Letter to the Editor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Letter to the Editor - Essay Example I am therefore writing this in the expression of my concern about the increased road accidents due to careless driving in Lawrence area. From the accident mentioned, the Kansas highway patrol reports have indicated that there are several state laws on road safety that are severely violated. In most cases, drivers choose to ignore these rules. It has been proved that that just 70% of drivers on the road belt up as opposed to the required 100%. In case of an accident, it is hazardous, and it has been established that the highest number of deaths occur to those that fail to belt up as opposed to those that belt up. The driving for that matter has been careless. There have been reports of over-speeding in which drivers go beyond the required speed. This has led to many drivers losing control and knocking over pedestrians on the road pavements. Apart from overspending, the other problem as has been established is that the drivers and the passengers hardly belt up. A high number of accidents caused by impact lead to deaths because of the drivers and passengers failed to belt up. Disregarding the traffic rules and road signs is a deliberate act that causes accidents. Consider the March 2nd, 2014 accident in which a driver along Douglas County Road 1061 failed to stop at the US-56 intersection. The vehicle ended up being hit by a GMC Denali XL sports car, and the two ended up landing in a ditch with one vehicle landing on top of the other. Hospital reports have indicated that there are some drivers that drive under the influence of drugs and alcohol in complete contravention of the Kansas traffic l aws. There are several solutions that need to be implemented to curb this reckless loss of lives on the roads. The first solution is that the highway patrol police need to implement laws on driving as well spelt out in Kansas Statutes Chapter 8 Article 10. In this, no driver is supposed to take the

Social Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Social Psychology - Essay Example the study o f how behavior due to one sort of environmental event (larger distant or abstract rewards) may come to dominate behavior due to another sort (smaller immediate or particular rewards)†(Rachlin,2000,p.25).Self discipline is also a concept, which is closely related to self control. It is taming oneself, to live a certain way of life. This concept is mainly incorporated by the person in his life, when he wants to achieve a particular task. Mostly, self control is seen as an individual trait and as a measure of self discipline. If a person lacks self control, it is seen as a failure of his character and personality. Self control is the capability of a person to motivate him to do the right thing. It can also be described as stopping ourselves form doing things that we see as bad for us. Self control constitutes a fundamental aspect of human behavior. Self discipline is another name for self control, without which the life of individuals would lead to chaos. Every habit embedded in the human mind is the result of continuous action .So by controlling a behavior he can form or avoid a habit. It can be very well said that, self control is the strong foundation for the building of character in a person. The degree to which an individual think he has control over the events happening to him, is termed as locus of control. â€Å"Internal versus external control, often referred to as locus of control, refers to the degree to which persons expect that reinforcement or an outcome of the behavior is contingent on their own behavior or personal characteristics versus the degree to which person expect that the reinforcement or outcome is a function of chance, luck or fate, is under the control of powerful other, or is simply unpredictable†(Scrimla,Grimaldi ,2002,p.381).People having high locus of control, have a better control on their behavior and desires. These people direct their life in their own designed path, with their own controlled actions and behavior.

The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets Essay Example for Free

The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets Essay Fooled by Randomness The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets is a kaleidoscopic assessment of the human mind which is observed in the environment of Wall street and other trading markets across the world. What is observed by the reader’s point of view, changes with time, if it is viewed by turning the lens. However, outlook of the reader will also decide a number of issues that are raised in this book. Looking from one direction, the book takes notice of the various unlimited borders that have been created by mass media and its noise. Mr. Nassim Taleb tries to stress upon the fact that the common man lacks sufficient knowledge about the simple issues of probability and statistics. For example, take a steam engine. If one sees a steam engine for the first time, he may not know what is the functioning of the engine, but after a while of careful examination, one can surely get a rough idea of its working and can also predict the behavior pattern. That is one can predict the â€Å"future behavior pattern† after closely analyzing a shorter period of behavior. The example given here is compared to the life in general. There is a lot of un-expectancy in the lives of people and similarly in the stock markets. These trading markets possess a huge factor of randomness that are based upon the complex stochastic issues, and not to forget regular bouncy and spiteful surprises. The behavioral pattern of the stock markets during short time spans is not so significant and is appropriately termed as â€Å"noise† by the author. The method of extrapolating values here in this regard seems to be impossible. Yet people more often do that. They try to sketch patterns where they â€Å"do no â€Å" exist and misinterpret the function of unpredictability, search for rationalization for the occasion of probability and strongly believe that they best know about the future. And this is what is stressed in this book. The author of the book, Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a stock market player and is a expert doubter. He proclaims that mathematics is still adolescent and cannot completely explain the science of probability in the stock market. The author however is clever to understand to give adequate weight-age to the possibility of random occurrences, and their irrelevance at some occasions. He evidently observes that his consideration towards the importance of randomness has more value than the mathematical calculations. Mathematics is principally a tool to meditate, rather than to compute. He has been a witness to countless agents and traders who have been hit hardly, â€Å"blown up† in the charming phenomenon of the trade. Very often he has observed great flourishing careers brought to an end with some unanticipated market crumbling. On such occasions, people say, I had never forecasted that, miserably shaking their heads as they leave the market place. Yes, this is what the author wants to convey with his book these people have been â€Å"fooled by randomness† of the market behavior. There are many ways of getting fooled by the behavior of randomness. The most common and detrimental is to fail to predict the probability of rare occurrences. The author expresses his thought that nothing else is more certain than the occurrence of the unexpected event that is bound to occur sooner or later in future. People often sleep calmly between safe periods, and forget that the unexpected is about to come any time. Another is to see significance in some random pattern. Taleb explains with crystal clarity why the more often you look at some fluctuating quantity (the value of your share portfolio, for example), the less meaning your observations have. Yet he sees traders who watch prices move up and down in real time on screen the changes are so small as to be completely random and think they are learning something. Another issue which is more subtle yet more dangerous, is the survivorship bias: in a haphazard population, some matters will be more observable than others. Suppose for example, a trader who works on strategies that do no better than random behavior of the market, he will face fifty fifty chances of success and failure every year. Of course, it has never come to his mind, that his success is also random, however his innocent mind believes that his success was due to his superior strategies and not market randomness! The author’s view on randomness and his examples are not limited only to trade market. In reality, randomness and behavioral fluctuations occur in every field. The effect of these â€Å"random nesses† can also be overblown by a optimistic response loop, which he calls as bipolarity. For example, a job seeker does accidently well in an interview (although he is not capable, yet it is randomness) and as a result gets better results and more popularity than others who are much more skilled. Actually, human mind is structured to view patterns, to reason the cause of occurrences, and to firmly believe in those reasons and rationales. The main aspect of Talebs book is that the author is very well aware of this behavioral science of the human mind. He knows nothing he says can dismiss the false impression fashioned by unpredictability or randomness and that he is as vulnerable to the unpredictability or randomness as any other common man. Further he stresses that his only benefit is that he is at least conscious of the weak spot, and often tries to play in order to prevent himself from these situations. For example, he very often tries to ignore any form of â€Å"hot news† or any scrap information. The books short but excellent final section deals with this Zen-like problem of trying to break oneself out of a mould of thinking that cannot be broken, even though one recognizes its shortcomings. The main characteristic of the book Fooled by Randomness is that the author is very close observing a true picture of the markets with the eye of a successful trader as well as being a insider guide to non belief. True traders, I believe, dress sloppily, are often ugly and exhibit the intellectual curiosity of someone who would be more interested in the information-revealing contents of the garbage can than the Cezanne painting on the wall. (Taleb). The author does not avoid any situation of the market in his book. His examples are crunchy and repeatedly atrocious. His aggression on an assortment of features of the monetary firmament, are hurtful and luminously argued. Many people who read his book can find him exasperating and annoying. The book is a small review on the how to trade in complex situations and to closely understand the random behavior of trade markets. However, there are instances where the book is leaving some unanswered queries in the mind of the reader. The author demonstrates a contemptuous and scornful disapproval for investment managers who want to make a fortune for themselves by selling their track records. Well, later in the book, Taleb mentions that he also wants to be hedge fund manager! Can he do that without showing off his own track record with the customers? Will he take privilege of the random events that occurred to him and gave him a successful track record? Since Mr. Taleb’s elementary statement on the subject of the character of the Market theory is mistaken on some occasions, his evaluation of the neighboring reflections leads to a wrongful evaluation of human behavior and market features. At times, the reader might feel that the author is oscillating between an illogical estimation of the practical world of money market and his own emotional responses to the every day events of life. At the same time, Taleb also believes his unfinished examination and erroneously pays no attention to the quantifiable collision of various factors within the existing financial economics. This is why by the end of his book Mr. Taleb ends up not just tricked by the phenomenon randomness but to a certain extent maltreated by it. REFERENCE 1. Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Understanding If The Iraq Wars Justified Politics Essay

Understanding If The Iraq Wars Justified Politics Essay The American war campaign against the military troops of Iraq began on 20th March 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by international troops led by United States of America and the United Kingdom. Then, the governments of the United States and United Kingdom and other European countries claimed that the possession of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq posed a threat to the international security. This assertion informed the invasion of Saddam Husseins Iraq by the United States and its allies. This invasion has proven to be an unjustified act after it was confirmed that the regime of Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. In fact it was alleged that Saddam Hussein only bragged of possessing weapons of mass destruction so he could prevent the neighbouring Iran from ever considering invading his country. Why would the United States invade Saddam Husseins Iraq instead of going after the Taliban and the Al Qaeda terrorists groups? After the 2001 September 11 terrorist attacks, the Al Qaeda extremists admitted to being responsible for the bombings and Osama Bin Laden himself admitted to giving the directive for the bombing. It was only logical that the United States of America would pursue the extremists groups directly and swiftly. However, President Bushs advisers were wrong in going after Saddam Hussein instead of Osama Bin Laden. By then, Osama was still at large and offering more threats and so it would have been easier to find him and bring him to book for atrocious mass killing, than going against Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein in fact had no direct ties to the Al Qaeda or Taliban. The war in Iraq was pushed by the general objective of making the world a better place. The objective of the war was to convey a warning to other axis of evil nations to stop their uranium enrichment programs. The United States feared that if the Islamic Republic of Iraq enriched itself with uranium, this would spark a nuclear arms race. President George W Bush coined the term axis of evil, in January 2002 State of the Union Address in an apparent reference to nations that were sympathetic to the Al Qaeda terrorist group and other international terrorist organizations. After that address, the United States embarked on a war campaign that as at 22 August this year has cost the administration 743 billion dollars  [1]  . The cost of the war has been especially difficult to manage given the existent global economic climate. The effect of the Iraq war on the economy needs no advertising. The United States spends at least 200 million dollars on the Iraq war daily. In 2002, when President George W. Bushs economic adviser Larry Lindsey inferred that the war would cost approximately 200 billion dollars in the long run, people thought he had overestimated the costs. It is now clear that his estimation was a gross underestimation. The Iraq war has costs the United States taxpayer a whooping 730 billion dollars as at August 2010. President Bushs economical advisers anticipated a quick and reasonably inexpensive war, but instead the war dragged on and resulted in the deployment of more than 125,000 American soldiers. These American soldiers need food, shelter and at time entertainment and the only place they can derive these human wants is from Iraq. These soldiers have therefore been supplied by products made in Iraq and this has only helped build the Iraq economy while the United States economy continues to la nguish in budget deficits. Sustaining the large troop base in Iraq has meant the United States spent more and thereby accruing more debts. The major casualties of the Iraq war have been the innocent civilians caught in the cross fire between American forces and its allies against the insurgent. Data available indicating the death toll from the invasion is varied, but critically indicting of the war. Different groups have given different information regarding the actual or even projected figure of Iraqi casualties. The Associated Press gave its figure of civilian casualties at approximately 110, 500 deaths as at April of last year. Another organization called the Iraq Body Count, which collects a database of Iraqi civilian casualties, released a report in April this year indicating that around 105, 000 innocent residents lost their lives from the American offensive  [2]  . War, if absolutely necessary, is meant to deliver humans from suffering and not create suffering instead. The staggering number of civilian casualties makes the war in Iraq more harmful than helpful. This war has ravaged family units, displaced per sons from their homes and left millions living in perpetual fear of imminent death. In the aftermath of the war, America attempted to assist Iraq in managing their country and fighting insurgents, but this caused more harm than good to the general stability of the United States. There are growing doubts in the mainstream America about the administrations capability of winning the war. It is clearly known that the United States of America miserably failed in the Vietnam War three decades ago, and that severely affected the confidence the Americans had on their government ability to successfully complete an overseas mission. The Iraq war is having similar effects on the American psyche. Vietnam made Americans to doubt the governments stand on issues of foreign policy. This confidence by the citizens is further is crushed by realization that their government could wage war on a country based on false intelligence reports  [3]  . When the environmental or ecological effects of the war are assessed, more harm can be seen. The weapons used excreted chemical substances that polluted air, soil and water. These substances contained toxic materials such as hydrochloric acid, asbestos, dioxins and other harmful metals. This polluted the soil as the uranium released by combat troops killed some plant species. During the shock and awe, in the initial launch of attacks, there was thermal radiation excreted by heavy artillery. This thermal radiation caused death by ionising the body of Iraq civilians and American soldiers. In the course of the protracted war, many innocent civilians and soldiers suffered mechanical injuries that left them without limbs. A lot of complications arose due to the mechanical and ionising radiation such as infertility, blood disorders like blood cancer, and cataracts formation. It caused adverse effects on body organs and tissues formation i.e. radiation poisoning. It also caused genetic effe cts and birth defects that might subsequently be passed from current Iraq generation to the next generations. Pressure from heavy artillery employed in the war meant Iraqi civilians chances of survival depended on buildings they were staying in as the buildings can survive 0.8 bar of the heavy blasts, while a human can only withstand 2.0 bar of blast. The increased pressure caused by the blast caused burns of different types to the innocent casualties of the war. Examples are thermal burns from infrared radiation, beta burns from beta radiation and gamma burns from gamma radiation. Radiation also caused hair loss, other effects on the skin like ulceration, itching, flaking, inflammation and blistering. The war in Iraq is associated with other grave ills in the society. There has been significant movement of refugee populations from Iraq to its neighbouring countries of Syria and Jordan. The war has intensified terrorism across the borders of Syria-Iraq and Jordan-Iraq instead of curtailing it. The overthrowing of Saddam Hussein from the Iraqi presidency has intensified separatism in the country and propelled sectarian violence pitting the Sunni and Shiite Muslims to another level. Prior to invasion of Iraq, Saddam had managed to keep the two factions in harmonious coexistence. With the withdrawal of the allied forces from Iraq, it will be interesting to see whether the sectarian violence, transnational criminal activities in the Middle East and the cross-border terrorism will subside or intensify. A safe bet would be on deterioration of stability and security standards. The seven year war in Iraq has damaged the overall credibility of the United States as a world leader. Images of roadside civilian bombings, video footages of American soldiers torturing suspected terrorists and shipment of the suspected terrorist to Guantanamo bay has compounded the already bad image of the United States abroad. It can be recalled that the United States made a unilateral Iraqi invasion decision, in total disregard of the United Security Council opposition to the war and this has installed the perception of arrogance from the Americans in dealing with diplomatic issues  [4]  . These and other reasons make the United States Iraq war completely unjustified.

Comparison of how The Flea and To His Coy Mistress Present and Develop

The Flea and To His Coy Mistress are two poems written by poets living during the Renaissance Period. To His Coy Mistress was written by Andrew Marvell and The Flea was written by John Donne. Both of these poets were well-educated 'metaphysical poets', and these poems illustrate metaphysical concerns, highly abstract and theoretical ideas, that the poets would have been interested in. Both poems are based around the same idea of trying to reason with a 'mistress' as to why they should give up their virginity to the poet. There is a similar theme running through both of the poems, in which both mistresses are refusing to partake in sexual intercourse with both of the poets. The way in which both poets present their argument is quite different as Marvell is writing from a perspective from which he is depicting his mistress as being 'coy', and essentially, mean, in refusing him sex, and Donne is comparing the blood lost by a flea bite to the blood that would be united during sex. Marvell immediately makes clear his thoughts in the poem when he says, "Had we but world enough, and time/ This coyness, Lady were no crime", he is conveying the 'carpe diem' idea that there is not enough time for her to be 'coy' and refuse him sexual intercourse and he justifies this thought when he suggests when she is dead, in ?thy marble vault?, and ?worms shall try that long preserved virginity?. He is using the idea of worms crawling all over and in her corpse as a way of saying that the worms are going to take her virgin ity if she waits until death. Donne justifies his bid for her virginity in a much longer and more methodical way, he uses the idea of the flea taking her blood and mixing it with his, ?It suck?d me first, and now sucks thee?, and then... ...n The Flea) were viewed as extremely inventive and clever in the eyes of the people reading them during the Renaissance period. The poets integrated ?metaphysical conceits? as focal parts of these poems. Along with these, they used effective language as a basis for their convincing arguments, they included subjects of periodical importance (e.g. ?courtship? and ?religion?), and use very clever structures that are manipulated in order to make the poem read in the desired way. The very clear indication of the theme in question was strongly aided by the way in which the personas portrayed the emotions they felt and the way they showed their attitudes towards the subject. Considering all these factors, the poets made critical arguments to the mistresses in order to alter their views, thus changing their minds, on denying the poets the sex that they desired so strongly.

The Scarlet Letter: Tales Of Sin And Confession :: essays research papers fc

The Scarlet Letter: Tales of Sin and Confession â€Å"The happiness of the wicked passes away like a torrent!† This quote from Jean Baptiste Racin summarizes The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne in one sentence. The novel’s main focus is on three main characters and how the sins they commit affect their lives in the strict Puritan town of Boston around the year 1642. Hawthorne was very knowledgeable of his Puritan ancestry and shows it by incorporating some important thoughts and traditions into this story about sin and confession. Throughout the novel, the physical, social, mental and emotional changes that result from sin in the lives of the characters are never positive and the outcome of their spiritual battles are not always good; but the author makes it perfectly clear to us that concealing sin is not wise. Hawthorne begins the first chapter of the novel with Hester’s punishment. She had committed adultery, a crime that the Puritans often punished by death. She was sentenced to stand on the scaffold, a symbol of shame, for three hours in front of the whole town and to wear a scarlet letter â€Å"A† (meaning Adultery) for the rest of her life. She stayed loyal to her new partner and refused to expose his identity. Although she is not justified, Hester did not commit the greatest sin in the novel. Hers was a crime of passion and love, not premeditated or intended to hurt others. The sin in her actions was that her desire was of more importance to her than the Puritan moral code. This is proven when Hester says to Dimmesdale, â€Å"What we did had a consecration of its own. We felt it so! We said so to each other!† Hester fully acknowledged her guilt and displayed it with pride to the world. The elaborately decorated scarlet letter and the style in which she clothed he r daughter, Pearl, was proof of this. Hester is, indeed, a sinner and her crime was very serious. The book is named after the punishment she received for committing this crime and it made life incredibly difficult for herself and her partner, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. In overcoming the hardships, she learned many important lessons that could be used to prevent future problems. â€Å"Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers, stern and wilds ones, and they had made her strong†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her comfort to the broken-hearted, charity to the poor, and unquestionable presence in times of hardship were direct results of her quest for repentance.

First Investments, Inc. Essay

Basic Industries is a diversified multinational corporation with major shares in various electric related markets. There is stock that has been held since the early 1980s and we have been asked to analyze and evaluate the past 10 years of data to either sell or continue holding the shares. We have also been asked to closely compare years 1993-1994 and not include the strike years 1989-1990. Through my analysis, I found that Basic Industries should hold on to the stocks. This can be backed up with several ratios and analysis for it, like the following: Equity turnover is the highest during 1994, following the trend in increase. If this continues then the company will keep producing more and more revenue with the investments. Asset turnover is also the highest in 1994, and also if this continues (which according the trend it should) there will be a bigger increase in the  reflection of the total assets being efficiently used to produce revenues. Lastly the equity multiplier is showing its highest value in year 1994. Reflecting the increase in how efficiently shareholders’ equity is being used to make assets. All the ratios above come from the DuPont formula, the formula that is used to find Return on Equity. So in theory ROE should be at its highest during the year of 1994. This is not the case due to the decrease in net income and profit margin. This decrease can be best explained by the increase in the interest expense ratio, causing the yearly interest expense to be higher and higher. From our net income sheet, we can see that when there are more expenses, there is less net income – ultimately leading to a drop in Equity. Return on Equity will take a hit from this higher interest expense each year. If the company wants to increase ROE again with good quality, they must continue to hold the investments to produce more revenue and ultimately assets as well. However, they must decrease the interest expense rate by either paying off debt or refinancing their short-term and long term debt. These two decisions will surely reflect an increase in ROE again, unless there is another strike or major economy crash. INTRODUCTION We have been asked to solve the assignment given to Fred Aldrich, which is analyzing the data of Basic Industries for the past ten years and making investment recommendations. Basic Industries is a global corporation that holds shares in various electrical related markets. The most recent annual report – 1994, shows a decline in the return on owners’ equity. This has some investors worried and they want him to figure out how the return on equity has been achieved in the past ten years. Fred has been suggested to forget the years 1989-1990 since there were strikes and the data wouldn’t be as comparable to other years. He has also been suggested to focus on the analysis for key financial ratios and direct  comparison between years 1993-1994, the most recent years. We have to focus on the quality of the company’s earning since the investors place an emphasis for it. Our end recommendation should be whether or not we hold on to the stocks because they are generating healthy equity. The first thing to do was calculate some key financial ratios for all eight years to be able to get a grasp on the trends for equity. Second, is to go more in depth analysis between years 1993-1994 to see why there is a drop in equity. After valuation, we should be able to determine whether or not the drop on equity was due to the stock investments or maybe it was due to something else. Lastly, calculating the quality of earnings will be a key factor for deciding whether or not to keep the stocks – but maybe change something else within the company to raise return on equity again. ANALYSIS AND CALCULATIONS Below are all the ratios and percentages used to support the analysis: From the calculations above, we can conclude that Return on Equity has a smooth trend over the eight years. Return on Equity is lower in the year 1994, which is why investors are worried. But this can be explained with some other ratios. The reason why ROE (Return on Equity) is lower in 1994 is because of the operating profit being lower as well, the year 1992 had the highest operating profit margin and then it started slowly dropping. Equity turnover has slowly being increasing throughout the years; this is a good sign. It means that the company has been producing more and more revenue with the investment – in this case all the shares in the various electrical related markets. Another good sign for the investment is the asset turnover ratio increasing throughout the years. This reflects that the assets are being efficiently used in the production of revenues. So far, we can conclude that the company is allocating assets in the right manners to produce the maximum revenues possible, and we know that the investment has also being increasing its turnover ratio. Lastly, the equity multiplier is showing an increase through the years; reflecting how efficient  shareholders’ equity is being used to create assets. So, why is ROE lower in 1994 if the ratios above show otherwise? This is because the interest expense has been increasing year by year; this decreases the quality of earnings since there is more interest being paid for long-term and short-term debt. Even though the company is paying more money, they are getting into more debt and paying high interest rates for such that ultimately reduces net income and therefore reduces ROE. After analyzing the decreasing tax rate, we can say that interest expense and its ratio has also being increasing.