Efficient Market Hypothesis and Behavioural Finance

Efficient Market Hypothesis and Behavioural Finance 1.1 Aim of Chapter This chapter aims to give an overview of the dissertation. To start with, general backgrounds concerning the efficient market hypothesis (EMH), behavioral finance and market anomalies are mentioned briefly in order to provide better understanding about the modern area of financial study. Then, two opposed concepts of investment strategies, Contrarian Strategies and Momentum Strategies, are addressed leading to the next section which mention the main purpose and summary of findings of this research. Lastly, the structure of the dissertation has been outlined at the end of the chapter. 1.2 Background of knowledge about efficient market hypothesis (EMH) The theory of market hypothesis (EMH) is one of the most crucial theories in standard finance that have been revised and tested over the past few decades to uncover its imperfection. This theory was introduced by Professor Eugene Fama in 1970. As defined in his article, the efficient market is the market where securities are priced, at any point of time, by accessible information. It is believed that the markets are extremely efficient that individual stocks and stock markets as a whole are fully reflected by all available information. When new information enters the market, stock prices incorporates the news and responds very quickly with our any delays; therefore security prices are the accurate source of data which can be used as signals in trading investment process. By examining the level of how relevant information reflects in security prices, Fama (1970) categorizes the market efficiency into three forms: weak, semi-strong and strong forms of EMH. However, this theory relies o n certain assumptions, for example, there is no transaction cost paid in trading securities and it is costless for all participants to gather information available in the markets. The weak form of EMH is the condition that exists when share prices are fully reflected by trading data such as past price (or return) histories. For that reason, investors cannot exploit mispriced securities and earn excess returns by using historical stock quotations or charts. Semi-strong form of EMH is the condition that exists when share prices incorporates market trading data and publicly available information. The examples of this type of information are announcements of annual earnings, stock splits, annual reports, analyst forecasts, etc. As a consequence, investors cannot exhibit gains by rely only on fundamental and macro-economics data. Strong form of EMH is the condition that exists when market prices of stocks adjusted according to every kind of accessible information. This includes hidden inside information which are known among specific group in the company (e.g. the top executives and group of operational managers) or some individuals that have monopolistic access to information (e.g. managements of mutual funds). Thus, abnormal profits cannot be generated by either using internal or external information of the company. In other words, both individual and professional investors cannot beat the market and earn excess returns in every way due to the perfect efficiency of the stock markets. As claimed by efficient market hypothesis, market will be efficient in weak form if the past and future returns are not correlated, in other words, they are independently and identically distributed. Thus this refers to the idea of the random walk model. However, Fama (1970) affirms in his literature that the test of random walk model leads to the evidence of weak-form EMH, but not vice versa. Burton (2003) identifies the definition of random walk in his paper that it is the state where the flow of information on specific day is incorporated in stock prices on that day only, not for the subsequent period. The news announced in the market is unpredictable, thus stock prices changes are displayed in a random pattern. As a consequence, uninformed investors are able to earn equal rate of returns as what achieved by professional investors if they long position in well-diversified portfolios. In his paper, Burton tries to examine the criticism of the efficient market hypothesis and the idea that stock prices can be predicted based on initial valuation parameters (e.g. price-earnings multiple or dividend yield). He uses time-series analyses of accounting numbers and multiples and comes up with the results revealing that the stocks market are efficient enough, but it is difficult to predict the share prices. Moreover, the findings also reveal that anomalous behavior of stock price s may exist, but investors cannot create portfolio trading opportunity and gains excess risk adjusted returns. Fama (1997) states in his study that there are many literatures concerning behavioral finance and market anomalies challenge the hypothesis of efficient market. The opposed idea suggests that stock prices slowly absorb information available, which can be denoted as the market inefficiency. 1.3 Behavioral Finance and Market Anomalies Behavioral finance is the new area of financial study concentrating on the psychology of market and its participants. This field of study has started to appear in many academic journals from 1990s. Shefrin (2002) publish a book regarding the behavioral finance trying to find and explain reason behind the behavior of investors, both professional and individual. The author suggests that investors, who are sometimes prone to commend mistakes and errors, tend to rely on their emotional and psychological forces, thus this causes many market anomalies, the state where there is inefficiency in stock markets, to take place. Two well-known papers of Berberis, Shleifer, and Vishny (1998) and Daniel, Hirshleifer, and Subramanyam (1997) proposed behavioral models to explain the conflicting theory of efficient market hypothesis. They reject the previous belief with the proposition that the behavioral biases (i.e. judgment bias) of investors cause the anomalies and knock down the old theory behind. They present the concepts of over-reaction and under-reaction which accommodates the existence of long-term excess returns. Berberis, Shleifer, and Vishny (1996) create a model based on cognitive psychology of two judgment biases: the representativeness bias and conservatism. In their study, the empirical findings of investors’ behaviors are divided into two main groups: one perceives that earnings are mean-reverting. Thus, stock prices show a delayed short-term response and under-react to change in earnings. Another group believes that firms’ earnings are trending which leads to the overreaction in stock prices. The earnings follow the random walk process; hence, this leads to reversal of long-term returns. Daniel, Hirshleifer, and Subramanyam (1997) have different views in conducting the behavioral models. They split the sample group of investors into two categories: informed and uninformed investors. They find that judgment biases are not found among the uninformed investors, but detected among the informed ones. Informed investors are the group of people that determine the stock prices. They are exposed to two kinds of behavioral biases: overconfidence and self-attribution biases. Overconfidence causes the overstatement in investors perception of their private stock prices signals, while self-attribution bias causes investors to underweight the public signals about the value of companies. Therefore, the circumstance of overreaction to private information and under-reaction to public information generates continuation of stock returns in the short run. Overreaction leads to the concept of contrarian investing, whereas underreaction induces the theory of momentum investing. 1.4 Investment Strategies 1.4.1 Contrarian Investing Contrarian investing is the strategy that aims to generate profits by investing in the direction that goes against the conventional investors. In normal condition, short-sighted investors, who overweight the recent trends of past stocks prices and use this information to predict future prices, engage in buying stocks with good performance in the past hoping that it will continue to perform well in the near future. However, contrarian investing focuses on the opposite direction. People who employ this strategy tend to buy the shares that others have given up on due to either their poor past performance or their miserable and unclear future prospect. They expect the market to react to the behavior of the crowd, so that they can exploit the mispricing of securities and earn abnormal returns. 1.4.2 Momentum Investing Momentum investing is the strategy that is the opposite of contrarian investing. People who employ this strategy seek for making profits by relying on the continuance of the past stock prices and trends in the market in an attempt to predict prospective prices in the future. It is believed that the good stocks with price increases and strong performance in the past will keep on outperforming and generate gains in the future, and vice versa for the poor stocks. Thus, momentum investing suggests investors to hold stocks that had high returns and sell those that had low returns (buy winners and sell losers). The detailed of these two investment strategies will be discussed in the next chapter which both strategies will be supported by existing empirical evidences from several renowned academic papers. 1.5 Purpose and Findings of the Research The purpose of this research is to examine the profitability of momentum strategies, which is one of the most debated investment strategies in financial study, in the UK stock market. This paper employs the prices and returns data of FTSE 100 composites – the top 100 biggest companies in London Stock Exchange – as a proxy of the whole UK stocks. The observation period lies between July 21, 2000 to July 21, 2010, which gives a total of 10 years period. Thus, the main contribution of this study is to comprehensively revise existing literatures and employ the more up-to-date the data set with the well-known procedure to test the existence of momentum investing and its profitability in the UK market. However, the findings reveal no evidence of momentum profitability in the observed time for UK stock market, which are inconsistent with the prior research conducted using the different sample periods. 1.6 Structure of the Dissertation The rest of the dissertation is organized as follows: Chapter two comments on the review of the literature regarding the momentum strategies and its criticism, including the opposed theory of contrarian investing. Academic papers concerning the momentum strategies are divided into categories regarding the region of data employed. We carefully asserted and analyzed each paper to find the gaps which are necessary to be concerned for further researches in the future. Then, chapter three gives an overview of data and methodology used in this research. Chapter four shows the summary statistics of data, empirical results and interpretations. Finally, last chapter provides a summary of the results, as well as the limitations of the study.

Ageism in the Workplace – Essay

FYS 1101-41 Intro to Social Justice and Diversity Ageism in the Workplace When it comes to age, the first thoughts that come to mind are the young, old, and in between. Through differentiating among the three, society has formed ageism. Ageism is a type of discrimination based on the stereotypes associated with age groups. Relating to judgments of lifestyles, personalities, and abilities based on age, ageism functions to strip individuals of their rights. It has been, and continues to be, a rising issue in the corporate world.Ageism can impact any individual, especially in the workplace, where individuals can be at a disadvantage for a variety of reasons. Considering the fact that this type of discrimination affects people of all ages, ageism is most easily discussed when divided into three groups: * Young age (16-24 years) * Middle age (25-49 years) * Older age (50- over State Pension Age) The ideas and beliefs of young adults are often discriminated against because societal norms h ave put forth the notion that their ideas are less important because they have less experience.Governments also manifest ageism by putting age requirements on job eligibility. For example, in Massachusetts, all teens under the age of 18 must complete a work permit application and obtain a work permit before starting a new job. The state has also put a limit on the number of hours permitted to work each week. With this restriction, society segregates old people from young people. Also, the idea that eighteen is the quintessential age to begin working is simply a fabricated standard based on the general behavior and maturity of 18 years olds.Even though it is not clearly visible, ageism is still present and is continuing to affect the working class. On the other hand, many jobs want to set a specific image, aiming to hire young and attractive employees to better appeal to customers. For example, the retail store, Abercrombie and Fitch specifically looks to hire young, attractive emplo yees who will represent the style found in the stores. Meanwhile younger age groups are sometimes paid less even though they are performing similar jobs to older age groups. Some employers take advantage of the fact that younger ge groups are inexperienced by paying them minimum wage and sometimes even less. As young adults are new to the workplace, they accept this type of treatment because of their need for money. In society today, younger aged people are becoming more and more independent and no longer want to rely on their parents for support. Sometimes the case is that parents do not want to support them. Because of this, they need all the money they can to survive. When applying for certain jobs, young adults can have all the necessary requirements that fit the job aside from the required age.Young adults may be as responsible and may value the desire for further advancement in their job as much as middle and older aged groups, yet they are automatically denied positions based on the simple number that is age. Young adults are just as, if not more, capable than their elders in that they are more energetic and physically strong, enabling them to work more hours and complete the task just as any of the other age groups. The bulk of the workforce falls under the middle-aged category.One’s professional peak is said to occur through their 30s and 40s. This being said, we can conclude that the middle age group is least affected by age discrimination. The stereotype is that they are more qualified for the job because they are more experienced, focused and ambitious towards their desired career while still being physically capable of benefiting the job. Within the age limits of this group, it can be said that gender also leads to ageism when women are perceived as becoming older workers at an earlier age than men.Society has created a norm that perceives the older age group as the weak and incompetent. In Older Employees: New Roles for Valued Resources, à ¢â‚¬Å"age stereotypes depict older people as frail and fragile, as having lost the vitality and energy necessary to make a full fledge commitment to their careers† (Rosen, B. , & Jerdee, T. , 1985). In the work field, managers assume that older employees are less motivated to improve their job skills compared to younger employees; therefore managers are less likely to hire them.On the contrary, many employers look to hire older people because they feel that older people are more experienced in the work place, which means that no additional training is necessary. Furthermore, employers rarely increase older people’s pay because they are less likely to switch careers. The younger groups have more opportunity to further their careers and hence, need motivation to stay loyal to their employer. Although there have been vast improvements in medicine and increases in life span, the elderly are considered to be frail and more apt to get injured or fall victim to illness.This id ea affects the working culture because this view towards older people has not changed, â€Å"This way of thinking-and acting- has been expressed in discriminatory practices such as (a) limiting or excluding older workers from substantive job responsibilities and activities, (b) removing older employees from the workforce through negative performance evaluations or through encouraging their retirement; (c) implementing insensitive, poorly conceived policies; (d) limiting older workers’ access to job-related education, career development opportunities, or employee benefits; and (e) refusing to hire or promote older workers† (Hedge J. Borman W. & Lammlein S, 2006). Generally, the idea is that â€Å"older people [are treated] less favorably than others, perhaps because of an idea that such people have outlived the useful part of their lives and that society should somehow allocate its resources to those that have something left to contribute. Older people may be segregate d and regarded as a burden or a drain on the resources of the community†, generating ageism to come into effect (Malcolm, 2007). Older workers face ageist attitudes and age discrimination. Ageism plays a harmful role in the workplace.Discrimination of age is illegal under both the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. However, these laws are geared towards the elderly and offer no protection for young workers. The law of â€Å"The Age of Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967† protects individuals who are forty years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age. Not only is ageism evident in the workforce, but also it is also present in the government. There is no law whatsoever protecting young age groups. Some might say that these instances of unfairness occurring in the workplace seem acceptable.However, discriminating against someone based on how old and young they are is never justifiable. It is not ones age that determines their capability and qualifications but their competence. â€Å"Competence, not age, should determine whether a person should keep a job. To do otherwise, is to squander one of our nations most precious resources and to hasten the day of the end of those who are denied the experience that would keep them vitally and for a long time alive. †(Rosen, B. , & Jerdee, T. H. (1985). pg. 49) Age should not be a factor in the work force for many reasons.The young, the middle-aged, and the elderly all need their place in the job market. It is unfair to discriminate against those who are fully capable of completing the task efficiently entirely based on age. If employers continue to follow these trends, we will run into many problems. As the baby boom generation gets older, there will be an increase in the older working group. There is no way to prevent this and because baby boomers make up a large percentage of the population, it could create economi c issues if we don’t find ways to accommodate the needs of the elderly.Otherwise, we will have fewer workers and less wisdom to guide future generations. â€Å"The use of older workers can help organizations meet their growing and changing company objectives in a global economy while providing meaningful work rolls for middle-aged and older Americans. † (Hedge J. , Borman W. & Lammlein S, 2006). On the other side of the spectrum, young people are very valuable to the corporate world. We need the fresh ideas of young adults who are excited about starting new careers and motivated to advance their knowledge.It is also important that we encourage the independence of young people by trusting them to be responsible instead of doubting their abilities. Hedge, J. W. , Borman, W. C. , & Lammlein, S. E. (2006). The Aging workforce: realities, myths, and implications for organizations. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Rosen, B. , & Jerdee, T. H. (1985). Older employees: new roles for valued resources. USA: Dow Jones-Erwin. Sargeant, M. (2007). Age discrimination in employment. Retrieved from http://site. ebrary. com/lib/emmanuel/docDetail. action? docID=10209153

The 18th Amendment of the Constitution - 1875 Words

The 18th amendment of the constitution Prohibition was introduced to all American states apart from Maryland in 1920. Prohibition was the banning of alcohol; you could be arrested for sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol. There were many factors that influenced the introduction of prohibition. One of the main factors was the temperance movement’s two examples of this Were the anti-saloon league and Women’s Christian temperance movement. The temperance movements were at the strongest in rural areas, they put pressure on state governments to introduce prohibition. They put pressure on them by claiming the Damage to drinker’s health. They also protested that the sale in alcohol produced crime and disorder, poverty and distress,†¦show more content†¦There was a man named John Barleycorn that died from drinking too much alcohol. After that more people began thinking that drinking alcohol was very dangerous and that it would cause diseases. â€Å"There also was a man named Dr. Benjamin Rush. He was a well-known physician. He also wrote a book in 1784, which taught that drinking little amounts of wine and beer would not harm you very much, but drinking rum and whisky would cause death and diseases. Congress voted and approved of the amendment in January 1919, and enacted it in to law as the National Prohibition Act of 1920. After the Eighteenth Amendment was passed, Congress had to make a maximum amount of alcohol that beverages could contain. They then passed the Volstead Act. This act was far more severe than anyone expected. â€Å"The Act put the maximum alcoholic content at 0.05 percent. By comparison, todays beers have between 4 and 6 percent alcohol, 100 times more than the Volstead Act allowed. Whiskey had around 50 percent alcohol† (Noble). Most people were very shocked at how low the act actually put the alcohol limit. â€Å"A Literary Digest poll taken in 1922 found that 40 percent of respondents favored allowing light beer and wine. The poll also found that 62 percent of working men favored lenient enforcement of prohibition† (Noble). Prohibition was a main topic of discussion for politics. Presidential candidates were either â€Å"wet† or  "dry.† â€Å"Wet† meant thatShow MoreRelatedA Sociological And Humanistic Perspective1714 Words   |  7 PagesAdditionally, because an amendment to the constitution requires a lot of national consensus, it is interesting from a sociological perspective because it is usually the case that there is barely majority support for a proposed or established law, such as Roe v Wade. The following section is only a brief introduction to the topics covered in detail throughout this essay. Formally, the law I have chosen to examine is known as the 18th amendment to the United States constitution. However, it may alsoRead MoreForbidden Love in The Great Gatsby1361 Words   |  6 Pageslong period of time in U.S. history that lasted nearly fourteen years. The manufacturing, transportation, and sale of liquor was made completely illegal. The period of time known as the prohibition led to the first and only time that an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed. Prohibition was also known as the â€Å"Noble Experiment†. Intoxicating liquors were outlawed and many people were very upset about this. Speakeasies, glamor, and gangsters came up in this time and characterized this periodRead MoreProhibition and the Mafia Essay740 Words   |  3 Pagesprohibition caused much controversy in the 1920’s. The 18th amendment was passed on Jan 16, 1920, it said in Title II, Section 3 the National Prohibition Act states that No person shall on or after the date whe n the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States goes into effect, manufacture, sell, barter, transport, import, export, deliver, furnish or possess any intoxicating liquor except as authorized in this act. (United States constitution). The Prohibition opened up many big business opportunitiesRead MoreThe prohibition was a period of about 14 years in United States history in which the manufacture,700 Words   |  3 Pagescompletely. They were able to get this in action by blaming alcohol for many of society’s issues. By 1916, almost half of the United States had laws that prohibited alcohol. In 1919 the 18th Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited the sale and manufacturing of liquor, was ratified. This Amendment was put into action across the nation January 16, 1920. This was followed by The Volstead Act (passed on October 28, 1919) clarifying the law. The Volstead Act stated that â€Å"beer, wineRead MorePassing And Repealment Of The Fo urteenth Amendment1231 Words   |  5 Pagescombination of crime and disobedience at such a high rate spelled for the inevitable repeal of Amendment 18, but what were some of the specific factors? This paper will try to examine what led to the passing and repealment of The 18th Amendment + The Volstead Act. In order to understand the problem, we have to first know what caused it. That would be the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act. The 18th Amendment prohibited the â€Å"...manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, theRead MoreJustice Scalia Often Uses The Texualist Approach When Arguing925 Words   |  4 PagesJustice Scalia often uses the texualist approach when arguing for the text of the Constitution, but sometimes, as Scalia would argue, the text isn’t straightforward. In R.A.V v. City of St. Paul, Scalia authored the opinion of the Court, in which he argues that free speech is protected under the Constitution, unless it falls under a very narrow set of exceptions. According to Scalia, some content can â€Å"be regulated because of their constitutionally proscribable contents (obscenity, defamation, etcRead MoreWhy The Prohibition Is The Era Of The United States852 Words   |  4 PagesOn January 17, 1920, the 18th Amendment to the consti tution of the United States of America took effect. The 18th Amendment had been ratified a year earlier, banning â€Å"the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors†(Okrent, 1) within the United States and its territories. This new decade is called the Prohibition. The prohibition is the era of bizarre and engaging images of speakeasies, intoxicated flappers dancing the Charleston, bootleggers, and mobsters protecting illegal tradesRead MoreThe Resolved Issue Of The Constitution Essay1457 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Constitution. Over the duration of conducting research the overlay of the essay will be describing the major benefit of the U.S Constitution. While several issues have been unresolved by the U.S Constitution such as the issues of the Articles of Confederation. The entire focus of the essay will describe the resolved issue that have been corrected in the constitution, while also describing some of the historical events that were caused the U.S constitution to change. The U.S constitution helpedRead MoreThe Progressive Era Of The United States994 Words   |  4 Pageswas a period in the United States that consisted of social activism and political reforms. The importance of this era was the passing of labor laws, anti-trust laws, unionization for important industries and the introduction of four new amendments in the constitution. Children have been servants throughout human history. Employers were taking advantage of children by making them work very long days and work in dangerous conditions. Children laborers also lacked an education due to the long hoursRead MoreDuring the late 19th century and early 20th century the United States saw many political reforms1100 Words   |  5 Pagesshipping alcohol into dry states illegal. The bill was vetoed by President Taft but became law anyways because Congress overrode his veto. The League’s next step was to ban alcoholic sales in the United States by having Congress adopt an amendment to the Constitution. World War I played a role in the ban of alcohol because food supplies were needed for soldiers and people were asked to have wheatless and meatless days by President Hoover. This boosted the Prohibition campaign because grain is a component

Persuasive Essay On Crime And Punishment - 929 Words

What do some people do when faced with problems they can’t confront the lie about them just like when you broke something as a little kid you would say it wasn’t you. What do we do when faced with something wrong do we forgive or do we blame. When confronted with a crime especially when the person has lied before it becomes hard to believe them the next time they do something wrong this might lead to make them victims of terrible psychological or physical trauma or death nothing can feel more natural then if you blame someone else for all your mistakes and its not your fault for doing this some people just can help lie to others because they think they might get be discovered and the other person might tell the on them. We are all†¦show more content†¦The achievement of absolution as a hazard lessening procedure does not in this way depend on checking and looking after power. The current stamped development of the jail populace and sentence lengths in numerous nations, together with the exasperating truth that rates of re-insulting remain staggeringly high in spite of confirmation that most relentless guilty parties halt over the more drawn out term, propose that the present criminal equity framework, with its sense of duty regarding a method of discipline that is retributive and expressive of full of feeling fault, isnt attempting to decrease re-affronting rates. Indeed, retaliation as a hazard decrease methodology is probably going to harbor genuine dangers when actualized inside contemporary socio political and financial atmospheres. Retaliation as a hazard diminishment procedure conveys the natural danger of making a cycle of vengeance. In fact, the treatment guilty parties get on account of the courts, inside detainment facilities, and by parole administrations, can corrupt and mortifying. Such discipline is ready to make hatred and feelings of rese ntment among guilty parties so that as opposed to lessening danger of re-affronting it might in certainty add to severity towards society and specialist, supporting a characteristic want to sustain threats. Also, this inborn hazard to retribution to be specific,Show MoreRelatedThe Death Penalty by David Bruck Essay1123 Words   |  5 Pagescapital punishment. His purpose is to persuade readers against the death penalty in order for them to realize that it is inhuman, irrational, and that â€Å"neither justice nor self-preservation demands that we kill men whom we have already imprisoned.† Bruck does not employ an array of devices but he does employ some such as juxtaposition, rhetorical questions, and appeals to strengthen his argument. He establishes an informal relationship with his audience of supporters of capital punishment such asRead More Persuasive Essay Against Capital Punishment753 Words   |  4 PagesPersuasive Essay Against Capital Punishment â€Å"Kill. (Verb) To make someone or something die.† Does anyone really think they have the right to take another person’s life? Apparently yes. Perhaps we should give the judge a knife and tell her that if she has decided that the accused is guilty, she should stab him herself. Perhaps then she would hesitate. But if many people (hundreds or thousands who operate the judicial system) are involved, it spreads, or evenRead MoreThe Death Penalty Of Capital Punishment1480 Words   |  6 Pagesgiven the same rights, and punished fairly based on their crimes. However, despite that, there are many controversial topics regarding the criminal justice system, such as the death penalty. Capital punishment has been used many times in history all around the world, and it was quite popular. Many people argue that capital punishment is useful in deterring crime and that it is only fair that criminals receive death as punishment for a heinous crime. On the contrary, others see the death penalty as a violationRead MoreJeff Jacoby’s Bring Flogging Back1018 Words   |  5 PagesJacoby’s essay Bring Flogging Back, he discusses whether flogging is the more humane punishment compared to prison. Jacoby uses clear and compelling evidence to describe why prisons are a terrible punishment, but he lacks detail and information on why flogging is better. In the essay he explains how crime has gotte n out of hand over the past few decades, which has lead to the government building more prisons to lock up more criminals. His effort to prove that current criminal punishment is not perfectRead MoreShould Vere Be Considered a Hero in Billy Budd by Herman Melville695 Words   |  3 Pagesabout a mutiny and was wrongly accused for the rumor (talking about mutiny against the captain is a crime) by Claggart, the ship’s master-at-arms. Billy, filled with animosity, retaliates by striking Claggart and accidentally murders the man. The ship’s captain, Vere, summons a drumhead court-martial in fear of a mutiny bursting in any second. Vere follows the rule and have Billy hanged. In the essays of Charles Reich and Robert Martin, they claim that the decisions of the captain was wrongful. TheyRead MorePersuasive Essay : Capital Punishment1200 Words   |  5 PagesPersuasive Essay Ethan Martin Communications 100 October 18th 2015 Capital Punishment Capital punishment, which is also known as the death penalty, is the punishment of a crime by execution. This extreme retribution is reserved for those who have committed heinous, or capital crimes against society, therefore considered an ongoing threat. Capital punishment was abolished from the Canadian Criminal Code in 1976. It was substituted with a compulsory life sentence without possibilityRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is It Ever Justified?1111 Words   |  5 Pagestoday are filled to their capacities, yet crime here in America seems to have increased. I am speaking of one of the cruelest forms of crime that must be eradicated, which is murder. It seems as though a life sentence does not impose fear into modern day criminals, seeing that serious crimes are being committed more often. The death penalty is something that is needed here in the United States to help lower these ongoing vicious crime rates. In the essay â€Å"The Death Penalty: Is It Ever Justified?†Read MoreAn notated Bibliography On Juvenile Crime And Sentencing1510 Words   |  7 Pages Skip Hollandsworth candidly explores the subjects of juvenile crime and sentencing in the electronic long form newspaper article, â€Å"The Prisoner†. The purpose of the essay is to inform the reader about juvenile sentencing and to persuade the audience that there are clear problems with aspects of the U.S. prison system. The article is easily accessible to a large audience because it is online. Hollandsworth takes into account that his audience, mostly consisting of Texas Monthly readers, may alreadyRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty1331 Words   |  6 Pagesform of deterrence, As the Shannon Rafferty E-Portfolio states, â€Å"The use of capital punishment greatly deters citizens from committing crimes such as murder. Many people’s greatest fear is death; therefore, if they know that death is a possible consequence for their actions, they are less likely to perform such ac tions† and it also states that â€Å"Ernest van den Haag brings forth the argument that capital punishment is the strongest deterrent society has against murder, which has been proven in manyRead MoreThe Life of David Gale Essay1364 Words   |  6 PagesCapital Punishment is when a person is put to death for a crime they committed. While most americans continue to support execution, there is always the few who are against it. One of the main arguments against capital punishment is that someone can wrongfully be charged for a crime they did not commit and then wrongfully have their life taken away. In the film, The Life of David Gale, the director, Alan Parker, tells of the story of a man who is sentenced to capital punishment for a crime, which

Basic Issues For The I 130 Marriage Based Study - 1417 Words

This paper documents the basic issues for the I-130 Marriage-based Study and some of the challenges which hamper the swift execution of the study. The paper begins with a brief description of the study purpose, follows by important definition of key study concepts for marriage-based IBFA and a discussion for the sample size needed to execute the study optimally. Recommendation solutions are provided at the end of the paper on how to specify the roles for OPS and each stakeholder and members of the Technical Working Group to assist and ensure the successful execution of the study. Purpose of the IBFA Pilot Study (For details see IFRET’s White Paper) †¢ Fraud estimate: The primary purpose of the pilot IBFA study is to fulfill Congressional request for USCIS to estimate a defensible â€Å"true† benefit-fraud rate within the Form I-130 marriage-based petitions. †¢ Utility and benefits for USCIS †¢ Estimate the actual resources required by USCIS if all suspected cases are investigated by Immigration offices and compared to the actual allocated resources for fraud detection †¢ Exploratory research: IFRET has designed the IBFA study with an objective to examine the sample characteristics, such as an overstayed visa status of the beneficiaries or non-cohabitating couples, so that a statistical model can be used to estimate the probability of fraud for the population given the sample characteristics. †¢ Utility and benefits for USCIS: This data driven information will help USCISShow MoreRelatedResearch Outline Gay Marriage Essay2797 Words   |  12 PagesControversy â€Å"Same-sex marriage permits couples of the same gender to enter legally-recognized marriages and provides them with the same legal rights as couples in heterosexual relationships† (Same-Sex Marriage). â€Å"Opponents of same-sex marriage argue that the institution of marriage should apply to only unions between one man and one woman. Allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, they say, undermines the institution of marriage† (Same-Sex Marriage). Where the Issue Stands Today â€Å"In AmericaRead MoreMarriage12231 Words   |  49 PagesAND ITS BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION Marriage is one of the deepest and most complex involvements of human relationships. It is a corner stone of society and a very necessary part of the social system. It is a crucial and sacred bond between two personalities merging into one for ideas, attitudes, habits and likes and dislikes. In Philippines marriage is considered a lifelong partnership. It is the foundation stone on which the family is built. Basically marriage is a social and legal contract. PeopleRead MoreCan Divorce Be Reduced in Arab Nations? Essay1805 Words   |  8 Pagesreservation of oil. For these countries, half of their income principally is based upon oil. 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The Sony Playstation 2 Free Essays

Game is one of the biggest markets in the world; most of people like to play game for relaxing, or at the spare time with friends. People of all ages are players. Report has pointed out the global spending on video games-games console hardware and associated games-exceeds that spent at cinema box offices and is double the video rental market. We will write a custom essay sample on The Sony Playstation 2 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Many firm such like Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony seize this opportunity and plan to enter this biggest market. The competition has been intensified among the game market, who will be the winner? The market leader for hand-held, portable consoles is Nintendo-its Game Boy, launched in 1990, has sold well and consistently. Games console which are coupled up to a domestic television screen comprise a larger section of the market , and this is where Sony has become dominate. In 1994, Sony was a ‘non-entity’ in the video games market, however by 1996, it was the world leader of its fast growth market. At the end of 2003 Sony’s accumulated sales of 12 million games consoles was well in excess of rivals Sega and Nintendo. The stronger financial support is definitely the reason of successful for Sony. However, those just one small part of reason for the success of the Playstation, the mainly reasons for the success of the Playstation are below: * Adequate knowledge form technology, which had been developed over many years. It was able to derive synergy from its competencies in both hardware and software. * Suitable timing to entered the market, to avoid some unnecessary competition with rivals. Sony timed the launch carefully and entered the market just one month after Sega launched its new Saturn console, the first 32-bit machine. This suggested that the real competition in this sector of the industry lay between Sony and Sega, rather than with Nintendo as well, although in 1997 Nintendo launched its 64-bit N64. * Its pricing strategy for consoles. Sony knew the real profits came from subsequent software sales and happy to cross-subsidize a relatively low-priced console. They also enjoying cost saving through the experience curve effect and happy to pass these on to consumers. * A number of attractive licensing deals, which helped it, build up a strong portfolio of games from the outset. A number of key games software companies were persuaded to switch their allegiance to Sony.†1 * Sony’s advertising campaign was very specifically planned. Sony worked out exactly what they wanted the adverts to achieve. They also aimed to make people think of the Playstation as powerful and destructive, using the line, â€Å"Do not under-estimate the power of Playstation† in many of its adverts. Those intelligence ideas help Sony become a winner through this competition. So they are the strengths of Sony Playstation, which made Sony’s market share grows in creditable rate. And helped Sony corporation build up a good reputation among the consumers that will become advantage for Sony’s further competition. Late in 2000 Sony was unable to satisfy the early demand in both the US and Europe for its new Playstation 2. The problem has come. It was experiencing internal supply problems of critical components. This is a real fault for Sony in Christmas – the peak sales period. This could affect the profits of Sony Corporation. When Sony was struggling with the launch of Playstation 2, Microsoft and Nintendo realized this is a good opportunity to launch their new game console into the video games market. They believe there was a real chance that some customers would switch to the game console of Microsoft and Nintendo, if their intended first choice Playstation were no available. This is a real threat for Playstation’s position in the video game market. As Nintendo and Microsoft launch their new game console into the video game market, something has been changed. Reports said that sales of Sony’s PlayStation 2 console are down but sales of Nintendo’s GameCube console seem to be on the rise. The holiday sales of Nintendo’s GameCube rose over 70% from a year ago, while Sony’s PlayStation 2 sales did not fall as sharply as expected. Nintendo also said that it would easily achieve a global sales target of six million GameCubes for the full business year. Its sales are directly being attributed to GameCube price cuts in Japan, Europe and North America in September and October of 20032. However, Sony Corporation is keeping finding many opportunities for them to keep their opposition in the video game market. They noticed that entered an established market have to offer some value, something clearly different. So they tried to add the new function, new technology into PlayStation 2. For example: the graphics on Playstation 2 are of ‘cinematic quality’ and the console has a DVD reader, which can run movies. PlayStation’s hard drive would later be able to accommodate and Internet connection and allow users to buy games over the Internet and download them directly on to their machine, they also could play game online. In addition, PlayStation 2 is a 128-bit machine now, but it was not the first 128-bit machine on the market. Another mainly opportunity for Playstation 2 is their software (games). They categorized their games into 5 main types: adventure/strategy games, driving/motoring games and simulations, sports, fighting game and platform games. By Sony’s good reputation there are more and more software companies available for the Sony Playstation than are available for any of its rivals. In 1999 Sony had 90 companies developing games for Playstation 2 and was determined that 50 news games would be available for the launch. Playstation 2 also creating a unique opportunity for content providers and third party publishers from their biggest online community. In 2003, the massive Playstation community proved yet again the enviable advantage of strength-in-numbers as games for the number one selling platforms flew off the shelves in record amounts. Playstation 2 software led the industry with close to 3 billion in total video game sales for the year, nearly three times as much as its closest competitor. This is first online console community is also the most popular, with the Playstation 2 online base growing nearly three times as fast as that of Microsoft’s Xbox live. Sony wants to hang on its leadership in the computer games industry. That appears to be Sony’s thinking as the electronics giant moves ahead with development of the next version of its PlayStation video game console, which is well known as Playstation 3. Japanese media reported on May 6th that the PS3 console is in development. The goal is to make new processor technology, called â€Å"grid† about 200x faster than current console technology. This is almost achieving their original goal of making the PS3 1000 times faster than the PS2. This goal was publicly set by Mr Okamoto, the Senior VP and Chief Technical Officer of Sony Computer Entertainment, at the 2002 Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California. Playstation 3 may become a major threat to the other company in the game industry. So when Sony look for the future, one of the rivals review recent past, Pete Isensee, lead developer for Microsoft’s Xbox Advanced Technology Group, used his GDC talk to deliver a mostly positive critique of the Xbox’s journey to the market, lauding a product launch that happened on time and without major bugs, a departure from Microsoft history. â€Å"Microsoft has this stigma about not getting it right until version three,† he said. â€Å"We didn’t have a choice with Xbox. If we didn’t get it right with version one, Sony and Nintendo would eat us alive.†3 Nowadays, Playstation 2 will be outsold by rivals, but who knows what will be happen in the next. When the new game console-Playstation 3 launch to the market in Christmas 2004, maybe everything will have a big change. How to cite The Sony Playstation 2, Papers

A Look at My Personal Values Essay Example For Students

A Look at My Personal Values Essay My personal values are those things that are the most important and meaningful in my life: my belief in God and my devotion to and appreciation of my family. Those are my priorities and my highest motivations. These personal values are important to me because they shape my behavior, help to guide me through life’s journeys, and support my faith. My value system is based on my belief in God and shaped by my experiences with my family and other relationships with people who have been in my life. Values are developed early in life and the basic core values do not change. We may modify how much we value certain things and we may modify how we apply our value system to our lives but the basic values are who we are. There is always room to build on your values and that’s what I am striving to do with my belief in God I aspire to build my relationship with Him and to become more knowledgeable of Him. In order to do that, I will follow 2 Peter 1:5-8 to guide me through my journey. In 2 Peter 1:5 he says, â€Å"And beside this, giving all diligence add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge. God has given me the faith, now I need to build on that. I strive everyday to be diligent in my devotion to God and to add virtue and knowledge to my faith. The people that I come into contact with during my life help me to do that. My pastor has helped me to become more diligent in my faith by preaching and teaching me the right way to be virtuous in my faith. He has helped me to better understand that with God in my life anything is possible. I have relied on his faith when I found my own failing me at times. Through his guidance, I have found a better understanding to some situations that I could not make sense of on my own. He also has helped me to grow in my faith and not to become â€Å"stuck† spiritually. He has shown me how to have discipline in my faith, and the life of Christ that is in me gives me the motivation and power to change and grow spiritually. My pastor told me that God graciously gave me the key to the unfathomable riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8), which supplies me with everything I need for life and godliness (Christlikeness). His point was that I could not grow as a Christian until I trusted and accepted my faith as my essential foundation for growing and expanding upon my path to godliness (Christlikeness). My pastor explained to me that these verses are just stepping stones along my path. Each step is not to be perfected to take the next step they are all interrelated and build upon each other. My motivation should be God’s grace and the right motivation in Christian life is essential. In 2 Peter 1:6 he says, â€Å"And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience and to patience godliness’. So now I am working on my faith and with my pastor’s help my knowledge of my faith, now the next thing is temperance (self-control). This is a hard one for me,because I know that I need to be motivated to do certain things in my life. For example, going to the gym, I know that going to the gym will help me to become healthier, but there are some days when I just do not feel like going. This is where I have to exercise my self-control (motivation). This is the same thing that I encounter if I find myself in a discussion with someone who doesn’t believe in God. I know that everyone has a right to his or her own opinion and no one person is right or wrong. .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 , .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 .postImageUrl , .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 , .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9:hover , .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9:visited , .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9:active { border:0!important; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9:active , .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9 .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u0ff0d9fea94f85956a77f35388cfcfc9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Gustave Flaubert and Madame Bovary: Comparisons EssayThis also helps me to practice my patience, because I can not understand why someone who lives in the world we live in and sees all the wonderful things that are around us does not believe that God truly exists. A God that offers complete forgiveness of sins and eternal life. That makes no sense to me, but then I think about 2 Cor. 4:4, and I understand why they cannot see. I can see these things because, I believe and I have faith; the nonbeliever does not. My perseverance is strong and this is just another step in my journey to Godliness. In 2 Peter 1:7-8 he says, â€Å"And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ†, Godliness to me means being aware of God in every aspect of my life, and to show him reverence. No matter the situation that comes along or what I may find myself in, whether it is dealing with an unruly child, an angry coworker, or a disgruntled parent I always try to be the best me I know how to be. I do not let my temper get the best of me. I treat others as I would want to be treated, and I apply self-control to the situation. In my career and in my life I choose to show kindness instead of discouragement or rudeness. This verse says to add brotherly love to my foundation. To me brotherly love is not just about blood family, it is a mutual understanding and caring for human beings that should extend to everyone. We must â€Å"do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith (Gal. 6:10)†. I need to work on this. I need to learn to go against my feelings of pride, laziness, or self-centeredness, and to demonstrate my love for others. My pastor told me that I could practice this at church by looking for others who may be new or alone and to make them feel welcome. Being a deacon at my church, which will help me to practice this hospitable skill. The verses that I have taken on as part of my personal value system begins with the foundation of faith and builds with diligence, virtue, knowledge, self-control (temperance), patience (perseverance), godliness (Christlikeness), brotherly kindness, and ends with charity (love) (Gal 5:6). With all of this growing in these godly characteristic qualities I will be useful and fruitful in knowing Jesus Christ. In order for me to continue to be useful and fruitful in my efforts I need to continue to grow in godliness (Christlikeness) which will require me to be self-disciplined and diligent with my efforts. I need to continue to grow spiritually, it is a long process, but with my belief in God and with my family and support system in place IK will continue to make progress. I will consistently and continually practice my belief and faith in God and stay devoted to my family.