Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Working Women And Family Lifestyles Essays - Housewife, Marriage

Working Women And Family Lifestyles WORKING WOMEN AND FAMILY LIFESTYLES The issues and concerns of this course are ones with which I am able to identify. Having been married for eight years, a working women and mother qualifies me to give much insight to each of the components listed in this course. My essay will address the following: Past and present status of women in the work place Balancing career and family Career Choices The future of the family In addition, I will expand on the implications of single parenthood and how it affects womens careers and raising a family. PAST AND PRESENT STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE WORK PLACE Every day in some office, bank, store, school, or wherever women work, someone announces an engagement or a wedding. But unlike past generations, the announcement doesnt automatically mean the employee is leaving. She is just adding a new dimension to herself-marriage. Unlike her predecessor, she will work for a much longer period because she can decide when to begin her family. If she decides to have a family, her leave of absence is apt to be less than five years, because she is a member of the new breed of women who attempt to combine the roles of career woman, mother, and wife into a workable package. Wives have been working for a much longer period than most people think. Before the Industrial Revolution, even wealthy women worked long hours supervising the needs of large families, household servants, and slaves. Most American families engaged in farming then. Often husband and wife worked together in order to make a profit. During the time of the Revolutionary, women worked in the fields plowing and harvesting, because all males were away fighting the war. By the eighteenth century, women were employed in all occupations working side by side with men. This may sound unusual, but, in those days, all occupations were based in the home or at a nearby office or workshop. Women and children helped male family members build successful firms. The nineteenth century brought the beginning of a technical era with the center of economic activity moving away from the home into factories and offices. Most occupations came to be viewed then as unsuitable for women or incompatible with their chores in the home. Very few jobs remained that were considered appropriate for women. As a result, most upper and middle-class women left the work force. As the American population grew and the labor shortage eased, the opportunities for women became even fewer. By the nineteenth century, the practice of paying women less for the same job done by men was well-established. Just a glance at today's classified ads in any newspaper will refute the argument that a woman's place is in the home. In the past, women worked mostly out of necessity. But now, many women work because it is self-fulfilling. When I was a child, both my parents worked. During the eighteen years I lived with my parents, they earned MBAs and in my mothers case a Ph.D. I grew up believing that to be successful, I must go to college, establish a career, get married and have kids. It never occurred to me to be a housewife and stay home. I did go to college at eighteen but dropped out to get married at age twenty. I worked while my husband finished school. I wanted to wait to have children until I was in my later twentys and hopefully have the chance to finish school and establish a career. Life did not quite work that way. At twenty-one the first little, surprise bundle of joy came along. So by age twenty-two, I had a year old baby and was working full-time. I did not feel right about staying home. I did not think I would be respected. Four years later I had another baby girl. I continued to work but not climb any ladders to success partly because my husband moved every two years for his company and partly because I was not focused. I did not know what I wanted to be when I grew up and in my heart I wanted to be home with my babies, for awhile at least. I wanted the opportunity to further

Friday, March 20, 2020

Free Essays on Plato Vs Aristotle

Numerous experts in modern time regard Plato as the first genuine political philosopher and Aristotle as the first political scientist. They were both great thinkers in regards to, in part with Socrates, being the foundation of the great western philosophers. Plato and Aristotle each had ideas in how to proceed with improving the society in which they were part of during their existence. It is necessary therefore to analyze their different theoretical approaches regarding their philosophical perspectives, such as ethics and psychology. This paper however will mainly concentrate on Aristotle’s views on friendship and how it impacts today’s society. The main objective in Plato’s philosophy is a creation of a perfect society. He constructs a foundation for a utopian society in his book â€Å"The Republic†. The purpose of his thought process was to cleanse his society of the woes he felt plagued it and construct a new one. Plato lived during the Peloponnesian War, which consequently lead to the end of the Athenian democracy. He had eyewitness account of his mentor’s (Socrates) trial and execution. Bitter and angered by the political corruption that gripped the Athenian democratic government, he disengaged from participating in politics. He strongly felt that neither a moral individual nor a state that is rational could be established in a democratic environment. Plato felt that the common man wasn’t intelligent or capable of dealing with concepts that influence the state such as economics, policy of foreign affairs and other relative matters. He viewed political incumbents in Athens government as being elected for matters that were irrelevant to main factors that affected the state. Another danger was that excessive liberty for the people of the democratic society could potentially lead to anarchy. In Plato’s perfect society, he forged ahead to eliminate the disease (pluralism of f riendship) that plagued the human character a... Free Essays on Plato Vs Aristotle Free Essays on Plato Vs Aristotle Numerous experts in modern time regard Plato as the first genuine political philosopher and Aristotle as the first political scientist. They were both great thinkers in regards to, in part with Socrates, being the foundation of the great western philosophers. Plato and Aristotle each had ideas in how to proceed with improving the society in which they were part of during their existence. It is necessary therefore to analyze their different theoretical approaches regarding their philosophical perspectives, such as ethics and psychology. This paper however will mainly concentrate on Aristotle’s views on friendship and how it impacts today’s society. The main objective in Plato’s philosophy is a creation of a perfect society. He constructs a foundation for a utopian society in his book â€Å"The Republic†. The purpose of his thought process was to cleanse his society of the woes he felt plagued it and construct a new one. Plato lived during the Peloponnesian War, which consequently lead to the end of the Athenian democracy. He had eyewitness account of his mentor’s (Socrates) trial and execution. Bitter and angered by the political corruption that gripped the Athenian democratic government, he disengaged from participating in politics. He strongly felt that neither a moral individual nor a state that is rational could be established in a democratic environment. Plato felt that the common man wasn’t intelligent or capable of dealing with concepts that influence the state such as economics, policy of foreign affairs and other relative matters. He viewed political incumbents in Athens government as being elected for matters that were irrelevant to main factors that affected the state. Another danger was that excessive liberty for the people of the democratic society could potentially lead to anarchy. In Plato’s perfect society, he forged ahead to eliminate the disease (pluralism of f riendship) that plagued the human character a...

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

How You Should Be Launching Your Books

How You Should Be Launching Your Books How You Should Be Launching Your Books in 2015 - An Interview with Eliot Peper â€Å"For someone who loves a book, what would make their day? What would make them happy or make them think of it again or think that it’s cool? I’m always struggling with that.†This is a quote that defines startup-fiction author Eliot Peper. He writes for his readers and would do anything to make them happy.Dedicated readers here at the Reedsy blog may recall that we interviewed Eliot back in July of this year, a few months after the release of his first ever book, Uncommon Stock. If you do, you might also remember the mood in which we left the interview: â€Å"Eliot Peper is the nicest man in the world.† He’s a great, positive guy to be around, and overflows with excitement not just when he’s talking about his writing, but also the aftercare of publishing and promotion.So we’ve brought him back again! And what better day for it than today, for the official launch of the second book in the Uncommon series, ‘Uncommon Stock: Powe r Play’! What’s changed for Eliot since he launched his first book? One one hand, a lot: the first book was a real success and garnered some fantastic reviews. On the other hand, not much: Eliot stays true to his credo: â€Å"At the end of the day the people who read my books, my actual readers, they just want the next book†.How do you successfully launch a book? How do you connect with readers? How do you work hand-in-hand with your publisher to spread the word? All this gravitates around the fundamental notion of â€Å"creative marketing.†If you’re a writer, the big takeaway from this interview is that promoting your book isn’t something to be afraid of. It’s not, as Eliot put it, ‘a black box.’ You need to approach it as a creative challenge, just like you would writing a book. You don’t need to worry about doing what everyone else is doing - in fact, marketing, just like writing, just like anything creative, ma rketing is one of those disciplines where you win by breaking the rules, by being bold, by experimenting. If you think of something that sounds cool, that sounds interesting, like it’s something you haven’t seen done before - that’s a sign you should give it a try. Because, generally, those are the people you remember.As the saying goes, â€Å"here’s to the crazy ones.†I recommend you first read our previous interview with him and then put your headphones on, grab a cup of coffee, and join our hangout here. For the unconditional lovers of the written word (like myself), I’ve transcribed below some of the most insightful parts of the hangout. REEDSYApart from granting us this great interview, what are you doing for the launch of Uncommon Stock: Power Play?ELIOT PEPERWe’re trying to line up a bunch of fun stuff. Book launches are interesting, and particularly for fiction, because it’s not obvious what a book launch should be. Many authors, aspiring authors, or readers sort of assume that if you work with a big publisher, they have a big marketing plan ready for you: maybe you’ll have billboards on the subway, or maybe you’ll be in a private jet flying around the country to do book signings or stuff like that.Obviously, that doesn’t really happen. But even the less sort of over-the-top versions either don’t happen, or don’t work very well. I have a friend who published a major business book this year. They had a lot of traditional marketing behind the book; they actually had billboards and stuff like that. And they were still frustrated, they actually felt that it didnâ€℠¢t really allow them to capture new readers.Of course, for non-fiction it’s a little different, but for fiction, it’s actually pretty simple. The way that I try to think about our launch efforts, and the way I then try to work with independent publisher, FG Press, is to consider the book’s launch from the readers’ perspective.It’s very tempting to thinking of it from the publisher’s perspective – and that equally applies to the author’s perspective if you’re self-publishing – to think through â€Å"How would I want to get the word out.† But that doesn’t work very well. Really, what you need to think about is: â€Å"Why do readers check out new books in the first place?† Those are the people that you are trying to reach.Now, I am a voracious reader – I read dozens and dozens of books a year – and I know that, especially for fiction, the way that I discover a new author, a new seri es or a new book is because someone recommends it to me. It’s really straightforward. A friend says: â€Å"Hey Eliot,   I just read X and you would really like it, so you should probably check it out.† And I do the same - if I read a book I really like, and I know I have a friend who would get a kick out of it, I let them know. A couple of books I recommended this year are Whisky Tango Foxtrott, by David Schaeffer, which is great; The Martian, by Andi Weir; The Magicians, by Lev Grossman, which I just got into even if it was released back in 2009†¦ That’s how many readers discover new books.   So when we think about what a book launch even means aside from just allowing people to buy it, we try to think about it from that point of view.For example, this conversation is great because there are people who are following Reedsy and who are interested in becoming independent authors, who think about what it means to be an independent author, and if they get a kick out of this conversation maybe they are going to go check out Uncommon Stock, right?One thing that is also definitely worth mentioning is that today, the book Uncommon Stock 1.0, the first one in the series that we released back in March, is actually free on Amazon. It is free today, tomorrow, and Friday. So you can check out the story for free, and if you like it, do me a solid and leave a review and buy the sequel! That’s a fun experiment that we’re doing. In addition to that, over the past six weeks we’ve been releasing the entire first book serially on Medium, which is a sort of new blogging platform. We broke the book up into 10 parts and we’ve been releasing each part along the way, so you can follow the story (one new part comes up a week). Right now, we’re about to release part 6, and by the end of the year the whole book will be available for free on Medium, forever.REEDSYExactly, and I think that most of the successful authors we s ee out there during the marketing. I can recall you interviewing Joanna Penn on a similar Hangout a few weeks ago; and I see Joanna at a lot of conferences and events. Basically, these conferences are a way for her to get her message across, let people know about her, her blog, her advice, etc. and she always seems to have fun doing it.So I think lots of authors see marketing as a hustle, when it should be seen as something to experiment and get creative with, just as you’re doing.ELIOTYes, I think Joanna does this phenomenally well: she’s found a niche where her message is also relevant, that’s why people want her to speak at those conferences. And authors can do that in different ways. Hugh Howey for example has been writing a lot about the publishing industry, as do a number of author authors. You’re going to attract different people by writing about different things.But you know, here’s an example of something fun: I was recently in Boulder to visit with FG Press, and we recorded a series of video interviews where I spend 20 minutes just talking to each member of their team about what they did to make the book a reality. I talked to their editorial director about the editorial process for the book, what it looked like behind the scenes, to the designer about typography and cover design, etc.And that second interview has an interesting story: for the cover design, it’s a top-down still-light photo of a laptop with a cappuccino, a book and a handgun on the table. It looks pretty cool, I’m really happy with it. That was our concept and FG Press actually did the photoshoot. They’re in Boulder, which is this nice little mountain town. So they got a gun, and went to the different coffee shops around the office, but none of the coffee shop owners would allow them inside with a gun! And that became a huge problem because they really wanted to have a nice ceramic cup with a cappuccino in it and a nice drawing in the foam†¦ So if they couldn’t bring the gun into the coffee shop, how could they bring the cappuccino in the cup to the gun, without the latte on top degrading?In the end they had to come up with this system where they had to have everything ready in their office to take the picture and then rush the cappuccino over there. So it’s cute, you know, it makes for a really interesting story.Also, they re-did the cover for Uncommon Stock: Version 1.0 as well. You’ll notice that it has these leaves in the background, there’s a knife and a backpack, and this burning paperwork. Well, that burning paperwork are real termsheets from Foundry Group that they actually issued to Mozaik, per that press release that we were mentioning.So they went outside, they were on the street in Boulder, collected leaves from the whole neighborhood, made this whole setup, and started burning the termsheets under the camera taking a time-lapse (see below). Obviously, people we re stopping, looking at that and asking what the hell they were doing†¦So the good thing with these little stories is that if you pick up the book, you’ll think (hopefully) â€Å"oh, that’s a nice cover†. And then you read it and you think â€Å"oh, that’s a cool book†. Well, if you liked the book it might be fun for you to know that background story, it’s like a â€Å"behind the scenes† for a DVD extra.Now, we’re going to be able to show these videos, and you could call that marketing, but it is certainly not how it felt! We didn’t feel like we were trying to sell something, we were just thinking: this is a funny story, let’s talk about it.REEDSYNo, absolutely. And I’ve heard of something similar that some authors do: they intentionally cut scenes from their book – often also because the scene wasn’t 100% necessary or relevant – and release that scene a few months after the bookâ €™s launch to keep readers engaged, which I think is very important.Now the great thing for you now is that for this second launch, you already have an established reader base, right? So how does that change things?ELIOTOh yes, there’s actually a number of dynamics that this changes and which should be very obvious but I haven’t really been thinking about. Like, in the beta process of writing the second book it felt very different from writing the first. Because when writing the first, nobody cares, it’s really just you†¦ When writing book 2, you feel more like you’re writing for an audience, because there are these people who’ve been leaving reviews on Amazon for the first one and are waiting for the second one.And that’s true on the launch end too. For example, here’s something that I think every author should do, especially if you’re writing a series: I went on Goodreads, a book review platform, and also on Amazon t o check the reviews of the first book. Now, on Goodreads, you can actually message the people who leave you a review. On Amazon, you can’t do that, but you can comment on their review. So I went through these, and for every reviewer who liked the book, I messaged or commented them and said: â€Å"thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on the book. As a writer, that really makes my day because I get feedback from people and it seems you got something out of the book so it’s really rewarding to know about it. If you’re interested, I’d like to thank you by offering you a free Advanced Review Copy (ARC) of the sequel.†Because these people have already proved that they’ve liked the first book enough to leave a review, so getting a direct message from the author offering you an early version of the sequel, that’s pretty awesome, right?And I was really shocked at the results. Our â€Å"conversion rate† (the number of people who r esponded to that) was extremely high. So I’m hoping, now that they have the ARC and have read it, that when the book comes out they’ll write another review and share it with their friends. Being able to do that is really something that makes the second launch different from the first one.REEDSYThanks for your time Eliot.

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Outcome and Assessment Information Set Data that Predict Pressure Research Paper

Outcome and Assessment Information Set Data that Predict Pressure Ulcer Development in Older Adult Home Health - Research Paper Example According to the American Geriatics Association (2005), â€Å"Pressure ulcers are areas of tissue damage that develop when the skin and soft tissues (eg, muscle) are squeezed between the bones and the surface that is in contact with the body, such as a mattress.† These ulcers occur around areas such as hip, heel and buttocks. Methods The results of the research by Bergquist-Beringer and Gajewski, which was conducted among 5395 non-hospice patients of 60 years or older showed that bowel incontinence, needing assistance with grooming, dependence in ability to dress the upper body, dependence in ability to dress the lower body, dependence in toileting, inability to transfer, being chairfast or bedfast, and the presence of a PrU on admission were positively associated with new PrU development (Bergquist-Beringer and Gajewski, 2011). The factors raised in the researcher were therefore concluded as the risk factors for pressure ulcers for patients in home healthcare. In a similar re search conducted among 1711 nonhospice patients 60 years or older, Bergquist (2003) however came out with results that were not directly in line with the risk factors pointed out by the former researchers. Unlike the first researchers but not in sharp contrast to their results, Bergquist pointed to the risk factors for pressure ulcers for patients in home healthcare as Limitation in activity to bed, dependence in dressing, urinary incontinence, and needing assistance with transferring predicted Stage I pressure ulcer development (P

Monday, February 3, 2020

The transformation in the banking system in the lead-up of the Global Essay

The transformation in the banking system in the lead-up of the Global Financial Crisis - Essay Example The paper tells that the Global Financial Crisis started with the collapse of biggest (in terms of financial status and business of these companies) financial companies of the world, including Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. The crisis situation became worst in 2007 when financial intermediaries like banks of USA were in a position to announce themselves as bankrupts. In this time the US government intervened into the matter and provided the necessary financial support to these banks and financial intermediaries and slightly controlled the crisis situation. The financial crisis situation occurred because of the strategy of those financial intermediaries to provide various types of loans, such as house loans, car loans etc., to individuals and business organizations. The crisis situation became worst when these loans or hedge funds have been circulated to different layers in the banking transactions all around the world. Increase in the layers of providing loans to different sectio ns of the world economy has caused these financial intermediaries to suffer from greater risks of default of loans. The risk has been at high because default of one of the person or organization could have resulted in the default of the entire system of circulation of loans. In the mid-2007 this has actually happened and the entire financial system of the country collapsed. This crisis situation eventually transferred into several other countries of the world, including developed countries like United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and developing countries like India and China (James, 2011, pp. 19-22). With significant disturbance in the housing markets of USA economic and financial systems of countries across the globe has been disturbed and financial companies started to reduce their economic as well as financial activities which in effect reduced the level of economic activities across the globe. In the beginning of 2008, greater liquidity crisis in the US financial mark et and in the US banking system caused countries across the globe to suffer from severe financial crisis situation. The reduction in housing prices and real estate prices across the US caused many large financial intermediaries and banks to suffer from loss of capital and funds. These have eventually reduced the amount of investments made in the process of developing world economies and hence countries started to suffer from severe financial crisis as well as debt crisis. During this time most of the effected countries tried to implement various policies and strategies to transform the banking system to reduce the effects of the Global Financial Crisis (Campbell, 2011, pp. 217-219). Transformation of banking in New Zealand: After the introduction of the Global Financial Crisis in the period of 2007 and 2008, many countries started to implement various macroeconomic as well as various microeconomic policies in order to reduce the intensity of the crisis to affect these economies. New Zealand also affected badly like other developed nations of the world by the Global Financial Crisis and hence, the government of New Zealand took several policies to transform the financial system of the country into more financially stable and operationally strong position. The financial system

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Strategies for Social Change and their Results

Strategies for Social Change and their Results Introduction Social change as per Grant (2014) description is a concept that’s more elusive in today’s modern society. Furthermore, it has aspects that are inevitable, yet its dependant on the various individuals forms of actions. As such, change has been embraced in today’s society, yet some certain aspects within us tend to resist such change. Political campaigns, movements within the social domains, and strategies within the business context have been structured in respect to the various changes taking place (Yeates, 2002). This paper in respect to various change theories, and case studies of social change strategies aims to identify the different strategies of social change and their impacts towards the society. Insights in respect to strategies formulated within the historical context of social change will be highlighted upon, in respect to the various communities and firms within the social domain. Case studies in respect to Kuhn, T. S. (2012) ‘The structure of scientific revolutions’ Willis, Harman, (1988), ‘Global Mind Change’ and Wallace, A. F., Fogelson, R. D. (1961) ‘Culture and personality’ will be used in regards to comparing the various strategic social changes in respect to shifts in paradigms and culture throughout the historical era. As such, concepts of cultural evolution and change in paradigms will be focused on this paper in respect to the social change aspect. As such, a broad view will be taken in respect to review of various literature journals, in respect to understanding the cause of such changes and what the results of such changes entail. Strategies for Social Change Shift in Paradigms In respect to Kuhn’s study ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions’ social change perspectives from recent history have been established in essence to the much talked about paradigm concept. Such a concept according to Edelman (2001) entails different conceptual assumptions, whose character allows scholars to easily detach data, define problem solutions, and emphasize on the use of theories. As Kuhn (2012) further indicates, paradigms within the era of scientific revolutions tend to inclusively encompassing, given the attributes of life is only available for humans on planet earth. However, Grant (2014) notes that, the concept of paradigm under social change has its own distinctive character. Given its facts are illuminated through a set of instructions only it can define. As such, Edelman (2001) described it as self-validating, this in respect to its change resistance nature. Observations as made by Kuhn (2014) in his study indicate that paradigms will portray their dominance given its nature of defining solutions to problems and explaining the various phenomena’s as they occur. However, there’s a lot of doubt that piles up in regards to the ability of a paradigm when contradicting phenomena’s arise. As such, Edelman (2001) and Gore (2000) on the same school of thought indicate that crisis normally arises in essence to inability aspect paradigms find themselves in when there are multiple anomalies. Views as offered by Kuhn (2012) have implied that there’s no rational or linear progress in regards to science history. As such, visions tend to take a radical shift, given the scenario whereby anti-empirical and anti-rational factors take centre stage. The nature to which the case chosen dealt with science and the paradigm nature at that time, over-application of such a concept has been warned against. Given, as Gore (2000) notes, it’s a concept applied mostly under transition processes within the social domains. However, as further noted, it turns out to be of importance in cases regarding the various dimensions of change. As such, its reflection is highlighted on how paradigm as a concept is made use of globally. As mentioned within the cases study, Capra, a philosopher come physicist described paradigm as an aspect that entails; practices, concepts, various perceptions and values which communities tend to share in respect to having a common goal. Given such an explanation, it’s clearly evident of how communities tend to value the paradigm factor, given its sharing aspect within them. Whereby an individual’s view can be globally accepted, but a community will tend to share its view trough the platform s provi ded by the paradigm concept. Paradigm and the Concept of Social Change Such a concept of paradigm as Kuhn (2012) discussed tends to portray the lengths as to which social change can hang on the balance in respect to personal views. However, Harman (1988) in his book ‘Global Mind Change’ notes that, the various changes that have taken place in the society have all been subject to change of minds by individuals, contrary to the perceived notions of wars and state laws. Given the intensity of change in mind amongst individuals, Bandura (2001) notes that its results tend to occur in an instant. The nature of human beings will perceive innovations within the cultural context as not meaningful, given Bandura (2001) statement of such minority individuals being creative. But as Harman (1988) indicates in his book, various ways in which life can be conceived tend to occur, and its results tend to spread quickly to the surrounding populations. The discussion of Kuhn (2012) in respect to a butterfly’s metamorphosis, and the emergence of an imaginal disc can be characterized with the theory of normative-reeducative. Whereby as Edelman (2001) indicates, its whole conception is on how change is viewed, given it onset is from the bottom going up, and not the normal scenario of top all the way to the bottom. As such, change in minds is usually on a focus towards the creation of a social system. From such a perspective, the imaginal discs as discussed by Kuhn (2012) clearly define the anomalies within the shift of paradigms. Various changes within a system are rarely taken into consideration; as such the model as developed by Kuhn (2012) fails to take note of such existent anomalies. In addition, the paradigm systems tend to be overwhelmed; hence new phase forms tend to appear from them. This aspect clearly indicates how new form of paradigm tend to develop from the old ones, the same case scenario with the explanation of imaginal discs as offered by Kuhn (2012). Renewal of Cultures ‘Culture and personality’ case study aspects as discussed by Wallace and Fogelson (1961), indicate that there are various descriptions of social change strategies that have been mentioned in within such contexts. From their observations, the processes of social change are initiated a diversion from the perspectives relating to cultural harmony, with individual stress coming up as one such form of change. Giddens (2013) in respect to the case of culture and personality indicate that there are a number of individuals who find it hard when it comes to meeting expectations within the cultural domain. From the case study, Wallace and Fogelson (1961) are of the idea that both the society and individuals perceive the lack of meeting cultural expectations as a problem that is developed individually. However, with the increased growth of such perceptions of deviation, the social fabrics according to Giddens (2013) have been weakened. As such, the issue of not meeting the various cultural expectations is being acknowledged by the society as no longer being an individual issue. Given such a state, the society has found it hard in terms of ensuring they go back to their equilibrium state. From the case, Wallace and Fogelson (1961) indicate that societies need to undergo the revitalization process given there are various variables involved. Code formulation is one such variable as mentioned in the case, whereby individuals affected by the lack of meeting cultural expectations would formulate image ideas of a common goal culture. Such a goal culture as Wallace and Fogelson (1961) discuss entails contrasts attractive in nature in comparison to the latter situations. Communication is also another variable as mentioned by Alexander (2004) in respect to the ‘Culture and Personality’ case. In such a variable, formulators are involved in the process, whereby visions are effectively communicated to other individuals. Individuals who are mostly impacted upon by stress are the ones targeted mostly within such a context. Adaptation is also another variable of strategy as mentioned within the case, whereby proposed visions tend to get the exposure required, as it experiences the necessary changes and growth. As per Walaace and Fogelson (1961) discussion, the latter vision as proposed portrays tendencies of being incomp lete, given its practical details, they tend to undergo various accommodating changes to ensure they look more appealing. Furthermore, the original vision will also undergo various accommodating changes, to ensure there’s perfect re-explanation in regards to the failed predictions of cultural expectations. Lastly, in respect to cultural transformations, Wallace and Fogelson (1961) in respect to their case indicate that if the cultural movements acquire the much needed support, then a shift to implementation from the aspect of communication is usually enabled. Giddens (2013) under the same context indicates that any delay in respect to establishment of the goal culture, the transfer culture option can easily be embraced to ensure the vision as intended within a culture is achieved. As such, if success is achieved in its implementation, then individual stress as experienced is reduced dramatically in regards to either goal culture or transfer culture. Observations made by Wallace in respect to the case of ‘Culture and personality’ indicate that the revitalization form as discussed in its thrust can take the form of innovation or reactionary state. Giddens (2013) identifies the aspects of reactionary entail a belied of problems can only be solved through hard and historical ways. As such, the changes that took place can easily be undone in regards to getting rid of the problem at hand. Furthermore, Giddens (2013) under the innovation mode indicates that it attempts to get hold of lagging in respect to culture. As such, the changes that would have taken place will be seen as unchangeable throughout the whole process. From the description as given from Wallace and Fogelson case, it’s clear that a shift to innovation, from the traditional innovative mode is seen as a parlance. As such, social change strategies take up movements and motions in respect to predictable laws. However, Bandura (2001) notes that such process of social change can be described as lurch and learn processes. Whereby, communities will lurch given new directions, where they would extract satisfaction better through aspects of work, unlike through activities regarding leisure. Conclusion From the discussion of various social change strategies regarding shift in paradigms and renewals of culture, it’s clearly evident that there are varying results which come out from their use within the society. From the case studies of Kuhn (2012) and Harman (1988), change in mind and personal views play a critical role in regards to the various social changes that take place within a society. As such, results of such changes tend to occur instantly, given the nature of human beings in regards to innovation within the cultural context. Various ways in which life can be conceived tend to occur as from the analysis; given as well its results tend to spread quickly to the surrounding populations, clearly implying how such a paradigm shift strategy can have its effect on the society. Furthermore, the normative-reeducative approach was identified. Given the whole conception is on how change is viewed. A process of bottom going up was identified as being ideal in the use of such a social change strategy, unlike the normal scenario of top all the way to the bottom. As such, change in minds is identified as a focus towards the creation of a social system. In respect to the renewal of cultures, the case of Wallace and Fogelson (1961), ‘culture and personality’ identified various social change strategies and their results. Variables such as code formulation, communication, adaptation and cultural transformation had a role to play in regards to social change. Aspects of idea formulation, effective communication of visions, exposure of visions to the public, and acquisition of the much needed support in regards to shift of implementation methods were all discussed, with most of their results being positive. As such, under the renewal of culture strategy, revitalization was identified as being that takes the reactionary mode was identified as the better strategy for social change. This is due to the fact that the satisfaction derived from such a mode is more appealing as compared to innovation under the concept of cultural renewal. Reference List Bandura, A 2001, ‘Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective’. Annual review of psychology, 52(1), 1-26. Edelman, M 2001, ‘Social movements: changing paradigms and forms of politics’. Annual Review of Anthropology, 285-317. Giddens, A 2013, ‘The third way: The renewal of social democracy’. John Wiley Sons. Gore, C 2000, ‘The rise and fall of the Washington Consensus as a paradigm for developing countries’. World development, 28(5), 789-804. Grant, J. A 2014, ‘Strategies for Social Change. Contemporary Sociology’: A Journal of Reviews, 43(6), 855-857. Harman, W. W 1988, ‘Global mind change’. Kuhn, T. S 2012, ‘The structure of scientific revolutions’. University of Chicago press. Wallace, A. F., Fogelson, R. D 1961, ‘Culture and personality’. Biennial Review of Anthropology, 42-78. Yeates, N 2002, ‘Globalization and Social Policy From Global Neoliberal Hegemony to Global Political Pluralism’. Global Social Policy, 2(1), 69-91. 1

Friday, January 17, 2020

Essays Solution

Workshop 3 Interest Rates and Bond Valuation Terminology †¢Face value/par value – the original issue price (the amount borrowed). †¢Maturity date – date on which loan has to be repaid. †¢Coupon interest rate – original interest rate on the bond. †¢Coupon payment – the fixed interest payment on the bond. †¢YTM=required rate of return. ?Bonds pay fixed coupon payments at fixed intervals and the face value at maturity. ?there is an inverse relationship between the price of an investment and the rate of return on the investment – if you pay a higher price for an investment your rate of return must be lower (holding all other factors constant)) ?If the YTM = coupon rate the bond will sell for the face value (i. e. current price = face value). ?If the YTM > coupon rate the bond will sell for a discount (yield goes up, price goes down). If the YTM < coupon rate the bond will sell for a premium (yield goes down, price goes up). Disc ussion 1. Identify the three most important determinants of the price of a bond. Describe the effect of each? Answer The three factors affecting the price of a bond are – coupon – yield – term to maturity. T > The relationship between price and coupon is a direct one – the higher the coupon, the higher the price. The relationship between price and yield is an inverse one – the higher the yield the lower the price, all other factors held constant. The relationship between price and maturity is not so clearly evident. Price changes resulting from changes in yields will be more pronounced, the longer the term to maturity. 2. Given a change in the level of interest rates, discuss how two major factors will influence the relative change in price of individual bonds. AnswerFor a given change in the level of interest rates, two factors that will influence the relative change in bond prices are the coupon and maturity of the issues. Bonds with longer matur ity and/or lower coupons will have the greatest price changes in response to a given change in interest rates. Other factors likewise cause differences in price volatility, including the call features, but these factors are typically much less important. 3. What is the purpose of bond ratings? Answer Bond ratings provide a very important service in the market for fixed income securities because they provide the fundamental analysis for thousands of issues.The rating agencies conduct extensive analyses of the intrinsic characteristics of the issue to determine the default risk for the investor and inform the market of the analyses through their ratings. 4. What are the important assumptions made when you calculate the promised YTM? Answer The most crucial assumption that the investor makes is that cash flows will be received in full (i. e. investors hold the bond to maturity) and reinvested at the promised yield. 5. You expect interest rates to decline over the next 6 months.What kin d of bonds do you want in your portfolios in term of duration and explain your reasoning for this choice. Answer Given that you expect interest rates to decline during the next six months, you should choose bonds that will have the largest price increase, that is, bonds with long durations. 6. Which of the following bonds will have the greatest percentage increase in value if all interest rates decrease by 1 percent? a. 20-year, zero coupon bond. b. 10-year, zero coupon bond. c. 20-year, 10 percent coupon bond. d. 20-year, 5 percent coupon bond. AnswerSince a zero coupon bond’s price today is determined just by the NPV of its par value, all of its payment is discounted for the maximum amount of time, whereas a coupon bond has many payments discounted for less than the maximum amount of time. Therefore, a zero coupon bond is most affected by interest rate changes. So, the longest zero coupon bond is the correct answer, which is statement a. 7. Which of the following statements is most correct? a. All else equal, long-term bonds have more interest rate risk than short-term bonds. b. All else equal, high-coupon bonds have less reinvestment rate risk than low-coupon bonds. . All else equal, short-term bonds have less reinvestment rate risk than do long-term bonds. d. All of the statements above are correct. Answer Statement a since high-coupon bonds have more reinvestment rate risk than low-coupon bonds and short-term bonds have more reinvestment rate risk than do long-term bonds. Problems 1. Two years ago you bought a government bond for $1,000 because you liked the 10% p. a. coupon interest payment that you would receive for 10 years. Interest on the bond is paid annually. Two years later, when the market interest rate has fallen to 8% p. a. what is the value of your bond? SolutionSince coupon rate is 10% and YTM has fallen to 8%, it must be the case that the price of this bond has increased (remembering the inverse relationship between bond price and yie ld). 2. The Morgan Corporation has two different bonds currently outstanding. Bond M has a face value of $20,000 and matures in 20 years. The bond makes no payments for the first six years, then payS $800 every six months over the subsequently eight years, and finally pays $1,000 every six months over the last 6 years. Bond N also has a face value of $20,000 and a maturity of 20 years; it makes no coupon payments over the life of the bond.If the required return on both these bond is 8 percent compounded semiannually, what is the current price of bond M? and bond N? Solution The price of any bond (or financial instrument) is the PV of the future cash flows. Even though Bond M makes different coupons payments, to find the price of the bond, we just find the PV of the cash flows. The PV of the cash flows for Bond M is: PM = $800(PVIFA4%,n=16)(PVIF4%,n=12) + $1,000(PVIFA4%,1n=2)(PVIF4%,n=28) + $20,000(PVIF4%,n=40) PM = $13,117. 88 Notice that for the coupon payments of $800, we found th e PVA for the coupon payments, and then discounted the lump sum back to today.Bond N is a zero coupon bond with a $20,000 par value; therefore, the price of the bond is the PV of the par, or: PN = $20,000(PVIF4%,40) = $4,165. 78 3. Bond P is a premium bond with a 9 percent coupon. Bond D is a 5 percent coupon bond currently selling at a discount. Both bonds make annual payments, have a YTM of 7 percent, and have five years to maturity. What is the current yield for bond P? for bond D? if interest rates remain unchanged, what is the expected capital gains yield over the next year for bond P? for bond D? Explain your answers and the interrelationship among the various types of yields.Solution To find the capital gains yield and the current yield, we need to find the price of the bond. The current price of Bond P and the price of Bond P in one year is: P:P0 = $90(PVIFA7%,5) + $1,000(PVIF7%,5) = $1,082. 00 P1 = $90(PVIFA7%,4) + $1,000(PVIF7%,4) = $1,067. 74 Current yield = $90 / $1,082. 00 = . 0832 or 8. 32% The capital gains yield is: Capital gains yield = (New price – Original price) / Original price Capital gains yield = ($1,067. 74 – 1,082. 00) / $1,082. 00 = –0. 0132 or –1. 32% The current price of Bond D and the price of Bond D in one year is:D:P0 = $50(PVIFA7%,5) + $1,000(PVIF7%,5) = $918. 00 P1 = $50(PVIFA7%,4) + $1,000(PVIF7%,4) = $932. 26 Current yield = $50 / $918. 00 = 0. 0545 or 5. 45% Capital gains yield = ($932. 26 – 918. 00) / $918. 00 = 0. 0155 or 1. 55% All else held constant, premium bonds pay a high current income while having price depreciation as maturity nears; discount bonds pay a lower current income but have price appreciation as maturity nears. For either bond, the total return is still 7%, but this return is distributed differently between current income and capital gains.