Israel Has Many Coastal Plains, Several Mountains, And Hills. The Coas

Israel has many coastal plains, several mountains, and hills. The Coastal plains run parallel to the Mediterranean Sea and is made up of beaches, bordered by fertile land. In the north, there are sandy beaches and sandstone cliffs that drop to the sea. The coastal plain is home to over half of Israel's population. The coastal plains also house most of Israel's industry. Several mountain ranges run through Israel. In the northeast, are the Golan Heights, which were formed by volcanic eruptions. The hills of Galilee, made of limestone, reach to heights ranging from 1,600 to 4,000 feet above sea level. Small streams and little rainfall keep the area fertile. People, who live in Galilee and the Golan, work in agriculture, tourism-related jobs, and industry. The rolling hills of Samaria and Judea present rocky hilltops and fertile valleys dotted with age-old olive groves. The hillsides, first developed by farmers in ancient times, blend into the natural landscape. The population is mainly found in small urban areas and large villages. Continuing south, the region becomes an area of bare peaks, craters and plateaus, where the climate is drier and the mountains are higher. The northern areas of Israel are extremely fertile, while the southern part is semi-arid. Agriculture, fishing, light industry and tourism make up the area's main sources of income. The Jordan River, flows north to south with a 186 mile route. It then empties into the Dead Sea. The river is usually narrow and shallow. The Arava, Israel's savannah region, begins south of the Dead Sea and extends to the Gulf of Eilat, Israel's outlet to the Red Sea. The average annual rainfall is less than one inch and summer temperatures soar to 104 F. The Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth at about 1,300 feet below sea level, lies at the southern end of the Jordan Valley. Its waters have the highest level of salinity in the world. The Dead Sea is rich in potasium, magnesium and bromine, as well as table salts.

Valley of the Kings essays

Valley of the Kings essays For the Ancient Egyptians the west was the way to the kingdom where the death could enter. This place was for them the Valley of the Kings. It was the place where the royal people wanted to be. The Valley of the Kings is a wonderful world to be discovered. The Valley of the Kings was a burial place. It was used by Egyptian rulers of the New Kingdom period. It was where the kings were buried. The Egyptians buried the kings along with their most important things. The objects were jewelry, pots and lots of more The Valley of the Kings is located on the West bank of the Nile opposite to the northern town of Luxor. Although only a few kms. West of the River bank. High cliffs and a long narrow entrance hide the Valley of the Kings. It is south of Thebas. It now has ways of communication which it didnt have before. The mountain of Thebas, at the far end of the Valley forms a natural pyramid both in shape and in use. It contains sixty or more tombs. Many tombs had to be changed of place several times because they used to be robbed. Egyptians would change their places The Valley of the Kings also recieved in ancient times the name of the Place of the Truth and the Valley of the Kings Biban el-Muluk.The first tomb discovered was the one of Seti the 1st. The Italian discoverer G. B. Belzoni found it in 1817. It has a very complicated construction. It has a lot of stairs and galleries as well as pillars. In one there was a sarcophagus of the pharaos without the mummy. The last tomb discovered in 1922 was the one of Tutankhamon. Howard Carter found it on Nov. 4, 1922. Great amounts of treasures were found. There were so well hidden that thieves couldn't find them. It's not a luxory tomb. The sarcophagus is one of the prettiest. ...

Corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Corporate governance - Essay Example Moreover, evidence of working together as a team and the essence of synergy would always ensure sustainable competitive market. This is what is targeted as one of the most principle aspects by investors and its slightest brink make an organization susceptible to tragic downfall incase of scam or misappropriation (Geel 2011). Hawkama, an institute of corporate, being put in place by independent international institutions that teamed up together, was meant to reform good governance by helping the countries that participated in the treaty to have good financial and economic integration amongst them and other countries across the globe. The main mission of the Hawkama treaty was to help the countries involved develop good strategies necessary to improve universally, well integrated corporate governance. Besides, it was meant to enhance efficiency in relation to coordination, designing, planning and actual rolling of proficient corporate governance reforms. Moreover, the institution is eq uipped with the right assessment tools to help in determining the outcome of corporate governance policies at all private sectors. Hawkama article, however, recommended the following as the right governance steps (Bornstein 2005). Demonstrating commitment to good corporate governance For an organization to reap the benefits of good corporate governance, it must demonstrate its willingness of putting the practice to the later. All the stakeholders, which are considered as part and parcel to an organization must show commitment and join hands in working together towards building a single business case of corporate governance. For this to be effectively enacted, managers of the organizations and other leaders should be encouraged to attend talks about institutional good governance. Hypothetically, the article has given an illustration on how the commitment of leaders in an organization can actually motivate the members to produce substantially operational and markets and the higher pro fit results and this would attract more investors into such organizations (International Finance Corporation, Hawkamah 2008). Planning and setting priorities Organizations that expect to bear advantage of good governance, must seek to avail adequate measures that would ensure more attention is given to the important and urgent duties. This success is profusely possible only when an organization is able to make comparative difference between its performance and its competitor as a way of identifying the relevant governing principles. In this case, their right choice of practices is to avert any slightest action considered vise to the relationship of the organization either internally or externally with other stakeholders (International Finance Corporation, Hawkamah 2008). Implementing good board practices Board is considered as the key aspect where issues relating to corporate governance are strategized. In this case, the board plays the role of strategic guidance and oversight manag ement during implementation of corporate governance. Besides, it carries out a mandate of a trustee to the shareholders. Most basically, how the board would fulfill its responsibilities is used as a determinant by investors to assess the potentiality of an organization. If the board is given an authority to run as an independent, professional and most predominantly a vigilant body, then it would ultimately succeed to the achievements of

Policy issues that should be addressed over the coming years by the Essay

Policy issues that should be addressed over the coming years by the Department of Finance Canada - Essay Example Welfare is not traditionally something that is in the purview of the Canadian Department of Finance. Other social issues, however, such as strengthening and continuing investments in health care, post-secondary education and financial assistance, are a core part of its functions, so undertaking an attempt to aid low-income families is not something that is wildly outside of its mandate. Furthermore, a properly run welfare system can have great economic advantage for the country, increasing productivity, employees skill sets and so on, along with improving social conditions. In order to attempt to reform aid to low-income people and families without overstepping its bounds, the Canadian Department of Finance would have to channel its reform or assistance through one of its existing areas of expertise. A prime area for this change would be a somewhat radical overhaul to the tax system by introducing reverse taxes for incredibly low-income people and families to help them get out of pov erty. A reverse tax would operate something like a guaranteed minimum income – if someone’s taxable income is below a certain threshold (the particular number would have to be negotiated) the reverse tax would kick in, giving money to those people to help compensate for their low income. One of the biggest problems with existing tax structures is the fact that many social help programs, from business expenses to college tuition, are only available in the form of tax deductions. For people who need this help the most, those with incredibly low incomes, these programs are completely inaccessible to people who do not make enough to have a high enough tax bracket to access those deductions. Existing welfare systems come with so many strings attached that they keep people in welfare, unable to take risks to get a better chance in life, so a reverse tax could also help people get out of welfare, as test programs for guaranteed minimum income programs have demonstrated feasib le (). This proposal would have a variety of economic consequences. The first is obvious: higher taxes. In order to fund giving more money back to people who need it, taxes would have to be higher. Higher taxes have the possibility of limiting economic growth, so the best way to fund this program might be from sin taxes, and or from eliminating existing tax deductions to people who reach a certain income threshold, compensated hopefully by the economic gains of having a reverse tax (which will be discussed below). The bottom line is that systems of wealth exchange always have a degree of inefficiency to them, which means that a reverse tax will remove money, at least from the short term, from the economy. There are economic upsides to this scheme as well, however. One of the major ones is that if executed correctly, a reverse tax has the possibility of replacing much of the current welfare system, which is incredibly wasteful and has demonstrated little ability to get people off of welfare due to punishing rather than rewarding employment and having too much

The Effects of Prison Economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Effects of Prison Economy - Research Paper Example Siegel (2009) has clearly and simply proffered the basic mechanics of the existence of a courtroom workgroup by averring that the prosecution and defense unite to work out a criminal case in a collaborative and cooperative juncture to arrive at an agreement amenable to both parties (20). The benefits that the courtroom workgroup would generate on all parties involved are deemed to outweigh the costs of going through the entire judicial proceedings of a trial. If people are to be made more aware of the essential ingredients, approach and pronounced benefits of courtroom workgroup, sentencing decisions and agreed settlement of criminal cases would be facilitated at the most appropriate time frame. The effect of courtroom workgroup on the outcome of criminal cases would be evaluated and assessed in terms of factors that influence the decision. In this regard, the current research aims to proffer issues relative of courtroom workgroups by expounding and exploring its definition, the basi c components of the workgroup, the essential ingredients to make it work. One would delve into the roles and functions of the components of the workgroup to determine the impact on sentencing decisions. Finally, the impact of courtroom workgroup would be closely analyzed from different perspectives as seen in diverse points of views. Do criminal justice outcomes arrived at by courtroom workgroups serve the best interests of all parties involved? Definition and Goals Courtroom Workgroups To clearly provide a greater understanding of courtroom workgroups, the exact definition of the terms would be presented. The research conducted by Haynes, Ruback and Cusick (2008) cited the studies made by Eisenstein and his colleagues (Eisenstein et al., 1988; Eisenstein & Jacob, 1977; Nardulli, Eisenstein, & Flemming, 1988), who averred that â€Å"courtroom workgroups consist of individuals who share a common workplace, who interact in the performance of their jobs, and whose collective purpose i s to dispose of case† (Haynes, et.al, 2008, 5). Vuolo (2007) expounded on the composition of the courtroom workgroup as â€Å" prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and occasionally police (who) work together with the mutual interest of getting the job done as efficiently as possible† (10). The author, likewise, emphasized that although there is a degree of cooperation, some level of restraint and control in the level of behavior of the participants. As Siegel (2009) indicated, the people who comprise the courtroom work group have established a degree of familiarity despite assumption of disparate roles and considered to have acquired competencies and expertise in their respective functions that their objective is to streamline the system to eliminate unnecessary delays and to circumvent costs related to trials. The study of Eisenstein and his colleagues, cited by Haynes, et.al (2008) have prompted the focus on the perception of courtroom workgroups, in terms of offen ders and cases, as significantly affecting the outcome of sentencing. Therefore, to answer the research question as the goal of the current study, a closer examination of the composition, function, and factors that influence courtroom work groups’ decision would provide the key to the response. The factors that need to be considered in courtroom work groups are the degree and extent of familiarity among the members, as well as â€Å"the context in which the court is located, and the county legal culture (i.e.,

Study on the Variability in Foreign Exchange Rate

Study on the Variability in Foreign Exchange Rate 1.0. Introduction Variability in foreign exchange (FX) rate has been one of the major economic and financial factors affecting cash flows and common stocks value. After the collapse of post-war Bretton Woods fixed exchange rates in the 1970s, the relative prices of currencies began to fluctuate. The rapid expansion in international trade and adoption of floating exchange rate regimes by many countries led to increase exchange rate volatility. As economic integration and globalization have been increasing year by year, exchange rate movements have become very important source of risk for financial firms as well as non-financial firms. In this context, it is very important to mention that virtually all existing empirical studies estimate currency exchange rate exposures on the basis of share prices. However, the assessment of cash flow and stock price exposures which will be studied in this research will represent a rational alternative to the analysis of stock price exposures. In fact, it is the impact of exchange rate risk on corporate cash flows rather than equity prices per se, that is emphasized in the theoretical literature on corporate risk management, either for tax reasons, managerial performance, bankruptcy, investment decisions or compensation purposes. Jacque (1996) points out that change in a companys earnings due to unexpected foreign currency exchange rate changes relatively to their domestic currency is considered as foreign exchange rate risks. Changes in exchange rates may affect firms profitability and value. Exchange rate changes can also impact on the level of competitiveness of the firms which are exposed to exchange rate risk, or affect the value of their net assets denominated in foreign currencies. Adler and Dumas (1984) show that even firms whose entire operations are domestic may have affects of exchange rates of foreign currencies, if their output and input prices are influenced by currency movements. Moreover, Eiteman et al. (2006) says that in general, firms are exposed to three types of foreign exchange risk: translation exposure, transaction exposure and economic exposure. Translation and transaction exposures are accounting based and defined in terms of the book values of assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currency. In practice, economic exposure is computed as the net sensitivity of some aggregate measure of firm value to currency fluctuations. Economic exposure contains of the direct and indirect effects of currency fluctuations by focusing on the net sensitivity. At the corporate level, changes in exchange rates affect the firm value, because future cash flows of the firm will change with exchange rate fluctuations. In other words, exchange rate changes have important implications for financial decision-making and for firm profitability. It is widely believed that changing exchange rates affect the competitiveness of firms engaged in international competition. According to Luehrman (1991), a falling home currency promotes the competitiveness of firms in home country by allowing them to undercut prices charged for goods manufactured abroad. Many simple partial equilibrium models (e.g. Shapiro) predict an increase in the value of the home country firm in response to a real drop in the value of the home currency. Economic theory suggests that under a floating exchange rate regime, exchange rate appreciation reduces the competitiveness of export markets; it has a negative effect on the domestic stock market. Conversely, if the country is import denominated, exchange rate appreciation may have positive affect on the stock market by lowering input costs. Problem statement As economic integration and globalization have been increasing year by year, exchange rate movements have become very important source of risk for financial firms as well as non-financial firms. Also, the internationalization of capital markets has resulted in inflow of vast sums of funds between countries and in the cross listing of equities. This has therefore made investors and firms more interested in the volatility of exchange rate and its effect on stock price and stock market volatility. According to Yucel and Kurt (2003), floating exchange rate appreciation reduces the competitiveness of export markets; and has a negative effect on share prices as well as the domestic stock market. On the other hand, for import dominated country, it may have positive effect on the stock market by lowering input costs. Malaysia presents an example of an open economy which engages in international trade with several countries and hence susceptible to foreign exchange rate volatility. Malaysian exchange and trade system have been liberalized for many years. Malaysia now follows a floating exchange rate policy. Malaysian economy has been suffered from Asian financial crisis 1997 and World financial crisis 2008. As a result volatility in foreign exchange rate and deviation from purchasing power parity might become persistent in the economy. Most of the firms operating in Malaysia are affected in many ways from these economic conditions. The firms have faced higher business risk and foreign exchange risk. However, empirical evidence on the influence of foreign exchange market volatility on stock market is largely inconsistent. These have been in the contest of developed economies. Mishra (2004) found no theoretical consensus on the interaction between stock prices and exchange rate. However, Solnik (2000) argues that there is a negative correlation between stock market and local currency. The openness of a countrys economy is recognized as a cause of volatility of its market. Malaysia presents a classic example of an open economy which engages in international trade transaction. Moreover, with advert of globalization, developing economies are becoming more integrated into developed economies as the results of increasing flow of imports and exports. Malaysia is not an exception. A cursory examination of foreign exchange rate history in Malaysia shows some considerable level of volatility. Therefore, it would be interesting to explore the effect of its foreign exchange volatility on cash flows as well as stock prices of its non-financial companies. Again, much work on the effect of the exchange rate volatility in the developing country like Malaysia has not been done. Thus, for that reason the study intended look at the effect of foreign exchange exposure on companies cash flows and stock prices in Malaysia. Research objectives Objective of the current research is to determine whether cash flows and stock prices of companies are affected by exchange rate exposure. This research project attempts to assess the economic exposures of the firms chosen from the Bursa Malaysia Main market. The issues are important for investors as well as corporate risk management. To examine the relationship between cash flows of the companies and exchange rates; To examine the relationship between stock prices of the companies and exchange rates; To determine which currencies have major influence on the companies cash flows? To determine which currencies have major influence on the companies stock prices? Research questions The research aims to find answers to the following questions: Whether cash flows of the companies exposed to exchange rate risk? Whether stock prices of the companies exposed to exchange rate risk? Which currencies have major influence on the companies cash flows? Which currencies have major influence on the companies stock prices? Significance of the study The estimation of exchange rate exposure is a relatively new area in international finance. After 1973, managers and economists become more concerned about the exchange rate fluctuations on firms. Also, for the past decade, researchers have been empirically investigating the exchange rate exposure of the firms. Following Adler Dumas (1984) most of the research measures the exposure as the elasticity between change in firm value and exchange rate. Empirically, this exposure elasticity is obtained from a regression of stock returns on an exchange rate change (Bodnar Wong, 2000). In practice, there is little general agreement on the use of appropriate choice of ‘‘aggregate measure. In this research project it is focused on the impact of economic exposure of Malaysian firms values. Corporate managers will also be interested in the exposures of corporate cash flow measures such as sales, operating cash flow and earnings for reasons of corporate planning and risk management. Scope of the study The current study one of the new studies in international finance and risk management. In general, the research will assess the economic exposures for the companies listed in Bursa Malaysia Main Market from the years 2000 to 2008. For the research, first, all sample companies stock returns will be regressed on exchange rate change and market return. In the second step, companies will be examined according to one specific character, which is export volume. LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction It is also noticeable whether the firms cash flows are sensitive to exchange rate movements. Perhaps we should also point out the fact that Grambovas and McLeay (2006) are convinced that empirical analysis confirm that currency fluctuations may affect firm values, especially with consideration to the influence of foreign exchange rate movements on the firms cash flows and their accounting earnings, and on their stock prices. Previous literature Miller Reuer (1998) conducted a study on the implications of differences in strategy and industry structure for firms economic exposures to foreign exchange rate movements. According to their results, 13-17 % of US manufacturing firms exposed for foreign exchange rate movements. Also they indicated that foreign direct investment reduces economic exposure to foreign exhange rate movements. Martin and Mauer suggest that economic exposure, which typically has a longer-term time dimension, encompasses the competitive and indirect effects of exchange rate risk. Many academics such as Hodder (1982), Marston (2001) Pringle (1995), Shapiro (1975) and von Ungern-Sternberg von Weizsacker (1990) argue that unlike transaction exposure, economic exposure can affect even domestic firms. Economic exposure arises from changes in the sales prices and volumes, and the cost of inputs of the firm and its competitors as a result of exchange rate changes. Miller Reuer (1998) and Sundaram Black (1992) argued that geographically positioning production, sales, sourcing, and financing operations is effective for reducing economic exposure. Glaum, Brunner and Himmet (2000) examined the economic exposure of German corporations to change in DM/US dollar exchange rate. They found that German firms are significantly exposed to changes in DM/US dollar rate. Several studies focused on the some companies and they demonstrated that exporter firms stock values are more sensitive to change in foreign exchange rates (Mao and Kao, 1990; Bortov and Bodnar, 1992). The study by SÃ ¶hnke M. Bartram (2007) found significant exposure of several firms to at least one of the foreign exchange rates, and significant exposures found by them were more frequent at long-term horizons. They also argue that the impact of exchange rate risk on share prices and cash flows is similar and determined by a correlated set of economic factors. Moreover, Dominguez and Tesar (2006) found that exchange rate movements do matter for a significant fraction of firms, though which firms are affected and the direction of exposure depends on the specific exchange rate and varies over time, suggesting that firms dynamically adjust their behavior in response to exchange rate risk. Exposure is correlated with firm size, multinational status, foreign sales, international assets, and competitiveness and trade at the industry level. Martin and Mauer (2003) pointed out that cash flow effects are greater for long-term lags than for short-term lags in exchange rate movements. This result may occur because transaction exposure is easier to assess and hedge, whereas economic exposure is more difficult to recognize and hedge. While Bartram (2007) suggests significant exposure of several firms to at least one of the foreign exchange rates such as CAD, JPY and EUR, and significant exposures determined by Bartram (2007) were more frequent at long-term horizons. The percentage of firms observed for which stock price and earnings exposures were considerably different was relatively low, though it increased with time horizon. Finally, he was convinced that the impact of exchange rate risk on stock prices and cash flows is similar and determined by a related set of economic factors. Batram and Karolyi (2006) took a new look at the exposure puzzle by studying the potential impact of the introduction of the Euro on stock returns of 3,220 non-financial firms from 20 countries. Their findings suggest that the introduction of the Euro decreased foreign exchange rate exposure, but these changes are statistically and economically small. According to Tesar and Dominguez (2006), factors such as firm size, multinational status, foreign sales, international assets, and competitiveness and trade at the industry level may influence economic exposure of the companies. These factors may either increase the companies economic exposure or decrease. These factors influence on the companies economic exposure will depend on how significantly these factors are correlated with the companies cash flows and operations, and if there are significant correlation between them, we should also point out whether these significant correlations are positive or negative. Empirical analysis by Grambovas and McLeay (2006) confirmed that exchange rate fluctuations will affect firm values, especially with regard to the influence of exchange rate movements on the cash flows and accounting earnings of companies with international exposure, and on their stock prices. Recent studies by Priestley and Odegaard (2007) studied the exchange rate exposures by orthogonalizing the market returns with respect to changes in exchange rates and a set of macroeconomic factors. Their findings suggest that the extent of exposures is only fully exposed when it is subdivided the sample period into regimes and at the same time used an orthogonalized market portfolio in the regression. Batram and Karolyi (2006) studied the exposure puzzle by looking at the potential impact of the introduction of the Euro on stock returns of 3,220 non-financial firms from different 20 countries. It was found that the introduction of the Euro had decreased foreign exchange rate exposure, but the changes were statistically and economically very small. However, Bae, Kwon, and Li (2008) having studied the exchange rate exposure and risk premium by using data on American depositary receipts (ADR) of Australia, France, Japan and the U.K., found that changes in the exchange rates were negat ively correlated with the underlying shares of ADRs, but they were positively correlated to ADR returns observed in the U.S. markets. Moreover, they discovered that U.S. and local investors require different risk premiums for exchange rate risks presented in ADR investments. Griffin and Stulz (2001) found weak evidence of statistically significant exchange rate exposures, and the economic significance of the estimated exposures was low. A first main study of the foreign exchange exposure fact done by Jorion (1990) found a significant impact of foreign exchange rate risk on share prices for 5.2 percent of the analyzed 287 U.S. MNCs at the 5 percent level. Choi and Prasad 1995 developed a model and examined the exchange rate sensitivity of 409 US multinational firms. Their findings indicated that change in exchange rate affected firm value. They found that 60 percent of firms had significant exchange rate exposure. In their study, Choi and Prasad (1995) found that 14.9 percent of the individual firms in the U.S. and 10 percent of the industry portfolios showed a significant exchange rate exposure at the 10 percent level, corroborating earlier findings. Domely and Sheehy (1996) found contemporaneous relation between the foreign exchange rate and the market value of large exporters in their study. Comparable results were found outside the United States by He and Ng (1998). For instance only some multinational companies in Japan (26.3% and 53.8% for different time periods) showed a significant exchange rate exposure with regard to a multilateral exchange rate index. Some studies look into the exposure of industry portfolios in several countries, there were found percentage yields of companies with significant exposure of 15% (United States), 4% (Japan) and 6% (United Kingdom) by Prasad and Rajan (1995), or 23% (United States), 21% (Canada) and 25% (Japan) by Bodnar and Gentry (1993) at the 5% level. Study by Bartram and Karolyi (2006) suggests that the FX rate exposure of non-financial firms is systematically linked to firm characteristics such as sales, the percentage of foreign sales in general and in Europe in particular, regional factors like geography, strength of currency and industry characteristics like competition, traded goods. Study examined by Allayannis and Ihrig ( 2001) speak about stock price exposure to international trade activities of U.S. industries, and Bodnar et al. (2002) mention the significance of pass-through for exposure. Moreover, Starks and Wei (2004) found that the scale of exchange rate exposure is linked to proxies for probabilities of financial distress, product uniqueness and growth opportunities. However, the evidence of corporate foreign exchange rate exposures on a cash flow basis is very thin and inadequate to individual case studies. Garner and Shapiro (1984) investigated the foreign exchange rate exposure of Vulcan Materials Company by regressing changes of its quarterly operating cash flows on changes in the exchange rate of USD against GBP, and showed only small and statistically irrelevant foreign exchange rate exposures. Moreover, Oxelheim and Wihlborg (1995) use quarterly changes of total cash flow, commercial cash flow and sales revenue as dependent variables in the exposure analysis of Volvo Cars. Results by Oxelheim and Wihlborg (1995) indicate that the financial situation of the company reduces exposures with regard to changes in the DEM/SEK exchange rate only to a modest degree. One more study by Bartram (2005) investigated the exposure of a large nonfinancial company based on proprietary internal as well as external capital markets data. Analysis by Bartram (2 005) illustrated that the irrelevance of foreign exchange rate exposures of wide-ranging performance measures such as total cash flow and/or share price can be explained by hedging at the company level. Several studies focused on the some companies and they demonstrated that exporter firms stock values are more sensitive to change in foreign exchange rates (Mao and Kao, 1990; Bortov and Bodnar, 1992). In the most of the studies foreign exchange exposure was measured by regression analysis by using stock returns. Adler and Simon (1986) measured economic exposure as the slope of stock return on exchange rate change. Jorions (1990) model was established by adding the return of the market to control for market movements. As Jorion, Booth and Rotenberg (1990) and Bodnar and Gentry (1993) examined economic exposure with market return, Miller and Reuner (2000) estimated economic exposure by multivariate modelling approach. They applied three-currency model, also add some specified macroeconomic variables such overall stock market return and interest rates. Flanney and James (1984) and Sweeney and Warga (1986) also used interest rates in their models. Doneely and Sheehy (1996) formed a porfolio with 39 companies, and examined the relationship between abnormal return on exporting firms portfolio and return on sterling. Khoo (1994) estimated mining companies economic exposure by using excha nge rates, interest rates and price of oil. METHODOLOGY 3.0. Economic Exposure Measurement In order to measure Malaysian companies economic exposure I decided to follow Adler Simon (1986) model. I will measure economic exposure as the slope coefficient from a regression of stock returns on exchange rates. R it = ÃŽ ±i + ÃŽ ²i et + eit (1) ÃŽ ±i = constant term R it = Stock return for company i. et = Percentage change in exchange rate The coefficient ÃŽ ²i represents the sensitivity of a company is stock returns to exchange rate movements. In the model exchange rate quotation is direct quotation for Malaysia. In other words it is shown as MYR per one unit of the foreign currency. Positive value of ÃŽ ²i means that a depreciation of MYR corresponds to an increase in the value of company i. In the study, I will apply another model as Jorion approach. Jorian introduced another macroeconomic variable market return to control for market movements. To control for the ‘common macroeconomic influences on total exposure elasticities; most emprical studies include the return to a market portfolio with the exchange rate variable in their emprical models (Bodnar Wong, 2000). R it = ÃŽ ±i + ÃŽ ²1i et + ÃŽ ²2i Rmt + eit (2) ÃŽ ±i = constant term R it = Stock return for company i. et = Percentage change in exchange rate Rmt = Market return Ordinary least squares regression was used to estimate models. Exchange rate movements can be measured in nominal or real terms. Real movements are defined as nominal movements adjusted for price level changes across countries. In some studies (Khoo, 1994; Bodnar and Wong, 2000), since real and nominal exchange rates are highly correlated both or one of them are used. Also in some studies trade weighed foreign exchange rate used. The exchange rate used in the study is real effective exchange rate, which is calculated by the Bank Negara (Malaysian Central Bank). The market index I employ will be FTSE Bursa Malaysia Mid 70 Index. In both model, it will be focused on individual firm value. Choi and Prasad (1995) state that examining exchange rate risk on aggregate level, on portfolio or market index, may not reveal the true exchange risk sensitivity of firm value. They claim that a firm level study is necessary to understand whether and why individual firms display varying sensitivity to exchange risk. I follow their approach in my analysis. 3.1. Data In order to examine Malaysian companies economic exposure, I constructed a sample. Sample companies stocks are publicly traded in FTSE Bursa Malaysia market. Only medium and big sized companies will be included. It will be used monthly data to estimate exchange rate sensitivity of the equity for the period from January 2000 to December 2008. Sample companies economic exposure will be examined in two steps. First, all sample companies stock returns will be regressed on exchange rate change and market return. In the second step, companies will be examined according to one specific character, which is export volume. The companies will be divided into two: exporter and non-exporter firms. It will be identified companies as an exporter company, if their foreign sales level is at least 20% of total sales in 2000. Individual stock returns for companies and FTSE Bursa Malaysia market return data will be collected from Bursa Malaysia sources and DataStream in UUM Library.

The Immigrants of America Essay -- Immigration

The culture of every ethnic group is beautiful in its own way and worth cherishing. Today, America is known as the great melting pot not for the number of immigrants it has but rather because of the wonderful cultures and traditions the immigrants brought with them. Immigrants do not need to forgo their mother tongue, significant celebrations or customs to become American. However to be socially accepted, they will need to learn English, take part in celebrating national holidays and fulfill their patriotic duties Americans like every other U.S citizens. It is important for immigrants to learn to speak and write in English while keeping their native tongue. Without knowing how to speak the common language here, it is impossible to blend in. I have seen Vietnamese people who migrated to the United States more than ten years ago but still speak little to no English. Most of them live in their little Vietnamese communities, subsisting off either minimal pay-checks from manual labor, such as giving manicures, or their relatives’ paychecks. They are like parasites that could literally die without their host. Foremost, they will put themselves in danger because they cannot read warning signs and prohibitions. If emergencies arise, these non-English speakers would not be able to explain the situation to a police officer. In the worse case, they will endanger others’ lives as well. These probably have their own reasons for not learning English but denial to learn when they have the potential is simply illogical when this would open so many doors, opportunities and win them the acceptance of the general population. Even Japanese people learn to speak English once they migrate to America although it is the taboo language in Japan. Immigra... ...nd Videos - For Dummies. Web. 07 Dec. 2010. . Yamaguchi, Kristi. "Faces of America - Kristi Yamaguchi." Interview by Henry L. Gates, Jr. PBS. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. . Parrillo, Vincent. â€Å"Causes of Prejudice†. Re-reading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen and Bonnie Lisle. 8th Ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2010. 384-398 Rumbaut, Ruben G., Douglas S. Massey, and Frank D. Bean. Linguistic Life Expectancies: Immigrant Language Retention in Southern California. Tech. Population Council. Web. 17 Dec. 2010. .

Theory of Gravity Essay

Of all the current nuclear fusion reactor experiments JET and ITER are the largest. JET, Joint European Torus, based in Culham Science Centre in the UK, is the centre of Europe’s fusion research. JET is currently the world’s largest tokomak capable of delivering up to 30 MW of power, it is used by more than 20 European Countries and also used by international scientists. It is used to test the conditions that will be in use by commercial fusion power plants. JET began in 1978, in operation since 1983 and in November of 1991 became the first experiment to produce controlled nuclear fusion power. It has been a stepping stone for ITER, producing parameters that have been vital in its production. In 1997 a record of 16 MW of energy were produced by JET using the mixed deuterium-tritium fuel with an input of 24 MW; a 65% ratio. ITER, originally standing for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor but dropped due to negative connotations of thermonuclear especially combined with the word experimental. ITER began in 1985, but it was only until 2005 that the south of France was decided on as a location for the reactor. ITER is supported by many countries worldwide including the USA, the EU, the Russian Federation, India, China, Korea and Japan. In November 2006, and agreement was signed which formed the international ITER organisation who owns the device and all aspects of the project. ITER was formulated because it was agreed that a larger and more powerful reactor was needed to emulate conditions in a commercial reactor and demonstrate its feasibility. ITER is built from the collective research made by all the many fusion experiments worldwide; a collaborative effort to provide cheap, clean fuel for many future generations. The first plasma is predicted to be produced by 2016. Nuclear Fusion is entirely feasible as a future energy source though it will be a long time before they will overtake traditional natural resources in terms of percentage of the Earth’s energy provided. Estimated put it around 2050 until fusion power plants are in full commercial use. It is proven that fusion is the most efficient energy source we have to date; 4 times more than that of nuclear fission. It is inherently safe, and there is no hazardous waste except some radioactive materials from free neutrons, though in future designs this could be eradicated. Research is currently going well; all that remains is for bigger more powerful models and with ITER on the horizon it will not be long before a self sustaining fusion reaction with a positive output is achieved. This means well into the future 100% waste free fusion plants could provide nearly all of the world’s electricity, resulting in a clean safe environment with a massively reduced threat of global warming. Bibliography C. R. Nave, 2006, HyperPhysics, viewed 13 September 2008 David Sang, 1995, Nuclear and Particle Physic, 2nd Ed. Thomas Nelson and Sons ltd.  https://www.euro-fusion.org/

A Good Man is Hard to Find

A Good Man is Hard to Find Free Online Research Papers The readings â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† and â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† could be easily said not to share any similarities. Both stories take place in different times, different society backgrounds and beliefs. Even though such is true, after reading these short stories a couple of times, I noticed that there are in facts some similarities between the themes of both stories. As we read through the climax of both, we can instantly notice the frequent use of religion by the characters of both stories. The factors that lead to the use of religion differ from one story to the other, yet in both cases religion tries to explain an unusual situation. In â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† we can see how the grandmother becomes extremely religious when her life is at stake. From â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† we can see that Pelayo and Elisenda as well as everyone in town all try to find an explanation through religion. I will be show ing in this paper how these two readings both portray man’s behavior when faced with the unexpected. A similar situation can be seen in the story, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, when the family is thrown into desperation right after the car crash in page, 147. The story â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† is a story taking place sometime in the 18th or 19th century. This statement could be checked at the bottom of page 338, â€Å"they had to call in troops with fixed bayonets.† It is well known that during those times religion was a big part of society. The church ruled the state not the government, and because upcoming discoveries in science defiled religious doctrines. Any scientic discovery or explanation was not widely accepted and sometimes even punishable by the law. The common man in this era therefore explained supernatural event through religion. â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† is a fictional piece of writing that uses an extremely unreal setting to portray an unexpected event. Because of the statements above I concluded that the writer must have been trying to portray man’s reaction to the unexpected, man’s reaction to that which has not been previously defined. The story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† takes place during the 20th century, it can be noticed from the text that cars are already a major way of transportation and racial segregation was still at its peak. As we read this story we can arrive to the conclusion that religion was only used as a means to survive and as emotional shelter. Starting from page 192 we can see how the grandmother turns into her religious beliefs to persuade the Misfit not to kill her. As stated by the Misfit on page 195, â€Å"she would have been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.† This statement clearly shows the grandmother’s â€Å"extremely good† nature when faced with death. It can be clearly seen that the grandmother only appeals to religion to try to control and predict this unexpected situation. In the story â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† we can see a pattern of behavior developing, when Father Gonzaga trie s to calm the masses by preaches just in the same way the Grandmother tries to calm the Misfit, when faced in a dire situation. In both stories, the main characters use religion for their own personal advantage. In the story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, the grandmother tries to convince the Misfit that he is a good man, from a family with good blood, to pray with her to Jesus in order to receive forgiveness for the bad things done in the past hoping that he would hear her and let her go alive even though he had already killed all her family. I don’t really think the grandmother would care that much about religion if it weren’t because her life was at stake and it was the only chance to save herself from a sure death. The grandmother was trying to reach deep into the Misfit’s religious side, somehow she was optimistic in the belief that we all have a religious side and we are all fearful of God in one way or another. In the story â€Å"An Old Man with Enormous Wings† something similar can be perceived. Before the old man arrived in the house, the family lived in a precarious situation. The house was in ruins, full of crabs and very stinky. They were also completely out of money and just living on a day to day basis. When the old man arrives, and they are told that he was an angel, they threw him in the chicken coop to live in an even worse situation than they were living in and the only thing they cared about was the money they could make out of him. As this shows, neither story demonstrates a great appreciation towards religion; they bend religion to achieve or accomplish materialistic goals instead of practicing and adoring the greater gifts provided for them. As we can see from the supporting statements above, it seems that religion is man’s weapon against the unknown. If there were something in common between these two stories it would definitely be the image of society they seek to portray. The two stories are taking place at two different times in history, yet we can clearly see the fact that people in both stories use religion as a tool for achieving selfish goals. They only seek religion when they need it, when things go bad and nothing or anyone else is there to answer their needs. Both stories somehow try to answer the question of, â€Å"is man’s true nature good or evil?† In our last group discussion many of my classmates seemed to believe the grandmother was evil, but if we think about this statement carefully, saying she’s evil implies that we’re all evil. Unlike â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings†, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† portrays man’s behavior to the unexpected by narrating a story that could happen to any of us. â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† portrays the same point but with a more fictional atmosphere. At first, the meanings and themes of the stories may seem confusing to the reader, but after a second read it becomes clear that the point is to portray a fact about all of us, a fact of life. I concluded that both short stories reveal man’s true nature when facing the unexpected. 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Free Essays on Importance Of The Scientific Society As A Journal Publisher In The Late 20th Century

Before the advent of the Computer Age and digital technology, most scientists kept abreast of the latest advances in their field by means of journals in libraries, reprint requests or use of Current Contents. Researchers, whereby having private, public or university affiliation, were often involved in one or more scientific societies. These societies, acting as an information-exchange medium, are chiefly responsible for the gathering, dissemination and sharing of current research in their respective content area. Karen Levitan, an information scientist at the MITRE Corporation in Virginia, hypothesized in 1975 that American scientists did not consider the publishing role of these societies to be as important as traditionally assumed. In order to test her hypothesis, Levitan polled 60 random biomedical scientists from the six societies in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)2. To note, her choice for biomedical scientists versus other genres of scientists depended only on the fact that most previous work focused on the communication systems of the physical sciences, chemistry or psychology. Of the 60 polled, 46 scientists responded. It is quite obvious that this sample size is statistically insignificant, a point Levitan concedes, and may be largely biased in the FASEB society. However, there does exist three3 interesting trends supporting Levitan’s hypothesis worth considering in future analyses. First, the majority of scientists did not join the societies primarily to receive publications. Levitan points out that the membership to the societies in the FASEB being considered were â€Å"selective† as opposed to â€Å"open†. She queried the scientists that if publications were to cease by the society and controlled by other groups, what effect would that have on their enrollment. The respondents were evenly divided, with proponents citing the quality of the publication was based more on the a... Free Essays on Importance Of The Scientific Society As A Journal Publisher In The Late 20th Century Free Essays on Importance Of The Scientific Society As A Journal Publisher In The Late 20th Century Before the advent of the Computer Age and digital technology, most scientists kept abreast of the latest advances in their field by means of journals in libraries, reprint requests or use of Current Contents. Researchers, whereby having private, public or university affiliation, were often involved in one or more scientific societies. These societies, acting as an information-exchange medium, are chiefly responsible for the gathering, dissemination and sharing of current research in their respective content area. Karen Levitan, an information scientist at the MITRE Corporation in Virginia, hypothesized in 1975 that American scientists did not consider the publishing role of these societies to be as important as traditionally assumed. In order to test her hypothesis, Levitan polled 60 random biomedical scientists from the six societies in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)2. To note, her choice for biomedical scientists versus other genres of scientists depended only on the fact that most previous work focused on the communication systems of the physical sciences, chemistry or psychology. Of the 60 polled, 46 scientists responded. It is quite obvious that this sample size is statistically insignificant, a point Levitan concedes, and may be largely biased in the FASEB society. However, there does exist three3 interesting trends supporting Levitan’s hypothesis worth considering in future analyses. First, the majority of scientists did not join the societies primarily to receive publications. Levitan points out that the membership to the societies in the FASEB being considered were â€Å"selective† as opposed to â€Å"open†. She queried the scientists that if publications were to cease by the society and controlled by other groups, what effect would that have on their enrollment. The respondents were evenly divided, with proponents citing the quality of the publication was based more on the a...

Use of Social Media in Consumer Events in Kazakhstan Dissertation

Use of Social Media in Consumer Events in Kazakhstan - Dissertation Example The different social platforms present different functions which aid the users in deciding to use the applications. the existing discrepancies commonly result in the users being selective of the social media platforms based on the capability of the user to meet personal requirements (Kwon & Wen 2010). The significance of the information available on a social network remains critical to the capability of individuals deciding to use such form of media over others. The popularity of the social media platforms has continued with the increased availability and capacity to access from different devices. Facebook is estimated to the social media platform with many active users globally, who are estimated at 1.35 billion in 2014. While these are the global statistics, within different regions, the usage of these social media platforms remains different. The levels might be higher or lower based on the applicability of the platform and regulations existing within a region. The application of social media remains governed by different personal and social issues. Despite the popularity of the social media, the reasons behind the utilisation of any given platform remain different among various users. This is mainly because of the objectives people seek to achieve through the social media (Heinonen 2011). The reasons are relatively wide and range from socialisation, business to communication and political and other social reasons. Social media has continuously gained popularity and has surpassed the traditional forms of media.

Learing protfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Learing protfolio - Essay Example We did majority of the work but he was the one on the limelight and this made him take all the success for himself and not acknowledging the team. He tried charming customers with his looks once the team disintegrated but he only received failure reports after that as only looks alone do not work to gain success. Research by (Judge, Hurst & Simon, 2009) indicates that success of leaders is an accumulation of different attributes from the physical appearance to the mental ability as well as their core self-evaluation which basically deal with the confidence level of the leader. What this means is that without all these attributes mentioned above which are integrate with team work, a leader cannot be successful. When a leader is unaware of the factors that make him or her successful, when failure come s along, the leader is unlikely to rise back to the success domain again as he took the success as purely a fundamental attribute. The other thing highlighted by the article by (Gino & Pisano, 2011) that is mentioned in the topic is that overconfidence is one of the main impediments of learning about success and failure as a leader. An overconfident leader tends to be overshadowed by biasness as well as the fundamental attribution error. This therefore leads them to failing to ask for guidance or assistance even when they are on the verge of plunging into failure. What these does is that is leads the organization into eminent failure and underperformance that they cannot recover from to reach their levels of success once again. The topic basically is full of advice on how a leader should behave and what attributes to consider and remember when they are successful so that they can use them in case of any failure. The tips on success depending largely on mental ability, physical attractiveness and self-evaluation will really come in handy in future when I will have a chance to be a leader or even now in case I am chosen as a group