Mezzo Cammin Analysis Essay

â€Å"Mezzo Cammin† is an insightful poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It was a poem that was written halfway through Longfellow’s life and titled as such. It follows the life of a middle aged man who is basically whining about all the things he missed out on in the past. This title comes from the first line of Dante’s divine comedy which is translated to â€Å"Midway upon the journey of our life†. Society looks at their past as if â€Å"I could have done this in my past, I missed out on this and that.† Longfellow shows that people felt like that in 1842. He uses different poetic techniques to get this â€Å"opinion† across. When he says â€Å" I have let the years slip from me† it sounds like his past self didn’t care much about the present and focused more on the future. In the next line he actually remembers the aspirations he had, no matter how inconceivable and impossible they are. What holds him from completing these tasks even now, he describes as a â€Å"sorrow and a care that almost killed†. Sorrow usually doesn’t hold people back from things that they wanted to do in their past, we start to see separation of him from society, a slight oddity in him. The next line uses lots of imagery and shows us that he looks at life like a hill. One side has his gloomy city. This city has two different feelings about it, one is a mellow and slight happy feeling, quite dull. The other feeling is that of work, and bustling cities. A waterfall of death is on the other side, descending from the sky. He stands at the exact middle of the two. The speaker behind this poem has a huge ego. He has not cared once about anyone else besides himself and his future. This might contribute to his careless behavior in the past, he has no drive to do anything because none of the big things to do affected him beneficially. He might of also had no drive because of the things he inspired to be were too outrageous and he didn’t want to put himself under the intensive work to become the next â€Å"prime minister† or â€Å"supreme leader†. Again his ego coming into play, all about him. This whining man is very clear about his outlook on life. Longfellow shows how much this man’s ego/procrastination has put him in the emotional gutters. He also gives a pretty blunt approach to life. You work, you regret, you die.

Academic Lecture Summary and Critique

Academic Lecture Summary and Critique In his lecture that he gave on February 2006 in Oxford Sir Ken Robinson states that our school systems should not undermine creativity and it effect in our lives. In fact he believes that it should be as important as all core subject of education such as math and languages. Robinson believes that our children are being â€Å"educated out of their creativity† after having mentioned a few examples of how children are not scared of taking chances or being wrong, but when those children reach adulthood they have lost this amazing capability.Due to the fact that they are taught to think and live in a way suited to the corporate world that thinks of mistakes as taboo. It is important to keep in mind that Robinson did not undermine the importance of other subject he simply questioned if they are sufficient to grasp a good place in this unpredictable future. Robinson emphasized on the importance of intelligence in its three aspects â€Å"diversit y† â€Å"dynamic† â€Å"distinct† he believes that our educational system should revolve on the development of children's intelligence to its full potential.In my opinion, I think that sir ken Robinson shed some light on a very important issue in our global society. Even though his lecture didn’t have that academic touch to it, I sure enjoyed how passionately he spoke about the topic. In his own way Robinson, involved the audience in the conversation by posing rhetorical questions and by quoting daily life scenarios.What made his lecture more effective is that he quoted and mentioned people who had a big influence on this world due to their creativity likes of Picasso and Shakespeare. What I enjoyed most in his lecture is the unconventional method he used to highlight his main points in the audiences minds through humor. My only remark was that he did not give any solution. In the end sir ken Robinson finished with a big question that made the audience thi nk he actually challenged the audience to think of a better world.

Patenting is an expensive process, and one fraught with risks. Explain Essay

Patenting is an expensive process, and one fraught with risks. Explain these risks, and also why people continue to take out patents - Essay Example (Gibbs, 2003) Patents are necessarily applied to new and novel devices and methodologies, inventions which are unique and never thought out in the past and which could be used for beneficial purposes, both from the consumer perspective as well as industrial basis. Patenting is not easy to achieve. It has to be registered at the relevant patent office and the application process is a stringent one to start with. The patent application contains different claims which are in line with the device or methodology and these claims outline the exact sentences which are specific personifications related with the invention. (Mcleod, 2001) The relevant patent laws are checked upon once the patenting application has gone through. At times, there are objections which are raised with the patenting process and told to the authority who wants to have the patenting process activated in the first place. Once the patent has been granted to this individual, he has the right to collect his renewal fees from a number of different countries at the end of each year. This makes sure that the patent is in effect for a long period of time. The risks associated with patents are that they can be easily copied and infringed upon by just about anyone related with the trade, business or industry. (Link, 2003) Thus there are a number of people who oppose the general idea of having patents in the first place. When someone wants to patent there is always this danger of losing one’s invention and becoming a counterfeit in a short period of time. There is the aspect of imitation and copying and then the legal restrictions are not that strong to stop everyone who is bent upon destroying the exclusivity of the new device or methodology which has been patented by the relevant authority. Then there is the monopoly which can be governed by the party who patents this right on his device or methodology that he can wrongfully ask the competitors to be cut out from gaining

Challenging the Obama Health Care Legislation Research Paper

Challenging the Obama Health Care Legislation - Research Paper Example Moreover, the petitioners claim that the new Act infringes the Tenth Amendment, emphasizing that a directive that coerces people to either get a health insurance or be penalized is undemocratic and unlawful (Bandow 2011). The Congress (2010) has once declared: â€Å"By most measures, we have the best medical care system in the world† (p. 32). Yet, there are still major problems and critical issue. A significant portion of the population does not have insurance and costs are continuously increasing. Failure to get a health insurance can prevent one from gaining access to preventative care. The uninsured are given treatment when s/he becomes sick, as recognized by the defendants since health care in the United States is commonly given because of incapacity to afford medical expenses or acquire a health insurance. Yet, the acquired costs to provide medical services to the uninsured are at times remain unpaid. The costs of unpaid health care services are transferred to economic actors in the form of increased premiums and costs, which, consequently, can contribute to the continuity of the cycle and further enlarge the uninsured population (Congress 2010). The Congress approved of the PPACA against these conditions. The petitioners challenge a number of the interconnected parts of the PPACA as well. Primarily, the new Act considerably changes and enlarges the Medicaid plan. Medicaid is a joint federal-state initiative established in 1965 that supports federal subsidy to states that decide to offer health care to vulnerable and poor populations (Congress 2010). PPACA will expand the numbers of new entrants to the Medicaid rosters by widening the initiative to encompass all people under 65 years of age with a specific income percentage of the federal poverty threshold (Health Care Lawsuits 2011). Furthermore, the new Act opens the opportunity for the formation of medical benefit transactions intended to permit start-up or small businesses and individuals to control their purchasing power to acquire viable prices (Bandow 2011).  Ã‚  

Career Self-Efficacy Theory Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Career Self-Efficacy Theory - Research Paper Example A new part of my entrepreneurial careers commenced as I opened a daycare center at home so I could both earn a living and also be near my children. When they finally were old enough to go to school, I resumed my IT career but I realized that I had been out for too long, and I needed to hone my skills so as to catch up, I worked part-time in computer maintenance, until I got a realtors license and started a new career. I have so far managed to juggle family, education and my realtor job and am finally at a point where I am about to complete my degree; I could either look for a job in the computer sector again or use my IT skills to develop my realtor career and possible strike out on my own. From my career trajectory, I can examine myself through several theoretical viewpoints that are concerned with work and career, Donald Super’s theory of living space and lifespan is particularly applicable since it describes a career trajectory in stages of occupational preferences and comp etencies that change as one grows (Savickas, 1997). His theory is founded on the concept of vocational maturity which can correspond to one’s chronological age since people move through a variety of stages throughout their professional life. The first stage is growth which involved the development of a self-concept as one adjusts to their needs and figures out their environment, the stage is normally from self-awareness to when one is around 14. In my case, I had already decided I wanted to be independent which is why I started working at age 12.   The second step is exploration between 15 and 24 where one tries out various concepts before they decide which they will settle for; this was true in my case as I worked various jobs throughout high school and college before I decided to pursue computer studies.

Sickle cell anemia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sickle cell anemia - Research Paper Example This paper briefly analyses various characteristics of Sickle cell anemia. DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS Anemia is a condition in which the number of red cells in blood decreases beyond certain limits. It can occur because of lack of hemoglobin and defective functioning of hemoglobin. Sickle cells contain sickle hemoglobin or hemoglobin S which is causing Sickle cell anemia. The changes in the shape of red blood cells are referred as sickling in medical terms. Sickle shaped means the shaping of red blood cells in the form of a crescent. Normally blood cells are disc shaped and therefore it can move quickly through the blood. However, when it attains the shape of a crescent, mobility of these cells would be decreased. (Kids health: Sickle Cell Anemia, 2011) Sickling can affect the normal functioning of the cells in different ways. It can reduce the flexibility of the cells and thereby various complications can occur to the patient. Life expectancy of the Sickle cell anemia patients has found to be comparatively lower to that of the normal people. Sickle cell anemia is usually appearing at the childhood itself. In areas where malaria is common, Sickle cell anemia found to be more common. In other words, a connection between Sickle cell anemia and malaria cannot be ruled out. ... It should be noted that normal life span of red blood cells is about 120 days. If red cells die within 10 to 20 days from its production, it is evident that the normal number of red cells cannot be sustained in blood. It is difficult for bone marrow to supply enough red cells based on the demand created by the untimely death of red cells. CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS If both parents have the sickle cell trait, the chance that a child will have sickle cell disease is 25%. If one parent is carrying the trait and the other actually has disease, the odds increase to 50% that their child will inherit the disease (Sickle cell anemia: patient education, 2011) Sickle cell anemia normally occurs when a child gets two sickle cell genes from his parents. If the child gets the defective gene or hemoglobin from one parent and normal hemoglobin from the other parent, he may develop sickle cell trait. However, such people may not show the symptoms of this disease. Symptoms of Sickle cell anemia may not appear until a child becomes four months old. Unusual pain lasting from hours to days is the major symptom of Sickle cell anemia. In some cases, the pain might be extended for many years. Pain can affect the entire body. â€Å"Abdominal pain, Bone pain, Breathlessness, Delayed growth and puberty, Fatigue, Fever, Paleness, Rapid heart rate, Ulcers on the lower legs, jaundice, Chest pain, Excessive thirst, Frequent urination, Painful and prolonged erection, Poor eyesight, Strokes, Skin ulcers† (Sickle cell anemia, 2011) etc are the major symptoms of Sickle cell anemia. DIAGNOSIS CRITERIA â€Å"Complete blood count (CBC) test, Hemoglobin electrophoresis, Sickle cell test† (Sickle cell anemia, 2011) etc are some of the

Critical Thinking Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical Thinking - Article Example Strategies like demonstration and practice learning hold more appeal to me than other strategies for CT practice since they involve more or less all CT skills and alongwith identifying the need for CT skills in practice, these strategies provide ample opportunity to understand and perform the skills. In case a person has an opposite view such as case study analysis is better strategy over problem learning, then it must be brought under consideration that not only the latter involves all CT skills hence helping CT skills practice, but also in stark contrast to a mere analysis on narrative form, problem learning helps to think independently and stimulates ability to understand and make decision. Next roadblock is Fatigue which is though entirely physical has effect on intellectual skills as well and therefore may result in inaccurate understanding of problem, inaccurate analysis or irrational interpretation or explanation. The only ways to adapt to such situations is to first understand that anyone is prone to roadblocks and accept that fact. Next step is to identify the roadblocks and take care to control or tackle them. There are a few ways in which experts and novices differ from one another. Firstly, within RC when a problem requiring immediate attention and decision making is present, experts who have more experience and have more knowledge would be able to handle the situation by applying CT skills whereas a novice would try and do the same but instead of believing in one’s own self would adhere to rule books and text to get things done correctly. Another major difference is in the decision making. Experts develop an intuition where they are able to segregate each problem from one another and know that each problem requires a different approach. However, the novice having lesser experience cannot rely on intuition and therefore has a textual approach

GERMAN ASSIGNMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

GERMAN ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example Every day he has to give it oil and trim the wick so that it always burns clear and bright. We pay him a dollar a week for that.† As the farmer went on his way, one of the travelers said â€Å"We could use this lamp. What a pleasure it would be not to have to walk about in the gloom at night.† â€Å"You know what?† said the second, â€Å"We’ll get a horse and wagon and take it away.† The third climbed the tree, bored a hole in the moon, stuck a rope through it, and let it down. They covered the moon with a cloth so no-one would see that they were being robbed of the moon and drove away. With luck they arrived in their own country and hung the moon in a high oak tree. Old and young alike were happy with the moon’s light that fell over the fields and in the houses and rooms. Even the dwarves came out of their caves, dressed in their finest red jackets, to dance in the meadows. The four supplied the moon with oil and trimmed its wick and weekly collected their dollar. But they were old men and as the first sickened and his death was in sight he ordered that one-quarter of the moon, as his share, be buried with him in his grave. As he was dying, the Mayor climber the tree and cut off a quarter of the moon to lay in his coffin. The light of the moon was reduced, but not very noticeably. When the second died the second quarter was given to him, and the light diminished itself. Still weaker was it after the death f the third, likewise taking his share with him, and when the fourth went to his grave, the old gloom trampled once more over the country. When the pieces of the moon were reunited in the Underworld where darkness had always prevailed, the dead stirred and woke from their sleep. They were astonished that they were able to see as though it were daytime. The light of the moon was enough because their eyes were weak from not having seen the brilliant sun for a long time. They got up and joyfully took up their old way of life again.

AFA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

AFA - Essay Example This apartheid regime passed the 1962 Sabotage Act in response to the constitution of militant units and increase in sabotage. According to Kithinji, the Act gave the justice ministry immense powers such that it could silence political activism and further condemn â€Å"communist agitators† to house arrest (240). Indeed, apartheid had devastating effects on the social lives of the people. This was further aggravated by the suppression of the opposition early in the 1960s as propagated by the apartheid rule. The 1959 Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Bill passed by the parliament allowed homelands to be completely independent states. This â€Å"independence† to the Bantustans was used by the apartheid regime to develop national consciousness in the groups it created as observed by Kithinji (241). The rights of the Africans continued to be held in the hands of the apartheid which maintained social control and propagated destruction. The banning of all forbidden organizations including the ANC, the Pan-African Congress and the South Africa Communist Party among others on 2 February 1990 was an indication of the readiness for national negotiations on the adoption of new political order according to Kithinji (245). A few resultant crises caused the regime to collapse. This included the prolonged socio-political instability which destabilized the economy and created structural weaknesses. This became apparent with the military involvement of South Africa in Angola in support of Jonas Savimbi’s rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, UNITA which was in the fight to oust the leftist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, MPLA government (Kithinji 244). Kithinji, Michael Mwenda. â€Å"Apartheid in South Africa.† (Re) Tracing Africa: A Multi-Disciplinary Study of African History, Societies, and Cultures. Eds. Salome

Research memo for cisco systems Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Memo for cisco systems - Research Paper Example On the other hand, its mission is to be the chosen supplier by being the leader among its competitors in satisfying customers, market share, product leadership and profitability. Products Cisco Systems began competing in the local-area-network (LAN) market by offering high-end routers (Wylie 45). These devices applied in the cyberspace to direct network traffic to its destination through a least congested and efficient network path. Its foothold in the growing industry made it competitive in the market of networking equipment. It makes a high proportion of the large scale routers used in powering the internet. Other cisco products include the LAN and wide area network (WAN) switches, website management tools, internet appliances, software of network management and dial-up solutions. More so, its internet operating system is becoming the industry’s standard for the delivering of network services and applications.Cisco’s customer base includes enterprises, service provide rs, consumers and the small and medium sized businesses. The enterprise customers consist of government agencies, corporations and educational utilities. Service providers provide data, video communication and voice services such as the international, regional and national carriers as well as the cable, internet and wireless service providers. The consumers form Cisco’s new market with a various products of home networking (Wylie 5). Management structure John Chamber among other t CEO of Cisco System has leadership abilities of teamwork, responsibility, and risk and customer satisfaction. The management structure entails the promotion of manager-employee dialogue through use of the automated Performance Management form (ePM). It also constitutes development processes such as the leadership 360-degree Development Feedback, Talent Assessment Process and leadership review process that concerns succession of management. These development processes enhance employee motivation and satisfaction. Development of a centralized structure brought it closer to its customers, eliminates resource and product overlaps while encourages teamwork. This structure implemented by its management personnel fostered knowledge sharing among Cisco product groups and promotes consistent realization of economies of scale and profitability (Wylie 67). Social responsibility Cisco’s dedication is efficient expertise in networking to help solve issues in the world. Cisco focuses on building ecological sustainability into its business process. Its ecological sustainability efforts include the Carbon Disclosure project and the Greenpeace challenge. It leads by example through reduction of the use of energy and the green house gas emissions during its operations. It also promotes environmental standards such as the ISO 14001, GHG protocol and Global Reporting Initiative. Its products’ end of life initiative enables take-back and trade-in programs of recycling that provide cu stomers a costless way of managing electronic waste. It largely reuses and repairs the electronics received from its customers. Plans Cisco under the leadership of Chamber plans to address the dual threat of a new centre for data customers that focus on scaling out and price. It has plans to expand its market and product line to give it a aggressive

Shiseido Presentation Essay Example for Free

Shiseido Presentation Essay Add more doors Enhance promotional packages with full product line Train beauticians to create a relationship Beauticians educate customers into the correct use of the products advertising Enable shop online Get global marketing benefits Japanese zen design influence Social Media Presence Men’s corner Men’s place Focusing on FB, twitter and beauty blogs Creating newsworthy, interesting, share-able brand content Using on line FB contests to enhance users participation (i. e. post your secret beauty tip, share it with friends, gather the most likes win the Shiseido products) Offering product related gifts/vouchers/samples Mapping of influential beauty/lifestyle blogs and using them as indirect WOM devices Sharing Shiseido news, photo shootings, campaigns from abroad Being the ultimate spot for â€Å"girl-talk†, regarding beauty, cosmetics, skin care issues †¢At current and new doors †¢Easy accessible †¢Familiarization †¢Awareness †¢Explore while girlfriend discussing with consultant †¢Feel more innocent Closer to Purity†¦ †¦Closer to Life †¢ †¢ †¢ Luxurious solutions to differentiate from from conservative, classic brands. Member’s club with exclusive activities such as Yoga, spa. Targeted use of media depending on segment

The Role of Conflict Essay Example for Free

The Role of Conflict Essay In the establishment of leader-follower relationships, harmony is required in order to achieve the best possible results within an organization. But in the real world, perfect harmony is not likely to happen. Leaders and followers have varying degrees of intellect, perception, and principles – and these are the very things that contribute to conflicts in an organization. While conflict can easily be assumed to have a negative effect on a leader-follower relationship, it plays a special role within the community – a role that is as equally important as harmony. The main function of conflicts is to bring out the best in every plan, policy, and method that is implemented by the leader or the group as a whole. Conflicts cause members to voice out their views and opinions to their leaders or other members with the aim of correcting what they think or feel are not right about it. Consequently, this ensures that every step that the group makes passes the strict scrutiny and evaluation of its own members and leaders (Cuban 29). Conflicts challenge the actions of leaders or other group members. People who stimulate conflicts are not necessarily bad for the organization. In fact, conflict indicates that the group is composed of people who are morally involved and committed to all the pursuits that their organization are willing to take. The actual people who seemingly create conflict are there to ensure that all steps taken by the group conforms well within social norms and ideology of the organization they belong to. They are there to protect the interests of the group and make certain that everything is done for its greater glory. They are actually more involved, although in a negative way, than those members who choose not to air out their views, no matter how right they think they are. In essence, conflicts makers benefit the organization more than the member or the leader who is indifferent to what transpires around them (Harolds Wood 203). Conflicts also bring about the best in a leader. Conflicts, whether it is aimed to make the organization good or worse, is an issue that a leader needs to deal with. A capable leader can be evaluated in terms of performance and skills by to his ability to handle conflicts. His ability to remain as a leader can be assessed through the techniques he or she uses to address the problem and the actual solutions he was able to implement (Korabik, et al 409). Works Cited Cuban, Larry. â€Å"Conflict and Leadership in the Superintendency.† Phi Delta Kappan 67.1 (1985): 28-30. Harolds, J Wood, BP. â€Å"Conflict Management and Resolution† J Am Coll Radiol 3.3 (2006): 200-2006. Korabik, Karen, Baril, Galen L, Watson Carol. â€Å"Managers Conflict Management Style And Leadership Effectiveness: The Moderating Effects Of Gender† Sex Roles 29.5-6 (1993):405-420.

Research and Review into Crisis Management: Mitigating Disaster

Research and Review into Crisis Management: Mitigating Disaster A crisis is a major occurrence with a potentially negative outcome. However, almost every crisis contains within itself the seeds of success as well as the roots of failure. At a conference in Japan on June 21, 2006, a Dell laptop suddenly exploded into flames, and lucky for its owner the fiery blast occurred while the PC was sitting on a table and not in his lap. An onlooker reported that the notebook continued to burn, producing several more explosions over the course of about five minutes. On August 15th, members of Dell Inc.s Global Corporate Communications/Investor Relations organization were part of a team facing an unprecedented challenge. The team had been working with regulatory agencies in various countries for an announcement of the largest recall in the history of consumer electronics, 4.2 million Dell branded lithium-ion batteries, with cells manufactured by Sony. The announcement was leaked to the press and Dell accelerated its plans by 12 hours, including launching the recall Web site early. The focus of the Corporate Communication/Investor Relations team and key business leaders remained clear: to effectively and efficiently inform customers, employees and shareholders about the recall. The recall, one of the largest in the history of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, couldnt have come at a worse time. According to a closely watched annual study by the University of Michigan, Dells efforts to improve service, which it only recently acknowledged publicly was inadequate, appear to be paying off. That progress is a key part of a long-awaited turnaround at the worlds largest PC maker, which is struggling with a host of problems, including sluggish sales growth in its core businesses. The news of the notebook computer recall hits just as Michigan released its American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) showing that Dells customer-satisfaction score jumped 5.4% from a year ago, to 78-a point above the industry average. That puts Dell in second place, behind Apple Computer, whose score rose 2.5%, to 83. Dells recent improvements follow many quarters of poorer service that became fodder for countless customer complaints, sometimes publicized on high-profile chat rooms and blogs. Consumers, which account for about 14% of Dells total revenue, have complained of hold times stretching for 30 minutes or more, numerous call transfers, dropped calls, and, perhaps most important, an inability of the call-center representatives to communicate clearly and answer their questions. Indeed, many consumers posting on blogs and chat sites continue to complain bitterly about Dell. Literature Review In contrast to the disciplines of emergency and risk management, which deal primarily with natural disasters, the field of crisis management deals mainly with man-made or human-caused crises, such as computer hacking, environmental contamination, executive kidnapping, fraud, product tampering, sexual harassment, and workplace violence. Unlike natural disasters, human-caused crises are not inevitable. They do not need to happen. For this reason, the public is extremely critical of those organizations that are responsible for their occurrence. Nonetheless, even with the best of frameworks and the best of preparations, it is unfortunately still the case that not all crises can be prevented. This even holds true for those crises that we know with almost complete certainty will occur. But the impacts of all crises can be lessened if one has a thorough understanding of the essential basics of crisis management. While not all crises can be foreseen, let alone prevented, all of them can be managed far more effectively if we understand and practice the best of what is humanly possible (Mitroff and Anagnos, 2001). Effective management of information is vital to the operations of most organizations. Some years ago Wells said Without adequate communication an organization will soon grind to a halt (Wells, 1978). More recently Bakewell has pointed out Communication is the hallmark of good management (Bakewell, 1997). Good communication goes hand in hand with effective management of information. Effective management of information at a time of crisis is even more vital, when damage to an organizations reputation or damage to established goodwill can result in severe damage to operations. An organizations reputation is as important as any other corporate asset, and many organizations have some kind of crisis plan intended to protect that reputation should something go wrong. This is when effective management of information (controlling communications) is so vital and always difficult. A few basic rules have clearly emerged from some recent crises. First of all the importance of telling the truth. Second, rather than let the media network speculate, use the media network as a opportunity to disseminate your information. Leave no room for speculation if you cant tell them something, tell them why you cant tell them (PR Journal, 1995). Perhaps another basic rule to be mentioned at this point is the need to apologize promptly when appropriate. Sir Jeremy Morse, banker and past chairman of the Institute of Bankers, maintains that it almost always pays to issue an early apology. Although this could lead to an organization being blamed for something which is not its fault, he comments: Nevertheless, there are two central reasons why this is usually the right course. First, externally, the public respect an apology freely given rather than one that comes after a considerable period of stonewalling. Secondly, internally, an early apology frees managers to sort out the problems far more effectively than if they are still maintaining an outward front that nothing is wrong (Haywood, 1994, p. 177). However, Black (1993) points out that if a lawyer is present there may be pressure not to express sympathy in case this is taken to imply liability: Lawyers must be told that the consequences to the company of not communicating and showing sympathy in practical terms are sure to be much worse than if an open policy of full information and generosity is adopted. It is vital to realize the speed of media coverage because of new technological developments. Not only can stories be relayed by mobile phones and faxed from cars, but they can also be sent from helicopters and bounced off satellites. Pictures too can be taken by digital computerized cameras and sent down telecommunications lines: When Greenpeace staged its high-profile stand against the sinking of the Brent Spar oil platform, it not only posted information on the Web, but was reported to have airlifted sophisticated filming equipment and a satellite down station on to the rig, so that they could provide their own VNRs direct to news outlets (Nicholas, 1996a). This means that it is unlikely that there will be a time delay between an incident or crisis erupting and the resulting media coverage. This emphasizes the need to react quickly at a time of crisis, and to let all parties know immediately about the action you have taken. Communicating effectively was now more often seen as of t he same importance as putting the problems right. (IPR Journal, 1995, p. 14). Furthermore, the media are in competition and hungry for the most newsworthy stories. Generally bad news is very newsworthy and more sensational (Ashcroft, 1994). If immediate information is not available, this leaves room for speculative stories. Methodology This paper reviews how Dell itself has responded to the challenges raised by bloggers, how it has enhanced its customer services and how it has itself undertaken social media initiatives. We use a proven customer loyalty metric the Net Promoters index to assess whether these initiatives have been successful. We conclude that Dell has made some limited progress in reducing negative consumer commentary about its customer services. Where Dell has been most successful is in creating a conversation about its own social media initiatives: Dell has absorbed in its own product planning and its communications the hard lessons of the Dell Hell experience, and opened a dialogue with its customers, which is directly benefitting its word-of-mouth approval rating. Findings A crisis can be divided into six stages. First, the detection of prodromes is a way for the company involved to predict any potential occurrence. For example, if an organization in the same line as yours is faced with a crisis, then you may start looking out. The second stage is prevention. It refers to how a company can prevent a crisis. That can be done by maintaining public relations programs, or by establishing a corporate culture, or even by including a crisis management plan in the strategic planning process. The third stage is containment. It is a process of limiting the amplitude of the crisis, the impact of the crisis and the spread of the crisis. Then, the next stage is recovery. It consists of two major aspects: getting the organization back to normal, and restoring stakeholder confidence in the organization. The following stage, learning, is a post crisis process consisting of examining the crisis, looking at what was lost and what was gained, and how the organization fun ctioned during the crisis. Finally, the last stage is the adjustment of the crisis management plan and crisis communication team. In view of what was achieved in the learning stage, the crisis management plan and the crisis communication team must be updated and any new risks uncovered by the crisis should be incorporated in them. Detection of prodromes It turned out that this occurrence was not an isolated case. In December last year, Dell launched a massive recall of about 35,000 notebook batteries contained in laptops that were deemed to pose a potential fire risk. The company said at the time it had received three reports of batteries overheating, and while no injuries were sustained, damage to a tabletop, a desktop and minor damage to personal effects had been recorded. The problem is not limited to Dell laptops. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, as many as 43 laptop fires have been reported in the US alone since 2001. It has been almost ten years now since we were first warned about the dangers of the lithium-ion accumulators/storage batteries, the only ones that include a flammable liquid in a pressurized container. In case of short-circuit, they can go up in flames and explode. This is therefore why this kind of battery is rarely used in do-it-yourself tools and hybrid cars. However, they are very popular in IT as they offer an energy density between two and four times superior to those of traditional batteries (nickel-cadmium, hybrid-metal or lead). Also being much lighter, they facilitate the manufacture of miniature devices able to hold a whole day with one single charge. Several cases of explosion have occurred in the past few years, but they were rarely given publicity in the media. At best, these explosive batteries were considered to be isolated incidents. At worst, they were seen as fabrications. In the summer of 2006, the context changed, after several explosions in Singapore in June, and in Utah in July. After an enquiry, we learnt that the problem had been diagnosed more than one year ago. Between 2004 and 2005, Dell analyzed a dozen batteries that had overheated. They detected a fault in the lithium-ion cells of its supplier Sony. Some small particles could infect the cells, provoke a short-circuit and overheat the battery. The fault would have been repaired in February 2006. Sony reviewed its manufacturing process as well as its quality control in order to limit the presence of these particles, and eventually everything was back to normal. But nothing had been done for the batteries already on the market. At the time, we had no serious confirmation of disaster, fire or explosion. There was therefore no reason to launch a substantial operation, added a member of the conception team for the Latitude laptops. We have to wonder: was Dell waiting for a drama to start before making a move? Today, Dell admits having known about these problems for more than a year, but declares that they had trouble in evaluating the seriousness of the situation. They also needed time to find the source of the problem, before launching a modest recall. However, its quite possible that Dell was simply trying to protect itself by sending some information to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which would have allowed them to negotiate in a better position in case of litigation. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission actually doesnt blame Dell for anything, indicating that the company did its job by acknowledging the problem. It is not the first time that Dell acted this way; it happened three times in five years. Already in 2001, 284  000 computers had been recalled for the same kind of symptoms, and 35  000 others in December 2005. However, during their press conference, the American giant renewed its confidence in Sony, which would keep its status of battery supplier for the laptops of the number one worldwide. Prevention During 2005 and 2006 Dell experienced a series of financial shocks. On November 10th 2005 Dell announced quarterly profits had dropped 28%. On May 9th 2006, and again just a few weeks later on 21st July 2006 Dell announced that its earnings would not meet previous guidance. These profit warnings arose from a combination of continued price pressure on margins in the PC business and also the fall-out from its attempts to strip costs out of the business by a) off-shoring customer support functions and b) ending unprofitable aspects of warranty repair. Dells actions created an outburst of anger from customers on the receiving end of this cost cutting. Jeff Jarviss blog was symptomatic of this criticism. Dell responded to their critics by making two major changes: They began by investing an additional $150m in their customer service operations. The result (according to Dell) is that the average waiting time for support calls has come down from nine minutes to three minutes. They launched an official Dell customer services blog (summer 2006) along with two further social media sites Dell Studio and IdeaStorm. Containment On July 31st, Engadget posted photos of a Dell notebook that had caught fire in Singapore. Its comment: Well keep posting these until we see a recall or a solution, so please, Dell, treat them right. By then, Dell was working closely with the government to figure out the scope of the problem. It turned out that the glitch was the same as it had been the previous year: metal particles inside the battery were causing the problems. Apples problems with overheating batteries had been cropping up in the online media during the spring and summer as well. The CPSCs Stern says Sony connected the dots and figured out which of its batteries and which of its customers were affected. After The Inquirer, a European site for computer hardware news, expressed serious concerns about the batteries, Dell and Sony proposed a second recall to the CPSC. On August 13th, writer Theo Valich reported on The Inquirer site that another recall was on the way. Magee said the leak came from a Dell insider, whom he refused to identify. I attribute being on top of the story to old-fashioned print journalism standards-cultivating, and, if youll excuse the pun, not burning such contacts, he says. The formal recall was announced a day later, on August 14th. Once Dell announced the recall, it, too, harnessed the Web to reach out to the disgruntled computing masses. On August 14th, the company set up a Web site (www.dellbatteryprogram.com) telling customers how to get a replacement battery. On its customer-service blog, (www.direct2dell.com), Dell also published some postings from executives and staffers about the recall (Appendix 1). These included blow-by-blow descriptions of Dells response from Alex Gruzen, senior vice-president of the companys Mobility Product Group, and a detailed explanation of how lithium-ion batteries work from Forrest Norrod, vice-president of engineering. The company also elicited dozens of comments from customers, some of whom were plenty irked. On August 15th, George Johnson demanded to know why Chairman Michael Dell hadnt responded to questions about the battery problems at a press conference the previous day in Sydney, Australia. When he was asked about the recent problems and if there were any developments, he did not volunteer the information that a new battery recall was in the works. If he was so concerned about customer safety, why was the announcement held over until after the press conference was over? asked Johnson.   But most people who commented praised Dell for its response. I commend Dell for looking out for the consumer on this issue, wrote Jim Jones. I have been fearful of leaving my system on while unattended. Its nice that I can leave my system on overnight and not have to worry about my house catching fire.   Dell credits the blogosphere for helping it get through the crisis. Information travels around quickly, says spokeswoman Gretchen Miller. Also, its another channel to get the message to our customers so they can be safe.   On August 15th, Dell received more than 50 million hits on https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com, responded to more than 135,000 phone calls and received more than 150,000 battery replacement orders. Dell shipped the first replacement units the day it announced the recall. Dells Corporate Communication/Investor Relations team played a critical role in the implementation of the recall by developing and executing a strategy based on a key central message: Dell had taken aggressive, proactive action to retrieve and replace all suspect batteries with a clear focus on customer safety. The team worked to help key the stakeholders message to customers that the safety of Dells customers was of utmost importance. This message was supported by articulating the benefits of the companys direct business model including: 1) Dells detailed information on units sold to customers, including the units configuration when it shipped to the customer. 2) Dells records of customer contact information, which enabled Dell team members to reach out to customers immediately. 3) Dells close relationship with its suppliers, such as Sony, which enabled the company to identify the problem, diagnose it and find a remedy. By working so closely with suppliers, Dell was able to respond in a way unlike any other company in the industry. Recovery and Turnaround In February 2007 Dell went further and launched IdeaStorm and StudioDell. IdeaStorm allows Dell users to feedback valuable insights about the company and its products and vote for those they find most relevant. StudioDell is a place where Dell users could share videos about Dell-related topics. IdeaStorm has already been the site of an extraordinary exercise in stakeholder democracy the reprieve of Microsofts Windows XP operating system. Have Dell turned the corner? To answer this question Market Sentinel analyzed stakeholders perceptions of Dell customer service. The analysis compares the sentiment of online commentary before and after Dells commercial slump and their new online customer initiatives. We believe that anyone wishing to track the financial prospects of Dell over the next few quarters could do worse than to watch the key metrics on word of mouth. Using the Net Promoters, we identified five key topics of commentary about Dell customer service and placed each post into one of these categories, according to the most central concern expressed (Appendix 2). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Speed (the length of time it takes to get through to someone at the call centre, to get through to the right person to address callers concerns, to get issue resolved, to get problem fixed, to get delivery of items etc.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Off-shoring (customers feelings towards technical supports relocation from USA/UK to India and other countries, especially in relation to language problems) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Errors (inaccuracies in dealing with Dell customer service e.g. wrong items sent, orders lost, incorrect delivery details etc.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Technical Competence (of Dell technical support staff) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ New Initiatives (Direct2Dell, Dell IdeaStorm, StudioDell, engaging directly with bloggers) The distribution of comments about Dell customer service between the categories remained roughly constant in the two years, with the largest share accounted for by general comments, followed by comments about the speed or promptness of service, and then comments about off-shoring. A significant change year-on-year was the number of comments, predominantly positive in tone, which were gathered in the second wave about Dells new customer initiatives. Although this was encouraging, the most immediate conclusion to be drawn from the Dell Net Promoters analysis is that negative commentary outweighs positive commentary across almost all categories. This is not at all unusual for a study of customer service attitudes, as people come to message boards or blogs in search of answers to problems they have failed to solve with the customer support services of the company in question. The tone is therefore somewhat negative. Have Dells actions had any noticeable effect upon online feeling on customer service? The good news for Dell is that opinion has improved overall, but there are still areas for concern. There is a slight improvement in customers feelings about Dells speed of service (up +4) and technical competence (up +1). This improvement is offset by increasing dissatisfaction with the policy of off-shoring technical support (down -12) and with the ongoing problem of order, service and delivery inaccuracies (down -8). However, there are two significant positive shifts in opinion about Dell. The first finding is the positive reception given to Dells new customer initiatives. However, the recent deterioration of Dells customer service had eroded much of the goodwill of the online community. Commentators are wary of show without substance. What will be definitely interesting to see is if Dell does anything with these comments or is this yet another example of a company putting all their efforts trying to make themselves look better instead of actually being better à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦as long as they follow through and put some of the ideas in action. If they dont do this, people will realize that they dont actually have the power to influence the company and Dell is just trying to give that illusion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦if nothing comes out of this youll bring the wrath of khan down on your head The guarded welcome is spelled out clearly by B.L. Ochman on her whatsnextonline.com blog: I dont know if that will make Dells lousy service any better, but it shows they want to listen, and thats where recovery can begin. The second shift in opinion which we found in our analysis is the reduction in the negative comments about Dells customer service. Although the overall mood still appears quite gloomy across all comments, with a Net Promoters Index of -20, this is a considerable improvement on the position 12 months earlier when the Net Promoters Index stood at -38. Changes in the sentiment of commentary seem to lag service delivery. Many of the positive comments which were collected in the first wave of this study traded on the long term legacy of Dell as a provider of best-in-class customer service; the negative comments were more likely to be customers reports of unsatisfactory customer service experiences in the recent past. At the beginning of 2007 negative stories about customer service continued to circulate in message boards and in blogs, but these are now being counterbalanced by those who have more positive stories to tell having benefitted from the effects of Dells re-investment in customer service. It took many years for Dell to establish the reputation for exemplary customer service which it had built up in the years up to 2001, before technical support was off-shored to India and Dell cut back on engineer visits to customers homes. This reputation, as a long term legacy, is still present in some loyal customers minds. But the fallout from Dell Hell means that Dell now has a different and conflicting reputation to deal with poor service from a company which doesnt care about its customers. And it is this reputation which is freshest in the mind. Learning On August 14th, the Associated Press chronicled incidents stretching back to 1999, including, among others, a Lufthansa fire in Chicago, a UPS plane in flames in Philadelphia, and an emergency landing by a plane carrying the then-Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, all apparently the result of computer batteries spontaneous combustion. It did not require great prescience to anticipate that air flight safety would dominate inevitable coverage of the burning batteries and their subsequent recall. The issue should indeed have been a main component of crisis war games at Dell. Once the recall was inevitable, Dell can reasonably have anticipated the necessity to talk loud and clear about air flight safety, and it should have been prepared to do so at the earliest possible moment. By delaying any announcement, Dell harmed its position on multiple fronts. It allowed the Consumer Product Safety Commission to define the story and cloak itself in the garb of public protector. Nor was the agency shy about describing the recall as the largest computer-related recall in history. The magnitude of the disaster became an integral part of the story reported in the first few paragraphs of both the Austin American-Statesman and Wall Street Journal Online on August 15th. Words like largest or first or worst become the story itself.   At the strategic level, theres a best practice called Bad News All At Once predicated on the time-tested wisdom that full and fast disclosure shortens the life of most stories. In fact, the art of both Investor and Consumer Relations supports this best practice almost every time. Investors want nothing more than closure, a sense that a crisis, no matter how multifaceted, will be resolved in the immediate future. Consumers, meanwhile, can be wooed back, but not so easily if the story drags on indefinitely, a new twist on each front page edition.   Bad News All at Once contains bad news in the exact meaning of the word contain. By stanching the flow of revelations, the story is separated from events that may still lie ahead. There are times when major news, like a terrorist plot or a hurricane, can indeed minimize attention to your story. Its a factor to weigh but not simply assume. In Dells case, the terrorist revelation magnified its crisis to an extent that must have been unimaginable when the company first decided to delay. Now theres the Securities and Exchange Commission account practices probe to further elongate the Dell litany. Unlike the terrorist story, this time bomb has been ticking since last year. There may be good practical and legal reasons why Dell did not reveal this material event. On the positive side, Dell seems to have done a better job working with Sony to coordinate a response to the crisis by avoiding the no-win scenario weve seen in the past when major brands blame each other in the national media. Customers do not care who is at fault. They only care that the problem gets fixed.   Even here, Dells performance was, unfortunately, less than perfect. In the opening paragraphs of those August 15th stories, we read that Dell blamed Sony for the problem. Only further down in the Austin story and nowhere in the Journal story does a Dell spokesperson express confidence in Sony. The fact that many other computer manufacturers may face the same product liability represents an opportunity for Dell to offer some sort of industry-wide support to safeguard products. Such an initiative would underscore Dells public safety leadership even as it reminds the world that it is not the only computer company with a problem. It is a company that is resolved to correct the problem and it deserves the recognition for doing so. Here are some basic lessons learned from the Dell laptop battery crisis:   Predict the future. Play war games. Had Dell done so, they might have anticipated that their exploding batteries were an airline disaster story waiting to happen, even without the terrorist plot that ultimately magnified the story. In determining when to disclose, watch for material events and early warning triggering mechanisms that compel public disclosure as soon as possible. Disclosing Bad News All At Once shortens the life of a negative story and contains it by preempting substantive links to other stories. An industry-wide public safety leadership role generalizes the problem beyond your own company. Adjustment of CMP/CCP Dell is reaching out into the world of blogs and user-generated media. Perhaps the most potent and valuable business lesson Dell has absorbed from its experiences lies in the way the company has taken into its business methods the idea of dialogue with its consumers. In the following blog post by Lionel Menchaca Dell digital commerce manager, he outlines in turn each of the advantages of opening a dialogue with customers online. It is worth reprinting the post in full and highlighting the lessons Lionel identifies: 1. Brands can quickly learn about and address, product bugs and issues; 2. Brands can open an additional communication channel for customer service; 3. Brands have to listen to their consumers and that means monitoring the web; 4. Brands can use blogs to help manage crisis communication; 5. Brands can enhance off-line conversations with consumers based on what they have learnt online; 6. Brands have to be honest and admit it when they get it wrong. Dell said: Our policy [towards blogs] in the past may have been look, dont touch. Today, its more like listen, and join the conversation the right way (Appendix 3). Conclusion The Dell Corporate Communications/Investor Relations teams focus was to engage key media, such as the New York Times, CNBC, and leading regional media, to ensure a wide distribution of the key messages. Within the first 12 hours of the recall, a Dell executive participated in interviews with the Today Show and Bloomberg TV and later in the process worked with global outlets such as BBC World News. Members of the Corporate Communications/Investor Relations team from around the world briefed industry analysts and responded to a number of inquiries from TV, radio, newspaper and wire services. The team faced challenges in responding to the volume of the media requests and with the expected quick turnaround of information. Team members across communications disciplines responded to help. The story shifted when Apple followed Dells recall 10 days later. At that time, none of the other PC manufacturers had made any statement that they could have been impacted by the same contaminated battery packs. Ultimately, Lenovo, Toshiba and Fujitsu also announced recalls, and eight weeks after the Dell announcement, Sony announced the recall of batteries used in its VAIO notebook line. Within 60 days after the recall launch, the story evolved from the initial but inaccurate perception that the battery issue was solely a Dell issue to the accurate story that the Sony battery cells were the sole cause of the issue. In the process, Dell became a model for Performance of Guggenheim Investments: An Analysis Performance of Guggenheim Investments: An Analysis Research Purpose This research aims to analyze and evaluate six different funds and their benchmarks and risk-free rates in order to compare the overall performance of the funds from Guggenheim Investments and the selected funds from three different asset managers. Research Design The research involved 60 monthly observations (from January 2012 to December 2016) to analyze the performance of the Guggenheim Investments and the selected different asset managers, Aberdeen, Wells Fargo, and Pimco, which were selected from the top 500 global asset manager (Towers Watson, 2016).   Three funds from Guggenheim Investments and three more funds from each asset manager, in total of six funds, were selected with similar investment strategies Small-Cap Blend, Mid-Cap Value and Large-Cap Blend for the consistency of the analysis.   The performance would be measured in term of return and risk based on statistical and financial theory.   The performance will be measured in term of return, risk and ratio. Findings All of the fund from Guggenheim Investments, from the results in this research, perform worse than the competitors funds in many ways. The ratios analysis shows lower level of risk rewarding from the poorer management of risk, the funds also generated lower level of return throughout the observation period. Furthermore, the regression analysis shows that all of the fund in this research utilize Fama French model effectively, but the competitors funds also utilized Carhart 4 Factors Model, incorporating the momentum factor which makes them perform better than the funds from Guggenheim Investments. Research Limitations Due to the small observation size, the daily and weekly volatility were ignored from this research.   In term of data quality, using OLS regression may not be efficient to analyze the data as the data consisted with unit-root, which was caused by the price drift. Research Implication The research should provide a good example of how could an investor conduct the statistical analysis of fund performance analysis using E-View 9 and Microsoft Excel.   The result of the research could support the investor, in term of analysis and decision making, to include funds as an asset class into their portfolio. Mutual fund has been around for many decades and is becoming more popular in both developed and emerging markets. As the mutual fund is managed by professional fund managers, it unlock many good features that non-professional investors desire such as well diversified portfolio, access to highly priced securities like bluechip stocks, infrastructure and real estates, or tracking any particular index which required a lot of money. Many mutual funds are provided by asset management companies, some are doing good, some are doing bad. The performance evaluation can be difficult for individual investors that are not specialized in this area of work. This research aim to provide basic knowledge and example of assessing the performance of mutual funds, both in terms of risk and return, to simplify this process for every investor in order for them to effectively and efficiently invest in mutual funds. Data Collection All of the numbers in this research including total return index of each fund and their benchmark, risk free rate are collected from Bloomberg Terminal. The funds fact sheets are directly downloaded from the asset managers website. The benchmarks that are used in this research are selected by using the same benchmark stated in the Guggenheim Investments fact sheets as the main benchmark. Three more supporting benchmark are selected by using the same category from MSCI, Russel, and SP. The Fama French and Momentum factor are collect from the data library of Tuck Business School at Dartmouth. Data Preparation After the data collection, they were processed via Excel Spreadsheet to apply the formulas in order to evaluate the performance of the funds, as well as several statistics.   In addition, the processed data from Excel would be exported to E-View 9 to estimate the regression model to apply CAPM, Fama French and Carhart Model. (Table 1 Funds Overview) According to the funds fact sheets, all the fund is passively managed as the funds objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation. The funds are also investing only in the United States of America. In this research, I additionally use Bloomberg category to match the characteristic of the funds in order to make a more distinctive and more consistent comparison of the similar funds. The main asset manager in this research is Guggenheim Investment and the comparable funds are from Aberdeen, Wells Fargo, and Pimco. The tables below show the statistical data of the funds in terms of simple calculated excess return and log calculated excess return. The returns can be calculated as the followings; The Average Logged Return   The monthly return of the fund and risk-free rate were calculated into logged return in order to calculate time-consistent return. The Arithmetic Mean Excess Return The Arithmetic Mean Excess Return can be calculated by deduct the country risk free rate, in this case US 3-month T-Bill Rate, from the return of the portfolio. (Table 2: Simple Return Statistic) (Table 3 Log Return Statistic) From the tables, we can observe that the funds from Guggenheim Investment generated lower return than the competitors and also have higher downside risk, which is semi-standard deviation. We will further observe the trend of each fund and its competitor and how it performs against the benchmark in these line graphs. (Figure 1 Performance Comparison: SSUAX) This line graph above and the following two graphs are calculated by setting the starting point as 100, and then increase exponentially with the excess return in that period. The illustration shows that both SSUAX and GSXAX effectively track the benchmark from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2014. After that point, SSUAX started to underperform the benchmark and GSXAX started to outperform the benchmark. The trend tends to persist to the present. (Figure 2 Performance Comparison: SEVAX) The graph above show the strong underperforming trend of SEVAX, while CBMAX can effectively replicate the benchmark since the starting point of the observations. However, both funds still have the same pattern as the benchmark. This should due to difference in the weight of the assets allocation. (Figure 3 Performance Comparison: SECEX) This graph illustrate that PSPAX slightly outperform the benchmark for almost the whole period of the observation, while SECEX still able to replicate the pattern of the benchmark but slightly underperform the benchmark. Standard Deviation and Variance As the widely used mean dispersion or volatility measurement (Lhabitant, 2006), the variance and standard deviation capture the risk of an investment over time.   The larger the dispersion means the greater the value of both variance and standard deviation. With Microsoft Excel, the function STDEV.S() was used to calculate sample standard deviation from the logged return. Semi-Variance and Semi-Standard Deviation Focus only the downside, Semi-Variance and Semi-Standard Deviation present the downside risk of the distribution in term of dispersion to mean. Drawdown Risk Maximum Drawdown simply measures the largest percentage change between the peak price and low price during a specific period of an investment. Shortfall Risk Shortfall Risk measures the downside risk in term of probability that the downside will occur. Value at Risk The Value at Risk measures the maximum loss that a portfolio can be expected within an observation interval at a specified confidence level for example 95% or 99%.   Within this research, two type of method are introduced, the historical VaR and normal distribution VaR, where the confidence level was specified according to the historical distribution and normal distribution respectively. (Table 4 Risk Measurements) For small-cap and mid-cap funds, Guggenheim Investments tend to suffer from higher risk than its competitors as they have higher values in most of the risk measurements used in this research. On the other hand, the large-cap fund of Guggenheim Investments has better risk management than the competitor in all perspective. These risk measurements will affect the risk rewarding ratios in the next section. The ratios shown in this analysis can be calculated as the followings, Information Ratio    average excess return of the portfolio over the market benchmark return    standard deviation of The ratio is used to compare with the Sharpe Ratio of the asset as the Information Ratio is considered as the benchmarks Sharpe Ratio.   By comparing the asset Sharpe Ratio with Information Ratio, the higher Sharpe Ratio in compare to Information Ratio represent that the asset is outperforming the benchmark (Deborah, 2011). Sterling Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate average minimum drawdown over the observation period The ratio has similar meaning to reward-to-risk ratio.   It is used to measure the ability of the fund manager to control their risk to lower the portfolio drawdown. The Sterling Ratio as well as the following Burke Ratio are widely advertised by commodity trading advisors, who wish to highlight their perceived skill in letting profits run and cutting losses. Burke Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate sum square root of the minimum drawdown over the observation period The Burke Ratio assumes an investor to experience an increasing instead of a linear incremenal disutility as reaction to a one unit increase in drawdown. Sortino Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate semi standard deviation of This ratio considers the lower partial moment in the second moment, the semi-standard deviation, to measure the risk-premium of the asset in comparison to the downside volatility of that asset. Kappa 1 average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate semi-mean of excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate Kappa 3 average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate semi-skewness of excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate Treynor Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate sensitivity of the portfolio with the market The ratio considers the risk premium of the asset in compare to systematic component of an assets risk (Spaulding, n.d.). (Table 5 Risk Rewarding Ratios) From the table above, it is clearly shown that funds from Guggenheim Investment are highly inferior to its competitors in terms of risk rewarding return of every aspects, especially the information ratio, which measure how the fund outperform the benchmark. In this case, all Guggenheim Investment fund have highly negative information ratio, this shows that all the funds are underperformed the benchmark, which further confirmed the graph from previous section. We can conclude that the small-cap and mid-cap funds of the competitors can outperform the similar funds from Guggenheim Investment mainly because of the better risk management when the higher return further boost the ratios even higher. For the large-cap fund, although fund from Guggenheim Investments has a better risk management, it still suffer from lower return generated by itself, which make its risk rewarding ratios lower than its competitor. In this research, I run the regression based on the following models using EView, The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) The CAPM and the SML are included in the research to predict the expected relationship between the risk and return.   Using E-View, if the result from model (see appendix ) in term of ÃŽÂ ±_i or Jensen Alpha shows positive and significant, the asset is said to outperform the market benchmark and vice vesa. Fama French 3 Factors Model By applying some market anomalies to support the model, Fama-French Model included the empirical evidence that small stocks could outperform the large stocks and the high book value to market value stocks could also outperform the low ratio stocks. In this research, two factors that were included in addition to the CAPM model are the SMB (Small Minus Big) and HML (High Minus Low). Carhart 4 Factors Model   By applying more market anomalies to support the model, Carhart Model included the empirical evidence that the winner security will keep winning and the loser will keep losing, one factors that were included in addition to the Fama French model is the MOM (Momentum). (Table 6 CAPM Regressions) (Table 7 Fama French 3 Factors Regressions) (Table 8 Carhart 4 Factors Regressions) (Table 9 Correlation Matrix) From the regression tables above, we can see that most of the intercepts of the model are insignificant, indicate that the fund cannot outperform the benchmark. However, there are some intercepts that are statistically significant, but the value of those intercepts are very less likely to deviate from the benchmark, which make the decision whether the fund outperform or underperform the market becomes more difficult. We can further discuss more about this with the correlation tables, the tables show that the funds, both from Guggenheim Investment and from the competitors, have strong positive correlation (more than 0.95) with its own benchmark. From this point, we can imply that it is very difficult for these funds to outperform or underperform their benchmark due to the highly-correlated characteristic of them. In fact, we can say that these funds are doing well in tracking their benchmark. For Fama French model regression, the values are mostly significant when regress against its own factors, and not significant when regress with the other benchmarks. Furthermore, the regression results from this model confirm each fund objective and strategy. For SSUAX, the values for SMB are positively significant, which means that the small stocks are dominated in the portfolio, the values for HML are slightly positive and significant, meaning that the value stocks are also in the asset allocation of the funds. The Carhart 4 Factors Model regressions for this fund did not show any significant value for the MOM factor. As for GSXAX, the regression results are quite not clear, as we have both positively and negatively significant value of SMB and HML in the different regression. I therefore conclude that Fama French 3 Factors Model cannot effectively explain this fund. After using Carhart 4 Factors Model, the result shows the positively significant values for Market Risk Premium, SMB, HML, and MOM. This may conclude that the fund utilize the same strategies as SSUAX, but by following the momentum of the stocks makes this fund outperform SSUAX, which does not utilize the factor. SEVAX and CBMAX have the similar characteristic to SSUAX and GSXAX, this may due to the funds have closely related choice of investment for being mid-cap and small-cap funds respectively. The regression result still confirm that these two funds mainly invest in small, value stock as SMB and HML are positively significant. However, CBMAX has some evidence of incorporating momentum factor, as the MOM values are negatively significant, indicate that the fund is short selling the loser stocks. This may also help explain why CBMAX outperform SEVAX that does not effectively utilize momentum factor. SECEX and PSPAX can also be explained by Fama French 3 Factors Model, as the values for SMB and HML factors are all significant, but negatively. This as well confirm the investment strategies of these funds that mainly invest in big-cap stocks that lean toward growth style. We can also determine why PSPAX performs better than SECEX by looking into Carhart 4 Factors Model. PSPAX has positively significant MOM value indicated that it incorporated momentum factor in the strategy when SECEX does not. Noted that all model has very high level of adjusted r-squared, which means that the estimates are fitted and reliable. All of the fund from Guggenheim Investments cannot outperform the competitors funds. The funds show poorer risk measurement which result in worse risk rewarding ratio. The regression analysis indicate that the funds also have poorer choice of asset allocation compare with the competitors. The use of Carhart 4 Factors Model clearly shown strong evidence of higher return as seen in the competitors funds. In the funds selection, the investors should not only consider the return, but should also consider the level of risk that one is willing to take in order to match each individual risk profile and maximize ones the utility. Appendix 1: Fund Fact Sheets SSUAX http://fulfillment.marketpowerweb.com/showpdf-sku.cfg?clientcode=rdxsku=SGIFS-SCVA SEVAX http://fulfillment.marketpowerweb.com/showpdf-sku.cfg?clientcode=rdxsku=SGIFS-SMCV SECEX http://fulfillment.marketpowerweb.com/showpdf-sku.cfg?clientcode=rdxsku=GIFS-QTR-SLCC GSXAX http://www.aberdeen-asset.us/doc.nsf/Lit/FactsheetUSOpenSmallCap CBMAX https://www.wellsfargofunds.com/assets/edocs/fact-sheet/equity-fund/cb-mid-cap-value-retail.pdf PSPAX https://www.pimco.com/handlers/displaydocument.ashx?c=693390403wd=Fund%20Fact%20Sheetfn=StocksPLUS%20Fund%20Institutional.pdfid=JJRUIU9YBGygdBZkoxEM7%2b9RTHXIxyZIw0T%2bDne2n4UiurFgvuWSI8U3wKrDgiR8kjwOaIhElyjPQMcsZ%2bacURlLGpyqDSkrerDNZSiUec1YccO167PpDiuxswUDimVQPGA3zF19hjqoyfUcbclAy6QGDvzW7jER5g0rHppMRCXw703Hec%2bRG7KS%2fxoNdq5X%2bSjJwmdqQmUxuiAz3vlHMWzvm6AuGcBMvm21xM%2byPTeKc0imjl19hPI6kgDYi4pvkIWF4XaSXGC0Freoikh1YeOJlv6DRnEAICWDdyOS1bGFTMAt9JLXeE1YpNtVmWJlatcNbvkEsFiINtBzcupchii02oWEi0VYYMm6kkgLZr%2fAWYpymqhkFshcCdH5SgFvTOY9sv5cj6nt9YakDxDe6lTPMwDnUGIKX3H8b39X0JMtY6B3Y6f8HSGl5ylRsRIh Appendix 2: Assets Allocation Bodie, Z.; Kane, A. Marcus, A. (2014) Investments. 10th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Deborah Kidd, CFA (2011). The Sharpe Ratio and the Information Ratio. Online at https://www.cfainstitute.org/learning/products/publications/ipmn/Pages/ipmn.v2011.n1.7.aspx (accessed on 16-03-2016) William C. Spaulding (n.d.). Portfolio Performance. Online at   http://thismatter.com/money/investments/portfolio-performance.htm (accessed on 16-03-2016) Lhabitant, F.-S. . (2006) Handbook of Hedge Funds. Chichester: John Wiley Sons Chap 19 20

In Praise of Jared Diamonds Guns, Germs, and Steel Essay -- Wealth En

In Praise of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond's bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel (GG&S) is an attempt to explain why some parts of the world are currently powerful and prosperous while others are poor. Diamond is both a physiologist and a linguist who spends a good deal of his time living with hunter gathers in Papua New Guinea. As a researcher and as a human being, he is convinced that all people have the same potential. Hunter gatherers are just as intelligent, resourceful, and diligent as anybody else. Yet material "success" isn't equally distributed across the globe. Civilization sprung up in relatively few places and spread in a defined pattern. I should emphasize that Diamond doesn't equate material prosperity with well-being or virtue. He's just curious about the global distribution of bling bling. Diamond's hypothesis is that geography gave certain groups big initial advantages. Specifically, some places are more conducive to domestication of plants and animals. Most people think that domestication is just a matter of capturing animals and breeding them in captivity. This is a misconception. Domesticated species of plants and animals have undergone major genetic changes through years of selective breeding. Compared to their wild ancestors, the major cereal crops are more nutritious, quicker to germinate, and easier to sow and harvest. Domestic animals are more docile, easier to train, and generally more suited to life in captivity. Diamond's key point is that not every wild species is equally susceptible to domestication and that domesticable species are not evenly distributed across the globe. Wild horses and camels had the "right" stuff, reindeer not so much. As modern attempts to domesticat... ...ccupied with gathering and child rearing. In other societies, some people can devote their time to science, technology, philosophy, politics, finance and the other cultural roles that define state societies. There's nothing in Diamond's book to suggest that he is anything but a friend of the Enlightenment. He's a practicing scientist who attempts to analyze historical trends in scientific terms. He is also a sympathetic interpreter who respects and admires human diversity. He believes in progress, but he doesn't assume that technologically advanced people are superior or even uniformly better off. Finally, he affirms the values of the Enlightenment by suggesting how we can use history and science to build more prosperous, stable, and just societies. Source Cited Diamond, Jared M. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. New York: Norton, 1997.

Viral Hemorrhagic Fever :: science

Viral Hemorrhagic Fever How would you like it if you died? Well that’s what’s happening to people in Africa. Their families die around them, spreading the deadly disease further into the ecosystem. Killing at will, this potent filovirus sweeps through villages with reckless abandon, destroying anything and everything in it’s way, and then just as mysteriously as it came, it disappears without a trace. Even with our modern technologies, we still don’t really know too much about this death sentence disguised as a virus. In the following, I will do my best to teach you about Ebola, its cousins, where it’s from, possible cures, effects, and so on. If we want to, we can find a cure. We control our destiny, and it’s up to us to find an anecdote to this killing machine. The Ebola virus is a highly contagious filovirus that can be transmitted by re-use of unsterilized syringes, needles, and directly transferring it by contact of bodily fluids that contain high levels, or "bricks" of virus. Aerosol transmission cannot be counted out, but water vapor containing secretions of Ebola are known to spread the infection. Seeing that Ebola can be spread in numerous ways, including being spread from animal to human, and visa-versa, monkey handlers who work with Ebola ridden monkeys have broken out with the infamous hemorragic fever. The animal-to-human spread of the virus has also killed off African tribes that eat animals with high titers of the deadly virus. Ebola is an infectious disease of many faces. It has strains, such as Mayinga, or Cardinal, which are mainly named after people, or places that they are discovered in. Strains are slightly different versions of a certain virus. Ebola’s three types that are known are: Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, and Ebola Reston. Ebola Zaire was first discovered in 1976 in Zaire. It is the deadliest disease of all of the Ebola strains with a 9 out of 10 kill rate (see fig. 1-1). Ebola Sudan kills over 1/2 of the people it comes in contact with. It was discovered in 1976 also. Ebola Reston was named after Reston, Virginia, which had a shipment of cynomolgus macaques, a type of monkey, infect a whole monkey house with Ebola. Ebola Reston has never killed anyone, but it killed 80% of the monkeys that it devastated. Ebola also has a very close cousin, Marburg. Under an electron microscope, they are clearly filoviradae.

gatcolor Color Code in The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

The Color Code in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby is full of symbolism. Colours, for example, are used to represent many different things; some even represent a theme of the novel. White, yellow, grey, green are just some of the colours which Fitzgerald uses in a special way, because each of these colours has a special meaning, different from the ones we regularly know or use. White is a colour which appears many times throughout the novel. At first, it is used to describe Daisy. The first thing Nick mentions when he sees Daisy in East Egg is that she is wearing a white dress. This colour is related to Daisy, it is "her" colour. Daisy´s clothes are always white, her car is white, she even speaks about her "white childhood". This colour represents her purity, her innocence, her unperturbed self. But "white" is not as innocent as it seems...When Gatsby takes Nick for a ride in his car, he is stopped by a policeman. Gatsby acts fast and shows the officer a white card, and the latter immediately excuses himself. At first, Gatsby makes Nick believe that it was a Christmas card sent to him by the commissioner, but later on we learn that Gatsby had bribed the police officer. So, in contrast, "white" also represents corruption. "White" can also be related to Tom, who is the perfect example of a racist man. He believes that black people should disappear, and is very concerned about a book he has recently read called The Rise of the Coloured Empire. He believes that white is the superior race. So, black and white are used to show how racism affected people from the high classes at that time. While riding in Gatsby´s car, Nick sees a limousine driven by a white chauffeur and ridden by black passengers, members of the high society. This shows how strongly black people fought to conquer or fulfil their so-called "American Dream", which at that time was even more difficult for black people (former slaves) than for white ones. Another important colour, which calls our attention at the beginning, when we meet Gatsby, is green. When Nick sees Gatsby for the first time in his backyard, he notices that Gatsby is looking intensely at a green light in the distance, with his arms stretched towards it, as if trying to reach it.

Welfare Reform

All Forms of Government Welfare Should be Abolished By: Michelle M. Flores 12/11/08 Strayer University PHI 210 Professor James Poteet All Forms of Government Welfare Should be Abolished Welfare is defined as â€Å"governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in need. † (wordnet. princeton. edu). There are many programs that are currently implemented to aid and assist families in need. Under new laws, Maryland has re-named its assistance programs to Family Investment Programs.Some of these programs include: TCA- Temporary Cash Assistance, Food Stamps, WIC – Women Infants and Children Program, Child Care Assistance, Medical Assistance, Section 8- housing assistance, Energy Assistance and many other programs. To qualify for such programs, a family must have a minor child or a pregnant woman, and the parent must have applied for child support from the absent parent. It is said that the family applying must show a need for assistance. (peoples-law. org). Currentl y, the United States is in a financial recession. This recession has made many Americans rely and depend on such assistance from the Government.With all of these and many more programs implemented, when is enough, enough? How much assistance should be offered to a single family or person? What programs are actually necessary and/or beneficial? I will provide a brief synopsis of a few programs below. Temporary Cash Assistance Temporary Cash Assistance is a government allowance in the form of cash. Qualifications for this program are as follows: Household sizeGross Income 1 person or a pregnant woman$216. 00 a month or less 2 persons$380. 00 a month or less 3 persons$482. 0 a month or less 4 persons$583. 00 a month or less 5 persons$675. 00 a month or less (peoples-law. org). The current minimum wage in Maryland is $7. 25. (epi. org). This means that a single person or pregnant woman cannot work anymore than thirty two hours a month or eight hours a week to qualify for this benefit. T he average person works at least thirty to forty hours per week, which is about four times the qualifying allowance. What kind of job will allow a person to work only eight hours a week?How is this fair to those who work more than that and are still struggling to get by living paycheck to paycheck? It’s not! Are these families using this cash assistance to help pay bills or to live lavishly? What type of control is used here? There is no control, so absolutely none. Now, I am not saying that families who receive cash assistance should not be able to buy luxury or feel good items, but these items should not be a priority before bills are paid. If you cannot afford to keep your lights on, you should not be in the bar buying alcohol or in the salon getting your hair and nails done. This is absurd!I love to see my tax dollars going to hair nails on a woman that is not working, but yet I work full time and cannot afford to have my hair and nails done as often as those women do. SN AP SNAP otherwise known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the new name for the Food Stamp Program. SNAP is a government allowance that provides needy families with the benefit to buy food. This program provides a family with a card similar to a debit or credit card that holds the benefits allotted to said family. If a person or family qualifies for cash assistance, they will automatically qualify for SNAP.The income guidelines are as follows: Household SizeGross IncomeNet Income 1 person$1,127. 00$867. 00 2 persons$1,517. 00$1,167. 00 3 persons$1,907. 00$1,467. 00 4 persons$2,297. 00$1,767. 00 5 persons$2,687. 00$2,067. 00 (peoples-law. org). With minimum wage at $7. 25 per hour, a person can work an average of one hundred and seventy two hours a month for an average of about thirty two hours a week.What are the problems with this program? How do we make certain that the needy families and children of those needy families are actually receiving the allotted benefit s? The government cannot control this either. Many times these benefits are sold to those who are not needy for half or less than what they are really worth. Meaning, a person not being supplied with this benefit can buy the card from a needy person and go into a market and buy a hundred dollars worth of groceries for only fifty dollars. The non-needy person has then saved a lot, but the child of a needy family is at home with less available food.This sickens me that a parent can literally take out of their child’s mouth just to get cash to do God knows what with. WIC WIC is the Women, Infants and Children Program. This program covers pregnant women, new mothers and children under five who have a nutritional need. The income guidelines here are: Family SizeIncome per monthIncome per year 1 person$1,604. 00$19,240. 00 2 persons$2,159. 00$25,900. 00 3 persons$2,714. 00$32,560. 00 4 persons$3,269. 00$39,220. 00 5 persons$3,824. 00$45,880. 0 This program supplies mothers with inf ants or young children with milk, cheese, beans, oatmeal, cereal and several other nutritious items. This program is very beneficial to the family, as it maintains the health of babies, young children and mothers. I feel as though this is a wonderful program. With every up there is a down. Welfare fraud is huge in America. Welfare fraud is described as â€Å"the intentional misuse of various state funded Welfare programs. † (spamlaw. com). Fraud comes in many forms and may consist of withholding income, household size information or providing false information to obtain benefits.Here we have people obtaining benefits and are not deserving of them. One for instance is the purchasing of the SNAP card. Welfare fraud is very expensive. â€Å"It costs the system millions in misused benefits every year. † (spamlaw. com) â€Å"Welfare fraud has been widely criticized by advocates of the system because this abuse makes funds less available to those who actually need the benef it. It has also been criticized by opponents of the system who believe the crime creates situations where hard working taxpayers are supporting the middle class and a lavish lifestyle for criminals.These critics have coined the terms ‘welfare Cadillac’ or ‘welfare Queen’ to instances or individuals associated with welfare fraud† (spamlaw. com). All actions of welfare fraud should be avoided if you are approached to be involved in such acts. These crimes are punishable by the full extent of the law. If a person is convicted of welfare fraud and put in prison, are our tax dollars not going to further take care of them? In prison inmates are fed, clothed and nursed to health. Not to mention they have to be guarded by correctional officers or policing staff.Wow, what a vicious cycle. We take the benefits from them in the free world, but then again support them in the locked up world. I am so glad that my hard earned tax dollars are supporting such trash. The new changes in the Welfare program were created to help families achieve independence. What is the government doing to help achieve such independence? What programs are implemented to get these needy families back into the work force, not to depend on the government? The Welfare reform in the early 1990’s led to a huge reduction in Welfare dependency. Under the old AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependant Children) program, states were given more federal funds if their welfare caseloads were increased, and funds were cut whenever the state caseload fell. This structure created a strong incentive for states to swell the welfare rolls. Prior to the reform, one child in seven was receiving AFDC benefits. † (Conn Carroll). At this time, President Clinton created programs that allowed families to learn new skills and help them transition back into the work force. This reduced Welfare dependence and required welfare recipients to prepare for employment.This is what really nee ds to be done. However, with the new financial crisis that the United States is currently seeing, it is harder for those with minor skills to obtain work. President Obama has enacted stimulus bill that abolishes welfare reform and adds new welfare spending. â€Å"It is clear that – in both the House and the Senate stimulus bills – the original goal of helping families move to employment and self-sufficiency and off long term dependence on government assistance has instead been replaced with the perverse incentive of adding more families to the welfare rolls.The House bill provides four billion per year to reward states to increase their Temporary Cash Assistance case loads; the Senate bill follows the same policy but allocates less money. † (Rector & Bradley). This is crazy. The funds should be allocated by the amount of unemployment per state, not a gross figure overall. There are some states that are better off financially than others. The funds should be divi ded accordingly. â€Å"In the first year after enactment of the stimulus bill, federal welfare spending will explode upward by more than twenty percent, rising from $491 billion in FY 2008 to $601 billion in 2009.This one year explosion in welfare spending would be, by far, the largest in U. S. history. † (Rector & Bradley). Since the enactment of the welfare reform in the early 1990’s, many Americans have become less dependent on the welfare system. Clinton gives great thanks for being re-elected partially due to his signing of the welfare reform bill. Great job and wonderful efforts President Clinton! In my opinion Welfare is an incentive for people to sit at home and not work, to not be responsible for themselves or their families. Don’t get me wrong, I do see a need for assistance programs, only when necessary.Do I think that all forms of government welfare should be abolished? No, I do not. Surprised by this answer? I knew you would be. I agree that these p rograms should be implemented for those who are in crisis and desperately need them. These programs should not be used and abused at American’s leisure. Considering the tough economic times we are in right now, I agree that many Americans need help. Especially those who have lost their jobs and those who are aggressively seeking employment, but cannot find it. However, this help should only be temporary.New reform needs to be implemented. Education and services need to be offered to get people back into the work force and off of government dependency. With all of the current programs offered, me as a single mother has a huge incentive to quit my job, stay at home and collect all the government has to offer. Then, I may be able to buy lobster in the grocery store rather than 80/20 ground beef. WORKS CITED Carroll, C. (2009). Stimulus Bill Abolishes Welfare Reform. Retrieved November 7, 2011 from http://blog. heritage. org/2009/02/11stimulus-bill-abolishes-welfare-reform/print/ Fox, L. 2007). What a new Federal minimum wage means for the United States. Retrieved November 7, 2011 from http://www. epi. org/publications/entry/ib234/ Rector, R. and Bradley, K. (2009, February). Stimulus Bill Abolishes Welfare Reform and Adds New Welfare Spending. Web Memo No. 2287 Published by the Heritage Foundation http://www. peoples-law. org/income/gov-ben/family_investment_program. htm What is Welfare Fraud? Retrieved November 7, 2011 from http://www. spamlaws. com/welfare-fraud. html http://wordnetweb. princeton. edu/perl/webwn? s=welfare

Martin Buber and The Way of Man Essay

Martin Buber is todays whiz of the most important representatives of the kind- witnessted spirit. He was born in capital of Austria in 1878, cigarettevas doctrine and the recital of art at the University of Vienna and of Berlin. In 1916 he founded Der Jude, a periodical which he edited until 1924 and which became under his guidance the lead organ of the Ger gentle cosmoss gentle homo- mou subject Jewry. Professor Buber has compose widely in the fields of doctrine, education, philosophical system of religion, community, sociology, psychology, art, Biblical interpretation, Judaism, Hasidism, and Zionism.Bubers works outdo kn take in in America ac intimacy I and deoxyguanosine monophosphate, the classical statement of his philosophy of dialogue, Between patch and hu compositionity, Eclipse of deity, The Tales of the Hasidism and the carriage of man The way of man is a book by martin Buber which would seem to be simple nevertheless a mortal who read it through and appr eciate they fill understood it fully, when in circumstance they possess disc all overed nonwithstanding unity or deuce dimensions of its message. E very(prenominal)thing that is in I and Thou is also implicit in The direction of human race, but it is in t here in a much much than sozzled form.I and Thou is compact too, but The route of Man is much more(prenominal) compact, yet still adequate and pregnant with meaning. It almost demands that you read it again and again, its meanings atomic number 18 hidden in between the lines, so the great unwashed who atomic number 18 meditative in reading could agnize the meanings of the book and the intuition in that little book. And if The mode of Man is short, deceptively simple and heavy with meaning, the pass dream that frequently came to Buber is point more so.His description of this dream is precisely unmatch equal page long, but for those who harbour a good understanding of how dreams sometimes speak the deeper lan guage of the message and spirit, this dream is a rich and originful adept indeed. And the fact that it recurred to Buber several times is itself signifi fuckingt. Recurrent dreams argon often, match to Carl Jung, our nouss (or gods? ) attempt to tell us something extremely important intimately our deepest well- existence, and they gain to recur because we argon so kind to hearing whatever the message is that they are trying to t from distributively(prenominal) one us. So Buber saying this dream as a in particular signifi keistert one.The Influence of Hasidism in The Way of Man Alrailyardgh his existence as a modern Western man has make it impossible for Buber to sound a Hasid, it is to Hasidism, more than to any(prenominal) new(prenominal)(a) single cite that he has gone for his image of what modem man can and ought to catch. For Hasidism, as for Bubers philosophy of dialogue, one can non love matinee idol unless one loves his fellow man, and for this love to be original it must be love of each particular man in his created singularity and it must take roll for its sustain stake and non for the sake of any reward, even the salvation or idol of ones intellect.Hasidism is a religious mysticism which hallows community and everyday vitality alternatively than with destinys from it, rejecting asceticism and the denial of the life of the senses in favor of the joy that can understand and re-direct the alien thoughts, or fantasies, that distract man from the love of beau ideal. fit in to Buber Despair, to Hasidism, is worse even than sin, for it leads one to believe oneself in the power of sin and hence to give in to it.One must overcome the pride that leads one to compare himself with others, but he must non forget that in himself, as in all men, is a unique observe which must be realized if the humans is to be brought to perfection. all(prenominal)one must put one over two bulges, give tongue to one Hasidic master. In his right pocket he must keep the words, for my sake was the adult male created, and in his left, I am dust and ashes. Hasidism stresses simple piety and ardour more than intellectual subtlety or the attempt to schematize heavenly mysteries.As every lock has its key which fits it, so every mystery has the meditation that circularises it, said a great Hasidic teacher. merely immortal loves the thief who rives the lock opens I mean the man who breaks his heart for graven image. According to Hasidism, the very qualities which make us what we occasion our special approach to deity and our possible use for Him. There is nonhing so crass or base that it cannot become material for hallowing. The profane, for Hasidism, is only a date for the not yet devoted. Hallowing commutes the evil urges by confronting them with holiness and making them responsible toward what is blessed.It is not in our inward devotion unaccompanied or in Freudian sublimation which uses the relative to the outer as a means to inner change, but in essential, joint relations with others that we are able to officiate paragon with our fear, anger, love, and sexual desire. What God asks of man is that he become humanly holy, i. e. , becomes holy as man, in the measure and in the manner of man. The kindred of God and Man God asks us questions that He already knows the answer to so as to key out us to examine ourselves. This is based on the belief that we are capable of subtle who and what we are by self-examination.The chief did not what to be called to examine himself because he was frightened of what he might find out. for each one human organism is unique, should seek to discover, past be himself and do what he ought to do in service to God. The way to make pass God is revealed when a soulfulness comes to understand who and what he or she is in their confess individuality in recognition of that inviolate which create and stirs those inner desires so guide that somebody to t hat absolute, which is God, by being what he or she ought be as God intends.Heart-Searching the Way of Man Man and Man Relationship The depute of man, of every man, according to Hasidic teaching, is to af self-coloured for gods sake the humans and himself and by this very means to transform both. There is a demonic question, a spurious question, which apes Gods question, the question of Truth. Its characteristic is that it does not stop at Where art thou? , but continues From where you have got to, there is no way out.This is the wrong kind of heart-searching, which does not prompt man to turn and position him on the way, but, by representing turning as hopeless, drives him to a point where it appears to have become stainlessly impossible and man can go on living only by demonic pride, the pride of perversity. Every single man is a saucily thing in the knowledge domain, and is called upon to fulfill his peculiarity in this world. Thus the way by which a man can dawn God is r evealed to him only through the knowledge of his own being, the knowledge of his essential fictional character and inclination.A man may only detach himself from nature in arrange to revert to it again and, in hallowed contact with it, find his way to God. whatsoever natural act, if followed, leads to God, and nature inevitably man for what no angel can bring to pass on it, namely, its following. only if just this perspective, in which a man sees himself only individual contrasted with other individuals, and a genuine person, whose duty period helps towards the transformation of the world, co rains the fundamental wrongdoing which Hasidic teaching denounces.The essential thing is to convey with oneself, and at this moment a man has nothing in the world to care closely than this beginning. Any other attitude would distract him from what he is slightly to begin, weakening his initiative, and thus frustrate the entire bold undertaking. Our sages say Seek slumber i your own place. You cannot find calmness anywhere saves in your own self. When a man has made peace at heart himself, he leave be able to make peace in the unscathed world. piece Beings as Treasures In their accredited essence, the two worlds are one. The goal here is integration.As Buber stated earlier, it is mans work to hallow creation, and here in section 6 to draw God into the world since God wants to come into the world through man. So the theme of The Way of Man comes together, integration. My life is a pass on so any treasure I have is not of my own making. I have a wonderful wife, two beautiful children, and my health, live in freedom, and have a good job and pecuniary stability. Any of these wonderful gifts could be interpreted from me at any time, so I must be careful as to what I put my trust in and what I value as my treasure. To have any lasting, ultimate value I must shop up treasures that are imperishable and of endless significance.My human births and the priorit ies I place on them will be of eternal significance, which the most important kind being with God. It is when I put my relationship with God first that all my other relationships begin to be what they ought to be. As somebody think of their marriage and their relationship with God functions wish well a triangle, the closer you both draw to God, the closer you will draw to each other. So treasuring the eternal has sublunar value as well. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 619-21)I would say this means God gives man voluntary He is a perfect human beings who will not enter where He is not invited, but will fain enter where He is. Body and understanding as Conflicting Entities There is a conflict betwe en body and reason where the person is not all of one piece. When one aspect attempts to lord over the other or tries to bring the other into submission, this is what is referred to as patchwork since there is disunity in the person. Resolution occurs when the core of the soul, the elysian troops is allowed to bind the conflicting desires of body and soul to act in concert as it is intended to be. When the desires of both body and soul are unified in invention and action, in absence of conflict, a person is being what he or she ought to be. In order to make peace with the world you must first be at peace with yourself. Often times we recommend hardest against that which we struggle with ourselves.In previous long time in struggled with atheism so Buber gravitated toward atheists seek debate and argument because I myself cherished answers doubt is very disintegrating. A duet of years ago he struggled with the step forward of free-will, despite the fact that he despises the i mplications of determinism Buber listened to and studied prominent Calvinists. He is not at ease with only listening to what he wants to hear because Buber views that as a form a self-brainwashing. As it is mentioned The way of man brings about and rather learns through conflict and antithesis.Relationship to God and Man Leads to Development Human beings are basically social beings who scramble each other for their daily needs and livelihood. Buber has given more importance to the relationship to god and man where one becomes truly human by fulfilling their existential nature. both(prenominal) these relations are essential for a human being for his personal growth as well as the exploitation of the society. In a society where the individuals get their behavior and character through firm relations, obviously the society also would show in all the dimensions.According to Buber, if person could nourish the relation with God and is not able to contact with human beings his life will be a visitation and vice versa. But as removed as the new age is concerned, we are becoming more self- point in character and in nature. Often times human beings relate with God and man in order to gain something, or to secure their lives in this world. Our culture has changed from the rich traditions, where people lived in harmony with each other, helped each other, obviously that was an other oriented era.Once there were villages where cultures had grown, people lived in faith and relations sprout same the tree in the river side. But nowadays there are concrete villages where people live in broken relations, off-key faiths and comforting life styles. Here Bubers thoughts are revolutionary to change the heart of the people. The way of man could bring about a paradigm shift in people, where only through healthy relationship human develops their behavior and character. Thus the philosophy of development could be a ingathering of the relations with God and the fellow beings . evidenceMost systems of belief the believer considers that the can execute a perfect relationship to God by renouncing the world of the senses and overcoming his own natural being. Not so the Hasid. Certainly, cleaving unto God is to him the highest aim of the human person, but to achieve it he is not required to fierceness the external and internal reality of earthly being, but to aver it in its true, God oriented essence and thus so to transform it that he can raise it up to God. Hasidism is no pantheism. It teaches the absolute transcendence of God, but as combined with his learned immanency.The world is an irradiation of God, but as it is endowed with an independence of existence and striving, it is apt, evermore and everywhere, to form a crust nearly itself. Thus, a divine start out lives in everything and being, but each such spark is enclosed by an isolating shell. except man can liberate it and re-join it with the blood by holding holy colloquy with the thing and using it in a holy manner, that is, so that his intention in doing so remains directed towards Gods transcendence. Thus the divine immanence emerges from the exile of the shells. But also in man, in every man, is a jam divine.And in man far more than in all other beings it can pervert itself can be apply by himself. This happens if he, Instead of directing it towards its origin, allows it to come off direction less and seize at everything that offers itself to it instead of following passion, he makes it evil. But here, too, a way to redemption is open he who with the entire force of his being turns to God, lifts at this his point of the universe the divine immanence out of its debasement, which he has caused. The task of man, of every man, according to Hasidic teaching, is to affirm for Gods sake the world and himself and by this very means to transform both.