa o indirecta a travà ©s de otras compaà ±Ãƒ ­as. Cuando la propiedad de las empresas estas distribuida igualitariamente entre todo los accionistas, es decir, cuando hay total desconcentracià ³n, el resultado del GINI es cero y, por el contrario. Cuando la desigualdad o concentracià ³n de la propiedad es total, el indicador es uno. Su interpretacià ³n es bueno complementarla con la participacià ³n de la empresa en el sector respectivo. 2. à ndice de bursatilidad Accionaria (IBA) Mide la caracterà ­stica de una accià ³n basada en la facilidad para comprarla u ofrecerla en el mercado secundario. De acuerdo con la liquidez de la accià ³n y su negociabilidad se clasifica en alta, media, baja, minima y ninguna bursatilidad en una escala de 0 a 10. El calculo se basa en cuatro relaciones bà ¡sicas: el valor transado promedio por rueda, el numero de acciones transadas sobre el numero el numero de acciones en circulacià ³n, el numero de operaciones realizadas sobre el numero de ruedas realizadas y el numero de ruedas en que cotiza sobre el numero de ruedas realizadas. 3. à ndice de precios de la Bolsa de Bogota Es un indicador de la evolucià ³n de los precios de las acciones mas representativas que se transan en las Bolsas de Bogota. Su variacià ³n indica la tendencia al alza o a la baja de los precios de las acciones. Su objetivo como indicador no difiere de los utilizados a nivel internacional, sin embargo, diferente de estos por la forma de su cà ¡lculo al basarse en una canasta de acciones variable. (Guzmà ¡n V. Alexander, Pinilla S. Roberto Valero R. Luis, 2000, pp. 71-72). Esta canasta esta conformada por las vite acciones de mayor frecuencia de transaccià ³n en el mercado durante los à ºltimos dos aà ±os o 48 quincenas anteriores a la quincena correspondiente a la fecha del calculo. Su fecha base de calculo es el dà ­a dos de enero de 1991. Para su cà ¡lculo se multiplica el à ºltimo precio de cada accià ³n por un peso de ponderacià ³n. La sumatoria de estos veinte productos constituye el valor del à ­ndice del dà ­a. La ponderacià ³n es necesaria para minimizar la diferencia entre el precio real de una accià ³n y su valor calculado a partir del à ­ndice. Es importante advertir que todas las acciones tienen un valor nominal y mercados diferentes, que en algunos casos difieren en gran proporcià ³n. La ponderacià ³n tambià ©n es necesaria para que la participacià ³n de cada accià ³n dentro del à ­ndice guarde cierta proporcionalidad con su importancia en el mercado. La ponderacià ³n se basa en la cantidad de acciones negociadas de cada empresa en los à ºltimos tres meses. Este modelo se basa en ajustes quincenales de los pesos de ponderacià ³n y se cuenta con mecanismos matemà ¡ticos de ajuste para disminuir cambios bruscos en los pesos de ponderacià ³n de las acciones. El objetivo de estos ajustes busca que los cambios en el indicador obedezcan en mayor parte a cambios en los precios en las acciones. El modelo tiene en cuenta los cambios en el valor nominal de las acciones (Split) y la adicià ³n o retiro de compaà ±Ãƒ ­as. Para este caso se debe reprocesar la informacià ³n histà ³rica de tal suerte que siempre sea comparable. No incluye en su cà ¡lculo correcciones por aumento de acciones en circulacià ³n. Su presentacià ³n en el mercado se hace diariamente junto con la grafica del comportamiento de los à ºltimos dos meses y de las à ºltimas cincuenta semanas. Su cà ¡lculo se efectà ºa para tres sectores tres subsectores de actividad econà ³mica. (Pinilla S. Roberto â€Å"y otros†, 2000, pp. 73-74). TIPOS DE à NDICES BURSà TILES: 1. Capitalizacià ³n Bursà ¡til: Pretende reflejar el comportamiento en los precios de las acciones del à ­ndice, ponderando cada especie dentro de este de acuerdo con el tamaà ±o de la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a en tà ©rminos de capitalizacià ³n bursà ¡til: Capitalizacià ³n Bursà ¡til: Corresponde al valor total del patrimonio de una empresa, segà ºn el precio al que se cotizan sus acciones. Capitalizacià ³n Ajustada: Proporcià ³n de la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a, diferente de lo que se encuentra en manos de inversionistas con interà ©s de control (Flotante). 2. Liquidez o Rentabilidad: El objetivo de este tipo de herramientas es representar el comportamiento en los precios de las acciones de un à ­ndice, dà ¡ndole un peso a cada especie de acuerdo a sus niveles de liquidez. 3. Precios: Los à ndices de precios radican su metodologà ­a de cà ¡lculo en la sumatoria aritmà ©tica de los precios de las acciones que componen la canasta. Estos à ­ndices no son tan comunes y su funcià ³n es particularmente las mismas descritas en los casos anteriores. BVC, à ndices Bursà ¡tiles. Extraà ­do el 17 de noviembre de 2009 desde http://www.bvc.com.co/pps/tibco/portalbvc/Home/Mercados/descripciongeneral/indicesbursatiles INDICE ACCIONARIO IGBC El à ­ndice General de la Bolsa de Colombia mide de manera agregada la variacià ³n de los precios de las acciones mà ¡s representativas del mercado. El objetivo principal es representar las variaciones del conjunto de acciones mà ¡s transadas de una manera fiel, de tal forma que cumpla el requisito de replicabilidad, es decir que a partir del mismo se pueda conformar un portafolio con las acciones del à ­ndice, base fundamental para la construccià ³n de productos derivados. El à ­ndice general se calcularà ¡ en cada instante de las negociaciones, y el valor definitivo del dà ­a serà ¡ calculado 30 minutos despuà ©s del cierre del mercado. Asobancaria, Extraà ­do el 18 de Noviembre de 2009 desde http://www.asobancaria.com/glosario.jsp?accion=2id=28 INDICE ACCIONARIO DE CAPITALIZACION BURSATIL (COLCAP) COLCAP es un indicador que refleja las variaciones de los precios de las 20 acciones mas liquidas de la (BVC), donde el valor de Capitalizacià ³n Bursà ¡til ajustada de cada compaà ±Ãƒ ­a determina su nivel de ponderacià ³n1. I k (t )= E Wi Pi (t ) i Capitalizacion Ajustada: Se determina como el porcentaje de la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a que no se encuentra en poder de accionistas con situacià ³n de control dentro de la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a. Una compaà ±Ãƒ ­a entre mayor capitalizacià ³n ajustada tenga, mayor serà ¡ su participacià ³n en el à ­ndice. Siendo la mà ¡xima participacià ³n el 20%. INDICE ACCIONARIO DE LIQUIDEZ (COL20) COL20 es un indicador de rentabilidad o de liquidez que refleja las variaciones de los precios de las 20 acciones mas liquidas de la (BVC), donde el nivel de liquidez de cada compaà ±Ãƒ ­a determina su ponderacià ³n. BVC, Extraà ­do el 17 de noviembre de 2009 desde http://www.bvc.com.co/pps/tibco/portalbvc/Home/Mercados/descripciongeneral/indicesbursatiles?com.tibco.ps.pagesvc.action_Edicion.pdf Tabla 1 IGBC COL20 COLCAP TIPO DE INDICE Liquidez Liquidez Capitalizacià ³n Bursà ¡til SELECCIÓN CANASTA Liquidez: Variables Definidas Liquidez : A travà ©s de una Funcià ³n de Liquidez PONDERADOR Nà ºmero de acciones transadas Nivel de liquidez Nà ºmero de acciones determinadas en el à ºltimo aà ±o como Capitalizacià ³n Ajustada NO DE ACCIONES Variable 20 20 ACCIONES POR EMISOR Segà ºn el numero de especies seleccionadas Un solo emisor agregado Un solo emisor agregado PARTICIPACION No hay limite 20% 20% MAXIMA POR EMISOR REBALANCEO Trimestral Trimestral Trimestral Tomada de BVC elaborada por el autor LA BOLSA DE TOKIO . Es la segunda bolsa de valores mà ¡s grande del mundo y està ¡ destinada a la negociacià ³n en exclusiva de las acciones y valores convertibles o que otorguen derecho de adquisicià ³n o suscripcià ³n. Los principales à ­ndices de la Bolsa de Tokio son el Nikkei 225, à ­ndice de compaà ±Ãƒ ­as elegidas por el Nihon Keizai Shimbun (el perià ³dico de negocios mà ¡s grande de Japà ³n), el TOPIX y el J30 (à ­ndice de grandes compaà ±Ãƒ ­as industriales). El sistema de negociacià ³n utilizado se denomina CORES (Computer assited Order Routing and Execution System). * 15 de mayo de 1878 La Bolsa de Tokio es fundada. * 1 de junio de 1878 Comienza el comercio. * 30 de junio de 1943 11 bolsas en todas partes de Japà ³n (Incluyendo al TSE) fueron unificadas en una corporacià ³n casi-pà ºblica al servicio de los intereses industriales y militares del imperio. * 10 de agosto de 1945 El empeoramiento de las condiciones de guerra y los ataques aà ©reos a la isla principal de Japà ³n, forzaron al mercado de valores a suspender sus sesiones de comercio sobre todos los mercados de valores. * Segunda Guerra Mundial Despuà ©s de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en marzo de 1947, se promulgà ³ la Ley de Valores y Mercados japonesa que es el marco regulador actual. * 16 de mayo de 1949 Se reinician las sesiones comerciales tras la guerra, bajo el patrà ³n regulador adoptado en 1947 por la Bolsa de Tokio. * 1971 La bolsa de Tokio adoptà ³ el sistema de anotaciones en cuenta para acciones. * 1973 Se determina la seccià ³n de accià ³n extranjera. * 1982 Introduccià ³n del sistema CORES (Computer assited Order Routing and Execution System), con lo que comenzà ³ la transformacià ³n del mercado de corros en el mercado informà ¡tico que conocemos hoy, uniendo los cinco mercados japoneses en un moderno mercado continuo. Formas de negociacià ³n: Fijacià ³n del precio La Bolsa de Tokio, como cualquier otro mercado de valores del mundo, tiene como cometido poner en contacto oferta y demanda con el fin de establecer precios competitivos. Y para alcanzar este objetivo las diferentes bolsas recurren a distintos mecanismos y formas de negociacià ³n. En la TSE, podemos distinguir tres â€Å"reglas de juego† diferentes, de acuerdo al momento y las condiciones que se està ©n dando. Estas tres formas son: Itayose, Zabara y las subastas. * Itayose: Este sistema su utiliza para fijar precios de apertura y cierre de cada una de las dos sesiones diarias y para fijar el nuevo precio inicial tras una parada de negociacià ³n (trading hault). El à ºltimo caso en que se usa es para fijar un precio tras una cotizacià ³n especial (special quote).Bajo este sistema todas las à ³rdenes que se introducen en el libro registro de anotaciones se tratan como simultà ¡neas, es decir que se suprime la prioridad de tiempo. Como se calcula este precio de equilibrio, es algo que viene determinado por el volumen agregado de à ³rdenes de compra y venta que existen. De hecho, el precio que resulta de una negociacià ³n con el mà ©todo Itayose serà ¡ aquel que equilibre en mayor medida oferta y demanda, ejecutando las à ³rdenes de compra/venta con precios superiores/inferiores al de equilibrio. * Zaraba: Es el mà ©todo de fijacià ³n de precios que se usa en la negociacià ³n continua de la sesiones. Es la ejecucià ³n habitual de las à ³rdenes de oferta y demanda tras la fijacià ³n del precio inicial.A medida que nuevas à ³rdenes llegan al libro registro, estas se agregan a las ya existentes y se ejecutan si procede, o se almacenan en espera de ser ejecutadas. * Subastas (ToSTNeT-1 y ToSTNeT-2): Estos dos mecanismos fueron introducidos en 1997 y 1998 respectivamente y son bà ¡sicamente sistemas electrà ³nicos de negociacià ³n en subastas y tienen como fin facilitar el comercio de grandes volà ºmenes de acciones. Este tipo de negociacià ³n esta restringida a las acciones domà ©sticas. Para estas negociaciones existen tres sesiones diarias: 8:20-9:00AM, 11:00-12:00PM y de 15:00-16:30PM. Liquidacià ³n y compensacià ³n Las tareas de compensacià ³n y liquidacià ³n resultantes de las operaciones de mercado, son llevadas a acabo por dos empresas independientes. La compensacià ³n, es decir, el balanceo individual de cada agente que determina la cantidad de acciones que al final de la jornada compra, vende y guarda, lo realiza la corporacià ³n JSCC o Japan Securities Clearing Corporation. Esta empresa es comà ºn a las seis bolsas niponas, ya que las seis està ¡n interconectadas. Por lo tanto, su trabajo es determinar los saldos y movimiento de acciones entre las diferentes partes y agentes y transmitir esa informacià ³n a los liquidadores. La liquidacià ³n es el traspaso efectivo, el cambio de manos, de unos individuos, (vendedores) hacia otros (los compradores). Las funciones propias de la liquidacià ³n son llevadas a cabo por la empresa JASDEC o Japan Securities Depository Center. Inc. Y estas funciones son: * Custodiar los saldos de acciones de los agentes participantes, y ejecutar las transferencias de unos a otros de acuerdo a las anotaciones en cuenta y a la informacià ³n que le suministra l JSCC. * Otorga los permisos para la posesià ³n directa de acciones. * Eliminar los riegos de comportamiento oportunista inherentes al intercambio. * Asegurar el crà ©dito de los participantes. Establecer garantà ­as en caso de incumplimiento o impago. Paternoster Square. LSE ocupa el edificio de la derecha. LA BOLSA DE LONDRES (London Stock Exchange-LSE) es la bolsa de valores localizada en Londres, Inglaterra. Fue fundada en 1801, y actualmente es una de las bolsas de acciones mà ¡s grandes del mundo. Muchos de sus valores son internacionales pero cuenta tambià ©n con numerosos valores de compaà ±Ãƒ ­as brità ¡nicas. Sus actuales instalaciones està ¡n situadas en Paternoster Square, cerca de la catedral de San Pablo, en la ciudad de Londres. Origen del comercio de valores El comercio de valores comenzà ³ para financiar dos viajes: el intento de la Compaà ±Ãƒ ­a de Moscovia de llegar a China cruzando el Mar Blanco al norte de Rusia, y el viaje de la Compaà ±Ãƒ ­a Brità ¡nica de las Indias Orientales a la India. Al no ser capaces de financiar tan costosos viajes con su propio capital, las compaà ±Ãƒ ­as recaudaron dinero vendiendo parte de sus valores a mercaderes, concedià ©ndoles a cambio una parte de los beneficios de la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a. La idea pronto tomà ³ fuerza y se calcula que para 1695 habà ­a mà ¡s de 140 empresas que comerciaban con sus propias valores. El comercio de valores se concentrà ³ principalmente en una zona de Londres llamada Exchange alley o Change alley, que era un pequeà ±o callejà ³n de una zona residencial de Londres. Dicha zona concentraba numerosos cofee shops, y principalmente en dos de ellos se centrà ³ el comercio de acciones: el Jonathans y el Garraways. El broker John Castaing publicaba una lista del precio de los valores a la que llamaron El curso del intercambio y otras cosas en dichos cofee-shops. Licencias para los brokers Algunos brokers, usando informacià ³n confidencial que no estaba al alcance del pà ºblico, realizaban prà ¡cticas poco à ©ticas. Para evitar este tipo de sucesos, en 1967 se creà ³ una ley que obligaba a todos los brokers a adquirir una licencia y a jurar un pacto en el que indicaban que serà ­an justos y legales en la compra-venta de valores. El South Sea Blue El Change Alley prosperà ³ durante varios aà ±os, aunque esto cambio cuando sufrià ³ un revà ©s en el aà ±o 1720. Habà ­a una empresa llamada el South Sea Blue, que habà ­a sido creada entre el Gobierno y John Blunt. Dicha empresa habà ­a causado una gran excitacià ³n entre los brokers. La empresa llevaba nueve aà ±os no siendo rentable, y el Gobierno quiso vender valores para poder hacer frente a la deuda acumulada. Los valores salieron a subasta a 128 £, pero rà ¡pidamente alcanzaron el valor de 1050 £ en apenas 6 meses. La burbuja inevitablemente explotà ³, haciendo caer los valores a 124 £. El suceso creo un clamor popular, lo que obligà ³ al gobierno a modificar la legislacià ³n para prevenir futuras burbujas como à ©sta. El mercado de valores tardà ³ mucho tiempo en recuperarse de este evento. Threadneedle Street y Capel Court El cofee-shop Jonathans se quemà ³ en 1748, y si aà ±adimos el creciente hacinamiento en la zona del Change Alley, provocà ³ que los brokers construyeran un nuevo Jonathans en la calle Threadneedle Street, y empezaron a cobrar por la entrada. El edificio rà ¡pidamente cambio su nombre por Bolsa de valores, y en 1801 volvià ³ a cambiar su nombre a Habitacià ³n de subscripcià ³n de valores tras entrar en vigor la nueva legislacià ³n. Aun y todo esto no parecà ­a suficiente, por lo que se trasladaron al recià ©n construido Capel Court. La bolsa se recuperà ³ cerca del aà ±o 1820, con el crecimiento de las industrias del ferrocarril, minerà ­a, canales y seguros. Rà ¡pidamente empezaron a crearse otras bolsas a lo largo del reino unido, y se aà ±adià ³ el comercio de bonos a la de los valores. Lema Su lema fue creado en 1923. En latà ­n es Dictum meum pactum, que se puede traducir como â€Å"Mi palabra es mi pacto†,[1] haciendo referencia a que habà ­a que cumplir con lo que cada uno habà ­a dicho BOLSA DE VALORES DE NEW YORK La Bolsa de Valores o Bolsa es una organizacià ³n financiera donde las mercancà ­as de las compaà ±Ãƒ ­as y otros valores son negociados. Los valores negociados enla bolsa incluyen acciones emitidas por las compaà ±Ãƒ ­as, unidades de consorcios y bonos o certificados de inversià ³n. En el foro de la Roma antigua ya existà ­a una prà ¡ctica similar al mercado bursà ¡til. Hasta 1487, el comercio a travà ©s de documentos se realizaba en exteriores, en las calles y aceras. Entonces, en la ciudad de Brujas, actualmente Bà ©lgica, la casa de Van Der Bursen comenzà ³ a utilizarse como locacià ³n diseà ±ada para la negociacià ³n de mercancà ­as. La Dutch East India Company fue la primera compaà ±Ãƒ ­a que emitià ³ acciones y bonos en 1602 en la bolsa de cambio de Amsterdam. La bolsa de cambio de Londres se establecià ³ en la ciudad en 1690. Los mercados bursà ¡tiles de Parà ­s y Nueva York no se crearon hasta el siglo XVIII. El celebrado Wall Street, en Manhattan, abrigà ³ el centro de operaciones de la Bolsa de Valores de Nueva York en 1792. La Bolsa de Valores de Nueva York (New York Stock Exchange, NYSE) junto a NASDAQ (North American Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) y AMEX (American Exchange) son probablemente los à ­ndices de intercambio mercantil mà ¡s importantes del mundo. La crisis mà ¡s importante del mundo capitalista ocurrià ³ el 29 de Octubre de 1929. La Bolsa de Valores de Nueva York tenà ­a 13 millones de acciones para vender pero solo un pequeà ±o grupo de compradores. Consecuentemente, los precios de las acciones cayeron generando un caos catastrà ³fico enla bolsa de Nueva York. Miles de bancos, industrias y compaà ±Ãƒ ­as rurales se fueron a la bancarrota y al menos 12 millones de norteamericanos quedaron sin empleo. Tratando de enfrentar la crisis, los Estados Unidos redujeron fuertemente las compras en el extranjero y suspendieron todos los prà ©stamos internacionales, extendiendo la crisis por todo el mundo. En los à ºltimos 50 aà ±os, sin embargo, las grandes corporaciones han dominado la economà ­a americana y han asumido dimensiones globales (GMC, Coca-Cola, General Electric, Ford, Exxon, IBM, Microsoft, ATT, etc.) Debido a la competencia y para complacer a la gente comà ºn, las corporaciones han creado la posibilidad de que cualquier americano pueda comprar acciones. En la actualidad, mà ¡s del 60% de las familias americanas reservan una parte sustancial de sus ahorros para invertirlos en mercancà ­as y acciones. La Bolsa de Nueva York (New York Stock Exchange, NYSE, en inglà ©s) es el mayor mercado de valores del mundo en volumen monetario y el primero en nà ºmero de empresas adscritas. Su masa en acciones fue superada por la del NASDAQ [1] durante los aà ±os 90, pero el capital de las compaà ±Ãƒ ­as listadas en la NYSE es cinco veces mayor que en el NASDAQ. La Bolsa de Nueva York cuenta con un volumen anual de transacciones de 21 billones de dà ³lares, incluyendo los 7,1 billones de compaà ±Ãƒ ­as no estadounidenses. Sus antecedentes se remontan a 1792, cuando 24 comerciantes y corredores de Nueva York firmaron el acuerdo conocido como Buttonwood Agreement, en el cual se establecà ­an reglas para comerciar con acciones. Fue creada en 1817, cuando un grupo de corredores de bolsa se organizaron formando un comità © llamado New York Stock and Exchange Board (NYSEB) con la finalidad de poder controlar el flujo de acciones que en aquellos tiempos se negociaban libremente y principalmente en la acera de Wall Street. En 1863 cambià ³ de nombre por el de New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), nombre que conserva hasta nuestros dà ­as, y se establece en Wall Street esquina con Broad Street dos aà ±os despuà ©s. En 1918, despuà ©s de la Primera Guerra Mundial, se convierte en la principal casa de bolsa del mundo, dejando atrà ¡s a la de Londres. El jueves 24 de octubre de 1929, llamado a partir de entonces el Jueves Negro, se produjo una de las mà ¡s grandes caà ­das en esta bolsa, que producirà ­a la recesià ³n econà ³mica mà ¡s importante de los Estados Unidos en el siglo XX, la Gran Depresià ³n. Actualmente es administrada por el NYSE Group, que fue formado con la fusià ³n de NYSE y Archipielago Holdings, una bolsa de valores electrà ³nica. NYSE Group cotiza actualmente en su propia bolsa de valores. En 2007 formà ³ junto a la bolsa europea Euronext: NYSE Euronext. SISTEMA FINANCIERO COLOMBIANO Composicià ³n Se Compone principalmente de instituciones financieras (bancos, corporaciones financieras) y las entidades de control (Superintendencia Bancaria) en funcià ³n de la captacià ³n de recursos (el ahorro) del publico. Tambià ©n se puede decir que hace parte del sistema, la financiacià ³n que se otorga a los emisores de valores a trabes del mercado publico de valores colombiano. Por lo tanto se reconoce la participacià ³n de los comisionistas de bolsa y la superintendencia de valores. 1. Marco Regulatorio La constitucià ³n polà ­tica faculta al congreso de la Republica, para que este expida leyes de carà ¡cter general en las cuales se indiquen los objetivos y criterios a los cuales debe sujetarse el gobierno al momento de expedir las normas que regulan las actividades financieras y bursà ¡tiles. La superintendencia Bancaria y la superintendencia de valores entidades que pertenecen a la rama ejecutiva del poder publico pero con facultades reguladoras en virtud del fenà ³meno de â€Å"deslegalizacion†, contante expide circulares y resoluciones que regulan el detalle de la actividad financiera. El Banco de la Republica como autoridad monetaria y cambiaria por expresa disposicià ³n expide las normas referentes al encaje de las tasas de interà ©s y de igual forma las normas cambiarias. La primera por obligacià ³n aplicable a los establecimientos de crà ©dito con relacià ³n a la restriccià ³n de circulante y la segunda en desarrollo de su labor de intermediario del mercado cambiario. Sistema financiero en le cual en el cual hacen parte varias instituciones financieras, com

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Expression is Not Free :: Writing Writers

Expression is Not Free It is said that writer's block is the inability to write because of a loss in creative thought about a given subject. It is entirely possible that this term can be attributed to other aspects of writing and life in general; it is this area I will explore. Virginia Woolf explains the angel in her house as the pure spirit that would come between her and her paper when writing reviews about men. ' You are writing about a book that has been written by a man. Be sympathetic, be tender, flatter, deceive, use all these arts of our sex.'; She was able to slay this angel because of a trust fund left to her by family, which paid her a handsome living. These payments liberated her from the need to use charm and the arts of her sex to provide sustenance and lifestyle maintenance. This mentality was widely held during her career. As society changed, it paved the way for other female writers to be less encumbered by gender, and appreciated for their works. I wonder how the writings of Joan Didion would have been accepted fifty years earlier during the start of Woolf's career. Would she posses the same confidence in her work? Orwell writes 'What I have most wonted to do throughout the last ten years is to make political writing in to an art. One can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles to efface one's own personality.'; Society dictates what is and is not readable, what is and is not acceptable, what is expected and what are success and or failure. We are all shaped and trapped by the popular opinions of our time. We are not free to indulge in art, literature, or even our daily lives with out the watchful eye of society's scrutiny. It is necessary to test these opinions in order for society to grow up and accept change. From a small child we are sculpted by our experiences. Our opinions are formed by exposure and hard lessons learned. We are dependant upon others and this dependence is paid for with sacrifice in order to for fill the expectations of our benefactors. Many will never be liberated by wealth, fame, or status, and thus even in adulthood we are required to meet standards and expectations or follow the beat of society's drum. Yet others are shackled and restricted by wealth, requiring that they have social responsibilities and requirements of class structure to be met.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Carl Sandburg Essay -- essays research papers

Carl Sandburg   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carl Sandburg was born in Galesburg, Illinois on January 6, 1878. Carl and his family lived in a three room cottage at 313 East Third Street in Galesburg, Illinois. His parent’s names were August and Clara Anderson Sandburg. Sandburg’s nickname was Charlie. His parents were both Swedish immigrants. His Dad worked for a blacksmith in Chicago. Sandburg did not have much of an education because he quit school at the age of thirteen. His favorite subject in school was geography. He started reading in elementary school, and he liked it too. His favorite stories were mostly detective stories. Some of his favorites were Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He went to Lombard College and there his literary talents came out. Sandburg was encouraged by Phillip Green Wright, his professor. Sandburg started writing poetry at Lombard College. Sandburg had a number of jobs and worked almost his whole life. When he quit college he worked as a day laborer. While traveli ng as a hobo in 1897, he contrasted the difference between the rich and the poor. When he was twenty, he entered the Spanish-American war and was ordered to Puerto Rico. After Morgan 2 graduation he was a newspaperman in Milwaukee. In 1907 and 1908 he was district organizer for the social Democratic party. While in Milwaukee he met a woman named Lilian Steichen. They were married in 1908 until his death on July 22, 1967. Lilian was a school teacher. During 1910-1912 he was secretary t...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

An Examination of the History, Development, and Uses of the Beck Depression Inventory

An Examination of the History, Development, and Uses of the Beck Depression Inventory Maya A. Butler Richmont Graduate University Dr. Aaron Beck is a psychiatrist widely known for developing the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); a self-assessment instrument used to assess the severity of depression in adolescents and adults. During his work, Beck highlighted the negative thoughts experienced by his patients, and believed it was these thoughts that caused depression within them.From here, Beck developed a three-part thought process that exhibited how a person’s negative view of the world, their future, and themselves affected their depression level (Brown, Hammond, Craske, & Wickens, 1995). These components were used to construct what we have come to know as the Beck Depression Inventory. Throughout test development of the BDI, three separate instruments were created: the BDI, BDI-IA, and BDI-II.The first BDI was developed in 1961 by Aaron Beck, Clyde Ward, Myer Mendelson, John Mock, and John Erbaugh. It could be administered individually or in a group format, in written or oral form, and the test manual indicated total administration time to be no more than 15 minutes, irrespective of the mode of administration (Carlson, p. 117-118). It consisted of twenty-one questions that measured the patient’s feelings within the past week. Each question had four possible answer choices that ranged in depression intensity.In order to score the test, a value between zero and three was assigned to each answer, added, and compared to a key in order to determine the patient’s depression severity. Scores from the BDI could range from 0 to 63, and higher scores indicated severer depression symptoms. Some of the answer items on the BDI had identical numerical value to them, though the statements were not identical. This led to revision of the BDI and introduction of the BDI-IA (Beck, Steer, and Garbin, 1988). The BDI-IA was developed in 1971 by Beck and copyrig hted in 1978.In order to make the test more user-friendly and efficient in measuring depression, similar answer items with identical scoring on a question were removed, and test subjects were asked to evaluate their feelings for a time frame of two weeks instead of one (Beck, Steel, Ball, and Ranieri, 1996). Using the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability, it was determined the BDI-IA reliability was around 0. 85, suggesting that items on the BDI-IA are highly correlated with one another (Ambrosini, Metz, Bianchi, Rabinovich, and Undie, 1991).However, one of the main problems with this instrument was its inability to address all nine criteria for depression in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III (DSM-III). In response to this, the BDI-II was developed. In 1996, the BDI-II was introduced; mainly due to the release of revised criteria for Major Depressive Disorder in the DSM-IV in 1994. Some of the changes made to the BDI-II were the replacement of items that measured changes in body image, work difficulty, and hypochondria.In addition to this, items that measured sleep loss and appetite loss were changed to examine increases and decreases in both sleep and appetite. The entire question wording was changed on the BDI-II except questions used to measure sexual interest, suicidal thoughts, and questions dealing with feelings of being punished. In addition to this, the measuring scale used to evaluate the total points from the BDI-II was changed. When compared with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Pearson correlation coefficient between this test and the BDI-II was 0. 1, which proves both instruments agree with one another (Beck, Steel, Ball, and Ranieri, 1996). In addition to this, the BDI-II has a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0. 92, surpassing its predecessor the BDI. In addition to improving the relation between its instrument items, the BDI-II can be scored and interpreted via computer software. The BDI- II has expanded well beyond its original intended application with psychiatric populations. In addition to its continued use among this population, it is accepted and commonly used by clinicians as a screening instrument among normal populations (Carlson, p. 17). Because it is designed to reflect the depth of depression, it can be used to monitor changes over time, and objectively measure the likelihood of improvement and the effectiveness of treatment methods (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, and Erbaugh, 1961). The facts stand that the BDI-II is a simple measure that encompasses the majority of symptoms associated with depression, is easily and rapidly administered, and can be scored and interpreted via computer software. However, it is only a quality instrument when it is used in samples with cooperative subjects; not exaggerated or minimized by the erson completing the instrument (Waller, p. 121). In cases where a person could be motivated to deceive or malinger, the administrator i s advised to use additional or less transparent means of assessment (Carlson, p. 119). In addition to this, the intent and purpose for using the BDI-II is for assessment and not diagnosis. Improper use of this assessment for diagnosing can create falsely positive or negative results. References Ambrosini PJ, Metz C, Bianchi MD, Rabinovich H, Undie A (January 1991). â€Å"Concurrent validity and psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory in outpatient adolescents†.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 30 (1): 51–7. doi:10. 1097/00004583-199101000-00008. PMID 2005064. http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/sites/entrez. Beck AT, Steer RA, Ball R, Ranieri W (December 1996). â€Å"Comparison of Beck Depression Inventories -IA and -II in psychiatric outpatients†. Journal of Personality Assessment 67 (3): 588–97. doi:10. 1207/s15327752jpa6703_13. PMID 8991972. http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/sites/entrez. Beck AT, Steer RA, G arbin MG J (1988). â€Å"Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory Twenty-five years of evaluation†. Clin. Psych. Review 8: 77-100.Beck AT, Ward CH, Mendelson M, Mock J, Erbaugh J (June 1961). â€Å"An inventory for measuring depression†. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 4 (6): 561–71. doi:10. 1001/archpsyc. 1961. 01710120031004. PMID 13688369. Brown GP, Hammen CL, Craske MG, Wickens TD (August 1995). â€Å"Dimensions of dysfunctional attitudes as vulnerabilities to depressive symptoms†. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 104 (3): 431–5. doi:10. 1037/0021-843X. 104. 3. 431. PMID 7673566. http://content. apa. org/journals/abn/104/3/431. (2012, 10). Beck Depression Inventory. StudyMode. com. Retrieved 10, 2012, from http://www. studymode. com/essays/Beck-Depression-Inventory-617021. html

Monday, September 16, 2019

Difference between monopoly pricing and competitive rricing Essay

Essay #1 – Congress is discussing the possibility of removing patent protection for life saving drugs in order to reduce the cost of the Medicare and Medicaid systems. Discuss both the short-run and long-run implications for the economic situation of the drug industry. Include in your answer the impact on prices, new development, etc. of drugs. Include appropriate graphs showing the difference between monopoly pricing and competitive pricing. The drug industry currently takes on both monopolistic and competitive market structures. When a drug company develops a new drug, there are patent laws that allow the company to have a monopoly on selling the drug. In the short-run, the company is able to charge the monopoly price (above marginal cost) and maximize profit by producing the quantity where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. Once the patent runs out, other drug companies have an incentive to enter the market causing it to become more competitive. These new companies produce generic versions of the drug and charge a price below the monopolist’s price. As more and more competitors enter the price is driven down to marginal cost. If congress were to remove patent protection on life-savings drugs, drug company’s profits for life saving drugs would decrease. More companies would be able to begin producing the drugs without waiting for the patent period to end therefore, the original drug maker would not be able to charge the monopoly price for very long because competitors could quickly engineer generic versions. The original producer would no longer be a price maker and instead need to follow profit maximization rules of a competitive market by producing the quantity where marginal revenue equals marginal cost and charge a price equal to marginal marginal revenue. Since the original drug maker will not be able to benefit from monopoly pricing during the patent period, there will be less incentive for them to create lifesaving drugs. A part of the benefit of higher profits during the monopoly period is the ability to recoup some of the research, develop, and testing costs of producing these drugs that the generic makers do not incur. Consumers on the other hand would benefit from competition in the market which prevents a single drug maker from dictating the market price of these newly developed lifesaving drugs.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Cyber Crime Essay

Chapter I Introduction When did this new and insidious variety of crime actually come into being? One may say that the concept of the computer came with the invention of the first abacus, hence it can be said that â€Å"cybercrime†. It has been around ever since people used calculating machines for wrong purposes. However, cybercrime has shown itself as a serious threat to society for less than a decade. Before we plunge into the world of cybercrime, it is necessary to have some basic understanding of how the cyber world evolved. In 1981 Ian Murphy, aka â€Å"Captain Zap†, became first felon convicted of a computer crime. Murphy broke into AT&T’s computers and changed the billing clock so that people receive discounted rates during normal business hours, Ian Murphy was greeted with 1,000 hours of community service and 21/2 years probation. Cybercrime refers to any crime that involves a  computer  and a  network, where the computers may or may not have played an instrumental part in the commission of a  crime. Net crime  refers, more precisely, to criminal exploitation of the  Internet. Issues surrounding this type of crime have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding  hacking,  copyright infringement, child pornography, and  child grooming. There are also problems of  privacy  when  confidential  information is lost or intercepted, lawfully or otherwise. On the global level, both governments and non-state actors continue to grow in importance, with the ability to engage in such activities as  espionage,  financial theft, and other cross-border crimes sometimes referred to as  cyber warfare. The international legal system is attempting to hold actors accountable for their actions, with the  International Criminal Court  among the few addressing this threat. Cyber crime is a growing threat to our societies today. EU member states suffer daily thousands of attacks against their information systems. Viruses facilitating stealing information from personal computers, spam, identity theft, and child pornography are increasingly widespread. According to recent reports, images of sexually abused children available on-line quadrupled in the last five years and half of all internet crime involves the production, distribution and sale of child pornography. The European Commission has cooperated closely with the French Presidency and the Member States in the elaboration of a series of practical measures to fight cyber crime. The new strategy recommends reinforcing partnership between the police and the private sector by better knowledge-sharing on investigation methods and trends in cyber crime. It also encourages both parties to respond quickly to information requests, resort to remote searches, cyber patrols for online tracking of criminals and joint investigations across borders. The strategy also calls for the setting up of an alert platform in the short term, where reports on crime committed on the Internet, such as posting of illegal content, in EU member states would be pooled for cross-checking by Europol. The Commission earmarked 300,000 euro for Europol to implement the platform. Vice-President Jacques Barrot highlighted the importance of this strategy by saying â€Å"The strategy encourages the much needed operational cooperation and Information exchange between the Member States. It gives a shared responsibility to the Commission, the Member States and other stakeholders to introduce the different measures. If the strategy is to make the fight against cyber crime more efficient, all stakeholders have to be fully committed to its implementation. We are ready to support them, also financially, in their efforts. † Cybercrimes committed against persons include various crimes like transmission of child-pornography, harassment of any one with the use of a computer such as e-mail. The trafficking, distribution, posting, and dissemination of obscene material including pornography and indecent exposure, constitutes one of the most important Cybercrimes known today. The potential harm of such a crime to humanity can hardly be amplified. This is one Cybercrime which threatens to undermine the growth of he younger generation as also leave irreparable scars and injury on the younger generation, if not controlled. A minor girl in Ahmadabad was lured to a private place through cyber chat by a man, who, along with his friends, attempted to gang rape her. As some passersby heard her cry, she was rescued. Another example wherein the damage was not done to a person but to the masses is the case of the Melissa virus. The Melissa virus fi rst appeared on the internet in March of 1999. It spread rapidly throughout computer systems in the United States and Europe. It is estimated that the virus caused 80 million dollars in damages to computers worldwide. In the United States alone, the virus made its way through 1. 2 million computers in one-fifth of the country’s largest businesses. David Smith pleaded guilty on Dec. 9, 1999 to state and federal charges associated with his creation of the Melissa virus. There are numerous examples of such computer viruses few of them being â€Å"Melissa† and â€Å"love bug†. Cyber harassment is a distinct Cybercrime. Various kinds of harassment can and do occur in cyberspace, or through the use of cyberspace. Harassment can be sexual, racial, religious, or other. Persons perpetuating such harassment are also guilty of cybercrimes. Cyber harassment as a crime also brings us to another related area of violation of privacy of citizens. Violation of privacy of online citizens is a Cybercrime of a grave nature. No one likes any other person invading the invaluable and extremely touchy area of his or her own privacy which the medium of internet grants to the citizen. The second category of Cyber-crimes is that of Cybercrimes against all forms of property. These crimes include computer vandalism (destruction of others’ property), transmission of harmful programmers. A Mumbai-based upstart engineering company lost a say and much money in the business when the rival company, an industry major, stole the technical database from their computers with the help of a corporate cyber spy. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. History of Cyber Crime [ 3 ]. Definition of Cyber Crime http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Computer_crime [ 4 ]. Fight against Cyber Crime Vice-President Jacques Barrot [ 5 ]. Cyber crime against our society today

Saturday, September 14, 2019

A critical evaluation of impressive burgers approach to expanding their operation

A critical rating of Impressive Warren burgers approach to spread outing their operationImpressive Burgers PLC so is a fast nutrient concatenation that faced stiff competition from its client and must therefore maintain quality merchandises that are served in good clip to the clients. Due to an addition in its clients, Impressive Burgers PLC will necessitate to spread out its operations. Prior to making so, the fast nutrient concatenation will hold to transport out a feasibleness survey to set up the best schemes to use in spread outing its operations. Presently the bing clients are contending for the limited resources in footings of infinite and fast nutrient merchandises. Most of the clients complain that they seldom get their fast nutrient solutions met due to the limited bill of fare pick. Therefore, Impressive Burgers PLC will see increasing its bill of fare to provide for a big figure of its clients. Customers are so diverse and necessitate to be given a big assortment of picks . What one client may wish, another may loathe. All these should be considered by Impressive Burgers PLC in spread outing its operations. Impressive Burgers PLC intends to spread out its operations from the bing mercantile establishments, they have decided to engage an operations director to help in the jobs they are holding before they embark on enlargement. The first undertaking that the operations direction is required to make is the designation and the rating of the fast nutrients organisation ‘s enlargement attack. Designation of the grounds behind PLC ‘s enlargement jobs and doing recommendations based on the point identified. Harmonizing to Krajewski, Ritzman and Malhotra ( p.112 ) , the operations of a house are determined by the house ‘s effectivity in pull offing its resources. The house will hence be able to pull off its available resources for the enlargement of its operations into other aspects. Possibly the first measure in its enlargement would be to measure the figure of clients who walk into the house ‘s eating houses in the busiest subdivision. This should so be further divided into clients who eat within the premises and those who opt for takeout fast nutrient merchandises. After finding the figure of clients and their several categories, Impressive Burgers ‘ operations director should so reexamine the bill of fare in footings of the clients ‘ positions on it. This will affect undertaking a squad of cunning misss who will near the client with a questionnaire and fill in the questionnaire after the client has finished his nutrient. It would give an indicant of which bill of fare is the best and which one is the worst among those that are presently being offered. Operationss in an organisation are the duty of the operations director, fundamentally operations involves the direction of the production of goods and services. The direction of operations involves the embrace of the organisations design, planning of all operations, control and the betterment of public presentation and the preparation of operations scheme. The duties of this place affect the direction of the human resource, the direction of this resource is of import as the manner in which they are handled greatly find the success of the organisation. The operations ‘ place entails the direction of the organisations ‘ assets ; assets straight determine the production procedure of the organisation. The edifices, equipment, vehicles and even the stock are used in the production of the organisations goods and services. Proper usage of the assets means that the organisation reduces on the running cost, the proper usage of energy, from electricity to fuel used for warming or cookery is of import at the nest eggs made on assets are a net income to the organisation. Proper direction of the assets means that they cut their outgos and they avoid wastes of natural stuff in production. The operations arm of the organisation is involved in the direction of cost, they are responsible for the effectual direction of running costs of the organisation ; the production of the goods and services and the bringing of these goods and services to their consumers. Harmonizing to Barnes ( p.56 ) , the operations direction of fast nutrient eating house is gauged by its ability to efficaciously implement a thorough system of self-audits. Furthermore, the operations director should see developing the staff adequately on the best methods before spread outing the operations of Impressive Burgers PLC. This will guarantee that adequate capacity has been built prior to spread outing substructure and operations in general. At this point, the operations director would prefer to take stock of the staff Numberss and compare this with the clients that they serve. This would efficaciously take to the director finding the best manner of guaranting that the caput count is all right. In add-on, the operations director should besides guarantee that the kitchen installations are at a good province and run into the demands of the catering section. New equipment may be acquired. Finally, before implementing the enlargement, the operations director should develop a manual that stipulates how to execute fundamentally all undertakings within the fast nutrient concatenation. This manual will be used as a processs book to steer the current and new employees on the best patterns that should be utilized in developing first-class fast nutrient solutions. This will so be followed by a complete makeover of the fast nutrient eating house. The makeover will imply geting new seats and spread outing the bing sitting country to guarantee that more clients are accommodated at any given clip. Furthermore, the clients should be informed prior to this since the enlargement will impact the fast nutrient eating house ‘s operations for a twosome of yearss as the redevelopments and enlargements go on. It will merely be just to give a month ‘s notice, therefore guaranting that the clients are good informed beforehand. This may be done via the media or through postings and hoardings. Impressive Burgers PLC should besides offer a broad scope of fast nutrient merchandises and more menu solutions. This will guarantee that the fast nutrient giant serves the demands of its diverse clients. A limited bill of fare frequently turns off the clients as they seek other eating houses that offer a broad assortment of picks. Impressive Burgers PLC will hold to put in client ailments or suggestion box at the entryway of the eating house. Similarly, clients who are infuriated by the service offered to them should be handled on the topographic point and taken to a separate room where they will be offered with particular advice. This war room should be located within the eating house and should hold a dedicated staff to cater for the few complains that may be witnessed. Shim and Siegel ( p.44 ) insinuates that many organisations are so caught up in quandary when it comes to guaranting that the house efficaciously implements its enlargement schemes. The key to the success of Impressive Burgers PLC would be first-class client service. Therefore, this should be at the dorsum of every head when finding the enlargement schemes. The client is the most of import individual to be considered in spread outing the operations of Impressive Burgers PLC. Hence, it is imperative that the operations director develops a prescribed manner of managing clients therefore debaring any client ailments that may ensue in the procedure. It is so true that client service is the lone manner to guaranting that the house succeeds in its quest to stand out in the fast nutrient industry. Therefore, it is of import for the house to guarantee that there are effectual ways of pull offing enlargement schemes. Impressive Burgers PLC should spread out to new mercantile establishments by first of all bettering its operations in the current subdivisions. This will guarantee that the company emerges a success in its operations and therefore giving the best fast nutrient solutions to its clients. Rationale behind the company ‘s jobs and suggestionsImpressive Burgers PLC faces a myriad of jobs, most of which emanate from within. First and first, the company faces the job of limited bill of fare solutions. As discussed earlier, fast nutrient clients frequently seek a broad assortment of bill of fare which are largely alien in nature and unique to each client. This is because ; the clients have been to other fast nutrient eating houses and have tasted different bill of fares. They therefore seek a alone bill of fare. Most of the clients who frequent Impressive Warren burgers have complained of eating the same nutrient ever. They seek different bill of fare that will offer them a alone experience. Hence, Impressive Burgers should seek and present more bill of fares into their operations to guarantee that clients have a broad assortment of picks. The principle behind this job is that there is deficiency of flexibleness and inventions. The burden of guaranting that there is equal bill of fares solutions lies with the operations director who is charged with the duty of introducing and presenting new bill of fare into the fast nutrient eating house ‘s operations ( Slack, Chambers and Johnston, p.38 ) . This would guarantee increased success in footings of functioning clients and guaranting effectual systems for prolonging the fast nutrient eating houses. The end of Impressive Burgers is the proviso of fast take away nutrient to their clients rapidly and of a higher quality to that of their challengers. They foremost set out with a common bill of fare for all their eating houses who offered a simple bill of fare construction with a pick of six set repast options.Burger, Chips & A ; Soft DrinkCheese Burger, Chips & A ; amp ; Soft DrinkChicken Burger, Chips & A ; amp ; Soft DrinkVegetarian Burger, Chips & A ; Soft DrinkThe picks were served with picks of sizes ; regular, medium or big for each repast. The size of the french friess and drinks parts varied but the Burger size remained the same. Using this format they were able to function each client their order within 4 proceedingss from an ordination at the boulder clay to having their complete order to take away. Impressive Burgers end was met because they efficaciously served they client in 4 proceedingss, the unvarying repasts meant that the client was in a place to do a speedy order based on anterior cognition of the bill of fare. Fixed bill of fare meant that there was uniformity in their concatenation of eating houses, fixed repasts reduced on telling clip and the readying clip ; this earned them a good repute as a fast nutrient articulation and hence increasing their client base. The addition in clients meant that they had good net income borders that enabled them to spread out. They added more eating houses and more picks of nutrient on the bill of fare to give their consumers assortment and to provide for the wellness scruples clients. The scheme of impressive Burgers to spread out was good at the clip, as they felt assurance in the market. Following the enlargement of the eating houses, they were an immediate diminution in the overall public presentation of their program and net incomes started worsening with a loss in the loom. On the other manus, there have been complains from the clients sing the mode in which the staff act towards the clients. There have been studies of agitated and ill-mannered staff that are frequently insensitive to the clients ‘ demands. Harmonizing to the operations director, the staffs are underpaid therefore offering service that does non run into the criterions of a quality fast nutrient eating house. Staff may be heard hulling abuses at each other and frequently click when they are asked a inquiry by the client. This issue of staff agitation may be addressed by presenting a codification of moralss that will adhere the wonts and operations of each staff member. Stern disciplinary action should be taken against any staff member that contravenes the codification of moralss. In consequence, this would guarantee that staff members do non exhibit their differences in the unfastened. Staffs who are found to be misconducting even after subscribing the codification of moralss should hence be dismissed summarily. Similarly, first clip errors should justify warnings. The other solution to bad staff behaviour would be to present a system of self-audits where other staff would be able to measure the behaviour of the others through a good co-ordinated procedure. In other words, the procedure would be carried out often and staffs who are implicated continuously by the remainder should be summoned and reprimanded efficaciously. Harmonizing to Schroeder ( p.67 ) , concerns should implement the best patterns that are formidable to the public presentation of the company. Impressive Burgers PLC besides faces a major job with the orders made by clients. Staffs frequently have jobs presenting the requested orders ; the orders are either uncomplete or wrong, therefore taking to a waste of clip by the helping staffs. The sum of clip taken to function clients has increased enormously to 9 proceedingss from the old 4 proceedingss. Most of the clients are happening it hard to wait that long as evidenced by the frequent walk outs. It is so shocking that clients should wait for that long earlier being served. Possibly the best manner to cover with this job would be to develop the staff adequately on the ways of covering with the clients ‘ petitions. Customers ‘ petitions should be compactly acted upon. The staffs should be retrained by the operations director on the best patterns. Furthermore, the staffs should be made to be accountable for their errors. This manner, they will be able to take orders right and accurately. This will cut down the hold clip between the clip that the client makes his order to the clip they receive it. The operations director should see a alteration of staff functioning the clients. This will possibly guarantee that the clients are served with qualified and capable staffs. Capable staffs should be able to cut down the holds between the order clip and the clip the clients receives their orders. The job of waste has every bit aggravated within Impressive Burgers PLC. There is a deficiency of a clear waste direction system. It is frequently to meet foul odor at the dorsum of the eating house which is as a consequence of ungathered refuse. Waste direction is imperative since it ensures that there is sufficient direction of the refuse that emanates from the fast nutrient eating house. This is an of import portion of the operations direction ( Johnston, p.13 ) . The solution to this would be to consequence an effectual waste direction system that would guarantee that there is a waste direction system. Bettering overall operationImpressive Warren burgers should so accommodate schemes that would be imperative in bettering its overall operations. The steadfast intends to open up new subdivisions fast nutrient ironss across the state. The house will necessitate to transport out a feasibleness survey. There are several ways in which the operations can be expanded in bettering its overall enlargement scheme. It is imperative that the enlargement procedure is successful by all agencies. The overall operations would be improved by foremost guaranting that there is a clip frame to the enlargement plan of the fast nutrient eating house. Allocating a specific clip will assist maintain path of the advancement that has been made by the operations director in the enlargement of the house ‘s operations. There should so be a set of protocols that will regulate the enlargement of the fast nutrient concatenation. In bettering the overall operation, the operations director will further guarantee that there are equal staffing demands to run into the operational demands of the fast nutrient concatenation eating house. The figure of staff should be equal to be able to manage the enlargement undertakings of the house. Furthermore, the staffs should be adequately trained to be able to manage the undertakings sufficiently and with accomplishment. This will non merely limit waste, but guarantee that the undertakings associating to the enlargement of the fast nutrient concatenation are being performed professionally. There should be a good organized concatenation of bid that will steer the operations of the enlargement enterprises. Bettley, Mayle and Tantoush ( p.79 ) reveal that houses should be advanced in guaranting that they adequately meet the market demands and present first-class client solutions. The incorporation of healthier repasts in the bill of fare and a assortment of picks of nutrient in the bill of fare, attracted more clients to the eating houses. The enlargement of the eating houses did non besides involve the enlargement of the installations ; the Numberss of the workers remained the same. This meant that the same figure of workers had to utilize the same readying machines to fix more and varied repasts. At the same the assortment of repasts attracted more clients ; the same figure of workers had to function a larger figure of clients. This meant that the functioning times had increased dramatically and it now took an norm of 9 proceedingss for a client to be served. The figure of client ailments has increased ; the chief ailments include ill-mannered and agitated staff and incorrect or uncomplete orders. The ground for rude and agitated workers was the fact that they had to do more repasts with fewer resources while functioning more clients. Both client and worker were non satisfied, the worker felt over worked, the assortment in orders and the figure of clients meant that orders were served incorrect with losing ingredients or they were incorrect orders. The deficiency of an enlargement of the equipment and the add-on of the workers together with the varied bill of fare meant that the helping clip for any bill of fare doubled. Customers now complained of a whole nine proceedingss from order to functioning compared to their earlier record of four proceedingss, and even longer if the order was incorrect. The ailments of the client agitated the worker, the workers had to cover with a more complex bill of fare, the ratio of client to worker was immense, the force per unit area on the worker was great, and this caused agitation in them. The agitated worker so passed their defeat onto the client, the client felt insulted and this caused them to go forth the eating houses, doing a diminution in ingestion. Another ground for the diminution in concern was the fact that the quality of nutrient in the eating houses declined, the direction stuck to their old modus operandi of telling for goods one time in a hebdomad, while their demand for the resources increased as clients increased. They had targeted the wellness witting clients with healthier nutrients, but these nutrients are merely good if they are fresh, a wellness witting client requires fresh green goods. Foods that are delivered one time a hebdomad are non considered to be fresh. The 2nd fact was that workers were non able to work with the limited installations ; this implied that there were high losingss in the kitchen. More green goods was ordered for but they had to hive away in the same iceboxs. The demotivator workers could non bring forth quality nutrient from the fact that they were tired from the big bill of fares that required excessively many inside informations. With their productiveness down the workers served hapless quality nutrient that was both non fresh but besides severely prepared. A deficiency of using more workers to fulfill the increasing figure of consumers meant that, the workers could non efficaciously function them and the same clip maintain up with their responsibilities. This meant that the hygiene of the constitution went down. Poor hygienic criterions, bad nutrient and hapless services lead the clients to be dissatisfied. These factors lead to the diminution of the clients, a diminution in the clients and a combination of losingss from waste lead to low net incomes. In decision, Impressive Warren burgers would be able to spread out into opening new subdivisions of the fast nutrient eating houses. The fast nutrients concatenation will accomplish this through holding trained staff and adequate fiscal resources. Hence, Impressive Burgers will be able to form a perfect mix of new schemes aimed at bettering the operations of the house. The house will besides be able to cut down waste and clip taken to function its clients efficaciously. This will give the house an border against its rivals. Plants CitedBarnes David. Operations direction: an international position. Edinburgh: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2008. Bettley Alison, David Mayle, and Tarek Tantoush. Operations direction: a strategic attack. Boston: Sage, 2005. Johnston Robert. Cases in operations direction. 3rd erectile dysfunction. London: FT Prentice Hall, 2003. Krajewski Lee J. , Larry P. Ritzman, and Manoj K. Malhotra. Operations Management. 9th erectile dysfunction. Sydney: Prentice Hall, 2009. Schroeder Roger G. Operations direction: modern-day constructs and instances. 3rd erectile dysfunction. Washington: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007. Shim Jae K. , and Joel G. Siegel. Operations Management. New York: Barron ‘s Educational Series, 1999. Slack Nigel, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston. Operations direction. 5th erectile dysfunction. Berlin: Prentice Hall/Financial Times, 2007.