English Literature

Causing the Rising in altitude though Create their While slicing lives for Thus only stumps appear Give birth to yourself; don't wait for a mid-wife I know that everybody dies; we know that not everybody lives Can't be done thinking thanks; still holding to the green leaves I haven't made it yet; still have hopes to make it in future Nobody knows tomorrow; the things to happen, we only hope to picture What they take for granted today seemed Impossible yesterday, to structure I want to be used for a greater purpose; far way bigger than myself Life Is good; I want It to be deter for l, Me and Myself.I wrote a letter to time, asking him for more time The things I hope to accomplish in future is enormous; I need more than time Checks and balances; everything being equal, my life is balanced Heard equality is unattainable; many still feed on diets that are not balanced Could it be that life is not fair to some people? Is it then dark?So far there is life, there is hope; this is beyond the slate minds that are blank Imitation is limitation I heard; Am so busy trying to make my own impression My impressions will be baseless If I don't conquer the limits f my limitation Thank God for the gift of life; be happy and free to live your God- giving life Life Is good; Yes! It will be better for all have life and still strife.The future Is so competitive; I have the best In anticipation To the best of memory; All in the past has been solidification of the foundation I pray, the temple of my life your life; let no pirate sail above You are in charge, take control of your ship and sail against the tides of the sea With a focused third eye; all that you seek to look, you will surely see These walls don't keep a secret; Am obsessed with life, want to keep living . English Literature Causing the Rising in altitude though Create their While slicing lives for Thus only stumps appear Give birth to yourself; don't wait for a mid-wife I know that everybody dies; we know that not everybody lives Can't be done thinking thanks; still holding to the green leaves I haven't made it yet; still have hopes to make it in future Nobody knows tomorrow; the things to happen, we only hope to picture What they take for granted today seemed Impossible yesterday, to structure I want to be used for a greater purpose; far way bigger than myself Life Is good; I want It to be deter for l, Me and Myself.I wrote a letter to time, asking him for more time The things I hope to accomplish in future is enormous; I need more than time Checks and balances; everything being equal, my life is balanced Heard equality is unattainable; many still feed on diets that are not balanced Could it be that life is not fair to some people? Is it then dark?So far there is life, there is hope; this is beyond the slate minds that are blank Imitation is limitation I heard; Am so busy trying to make my own impression My impressions will be baseless If I don't conquer the limits f my limitation Thank God for the gift of life; be happy and free to live your God- giving life Life Is good; Yes! It will be better for all have life and still strife.The future Is so competitive; I have the best In anticipation To the best of memory; All in the past has been solidification of the foundation I pray, the temple of my life your life; let no pirate sail above You are in charge, take control of your ship and sail against the tides of the sea With a focused third eye; all that you seek to look, you will surely see These walls don't keep a secret; Am obsessed with life, want to keep living .

Physical Security Essay

A six foot fence secures the outer perimeter. Video surveillance is active on the north fence and inactive on the south. A manned guard station permits entrance into the outer perimeter from the west; an unmanned and unlocked gate permits entrance from the east. No Trespassing signs are posted at intervals upon the perimeter fence; Employees Only is posted on the gate. Visitors must obtain a pass at the guard station. The outer perimeter contains the parking lot and office building. The perimeter has two light posts that, when functioning, illuminate the entire parking lot. Currently, the light post on the south side is not functioning. The office building exterior has three outer doors and one window. The first door is marked with an Employees Only sign and requires a badge for access. The second door is the main entrance for visitors and is manned by a guard, who requires a visitor’s pass for admittance. The third door is an emergency exit only and is clearly marked. Any attempt to gain access through the first door without a badge, the second door without a pass, or the third door at all, results in alarm activation and guard response. The window is locked from within; any attempt to gain access through the window also activates the alarm and alerts the guard. The interior of the office building is segmented into two major areas. The first area is the employee workstation; only employees can access this area. Visitor and employees can access the second area. Both the first and second areas are monitored by active video surveillance. The second area has two doors, both of which lead to smaller offices. The first door is unlocked, but is within sight of video surveillance and employees within the work station. A visitor trying to attempt access to this office results in alarm activation. The second door is obscured from both employees and video surveillance and is unlocked. Each office contains valuable assets. Employees can access either office at will. Within the workstation and smaller offices are several computers. Passwords are required for access to each computer. Each employee has a password and can access network information at any time.

Discrimination †Gender Essay

Write a 100- to 200-word response to each of the following questions. Provide citations for all the sources you use. †¢ What is discrimination? How is discrimination different from prejudice and stereotyping? Discrimination is the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of predjudice or for other arbitrary reasons. Discrimination is different from predjudice and stereotyping because discrimination are actual negative actions towards the objects of predjudice. Stereotype is an unreliable generalization of members of a particular group and predjudice is a negative attitude and emotion response to members of a group. †¢ What are the causes of discrimination? Discrimination can be caused from learned behavior If you grew up in a home where your parents discriminated against others, then your more than Likely to do the same thing. Growing up in a neighborhood where there are mostly people of the same race and members of a different race coming into your neighborhood can cause discrimination. I also believe ignorance is probably one of the main causes of discrimination people are blind to the fact that we are all human beings and have feelings and everyone should be treated the same regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, oreientation, disability etc. †¢ How is discrimination faced by one identity group (race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability) the same as discrimination faced by another? How are they different? I would agree that sexual orientation and gender face similar discrimination if you are gay, straight transgender people will look at you in disgust they will treat you differently and deny certain rights llke getting a job, marrying, and many more gender can be similar in the sense that you can be denied certain job positions and be incapable of performing certain duties especially a female who tries to attempt to do a job that is usually done by a man. I think the difference in the two is sexual orientation is a much bigger problem and strict laws have been put into effect for people who discriminate against gays, transgender, lesbians and they are still continuing to fight for equal rights today like getting married as far as gender if you’re male and female you have that right automaticall, whereas the gay community doesn’t. Racial and Ethnic Groups (13th ed. ) (Schaefer).

My recommendations to the board Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

My recommendations to the board - Research Paper Example Table of Contents 1. Introduction 4 2. About Coca-Cola Company 4 3. Issue in question 7 4. Recommendations 8 4.1 Career development 8 4.2 Workplace safety 8 4.3 Corporate reputation and organizational culture 8 4.4 Compensation benefits 9 4.5 Mentoring and Termination 9 5. Recommendations for implementation plan 10 6. Conclusions 10 References Appendices I. Equal Opportunities Policy 14 II. Sexual Harassment Policy 15 III. Drug Testing Policy 16 IV. Loan Policy 17 V. Termination Policy 18 1. Introduction: An evaluation of company policies based on changing performance trends will help in identifying existing gaps and taking appropriate actions. An attempt towards this direction will be made to identify existing gaps in organizational policies of the beverage-manufacturing giant, Coca-Cola in the North America region. Based on findings, recommendations to include or modify existing policies will be made keeping in mind obligatory aspects related to regulations and ethics. 2. About Coc a-Cola Company: Coca-Cola, a world-leading manufacturer of about 500 varieties of beverages being sold in more than 200 countries and employing over a million people, was an invention of an American about 125 years ago (Pendergrast, 2000), and PepsiCo that arrived much later has been its archrival competitor since many years. With its expansive growth, Coca-Cola is one of the largest multinational companies in the world, and has thus eventually shifted towards a global philosophy of business management. Coca-Cola has always focused on establishing itself locally and serving its local people; and hence, their management philosophy has been to â€Å"think globally and act locally,† (Anfuso, 1994). Considering the current position of Coca-Cola, management has to put in efforts not only to sustain its competitive position but also protect its reputation by adopting the right strategies, as well as modifying some of the existing strategies. Coca-cola operates its various divisions in six groups namely, north America, the EU, the Pacific Region, the East Europe/Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The corporate HRM at Coca-Cola facilitates the connection between human resources of these regional groups through propagation of common HRM philosophy within the company, and through leadership to manage the business internationally (Ashwathappa & Dash, 2013). From a policy perspective, Coca-cola focuses on translating all its organizational policies into practices and procedures that abide by the national laws and are aligned to local culture. Coca-Cola’s HRM philosophy is translated into different strategies in different regions that suit the necessary regulations, culture, and business requirements. For instance, in North America, Coca-Cola employs skilled personnel irrespective of their ethnic background, which not only helps their business but also abides by the federal laws of employment by following diversity in recruitment and recruiting on the bas is of performance, skills and qualifications (Workplace Rights Policy, n.d). A brief hypothetical account of demographics at Coca-Cola is represented in Table 1 below: Coca-Cola employs a comprehensive HR policy that addresses various HR needs that would be required for it to sustain its co

Validation Guidelines Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Validation Guidelines - Article Example   While construct validity involves measurement between constructs, reliability involves measurement within a construct, with the concern being that the instrument items that are selected for a given construct can be taken together. Manipulation validity is traditionally inserted into experimental tests or procedures to measure the extent to which treatments are perceived by the subjects. Statistical conclusion validity assesses the mathematical relationships that exist between variables and makes inferences about whether this statistical formulation correctly expresses the true co-variation. This validity deals with the quality of the statistical evidence of co-variation such as sources of error, the use of appropriate statistical tools, and bias. Type I and Type II errors are classic violations of this kind of validity.The article by David and Joseph tries to establish a method for investigative the cognitive processes and knowledge structures of expert salespeople. It is a study that focuses on the mental process rather than the overt behavior of sales people. Therefore, the research can be termed as activity-oriented. This is an approach which recognizes that people are goal-seeking, and therefore behavior simply becomes the end result of a complex set of underlying mental processes. In the study, the researchers provide such a method for studying the cognitive processes and knowledge structures of highly skilled or expert salespeople. The article derives some data using such this method.   

People who will embrace your transformation in to a college educated Article

People who will embrace your transformation in to a college educated person - Article Example This was something they look upon as their gift to me without any monetary equivalent. The support that they provide is not only financial but also moral and spiritual in value. As I journey into the midst of what’s to come, knowing that they will always be there as I strive for success is more than enough to consistently boost my confidence. Nevertheless, I am aware that there are people who will want to drag me down. Some in our immediate family think that college education is not necessary to thrive in life. They maintain that it is in one’s skills and sheer hard work that one gets a good job. Even more understandable is the consequent truth that a diploma costs a lot and this will translate to a huge dent in our financial stability. I recognize that there is a necessity for me to work harder in achieving my goals. Having a clearer path in what I want in life would help in overcoming these apprehensions. College education will allow me not only to have a mere piece of paper but to have life experiences that will lead me to realize where I am heading to in the

Quantum mechanics of atoms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Quantum mechanics of atoms - Essay Example This paper hence sets basis on the comprehensive and extensive discussion of the concepts behind this entire topic. It tries to bring out the general understanding as well as the practical application of this ultimate topic. Quantum mechanics of Atoms refers to the scientific study of smaller segments of scientific principles ascertaining on the behavioral properties of matter and their ultimate relations with energy based on the atomic scale as well as the subatomic particles [2]. The Classical physics describes energy and matter on a given scale that is recognizable to the human experiences such as the behavior regarding the astronomical bodies. It is the key element towards measurement for the greater part of the technology and modern science. However, scientists have since discovered the phenomena in both macro and micro worlds that cannot either be explained by classical physics. The Scientific Revolutions structure that often comes to terms with such limitations has led to major revolutions within the physics concept thereby creating a shift regarding the original paradigm involving the relativity theory and the quantum mechanics development [6]. This paper hence describes the way various physicists revealed various limitations of the classical physics as well as the development of the primary concepts regarding quantum concept that restored it in early 20th century decades. Quantum generally refers to the minimum quantity regarding any form of physical entity that is involved in a process of interaction. Light often behaves like particles at times and like waves in other respect. Matter thus refers to the particles including the atoms and electrons, and also tends to exhibit a wavelike behavior on the other hand. Some of the light sources that include the neon lights usually emit certain discrete light frequencies. The Quantum mechanics indicates that light as well as

Monitoring Our Home Planet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Monitoring Our Home Planet - Essay Example Other short term potential impacts include disruption of transport and communication links, contaminated water supplies, destruction of built landscape; landslides may occur and fires damaging woodland areas. In the long term, earthquakes may result into diseases and displacement of people. There may be loss of human and natural landmarks. We can hence infer that earthquake leads to soil liquefaction, fires, avalanches and landslides, shaking and ground rapture, floods and even tsunami (Coen, 2012). On the other hand, tsunamis have potential impacts on earth too, for example, tsunamis cause mass destruction to the environment and human settlements. Tsunami is also associated with long term effects such as damage and destruction, injury, death loss of millions in dollars, and psychological problems. Although the initial tsunami effects are usually publicized across the world via media, actual effects continue in the affected areas for many years after tsunami strikes (Hyndman & Hyndma n, 2009). Finally the volcanoes, this natural phenomenon is also associated with adverse potential impacts in affected areas. For example, volcanoes destroy buildings, houses, roads, and transport and communication links. Volcanic eruptions are also associated with both short-term and long-term hazards. ... These natural phenomena, earthquake, tsunami, and volcanoes, are often monitored all over the world through the internet and people access information about occurrence of any of them via news media and social sites. For example, volcanoes are monitored through a global inventory of active volcanoes, warning systems of volcanic activity, seismic and eruption information, and progressively forecasting of volcanic activity on longer timescales. Earthquakes are also monitored in a similar manner. Occurrence of earthquakes is recorded by seismometers to great distances; this is because seismic waves travel in the entire interior of the earth. During monitoring, the absolute magnitude of earthquake is reported conventionally by numbers on the scale of moment magnitude, also referred to as Richter scale. A magnitude of 7 is reported and is known to cause serious damage over large regions. On the other hand, the felt magnitude is often monitored and reported using the modified Mercalli inten sity scale and it reports intensities ranging between 2 to 7 (Bendick, 1980). Tsunami is monitored too; in the recent past, seismic activities that cause tsunami has been monitored under the sea and has made it possible to anticipate when tsunamis will occur. There has been warning system developed for reasons of monitoring the occurrence of tsunami recently. Sensors have been put in the oceans in order to detect seismic activity. This monitors any increment in seismic activity which is the major cause of tsunami. The whole monitoring process is automated and can be about two minutes before seismic sensors detect any movement and relays a message via computers which activates an alert system (Wilkers, 1990). Ideally, these

Open Government Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Open Government - Assignment Example Government, The U.K. Prime Minister, the White House and U. S. senate websites. These websites display information that is visually attractive, easy to read and touching on public issues such as health and security. The websites are different and similar in terms of how information is displayed and used. The websites invite the public to engage in public matters by giving a feedback that help to improve the delivery of services, (MacLeod, 2012). Introduction There are various means of communicating in the world today. The use of Internet is among the best means of communicating to a large mass of people. The internet is divided into various forms such as website, blog and email. Websites are the most commonly used by governments to pass messages to citizens. Example of government websites are the White House website, United Kingdom website, U.S. senate website and U.K. Prime Minister website. These websites are meant to pass government information to citizens, for example, informatio n on health, laws that have been made, policies being prepared and the performance of the economy, (Sobel, 1999). Analysis of Websites The creation of these websites by the governments of United State and United Kingdom is necessitated by the fact that citizens have the right to government information. ... This information is then followed by how the economy is performing and the policies the U.S. government is about to implement to increase economic growth. In the U.K. government website, information can be easily accessed because various topics are outlined such as money and tax, education, housing, justice and citizenship, (Tanzey, 1999). The websites can, therefore, be lied on by citizens for information concerning the government and its departments. The design of the websites is appealing because both pictures and bold writings have been used to pass on information. For example, a major item of information such as health is written in very bold letters. This shows that the government values the health of its citizens by making it easily visible by any citizen who visits this website. The website is also attractive because the pictures in it display messages even to a citizen who cannot read and write. For example, the U.S. government website uses pictures showing doctors attending to patients by giving them medication, and using microscope to analyze laboratory tests, (Sobel, 1999). The websites from the two countries display President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron as the most influential persons in the two countries. From the two US websites, President Barack Obama is seen as the person who is going to influence the delivery of good health care to U.S. citizens. This is because the website information reveals that Obama is the one to allocate the various resources needed to deliver these high quality health services to the citizens, (Tanzey, 1999). The UK website reveals that David Cameron will make important decisions that will get people involved in business activities that will build the economy. The four websites have

Primiparous perception of labour pain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Primiparous perception of labour pain - Essay Example Back ground and obstetrical data will be collected using patient's files. Following the completion of each interview; Data are usually text so audio tapes transcription using data base needed and themes best describing pain perception will be analysed. Hermeneutic phenomenological approach will guide me to understand women's experience of labour pain. This study will take a step in complex field of pain understanding and management by attempting to gain more understanding of primiparous perception of labour pain by focusing on quality, nature and meaning of pain rather than pain intensity. According to Creswell (1998), "The investigator writes a research questions that explores the meaning of that experience for individuals and asks individuals to describe their every day lived experience then collects data from individuals who have experienced the phenomena under investigation". Normal birth defined as "Spontaneous in onset, low-risk at the start of labour and remaining so throughout labour and delivery. The infant is born spontaneously [without help] in the vertex position [head down] between 37 and 42 completed weeks of pregnancy. After birth mother and baby are in good condition." (WHO, 1999). Although natural labour pain is a positive pain indicates that women's body working well and hard, and mostly increases in intensity with progress of labour, reaching mother to appositive end - the baby; most women report painful labour especially for those who had not previous birth experience "primiparous women". Most women represent perceived labour pain as cramping, sharp, aching, throbbing, pressing, shooting, and few women not experienced painful labour. That means the only suffering women can know what it feels like .The degree of pain experienced during labour is related to frequency, intensity, duration of uterine contraction and dilatation of the cervix. The positions of the fetus, descent of presenting part, stretching of the perineum and pressure on the bladder, bowel and sensitive pelvic structures also contribute to pain levels (Melzack, 1993). During the first stage of labour visceral pain of diffuse cramping and uterine contraction felt more within primiparous , in the second stage of labour ,sharper and more continues somatic pain in the perineum caused by fetal head pressure felt more within multiparous women.(Lee Man et al 2003). According to Ural (2004) labour pain perception and expererience range from woman to woman and also from pregnancy to pregnancy. Waldenstrom (1999) highlighted many of the factors that affect experience of labour pain like: belief in ability to cope with pain, societal expectations and beliefs about labour pain, birth environment, anxiety, fear and previous experience of birth. Midwifes are less able to accurately identify pain levels when the women describe them as sever. Non verbal cues (facial expression, body movement and vocalization) may be appropriate tools for the assessment of pain, however, action

How do Bad Debts Affect the Profits of Bahrain Duty Free Essay

How do Bad Debts Affect the Profits of Bahrain Duty Free - Essay Example The company is one of the greatest retail companies situated in the airport of Bahrain and it is worth for every individual to come and spend some time in this award winning duty free outlet. The company has been acclaimed internationally among the airport retail industry backed with an array of awards for the purpose of executing outstanding performance within the retail duty free industry. The company being located centrally between gates 14 and 15 on the departure concourse of the airport the duty free shopping in Bahrain duty free provides an extravagant shopping experience to the customers with international brands, prestigious brands and world class retail section highly known for its diverse types of products and also deemed as one of the finest airport facilities shopping all over the globe (Shopping and Eating, Bahrain International Airport). But despite of this reputed stature the company faces huge losses and one of the major reasons can be attributed to the bad debts affe cting the profit margins of the Bahrain Duty Free Complex. I have concentrated on secondary resources for providing relevant answers to the question. However the resources on the bad debt affecting the profitability of the company is limited although I have made a rigorous search for answering the questions by taking proxies of bad debts as outstanding loans, non performing loans, losses, fall in accounts receivables and several other key words for relating the same and answering the question. Procedure I have decided to write the topic on the basis of different secondary sources which are given in the following tabular representation. Annual Report 2011, Bahrain Duty Free Annual Report 2010, Bahrain Duty Free Article- UAE’s non-performing loans to peak in 2012 Article- UAE’s non-performing loans to peak in 2012 Book- Internal Revenue Service Tax Information Publications, The Service, Volumes 1-2; Volume 20001 Loopholes in national legal system Now I will move into the discussion of the paper. A business bad debt is a form of loss which generates from the worthlessness of a debt primarily from two main areas. Firstly it comes from creation or acquiring within the trade or business or secondly is closely related with the trade or business when it becomes partly or totally worthless. The bad debt of a corporation is always business bad debts. A debt is related closely to the trade or business if the primary motive for the purpose of incurring debt is a business reason (Taxpayer Information Publications, 342). Bahrain Duty Free (Duty Free) played dominantly in the market within the time span of 1991 to around 2000. Then the company encountered a massive drop in the year 2001 with a drop of around 20.9% in the net earnings post 9/11 attacks. Sales declined with an increase in the operating expenses. The company encountered a massive decline of around 8.1% in the net profit in comparison with the previous years. The second half of the year has also no t been different for the Bahrain Duty Free. With the outbreak of 9/11 attacks the global aviation industry became crumbled and the Middle East have been no exception. With the declining number of passengers as well as jeopardized global economic conditions which has been exacerbated by the attacks of 9/11 pushed heavily on the line of growth of the company. There has also been a drop of 20.9% drop in the net earnin

Entry Mode of Asian Pacific Breweries Essay Example for Free

Entry Mode of Asian Pacific Breweries Essay Singapore: Asian Pacific Breweries first started out in Singapore as a Joint-Venture between Heineken International and Fraser and Neave in the year 1931 and is first known as Malayan Breweries Limited. New Zealand: Asian Pacific Breweries made a 50-50 joint-venture with DB Breweries Ltd which was previously known as DB Group Ltd which is one of the two main brewers in New Zealand and also provides contract packaging services. Cambodia: Asian Pacific Breweries formed a joint-venture with Progress Import and Export which formed Cambodia Brewery Ltd in recognizing that there is a strong beer culture in Cambodia with impressive growth prospect. It was also the first foreign investment to be approved by the Cambodia Investment Board. China: Asian Pacific Brewery formed a 50-50 joint venture with its shareholders, Fraser and Neave, Limited and Heineken in China known as Heineken-APB (China). HAPBC also wholly owns sales and distribution arm of Heineken Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd and holds 21% interests in Kingway Brewery Holdings Ltd and 49% stake Jiangsu DaFuHao Breweries Co. Ltd. Laos: Asian Pacific Breweries opened a brewery in Laos through a joint venture with the Government of Laos and SBK Consultant Ltd on the 12 March 2008. LAPB also imports and distributes Heineken in Laos as the brewery does not produce Heineken beer. Malaysia: Guinness Anchor Bhd was a result of the merger of Guinness Malaysia Bhd and Malayan Sdn Bhd whose parent company is the current Asian Pacific Brewery. Mongolia: Asian Pacific has also formed a 55-45 joint venture with MCS Holdings LLC on 19 June 2007. The company of the joint venture, MCS-Asia Pacific Brewery LLC is five hectares large and is located in Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar. Thailand: Asian Pacific Breweries entered Thailand, where the beer consumption is amongst the highest in Asia to form a joint-venture with Thai Life Insurance Company Limited and Thai Pure Drinks Company Limited. The brewery first started brewing only Heineken beer in 1995 and slowly adding the other famous brands from Asian Pacific Breweries to cater to the different consumers in Thailand. Acquisition Indonesia: Asia Pacific Brewery has acquired its place in the beer industry in Indonesia through PT Multi Bintang Indonesia Tbk (MBI). MBI is a key brewery in Indonesia and is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. New Caledonia: Asia Pacific Brewery holds a 87. 3% stake with New Caledonia via Grande Brasserie de Nouvelle Caledonie (GBNC). GBNC is a resulted from the merger of 2 companies and now the sole brewery of New Caledonia. Papau New Guinea: Asia Pacific Brewery acquired a stake of South Pacific Brewery Ltd in 1955. SPB is the sole brewery in Papua New Guinea since 1983 and oversees 2 plants. Sri Lanka: In September 2005, Asia Pacific Brewery has acquired a 60% stake in Asia Pacific Brewery (Lanka) Limited. It was done with a partnership with Sri Lankan-based Anandappa family group and associates and MBL Offshore Limited which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pheonix Beverages Limited, a leading beverage group from Mauritius. Vietnam: Asian Pacific Brewery has a 60% stakes in Vietnam Brewery Ltd which is started is 1993 and equipped with the fastest, biggest and most advance canning line in Vietnam. India: Asia Pacific Brewery also acquired a 76% stake in India’s Aurangabad Breweries in 2006. Wholly owned Vietnam: Asian Pacific not only acquired a brewery in Vietnam, it also has a wholly owned brewery of its own based in Vietnam. Asian Pacific Brewery (Hanoi) is commissioned in October 2003 and it supplies Vietnam of its Tiger Beer, Anchor Beer and Heineken. Asia Pacific has mostly joint ventures in their businesses in other countries. This might because Asia Pacific Brewery has taken into consideration of the improvements of efficiency through the combined efforts and strengths of the other companies. Also, APB will be able to benefit from the local knowledge of the host country as they will be working with people from there to share and gain more knowledge. Having a joint venture business also means lower risks as costs are shared amongst the partners. APB also gained entry into other countries using the acquisition method. This might be because it a less risky for countries that are not yet very stable and also it is quicker to get into the business.

Current situation of the coffee industry

Current situation of the coffee industry 1Coffee is one of the worlds most valuable assets and at least 25 million people around the world base their livelihood on their production. Most of these producers are small-scale farmers in the developing world, despite the extent of coffee consumption takes place in the United States and Europe Over the last twenty five years of the last century, developing countries have been incited to follow export-oriented economy models as a way to increase living standards of their citizens. With this model, countries have opened their economies globally, boosting international trade and investments, and expanding their exports with the objective of earning foreign exchange. These strategies try to substitute older models based on import-replacement, which proposed that developing countries should impose protectionism measures in order to protect their domestic economies by controlling investments and external trade. At face value, specializing in exporting coffee seems to be a good strategy for developing countries, knowing that they have the perfect conditions to grow coffee crops and taking the advantage that richer countries are not competitive in this field, but they are very interested in purchasing the product as they earn considerable profits of its distribution and consumption. However, the global coffee industry has become a nightmare as the world prices have dampened, which have an important impact on livelihoods of those countries. Why has this happened, and how is affecting developing countries? CURRENT SITUATION 2The current crisis is the latest and most dramatic in a long history of industry ups and downs. Coffee prices have plummeted to 30-years lows. (See appendix 2) Coffee, which is produced in over 50 developing countries, is one of the s worlds most important commodities exports. It makes an important contribution to development socioeconomic and poverty alleviation as well as its economic importance is based on exportation, some of represent more than the half of their export earnings. Moreover, a cup of coffee in any neighborhood in New York or Paris can reach the $ 3.60 price. That same cup of coffee, a coffee farmer in the Andes of South America or Southeast Asia receives only 24 cents, a paltry 7% which, of course, does not even cover the cost of production or the basic needs of collectors. This are the most direct consequences of a crisis in the last two years which has sunk into poverty over 25 million people, while the coffee trade of the four big multinationals (Nestle, Kraft Foods, Procter Gamble and Sara Lee) has curbed their economic growth. Therefore, it is not a trivial matter; it is actually the major source of foreign exchange for several countries. The current crisis is directly affecting some 20 million families living in the area where the center of all growing and production, between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and depend on grain as their main source of income. Moreover, the United Nations World Food Program launched an emergency operation to assist 155,000 people in Guatemala, where a severe drought that killed subsistence crops coincided with low coffee prices. CAUSES Coffee prices are at the alarming and the specialty coffee industry is in a crisis. In addition, most industry experts predict that will not improve in the near future. At the root of the current crisis is an oversupply of coffee on world markets. Since 1990, coffee production worldwide has increased by 15 percent, exceeding consumption by two folds. This increase was precipitated by new producers entering the market, most notably Vietnam (see appendix 3). Keep in mind that coffee production in Vietnam is not really traditional, in 1987. The Vietnamese were at the beginning just consumers. But the access to the position of largest producer of robusta type of coffee is actually the result of a political will, encouraged by the World Bank. As one of the most disadvantage countries in Asia, Vietnam saw in the business the chance to expand its economy and as a way to gain valuable foreign exchange. Furthermore, it provided an opportunity to encourage economic expansion in relatively disa dvantage areas. However, coffee production has surged in other countries as well. The reason for this relate to some complex technical, economic and political factors. In addition, during the last decade productivity of coffee trees increased because of enhanced agricultural practice. Moreover, many countries increased their lands in order to specialize in coffee production. 2The reasons for this is different from country to country, liberalization of trade in coffee, improving better transportation and communication on production data, prices and inventories increase security of supply World; domestic food markets were deregulated, which encouraged a general shift to export production; and land previously reserved for non-agricultural production, for example forest areas, was brought into agricultural use through privatization and non regulation. Going a little bit further, the beginning of the crisis dates back to 1989 when the International Coffee Agreement collapsed, contributing greatly to the problem of oversupply. The agreement had been responsible for the restrictions on exports of coffee, without it, many producing countries sought to increase export earnings through increased production. Unfortunately, its success in increasing it led to a surplus that, actually, decreased revenues. Moreover, severe frosts in Brazil during the middle 1990s showed a temporary rise in coffee prices, before the basic trend kept on increasing until the present days (appendix 3). But all of these effects are not just based simply one of supply and demand. The connections between the links of the supply chains that connect producers with consumers have also changed. Nowadays, coffee farmers receive less than 7% of the retail price of coffee in developed world markets; the rest of the percentage until 100%, 93% is paid to importers, packaging firms, roaster and retailers. In part this reflects a structural disparity of commercial power in the global coffee system, whereby six international trading companies control over half of the world coffee exports. In these contexts, developing country coffee growers are in a very weak bargaining position. CONSEQUENCES This downward pricing spiral is affecting infrastructures in coffee-producing countries where they are collapsing. There is no money to fix or repair roads, the cost of trucks is out of reach and distributing the merchandise is definitely a hard task. When small agricultural producers are dependent on some buyer to sale their crops for a large amount of money, slumping prices have dramatic repercussions for those poorest countries who everyday fight against hunger and social vulnerability. In recent years aid agencies have struggled to bring awareness about these human repercussions trying to call the attention of policy-makers. These human-scale dimensions of the crisis should flow into national and regional economies. For a significant number of tropical countries, coffee is the major source of export-earning. The collapse of coffee prices, then, has destabilized the systems of whole national economies. Many of these countries are also seriously in debt to international organizatio ns, and have had to renegotiate or even suspend the repayments of loans. In turn, the resultant debt crisis of developing countries is a major source of financial instability in the world. As always, the poorest countries are most affected, the business profit is becoming some of the poorest and most vulnerable of the world into extreme poverty, livelihoods of small farmers are being destroyed by international markets beyond their control. But not everyone is losing in the current scenario. While the cost of the raw material comes in a slump, some companies, particularly multinational companies along with several large coffee retailers, continue earning and being profitable. Their market powers allow them essentially to dictate to their suppliers and take advantage of the lower prices. As always, poorest countries are the most affected, corporate gain is turning over some of the worlds poorest and most weak people to extreme poverty: the livelihoods of smaller producers are being destroyed by international markets that are beyond their control. SOLUTIONS It seems clear that one of the solutions to the coffee crisis passes to limit grain production to raise prices in international trade. This would be the theory in the context of the market economy. In practice, it has been tried it last year and received the denial of the Asian countries and Brazil. in oil. Experts agree that the coffee industry is undergoing major changes in order to recover the price-crisis prices. The entry of Vietnam into the coffee trade had important consequences: the way to produce cheaper. Alternatives to the coffee crisis are in what some NGOs have called fair trade. If producing countries such as Vietnam has grown 400% in the last decade is because their culture has focused on the logical contribution of new technologies. It is a commitment to diversified organic coffee, coffee quality associated with sustainable development and fair trade outside intermediaries, to improve the price paid to farmers and reducing the supply with further restructuring of the field. An idea that is far from being realized because of the illiquidity of the farmer . 4The costs of producing differ from country to country, perhaps from 60 to 90 cents for The worst hits are Latin American countries with relatively high production costs. These countries may try to find ways to cut costs or find niche markets that command premium prices, such as organic or shade-grown coffee that provides ecological habitats. But those options do not help everyone. Many farmers ultimately have to move to other more lucrative products. In the fall of the current prices, farmers enough eventually be driven out of business, which will produce increased coffee prices again. That means another potential shortage threat in the future, especially for higher quality coffees are more expensive to produce. And this shortage can lead high enough to encourage overproduction, once again. It is not clear when this damaging cycle will repeat again, or even if it is going to finish. What is clear is that new and better solutions are needed to help the poorest countries that are affected by it. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS In conclusion, the existing circumstances of the world coffee industry represent a crisis of huge human cost. The low prices being received by coffee farmers not only put in danger the livelihoods of people and communities, but add significantly to global inequality and its correlated to financial and political implications. For another point of view, the crisis also unveils the failures of export-oriented models which curiously most developing countries follow. What it can be learned at this point: what is true for some countries may not be true for anothers. When one country increments its coffee exports, it benefits. But if all countries do the same, then the effects are to produce an over-supply of commodities and to cause prices to fall. The lives of smallholder farmers become vulnerable by depending on the conditions imposed those who dominate commodity markets, which in any case are structured in ways that concentrated power in a small number of transnational companies. And at least, some recommendations can be given: Correcting the imbalance between supply and demand by increasing consumer in particular by: improving quality in the world market and promoting diversification to reduce dependency. It is recognized that to ensure market access for products alternative, there must be a substantial reduction of tariffs and subsidies to those who are now protected agriculture in industrialized countries. In addition, support a broad-based rural development to enhance the capacity of local processing and producer associations, and also measures to improve access to credit and risk management. Beyond these suggestions, the coffee industry should participate in programs designed to help reducing the effects of price shocks at the farm level. These efforts should include locking roasters in contracts with farmers for the coming years, as a way to motivate farmers to keep on producing coffee, for example, paying more for certain quality coffees. Simultaneously with the efforts of importers, roasters and retailers to create mutually beneficial relationships with farmers, producers have taken steps toward understanding what the market demand for its coffee. APPENDIX 1 APPENDIX 2 Prices of the coffee market (2003) APPENDIX 3

Market Analysis and International Investment

Market Analysis and International Investment 1-(A) From various editions of the Economist, collect time series data of Big Mac prices for 3 countries and assess whether Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) holds. Discuss whether the (Big Mac Index) is a good Price index to be used in this analysis. Answer: The economist’s Big Mac index shown in table 1 has been used since 1986 as an indicator aimed to assess how PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) stands against most traded currencies such us the US dollar. Before entering into further analyses, it is worth providing some relevant information on the PPP theory and assess whether the Big Mac index implicitly delivers points of comparison that subsequently reflect exchange rate parity conditions across 120 nations where this worldwide known burger is largely sold.[1] Purchasing power parity theory by Rudiger Dornbush (Salamanca School) attempts to explain that two currencies adjust in compensation owing to the difference between the rates at which the two countries under watch are inflating. In relation to this, the underlying principle of the PPP theory lies in the law of a single price. This law can be simply explained based on the commodities trade whereby companies around the world tend to purchase goods from countries where these are more competitive in terms of price.[2] Following this first hypothesis, there is a determination mechanism starting when goods are purchased abroad and at the same time the demand for foreign currency results in increasing the value of the currency and putting extra pressure on the price of the good itself. Based on this scenario, the PPP entails that two currencies should stand at a level where buying the same goods in the two countries is equivalent. Furthermore, the theory projects that real effective exchange rate will remain constant through time. Based on further research, this work lays out some elements that intervene as potential culprits for not letting the PPP system operates over a short and medium-term horizon. As a relevant consideration to the findings and major setback to the PPP theory, the foreign exchange market framework has changed considerably over the last years moving exchange rates from fixed to floating. In the same context, capital movements and internal policies now explain differentials in exchange rates rather than a simplistic scenario of supply and demand of goods.[3] For instance, in 1973 the oil embargo led unexpectedly the United States, Japan and Italy to depreciating their currencies as a result of currency pressure. According to Buiter and Miller (1992), the exchange rate accommodation mechanism has a much broader significance than the one explained by PPP’s scope; the exchange rate is a measurement of competitiveness as a progressive or â€Å"non-casual† variable. Therefore, exchange rate is a price that reflects an efficient international financial market as opposed to a predetermined state controlled through market forces exclusively. Supporting the previous introduction and with regard to the Big Mac index headway between two years in a row, PPP does not always hold. Moreover, due to the composition of the product, Big Mac does not reflect a truthful price index to determine whether an exchange rate is undervalued or overvalued. According to the economist magazine, Big Macs are not cross-border trading goods as approximately 55% to 60% of the product costing is represented by non-traded goods such us labour, rent and services. Therefore, a price index with no dependence on international trading cannot fully reflect exchange rate comparisons; every country has a unique competitive position mainly produced by internal structures and factors such us labour market, productivity and purchasing capacity. Purchasing power parity theory brings cear shortcomings and most of them can be determined superficially by the Big Mac index and its trend. The most commonly mentioned problems behind the use of PPP: Trade Barriers Changes in patterns of demand and output Similar purchasing patterns and taste in products Varying price indices Taxation Long-term vs. short-term outlook Table 1 shows full coverage for the Big Mac index over a large group of countries. As a complementary part of the analysis this work has chosen two currencies to compare against the US dollar and determine the PPP trend between 2004 and 2005. In 2004 the Big Mac price in the US was US$ 2.90 compared to US$1.26 in China and US$ 5.18 in Norway. In 2005 the corresponding prices represented an increment of the US price by 5.5% to US$ 3.06, 0.7% in China and 16.9% in Norway reaching prices of US$1.27 and US$6.06 respectively. Following the PPP theory, it indicates that exchange rates move to rectify changes in inflation rates. In 2004 China’s currency was 57% undervalued and Norway 79% overvalued; the model expects that an inflationary process in the US of 5.5% would have generated a rectifying movement to close gaps. On the contrary, while the Big Mac price index in the US rose by 5.5%, China’s currency dropped further from 57% undervalued to 59% and Norway continued the other direction and got appreciated dramatically from 79% to 98%. If Big Macs could be exported, no buyers would be looking at Norway since its real international competitiveness is far below. However, in terms of purchasing capacity the Norwegians are potentially capable of purchasing Big Macs as their income per head is considerably higher than in US and China. (B)Choose any two countries and collect (approximately) one year of daily data of a forward exchange rate, the spot exchange rate and the two corresponding interest rates. Can you make any arbitrage profits? Carefully discuss. Answer: To open the discussion about the exchange rate market and its relationship with interest rates, the answer introduces the concept of Eurocurrency market. This is a marketplace where participants make money through borrowing and depositing currencies at a price dictated by interest rates. In this regard, the transactions period varies as short as overnight and in some cases as long as five years. For this exercise the answer considers one participant and two currencies, US Dollar and GBP based on data from 2005 central bank statistics. On January 31st 2005, this person borrowed US$ 18’833.000 in the US and made the decision to arbitrage in GPB pounds. Diagram 1.0 illustrates the foreign exchange arbitrage based on the use of financial instruments to generate profits. Diagram 1.0 Source: Author calculations Borrowed at US$ 18’833.000 at 4.83% and one repayment at the end of the first year (365 day repayment of US$ 19’743.633) Evaluate potential arbitrage: Sell US$ 18’833.000 to buy sterling pounds at GBP/USD 1.8833 and obtained  £10’000.000 Made deposit of  £10’000.000 at 6.20% for 12 months and agreed to received  £10’482.999 Same take a forward contract to buy US$ 19’742.633 1year forward at sustaining GBP/USD at 1.8526 and sell:  £10’657.256; losses: ( £36.716) The arbitrage would produce losses as USD appreciates against the US dollar on a 12-month period; you cannot make profits. 2-(A) Discuss the importance of the exchange rate as an economic variable for international investment decisions or for importers and exporters. Answer: Exchange rates are a key factor that concerning their mechanisms of adjustments and vulnerability originates differential positions and volatility risk within an economic outlook. In relation to this effect, Buiter and Miller’s approach (1992) explains that monetary policies combining prices stabilisation, capital freedom and rational expectations in the foreign exchange market produce a â€Å"transitional† effect on the level of international competitiveness and leave industry sectors exposed.[4] For financial assets and exchange rates levels, international trade activities have rapidly evolved into a more developed and complex sector that operates freely within a global economic system and lead economies to frequently reaching higher levels of surpluses or deficits. On a daily basis scenario, portfolio strategist search for competitive positions worldwide that match investment targets. Concerning the structure of the investment, foreign exchange forecasts are a driving force at the stage of resources allocation and use of financial instruments (Derivatives). But how the exchange rates intervene as a decisive economic variable and in which sectors they deliver benefits or vice-versa? Milton Friedman gives his opinion to this question, starting by responding on the effects over exchange rates through monetary policies; he says â€Å"†¦..monetary policy actions affect asset portfolios in first instance, spending decisions in the second, which translate into effects on output and then on prices. The changes in exchange rates are in turn mostly a response to these effects of home policy (on output and prices?) and of similar policy abroad†¦..†[5]. If one assumed Friedman’s comments, domestic policies move exchange rates affecting decisions in a certain order. With regards to international trade, one of the most compelling examples on how exchange rates affect the performance of particular sectors compared to others is the case of the British economy. On one hand an overvalued pound has jeopardised to some extent the lack of competitiveness of the industrial production and exports in the UK by soaring internal prices and changing the productive structure of the country. Conversely, on the other hand the levels of interest rates together with a strong currency have triggered capital inflows, which are being allocated on different asset classes and also in the continuous boost of service sectors (i.e. Financial Services). To understand the mechanism linking imports and exports with exchange rates, Maurice Levi (1990) explains that on a supply and demand setting the supply curve of a currency illustrates the quantity of that currency supplied and the price of the currency, given by the exchange rate, the supply curve of a currency is calculated as a result of a country’s demand for imports. This event occurs when buyers pay for imports that are sold in foreign currency, then the country’s recipients of the goods must sell their domestic currency for the requested foreign exchange and when imports are invoiced in local currency the foreign beneficiary of the currency sells it. In any case imports result in the country’s currency being supplied. The amount of the currency supplied is equal to the value of imports.[6] On the contrary, the demand curve for a currency shows the value of the currency that is demanded at each likely exchange rate. The need to buy a country’s currency takes off from the need to pay for the country’s exports; the currency’s demand curved is derived from the country’s export supply curve, which shows the volume of exports at each price of exports[7]. To summarise the answer, exchange rates send strong signals to both, portfolio investors and international traders; however the degree of the effect varies depending on the competitive position of the economy. In terms of traded goods, exchange rates place the level of international competitiveness of goods compared to the same goods in other country. On investment allocations such us bonds and equities, an exchange rates outlook is essential to sustain or withdraw positions. In relation to investments, exchange rate risk is generated by uncertainty in the future exchange rates at which the asset or liability will be converted into dollars. Thus, bonds, foreign stocks, real estates and accounts receivable and payable may be subject to exchange rate risk if their value in home currency is beaten by exchange rates. Concerning imports and exports of services such us tourism, banking services, consulting, engineering amongst others react to exchange rates variations in the same way as imports and exports of goods. (B) Collect data for 3 countries of your choice and assess the importance of the exchange rate for international equity investors. Use different investment horizons. Equity investors react to market sentiments, set out overall investment positions and individual strategies underpinned by economic forecasts. Decisions are based upon a group variables and future scenarios; for instance it is widely recognised the existing inverse relation between interest rates and equities. When interest rates are moved up by major central banks such us the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of England and Bank of Japan, shares lose momentum and in most of the cases fall. In terms of foreign exchange conditions, investors go long on equities when they feel comfortable with correct valuation of the currency and if the economy’s balance of payments works in line with the external position of the country. In other words, the exchange rate is determined by the aggregated equilibrium between currency demand and supply. If any country is not in the position to sustain its competitiveness on its currency it sends strong signal for investment decisions. The following three countries US, UK and China have been selected to understand how bursaries respond or relate to changes in exchange rate: US Dow Jones (1-Y Horizon) US is a highly liquid market, Chart 1.0 shows market transactions above 2 billion US dollars a day sustaining levels over 1 year horizon. The Dow index moved up from 10500 (approx) in June 2005 growing by 3.8% (approx) to June 9th 2006. In chart 2.0 Euro gains grounds on the US dollar by almost 5% over the same period as shown on the Dow Jones outlook above. Thus, Euro appreciated by 5% against US dollar and Dow Jones with a slight growth without losing transaction levels. Hence, no particular direct correlation is found on the two variables (Exchange rate and Stock Index). However, it is relevant to clarify that more components such us interest rates expectations, unemployment levels in the US and Euro land, mortgage activities, retail index and companies profitability have an effect on these trends. UK FTSE (2-Year Horizon) In a 2-year Horizon, FTSE shows strong momentum soaring by 22% (approximately from 4500 to 5500); uptrend with a relevant drop in June 2006 due to oil prices and decision on interest rates accommodation by the FED and ECB. This analysis in terms of the pound outlook shows two scenarios for the currency. In 2004 starts at GBP/USD1.82 falling to its 18-month lowest level to 1.72 (5.8%), then it picks up again and in less than 5 months rebounds to 1.85. Again the analysis does not find a direct relationship between a positive steady FTSE trend and sterling variations. CHINA Shanghai Composite 6-Month Horizon The third example involves Chinese Yuan and US Dollar, which have experienced international trade growth five times faster than in 1990s decade. On one hand, Chinese moved from being the 9th most important destination for US Exports to being currently the 4th delivering an impressive uptrend in 2005 above 20% increase (United States Trade Representatives, 2006). On the other hand, the effect of Chinese exports has been stronger, in 2004 china’s trade surplus with the US increased by 24.5% to 202 billion US dollars, the largest between two economies according to the Economic Policy Institute in 2006. Over the last 6 months, the Chinese Yuan has not followed a revaluation against the US Dollar; as it would have been expected due the international trade context explained before (only 2% appreciation). In relation to the Shanghai composite index, it has experienced spectacular growth outperforming other stock markets (44% increases in the same period). Based on these figures, the analysis indicates, exchange rate is not the driving factor to buy stock in China; investors continue forecasting strong growth in Chinese listed companies due to strong internal market performance, domestic consumption as well as industry development. 3- Today is the 16th of December 1998.You are a small importer/exporter having to pay  £5,000,000 on the 26th of February 1999.You are concerned about exchange rate risk and you are considering using currency futures to hedge your currency risk. What would be your hedged and unhedged outcome with hindsight? Carefully explain what will happen over this hedging period with your margin account. One Pound Sterling futures contract is  £62,500 and the initial and maintenance margins are $2,295 and $1,700 respectively. Answer: (Using spreadsheet â€Å"Market†) and concepts from Brian Kettell (Financial Economics p321-330) In futures the principle is to sell what is overpriced and buy what is underpriced. In this example if the GBP/USD is overpriced (futures) less US dollars per Sterling pounds you should sell the futures contract on February 26th 1999 (Long Position in the Spot Market), which means purchase GDP/USD at the Spot Rate Spot Price Futures GBP/USD 1.6750-08 1.6060-1.5998 (at a Premium) The advice for the US importer is to protect the US value by hedging 80 contracts of Sterling Pounds using futures contracts. However, in this case the US dollar as of February 26th when the payment will be made, the futures price shows a US dollar at a premium, which means, the dollar will appreciate. Action: Unit of Trading  £ Pounds Go long in the future market selling your futures contract (right to deliver at 1.6060) and holding on at the the Spot Market. Currency Hedge US dollar against British Pound:  £5.000.000 at a spot rate February 26th 1999: Action buy future Contracts:  £62.500 Number of contracts: 80 Value locked on December 16th 1998:  £62.500 x 1.6750= US$ 104.687 Value of each futures contract on February 26th 1999: £62500 x 1.6060 = US$ 100.375 Net Profit of each contract: US$4. 312 x 80 = US$ 344.960 (Hedging profits) At the end of the period, without hedging you would have benefited as US dollar got appreciated. However, with hedging you will obtain profit margins of US$ 4312 in each contract improving your initial margins. Bibliography Bank of England Statistics available at: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/index.htm Economic Policy Institute available at: http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_econindicators_tradepict20060210 The Economist Big Mac Index available at: http://www.economist.com/markets/bigmac/displayStory.cfm?story_id=4065603 Federal Reserve Statistics available at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/datadownload/Build.aspx?rel=H15 Kettell, B. (2001) Financial Economics, Making Sense of Market Information: Prentice Hall: London Levi, M (1990). International Finance, the Markets and Financial Management of Multinational Business. McGraw-Hill Series in Finance: United States MacDonald R, Taylor M, (1992). Exchange Rate Economics Volume I â€Å"Monetary Policy and International Competitiveness: The problems of adjustments Willem H. Buiter and Marcus Miller, Published by Edward Elgar: England Walmsley, J. (1996). International Money and Foreign Exchange Markets, An introduction. Published by John Wiley Sons Ltd Baffins Lane Chichester. West Sussex Appendix Appendix I. Daily Data End month average Daily forward weighted interest premium/discount rate, instant Daily average of 4 rate, 12 months, US Spot exchange rate, access deposit, UK Banks base rates Dollar US $ into Sterling Bank branch accounts IUDAMIH XUDLDFY XUDLUSS IUMTHAI 04-Jan-05 4.75 -3.075 1.8833 n/a 05-Jan-05 4.75 -3.005 1.8881 n/a 06-Jan-05 4.75 -2.97 1.8754 n/a 07-Jan-05 4.75 -2.925 1.868 n/a 10-Jan-05 4.75 -2.905 1.8748 n/a 11-Jan-05 4.75 -2.85 1.877 n/a 12-Jan-05 4.75 -2.895 1.8932 n/a 13-Jan-05 4.75 -2.85 1.8806 n/a 14-Jan-05 4.75 -2.755 1.8684 n/a 17-Jan-05 4.75 -2.715 1.8593 n/a 18-Jan-05 4.75 -2.85 1.8669 n/a 19-Jan-05 4.75 -2.895 1.8769 n/a 20-Jan-05 4.75 -2.93 1.8706 n/a 21-Jan-05 4.75 -2.92 1.8693 n/a 24-Jan-05 4.75 -2.94 1.8757 n/a 25-Jan-05 4.75 -2.89 1.8647 n/a 26-Jan-05 4.75 -2.955 1.8815 n/a 27-Jan-05 4.75 -2.945 1.8864 n/a 28-Jan-05 4.75 -2.935 1.8829 n/a 31-Jan-05 4.75 -2.92 1.8859 2.18 01-Feb-05 4.75 -2.9 1.8799 n/a 02-Feb-05 4.75 -2.895 1.8848 n/a 03-Feb-05 4.75 -2.84 1.8794 n/a 04-Feb-05 4.75 -2.885 1.8858 n/a 07-Feb-05 4.75 -2.835 1.8657 n/a 08-Feb-05 4.75 -2.855 1.8561 n/a 09-Feb-05 4.75 -2.965 1.8578 n/a 10-Feb-05 4.75 -2.95 1.8712 n/a 11-Feb-05 4.75 -2.96 1.8654 n/a 14-Feb-05 4.75 -2.945 1.8869 n/a 15-Feb-05 4.75 -2.935 1.8872 n/a 16-Feb-05 4.75 -2.83 1.8786 n/a 17-Feb-05 4.75 -2.81 1.8906 n/a 18-Feb-05 4.75 -2.79 1.8944 n/a 21-Feb-05 4.75 -2.8 1.897 n/a 22-Feb-05 4.75 -2.9 1.9057 n/a 23-Feb-05 4.75 -2.985 1.906 n/a 24-Feb-05 4.75 -2.955 1.9077 n/a 25-Feb-05 4.75 -2.89 1.9153 n/a 28-Feb-05 4.75 -2.89 1.9257 2.18 01-Mar-05 4.75 -2.875 1.9198 n/a 02-Mar-05 4.75 -2.94 1.9101 n/a 03-Mar-05 4.75 -2.9 1.9084 n/a 04-Mar-05 4.75 -2.885 1.9258 n/a 07-Mar-05 4.75 -2.87 1.9139 n/a 08-Mar-05 4.75 -2.86 1.9311 n/a 09-Mar-05 4.75 -2.835 1.9212 n/a 10-Mar-05 4.75 -2.77 1.9236 n/a 11-Mar-05 4.75 -2.72 1.927 n/a 14-Mar-05 4.75 -2.64 1.9119 n/a 15-Mar-05 4.75 -2.61 1.9157 n/a 16-Mar-05 4.75 -2.65 1.9284 n/a 17-Mar-05 4.75 -2.595 1.9237 n/a 18-Mar-05 4.75 -2.555 1.9155 n/a 21-Mar-05 4.75 -2.515 1.8962 n/a 22-Mar-05

Transformation Essay -- essays research papers

America is ever changing. Over the centuries it has transformed in many ways. There has been an increase in immigrants, especially Hispanics, which has caused a transformation of both language and culture. Richard Rodriguez in his book Brown: The Last Discovery of America, and in other essays has brought his views on these matters and presents brown as a new way of describing America. Brown as color; as impurity; as language; as America. Richard Rodriguez is a writer who is artistic, and has an idealistic way of recounting things. In his essay â€Å"Late Victorians† he writes how a woman jumps off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He describes it as â€Å"†¦before she stepped onto the sky. To land like a spilled purse at my feet,† (Encounters, 496) He compares the woman hitting the ground as a â€Å"spilled purse.† When you think of a spilled purse you don’t think of tragedy, so his comparing this insignificant incident of a purse hitting the ground to the death of a woman catches you off guard. Rodriquez says it in such a tranquil manner that the tragedy seems to be unrealistic. He again shows romanticism somewhere else in the essay: On a Sunday in summer, ten years ago, I was walking home from the Latin mass at Saint Patrick’s, the old Irish parish downtown, when I saw thousands of people on Market Street. It was San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day parade-not marching backs. There were floats. Banners blocked single lives thematically into a processional mass, not unlike the consortiums of the blessed in Renaissance painting, each saint cherishing the apparatus of his martyrdom. (493) Rodriguez’s comparing the parade with religious allusions makes it more glorious. He compares the parade of floats and banners to a â€Å"processional mass.† He satirically portrays gays as saints just as he is coming from church, which considers homosexuality as a sin. He is basically beautifying the parade. He romanticizes to capture your attention and to bring you into his world. He wants you to see things as he sees them. He wants to â€Å"defy anyone who†¦say[s] what is appropriate to my voice† (Brown, xi).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rodriguez, in his essay â€Å"Peter’s Avocado,† expresses â€Å"[b] rown as impurity,† (Brown, 194). This brown is not brown as color but as something â€Å"mixed, confused, lumped, impure, unpasteurized, as motives are mixed†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (â€Å"Peter’s Avocado†, 197). However, brown can be... ...of the United States not for the battles and politics, but for the transformation and complexity of language that occurred through the centuries. â€Å"I eulogize a literature that is suffused with brown, with allusion, irony, paradox-ha! -pleasure,† (Preface, xi). With disconnected allusions, metaphors, and unrealism Rodriguez not only conveys his ideas throughout his essays but also is able to show us part of himself as a writer. He respects people’s role in society. He treasures how assimilation can change a culture. He has a passion for brown for converting color and race. He loves language for it’s continuous changes that it has been through over time. He values transformation, whether it is of color, culture, language, or a nation. Work Cited: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rodriguez, Richard. â€Å"Late Victorians,† and â€Å"The Achievement of Desire.† Encounters: Essays for Exploration and Inquiry. 2nd ed. Ed. Pat C. Hoy II and Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. 475-492, 493-505 ----. â€Å"The Triad of Alexis de Tocqueville,† â€Å"In the Brown Study,† â€Å"The Prince and I,† â€Å"Peter’s Avocado,† and â€Å"Hispanic.† Brown: The Last Discovery of America. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc, 2002.

Astrology, Our World, Our Adventure :: essays research papers fc

(Insert Name) (Insert Class) (Insert Date Due)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Astrology, Our World, Our Adventure†¦   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Astrology, and the wonders of the solar system†¦ Astrology is not just about the stars; it’s about the stars, constellations, the nine planets, meteors and asteroids, the sun, moons, and the constellations. The solar system is very complex, yet it has many extraordinary objects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are four different types of stars: Protostars, Bright Stars, Red Giants, and White Dwarfs. Protostars are stars that are just in the verge of being born. They are glowing clouds of interstellar dust and gas. Causing the protostar to collapse, gravity pulls on every atom moving them towards the center. Over a period of twenty million years the star begins to form, and in 10 million years after the pocket of gas formed, a star is born. The second types of stars, Bright Stars, are formed when the new star has completed about 35 million years of its life cycle. A star’s life cycle is a lot like a human’s, except a star’s years are in millions. When a star is about 10 million years old, it is in the same stage as a regular human-for instance in 10 million years a star is in the same stage as a human that is about twenty. The birth and death of stars are also called Stellar Evolution. A Bright star occurs when nuclear fusion doubles the star i n size. The third types of stars, Red Giants, are made because the outward flow of the star’s core energy stops. Gravity then steps in, squeezing the star making it decrease in size. The core’s heat increases and it starts releasing small amounts of energy, the energy holds a large amount of hydrogen gas. The star then begins to grow larger, but it does not get brighter. As a result of the sudden and quick temperature-drop, the star’s color changes from blue-white to a red. In groups called Globular Clusters (groups of up to one million stars that move through space), are where most of the Red Giants have been found. In the fourth types of stars, White Dwarfs, the star begins cooling off; and as a result of that, the outer gas layer spreads out. The star’s temperature drops again, making the gas layer spread out even more. Eventually, the outer layer spreads out so far, it separates from the star. Then, a Planetary Nebula (cloud of glowing atoms), moves i n all directions.

Analysis of Asian American

The United States has become the most diverse society on the face of the earth. For more than a century, most immigrants to the United States were Europeans—Germans, English, Italians, and so forth. However, according to â€Å"Globalization and Contemporary Immigration to the United States† by Min Zhou and J. V. Gatewood, â€Å"non-European immigration to the United States began in the late 1960s and has accelerated at rapid speeds since the early 1990s after a long hiatus due to restricted immigration. More than one million people a year migrate, mostly from Asia and Latin American- is transforming America into a multicultural society. At the same time, diversity became a distinguishing characteristic of contemporary Asian American. Cultural, social, economic and geopolitical factors have contributed to the diversity and also has brought new challenges for immigrants and their children to adapt themselves to the new environment. (Min Zhou and J. V. Gatewood) There are four aspects about â€Å"the development of a coherent vision for future Asian American† as what Min Zhou and J. V. Gatewood described. Firstly, variously national origins, which make impact on both the immigrant generation and the second and third generation in language and religions. Secondly, socioeconomic diversity brings about different kinds of mobility patterns. Thirdly, diverse settlement modes influence the development of Asian American community. Finally, â€Å"immigration complicates intergenerational relations and ethnic solidarity. † As what Min Zhou and J. V. Gatewood referred, â€Å"the Philippines, China/Taiwan, Korea, India, and Vietnam have been on the list of top-ten sending countries since 1980. Even though there were different kinds of laws to restrict immigration from the â€Å"Asian-Pacific triangle†, Asian immigrants found other ways to become eligible citizen. For example, marrying white Americans. With the development of globe economy, the U. S. immigration policy had been changed. On the one hand, the United States sought cheaper labor and resources abroad to develop the globalization of its economy. â€Å"Since the 1980s, about on e-third of the engineers and medical personnel in the U. S. labor market have come from abroad-mostly from India, China, Taiwan and the Philippines. †( Min Zhou and J. V. Gatewood) Further, more and more Asian study abroad, therefore, many international students, namely, foreign students, had found permanent employment in America so that they could stay here. On the other hand, globalization had played a significant role in immigration. For one thing, developing countries’ economics and occupational structures were interposed by the U. S. investment. The U. S. imported the abroad material and then processed, finally, exported to those developing countries. For another thing, with the increase number of labor demand, rural-urban migrat ion increased rapidly.

Bureaucracy and American Character, the Spirit of Public Service And the Vision of the Common Good

Bureaucracy is a set of laid-out laws and principles that have been set to govern a group of people, usually members of public, public servants and all involved in any activities of impact to the general public. The healthcare sector is perceived as a very important part of the society as all its functionalities are aimed at the betterment and welfare of the whole society. Many rules and regulations have hence been laid down to govern its operations, as well as ensure quality services are offered to the public at the highest level of professionalism and observance of morality and dignity.Therefore, there are limiting factors that do not allow those in healthcare professionalism to operate in just any way they wish. Instead, they have to follow bureaucracy and ensure the offer only the best services and offer an equal chance of being served to all who need the services as dictated by the government and healthcare departments as well as the international authorities. There are differen t aspects of characters and behaviors that collectively form what is referred to as the American character.Everyone is supposed to possess some basic principles and character in all they do. They are supposed to portray humanity, respect to life, respect other people’s rights and act in a manner that encourages and boosts unity, peace, good living conditions and all the values of the government. Every American citizen in the medical field is more strictly expected to portray this American character in their operations at all times. A lot of emphasis is hence put on such practitioners and it’s a common expectation for them to possess the character.They are hence expected to deal with everyone in need of their services leniently and be non-partisan by avoiding favoritism, nepotism and avoid traditions that undermine a given section of the public. They are expected to offer their services to everyone at equal chances except in special conditions like emergencies portray a lot of professionalism and follow the set out rules for their profession irrespective of the pressure from other parties, especially from clients.Every person in the medical field is expected to demonstrate the spirit of public service irrespective of their level of practice or their immediate employer, whether a government public servant or a private practitioner in the medical field. Unlike in many other fields, in this field a person deals directly with human beings and factors that eradicate human suffering as well as preserving life.Any activity carried out in this field determine in a great deal how much suffering is reduced from a client and in very many cases, whether a client’s life is extended or lost. There is therefore a need for everyone in this field to ensure they practice with a broader objective of service to the public, and avoid a focus profit-making and any other returns as a basis for their practice. Anyone with the spirit of public service will be willi ng to help irrespective of the availability of finances or rewards, but as per the need at hand.One realizes that there is a greater reward in terms of satisfaction as well as more benefits when the focus is on public service instead of self-gain. The vision of common good is another important aspect expected of anyone in any profession in the country, especially in the medical field. In a nutshell, the medical field seeks to ensure good health, reduce pain and suffering and generally ensure the well being of its clients, who are the general public. Therefore, there is a need to reach out to the general public and ensure its overall welfare.There is hence a need for everyone in the medical practice, at whichever level, to have a vision of the common good in which one will ensure that they do not target individuals but the whole society in ensuring better healthcare and equitable access to healthcare facilities. In this way, there are more benefits for both the practitioners and the society, and healthcare improves and develops rapidly in the country. The Dilemma There was a dilemma that was noted in one of my placements with one of the private hospitals for my profession practice.I was working under the senior doctor in the hospital as one of his assisting nurses. After a few weeks of working with him, he grew very fond of me and shared with me most of the challenges he faced as a private medical practitioner. Most people with questionable needs seeking medical attention and avoiding the attention of the government and anyone required to know the needs usually turned to the private hospitals and offered better payments for their services.Since most of the private hospitals were set up with an aim of making profits, most fell to the trap of allowing activities that were considered wrong and even against the law, provided they ensured secrecy of the practices and got better financial gains from such activities. On one of the days in my placement in the private h ospital, the senior doctor summoned me to his office where I found a young lady seated there. The lady has come to seek the services of the doctor but the doctor thought the situation of her problem too sensitive and requested for my advice.The lady was from a well-known influential family and had been involved in a secret affair with one of the public figures in the state. After a long time of the affair, the wife of the man started suspecting what was going on and tried following on the lady as well as threatening the man with suing for a divorce if she ever got any substantial information. Unfortunately, one day the lady realized she had gotten pregnant and was carrying the man’s child. They hadn’t planned for anything more that just an affair.Once she broke the news to the man, he got so scared and thought this would blow everything up and expose him to his wife, giving her a reason for a divorce suit that would make him lose a lot of his wealth. Hence, the man req uested the lady to seek for a way to carry out an abortion and do away with the pregnancy and avoid any complications that the pregnancy would lead to. He offered to spend any amount of money for the activity. On the other hand, the lady was scared that the pregnancy would make her lose her profession as she was a well-known singer and was also in the modeling industry.Her clients would lose respect for her if they realized she got pregnant, especially out of wedlock and with a married man. She hence had welcomed the idea of an abortion and hence the reason she was in the hospital. The doctor had explained to me that he had carried out a few abortions, but a allowed by the law. The law gave a provision for abortions to be carried out by a professional medical doctor if the mother’s life was in danger. However, any other form of abortion was regarded as illegal.Therefore, the reasons the lady presented for the abortion were not genuine and would only lead to an illegal activit y. Though the doctor would receive a high pay for the activity, it was surely against the law, against humanity and also against the Christian faith, which we both professed. On the other side, we realized that just rejecting the offer wouldn’t solve the problem as the client would just seek for the services elsewhere and still carry on with the abortion. Application of the Expected Reaction I had to have a talk with the doctor, as we sought a way forward for over coming the dilemma.Though the client knew very well what she was doing was wrong, she insisted on carrying on with an abortion just to avoid any negative consequences she would face. She offered good terms of payments and this would have tempted the doctor into the activity. However, there were some values that barred the doctor from accepting the offer. According to bureaucracy, there was a need to follow the laws set out for the conduct of medical practitioners. A doctor or nurse was not allowed to succumb to pres sure from a client and act against the laws and expectations of his profession.The law also forbids doctors from accepting the offer from the client as committing an abortion in the given situations wasn’t legal. There was hence a need to reject the offer by the client and avoid carrying out an illegal activity. Although most Americans like referring to abortion as legal, one of the major American statutes is respect and protection of life. Since scientists and medical researchers have proven with no doubt that life starts at conception, there is a need to avoid carrying out abortion unless it is confirmed that the mother’s life is at risk.Therefore, there was a need to portray the American character of humanity, respect to life and be reasonable in dealing with the dilemma. The refore, there was no other option apart from rejecting the client’s offer. In the spirit of public service, the doctor realized he had previously rejected a few other offers for carrying out abortions with no good reasons. He hence realized he couldn’t treat this case as a special one just because those involved were wealthy and influential. He opted to treat all equally and hence rejected the offer.With a vision of common good, the doctor realized that he had a social responsibility of preserving life instead of terminating it. He hence had to take the option that would have more benefits not just to the client and the man in question, but to the society as a whole. Preservation of life was hence a better option in this aspect and hence the doctor could not accept the offer. Resolution of the Problem We had to seek for a better way of addressing the dilemma and resolving it. It was clear the doctor wasn’t supposed to accept the offer.On the other hand, just rejecting the offer would resolve the dilemma since the client would seek the services of another doctor. There was hence a need to talk to the client and let her have our perspective in looking a t the situation. After talking to the clients on the implication of an abortion in terms of her own health, humanity and ethics as well as moral values, she was willing to stop an abortion, but on condition that we offered a way out of the problems she was afraid of. We therefore looked at all the available options and finally landed on one of allowing the client to give birth and then give the child up for adoption.We were able to contact an organization from another state that would give the chance to keep her pregnancy secret as she required it to be and then take the child for adoption. The client hence consulted the man and got enough funds from him and then moved to the other state where she stayed till she got the baby and after recovering, she came back and continued with her profession. The client was later very grateful as she realized she had done a noble thing rather than committing an abortion and terminating life. We were also happy to realized we had followed the valu es of our profession in resolving the dilemma.

Electronic Gadgets

Issues in Information Systems Volume 13, Issue 1, pp. 225-231, 2012 IS THE GROWING USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES BENEFICIAL TO ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE? RESULTS FROM ARCHIVAL DATA AND A SURVEY Taylor S. Drain, Washburn University, taylor. [email  protected] edu Lakeisha E. Grier, Washburn University, lakeisha. [email  protected] edu Wenying Sun, Washburn University, nan. [email  protected] edu ABSTRACT In this study, we investigate the relationship between academic performance and the use of computer technology.We test our hypothesis which proposes that the growing use of electronic deveices is academically beneficial to high school students' standardized test scores and GPA. Our method of data collection includes both a survey of high school students in the Midwest area and an analysis of national SAT scores in the years before computing and in years with computing. Analysis of SAT archival data shows a negative correlation between scores pre -computing and scores post-computing (with computing influences), meaning that as scores before computing were decreasing, scores with prevalent computer technology are increasing.Our survey data also displayed a positive correlation between time spent on electronic devices for school purpose and GPA. Keywords: Computer Technology, Academic Performance , SAT, GPA, Electronic Devices INTRODUCTION The availability and use of electronic devices continues to grow. Over 420 million smart phones were sold worldwide in 2011 [6]. Almost 400 million computers were sold during 2010 , and that figure is expected to increase to over 1 billion units which will incl ude computers and smart phones by 2014 [3]. With the development of Wi-Fi hotspots, it is now easier for people to stay connected with their portable devices.Since electronic devices continue to be adapted to be friendlier to the end users, we want to research how the increased use of computer based technologies both in the classroom and at home impacts the academic performan ce of students. The following research question is posed: â€Å"Is the increased use of computer based technology improving the academic performance of students? † In order for us to investigate this question, we have analyzed two sources of data. The first being SAT test scores over the last 30 years. The second source is from data we collected from a survey that we presented to high school students.This study is important because it shows that the increasing use of electronic technologies for schoolwork is improving students’ academic performance. Computer technology is everywhere in the society, and most of the high school students in the U. S. own or have access to computer technology on a daily basis. We hope to show appropriate use of these technologies will increase learning. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. We provide a literature review on related research. We then discuss the data analysis and present the results. The last section provides discussions of the results along with the implications of this study.LITERATURE REVIEW Our literature review suggests there are contradictory conclusions from various studies regarding whether computer use improves academic performance. Some studies state that computer use improves academic performance. Others propose that academic performance has nothing to do with computer use. A few studies suggest that computer use is a distraction to school studies and negatively impacts academic performance. 225 Issues in Information Systems Volume 13, Issue 1, pp. 225-231, 2012 One study claims that there exists evidence that Internet-time is harming children’s academic performance.This study was done by economists at the University of Munich named Thomas Fuchs and Ludger Woessmann who surveyed students in 31 countries. They created a very thorough, detailed survey in order to eliminate other possible causes of the downward trend of academic performance . They state in their results th at the â€Å"sheer ubiquity of information technology is getting in the way of learning† [7]. Another study hoped to find correlation in Internet/ Gaming Use and its numerous effects on adolescents. They analyzed not just academic performance, but social skills, relationship s, sense of reality and violent behavior.Their conclusion regarding internet use and its impact on academic performance was â€Å" although playing specific computer games has immediate positive effects on specific spatial, iconic, and attentional skills used b y the game, we need more research to see if long term computer and Internet use (both game and nongame) can lead to long term improvements in cognitive skills and academic achievement† [8]. Another study investigated the relationship between academic achievement and computer use. The focus was students in the 10th grade. They did a survey of three high schools in Ohio.This study had the students keep a log of how much time they used the comp uter for several different categories of activities. The study did not focus on any testing scores. Everything was measured against the students GPA. It did not find computer use at home and GPA to have a significant relationship [5]. A final study analyzed the impact of owning a computer at home and not necessar ily using it to assist in the classroom. They concluded that â€Å"home computers are associated with a 6-8 percentage point higher probability of graduating from high school† [2].They also discussed that their statistics supported the idea that owning a perso nal computer or having access to one at home had a positive correlation with grades and a negative correlation with suspension. While many studies, experiments and discussions continue to dwell around this topic, we will specifically analyze the impact of computer technology on high school students’ standardized test scores and determine if we can further support the idea that computing benefits learning . RESEARCH METHODOLOGY We gathered data from two sources. One was external and compiled from publicly reported standardized test scores.The second was collected from a survey of high school students we conducted. Our first data source is compiled ACT and SAT scores from their respective institutions statistical data archives. [1,4] We have access to ACT scores from 1994 to 2011 and SAT scores from 19 78 – 2011. SAT scores were not separated by state until 1998. We choose one state from each of the following regions to represent the United States: Midwest (Kansas), New England (Massachusetts), Southwest (Texas), Pacific Coast (California), Southeast (Florida), Mid -Atlantic (New York).We chose Kansas to represent the Midwest, as we knew our survey data would be gathered from that state. As for selecting representative states for the other regions, we took into consideration that we wanted the most general, unbiased data. Therefore we selected states with the largest population s in hopes that those who took the standardized tests would be a more thorough and accurate sample of that state. Prior to 2005, the SAT did not contain a writing section to the standardized assessment. In order to make our data comparable, we only compared the verbal and math scores for all the years we analyzed .We took the mean of the SAT, per year, per region (state), to the mean of the GPA that is recorded that year. For the ACT, we compared the scores for each year, for each region, to the national mean of that year and observed the trends present. We determined ACT data to be unusable for our study due to the fact that the year s and breakdown of the scores was very limited. Our second source of data is the responses from a survey that were distributed to high school students in the Midwest area. We took several steps to conduct this survey. First, we designed the survey instrument.This included several rounds of determining more refined questions and formatting for the best presentation. Our survey questions were divided into two categories. One category was general demographic information including: gender, age, and 226 Issues in Information Systems Volume 13, Issue 1, pp. 225-231, 2012 grade level. After looking at common survey questions, we were able to word these basic demographic questions to be clear and concise. The other category included data that would directly relate to our theory: GPA, SAT score, ACT score, time spent on computer for entertainment, school, and other purposes.In order to eliminate potential human error problems or difficulty reading participants' answers, we provided answers with checkboxes for every question except for the computer usage question. Our survey questions were divided into two categories. One category was general demographic information including: gender, age, and grade level. After looking at common survey questions, we were able to word these basic demographic questions to be clear and concise. The other cat egory included data that would directly relate to our theory: GPA, SAT score, ACT score, time spent on computer for entertainment, school, and other purposes.In order to eliminate potential human error problems or difficulty reading participants' answ ers, we provided answers with checkboxes for every question except for the computer usage question. Next, in order to survey students, we had to have our research project approved by our university's Institutional Review Board. This process included an extensive application requiring a description of potential participants, reason for research, research plan, survey instrument, and how the participation of students would be used.Shortly after submission, our application was approved, allowing us to rea ch out to local schools and begin our surveying. Third, we conducted a trial run of the survey by asking seven high schools students to take the survey and report any suggestions for improvement or problems comprehending the questions. F ourth, we distributed copies of the surveys to high schools in the area. We contacted principals to get their permission and delivered them to the schools that were willing to participate.The following pieces of data were collected: hours spent using an electronic devices on school days and non schools (for educational, entertainment or other purposes), SAT score, ACT score, GPA, age, gender and opinion of the effect of technology on their personal learning on a 7 point Likert Scale. Before analyzing the survey data, we prepared the data for analysis. We converted non-numerical data into a comparable numerical format. We declared 1 as representing Male and 2 representing Female. We used 1 – 7 to represent strongly disagree to strongly agree on the Likert scale.We assigne d numbers to the ranges of ACT and SAT scores starting at 1 for the lowest range and ending at 13 for ACT and 14 for SAT. For GPA, we assigned numbers for the ranges, 1 for less than 2. 0, 2 for 2. 0 – 2. 49, 3 for 2. 5 – 2. 99, 4 for 3. 0 – 3. 49 and 5 for 3. 5 – 4. 0. We then used SPSS to determine correlation between both GPA and standardized test scores and computer usage and GPA. We analyzed our data using a T -test For Equality of the Means to compare each region to the significant region of the Midwest. We consider this region to be significant because it is where our survey data is collected.The analysis of our survey data and SAT and ACT collected data is discussed in the next section. 227 Issues in Information Systems Volume 13, Issue 1, pp. 225-231, 2012 Figure 1. Survey RESULTS Archival Data We used the years 1972 – 1987 to represent prior to popular computer use and the years 199 5 – 2010 to represent the emergence of computer technology and increased use of it for educational or other purposes. Using SPSS, we found significant negative relationships between these time periods with both Spearman’s and Pearson’s correla tion tests. The Spearman test between these two 15 year periods of scores was -. 59 and (p-value = 0. 01). The Pearson test between these time periods was -. 764 (p-value = 0. 01). We graphed the Combined Verbal and Math scores for both the pre-computing time period (1972 – 1987) and for the with-computing time period (1995 – 2010). Figure 1 below shows the National SAT score trend for a fifteen year period before computing was prevalent among high school st udents (1972 – 1987). The data illustrates a negative trend for this time period. Figure 2 below shows the National SAT score trend for the fifteen year period 228 Issues in Information Systems Volume 13, Issue 1, pp. 25-231, 2012 with computing among high school students (1995 – 2010). The data for this time period illustrates an initial upward trend for the first ten years. Figure 2. National SAT scores from 1972-1987 Figure 3. National SAT scores from 1995-2010 Survey Data 102 complete surveys were returned and the demographics of the respondents are shown in Table 1. The sample population had slightly more males (52%) than females (48%). The sample population had various ages including 12 years (1%), 14 years (14. 7%), 15 years (26. 5%), 16 years (20. 6%), 18 years (21. 6%), and 19 years (1%).We had students from four grades; 9th had 33 (32. 45), 10th had 29 (28. 4%), 11th had 10 (9. 8%), and 12th had 31 (30. 4%). Students spent an average of 5. 36 hours using computer technology on school days and 8. 45 hours on non -school days. 229 Issues in Information Systems Volume 13, Issue 1, pp. 225-231, 2012 Gender Female Male Grade 9th 10th 11th 12th Table 1. Demographics of the Respondents Age Avg Comp Use 49 (48%) 12 1 (1%) School Days 53 (52%) 14 15 (14. 7%) Std. Deviation 15 27 (26. 5%) 33 (32. 4%) 16 21 (20. 6%) Non-School Days 29 (28. 4%) 17 15 (14. 7%) Std. Deviation 10 (9. 8%) 8 22 (21. 6%) 31 (30. 4%) 19 1 (1%) 5. 36 hrs 3. 91 8. 45 hrs 4. 81 We analyzed our data with SPS S and ran tests against variables in order to note correlation among factors that were recorded in our survey data. Several significant relationships were evident in our survey data. All of the results listed below use Spearman’s correlation test between two variables. We had a . 223 positive correlation between reported GPA and Computer Use for School on School Days (p-value = . 05). There was a . 213 positive correlation between GPA and Computer Use for Other on School Days (p-value = . 05).No significant correlation was found between computer use for school on Non-School Days and GPA, due to the fact that the majority of our respondents reported that they did not spend any hours on schoolwork on Non-School Days. We found a . 663 positive correlation between GPA and ACT scores (p-value = . 01). We also found a positive correlation of . 224 between GPA and sex. Finally, we found a . 241 positive correlation between students that felt that computer use was beneficial to their personal academic performance and those that utilized technology for school purposes had a p-value of . 5. Table 2 summarizes these correlations and highlights the significant correlations. School Days Entertainment School Other Total Hours Non-School Days Entertainment School Other Total Hours GPA GPA -. 125 .223 .213 .107 -. 157 .099 .085 .003 1 Table 2. Correlations p-value ACT Score p-value .237 .084 .657 .034 -. 070 .714 .044 -. 055 .774 .304 .058 .761 .137 .352 .428 .977 -. 033 .027 -. 190 -. 129 .663 .863 .889 .314 .497 .000 Opinion .030 .241 -. 080 .068 p-value .778 .020 .447 .509 -. 055 .061 -. 050 .015 .010 .598 .561 .638 .887 .920CONCLUSION In this study, we aimed to answer the following research question, â€Å"Is the increased use of computer based technology improving the academic performance of students? † We analyzed standardized test scores, the SAT, in the years before prevalent computing (1972 – 1987) and in the years with prevalent and ever-increas ing computer use (1995 – 2010). We also surveyed local high school students asking for computer usage in hours, standardized test scores and GPA. The analysis of SAT scores reveals an evident negative correlation.This significant correlation illustrates that in the first time period, 1972 – 1987, SAT scores were decreasing, but that in the years with computing, 1995 – 2010, scores were increasing. It can be inferred, without regarding other external factors, that computing has benefite d student performance in standardized testing, specifically the SAT. A thorough comparative analysis of our survey data indicates several significant correlations. First, the positive relationship between the hours of computer use for school purposes and GPA demonstrates the idea that use of electronic devices for school urposes benefits academic performance. Second, those with high GPA's also had high standardized test scores, such that it can be inferred that appropriate use of electronic devices also benefits students 230 Issues in Information Systems Volume 13, Issue 1, pp. 225-231, 2012 in their standardized testing. Finally, students who had the opinion that use of electronic devices improved their personal academic performance utilized those tools, which are shown by the significant correlation between students who held this opinion and used electronic devices for schoolwork.These significant correlat ions imply, in our sample, that use of computing, or electronic devices for school work and the like, benefit students in both their GPAs and their standardized test scores. Our survey results and standardized test score analysis show an improvement in academic performance with increased computer usage. Specifically, our results show that students who spent more time using their electronic devices for school purposes did better in school than those who claimed they used their devices for other purposes.This result in our survey sample group illustrates o ur theory that â€Å"intelligent use† of electronic devices improves academic performance of students. LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH This study has a few limitations. First, in our analysis of standardized test scores, we decided against including the Writing section of the ACT as it made comparing scores between previous to 2005 and after 2005 inaccurate. This limited our ability to determine the improvement of devolvement of writing skills based upon increase in computer usage.Also, in our analysis of standardized test scores we did not include ACT scores in our results section because there was a very narrow amount of data available before prevalent computer use. Finally, we only surveyed students in local area high schools. In order to make a more accurate and generalized conclusion, we would need to have a further reaching and larger sur vey size. Further research must be conducted in order to determine if our results could be duplicated in another sample group and to rule out external factors. REFERENCES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. . 231 ACT Incorporated. (2012). ACT national and state scores. Retrieved from http://www. act. org/newsroom/data/ Beltran, D. (2008). Home computers and educational outcomes: Evidence from the NLSY97 and CPS. Retrieved from Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Web site: http://www. federalreserve. gov/pubs/ifdp/2008/958/ifdp958. pdf Clark, N. (2011). Annual computer sale to pass 1 billion by 2014. Retrieved from The Independent Web site: http://www. independent. co. uk/news/business/news/annual -computer-sales-to-pass-1-billion-by-20142187923. tml Collegeboard. org Incorporated. (2012). Retrieved from http://professionals. collegeboard. com/data-reportsresearch/sat/archived Delgado-Hachey, Maria, et al. (2005). Adolescent computer use and academic achievement. Adolescence, 40(158), 307-318. Epstein, Z. (2011). IMS: Annual smartphone sales to reach 1 billion units by 2016; Apple, Samsung winners so far. Retrieved from BGR Web site: http://www. bgr. com/2011/07/27/ims-annual-smartphone-sales-to-reach-1billion-units-by-2016-apple-samsung-winners-so-far/ Ferguson, S. (2005). How computers