The-Last-Rajah-Ratan-Tata

Modesty The chairman ot theTata Group † India's biggest conglomerate, with businesses ranging from software, cars, andsteel to phone service, tea bags, and wristwatches † usually drives himself to the office in his$12,500 Tata Indigo Marina wagon. He prefers to spend weekends in solitude with his two dogsat a beachfront home he designed himself. And disdainful of pretense, he travels alone even onlong business trips, eschewing the retinues of oldes who typically coddle corporate chieftdlns.But the 69-year-old Tata also has a daredevil streak, An avid aviator, he often flies a orporateFalcon 2000 jet around Indla_ And In February he caused a sensation at the Aero India 2007 airshow by co-piloting Lockheed (LMT) F-16 and Boeing (BA) F-18 fighter jets. Tata's business dealings reflect the bolder side of his personality. In the past four years he hasembarked on an investment binge that is building his group from a once-stodgy regional playerinto a global heavy-vveight.Since 2 003, Tata has bought the truck unit of South Korea's DaewooMotors, a stake in one of Indonesia's biggest coal mines, and steel mills In Singapore, Thailand,and Vietnam. It has taken ver d slew of tony hotels Including New York's Pierre, the Ritz-Carlton In Boston, and San Francisco's Camden Place, The 2004 purchase of Tyco International's(TYC) undersea telecom cables for $130 million, a price that In hindsight looks Ilke a steal,turned Tata into the world's biggest carrier ot international phone calls.With its $91 millionbuyoutof British engineering firm Incat International, Tata Technologies now is a major supplierof outsourced industrial design for American auto and aerospace companies, with 3,300engineers in India, the U. S. , and Europe. The rowning deal to date has been Tata Steel's $13 billion takeover in April of Dutch Britishsteel giant Corus Group, a target that would have been unthinkable Just d few years ago. In oneswoop, the move greatly expends Teta Steel's range of fin ished products, secures access toautomakers across the u. , and Europe, and boosts Its capacity fivefold, with mills added Inpennsylvanla and OhloNow, a new gambit may catapult Tata into the big leagues ot global auto manufacturing: Thecompany is said to be weighing a bid for Jaguar Cars and Land Rover, which Ford Motor Co. (F)wants to el

A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-three

Daenerys The Dothraki sea,† Ser Jorah Mormont said as he reined to a halt beside her on the top of the ridge. beneath them, the plain stretched out immense and empty, a vast flat expanse that reached to the distant horizon and beyond. It was a sea, Dany thought. Past here, there were no hills, no mountains, no trees nor cities nor roads, only the endless grasses, the tall blades rippling like waves when the winds blew. â€Å"It's so green,† she said. â€Å"Here and now,† Ser Jorah agreed. â€Å"You ought to see it when it blooms, all dark red flowers from horizon to horizon, like a sea of blood. Come the dry season, and the world turns the color of old bronze. And this is only hranna, child. There are a hundred kinds of grass out there, grasses as yellow as lemon and as dark as indigo, blue grasses and orange grasses and grasses like rainbows. Down in the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai, they say there are oceans of ghost grass, taller than a man on horseback with stalks as pale as milkglass. It murders all other grass and glows in the dark with the spirits of the damned. The Dothraki claim that someday ghost grass will cover the entire world, and then all life will end.† That thought gave Dany the shivers. â€Å"I don't want to talk about that now,† she said. â€Å"It's so beautiful here, I don't want to think about everything dying.† â€Å"As you will, Khaleesi,† Ser Jorah said respectfully. She heard the sound of voices and turned to look behind her. She and Mormont had outdistanced the rest of their party, and now the others were climbing the ridge below them. Her handmaid Irri and the young archers of her khas were fluid as centaurs, but Viserys still struggled with the short stirrups and the flat saddle. Her brother was miserable out here. He ought never have come. Magister Illyrio had urged him to wait in Pentos, had offered him the hospitality of his manse, but Viserys would have none of it. He would stay with Drogo until the debt had been paid, until he had the crown he had been promised. â€Å"And if he tries to cheat me, he will learn to his sorrow what it means to wake the dragon,† Viserys had vowed, laying a hand on his borrowed sword. Illyrio had blinked at that and wished him good fortune. Dany realized that she did not want to listen to any of her brother's complaints right now. The day was too perfect. The sky was a deep blue, and high above them a hunting hawk circled. The grass sea swayed and sighed with each breath of wind, the air was warm on her face, and Dany felt at peace. She would not let Viserys spoil it. â€Å"Wait here,† Dany told Ser Jorah. â€Å"Tell them all to stay. Tell them I command it.† The knight smiled. Ser Jorah was not a handsome man. He had a neck and shoulders like a bull, and coarse black hair covered his arms and chest so thickly that there was none left for his head. Yet his smiles gave Dany comfort. â€Å"You are learning to talk like a queen, Daenerys.† â€Å"Not a queen,† said Dany. â€Å"A khaleesi.† She wheeled her horse about and galloped down the ridge alone. The descent was steep and rocky, but Dany rode fearlessly, and the joy and the danger of it were a song in her heart. All her life Viserys had told her she was a princess, but not until she rode her silver had Daenerys Targaryen ever felt like one. At first it had not come easy. The khalasar had broken camp the morning after her wedding, moving east toward Vaes Dothrak, and by the third day Dany thought she was going to die. Saddle sores opened on her bottom, hideous and bloody. Her thighs were chafed raw, her hands blistered from the reins, the muscles of her legs and back so wracked with pain that she could scarcely sit. By the time dusk fell, her handmaids would need to help her down from her mount. Even the nights brought no relief. Khal Drogo ignored her when they rode, even as he had ignored her during their wedding, and spent his evenings drinking with his warriors and bloodriders, racing his prize horses, watching women dance and men die. Dany had no place in these parts of his life. She was left to sup alone, or with Ser Jorah and her brother, and afterward to cry herself to sleep. Yet every night, some time before the dawn, Drogo would come to her tent and wake her in the dark, to ride her as relentlessly as he rode his stallion. He always took her from behind, Dothraki fashion, for which Dany was grateful; that way her lord husband could not see the tears that wet her face, and she could use her pillow to muffle her cries of pain. When he was done, he would close his eyes and begin to snore softly and Dany would lie beside him, her body bruised and sore, hurting too much for sleep. Day followed day, and night followed night, until Dany knew she could not endure a moment longer. She would kill herself rather than go on, she decided one night . . . Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again. Viserys was not in it this time. There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot jet. She could hear it singing to her, She opened her arms to the fire, embraced it, let it swallow her whole, let it cleanse her and temper her and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blacken and slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there was no pain. She felt strong and new and fierce. And the next day, strangely, she did not seem to hurt quite so much. It was as if the gods had heard her and taken pity. Even her handmaids noticed the change. â€Å"Khaleesi,† Jhiqui said, â€Å"what is wrong? Are you sick?† â€Å"I was,† she answered, standing over the dragon's eggs that Illyrio had given her when she wed. She touched one, the largest of the three, running her hand lightly over the shelf. Black-and-scarlet, she thought, like the dragon in my dream. The stone felt strangely warm beneath her fingers . . . or was she still dreaming? She pulled her hand back nervously. From that hour onward, each day was easier than the one before it. Her legs grew stronger; her blisters burst and her hands grew callused; her soft thighs toughened, supple as leather. The khal had commanded the handmaid Irri to teach Dany to ride in the Dothraki fashion, but it was the filly who was her real teacher. The horse seemed to know her moods, as if they shared a single mind. With every passing day, Dany felt surer in her seat. The Dothraki were a hard and unsentimental people, and it was not their custom to name their animals, so Dany thought of her only as the silver. She had never loved anything so much. As the riding became less an ordeal, Dany began to notice the beauties of the land around her. She rode at the head of the khalasar with Drogo and his bloodriders, so she came to each country fresh and unspoiled. Behind them the great horde might tear the earth and muddy the rivers and send up clouds of choking dust, but the fields ahead of them were always green and verdant. They crossed the rolling hills of Norvos, past terraced farms and small villages where the townsfolk watched anxiously from atop white stucco walls. They forded three wide placid rivers and a fourth that was swift and narrow and treacherous, camped beside a high blue waterfall, skirted the tumbled ruins of a vast dead city where ghosts were said to moan among blackened marble columns. They raced down Valyrian roads a thousand years old and straight as a Dothraki arrow. For half a moon, they rode through the Forest of Qohor, where the leaves made a golden canopy high above them, and the trunks of the trees were as wide as city gates. There were great elk in that wood, and spotted tigers, and lemurs with silver fur and huge purple eyes, but all fled before the approach of the khalasar and Dany got no glimpse of them. By then her agony was a fading memory. She still ached after a long day's riding, yet somehow the pain had a sweetness to it now, and each morning she came willingly to her saddle, eager to know what wonders waited for her in the lands ahead. She began to find pleasure even in her nights, and if she still cried out when Drogo took her, it was not always in pain. At the bottom of the ridge, the grasses rose around her, tall and supple. Dany slowed to a trot and rode out onto the plain, losing herself in the green, blessedly alone. In the khalasar she was never alone. Khal Drogo came to her only after the sun went down, but her handmaids fed her and bathed her and slept by the door of her tent, Drogo's bloodriders and the men of her khas were never far, and her brother was an unwelcome shadow, day and night. Dany could hear him on the top of the ridge, his voice shrill with anger as he shouted at Ser Jorah. She rode on, submerging herself deeper in the Dothraki sea. The green swallowed her up. The air was rich with the scents of earth and grass, mixed with the smell of horseflesh and Dany's sweat and the oil in her hair. Dothraki smells. They seemed to belong here. Dany breathed it all in, laughing. She had a sudden urge to feel the ground beneath her, to curl her toes in that thick black soil. Swinging down from her saddle, she let the silver graze while she pulled off her high boots. Viserys came upon her as sudden as a summer storm, his horse rearing beneath him as he reined up too hard. â€Å"You dare!† he screamed at her. â€Å"You give commands to me? To me?† He vaulted off the horse, stumbling as he landed. His face was flushed as he struggled back to his feet. He grabbed her, shook her. â€Å"Have you forgotten who you are? Look at you. Look at you!† Dany did not need to look. She was barefoot, with oiled hair, wearing Dothraki riding leathers and a painted vest given her as a bride gift. She looked as though she belonged here. Viserys was soiled and stained in city silks and ringmail. He was still screaming. â€Å"You do not command the dragon. Do you understand? I am the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, I will not hear orders from some horselord's slut, do you hear me?† His hand went under her vest, his fingers digging painfully into her breast. â€Å"Do you hear me?† Dany shoved him away, hard. Viserys stared at her, his lilac eyes incredulous. She had never defied him. Never fought back. Rage twisted his features. He would hurt her now, and badly, she knew that. Crack. The whip made a sound like thunder. The coil took Viserys around the throat and yanked him backward. He went sprawling in the grass, stunned and choking. The Dothraki riders hooted at him as he struggled to free himself. The one with the whip, young Jhogo, rasped a question. Dany did not understand his words, but by then Irri was there, and Ser Jorah, and the rest of her khas. â€Å"Jhogo asks if you would have him dead, Khaleesi, † Irri said. â€Å"No,† Dany replied. â€Å"No.† Jhogo understood that. One of the others barked out a comment, and the Dothraki laughed. Irri told her, â€Å"Quaro thinks you should take an ear to teach him respect.† Her brother was on his knees, his fingers digging under the leather coils, crying incoherently, struggling for breath. The whip was tight around his windpipe. â€Å"Tell them I do not wish him harmed,† Dany said. Irri repeated her words in Dothraki. Jhogo gave a pull on the whip, yanking Viserys around like a puppet on a string. He went sprawling again, freed from the leather embrace, a thin line of blood under his chin where the whip had cut deep. â€Å"I warned him what would happen, my lady,† Ser Jorah Mormont said. â€Å"I told him to stay on the ridge, as you commanded.† â€Å"I know you did,† Dany replied, watching Viserys. He lay on the ground, sucking in air noisily, red-faced and sobbing. He was a pitiful thing. He had always been a pitiful thing. Why had she never seen that before? There was a hollow place inside her where her fear had been. â€Å"Take his horse,† Dany commanded Ser Jorah. Viserys gaped at her. He could not believe what he was hearing; nor could Dany quite believe what she was saying. Yet the words came. â€Å"Let my brother walk behind us back to the khalasar.† Among the Dothraki, the man who does not ride was no man at all, the lowest of the low, without honor or pride. â€Å"Let everyone see him as he is.† â€Å"No!† Viserys screamed. He turned to Ser Jorah, pleading in the Common Tongue with words the horsemen would not understand. â€Å"Hit her, Mormont. Hurt her. Your king commands it. Kill these Dothraki dogs and teach her.† The exile knight looked from Dany to her brother; she barefoot, with dirt between her toes and oil in her hair, he with his silks and steel. Dany could see the decision on his face. â€Å"He shall walk, Khaleesi,† he said. He took her brother's horse in hand while Dany remounted her silver. Viserys gaped at him, and sat down in the dirt. He kept his silence, but he would not move, and his eyes were full of poison as they rode away. Soon he was lost in the tall grass. When they could not see him anymore, Dany grew afraid. â€Å"Will he find his way back?† she asked Ser Jorah as they rode. â€Å"Even a man as blind as your brother should be able to follow our trail,† he replied. â€Å"He is proud. He may be too shamed to come back.† Jorah laughed. â€Å"Where else should he go? If he cannot find the khalasar, the khalasar will most surely find him. It is hard to drown in the Dothraki sea, child.† Dany saw the truth of that. The khalasar was like a city on the march, but it did not march blindly. Always scouts ranged far ahead of the main column, alert for any sign of game or prey or enemies, while outriders guarded their flanks. They missed nothing, not here, in this land, the place where they had come from. These plains were a part of them . . . and of her, now. â€Å"I hit him,† she said, wonder in her voice. Now that it was over, it seemed like some strange dream that she had dreamed. â€Å"Ser Jorah, do you think . . . he'll be so angry when he gets back . . . She shivered. â€Å"I woke the dragon, didn't I?† Ser Jorah snorted. â€Å"Can you wake the dead, girl? Your brother Rhaegar was the last dragon, and he died on the Trident. Viserys is less than the shadow of a snake.† His blunt words startled her. It seemed as though all the things she had always believed were suddenly called into question. â€Å"You . . . you swore him your sword . . . â€Å" â€Å"That I did, girl,† Ser Jorah said. â€Å"And if your brother is the shadow of a snake, what does that make his servants?† His voice was bitter. â€Å"He is still the true king. He is . . . â€Å" Jorah pulled up his horse and looked at her. â€Å"Truth now. Would you want to see Viserys sit a throne?† Dany thought about that. â€Å"He would not be a very good king, would he?† â€Å"There have been worse . . . but not many.† The knight gave his heels to his mount and started off again. Dany rode close beside him. â€Å"Still,† she said, â€Å"the common people are waiting for him. Magister Illyrio says they are sewing dragon banners and praying for Viserys to return from across the narrow sea to free them.† â€Å"The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends,† Ser Jorah told her. â€Å"It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace.† He gave a shrug. â€Å"They never are.† Dany rode along quietly for a time, working his words like a puzzle box. It went against everything that Viserys had ever told her to think that the people could care so little whether a true king or a usurper reigned over them. Yet the more she thought on Jorah's words, the more they rang of truth. â€Å"What do you pray for, Ser Jorah?† she asked him. â€Å"Home,† he said. His voice was thick with longing. â€Å"I pray for home too,† she told him, believing it. Ser Jorah laughed. â€Å"Look around you then, Khaleesi.† But it was not the plains Dany saw then. It was King's Landing and the great Red Keep that Aegon the Conqueror had built. It was Dragonstone where she had been born. In her mind's eye they burned with a thousand lights, a fire blazing in every window. In her mind's eye, all the doors were red. â€Å"My brother will never take back the Seven Kingdoms,† Dany said. She had known that for a long time, she realized. She had known it all her life. Only she had never let herself say the words, even in a whisper, but now she said them for Jorah Mormont and all the world to hear. Ser Jorah gave her a measuring look. â€Å"You think not.† â€Å"He could not lead an army even if my lord husband gave him one,† Dany said. â€Å"He has no coin and the only knight who follows him reviles him as less than a snake. The Dothraki make mock of his weakness. He will never take us home.† â€Å"Wise child.† The knight smiled. â€Å"I am no child,† she told him fiercely. Her heels pressed into the sides of her mount, rousing the silver to a gallop. Faster and faster she raced, leaving Jorah and Irri and the others far behind, the warm wind in her hair and the setting sun red on her face. By the time she reached the khalasar, it was dusk. The slaves had erected her tent by the shore of a spring-fed pool. She could hear rough voices from the woven grass palace on the hill. Soon there would be laughter, when the men of her khas told the story of what had happened in the grasses today. By the time Viserys came limping back among them, every man, woman, and child in the camp would know him for a walker. There were no secrets in the khalasar. Dany gave the silver over to the slaves for grooming and entered her tent. It was cool and dim beneath the silk. As she let the door flap close behind her, Dany saw a finger of dusty red light reach out to touch her dragon's eggs across the tent. For an instant a thousand droplets of scarlet flame swam before her eyes. She blinked, and they were gone. Stone, she told herself. They are only stone, even Illyrio said so, the dragons are all dead. She put her palm against the black egg, fingers spread gently across the curve of the shell. The stone was warm. Almost hot. â€Å"The sun,† Dany whispered. â€Å"The sun warmed them as they rode.† She commanded her handmaids to prepare her a bath. Doreah built a fire outside the tent, while Irri and Jhiqui fetched the big copper tub—another bride gift—from the packhorses and carried water from the pool. When the bath was steaming, Irri helped her into it and climbed in after her. â€Å"Have you ever seen a dragon?† she asked as Irri scrubbed her back and Jhiqui sluiced sand from her hair. She had heard that the first dragons had come from the east, from the ShadowLands beyond Asshai and the islands of the JadeSea. Perhaps some were still living there, in realms strange and wild. â€Å"Dragons are gone, Khaleesi,† Irri said. â€Å"Dead,† agreed Jhiqui. â€Å"Long and long ago.† Viserys had told her that the last Targaryen dragons had died no more than a century and a half ago, during the reign of Aegon III, who was called the Dragonbane. That did not seem so long ago to Dany. â€Å"Everywhere?† she said, disappointed. â€Å"Even in the east?† Magic had died in the west when the Doom fell on Valyria and the Lands of the Long Summer, and neither spell-forged steel nor stormsingers nor dragons could hold it back, but Dany had always heard that the east was different. It was said that manticores prowled the islands of the JadeSea, that basilisks infested the jungles of Yi Ti, that spellsingers, warlocks, and aeromancers practiced their arts openly in Asshai, while shadowbinders and bloodmages worked terrible sorceries in the black of night. Why shouldn't there be dragons too? â€Å"No dragon,† Irri said. â€Å"Brave men kill them, for dragon terrible evil beasts. It is known.† â€Å"It is known,† agreed Jhiqui. â€Å"A trader from Qarth once told me that dragons came from the moon,† blond Doreah said as she warmed a towel over the fire. Jhiqui and Irri were of an age with Dany, Dothraki girls taken as slaves when Drogo destroyed their father's khalasar. Doreah was older, almost twenty. Magister Illyrio had found her in a pleasure house in Lys. Silvery-wet hair tumbled across her eyes as Dany turned her head, curious. â€Å"The moon?† â€Å"He told me the moon was an egg, Khaleesi,† the Lysene girl said. â€Å"Once there were two moons in the sky, but one wandered too close to the sun and cracked from the heat. A thousand thousand dragons poured forth, and drank the fire of the sun. That is why dragons breathe flame. One day the other moon will kiss the sun too, and then it will crack and the dragons will return.† The two Dothraki girls giggled and laughed. â€Å"You are foolish strawhead slave,† Irri said. â€Å"Moon is no egg. Moon is god, woman wife of sun. It is known.† â€Å"It is known,† Jhiqui agreed. Dany's skin was flushed and pink when she climbed from the tub. Jhiqui laid her down to oil her body and scrape the dirt from her pores. Afterward Irri sprinkled her with spiceflower and cinnamon. While Doreah brushed her hair until it shone like spun silver, she thought about the moon, and eggs, and dragons. Her supper was a simple meal of fruit and cheese and fry bread, with a jug of honeyed wine to wash it down. â€Å"Doreah, stay and eat with me,† Dany commanded when she sent her other handmaids away. The Lysene girl had hair the color of honey, and eyes like the summer sky. She lowered those eyes when they were alone. â€Å"You honor me, Khaleesi,† she said, but it was no honor, only service. Long after the moon had risen, they sat together, talking. That night, when Khal Drogo came, Dany was waiting for him. He stood in the door of her tent and looked at her with surprise. She rose slowly and opened her sleeping silks and let them fall to the ground. â€Å"This night we must go outside, my lord,† she told him, for the Dothraki believed that all things of importance in a man's life must be done beneath the open sky. Khal Drogo followed her out into the moonlight, the bells in his hair tinkling softly. A few yards from her tent was a bed of soft grass, and it was there that Dany drew him down. When he tried to turn her over, she put a hand on his chest. â€Å"No,† she said. â€Å"This night I would look on your face.† There is no privacy in the heart of the khalasar. Dany felt the eyes on her as she undressed him, heard the soft voices as she did the things that Doreah had told her to do. It was nothing to her. Was she not khaleesi? His were the only eyes that mattered, and when she mounted him she saw something there that she had never seen before. She rode him as fiercely as ever she had ridden her silver, and when the moment of his pleasure came, Khal Drogo called out her name. They were on the far side of the Dothraki sea when Jhiqui brushed the soft swell of Dany's stomach with her fingers and said, â€Å"Khaleesi, you are with child.† â€Å"I know,† Dany told her. It was her fourteenth name day.

Law Enforcement Cameras

The debate over whether red light cameras are effective or not can cause a great divide among any group of people. Proponents of the cameras say that they are effective in reducing accidents and those against them are adamant that they are only in place to increase revenues for local law enforcement. Red light cameras are cameras that are placed at intersections and connected to traffic signals. The camera is triggered by any vehicle entering the intersection above a certain speed and after the signal light has turned red.While many red light camera scoffers argue that driver's insurance rates will go up, these types of violations are similar to parking tickets and should not affect rates or driving record. The statement by many that red light cameras are only in place for city revenue. This paper will bring three facts that indicate that red light cameras are in place to make communities money and not for reducing accidents. The debate over whether red light cameras are effective or not can cause a great divide among any group of people.Proponents of the cameras say that they are effective in reducing accidents and those against them are adamant that they are only in place to increase revenues for local law enforcement. Red light cameras are cameras that are placed at intersections and connected to traffic signals. The camera is triggered by any vehicle entering the intersection above a certain speed and after the signal light has turned red.While many red light camera scoffers argue that driver's insurance rates will go up, these types of violations are similar to parking tickets and should not affect rates or driving record. The statement by many that red light cameras are only in place for city revenue. This paper will bring three facts that indicate that red light cameras are in place to make communities money and not for reducing accidents.

Literature Review Paper about The children of Vietnam 's veteran with Essay

Literature Review Paper about The children of Vietnam 's veteran with PTSD - Essay Example y other traits are linked to PTSD due to which, such people are in need of treatment and intervention steps with the support of which, they can become effective parents as the greatest loss they can give someone is to their families and children. Children of Vietnamese veterans with PTSD undergo through traumatic disorders because of their parents traumatized experiences at the war. The persons attached to one exposed to â€Å"unusual and intensely disturbing event† show signs of negative influence. People with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) influence their families negatively and this negative influence can be seen in form of PTSD in the families and children of survivors of Holocaust. The problems include â€Å"depression, mistrust, aggression, emotional numbing, and isolation† (Jordan, et al, 1992). These problems are found out in the children of Vietnam’s veterans. According to the scientific studies on the behavior of families of Vietnam’s veterans with PTSD, the majority of families of male veterans undergo increased violence, comparatively elevated levels of demoralization, elevated level of stress, inability to handle personal and family problems, having behavioral problems and disturbed children (Jordan, et al, 1992). People with PTSD influence their family members negatively and their children show severe developmental, behavioral, emotional and psychiatric problems. A person with PTSD is ineligible to show effective parenting after having direct combat experience in a war due to which, his children suffer through many issues. The children of war veterans with PTSD show influence of their PTSD parents through transformations in normal â€Å"biopsychosocial functioning and personality† development. The traumatized parents with PTSD deliver their traumatic experiences to their children eventually are further traumatized and stressed (Klaric, et al, 2008). Veterans with PTSD show re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance and numbing symptoms and hyper

Disaster Recovery & Humanitarian Assistance Essay

Disaster Recovery & Humanitarian Assistance - Essay Example Out of all the classes I took this semester, I really enjoyed taking this one. While I originally thought it would be extremely easy, I soon found it was much more challenging, and that was good because it helps me to challenge myself and learn more. I was able to develop better habits, simply because I knew I wanted to do my best in this class and I was going to do everything I could to do that. That being said, I still think there were some things I could have done better on. There were several assignments I did not put one hundred percent into, and some tests I most certainly could have prepared more for. But that in itself is also a learning experience, and it shows me that if I want to achieve my goals, I need to put everything I have into the classes I am taking. And there were several topics that gave me a tough time. The first one to come to mind is the chapters on direct preparedness for disaster relief. I never know the plans had to be so thought out and complicated, and at first I hade a difficult time grasping those ideas. However, I soon found that by looking at them carefully and really going over them, they soon became almost a second nature for me. Looking forward, I really feel that this class help prepared me for a future in helping people.

Science Is Value Neutral Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Science Is Value Neutral - Essay Example It is the belief thatt he universe is governed by rational laws, and that through careful experimentation we can observe them. The problem, however, is that science is not simply about understanding, because each new breakthrough of understanding can also lead to a practical breakthrough that affects how we live our lives. These effects are one of the major reasons people ascribe value to science. One of the main sticking points many people have with science is that it allows humans to â€Å"play god† (Stevenson, Byerly 20). In other words, science allows humans to far surpass our natural abilities and do things we could never have dreamt of previously. Depending on one’s point of view, this could be anything from a very bad to a very, very good thing. To some, the idea humans having the ability to far surpass our natural abilities is terrifying. ... These people would point to, for instance, the fact that no one should have to lose a child due to a childhood illness, and the science, by allowing humans to â€Å"play god,† has allowed us to save lives and create a better, healthier, happier place for everyone in the world. In this conception science is a beautiful and laudable thing, a good thing, and human progress measured by science is excellent. Both the previously stated arguments, that science is evil and that science is good are, on their surfaces, correct. But this means that both are absolutely incorrect. Yes, science can lead to some terrible and horribly destructive things; many lives have ended because of weapons brought about by science, many people perhaps live less actualized and happy lives because of the way science has affected their worldview, and, possibly worst of all, science has been used to justify some of the most horrific things known to man like racist justifications of biological supremacy. Scie nce certainly has a lot to answer for. On the other hand, one would have to be blind not to recognize the way science has enhanced and enriched peoples’ lives, from giving an amputee a new leg that works as well as the one they lost, or allowing loved ones to spend a few more years together due to breakthroughs in modern medicine. So does one figure out the value of science by weighing the good against the bad? By saying ‘this scientifically created land mine made the child need a new limb in the first place, so clearly the bad in science wins out’ or vice versa? No. The answer is rather that science is a tool, and that like any tool it can be used for good or evil. The term â€Å"playing

Why life insurance is or is not appropriate in Islamic countries Research Paper

Why life insurance is or is not appropriate in Islamic countries - Research Paper Example The first one of the view that insurance of any kind is prohibited because it is an agreement based on doubts, it is against God’s commands and insurance business is based on interest. Life insurance is used to cover financial loss happening from death. It is impossible to define life insurance in a single definition as there are different ways to explain it. In simple words life insurance is a tool to safeguard against natural calamities. The aim of every individual is to secure his family from future risks. Every person dreams for prosperous life for his near and dear ones, a bright future for their children and self without depending on others. The life insurance guarantees materializing these aims by paying them in terms of money. There was a time when necessities of life were fulfilled by government or charity organizations. As the population increases the resources are shrinking day by day. World is being governed by man-made laws and lust for power and corruption is multiplying in every walk of life. Basic necessities like food, shelter, education and social services are no more available. Even fresh and unpolluted breathing is no more. It seems difficult to make both ends meet. Individual earning in a family when meets with any misfortune like natural death, Job termination, disability etc than one can imagine how he will cope with all this. Here life insurance is the only option available to avail in this situation. Life insurance is a vast subject if studied it will give you a short- cut to fulfill above mentioned noble commitments. After collecting large sum of money from the public the insurance company with the government’s assistance can run various projects at national level. Through all this government uses this cash for various schemes such as power generation, special education, employment generation etc. In return government pays suitable interest so that public should get their maximum profit at

Taxonomy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Taxonomy - Assignment Example As to the development of the fish, the armored fishes developed first, then followed by the jawless fishes, the cartilaginous and finally the bony fish. Lastly, when it comes to the development of their young, mammals can be monotremes, marsupials or placentals. The Phyla that Lack Organs and the Type of Symmetry They Have Among the nine phyla, those that lack organs include Phylum Porifera and Phylum Cnidaria. Phylum Porifera, to which the spongers belong, only have a cellular level of organization. Moreover, Phylum Cnidaria, to which the jellyfish and anemones belong, only have tissues and no organ systems. It is also interesting to note that members of the Phylum Porifera have no symmetry but Phylum Cnidaria have radial symmetry. (Audesirk & Audesirk, 2008) The Phyla that Show Cephalization Among the nine phyla, only six show cephalization. These are the Phylum Mollusca, Phylum, Arthropoda, Phylum Chordata, and the worms – Phylum Platyhelminthes, Phylum Nematoda, and Phylum Annelida. These members of these phyla have a distinct head. (Audesirk & Audesirk, 2008) The Phyla that Have Fewer than Three Germ Layers Not all organisms have the three germ layers. While all other phyla have the ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm, it is Phylum Cnidaria that does not possess the mesoderm, thus it is called diploblastic. All the other phyla are called tripoblastic by virtue of their having all three germ layers. ... The chilopods and diplopods include all centipedes and millipedes respectively. The insects include dragonflies, butterflies, grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches, termites, leafhoppers, beetles, bees, mosquitoes, fleas, ants and wasps. (Carter, 1997) The Differences among Fish from the Most Primitive to the Most Advanced The most primitive of fishes – the ostracoderms and placoderms – appeared from the Ordovician and Devonian periods. The ostracoderms were shell-skinned and had a bony plate external to their cartilaginous bodies. The head and upper torsos were covered with a bony armor plate and the back and lower half were cartilage. They also had spikes and a toothless jawless structure. On the other hand, the placoderms, which eventually replaced the ostracoderms, had an armor that covered the entirety of the head and a portion of the body as well. The only difference was that the placoderms had functional jaws, unlike the ostracoderms. (Arreola, 2005) The placoderms were eventually replaced by Class Agnatha, or the jawless fishes, such as lampreys and hagfish, which exist today. They have neither jaws nor a bony skeleton. The Class Chondrichthyes developed next. They have jaws but lack a bony skeleton. Members of this class include sharks and skates, all of which have cartilaginous skeleton and a skin with teeth-like denticles. Finally, the Class Osteichthyes, or the jawed bony fishes, developed last. These fish, with over 20,000 species all over the world, have protrusible jaws and calcified skeletons. (Buchheim, 2011) The Three Types of Mammals Based on How Their Young Develop The three types of mammals based on how their young develop include the monotremes, the marsupials and the placental mammals. The monotremes, which include

Information ethics reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Information ethics reflection paper - Essay Example From the past few years, it has been observed there has been a growth in information ethics in the field of information science (Kaddu, â€Å"Information Ethics: A Student’s Perspective†). In the recent times, it has been ascertained that due to the growth in the use of the internet and e-commerce, there has been a rise in the ethical issues related to information systems. The internet has made it very simple for various firms to collect, assimilate and distribute data or information that has elevated concerns regarding the proper usage of consumer information, privacy of personal information, and security of intellectual property (TechRepublic, â€Å"10 Ethical Issues Confronting IT Managers†). There are various specialized insiders who have the skills of misleading information systems through inappropriate ways of submitting phone histories and averting cash transactions in such a way which cannot be imagined in the pre-computer period. Organizational examples of ethical issues elevated by information systems involve Enron wherein the top three managers were convicted for misrepresentation of information to its shareholders and WorldCom, one of the biggest te lecommunication firms in the United States wherein the top executives were convicted for using illegal methods of accounting. In addition, it is also observed that Merrill Lynch was convicted for supporting Enron in creating vehicles which did not have any business purpose. Therefore, it is worth mentioning that there is a requirement for the establishment of responsibility for the result obtained from information system, along with determining certain standards that protect the quality system which safeguard the information of the individual in the society and preserve the values that are considered very important for the quality of life of an individual in the society (Pearson Education,† Ethical and Social Issues

Early Italian Poetry and Woman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Early Italian Poetry and Woman - Essay Example 3). Through this form of poetry, poets were able to reflect inwards to their own voice, which provided them a mode through which to discover themselves. However, the medium of the written word also enabled the separation of the â€Å"speaker from the spoken†, in which the author was able to construct an â€Å"alter ego† that could express the actual speaker’s unrestrained feelings (Holmes 2000, p. 4). This shift also marked a shift towards authorship of the autobiographical, in which the Italian poets of the middle ages utilized the written word as a â€Å"confessional self-portrait†, where the words represented the poet’s innermost thoughts on such themes as life, religion, salvation, loss, etc. (2000, p. 7). Through a critical look at selected poems by Guinizelli, Dante, and Petrarch, the central theme of love will be discussed, as it is portrayed through the character of the heavenly or angelic idealized woman. Prior to a critical reading of the poetry, a brief biographical discussion on the poets is necessary to understanding the importance of the literary genre. In several of his poems, Dante referred to Guido Guinizelli as the â€Å"father of me and father of my betters† for having founded the school of poetry referred to as the dolce stil nuovo (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 248). Born in 1230, in Bologna, Italy, Guinizelli founded the new style of poetry, which included the literary contributions of several Bolognese poets, including the prominent poetry by Dante. Unlike the Sicilian poets, â€Å"Guinizelli’s analogies, metaphors, poetic language, and concept of love reflect his effort to write not from the heart but from the head, and to analyze love and its effects† (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 248). ... 248). His most well-known poem, â€Å"Al cor gentil rempaira sempre amore† critically analyzes courtly love by emphasizing the central importance of internal integrity as the true source of nobility, rather than basing nobility on status. He goes on to compare the noble love between a woman and man to the relationship between God and the angels. Dante used the image of Guinizelli’s noble lady in his anthology of works, entitled Vita nuova, and Dante accredits Guinizelli for playing the â€Å"role of both poetic father and prophet in establishing the dolce stil nuovo manifesto as the poetic vehicle for articulating philosophic truth through love† (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 249). Guinizelli’s most famous successor was Dante Alighieri, who was born in Florence in 1265. Seeing his life-long love, Beatrice Portinari, at the age of nine served as inspiration for his entire artistic career, and the love story between Dante and Beatrice unfolds in Danteâ⠂¬â„¢s Vita nuova, which was written after (and inspired by) the deep emotional impact of Beatrice’s death in 1290 (Lambdin & Cooner Lambdin 2000, p. 118). During the political turmoil in Florence at the end of the 13th century, Dante was exiled from Florence until his death; according to Dante’s first biographer, Boccaccio, the meeting with Beatrice and his exile from Florence was the two more important events in Dante’s life which strongly impacted his artistic work. Written between 1293 to 1294, Vita nuova consists of thirty-one poems written to, and about, Beatrice, whom he viewed as â€Å"representative of divine goodness and beatitude on earth†; and it is in this anthology that Dante rejects

Philosophy of life Essay Example for Free

Philosophy of life Essay What is the meaning of life? The answer to this question has sought over since mankind became capable of exercising their brain capacity past a level of primal instinct. In general life is rather meaningless, we all simply exist together on this planet. But before one dwells on the pointlessness of human existence, they should think about the purpose of each individual person in our society. We create goals for ourselves; we all have a role to play in our society. In a sense, we choose our future and in doing so, give ourselves a purpose to live. The purpose of human existence in general may be absent, but in our society and through our goals and achievements, I believe each individual creates their own purpose. Through one question I realized this great truth: what do you want to be when you grow up? For the longest time, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. What did it matter to me anyway? I was a kid (well, I suppose I still am) and didn’t like any of the generic jobs they told us about in elementary school. Police force, teachers, fireman, none of them interested me. Then, in middle school, my life changed, a lot. I got completely new friends, after the old ones left me behind. I slowly started to become more and more enclosed, I spent most of my time out of school alone. As I developed into this over-dramatic teenage state, life suddenly became meaningless. I would often find myself sitting bored in my room, mindlessly surfing the internet or playing videogames. I slowly started to hate it; it was like I could feel my brain melting inside my head. I needed to find a more constructive hobby, and so I found myself musical instruments and started creating more and more music every day. Music became my life and from then on, I knew that my goal, the meaning of my life, was to become a musician. I believe that life was meant to be enjoyed; nobody wants to spend their life in a dead end job. After all, just how much meaning is in an unhappy life? Just ask Monty Python’s John Cleese, who states, â€Å"If I had not gone into Monty Python, I probably would have stuck to my original plan to graduate and become a chartered accountant, or perhaps a barrister lawyer, and gotten a nice house in the suburbs with a nice wife and kids, and gotten a country club membership, and then I would have killed myself. † I find this quote strongly inspiring because instead of choosing a highly respectable, well paying job and living a comfortable life, he choose to work with some of most popular men to ever wear woman’s clothing. Comedy is what he finds gives meaning to his life, and although his second choices would have been nice, Cleese didn’t find as much value in them as he did in Monty Python. Perhaps life itself is meaningless, but I believe it doesn’t have to be. I believe that a happy life is a meaningful one. I believe that mankind may not collectively have a reason for existence or a common goal, but each individual certainly does. I believe that each and every person has to create their own reason to live, instead of waiting for that reason to come to them, or they must just find themselves waiting forever.

Free

Free Will vs. Determinism Essay Society walks about day-by-day living their lives and never really thinking or breaking down how their day unfolds or why it plays out the way it does. Some people have said that individuals have a choice and are able to decide on where their day goes. Others on the other hand would argue this assessment and state that your day and your life as whole are all pre determined. The different is free will vs. determinism. Do you believe we live in a free will world or has everything been planed out and is determined to happen no matter what? To start out on finding an answer to this question we must first break down the two terms and a bit about their background and what they mean to us as an individual walking around day-to-day living our lives. We will start off with the more depressing of the two, and that being determinism. Determinism is the philosophical view that everything in a person’s life including behavior, human conditioning, and previous events have already been planned out and will happen that way no matter what we do. Mostly this means that our lives essentially our out of our control. Imagine if you will the universe unfolding from a state of very small matter and as it unfolds and expands and life is form it just continues to grow and build. Life goes on and society works the way it is built. Then over billions of years the universe contracts and everything is essentially erased or reversed. After it completes this cycle it starts it all over again recreating the events that it just created previously. Some believe that this is what is happening in our world and with our universe now. Some also believe that this is infinite and will happen for eternity, stating that everything has already happened before and will continue to happen over and over again in the course of existence. Now you may be thinking, â€Å"I have a choice on what I do† well not according to this theory or any of the other ones in determinism. This idea is what some would put in the category of materialism. Materialism states that the only thing that truly exists is matter in a physical state, â€Å"that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. † (Ott) SO with this theory there is a bunch of cause and effect included. One physical thing must happen in order for the other to happen, even in your thought process. Yes, that’s right even in your brain. This states that your thoughts are all physical and chemical things happening (hormones cause emotions) to create your thoughts and what you do. Are you a robot? Next we have behaviorism. Many people have studied this idea but Skinner is probably the best known for his research on the topic. Behaviorism falls in the category of human conditioning. It also states that we are pleasure seeking animals and that we are determined to search and find the things that give us that pleasure. This falls in the determinism section because we have no choice with this essentially. We will only go after the things that make us feel good, all the way down to even helping a homeless person with some spare change. We do this because it makes us as an individual feel good that we helped someone else in need out. Also a lot of this has to do with when you do a good deed you are rewarded by society, given a nice pat on the back and encourages you to do that more often leading you in the direction you are going. Last but not least there is Psychoanalysis, or know to some as the Freudian psychology. Sigmund Freud is highly attached to this type of determinism and approach to life. Freud believed that we as an individual have an unconscious state of mind and a conscience. Think of it as an ice burg in the ocean. Above the water you have the tip of the iceberg, or the conscience state of mind. It is there it is aware it is obvious and clear. Then below the water you have a massive part of the iceberg that is not visible. We cannot see it and it is hidden, in fact we choose not to explore it from fear of what it may do to us. The part below the water could be looked at as your unconscious state of mind. Freud believed that your unconscious state was leading and guiding you to do things you do with out you even realizing it. These things were memories and thoughts that you have repressed mainly as a child or due to any traumatic experience. Freud would use psychology as a method of trying to bring these unconscious states to the surface so that a person could identify what they were doing and why it is that they were predetermined to do so. Sigmund Freud also came to the conclusion that each person holds with in them three states. These three states would be super ego, ego, and id. Ego would be our self-aware state of mind that you are conscience of. Super ego would be your moral value, and your id (translating to â€Å"it†) would be the sexually aggressive part of you. He felt that this â€Å"id† was what really guided you to do the things you do. It is almost as if you’re super ego and your id battle each other everyday trying to tell you what to do and when to do it. Freud was an evolutionary thinker and still to this day has many followers in his system. To go in the opposite direction we have free will. Free will is the approach to life that we have choices and decisions, and we make them every day to determine what it is that we do with our day and even with our life. Out of the two this is the less depressing approach. I personally like this approach and thought on how we live better. Free will contradicts determinism and goes the opposite direction in its logic and explanation. The followers of free will did not believe in determinism for many reason but the biggest and most important is that they believe that determinism erases responsibility for our actions. This is called indeterminism, meaning â€Å"a philosophical position that maintains that any form of determinism is incorrect because it is ultimately metaphysical†(White) So, lets look at some of the ideas and structure of free will and some of the people who had and still do have a huge influence on the approach to how we live our lives. Aristotle was a huge part of free will; he was a Greek philosopher and a student of Plato. Also is thought that he was a teacher to Alexander The Great. Aristotle was known as a common sense philosopher, believing that most of what we do is by our choices. He also believed this choices were voluntary and involuntary as well. He also believed that â€Å"the lives of individual human beings are invariably linked together in a social context†(White) Next we have William James an American psychologist and philosopher best known for his views on free will and philosophy as well as pragmatism. Pragmatism is the belief that what ever works, works because it is true. Basically validity of an idea lies within its practical consequences. This gives an individual free will by letting them think and make choices in an analytical sense. Coming up with an idea or approach to a situation but then presenting another route that is just as enjoyable or likely to be taken in the situation. If a person looks at a situation and how they will approach it and the outcome seems bad in comparison to goo then they have the choice not to go down that route giving us free will. Determinism would state that you have no choice and that you will go the route you were meant to go along. I don’t know about you but I like thinking that I have choice over if I want to go a painful route or an enjoyable route. Jean-Paul Sarte was a French existentialist and philosopher. He was famed on believing that existence precedes essences, meaning that everyday life come before the core part of what we (human) are made up of. He also stated that we are all â€Å"condemned to be free†. This meaning that we are held responsible for our own actions. There is no getting out of anything that we have chosen to do, this statement hold opposite form determinism in every way. The idea is that we are allowed to make choices but if we make the wrong choice then we must take responsibility for these choices and actions since we made them, and that life is not pre determined causing me to make them. Some individuals may choose to not take responsibility for their actions by just choosing not to make a decision all together. This is what is called living in bad faith. Living in bad faith is the idea that an individual chooses to not take an action or choices in certain situations. This is still part of free will because you are consciously making that choice and decision to do well†¦ nothing. Last but not least Sartre stated, In order to make myself recognized by the Other, I must risk my own life. To risk ones life, in fact, is to reveal oneself as not-bound to the objective form or to any determined existenceas not-bound to life Both determinism and free will have their strong arguments but I guess when you really think about it that is what philosophy altogether is really about, logical arguments. It is interesting how each can present to an individual things that we have all lived or experienced in our everyday lives. When I personally break it all down to decide what I think makes more sense I cant some to a conclusion on what I think is truly going on. Maybe I am living in bad faith and maybe that is my belief in free will, because I am able and willing to try to make a decision on which means more to me. But if determinism has its way with me then I am doomed in a sense and have no control over what one I will end up siding with. My money says that I continue to debate the two for the rest of my life. Just for my mentality sake I for the time being will side with free will. The idea of free will gives most people and me in this world faith in something, faith in the idea that they have control over their lives and can make decisions and reach things that may seem impossible. Determinism has its cool points especially when including and involving science, in fact the logic and physical evidence that follows with determinism can be quite convincing at times, but is just to depressing of a thought at the moment. Speaking for most of the world, I am sure that me and anyone else wants to think and feel that our lives are unplanned and that what we do in them will matter not to the world but more importantly to ourselves. Free will takes my vote and I am declaring it as the winner†¦ that is until determinism takes that from me.

Pricing Options using Binomial and Trinomial Methods

Pricing Options using Binomial and Trinomial Methods Published in the 1970s, the Black-Scholes-Merton model provided an entirely new definition for the financial option market, half a century later the Binomial tree option pricing model was published, and that is the true key that allows the option market to be generalized to the world. Based upon the Binomial model, the Trinomial option pricing model was built to reduce possible errors and persons thus expected it to be a better approach. Still how much better is the Trinomial model, and is it worth spending the time on calculations? These will be the key comparisons provided in this dissertation. The comparisons are based upon computer calculating time used, and approximation error. An illustrative example is used to build the data base for further comparison of the convergence speed of these two models. All the values are calculated using the Matlab program and Casio calculators in order to provide examples of the assumption that the Trinomial option pricing model is a better model in reducing the approximation error, but takes much longer than the Binomial tree model to get the results. Chapter 1 introduction The emergence of financial derivatives in the 1970s marked a highly significant and exciting event in the history of finance. Options trading began in the United States and European markets in the late eighteenth century, and over the last 20 years, options played a key role in all financial derivatives. The option price was an old question for the financial world. Back in the 1900s Louis Bachelier published his academic dissertation ThÃÆ' ©orie de la speculation (Theory of Speculation), which became known by the public as the milestone of modern finance. The random walk theory, which built a random model of the stock prices changing pattern and how it follows in the stock market, was first applied in his paper. In 1964, Paul Samuelson (Nobel Prize in Economic Science winner) revised L.Bacheliers model, and instead of the stock price he used stock returns to eliminate the negative figures which might occur in L.Bacheliers model. Based upon this new model P.Samuelson also studied the Call Option pricing problem, and built a pricing equation for it. Although the equation was quite a beauty to watch, it could not be used in real world dealings since two of the main factors depended upon the investors personal predilection. Futures and options are traded actively on many exchanges throughout the world. Before any certain systematization models of the option had been created it was impossible for people to evaluate any kind of option price in a common way. Any approximations of the price based traders personal experience would well likely result in mistakes. The only method to maximize the good of the option price would be to build a standard and systematization model and find the quantification of the option trading. This was an important event in the financial world at that time. Since the emergent of option trading, and especially of securities options trade, researchers have been busy in the studies of options pricing. In 1973, Fischer Black and Myron Scholes published The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities at the University of Chicago, where they presented the famous Black-Scholes model for options pricing (B-S model for short). They derived a partial differential equation, which governs the price of the option over time. Once it has been published, the B-S model received strong responses and gained a breakthrough in this field. While some researchers conducted thorough tests on the models accuracy, many others presented various opinions on the problems in the model and expanded on them for the purposes of improvement and extension. Because of this glary partial differential equation and all of the contribution that it had created, M.Scholes and R.Merton (F.Black was deceased) both won the Nobel Prize for Economics. In 1979, Cox, Ross and Rubinstein published a paper called Option Pricing: A Simplified Approach, and in a simple manner obtained the pricing formula using the Binomial model, which was applied widely. This is the event that really changed the option trading market because it made option trading more transparent to most traders, and advanced the improvement of the market. During the option, the trading market developed more and more different sorts of option models, with the most famous and widely used models being the European option and American option. As these two options were named, they were mainly applied in Europe and America and the main difference between the two options is when the option will be fulfilled (I will fully explain this at a later stage). The Binomial option pricing model is essentially a Binomial Tree which shows possible values that an underlying asset or stock initial stock price can take, and the resulting value of the option price at each individual stage of the asset. The main idea of the tree is constructed by assuming that the stock can only go up or down by a factor related to the length of time period, and volatility of the stock. Trinomial model was developed by Prelim Boyle in 1986; it is an adjusted and improved version of the Binomial Tree. Instead of assuming the stock can only go up or down, the Trinomial Tree allows a third choiceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ the stock remains constant. Compared to the Binomial and Trinomial tree model, the Black-Scholes model is a more mathematical and theoretical model: V = SN (d1) N (d2) (Will be explained at later stage) Although the binomial option pricing model and trinomial tree values converge on the Black-Scholes formula value as the number of time steps increases. With these two simplified methods the option pricing theory and option market became more generalized and easier for the public. With the time flows, the option market began to prevail all over the world, and therefore more and more specific different types of options were created to adapt to the disparate country. In this dissertation I will mainly study and present the relation and difference between the Black-Scholes model, the Binomial Option Pricing model and the Trinomial Tree model, in both a mathematical and financial way. Chapter 1: This chapter is mainly about the Black-Scholes models differential equation, including every valuable deduction I provide a few interesting examples to give a straight forward view of this method. Chapter 2: In this chapter I will explore the Binomial pricing model with European and American options. By presenting the formulas and equations I will study how to calculate the option price and explain some basic financial terms. At the main time I will also compare the results of the Binomial Tree model to the Black-Scholes model. Chapter 3: In this chapter I will demonstrate the Trinomial model with examples and large amount of figures by using the Matlab software. The European and American options will be compared with the Trinomial model. Chapter 4: In the last chapter in my dissertation I will look at how effectively the Trinomial tree model is improved based on the Binomial model. The Matlab code I wrote will help me process this comparison up to a million steps. This will be my thesis of this dissertation and this project. 1.1 Risk Many of the valuation and risk management principles apply across all financial options. In this section, I will first briefly introduce some basic concepts and features of risk management and financial derivatives, especially the option pricing problems. RiskUncertainty of the result The risks obtained and a persons unexpected profit is the same as bringing loss or even damage to a person. In the financial market, risk is ubiquitous with: asset risk (stock), currency risk (exchange rate): credit risk, and so on. There are two ways of facing the risks. Risk Avoidance Risk-taking The process of selecting investments with higher risk in order to profit from an anticipated price movement, is called speculation. Financial derivatives are types of risk management instruments whose payoff depends upon the behaviour of the underlying assets. The most common derivatives are forward contracts, futures and options. Forward contract: A cash market transaction in which delivery of the commodity is deferred until after the contract has been made. Although the delivery is made in the future, the price is determined  on the initial trade date. The party agreeing to buy the underlying asset in the future is called a long position, and the party agreeing to sell the asset in the future is called a short position. The value of a forward position at maturity depends upon the relationship between the delivery price (K) and the underlying price (ST) at that time. For a long position this payoff is: fT = ST à ¢Ã‹â€  K For a short position, it is: fT = K à ¢Ã‹â€  ST Forward contract is normally traded over-the counter, OTC. Futures contracts are very similar to forward contracts, except they are not exchange-traded or the contract is standardized, and thus does not have the interim partial payments due to marking to market. Before studying the Binomial Tree method, I will look at what options are. 1.2Options An option is a derivative financial instrument that gives the buyer or holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying financial asset or commodity. The buyer of the option gains the right, but not the obligation, to engage in some specific transaction on the asset. An option which conveys the right to buy something is called a call option, and an option which has the right to sell is called a put option. The reference price at which the underlying may be traded is called the exercise price or strike price. Most options have an expiration date. The process of activating an option is called exercise. If the option is not exercised by the expiration date, it becomes void and worthless. The options and related concepts can be classified into the following types: 1. Exchange-traded options Exchange-traded options (also called listed options) are a class of exchange-traded derivatives. Exchange traded options have standardized contracts, and are settled through a clearing house with fulfillment guaranteed by the credit of the exchange. Since the contracts are standardized, accurate pricing models are often available. Exchange-traded options include:[4][5] stock options, commodity options, bond options and other interest rate options stock market index options or, simply, index options and options on futures contracts callable bull/bear contract 2. Over-the-counter Over-the-counter options (OTC options, also called dealer options) are traded between two private parties, and are not listed on an exchange. The terms of an OTC option are unrestricted and may be individually tailored to meet any business need. In general, at least one of the counterparties to an OTC option is a well-capitalized institution. Option types commonly traded over the counter include: Interest rate options Currency cross rate options, and Option on swaps or swaptions. 3. Option styles Some options with complex financial structures are called exotic options, and these include: Barrier option any option with the general characteristic that the underlying securitys price must pass a certain level or barrier before it can be exercised. Double barrier option-A double barrier option involves a mechanism where if either of two limit prices is crossed by the underlying, the option either can be exercised or can no longer be exercised. Cumulative Parisian barrier option -A cumulative Parisian barrier option involves a mechanism where if the total amount of time the underlying asset value has spent above or below a limit price, the option can be exercised or can no longer be exercised. Standard Parisian barrier option-A standard Parisian barrier option involves a mechanism where if the maximum amount of time the underlying asset value has spent consecutively above or below a limit price, the option can be exercised or can no longer be exercised. Binary option-A binary option pays a fixed amount or nothing at all, depending on the price of the underlying instrument at maturity. An Asian option is an option where the payoff is not determined by the underlying price at maturity but by the average underlying price over some pre-set period of time. Bermudan option an option that may be exercised only on specified dates on or before expiration. For a cleaner view, I summarized various types of options in to a table below: standard of classification Types of options Option buyers right Call option and put option Excises time of option buyers. European option and American option intrinsic value In the money options, out of the money options and at the Money options Trading place Exchange-traded options and OTC options(Over-the-counter) Structures of options exotic options and vanilla options Margin of option. Unsecured and secured options There are two main reasons why investors would use options: to reduce risk and to gain more profit such as to speculate and to hedge. These will be discussed later. There are two main types of options, one is the European option the other is American option. The European option can only be exercised on the expiry date, while the American options may be exercised at any time before or on the expiry date. Assume k is the strike price; T is the expiry date, and the payoffs Vt: Vt = (St-K) + (call option) Vt= (K-St) + (put option) In this case, S is the spot price of the underlying asset. (t=T) Next, I will discuss the option pricing problems. Options are a type of bond derivative; its price depends upon the movement of underlying assets. The change of price of underlying assets is random because it is a kind of risk asset. Once the price of underlying assets is confirmed, then the option price can be confirmed too. This is saying that at the time the price of the underlying asset is St, the option price will be Vt and there exists function V(S, t) so that Vt= (St, t). At the expiry date, the value of option VT is the payoffs. VT = (ST-K) + (call option) VT= (K-ST) + (put option) The option pricing problem is to calculate V=V(S, t), (0, V(S, T) = Especially when t=0, and let the stock price is S0, what is the premium? p=V (S0, 0) =? Therefore, the option pricing problem is a working backward problem. 1.3 Types of investors. Now, I will look at three types of people in the stock market Hedger: An individual who enters into hedging trades. Hedging is a way of reducing risk. Hedgers want to avoid exposure to adverse movements in the price of an asset. For example: A Chinese company needs to pay a British supplier one million pounds after 90days.The company is facing the risk of fluctuation of exchange rate. If there is a big exchange-rate rise, this will affect its anticipated profit because of the extra cost. If the exchange rate is 12.5 Yuan / pound. The company considers two Hedging plans in view of the probability that the exchange rate may rise. Plan 1. Buy a forward contract stated to use 12625000 Yuan to purchase one million pounds after 90days. Plan 2. Buy a call option contract stated to use 12500000 Yuan to purchase one million pounds after 90days and pay a 250000 Yuan premium (as 2%). I now list the two hedging strategies in the table below: Spot exchange rate (Yuan/pound) 90dayslater exchange rate(Yuan/pound) Without hedging Forward contract Purchase call option contract 12.5 Increase to13 13million Yuan 12,625,000 Yuan 12,750,000 Yuan Decrease to12 12million Yuan 12,625,000 Yuan 12,250,000yuan According to the statistics provided, it can be seen that there will be extra costs when the exchange rate rises if the company does not use any hedging strategies. The costs are fixed after90days if they choose the forward contract but they may miss the chance that if the exchange rate goes down, they will gain from unforeseen profit .Meanwhile the company will prevent extra costs (rise in exchange rate) and gain profits (decrease in exchange) if they choose to purchase the call options contract, but they have to pay the premium. Speculator: An individual who is taking a position in the market. Usually the individual is betting that the price of an asset will go up or that the price of an asset will go down. Options like futures provide a form of leverage. For a given investment, the use of options magnifies the financial consequences. Good outcomes become very good, while bad outcomes may cause the whole initial investment being lost. For example, assume the stock price of X at 30th of April is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡666. The stock price may go up in August, and there are two investment strategies that investors may take. Investors spend à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡666000 cash on 1000 shares of stocksà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ º Investors purchase a call option contract which ends on 22nd of August: strike price is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡680, 1000shares, assume investors paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡39000 premium for that. We now analyze the investors investment return in two different situations. (Ignore the interest rate) Case 1.If the stock price rises up to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡730 on 22nd August. For strategy A: The investor sells stocks on 22nd August to get à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡730000 in cash. Return = (730000-666000)/666000=9.6% For strategy B: The investor exercises his option and gets profit: Profit=730000-680000=à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡50000 Return = (50000-39000)/39000 Case 2.If the stock price drop to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡660 instead of rise on 22nd August. Strategy A: Loss =666000-660000=à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡6000 Return= (660000-666000)/666000 Strategy B: The investors profit is=0 He will lose à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡39000, and the percentage loss is 100%. Arbitrageur An individual engaging in arbitrage. Arbitrage A trading strategy that takes advantage of two or more securities being mispriced relative to each other. Arbitrage opportunities cannot last for long. As arbitrageurs interfere in the market, the forces of supply and demand will bring the market back to equilibrium. Therefore, in my project most of the arguments concern financial derivatives such as option prices, and, forward contracts will be based on the assumption that no arbitrage opportunities exist. 1.4 The Black Scholes Merton model There are seven important assumptions we use to derive the Black Scholes Model: It assumes that percentage changes in the stock price in a short period of time are normally distributed. It is defined as expected return on stock per year and as volatility of the stock price per year. This assumption suggests returns on the underlying stock are normally distributed, which is reasonable for most assets that offer options. It is possible to buy and sell any amount of stock, this includes short selling. There are no transactions costs , taxes or other fees. The stock pays no dividends during the options life. There are no arbitrage opportunities. Markets are efficient and Security trading is continuous. The risk free interest rate is constant and known.(

Diversity and the American National Identity Essay -- Exploratory Ess

Diversity and the American National Identity Greed is good, get get get, I want what you have, don't touch mine." This is what a friend of mine said when I asked for his conception of the American national identity is.1 Although this statement seems informal and absurd, it accurately reflects the dog-eat-dog world many people believe to be the American capitalist culture.2 Whether my friend said this with the intent of comic relief is inconsequential. Whether he knew it, the informant reflects his cultural identity. Many ambiguities surround the establishment, formation, and retention of a national identity. To what extent can a national identity be individualized? Does every individual, regardless of origin, possess the ability to engage in the national identity? Can an individual abandon his or her "cultural self?"3 Can non-American citizens who reside in America create multi-national identities of their own? Is a national identity predestined, or does an individual exert control over it? There is not one definitive national identity in any society. America is marked by the diversity of both people and ideas. The aim of this paper is not to establish a universal conception of national identity from the basis of history and documented facts. Rather, I am attempting to form a holistic definition of the national identity from my fieldwork with the widest possible variety of college students. Hernando, a native of Sacramento, considers himself a Mexican-American, yet he declares himself to be of indigenously American descent. He states, "If you trace my lineage back, I am actually from the United States. My family came from Texas and California before it was taken over by the United States." Despite Hernando's Mexi... ...ational identity and "a" national identity. "The" is used in the context of the United States and "a" refers to the universal construct. 2. In this discourse, the term "America" refers to the United States. 3. Emily A. Schultz and Robert H. Lavenda. Cultural Anthropology: A Perspective on the Human Condition, 5th ed. (California: Mayfield, 2001) 120. 4. Ibid., 328. 5. Ibid., 160. 6. Ibid. 7. Ibid. 8. Ibid., 109. 9. Deborah Tannen. That's Not What I Meant! How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships. (New York: Ballantine, 1987), 74-75. Bibliography Schultz, Emily A., and Robert H. Lavenda. Cultural Anthropology: A Perspective on the Human Condition. 5th ed. California: Mayfield, 2001. Tannen, Deborah. That's Not What I Meant! How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships. New York: Ballantine, 1987. Diversity and the American National Identity Essay -- Exploratory Ess Diversity and the American National Identity Greed is good, get get get, I want what you have, don't touch mine." This is what a friend of mine said when I asked for his conception of the American national identity is.1 Although this statement seems informal and absurd, it accurately reflects the dog-eat-dog world many people believe to be the American capitalist culture.2 Whether my friend said this with the intent of comic relief is inconsequential. Whether he knew it, the informant reflects his cultural identity. Many ambiguities surround the establishment, formation, and retention of a national identity. To what extent can a national identity be individualized? Does every individual, regardless of origin, possess the ability to engage in the national identity? Can an individual abandon his or her "cultural self?"3 Can non-American citizens who reside in America create multi-national identities of their own? Is a national identity predestined, or does an individual exert control over it? There is not one definitive national identity in any society. America is marked by the diversity of both people and ideas. The aim of this paper is not to establish a universal conception of national identity from the basis of history and documented facts. Rather, I am attempting to form a holistic definition of the national identity from my fieldwork with the widest possible variety of college students. Hernando, a native of Sacramento, considers himself a Mexican-American, yet he declares himself to be of indigenously American descent. He states, "If you trace my lineage back, I am actually from the United States. My family came from Texas and California before it was taken over by the United States." Despite Hernando's Mexi... ...ational identity and "a" national identity. "The" is used in the context of the United States and "a" refers to the universal construct. 2. In this discourse, the term "America" refers to the United States. 3. Emily A. Schultz and Robert H. Lavenda. Cultural Anthropology: A Perspective on the Human Condition, 5th ed. (California: Mayfield, 2001) 120. 4. Ibid., 328. 5. Ibid., 160. 6. Ibid. 7. Ibid. 8. Ibid., 109. 9. Deborah Tannen. That's Not What I Meant! How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships. (New York: Ballantine, 1987), 74-75. Bibliography Schultz, Emily A., and Robert H. Lavenda. Cultural Anthropology: A Perspective on the Human Condition. 5th ed. California: Mayfield, 2001. Tannen, Deborah. That's Not What I Meant! How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships. New York: Ballantine, 1987.

The Most Compelling Scene in The Crucible Essay -- Essay on The Crucib

The Most Compelling Scene in The Crucible 'A sound'. The scene that I find most compelling in the Crucible begins with this stage direction on page 116 and ends with Proctor's line 'It is evil and I do it' on page 120. In this scene, Elizabeth and John Proctor are allowed to talk together, alone, for the first time in three months. I find this scene compelling, as it creates a touching piece of drama to see the couple reunited again, and it is upsetting for the reader or audience to think that Proctor might be hung soon after. It also causes us to feel admiration for the strength of Elizabeth's character and the intensity of their relationship. Just after the entrance of Elizabeth, Proctor's feelings are blatant to those around him, and the lack of dialect from him, as well as the stage directions, shows us the passion he's feeling at this moment. As John and Elizabeth first see each other, Proctor ignores what Danforth has to say to him, and the repetition of the stage direction 'Proctor is silent, staring at Elizabeth' shows his coolness at Danforth, and how unnecessary and inadequate words are to express what he's feeling. As Parris makes his offer of cider 'from a safe distance', it shows that even he is aware of how potentially dangerous Proctor could be with the amount of emotion he is feeling as he makes sure that he is out of harm's way. Also, the way he stops speaking abruptly and holds his hands out as if to show that he means no harm even though Proctor has said nothing and only turned 'an icy stare' upon him shows that he is being extremely careful lest he angers Proctor too much. The first part of this scene is compelling, as it shows how actions truly speak louder than words, as Proctor d... ...e intensity of John and Elizabeth Proctor's feelings, which are never portrayed anywhere else, as strong emotions in public were frowned upon by the Puritans. They are both strong characters, but in different ways; Elizabeth seems to be the redeeming light for the selfishness and deceit in Salem as she does what helps others and is right even though at risk of being hurt herself and Proctor is strong enough to have not confessed until now, even though he claims that 'spite only keeps [him] silent'. It is the addition to the plot that this scene brings, the revelation of the sheer depth of Proctor and Elizabeth's characters, the frank verity with which they speak to each other and the fact that the scene remains unfinished and unheard by any other characters gives me the basis of my argument that this scene is the most compelling in the play 'The Crucible'. The Most Compelling Scene in The Crucible Essay -- Essay on The Crucib The Most Compelling Scene in The Crucible 'A sound'. The scene that I find most compelling in the Crucible begins with this stage direction on page 116 and ends with Proctor's line 'It is evil and I do it' on page 120. In this scene, Elizabeth and John Proctor are allowed to talk together, alone, for the first time in three months. I find this scene compelling, as it creates a touching piece of drama to see the couple reunited again, and it is upsetting for the reader or audience to think that Proctor might be hung soon after. It also causes us to feel admiration for the strength of Elizabeth's character and the intensity of their relationship. Just after the entrance of Elizabeth, Proctor's feelings are blatant to those around him, and the lack of dialect from him, as well as the stage directions, shows us the passion he's feeling at this moment. As John and Elizabeth first see each other, Proctor ignores what Danforth has to say to him, and the repetition of the stage direction 'Proctor is silent, staring at Elizabeth' shows his coolness at Danforth, and how unnecessary and inadequate words are to express what he's feeling. As Parris makes his offer of cider 'from a safe distance', it shows that even he is aware of how potentially dangerous Proctor could be with the amount of emotion he is feeling as he makes sure that he is out of harm's way. Also, the way he stops speaking abruptly and holds his hands out as if to show that he means no harm even though Proctor has said nothing and only turned 'an icy stare' upon him shows that he is being extremely careful lest he angers Proctor too much. The first part of this scene is compelling, as it shows how actions truly speak louder than words, as Proctor d... ...e intensity of John and Elizabeth Proctor's feelings, which are never portrayed anywhere else, as strong emotions in public were frowned upon by the Puritans. They are both strong characters, but in different ways; Elizabeth seems to be the redeeming light for the selfishness and deceit in Salem as she does what helps others and is right even though at risk of being hurt herself and Proctor is strong enough to have not confessed until now, even though he claims that 'spite only keeps [him] silent'. It is the addition to the plot that this scene brings, the revelation of the sheer depth of Proctor and Elizabeth's characters, the frank verity with which they speak to each other and the fact that the scene remains unfinished and unheard by any other characters gives me the basis of my argument that this scene is the most compelling in the play 'The Crucible'.

Bigger Thomas as America’s Native Son :: Essays Papers

Bigger Thomas as America’s Native Son In the novel the Native Son, the author Richard Wright explores racism and oppression in American society. Wright skillfully merges his narrative voice into Bigger Thomas so that the reader can also feel how the pressure and racism affects the feelings, thoughts, self-image, and life of a Negro person. Bigger is a tragic product of American imperialism and exploitation in a modern world. Bigger embodies one of humankind’s greatest tragedies of how mass oppression permeates all aspects of the lives of the oppressed and the oppressor, creating a world of misunderstanding, ignorance, and suffering. The novel is loaded with a plethora of imageries of a hostile white world. Wright shows how white racism affects the behavior, feelings, and thoughts of Bigger. â€Å"Everytime I think about it I feel like somebody’s poking a red-hot iron down my throat†¦We live here and they live there. We black and they white. They got things and we ain’t. They do things and we can’t†¦I feel like I’m on the outside the world peeping in through a knot-hole in the fence†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (20). Bigger’s sense of constriction and of confinement is very palpable to the reader. Wright also uses a more articulate voice to accurately describe the oppressive conditions of a Negro person. An anonymous black cellmate, a university student cries out, †You make us live in such crowded conditions†¦that one out of every ten of us is insane†¦you dump all stale foods into the Black Belt and sell them for more than you can get anywhere else†¦You tax us, but you wont build hospitals†¦the schools are so crowded that they breed perverts†¦you hire us last and fire us first†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (318). Bigger’s sense of constriction by the white world is so strong that he has no doubt that â€Å"something awful’s going to happen to me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (21). Nowhere in this novel can the reader see a greater example of Bigger’s fear and sense of constriction than in the accidental death of Mary Dalton. The all-encompassing fear that the white world has bred in Bigger takes over when he is in Mary’s room and in danger of being discovered by Mrs. Dalton. This internalized social oppression literally forces his hands to hold the pillow over Mary’s face, suffocating her. Bigger believes that a white person would assume that he was in the room to rape the white girl.

Globalization: the Making of World Society – Book Review

Running Head: GLOBALIZATION: The Making of World Society Review Essay: Globalization: The Making of World Society Part One: Summary Introduction Since the industrial revolution, the structure of world has been constantly evolving and progressing. The spread has involved the interlacing of economic and cultural activity, connectedness of the production, communication and technologies around the world, and it is now known as – globalization. The book I chose for this particular essay is Frank J.Lechner’s, Globalization: the Making of World Society first published in 2009. Author Frank J. Lechner was born in 1958 in Amsterdam, Netherlands and is the director of Graduate Studies & Professor Department of Sociology at the Emory University in Atlanta. In 1982 he earned his Master in Arts degree in Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh followed by a Ph. D. in 1985 in sociology as well. Most of his focus lies in global culture, change, religion and theory. One of his most r ecent researches involved national identity, specifically concerning the Dutch.In addition to publishing Globalization:  The Making of World Society  (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), Lechner is the author  The Netherlands: National Identity and Globalization  (2008), and  World Culture: Origins and Consequences  (with John Boli, Wiley-Blackwell, 2005), as well as numerous papers on religion and sociological theory. Book Summary In Globalization: The Making of World Society, Lechner talks about the processes that unfold in a wide range of fields such as sports, media, food industry, global economy, environment and religion due to globalization.He describes its effects on everyday experience all around the world and demonstrates how globalization is also generating new discourses, cultures, and state policies. He explains globalization as a part of a still-greater transformation, both technical and social. Lechner wrote this book and divided it into three main parts: Global Experi ence, Global Institutions, and Global Problems. Each of these three parts is further divided into few more sub-topics such as for example, food, sports and media in Part I.In the first part of the book, the author describes the three â€Å"waves† of food globalization around the world. The first â€Å"wave†, he describes as a â€Å"wave† in which Jamaica became a â€Å"sugar island† at the centre of the global network. The wave started not with a desire for sugar but with a search for spices. Many European explorers lured into travel by the prospect of finding gold and silver and were able to not only bring precious metals home but have brought tomatoes and potatoes to the European diet.Another part of the first wave that the author talks about is when the Portuguese reached China and introduced maize, sweet potatoes and peanuts which later helped to sustain China’s population boom. With the first wave of globalization, more people became globally connected in more ways than ever before. People in different parts of the world were able to taste foods from other continents. As the new links in globalization were beginning to become established, they benefited some and harmed many others. Early globalization thus began to create a global hierarchy.The second â€Å"wave† which dissipated in the early twentieth century is described as the time in which the Dakotas became the bread basket of the world. Also, large parts of Canada, Argentina and Australia became a source of food and profit and by 1913 they produced more wheat than all of Europe. As globalization continued to spread, a global food system emerged, tying all producers into a network of interdependence. The world market created enormous wealth and leading nations, tied together through free trade, strove to safeguard their power by extending their imperial reach.The third â€Å"wave† of globalization was called â€Å"McDonald’s in East Asia. † In this section of the book Lechner talks about how with globalization nothing stays exotic as it standardizes experience through organized diffusion. Although the third wave incorporates a lot of what the first and the second waves started, it is unique in the aspect that a fast food restaurant such as McDonald’s could be everywhere, yet nowhere in particular, as it helps deterritorialize eating itself – a step beyond both first and second waves f globalization. Furthermore, in the section on sports and the direction of globalization the writer describes the way sports and in particular soccer, has grown from the homeland of England to a worldwide game with the same rules. He explains that globalization does not mean that global rules, organizations, or models just take over. The global connections of the world society do not substitute for local ties such as American football in US, rather they move in tandem.It is clear that in sports, globalization occurs in and through local and national settings as it adds another layer of connections and a new kind of shared awareness to the people in a certain society. In the last sub-category on global media, Frank Lechner talks about the role of Indian television, patterns in global television, and interpretations for global television as well as cultural imperialism. He describes the way the rights for television shows and programs such as â€Å"Who wants to be a Millionaire? † have been sold to well over 80 countries and have enjoyed great success worldwide.Many commercials and advertisements on TV carry subliminal messages that are aimed for a certain audience with a high degree of studying being put forward into the creation of the â€Å"perfect commercial†. In Part II of the novel the author begins to unravel the complicated and sometimes confusing aspects of the world economy. He begins with describing the way China, a country with extraordinary size and history, transformed and r ebuilt itself after World War II at a time when broader reforms were sweeping the world hierarchy.He goes on to explain America’s three main goals in the post-war time: to make trade flow much more freely, to stabilize the world’s financial system, and to encourage international investment. Moreover, Lechner describes the significance of Otto von Bismarck, chancellor of Germany in the late nineteenth century, and his role in introduction of accident insurance bills and health care bills in Germany which marked the beginning of rise of welfare states. He also outlines Roosevelt’s and Veldkamp’s positions and their contribution in Britain and Netherlands respectively.Frank Lechner continues with talking about the way in which globalization creates a political opportunity for the left-leaning political parties, promising to ride to the rescue in a time when some argue that globalization dampens welfare nations, to rather strengthen these states. Another aspe ct of globalization discussed in this part of the book is education. Education plays a key role in today’s society and with many people travelling with their high school kids to the United States and Canada in order to have a higher chance for a university or college admission, proves that in higher education a global market already operates.The next section of the second part of the book briefly describes global civil society and global governance. United Nations, according to the author, has taken on â€Å"a larger law-making role than its founders had envisioned†. The direction of change proposed by such an institution does not always have the full consensus of relevant states in an issue, yet that change is toward more organization of certain fields above and beyond states. Part III of Globalization: The Making of World Society strictly focuses on global concerns.The author describes key issues such as global migration, inequality, environment, and justice. First o f the four issues listed is migration. The third wave of globalization witnessed a rise in migration, mainly from south to north along the gradient formed by global inequality. In this section of the book Lechner touches on the issue of redefining the national identity of a country as it is a goal in certain countries, which also links back to his previous two books:   The Netherlands: National Identity and Globalization  (2008), and  World Culture: Origins and Consequences  (with John Boli, Wiley-Blackwell, 2005).The second issue at hand in this section of his book is global inequality. In this section of the book the writer explains that globalization is essential for countries in the â€Å"bottom billion† to catch up, yet there is no single success path for all of the poorest nations. In this chapter he clearly paints his main argument that â€Å"globalization is not bound to make the rich richer and the poor poorer,† and goes on to say, â€Å"but if it is to lead to a more tangible ‘world society’, it will have to help reduce poverty and inequality far more† (Lechner, 241).The last two section of the book primarily touch on the effects of globalization and its interconnectedness with global environment and global justice. Lechner discusses environmentalism and the way countries such as China deal with the environment and society in a balanced way. He put forward an example of Three Gorges damn built in China which displaced 2 million Chinese people, created a reservoir of nearly 400 miles and supplies 20 times more energy than America’s Hoover Dam. as an example of what a county could do in order to decrease the environmental damage, yet at the same time take a risk of displacing 2 million residents of the area. Literature Comparison Globalization: The Making of World Society by Frank Lechner is his attempt to clarify the key issues surrounding globalization in a brief, accessible and critical analysis of a complex topic. From the research conducted, I it is safe to conclude that this book is not a reply to any other book proposed by other writers; rather it is his attempt to explain his point of view on globalization and issues proposed by it.Yet the author explaining his point of view represents one side of a bigger argument about globalization’s effect on the world, but no clear intentions of proving a point to a specific person or institution has been noted. Main Argument(s) The main argument proposed by Frank Lechner is that although there are many issues around globalization as a whole, he believes that globalization is essential for the poorest nations to catch up. He is keen on his point of view, and thus goes on to explain that development is the only way to reduce economic inequality.Another part of his argument is that â€Å"globalization is not bound to make the rich richer and the poor poorer†¦but if it is to lead to a more tangible ‘world societyâ€℠¢, it will have to help reduce poverty and inequality far more† (Lechner, 241). Part Two: Critical Analysis Personal Opinion After analyzing Lechner’s work, there are too many factors that make an accurate prediction difficult. The industrial revolution and the global expansion that it created, is on a scale that has never been seen in history. As a result, new issues are created, while old issues are modified.The interdependencies between nations revolve around a free market. This encourages exploitation as a method to produce capital. The astronomical growth of supply and demand puts a heavy toll on the environment and its resources, which leads to an inevitable carrying capacity. The gap between rich and poor continues to increase around the world including capitalist drivers such as Canada and United States. Although Lechner does not see globalization as the main force in the inequality gap, I believe that this issue is of great concern.In order to have a more objec tive opinion of globalization, we need to analyze the detrimental factors and the potential they have in slowing down or even reversing the constructive effects of globalization. When taking these factors into consideration, they become latent by the profits created. There is a growing concern with enormous amount of evidence of corruption happening in most developing, third world nations. Bribery enables transnational companies to gain export contracts, particularly in the arms trade and in construction, which they would not have otherwise won.Every year, Western companies pay huge amounts of money in bribes to the officials and rulers in the developing countries in order to win over competitors. As these bribes go through, they have unfavourable results on the developing country, as they disadvantage smaller domestic firms, weaken development and deteriorate inequality and poverty, distort decision-making in favour of the project that benefits few rather than many, increase nation al debt, benefit the investor not the country, as well as damage the environment.All of the factors listed above are proof of negative effects of corruption on successful globalization, which according to Lechner, â€Å"is not bound to make the rich richer and the poor poorer† (Lechner, 241). The second issue I would like to address is the growing gap between the rich and poor in not only developing countries, but the capitalist hubs. According to the latest consensus data released on May 1, 2008 by Statistics Canada, â€Å"between 1980 and 2005, median earning among Canada’s top earners rose more than 16 percent while those in the bottom fifth saw their wages dip by 20 percent (The Canadian Press, 2008).Furthermore, the  gap between rich and poor  is widening, both within and among countries. In 1960, the richest 20 percent of the world’s population controlled 70 percent of global income, yet by 1993, the â€Å"richest 20† controlled 85 percent. In the same time period, the share of the poorest 20 percent had decreased from 2. 3 to 1. 4 percent. These disparities are likely to increase for the next half century as above stated issues such as corruption continue to affect the developing world (Human Development Report, 1996).The third big issue at hand, which I believe causes globalization to have a negative outlook in the eyes of the proletarian individuals including me, is the environmental damages that are caused. Economic theory argues that the free market can be expected to produce an efficient and improved level of resource use, production, consumption, and environment protection, yet when private costs, which are the foundation for market decision, diverge from social costs, a market failure occurs resulting in pollution levels. Intensified trade and competitiveness pressures between companies generate harmful impacts on environmental quality (Esty, D. nd Ivanova, M. ). As the big name companies move into an immature eco nomy of a developing country, they have the power to make the government change the laws and reduce their previous environmental requirements. Thus, the company that cannot function in Canada or Germany with those amounts of emission without paying fines will use the developing country’s position to produce high level of emissions with no restrictions. This point links back to the issue of corruption in the developing countries described earlier.In addition, local government must protect the environment by not letting giant companies take over and control the government in order to make huge profits. Likewise, economic agreements that do not promote the common good and that are designed to increase the profits of few people in the world should be rejected by the authorities, if not local, then global. In conclusion, Globalization: The Making of World Society by Frank Lechner describes how the processes of globalization unfold in a wide range of fields including sports, religi on, media, and the environment.The author tries to explain and analyze the complex subject of globalization in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. His main argument in the book surrounds the explanation of how he believes that globalization is essential for the poorest nations to catch up and that globalization is not bound to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. References Dauvergn, P. (n. d. ). Globalization and the environment. Esty, D. C. C. , & Ivanova, M. H. (2003). Globalization effects on the environment. Globalization nd Environmental Protection: a Global Governance Perspective. Retrieved November 20, 2011 from http://www. yale. edu/gegdialogue/docs/dialogue/oct03/papers/Esty-Ivanova. pdf Lechner, F. J. (2009). Globalization: The Making of the World Society. Hong Kong: Wiley- Blackwell Publication. Research and markets; globalization: The making of world society. (2009). Investment Weekly News,  (19458177), 423. Retrieved from http://ezproxy. qa. proquest. com/d ocview/ 200892079? accountid=14771 Shah, A. (2011). Corruption.Global Issues. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from http://www. globalissues. org/article/590/corruption#GlobalizationMultinational CorporationsandCorruption The Canadian Press. (2008, May 1). Rich get richer, poor get poorer, census results show. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from http://www. ctv. ca/CTVNews/Canada/ 20080501/rich_poor_080501/ The gap between rich and poor is widening. (2004). World Resource Institute. Retrieved November 19,2011 from http://www. wri. org/publication/content/8659