Saturday, November 30, 2019

The role of Community in modern World an Example of the Topic Psychology Essays by

The role of Community in modern World The society is never static and this attributes to the the fact that the changes are there in the society. These change are brought about by the natural and individual sources. That is why this call for the systematic and well structured approach to deal with these projected adversities in the society where we human beings leave. Through the study of emergency management it enables the society to be prepared in the avoidance of risks and develop good structures to be able to mitigate the severity of the outcomes from a possible risk. The community is the core of the global society which faces various forces that are coming together to shift the community dynamics in a dramatic way, in the aspect as the widening gap between the rich and the poor in both developed and developing nations. There's population influx in relation to consumption and the environment ability to support and sustain the community. Need essay sample on "The role of Community in modern World" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Environmental crisis evident in the global warming resulting into floods, climatic instability, hydrological and atmospheric challenges and the socio-economical issues that faces our today community. And as those challenges persists to become unbearable the urge for change in the social life to acquire and leave a more stress life so that we can have constructive and positive impact in the world today than destructive. Therefore this dissertation looks at these unfolding challenges to humanity in their environment and how to integrate and build a healthy relationship between the various systems of the community to have resilient and sustainable community by the use of emergency management techniques. The ideas are being incoperated with the case study of Singapore in in the year 1960 when they withdrew from the Malaysian federation and were faced with economic recession and communist subdivisions. Community is a group of organisms who are interacting and shares a common environment. The more advanced approach to community concept is to mean persons that shares common characteristics their location and the extend of their interaction not withstanding (Graham John 2003) . In this sense however, resilient community uses a combination of live satellite, video conferencing, articles, locally organized community based articles for discussion and the web based resumes (Delvant 2003). The community also encompasses the international community which includes the coverage of such terms as ecovillages, communities, student cooperation's, residential land trusts where persons work together to achieve a common vision that is beneficial to all regardless of their geographical environment (Charles 2003) . Community also can mean a group of individuals living together in a large society who are linked with a common policy. Sustainability is the characterized process that can be maintained at a definite level therefore, sustainability of community will focus on the community development that will last and be well maintained which focuses on the values, purposes and outcomes of the community factors which includes the prescriptive values of economic, political, religion and philosophical systems that should be networked and interlinked to yield better results the community (Walker David 2006). In order for the community to succeed in its sustainable community development it should employ the principle of transparent handling of the risk, appropriately valued nature restoration, integration of all sectors of community such as ecological, social, economical and humanistic in its policies, Equality in community opportunities and participation, continuous improvement through innovative and inventive to existing structures ofter assessing and evaluating and the supervisory functionality of good and cooperate governance (Charles 2003) . Resiliency is the ability of an individual or group of individual or society to manage the adversity in a way that is effective and which has the ability to respond to future adversity (Gupta 2003) . The most community today in the challenging world have resiliency in the adversity of poverty, war conflicts and both climatic and parental illness resiliency is characterized by two major concepts, such concepts are risk factor which is in terms of adversity or stress life events characterizing the individual and his/her environment (Charles 2003). The second one is the protective factors that includes skills or formality and essential aspects which act as buffer and base of resumes to deal with adversities effectively. Therefore, resiliency is the balance between the risks in the environment and the capability to manage them using the available support. Therefore, in the community resiliency builds around the issue of community structure seen from infancy to entrance to school then to adolescence to adulthood by detachment from the parents to becoming responsible adults. In community resiliency is an important concept during society transition when adversity tend to accumulate (Delvant 2003). The issue of whether the adversity will be successful managed it should be compartmentalized into separate sub-units and dealt with separately as entities in the society. These sub units includes physical and change or emotional resiliency that should be tackled well at present and the future. If that is due it yields the process of sustainable community development. Therefore, resiliency in the context of community development will be used as mechanism which the community used due to their capabilities to cope up with stress successfully and that it should have the aspect of dynamism which will contribute to community enhancement and maintenan ce of the key sectors of the community. The community is composed of individuals therefore, in order to build a resilience community individuals are key factor. Individuals characteristics puts them at risks, such characters as low self-esteem (Delvant 2003). The environmental characteristics plan a threat to pose an individual to risks as poverty, neighborhood, crowding, parental psychopathology and deviated peer group. Individuals protective factor that contributes to resiliency in includes cognitive skills, ability to plan independently, competency in ones history that lead to success in life and being optimistic and positive in life perceptions. Resiliency in individuals trickles down to familial protective factors where the individual is natured and influenced in most aspects of his life. These factors may include positive parent to child attachment and interaction, effective parenting constituted by the structure of rules and regulation within household (Graham John 2003). Then one resiliency has been established from individuals for families then can be looked as in terms of community. Community is seen to be resilient when it responds to adversity in a manner that strengthens the community resources and the ability to manage stress in future. The factors that contribute to the community resiliency is the mutual support characterized by high level of community participation and the community collective expectations excelling and sailing through the challenges that faces it. The community responds to crisis such as environmental, economic, working hard and voluntary, equal treatment of members of community. The key to community resiliency is empowerment factor which has direct bearing to the level of community empowerment in relation to policies and policy choices in the community (Gupta 2003) . These leads to establishment of community based programs directed to individuals resiliency such as experiential outdoor education. In order to achieve the resilient community it calls for procedures, process and principles to be involved. This key tools includes: there are a number of reasons for a resilient community is clearly seen through positive of harmonious partnership and cohesiveness between the grassroots, natural and regional level of communism which leads to potential stability, security, social and economic prosperity and progress. Impotent measure to controlling internal conflicts which can result into external hazards for outside which created sustainable livelihood of the people in a given region. Through construction of a resilient community in operations and functions it gives support to the inter community lend for instance national political and socio-economic. In construction resilient community key step is network connections in that, communities are built on connections which should be good to give better opportunities (Thomas 2001). This is achieved through improving the interaction of community internally and externally. Connectivity which is improved is created through interactive procedures by knowing and mending the network which starts with a network map that shows the complexity of human system the resilient community is to be built in. the network will provide the connections and relationship between the community ecosystems in business, political, socio-economic which helps answer key questions that can be based on when building resilient community (Gupta 2003) . The networking process touches the fundamental concepts of leadership roles in the community, preparedness of the community and whether right connections are in place. the effective network should reflect the common objective attainment in the subsystem of governance, should embrace the diversity factor so that it can cluster and nodes to maximize innovation in the network. The network should have an average path length since long path length usually distorts the message when it travels for long between the two nodes. However the average path length is convenient to measure networks global efficiency (Charles 2003) . The network for the community resiliency and sustainability undergoes four main phases to build. All these phases are inter linked to each other with bridging and facilitation by the subsistence of the leadership and the society preparedness to undergo the whole process in order to achieve the common goal. Each phase apart from the first one is built on a more adaptive and resilient structured network than the previous one so that it can be effective in tracing and tracking the community progress through the use of these phases. These phases are interconnected through evolving in the an effect that one phase should lead gradually to the next but systematical (Thomas 2001) . The first phase is usually at the individuals level that organizes them selves which is the initial stage referred to as the scattered cluster (Gupta 2003) . Clusters are with individuals ranging from one to five a group which gives the insight of the underdeveloped communities. Persons always isolate from each other and therefore lack of interactive learning and exchange of ideas that leads to underproduction sand low rate of development which makes the community structure to remain weak. At the stage there is a vital requirement to transform the system to be able to attain higher achievements. Tis the point where the role the leadership comes in and in this regard is refereed to as the weaver (Charles 2003) . The weaver makes the critical role of establishing new interactions to coordinate the activities within these groups leading to the emergency of strong groups. After a series of coordinated events the network weaver connects the small groups to come up with the spoke and him o r herself becomes the hub. The make the second system referred to as single hub and spoke. The weaver is expected to have energy, vision and necessary skills to connect the diverse of individuals by inducing the information flow ]from and to the groups. Weaver has to establish external links to bring a bout innovation and resources in the community (Walker David 2006) . Empowerment of the groups is key to achieving the informative relationship establishment and attain the collaboration and link up with member groups (Charles 2003) . Members of the community unless they cooperate the system may not blossom into a successful relationship to have a constructive development. These can be attained by proper of the society training which will help to identify and come up with other emerging weavers so that they can be equipped with necessary skills to run the community (Gupta 2003) . The weaver also starts to receive and develop a comprehensive data bank for the single hub and spoke network in the community, and starts to link them up with common goals and objectives and handles similar operations. The connection and linking up of the single hub and spoke will make the weaver to be the facilitator amongst the groups of the society (Walker David 2006). Once the process of the linking of the groups is successfully achieved the second phase is upgraded to the next phase resilient and sustainable community building and development which will be formed by the various single hub and spoke system. Thus in Singapore the young, energetic and visionary prime minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew established a grassroots based movement, referred to as Peoples Association (PA). T he main objective was to have all people residing in the neighborhood are proactive members involved in the activities as sports, religious affairs, vocational training. The resulting level will be the multi hub small world network where the relationship between the the divide should be built. So that the information and innovation will be accessed by the community. The community groups can organized, collaborate and cooperate within the network. The original weaver engages in the activities and planing which model new weavers to take care of the network building and maintenance processes (Thomas 2001) . this is significant because the original leader will have deviated in its role play from the direct to indirect leader or weaver. Where he will be performing supervisory roles in the whole process and will be responsible of detecting the weaknesses of the system and strength through evaluating the performance of the current system its ope rationality and productivity outcomes to the society. Once the multi system has been will coordinated it should gradually lead to the end and ultimate goal of the structure system. By the year 1970 Singapore establi shed 150 community centers who were managed by 1500 managers helped by 450 volunteers. Management supervised by 2000 management committees. As a result it collected total of $20.9 million community funds which was used to support this centers to promote and prevent other related risk a part from containing the two major threats of communism and recession of economy (Graham John 2003). These system will be referred to as the periphery and core phase that comes as a result of strong and well established that have the capacity and characteristics to link up with other regional networks and perform well. The phase is characterized by the factors such as those organizations that are new to the network and work hard to get to the core, it act as the bridging to diverse the community and lastly usually have the unique resources that operates outside the community (Delvant 2003). The periphery allows the reaching out of the ideas and informations that leads to desirable innovations and development of the community that are not prevalent in that society (Gupta 2003) . While the core offers the community systems with effect of acting and implementing those ideas and informations availed by the periphery to attain practical outcomes. Thus the periphery acts as the evaluation and monitoring tool to the system henceforth resulting data analyzed and statistical in formation obt ained will be used in the weaving or reweaving to match the present environment requirements. The challenge is in the aspect of updating and maintenance of the structured system so as to yield a resilient sustainable community. In conclusion theres an need for construction of the resilient and sustainable community in the todays world as its evident with psychological, physical and socio-economical adversities. By the use of the expanded scope of disaster management it can be done through the identification of the current network, assessed and then embark on the making it effective to suit the community. These will be achieved through the explication of the conceptual link between the community aspects, resilient and the mechanisms which foster resiliency with the proper tools put in place to create the enabling and supportive environment to the processes of resilient community building. As a result will develop community which will have a good capacity and capabilities to meet the community needs without compromising the future ability of the community. Therefore its important for the community to be stable status, coexist and be cooperative to attain the objective of a resilient and sustainable community to have a viable livelihood for the community. All in all resiliency has a great promising future for the sustainable community if its based on the sound theory and comprehensi9ve research. Reference: Delvant Gerard, 2003, Community; alienation, Routledge. Vougha Antony, 1982, Studies of library management; Cline brngley, New York. Burton Philip, 2003, Towards sustainable management of boreal forest; NRC research press, United States. Capaldo Guiharia, 2002, Global community; Abebooks, Philadelphia. Walker Brian, David Salt, 2006, Resilient thinking; island press, Michigan. Huber Diane, 2005, Leadership and nursing care management; nursing services, United States. Parker Dennis, 2001, Floods; Francis and Taylor, New York. Taylor, 2008, Disaster management handbook; CRC prt lic. New York.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

3 qualities that will make you an effective team player

3 qualities that will make you an effective team player The term â€Å"team player† is so often used as an essential professional attribute that it’s become a well-worn clichà ©- but that doesn’t make it any less of a valuable skill to have if you want to be successful at work, regardless of your occupation or industry. Being able to work well with others and being regarded by your colleagues as an effective team player can lead to a wealth of promising career opportunities- people will tend to seek you out when assembling teams for projects (which are more likely to be successful when the members of your team work well together), peers and superiors will turn to you for collaborations that can enhance your visibility and profile, you’ll increase your chances of impressing your colleagues, and others will want to support you and celebrate your success as you climb your personal career ladder.Although some folks seem to be able to work well with others no matter what the situation or mix of personalities they f ind themselves in, for others it’s not quite that simple. The truth is, not everyone is a natural team player, but everyone can become one with a little effort.Yes, your work environment and the nature of the work you do will go a long way towards dictating what makes an effective team player in your world, but there are some fundamental personal qualities that most effective team players seem to possess- and use- to their advantage when opportunities to collaborate arise. Do you possess the following 3 qualities? If so, then be sure to use them to your advantage at work, and keep them polished and sharp. If not, consider building these skills to maximize your chances of achieving success.PatienceGreat team players typically possess an abundance of patience in their reserves when working with others, which comes in really handy when juggling the diverse personalities and work styles of team members. It can be easy to get frustrated in collaborative work settings, especially w hen one (or more than one) team member is tough to work with or tries to exert unwanted control over the group, or when the project doesn’t go as well as initially planned. However, those who are known to be effective team members have the patience and self-control to keep themselves and others calm, cool, and collected, which helps to keep both colleagues and work projects on track.FlexibilityA close relative of patience, flexibility allows team players to roll with the punches when things get volatile or tumultuous during a group effort at work, and can pivot effectively when a project takes an unexpected turn or requires a course correction. Where some folks lose control when things don’t go according to plan during the life cycle of a project, those who are good team players are flexible enough to swerve when change is needed- without putting added stress or strain on their team members.ReliabilityReliability is where the â€Å"rubber meets the road† on a pr oject, and effective team members consistently deliver in this area. When collaborating on a project, they are well aware of what they are responsible for and make sure that they deliver as planned and on schedule, allowing their team members to focus on their tasks without having to worry about weak links, with the end result being that the collaborative effort becomes greater than the sum of its parts.If you set your sights on strengthening your skills in the areas mentioned here, you will improve your ability to work with others and gain a reputation as someone people can count on in any collaborative situation, big or small.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Active and Passive Indexing

From 1986 to 1996, the amount of money invested in index funds grew from $556 million to $65 Billion. And if anything, individual investors have been slow to embrace passive management. Institutional investors invest a far larger percentage of their assets passively. Many individual investors are simply uneducated and unaware of the arguments and experimental evidence supporting passive management. Institutional investors and academics have known for years (many for decades) that passive investing is extremely difficult to beat and that the majority of active investors will fail in their attempt to outperform the market. Active indexers assert they can outperform the marketplace. Passive (index) portfolios state they can mirror the performance of the indices. Both have their good times and their bad times. Active indexers raise cash in times of increased risk and instability while passive indexers remain fully invested. This can be quite painful during times of large declines in the market. Passive portfolios mirror the gains of the indices during roaring bull markets and eventually outperform the majority of active money managers who must remain diversified and who sometimes take on additional risks in an attempt to produce the performance and safety that they have promised their clients. The evidence has piled up during today’s bull market that the average dollar managed by active managers does not keep up with the market index. Finally, indexing is a way to avoid being blind-sided in certain areas of the marketplace. Active management themes can easily find themselves on the wrong side of an investment. There is a perception among investors that a strategy designed to match stock market returns is less risky than a comparable actively managed portfolio. Since the index approach invests in a manner that is most friendly with the market’s natural liquidity, it produces the least disturbance. The passive investor also has diversified his risk. Specific negative things can happen to individual companies or groups. As a passive investor, one is not exposed to any of these things. However, it does not mean you have a risk-free investment. The downside to passive index investors is that they â€Å"fuel the fire† of a market that appreciates well beyond its true value. Index mutual funds must put new money to work†¦ they can not hold cash†¦ and their investors all buy the exact same stocks. When stocks go down, index funds, being fully invested, will receive the ultimate effect of the decline. Combined with this loss is the fact that they will also have to sell shares to cover shareholder redemptions. These funds will get hit harder than many active portfolios with a cash cushion. Most active managers of investment portfolios raise cash as they perceive higher valuations, excessive instability, and extreme risks, therefore; reducing the display to loss during declining markets. Another downside to passive indexing is the impact they have on market instability. This gives the patient active money manager a welcome opportunity to take advantage of stock selection at very attractive prices and, to some extent, time the market in making their decisions of when to buy and when to sell. Index investing is a tricky business that can roil markets. Actively indexed funds have gone upward over the last decade. This has occurred despite the fact that investors have poured huge amounts of money into active funds over this period. The costs of investing in index funds have trended downward as they have become more popular with investors. The costs of active index funds just might decrease in the future, thereby narrowing the cost gap with passive index funds. But all evidence to date has shown just the opposite trend – the costs of active funds continue to go up and the costs of index funds continue to go down. Actively indexed funds typically generate relatively large amounts of taxes while passive index funds generate relatively small amounts. Some of the resulting gap in performance caused by taxes would seemingly be narrowed if the federal government were to lower tax rates. Congress did this at the end of July 1997 when it reduced the maximum long term capital gains tax rate from 28% on investments held more than one year to 20% on investments held 18 months or longer. The tax bill provides that in the year 2001 this rate will be reduced to 18% for investments held five years or longer. Finally, active money managers serve the specific needs of their clients. They manage portfolios based exactly on the investor’s objectives and tolerance for risk. They make decisions based on a stated time frame and they are capable of changing the goals and direction of a portfolio on a moment’s notice. They are the investor’s personal link to the market and the protector of their capital. The value of these services is immeasurable to most investors. One thing that really does not influence the investor as much as it should is the lack of appreciation with respect to the tax consequences of passive index management. The capital gains, created during the year by a fully active index manager, is reported to the IRS, and the investor ends up being taxed. For a taxed investor, the buy-and-hold is a winning strategy. Turnover is the enemy of the investor who pays taxes. Conversely, most investors would be more than happy to pay taxes on the returns produced by active money managers during periods of declining markets. Not many investors prefer losses to earning some gains and interest, even with the tax man waiting. The effect of so many investors buying index funds is that they tend to guard the money market. An investor could actually, in a cost-effective manner, buy and sell the market. The asset funding of active managers, combined with the efficiency of the passive manager, allows one to implement strategies that provide an optimal mix of securities to match a particular scenario, objective, or risk aversion. From time to time, it is possible that the major assets can get out of balance. Investors can run up prices where the lawfulness market is overvalued. When this reaches a untrustworthy level, more self-corrective measures are needed. This is where the expertise of the active manager becomes useful. As an investor, you are always trading off what Jeremy Bentham, the British economist, referred to as the â€Å"pain-pleasure calculus. † Good returns produce pleasure. Bad returns produce pain. An active money manager is always balancing off the pleasure vs. e potential pain. The active manager tends to determine what that balance is and if it finds that the market is deployed otherwise, it works in balancing the portfolio. Tactical asset funding combined with a passively managed portfolio has been called the â€Å"holy grail† of investing by Jonathan Burton, of Dow Jones’ Asset Management magazine. During declining markets, index funds take the full force of the market’s loss. Managers of these funds are forced to sell stocks in order to meet the demand for redemptions as their investors got out of the market. During markets of very little movement, investors quickly drain of insufficient or no returns on their investment. Finally, a philosophy of capital preservation causes the active manager to raise cash, providing a cushion for portfolios during times of extreme risk. Active or passive? Both have their advantages and their risks, but the two are found to be the best long-term plans for both performance and safety. Index (passive) funds are likely to beat active funds, yet the Morningstar data show that 92% of all the money is U. S. stock funds is in active funds. Active and Passive Indexing From 1986 to 1996, the amount of money invested in index funds grew from $556 million to $65 Billion. And if anything, individual investors have been slow to embrace passive management. Institutional investors invest a far larger percentage of their assets passively. Many individual investors are simply uneducated and unaware of the arguments and experimental evidence supporting passive management. Institutional investors and academics have known for years (many for decades) that passive investing is extremely difficult to beat and that the majority of active investors will fail in their attempt to outperform the market. Active indexers assert they can outperform the marketplace. Passive (index) portfolios state they can mirror the performance of the indices. Both have their good times and their bad times. Active indexers raise cash in times of increased risk and instability while passive indexers remain fully invested. This can be quite painful during times of large declines in the market. Passive portfolios mirror the gains of the indices during roaring bull markets and eventually outperform the majority of active money managers who must remain diversified and who sometimes take on additional risks in an attempt to produce the performance and safety that they have promised their clients. The evidence has piled up during today’s bull market that the average dollar managed by active managers does not keep up with the market index. Finally, indexing is a way to avoid being blind-sided in certain areas of the marketplace. Active management themes can easily find themselves on the wrong side of an investment. There is a perception among investors that a strategy designed to match stock market returns is less risky than a comparable actively managed portfolio. Since the index approach invests in a manner that is most friendly with the market’s natural liquidity, it produces the least disturbance. The passive investor also has diversified his risk. Specific negative things can happen to individual companies or groups. As a passive investor, one is not exposed to any of these things. However, it does not mean you have a risk-free investment. The downside to passive index investors is that they â€Å"fuel the fire† of a market that appreciates well beyond its true value. Index mutual funds must put new money to work†¦ they can not hold cash†¦ and their investors all buy the exact same stocks. When stocks go down, index funds, being fully invested, will receive the ultimate effect of the decline. Combined with this loss is the fact that they will also have to sell shares to cover shareholder redemptions. These funds will get hit harder than many active portfolios with a cash cushion. Most active managers of investment portfolios raise cash as they perceive higher valuations, excessive instability, and extreme risks, therefore; reducing the display to loss during declining markets. Another downside to passive indexing is the impact they have on market instability. This gives the patient active money manager a welcome opportunity to take advantage of stock selection at very attractive prices and, to some extent, time the market in making their decisions of when to buy and when to sell. Index investing is a tricky business that can roil markets. Actively indexed funds have gone upward over the last decade. This has occurred despite the fact that investors have poured huge amounts of money into active funds over this period. The costs of investing in index funds have trended downward as they have become more popular with investors. The costs of active index funds just might decrease in the future, thereby narrowing the cost gap with passive index funds. But all evidence to date has shown just the opposite trend – the costs of active funds continue to go up and the costs of index funds continue to go down. Actively indexed funds typically generate relatively large amounts of taxes while passive index funds generate relatively small amounts. Some of the resulting gap in performance caused by taxes would seemingly be narrowed if the federal government were to lower tax rates. Congress did this at the end of July 1997 when it reduced the maximum long term capital gains tax rate from 28% on investments held more than one year to 20% on investments held 18 months or longer. The tax bill provides that in the year 2001 this rate will be reduced to 18% for investments held five years or longer. Finally, active money managers serve the specific needs of their clients. They manage portfolios based exactly on the investor’s objectives and tolerance for risk. They make decisions based on a stated time frame and they are capable of changing the goals and direction of a portfolio on a moment’s notice. They are the investor’s personal link to the market and the protector of their capital. The value of these services is immeasurable to most investors. One thing that really does not influence the investor as much as it should is the lack of appreciation with respect to the tax consequences of passive index management. The capital gains, created during the year by a fully active index manager, is reported to the IRS, and the investor ends up being taxed. For a taxed investor, the buy-and-hold is a winning strategy. Turnover is the enemy of the investor who pays taxes. Conversely, most investors would be more than happy to pay taxes on the returns produced by active money managers during periods of declining markets. Not many investors prefer losses to earning some gains and interest, even with the tax man waiting. The effect of so many investors buying index funds is that they tend to guard the money market. An investor could actually, in a cost-effective manner, buy and sell the market. The asset funding of active managers, combined with the efficiency of the passive manager, allows one to implement strategies that provide an optimal mix of securities to match a particular scenario, objective, or risk aversion. From time to time, it is possible that the major assets can get out of balance. Investors can run up prices where the lawfulness market is overvalued. When this reaches a untrustworthy level, more self-corrective measures are needed. This is where the expertise of the active manager becomes useful. As an investor, you are always trading off what Jeremy Bentham, the British economist, referred to as the â€Å"pain-pleasure calculus. † Good returns produce pleasure. Bad returns produce pain. An active money manager is always balancing off the pleasure vs. e potential pain. The active manager tends to determine what that balance is and if it finds that the market is deployed otherwise, it works in balancing the portfolio. Tactical asset funding combined with a passively managed portfolio has been called the â€Å"holy grail† of investing by Jonathan Burton, of Dow Jones’ Asset Management magazine. During declining markets, index funds take the full force of the market’s loss. Managers of these funds are forced to sell stocks in order to meet the demand for redemptions as their investors got out of the market. During markets of very little movement, investors quickly drain of insufficient or no returns on their investment. Finally, a philosophy of capital preservation causes the active manager to raise cash, providing a cushion for portfolios during times of extreme risk. Active or passive? Both have their advantages and their risks, but the two are found to be the best long-term plans for both performance and safety. Index (passive) funds are likely to beat active funds, yet the Morningstar data show that 92% of all the money is U. S. stock funds is in active funds.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

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

Marketing - Assignment Example 1. Most Important Marketing Component A proper and complete Marketing plan consists of all the components as they complement each other and together have a direct impact on the product’s performance in the market. Amongst every component, Promotion can be considered as the most important component of the marketing mix as it actually drives the consumers’ purchase decisions as put by Kyambalesa, (2000) in his book  Marketing in the 21st Century: Concepts, Challenges, and Imperatives. Promotions are the only way through which the consumers can be made aware of any brand and the values which it promises to deliver. By using a full 3600 advertising campaign with strong brand activation campaigns, a company can ensure that the customers are fully aware of the offering which will directly result into sales and revenue for the company (Egan, 2007). 2. Component of Marketing Plan: Importance of Implementation and Controls As explained by Egan, (2007) in his book  Marketing communications, promotional campaigns are the strongest mode of communication between a marketer and the consumer. A strong promotional campaign is of no value to the company and the brand is it is not accurately and effectively implemented.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Theme park Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Theme park - Dissertation Example The landscaping, buildings and other attractions in the park use very specific themes such as Jungle life, Fairy Tales or the Wild West. Theme or Amusement Parks are constructed with an aim to provide good entertainment to large groups of people. These Parks are spread over a large area with a lot of attraction for children, for youth and also adults. Europe is considered to be a pioneer in Amusement Parks that evolved from pleasure gardens and fairs that entertained people during their leisure and recreation time. The world’s oldest Amusement park is Bakken, at Klampenborg, North of Copenhagen, Denmark that opened in 1583. In the United States, expositions and world fairs influenced the development of the Amusement Park industry. (Adams Judith A. 1991) In this research paper we are going to discuss about Theme Parks and the role they play in providing healthy and wholesome entertainment. PROJECT OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this project is to carry out an investigation on different theme Parks and to study and analyze its level of success or failure. This study would serve to give us a better understanding about Theme Parks and how they work and their contribution towards increasing the country’s economy. ... PRELIMINARY LITERATURE REVIEW Media plays a pivotal role through advertising these amusement and Theme Parks. A lot of media coverage is not only given about the different attractions, amusement rides and scenic beauty of the Parks but also covers the dangers and disasters that occur at these parks. The media also raises concern about the injuries and fatalities that take place and fulfills the social duty of bringing it to the notice of the general public. (Braksiek RJ, Roberts DJ. 2002) sheds light on Amusement park injuries and deaths stating that increased reports about such fatalities, have urged proposed legislation in order to regulate this industry. The author specially makes mention of the severity of injuries caused by roller coaster rides such as subarachnoid hemorrhages,  carotid artery thrombosis with stroke etc. (Braksiek RJ, Roberts DJ. 2002) Cindy Yoonjoung Heo and Seoki Lee (2009) shed light on the Theme Park industry’s revenue management (MR) applications a nd how they work. The authors explain that the theme park industry has great potential for enhancing its revenue by making use of essential RM strategies and techniques. In their study comparing the traditional RM industry such as hotels with that of the RM management of Theme Parks, the findings revealed that customers perceived ‘fairness’ in the RM practice when compared to the traditional RM made use of by the hotel industry. Cindy Yoonjoung Heo and Seoki Lee (2009) The authors suggest the adoption of RM used for Theme Parks because of the great potential to be highly successful. Yooshik Yoon, Dogan Gursoy and Joseph S. Chen enlighten us on the tourism development theory in relation to tourism that is encouraged because of Theme Parks. According to their

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Outline and Speech Essay Example for Free

Outline and Speech Essay My life before becoming a non-traditional student was very typical and average. At 34, I was a mother of two kids and was trying to juggle between my family and work life. I did not have a particularly hard time between the two and even felt dissatisfied about my professional life. I had been working as a salon manager for about 15 years and I was also into retail management at that time. For some people, this can be regarded as a big achievement. However, I was not contented at all and it got to the point where I felt that I had already reached the end. There was no room for growth and there were not much opportunity to make more money, which I needed to support my family. I toyed with the idea of going back to school for a very long time. I felt that my life was too complicated for me to go back. I had a family with two children to think about and it is important for me to not miss any quality time with them. Although I knew that there were many other non-traditional students out there and that the idea of going back to school is not new anymore, I still had my doubts and I thought of my decision for quite some time. I did think about the advantages for me and the negative effects it would bring mainly to my family. I also had questions regarding the cost of receiving a degree, as well as the financial aid options that are available for me. I was also very conscious of the fact that this generation is very different from what I knew when I was still in school. Young people nowadays are very liberated and have many bright ideas, which would help them excel in their fields. As for me, I was this middle-aged woman trying to fit in in this new world. See more: what is essay format However, this feeling did not last long because I discovered that I was not the only non-traditional student in the school and that the school is very accommodating to students like us. The younger students are liberated but this fact also helped because they are more open to things like non-traditional students. The most important factor that led to my decision of going back to school was my thirst for more and for better things for my family. I had my second daughter in December of 2005 and I was able to take an extended leave of one year after that pregnancy. When I went back to work, I felt something different. I had manager hours, which is very convenient for me and the pay was not that bad either. However, I was bursting with so much drive, ambition, and motivation and I felt that I had so much more to offer than just become a salon manager all my life. In 2007, after 15 years of working, I finally had the courage to leave my job and go back to school. To say that I was nervous is an understatement. I was giddy, excited, and scared all at the same time. I did not know what to expect after 16 years of being out of school. Sure, I can read about the latest news on the Internet and even see some of what is going on but experiencing it first-hand is very different. Still, the thing that made me survive and take it all in was the fact that this decision while it can affect my family, it will ultimately be beneficial for me and nobody else’s. I was doing it for me because I wanted to achieve greater things in life. I have a very busy life as a non-traditional student at this time. I am now in my third semester here at NSU and I believe that I am doing great in terms of school work. Contrary to what I feared before, I have no problems handling my personal and family life. Both of my kids are very active socially and academically and I make sure that I still have the time to guide them with their activities. After finishing my courses, I believe that I will be better equipped and prepared to take greater responsibilities. I would be more confident that my career path would not be a dead-end like before. I would therefore like to state that this decision of becoming a non-traditional student has proved to be beneficial to me and to the people around me.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Essay --

Question 1: Answer each of the following questions in MSWord a) Why is email an important toll in modern communications? Emails are important because it’s very fast, no need wait for answers, it’s in no time. It is good choice because it’s online. You can send text messages, attached file, even you can communicate face to face that’s using microphone and web camera. You can use emails in every place that have WiFi. b) What components make up an email message? Email components are recipient address, CC (carbon Copy), subject, editing tools, text editor, and attachment. CC means if you put another people email address in this line they will get email copy as well. Attachment – you can add and send files like pictures, sound files, signatures etc. c) What email account should people consider using? There are a lot of email providers. I will show 10 most popular. †¢ Google GMAIL †¢ Microsoft Hotmail †¢ Yahoo †¢ Outlook †¢ GMX †¢ Mail.com †¢ AOL †¢ Inbox.com †¢ Zoho †¢ Lycos mail These emails providers are free and provide much more than just send and receive messages. d) What is good email etiquet...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Human psyche Essay

The urge to compete is a large part of the human psyche. When this sense of competitiveness is taken to the extreme, a war may erupt. Throughout the history of humanity wars have been waged, even before the advent of writing, when poets where there to capture their essence. The epic poem The Iliad by Homer describes a war that took place almost two thousand, seven hundred years ago. The Greek society in which Homer lived was considered more violent than any in existence today. This gave him all the inspiration needed to create an epic war poem. By revealing to the reader the futility and horror of war, Homer’s Iliad offers an excellent critique of society, more specifically the fragility of human civilization and the savagery of human nature, when under the extreme pressures of combat. This masterful piece of literature, although written in many centuries ago, has much insight on ancient Greek society that can still be applied, with a modern twist, to today’s world. The style Homer used in his epic poem was unconventional and highly successful. Compared to many other novels or poem of its time, as well as most modern pieces of literature, The Iliad is much longer. This both helps and hinders the text’s ability to convey the messages and meanings of war. In order to capture and preserve the audiences’ interest during such a long poem, Homer took the reader on adventures beyond the Trojan battle field and into the life of each individual solider. By doing this, the reader feels drawn into the story and shares the horrors and futility the Greeks faced during the Trojan War. A large part of Homer’s work is dedicated to war and battle scenes. The main reason for this is because many believed Greek society, which took place seven hundred years before Christ, was brutally violent. Fighting was an everyday occurrence and brought honour among the warriors. The Greek gods did not dissipate the violent society; in fact they encouraged it by demanding animal sacrifices as part of daily rituals. It is this bloodlust, along with Homer’s original style, that has made The Iliad popular and highly influential to this day. War stories depict, through their graphic imagery, the horrors and tragedies taking place during a battle and The Iliad is no exception. The Iliad is most effective at portraying the futility and horrors of war throughout the text with all the gory details. Homer does an excellent job at capturing the realism of each battle scene in over five thousand lines of prose, nearly one third of the poem. As critic Martin Muller points out in Fighting in the Iliad â€Å"the poet and his audience like such [battle] scenes and their periodic occurrence require no greater motivation then bar-room brawls in a Western†. The following quote illustrates Homers ability to evoke graphic images during a battle:  The shaft pierced the tight belt’s twisted thongs,  piercing the blazoned plates, piercing the guard  he wore to shield his loins and block the spears,  his best defense-the shaft pierced even this,  the tip of the weapon grazed the man’s flesh,  and dark blood came spurting from the wound. (pg149, p2) This quote gives the reader a clear image of what is happening as the shaft wounds the unfortunate soldier. Homer also adds to the horrors of the war by telling us about the history of each individual solider before their death. With about two hundred and fifty names in the text, all with individual stories behind their life or death, the story may become murky but never unemotional. Many times a character will be introduced only to be killed off within the same chapter. This adds to the death, destruction and ultimately the horror of the war the Greeks and the Trojans are fighting. As well as reminding the reader of the horrors of war, Homer tells of the futility of fighting such a bloody battle. The sense of frustration and futility of the war is clearly sown as the Greeks fight the Trojans for more than nine years on end. With war comes death, a fact that resounds throughout the Iliad:  While Euchenor knew that boarding the ships for Troy  meant certain death: his father told him so†¦Ã‚  time and again the strong old prophet said that  he’d die in his own halls of a fatal plague  or go with the ships and die at Trojan hands. (pg362, p3) In this quote, describing the life of a solider before he is killed, we see that his efforts during the war appear pointless. He could have met a similar dishonourable death by staying home and enjoying his life. Death represents the futility of fighting a war because it is the only guaranteed result. Monarch Notes tells that â€Å"since death is a constant presence in life we may better see how men value their lives when they are close to that presence†. Homer does an excellent job of bringing the reader down to the battle so that the futility of war can be closely felt.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Michigan Coal-Powered Plants

1769, or the start of the Industrial revolution was when James Watt patented his steam engine.   All the steam-powered machines like the steamboat, steamship, and steam locomotives, were all powered by coal.   Coal is a solid fossil fuel that when mined, can be used for energy.   Today, more then 90% of coal is used for electricity and that which isn’t used for that is used as an industrial power source.   Coal fired railroads stopped in the 1950’s and industrial use has declined, but electric utilities have increased their use of coal tenfold in the past 50 years.   By the early 20th century, radiator heat was powered by coal and older homes still have their coal chutes.Wyoming, Colorado and West Virginia are some of our main coal producers and our supply far exceeds that of oil and natural gas.   Today, 52% of electricity generated in the United States is coal powered compared to only 14.8% for nuclear power.   In 2004, 1.16 billion tons of coal was burn ed, most for electricity.   At the current usage rate of coal, the world has 1500 years left to use this resource.There are actually many cons of using coal even though Americans are more leery of nuclear power.   It was found that people who live near coal-fired plants are exposed to higher radiation then people living by the nuclear plants.   (McBride, J.P.)   Because of people’s fears about nuclear energy, most plants will be replaced with coal-fired plants unless solar energy is harnessed in a better way.   First and foremost, coal produces carbon dioxide, which is suspected to cause global warming.   Human health is susceptible because coal is a source of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, two sources that may cause acid rain.   Coal also contains uranium and thorium, two radioactive materials.   In 1982, each U.S. plant released 5.2 tons of uranium and 12.8 tons of thorium.Total  was 801 tons of uranium and 1971 tons of thorium.   It is predicted in the year 2040, that 145,230 tons of uranium and 357,491 tons of thorium will be released in the U.S. alone.   These large quantities of these two materials are not being treated as radioactive waste.   Coal-powered plants aren’t regulated and are basically permitted to emit low-levels of radiation.   Long-term accumulation of these radioactive materials could pose serious health hazards†¦ already the effects are being seen, showing up as more asthma in children.   Michigan has the highest prevalence of asthma in children.Exposure within 30 miles of a coal-powered plant showed 1,929,662 children with 18% of them having asthma.   Large amounts of pollution that coal-fired plants built before 1977 are exempt from the Clean Air Act.   Illinois alone has 22 plants that are exempt and in 1997 these plants emitted 240,000 tons of Nitrogen Oxide, or as much as the annual pollution from 12 million cars!Also in 1997, Illinois plants emitted 722,000 tons of Sulfur Dioxi de which fine particulate pollution of this has been attributed to 5,570 premature deaths a year in Illinois and 3,767 in the city of Chicago alone, according to a 1996 study by the Environmental Working Group.   (http://www.consciouschoice.com/1995-98/cc115/note115.html.)With so many health problems, potential and active, why are coal plants still being proposed?  Ã‚   The Great Lakes basin is home to more than thirty million people.   The Great Lakes are the largest system of surface freshwater on the Earth, spanning about 800 miles and containing about 20% of the world's surface freshwater resource. The water in the Great Lakes accounts for more than 90% of the surface freshwater in the U.SBut this beautiful land also has the special focus of our government and that is they want the  Great Lakes region to be the future sites of many more coal-powered plants.   As many as 94 plants are already in various stages of planning.   Ten plants in Illinois, five in Wisconsin, and already Northern Lights Coal Plant in Michigan is causing quite a stir.   At first this plant was given a hesitant welcome since it was claiming to be the cleanest coal-powered plant in the U.S. and would create jobs, but looking deeper into it, it was discovered that there were political and environmental regulatory trends and that the Bush administration wanted a nationwide surge in proposals for new coal-fired power stations, with a special focus on the Great Lakes region.President Bush wants to dismantle federal environmental safeguards and encourage burning more fossil fuels.   He has agreed that older coal fired plants in Michigan and other states need to modernize their plants, but will still avoid improving air pollution controls.With all this, there are some good things about burning coal.   Natural gas, which is much more cleaner then coal, has gone up in price.   The price has doubled since 1990 and costs four times more to generate then coal so burning coal i s more economically feasible for the country.  Ã‚   Also, since 1960, particulate precipitators have been used by U.S. coal-fired plants, which reduce 99.5% of the fly ash.   Utilities can also collect ash, cinders, and slag and deposit them on coal-plant sites.   Coal ash is rich in minerals including large quantities of aluminum and iron, which haven’t been fully looked into.   If the government could really regulate coal-fired plants, these would be great advantages of having them.In conclusion, coal-fired plants are hazardous to human health, animals, and nature especially for those of us living in the Great Lakes region.   Instead of the  government looking at just the economic advantages of coal, they should also be focusing on what the implications are of producing almost 100 plants in a few states.   Canada has already charged that 50% of the pollutants that cause ozone come from the Midwest states so one can only imagine if you actually live in one of t hese states, what people must be breathing in.   The Bush Administration needs to clarify and fix the Clean-Air Act so that not only do older plants need to modernize, but also they need to be regulated.   The Great Lakes are a beautiful region to live and vacation and need to be protected against the air toxins that will be released if all these coal-fired plants are built and un-monitored.Bibliography  McBride, J.P., R.E. Moore, J.P. Witherspoon, R.E. Blanco.   â€Å"Radiological Impact ofAirborne Effluents of Coal and Nuclear Plants.†Ã‚   Science Magazine.   Dec 8, 1978.Schneider, Keith.   â€Å"The Bush Administration Pushes Dirty Coal Plants.†Ã‚   E / TheEnvironmental Magazine.   August 20, 2004.http://www.climateark.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=34416.Gabbard, Alex.   â€Å"Coal Combustion:   Nuclear Resource or Danger.†Ã‚   NoDate.   http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/colmain.html.No Author.   â€Å"History of Energy .†Ã‚   DKospedia, The Free Political Encyclopedia.December 21, 2004.No Author.   â€Å"Self-Reported Asthma Prevalence and Control Among Adults — UnitedStates, 2001.†Ã‚   MMWR Weekly.   V.52 May 2, 2003 pg. 381-384.http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5217a2.htm.Lilliston, Ben.   â€Å"Poison Power.†Ã‚   Conscious Choice.   September 1998.http://www.consciouschoice.com/1995-98/cc115/note115.html.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

American History X Essay Example

American History X Essay Example American History X Paper American History X Paper American History X BY saku2300 Summary: American History X Derek Vinyard is paroled after being in prison for three years. The reason for prisoning is because of the murder of two thieves, who tried to steal his truck. Through a flash-back, his brother Daniel Danny had, we learned about Dereks life. Derek was a leader of skinheads in L. A. and their white Nazi gang violently terrorized the opposite races. Dereks actions had a very big influence on his younger brother, Daniel, who looked up to him and tried to follow in his brothers footsteps. Dereks time in prison opened his eyes and made him realize that in every race there can be ood and bad. He somehow got enlightened and saw another road in his life. He Just had to convince Danny, that there is another way to live, and another way to look at things. That way he wouldnt end up as he did, Just because of all his hatred and ignorance. Dereks father got killed by a minority while he was in duty, which is why Dereks vision started to blur and he believed everything he got told from his dad. At the end, Dereks message was clear, and it finally reached Danny. Overall Characterization: Vinyard family. The movie American History X tells us the story of a torn apart family, by racism, atred and blindness. The two main characters in the Vinyard family who are wreaking havoc between their families are the two brothers, Derek and Danny. These two become the focused characters in the movie. Character analysis of: Derek Vinyard. Derek is a skinhead in the age of 20-30s and is very serious in his beliefs. Hes a well- educated and smart man whos blindly being brainwashed and drawn into this world of racial hatred. His childhood was based on lies, because of his father who tried to convince him about the minorities Negros/Thugs being bad people and a menace to society. After hearing the trash-talk from his father, he turned out to be a little skeptical who he hangs out with. After his father got killed, by drug dealers, Derek believed in everything he got told and therefore started to form his own gang which concludes the beliefs of Nazis and dedicated his life to the Nazis. Tattoos, skin bald, toughness and raised head full of confidence, those are the marks of the skinhead members lead by Cameron Alexander and Derek Vinyard. They have their own rules and form for Justice for racial people. The motivation that drove Derek into the world of racism was mainly his fathers fault. In the beginning of the first flash-back its shown how everyone is sitting at the table, eating dinner. By that time his father was alive, and we get to know how his personality and what his thoughts were like. Young Derek got interviewed about how he feels after his fathers death, where he speaks up from his heart about the parasites in his society, Well, this countrys becoming a heaven for criminals, so what do you expect? Decent hard-working Americans like my dad are getting rubbed out by social parasites. All of Dereks hatred and sadness, all of his emotions are unleashed into wrath against the parasites of the society. He mentions his fathers work, how he used to be such a good person, a firefighter, a savior, whos murdered by a minority. The reporter questioned him about the meaning of Parasites and he replied Blacks, browns, yellow, whatever. His hatred is slowly started to build up from this point, where he blames the racial problems to be the reason for his fathers death. He killed two thugs who tried to steal his car, by shooting one of them and making the other putting his mouth on the curb. Characterization and tale of: Daniel Danny Vinyard. Daniel Vinyard acts as the narrative of the story both at the start and at the end of he movie. Daniel is the younger brother of Derek, who also seems to be following his older brothers footsteps. Daniel is a stubborn teenager with bad habits, but when he really takes his time, he has potential to be something. Hes a skin head Just like his older brother, who he really idolizes and sees him as a hero. Daniel is trying to be just like Derek, and therefore hes trying to impress him by showing him these racist actions, and how tough he is. After his older brother got thrown in Jail, Danny started to hang out with Dereks old friends, one of them was Seth. Seth was very racist and isliked every race except the white people. He tried so hard to influence Daniel to hate every single race except the white, by videotaping him and asking him questions, such as Who do you hate Danny, why.? When Daniel answered his question, and saying some of them are alright, Seth raised his voice and said that none of them was right, and they are a bunch of freeloaders. Derek came back home after 3 years, and told Danny about his new epiphany. Danny freaked out and did not believe anything, and thought he was crazy. Daniel went to Camerons party, which Derek strictly told him not to. He witnessed Derek causing chaos and threatening veryone, and then he took Danny and ran off. Daniel was an arrogant and stubborn child, had a temper and always wanted to show his White power against the black people. Daniel opened his eyes once Derek told him the truth, and everything he had experienced. The last quote he used to finish his essay was: We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. 0 http:// www. goodreads. com/quotes/31631 -we-are- be

Monday, November 4, 2019

The Impressionists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Impressionists - Essay Example A critique once mockingly called their work ‘Impressions’, since they lacked defined form, and that is where the Impressionists got their name. Claude Monet was born on November 14, 1840 in Paris. In spite of having little artistic influence in his early childhood, an artist developed in him while during classes (that he did not enjoy) he drew caricatures of his teachers, for which he became known and started working at a picture-framing store, where they were displayed along with his other artwork. Eugene Boudin’s work was displayed there too, which differed from the Realists (the then prevailing group of artists who liked painting with sober colors and dark shadows). Boudin believed that no object could be directly painted exactly the way it is due to the fleeting effects of color and light; his works were mocked by the art community and Monet too, but later became a huge influence in Monet’s career. Boudin’s practices of painting outdoors, complet ing his works then and there and paying close attention to the effects of light were also adopted by Monet. The reaction in the 1880s against Impressionism is known as Post-Impressionism. The Post-Impressionists emphasized on formal structure and order, being more meticulous in their work. However, they shared a similar approach with the Impressionists that color should be an independent bearer of emotion and expression. The element of artificiality is also common in their works. The movement was led by Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Georges Seurat. He was born on 29th March, 1859 in Paris. He was a Post-Impressionist painter and draftsman renowned for his innovative use of drawing media and devising the Pointillism technique. Ecole Municipale de Sculpture et Dessin was the place where he studied art and in 1878, to enhance his skills he went to Ecole des Beaux-Arts where Henry Lehmann taught polished his work. He spent the summer of 1890 on the coast at Gravelines , where he painted 4 canvases including the Channel of Gravelines. He died in Paris on March 29, 1981 at the age of 31 due to an uncertain cause. One of Claude Monet’s most famous works is La Gare Saint-Lazare that he painted in 1877. It was a challenging task and required him to be very quick in retaining the sensations of light, steam and motion in his mind, for with the station so crowded and continuous arrival and departure of trains, the scene was never the same. Impressionists liked painting outdoors because they were inspired by the urbanization in Paris triggered by the Industrial Revolution. Monet’s use of short brush strokes and loose brushwork hardly convey forms, but are indicative of spontaneousness and effortlessness. In a way, these techniques of easiness and the use of bright colors(against the Realists’ concept of art) also indicate how the advent of technology brought convenience to people’s lives. On the other hand, Grand Jatte was pain ted by the Post-Impressionist Georges Seurat when he was 27 and is considered to be one of his most influential works. Seurat, in this work, has captured recreation on the island of Paris, which represented a new type of modernity for the affluent Parisians. It is painted in his famous Pointillist technique, emphasizing purity of colors on canvas. His depiction of people facing either

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Financial system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Financial system - Essay Example Financial instruments are paper documents. Yet just as a surgeon uses instruments as financial instruments to undertake crucial exchanges of financial resources. They also can use financial instruments to help reduce the risks of financial loss. There are two basic ways to categorise financial markets. One, which distinguishes between primary or secondary markets, separates types of financial markets depending upon whether or not they are markets for newly issued instruments. The other, which distinguishes between capital and money markets, defines financial markets on the basis of the instrument maturities. The maturity of an instrument is the time ranging from the date of issue until final principal and interest payments are due to the holders of the instruments. Maturities of less than a year are short-term maturities, while maturities in excess of ten years are long-term maturities. Maturities ranging from one to ten years are intermediate-term maturities. Institutions that serve as the middlemen in this process of financing are financial intermediaries. These intermediaries exist solely to take the funds of savers and redistribute those funds to the ultimate borrowers. When individual savers allocate some of their saving to a business by purchasing a corporate bond, they effectively make a direct loan to the business. That is, they assist in the direct finance of the capital investment that the business desires to undertake. But the process of financing such endeavours is not always so direct. Consider, for instance, what may happen if the server also purchases a long-term time deposit issue by a banking firm. The bank, turn, may use these funds, together with those of other deposit holders to buy corporate bonds issued by the same business. In this instance, the saver has indirectly financed business capital investment. The bank, in turn, has intermediated the financing of the investment. There are two types of finance Direct finance Indirect finance In the case of direct finance, a financial intermediary such as a bank plays no role. A saver lends directly to parties who undertake investment. Under indirect finance, however, some other institution channels the funds of savers to those who wish to make capital investments. This latter process of indirect finance, which is the most common way in which funds are channelled from saving to investment, is financial intermediation. There are two groups, which comprise market: 1) Involved: These are the people who are the market participants of economic theory. They have all the knowledge regarding financial assets portfolio. 2) Uninvolved: these are the people with limited knowledge. The usually don't have information about the nature of financial claims and fair market value. The financial intermediaries help these people by providing services in shape of information. By investing on their behalf. This reduced the perceived cost of transaction due to the lack of information. Most of the household consumers partly participate in the market. (Allen & Santomero, 1998). Benefits of