Christopher Pennington Essays - Macroeconomics, Economy, Economics

Christopher Pennington 12/6/16 ECN 230 Final Exam Essay Questions A most recent situation where I had to make a choice between things because of the scarcity of money was I needed to purchase a new shirt and tie for a funeral I was attending. I knew this moment would come and I had picked out a nice shirt and tie almost a week before but did not just yet purchase it knowing I had other liabilities to take care of first. So, when the time came around the day before the funeral with the money I had I really couldn't purchase the shirt and tie I had sought after originally. So, I had 3 options. The first one was to use a shirt and tie I already had, purchase a new shirt but use a tie I already had, or try my luck and see if I can purchase 2 of the items for the price of one. After a little bit of last minute shopping I came across a T.J. Maxx store which offered me a nice white dress shirt and to what I believe was a nicer tie than the one I had sought after at the much higher end store. Both items I was able to purchase for way less than the two item s would be at the higher end store. A moment where I have more things to do than time would be always waiting the last minute to do my accounting homework. I tend to wait till the last minute to do this homework when it always takes me way more time to fully complete it then I expect. Three ways I can constitute to doing a better job with my time management Is do the homework days before its due so I can check it and ask questions if I have any, Prioritize the homework questions by category for example "high priority", "medium priority", or "low priority" that way I know beforehand which questions I can get done easily and the ones I'll need to pay more attention to. And lastly, I could establish a routine so that I can start practicing these steps so that I will not do my accounting homework last minute but all my other classes if needed. In each scenario, I carefully weighed my options pertaining to which would be more time efficient and cost savvy. In the scenario with the shirt and tie I had to use both time and spending techniques. Time because it was last minute the night before which was a Sunday and stores closed early I also had to work that same night so my window for time was kind of short not enough to really shop around. So, I compiled a list of 3 stores all within the same distance and all 3 where cheaper than the one original store I shopped at. In the scenario in regards to my homework I used my utility of starting my homework earlier and prioritizing my homework so that if need be there were any corrections or questions that needed to be asked it would also get done ahead of time and when it was time for the homework to be due I had no problems turning it in. Government policies which are designed to influence aggregate demand such as fiscal and monetary policies may require policy maker to choose between inflation and unemployment because firstly Fiscal policy determines government spending and tax rates. It usually increases government spending in in areas such as infrastructure, education, and unemployment benefits. Whereas contractionary fiscal policy can be utilized to reduce the government spending and self-governing debt or to correct growth fueled by rapid inflation. Fiscal policy directly effects the government expenditure element and indirectly impacts the consumption and investment element. Monetary policy is permitted by central banks which manipulate the money supply in the economy. The money supply influences rates and inflation, both of which are major determinants of employment, cost of debt, and consumption levels. Expansionary monetary policy entails on the central bank to either buy Treasury notes on decreasing interest rates on loans to banks on reducing the reserve requirement. All of which increase the money supply and lead to lower

Cultures Essays - Gender Studies, Gender, Anthropology, Sex

Cultures Essays - Gender Studies, Gender, Anthropology, Sex Cultures - culture concept first clear definition developed by British anthropologist Sir Edward Burnett Tylor - examples of species of animals that lead a social existence without culture: ants, bees therefore, society can exist without culture, but culture cannot exist without society - no member of a society has exact version of his/her culture as another - gender: the meanings cultures assign to the biological differences of the sexes -therefore, ones sexual identity or gender is culturally constructed - gender differences are as old as human culture- about 2.5 mill. yrs. - arose from biological differences - relationships between food foragers are open although both sexes usually do not carry out same tasks - subculture: a distinctive set of standards & behavior patterns that a group within a larger society operates by - example of subculture: Amish (who rely on horse for transportation as well as agriculture & have their own set of ideas dissimilar as well as similar to the society) - old-order Amish originated in Austria and Moravia during Reformation- now mainly populate Ohio, Indiana & Pennsylvania - pluralistic societies: societies that have a diversity of cultural patterns -

The U.S. Security and identity during the Cold War Research Paper

The U.S. Security and identity during the Cold War - Research Paper Example This is the reason why U.S. presidents at the time of the Cold War era implemented a number of foreign policies in order to maintain that kind of reputation using mainly capitalism as a powerful tool. The United States, furthermore, viewed the Cold War era in a different perspective according to David Campbell. The Cold War era was not in any way a race towards economic supremacy masquerading in the form of capitalism evangelization but an assertion of their identity as American citizens. It is, moreover, an issue of security, not just about physical security but a security of their sacredly-held identities as a nation. Furthermore, this research also solidifies its claims using various literatures that provide a historical representation of the Cold War era. Its origin also has been debated by historians and social scientists, that is why, the researcher tries to present some of the theorized origins of the war in a brief and concise portion of this paper. Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................1 Outline of the Study..........................................................................................3 Introduction†¦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‚¬ ¦.........................................3 Research Question..........................................................................................4 Literature Review.............................................................................................4 The Cold War: Origin............................................................................4 Cold War Theories................................................................................5 The U.S. Foreign Policy during Cold War Period.................................7 Preliminary Research on the Topic.................................................................10 Methodology....................................................................................................11 Research Philosophy...........................................................................11 Research Design and Data Collection Method....................................12 Results............................................................................................................12 Discussion.......................................................................................................13 Conclusion......................................................................................................16 Works Cited....................................................................................................17 The U.S. Foreign Policy during the Cold War Period Outline of the Study This study is all about the identity and security status of the United States during the Cold War period. The first chapter is an introduction of the topic, its objective s, and the research question. The second chapter is a review of literature associated with U.S. foreign policy, issues of identity and security, and Campbell’s reading during the said era. The third chapter presents how the study was done. Lastly, the fourth chapter gives the conclusion, implications and recommendations for future studies. Introduction The United States foreign policy during the early Cold War era was not in any way about forwarding the national interest of the country, but on asserting its identity and secu

Obesity in Minority Children Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Obesity in Minority Children - Term Paper Example The paper â€Å"Obesity in Minority Children† discusses the issue of immigrant children who face the problem of obesity because they are exposed to a different lifestyle. Obesity puts adverse impact on the children who are fat as compared to other children of their age group. There exist some interventions, which nursing professionals can use to deal with the problem of obesity in minority children. Nursing professionals often deal with the cases of obesity in minority children. Interviews with some of the nursing professionals reveal that about 70 percent of the obese children did not use to do any physical exercise and just played video games for entrainment and watched television. Researches have proved that almost 55 percent of the obese children eat junk foods instead of eating fresh vegetables and fruits. The poor diet choice of such children increase the level of fat in the bodies of children making them overweight as compared to other children of their age who take bal anced diet daily. Nursing professionals can take some effective steps to deal with the problem of obesity in minority children. Some of the ways, which nurses can use, include creating awareness among children regarding use of fruits and vegetables instead of junk foods, stopping them from taking sugary drinks, promoting the importance of physical exercises among children, and making them adhere to the principles of good body mechanics. It is the role of the nurses to promote healthcare among children in order to prevent them from getting obese. Nurses can make parents aware of the healthy and nutritious diet, which they can give to their children. Nurses can also make parents aware of the necessity of physical exercises for their children. Nurses can advise the parents to engage their children in physical

Critically assess the elements of a successful e-commerce regulatory Essay

Critically assess the elements of a successful e-commerce regulatory model - Essay Example In the last 5 years, the government has contended that the introduction of several layers of regulation based on EU legislation into UK law has increased customer confidence in e-businesses3 and increased these businesses standards of good practice. The implementation of the Distance Selling directive into UK law was to inspire confidence and increase transactions in cross-border shopping, including the internet. The regulation cannot be contracted out and any inconsistencies between the terms of the contract and the regulations would make the contract void. It does not cover contracts relating to auctions, financial services or property and partial exemptions for accommodation, transport, catering or leisure services and goods intended for everyday consumption supplied by regular roundsmen. This information must comply with the principles of good faith in commercial transactions and the principles governing the protection of minors. However, Consumers Internationals5 research revealed that 1 in 5 sites failed to give clear total cost of the transaction despite the fact that the price of goods and services including all taxes must be provided. They have also found very few sites actually providing written information on the right to a contract withdrawal. Subject to the following exceptions , once the supplier has met his obligations relating to the provision of information, the consumer has at least 7 working days to cancel the contract without penalty (the cooling-off period6) : If the supplier fails to meet his obligations to provide information, this period is extended by 3 months. He also has 30 days to repay the amounts paid by the consumer and, in certain cases, may deduct from the refund the costs of recovering the goods. If the consumers payment card was fraudulently used, he may request cancellation of payment and reimbursement of the amounts paid. The burden of proof lies on the card issuer

A Study On Dividend Signaling Theories Finance Essay

A Study On Dividend Signaling Theories Finance Essay Introduction Dividend announcement is a significant event that is closely scrutinized by a firms important stakeholders such as investors and financial analysts. Typically, dividend announcement contains information that signals firms earnings condition. Consequently, financial markets may react to these information releases by directly affecting the announcing firms stock price. Finance literature suggests that dividend announcement affects a firms stock price. Stock price may react positively or negatively to dividend announcements. For example, Dewenter and Warther (1998) and Fukuda (2000) both provide evidence of a positive (negative) market reaction to dividend increases (decreases). Dividend signaling is a tool which investors can use to investigate the impact of dividend announcements on stock prices. Literature review is focused on dividend signaling and more specifically on the effect of dividend announcement to the stock price. Relatively to the literature review, it hasnt been directed any research attention about dividend signaling but it has been analyzed some empirical studies in an order to examine the stock price effect to dividend announcement in real markets. Moreover, the studies will be compared and analyzed, based on signaling theory, in an effort to explain further dividend signaling effect. The paper is organized as follows: Section 1 describes generally about dividend signaling based on empirical and theoretical evidence. Section 2 describes the analysis of some empirical studies and section 3 concludes the results of these studies. Signaling theory The signaling theory claims that dividends should reflect the managers superior inside information about the firms future earnings conditions. Future earnings and trigger price can change any time, therefore, managers use dividends as an instrument to signal their superior information about the changes in earnings conditions. (C. Chen and C. Wu, 1999). Signaling theory also predicts that higher dividends signal better earnings performance and therefore, lead to a higher market value of the firm (Kathleen P. Fuller, 2002). There are numeral studies about different scenarios for dividend signaling. Bhattacharya (1979) and Miller and Rock (1985) argue that when there are information asymmetries between firms and outside shareholders, it is possible to induce a signaling role for dividends. Furthermore, managers are well informed about dividends payments but they dont reveal always the necessary information about firms profitability to the shareholders. (As it is found in M. Donga, C. Robinson and C. Veld, 2005 p. 127) Miller and Modigliani (1961) claim, in their dividend signaling hypothesis, that firms increase dividends to convey positive information about earnings prospects. According to this hypothesis, dividend changes can be interpreted as forecasts of future profitability (as it is found in K. Harada, P. Nguyen, 2005, p. 504) Campbell and Shiller (1987) state that the stock price reflects all information about future dividends and therefore, stock price forecasts future dividends and any changes in the process of dividends affects the behavior of the future dividend.( as it is found in C. Chen and C. Wu, 1999, p.30) Consistent with theoretical predictions, studies support that when dividends are increased stock prices tend to increase and when dividends are decreased stock prices tend to decrease. Based on these studies there is a positive correlation between dividend and stock price. On the other hand, some researchers argue that there is not any significant relationship between dividend changes and stock price. Michaely, and Thaler (2002) counter-argue that dividends signal the past and not the future. (as it is found U. S. Dhillon et al, p.2) 2. Stock price reaction to dividend announcements According to financial literature about dividend signaling hypothesis, dividend increasing companies earn positive stock return and dividend decreasing companies earn negative stock return. To understand better this event, it is important to analyze some empirical studies about the market reaction to dividend announcements and to compare their results. Researchers use variable models of signaling dividends in an order to examine the influence of dividend announcement in the stock price. These studies attempt to reconcile the theory with the evidence by considering the fundamentals of numerous companies and detailing the context in which the dividend changes takes place. Generally, it has been examined what happens when the dividend increases and when the dividend decreases. REGULAR DIVIDENTS H. DeAngelo et al. ( 1996) have constructed a sample of 145 large firms by searching Compustats primary and research tapes for NYSE-listed firms (public utilities, limited partnerships, American depositary receipts (ADRs), and Canadian companies) with a decline in annual earnings that follows at least ten earnings reports indicating strictly increasing earnings, i.e., after nine or more consecutive annual earnings increases. According to this sample, they have analyzed the stock markets announcement, day and over longer horizon (1-3 years), reaction to firms dividend increases. Sample firms have experienced an economically small, but statistically significant average equity value increase ~ roughly one-half of 1% ~ when there was an announcement of dividend increase. These findings indicate a positive association among stock market views and dividend increases because the information that company provides, justify a higher quality value. (H. DeAngelo et al. ,1996) U. S. Dhillon et al (2003) have developed a sample of 1700 firms (updated on a quarterly basis) with dividend forecasts in the Value Line Investment Survey. Their analysis contains, among other items, forecasts of the dividend for the current calendar year (and, in some cases, the next year) along with the publication date. Consistent to dividend signaling hypothesis, they have focused on the results of stock price reaction, at a two-day cumulative excess return, to dividend announcements using two different methods. In their study, they have presented the stock price reaction for positive, negative and no dividend changes. Capturing on the fraction of the sample that reflects the analysts expectation of a dividend increase, it has been noted a strong market reaction to dividend increases. In other words it has observed that for positive dividend announcements there was a positive stock price reaction. In the case that the dividend decreases, there is a significant negative price rea ction meaning that for negative dividends announcements there was a negative price reaction. In this study is also be examined the announcements of no dividend changes. The sample, in this case, is divided into three sub-samples: (1) positive dividend surprises, when analysts expectations of a dividend decrease did not materialize, (2) negative dividend surprises, when analysts expectations of a dividend increase did not occur, and (3) no dividend surprise, when analysts forecast of no dividend change was met. The results have demonstrated a significant relation between dividend changes and market reaction. Furthermore, whether dividends increase or remain unchanged, a significant positive reaction is observed when announced dividends exceed analysts forecasts. In contrast, a significant negative price reaction is observed when announced dividends are below analysts forecasts, and the price reaction is insignificant when announced dividends match expectations. (U. S. Dhillon et al, 2003) K.P. Fuller (2003) has used a sample of firms with unexpected dividend increases announced and has examined how the trading behavior of various investors affect a firms need to employ dividend changes to signal private information to the market. He has hypothesized that insider buying (selling) prior to a dividend increase is associated with significant and positive (negative) price reactions. The results have supported that the greater the amount of informed trading, the lower the price reaction to a dividend signal. Further, the larger the buy demand relative to the sell demand prior to the signal, the smaller the price reaction to an unexpected dividend increase. (K.P. Fuller, 2003) K. Harada and P. Nguyen (2005) have examined the relationship between dividend adjustments and long-term stock returns for a large sample of Japanese firms, over three different holding periods. A very significant issue in the research is the conditions under which the adjustments take place using the model of dividend changes. Based on signaling hypothesis, there is a significant association between dividend changes and subsequent earnings. At the 12-month horizon, firms were expected to increase their dividends (about 3.5%) but risk adjusted returns were found significantly negative (about -2.7%). At the 24-month horizon, stock returns were found also negative for the firms that expected to increase dividends (about -2.5%). In this research, it has to be mentioned that the results are much less significant, at less than 5% level due to the larger dispersion of (risk-adjusted) returns. At the 36-month period, the firms that did not present the appropriate conditions for a dividend increase have displayed a negative stock performance of dividend-increasing (about -6.35%). But when the firm was expected to increase the dividend (under appropriate conditions) , there was resulted a significantly positive association between dividend increases and risk-adjusted returns (about +14.5%). Overall, the stock performance evaluated over 12-24 months appears that stock returns are consistent with improved profitability only after an extended period of 36 months. That happens because the information presents a good portrait of the company, after 1 or 2 years, and the market participants react positive to this favorable information. On the other hand, in the research was examined the dividend decreases and the relationship with the stock price. The researchers supported that there is a significant positive association between the dividend decreases and stock price. More specifically, at the 12-month horizon, it is noted that dividend reductions are associated with a positive market reaction. (about +2.3%). Over the time, it was observed a significant positive increase association (about 4.5%, from 2.3% at 12-month horizon to 6.8% at 36-month horizon). These results concern firms that decrease their dividends. Regarding the firms that are expected to decrease their dividends, at the 12-month horizon expected dividend reductions that have been implemented result a significantly positive abnormal return (about +3.12%) that continues to increase at the 24-month horizon (+5.98%). An interesting observation that is provided among the two types is that only the first type of expected dividend reductions is associated w ith a positive stock performance, whereas the second type does not generate a significant change in the firms value. (K. Harada, P. Nguyen, 2005) SPECIAL DIVIDENTS Brickley (1982, 1983) has examined how the special dividend announcement related with the stock price. He supported that when firms announce unanticipated special dividends the stock prices increase by about 2%. According to his study, investors treat special dividends as hedged managerial signals about future profitability, in a way that unanticipated specials are associated with weaker stock market reactions than are regular dividend increases of comparable size. He also claims that regular dividend increases have a significantly more favorable market impact than do unanticipated specials. (Brickley, 1983) H. DeAngelo et al. (2000) have studied the stock markets reaction to special dividends. Their study indicates that the sign of special dividend changes do not systematically convey significant information. They observed a positive average stock market reaction (about 1%) when firms increase special dividends. The results have shown that the stock market typically reacts positive to the special dividend increases. Furthermore, they found that the stock market typically reacts favorably to the fact that a special dividend is declared (holding regular dividends constant), but that the market reaction is not systematically related to the sign or magnitude of the change from one positive special dividend payment to another. (H. DeAngelo et al., 2000) Conclusion According to the dividend-signaling hypothesis (Miller and Modigliani, 1961), firms increase their dividends to signal a growth in subsequent earnings. Moreover, dividend increase announcement may have a significant effect in the stock market price. Therefore, a number of studies have been examined in an attempt to understand the relation between dividend announcement and stock price. Many researchers have analyzed dividend signaling effect, based on different models, and they have found almost the same results. H. DeAngelo et al. (1996), U. S. Dhillon et al (2003) and K. Harada and P. Nguyen (2005) have found a significant positive association between dividend increases announcement and stock price, contrary to K.P. Fuller (2003) that has found a significant negative association between dividend increases announcement and stock price response. Other researchers have examined how special dividend announcement affects stock price. Brickley (1983) and H. DeAngelo et al. (2000) have resulted that stock market typically reacts favorably to the declaration of a special dividend, holding the regular dividend constant. Furthermore they have found that the stock market response averages approximately 1%, both when firms increase specials and when they reduce them to a still-positive level. Overall, their data indicate that although special dividends generally convey good news to investors, any such signaling content is typically small. To assume, the signaling models that have been chosen predict a positive relationship between dividend (regular and special) changes and stock price reaction to the announcement. The results are related with the financial literature, which provides extensive evidence that stock prices react to dividend changes. Even though a great number of researchers have resulted a positive association between the two factors, there is a researcher that has supported a negative association between the factors and that has led some analysts to question the signaling role of dividends. Analysts claim that dividend signaling is a very important issue and that it is related with other factors too. For example, the greater the number of informed traders active in a firms stock, the less likely it is that the firm needs to signal its intrinsic value. To conclude, analysts must continue to study the dividend signaling effect and more specifically to examine other significant factors associated with divid end announcement.

Akai MPC2000 (MIDI PRODUCTION CENTER) Essay -- essays research papers

AKAI MPC2000 MIDI PRODUCTION CENTER   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The following is a summary of the advanced features of the AKAI MPC2000, which include a built in sampler, sequencer and more. Here is a detailed general description of the AKAI MPC2000. Large 248 x 60 dot LCD display with graphics. 6 functions keys under the LCD display provide various functions on each page. Built-in 1.44 megabyte floppy disk drive to store both sequences and sound data. Built-in SCSI interface for storing data to external hard disk. Here is a detailed description of the AKAI MPC2000’s built in sampler. 16-bit, 44.1kHz stereo sampling High capacity sound memory: 2 megabytes standard (22 seconds mono or 11 seconds stereo), expandable to 32 megabytes with SIMM memory. Digital sampling input for direct recording from digital sources with IB-M208P board. 128 sounds (samples) may be held in memory at one time. 32 simultaneous playback voices. The envelope or filter can be set for each sound. Optional multi-effects generator EB16 for versatile effects. Sample files may be loaded from AKAI S1000 and S3000 disks. IB-M208P (optional) enables you to mix and output internal sampler sounds from 8 individual outputs. A maximum of 24 programs (sound assignments and sound parameter settings) can be created. A selection between poloyphonic (multiple sounds are overlaid when the same sound is played continuously) or mono (the second sound silences the first). It is possible to stop the playing of a so...