Monday, September 30, 2019

Strawberry DNA Extraction Lab Formal Write Up

Purpose : This lab was conducted in order to show and analyze the way DNA is extracted.Hypothesis: If the lab is conducted properly then we should be able to view a visible amount of DNA from the strawberry and detergent mixture.Variables: The independent variable in this experiment is the strawberry mixture while the dependent variable is the amount of DNA extracted.Procedure-summary: Place a strawberry in a plastic baggy filled with the detergent mix and crush the strawberry, mixing the pulp with the detergent mix thoroughly, pour the detergent mixture into the funnel. Let the liquid from the mixture drain into the beaker then add the ethanol to the mixture.Data:Observations- The ethanol sat on top of the detergent due to its lighter density. Bubbles started rising as soon as the ethanol was added durn turning the liquid cloudy. The DNA grouped rapidly, taking no longer than two to three minuets total before slowing down and seeming to stop grouping. The DNA itself looked like sput um or phlegm, and was easily extracted from the mixture and sticky to the touch. When the DNA was extracted from the test tube and the mixture was stirred, more DNA started to collect at the top.Analysis:-As the strawberry is physically mashed into the detergent the cells are broken down and opened. The ethanol is else dense than the mixture and draws the now accessible DNA to the surface where it is viewable.-In comparing the extraction of strawberry DNA compared to human DNA, given a sample of the same amount of cells, there would be more DNA extracted from the strawberry for it has eight sets of chromosomes while humans just have two sets.-In real world situations DNA extraction would be used in something as complex as a murder investigation, in which DNA would have to be extracted to match a perpetrator to the evidence, or as simple as a pregnancy test.-A single cotton thread can not be seen from 100 feet away, but thousands of cotton threads together in a rope would be visible. The same applies to DNA in this experiment. A single double helix is hard to view even with the most complex of microscope, but when thousands of sticky little DNA strands bind together in the ethanol solution they become visible to the human eye.-Based on prior knowledge I know that the extraction of human DNA from mussel tissue is quite similar to the extraction of DNA from a strawberry and also ethanol based. That fact is to be expected for really there is no major cellular difference between strawberries and humans minus the fact that one is plant and the other is animal. Both are eukaryotic.Conclusion:In the experiment, DNA was successfully extracted from a strawberry, demonstrating the process a real life scientists would possibly extract DNA from cells. The lab was intact successful for the group and I were able to extract a visible amount of DNA from the mixture.There was really no source of error in this lab due to its simplicity. I feel in order to improve this lab, we sh ould compare the amount of strawberry DNA to another fruit like a banana or kiwi. I personally learned the physical process of DNA extraction as well as what DNA looks like.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Satire in Jane Austen’s Pride in Prejudice

Jane Austen’s Satirical Writing: Analyzing the Satire of Social Class Within Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice delves into the issue of why social standing in a society based solely on class should not be the most important thing when evaluating the worth of a person. Through several different literary techniques – such as letters and abundant focalizers – Austen conveys important information about key issues she has with the significance placed on social standing. The theme of class and social standing is echoed constantly throughout Austen’s novel in numerous ways, highlighting several aspects of the gentry that she distrusts. The entirety of the novel focuses mainly on the distances placed between characters due to their social standing in a class based society. Regardless of how fit a person may be in either mind or capabilities, if a high sum of money is not contained within their personhood (or their estate), they are considered menial. Jane Austen uses the social relationships between her characters to satirize the importance placed on the hierarchy of class in society. Austen wrote the novel in order to define and satirize the problems that she saw in the hierarchy of class in the society of her time. Throughout the entire novel â€Å"there isn’t a character†¦who’s introduced without his income being mentioned in the next sentence† (Selznick 92). The ridiculousness of the value placed upon money – of which the middle class has very little – is evident as Austen progresses the story and the relationships between her characters – namely between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. The fact that, in Austen’s time, the society revolved around the gentry – whose entire idea of class and power involved money – makes it easier for the audience reading Pride and Prejudice to understand why she has satirized this issue. She does this quite flawlessly throughout the novel, relying on her knowledge of the increasing adamancy of the middle class to gain social status and power through more than just land, money and relations. The significance of social standing and the desire of the characters aspire to it can be seen in different instances throughout the novel. However, there are a few characters for which the idea of wealth and power mean very little, who strive to better themselves through their own wit and charm, rather than through the advantages of money. Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the novel, is one such character. It is difficult for her to adjust to the sense of reality in which the novel exists due to the fact that the society has been permanently established and there is very little she can do to earn the credit she deserves. Yet it is due to Elizabeth’s unique personality that the audience is able to understand why her interest for the things at Pemberley and the positive change in heart she has for Mr. Darcy’s character show the dual nature of how Austen thought of the personal attainment of identity and morality balanced with her begrudged acknowledgement of a limited and restrained society (Hamilton). There are several other characters that believe the importance placed on monetary gain to be superfluous and still others that also come to realize this. It is through both the understanding and ignorance of these characters that it becomes evident just how deeply Austen distrusted the idea of an individual requiring social power in order to be recognized as an accomplished individual. Austen paid especially close attention to economic and social standing when it came to her characters for the express purpose of satirizing why their superior class was not necessarily more agreeable or accomplished than those in the lower classes. She wrote her novels with the idea that â€Å"the quality of humanity is to be judged by moral and human standards†¦not by social status; but like her own temporary snobs†¦she pays full attention to their social status first† (Copeland 121). As seen with Austen’s character Mr. Darcy, she concentrates fully on his attachments to his reputation before she delves into who he becomes and how much better off he is when he realizes the error in his way of thinking. In assessing the weight that social standing has on the progression of the story in Pride and Prejudice, one can attain a great bit of insight into why specific characters act the way they do throughout the novel. The infamous Bingley sisters, for instance, are so attached to the idea of material wealth that they fail to realize when their comments are unacceptable. Ms. Bingley herself, who is so attached to the idea that she is superior to Elizabeth in every way, cannot understand why Mr. Darcy could possibly find Elizabeth attractive in any sort of manner. It is her status-hungry and conceited personality that allows the audience to see the sheer difference between her and her brother, Mr. Charles Bingley. Unlike his sisters, he is not trying to climb up the social hierarchy to gain status and power; instead, he shows a gentler, more levelheaded side to the gentry as he falls in love with Elizabeth’s older sister, Jane. It is characters with personalities and ideals like Mr. Bingley’s that Austen revered and trusted above all others. Curiously enough, however, the hardheaded Mr. Darcy, who is very aware of his social standing, is the one character in the novel who goes through the most drastic personality change. Though Elizabeth Bennet had the positive, clever and levelheaded personality that Austen herself may have had when dealing with the social mobility of her time, it is instead the incredible change of heart that Mr. Darcy undergoes that shows how someone who is socially superior can realize the importance of wit, charm and beauty of those around him instead of being concerned only with their social status. This is how Austen is able to satirize these problems so efficiently that a modern audience does not realize that she is poking fun at the societal importance of class in her time and instead sees nothing but a charming romance. Yet Austen was doing much more than writing a simple love story. The novel was written in a transitional period when peoples’ way of thinking was shifting from a romantic look at life to a more enlightened view of living. The ideals of the eighteenth century – where people saw society as organized and divinely structured – were quickly lost to the thinkers of the more modernistic views of society in the nineteenth century, in which there was a significant loss of faith in any spiritualistic based society. Instead, nineteenth century thought turned towards the idea of the individual as the only path towards order. This new idea of placing emphasis on the self was especially important to Austen, yet she realized that the tendency of an organized and structured society was to value a person by their material wealth, rather than who the individual really was. She was able to take both ideas and mold them into her ideal situation, which can be seen in the last few lines of the novel when Elizabeth is at last accepted into Pemberley and its heritage. It is here that the individual â€Å"remains exactly where Austen would have it, in the center of a stable eighteenth-century world† (Hamilton 36). Class and social standing is a very evident and important issue for Austen and she satirizes it with the utmost diligence throughout the novel using intricate, yet simplistic designs for her characters’ relationships. For instance, instead of being forced to marry Mr. Collins for the express purpose of making a new connection on their own, Elizabeth refuses to be controlled by society’s standards and defies Mrs. Bennet’s wishes in order to â€Å"demonstrate that it is still possible for individuals to make new connections in defiance of society† (Austen 395). Tony Tanner, a British literary critic, who wrote the original introduction to Pride and Prejudice conveyed that Austen wrote about â€Å"a society which stresses social control over individual ecstasy, formality over informality, sartorial neatness over bodily abandon, and alert consciousnesses over the more Romantic states of revery and trance† and yet it is also â€Å"a society in which the individual can experience freedom as well as commitment† (Austen 395). The unfathomable amount of thought that Jane Austen put into writing Pride and Prejudice show how deeply she cared for the freedom of the individual and the ability to stand proudly in a society that overlooked individual assets for material ones. Tanner also credited Austen with the ability to create a character around the central idea of attempting to prove their individual worth within a society bound entirely by the ordinance of class. He is able to demonstrate the importance Austen placed on her characters – especially Elizabeth and Jane Bennet – finding themselves in a gentry-based society by drawing on William Blake’s In the Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Tanner argues – with Blake’s ideals in mind – that Austen takes two completely different aspects of life, energy and reason, and instead of reconciling these opposite attractions, there is a mutual coming together of complementary characteristics. He puts it plainly when he states that â€Å"she makes it seem as if it is possible for playfulness and regulation – energy and boundaries – to be united in fruitful harmony, without the one being sacrificed to the other† (Austen 106). This ability to take two unlike ideas and mesh them together without either losing its significance is exactly how Austen takes society’s emphasis on social standing and class and reverses it into something that now benefits a character where before it could only hinder (i. e. Elizabeth’s transformation from a meager middle-class girl, to the Mistress of Pemberley). However, not all critics have been kind to the way in which Austen portrays this transformational miracle of a young girl suddenly coming into great sums of money, merely by the tact and wit she shows in the way she lives. These critics find Austen’s dealing with social standing and class to be abhorrent. In fact, one such critic happens to be a famous authoress who, in writing a letter to G. H. Lewes in 1848, stated that she disliked the novel due to its frivolous dealings with the common life of both the upper and the middle-class. In her writing to the British literary and theatre critic, the authoress stated that she â€Å"should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen, in their elegant but confined houses† (Austen 368). It was, in fact, Currer Bell – more widely known as Charlotte Bronte – who wrote this letter, in which the reader can clearly sense the contempt she had for Austen’s writing and the way she portrayed her characters. Though perhaps more of an criticism towards the way Austen wrote in general, Bronte was still very serious with her concern about the way in which Austen depicted her characters and their lives. She had, in Bronte’s view, â€Å"no sense of the outward world – either scenery or personal appearance† (Mazzeno 558). It is obvious that Austen’s portrayal of social standing, class, romance, money, marriage and many other themes throughout Pride and Prejudice were not held in high regard with Bronte. Though the majority of critical analyses both praising and condemning the way in which Austen depicts social standing in her novel have been done by literary thinkers, there have been other mediums through which the novel has been adapted, such that even criticism of someone as famous as Charlotte Bronte is outshined. For example, in their book Authority, State and National Character, professors Kuzmics of the University of Graz and Axtmann of the University of Wales, when addressing the problems that both Britain and Austria have seen in relation to social class when examining the issues that arose in several literary novels and dramas of the time, state that when they first studied Pride and Prejudice, they thought it had very little to do with such issues. They believed that â€Å"the fate of the Bennet sisters in rural gentry-based England just after the turn of the century revolved around such harmless matters as a ball at Netherfield† (Kuzmics 223). It is apparent that both professors believe – at least upon their first reading of it – that Austen’s novel had very little to do with the very real problems that are satirized throughout the story. Their criticism of the novel, however, in relation to how both Austrian and English society has evolved during the civilizing process is perhaps accurate without an in depth reading of Pride and Prejudice, as it seems to merely have a â€Å"relaxed air of cheerfulness and ironic, detached art of people watching† (Kuzmics 223). Conversely, after one looks past all the pleasantries that the story has to offer, one realizes that, as the professors correctly stated, it only appears to have nothing to do with issues of class. This is why the novel must be read carefully, to push past the obvious romance of the story and dig into the satirical tone in which Austen addresses such important matters. As the professors continue their research into the heart of the novel, they revealed very important aspects of Austen’s writing about social class and how it is a perfect example of English society, even to this day. She defined so clearly how England was a â€Å"face-to-face† or â€Å"shame society† in which â€Å"the opposite of social respectability is social disgrace† which was â€Å"to be avoided at all costs† (Kuzmics 227). This meant that for those families that were unable to depend on an inheritance or their relations in order to live comfortably in society, they could only rely upon prospective marriage partners for a comfortable life. It is because of this importance placed upon society’s standards of what makes a family valuable that â€Å"the social value and respectability of the potential future spouse is ascertained and made visible† (Southam 113). This, in turn, makes it difficult for someone such as Elizabeth – who is very accomplished in her wit and charm – unable to stoop so low as to accept a marriage proposal from someone she has no tender feelings toward. The idea of marrying only for money, power or social stability is part of the reason why Elizabeth Bennet is thought of as impertinent by other characters in the novel such as Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine, and at times even her own mother. Yet it is because of Elizabeth’s character and the audacity she is capable of showing to such renowned individuals that proves Austen meant her novel to be much more than a romantic story between two characters. She wanted a stab at the problems of the gentry, to affirm her belief that basing the worth of an individual merely by their material wealth was hardly the best way of assessing someone’s value (Wilhelm). She was able to do a fantastic job of satirizing the gentry throughout her novel by using several different aspects of what made a renowned person so important: money, connections and property. In the general notes of the Penguin Classic version of Pride and Prejudice, David Spring, author of Interpreters of Jane Austen’s Social World, used historian Alan Everitt’s coined term ‘pseudo-gentry’ to describe a group of individuals that were comprised mostly of those involved with the trade, who aspired to attain the lifestyle of the landed gentry. It is because of this idea that in order to be worth something, a person must own land, that several of the characters from Austen’s novel seek ‘land-based wealth,’ which is an obvious sign of â€Å"a class intensely interested in income as means to, and a sign of, status† (Austen 413). This shows that Austen’s novel is written from a point of view that sees upward mobility as a bleak, corrupt hierarchy and is much more interested in the professional middle class – the class which, in Pride and Prejudice is represented quite adeptly by the Gardiners. This idea of attempting to identify oneself in a strict society based on social class has taken on numerous different forms: books, critical essays, movies and television series. Innumerable amounts of professional critics have delved deeply into Austen’s novel’s representation of class, manners and even the social status of women in British society. In the incredibly faithful six hour long A&E/BBC adaptation of the book, Sue Britwistle – the program’s producer – wanted to include â€Å"many clear illustrations of the way that class and gender are governed by proper British manners†¦and highlight the importance of economic status in Regency England† (Selznick 92). The fact that women could only gain social standing through marriage is very apparent through all of Austen’s writing, not just Pride and Prejudice. It is incredible to think that a woman was worth nothing unless she had a substantial inheritance, as seen with Georgiana and Mr. Wickham. He cared nothing for her abilities, her looks, her personality – the only thing he desired was the hefty sum of money she would receive through inheritance. The type of relationship is seen numerous times throughout the novel and only contravened when Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy marry the two Bennet sisters. It is, as professors Kuzmics and Axtmann so rightly called it, a marriage market. The worth of an individual could only be seen through the instance of marriage, when a person’s monetary value was ascertained and brought into light. There are several different instances throughout the novel in which social standing and class are satirized, though none so much as the motif of carriages. Austen placed importance upon how many and of what kind carriage a person owned; it signaled wealth, status and power – which, to Austen, was not a feasible way to judge the worth of a person. The aspect of carriages even flows into the marriage market, where the prospective bride (because the groom always seemed to be worthy regardless) is critiqued and either approved or denied. Part of this process is inquiry into how many and what kind of carriages the bride owns – if any. Their chances of finding a suitable match dwindles if they do not own an acceptable carriage (Walder). This is seen when Lady Catherine tracks down Elizabeth at Longbourn, wondering how her nephew could have possibly proposed to one such as her – someone who walks places without the aide of a carriage to take her anywhere. One of the most noteworthy characters that Austen uses to satirize social standing in her novel is Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Austen utilizes Lady Catherine for the primary function of criticizing the aristocratic society in which she places her character, as Lady Catherine is one of the most prideful and overbearing personalities in the novel. Jane Austen mercilessly ridicules the hierarchal society she was raised in by using Catherine as a means to convey how prominent figures (who were only important because of their wealth) thought themselves to be experts on almost every topic, even if they had no prior knowledge of the subject of which they were speaking on. For example, when Elizabeth visits Lady Catherine at Rosings, she is not only terribly inquisitive about how the girl had been raised, but when she asks Elizabeth if she plays the piano, Catherine admits that she herself could not. Though, as she states soon afterward, if she had practiced, there was no doubt that she would have been incredible. Ironically enough, it is due to Lady Catherine’s sudden visitation with Elizabeth near the end of the novel that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are married. By telling her nephew of the interview that she had with Elizabeth, Catherine allows the seed of hope to appear in Mr. Darcy. Lady Catherine’s attempt at interference between her nephew and Elizabeth is ultimately the reason that the two marry – not to mention that it is a means by which Austen can convey the strong personality she bequeathed upon Elizabeth to show that one’s social station should not limit her, but help her to hold her own in what most people saw as polite-society. Through many instances of dark humor, tragedy and even comedic aspects, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice takes a critical look at the issue of social standing in society and severely reprimands its ideals. Austen distrusted several aspects of the society in which she lived and tried to right its wrongs by satirizing the importance that the gentry placed on social standing and class. Though this may not have worked quite as well as she would have hoped – as most people view Pride and Prejudice as a mere romance story – with her cut and dry, black and white views of what a person should be judged by, Austen clearly wanted her society to realize that a person could only be considered accomplished if they truly had the talents to be – not whether or not they could afford to buy their name. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London: Penguin, 2003. Print. Copeland, Edward, and Juliet McMaster. The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. Hamilton, Sylvia N. Constructing Mr. Darcy: Tradition, Gender, and Silent Spaces in Jane Austen. Thesis. University of Central Oklahoma, 2007. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest, 2008. Print. Kuzmics, Helmut, and Roland Axtmann. Authority, State and National Character: the Civilizing Process in Austria and England, 1700-1900. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2007. Print. Mazzeno, Laurence W. Jane Austen: Two Centuries of Criticism. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2011. Print. Selznick, Barbara J. Global Television Co-producing Culture. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 2008. Print. Southam, B. C. Jane Austen: the Critical Heritage. London: Routledge, 1999. Print. Walder, Dennis. The Realist Novel. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print. Wilhelm, Julia. Appropriations of Jane Austen's â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† in Contemporary British Fiction. Thesis. Johannes Gutenberg University, 2007. Mainz, Germany: Grin Verlag, 2008. Print.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Study Profolio - 4 topics 2500 words Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Study Profolio - 4 topics 2500 words - Essay Example Without the synthesis, the intentions and visions remain just that. Mintzberg’s Mintzberg’s position adopts an alternative perspective – some may say a searing commentary – of the prevailing management misapplication of what has become a buzzword. Possible motivations aside, the views he expresses are actually pragmatic and constructive. It is true that many companies are run according to â€Å"strategic plans† which, in the end, fail to provide truly concrete directions when seen at the operations level. The down to earth writing style and direct approach of Mintzberg produces the sort of literature that holds the attention of management practitioners on the lookout for fresh theoretical approaches to practical management problems. By drawing attention to the shortcomings of common practice, Mintzberg is able to contribute an added dimension to the link between management theory and practice that would provide real results for the company. 235 As is expected of a textbook chapter, the selection is explanatory and descriptive. The author explains the differences in business strategy based on the position of the firm in the industrial chain and the particular applications that generic strategies bear on the hospitality and tourism business. The definitions cited by the chapter are succinct and focused, as well as the concepts of the level of strategy. One of the novel discussion presented in the text is the approach taken in the various gaps left uncovered by the current business strategy. The concept of gap analysis as presented in the text is an important one. Usually, when business managers come together at a strategic planning session, they approach the coming strategy formulation as if they were facing a clean slate. The emphasis is on the new strategy, new methods, new directions; whereas, little attention is paid to the problems of the past, as to how or where the

Friday, September 27, 2019

Company's interest regarding private equity buyouts Dissertation

Company's interest regarding private equity buyouts - Dissertation Example In just one generation the private equity industry has grew to become a dynamo for growth, innovation and enterprise (Kolade. W, 2008). Britain is a world leader in this sector with one of the largest private equity markets globally, second only to the US. There are over 450 active UK firms, which provide several billion pounds each year to unquoted companies. Despite private equity now being a recognised asset class, the rapid growth in market has provoked debate about private equity and its intensions. Private equity firms have been taking over some of the UK's most notorious names, many making phenomenal improvements to these companies, but there has still been criticism of their vilifying greed and heartless nature to others. Some have characterised these private equity firms as the ‘Gluttons at Gate’. Supporters of private equity, including the government, praise its ability to create jobs quickly and contribute to the economy (BBC, 2007). Private equity groups claim they are improving the performance of UK companies by giving them stronger management and market discipline. They also claim that private equity investors generate superior returns for their shareholders; that private equity is clean and simple, not cluttered by all the governance bureaucracy of the publicly quoted sector (superior doc). Conversely others would disagree, most notably employees at companies which have been bought by private equity groups only to see hundreds of job cuts being made. ... It’s questioned whether the private equity boom will provide good long-term investment results or whether we are seeing the inflation of yet another financial bubble, with the destruction of viable companies as a damaging by-product (Demaria, 2010). But perhaps the most controversial argument may be taxation implications. PE companies have been accused of using loopholes to pay too little tax, with the rate sometimes as low as 10% (BBC, 2007). Private equity executives pay taxes on their basic pay and bonuses, but a large part of their income comes from carried interest - the carry - which is the 20% slice of profits they can claim once they have paid back their investors. This money is classed as a capital gain and thanks to taper relief, it is only subject to a tax level of 10%. Critics say it should be charged at a normal tax rate. It is an emotive subject, with one private equity boss saying that some of the richest men in Britain were paying tax at a lower level than the cleaners who tidied their offices (BBC, 2007). Perhaps if the UK changes its tax regime, private equity investors will just move overseas. Ethical issues During this research, my main focus will be pay attention to the ethical issues. No data collected through any means will be used in any undesirable or negative way. Any information collected will be used only for the purpose at hand. Talking about the financial buy outs, ethical considerations must be given their due importance in that case too. Financial statements of any and every company should be made public as per the law and the information offered must be authentic. Blackstone Group is the former owner of Southern Cross as it bought the company in 2004 and left it 2006. Initially, Southern

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Current Public Heath Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Current Public Heath Issues - Essay Example This disease in a healthy, productive work force of the country is a major problem for the government, as it has to spend increasing amounts of funds on their treatment and care, while earning hands have decreased. For the past four decades, there was an encouraging decline in the spread and attack of CVD (Heart Disease May Be On The Upswing 2008), which led to the hope that there was finally a check on it, and still a chance for recovery from this problem. However, this hopeful trend lasted just till 1995 (Heart Disease May Be On The Upswing 2008). ... Discussion: in this study carried out on 425 people in Minnesota, US, who had died of unnatural causes, researchers found shocking evidence that CVD is on the rise again, and this time it is affecting a lot of young population as well. This study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (Heart Disease Might Be On The Upswing 2008) in early February 2008, and explored the trends and the causes behind this upsurge. The age group of the cases under study ranged from 16 to 64. What was surprising was that out of the younger cases, 8.2% had high-grade heart disease, and 83 percent had clogged arteries, marking a beginning of coronary artery disease, which puts them at a risk of developing major heart problems as they age (Heart Disease May Be On The Upswing 2008). Researchers are yet trying to establish firm causes of this upswing of CVD, especially among the younger population. They are especially not sure how and to what extent do obesity and diabetes play a role in increasing the occurrence of CVD among young people. However, they have confirmed that recent trends and changes in the lifestyles of the people are the major causes of this rise. There has been an increase in the sedentary lifestyle of people, owing to the introduction and the spread of computers, which has led to a decline in their physical exercise (Heart Disease May Be On The Upswing 2008), and computer related activities like playing games and working solely on computers, such as typing jobs. Another study

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

U08d1, u08d2, u08d3 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

U08d1, u08d2, u08d3 - Coursework Example The Sun is not  massive  enough to ever evolve into a black hole; it will end its life in about 4.5 billion years as a white dwarf  star. But, in case if the Sun's mass was suddenly collapsed into a black hole then Earth's orbit then if a one  solar mass  black hole were to suddenly replace the Sun at the center of our solar system, the orbits of the planets would not change. This is because the physical laws that determine the orbital motion of the Earth depend only on the actual mass of the Sun, and not on whether it is distributed within a sphere (like the Sun) or at a point (like a black hole). 2. "There are 1011 stars in the galaxy. That used to be a huge number. But it's only a hundred billion. It's less than the national deficit! We used to call them astronomical numbers. Now we should call them economical numbers." —Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate When we think of an astronomical number – we probably think of a sum thatâ€℠¢s almost beyond human comprehension. We probably refer to huge numbers as astronomical because of the vast and seemingly infinite universe. But the universe may not be as big as it seems when compared to something like the national debt. This quote has been said towards the backhanded critique of government. Furthermore,  we can say that there are at least 100 billion galaxies in the universe and each galaxy containing around 1 trillion stars. That’s 1 x 10^23 or 100 sextillion stars in the universe. Hence this comparison is done against the size of the national deficit. It's a good point, and economics can provide some slightly more familiar analogies to people grappling with large numbers than trying to contemplate entire galaxies. The important point here is not that high finance is catching up with the sciences; it’s that the numbers we encounter everywhere in daily life are growing steadily larger. While the consumer was busy saving, the Federal U. S. governmen t was piling on debt at a much greater pace. In fact, during Q2 of 2008 Washington accumulated debt at a 24.4% annual rate! Therefore, even though households and state and local governments have hopefully begun to learn their lessons; D.C. still managed to increase the overall level of non-financial debt in the U.S. to a record $35.45 trillion.† 3. Picture of the week How are the stars formed within the nebula? What is causing these dramatic pillars? What thoughts and reactions do you have to the pictures and their descriptions? All stars are formed from nebulae (the plural of nebula). Nebula is a term for a cloud of gas, and stars form from gas. Many nebulae or stars form from the  gravitational collapse  of gas in the  interstellar medium. As the material collapses under its own weight, massive stars may form in the center, and their  ultra violet radiation ionizes  the surrounding gas, making it visible at optical  wavelengths. Star formation  is the process b y which dense parts of  molecular clouds  collapse into a ball of  plasma  to form a  star. These eerie, dark pillar-like structures are actually columns of cool interstellar hydrogen gas and dust that are also incubators for new stars. The pillars protrude from the interior wall of a dark molecular cloud like stalagmites from the floor of a cavern. They are part of the "Eagle Nebula" M16, a nearby star-forming region 7,000 light-years away in the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

O'Donnell & Tuomey's Belfast Architecture Dissertation

O'Donnell & Tuomey's Belfast Architecture - Dissertation Example Table of Contents Acknowledgements†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..2 Introduction...............................................................................................................3 Context†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 Lyric Theatre. A mass of Light and modernism †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......................................8 Influences and Philosophy of O’Donnell and Tuomey. †¦................................16 Aims, goals and ideals of O’Donnell & Tuomey.................................................19 Conclusion.................................................................................................................24 References.............. ....................................................................................................26 Introduction Dublin based architects Sheila O'Donnell and John Tuomey , who have been practicing together since 1991, have a thoughtful outlook and attitude of how they ply their craft, that can be summarized as – continuity and renewal, which will be the subject of this paper. This dissertation as a critical analysis of the Lyric Theatre will examine O'Donnell + Tuomey's architectural journey. I will re-trace their influences, attitudes and examine values and ideals as apparent in their 2007 Lyric Theatre in Belfast. O’Donnell + Tuomey appreciate tradition, and that traditions ought to be brought into the 21st Century and translated in order to retain meaning in the present day. This is how they approach and interpret each design brief. The inspiration of Aldo Rossi to Irish architects, who acknowledged that â€Å"in Venice, where although one may be interested in w hether a building is by Palladio or Longhena, it is first and always the stones of Venice,†1 is also an inspiration to O'Donnell + Tuomey. They, too, believe that the materials of the land are the materials that should be used in their buildings, which is why, for instance, their Lyric Theatre, which is the subject of this dissertation, uses the bricks which are commonly found in buildings throughout Dublin. On returning from five years in London in 1982 – where Sheila O’Donnell completed a masters degree at The Royal College of Art, and both she and John Tuomey worked with James Stirling – Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey returned â€Å"in search of a subject,† married, bought a house and thought about how they might go â€Å"in search of the soul of Irish architecture†. Their role as studio teachers at UCD has involved not only educating a generation of Irish architects that are now gaining international recognition (Tom De Paor bein g the most prominent); they could also be said to have saved Irish architectural culture from the cults of technology and critical theory that afflict British architectural education. O’Donnell and Tuomey architects (O’D+T) can reasonably be considered to have cared for the soul of Irish architecture over the past few decades.2 It is impossible to think about the past two decades of Irish architecture without considering O’Donnell + Tuomey. Indeed without their involvement with Group ’91, alongside Grafton architects, Paul Keogh and others, there would be no Temple Bar or Lyric Theatre, and, he suggests, no internationally recognisable image of modern Ireland for young

Monday, September 23, 2019

Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Health - Essay Example It involves managing an individual’s feelings and behaviors, accepting oneself unconditionally and the ability to cope with stress. The social dimension is the ability to create and maintain healthy relationships with other people. It encourages harmony within the family and contributes to the human and physical environment for the goodness of the community. The intellectual dimension is the ability to use an individual’s mind to create the best understanding and appreciating oneself and others. It involves an individual’s ability to be creative in thinking and to expand their knowledge and skills through various activities. Today, technology had changes people lives greatly. Through technology, people are able to interact with others instantly worldwide. In addition, individuals are able to move around fast, the appliances in people’s homes have made life easier thus making the world a better place. According to a fieldwork done since 2003, the American teens use the social media massively and the use social sites like MySpace and Facebook. Some teens opted for MySpace while others preferred to use facebook and there are those who opt to use both. The teens independently chose the kind of social media they wanted to use. Moreover, personal preferences like features, functionality, how to use and design led to the teens choosing one to the other. teens often talk about what they like about and how they perceive the different sites in relation o the values they hold. For example some teen prefer facebook because it seems faster to them as well as it is less competitive than MySpace. In addition, some choose specific social media platforms because of their friends. On the other hand, some teens describe those who use MySpace as those from the ghetto and hip-hop lovers group. In the United States, the social structure is shaped by race, socio-economic status, lifestyle, and education. Social media is fading away as the one that seems trendy

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Opinion Editorial (Op Ed article) on how oil production affects the Essay

Opinion Editorial (Op Ed article) on how oil production affects the society behavoirs and manners in the producer contry - in ku - Essay Example Kuwaitis’ yearly income per individual is around $40,000 to more than $100,000, which is considered high. Citizens do not worry about taxes, employment, health care, and education. People can afford to not work and this has adverse effects on our values and behaviors. Kuwaitis expect money without working hard for it. In addition, they would rather work in public sector that can assure them high salaries with much less effort than the private sector. This weakens the private sector business in Kuwait. Mr. Mohammad Al-Sanousi, former minister of Information, said in an interview, he laid off around 600 employees who do not even come to work. He also said, they constitute a heavy burden on government’s budget. Citizens become more interested in prestigious jobs, so that Kuwait is forced to import foreign workers to fill the gap in the labor force. In the end, Kuwait will find itself with unbalanced economical situation. Certainly, there are those ambitious Kuwaitis who wo rk hard and do care about Kuwait’s economy. Their efforts are not enough if the government is not doing its part.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Terrorism In Pakistan Essay Example for Free

Terrorism In Pakistan Essay Pakistan has been facing major and destructive phenomenon due to the terrorist. It had been common since 1999, like bomb blast and suicides attacks. This has great impact on our social and moral life. Many lives are gone away due to the terrorism in Pakistan, This is not only in Pakistan but also spread in all over the countries. Terrorism has a destructive impact on the life of human beings. No doubt our country has been progressed by making power full nuclear weapons. And Pakistan also has a nuclear power like the other countries, but in our countries some agents are making their wrong use by bomb blasting. They target the Holy places and historical building without cares of anyone life. And many human beings loss their life in this type of incidents like bomb blasting. It was commonly found in Pakistan during the late 1999. Every channel and newspaper have the same and common news about bomb blasting and suicide attacks. Terrorism in Pakistan just destroy the economy in Pakistan. Accident of Lal Masjid took place 1999 militants and religious flower lost in this incident. There were many other incidents during last years just because of the terrorist. Suicide attacks are also found in many cities. Nobody cares about his life and ready for death due to the illiteracy in our country. Mostly parents don’t prefer their children to give them education from the starting years, the result is that they lost their interest in studying and never like to go to school for getting education. This spread unemployment among the nation, and when they have not any jobs for the satisfaction and fulfillment of their life they choose the wrong way through which they can earn well. Therefore they do not afraid by taking any risk, even some are going to be ready for suicidal attacks the reason is just money, moreover they have lost their interest to live a perfect and normal life. In the last there are some suggestion about the terrorist. It should be completely finished. Our nation and citizen should be given knowledge about the importance of life. People who are living in the Pakistan should be given maximum chances to get the employment, and most important education should be must and equal for every one.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Credit Cards Versus Cash

Credit Cards Versus Cash This paper talks about consumers preference in purchasing products by cash or by credit cards. Credit cards have become important in consumers lives and have changed the way they perceive products. During the past few years various things have occurred which has made the world change drastically. Technology is being developed each day by producing different products which are making peoples lives much easier. So has the idea of purchasing products by credit cards. The 2000s was the moment where credit cards became popular and important to consumers (A Decade of Cards, 2000-2010 and beyond). Credit cards have become an alternative way to pay from the simplest products to the most important ones. The need to put all the payments in one simple card has been a huge benefit for consumers. This was proved when in 2010 cash fell behind debit cards, making debit cards consumers favorite way of paying for products for the first time in history (A Decade of Cards, 2000-2010 and beyond). Credit cards have become extremely important to consumers and the differences between paying with cash or with credit cards have been experimented by many people who have given real evidence to these two ways of purchasing products. Since 1970s there have been facts which people have supported that credit cards increase spending (Prelec Simester, 2000). As a payment mechanism the use of credit cards increases the tendency to spend more on products than cash does (Chatterjee Rose, 2011). When credit cards are more available consumers think mostly about the products benefits than the cost of the products. Conversely, when cash as a payment is more available consumers place more importance on the cost of the product than on the benefit of it (Chatterjee Rose, 2011). Many examples have given real evidence to the theory that people who use credit cards spend more. Examples such as restaurants earn more tips when consumers pay with cards, some consumers forget the amount of money they spend on various products, and they tend to buy more in every department store, are facts related to the evidence that people really do spend more when using credit cards (Prelec Simester, 2000). High calorie foods, mostly junk food are becoming more expensive everyday and this is not just because of the economic way to motivate consumers choice but also a psychological motivation that makes consumers choose high calorie foods with pleasure (Bagchi Block, 2011). So when the cost of a product is higher, such as paying with cash, if we increase the benefits of that product there will be less pain of the payment (Bagchi Block, 2011). There is a variation in the countries worldwide who are cardholders particularly differing from those countries that are more developed than the less developed countries (A Decade of Cards, 2000-2010 and beyond). Income is an influence on credit card holding to those countries that are more developed such as the south east and some places in the north west since these places have the biggest credit cards per adult (A Decade of Cards, 2000-2010 and beyond). Credit cards are mostly used in purchasing food where the percentage of spending with cards in this area has grown in the past three years to 36% (A Decade of Cards, 2000-2010 and beyond). In the UK cards have had a huge influence in charity because by using credit cards humanity is growing even more within people (A Decade of Cards, 2000-2010 and beyond). An example of this is some cards that are named with a charitys name; these companies make donation whenever the consumer uses his/her card or even when they open an account for the first time (A Decade of Cards, 2000-2010 and beyond). Another way of people being voluntarily helpful for charity is online giving where the charitable money are increasing year by year (A Decade of Cards, 2000-2010 and beyond). Nowadays consumers are using credit cards instead of cash in every purchase they are making. Their preference is mostly on credit and debit cards rather than cash or checks (Consumers prefer plastic to paper payment, 2004). In 2003 cards were used for 53 percent of purchases, while cash or checks were used for 47 percent (Consumers prefer plastic to paper payment, 2004). Companies dealing with credit cards are enhancing their usage by marketing new cards that perform like cash and dont acquire interest charges like credit cards do (Consumers prefer plastic to paper payment, 2004). Furthermore, companies are trying to make different industries offer their consumers the choice of paying with credit cards (Consumers prefer plastic to paper payment, 2004). Prior researches have figured out that when consumers make a decision about a product, credit cards encourage them to spend more than cash does. However, they have not yet discovered whether cash is an influence towards the choices of products (Bagchi Block, 2011). So the studies provide evidence that people consume more calories and impute higher costs when purchasing with cash rather than a credit card (Bagchi Block, 2011). Nevertheless, when consumers are grocery shopping they tend to purchase more food when using credit cards since the greater the prices of food, the greater the indulgent of the preferred food (Bagchi Block, 2011). The way consumers experience the payment of products strengthens the different ways they pay- cards or cash (Bagchi Block, 2011). As a result, consumers think of cash real money and spending cash is more important. The more real the loss of money such as cash payment, the greater is the pain of giving the money for a product. On the contrary, credit cards are more looked as less hurtful and are spent more easily because you dont see the money; sometimes they may even be treated as play money (Bagchi Block, 2011). Thus, imputed cost are greater when using cash because the great er the imputed cost of spending, the greater is the chance to choose high calorie food (Bagchi Block, 2011). The advantages of using credit cards is the ability of paying for a great period meaning that you can purchase as much as you want and pay later with no interest charge (Cohn, 2010). This lets your money stay in the bank and earn interest as well as making you more flexible with cash flow (Cohn, 2010). Credit cards also have reward programs which consumers are benefiting. For example, a financial planner Frank Remund used his visa signature card to purchase a product. While calculating what he had earned and what he had saved using discount coupons he stated that he paid only $380 for the product which is actually sold for $800 (Cohn, 2010). Moreover, by using his card he managed to increase his warranty period (Cohn, 2010). The other huge advantage of using credit cards is the security that they hold. By carrying big cash with you, there is more possibility for the money to be stolen from you. However, if your credit card is stolen your liability is restricted at $50 and if you have been a loyal customer to the bank, they will credit your account in no longer than a few days (Cohn, 2010). Moreover, if the product you purchased happened to have a problem or you simply arent satisfied with its quality, then if you have purchased it with your credit card there is more likelihood for you to return it than there would be if you had bought it by cash (Cohn, 2010). Nevertheless, except for the many advantages credit cards have there are also some disadvantages when using credit cards. One of the disadvantages of credit cards are high interest charges (Compare Credit Cards). Credit card companies usually charge high interest fees like 20% for the purchases that havent been paid in months (Compare Credit Cards). Another huge disadvantage for credit cards is the temptation to overspend. Many people have difficulties in managing their money so when they pay with credit cards they tend to overspend without thinking further. Because credit cards allow you to spend money and not pay them upfront, people get too excited and think just for that moment; so they tend to forget about paying them later on (Compare Credit Cards). Furthermore, it is more difficult to remember what you have purchased when buying with credit cards. So, if you have taken too long to pay for the purchase you might be surprised when the bank informs you for the amount of payment y ou have to make (Compare Credit Cards). Three experiments show consumers behavior towards credit cards and cash. Consumers primed with credit card as a payment mechanism make more recall errors with respect to cost-related aspects of the product than to bene ¬Ã‚ t aspects (study 1), identify more words related to bene ¬Ã‚ ts (study 2), and respond faster to bene ¬Ã‚ t-related words (study 3) than consumers primed with cash concepts (Chatterjee Rose, 2011). In the fourth experiment, we look thoroughly through the outcome of the payment prime to the choices of the products (Chatterjee Rose, 2011). Consumers using credit cards have more possibilities in looking at the products with greater benefits, whereas consumers using cash mostly choose the options that are ruled by cost even if there is less benefit of that particular product (Chatterjee Rose, 2011). Considering these four experiments, consumers distinguish the same products in different ways when choosing to use credit cards rather than cash (Chatterjee Ro se, 2011). Furthermore, credit cards increase the awareness of the benefits of products in that way persuading the reservation price and product valuation and also making consumers choose the options of products more attractively (Chatterjee Rose, 2011). For consumers, products have a different meaning when they are bought with credit cards and when they are bought with cash. Thus, the credit card premium is not due solely to differences in decoupling from pain of payment (i.e., reduced salience of costs) or to physical form, but in addition, the salience of product bene ¬Ã‚ ts is enhanced when thinking of paying with credit (Chatterjee Rose, 2011). If consumers goal is saving money, then the cost of the product becomes more important than the benefit the product carries. However, if the consumers goal is to purchase a product with high quality that is beneficial for the consumer, then the cost of the product will be less important thus becoming more psychologically relevant (C hatterjee Rose, 2011). In order to prove that people use more calories and impute higher costs when buying with cash relatively to credit cards, a study in a frozen yogurt retail store was experimented (Bagchi Block, 2011). 125 customers were recruited in a substitute of $1 discount of their next purchase and only the ones who bought a product for themselves were allowed to be a part of the survey (Bagchi Block, 2011). After customers ordered and purchased their products, the nutritional value of the products purchased by the customers were calculated and used as an evaluation of indulgence (Bagchi Block, 2011). In this study the customers were asked to tell about the price they paid for the products purchased, whether they thought it was expensive or not, and the method of payment (Bagchi Block, 2011). The results of the study showed how consumers that paid with cash did not pay more than those that paid with cards. However, consumers though that the imputed cost was much higher when buying with cash than credit card since their products seemed more expensive to them (Bagchi Block, 2011). This study explained how buying with cash feels more expensive and more hurtful than buying with credit card (Bagchi Block, 2011). Moreover, the costumers knew the method of payment before they purchased the products so this shows that customers were aware of the method they will use to pay for the products (Bagchi Block, 2011). Therefore, it is doubtful to state that the choice made for the food purchased had an affect on the method used for paying the product. After the study made with the yogurt retail, another study was conducted on a cafà © study for credit versus cash. In this study 147 students were taken and asked to tell their last time they purchased a product for $10 or less; and to choose a product from the restaurant that cost $10 or less (Bagchi Block, 2011). Further, the students were asked whether it was difficult to decide n their purchase and this was used for the study as a result of imputed cost (Bagchi Block, 2011). The results showed that consumers who paid with cash chose more calorie food than those who paid with card. Moreover, evidence showed that paying by cash created more indulgence than paying by card (Bagchi Block, 2011). Both study one and study two showed that theorizing is predicated on differences in pain of payment, or imputed costs associated with cash versus credit, rather than on the method of payment per se (Bagchi Block, 2011). There are other studies that show the willingness of consumers to purchase more products when using credit cards. In these studies two ways are mentioned in knowing whether the effect is relevant; only when the price of the product is uncertain or when the prices are known (Prelec Simester, 2000). The first study had to do with prices being uncertain. The experiment had to do with tickets for a sporting event where one ticket was for the game between Boston Celtics and Miami heat, whereas the other ticket was for the Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays (Prelec Simester, 2000). The people experimented were the MBA students. They were asked to enter a room and fill in their own sheet about the reservation values and then they would have the opportunity to win the tickets. Further on, the one that wrote the highest value would get the prize however the prize would be sold at a price identical to the second highest value (Prelec Simester, 2000). After that, two sheets were handed- cash condition sheet and credit card condition sheet (Prelec Simester, 2000). In the first sheet, it was required for the winners to make the payment with cash whereas in the second sheet the winners were asked to make the payments by credit cards. In the first sheet they were also asked whether they had access to cash machine and in the second sheet they were asked to tell the type of card they used and some information about the card (Prelec Simester, 2000). The result of this experiment showed that those who were asked to make the payment by credit card wrote down much higher values for the three tickets and the highest amount of money was for the Celtics tickets, whereas for the banners it was the smallest (Prelec Simester, 2000). In the second experiment, the prices are certain. This allows us to evaluate whether the credit card premium arises because customers adjust their valuations from different anchoring points in the cash and credit card conditions (Prelec Simester, 2000). For example, in the cash condition consumers might focus more on the amount of money they carry in their pockets. Whereas, in the credit card condition they focus on their credit limit or even their monthly bill (Prelec Simester, 2000). In the second study students of MBA were respondents and this time they had a chance to win a dinner certificate costing $175 (Prelec Simester, 2000). The steps for this price were to draw numbers randomly from zero to the price of the certificate and then choose a student randomly. Students were divided into groups depending on who will pay with cash and who with credit card (Prelec Simester, 2000). In this study the result was that there was no huge difference between credit card and cash conditions (Prelec Simester, 2000). Moreover, payment had a huge effect but only with those students who completed the credit card digits (Prelec Simester, 2000). Students who stated that they will pay with credit cards wrote down values 36% more than those who didnt (Prelec Simester, 2000). Therefore, the main effects of payment method and identification method were not significant (Prelec Simester, 2000). The information about the market price varied from the first study and the second one. This difference was taken for a reason to see whether credit card premium arose because consumers regulate their estimation of cash and cards in different circumstances (Prelec Simester, 2000). These two studies offer an idea as to the reason of the effect. They reveal the idea that consumers are more willing to pay with credit cards than they are with cash (Prelec Simester, 2000). The studies illustrate how credit cards make peoples decision much easier when purchasing a product. When people purchase with cash they find it difficult to buy expensive products since they can see their cash. However, with credit cards you dont get to see your cash, you just see a plastic card that sometimes makes you forget how much money you are spending. Moreover, through the studies we understood how consumers perceive products differently when purchasing with cash or with credit card. Those that purchase with cash are more likely to give more importance to the cost of the product than to the benefit and quality of the product. In contrary, those that pay with cards tend to give more importance to the benefits the product gives them than the cost of it (Chatterjee Rose, 2011). Further on, the willingness to pay grows when consumers pay with credit cards and this was shown in the two studies taken with the game tickets and the prize of certificate (Prelec Simester, 2000). How much consumers consume food with high calories was also examined with the methods of payment- credit and cash. Studies showed that those who purchase with cash consume more calorie food whereas those who purchase with credit cards consume less calorie food (Bagchi Block, 2011). When imputed costs are high, consumers indulge more. These imputed costs vary with the payment mode and also with how difficult it is to earn money. Thus, spending with cash (vs. credit) and spending cash that is more difficult to earn (rather than less difficult) result in more indulgent, high calorie food consumption (Bagchi Block, 2011). In the near future, technology will find its way in replacing credit cards by mobile phones since they will be the factor that will replace peoples wallets (A Decade of Cards, 2000-2010 and beyond). So, people will not have to carry their credit cards anymore since their mobile phones will have the ability to make a purchase either through credit or debit (A Decade of C ards, 2000-2010 and beyond). The research of credit cards versus cash help people understand the advantages and disadvantages each one has. Moreover, they explain how and why consumers behavior towards these two methods of purchasing changes when purchasing particular products. Further research should be conducted in order to see which one is better and safer to use. Research such as planning different surveys for consumers to answer their choice of the method of buying would be helpful in understanding consumers choice as well as reasons towards their decision. Furthermore, in order to research this further we should gather all the studies conducted and relate them with one another. In this way we will be able to understand more precisely the usage of credit cards versus cash by consumers. One last reason to research this further would be the development of technology. Since technology is changing rapidly, it will change the usage of cardholding. Therefore, research on future technology and how it will have an impact in the market area will be needed to be made. This way we get knowledge as to how things will change and whether it will be a positive or a negative thing for consumers to make purchasing decisions through their mobile phones.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Without Knowledge, Life Would be Worthless Essay -- Expository Exempli

Without Knowledge, Life Would be Worthless      Ã‚  Ã‚   The quest for scientific wisdom does not progress too far; rather, it is merely at the origin of upgrading society. Because knowledge is a concept most important to the establishment of any society, it is the building block of the future. Without knowledge, there would be no means of advancement, for society would lack the potential to do so. In other words, human society is on the verge of experiencing, processing and making use of the vast amount of knowledge present and on the brink of exposu re. Dante Alighiere adequately states, "Consider your origin; you were not born to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge" (125:30). He is right, in his reasoning, for wisdom leads individuals to more productive and civilized liv es. Although intellect is helpful in improving one's status in society, everyone does not view rank as the sole purpose of expressing one's wisdom. Along with placement in society as an individual, the improvement of society as a whole is also considere d when making use of knowledge. Scientific comprehension is applied to several aspects of society, from the deep earth to the inevitable skies, in a suitable manner throughout the United States. It should be implemented in a way as to solve problems and enhance human existence both physically and mentally. In other words, knowledge preserves and enhances the idea of "the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness;" knowledge should lead each individual to a better life, provide grea ter liberty and forsee enhanced happiness. With their extensive knowledge, researchers are able to develop and improve medicines which will provide people with access to a better life. B... ...enefit by establishing a greater, more successful life and improving society. Each individual possesses knowledge and, by utilizing such wisdom, they will prosper.    Works Cited Abelson, Phillip H. "Pharmaceuticals Based on Biotechnology." Science 9 Aug. 1996: 719. "Air-bag Safety: Will Rules Help?" Consumer Reports Apr. 1997: 21. Alighieri, Dante. John Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. 16th ed. Ed. Justin Kaplan. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1992. "More, Better Medicines Coming Soon." USA Today 16 Apr. 1997. Ogintz, Eileen. "Taking the Kids: Safe Car Rides...Without Complaints." Los Angeles Times 29 Dec. 1996: 4. Our News Services, eds, "More Heat on Air Bags: Risks Too Great, Researchers Says." The Atlanta Journal 17 Mar. 1997. Zabarenko, Deborah. "Napping Cats Give Clue To What Makes People Sleep." Reuters 22 May 1997.   

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Supporting Nuclear Energy as a Power Source :: essays research papers

Do you know that only fifty people have ever died from nuclear power plant related disasters? That’s more than the number of people that die from car crashes around the world each hour. Just because people die from driving doesn’t mean that we should doing that, so why should we not have nuclear power plants when only a small number of people died from them. The problem is that people over-exaggerate the negative parts of nuclear energy and use it to fuel the public’s fear of nuclear energy. For these reasons and more I support nuclear energy as a power source. First, nuclear energy has proven to be the most economical energy source. 15.5 grams of Uranium can produce as much energy as 1,400 tons of coal. Using nuclear power would also lower the cost of gas because there wouldn’t have to be as much oil burning power plants, so the demand of oil wouldn’t be as high. And, lastly, with nuclear energy we wouldn’t have to keep replacing the fuel because one rod of enriched Uranium can last as long as fifty years. Second, nuclear energy is one of the safest forms of energy. For starters, more people die each year from coal mining accidents and oil drilling separately than the number of people that have died from nuclear power plants. Next, for radiation exposure The Nuclear power industry contributes to far less than one percent of the average persons exposure. The rest of the radiation exposure comes from x-rays, medical waste, the radiation that is naturally given off by rocks, and numerous other sources. As for transporting the material to and from the sight, the containers that the material is shipped in are put through rigorous tests such as being able to survive a 2,000-foot fall onto a concrete surface and survive 30 minutes engulfed in 1,475-degree fire. So, safety wise, the nuclear energy industry is one of the safest. Lastly, nuclear power is one of the cleanest energy sources. Power plants that burn coal pollute the air and cause acid rain. Plants that burn oil force us to use large ships that sometimes spill the oil. Nuclear energy, on the other hand, doesn’t release any pollutants, and while shipping the radioactive material, there have been no accidents that have released any radiation into the air.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Freedom of Speech in Cyberspace -- Internet Web Papers

Freedom of Speech in Cyberspace Introduction As the Internet has become more widely recognized and used by people all over the world, it has brought a new medium in which information can very easily be broadcast to everyone with access to it. In 1995 there was a projected 26 million Internet users, which has grown to almost 300 million today. One major problem with this is that everyone represents different countries and provinces which have different outtakes on certain types of freedom of speech as well as different laws about it. This proposes a new type of law that would need to be written in order to determine whether or not something is illegal on the Internet. A person in one country can express what they want to, but that expression may be illegal in another country and in this situation whose laws are to be followed? What I propose to do accomplish in this paper is to discuss the freedom of speech laws of the United States of America and those of France, China, and Canada. I will examine what about them is simila r and what about them is different. The bringing of the Internet has brought many new types of businesses as well as ways in order to communicate with the world, but as with each new endeavor or invention, there needs to be a way in order to govern its use and policies. There must also be ways in order to punish those not following the new laws and policies of use, since that the country that the person is in may allow what they did, but it may not be allowed on the Internet or in a different country. In other words, there is the need for international laws governing the Internet. Freedom of Speech in Other Countries France One famous discrepancy in speech laws differing in two countries was that of the United States of America and France in the year of 2000. The French government was suing Yahoo!, a US web search company who also has a sales division. Yahoo! had web pages that were selling Nazi memorabilia on its US based website. â€Å"The charge was that the company had violated French laws prohibiting the advertisement, exhibition or sale of any objects likely to incite racial hatred, and that it had offended the 'collective memory' of the country - an allusion to the Holocaust years - by allowing online auctions of Nazi paraphernalia.† One may think that this case would end easily by saying that a US based web... ... US is a successful one. People should have their right to thought and to express what they believe and think freely to whoever they want. In Canada I believe that the CRIA should follow the model of the RIAA, because it is wrong to steal music from other people. Laws should be made so that one artist’s copyrighted music is protected over the Internet, no matter what country the person trying to download it is residing in. Bibliography .Guardian Unlimited. August 11, 2000. Regulating the net http://www.guardian.co.uk/theissues/article/0,6512,353264,00.html  ·The Economist. August 9, 2001. Putting it in its place http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/jbalkin/telecom/puttingitinitsplace.html  ·John Naughton. November 26, 2000. Yahoo! For brave French courts http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,402959,00.html  ·Jennifer Lee. August 30, 2001. U.S. May Help Chinese Evade Net Censorship http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/jbalkin/telecom/nyt08302001.pdf  ·Nua Internet How Many Online http://www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/world.html  ·Jay Lyman. December 17, 2003. Canadian Recording Industry Hunts P2P Users http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/32426.html

Monday, September 16, 2019

Impact of Terrorism on Financial Markets of Pakistan Essay

Since the emergence of 9/11 event in U.S.A., the world has witnessed significant increase in terrorist activities. Pakistan unfortunately has been the most vulnerable to the paradigm shift of terrorism. Its vulnerability is mainly subjected to its geographical location. Nonstop terrorist activities toppled over the country’s political, social and economic structure. Now the life of a normal citizen is at risk. State of infrastructure has become deplorable owing to the series of terrorist activities. Resultantly economic activity reduced manifold. Being a frontline state on â€Å"war on terror† the loss of Pakistan’s economy was a natural consequence. Pakistan’s economy was affected almost at all economic fronts which comprises of external, industrial, agricultural, business and services sector, etc. The continued rise in the terrorist activities also affected the confidence of foreign investors which caused the stoppage of FDI, besides withdrawal of the po rtfolio investment. The impact of terrorism was also felt in all the areas of the economy with varying degree and intensity. The most prominent areas included tourism, hotelling, manufacturing, cottage industry, transportation, trade, etc. These industries have reinforcing effect on each other. Factors such as heavy influx of Afghan immigrants, particularly Taliban; porous Pak-Afghan border; political instability; external conspiracies, demographic weaknesses and its geographical attractiveness have accentuated the process of Terrorism in Pakistan. All these factors combined with global â€Å"war on terror† have deteriorated Pakistan’s economic situation as a whole. Financial markets, which are the nucleus of any economic system, are also supposed to be affected due to terrorist activities. In the aftermath of the terror attacks of 11 September 2001 in New York and 11 March 2004 investors’ confidence deteriorated beyond national boundaries because of contagion effects (Johnston and Nedelescu, 2006). Under the current wave of terrorism in Pakistan, particularly the stock market, forex m arket and money markets are affected the most. These markets are highly important as most of the policy impacts are transmitted through these markets. Therefore, any disruption in the smooth working of these markets may affect the achievement of overall economic target set by the government. Especially the stock market, which is considered to be the barometer of economic health of a country, appeared to have been affected by the rise in extremism or terrorism in recent times. The negative impact of the market to hype in such activities is reflected by the selling of bonds of the target firm’s, but the magnitude and consistency of the negativity stirred in the market and of the spill over effects is questionable (Karolyi, 2006). Similarly, the forex market which is also obviously affected by the uncertainty prevailing in the economic environment bears adverse effects of the related events. As regard the banking sector of Pakistan, it is also found to be inflicted due to the aftermath of the terrorist activities. The size and distribution of the effect of these activities would depend on the myriad of factors such as nature of terrorist attack, target of the attack, the multiplier effect, policy response and the resilience of the financial market (Bruck and Wickstrom, 2004). Besides Lal Masjid operation, the hall mark of the terrorist activities over the sample period is loss of internationally known Pakistani Political personality i.e. Benazir Bhutto. After the assassination of the said Pakistan’s banking sector faced substantial losses due to damage to the infrastructure and robberies of the bank. Downfall of any of the financial market associated with a terrorist activity reduces the incentive to spend as opposed to save, a process that can spread through the economy and the rest of the world through normal business cycle and trade channels (Johnston and Nedelescu, 2006). Keeping in view the significance of financial market for Pakistan’s economy, the quantification of the impact of terrorists’ activities on financial market becomes an interesting area of research work. Especially, this requires empirical quantification of the impact of various kinds of terrorist activities that either occurred in key business centers or happened in the far flung areas. II. Literature Review We find very limited literature on the subject issue. Although a few studies are found to be discussing the overall consequences of terrorism on world economies, we do not find much evidence about the quantification of the impact of terrorist activities on financial markets using such high frequency data and with special reference to Pakistan. For the benefit of readers, the review of some of the relevant studies has been made which is given as under: After the eruption of terrorism in Spain in the 1970’s, Abadie and Gardeazabal (2001) discovered the fact that there was ten percent deterioration in the per capita GDP of the Basque region as opposed to a synthetic control region. They also found out that this difference widened due to the rise in the terrorist activities. Chen and Siems (2004) assessed the degree to which the U.S. Stock market reacted to fourteen extremist acts in the past ninety years by using the event study methodology. They also tried to assess the impact o f the September 11 attacks and the raid on Kuwait by Iraq on the stock markets of different nations of the world. They found certain proof of flexibility in the fact that the encounter with such extremists’ lead to a decrease in the market reaction. Moreover, they came to know that the impact of the September 11 incidence and the Iraqi raid were more unfavorable and harmful on the stock markets of nations around the world as opposed to the U.S. stock markets. The study by Johnston, et al. (2005) attempted to explore the impact of terrorism on financial markets. They found that how financial markets react to different shocks stemming from terrorist attacks. By making use of the data on financial markets such as the government securities market, the repo market, the insurance industry and the capital market of U.S, the study analyzed the reaction of the financial markets to the September 11 ‘2001 terrorist attacks in the New York, and March 11, 2004 attacks in Madrid. They concluded that given the accurate timely response of the authorities and rogue disaster management, the financial markets of U.S and Spain respectively were attributed with diversity and resilience to absorb the shocks of terrorist attacks. Both the central banks laden with the sense of responsibility of the â€Å"lender of the last resort† also came to rescue their respective financial systems in the aftermath of these acts of terrorism. In addition, the globalization trends also incepted the cross border cooperation among the central banks which mitigated the diffusion of contagion effects through the chain process of business cycle. Barth, and et al (2006) used panel data on terrorism and employed some of the control variables which proved the negative, depressing and unfavorable influence of terrorism on economic progress. In broad-spectrum, these extremists’ occurrences and events have a substantial destructive impact on the economy of a country and thus rende r a depreciation and deterioration of the economy. Their outcome also sheds some light on the fact that the aim of such attacks also makes a difference. Extremists’ attacks directed at places and properties other than that of public have an unconstructive link commonly with development and capital structure and generation. Gulley and Jahangir (2006) used the statistical data available for the stock, bond and foreign exchange rate and stock market from 1968 to July 2005, for a group of countries i.e Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the US. Data on terrorist attacks has been collected from The National Memorial Institute for Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) for exactly the same time period characterizing the date, time, location, type and target of the attack. Since the data is high frequency data, they have employed â€Å"Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscadastisity (GARCH) Model† to study the impact of terror attacks on the return (level) and volatility of the financial markets of the sample area, while their theoretical model is based on asset pricing model. Their results are well collaborated with the perceived expectations and the theory. They found negative returns with increasing terrorist activities for the stock market, while for the bond market lower yields were observed. Terrorist attacks had not been found associated with additional volatility in stock market in the given set of countries under observation. Liquidity of the foreign exchange market is significantly higher than other markets. Abadie and Gardeazabal (2007) attempt to measure the impact of terrorism on the foreign direct investment in an open economy. They made use of the data set on net stock of FDI obtained from the UNCTAD (United Nation Conference on Trade and Development) for 98 countries and GTI (Global Terrorism Index) for measuring data on terror activities which have the 100 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 18, Number 1 (2010) advantage over other measures by being popular among the international investors’ who use it to evaluate specific country’s risk. During their regression analysis, keeping the other types of risks constant, it was concluded that small changes in terror activities have the potential to bring big change in the allocation of the productive resources across the countries, keeping the international economy sufficiently open. They have statistically proved that wit the increasing standard deviation of the terror attacks, the net FDI shrinks by 5 percent of GDP. Melnick and Eldor (2007) used discounted-cash-flow valuation model in order to calculate the media exposure created due to such terrorist acts and also for the assessment of costs in term of the foregone alternatives of the liberated and unbound media exposure provoked by such extremists’ acts and their impact on the single stock market fun ctioning in Israel, â€Å"Tel Aviv Stock Exchange†, to measure the influence on the economy. They reached to the conclusion that there a statistic importance and significance of the opportunity cost variable and that it provides a role as an adequate indicator including the whole content required to portray the impact of militant acts on the stock market. The outcome clearly shows the converse relationship between the degree of media exposure and the deterioration in the value of stocks. However, it was also found that not any of the elements arising out of terrorism are statistically substantial and significant after the insertion of the opportunity cost variable in the equation. Berrebi and Klor (2008) took the sample of 125 Israeli defense and security companies that are traded in American markets and a number of American companies as controls for Israeli companies. The data on terror attacks, collected from Israeli foreign ministry, was based on daily terror attacks and noncombatant fatalities arising from them. They made use of the event study methods in order to measure and assess the positive impact of terrorism on the return of the stocks of the sample companies relative to those of control group. It was empirically found that Israeli defense related companies experienced comparatively lowered (negative) abnormal returns than those of American controls during the first part of the period under analysis i.e. before Palestinian uprising (January 1st, 1998 – September 28th, 2000). They had also been successful in proving that average cumulative difference in abnormal returns (CDRAR) of the defense related companies exhibit downward slope before the Palestinian uprising where as the trends reverses abruptly during the second part of period under analysis (second Palestinian uprising). During the second uprising, the defense realted companies gained around 70 percentage points while the non defense companies lost over 60 percentage points. Out of the myriad of research problems pertaining to this area of interest, quantification of the terrorist activities and measuring its impact on the fluctuation of various economic variables is imperative owing to the possibility of plausible relationships between two variables which may result in biased empirical results (Berrebi and Klor, 2008). In this paper, this problem has been tried to sought out by using Durban Watson statistics in order to check the variables for autocorrelation issue. This study is different in several aspects from the existing studies which were conducted on the subject matter. Some of the distinguishing features are given as under: †¢ It uses daily data on all the financial markets and the terrorist activities. Earlier studies present on this topic have examined the financial markets on a much lower frequency data. †¢ This study is first of its kind with reference to Pakistan. No research has been done in Pakistan before on the same lines. †¢ Different aspects of terrorism have been incorporated in this study in terms of the kind of terrorist activity, its intensity, the location of incidence and the target. †¢ The study examines the effect of each kind of terrorist activity on stock, forex and money markets separately. III. Research Methodology Data Description The study uses time series data for this piece of research work. It uses high frequency data, which is a daily data, over a period of two and a half years (i.e. from 31st December 2005 to 30th June 2008). The 101 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 18, Number 1 (2010) data has been collected from different resources. Secondary data has been used for three financial markets separately, i.e. banking market which represents the money market while stock market (KARACHI STOCK EXCHANGE) and the FOREX market represent the capital market. The data on the KSE Index has been taken from the KSE website. The data on the foreign exchange (i.e. rupee dollar parity) has been acquired from the Monetary Policy Department of the State Bank of Pakistan. The data on KIBOR (Karachi Inter Bank Offer Rate) has also been obtained from Domestic Markets & Monetary Management Department (DMMD), State Bank of Pakistan. The most cumbersome process of the primary data collection has been the collection of terrorists’ activities on daily basis. Daily information on these activities has been collected from various news papers including â€Å"The Daily Dawn†. Since various kinds of terrorists’ activities were found in the news papers, an attempt was made to choose the most relevant activities which has some impact on the working of financial market. While finding out the impact of terrorists’ activities on the financial markets of Pakistan we categorize the terrorists’ activities into four distinct dummy variables. The terrorists’ activities have been grouped together in four different categories naming D1, D2, D3 & D4. Each activity has been assigned a particular group according to its intensity. A brief discussion of dummy variables used in the study is given as under; †¢ D1 is equal to 1 for the kind of terrorists activities which have targeted the key p ersonnel (political or otherwise) of the country and 0 for not happening of such event. †¢ D2 is equal to 1 for the happenings of the terrorists’ activities in the cities that are financially active or are the economic centers of the country and 0 for not happening of such events. †¢ D3 is equal to 1 for occurrence of major activities but in the non financial cities, †¢ Whereas D4 equals 1 for minor terrorists’ events taking place in small cities and 0 for not happening of such events. †¢ DST is equal to 1 in case of any structural change that has taken place during the period under study, otherwise it is equal to 0. Though most of the activities placed in D4 are not minor in terms of cost of human lives and infrastructure of the cities, but may be because of the peaking magnitude of the terrorism in the country for the past two and a half years or so, we as a nation, has become so much resilient to such attacks that loss of lives of normal citizens or human beings or blowing up of country’s resources does not mean much loss to u s, neither in moral sense nor in financial terms. Analytical Techniques For the estimation of results, E-views, which is time series econometric software, has been extensively used. For the purpose of analysis, the model used is â€Å"MULTIPLE REGRESSION MODEL†. This model not only tells us the extent of the impact of terrorists’ activities on the individual financial markets but it also tells us the direction of the relationship between the regressors and the regressands. In this study the regressand are KSEI, FOREX rate and KIBOR while the four categories of terrorist activities are regressors. The study asseses the impact of terrorist activities on these three market. The functional form of the model would be as follows; (1) FM = f (Di) Where; FM indicates any type of the above mentioned financial market. Di indicates dummy variable capturing the impact of any type of the terrorist activity which affects the financial markets in Pakistan. To assess the impact, the functional form of the equation no. 1 is converted i nto mathematical equation, which is as follows; FM = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di (2) Where; FM = any financial market operating in Pakistan e.g. ÃŽ ± = intercept ÃŽ ² = parameter to be estimated or coefficient. Di = dummy variables ranging from D1 to D4. WhileD1, D2, D3 and D4 are already explained. For KIBOR analysis, the study uses an additional dummy variable namely DST. It denotes any structural changes occurring in the economy which has imminent impact on the inter bank market. Since the dependent variable (financial markets) is also affected by many other variables which are called stochastic or error terms, so we need to convert the equation no. (2) into an econometric equation, which is represented as follows; FM = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di + ei (3) Where ei is an error term. Since the dynamics of each kind of financial markets are a bit different. We need to estimate the results separately using a different equation for estimation purpose. These are given below; i. Stock Market Since KSE is the most active or most efficient of all the financial markets in Pakistan, we analyze the impact of four dummy variables on KSE 100 index first. In order to particularly analyze the growth of KSE Index we convert the daily values of KSE 100 Index into their log values. As the stock market show significant volatility over the last few years, we take natural log of the equation no. (2) for smoothening of the KSE Index. KSEI = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di + ei (4) Taking natural log on the left hand side we get; Ln(KSEI) = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di + ei (5) This is the final equation which can now be used for estimation of the impact analysis of terrorist activities on KSE. The equation reads as the natural log of Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index is a function of the Di viz D1, D2, D3 and D4 representing various forms and intensity levels of terrorist activities. After regressing all the dummy variables (D1 to D4) separately on the LnKSEI, we see adverse effect of D1, D2 and D4 on the LnKSEI. It is important to note that the individual effect of D1 and D2 seemed suppressed. So in order to enhance the collective effect of D1 and D2 we combine both the variables and name it as D1†². So that the terrorists’ activities targeting key personnel and major financial areas are singularly termed as â€Å"major events† (grouped in D1†²) while D3 and D4 remain the same. By applying OLS regression technique, we estimate the following equation;(6) Ln(KSEI) = a + ÃŽ ²D1†² + ÃŽ ³D4 + ei Where; Ln(KSEI) = natural log Karachi Stock Exchange Index. D1†² = terrorists’ activities targeting key personnel and major financial cities. D4 = minor activities in small cities. ÃŽ ±, ÃŽ ², ÃŽ ³ = parameters to be estimated. ei = stochastic/ error/residual term. ii. FOREX Market Foreign exchange market of a nation is the arena where country’s currency is traded for other currencies. The daily buying and selling of a currency determines the daily average rate of a currency. The trading takes place in domestic and international market simultaneously and hence the equilibrium point of the demand and supply of a currency determines the daily average FOREX rate. The rate can be determined in terms of any foreign currency. The exchange of currency typically takes place via brokers, but overall many institutions like commercial banks, investment banks, brokerage houses, clearance houses, foreign exchange markets on the whole and individuals are involved in the process. FOREX market is the biggest financial market of the world but with reference to Pakistan it stands second. Since foreign exchange rate can be expressed i n two ways, i.e;  i. Direct quotation ii. Indirect quotation. In this study we have used the direct quotation of the Pak rupee (PKR). We take the exchange rate of PKR in terms of U.S Dollar and express the exchange rate as I/PKR (direct quotation). Taking its natural log reduces the volatility of the exchange rate. In our analysis we are required to determine the impact of terrorists’ activities on the Exchange Rate stability or to critically see how much of the underlined activities depreciate the domestic currency in terms of the foreign currency (U.S. Dollar). We have derived the following equation: Ln (ER) = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di + ei (7) Where; ER = exchange rate. While for analysis purpose we use the following equation. (8) Ln (ER) = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²1(D1) + ÃŽ ²2(D2) + ÃŽ ³(D4) + ei where; Ln (ER) = natural log of exchange rate D1 = terrorists’ activities targeting the key personalities D2 = terrorists’ activities taking place in the major financial cities D4 = minor terror events in small cities. ÃŽ ±, ÃŽ ², ÃŽ ³ = parameters to be estimated ei = residual/ error term. It is clear from equation (8) that ER is influenced by the terrorist activities grouped in D1, and D2. For the empirical findings, we regress the g iven econometric equation by applying OLS technique. iii. KIBOR Karachi Inter Bank Offer Rate (KIBOR) is the average of daily offer rates of commercial banks. It is the average daily rate on which a bank offers short term loans to other commercial banks. In other words, KIBOR is a yardstick to measure the capability of banking industry of a country to accommodate short term loans and funds. The underlined activities may also affect KIBOR rates. Interbank rate is the relative indicator of performance and efficiency of banking industry since it indicates the borrowing ability of the commercial banks. Econometric equation for KIBOR is given as; KIBOR = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²Di + ei (9) To find out the empirical results of impact of terrorism on banking industry (KIBOR) weestimate the following econometric equation by OLS technique. KIBOR = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²D1 + ÃŽ ³DST + ei (10) Where; KIBOR = Karachi Inter Bank Offer Rate D1 = major terrorists’ activities targeting key personalities. DST = dummy variable for structural changes. ÃŽ ±, ÃŽ ², ÃŽ ³ = parameters to be estimated ei = stochastic/error/residual term. IV. Empirical Findings As already explained, we separately estimate the impact of terrorists’ activities on three types of financial markets mainly due to having different dynamics and sensitivity of events. The final impact analysis is given as under; i. KSEI Using equation no. (6) we obtain the impact of underlining activities on KSE market. 104 European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 18, Number 1 (2010) It is apparent from the results that the value of R2 is 0.98 or 98% which means that our model is best fitted. It implies that 98% of variations in the dependant variable (LnKSEI) are explained by the independent variable. Durbin Watson Statistics is equal to 1.96, which is closer to 2, shows that the regression model is not ploughed with the problem of autocorrelation. Standard error of the model is also reasonably small (0.016336) which is responsible for increasing the calculated value of t-statistics, thus we reject null hypothesis (i.e. Ho: ÃŽ ² & ÃŽ ³ = 0). F-statistics is 14379.05, which is comparatively very high indicating the overall significance/fitness of the model. C or ÃŽ ± is actually the intercept which is the weighted average of all the ignored variables that might affect the KSE index. Its value is 9.441305 which are significant at 1 % level of significance (highly significant). This indicates that KSEI is affected by variety of events not included in this analysis due to time constraint factor. Most probably the factors like capital taxes on earnings of stocks, capital inflows, and future strategies of companies registered at stock market, external shocks might be included in the test. Similarly, the terrorist activities also adversely affect KSE. Particularly, the value of D1 dummy variable (ÃŽ ² = -0.005021 at 2% level of significance) indicates that 1 percent increase in relevant terrorists’ activities might negatively affect KSE 100 Index by 0.5 percent. It means that the terrorists’ activities occurring in major financial hubs and those targeting key personalities of the country negatively and significantly impacts the performance of the KSE. To put it the other way round, KSE 100 Index might decline when any such terrorist activity occurs in the region. In the same way, the dummy variable D4 has also affected the KSE 100 Index negatively . It indicates that minor terrorist attacks occurring in small cities do not impact the KSE 100 Index significantly, although the impact in negative. Here, the estimated negative value of ÃŽ ³ (-0.000137) means to support the argument that small terrorist activities have negative impact on KSE. More appropriately, the said terrorist activities grouped in D4 combined with other residual factors also affect the functioning of the KSEI negatively. The impact of such activities on KSE performance may become significant because of the important paradigm shift in policy measures. Policies of the government or other concerned institutions are greatly affected by the magnitude of terrorism in a region. Greater the magnitude of the terrorist activities, greater would be the uncertainty in economic environment, and consequently greater would be the rate of change of policy measures. Since Karachi provides the centre of financial activities to the country and Karachi Stock Exchange is the biggest stock market of the country, so the vulnerability of the city to the terrorism is most likely to create volatility of the liquidity in the economy. Greater the occurrence of terrorist activities in the city, greater would be the likelihood of adverse effect on the financial markets, particularly KSE. Consequently the result would be the higher outflow of capital, lower investments, lesser exports and depletion of foreign reserves. ii. FOREX Rate Using the equation no.(8) the results of the impact of terrorist activities on FOREX market has been estimated by OLS technique. According to the results obtained, the value of the R2 is 0.99 or 99%, which implies that 99% of the variations in dependant variable (ER) are explained by the variations in explanatory variables. The value of R2 is pretty high indicating that the model is a best fit. Durbin Watson statistics is equal to 2 showing that there is no issue of autocorrelation in the regression model. The F- statistics value is also very high and significant showing the overall significance of the model. Standard error of the regression is very low, making t- statistics pretty high. The intercept term, C or ÃŽ ± is -4.078457 which is quite significant indicating that the ignored variables caused depreciation of Pak rupee against U.S. Dollar. As regards the impact of dummy variable D1, it is negative but insignificant. So we are able to interpret that the terrorist activities named as D1 do adversely affect the exchange rate of PKR but the impact is not at all significant. Similarly, the coefficient of D2 is also very small which indicates that the response of the FOREX market to underlying activities is almost negligible. It determines that D2 activities have a negative and insignificant impact on the determination of FOREX rate. The impact of D4 activities on FOREX is interpreted in the same way as that of D1 and D2. European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 18, Number 1 (2010) From all of the above coefficient values we can infer a negative relationship between the terrorism and the FOREX rate. The negative sign indicates that any such happening is responsible for the depreciation of the domestic currency in terms of the foreign currency (U.S. Dollar in the present case). Though this impact is not significantly visible with reference to Pakistan but there might be several possible explanations for this suppressed relationship. From Pakistan’s standpoint the impact might be insignificant because of high resilience of the financial markets here. From the daily data of the terrorist activities it is evident that these events have been taking place at a very high frequency over the sample period. The magnitude of these activities ranges from mild offensive happenings to very high terror attempts that scare off the whole humanity. In this scenario, it is likely to expect the convergence of financial markets. The impact has to be adverse because such happenings produces uncertainty in the economic environment, increases the risks and liquidity shortage, reduces exports, depreciates currency, lowers the domestic and foreign investments and thus definitely there is a flight of capital from economy. But in case of Pakistan, high frequency of such events might be responsible for the cold blooded attitude of nation as a whole and these events may seem a routine happening to the people involved in currency trading or in any other financial market. It is because of this reason that the variation in depreciation of PKR is very less as compared to the perceived expectations. So we can safely say, terrorism does not signify its impact on foreign exchange market of Pakistan, unless the ev ent is highly adverse or of global attention like that of assassination of the former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto. iii. KIBOR By using OLS technique on equation no.(10) we get the following results on impact of terrorist activities on the money market or interbank market (KIBOR). The results showed us that the value of R2 is 0.98 or 98% which means that it is a best fitted model. 98% of the variations in the dependant variable, KIBOR, are determined by the variations in the explanatory (independent) variable. The estimated value of Durbin Watson Statistics is 1.95 which is used to indicate that the results are not ploughed with the menace of autocorrelation problem. This reflects the accuracy of results, as it can be used in the policy formulation process concerning the KIBOR. Standard Errors are very small which means higher values of t-statistics. Values of F-statistics are again very high i.e. 15109.34 showing the overall significance of the model. The value of intercept, C or ÃŽ ± is 8.474 is high, which is significant at 1% level of significance. It is indicative of the fact that other factors are more likely to be responsible for the increase in the bank rate. The value of the coefficient of D1 i.e ÃŽ ²1 is 0.001382. The terrorist activities grouped in D1 do affect the KIBOR positively but insignificantly. Positive sign indicates that greater the occurrence of the activities, higher will be the interbank rate. The coefficient of D2 is also positive (highly significant at 1 % level of significance). It indicates that factors other than terrorist activities play a key role in bringing about changes in the KIBOR rate. The impact of terrorist activities on KIBOR is widespread as compared to that of stock market (KSE). It is because of the fact that we find a bank branch network throughout the country, while KSE is confined to one city only. So the likelihood of the affect of terrorism increases on banking industry. The increased impact can be seen in the shape of the KIBOR rate. V. Conclusions and Recommendations This study was primarily aimed at estimating the impact of various kinds of terrorist activities on the three financial markets viz Karachi stock market, Foreign exchange market and the money market. The findings of the OLS regression model enable us to conclude; †¢ The economy of Pakistan has been adversely affected by the ongoing terrorist activities. †¢ The terrorists’ activities in Pakistan have adversely and significantly affected the performance of KSE. Further, the KSE has been relatively more affected by the terrorist events compared to  the other markets. This might be due to it’s vary nature as KSEI is relatively more sensitive to events rather than economic fundamentals. The terrorist activities have insignificant but adverse effect on FOREX market. One reason behind the insignificant impact of terrorist activities on FOREX rates might be the inter bank data used in the analysis. As the SBP continue to interfere in the FOREX market, therefore, any volatility arising due to such events might be subdued due to SBP proactive intervention. The impact on KIBOR rate although negative but estimated to be insignificant is a very positive development as KIBOR rate is considered as an indicator of short term loans extended by banks. In case of significant adverse impact of terrorist activities on KIBOR, it may affect investment plans of the country, which might have been negative implication for Pakistan’s economy. Most of the findings of this study are consistence with the theoretical expectations. The result estimates for the KSE 100 Index and KIBOR rate are per expectations. The econometric results for the second regression are although correctly directed but not consistent with the theory to extent as expected. The rising magnitude of terrorism in a country definitely adversely affects the economy in general and financial markets in particular. Last but not the least, targets of the terrorist activities play an important role in determining the impact on financial markets. There might be many shortcomings in the study which mainly accounts to the time constraints. light of the present study some policy recommendations could be made, following are some of †¢ In the light of the study, its empirica l findings and conclusions the government and the state ought to work on the institutional development on account of terrorism. Anti terrorism policy framework of international concern shall be formulated, enhanced and made available to the general public under this institution. Masses be given advanced warnings before occurring of any such event and rehabilitation be an important immediate step after the event has happened. Besides the well being of the general masses, effective contingency planning to mitigate the financial risk faced by the financial firms and the over all economy has to form a major constituent of the anti terrorism policy making institution. Since the adverse impact of terrorism on the financial markets has been econometrically proved in this study, economic policy should form an eminent part of the anti terrorism policy making. Effective measures shall be devised to counter the wave of disruption created in any of the above mentioned financial markets. With the continuous attacks of terror on the economy, as in Pakistan, the major domestic and international investor’s draw their money out of the financial markets. There is a flight of capital out of the economy which is a major set back to the domestic currency. To mitigate the risk of depreciation of the currency, policies regarding increasing the money supply and lowering the interest rates in order to perk up investor’s confidence and to keep the foreign reserves build up shall be enacted. Policy has to be formed to strengthen the financial structure of the economy and increase its resilience to absorb the shocks to the maximum limit. Opportunities to the domestic manufacturers’ shall be accentuated to increase exports and thus demand of domestic currency. This is an important measure to avoid the depreciation of currency and also it will make the trade deficit unlikely to occur. This is an important policy implication for the money market. Investment in research and development and innovative security measures is also need of the day. European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 18, Number 1 (2010) Lastly, policies should be made and extended on the global level to increase the cooperation and coordination among the major stake holders in the global financial markets. Policies regarding benign relationships among the central banks of international importance shall also be encouraged so as to extend financial help during the crucial financial crunch after any enormous act of terrorism. Based on the results findings, the study mainly recommends that the concerned policy makers must take into account the impact of terrorist activities while formulating policies for the three kinds of financial markets. However, the impact of terrorist activities varies on each market in terms of its intensity, place of occurrence etc. †¢ References [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Abadie, A. and Gardeazabal, J. (2001). The Economic Costs of Conflict; A Case-Control Study for the Basque Country. Research Working Paper No. 01/048. Harvard University. Faculty Research Working Paper Series. Retrieved from: http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=293120 Abadie, A. and Gardeazabal, J. (2007). Terrorism and the World Economy. Available at: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/aabadie/twe.pdf Barth, J.R., Li, T., McCarthy, D. (2006). Economic Impacts of Global Terrorism: From Munich to Bali. Capital studies, Milken Institute. Berrebi, C. and Klor, E. F. (2008). The impact of terrorism on defense industry. Working paper No. 597. RAND labor and population working paper series. Retrieved from: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=729006 Bruck, T. and Wickstrom, B. A. (2004). The economic consequences of terror: A Brief Survey. HiCN Working paper 03. Paper presented at Household in Conflict Network, University of Sussex, April 2004. Chen, A. H. and Siems T. F. (2004). Effects of terrorism on global capital markets. European journal of political economy. Vol. 20, pp: 349-346. Chesney, M., Reshetar, G. and Karaman, M. (2010). The Impact of Terrorism on Financial Markets: An Empirical Study. Retrieved from: http://www.google.com.pk/search?hl=en&q=The+Impact+of+Terrorism+on+Financial+Market s:+An+Empirical+Study&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi Gujrati, D. N. (2004). Basic Econometrics. United States Military Academy, West Point, Mc Graw Hill Publications. Gulley, O. D. and Sultan, J. (2006). Risk Premium Volatility, and Terrorism: New Evidence. Milken Institute. Gupta, S., Clements, B., Bhattacharya, R., and Chakravarti, S. (2002). Fiscal Consequences of Armend Forces and Terrorism in Low and Middle-Income Countries. IMF Working Paper No: 02/142. International Monetary Fund ,Fiscal Affair Department. Glaeser, E. L. and Shapiro, J. M. (2001). Cities And Warfare: The Impact Of Terrorism On Urban Form. NBER Working Paper No: 8696. National Bureau of Economic Research. Jalalzai, M. K. (2002). The Holy Terror -Islam, Violence and