Charles Dickens Great Expectations as a Fairy Tale :: Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essays

Charles Dickens' Great Expectations as a Fairy Tale There are numerous manners by which Great Expectations looks like a pixie story, for example, the subjects destitute individuals getting wealth, the good reasons, - do great unto others and you will be reimbursed. During Victorian occasions stories were utilized fundamentally for ethics purposes. One of the fundamental reasons why takes after a fantasy is because of its characters Extraordinary Expectations has numerous characters that mirror the qualities of those in fantasies. A portion of these fantasy qualities are found in Miss Havisham. In part eight, when Miss Havisham first shows up, she appears to take on the part of a pixie back up parent, however yet, she despite everything appears to come across as a misshaped figure. In part eleven, Pip tells how she put her hand upon his shoulder, â€Å"†¦She resembled the witch of the place.† This shows Miss Havisham to be the insidious witch of the story. Part fifteen, in this section of the book we find out about the ‘morose journeyman’ and such a stories he told Pip. â€Å"†¦the fallen angel lived in a dark corner of the fashion, and that he knew the beast well indeed: likewise that it was important to make up the fire, once in seven years, with a live kid, and that I should seriously mull over myself fuel.† The repulsiveness stories Pip was told all through his youth are strung into the surface of the novel through different pictures, and at this point in the book, Miss Havisham speaks to the witch, yet she is moreover satisfying the job of the pixie Godmother. Another witchlike character in the book is Mrs. Joe. Estella is another character ‘type’ that you would discover in a pixie story. She appears to be the princess of the story. At the point when we initially meet Estella she seems to be mean, and relentless which is expected to being raised by Miss Havisham. As we get further into the story we start excessively fell sorry for Estella, as she has lived for her entire life with a ‘witch’. She currently is by all accounts the bound princess; be that as it may, in part 29, it appears as though Estella will no thrust be the destined princess. †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ to put it plainly, carry out all the sparkling things of the youthful Knight of sentiment, what's more, wed the princess.† This part shows Pip accepts he can protect Estella from Miss Havisham and carry on with a glad existence with her. Orlick and Magwitch speak to the monstrosity type character that you would find in a fantasy. In part fifteen we figure out how Pip feels that Orlick despises him fro some obscure explanation. â€Å"†¦Drew out a super hot bar, made at me with it as

Asign 1 Information Technology Planning Process Essay

Asign 1 Information Technology Planning Process - Essay Example e subtleties consolidated in the arrangement (what); the reserved areas for usage (where); the method of reasoning for the arranging procedure (why); the applicable time spans and arranging period (when); lastly, the really arranging process (how). Roto-Rooter is a pipes and channel cleaning administration association that began in 1935 (Roto-Rooter, 2013). It was allegedly established by Samuel Blanc and was in the long run offered to Chemed Corporation in 1980. Right now, the association was unveiled to work in more than â€Å"100 organization possessed branch and self employed entity regions and around 500 free establishment tasks, serving roughly 90% of the U.S. populace and parts of Canada† (Roto-Rooter, 2013, standard. 4). From the meeting with Swanson, it was uncovered that the association has recognized its importance to be joined inside their working and broadcast communications framework. It was recognized that the IT arranging process begins with the ID and lining up with the general objective: â€Å"to be the head supplier of fix and upkeep administrations. As usual, we will keep on tuning in to clients and extend administration contributions to meet and surpass their evolving expectations† (Roto-Rooter, 2013, standard. 3). Because of this objective, the IT arranging process started with deciding the necessities of requests of the customers. The Customer Satisfaction Manager, Pat Swanson, is the individual answerable for overseeing and controlling the arranging procedure. The contributions to be fused in the arrangement incorporate the budgetary focuses, for example in a specific year: (1) an expansion of 10% in piece of the overall industry; (2) more prominent consumer loyalty as confirm from 10% decrease in client grumblings; (3) expanded areas and items; and (4) a10% expansion in self employed entities and establishments through data innovation and applications. As indicated by Swanson, the reserved areas in growing administrations and activities would be in

Theme of Forgiveness in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

Subject of Forgiveness in The Scarlet Letter   The general population is dictatorial in its temper; it is fit for denying basic equity when excessively exhaustingly requested as a right; however very as often as possible it grants more than equity when the intrigue is made, as tyrants love to have it made totally to it's liberality. The Scarlet Letter (156)          One of topics that Hawthorne passes on in The Scarlet Letter is that society is all the more ready to pardon individuals who request absolution with lowliness and liberality than the individuals who requested it as a right. This topic was passes on utilizing Hester Prynne, a young ladies who submitted infidelity. This was viewed as one of the most exceedingly terrible wrongdoing somebody could submit in the Puritan culture during the eighteen hundreds, where she lives in.  As discipline, Hester was required to wear a red letter An upon her piece of clothing with the end goal for everybody to perceive her crime.  Her general public had censure her, they  accepted that she has brought endless supply of us, and should die...(59) Yet, as time passed by, on account of the manner by which Hester conducted herself wearing the red letter, the image had taken another meaning.  Although, when the r ed letter was ahead of all comers on her chest it was an image of Hester's wrongdoing, weight, disengagement, and disgrace. Be that as it may, because of Hester's liberality and lowliness the red letter had come to represent Hester's quality, altruism, and picked up her extremely high decency in her general public.         Let her spread the imprint as she will, its ache will be consistently in her heart.(59).  The red letter was place upon Hester Prynne chest as a discipline for the wrongdoing she carried out; the letter A to connoted adulteress.    The letter An on her chest was there as an update the townspeople, outsiders and Hester herself of the wrongdoing she submitted. In like manner, it was there to guarantee that such a wrongdoing would not again came to pass for upon their Puritan community.    Drink, at that point, answered he, still with a similar cold poise. Dost thou know me so little, Hester Prynne? Are my motivations wont to be so shallow? Regardless of whether I envision a plan of retaliation, what would I be able to improve the situation for my article than to let thee live-than to give thee meds against all mischief and danger of life with the goal that this consuming Shame may in any case burst upon thy chest?

Weak form efficiency of chinese stock markets - Free Essay Example

China, in the last 30 years, has shown the spectacular growth rate in economy. By the end of 2010, China GDP ranks the second in the world. Compared with the stable growth of Chinas economy, the performance of Chinese stock markets is also a limelight. The stock markets have improved with an expansion in the number of the list companies and the total amount of stock trading. China has two major stock exchanges-Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. Shanghai Stock Exchange (SHSE) was founded in December 1990 and Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) started its trading in July 1991. Two types of shares are traded in Chinas Stock Exchanges, which are named type A and type B shares. In China, type A shares are available to Chinese nationals only and these shares are traded by Chinese Yuan. Type B shares, in Shanghai Stock Exchange, are traded by U.S dollars, while in Shenzhen Stock Exchange those are denominated in Hong Kong dollars (Martin Laurence, Francis Cai and Sun Qian 1997). Particularly, type B shares are only available to investors from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and other countries before 19th February 2001. After this date, individual investors in Chinas Mainland are able to purchase type B shares. By the end of 2010, the number of listed companies on SHSE is 901 and on SZSE is 1169. In the Shanghai exchange, there are 891 A-shares and 54 B-shares. The Shenzhen Exchange has 1195 A-shares and 54 B-shares. Chinese stock markets are the emerging stock markets, since they are relatively young compared with stock markets in some developed countries. Many external and internal aspects and policies lead to the specific features of Chinas stock markets. One of the features is the structure of a listed company. A listed companys ownership structure can be divided into five categories: stated-owned shares, employee shares, legal-person shares, tradable A-shares and shares only available to overseas investors. To distinguish them in a more detailed way, stated-owned shares, employee shares and legal-person shares are classified as non-negotiable shares which cannot be traded on the two exchanges. The listed companies are financed with non-negotiable shares that account for 60 percent of the companies equities (Qiet al . 2000, Wei and Varela 2003). Chinese Stock Exchange, in addition, exhibits that a majority of the individual investors are regarded as the gambler. Many investors treat the stock trading like a casino with the fact that they do not pay much attention to the information, finance and announcements about the listed companies (Ma 1996, Nam et al. 1999, Kang et al. 2002, Girardin and Liu 2003). Polices carried out by Chinas central government affect Chinas stock markets at a significant extent. The indexes of Chinas stock markets may not be consistent with the economic growth of China. The government has macro-economic control over the stock markets, which interferes the decisions made by investors. Thus Chinas government makes the stock markets a tool of raising finance. Except for the aspects mentioned above, the efficiency of Chinese stock markets is essential to the investors and regulators since it relates to how information in the market can be reflected by the stock price. Eff icient-Market Hypothesis (EMH) developed by Eugene Fama (1970), mainly, has three forms of market efficiency. In Weak-form efficiency, people cannot predict the stock prices in the future though they collect and analyze the information contained in the past prices. In addition, excess returns in long term cannot be made by using historical stock prices and other historical data. Some techniques can provide excess returns to investors in some cases. But the excess returns may not be consistently produced by the technical methods. Stock price in the future follow a random walk since it is predicted by the information not contained in the past prices, and no serial dependencies exist between these prices. Dimson and Mussavian (1998) defined efficient capital market in a similar way. In an efficient capital market, all information must be reflected in the financial assets prices and the prices changes should be consistent with the new information. An efficient capital market, of course, cannot be identical with a perfect market. Basically, the definition of a perfect market is with several assumptions. Investors in a perfect market can obtain all of the relevant information immediately and simultaneously. Also, the information provided is costless. Moreover, investors in such market are rational and the market should be presumed to be frictionless. In the real world, there is no perfectly efficient market and no completely inefficient market. This report mainly focuses on testing the weak-form market efficiency of Chinese stock markets. In this study, three statistical techniques are employed. Dickey-Fuller test for unit root test is firstly provided and then employing the non-parametric runs test. In addition, Lo-Mackinlay Variance Ratio test is presented. Section 2 presents some tests ealier employed by other people. The data description and the research methodology will be discussed in Section 3. Section 4 contains the empirical results, and Section 5 then p rovides the summary and conclusion. Literature Review Various previous market efficiency tests findings (Liu, X., H. Song and P. Romilly 1997, Laurence, M., F. Cai and S. Qian 1997 and Lima and Tabak 2004 for A-shares markets in both SHSE and SZSE, and Long, D.M., J.D. Payne and C. Feng 1999 for A- and B-shares markets in SHSE) reveal that Chinese stock markets are significantly speculative to the investors. Due the fact that Chinese stock markets are speculative, many noise traders who regard the stock trading as a casino may make the stock returns serially correlated. Previously De Long, J.B., A. Shleifer, L.H. Summers and R.J. Waldmann (1990) employed a theoretical model to indicate the effect of noise traders in the stock markets. This model finally shows that if noise traders expect to find positive returns when they trade, the price stress will give rise to autocorrelations between positive returns during a relative short time. However, Kang et al. (2002) reported that abnormal profits exist in the A-shares market given certain short-horizon and intermediate-horizon strategies. Random walk was employed by Abrosimova and Linowski (2002) when they examined the weak-form efficiency of the Russian Stock Exchange. They found that if the monthly data was used, random walk could not be rejected. However if daily data was used in the test, random walk could be rejected. Balaban (1995) carried out an experiment of testing the weak-form efficiency of Istanbul Securities Exchange, and he performed a random walk test on this market. Tian et al. (2002) reported that 412 technical rules were useful in predicting the movements of stock price in Chinese stock markets, which making traders pursue excess profits in 1990s. In addition to the aforementioned researches which apply the well-known and conventional tests, many other studies related to this topic aim at avoiding some defects in the previous tests. For instance, run tests employed by Laurence (1997) and Mookerjee and Yu (1999) enable them to reach the conclusion th at stock markets are in the weak-form efficiency. Besides, Liu (1997) and Seddighi and Nian (2004) used unit root tests to conduct their analyses. Lo and MacKinlay (1988) applied variance ratios tests to detect the serial correlations between the stock returns, and then asserted that random walk could be rejected using a sample of 1,216 observations of firms in NYSE-AMEX during 1962-1985. K.A. AI-Abdulqader et al. (2007) used two conventional tests to examine the weak- form efficiency of Saudi stock market. One of them is the filter rule test, and the other one is moving average strategy. Fliter rule is proposed by Alexander (1961, 1964). According to the opinion of Fama and Blume (1966), Alexanders filter rule detects whether prices changes are consistent to the new information. This research applied various filters to the data, and then assessed the filters effect on the rules profitability. This filter rule strategies finally obtained the conclusion that rule profits, in minor ity of cases, could not exceed the profits from the buy-and-hold strategy. Accordingly, if profits of the strategy are more than the profits from a buy-and-hold strategy, it could provide evidence against the weak-form efficiency. To compare the conclusion from the filter strategy, a moving average strategy was also employed in their research. This strategy relates to the buying (selling) at the short-term average price moves above (below) the long-term average price during k days. In this research they adopted four different moving average strategies: (1, 50, 0), (1, 50, 1), (1,150, 0), (1, 150, 1). For example, (1,150, 0) demonstrate that length of short-term is 1 day, the length of long-run is 150 and the bandwidth is 0. Bandwidth reflects the minimum change made before a signal is identified. The conclusion from the results of the moving average strategy indicated that though this strategy outperformed a buy-and-hold portfolio much more significantly, the ability of predicting c hanged according to the moving average strategies applied. Pakistan stock market is an emerging stock market like Chinese stock markets. Research conducted by Madhlimita Chakraborty (2006) investigated the weak-form efficiency of the Pakistan stock market. He employed the Lo-Mackinlay variance ratio test (1988) in addition to the traditional serial correlation test and runs test. The variance ratio test requires the precondition that the random walk increments variance is linear between the experiment samples. Therefore, if a random walk process is presented, the q-differences variance must be q multiplies the first differences variance. Also, the Box-Jenkins Technique (1978) was applied to his research. In context of Chinese stock markets, several studies have been done. In this report, three typical researches are presented. The reason for taking these reports into consideration is that they performed the distinct tests in their investigations and separately reached the dissimi lar conclusions. Martin Laurence et al. (1997) tested the behavior of the share price, weak-form market efficiency and causality of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets. Also, they examined the causality of the Chinese stock markets with the Hong Kong and U.S. stock markets. The data were from four Chinese stock market indices, one Hong Kong Index and one U.S. Index. The four indices are Shanghai A, Shanghai B, Shenzhen A and Shenzhen B. Dow Jones News Retrieval Services and Datastream International provided the research data. First of all, they performed a unit root test for the six stock indices, and the test was based on an augmented Dickey-Fuller (1979, 1981) model. After that, they employed bivariate cointegration tests for comparing every pair of stock indices, which involved the method of the Phillips and Ouliaris (1990). This method is used for estimation through the Ordinary Least Square of the regression model. Apart from the above two tests, the serial correlations and Ljung and Box test (1978) were used. The presence of serial correlation was significant in form of daily returns. But it can be viewed as a violation of the weak-form market efficiency, because investors are able to take advantage of serial correlation for making excess return. Lastly, with the purpose of investigating lead-lag relationships among the six market indices, Grangers (1969) causality tests are performed. They, eventually, obtained the consequence that Chinese stock markets were getting closer to a weak-form efficient market. The results from causality tests indicated that Chinese stock markets were related to the global market to a great extent. At the beginning of the 21th century, Ma and Bames (2001) completed their report about testing the weak-form efficiency of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets. They employed serial correlation, run tests and variance ratio tests. The data collected for this report was based on daily, weekly and monthly returns. They c ollected stock returns from December 1990 to April 1998 for Shanghai stock exchange, and employed stock returns from April 1991 to April 1998 for Shenzhen stock exchange. To be more detailed, the numbers of A-share taken from Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets were 375 and 348, and the amount of B-share employed from the two markets were 49 and 51. They found that stock returns between the two stock exchanges were correlated significantly, but the daily returns were much more correlated than the return of weekly and monthly. Considering the daily returns of individual A-share and B-share of the Shanghai exchange and daily returns of individual B-share of the Shenzhen exchange, generally, they did not follow a random walk. They also concluded that individual shares exhibited more efficient than stock indices, and the Shenzhen market showed more evidence than the Shanghai market. Generally, B-share typically violated the random walk. That is, prices of B-shares were more easily predi cted than prices of A-shares. To explain this, they asserted that thin trading could result in the B-shares inefficiency. If according to the theory of Famas (1965), Chinese stock markets were in weak-form efficiency. Nevertheless, they finally reported that Chinese stock markets were not determined to be as a weak-form efficient market, since many professionals argued that Famas (1965) theory of defining the efficient markets was not correct to some extent. Seddighi and Nian (2004) conducted an investigation about the Shanghai exchange indices and 8 listed shares in this market. The data contained the stock returns from January 2000 to December 2000. The listed shares were randomly selected from 8 companies involved in 8 sectors. In their research, three tests were used, i.e. the Lagrange Multiplier test, Dickey-Fuller test and ARCH test. From the result of the Lagrange test, they concluded that 6 of the target companies were not related to autocorrelation. Random walk was asser ted to be present in the Shanghai stock market as a result of Dickey-Fuller test. However, unit root was not found in 2 of the listed shares series. Finally, they reported that the Shanghai stock prices did not follow a random walk. That is, Chinese stock market did not perform weakly efficient. 3. Data and Methodology 3.1 Data description The data, in this study, is daily price index for Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. These price indices are obtained from the Datastream, and the observation period ranges from January 3, 2000 to December 31, 2010. To examine Chinese market efficiency, this study employes daily data of closing prices for four Chinese stock indexes: Shanghai A-share Index, Shanghai Composite Index, Shenzhen A-share Index and Shenzhen Composite Index. The data in Table 1 (see Appendix), obtained from Datastream, are collected on basis of the daily closing prices for weekdays between January 03, 2000 and December 31, 2010. Shanghai A-share Index, Shanghai Composite Index, Shenzhen A-share Index and Shenzhen Composite Index are denominated in Chinese Yuan (CNY). These four stock indices reflect the statistical data related to domestic investors and the overall stock market, but the indices used by overseas are excluded since domestic investors account for the majority and the composite index es could reflect the overall market daily prices. Time series plots are exhibited below: Figure 1. Time Series Plots for Chinese Stock Indices Shanghai A Index Shanghai Composite Index Shenzhen A Index Shenzhen Composite Index Apparently, Shanghai A-share Index approximately has the identical distribution of return compared with that for Shanghai Composite Index. Shenzhen A-share Index, also, has the identical time series compared with that for Shenzhen Composite Index. Both of Shanghai indices and Shenzhen indices reached the peak level in the year of 2007. Between 2007 and 2008, the Shanghai Composite Index experienced the highest level of price which is around 6000, and Shenzhen Composite Index had almost reached at the level of 1600. From 2000 to 2007, all of the four indices series did steadily fluctuate with relative small range. After 2007 these indices ascended sharply until the financial crisis arrived. In the following year of 2008, the four indices descended dramatically due to the financial crisis. Overall, Shanghai and Shenzhen indices have the identical fluctuation before 2009, whereas in the following years, Shenzhen indices has higher increase in index prices compared with Shanghai indice s. That is, Shenzhen stock market is considered to be in better condition than Shanghai stock market after 2009. All indices series returns are calculated by the following formula: Where stands for the closing price for the index at time t and is natural logarithm. 3.2 Methodology To test the weak-form efficiency of Chines stock markets, the main approach is to examine whether Chinese stock markets follow a random walk. Generally, it is necessary to indicate that logarithmic market returns follow a random walk. However, there are two assumptions in the theory of random walk. That is, the continuous price changes are independently distributed and the price changes follow some probability distribution (Fama 1965). The random walk hypothesis requires the price increments to be independently and identically distributed (IID). The equation below shows the dynamics of share prices: where and IID distributed Statistically, we need to define the hypothesis as the following: H0: Chinese stock markets follow a random walk, i.e. follow the weak-form efficiency H1: Chinese stock markets do not follow a random walk, i.e. do not follow the weak-form efficiency Therefore, to examine the null hypothesis of the random walk, three statistical tests includ ing unit root test, non-parametric runs test and variance ratio test are employed. The tests are performed on the entire sample. The unit root test was mainly based on the the Dickey-Fuller test. This test determines whether the stock returns series is non-stationary since it is an essential condition for random walk. Lo and Mackinlay (1988) developed the variance ratio test which may be a more proper test for a random walk hypothesis. 3.2.1 Unit root test The unit root test was developed by Dickey and Fuller (1981), which examines the stationarity of the time series. If unit root is found in the series, then it can be defined as non-stationary which shows the presence of random walk. Commonly, Dickey-Fuller test is proper to examine whether a unit root exists in a series. With the purpose of testing the weak efficiency of Chinese stock markets, therefore, the Dickey-Fuller test is provided. Equation (1), basically, is a simple unit root form. In this equation, only by the fact that slope coefficient is equal to 1 can we exhibit that the current price is totally explained by the lagged term of the market price. Then the current price is explained by the constant or drift. (1) Where is independently and identically distributed with the mean 0 and the constant variance . The error increment is called white noise, and all of the error terms are uncorrelated. Nevertheless, Dickey-Fuller (1981) showed that under the null hypothes is that , the standard t-ratio does not have a t-distribution since corresponds to a non-stationary process which invalidates the standard results on the distribution of the OLS (Ordinary Least Square) estimator . Then Dickey and Fuller transformed the equation (1) to the equation below: (2) Dickey and Fuller replaced by , which is realized by deducting in both sides of the equation. Accordingly, the actual return has been changed to the change in return, as well as the hypothesis should be transformed to: (Non-stationary or unit root) against (Stationary or no unit root) In equation (2), the last termcan also be assumed to be white noise. Denoteas the OLS (Ordinary Least Square) estimator andas the usual OLS standard error. To test the hypothesis thatwe can use standard t-statistic given by: With the value of to be more be negative, the more significant the t-value might be to reject the null hypothesis and the returns are stationary which do not follow a random w alk. In other words, if the null hypothesis is not rejected, that the series follow a random walk. To examine whether the stock prices in Chinese stock markets follow a random walk, Dickey-Fuller test,significantly, provides the effective evidence. 3.2.2 Runs Test Runs test provides another method to the random walk. To distinguish runs test with the other two tests, it is presumed that the returns would not be required to follow a normal distribution. Specifically the non-parametric runs test, unlike the general runs test, it tests the independency of the successive price changes. The non-parametric runs test is under the assumption that only if the observed number of runs in the series is close to the expected number of runs can the returns of price in the series follow a random walk. A sequence of successive price changes with the same sign is described as a run. The non-parametric runs test, actually, is proper to examine the randomness for the successive of returns; hence, it provides adequate evidence on whether price returns in Chinese stock markets are possible to be predicted. The first stage of the test is observing the number of runs which is defined as the total number of the sequence of consecutive prices changes with the sam e sign: positive, negative or no change. Then assigning equal weight to every corresponding change and distinguishing direction of the successive changes, which must be based on the rule that classifying each change in return according to the mean return. That is to say, the positive change is obtained when the price return is larger than the mean return, and the negative change is obtained when the price return is less than the mean return and no change when the return is equal to the mean return. The run test is employed by taking the actual runs (R) and the expected runs (m) into account. To perform the test, comparing the actual returns and the expected returns is required. Since the distribution of the number of runs is assumed to converge to a normal distribution, the expected number of runs can be calculated as equation (3) below: (3) Where N is the number of observations,denote the signs of positive, negative and zero,denotes the number of price changes of each sign . If the total number of observations N is greater than 30, the expected number of runs m is normally distributed with a standard deviation as the equation below (4): (4) The standard normal Z-statistic is: Z~ N(0,1) (5) Where R is the actual number of runs, (1/2) denotes the correction factor for continuity adjustment (Ma and Bames 2001), where the sign is plus if Rm, and is negative if Rm. The null hypothesis can be described as the following: If null hypothesis can be rejected at a certain significance level (1%, 5% and 10%), then it indicates that the series does not follow a random walk at that significance level. Furthermore, a positive serial correlation is implied by a negative Z value, and a positive Z value implies a negative serial correlation. 3.2.3 Variance Ratio Test The variance ratio test designed for random walk testing was proposed by Lo and MacKinlay (1988). Basically it is assumed that there is a linear relationship between the variance of random walk increments. Accordingly, if a random walk exists, the variance of its differences should be times the variance of its first differences. Consequently, when we have observations () of the log of stock returns and obtain these log returns at the intervals with equal space (is an integer larger than 1), the ratio of of the variance to the variance of is equal to 1. The variance ratio test is employed under assumptions of homoscedastic and heteroskedastic random walks. Then some important equations in this test are presented: (6) Where is the variance of the difference and is the variance of the first differences. (7) where (8) and (9) where and is the number of observations Under the assumption of homoscedasticity, the modified (Liu and He 1991) is in the form o f the formula below: Where (asymptotic variance of the variance ratio) If the null hypothesis of no autocorrelation coefficient is rejected, there is no random walk under the case of homoscedasticity. Commonly, heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation might lead to the rejection of random walk under homoscedasticity (Worthington and Higgs 2004). In addition, Campbell et al. (1997) reported that the variance ratio would be close to unity even in under the assumption of heteroscedasticity if returns are not correlated. Lo and MacKinlay (1988) introduced the standard normal test : where (standard error term) and Under the null hypothesis, the variance ratio is equal to 1. That is, the series follows a random walk. If random walk is rejected under the assumption of heteroskedastic, evidently, there is the presence of autocorrelation. Under the case of autocorrelation, a negative serial correlation exists if variance ratio is less than 1 and a positive serial correlati on is presented if variance ratio is larger than 1. 4. Empirical Results 4.1 Descriptive Statistics An overview of descriptive statistics for Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices are provided in Table 2 (see Appendix). The total number of observations for each stock index is 2870. All of the four series have the positive means. Shenzhen Composite Index has the highest mean of returns of 0.000406, while Shanghai A Index has the lowest mean of returns of 0.000246. The maximum returns obtained from Shanghai A Index and Shanghai Composite Index, obviously, exceed these obtained from Shenzhen A Index and Shenzhen Composite Index; nevertheless, Shanghai A Index has the lowest minimum return of -0.092608. Due to th fact of high return with high risk, the two Shenzhen indices incorporate with the highest standard deviations even though they have higher average returns than these of two Shanghai indices. Therefore, daily returns for two Shanghai indices are less volatile than returns of two Shenzhen indices and Shenzhen indices has higher returns compared with Shanghai indices on the avera ge. Daily compounded indices statistics for Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets are provided in this table. The returns are given by , where is the series price at time t. ÃÆ'Ã… ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¼ is the mean of returns and ÃÆ' Ãƒâ€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is the standard deviation for the series of returns. 4.2 Unit Root Basically it is essential to use Dickey-Fuller test without time trend to examine whether Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices follow a random walk. This test model composites of the constant or drift, coefficient slope and white noise. The results for Dickey-Fuller test without time trend is given in Table 3 (see Appendix). This table presents the results for Shanghai and Shenzhen Index prices between 2000 and 2010. The estimated slope coefficient is represented by and the standard error for is. The critical value is 3.51 at 2% significance level, 3.17 at 5% significance level and 2.58 at 10% significance level. ***, ** and * indicate the slope coefficient is statistically significant at the 2%, 5% and 10% level. Results in table 3 (see Appendix) indicate that indices series in Shanghai and Shenzhen are non-stationary or unit root under the significance level of 2%, 5% and 10%. Currently the result shows the random walk of the Chinese stock markets, but testing results may va ry with some changes of this model. In this model, on the one hand, time trend is not taken into consideration. In some cases, we may have to consider a statistical model which can include a deterministic time trend. It is particularly necessary when the series exhibit either upward or downward trend. The reason is that if a series shows significant time trend it is non-stationary. Considering a trend-stationary process, if the process is not accounted for in the regression model, it is likely that a unit root test would fail to reject the null hypothesis, even though the process is trend-stationary. On the other hand, unit root may exist in high-order AR model. In this report, only AR(1) has been employed, which may not be the correct specification. If we use an AR(1) when the correct specification would be a higher-order AR process, we may misleadingly reject the null hypothesis of a unit root because of the misspecification of the model. Thus Augmented Dickey-Fuller Test can prov ide further analysis to examine the existence of random walk. Overall Dickey-Fuller test without time trend can provide solid evidence that Chinese stock markets follow a random walk. 4.3 Runs Test Table 4 (see Appendix) indicates the results of non-parametric runs test for four stock indices in Shanghai and Shenzhen between 2000 and 2010. The total number of observations is represented by N and total number of runs is denoted by R. The amount of observations below mean is denoted by mean, whereas =mean indicates the number of observations larger than or equal to the mean. The critical value for Z statistics is given by: Z=1.285 at 10% significance level, Z=1.645 at 5% significance level and Z=2.33 at 1% significance level. ***, ** and * denote the statistical significance at 1%, 5% and 10% levels. The results of the non-parametric runs tests for Shanghai and Shenzhen market indices are presented in Table 4 (see Appendix). The estimated Z-values for returns on Shenzhen A-share Index and Shenzhen Composite Index are significant at 5% level, and both of returns on Shanghai indices are significant at 10% level. Accordingly the null hypothesis can be rejected under some signif icance level, which implies that both of Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets are not weak-form efficient. Nevertheless Shanghai stock market can only be determined as weak-form inefficient in the case of 10% significance level, which may not provide adequate evidence ensuring the weak-form inefficiency of this market. Shenzhen stock market is determined as weak-form inefficient even at 5% significance level. The negative Z-values for daily returns on the four stock indexes, indeed, imply the positive serial correlation. Anyway Chinese stock markets can not determined as wear-form efficient using the non-parametric runs test. 4.4 Variance Ratio Test The results of variance ratio test for the Chinese stock markets are presented in table 5 (see Appendix) and the time period is 2000-2010. N denotes the total amount of observation and q is the equal-spaced interval of the observation. In this test, q is equal to 2, 4, 12 and 20, respectively. VR(q), Z(q) and Z*(q) are the estimations of the corresponding statistics. VR(q) is the estimate of variance ratio, and Z(q) and Z*(q) are the Z test statistics of homoscedasticity and heteroscedasticity, respectively. *, ** and *** denote the statistical significance at 10%, 5% and 1% level. The outcomes of variance ratio test for Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes are provided in table 5 (see Appendix). VR(q) is the estimate of variance ratio, and Z(q) and Z*(q) denote the Z test statistics under homoscedasticity and heteroscedasticity, respectively. The q-difference is assigned as 2, 4, 12 and 20 for all four indexes. For Shanghai A-share market, apart from the interval of 20 days, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected at all three significance levels under both of homoscedasticity. The results of variance ratio for Shanghai Composite Index are similar with these obtained for Shanghai A-share Index. For variance ratio test conducted for Shanghai Composite in 20-day interval, the null hypothesis of random walk is only rejected at 5% and 10% significance level under the assumption of homoscedasticity and heteroscedasticity, respectively. However, the null hypothesis of random walk for Shenzhen stock market is strongly rejected under the presumptions of homoscedasticity and heteroscedasticity in all the q intervals. The rejection of random walk can be realized even at 1% significance level. Under homoscedasticity, the reason for rejection of the null hypothesis of random walk could be the autocorrelation in stock returns. Nevertheless the null hypothesis is also rejected under heteroscedasticity, which indicates that the rejection of the null hypothesis under homos cedasticity is exclusively attributed to the autocorrelation in the series returns. According to the results obtained from all of the statistics about variance ratio test, Shanghai stock market is weak-form efficient and Shenzhen stock market is weak-form inefficient. The findings of Shenzhen stock market indicate that the autocorrelation in returns may completely reject the random walk of this market. Overall the Chinese stock markets represent inconsistency between the Shanghai and the Shenzhen stock markets. Compared with the findings of runs test, Chinese stock markets may not be weak-form efficient. 5. Conslusions Examining the weak-form efficiency of Chinese stock markets presents the relevant information behind the market series returns. The definition of Efficient-market Hypothesis (EMH) is developed by Eugene Fama (1970), which defines that in weak-form efficient market investors cannot make excess returns though historical stock prices and data, and the stock prices follow a random walk because the past price would not provide any related information to predict the future price. Based on the theoretical interpretation about the weak-form efficient market, some research has been conducted in the context of Chinese stock markets. As the empirical evidence obtained in the previous studies, they cannot reach a consensus on whether Chinese stock markets are weak-form efficient. Some studies asserted that Chinese stock markets did not follow a random walk, however other empirical findings subscribed to the opinion that Chinese stock markets are weak-form efficient. This study focuses on te sting the weak-form efficiency of Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets, and two major indexes in each market are examined. Daily price from the time period 2000 to 2010 for each index is collected in order to examine the hypothesis of the random walk, and A-share index and composite index in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets are used. Statistical methodologies have been used in many empirical studies testing the random walk hypothesis. Considering the features of each statistic method, three statistical methods are employed. Dickey-Fuller is used to find the unit root of the returns series of stock indices, a non-parametric runs test aims at finding the independence among the returns for each stock index, and the variance ratio test examines the linear relationship between the variance of the random walk increments. Except for the empirical results of the Dickey-Fuller, the findings of the other two statistical methods indicate that Chinese stock markets do not perform consisten tly with the hypothesis of random walk, consequently implying that Chinese stock markets are weak-form inefficient. The results of Dickey-Fuller test ensure the existence of the unit root in the return series, which determining Chinese stock markets as weak-form efficient. Generally speaking, Chinese stock markets are not typically consistent with the hypothesis of weak-form inefficiency since no consensus has been reached among the three statistical methods. This results seem to be similar to the conclusion of the previous studies. A significant number of studies reported that the emerging stock markets might not has the unique features of the weak-form efficient markets because of the characteristics of the domestic polices and economies and etc. Even though Chinese stock markets are found untypical under the assumption of weak-form efficient market, it is still rational to believe the Chinese stock markets to behave like an market of informational efficiency in the following year s since the development in Chinese financial world is significant. Investors in Chinese stock markets cannot get a sufficient historical information from the current stock prices, which indicates some investors may acquire excess returns by some techniques. Inefficient markets may benefit the investors who can get access to the inner information or information about the patterns of the movements of the stock prices. To improve this study, firstly, it is proper to employ weekly or monthly data and to employ Shanghai B-share index and Shenzhen B-share index. Secondly, further researches could use Augmented Dickey-Fuller test with time trend instead of Dickey-Fuller test in this study. Besides, the whole time period could be divided into some sub-intervals, which proving more detailed analysis. At last studies employing four or more statistical methods might present adequate evidence on this topic.

Essay on Huckleberry Finn Paper Slave Conditions

In the years leading up to the American Civil War, life for slaves was arduous and full of hard work and servitude. They were tied to their masters, with the notable exceptions of when they were resold and traded among other slavers. Violence was common as a form of coercion and punishment, due to the harsh conditions that slaves often had to work under; men were beaten, and women were sexually assaulted on a regular basis. Slave families were very difficult to form and keep together, due to the frivolous sale and purchase of slaves by plantation owners. Often, parents and children were torn apart as they were sold to different plantations, as there was no way to protect themselves from this sort of harsh fate. With these difficult circumstances in mind, and the plight of the slave in 19th century America, the tale of Jim in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an uplifting, if darkly realistic one, especially as the events that inspired his escape attempt were all too common in that er a, and his problems were very indicative of the average slave of the time. As soon as newly transported slaves made it to their new homes with their masters, they were typically put to work in some of the most physically demanding and unforgiving jobs possible at the time, such as clearing trees, breaking in fields with new crops, and picking cotton. Their hours were harsh, often working from sunrise to sunset, and their immune systems were not used to the new diseases and illnesses that awaited them in America, which was not helped by the presence of mosquitoes near the water beds where they were forced to toil. So many slaves died in such great numbers that many planters opted to rent slaves for the harder work, instead of risking the ones that they owned. (Berlin, 174) The women did not have it any better: they were always expected or forced to have sexual relations with their owners, and illegitimate children with slave women were common. In Harriet Jacob’s semi-autobiographical novel Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, she writes that her master â€Å"tried his utmost to corrupt the pure principles my grandmother had instilled. He peopled my young mind with unclean images, such as only a vile monster could think of. I turned from him with disgust and hatred. But he was my master. I was compelled to live under the sameroof with himwhere I saw a man forty years my senior daily violating the most sacred commandments of nature.† (Jacobs, 21) This clearly illustrated the sexual abuse that she had to endure at the hands of her master, something that she did not escape even when she moved on to other masters and owners. As a result, whether you had to work out in the fields or in the master’s home, being a slave was an environmen t that few wished upon themselves. Despite all this, there were slaves who attempted to make the best of it and form families of their own. Granted, these times were few, as not many slaves attempted to form families, due to the lack of travel opportunities in order to find a mate or lower success rates of births because of the stress associated with slave life. It was also tough to keep families together if you were slaves, as slave owners would buy and sell their slaves at a moment’s notice, thereby tearing apart families that had been formed within the ranks of their workers. There was no official church or legal recognition of slave marriages. (â€Å"African American Family†)   Even the most tenuous of connections to a slave family after being moved made it harder still to cope with the separation, as seen in Lewis Clarke’s book Narrative of the Sufferings of Lewis Clarke:But all my severe labor, bitter and cruel punishments for these ten years of captivity with this worse than Arab family, all these were as nothing to the sufferings experienced by being separated from my mother, brothers and sisters; the same things, with them near to sympathize with me, to hear my story of sorrow, would have been comparatively tolerable. They were distant only about thirty miles, and yet in ten long, lonely years of childhood, I was only permitted to see them three times.  (22) All of these facts about the lives of slaves are in the background or come directly into play in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, especially where it pertains to the life of Jim. The entire impetus of Jim deciding to escape in the first place is his realization that he is going to be sold downriver to worse slave owners by Mrs. Watson (60). This kind of thing was common at the time, as slaves were sold whenever a better price could be found; Jim’s serendipitous eavesdropping allowed him to take action before it was too late. If he had not done so, he would have had to resign himself to further enslavement and worse conditions than he had experienced before; while he was still a slave, Jim recognized the favor that he carried with Mrs. Watson, and selling him to another slave owner ran the incredible risk of putting him in harsher labor than he was experiencing now. With that in mind, Jim opted to try for freedom rather than be sold further south, where he would surely be treate d worse. Jim’s objectives also play into the fact that slave families were hard to keep together, as he sought to escape to Ohio, where he could then attempt to purchase the freedom of his family and forego the normal hardships that would go along with the typical slave family experience. Much like many slaves repeatedly were during the era of slavery in the Americas, Jim was a commodity, a product, something to be bought and sold as soon as the right bargain came along. African Americans had an extremely hard time in the United States, due to the environment they were brought to and forced to work in. Even their basest attempts to form families and create some sort of independent happiness for themselves were made nearly impossible, given the incredible circumstances they were put through. The book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was allowed to illustrate this point, and possibly helped shed some light on the humanity of these slaves to those who may not have given them a second glance. This is the sad truth of such an ugly part of our history, but a necessary one to remember if we are to move on and not repeat the same mistakes. Works Cited The African American Family : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History Site.  Becoming Americans. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.  Colonial Williamsburg Official History Site. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. http://www.history.org/almanack/life/family/black.cfm. Berlin, Ira.  Generations of Captivity: a History of African-American Slaves. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2003. Print. Jacobs, Harriet A.  Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1987. Print. Clarke, Lewis. Narrative of the Sufferings of Lewis Clarke, During a Captivity of More than Twenty-Five Years, Among the Algerines of Kentucky, One of the So Called Christian States of North America. Boston: David H. Ela, Printer, 1845. Twain, Mark.  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Berkeley: University of California, 2003. Print.

Noise Is The Unwanted Sound - 1231 Words

ABSTRACT: Noise is the unwanted sound. With the development all around the sources of unwanted sound are increasing day by day by knowingly or unknowingly. Hence the noise monitoring at two silence and two commercial zones in the Visakhapatnam city was carried out. The locations for Silence zone were ‘Sri Shanthi Ashram’ and ‘Biodiversity Park’ and for Commercial zones were ‘Purna Market’ and ‘Dabagarden’. The results show that the equivalent noise levels are higher in the both commercial zones than the both silence zones with clear differences. The Noise levels are least at Biodiversity Park and highest at Purna Market. However, the noise levels at all the places are exceeding over the set limits described by the Central Pollution†¦show more content†¦Observational and experimental studies have shown that noise exposure leads to annoyance, disturbs sleep and causes daytime sleepiness, affects patient outcomes and staff performance i n hospitals, increases the occurrence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and impairs cognitive performance in schoolchildren4. It was found that 60-85% people opined that vehicular road traffic was major source of noise pollution and creates annoyance among people. Most of the population is suffering from frequent irritation and common noise related problems like headache or loss of sleep5. In the present study, two locations were selected to carry out ambient noise survey in Visakhapatnam City. Visakhapatnam is a coastal, port city, often called The Jewel of the East Coast, situated in the of Andhra Pradesh, located on the eastern shore of India, nestled among the hills of the Eastern Ghats and facing the Bay of Bengal to the east. It is the largest city in Andhra Pradesh and it is primarily an industrial city, apart from being a port city. Visakhapatnam is district headquarter in Andhra Pradesh State. It is a coastal city with all types of connectivity from land, sea and air. MATERIAL AND METHOD The noise monitoring was carried out in two zones viz. Silence and commercial zones taking two locations each for respective zones in different parts of the city of Visakhapatnam. The locations for Silence zone were ‘Sri Shanthi Ashram’ and ‘BiodiversityShow MoreRelatedThe Effects of Population Density and Noise1487 Words   |  6 PagesThe Effects of Population Density and Noise Population density and noise can have many effects on individuals. 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How Does the Constitution Guards Against Tyra free essay sample

Today Im writing about my life I am a young women who is about to graduate from school am I very happy bout that but so I can go to college. But at the same my personal life is not how I wanted , I was happy once upon a time but now that Eve been through so much I Just cant take it, I lost the most important thing In my life. And Its my fault I dont know what to do. I try to talk to other there people but Alan no point, of being who I truly and desire to be thats how I felt at first.But now that I feel lust hate and anger and Its the only way I can survive. I tell my self that everything will be k, but every-time I be around him I feel weak In the knees and Just get light headed and the way he hold and I Just feel Like we are In heaven. We will write a custom essay sample on How Does the Constitution Guards Against Tyra or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But Just by a touch I still get that feeling and Its a really good feeling. And I keep telling myself that he would be the last person I will have sex with because when Im with him I feel good and it just. Dont know what to think anymore.But now that my attitude one change I o day by day and see how it goes, I take I take it slowly but IM happy well at least I think I am but I finally got called a pitch by a man who I just met all because I wouldnt give him 5 minutes to talk to me and its kind of hard because because even though I have feelings I dont let show like I normally do. Someone told that its always good to not let people read you its always good to be closed and he was right but that IM not focused on anybody else meaning no boys I think I have more time to myself but the whole reason of not focusing on my self I love to find something to strait me from the truth.But now that I dont have a person to talk to them IM stuck. But I know one thing IM ready to leave I know I should come back but everybody here is really starting to pips me off and I I told my mom that I was staying while she move but I did that beaux I dont want to stay wit her I want to do my own thing but k I am going to college I want to go ahead do what I have to do and hopefully during that I can find something to do and actually make myself feel like I did something good because I feel so guilty and I cant really tell know body what appended because its my fault.But I dont need a man to consume me If I dont have sex then I dont beaux I want to have sex with somebody who wants me and wants to have kids with me and marry me. But at the same time I might not even get the person that I actually like ids but boys are out of my my mind. But I still dont know what to do because I cant help but feel hate Like If I say I love you to anybody else Im not going to mean it its Just a word now It has no meaning to It. I remember my past and then I got to start looking at my future.And my surroundings because Im not going to let anybody mess up my senior and make It to where I hate I BY Skittishness personal life is not how I wanted , I was happy once upon a time but now that eve been through so much I Just cant take it, I lost the most important thing in my life. And its my fault I dont know what to do. I try to talk to other there people but aunt no just hate and anger and its the only way I can survive. I tell my self that everything will be k, but overtime I be around him I feel weak in the knees and Just get light dated and the way he hold and I Just feel like we are in heaven.But Just by a touch I still get that feeling and its a really good feeling. And I keep telling myself that he would be the last person I will have sex with because when IM with him I feel good and it Just. Dont know what to think anymore. But now that my attitude one change I think I am but I finally got called a pitch by a man who I Just met all because I wouldnt give him 5 minutes to talk to me and its kind of hard because because even happened because its my fault.But I dont need a man to consume me if I dont have sex then I dont beaux I want to have sex with somebody who wants me and wants to person that I actually like ids but boys are out of my my mind. But I still dont know what to do because I cant help but feel hate like If I say I love you to anybody else IM not going to mean it its Just a word now it has no meaning to it. I remember my past and then I got to start looking at my future.

Presence Of A God Essays - Philosophy Of Religion, Existence Of God

Presence Of A God Proof Of The Exsistence of God Either God exists or He doesn't. There is no middle ground. Any attempt to remain neutral in relation to God's existence is automatically synonymous with unbelief. It is far from a moot question, for if God does exist, then nothing else really matters; if He does not exist, then nothing really matters at all. If He does exist, then there is an eternal heaven to be gained (Hebrews 11:16) and an eternal Hell to be avoided (Revelation 21:8). The question for God's existence is an extremely important one. One might wonder why it is necessary to present evidence for the existence of God. As Edward Thomson so beautifully stated it: ...the doctrine of the one living and true God, Creator, Preserver, and Benefactor of the universe, as it solves so many problems, resolves so many doubts, banishes so many fears, inspires so many hopes, gives such sublimity to all things, and such spring to all noble powers, we might presume would, as soon as it was announced, be received by every healthy mind. Some, however, contrary to their higher interests, have refused to have God in their knowledge and thus have become vain in their reasonings and foolish in their philosophy (Romans 1:21,22,28). They do not see the folly (Psalm 14:1) of saying there is no God. The Christian has not only the obligation to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you... (I Peter 3:15), but an obligation to carry the Gospel message to a lost and dying world (Mark 16:15-16, et al.). There will be times when carrying the Gospel message to the world will entail setting forth the case for the existence of God. In addition, we need to remember that Christians are not agnostics. The agnostic is the person who says that God's existence is unknowable. As difficult as it is to believe, some Christians take that same stance in regard to God's existence. They assert that they believe there is a God, but that they cannot know it. They state that God's existence cannot be pro ved. `This is false!' God's existence is both `knowable' and `provable.' Acceptance of God's existence is not some blind leap into the dark as so many have erroneously asserted. The Christian's faith is not a purely emotional, subjective leap, but instead is a `firm conviction' regarding facts based upon reasonable evidence. God's existence can be proved to any fair-minded person. Granted, we do not mean by the word proved that God's existence can be scientifically demonstrated to human senses as one might, for example, prove that a sack of potatoes weighs ten pounds. But we need to be reminded (especially in our day of scientific intimidation) that empirical evidence (that based solely upon experiment and/or observation) is not the only basis for establishing a provable case. Legal authorities recognize the validity of a `prima facie' case. Such a case exists when adequate evidence is available to establish the presumption of a fact which, unless such can be refuted, `legally stand s as a fact'. Inferential proof (the culmination of many lines of evidence into only one possible conclusion) is an invaluable part of a `prima facie' case which simply cannot be refuted. But an important question which serves as a preface to the case for God's existence is this: From whence has come the idea of God in man's mind? The inclination to be religious is universally and peculiarly a human trait. As one writer observed, even today the evidence indicates that no race or tribe of men, however degraded and apparently atheistic, lacks that spark of religious capacity which may be fanned and fed into a mighty flame. If, therefore, man is incurably religious--and has the idea of God in his mind--and if we assume that the world is rational, it is impossible that a phenomenon so universal as religion could be founded upon illusion. The question is highly appropriate therefore: what is the source of this religious tendency within man? Alexander Campbell, in his celebrated debate Ap ril 13-23, 1829 in Cincinnati, Ohio with Robert Owen, provided the answer to this question in

A Tale of Two Homes Professor Ramos Blog

A Tale of Two Homes SOURCE Not so long ago, I used to have two places I called home. No, my parents weren’t in a custody battle. No, we didn’t have some distant vacation home that we visited twice a year. And no, I was not in the foster care system growing up. Right about now, you are wondering what the hell am I talking about? The second home in question that I am about to mention involves a building filled with endless texts of fiction from awesome adventures to fantasy worlds and fairy tales to comedies and thrillers as well as non-fiction. This could include books about recorded events in history, biographies, textbooks, encyclopedias or anything else you could possibly begin to imagine! Well, obviously now you know that I am clearly talking about a library. This was and truly still is, my second home no matter how old I get. I remember the very first library I walked into as if it were just yesterday. A quaint little hole in the wall next to my childhood home. Just thinking about it sends me into a trance. I can even remember that specific smell of books from new to ancient. The sweet sound of fresh paperbacks being cracked open for the first time in their existence along with the chorus of constant pages turning in anticipation of what is to come next. I relive my whole adolescence again in just the blink of an eye. So you might be asking yourself, â€Å"well†¦.why did it feel like your second home?† This is where I found my first love. READING! For not only did I learn how to read here but learned that books held the power of imagination. My mother was the one who brought me here day after day just to teach me how to read. Now to anyone who has met my mother, they would know that it seems a tad farfetched for her to read all the time. I can hear you saying â€Å"What are you talking about† right about now. Well, she must wear glasses that are  ½ an inch thick. So medically, she is considered legally blind. Yes, you read that right. LEGALLY BLIND. How can one love to read so much even though it is so physically hard to see? That is because no matter what you are reading, it can take you away from this physical world into one that is completely imaginary! Where the story appears to fly right off the pages and into a homemade movie playing inside your head that you can change in real time. Even though it felt normal at the time, each and every day my mom would ask me, â€Å"Would you like to walk to the library again today?† and of course I would just scream enthusiastically â€Å"YES!!!!! Please, please, please!† as I jumped up and down and around the house. Almost as if I was bouncing off the walls before we finally departed on our journey. It was pure love at first fight. So off we went, just like any other day to my second home to find more books that she could read to me. By constantly reading to me, she knew it was only a matter of time before I wanted to do it on my own. So eventually, I got taught the ABC’s and how to read before I even got the chance to learn it in school!! This is when my whole life changed as if someone had just flipped on a light in a dimly lit room. Thankfully, my mother was always right by my side helping me along each step of the way. I went through all the stages. Joy, sadness, appreciation, frustration and gratitude. The immense joy of finally being able to read a whole book by myself. The overwhelming sadness when I found out that libraries were closed on Sunday. The endless appreciation I had for each and every word. The unwelcomed frustration of not being able to pronounce simple words. Words like; through, together, friends and anymore. Yet it was through those stages that the final one appeared. As if it were the warm sun coming up from the cool night. Gratitude. Gratitude for my mother, for the library, for the books, for all the words and lastly for the lifelong lessons learned from the morals of each story. Through the thick and the thin, she was there to make sure that I would win in every battle against the mighty book. Making me feel like a gladiator using the books as my shield when the words came at me like a li on ready to pounce. It’s all thanks to my mom who would keep me busy with reading a different book each and every day of my childhood. Always guiding me in where to find all types of books from A-Z that I wanted to read and conquer next. By first grade it was just more than second nature. It was a way of life for me. It has even followed me all the way through college. So not only has it helped me as a child but it still continues to show me the way when I feel lost. The vast knowledge inside the covers of a book not only shows you something about the author but it also shows you something about yourself. The library will always be like my second home and reading will always be my true love. If you are ever looking for me, chances are, I AM AT THE LIBRARY!

Cost, Profit and Cost Function Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cost, Profit and Cost Function - Essay Example did not have adequate information regarding cost, profit and the various nuances of cost of the company, the profit and also cost functions. So in order to give them a complete understanding of the various methods of determining the cost function, relationship between cost and profit have been discusses, the basic concepts of cost function has been explained and then the methods for determining cost function has been evaluated. Cost, Profit and Cost Function There are many factors that are included in profit planning, such as cost, profitability and volume. Here the focus would be only on cost and profit. Cost is inversely proportional to profit, that means lower the cost, higher the profit (Jayapandian 2008, 393). The revenue curve is controlled by the customers, while the organization can only control the cost curve. The fluctuations in the variable cost changes the slope of the cost curve, but the increase of fixed cost may totally wipe out the profits of the company. Variable cos t has high frequency of fluctuation than fixed costs. When the cost of the company equals its generated income, then it is termed as breakeven point. The margin above this point is the profit of the company (Kolitz, Quinn, and McAllister 2009, 301-303). Cost functions are nothing but economic formula that replicates the functions of the output and input prices. In a layman’s language we can say that it simply involves finding the cost of materials for production of a particular quantity of goods. Cost function is actually a mathematical explanation which estimates the changes in cost with the levels of change related to such cost. For example: actives involved in preparing the operating machines and production runs. Cost function can be explained through graphical representation in which measurement of activity levels, such as machine hours required or the total amount of goods produced in the given time can be assessed (Horngren 1967, 308). There are various methods of calcu lating cost function, such as engineering, visual fit, regression, and account analysis. The engineering analysis is past experienced based review of cost in a systematic manner. Visual fit as the name suggest is a representation of data in a scatter diagram. Regression analysis includes mathematical formula to ascertain the cost equation that fits the data best. High low method utilizes linear algebra for the determination of fixed and variable costs, but the results are not reliable. Lastly, account analysis deals with analyzing the accounting records and determining the behavioral patterns (Whittington and Delaney 2007, 398-399). Conclusion Cost and profit go hand in hand. Cost of the company needs to be reduced to increase profit. Cost functions include functions like planning and controlling the various activities of the organization and accurately estimates the projected fixed and variable cost. There are various methods that are utilized to estimate the cost function such as regression method, engineering method, account method, visual fit method, high-low method, etc. The usage of each of these methods depends on the data available and the type of analysis required by the manager. Presentation 6 Introduction In this presentation the relationship between volume, costs and price would be explained so as to show the effect of changes in each element on the other. Bond & ltd. wanted to project the changes in profit figures due to fluctuations in volume and cost. So in this presentation an explanation of all these terms would be sated for the management to understand the concepts carefully. Cost, profit and volume can be represented graphically and also in the form of equation. Graphical representation is easier for managers to understand, as they can easily

An analysis of the current and future use of internet technologies of Essay

An analysis of the current and future use of internet technologies of ''Hallmark Cards'' - Essay Example However, the suitability of such company driven technological initiatives will depend on how the effectiveness of the internet applications in meeting the set goals and objectives (Smith and Kidd 2000, p 45-50). The internet has basically changed commerce (Smith and Kidd 2000, p 45-50). The most basic forms of communication such as written and verbal communication between a business and its consumers and suppliers have been changing. Electronic communication, in the form of the internet, keeps on changing the commercial activity for consumers and businesses. E-commerce can therefore be defined as the sharing of product and service information, developing and improving human business relationships, while transacting business over the internet (Canzer 2006 p. 97-99). Hallmark was founded in 1910 and is currently the world’s most well-known producer of greeting cards. Hallmark creative artists produce several designs for greeting cards and other products each year. The greening cards and other products are produced in 38 dissimilar languages and are sold to more than 100 countries in the world (Regan 2009 p. 150-159). At hallmark, an advertising e-business model is based on earning revenues in exchange for the placement of advertisements on the firm’s website. Just like traditional media such as television, newspaper and radio, advertising in the internet involves advertisers’ support of distributed online entertainment or information likely to be accepted by consumers, who see advertising as the cost they have to incur to receive free content online. The internet provides Hallmark with the opportunity to create unique design and interaction with the targeted audience (Pierce 2005 p 18-23). The advertising model in the internet has necessitated the entry of small production studios and small entertainment artists who seek to get advertising revenues as well as to put up for sale their products online. There are no

Othello Essay Example for Free

Othello Essay The language of sin is not just Ð ° theologically freighted way of talking about morally bad acts; it points to Ð ° deeper flaw within human life as we experience it, Ð ° perversion of outlook and desire that we may come to recognise but cannot fully evade. Overview According to Ð ° view going back to Aristotle (and probably earlier); someone who acts out of Ð ° mistaken belief about Ð ° relevant matter of fact may not be morally culpable for what would otherwise be Ð ° bad action. For example, Ð ° doctor who administers an antibiotic without realising that his patient is allergic to it is not guilty of murder if the patient subsequently dies, assuming that the mistake in question is Ð ° good-faith error which the doctor could not have avoided (perhaps the patient neglected to give the correct information about allergies when asked to do so). In this kind of situation, ignorance of relevant facts would seem to render the act in question involuntary in Ð ° qualified respect that is to say, precisely considered as an act of murder. (Travitsky 184-96) And since we presuppose that someone is morally responsible only for her freely chosen actions, it follows that in these kinds of cases, the agent cannot be regarded as morally culpable for what is objectively Ð ° bad action. In the tragedy of Othello, many animal references are made by Iago to the people he disrespects. The purpose of Shakespeare depicting Iago as Ð ° character who perceives others as animals is to show his dominance and his representation of mankind, illustrating his superiority over others. The interpretation of Iago signifying mankind reveals another side of him, his bestial nature. (David et. All 1335-38) Discussion Aristotle apparently did not believe that the same line of analysis could be applied to someone who acts out of Ð ° mistaken moral view, and Aquinas and most other scholastic theologians would have agreed, albeit not always on Aristotelian grounds. 2 However, in recent years Ð ° number of moral theologians and some philosophers have argued that moral mistakes do obviate moral guilt that is, someone who acts out of Ð ° sincere but wrong belief that Ð ° given kind of action is morally permissible cannot be regarded as morally culpable for what she does, even if the act in question is in every other respect voluntary. Of course, if this extension of the Aristotelian argument is to be plausible, one would need to add that the mistake in question is not itself the result of prior wrong-doing, and that the agent has taken due care to form his conscience appropriately and to determine what he genuinely owes to himself, to other persons, and (perhaps) to non-human entities or to God. Given these qualifications, however, one might say, for example, that Ð ° doctor who kills her patient in the sincere but (let’s assume) mistaken belief that she is justified in thus ending his suffering is not subjectively guilty of murder. The agent freely commits, and is therefore morally responsible for, Ð ° kind of action that (by hypothesis) meets the objective criteria for murder; yet given that she acts out of Ð ° mistaken belief that the act in question is not morally wrong, she does not commit Ð ° voluntary act of murder, considered precisely as an act of wrongful killing. (Straznicky 104-34) This is at least Ð ° plausible view. It seems harsh to regard someone as morally guilty for an action carried out under the mistaken, yet sincere and conscientious belief that an act of the relevant kind is morally justified particularly when we reflect that none of us can be certain that our own moral beliefs are correct in every respect. What is more, this line of analysis seems to correspond to at least some widespread intuitions. I believe most people in industrialised societies would be prepared to take this line with respect to cases involving widely controversial and difficult issues, as presented, for example, by an act of euthanasia. However, in other kinds of cases, we may well balk at the conclusion that moral ignorance justifies Ð ° particular line of action. Imagine Ð ° doctor who kills her patient because he is an extremely unpleasant old man who is tormenting his family for no good purpose; what is more, he has left Ð ° large sum of money to Ð ° charity which desperately needs it. The doctor sincerely believes that the needs of this man’s relatives and the demands of the common good override her obligations not to kill, and she acts accordingly. (David et. All 1335-38) Analysis In response, it might be said that some moral norms are so obvious that no one could make Ð ° good faith mistake about them; thus, Ð ° mentally competent adult who genuinely does not know that murder is wrong must be guilty of (at least) culpable neglect. This argument fits well with what came to be the dominant scholastic view on ‘ignorance of the law’ with respect to the natural law that is to say, since the fundamental precepts of the natural law are in some sense innate, Ð ° competent adult cannot fail to grasp them unless she is guilty of some kind of prior wrong-doing or negligence. Some contemporary theologians extend this line of analysis as follows: Admittedly, some moral mistakes are ipso facto evidence of prior wrong-doing, negligence, or bad faith. Yet, at least with respect to the difficult and complex questions we face today, genuine, non-culpable moral mistakes are both possible and exculpating. (Travitsky 184-96) This line of analysis, in turn, lends credence to Ð ° widespread view according to which one’s moral status depends exclusively on the orientation of the agent’s will as expressed through her freely chosen actions (considered either singly, or as comprising an overall pattern of behaviour). Straznicky 104-34) On this view, Ð ° mistaken moral judgment, while regrettable, has no moral significance in itself. In the words of John Coons and Patrick Brennan, ‘It is, then, plainly plausible that while humans have Ð ° primary obligation to seek correct treatment of others (and self), their honest pursuit of that ideal effects whatever moral perfection is possible to the individual’. Certainly, it is true that Othello acts as he does out of Ð ° mistaken belief about Desdemona’s infidel ity. But I want to argue that this mistake alone would not account for his act, were it not for other mistaken beliefs he holds, at least one of which clearly concerns Ð ° moral principle. Before moving to that point, however, is it worth spending some time over Othello’s factual mistakes (I believe he makes more than one), seen in the context of what we are shown about his overall character and disposition. Even if we bracket the special difficulties raised by moral mistakes, the moral significance of mistaken beliefs is not as straightforward as we may assume or so Othello’s example would suggest. (Jane et. All 19-47) Othello’s story is Ð ° tragedy, and not just Ð ° very sad story, because it is the story of the destruction of Ð ° noble, deeply admirable man brought about through his own weaknesses, systematically exploited by Ð ° malicious enemy. In order for this story to have the force that it does, Shakespeare must first of all make it clear that Othello really is noble and deeply admirable. This point is sometimes obscured by the vulgar racist slurs directed against him by Iago and at least tacitly accepted by some of the other characters (see, for example, I. 1, 88–89). Yet isn’t this the kind of thing that we would expect Iago to say? Shakespeare takes pains to show that Othello himself does not fit the stereotypes of the lustful, rash and unthinking black man on which Iago trades. On the contrary when we first see him, in the encounter with Brabantio (Desdemona’s father), it is the latter that is rash and unthinking, not to say hysterical, whereas Othello is Ð ° model of self-restraint under extreme provocation (I. 2, beginning at line 58). He defends himself before the Venetian senate in terms of great dignity and candour, and his account of his love for Desdemona makes it clear that he truly does love her, just as her love for him is no girlish infatuation, but an intelligent response to his past sufferings and his noble character (I. , 129ff. ). His subsequent behaviour is that of Ð ° devoted husband who also bears Ð ° public trust, to which he properly gives priority with his wife’s full understanding and consent far from jumping into bed with his new bride, he sails to Cyprus and sees to preliminary arrangements for the defence and governance of the island, apparently before his marriage is ever consummated (I. 3, 260–79, and espec ially 299–300). Even Iago admits that left to him, Othello will most probably make Desdemona Ð ° good, loving husband (II. , 284–85). What is more, Othello is Ð ° seasoned general of many years’ experience, the best military mind available to the Venetians, someone whom they regard as worthy of unrestrained public trust this is no unsophisticated fool, but Ð ° mature, intelligent man at the height of Ð ° vital and demanding profession. And yet, this dignified and loving man is first reduced to Ð ° state of near-dementia, and then brought to Ð ° cool determination to kill his wife, through the machinations of Iago. In watching this process, it is difficult not to get caught up in the sheer fascination of Iago’s deliberate villainy how could anyone be so callous to every human feeling, so cheerfully calculating as he plans the destruction of those around him, so irredeemably evil? Confronted by such Ð ° spectacle, it is easy to overlook the fact that Othello’s transformation from Ð ° loving husband into Ð ° relentless avenger is, in its own way, almost as disturbing. (David et. All 1335-38) How can such Ð ° transformation take place? Of course, Othello is the victim of Ð ° deliberate deception, but that fact alone does not really answer the question, because it is by no means clear how Iago manages to convince Othello of Desdemona’s guilt after all, he has no actual evidence whatever, and not very much in the way of circumstantial evidence. What is more, even granting Othello’s conviction of Desdemona’s guilt, it would not be necessary for him to kill her he could banish her, as she pleads (V. 2, 79), or divorce her and send her back to her family. He might even forgive her and try to retrieve his marriage. (Straznicky 104-34) Thus, Iago’s malicious deception, while troubling in its own right, should not be allowed to obscure the puzzles presented by Othello’s own behaviour. Why is he vulnerable to Iago’s designs in the first place, and why does he react to Desdemona’s adultery (as he believes to be the case) in the way that he does? We must look for the answers to these questions in Othello himself. (David et. All 1335-38) One starting point immediately suggests itself. Why is it so easy for Iago to persuade Othello that his beloved Desdemona has committed adultery with his lieutenant Cassio? Shouldn’t Othello’s love for Desdemona which I believe we should take at face value have inclined him to resist, or even just to ignore, Iago’s insinuations? It might be said that Iago gets away with his plan so easily because Othello is so trusting, as Iago himself suggests as he notes, Othello has ‘Ð ° free and open nature’ and will believe what he is told (I. 3, 396–400). And indeed, once Iago (seemingly) begins to respond to his demands for proof, Othello never doubts him until confronted with unmistakable proof of his treachery. (Travitsky 184-96) Certainly, Othello places Ð ° remarkable degree of trust in Iago but it seems inaccurate to say that he is trusting without qualification. He does not trust Desdemona at all. Admittedly, he catches her in Ð ° lie over the handkerchief he gave her, but had he been so disposed, he could have seen this for what it is the self-protective lie of Ð ° flustered young woman (II. , 45–94). More tellingly, he does not trust Emilia when she insists, repeatedly and strongly, that Desdemona has never betrayed him, even though Emilia (Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s personal attendant) is in Ð ° better position than anyone else to know about her intimate activities (IV. 2, 1–24). It begins to look as if Othello is prepared to trust some, but not others in particular, he trusts men but he does not trust women. This suspicion is confirmed by his remarks about women, remarks which we know to reflect general Elizabethan attitudes that women are naturally lustful, cannot be relied upon to maintain chastity without continual supervision, and are sly and deceitful to boot (III. 3, 264–80). Various comments, together with the whole tenor of his behaviour towards Iago, suggest very different beliefs about at least some classes of men, namely frank, hearty types such as Iago, whom he regards as honest and worthy of trust (III. 3, 124, and especially 245).

How Personal, Organizational, and Cultural Values Affect Decision Making :: Gandhian Movement Socialization Society Essays

How Personal, Organizational, and Cultural Values Affect Decision Making Self-limiting Conflict: The Gandhian Style I have mentioned two basic categories of conflict regulation scholarship. In the preceding section we concerned ourselves with the first, specialists engaged in third-party intervention research and experimentation-intermediaries, negotiation, conciliation, communication control and modification. The second involves the study of ways of waging conflict that tend both to keep it within bounds and to limit its intensity or at least the possibility of violence-nonviolent social movements, nonviolent resistance on the part of individuals and groups, nonviolent alternative national defense strategies. Let us look at conflict processes that are self-regulating in nature, i.e., that have built-in devices to keep the conflict within acceptable bounds and to inhibit violent extremism and unbridled escalation. Socialization is an important determinant of the style and effectiveness of conflict regulation in any society. If Tolley (1973) is correct in placing the formative period for attitudinal and behavioral patterns concerning peace/war issues and conflict regulation styles at ages 4-12, then learning creative approaches to conflict regulation through family, school, mass media, and other primary learning environments is essential. There are a few sources dealing with this problem (Nesbitt, 1973; Abrams and Schmidt, 1972). There are societies and groups within societies that socialize their members in effective conflict regulation. Bourdieu (1962) describes Berber Kabyles of North Africa as a society held together by a process of balanced and strictly controlled conflict Self-Limiting Conflict in which members are socialized to avoid violence: Elise Boulding (1974) observes that there are certain types of family environments and child-rearing practices that tend to produce persons with nonviolent proclivities and creative response patterns to conflict. Ultimately the socialization process, political socialization in particular, is probably the most important conflict regulation device. We should soon learn some interesting things about the impact of a decade of involvement in an unpopular war on the attitudinal and behavioral patterns of America's youth. Etzioni's self-encapsulation concept is very useful here. It is a process in which certain conflicts are increasingly limited by their own nature and by the nature of the host system, so that the "range of expression of the conflict is curbed." Certain modes of conflict and weapons are excluded by mutual, sometimes tacit, consent, and the conflict becomes ritualized-the game is played by the rules, so to speak. Dahrendorf's analysis of the institutionalization of labor/management conflict over the past half century is an excellent illustration of self encapsulation.

Test for Business English

Test 1 READING 1 hour PART ONE Questions 1-8  · Look at the statements below and at the five extracts on the opposite page from an article giving advice to people setting up a business.  · Which extract (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement (1-8) refer to?  · For each statement (1-8), mark one letter (A, B, C, D or E) on your Answer Sheet.  · You will need to use some of these letters more than once. 1. You should plan ahead in case a founder of the company chooses to leave it. 2. A company which is expanding today may not always continue to do so. 3.The distribution of equity among the founders can affect the smooth running of the business. 4. Your function in the organisation is different from that of the other managers. 5. Your method of running the business will have to be modified as your company develops. 6. Your business may evolve into a form that you are not satisfied with. 7. Delay offering employees a financial stake in the company. 8. You need to identify your per sonal strengths and weaknesses. A So you think you're an entrepreneur, and you want to start up a company. First, be sure you're really an entrepreneur, and not an inventor.Inventors come up with ideas, entrepreneurs make a business out of them: it's important to know where your abilities lie, as inventors can fail miserably at running a business. Also, you need to be confident that you can adapt your management style to meet new demands if your company is a success. Leading the management team of a growing business is very different from leading a newly founded company. B If your company proves successful, it will probably change out of all recognition, and may seem to possess a life of its own, with institutional shareholders, regulators and employees to consider as well as customers and bank managers.That is the time to consider how far the aspirations of the business you founded still mirror your own. If they have diverged widely, and you feel you have built just the sort of bus iness that you perhaps tried to escape from in the first place, it may be time to leave. C Bringing an idea to life requires an organisation. If you are going into business with your friends, make sure you treat them as professionally as you would your arms-length business partners, because the odds are that you'll fall out with them.It may not seem important at the start, but it will strengthen the company if you ensure that its constitution documents are designed with your specific business and circumstances in mind, and that they clearly establish what will happen in the event of a withdrawal from the business by one of the founding shareholders. D Think carefully about the capital structure of the business. You could be storing up a problem for the company in the future – for example, by allocating shares to founders in a way that could lead to a stand-off if they refuse to see eye to eye on key issues.Similarly, when you eventually recruit new senior team members, think carefully about what to offer them. Don't give away share options too early. As a rule of thumb, cash is sufficient reward for knowledge and skill. Keep equity up your sleeve for rewarding commitment. E As your business grows, you need to keep the right balance between management control and entrepreneurial spirit. Too much control, and the business will ultimately cease to grow. Too little, and growth could be unsustalnable.You'll need to employ managers, but remember that their job is to build the infrastructure to underpin a business that until now may have run on the basis of your salesmanship and excitement. The risk is to bring in managers who are too much like you, without the necessary experience of nursing a newly founded business through its evolution. PART TWO Questions 9-14  · Read this text taken from an article about marketing.  · Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.  · For each gap (9-14), mark one letter (A-H) on your Answer Sheet.  · Do not use any letter more than once.How effective is your marketing? Gone are the days when companies had departments full of staff whose role nobody under- stood. Today we are all accountable and have to be able to demonstrate the value of our contribution to our businesses. And rightly so. But when it comes to marketing, what is effectiveness, how do you measure it, and why is its measurement so important? Businesses are starting to recognise the key marketing questions. Are we providing the right products for the right people at the right price? Are our brands better than those of our competitors? 9) That's because marketing is not the fluffy stuff that can be axed when the going gets tough – it is the essence of business. So if marketing is important, it follows that it pays to know if yours is working. The first stage in the process is understanding your current position. How successful is your brand today? What is your market share? You should equip yourse lf with some sound facts and figures on which to base your conclusions. (10) It could be simply to boost sales. You may want to reinforce your leadership in a market or trounce a competitive brand.Influencing future profitability, possibly by building a short-term brand share, may be a priority. A clear objective is essential. But how do you know if your marketing is achieving your goals? (11) Their success is not just related to how many boxes leave the factory. Effectiveness may not be tangible. It may be financial, it may not. ‘The brand' is an intangible asset, but it is now seen as an import- ant one. Quantifying the value of an intangible asset is a difficult, but not impossible, task. It is also necessary to evaluate both long-term effectiveness and the short-term outcomes of any campaign. 12) But the care of a brand is a marathon, not a sprint, and it is important not to lose sight of the long-term consequences. Choosing the right measurement tools to evaluate a campai gn is another important issue. (13) The accuracy they thus ensure should be consistent over time and correspond to the wider objectives of the business. Ultimately, marketing must deliver profit. The essential debate should no longer be about the importance of marketing, but what we should do to measure its effectiveness, and what measures will ensure survival. 14) But to others it is likely to be a controversial issue – and one which can produce responses leading to widely different directions for their enterprises. A Having done that, next comes establishing what it is that marketing activities should be achieving. B Because of this, you may want to generate return on investment, perhaps by raising the quality of your brand. C This shift in focus will be taken as read by the most successful businesses. D Addressing such issues should mean that profits take care of themselves.E Concerning the latter, it may be tempting to be seduced by efforts that yield quick results and sa tisfy investor pressure for immediate returns. F These should be precise and based on empirical data. G Good strategies are not necessarily linked to production or sales figures. H Today we are all accountable and have to be able to demonstrate the value of our contribution to our businesses. PART THREE Questions 15-20  · Read the following article about recruitment in the UK and the questions on the opposite page.  · For each question (15-20), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. graduate recruitment has a growing role.But companies need to know whether their recruitment staff who interview candidates for jobs really know what they're doing. Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), acknowledges that in a perfect world, the people who recruit graduates would have been in the role for some time building up workplace knowledge. He says the reality is that the high turnover of graduate recruitment managers in most blue chips me ans there is little continuity in how companies operate. ‘There's the difficulty in maintaining important contact with university careers departments, for example,' he explains. You need a depth of understanding to appreciate where the company is coming from and how it's progressing. ‘ We can identify two specialisms within the recruiter's role. Those that work on the recruitment and selection side need traditional human resources (HR) skills such as good interviewing technique, observation, common sense, objectivity, patience and listening skills. But increasingly there are those who take a strategic view and look more widely at how their company is represented in the marketplace. It's a clear advantage if you can identify with your target audience.Many young members of middle management are seconded into HR for a year because their firms feel they can identify with job-seeking graduates. Yet in an industry that has been revolutionised by the internet, privatised career services and rocketing numbers in higher education, it is questionable how relevant these managers' experiences are. Some high-fliers see a secondment to HR as a sideways move; a firm's HR function might not carry the same kudos as, say, the finance department, although obviously the recruitment and retention of staff is of crucial importance.Georgia de Saram, specialising in graduate recruitment at a law firm, is one of a new breed of young dynamic recruiters who see HR as their vocation rather than a transitory career move. ‘I was attracted to the profession because I enjoy working with people and it's an obvious follow-on from my anthropology degree,' she says. ‘In this capacity, you get to know people and they know you even though they might not know other people in the firm. ‘ As a recruiter, she sees herself as the interface between graduates and the firm that's looking to attract them?It's such a tug of war between law firms for the best trainees – o ften they'll turn you down in favour of an offer they've received from elsewhere. You need to be good at marketing your firm, to know what interests graduates and how you can reach potential employees, whether that's through virtual law fairs or magazines. ‘ A recent AGR survey suggests that the sectors in which there is less turnover of graduate recruitment managers are more successful in recruiting the graduates they want.The legal sector's sophisticated understanding of the market, for example, means they manage to recruit exactly the right number of trainees despite intense competition and thousands of applications. The people recruiting seem to build up a specialism and then pass on their knowledge and expertise to those new to the graduate recruitment sector. Jackie Alexander, an HR partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, feels that HR professionals are finally reaching board level and receiving the sort of acknowledgement they deserve. They are judged by the value they add t o the business,' she says, ‘and, as a professional services firm, the right people are our biggest asset. ‘ As Georgia de Saram points out: ‘From our company's point of v. iew, if I can't establish a rapport with a candidate and bring out their best, it might not be just their future but also ours that is at stake. ‘ 15. According to Carl Gilleard, many recruiters lack A. detailed knowledge of their sector. B. appropriate academic qualifications. C. understanding of graduates' expectations. D. experience of the companies they work for. 16.What change in the recruitment process is mentioned in the third paragraph? A. Recruitment staff are re-training. B. Broader approaches are being adopted. C. Traditional abilities are being given less value. D. Different interview processes are being used. 17. On what grounds are certain managers seconded to HR departments? A. It is believed that they will relate to potential recruits. B. It is thought that they will benefit most from new developments. C. It is assumed that they will be able to apply specialised knowledge. D. It is expected that they will take advantage of new promotion opportunities. 18.Which of the following areas does Georgia de Saram mention as an aspect of her work? A. representing her company effectively to its recruits B. increasing recruitment numbers at her company C. encouraging a wide range of company recruits D. influencing her company's recruitment policy 19. What was revealed about law firms in a survey? A. They are competing more effectively than before against other sectors. B. They prefer to retain trainees for extended periods wherever possible. C. They have managed to employ particularly knowledgeable HR staff. D. They appeal to those HR managers who are keen for promotion. 20.What point is made about recruitment in the final paragraph? A. New levels of qualification are being developed for it. B. It is now being perceived as key to increased profitability. C. Higher numbers of managers are being attracted to it. D. It is becoming central to a business's survival. PART FOUR Questions 21-30  · Read the article below about job satisfaction.  · Choose the correct word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page.  · For each question (21-30), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. How important is job satisfaction? At its most basic, a job is just a collection of tasks and duties.An employee's enjoyment of his or her job will thus (21) depend upon whether or not he or she is happy with the particular mix of tasks and duties (22) to that position. Naturally, each and every member of staff is different – some employees want to do easy, (23) tasks without any responsibilities at all, whilst others prefer challenging, varied ones and are pleased to accept any additional responsibilities offered to them. Of course, with a job there are more (24) in play than this: work conditions, pay, working relations and future prospects are (25) too.Nevertheless, tasks and duties are the central feature, and should therefore be considered as a separate (26) in themselves. So, how important is an employee's enjoyment of his or her individual (27) of tasks and duties? Most business owners and managers would (28) that it is very significant indeed. If a member of staff considers his or her tasks and duties to be too easy or unchallenging or, in contrast, too diverse or irksome, then he or she will feel dissatisfied, and all the inevitable knock-on effects will (29) themselves – absences, lateness, reduced work-rate and performance, conflict, low morale, or even resignations.Thus it is important that staff are well suited to their employment, that jobs are improved as far as possible and redesigned as and when necessary – all to (30) that your employees enjoy what they do. 21. A. highly B. largely C. extensively D. widely 22. A. devoted B. intended C. identified D. allocated 23. A. customary B. habitual C. usual D. routine 24. A. pieces B. roles C. factors D. parts 25. A. connected B. relevant C. appropriate D. related 26. A. result B. effect C. issue D. outcome 27. A. et B. order C. rank D. line 28. A. insist B. accentuate C. reiterate D. assent 29. A. uncover B. demonstrate C. unmask D. manifest 30. A. confirm B. ensure C. convince D. assure PART FIVE Questions 31-40  · Read the text below from a brochure.  · For each question (31-40), write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet. Paragon: great business space A new concept for the twenty-first century, Paragon is a totally unique showpiece development of high-quality office and call centre buildings, hotel and leisure facilities.Many cities find (31) increasingly difficult to allocate office space, but the city of Wakefield is already ahead (32) the game with Paragon. Paragon offers an extensive parkland setting with low-density buildings, and room to expand in the future. Yet, (33) the vast majority of bu siness parks, Paragon has not been exiled to the distant edges of the city. Instead, this large site is only I km from the centre of Wakefield. This offers massive advantages: employees can easily walk or cycle to work, saving stress and pollution, and significantly cutting (34) on commuting time.There is (35) more driving along the motorway to distant outposts of business empires for the Paragon worker. But Paragon's location sacrifices nothing (36) terms of communications. It is perfectly placed for road and rail networks. A further attraction of Wakefield for Paragon is the ready avail- ability of a skilled workforce. (37) are more than 233,000 people available for work within an hour's journey, and an enormous catchment population of 20 million within two hours' travel.The city has a long history (38) an administrative centre, and its recent success in attracting top-name companies is evidence of its solid business credentials. Figures from the developers suggest that up (39) 5, 000 jobs could be available in the initial phase of its development, with more to follow, making it (40) of the most significant areas of employment in the region. PART SIX Questions 41-52  · Read the text below about IT training.  · In most of the lines (41-52) there is one extra word. It is either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text.Some lines, however, are correct.  · If a line is correct, write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet.  · If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet. IN-HOUSE IT TRAINING One of the most important things you should consider before implementing an IT training program is whether that the content is current, accurate 41 and easily be understood by trainees. In general, you should look 42 for a training program that has done an affiliation with industry 43 leaders. For example, a course on Windows 2000 should at least 44 be pproved by Microsoft. A course that has bee n co-developed in 45 this way ensures so that trainees will study relevant and correct 46 information. Also, take into your account the availability of practical 47 exercises. Many off-site, instructor-led programs which provide learning 48 labs for trainee practice, but take good on-site training courses can 49 include hands-on simulations that resemble to an actual networking 50 or desktop environment. This supply allows trainees to interact with 51 the programs without crashing down a live system.It also means that 52 trainees can study while at work so that less time is going missed, and production schedules are not interrupted. WRITING 1 hour 10 minutes PART ONE Question 1  · The graph below shows the turnover for three kinds of retail outlet, all owned by the same company, during a three-year period.  · Using the information from the graph, write a short report comparing the changes in turnover in the company's three types of outlet.  · Write 120-140 words. [pic] PART TW O Write an answer to one of the questions 2-4 in this part. Write your answer in 200-250 words.Question 2  · Your company would like to break into a new overseas market with your new range of sports goods. You have been asked by the Marketing Director to investigate ways of doing this.  · Write a report for the Marketing Director, including the following information:  · how you carried out your research into the market  · the existing competition  · your target customers  · ways of promoting the products in the new market. Question 3  · Recently you have become unhappy with a service that has been provided to your company for a number of years. You have decided to write a letter of omplaint to the service provider.  · Write your letter to the company that provides the service, including the following information:  · which service you are complaining about  · why you are dissatisfied with the service  · what action you want the service provider to take  · what you will do if there is no improvement in the service. Question 4  · Your Managing Director is considering how to improve the company's internal communications, and has asked you to write a short proposal giving your views on communication within your department.  · Write the proposal for the Managing Director: describing how communication currently takes place within your department  · pointing out the weaknesses of the present situation  · recommending one or two improvements that should be made LISTENING Approximately 40 minutes (including 10 minutes' transfer time) PART ONE Questions 1-12  · You will hear the founder of a company called Manshee talking to business students about its development.  · As you listen, for questions 1-12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number.  · After you have listened once, replay the recording. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANSHEE 1.The speaker had a problem finding †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. for his compute r. 2. Initially, the speaker bought from †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ businesses. 3. Four years after its launch, Manshee's †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. was ? 6 m. 4. The company grew rapidly without having †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5. The main factor in the company's decisions was the current month's †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. fell as a result of competition. 7. Manshee's consultants work mostly with †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8. The consultants made Manshee's directors put their future †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. in order of priority. 9.The directors first focused on †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. and financial goals. 10. What the speaker feels was particularly valuable was the †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ of the consultants' advice. 11. Manshee classifies it s customers on the basis of their †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12. The most successful division is the one working with the †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. sector. PART TWO Questions 13-22  · You will hear five different people talking about problems and responses to them in the companies where they work.  · For each extract there are two tasks. For Task One, decide which problem each speaker mentions from the list A-H.For Task Two, decide which response the company made to the problem from the list A-H.  · After you have listened once, replay the recording. Task One – Problems  · For questions 13-17, match the extracts with the problems, listed A-H.  · For each extract, decide which problem for the company is mentioned.  · Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the extract. A The directors' experience was narrow. B Certain products went out of fashion. C There was a reliance on poor-quality supplies. D There were conflicts between directors. E Too many new products were launched at the same time.F Reasons for previous success were misunderstood. G There was a failure to understand economic trends. H Some advisors made poor recommendations. 13. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 14. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 16†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Task Two – Responses  · For questions 18–22, match the extracts with the responses, listed A-H.  · For each extract, decide which response the company made to the problem.  · Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the extract. A Large severance payments were made.B New shares were issued. C A takeover bid was accepted. D Low-cost products were introduced. E A partnership abroad was formed. F One division was sold off. G Some products were rebranded. H A cost reduction programme was introduced. 18†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 19†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 20†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 21†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 22†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ PART THREE Questions 23-30  · You will hear a discussion between two senior managers, John and Deborah, about an assistant manager, Colin, who has applied for a new post. For each question (23-30), mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer.  · After you have listened once, replay the recording. 23. The new post is being created as a result of A. plans to change corporate culture. B. criticisms of management practice. C. change s to overall company structure. 24. What reason has Colin given for applying? A. to have a more challenging role B. to make full use of his qualifications C. to raise his profile within the company 25. John was particularly impressed by the way Colin A. treated a dissatisfied client. B. responded to an unreliable supplier.C. dealt with an inefficient member of staff. 26. What current strength of Colin's does Deborah commend? A. his analytical skills B. his product knowledge C. his flexible approach 27. On a recent sales trip, Colin succeeded in A. improving the terms of a contract. B. identifying a new method of selling. C. making a number of new contacts. 28. In what area did Colin excel during recent training? A. team working B. report writing C. prioritising 29. What does Colin's reference say? A. He expects too much of others. B. His confidence will grow in time. C. He sometimes lacks objectivity. 30.What support will the successful candidate receive? A. contact with an in-house advisory body B. performance appraisal meetings C. coaching from a consultant SPEAKING 16 minutes SAMPLE SPEAKING TASKS PART ONE In this part, the interlocutor asks questions to each of the candidates in turn. You have to give information about yourself and express personal opinions. PART TWO In this part of the test, you are asked to give a short talk on a business topic. You have to choose one of the topics from the three below and then talk for about one minute. You have one minute to prepare your ideas.A Customer relations: the importance to a company of reliable customer opinions of products B Staff development: the importance to a company of developing effective career plans for staff C Business strategy: how to maintain the confidence of company shareholders PART THREE In this part of the test, you are given a discussion topic. You have 30 seconds to look at the task prompt, an example of which is below, and then about three minutes to discuss the topic with your partner. Af ter that, the examiner will ask you more questions related to the topic. For two candidatesTravelling to Work Your company's location in a busy city centre means that staff often complain about the time taken to get to work. You have been asked to make some recommendations. Discuss and decide together:  · whether it would be better for staff to use public or private transport  · what the effects might be of allowing staff to work flexible hours. For three candidates Travelling to Work Your company's location in a busy city centre means that staff often complain about the time taken to get to work. You have been asked to make some recommendations. Discuss and decide together: whether it would be better for staff to use public or private transport  · what the effects might be of allowing staff to work flexible hours  · what other measures the company could take to deal with the situation. Follow-on questions  · Would you be willing to spend a long time travelling to work eve ry day? (Why? /Why not? )  · Should companies provide staff with financial assistance if they have long journeys to work? (Why? /Why not? )  · What do you think influences a company's decision to be located in a busy city centre? (Why? )  · What effect do you think technology will have in the future on where people do their work? Why? )  · What could be the long-term effects of changes in the hours people work and where they work? (Why? ) Test 1 Reading Part 1 1. C 2. E 3. D 4. E 5. A 6. B 7. D 8. A Part 2 9. D 10. A 11. G 12. E 13. F 14. C Part 3 15. D 16. B 17. A 18. A 19. C 20. D Part 4 21. B 22. D 23. D 24. C 25. B 26. C 27. A 28. A 29. D 30. B Part 5 31. IT 32. OF 33. UNLIKE 34. DOWN 35. NO 36. IN 37. THERE 38. AS 39. TO 40. ONE Part 6 41. BE 42. DONE 43. CORRECT 44. CORRECT 45. SO 46. YOUR 47. WHICH 48. TAKE 49. TO 50. SUPPLY 51.DOWN 52. GOING Test 1 Writing Question 1 Sample A The development of the turnover of FROZEN FOOD Ltd. The following report describes the chan ges in turnover by type of retail sector over the three years periods 2000 to 2002. In all three years the turnover made by supermarkets was the highest of all three retail outlets. Department stores remained the second greatest before small shops-outlets. The turnover reached by supermarkets increased steadily over the three years and was ? 80m in 2002. The turnover of department stores was? 50m in 2000 but fell to ? 35m in 2001. In 2002 it remained steady to the previous year.After a loss in 2001, the small shops-outlets reached again a higher level but could not reach the ? 30m turnover of 2000. Band 3 All the content points are included and, despite minor grammatical errors and several lexical errors, there is reasonable control overall. It is a well-organised answer with an adequate range of language and fits the descriptors for band 3. Sample B Below is a report on the changes in turnover for three kinds of retail outlet, owned by one company, over a three-year period. The ove rall highest turnover of eighty million pounds was obtained by supermarkets in 2002.On the other hand, the smallest turnover was made in small shops in 2001. Over the year 2000, a turnover of fifty million pounds was reached in department stores, whereas it then plumetted to about thirty-five million pounds in 2001 and maintained this position throughout 2002. The supermarkets turnover rose steadily from 2000, reaching its peak in 2002 with eighty million pounds. Clearly, small shops had the smallest turnover altogether. Thirty million pounds in 2000, a noticeable drop to twenty million in 2001 and a slight increase of five million in 2002.In conclusion, the highest results were achieved by supermarkets, followed by department stores and then small shops. Band 4 This answer shows an accurate and natural use of language with a good range of structures and vocabulary. The slightly awkward organisation and the minor omission of a starting point for supermarkets prevent it from being a band 5. Question 2 Sample C Ways of break into a new market. The aim of this report is to present some ideas of the actions to be taken in order to succed penetrating the new overseas market.First of all, it is fundamental hiring a well- known Marketing Research company in order to get all the information about the market of sport goods in that place. After that we need to know own competitors their strenghth and weaknesses, in that way we can find our posibilities and opportunities against them. The company have to build an diferencial advantage. Another important issued is our target customers, people interested in sports and health and also the kind of sports that it can be done in that place, it is vital information that the company need to know before go to the new market.For our brand, we need to be agressive in our publicity campaign, by TV, making promotions and offering discounts in first purchase. In conclusion, the company need to have the certainty that there are opportu nities in that market and then gain all the weapons to have a good performance with caracteristics differents from the competitors and good publicity. In short time become market lider in sports good. Band 2 This answer contains some irrelevance as the candidate has written a proposal rather than a report. This, combined with the number of errors, results in a band 2. Sample D Report concerning a new overseas market IntroductionThis report sums up the results of my investigation in overseas markets, according to what was demanded by the Marketing Director. Findings Staying a few weeks in this part of the World allowed me to collect precious information about the market, buying habits, competitors, and to gather complete figures and statistics. I could carry out a market research interviewing potentials consumers on the street or even in sports shop. Then I had the opportunity to test local competitors' products and to visit production premises. Furthermore, I analysed the data and f ound out two mains competitors, X and Y, who both shares half of the total market.The others competitors are small companies representing few percentage of global sales. Finally, teenagers are the biggest consumers. In fact, 30% of them buy regularly sports articles, while adults declare only buying once a year. Therefore, the main target profile would be a 15-year-old to 25-year-old male. Conclusions In my opinion, this market would be a great change for the development of the company and I then recommand breaking into it. Recommandations I suggest carrying out an advertisement campaign in order to make them know their is a new competitor.Then consumers are attracted by sales promotion like price reductions and I propose launching our products this way. Last but not least, we could starting offering three products to the price of two. Band 3 This is a generally well-organised answer with good use of cohesive devices. The candidate uses an adequate range of structure and vocabulary with a number of minor, mainly non-impeding, errors. Question 3 Sample E Dear Mr Smith, I am writing to express my concern about your poor delivery service. First and foremost, not only arrive the orders late, but they are also damage.Secondly, when we telephone your office to resolt the issues, the dutty person is always busy on the phone. Although his secretary takes our mesages and tells us that he is calling back, we never recieve his call. Finally, it is not surpriced to have problems with your invoices (suplements and extra-services which are inclueded in our contract with your company). Because of this, I have extra-cost in telephone calls and paper work. I will be grateful, if you do delivery the orders on time and in perfect conditions. Moreover, I will be easy to contact to you, if you do have more staff. And finally, it is important to issue correct invoices.As a result of your poor service, I think it is only fair, if your company starts to improve. If I do not see any i mprovements, I will be forced using another suplieyer. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours sincerely, Amparo de la Iglesia Band 2 All the content points are included and the answer is clearly organised with a good opening and closing. However, the number of basic errors means this is a band 2 rather than a band 3. Sample F Dear Mr Smith, We have been using your company for a number of years, however, recently we have experienced some problems with the quality of products and delays in delivery.As our customers have been devoutedly visiting our shop for years purchasing the best quality products, we feel obliged to make some remarks. Not only have we notice that the date for which dairy products should be consumed was extended but also in some yogurts we found that the labels describing the content were misleading. A cherry yogurt turned out to be a strawbery one. Furthermore, bottles of milk were not sealed properly which resulted in leaking and making the milk go off qui cker. On top of everything, there have been delays in delivery if not a non-delivery that occured already a few times.We trust you will give this matter your immediate attention and that everything will get back to normal, as we would still like to use your service. We hope it is just a temporary disposition. Sadly, however, we have to state clearly, that if no improvement will be made both with the quality of items and delivery we will have to change the supplier, for our customer sake and our reputation. Yours sincerely, Aneta Mroczek Band 4 This is an ambitious attempt at the task, showing fairly natural use of language, despite a number of non-impeding errors. It is well organised and cohesive. Question 4 Sample GI have carried out a research about company's internal communications and show you our study methods and our findings. METHODS 1. We designed a paper to cover all kinds of questions which may show company's internal communications. Then we selected a team in charge of t he whole process of implemetion the survey. 2. We chosed some people random who come from different departments to have a panel to express themselves freely regarding the topic. Then, we had a good record and notes of that. And some of them provide some useful suggestions. On the whole, the methods we conducted the program are scientific and effective.FINDINGS 1. Most of staff think we should improve company's communications. 2. The causes of preventing internal communications are as followed below: 1. Different departments seldom exchange informations about what they are doing now and what are their newly outcome and something like that. 2. Different team rarely cc e-mail to other relative team of other staff to share their informations. 3. The time to express oneself is too limited and everyone is just oriented to their own job itself and seldom share resources. 4. The activities which are attended by different departments or different teams are not common.PROPOSALS To respond the above problems and findings, I will propose as below. 1. To CC e-mail each other in the internal company which include not only in the department but among departments. 2. To exchange information among different departments and different teams oftenly. In order to achieve this goal, we can organize different activities to creat a atmosphere for them. Such as a panel, a training class, a outdoor travel and so on. 3. To open a company know-how discussion or training routinely to let every staff have a strategic idea and a long-term eyesight. Band 1There is considerable irrelevance in this answer and a serious lack of control. An appropriate format is used, but the lack of cohesion and non sequiturs (e. g. in ‘Finding' number 3) result in a very negative effect on the reader. Sample H Making communication better We have 10 people working in our admin department. All kind of communication between each other is very important and it needs to be quick and affective. At the moment w e do send Emails for sharing happening in every day basis. We also have a weekly meeting where some of us get together and look over the subjects from previous week and also make plans for the up coming ones.There is also someone there to make notes which will be typed over to correct minutes and sent to everybody who attended the meeting. My concern is that on those meetings we don't have the whole admin team present and therefore many times we have talked on the behalf of the ones who are not attending. This kind of communication might bring miscommunication to place. To resolve this matter I think that we should have everybody on that weekly meeting to get correct information from the right people. At least it is worth to have a go. Best regards, Kaie Sirak Band 2 This answer contains frequent errors, which sometimes obscure communication.The content points are all covered but not dealt with in depth. The end is particularly weak, leaving a negative impression on the reader. Over all, it fits more of the descriptors for band 2 than 3. Test 1 Listening Part 1 1 ACCESSORIES 2 MAIL(-)ORDER 3 TURNOVER 4 (A/ANY) STRUCTURE 5 CASH FLOW 6 (PROFIT) MARGINS 7 SMALL BUSINESSES/SMALL COMPANIES/SMALL FIRMS 8 INVESTMENT(S)(PLANS) 9 STRATEGIC (TARGETS)/ STRATEGY/STRATEGIES 10 OBJECTIVITY 11 BUYING BEHAVIO(U)R(S) 12 TRAINING Part 2 13. G 14. B 15. D 16. C 17. F 18. E 19. H 20. A 21. B 22. F Part 3 23. C 24. C 25. A 26. B 27. B 28.C 29. A 30. A Tapescript Listening Test 1 This is the Business English Certificate Higher 3, Listening Test 1. Part One. Questions 1 to 12. You will hear the founder of a company called Manshee talking to business students about its development. As you listen, for questions I to 12, complete the notes, using up to three words or a number. After you have listened once, replay the recording. You now have forty-five seconds to read through the notes.. [pause] Now listen, and complete the notes. [pause] Man: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm hono ured to have this opportunity to talk to you.Eight years ago, I bought my first computer, but I soon discovered that where I lived, it was difficult to find accessories for that particular make. That made me realise that other people must have the same problem. Then I found that foreign magazines contained plenty of advertisements of mail order companies, so I started buying spare parts and things that way and selling them on to my friends at a small profit. That was how my company, Manshee, was born. Four years later, Manshee was making a profit and had reached a turnover of six million pounds. We had four directors – myself and three of my friends – plus a staff of seventeen.The culture was young and the working environment didn't have any structure. The company just grew and grew with its own momentum, and everything we did seemed to strike lucky. If we needed to buy some equipment or redecorate the sales office, we decided yes or no in isolation, only taking the sh ort term – usually the cash flow for that month – into account. However, the market became increasingly cut throat, and that led to falling margins. We realised, rather unwillingly, that the time had come to structure our future, but we didn't really have much idea how to set about it.So we went to a firm of consultants who specialise in helping small businesses, and it proved a turning point. They insisted that we four directors sit down and rank our investments in order of importance for the coming years. It seems obvious now, but we'd never realised the value of doing it before. Initially, we set out strategic and financial targets for the next three years, and now we're pleased with just how many of those objectives we've met. The value of bringing in outside expertise was that it gave us objectivity. It's so easy to take things for granted, and to go on in the same mindset.Using consultants meant we received invaluable advice on our business priorities. Planning h as allowed us to make notable improvements. For instance, by segmenting our customer base, we realised that we could put our customers, currently in excess of a thousand, into four distinct groups, according to their buying behaviour. That made us realise we could increase sales if we allocated different people to deal with each group. So we set up four specialist divisions, and the most successful one has increased its sales by over twenty per cent, and that's the division involved with the training sector.We're signing off the next plan for growth. People are sometimes concerned that planning leads to rigidity, but we certainly don't find that it stops us from being as flexible as we need to be. Thank you. [pause] Now listen to the recording again. [pause] That is the end of Part One. You now have twenty seconds to check your answers. [pause] Part Two. Questions 13 to 22. You will hear five different people talking about problems, and responses to them in the companies where they work. For each extract there are two tasks. Look at Task One. For each question 13-17, decide which problem each speaker mentions, from the list A-H.Now look at Task Two. For each question 18-22, decide which response the company made to the problem, from the list A-H. After you have listened once, replay the recording. You now have thirty seconds to read the two lists. [pause] Now listen, and do the two tasks. [pause] Speaker One Woman: Well, now it's all over, I can only hope we've learnt the right lessons from the experience. Although the consultants at the time urged caution, the board were sure of the plan – after all, it was the sort of thing they'd pulled off before – and ploughed ahead with the launch of the new division.But the board wouldn't accept that the predicted boom in these new overseas markets was bound to be unstable because of likely fluctuations in currency rates and share prices, and that's where it all came unstuck. They reacted sensibly, though, and now we have established a good joint venture there, which is a better bet than going it alone, or slashing costs all over the place and laying people off in a panic. [pause] Speaker Two Man: In the end, you'd have to say we had a lucky escape – I mean, it could have been a lot worse. It's very difficult to know where your brand is really positioned.. we've always accepted that our research almost inevitably will be running a bit behind. Consumer tastes change so quickly these days, and that's where we suffered, and lost market share. The directors, once it was clear what was happening, attacked the problem and looked at various options. They could have looked to generate revenues with a share issue, but I think they were right to go for clipping back by reducing expenditure wherever possible – you're better placed to re- group with a tight ship. The plans to develop higher quality products for the future look pretty plausible now. [pause]Speaker Three Woman: Well, I now know to take all this talk about the importance of communication skills seriously†¦ I used to think it was all rather woolly, but when you've seen the damage misunderstandings can do†¦ I suppose the board was a grouping of people with such strong backgrounds individually that each of them expected to be top dog, and that it was perhaps inevitable that they'd clash over what direction the company should go in. Anyhow, it looked very grim for a while but, in the end, two of them took the pretty sizeable payoffs they were offered and moved on. From our point of view, at east it saved us from the prospect of the group being split up and the shares sold off. [pause] Speaker Four Man: We were all extremely glad to see the back of that particular episode in the company's history. I know there's quite a trend to constantly reviewing your sourcing in the search for cost savings, but it was crazy to move over to such an untried firm. The trouble was we were getting nearly all our parts from them, so everything was leaving the factory here with faulty components, with appalling results. We should have listened to the consultants, but on this one we thought we knew better.It got so bad that predatory offers were being made for the division, and we had to think hard about how to save the brand's reputation. Raising fresh capital through new shares was the right way to go and enabled us to cover the losses we made in sales. [pause] Speaker Five Woman: I sometimes really do think that the people who know least about a company are the people who run it†¦ that's why there's such an industry in advising on and supplying the skills for managing change. We went along assuming that we were selling well because of what we saw as our core qualities – but we were wrong.It was just that we happened to have got our pricing right, so when we changed that, it all started falling apart. Things got decidedly grim for a time, and drastic action was required. A m erger was considered, and an aggressive takeover had to be fought off. In the end, it was easier to accept an offer for the Budget Products Division, and avoid major redundancies, than to go on trying to keep the whole thing afloat. [pause] Now listen to the recording again. [pause] That is the end of Part Two. [pause] Part Three. Questions 23 to 30. You will hear a discussion between two senior managers, John and Deborah, bout an assistant manager, Colin, who has applied for a new post. For each question 23-30, mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer. After you have listened once, replay the recording. You have forty-five seconds to read through the questions. [pause] Now listen, and mark A, B or C. [pause] Man: Well, Deborah, we need to think about the candidates who've put in applications for the post of area manager. Woman: Yes, John, it's an exciting new role, and it fits in with the strategy development plan. Man: Quite. It's part of a logical progression in our app roach to management, carefully consolidating our skills base.It should mean a new chain of command, but based on tried and tested methods.. , we'll be stronger as a result. Woman: Well that's the idea. Now, the first one that's come in is from Colin†¦ Man: The assistant manager for the south-east? Woman: Yes. Colin's clearly keen†¦ Man: But of course, it's an attractive proposition. Woman: And I think that's what's drawn him. He's said his current post is demanding – as well he might – but that he's keen to position himself in the spotlight here. Reading between the lines, I think the alternative, as he sees it, is to move sideways to IT, which is where his background is.It would be a shame to lose someone like him †¦ he's hungry. Man: Yes, it's a genuine application. He's a serious contender. I was struck recently†¦ I think it was last month.. , by his problem- solving abilities. He was passed a complaint – it wasn't really his problem at al l – but he took it up anyway, about some faulty goods we'd supplied, apparently. I think he saw it as an efficiency issue, and so relevant to any responsible person here. And he reacted really well, so that the customer went away happy after all. Woman: Right, and that suggests the qualities that are most germane to the job.Ultimately, I suppose, we're looking for a level of adaptability that it's fair to say someone in his position may not have had the chance to really demonstrate yet.. , but his familiarity with the goods we produce is second-to-none, so I think the signs are there that he may become an astute analyst and problem-solver. Man: That's certainly encouraging. And it's not just in the office that he's been looking good. I sent him abroad as part of that group a few weeks ago. The basic brief was to secure a continuation of the Asian contract. To be honest, that was a bit of a given, and what I was really hoping for was something extra.And sure enough, he clearly really worked on all our contacts out there, and he came back with some great new insights into how we might be able to develop bulk sales directly through warehouses, rather than through the standard agency channels. Woman: Oh right, interesting – I missed the debrief on that one. But I do know he went on a training course not so long ago, and clearly reaped the benefits there. The content was mundane enough – ‘how to produce effective reports' or some such – but he identified the points that really mattered, and saw that what it actually addressed was how to order the most pertinent facts for delivery to a team.Man: So, it's good news all round? Woman: Let's look at what his reference has to say. He does have shortcomings, of course. His confidence is very strong, almost to a fault, you might say, which could lead to difficulties on the patience front.. , just because he gets the point quickly doesn't mean he's entitled to think everyone else does, that they share the same conclusions.. , others may be behind in terms of objectivity, still grappling with issues that impact personally on themselves. Man: Hmm, that'd certainly be something to watch, I guess.Still, we're not looking for perfection, are we? And we're not going to be setting up a lone operator. Woman: Oh, far from it. Whoever gets the job will be well backed up. I was talking to the consultants the other day, and they were quite critical of our reliance on checking performance through the one-to-one appraisal system, so it's been decided that this new post will be linked into the cross-departmental advisory group that was set up a few months ago, and benefit from dealing with them and getting their input.That should help quite a bit. Man: That makes a lot of sense. Well, let's talk about some of the other candidates†¦ [pause] Now listen to the recording again. [pause] That is the end of Part Three. You now have ten minutes to transfer your answers to your Answer S heet. [pause] Note: Teacher, stop the recording here and time ten minutes. Remind students when there is one minute . remaining. That is the end of the test.