Chapter One Essays - , Term Papers, Research Papers

Chapter One The night was cold, and the wind was blowing hard, you could feel the chill in your bones, and yet the seniors bacth 1998-1999 are on their way to seniors night which will be held at an Island which they call FEAR ISLAND! Lester, while packing his equipments heard a noise from the Garden, he paused for a minute, walk slowly to his window, while looking at the dark view of the Garden the cat suddenly appeared banging on the window, meowing! This frightened Lester that he almost jump at his surprised, then suddenly the phone rangs. Lester: Hello, Goodevening! Caller: Hoy lalake, are you ready? Lester: Cherry, is that you? Cherry: OO no sino pa ba? So will you be on time at the meeting place If you're not we will leave you! Lester: Don't worry, I'll be there just on time, hey cherry I've got to go now, someone's on the door. Then Lester hung up the phone. He went to the living room to open the door, no one was there, but he was quiet sure that someone has knocked while he was talking to Cherry, after a few seconds he closed the door and went to his room to continue packing. Meanwhile, Jenalou alone at her house, with her parents out of town, was crying because she just can't leave the house since her parents doesn't want her to come to seniors night after all. Suddenly she feels like walking to their vast hacienda in RUWI, so she was about to leave the house when the phone rangs?.. Jenalou: Hello, good evening, may I know who's on the line pls? Cherry: Malandi ka ha, hey pack up yer things, susunduin ka namin. Jenalou: Cherry, I told yah, I can't go with you! Cherry: he, basta bye! Upon hearing this Jenalou rushed to her room and packed up her things, she was packing her things when she heard scratchings inside her cabinet?.. Jenalou: stupid cat, get out of my cabinet! Jenalou opened the door of her cabinet, and to her surprise it wasn't a cat!!! At the meeting place in HYATT REGENCY, at the lobby, almost all the gang are there except Jenalou: Jayvie: akala ko ba Cherry you will fetch Jenalou. Cherry: We did but no one was opening the door, so we decided to leave na lang, we figured out that Maybe she won't come na lang! Ronnie: Ganon ba? So maybe we should go na instread of just wasting our time standing here, its almost 11 pm, anong oras na tayo dadating doon noh! Lester: OO nga let's go na! The gang went to the place where the boat they're gonna used were, the trip to the Island will only take about 15 minutes in speedboat. While in the boat, the others were listening to their walkmans, and some are eating, some are shouting and laughing, then suddenly a howl was heard from the Island, a howl that can make the dead rise from their graves, everyone panics, that the boat almost stumbled in the wide sea: Carlos: What the heck is that? Cherry: Maybe it's just a wolf or something?. Mae: you scaredy cat!!! Carlos: No I'm not , its just that?. Lester: shhhhhhhh?..guys be alert, don't you know about the story in that island

What your dreams are telling you essays

What your dreams are telling you essays Do you know what your dreams are telling you? If your answer was NO youre not alone. Many people have no idea what their dreams are trying to tell them. In this research paper I will answer this question and many other questions about dreams, sleep and also types of dreams. I will also talk about some of the most common or popular dreams and their meanings. We will explore some dream theories and interpretations of dreams. I have also done my own at hand research which I will be sharing with you the reader in this paper. I wish to take you through the dreaming process step by step, but in order for dreams to begin we must first sleep. So that is where Ill begin, with the sleep process. All dreaming starts with sleep. When we sleep there are four stages that we go through (Carskadon 4). Stage one is the lightest phase of sleep. In stage one sleep there is often visual imagery involved. Images appear in the form of wandering or dream like thought which can be controlled unlike a full dream state. In this stage of sleep someone can be awakened by low volume sounds or slight touch. Stage one sleep happens through-out the night. It often reappears as a transitional state of sleep following arousal during the night. When stage one does reappear during sleep it only last thirty seconds to one minute (Carskadon 5-6). Young adults spend ten to fifteen minutes a night in stage one sleep (Carskadon 6). Sometimes during sleep you feel your body jerk or twitch, that is called Hypnic Jerks. This usually happens right before stage two sleep occurs (Carskadon 6). Stage two sleep may have some of the slower eye movement of stage one but in general stage two sleep is free of any eye movement. Another feature of stage two is arousal. Since stage two is a deeper sleep than stage one it will take more arousal to awaken a person from this stage of sleep. The transition from stage two sleep to stage three occurs wit...

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL - Essay Example Like many other Chinese cosmetics companies, Herborist has also recognized the need to expand their operations in new markets and follow and extensive internationalization process while keeping the business rooted to its own unique cultural factors and a differentiated positioning strategy. Herborist is in the business of herbal cosmetic products and is an established name in the herbal care sector of China. The traditionalism and uniqueness of the herbal factor remains the unique selling proposition for the brand which it must capitalize on while entering a new potential market for its expansion process. The international expansion process of a company is guided by many factors which are likely to drive the development of the internationalization success for the company. These factors may include the following: the company may seek growth opportunities through market diversification, the company may seek to increase the revenues and profitability of the business, the company may try to gain ideas about new business processes, products and methods for innovation, the company may aim to serve a wider range of potential customers in new regions, the company may also achieve increased benefits from new supply sources and get the advantages of global sourcing and the company may achieve economies of scale through lost cost and high volume production (Bakker, 2008, pp.117-118). Herborist can focus on entering the market of Russia as a part of their international expansion strategy as this would help the company to achieve all the above mentioned benefits as well as the company will be able to benefit from the interest of the consumers in this country towards herbal skin care products and spa services that Herborist can offer (Deighton, Kornfeld, He and Jiang, 2010, p.10). The Russian cosmetic industry is a developed market in which the customers have much

Report for security mangment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Report for security mangment - Essay Example This 40-year old company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 which dominated the local market of the United States, and began to trade stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. Along with the company’s growth in revenue is the growth of its expenses in information technology (IT). According to Wal-Mart IT executives, the company is adopting expensive technologies; that is why its investment in IT is considered to be their single largest capital expenses with approximately $500 million dollars over one five year period (Beard, 1996, p.78). The company demonstrated its preparedness to invest heavily on these technologies because it strongly believes that IT is a powerful tool in achieving efficiency goals and in creating economic value for stakeholders. In order for Wal-Mart to know how these technologies will support the business in obtaining implicit and explicit objectives, it must develop IT governance strategies (Schwalbe, 2009, p.136). To provide competitive advantage, these st rategies must be integrated and aligned with the company’s strategic and operational plans, this is to make the process more comprehensive (Papp, 2004, p.27). The main focus of this paper is to identify the IT services of Wal-Mart and whether these services are aligned to the needs of the business and the customers. In the process of assessing strategic alignment, this paper will be using the conceptual levels of strategic alignment maturity model developed by Dr. Luftman and some measures in order to improve the strategic business-IT alignment of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart IT Services: Aligned to the Needs of the Business and Needs of the Customers Linda Dillman, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Wal-Mart noted that, â€Å"We do not want to be known by our technology, but we do want to be known by what our technology has done for the business† (cited in Luftman, 2004, p.275). She also added that the business is performing favourably in terms of improved revenue and marke t share, cost and time reduction, customer satisfaction, and many more because of business-IT alignment maturity through metrics performance. â€Å"Wal-Mart was one of the first companies to introduce computers to track store sales and inventory and was the first to develop a computerized network to share this information with suppliers† (Fottler & Malvey, 2007, p.267). However, because IT changes daily and becomes outmoded, the company needs to continuously seek for upgraded technologies (Eisenberg et al., 2004, p.265). The information technology/system of Wal-Mart is classified as strategic and focused on how to meet customers’ needs wherein it relies on most current information to sustain the minimum cutting of cost in retail. In order for Wal-Mart to lower their costs, maximize return on capital, and streamline their operations, the company is using the operational excellence strategy. For several decades, IT is considered to be an essential part not just of Wal-Ma rt but to some large suppliers in the world particularly in dealing with customers. Recently, Wal-Mart is using the standard transaction formats and protocols called the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) capabilities in order to standardized operations in the sharing

Discussion Chapter 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Chapter 6 - Essay Example In the long-run, the country will be facing a water shortage due to huge volume needed to support the processing of grains into ethanol. Another problem that the country may be confronted with is the rising corn acreage which demands extensive fertilization (Runge). Fertilization adds nitrogen and phosphorous into the lakes and streams; thus, resulting in the eventual destruction of aquatic life (Runge , par 13). In view of the above, it is proposed that the corn subsidy be instead transferred to subsidy in grass to produce bio-fuel. A major advantage of using grass, particularly switchgrass is that it grows easily. It does not require fertile land unlike other food crops. Since grass is not consumed by humans, it will not have any effect on food prices, unlike that of corn. If the change is implemented, then the debate between fuel and food is eliminated (Bionomicfuel.com 1). An increase in subsidy for switchgrass will even encourage farmers to plant this type of grass in land which are not used for agricultural production. Runge, C. Ford. "The case against biofuels: Probing ethanols hidden cost." 11 March 2010. e360.yale.edu. Web. 5 June 2012

Impact of Web-Based Instruction (WBI) in Schools

Impact of Web-Based Instruction (WBI) in Schools Nowadays the use of Web-Based Instruction (WBI) has significant impacts on every aspect of our lives. In the context of education industry more and more school and education institutions have come to realize the potential impact of using the WBI in the classroom as part of the learning environment. Despite the many challenges yet to be overcome, the advantages of WBI have been widely recognized. Some of these major advantages include flexibility and broader accessibility (Lee, Cheung, Chen, 2005), improved students performance (Alavi, 1994), reflective evaluation of the learning experience (Hiltz, 1995), and higher computer self-efficacy (Piccoli, Ahmad, Ives, 2001). Academic institutions also benefit in terms of cost reductions and increasing revenues (Saadà © and Bahli, 2005). The success of Web usage for learning is primarily due to its potential to integrate various types of media such as audio, video, graphics, animation and text and delivered in various forms. Statement of the problem: Schools are witnessing a profound increase in the use of multimedia presentations, video teleconferencing, and, more currently, Web-Based Instruction (WBI). WBI presents great potential for instructional improvement by providing ready access to information and allowing more interaction between teachers and learners (Hill, 1997). In order to meet the diverse needs of their teachers when integrating WBI into their subjects, most schools have adopted a few major brands of commercial course management software. Nowadays we have heard that information technologies are going to change school education especially in the way teachers teach and the way our students will learn. But most of us have seen little evidence to support the claim. In fact, teachers utilization of innovative technologies has remained low (Surry and Land, 2000). The integration of technology such as WBI into the classroom has remained low and educational technology use has been minimal, infrequent, and limited as an add-on rather than as indispensable to teaching and learning (Becker, 1991). Surry and Ely (2002) diagnosed, as a reason for this lack of utilization, which instructional designers had focused on developing. They added that there is no guarantee for diffusion of instructional technologies itself. While the diffusion and implementation of innovation is important. Rogers (1995) and Stockdill and Morehouse (1992) described, it is a complex process that is influenced by many factors. Technological superiority is only one of a number of factors that influence a persons decision about whether or not to adopt an innovation. A more complex interaction of social, economic, organizational, and individual factors influence which technologies are adopted and how much they are used after they have been adopted. As one of the major areas of diffusion of innovation study, instructional technologies have focused on the identification of the significant factors contributing to educational technology implementation. Most studies of this issue have been simply investigating factors or have confined the research scope to only examine either the psychological perspective of factors (Marcinkiewicz, 1994; McKinney, Sexton, Meyerson, 1999; Olech, 1997), or the external or environmental perspective of factors (Daugherty and Funke, 1998; Groves Zemel, 2000), disregarding other relevant variables. Daugherty and Funkes (1998) study focused only on the teachers perceived supports or incentives as factors influencing the use of Web-Based instruction. They surveyed school teachers and students involved in Web-Based instruction on the advantages, disadvantages, and general effectiveness of using the Internet as a teaching and learning tool. Teachers reported the lack of technical support, lack of software or adequate equipment, lack of teachers or administrative support, the amount of preparation time, and student resistance are barriers to use Web-Based instruction. According to Hamilton and Thompson (1992) in reality it is assumed that a person will be influenced by psychological and also environmental factors at the same time for a decision to adopt or utilize an innovation and Ely (1999) identified eight environmental conditions. His approach recognizes that the characteristics of adopters and the innovation are not the only factors influencing its diffusion. His research suggests that the environment such as supports and incentives in which the innovation is to be introduced can play an equally important role in determining a change efforts success. In the this study, the three categories of variables known to relate to the level of innovation use are identified based on the diffusion and innovation models. First, in the area of personal characteristics, previous experience and self-efficacy are selected as key variables. Second, complexity and relative advantage in this study are selected for the area of perceived attributes of innovation. Last, for the area of perception of influence and support from the environment, supports, and time are selected. To go beyond the single-equation approach using multiple regressions and address the associated limitations, structural equation modeling (SEM) will be used. Using this technique, indirect effects among variables are identified in the model that is specified from the literature and theories by the researcher. These indirect effects, when added to the direct effects in the model, allow the determination of total causal effects. Research Objective: Identifying the direct, indirect and total effects of the identified predictor variables (self-efficacy, relative advantage, complexity, computer experience, supports and time) on criterion variable (level of WBI use). Research Questions: What are the direct, indirect and total effects of the identified predictor variables (self-efficacy, relative advantage, complexity, computer experience, supports and time) on criterion variable (level of WBI use)? Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the study is to build a model to predict the level of diffusion and utilization of Web-Based Instruction in school. To test the model six independent variables (self-efficacy, relative advantage, complexity, computer experience, supports and time) from the three perspectives affecting the diffusion and utilization of WBI will be used. The selection of the variables is substantiated by empirical evidence from previous relevant innovation studies (Rogers, 1995; Ely, 1999). The result of this study would also be helpful to instructional designers. When it comes to successful educational program design, the consideration of the target audiences characteristics is essential to the analysis phase in most instructional design models. Because the predictor variables are susceptible to interventions such as training or staff development, the identification of the potential factors that are highly related to the integration of a new technology. Operational Definition: Predictor Variables: Six independent variables which are selected from the three perspectives affecting the diffusion and utilization of WBI. The variables are computer experience, self-efficacy, complexity, relative advantage, supports and time. Diffusion of Innovations: The adoption and utilization of Web as a teaching tool. Level of Use: Degree of integration of WBI that has been attained by teachers in order to attain existing instructional goals. Web-Based Instruction: A hypermedia-based instructional program which utilizes the attributes and resources of the World Wide Web to create a meaningful learning environment such as Blackboard and WebCT. Chapter II: Literature Review: The objective of the study is to identify factors affecting the likelihood of diffusion in educational setting is usually perceived from one of three major perspectives. The first of these is concerned with the characteristics of the adopter, such as computer experience and self-efficacy. The second perspective is focuses on the characteristics of the innovation itself. The third perspective focused on the characteristics of the environment in which the innovation is to be introduced. This approach highlights the importance of factors outside the innovation which can set the stage for its success or failure. The review will be focus on diffusion of innovation, relation to factors affecting the diffusion and implementation of Web-Based Instruction in an educational setting, informational technology diffusion models, model constructs and Web-Based Instruction (WBI). Diffusion of Innovation: Sanders and Morrison (2001) have identified three reasons why the study of diffusion theory is beneficial to the field of instructional technology. The first reason is most instructional technologists lack the knowledge of why their products are or are not adopted. They believe a study of diffusion theory could rectify this situation. Second, the field of instructional technology is often associated with the concept of innovations and they suggested that if instructional technologists understand the diffusion and diffusion of innovation theory. They will be more prepared to work effectively with potential adopters. The third reason is the studies of the diffusion theory could result in developing a systematic model of diffusion and diffusion for the instructional technology field. Everett Rogers is the most widely cited author in the area of general diffusion theory. Rogers (1995) theories form the basis of most studies related to diffusion. Rogers theories seem to be common elements of most diffusion theories. They are diffusion process, adopter categories, innovation attributes, and rate of diffusion. So the instructional technologists not only need to create well-designed products but need to ensure the diffusion of these products. The main concern of the diffusion of innovation research is how innovations are adopted and why innovations are adopted at different rates. The diffusion process outlined by Rogers (1995) has five steps knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. According to this theory, potential adopters of an innovation have to learn about an innovation and are persuaded to try it out before making a decision to adopt or reject the innovation. The adopters decide to either continue using the innovation or stop using it. This theory is very important because it shows that diffusion is not a momentary irrational act, but an ongoing process that can be studied, facilitated and supported. Factors Affecting Diffusion of Innovation: The experts in diffusion of innovation find that there is no single or a certain group of factors identified to explain the lack of use of Web-Based Instruction in school education. In this section, I will explore the factors have been examined and identified from many studies. The experts in educational technology have done numerous studies to find out the factors affecting the diffusion of Web-Based Instruction in school. Morris (2001) have found that the lack of technical support, lack of adequate equipment, amount of time required, student resistance or lack of computer skills, network problems and identified lack of teachers or administrative support are the barriers that teachers confronted when incorporating Web-Based instruction. From a survey of 557 teachers, Anderson, Varnhagen and Campbell (1998) also found that although most teachers believe that learning and communications technologies are essential to improving the quality of school education, many barriers were identified to realizing that capacity. They identified nine factors as major or minor barriers. The greatest barrier identified was lack of funding. The second greatest barrier was lack of time to learn technologies. The others are classroom infrastructure, adequate computer hardware or connectivity, institutional incentives, knowledge about applying technology in teaching, access to software tools, lack of training and support, an d information about available technology. Pitman, Gosper and Rich (1999) examined teachers use of instructional technology in a school classroom. In this study, they limited instructional technology to internet-related technologies including e-mail and the World Wide Web. The study identified significant relationships between teaching style, perceived effectiveness of technology, perceived access to technology and perceived administrative support and the use of technology. Beggs (2000) have conducted the survey of 348 teachers. In this survey teachers at a school were asked about their self-perceived use of technology, factors influencing their use of technology, and barriers to the use of technology in the classroom. The factors are improved student learning, advantage over traditional teaching, equipment availability, increased student interest, ease of use, compatibility with discipline, time needed to learn, materials in discipline, compatibility with materials, training, administrative support, personal comfort and coll eague use. Rogers (2000) have conducted the study to examine barriers to technology diffusion through a structured interview conducted on the telephone or in-person. The barriers that he identified are need technical support staff, need release time and time for training, funds, and lack of sharing best practices across system. Through this through review, it seems that the factors emerge into three categories as like personal characteristics which include factors such as years of teaching, previous experience, teaching style, self-efficacy, and anxiety, innovation characteristics such as relative advantage, complexity, and compatibility, and environmental and social factors such as support and time. In the case of a factor of support, the factors like accessibility or availability, technical and administrative, workshop, and incentive may be grouped into a single factor as support. Refer to importance of considering both the person and the social environment as joint determinants of behavior, Surry and Farquhar (1997) described adopter based theories as opposite to developer-based theories. Developer-based theories are to increase diffusion by maximizing the efficiency, effectiveness and elegance of an innovation. They assume that the best way to bring about educational change is to create a system or product that is significantly superior to existing products or systems. In summary, this section focused on the studies conducted to find out the factors affecting the diffusion of instructional technology. Since these studies have not looked at the interactional effects of determinants on an adopters behavior so more attention seems to be needed on the interrelationships among identified variables. Innovation Diffusion Models: In contrast to the studies that focus on single factors or a list of factors, a few models have been developed and empirically studied to identify the interactional effects of variables on innovation usage. These models focused on the identification of the determinants of usage, such as attitudes, social influences, and facilitation conditions (Davis, Richard Paul, 1989; Mathieson, 1991). Theory of Reasoned Action: The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) was first proposed by Azjen and Fishbein (1975). The theory specified a causal relationship between individual behavioral intention and actual behavior. The components of TRA are behavioral intention, attitude, and subjective norm. TRA suggests behavioral intention depends on a persons attitude toward behavior and subjective norm. Behavioral intention measures a persons relative strength of intention to perform a behavior. Attitude is comprised of beliefs about the consequences of performing the behavior multiplied by his or her valuation of those consequences. Subjective norm is seen as a combination of perceived expectations from referent individuals or groups along with intentions to comply with these expectations. (Azjen and Fishbein, 1975). TRA became the basis for developing the following two models, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). In fact, to account for conditions where individuals do not have complete control over their behavior, TPB extended TRA. Theory of Planned Behavior: Azjen and Madden (1986) modified TRA and generated a model named the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The only difference between the TRA and TPB is the inclusion of perceived behavioral control. Perceived behavioral control reflects a persons ability to actually perform a behavior. It is influenced by the effects facilitating conditions and self-efficacy. Hoffman and Novak (1994) included ease of access, ease of use, price, knowledge, past experience, and skill to represent the perceived behavioral control in their study of hypermedia using TPB. Each of the determinants of intention, like attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control, is determined by underlying belief structures. These are referred to as attitudinal beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs which are related to attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control respectively. Technology Acceptance Model: Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was developed by Davis (1986) and introduced by Davis, et al. (1989). This model is an adaptation of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). TAM contends two distinct constructs like perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Davis (1989) defined perceived usefulness as the degree to which an individual believes that using particular system would enhance his or her job performance and ease of use as the degree to which an individual believes that using a particular system would be free of physical and mental effort. This model is more specific and simple because it only provides two factors which are important determinants of innovation usage (Mathieson, 1991). These factors are specific, easy to understand, and can be manipulated through system design and implementation. In addition, they should also be generalizable across settings. Although it is a special case of the TRA, TAM excludes the influence of social and personal control factors on behavior, which is also identified as important factors in the previous research (Groves Zemel, 2000; Knutel, 1998). Components of the Study Model Constructs: The six predictor variables believed to be important in influencing the diffusion of innovation which has derived from the Rogers model and other relevant constructs from other models and other reviewed studies. Followed is the explanation of each of the six predictor variables and the criterion variable in more detail. Personal Characteristics: Computer Experience: Computer experience is defined as the extent to which adopters perceive previous computer experience and performance with internet connection as good. Also, it includes amounts of time using computer with internet connection in this study. The more positive experiences one has, the more confident one is in a similar innovation (Stone Henry, 2003). In other words, positive past experience with computers will increase ones confidence while negative experience will reduce it. This view is supported by Ertmer, Evenbeck, Cennamo and Lehman (1994), who found that although positive computer experience increased computer confidence, the actual amount of experience was not correlated with the confidence beliefs of students. This suggests that it is the quality, not the quantity, of experience is a critical factor in determining self-efficacy beliefs, which is one of the most important and popular variables in the diffusion and utilization of innovations studies. There have been numerous studies involving the experience and attitude-behavior relationship (Anderson, Varnhagen, Campbell, 1998; Christoph, Schoenfeld, Tansky, 1998; Daugherty Funke, 1998; Ellsworth, 1998; Groves Zemel, 2000; Hill, Stone Henry, 2003; Kao, Wedman, Placier, 1995). Bandura (1977) suggests that experience is likely to reduce anxieties and induce individuals to change their behavior. The information gained by performance accomplishments provides the most influential source of efficacy information (Bandura, Adams, Beyer, 1977 and Zimmerman, 2000). Hill, Smith, Mann (1987) provide evidence that experience with computer technology lead to a higher likelihood of technology adoption through changes in perceived self-efficacy. Self-efficacy: Self-efficacy, a key element in Banduras social learning theory (1977), refers to ones belief in ones capability to use Internet in this study. Self-efficacy has been found to influence the decision to use computers (Hill, Smith and Mann, 1987). Bandura (1997) defined perceived self-efficacy as personal judgments of ones capabilities to organize and execute subjects of action to attain designated goals, and he sought to assess its level, generality and strength across activities and contexts. Zhang and Espinoza (1998) found that comfort or anxiety about computers perceived by students predicted their confidence levels about computers and the confidence level is a significant predictor in deciding their desirability of learning technology skills. In addition, from the findings in his qualitative study Zollinhofer (1998) supported that teachers who have low self-efficacy are susceptible to cyber anxiety which can increase resistance to learning new technologies. According to Banduras (1977) self-efficacy theory, judgments of self-efficacy are based on several kinds of information including performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. Venkatesh and Davis (1994) theorize that perceptions about a new systems usefulness and a new systems ease of use influences and are anchored on an individuals general computer self-efficacy. From this evidence, it can be hypothesized that self-efficacy influences perceived relative advantage and ease of use of innovation, and also influences utilization of an innovation through those two intervening variables. Perceived attributes of innovation: Rogers (1995), Wolfe (1994), and Farguhar and Surry (1994) identified perceived by potential adopters, relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability as five main attributes of an innovation as important factors in determining the rate of diffusion. According to Rogers theory, potential adopters of an innovation have to learn about an innovation and are persuaded to try it out before making a decision to adopt or reject the innovation. This five attributes are frequently cited as playing a key role in the perceptions of adopters in regard to the implementation of instructional innovations. For this study, although perceived attributes compatibility, observability and trialability could contribute to some extent in diffusion process but only relative advantage and complexity which distinguished by Vinson (1996) and Moskal, Martin, and Foshee (1997) are included. This is because they have the strongest influence from Rogers five attributes. Relative Advantage: Relative advantage is defined as the degree to which an innovation of WBI as an instructional technology in this study is perceived as being better than the technology it supersedes and other solutions being considered (Rogers, 1995). The degree of relative advantage is often expressed as economic profitability, social prestige, or other benefits. The degree of use is expected to be increased by the teacherss perceived relative advantage of WBI. Rogers generalized from previous research that the relative advantage of an innovation, as perceived by members of a social system, is positively related to its rate of diffusion. In their study, Venkatesh and Davis (1994) tested the effect of self-efficacy on the perceived ease of use construct using two different information technologies, E-mail and Gopher. They found that the perceptions about a new systems ease of use are anchored on a persons general computer self-efficacy. Complexity: Complexity is defined as the degree to which the WBI as an instructional technology is perceived as difficult to understand and use (Rogers, 1995). It is similar to the ease of use construct used by Davis, Bagozzi, Warshaw (1989). They define it as the degree to which an individual believes that using a particular system would be free of physical and mental effort. In their study they find a positive correlation between perceived ease of use and behavioral intentions. They found ease of use to be a strong determinant of use. It is expected that the more complex WBI appears to teachers, the less they will use it. An innovation which is perceived as being difficult to use will meet with greater resistance to its use and diffusion than those which are considered as easy to learn. Hence, another generalization drawn by Rogers was that the complexity of an innovation, as perceived by members of a social system, is negatively related to its rate of diffusion. Then, who perceives an innovation as being more or less difficult? The findings (Ghaith Yaghi, 1997; Guskey, 1988) indicate that more efficacious teachers considered an innovation as less difficult to implement. Perception of influence and support from the environment: Groves and Zemel (2000) from their study has been identified that environment as a category of influencing factors on diffusion and utilization of innovation. Ely (1999) proposed eight environmental condition dissatisfaction with the status quo, existence of knowledge and skills, availability of resources, availability of time, existence of rewards or incentives for participation, expectation and encouragement of participation, commitment by stakeholders involved, and evidence of leadership. A few studies have been conducted to determine the best predictors among the eight conditions using stepwise multiple regression analysis. Ravitz (1999) found out availability of resources, availability of time, existence of rewards or incentives, commitment, and leadership are the most important determinants related to the implementation of innovation. In another pure survey study, Daugherty and Flunke (1998) reported the barriers confronted by teachers when incorporating Web-Based instruction a re lack of technical support, lack of software or adequate equipment; amount of time required and lack of teachers or administrative support. From reviewing the related studies, supports and time were selected as key variables for this study. Supports: Groves Zemel (2000) found out that the supports like training available on how to use, information or materials available, and administrative support were rated as very important factors influencing use of instructional technologies in teaching. Morris (2001) found out that lack of technical support, lack of adequate equipment or software, and lack of teachers or administrative support are the barriers teachers confronted when incorporating distance education. Farquhar and Surry (1994) proposed organizational factors with the adopters individual factors as influential factors which affect the diffusion and utilization of the instructional product. They asserted that inappropriate environmental support can often be an important hindrance factor of successful innovation diffusion. The teachers training and other resources to use and learn the WBI technology can be effective and productive by lessen teachers perceived level of complexity to use or learn WBI as an instructional technology. Time: Seminoff and Wepner (1997) discovered that of the 77 respondents in their study on instructional-based projects, 64% indicated that release time for preparation of technology-based projects was not being provided. In the survey study about factors influencing the use of technology and perceived barriers to use of technology, Groves Zemel (2000) found that teachers perceived time needed to learn as an important factor in influencing use of technology. Plater (1995) indicates that managing teachers time is the single most important asset of the school. In the past teachers had only a few time-related issues, including meeting classes, keeping office hours, and attending teachers meetings. Plater goes on to say that schools must recognize teachers time as valuable resource and begin to think about departmental needs and prepare individual teachers to meet these needs. While teachers training should be part of the overall preparation for WBI, teachers training can only be effective and productive if there is adequate preparation time to incorporate what has been learned in training. In the present study time is defined as perceived available time needed to learn and use WBI as an instructional technology. The more available time teachers perceive, the less complex they perceive to learn and use WBI as an instructional technology. Level of Use: Level of using Web-Based Instruction is a dependent variable for this study. Moersch (1995) proposed a conceptual framework that measures levels of technology use. In this framework, seven distinguished implementation levels teachers can demonstrate. According to Moersch (1995), as a teacher progresses from one level to the next, a series of changes to the instructional curriculum is observed. The instructional focus shifts from being teacher-centered to being learner-centered. Computer technology is used as a tool that supports and extends students understanding of the pertinent concepts, processes and themes involved when using databases, telecommunications, multimedia, spreadsheets, and graphing applications. Traditional verbal activities are gradually replaced by authentic hands-on inquiry related to a problem issue or theme. Heavy reliance on textbook and sequential instructional materials is replaced by use of extensive and diversified resources determined by the problem areas under discussion. Traditional evaluation practices are supplanted by multiple assessment strategies that utilize portfolios, open-ended questions, self-analysis, and peer review. To measure the level of innovation use, in addition to above levels of innovation use which are used to measure the degree to which an adopter integrates the innovation into practice, a number of studies (Cartas, 1998; Lin Jeffres, 1998; Jaber, 1997; Wallace, 1998) in the studies of diffusion and utilization of instructional technologies have used three different categories of questions to measure the usage level the frequency of technology use, the amount of hours in using a technology and the number of programs or functions used. Since it seemed that levels of use studies (Moersch, 1995; Reiber Welliver, 1989) dealt with questions pertaining to the specific aspects of computer technologies to measure the levels of technology, the present study created the questions including the three categories of questions pertaining to WBI use. Web-Based Instruction (WBI): WBI is defined as an innovative approach for delivering instruction to a remote audience using the World Wide Web as the instructional delivery system (Khan, 1997). Web-Based learning environments use the resources of the Web to create a context in which learning is supported and fostered. Web-Based Instruction is growing faster than any other instructional technology (Crossman, 1997). More and more school teachers are using WBI as an integral part of instructional activities. School cannot work in isolation and must respond to societal change (Innovation in Distance Education (IDE), 1997). WBI offers medium for school education to accommodate the information age and a networked worl

Gender Discrimination Essay

All around the world, genders are being discriminated by the opposite gender. The question is†¦ How will we stop it? This issue is a huge problem and if we become aware of this, we can work together to stop these hateful acts in our country. The thing is, we all know that it is wrong but we have continued to do it for years. It is unlawful to harass a person because of their sex. Harassment can include â€Å"sexual harassment† or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. (Sex Discrimination Harrassment) Thejustlife. rg website states that women get 77 cents per every dollar earned by men. It may not seem like that big of a difference but if a man gets $100,000 a year then a woman with the same job is getting only $77,000 a year. It makes a difference when you look at it from a different perspective. The same website also states that 29 percent of households led by single females are below the poverty level, as compared with just 12 percent of households led by single males. This means that more women in the United States are likely to be in poverty. Also, they state that Women and girls make up 75% of the poorest people in the world today. For example, of the poorest 10% of the population in Guatemala, 75% are women. I know this isn’t in our country, but if it is happening all over the world, it could happen anywhere. Also, nearly four in 10 girls reported being made fun of because they are a girl, compared to under one in ten for boys. (Gender Discrimination in Education) Monetary discrimination is just as much of a problem as sexual discrimination. Now, we could look at the facts all day or we could just imagine what is right. It doesn’t necessarily take facts to believe what is wrong. Think about it. Do women deserve the disrespect that they are getting right now all around the world, just because they are girls, have longer hair, or even just talk â€Å"girly†? We are all unique in our own ways and we should respect everyone even though they might be a little weird. In most schools, if not all, the teachers or some sort of adult teach you to respect each other for who they are and to treat others like you want to be treated. When we are told this, we all think that we will do it for the rest of our lives and that we will never disrespect anyone ever again. If this was really true, here wouldn’t be such a big problem all around our world about gender discrimination. In CREW class we are learning about drunk driving and this is a great real life example. We all think we are never going to drink and drive, but then there might be a huge party where you might make bad decisions. After that, you might have to drive home and then you get in a crash so then there is a dri nking and driving problem just like gender discrimination has become a problem too. We need a solution to this problem and I think the best one would be to let people know in general. If the United States realizes that the problem is such a big issue they is a better chance that we will do something about it. If we start one more campaign in every state, that might help two women in every state which means we will help one hundred women from being discriminated against in the United States. It does seem like much, but if a state realizes how they helped out, they might make more campaigns. It would be like a real life chain of helping people and happiness. In conclusion, gender discrimination is a world wide problem and if we remove the issue from out country, we would be doing our world a great service.

Lehman Brothers Ethical Reasoning

Describe the situation at Lehman Brothers from an ethics perspective. What’s your opinion of what happened there? The ethical issue here was that Lehman’s executives exploited loopholes in the accounting standards to manipulate their balance sheet in order to mislead the investing public. Using â€Å"Repo 105†, Lehman was able to clear huge amount unprofitable assets off its balance sheet instead of selling at loss. Evidence pointed out that the chief executive, Richard Ruld, knew about the use of it but faked ignorance in defence.Even the auditors from Ernst and Young knew about the use of the suspicious Repo 105 but chose to keep quiet. I believe that the prime motivation behind the act was to retain investors’ confidence by preventing a plummet in stock price. Hence, the implication was that Lehman was projecting a false image of its strong financial position, meaning that its stock price was overvalued. Through falsified accounting reports, investors w ere tricked into believing that their investments were safe, incurring huge losses when Lehman defaulted. Investors lost faith.The consequences were devastating as it created a systemic crisis of confidence in the banking industry as all other banks froze lending to reduce their exposure of Lehman’s undesirable Repo 105. Lehman’s employees suffered too as they lost their jobs overnight. Could anything be done differently at Lehman Brothers to prevent what happened? Explain. After extensive research, it was apparent that a written â€Å"Code of Ethics† was present at Lehman Brothers. However, for an ethics code to be effective, the tone at the top executives needs to be set right so that the entire organisation can feel connected to the firm’s ethical values and beliefs.The obvious failure we witness in Lehman’s case was that the top management, led by Ruld (CEO) and Erin Callan (CFO), were guilty of unethical negligence and wrongdoing. Therefore, i t is vital for the Shareholders to screen through their selection of the Board of Directors extremely stringently to ensure the appointment of the right leaders. As the top management was already corrupted, the Ethics Programs at Lehman had limited use in ensuring the upholding of the Ethics Code, as these top executives can wield their axe down on any whistleblowers that puts their power in jeopardy.This was the exactly what happened at Lehman, when whistleblower Matthew Lee, was axed. Therefore, Lehman needs to ensure that ethical leaders are at helm for this control mechanism to work, so that the Ethics Code can be reinforced through compliance-based ethics programmes to serve as deterrence. Simultaneously, integrity-based ethics programmes must come into play to instill and influence an individual responsibility for upholding ethical behaviour, with compliance continuously playing the role of monitoring, to prevent any future reoccurrences.On top of this, Lehman could have adopt ed the Moral Rights Approach to base their decision on whether their behaviour was ethical or unethical. Using this approach, they would not have committed fraudulent accounting, as it violates the fundamental rights that investors deserve from the use of their accounting report – which is to provide a faithful and accurate representation of the company for investors to evaluate investing decisions. Another preventive approach is the Fairness or Justice Approach to assist Lehman in weighing their ethical decision.The top executives’ decisions impact many groups of stakeholders, and the fraudulent acts only brought about harm to all stakeholders involved, as could be seen from the negative repercussions of the bank’s default – shareholders losing money, employees losing jobs, other banks’ losses due to lending to Lehman, public’s loss of confidence and stock markets crashing. If they did go about reporting their losses honestly, perhaps their stock price and profitability will fall, but at least the negative impacts would be localised within the firm, instead of triggering a banking shockwave.After all the public uproar over Enron and then the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to protect shareholders, why do you think we still continue to see these types of situation? Is it unreasonable to expect that businesses can and should act ethically? Analysing from the concept of Organisational Code of Ethics, it can be easily deduced that ethical failures from organisations usually stems from the individual ethics component. Unlike societal ethics and professional ethics which are based on established social norm and a certain set of standards, individual ethics is the only component that is not conformed to a certain enchmark. Every individual’s ethics differ from one another as it is shaped from the influence of their upbringing. While honesty can be one’s core value, it can also be the most neglected value of a nother. As seen from the case studies of Lehman and WorldCom, personal interest and greed of the top executives to remain in power motivated them to trample on ethics, resulting in their obstructionist approach. Managers must first understand that ethical decision making is dynamic and every element must be carefully weighed to prevent unethical issues.In applying the five ethical notions, it can be argued in Lehman’s case that manipulation brings about apparent utilitarianism for everyone (higher stock price for shareholders, more bonuses for employees, stronger creditors’ faith and higher management’s bonuses) in the short run. However, it is not justified for the stakeholders to be denied their fundamental rights of having accurate information of the bank, nor is it fair and justifiable that it brings about harm for all stakeholders in the long run when it went bust. It is very reasonable to expect businesses to act ethically.This could possibly be achieved t hrough a two pronged approach. The first, which aims to resolve unethical issues in the long run, requires the need for a stronger emphasis on education. Simple as it may sound, but the lack of ethical education is extremely glaring. In this profit driven world, where money speaks louder than anything else, there seems to be a shift towards higher reward and recognition for profits rather than ethical behaviour. Education serves as the most effective and fundamental way to resolve and prevent unethical issues altogether as it tackles the root of the problem to instill the right mindset.The second, perhaps shorter term measure, deals with governance. To prevent the evil temptation of dishonesty, there needs to be much harsher consequences and deterrence, such that temptation will vanish upon thought of the possible sentences that potential manipulators will face. Currently, the punishments of fines and jail terms are simply not severe enough to deter off such seduction of greed. With a softer but more effective measure through education to correct mentalities in the long run, and a harsher deterrence factor in the short term, ethical behaviour can be definitely be achieved.

Alternative Investment Fund for Senior Life Insurance Settlements †Business (600 Level Course)

Alternative Investment Fund for Senior Life Insurance Settlements – Business (600 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers Alternative Investment Fund for Senior Life Insurance Settlements Business (600 Level Course) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Alternative Investments Fund, LLC (â€Å"The Company†) is seeking to secure funding for the purpose of purchasing life insurance policies. The purpose of this document is to provide potentially interested parties with sufficient information to submit non-binding indications of interest to provide such funding commitments, but does not purport to be all-inclusive or contain all of the information that an interested party may require. Interested parties should conduct their own independent analysis. The information contained herein has been provided by the Company, their respective officers, employees, agents or representatives, or derived from publicly available sources. The Company does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of this document or the information contained herein – and no legal liability is assumed or implied. Any estimates and opinions have been prepared by the Company’s management and involve subjective judgment and analysis. This document shall not constitute or be construed as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Company. The Business The Company was founded to originate and finance the purchase of life insurance settlements in the secondary market. A life insurance settlement involves the transfer of ownership and the change of beneficiary of a life insurance policy in exchange for a lump sum cash payment from the purchaser. Life insurance settlements provide individuals who no longer want or need an existing life insurance policy with the opportunity to sell the policy and receive a cash settlement greater than the policy’s cash surrender value (amount insurance company will pay to cash out the policy). In the case of settlements involving term insurance policies, policy owners receive funds that they never expected to receive during their lifetimes. The policy owner may be planning to surrender the policy for any number of reasons including (i) corporate-owned key-man policies may no longer be needed due to the key-man leaving the business or the business being sold, (ii) insurance policies purchased for estate planning objectives are no longer relevant, (iii) the need for life insurance protection no longer exists du e to beneficiaries being taken care of by other investments or are financially independent or simply that there are no living heirs, (iv) continuing premium payments is no longer desirable, (v) cash from the settlement can be used to purchase new, more appropriate coverage (i.e., Second to Die or Long Term Care), and (vi) personal financial reasons. Senior Life Insurance Settlements are distinguishable from Viatical Settlements that were primarily focused on AIDS victims. Many viewed the viatical business negatively because of the perception that unscrupulous parties were preying on very vulnerable individuals. On the other hand, the Senior Life Insurance Settlement market has been viewed very positively. Typically, the policy size with a Senior Settlement is large and the seller of the policy is affluent and represented by a professional financial advisor. For these reasons, it is generally viewed as business that provides a valuable service – the opportunity to access values previously believed to be inaccessible. For the investor, the value proposition is driven by a few factors. First, the seller of the policy wants liquidity from the policy during his or her lifetime. Another motivation to sell is to eliminate the premiums that must be paid to keep the policy in force. In the process of evaluating the purchase of a life insurance policy, the life expectancy of the seller is a key determinant of the return to the investor. For this reason, every seller must have an evaluation of his or her health. Based on the evaluation (medical underwriting), a life expectancy (ex) is established, which determines the price at which the policy is purchased. In cases where the insured survives longer than the projected life span, the rate of return to an investor decreases. On average, these Senior Settlements are priced to produce a yield in excess of 15% per annum. The quality of the medical underwriting is the critical factor in developing appropriate pricing. Even with perfect underwriting, it is critical for an investor to have a sufficient distribution of lives in the investment pool. The pool should also possess a distribution of medical issues, in order to avoid concentration risk. For investors, life insurance settlements are unique. The returns have no correlation to the stock market or interest rates. Returns are purely a function of the factors discussed above. The Market Life insurance settlements began in the United States only in the last decade. They are now emerging as an asset class based on shear volume potential. The total potential size of the life insurance settlement market is estimated to include approximately $108 billion1 of life insurance in force. Most life insurance settlements have life expectancies ranging from 5 to 13 years, although some may be as short as one year. Demand for the Life Insurance Senior Settlements is already strong and can only grow as knowledge of this financial alternative becomes more mainstream. Currently, there are 23 million1 people in the United States age 65 or older who have life insurance policies in force. Nearly 8% of these policies lapse or are surrendered each year. LIMRA estimates that 97% of all term life insurance products sold in the United States will be lapsed before any death benefits are realized. As more individuals begin to learn that their policies have a value in the secondary marketplace that exceeds the cash surrender value (essentially that there is a better alternative to lapsing or surrendering the policy) – demand is certain to grow. Because the Life Insurance Senior Settlements are still relatively new and unknown (industry estimates suggest approximately 90% of financial planners and an even larger percentage of consumers are not yet aware of the availability of life insurance settlements), it is fair to assume that this market is poised to experience phenomenal growth over the next several years. Recently, the option to sell an unwanted life insurance policy, for a broad variety of financial planning reasons in addition to financial need, has dramatically increased the number of people considering this option. As a result, capital resources available to acquire those policies have been overwhelmed, creating a large backlog of policies in the market. Marketing The potential for a Senior Settlement occurs when the health of an insured has deteriorated to the point that the expected value of the future death benefit, which can be realized under a life insurance policy, significantly exceeds the expected value of the future anticipated premium payments. Historically, most policyholders did not realize that their life insurance policies represented â€Å"hidden assets† which could be used to better achieve their living goals. Transactions generally occur, when the life insurance policy owner works with an insurance agent, financial planner, or other financial advisor (â€Å"settlement broker†) who makes the owner aware that there are options available other than lapsing or surrendering an unneeded life insurance policy. These settlement brokers find the buyers for the life insurance policy and secure the settlement. It is estimated that of the 192,000 life insurance agents and approximately 34,000 certified financial planners in the United States today, only ten percent have working knowledge of Senior Settlements. Therefore, as the population ages and knowledge of Senior Settlements spreads, the potential exists for substantial future growth. Senior Settlements are a new and rapidly growing asset class. While Investment Bankers have viewed Senior Settlements as ideal for candidates for securitizations, the recent genesis of this asset class, taken together with the esoteric nature of the risks associated with projected cash flows and the inherit complexities of any securitization, have made the securitization of Senior Settlements mostly a theoretical exercise. As a result, capital allocations to this market have tended to be lumpy at best. The Company intends to source Senior Life Insurance Settlements in the secondary market from Life Insurance Settlements Companies, which have existing relationships with managing general agents and life insurance agents/brokers active in this market. Management Although the Company will use third parties to perform many functions associated with the evaluation and purchase of the life insurance policies, it will provide oversight of many functions including the following: Insurance Policy Underwriting Medical Underwriting Purchasing Policies Tracking/Servicing Purchased Policies The management team of the Company has substantial expertise in life insurance, actuarial pricing, accounting, taxation, capital markets, and life insurance settlements. Investment Returns A sample of 500 Insured lives was used to determine the expected rates of return for investors, and the volatility of the returns. The Insured lives modeled ranged in ages from 65 to 89, with an average age of 75. The net face amount of policies to be purchased was $453.1 million, and the assumed purchase price was $115.9 million. Under the â€Å"base case† or â€Å"assumed case†, the return to investors was determined to be 19.0%. This anticipated rate of return is consistent with current pricing in the Senior Settlement market. In the assumed case scenario, an investor would recover 100% of the amount invested in 7.46 years. The average ex for the group of Insureds, at the time of the assumed purchase, was 8.428 years. The most significant issue with Senior Settlements is not the return of principal, but instead the duration over which returns will be earned. Therefore, the expected rates of return were calculated using variations in the assumed mortality of the pool of insured lives. Projected cash flows were calculated assuming future premium payments, death benefits and expenses, using mortality rates that vary from the assumed case. Assuming that the actual mortality in all years is 10% less than the expected, the rate of return would decrease to 17.66%, compared to 19.0% in the assumed case. Conversely, if mortality is 10% higher than the assumed case, the rate of return will increase to 20.28%. Extreme cases were also tested. Assuming actual mortality is 33% lower than pricing results in the rate of return decreasing to 14.37%, while the break point is 21.01 years. Assuming mortality is 33% higher than anticipated results in a return of 23.11% and a breakeven period of 5.72 years. The rates of return under these assumptions are reflected in the table below: The extreme mortality variation used a 33% lower mortality rate than assumed and represents two standard deviations in a sample comprised of 500 lives. The probability of the actual mortality rate being less than 33% is therefore approximately 2.5%. Conversely, the probability that mortality would ever exceed 33% above the expected would also equal 2.5%. Industry Regulation As with any insurance transaction, some state Departments of Insurance regulate life insurance settlements. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) adopted model regulation in 1993 when the industry focus was limited to individuals with catastrophic or life threatening illnesses. The Model developed contract, license requirements, and other consumer protections to protect these specific policy sellers. This Model was adopted by only about half the states. As the business has evolved and expanded well beyond the scope of the early regulations, the NAIC and the individual states have modified and expanded statutes and regulations to include a broader definition of the policy seller provide protections to investors in the transactions and formalize the regulatory filing and reporting requirements. Regulatory activity by the NAIC and the states, especially those states that took no action on the original Model, is expected to accelerate as the industry grows. Principals Steven W. Fickes, F.S.A., M.A.A.A Steven is an actuary and has been involved in the insurance industry his entire career. Early in his career, he joined Tillinghast, the largest actuarial consulting firm, where he focused on reinsurance, mergers and acquisitions and taxation. He ultimately was made a Principal and headed the firm’s International Reinsurance and Life and Health Insurance Practices. He later formed his own actuarial practice specializing in innovative, highly structured reinsurance transactions and mergers and acquisitions. His involvement as a consultant on mergers and acquisitions led him to become a partner in a leveraged buyout firm that was involved in the acquisition of 15 insurance companies, with an aggregate value in excess of $1 billion. Steve has also been involved in several successful start-ups including the formation of a life insurance settlements firm. During 1995, he formed a $100 million private equity fund, which ultimately completed two major acquisitions. Prior to starting his own firm, Raedel in 2001, Steve was a partner at Deloitte Touche, where he led the firm’s international actuarial practice. During his tenure at Deloitte he worked with the American Cancer Society in developing a lending program for terminally ill cancer patients collateralized by their life insurance policies. Since resigning from Deloitte Touche, Steve has developed an extremely sophisticated insurance information database that has as its subscribers some the largest insurance companies in the US, major investment banks and mutual funds. At the same time, he has pursued various other entrepreneurial opportunities in the insurance sector. Ransom Jones, C.P.A. Ransom has over 30 years of experience working in the insurance industry with major multi-national companies in various areas including accounting and income tax consulting, asset/liability management, product development, asset securitization, mergers and acquisitions, financing, general management, consulting for troubled insurance companies and developing strategic direction. He has worked at American International Group, Citicorp, Goldman, Sachs Co., and was a partner at KPMG Peat Marwick. He has served as chief financial officer at two publicly traded companies and was president of a group of property and casualty insurance companies. For two years, Ransom worked with a start-up senior settlements company in developing its business plan and identifying financing opportunities. During his career, Mr. Jones has been very active in insurance industry affairs. For three years, he served on the NAIC’s Working Group on Emerging Issues which promulgates insurance regulatory accounting standards. He has served on various other NAIC committees. For three years, he was on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Life Companies Over many years, he has been a frequent speaker and author of articles related to the insurance industry. Research Papers on Alternative Investment Fund for Senior Life Insurance Settlements - Business (600 Level Course)Lifes What IfsMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesTwilight of the UAWAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Incorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalOpen Architechture a white paperAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaPETSTEL analysis of IndiaBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XRiordan Manufacturing Production Plan

Quantitative Analysis and Decision Methods Formulas Essay Example

Quantitative Analysis and Decision Methods Formulas Essay Example Quantitative Analysis and Decision Methods Formulas Essay Quantitative Analysis and Decision Methods Formulas Essay Quant Formula Study Guide MISCELLANEOUS, COMMONLY USED FORMULAS Finite population correction factor: Multiply SE of sample mean by fpc to make the correction - Independent samples of same population with same standard deviation (variances are equal). Confidence interval: df for t-multiple is (df1 + df2), or (n1 – 1) + (n2 1) Pooled estimate of common standard deviation: SE of difference between two sample means - Confidence interval for differences in sample means when variance is not equal. df for t-multiple is given by complex formula not shown in book when variance is not equal. Use StatTools. Confidence interval for difference between two proportions. SE for difference between two proportions. - Chapters 2 and 3 Describing the Distribution of a Single Variable and Finding Relationships among variables Mean Formula Excel Function: = AVERAGE Coefficient of Variation: Standard Deviation / Mean Standard Deviation: square root of variance Sample Variance Population Variance Excel Function: Variance = VAR Standard Deviation = STDEV Mean Absolute Deviation Covariance Correlation Excel Function: =CORREL Chapter 4: Probability and Probability Distributions Conditional probability: P(A|B) = P(A and B) / P(B) Multiplication rule: P(A and B) = P(A|B) P(B) If two events are INDEPENDENT: P(A and B) = P(A) P(B) Variance of a Probability Distribution: Standard Deviation of a Probability Distribution: Conditional Mean: * when the mean of a variable depend on an external event Covariance between X and Y: Correlation between X and Y: Joint Probability Formula: P(X = x and Y = y) = P(X = x|Y = y) P(Y = y) Alternative formula: P(X = x and Y = y) = P(Y = y|X = x) P(X = x) Joint probability formula for independent random variables: P(X = x and Y = y) = P(X = x) P(Y = y) Expected value of a weighted sum of random variables: E(Y) = a1E(X1) + a2E(X2) + †¦ + anE(Xn) Chapter 5 Normal, Binomial, Poisson, and Exponential Distributions Normal Density Function Mean Stdev Chapter 7 Sampling and Sampling Distributions Unbiased Property of Sample Mean Standard Error of Sample Mean Approximate Standard Error of Sample Mean Approximate) Confidence Interval for Population Mean Standard Error of Mean with Finite Population Correction Factor Finite Population Correction Factor Chapter 8 Confidence Interval Estimation Typical Form of Confidence Interval Standardized Z-Value Standardized Value Confidence Interval for Population Mean Point Estimate for Population Total Mean and Standard Error of Point Estimate for Population Total Approximate Standard Error of Point Estimate for Population Total Standard Error of Sample Proportion Confidence Interval for a Proportion Upper Limit of a One-Sided Confidence Interval for a Proportion Confidence Interval for Difference Between Means Standard Error of Difference Between Sample Means Confidence Interval for Difference Between Proportions Standard Error of Difference Between Sample Proportions Sample Size Formula for Estimating a Mean Sample Size Formula for Estimating a Proportion Sample Size Formula for Estimating the Difference Between Means Sample Size Formula for Estimating the Difference Between Proportions Chapter 9 Hypothesis Testing Hypothesis Test for a Population Mean: one-sample t-test P(t-valueconst)= ?. Excel functions: TDIST() and TINV() Test statistic for test of proportion: Test statistic for paired samples test of differences between means: Test statistic for independent samples test of difference between means: Standard error for difference between sample proportions: Resulting test statistic for difference between proportions: Chapter 10 Regression Analysis: Estimating Relationships Formula for Correlation: Slope in simple linear regression: Intercept in simple linear regression: Y is the dependent variable, and X1 through Xk are the explanatory variables, then a is the Y-intercept, and b 1 through bk are the slopes. Collectively, a the bs in the equation are called the regression coefficients. Standard Error of Estimate: R squared / R^2 General Linear Regression: Regression line: Sampling distribution of a regression coefficient has a t distribution with n-k-1 degrees of freedom: ANOVA total variation of a variable The part unexplained by the regression equation: The part that is explained: SSR = SST SSE Point Prediction: Standard error of the prediction for a single Y: Standard error of prediction for the mean Y: Chapter 11, Regression Analysis: Statistical Inference Population regression line joining means: ?Y|X1†¦Xk = ? + ? 1X1 + †¦ + ? kXk error a: Y = a + a1X1 + †¦ + akXk + a Regression line : Y = ? + ? 1X1 + †¦ + ? kXk + ? Sampling distribution of a regression coefficient has a t distribution with n-k-1 degrees of freedom: The ANOVA table splits the total variation of a variable: into the part unexplained by the regression equation: Standard error of prediction for a single Y: Standard error of prediction for the mean Y: Chapter 12, Time Series Analysis and Forecasting Mean Absolute Error: Root Mean Square Error: Mean Absolute Percentage Error: All forecasting models have the general form of the equation: Yt = Fitted Value + Residual ?Linear trend model is given by: Yt = a + bt + et Appropriate regression equation contains a multiplicative error term: ut: Yt = cebtut. Equation for the random walk: Yt = Yt-1 + m + et. Simple Exponential Smoothing: ? Formula: Ft+k = Lt = ? Yt + (1 – ? )Lt-1 Formulas for Holt?  ¦s exponential smoothing method: Winters’ Exponential Smoothing Method : Bayes’ Rule: Chapter 13: Introduction to Optimization Modeling No formulas there..

Diversity Quotient ; Personality Insights Assignment

Diversity Quotient ; Personality Insights - Assignment Example Some of these methods include making sure that people in any organization have a close way of relating during all matters. It is important to keep in mind that diversity is multi-dimensional and so there exists many forms used to determine it. For this reason, various methods should be used to ensure that the quotients acquired are of great accuracy. While analyzing diversity in organizations, existing statistical data regarding turn over could be useful. In the course of analyzing the data, it is possible to zero in on all specific causes of diversity which are addressed every time they are uncovered. In an organization, feedback can be obtained from turnover statistics by ensuring that commonly asked questions have available answers. These questions include data about the gender, ethnicity, and racial breakdown of all turnover percentages. This kind of question can assist in determining the reasons as to why different employees leave the organization and how to retain diverse employees and different organizational associates. Personality can be attributed to an individual’s perspective which can be used to describe their self. For this reason it really difficult to come across people with similar personalities. No matter how similar personalities might appear, there is always a certain way of differentiating them hence gaining differences. Personality insights is about recognizing and responding to different personality types. Understanding ones personality styles has a lot of benefits which might include increased productivity, reduction of stress, personal development, Improvement in team building, unlocking leadership potential and success in relationships. It is essential that all people understand their personalities since a lack of understanding one’s self and probably others may lead into certain problems. These problems could be tension, hurt feelings, unmet expectations, and poor

Everything is Illuminated, The Mission, and Little Buddah Movie Review

Everything is Illuminated, The Mission, and Little Buddah - Movie Review Example Jonathon makes the journey to Ukraine to try and find the mystery woman who helped his grandfather during his time of need. Another meaning from the statement that Jonathon gives is that he wants to discover his own background. Something that Jonathon maybe think is about is the fact that he would not exist without this woman helping his grandfather. If there is a chance that she is still alive, then Jonathon wants to meet her and possibly thank her. Jews by nature are very religious people who have had a long and turbulent history. It is this history that helps them to keep going. Modern day Jews wants the story of the Holocaust to be taught because they do not want the wrongs of the past to be repeated in the future. Jonathon feels like his history is an important part of who he is today, so he should do everything possible to learn from his ancestors. While Jonathon may not be finding information key to the Jewish religion, he appreciates the fact that he is Jewish and wants to le arn more about his history. 2. Alex’s grandfather initially had a negative attitude towards Jews; he keeps referring to Jonathon as â€Å"Yid,† which can sometimes be used as a derogatory term for Jewish people. There are some Jews who call themselves this term, so there is still some debate as to whether Yid puts down Jews or not. Alex’s grandfather’s attitude towards Jews does change over the course of the film, but this is largely due to the journey that everyone takes. This change is unusual in a way because Alex’s grandfather has always had a negative view of Jews, probably because of the area of Ukraine that he was brought up in. Another reason could be that he has dealt with so many Jews looking to travel to Ukraine that he has grown accustomed to Jews as customers rather than friends. Also, the fact that he is an old man makes it all the more unlikely that he changed his view of Jews after traveling with one through the Ukrainian countrysid e. But, after seeing Jonathon make a journey to pursue some of his history, and the fact that everyone got along well, Alex’s grandfather begins to understand that his previous view of Jews was in fact wrong. 3. The Christian religion is shown in a both a positive and negative light, depending on the characters involved. The positive representation of Christianity is shown when the Jesuits go into the forest and help the native people by teaching them to read, building schools and churches, and offering them a way out of their primitive state. Along the way, the Jesuits even manage to convince a mercenary, Mendoza, to join them. They had no reason to do this except to pick someone up at their lowest point. The negative representation of Christianity is shown by the Jesuit Order in Europe and the Catholic Church, which pursue an aggressive strategy of eliminating the new converts from their land simply due to border and land disputes. The scenes showing church leaders in Europ e give the impression that the Christian church wants to conquer the world with no respect for the native people they come across. The message given about Christianity is a balanced one; missionaries such as Father Gabriel choose not to fight because it goes against what he believes while Mendoza believes that Christians should have the right to protect themselves. The film does not offer an opinion on which belief is the greater one; it only presents a situation that