PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ESSAY

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ESSAY ï » ¿ Personal experience essay is all about you and your personal perception of something that has happened to you. The most important thing about personal experience essay is to consequentially realize all the benefits the personal experience that you have received after living through it. Instructors want to see your ability to write, to put events into logical order, to see your ability to use English, and your ability and desire to learn from your own experiences. This is the secret that have just shared with you. The personal experience essay is your chance to communicate with the world and to have opportunity to show yourself from the inside. Â   Another important aspect of personal experience essay is your ability to show in the writing how you have benefited from it. Perhaps the chosen personal experience has taught you completely new things. Perhaps, you have changed your mind and opinion on the things that you disliked or ignored before. Everything in your personal experience that you choose to show does matter. Keep your essay structure according to the essay guidelines. If help needed, we are ready to help you to write original personal experience essay today. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ESSAY Any type of personal experience essay will start with the particular event selection. Creating personal experience essay is an exciting process and the main focus of this essay is your unique personality. There are several ways to go around writing this type of essay. First is to depict an story or experience that made your laugh. The second is to present a story that has changed you as a person and you became wiser in many ways. You can describe the event in your life that you are proud of and you have benefited from. Or you can describe a personal experience that was a true challenge for you. Depict how you were able a chance to have a personal growth in your life. In these both examples your main goal is to stay objective. If you find yourself to get emotionally involved in the essay you are writing that means that you have already lost your objectivity. Try writing it all out with the focus on your personal feelings and emotions and then get back to real essay writing.

Interpersonal Communication Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interpersonal Communication Skills - Essay Example With the innovation in the era of technology, it is exigent to grasp, memorize, espouse rapidly and the usage of effective communication. One is required to furnish leadership in its growth, for the interest of time, cultivation, evolution and accountability. It is also significant to fathom that communication through various mechanisms, contraption and modes gives different defiance and ruminations. It is through conversation that individual's memorizing principles and policies and the growth of shared meaning associated within the citizenry of rules and observance. Dialogue empowered communicants to reconnoiter their identity within the community, employed in conventions, make drift of their experiences, and cultivate a feeling of intimacy. Conversation helps the participants to enhance the chronicle of the locale and each individual appendage of that locale, which furnished a varied magnitude to their own growth. Finally, this authorized the participants to scrutinize the connotation they deduce of their surveillance and co-operations vis--vis the individual, the community, and the profession.

An examination of assessment tools in relation to Watson's theory of Research Paper

An examination of assessment tools in relation to Watson's theory of human caring - Research Paper Example Caring Tools that expand the abilities of nurses to assess and evaluate clients in the various stages of health, illness and stress are particularly an important part of the knowledge that nurses should have and ultimately impact on the quality of healthcare. Besides this, Watson’s theory of human caring enables nurses to integrate mind-body-spirit dimensions of assessment tools hence delivering better services to patients. The advent of evidence-based practice means that the use of assessment tools is influenced by the data available on them in terms of cost, length, ease of use and suited populations. When using such data, it is also important to evaluate its validity to ensure that the correct assessment tools are utilized. This study will investigate all these aspects focusing on three assessment tools; Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, Health Self-Determination Index (HSDI) and the Spiritual Perspective Scale. The impact of these tools on assessment phase and quality care pro vided by nurses will be evaluated followed by their application to homeless individuals. Assessment Tools Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) This is an assessment tool that was developed to measure the pervasive/silent maladaptive cognitive vulnerability exhibited by depressed individuals (Antony and Barlow, 2010). It is based on the view that such depressed individuals bear negative attitudes with regard to life and this can be analyzed through determining the views of an individual to self, world and future. This is what is usually referred to as the cognitive triad that can be used to tell apart depressed from non-depressed individuals based on their pessimism. The Dysfunctional Attitude Scale is a self-report 7-point likert scale that measures the occurrence of attitudes that portray underlying dysfunctions and how intense such attitudes are (Weissman and Beck, 1978 cited in Graaf et al., 2009). The original Dysfunction Attitude Scale was based on 100 items but was later simplif ied into DAS-A and DAS-B parallel forms that contain 40 items only. The result of this is that the DAS test is an inexpensive, easy to perform and relatively short undertaking. Graaf et al. (2009) performed DAS on populations whose demographic factors significantly correlated with depression including the unemployed individuals, individuals who were occupationally disabled and individuals with low levels of education. The dysfunctional attitudes measured among such populations include attitudinal approval, entitlement and achievement which perfectly interrelate with the mind-body-spirit dimensions as put forward by Watson hence resulting in a better assessment by nurses translating to better treatment. In terms of reliability and validity of the evidence, Graaf et al. (2009) and many other researchers have performed psychometric experimental studies on DAS and generated reliable and valid results. This is demonstrated through correlation analyses and actual distinction between indiv iduals with and without depression hence the DAS is safe for application in clinical practice. DAS is particularly important as a tool for nurses during the assessment stage as it allows the nurse to get a grip of the major underlying factors behind depressed individuals and as a result aid in the proper interventional measures for example through pharmacopsychotherapy that will deal with both biomedical aspects and psychological aspects of illness. Perceived Stress Scale Cohen, Kamarck and Marmelstein (1983, cited in Peters, 2007) designed a measurement of the level to which individuals perceived their life situations as being stressful in terms of unpredictability, overload and inability to control. It uses 14 items in a likert scale with responses ranked as â€Å"never† to â€Å"very often.† Seven of the items in the scale are positive and through the test the level of self-perceived stress can be

Yemen Strikes May Target Top AL Qaeda Leaders Essay Example for Free

Yemen Strikes May Target Top AL Qaeda Leaders Essay Al Qaeda is a global militant Islamist organization founded by the late Osama bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam among other Islamic. It dates back to around August 1988-1989 in Peshwar in Pakistan. Its origins were traced to the Soviet War in Afghanistan. It operated as a network that comprised of both multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim revolution. This movement called for global jihad and implemented a strict interpretation of the Sharia laws. It was branded a terrorist organization by major organizations and countries in the world such as the United Nation Security Council, the European Union, NATO, the United States, and the United Kingdom among many other countries.               Al Qaeda functioned both on its own and through some minor terrorist organizations. The organizations that operated under the al Qaeda included Ayman al-Wawahiri’s Egyptian Islamic Jihad which was also known as el Gamaa Islamia. There were also other Jihad groups in countries such as Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Pakistan, Croatia, Tunisia Lebanon, Albania, Philippines, Azerbaijan, Tajistan and the Hashmiri Region in India and Chechnyan in Russia. AL Qaeda kept cells and personnel in numerous countries to facilitate its operations including Kenya, Tanzania, the United States, Germany, United Kingdome, Malaysia and Canada. â€Å"Al Qaeda has no home base, but maintains cells in different countries in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia† (Zalman) Objectives                  One of the ultimate goals of Al Qaeda was to fight off the United States armed forces out of Saudi Arabian peninsula and Somalia. They issued rulings on Islamic laws indicating that such action was proper and essential. Bin Laden led the AL Qaeda to oppose the United States for various reasons. First, they perceived the United States to have no faith because its governance was not as per their interpretation of the Islamic laws. The second reason was that they regarded the United States as a provider of vital support to â€Å"other infidel† nations and institutions. They particularly branded the Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel and finally the United Nations, as enemies of the Islamists organization. Third, Osama Bin Laden greatly contended the participation of the United States armed force in the Gulf war and operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1991, 1992 and 1993 respectively. Above all, the presence of the American forces in the Saudi Arabian penins ula was with no doubt resented by the al Qaeda. Last but not least, the United States Government’s incredible resentment was owed to the arrest and conviction of the al Qaeda personnel or any member of their affiliate terrorists organizations. For these reasons, Osama Bin Laden led the al Qaeda to declare jihad, holy war, against the United States. He pursued this goal through all means possible. The al Qaeda made attacks on any nations or organizations allied to the United States.                Since 1988, when Al Qaeda was formed, â€Å"the organization has been credited with scores of terror attacks around the globe, which have resulted in the deaths of thousands of people† (National Geographic). Attacks in East Africa                   On 7th August 1998, well planned attacks were made on two American embassies in the East African countries of Kenya and Tanzania. In Tanzania, it is perceived by the authorities that a bomb was planted in a refrigeration truck which was later parked outside the United States embassy. It was unfortunate that these two embassies did not meet the recent strict measures that have been implemented. The attack on the Tanzanian embassy saw 11 people die and 86 more get injured. On the other hand the Kenyan bombing resulted in the deaths of 12 Americans, 213 Kenyan Citizens and had over 5000 casualties. One of AL Qaeda’s leaders, Al Libi, â€Å"was wanted for his alleged role in the deadly 1998 bombings of the two embassies in Africa† (CNN).               The aftermath of this attack was devastating and the United States in conjunction with the Tanzanian government sought to set up a new embassy. The United States impeached Osama Bin Laden as the core perpetrator of the bombing of these embassies. The united stated went ahead to offer a reward for five million dollars for his arrest and conviction.                   The United States government as devastated as it was plotted attacks on Sudan and Afghanistan. On 20th August 1998, the United States attacked Sudan and Afghanistan. It was alleged that the US targeted a chemical weapons producing plant, located in Sudan, with 13 cruise missiles. This only resulted to the deaths of the night guards. There has not been any substantial evidence that supports the attack and therefore it has come under extreme criticism. The attack on Afghanistan consisted of about 75 cruise missiles which targeted three separate terrorists’ camps and strongholds. This attack brought the deaths of 24 people but unfortunately failed in getting Osama Bin Laden. â€Å"The strikes were a response to an imminent threat to the U.S. posed by a terrorist network backed by Osama bin Laden† (CNN). Attacks in Yemen                   This is AL Qaeda’s first ever attack in its course. It is known as the Yemen Hotel Bombing of 1992. On the evening of the 29th of December 1992, a bomb went off at the Gold Mahur Hotel. This happened to be where the United States’ armed forces had been staying on their route to Somalia. Fortunately the troops had already evacuated the hotel at the time of the attack. Undeterred by any circumstances, the AL Qaeda went ahead to plot another attack. They targeted another hotel. They perceived that the American troops were staying in the Aden Movenpick. However, the bomb detonated in the hotel car park, ahead of time for their attack. The explosion led to the death of two Australian tourists. Osama Bin Laden and Mohamed Khan claimed responsibility for these attacks. Attacks in Jordan                In December 1999-2000, there was a plotted attack by the AL Qaeda to attack United States and Israelis tourists who had visited Jordan to celebrate the millennium. Conversely, authorities in Jordan disillusioned the plotted attacks and apprehended and convicted 28 suspects. This plot involved the bombing of the LAX but this was a complete failure for the AL Qaeda since the bomber, known as Ahmed Ressam was apprehended at the US- Canadian border with explosives in his car. The AL Qaeda did not stop at that. They planned an attack on the USS Sullivans on January the third in 2000. This failed because they put too much weight on a small boat that was to bomb the ship. Attack on MV Limburg                   The Limburg was loaded with 397,000 barrels, equated to 63,100 m3, of crude oil from Iran en route to Malaysia. It was attacked in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen where it was to collect another load of crude oil. The Limburg was registered under a French-flag. PETRONAS, a Malaysian petrol firm, had chartered the Limburg. At some distance offshore, a small boat loaded with explosives rammed the tanker on the starboard and detonated. The craft caught fire and estimated 90,000 barrels, equated to 140,000 m3 of crude oil spilled into the ocean. Yemeni authorities apparently claimed that the explosion was caused by an accident. However investigations showed traces of TNT on the wrecked vessel. In the incident one crew member was killed and 12 others were injured. According to BBC, Ahmed al-Darbi confessed to being responsible for this incident.                      The Battle of WanatOn July 13, 2008, AL Qaeda and Taliban guerilla fighters raged war on NATO troops. This occurred near Wanat, a village in Waygal district, in Afghanistan’ province of Nuristan. This battle has been branded â€Å"Black Hawk Down†. It was one of the bloodiest attacks in the war and one of the numerous attacks on remote outposts. In comparison to the preceding ambushes that were executed in a haphazard manner, this was well coordinated and executed. â€Å"American casualties included nine killed and 27 wounded, while four Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were wounded† (Terrorists groups). Attacks on the United States                  On Tuesday September 11, 2001 a coordinated series of 4 attacks were launched on the US in the metropolitan area of Washington DC and in New York by the Al-Qaeda, a terrorist group of Islamic religion.                19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners. The purpose of hijacking the planes was so that they could be used for suicide attacks.                  Two of the planes, the United Airline flight 175 and also the American Airliners flight II were crashed into the south and north towers of the world trade center complex in New York City respectively. In two hours the two towers collapsed. The debris from the buildings and the fires partly of completely caused the collapse of the buildings in the world trade center complex and also caused damage to another ten large surrounding structures. The Rise                  The affliction of AL Qaeda on global is seemingly a long standing affair. Its beginning goes back decades to the modern-day establishment and conversion of a non-state armed group that has made it its purpose to create exceptional regional and international changes based on unnecessary use of brutal force for political motives. Apart from prompting domestic and foreign crises, the AL Qaeda focused specifically in adapting and prospering open-endedly as it sought new approaches. All along, it is in this perspective that the growth of AL Qaeda was planned for. This was a preordained way for the group to ensure it growth regardless of any setbacks from the very beginning. This isolated it from preceding and successive Islamists groups. On the other hand, traditional Islamist factions started to institute themselves through religious preaching, political sermons and particularly through networks of domestic social amenities.                   The first incarnation of AL Qaeda was to act as a welfare provider originating in the reinter state, Arabian Gulf. On the other hand its purpose was to apparently fight the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Jihad. The superiority of this underlying principle did not translate to a sudden halt of an unsatisfied local aim but somewhat the domestic contention to spill out to the external parties. From the perspective of a failed Arab and Islamic nation building, this faction sprang forth as a project with the combination of religion and politics. I was built upon: Relocation of authority; Outwitting the state; And the belligerent empowerment of a non-state actor.                  If in the beginning the swift propagation of the five regional depictions of the Al Qaeda were questionable, an added suggestion of the organization’s inspiring global reach and its ability to function in multiple nations long after War on Terror had been declared against it, it progressively occurred that the regional affiliates were significantly at variance and their link to the mother Al Qaeda was in some way unsubstantiated.                   Although in its first fifteen years it had been able to develop globally against vital odds; for each tactical loss, the Al Qaeda earned a strategic gain. This was demonstrated by: Retreating in Afghanistan but advancing in Iraq; Restricted leadership but had proliferating contacts; Abridged physical mobility but had global impact; Additional enemies but expanding recruits. The fall                  In the period between 2006 and 2011, AL Qaeda’s leadership had changed into a self-commandment, in due course offering only political, religious and military commentary, and not operational orders. Taking everything into account, what can be interpreted as a regionalization strategy of the Al Qaeda mixed up the global representation of the organization. The required elasticity the group embraced, partially voluntarily, partially as a way to adjust to the impending international anti-terrorism campaign, brought about an ever-growing distance with the already liberated divisions.                  Osama Bin Laden’s vanishing from Al Qaeda and also the War on Terror scene, for that reason, signified the end of the reign of the original faction established in Afghanistan. This opened a new chapter in which the regional authorizations will further sanction their existing independence. In so doing they will bestow the conflict with a new arrangement by diminishing terrorism among nations. War on Terror                  Previous efforts to put an end to this menace were somehow unsuccessful until May 2, 2011. O this day, a team of U.S Navy Seals with the help of the United States intelligence located the AL Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. He was found in Abbottabad in Pakistan, 31 Miles from Islamabad where he met his demise. On June 16 the same year, Ayman al-Zawahiri succeeded Osama Bin Laden but the fight against terror continues.                The war against terror is a global war. There have been numerous efforts to curb the AL Qaeda menace. The United States has shown great dedication in trying to bring justice to the crimes committed by this faction, the Al Qaeda. These efforts have included several military actions by the United States armed forces and other allied nations and institutions like the UK and the United Nations. Presently, there are ongoing various military operations against this terrorist faction. This operation either targets the faction directly or the affiliates of this faction such as the Al Shabaab in Somalia. Many countries have joined the war against terrorism. For example, according to Fox News, the Iraqi Government has announced that it is offensive on AL Qaeda. Yemen is also said to be targeting top AL Qaeda leaders, as Stated by CNN reporters, Jamjoom and Smith, write.                   The United States government has greatly contributed the gradual fall that AL Qaeda is undergoing. Military action is seemingly the way to go since these terrorists seem not to the get the hang of diplomacy. Presently, â€Å"prompted in part by a recent video that showed Al Qaeda leaders in Yemen openly taunting the United States, the CIA launched lethal drone strikes†(Dilanian). According to ABC News, even after two years when the United States withdrew its troops from Iraq, the US is still aid the Iraqi government to fight off the AL Qaeda faction. References Al Qaeda. Answers, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. AL Qaeda Attacks: A Chronology. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. Battle of Wanat 2008. Terrorist Groups, 8 Apr. 2008. Web. 26 Apr. 2014 Fast facts: The embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. CNN, 6 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. Guantanamo prisoner al-Darbi admits MV Limburg Attack. BBC, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. Jamjoom, Mohammed and Smith, Matt. Yemen Strikes May Target Top AL Qaeda Leaders. CNN, 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. US Assisting Iraq in Fight Against Al Qaeda 2 Years After Troops Withdraw. ABC NEWS, 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.Zalman, Amy. Al Qaeda: Profile of Al Qaeda. About, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. Source document

Skin Cancer :: essays research papers

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. There are two different types of skin cancers: Melanomas and non-melanomas. To understand both of these terms a little better you need to be aware that your skin is divided up into 3 layers: the epidermis, dermis, and subcutis. The top layer, the epidermis, is very thin and serves to protect the deeper layers of the skin. The epidermis is also composed of basal cells, which in turn divide to form squamous cells and melanocytes. Melanoma skin cancer develops from the melanocytes and non-melanomas skin cancer develops from the basal and squamous cells. There are 2 types of non-melanomas cancer that result from these cells. The first is basal cell carcinoma; basal cell carcinoma begins in the lowest layer of the epidermis, the basal cell layer. This type of skin cancer tends to be slow growing and is usually is found in areas that are highly exposed to sunlight, such as the head or neck. The second type is called squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for 20% of all skin cancers, and penetrates the skin more than basal cell would, therefore, is considered to be more harmful. Surprisingly, even with these astonishing numbers people still continue to put themselves at risk everyday. The solution to all this is very simple, we all need to wear sunscreen when planning to expose ourselves to the sun. There are also other everyday preventive measures that we can take to decrease our chances of harmful exposure to the sun. It is always helpful to wear a shirt and a hat with a broad brim. Wear sunglasses that absorb 99%-100% of UV rays to help your block your eyes and the skin around your eyes from these harmful rays. The two most important things for most people who like to tan are to seek shade frequently and to never use tanning beds. You can put your body at even more of a higher risk of contracting skin cancer when staying in the constant heat. One of the most effective ways is to wear sunscreen when out in the sun. Sunscreens are designed to protect against sunburn (UVB rays) and generally provide little protection against UVA rays. There are two types of sunscreens, chemical and physical. Chemical sunscreens contain chemicals such as benzophenone or oxybenzone as the active ingredient.

Investment Banking

Investment Banking in 2008 Group Report 1. Failure Analysis: Identify the major factors that contributed to Bear Stearns’s failure? Who stood to benefit from its implosion? How did Bear Stearns’s collapse differ from the ‘Long Term Capital Management’ failure a decade earlier? What could Bear Stearns have done differently to avoid this fate? In the early 2000’s? And during the summer of 2007? And during the week of March 10, 2008? (1) Identify the major factors that contributed to Bear Stearns’s failure? Bear’s somewhat cutthroat and renegade culture of maverick may have contributed a lot to their failure.This culture somehow made it killed by the credit crisis, while other investment banks survived. But the direct factors resulted in Bear’s implosion were the failure of Ralph Cioffi’s High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund and Enhanced Leverage High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund, which invested in sophisti cated credit derivatives backed by mortgage securities. And these failures cost Bear more than 1. 6 billion dollars to prop up two hedge funds. And the failures of two hedge funds led to a continuous questioning about Bear’s financial stability.At the same time, Bear concentrated its business on CDOs, which means it had high exposure to this item. Thus when credit crisis happened, it is significantly impacted. And in early 2008, Moody’s downgraded 163 tranches of mortgage backed bonds issued by Bear. Almost everyone realized that Bear will face liquidity problem. But meanwhile, Bear highly relied on repo to finance itself. When lender lost confidence in Bear, it failed in finding another effective way to find cash. In sum, the reasons above contributed to the failure of Bear in 2008 crisis. (2) Who stood to benefit from its implosion?JP Morgan is the beneficiary from Bear’s bankruptcy. It gained a company which had $172. 61 worth less than 8 months ago with an i ncredible low price of $10 a share. (3) How did Bear Stearns’s collapse differ from the ‘Long Term Capital Management’ failure a decade earlier? The origin in LTCM’s failure was the high-leveraged structure. It obtained excessive debt for the investment of the bonds. Simultaneously, the market capacity was not sufficient to support LTCM’s large bloated size. As time had gone, market competition and capacity diminished its profitability.But with such a high leverage, LTCM had no other choice but to gain enough profit to move on. Therefore, they got a foot into some unfamiliar area. Meanwhile, as to the trading strategy, LTCM held a large quantity of asset with low liquidity. However, situation was different from what they had predicted. Big loss happened eventually, but LTCM could not sell asset for enough cash. It inevitably had to go bankruptcy. High leverage structure of Bear’s hedge fund also had great impact on its collapse. But the awful strategy of Bear’s management should blame most for its bankruptcy.If it was in a less turbulent environment, things might be different. Continual bad news about Bear from executives’ unmannered behavior to its first quarterly loss since foundation ruined the confidence of investors. And another difference in the failure of both was that Bear mainly died of market failure. When the whole market was fear of the loss of subprime asset, the large subprime assets holding companies such as Bear Stearns, could not avoid a fate of great loss and liquidity problem. (4) What could Bear Stearns have done differently to avoid this fate?In the early 2000’s? As an investment bank, Bear was just in pursuit of the return while underestimated the potential aftermath of being too risky. Most of its profit was composed of fixed income securities. Meanwhile, Bear should not let each hedge fund manager just specialize in a particular security to make volatility. It is obvious that Bear’s risk management had significant flaw. Furthermore, since the over-confident Bear was desperate for the incredible return, it was not attentive to such supernormal growth of the housing price.They should not just concentrate on CDOs without also devoting their asset in other business, as diversification is so important for a firm. But it may not happen, since Bear was not less greed than the surrounding. And during the summer of 2007? If Bear realized the market could not be defeated, they should have controlled Cioffi’s risky action of raising new hedge fund with a higher leverage. Conversely, they should liquidate the fund. If the liquidation was performed, they should not have lost such great amount in this worthless fund.And meanwhile it began to try to search for cash to finance itself. Except those worthless ‘toxic assets’, Bear still had some assets, which could provide it some cash flow. If Bear sold these assets earlier with determination, they might not sink in liquidity problem so deeply. And during the week of March 10, 2008? After Bear was downgraded by Moody, market had lost confidence in it. Almost everyone realized bear’s liquidity problem. When pointed out to have liquidity problems, Bear’s executives should realize the severity of the crisis rather than believing the worst was once again behind them.Even though they could not recover from the difficulty, prime actions could be taken, including exposing the reality to the market, reassuring the investors, making urgent strategies, applying for emergent aids from the Fed, and applying for temporary held in stock trading. 2. Liquidity Crisis and Business Model of Investment Banks: What is the role of Liquidity for banking and investing banking firms? Is perception of Liquidity more important for a banking/investment banking firm than manufacturing firms (such as Ford or Boeing)? Why?What could Bear Stearns have done to address its Liquidity concern s, which initiated the run on the bank? Looking back, what lessons can we infer from Bear Stearns’s failure regarding the business model of investment banks? Looking forward is the concept of ‘pure-play’ investment banks sustainable? (1) What’s the role of liquidity for banking and investing banking firms? Liquidity can reveal the untrue existence of cash (and cash equivalents), short-term investments, accounts receivable and accounts payable, etc. To which extent it lives up to the real condition.It measures whether the bank’s business is legal, reasonable and whether the financial status is promptly and properly reflected on the financial reports. Liquidity risk is also important. It values the repayment of debt and reminds the board of the corporation’s risk at any time. Managing liquidity is a daily process requiring bankers to monitor and project cash flows to ensure that adequate liquidity is maintained. The investment portfolio serves as the primary source of liquidity and represents a smaller portion of assets. Investment securities can be liquidated to satisfy deposit withdrawals and increased loan demand. 2) Is perception of Liquidity more important for a banking/investment banking firm than manufacturing firms (such as Ford or Boeing)? Why? Yes. The main sources of funding for commercial banks are deposit, interbank borrowings, commercial banks deposits, the international money market borrowings and the issuance of financial bonds, among which the short-term deposit accounts for the vast majority of the proportion. However, these funds are primarily used for commercial loans, discounting business, securities investment, etc. These higher profitability and long-term loans account for the absolute proportion in the composition of assets.This mismatch between assets and liabilities makes the liquidity of assets very important in banks’ operation. Since when sudden changes occurred in the market, a large n umber of customers will be forced to perform withdrawal, therefore the bank will be very difficult to realize its assets and to meet its liquidity needs. In some sense, it is similar for the investment banks. The difference is just that they do not raise money from retail depositors; most of the money is funded in the interbank market and is used to hold illiquid mortgage backed securities.Once banks were not able to provide funding for business, a banking contagion will occur and spread. A traditional manufacturing business is generally funded by equity or long-term debt and has steady cash flows from business operations. Even in the case of a collapse of such businesses, it would not have the same contagion effect as banks. (3) What could Bear Stearns have done to address its Liquidity concerns, which initiated the run on the bank? 1. The basis of the modern financial system is not physical assets, but people’s confidence in this system.Actually when the rumor of BSC runnin g out of cash was widely spread, BSC was forced to make a public announcement to ensure the public that their financial situation was solid and their liquidity was sufficient. Unfortunately, BSC did not take valid action or provide strong evidence such as strengthen its financial sheets or reducing leverage to convince investors. The board should pay more attention to the operation of the corporate rather than participate in a bridge tournament. 2. BSC could reduce leverage by selling their risky assets to generate cash during a period of financial stress.They should maintain enough reserves in the form of short-term instruments of the highest credit quality to meet the obligation. So an amount of funds should be invested only in instruments that have guaranteed liquidity, like treasury instruments. 3. Bear Stearns, three-quarters of whose revenue was still dependent on the market (see the source below), should adopt diversification strategy to find a real alternative to business an d improve its finance. The plans could be accelerate the development in other countries and diversified business, including equities, investment banking and asset management businesses.Source: http://finance. sina. com. cn/money/future/20080403/09024705325. shtml (4) What lessons can we infer from Bear Stearns’s failure regarding the business model of investment banks? Diversification of the investment is the foremost thing to consider for any matured investor. Investing heavily into one company, one industry, or having only one investment strategy is unadoptable. You are banking for speculation that one company or industry will always do well. But in fact, it is hardly possible to be in perfect condition at any time.You must make your investment portfolio diversified. Maybe an element of international stocks can be added into the portfolio. When the U. S. market is unprofitable, it still has the chance to get profits from Asia and Europe so as to keep the portfolio solid. So metimes high leverage can kill a firm. In March 2008, Bear owned tangible equity capital of about $11 billions versus total assets of $395 billions—a leverage ratio of 36. For several years, this reckless financing bring the company a profit margin of about one third and a return on equity of twenty percent.However, when the market endured a sharp downturn, Bear lose a lot of capital and willing creditors. During the ensuing months, the same story was to be played out at scores of other banks and non-banks. (5) Looking forward is the concept of ‘pure-play† investment banks sustainable? The performance of a pure-play investment bank can be highly influenced by the type of investing style which targets at it. For instance, if a pure-play bank's business is favored by growth investing, the company will do well during a bull market, where growth stocks tend to outperform the market.Conversely, a pure-play bank associated with growth investing will do poorly during bea r market, when a value investing strategy is historically more profitable. What’s more, the pure-play investment banks have relied heavily on short-term capital, especially repo transactions in which counterparties take collateral as security against the cash they lend. As public companies, pure-play banks faced pressure to deliver return on equity comparable to that of universal banks, even as those banks put competitive pressure on traditional advisory businesses such as M;A, underwriting, and sales and trading.In response, pure-play banks resorted to the two advantages they had over non-depository institutions: unlimited, unregulated leverage capacity, and increasing reliance on proprietary trading to deliver earnings. 3. Systemic Banking Crisis and Regulation: What is a â€Å"systemic banking crisis†? What is ‘banking contagion†? What was the rationale for the creation of ‘fire-wall’ of separation between investment banking and commercial b anking in USA that was institutionalized by the Banking Act of 1933? Why did the regulators weaken and phase out that ‘fire-wall of separation’ in 1990s?Identify the major Deregulatory Acts and its role in the meltdown of the investment banking industry? In your opinion, based on lessons from past global banking crisis, what steps should regulators institute now to address similar future problems? (1) What is a â€Å"systemic banking crisis†? Systemic banking crisis refers to the crisis detrimental to the whole financial system. It is the fatal chaos that several disastrous crises occur simultaneously, such as monetary crisis, banking system crisis, foreign-debt crisis, etc.The crisis expands from one financial market to another. For example, from the stock market to the real estate market or foreign-trade market, etc. (2) What is ‘banking contagion†? Banking contagion refers to a scenario where the banks, which initially affected by some crisis sprea d to the other banks even the other countries whose economy is previously healthy. In this scenario, the expansion could be very quick and disastrous. The international spread might cause the whole banking system to be paralyzed and need another several more years for recovery. 3) What was the rationale for the creation of ‘fire-wall’ of separation between investment banking and commercial banking in USA that was institutionalized by the Banking Act of 1933? There are 3 major factors. 1. Risk of losses (safety and soundness). Banks that engaged in underwriting and holding corporate securities and municipal revenue bonds presented significant risk of loss to depositors and the federal government that had to come to their rescue; they were also more subject to failure with a resulting loss of public confidence in the banking system and greater risk of financial system collapse. . Conflicts of interest and other abuses. Banks that offer investment banking services and mutu al funds were subject to conflicts of interest and other abuses, thereby resulting in the harm to their customers, including borrowers, depositors, and correspondent banks. 3. Improper banking activities. Even if there were no actual abuses, securities-related activities are contrary to the way banking ought to be conducted.The Act prohibited the combination of a depository institution, such as that, commercial banks (those that accept deposits) were prohibited from engaging in most investment banking activities, including underwriting and selling securities, and from affiliating with investment banks and other companies â€Å"engaged principally† in the trading of securities. Likewise, investment banks were barred from accepting deposits. (4) Why did the regulators weaken and phase out that ‘fire-wall of separation’ in 1990s? Inspired by a desire to make U. S. nvestment banks competitive with foreign deposit-taking investment banks such as UBS, Deutsche Bank, an d Credit Suisse First Boston, a Republican Congress and President Clinton passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act in 1999, permitting insurance companies, investment banks, and commercial banks to compete on equal footing across products and markets. (5) Identify the major Deregulatory Acts and its role in the meltdown of the investment banking industry? 1999–Glass-Steagall Act Fell The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 had larger ramifications than any other steps in deregulation.Repealing this act made it possible for investment banks to be savings and loan banks and to receive to the same government protections as savings and loan banks. An investment bank could make investments with people's savings, sometimes irresponsibly, and those investments now were guaranteed by the federal government. 1988–Securitization In 1988, securitization, or repackaging assets as a financial instrument to sell to investors, became legal. Banks were a llowed to sell their mortgages to SPVs. Mortgages were no longer being made to hold but to sell, and lending requirements became substantially more lenient.This created a combination of bad loans and banks without the funds to back them up. 2004–SEC In 2004, the SEC abolished the â€Å"net capital† rule, which restricted the amount of debt their brokerage units could take on-demonstrated this growing appetite for leverage. This led investment banks to leverage themselves at a financially irresponsible 30 to 1 percent, meaning that for every $1 they had on hand they had $30 in debt. When some of these investments collapsed, the banks did not have the ready capital to maintain their companies. Ultimately, increased leverage and proprietary trading ravaged the nvestment banking industry, leading to the collapse, merge, or restructure of all 5 major pure-play banks on Wall Street. This time, the SEC took the unprecedented step of temporarily banning short sales of financia l institution stocks. The ban caused massive losses in hedge fund portfolios and dissuaded them from making additional investments, denying would-be issuers access to needed capital. Moreover, the SEC placed a ban on so-called ‘naked’ shorting, which reduced the total amount of short interest that could accumulate in a stock. 6) In your opinion, based on lessons from past global banking crisis, what steps should regulators institute now to address similar future problems? 1. The regulations should be placed on the fundamental part of economy. For example, when there seems to have bubbles in one field, the Fed should not ignore. It should adjust the policy towards the industry to change the unbalanced situation. 2. To fortify the risk awareness continuously in traders’ mind, especially those who control the wealth of millions of people. Their behaviors might have huge influence to the market and the profitability of the firms. 3.The Fed should research for adjustm ent for investors from the market of different systems to ensure that obstacles will not exist in multinational trades. Meanwhile, policies of staying resistant to exterior crisis should be prepared in case of the explosion of crisis. 4. Federal Bailout and Public Policy: Why did the Federal Reserve bail-out Bear Stearns? Why was Lehman Brothers allowed to collapse while Bear Stearns was not? Is the Fed orchestrated sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America the optimal solution for addressing the crisis? Could Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have survived with out becoming bank holding companies?In your view, what public policy role should the Federal Reserve play in maintaining sustainability in global banking and stability securities markets? Why was there such a public out-cry against the bailout of Wall Street investment banks? Based on this recent performance how would you rate the Federal Reserve’s response to the financial crisis? (1) Why did the Federal Reserve bail-o ut Bear Stearns? If Bear went bankruptcy, it would affect other firms in Wall Street as well, since Bear was a market leader in prime brokerage and clearing who provided trading and back-end services to many other Wall Street financial institutions.Most customer asset would get frozen in the event of bankruptcy, and many hedge funds had collateral in the firm. Because of Bear’s holding of 13 trillion credit default swaps, the collapse of Bear would influence many other companies, which means too big to fail at that time. However, the Fed didn’t forecast that this kind of matter will happen again. The Fed Reserve bailed out Bear Sterns just to avert crisis and dissuade further irresponsible risk-seeking. The bailout benefited Wall Street at the expense of Main Street and the low share price was to discourage banks from taking on similar risk. 2) Why was Lehman Brothers allowed to collapse while Bear Stearns was not? The decision to let Lehman Brothers fail was largely m ade by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the British Financial Services Authority. The public outcry over the taxpayer assumption of $29 billion in potential Bear losses made repeating such a move politically untenable. Therefore, the Fed refused to back Lehman’s liabilities and backstop losses from Lehman’s toxic mortgage holdings. Moreover, Barclay’s quitted the acquisition, worrying that it could not be satisfied with the timely shareholder approval, which directly led to the collapse of Lehman.The Fed also wanted to set it as an example, to let other company to know that not every time the government will come out to bail out the company, so they will have deliberate consideration repeatedly before making all kinds of risky investments. (3) Is the Fed orchestrated sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America the optimal solution for addressing the crisis? No. This transaction doubled the investment banking size of Bank of America. Furthermore, it exposed Bank of America to mortgage-backed securities, which had negative impact on the long-term credit rating of the bank.This transaction could not prevent the occurrence of another such case like Merrill Lynch’s, and this behavior could not bring unforgettable lesson to other banks. (4) Could Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have survived without becoming bank holding companies? No. According to the research, Goldman Sachs was a major beneficiary of the government’s bailout of the financial services industry, not only through AIG but also through its ability to fall under the regulatory umbrella as a bank holding company, which made it eligible for debt guarantees and other government backstops.Every financial services company on the earth wanted to become a bank and line up for the handouts coming from Washington such as American Express, GE Capital, and GMAC. Even Willem Buiter, a former central banker, wanted to become a bank. Goldman was in a more precarious position than bank holding companies because of the vulnerabilities of being a broker-dealer. Nouriel Roubini warned repeatedly before Lehman’s collapse that the large full services broker-dealer model was broken. (5) In your view, what public policy role should the Federal Reserve play in maintaining sustainability in global banking and stability securities markets?From the lesson of subprime housing crisis, we think the Federal Reserve should control the capital, but without influencing the supply and demand. Since this crisis was created by those bad loans, the government’s control would limit people to invest on housing market, and somehow be better for people who are really in need of a place to stay. Furthermore, we have several pieces of advice to the Fed, besides in housing matters: a) Regulate the gross domestic and international banking environment. b) Reinforce the supervision over the risk control of investment banks. ) Restrict the expansion of any potential crisis once any symbol occurs. d) Do best to avoid the asymmetric information in the market. e) Ensure a fair and open environment for trading. (6) Why was there such a public out-cry against the bailout of Wall Street investment banks? People’s being against to government’s bailout the Wall Street had 2 main reasons. First, people believed Wall Street got this mess by themselves and they should be the one to clean it up, rather than that the government used tax payer money to save the Wall Street.They thought this was not fair, because this kind of action would increase the US government’s debt, and tax payer would have to pay more tax in the future to cover this debt. This debt may take a long time to be recovered. Second, when the government did get involved in the Wall Street crisis, the free market would not exist anymore, and next time if any firm had problem, they would ask the government to save them, which would totally be against the American economic policy , and belief. 7) Based on this recent performance how would you rate the Federal Reserve’s response to the financial crisis? Based on the recent performance, we think they had done what they had to do, but we think they should let the economic fail, based on the free market of American. They should let the invisible hand control the market, and the market should flow freely by itself. It will come back up, however long it takes. Now the government is using the tax payer’s money to cover Wall Street crisis, which actually is not fair.

Physical Activity and Childhood Obesity

As people age the knowledge and experiences they gain in life may help shape their daily decisions. Adults are often more conscientious of the benefits physical activity has on their bodies and their health. With the growing popularity of video games, the distraction of television and the fast paced lifestyles many people are now living, children are being greatly affected. The result of children being more sedentary in current times has led to a greater prevalence of child obesity in society.In order to combat this issue it is imperative that children partake in physical activity. Children learn by example and the involvement the schools, communities and parents have with the child helps shape their outcomes in life. There are several factors that may contribute to childhood obesity. In an article on Children’s Physical Activity and Obesity it states that; â€Å"[†¦] the effects of parenting, the home environment, and developmental and psychological factors on diet, obe sity, and physical activity have received significant attention† (Luisa Franzini, PhD, 2oo9).From this attention, new research and developments are achieved. The number of children who experience overweight is growing at an alarming rate in recent times. According to an article on overweight and obesity, 1 out of 3 children are considered overweight or obese (Kids Health, 2009). Research has shown that overweight and obesity leads to health issues, some of which can be fatal. Moreover, the CDC states; â€Å"Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease† (Healthy Youth, 2010). Further, experiencing overweight in childhood presents a greater possibility of experiencing overweight in adulthood. According to the CDC, obese youth are more likely to become overweight adults , and therefore more at risk for associated adult health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis (Healthy Youth, 2010).A positive outlook on afore mentioned statistics is that these health issues can be prevented by adapting a proper diet and engaging in physical activity. There are a number of ways to prevent childhood obesity. According to an article on Disease Prevention Programs Targeting Obesity in Children, a majority of programs developed and tested to treat childhood obesity have included dietary modification, increased physical activity, and/or reduced sedentary behavior (Adrienne R. Hughes, 2008).With the growing popularity of video games and number of television channels, more children are engaging in sedentary behavior. However, reducing sedentary activities among children can help prevent obesity. In fact, Hughes states; â€Å" Encouraging obese children to increase their physical activity will help to red uce adiposity and improve cardiovascular, metabolic, and psychosocial health (Adrienne R. Hughes, 2008). The amount of time spent being physically active is also important in preventing child obesity.In fact, in an article on Tackling Overweight and Obesity in Children it states; â€Å"Children should take part in at least one hour of moderately intense activity per day; this should make breathing heavier than usual, but talking should still be possible† (Crocker, 2007). It is important to gradually increase physical activity in order to avoid injury or over exertion. Further, as a school, a community and as parents it is important to set good examples for children. Through proper physical activity and diet the prevalence of child obesity can be diminished.