Stochastic Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Stochastic Finance - Assignment Example (a). Using Yahoo finance I settled on three companies; AAC Holdings, Inc., 1347 Capital Corp. and Alexco Resource Corp traded at NYSE, NASQAD and AMEX respectively and obtained daily closing stock prices for each company for six consecutive weeks commencing 13th April 2015 to 22nd May 2015. (see excel calculations) (b). The table in the appendix 1 also shows the results of the calculation for the logarithmic daily changes in the closing stock price for each of the three companies for six consecutive weeks. The formula; The curve shown in the graph above clearly indicates the performance in the stock markets. The daily closing stock prices for AAC Holdings, Inc, a company in the NYSE markets tends to be stable by showing a regular trend in growth over the first few weeks. The growth rate however slows down in the last weeks. As compared to the scenario in AAC Holdings, Inc, the trend here is a steady upward growth till the end. This pattern in growth however cannot be reliably adopted to predict the future state of the stock price for 1347 Capital corp. Investors without proper analysis can easily be lured to invest in such stocks since they promise high level of returns in a short time but can also drop in value drastically. Alexco Resource Corp though in a different stock market (AMEX) has the lowest stock prices with an average of$ 0.41. At this price Investors are attracted to invest but only when the trend in growth is consistent. This case proves the same as the stock prices keep on going up for the entire six week period. Inflation weakens the value of the local currency against the foreign currency in other words foreign exchange (Ross, S. 2003). A general rise in prices for most of the products means that the input prices for production of various goods and services are rising. In this case market analysts and fund managers will always consider the net impact on the margin of the entity that they are tracking. Sometimes

Deconstruction of Trailer †Fight Club Essay Example for Free

Deconstruction of Trailer – Fight Club Essay At the start of the trailer for Fight Club it starts with the logo stating â€Å"Regency† and next the trailer introduces the character named Tyler quoting â€Å"I want you to hit me as hard as I can, how much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight† this showing that Tyler Durden played by Brad Pitt is one of the main characters in the film as he is shown first and with the quote showing that it’s a hard hitting film and that it gives you a rough idea of what’s going to happen. Next would be the mise-en-scene the film starts off with the two main characters standing outside having a conversation. The whole trailer has quite a low saturation of colour so connotes that it a Rolla coaster of a film that includes elements such as dark humour, fights, mental illnesses such as Insomnia, Schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder and inappropriate scenes and also the second main character which would be The Narrator who doesn’t have his name mentioned played by Edward Norton. In the film, sound plays a big role weather it being the narrator talking or the smashing of glass, shouting, songs it gives the film effect for example let’s start with the narrator and how he speaks it gives a sense of knowing and what the narrator says goes for example with the quote â€Å"This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time† showing how he see’s things, how things are and that it isn’t all fantasy. Next would be the conversations, arguments and occasional smashing of glass this shows that by all of this being in the trailer it would make people watch from the beginning till the end as audience would want to know more of what they are about to watch. Lastly in the end of the trailer the song by â€Å"The Pixies; Where’s my Mind† this song is fitting to the whole story as the film shows all different mental disorders and how life is. First off I’m going to start off with the editing, with fight club It’s a good example of angels and shots a few I picked out from the film would be Shot Reverse Shot, Cross Cutting, Establishing Shot, Reaction Shot and also a POV Shot. In the first few seconds of the trailer it examples an Establishing shot where the two main characters are talking it’s a wide angled shot where it shows everything on what happening with the characters.

Securitization of Transnational Crime

Securitization of Transnational Crime The securitisation of transnational crime refers to contemporary efforts to curtail crime flows that take place across international borders via dissolution of the existing distinctions between external and internal security systems, placing a greater emphasis in the process upon international cooperation with regards to global policing, border controls, travel and financial flows. In this way the economic, political and strategic obstacles standing in the way of a coherent fight against transnational crime can begin to be effectively removed. It should be noted that the securitisation of transnational crime has greatly accelerated in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks where lax international security was perceived to have facilitated not only the hijacking of the American planes that flew into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon but also the transference of money which made the suicide missions possible in the first place. Viewed from this perspective, it is consequently clear that the securitisation of transnational crime attempts in the first place to instil law, order and international cooperation in what Chris Dishman refers to the leaderless nexus where crime and terrorism converge. Thus, while the move towards a securitisation of transnational crime ought to be applauded we must take note of the essential paradox that exists with regards to attempts to legally solve a problem that operates wholly within the domain of the lawless. We should also take note of the way in which securitisation has become increasingly popular since 9/11 suggesting that it is in many ways a knee-jerk reaction to an unforeseen problem namely the convergence of trans-national crime and terrorism. Yet, due to the recent nature of international and regional security reforms, we should ultimately be wary of offering any definitive conclusions to policies that remain very much at an embryonic stage of development. However, although it is true that 9/11 has served to accelerate the securitisation of transnational crime (certainly as far as the collective West is concerned), it is also true that attempts to increase international cooperation in the face of rising global crime have been in existence before the spectre of trans-national terrorism became such a prominent international issue. For instance, Ralph Enmmers has charted the attempts of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its bid to effectively securitize crime within that geopolitical locale between 1996 and 1997 with the author noting that while member states have openly declared the link between regional security and transnational crime they have hitherto fallen short of implementing bilateral actions due to ongoing resistance to institutional reforms. Thus, as is the case with the UNs Transnational Organised Crime Convention, there remains a sizeable chasm to bridge between theory and practice concerning the securi tisation of transnational crime in the contemporary era.

The Use of Technology in Classrooms Essay examples -- Education Teachin

The Use of Technology in Classrooms Throughout the years technology has help advance our school system to make a teachers job easier. New technology enables teachers to get their point across to children in different ways, depending on what kind of learner the child is. Twenty-five years ago, there were no personal computers. Today, almost 30% of American households own a PC, and more than 60% of American students use computers in schools. The personal computer brought about many new advances into the classroom. Such as the Internet in 1993, which is used today in classrooms across the country. Then in 1998 video conferencing was introduced. Also, in that year The American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education pronounced the first â€Å"Innovative Use of Technology† award. This award gave credit to teacher education institutions that lead the way for the use of technology for other teachers in the profession. The Digital Revolution is also changing how we spend our free time. Watching television, playing video and computer games, as well as chatting on the Internet are all new ways we spend our time. The Internet provides accessible information by individuals at his or her own discretion. One may visit a place with a virtual tour; visit a library in another country, and a research town in India with equal ease. The student may even research news events in far greater depth than a print newspaper might print out, and political opinions (or opinions about topic) may be circulated worldwide in a matter of seconds. We are already speaking of likely changes in electoral and governmental processes, and of the widespread electronic money that everyone with Internet access can use. Instead of filling out long-winded col... ...for the mind:Teaching and learning in information and technology rich schools. 2nd ed. Raleigh, NC: The Landmark Project, 1999. Reksten, Linda E. Using Technology to increase student learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin P, 2002. Rose, David H. Teaching every student in the digital Age: Universal design for learning. Ed. Anne Meyer, et al. Alexandria, VA: Association for supervision and Curriculum Development, 2002. "Technology and Learning." Technology & Learning (n.d.). 01 Oct. 1993 <http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?jid=TLR&db=aph>. Technology for inclusion:meeting the special needs of all students. Ed. Mary Male. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2003. "Tech Trends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning." Assiciation for Educational Communications & Technology (1993). 01 Jan. 2004 <http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?jid=TTR&db=asp>.

Part Time Job Influenced Student’s Study Essay

The prevalence of secondary school students working part-time is linked to economic cycles: when there is an economic upturn, more students work; when economies are depressed, fewer work. Most students who work do so in low-paying service, clerical, or sales jobs, with some evidence that proportionately more students from middle-class families work than students from either poor or wealthy families. There appears to be a general view that there is a connection between working more than 15 to 20 hours per week and reduced school success in terms of academic achievement, as well as an increased risk of dropping out of school. However, it is not clear whether increased work causes the problems, or whether academic failure leads more students who are failing to increase their work hours. Literature Review A range of literature has been reviewed and some details from this literature are shared below. The prevalence of work It is not clear what proportion of students work, but in a (U. S. ) study of 21,000 senior high school students, 75% were working part-time for an average of 16. 4 hours a week (Gordon, 1985). The study found that working was related to a need for immediate income and to a lack of interest in school. In Canada, 40% of teenagers aged 15 to 19 had jobs in 1993, but these data include full-time summer jobs (Canadian Social Trends, Winter, 1994). B. C. teenagers are more likely to be employed than teenagers in Ontario, Quebec, or the Atlantic provinces, with 44% employed in B. C. Slightly higher teenage-employment rates than B. C. ’s were reported in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. When only part-time work is considered, 72% of those employed worked part-time. 3% of full-time Canadian students aged 15 to 19 worked during the school year. The Statistics Canada (StatsCan) data reported in Canadian Social Trends appear low in comparison to other data, but one possible explanation may be the differentiation between full- and part-time students, a difference not always clarified in some reports. Bernier (1995), using Canadian Labour Force data, found that 40% of Canadian full-time students participated in the labour force, compared to 77% of part-time students. There may be considerable differences across socio-economic groups, though there is little firm data to support this: Lawton (1992) states that middle-class students are more likely to work than either lower- or upper-class students. Lawton also indicates that about two-thirds of students in senior grades hold part-time jobs, findings closer to Gordon’s study than to the data supplied by StatsCan. The effect of working part-time on students’ academic achievement Most research shows that there is a detrimental effect on achievement if secondary students work for over 15 hours a week (Stern, 1997). Such students have lower grades, do less homework, are more likely to drop out, and are less likely to enter post-secondary education. Those students who work fewer hours suffer fewer negative consequences. These finding are supported by a Toronto study (Cheng, 1995), and are similar to StatsCan data (Canadian Social Trends, 1994), which show that students who worked fewer than 20 hours a week had much lower dropout rates than those who worked for more than 20 hours a week. There were startling differences between males who worked fewer than 20 hours (16% dropout rate), and those who worked longer than 20 hours (33% dropout rate), although the highest female dropout rates (22%) occurred among females who did not work at all while at school. There is one important caveat to the link between part-time work and marks: there is mixed evidence as to whether marks decline because students work more, or whether students whose marks are declining choose to work more. However, Singh (1998) in a study which factored in socio-economic status and revious achievement, stated that the more hours worked, the greater the negative effects on student achievement. The consequences for younger students working longer hours could be more severe than for older students (Barone, 1993). Many students who work find some problems balancing school and work demands (Worley, 1995). Many who work part-time have limited participation in extra-curricular activities (Hope, 1990). The effect of working part-time on students’ overall well-being Stern (1997) and Cheng (1995) both state that students derive benefits from working, as long as the hours are below 15 per week. Stern identifies a benefit to future earning potential and a more positive attitude to work formed while working or during work experience at school. These findings are also supported by Canadian data. However, Lawton (1992) argues that those who support this argument also tend to support a vocational rather than a liberal view of education. Greenberger and Steinberg (1986), in an analysis of psycho-social aspects of working high-school students, concluded that â€Å"it may make them academically rich but psychologically poor. They also argued that instead of instilling good work habits, many students who worked part-time learned how to cheat, steal, and deal with boring work. Mortimer (1993) found no evidence to support the claim that working long hours fostered smoking or increased school behaviour problems, but there was evidence of increased alcohol consumption. Other studies, however, have found increased drug and alcohol use, and higher rates of delinquency associated with hig her number of hours worked by students. A 1991 Oregon Task Force found the numbers of 16- and 17-year-olds who were working to have increased in recent years. Jobs were often low-paying, unfulfilling, and offered little in the way of educational value or preparation for adult work. Canadian data suggest that trends in teenage employment are linked to economic cycles, with numbers rising and falling with buoyant or depressed economies. Most Canadian students (69%) work in service, clerical, or sales industries, with more females (84%) than males (57%) in these industries. Four times the number of males (16%) compared to females (4%) were employed in construction. Research also indicates that too many hours of work for teenagers increases fatigue and may cause lower academic performance. Carskadon (1999) describes changing sleep patterns during adolescence and discusses the influence of employment on sleep patterns. She found that students working 20 or more hours reported later bedtimes, shorter sleep times, more frequent episodes of falling asleep in school, and more late arrivals in school. An article in the American Federation of Teachers’ publication, American Teacher (February 1999), cited a report produced by the (U.  S. ) National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) which provided evidence of what it claims is an underestimate of 70 documented deaths of children and adolescents as a result of injuries at work, and 100,000 young people seeking treatment in hospital emergency wards as a result of work-related injuries. Based on these data, a committee established by the NRC/IOM is calling for Congress to a uthorize limits to the number of hours worked per day by teenagers, and to regulate teenagers’ work start-and finish-times on school nights.

Rogers Chocolate

Introduction Rogers’ Chocolate is on a mission to have the company double or triple its size within 10 years. An analysis will be performed to figure out a strategic plan where Rogers’ Chocolate will be able to grow, and maintain their image of providing premium chocolates. The issue facing Rogers’ Chocolate is how they will be able to gain new customers and sustain their current customers. To give a thorough analysis, I will identify and explain the strategic issue, present the results of the analysis, and present alternative strategies. Finally, I will present my recommendation and conclude the analysis.Strategic Issue The strategic issue facing Roger’s Chocolate is how to grow the company by being able to gain new customers and still maintain their current customer base. The objective of Rogers’ Chocolate is to double or triple the size of the company within 10 years. By growing, this means that they will need more production, more employees, and more customers. Rogers’ Chocolate will need a strategy that will help position them to be able to grow the way they want it to. Analysis After reviewing Rogers’ Chocolates finances, they are good shape and have improved from 2005 to 2006.This improvement shows opportunity for the company to reach its objective of growing. According to their balance sheet, their current ratio for 2006 is 1. 366 (2,330,241/1,705,132) and 1. 245 (2,896,842/2,326,966) for 2005. These numbers show that they are able to continue to pay off their obligations. This means they are in a position where they shouldn’t go bankrupt. It also shows that Rogers’ Chocolate are just efficient enough in the sense of turning their product into cash. The company’s cash available for next year, 2007, is $74,744. This is down from what they had at the beginning of the year, $151,802.This may hurt them when trying to invest into new areas. The external environment of Rogers’ Chocol ate looks very promising. Godiva and Bernard Callebaut are the only ones that seem to threaten Rogers’ Chocolate position in the market. The other chocolate companies are of lower quality and price but still compete with Rogers’ Chocolate. Godiva’s chocolates are priced higher but lower quality. Bernard Callebaut’s chocolate are similar to Godiva’s in price, are in similar locations as Rogers’ and are also good in new introductions and seasonal products. They are also superior to Rogers’ when it comes to their packaging.The internal environment doesn’t look well for Rogers’ Chocolate. With very few employees who do multiple jobs, Rogers’ seems like they are not able to handle their demand for their product. Also their issue with out of stock product causes many problems when trying to keep up with other demands. Strengths for Rogers’ Chocolates include liquidity and their differentiation from other competit ors. Roger’s is in a good position financially. They are not in the best position but are in a good enough position to make changes and improvements. Rogers’ is also efficient.Once, again they are not at their best, but are efficient enough to be a successful competitor. They are also very strong in their image. They are able to differ from their competitors with high quality chocolate and an image that is known locally. Rogers’ weaknesses are cash flow and production. Although Roger’s Chocolate is not in a position to go bankrupt, they have limited cash to invest into improving their operations. With the low amount of cash they have, they may have to borrow in the future. Another weakness is their production efficiency. A low number of employees and bad planning causes their production to be slow and inefficient.Inventory management and out of stock problems cannot continue if Rogers’ want to be able to grow into the company they want it to become . Rogers’ Chocolates has several opportunities. One opportunity is to maintain their current image to introduce new products to compete with Bernard Callebaut. Having a new product to compete can help can new customers and new market share. Another opportunity is to provide lower quality chocolates to reach a new target market. Being able to acquire a new market may bring those new customers to their current market.The main threat to Rogers’ chocolate is the competition. Not being able to keep up with the competition or current trends can lead to lost market share. With Godiva having superior packaging, distribution, and price points, and Bernard Callebaut having superior packaging and seasonal influence, Rogers’ Chocolate could be falling behind soon if they do not join the ranks. Rogers’ must find their niche in order to be able to compete not just locally, but globally. Alternative Strategies Rogers’ Chocolates will need to gain new customers if they want to grow the company.To gain new customers, Rogers’ must take a risk a re-brand themselves with a new packaging design to create a new image. Implementing a new brand image will gather a new crowd of consumers that Rogers’ did not reach with its current image. To be able to do so, Rogers’ will need some financial help in order to invest money into the new packaging design and image that they want to create. They will also need new store displays and marketing tools to be able to push the image to customers. By creating this new image, they run the risk of losing their current customers.The new image that Rogers’ creates will grab the attention of a new market that will help gain market share that they currently do not have to aid in the growth of the company. For growth to happen, Rogers’ must be more efficient in production. The problems caused by out of stocks and bad planning are causing Rogers’ to not be as successful. When pro duction plans are put on hold to finish special orders, it is not a good sign. Production should be a continuous flow. To change the production efficiency, Rogers’ will have to hire more employees so their current ones are not doing multiple functions.They will also need to use the correct data when planning production and forecasting next year’s sales. Once again, money will be needed to hire and train new employees, as well as changing the planning method. Rogers’ risk is that the employees may not be as happy when new hires come, since a lot of the employees are third generation employees. Also, another risk is that the new planning may cause the same problems such as discounting products or even wrong forecasting. Another way for Rogers’ to grow is to boost their online presence. Since social media is growing, Rogers’ could take advantage of it to gain traffic to their website.By doing so, not only will sales go up, but they will also be able t o reach a new age group of 18-34, who use online shopping. This will give them new customers that will start to aid in replacing the aging customers that Rogers’ currently have. Since social media is a low cost, not a lot of money will be needed, although it may be a good idea to hire a social media consultant to handle all the work. The only risk that I see Rogers’ facing is throwing away money if sales do not increase. If social media and a larger online presence are not working, Rogers’ could face a situation where they are not on the receiving end.They will need to research who the online customer base really is to gain information on how to market to that segment. Not only will a larger online presence grow the company, but also moving business to the United States will help in the growth as well. Opening up retail stores in the US will help Rogers’ to start to gain a global presence. The way that Rogers’ retails their products shows that they know how to do it locally. To be able to reach the US, they will need to put a lot of effort into research the market on how to market to US customers.In their current retail stores, they display their products to suit the season with a Victorian theme. Rogers’ will need to do the same for the US, but use the information gathered to create displays and marketing tools that will gain a following. By changing to fit and gain sales in the US, Rogers’ has the risk of losing their current image as well as spending a lot of money just to gain customers that they may not get. This is the riskiest strategy. They will spend a lot of money by building retail stores and staffing them and marketing to a new segment. The risk of having their image ruined is also a risk.Since Rogers’ is well rooted in tradition, this may cause a stir among employees and their customers. Recommendation After reviewing the analysis and the alternative strategies, Rogers’ has several way s to achieve growth. I recommend that Rogers’ re-brand themselves with new packaging and marketing tools. Although there is a risk of losing current customers, I believe that is a very small risk. People who buy Rogers’ Chocolates are very loyal customers and have been buying them for years. Rogers’ is a company based of providing premium chocolate with high quality.Changing the image will not affect the quality of their chocolates, but rather gain new customers they don’t currently have and be able to compete against Godiva and Bernard Callebaut. The image that Rogers’ needs to create is an image that will still hold its tradition, but at the same time be edgy enough to strengthen its packaging, advertising, and distribution. This will allow new customers to get to know what Rogers’ Chocolates is and be able to keep the current ones coming back. Conclusion As you can see, Rogers’ chocolates objective is growth for the company.An anal ysis was performed to show the current financial and environmental state Rogers’ is currently in. after reviewing the analysis, I found that Rogers’ is in a good position to grow and again market share using their current products. I recommended that Rogers’ Chocolates create a new, edgy brand image to gain a new customer base. This will keep their current, loyal customers and help gain new customers who are soon to be loyal as well. Rogers’ has put themselves in a position to make this strategic decision in order to grow the company into a market leader.