Dr. Jekyll and Hyde analysis Essay Example for Free

Dr. Jekyll and Hyde analysis Essay The only reason he would be acting like this, even though Jekyll is ofa higher class, he wants to be associated with Hyde for a reason he does not want his friends to know. As if Jekyll was not acting odd enough already he defends Hyde no matter he does, Jekyll always attempts to justify Hydes actions. Also he has listed everything in his will to Mr. Hyde for unknown reasons at the time only raising more curiosity from the charcters in the book as well as the reader. Throughout known history London has been seen as a symbol of wealth and prosparity, but Stevenson shows the other side. And if any time he dozed over, it was but to see it glide more stealthily, even to dizziness, through wider labyrinths of lamp-lighed city, and at every street corner(Stevenson 8). The city of London is drastically different from peoples general idea of that city. Most people think of all the hisorical landmarks and areas, not the poorer sections that Stevenson tends to focus on. He may be doing this to help sumbliminatley further the idea of the duality in people. Maybe trying to convince the people that if a city can be split in its personality so can the people of this world. Earlier the Ying-Yang was compared to Jekyll and Hyde and it was extremly well demonstraighted towards the end of this book when it is revealed to the reader that Jekyll revealed he wanted to be Hyde. The power of volventary chance be forfieted, and the character of Edward Hyde become irrevocably mine0ekyll/Hyde 48). Jekyll had always wanted to be a rulebreaker like Hyde, growing up in wealthy family he had a reason and a need to rebel against what was exspected of him. Jekyll seemed to want to live on the other side of life to experience all aspects of what life at the ime had to offer. It is Just a natural instinct of some people to rebel out of not being satisfyed. Or, in Dr. Jekylls case wanting to experence the other side in this world. Stevenson repeatedly brings up this idea throughout the text, while never coming out and saying it. Stenson is able to bring this idea up in every readers mind multiple times. This story was also possibly wrote to show everyone that has read it that nobody is purely good or evil, there is no black or white, that everyone no matter what they do is Just a shade of gray. Dr. Jekyll and Hyde analysis By zooglicious

Lewis Ranis-Fei Model of Economic Development

Lewis Ranis-Fei Model of Economic Development William Arthur Lewis, with his most famous published work, â€Å"Economic Development with Unlimited Supplies of Labour† (Manchester School, May 1954) and â€Å"The Theory of Economic Growth† (Allen and Unwin, 1955), made a great contribution to the theories of economic development. Based on his findings, Ranis and Fei succeeded to extend the initial Lewis model and assessed the changes in the agricultural and industrial labour in more detail. I will start this paper by introducing the foundations of the model before following with the implications, basing the majority of my arguments on the analysis by Ranis and Fei in â€Å"A Theory of Economic Development† (1961). The central idea behind the Lewis model is fairly simple. Lewis divided labour force into two differentiated groups â€Å"subsistence sector† and â€Å"capitalist sector† where the former is assumed to contain unlimited supply and consequently, a pool of surplus labour[1] that sets labour-supply conditions for the latter. The concept of a dual economy is heavily criticised. As Leeson (1982) pointed out, â€Å"dual economy† models are â€Å"held to imply a false picture of the nature of the historical process of change in underdeveloped countries†. In this paper, I will not assess the strengths or weaknesses of the model, but instead, for the sake of simplicity and clarity, assume that the sectors are agricultural and industrial, respectively. Subsequently, Ranis and Feis extension to Lewis model can be analysed. They observed the model by reading it from left to right and assessed the changes in the output and wage as more and more people moved from agriculture to the industry. A new concept was added namely, disguised unemployment, which appears in the traditional subsistence sector. The marginal product of labour, which is observed as the slope of the production function, in agricultural sector is lower than in industry in fact, it is zero before point B on Figure 1.3. Under competitive assumptions, the real wage rate would fall to zero, but due to the presence of institutional or non-market forces, the institutional wage is sustained. Therefore, there are gains to be had by switching resources away to the industrial sector. Nevertheless, it is generally not likely to happen because the market, left on its own, does not change. If the industrial sector does pay according to marginal product, then, as noted by Ray (199 8), there would be efficiency gains available as long as the marginal product of the agricultural labour is less than the wage, whether it is zero or not. By decreasing the labour force in agriculture by a small amount (whilst still remaining in the surplus labour area), the total wage bill in agriculture falls along the diagonal straight line in Figure 1.3 , provided that the wage in agriculture does not rise. Since output does not fall, the reduction in the total wage bill gives an economy an agricultural surplus. Only at point C will this process come to an end because there is no more disguised unemployment it only appears at points at which the marginal product of labour is less than the institutional wage. Hence, condition for the existence of disguised unemployment is: W > MPL Ranis and Fei subsequently claimed that the average wage bill in agricultural sector is no longer measured as a straight line. At point C, the slope of the production function is parallel to the wage bill line, yielding that the disguised unemployment is no longer observed. Furthermore, beyond point C (when the disguisedly unemployed have been absorbed) the marginal product of labour exceeds the traditionally given wage rate (Ranis and Fei, 1961). The wage in agriculture begins to rise, because it becomes profitable to bid for labour[2]. As a result, wage bill falls more slowly. This brings me to the central point of the paper capturing the â€Å"turning points† in the Lewis-Ranis-Fei model. Ranis and Fei divided the model into three phases[3]. I have used Figure 1.1. to illustrate this issue. This figure contains the demand curves for labour by industry (downward sloping). The supply curve is initially a vertical line, because of surplus labour. Hence, the intersection of the labour and demand curves gives the equivalent quantity of labour and wage rate x and w*, respectively. Since the economy is in the surplus phase, there will be a certain quantity of labour transferring from agricultural to industrial sector, which explains the increase of the labour in industry from x to y whilst keeping the wage rate constant. The wage rate remains constant as long as there is surplus labour in the agriculture that can be employed more productively in the industry at a constant subsistence wage rate (Berry, 1970). It must be noted though that for any further investment, the demand curve for labour is going to shift to a point where the compensatory wage must rise. The phase where the supply wage of labour tilts upwards is referred to as the â€Å"first turning point†. At this point, redundant labour disappears altogether (Jorgenson, 1967). Employment in the industry would have risen as far as point z had the turning point not occurred. However, since it did and since the wage rate began to rise as demand was pushed upwards, employment can only rise up to z where demand meets supply. As I briefly mentioned earlier, it is evident that as more and more agricultural workers are withdrawn and no longer demand a portion of the agricultural goods, the surplus of agricultural goods begins to appear. It must be noted that each individual that moves from agricultural sector to the industry carries their own subsistence bundle together with them, meaning that they must be compensated for the transfer. Ranis and Fei named the portion of total agricultural output in excess of the consumption requirements of the agricultural labour force at the institutional wage as the total agricultural surplus TAS (Ranis and Fei, 1961). They described the TAS (captured in Figure 1.3) as the vertical distance between the straight line OX and the total physical productivity curve (with the exception of phase 3 where the distance will be reduced). In order to find out the required minimum industrial wage, the average wage must be multiplied by the relative price between agriculture and industry. In the surplus phase, it remains constant, because the average agricultural surplus is not changing (captured in Figure 1.2.). At this point, an expansion in the industrial sector would not drive up the wage rate. If an individual that moves from agriculture to the industry when labour in agriculture is at the surplus phase, there will be no compensation needed for that particular individual, as he carries his own food basket to the industry. In fact, industrial wage is constant and this individual is not worse off as a result. At the second phase, however, the average agricultural surplus begins to decline, because there will not be sufficient agricultural output to feed all the new industrial arrivals at the institutional wage level (Ranis and Fei, 1961). In other words, the same wage would not compensate them for the move anymore, b ecause the agricultural surplus has fallen below the average wage (A.W.) and it is not possible for them to buy A.W. units of food. As a result, the supply curve tilts up. There appears to be a worsening of the terms of trade. The relative prices begin to increase and in order to compensate for this price effect and facilitate the move, the industrial wage must rise. The wage must also compensate for the declining agricultural surplus and a movement of the terms of trade against industry. Put differently, the shortage of agricultural goods measured in agricultural surplus lead to a rise in the industrial wage measured in terms of industrial goods. Simultaneously, the agriculture gains some extra resources, because the agricultural output is divided between less people as more and more people move away from agriculture. If it happened that the individuals at the surplus zone wanted to consume more than the average, the government could step in and tax them to restrict their consumption. That surplus could then be used up in the investment to feed those individuals that move to the industry. In addition, it could also be used to support the new industrial arrivals as the wage rate in industry is set to increase. During phase three, this process becomes even more apparent as the now commercialized wage in agriculture becomes operative. Hence, there is an even sharper decrease in the agricultural surplus. What is more, beyond the â€Å"commercialization† point, the contribution from a worker is greater than the wage (as MPL > W). This, on the other hand, increases agricultural wage rate as was seen in Figure 1.3. From the p revious results, it is clear that after a second turning point the industry would have to compensate even more to get the workers. As a result, it gives an incentive to bargain for a worker. According to Chen (2005), Lewis-Ranis-Fei model should be considered a classical model because of the usage of industrial wage. However, Jorgenson claims that once the commercialization point is reached, instead of the classical approach, the neo-classical theory of growth for an advanced economy is to be observed (Jorgenson, 1967). Berry came to a significant conclusion of the Lewis-Ranis-Fei model. In effect, a shift in the terms of trade has a negative effect on the industry, forcing capitalist employers to pay a higher wage and thus generating less profits and less investment (Berry, 1970). However, there is a role of interdependence between the two sectors (Ranis and Fei). In fact, raising the price of goods in agriculture would give an agricultural sector an incentive to raise the output, thus encouraging investments in agriculture, leading to a decline in the terms of trade, which in turn lowers wages, increases profits and generates more investment in the industry. Consequently, there will be a balanced expansion in both, agriculture and industry. In other words, what Ranis and Fei observed was that the allocation of investment funds must be such that as to â€Å"continuously sustain investment incentives in both sectors of the economy†. The terms of trade should not deteriorate substantially agai nst either sector. I have illustrated this in Figure 2. The lower diagram in Figure 2 contains a supply curve S and a demand curve D1. Initially, the size of industrial labour force is OB and the industrial sector is making a profit equal to the area B0. This profit can be considered as an investment fund and could be allocated in part to both sectors. Consequently, the demand curve shifts up and there will be a new intersection point which lies on the balanced-growth path and this new equilibrium allows the economy to enjoy even further profits. After the first turning point, there will be a small proportion of profit that will be forgone because the first turning point occurs, yet the overall amount of profit increases. Nevertheless, it becomes clear that it is reasonable to have a policy to invest in both sectors as the economy will then maintain the balanced growth path. To conclude, I have shown the main ideas behind the Lewis-Ranis-Fei model and used the consecutive analysis of the model to explain why it is important to invest in both sectors in order to remain on the balanced growth path and maintain the rate of industrialization. The existence of surplus labour in agriculture allows the industry to continue to pay the institutional wage and therefore enjoy further profits and continued investment. At the same time, as more and more people are moving away from agriculture, there will be some amount of agricultural surplus that can be used up to fuel further development. This process continues until the surplus labour is absorbed. Hence, saving and investment are a crucial part in the Lewis-Ranis-Fei to support economic development.

Use Of Embryonic Stem Cells Philosophy Essay

Use Of Embryonic Stem Cells Philosophy Essay As we have entered into a new millennium, we are witnessing a number of changes around us, ranging from a small technology to biggest medical discoveries. It has also brought vast changes or rather improvements into bioscience as well, like completion of genome sequence, microarray technology to measure simultaneously the expressions of thousands of genes (Okarma). We have even been able to improve the efficiency of drugs. The latest technologies are really being helpful into the cure of chronic diseases. Among these the outstanding advancements is successful derivation of human embryonic stem (hES) cells. (Thompson 1998, 282). The embryonic stem cells are the self-renewing cells and they have got the capacity to produce all kind of human body cells. The sparkling advantages of these stem cells are, they allow permanent repair of the failing organs by injecting healthy functional cells that are developed from them. This field of medicine is also known as regenerative medicine. For example, the nervous tissues and the heart tissues cannot repair themselves as gastro-intestinal cells and skin tissues; the stem cells therapy allows the repair of these kinds of cells. Human body is made of certain organ systems that are capable of regeneration by themselves only throughout life, the skin cells are constantly shedding and they are replaced timely, same with the blood cells as well. The embryonic stem cells are the cells, that can produce any kind of human body cells. (Okarma). Understanding Human developmental biology Now for the obvious practical medical purpose it is nearly impossible to vigorously study the embryonic development of the humans. However the study of embryonic stem cells allows us to reveal the nature of human body development in every aspect from cells to cells and from tissues to tissues. Despite the study of laboratory animals for these purposes as they are identical with human body, certain aspects of human body and its mechanisms are different. (Okarma). It has been an objective of US health care system to study the reproductive and embryonic development in humans because according to statistics, one in every six couple trying to conceive show fertility disorders. 15% of the recognized pregnancy show premature pregnancy loss in United States. (Okarma). Until now study of embryogenesis at earlier stages was out of reach of scientists to direct studies. Since the introduction of the embryonic stem cells study it has become possible to study all the stages of human embryo or fetus development. This is an revolutionary invention that has provided us a number of ways to reach the roots of developmental defects and birth defects in humans. (Okarma). Identifying teratogens During the pregnancy the women are exposed to number of agents that can result into the child birth defects and fetal abnormalities, known as Teratogens. The human stem cells study can allow the screening of the environmental toxic agents and pharmaceuticals that could cause abnormalities of the developing fetus. (Okarma) Source of Human embryonic stem cells The invention of the stem cells from human embryo has been the most exciting development in the medical science. The medical experts worldwide have been more interested in using the Human embryonic stem cells into Regenerative medicine. The use of the human embryonic stem cells raises different ethical questions. The application of these cells can be applied to tissue engineering, genetic engineering and other medical research purposes. The use of the adult stem cells has not raised a controversy but the utilization of the human embryonic stem cells raise different ethical questions based on the sources of the cells. (Hug, Sources of human embryos for stem cell research, 2005) There are three different sources for the stem cells that are currently used: Existing stem cell lines of the embryo Spare embryo- the embryos that are left unused. Embryos that are created for the purpose of research only. (Hug, Sources of human embryos for stem cell research, 2005) Now from human embryos only there are two ways of getting the stem cells. First from the umbilical cord or uterine water and second is from the fetuses themselves. Now the first source of the cells produce less ethical questions because there are less moral issues related to the source of the cells. In second source when the fetuses are aborted, the cells are derived from them without difficulty. The ethical danger involved here is it is really hard and unethical to imagine that a woman is convinced to become pregnant for the sake of harvesting the fetus embryonic cells. (Teutsch). For example, surveys in the United States show that there is great public controversy about Embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning. (Hug, Sources of human embryos for stem cell research, 2005). These days limitations on stem cell research vary by country. In some places this research is not sufficiently supervised and regulated, and this raises moral questions themselves (Teutsch). The Ethical Problem When the question of moral status of embryo is raised, on one hand we are concerned with the rights they have got for the protection of life health, and body. And on the other hand what all obligations the moral agents do have towards them in regard to preserving these goods. (Østnor) The critics of stem cell research state a couple of main objectives: some of them state that despite its worthy ends, stem cell research is unethical because there, destruction of the human embryos is involved. Whereas others fear that even if research in itself is not unethical it will obviously create the possibilities of the dehumanizing practices, for examples, cloned babies, and embryo farms and use of fetuses as spare parts. Eventually this will lead to commoditization of human lives. (Michael J. Sandel, 2004). Some view the destruction of the human embryos during the stem cells research same as yanking the organs from a baby to save any other human life so, baby dies and other lives. Some of them combine the religious beliefs that the ensoulments occur at the time of conception only. While others try to defend without recourse to religious that we begin our life as embryo. If our life is worthy of respect irrespective of our age, then these embryos also should be considered as living organisms and hence should not be killed. (Michael J. Sandel, 2004). If stem cell therapy will be in routine practice, then the embryonic materials will become the source of the therapeutics and by using them there will be a situation where the respect for the human life will decrease. In these ways the sacrifice of the embryos earlier in their life will encourage polices of sacrificing the vulnerable for the benefits of others. This is also known as slippery-slope argument, meaning if we accept one condition then this acceptance will lead us to the toleration of certain unacceptable conditions. According to some moral philosophers there has always been a difference between act and omission. Actively killing someone is different than the passive efforts not put into practice to save someone. Though the outcome into both the cases is same here, both can be argued as destruction. Counter argument: In the counter argument, there are several who believe that the use of the spare embryos would not mean the destruction of life. They say that there is no issue to believe that the destruction of human embryo will undermine the respect of the human life in society. As destruction of embryos during the process of invitro fertilization and abortion has been in practice since a long, no change in the respect of human life has been observed. The destruction of the spare embryos during the process of invitro fertilization should be considered more problematic than the destruction of the spare embryo resulting from invitro fertilization to produce stem cells for the purpose of the therapeutics. (Hug, Sources of human embryos for stem cell research, 2005) If we consider that the destruction of the embryos for the purpose of stems cells harvesting in order to find cure of certain incurable diseases immoral than the use of embryos for the purpose of treating infertility also should be considered immoral. It has been always in question whether the human embryos can be used for all purposes or for certain of them, for example certain prefers that its permeable to destruct the human embryos for the development of the cosmetics. Currently the accepted position is that that the human embryos should be used only in order to create the cure of certain human diseases only. (Hug, Sources of human embryos for stem cell research, 2005). When the spare embryos that are donated for the purpose of research remain unused after a long period, they are destroyed. So there is no ethical question is raised there. So ultimately the outcome that the embryos are going to be used for the goodness of humans should be taken into consideration rather than making ethical questions, according to some. (Hug, Sources of human embryos for stem cell research, 2005). The stem cells technology is also involved in the cloning process by somatic cell nuclear transfer. Now it can also be argues that allowing cloning technology by somatic cell nuclear transfer can be a step towards human reproductive cloning and its world wide acceptance. But there has been some counter arguments against human cloning by these techniques as use of certain techniques for this purpose is prohibited in most part of the world so legislation might prohibit reproductive cloning even if the application of somatic cell nuclear transfer technology to generate embryos for the purpose of harvesting stem cells from embryos may be an important step in the development of the cloning technology. There is also a danger of commercial pressure driving to promote more research of these kinds resulting into the decreased intrinsic respect of human body and life. (Hug, Sources of human em bryos for stem cell research, 2005). The research program on embryonic stems cells produces moral dilemma. It makes us to choose from two moral principles. Alleviate suffering or a duty to prevent. The duty of respecting the human body and life. (Hug, Embryonic stem cell research: an ethical dilemma, 2011) Either an embryo is considered as a person whilst its still an embryo, or its viewed as a potential person. The criterion of a personhood is really unclear. Arguments: the development of a person from an embryo is the continuous process; it starts as early as the egg is fertilized. As infancy is the stage where the human is in infant stage like that only this is the stage where the human is in the stage of embryo, the only fact that it does not hold any human characteristics at this stage. Eventually it will become a person so it should be given respect. Counter-arguments: Before implanting them into uterus, the embryos invitro does not hold any psychological, emotional and physical characteristics of a person. So it does not hold any interest to be prevented and those can be used for the benefits of the patients who are persons. (Hug, Embryonic stem cell research: an ethical dilemma, 2011) There has been also argument that the embryo has increasing status as it grows. There are several stages that might give importance to the embryos, e.g. implantation of embryo after six days of fertilization, the appearance of the primitive steak which is the beginning of development of the nervous system. The stage at which if baby is delivered prematurely then also can be survived. And finally birth. (Hug, Embryonic stem cell research: an ethical dilemma, 2011) Counter-arguments: we protect persons interests and life because they are important and valuables from the point of interest to universe but because they are valuable to the persons they are concerned with. Whatever moral status the embryo holds, the life it lives has a value to embryo itself. We cannot make any moral judgment based on the age of embryo, if we say that it becomes human as the primitive steak is formed, then what if the person who loses its nervous system in a stroke? is he not a human? (Hug, Embryonic stem cell research: an ethical dilemma, 2011) Religious views Different religions view stem cell research in different ways. Roman Catholic, orthodox and other protestant churches believe that the life begins as early as conception occurs, so no research should be permitted. Judaism and Islam emphasize the importance of helping others, so they prefer that the stem cells research should be permitted. They consider that there is no life before 40 days. (Hug, Embryonic stem cell research: an ethical dilemma, 2011) Should public funds be used to support such research? Though they are very microscopic, the stem cells have created a issue between the research scientists and the right to life advocates. As the stem cell research program needs a lot of investments, the question of who should fund the research program, has been in discussion since last few years. Scientists want to study and research the embryonic stem cells in hope of finding the unanswered treatments of certain incurable human diseases like spinal cord injuries, Parkinsonism, certain birth deformities, nervous system diseases and many more life threatening conditions. President of USA, Barack Obama issued an executive order to use the federal money in stem cells research programs in 2009. There have been many controversies against presidents this order. (Should the government fund embryonic stem cell research?) The United States Congress and the legislatures of more than 28 states have considered spending billions of tax payers dollars into the stem cell research program over next several years. In 2004 California state government organized a peoples pole to know their will of spending the public fund for stem cells research programs. It is also known as Proposition 71 bond measure, which had authorized the state to raise 3 billion USD over upcoming 10 years to fund such research. Then also the debates rage over the ethical question that whether the public fund should be used for such program in which the embryos, which are considered lives, killed. Is it really justified to use public funding for such research? (Elgin, 2008) The programs like Proposition 71 are stuck in to mud as they are politically debatable, speculative and controversial because the stem cells research itself is very politically controversial. Each stem cells research program remains to be highly speculative so the government should not gamble with public fund into such programs where we cannot predict the results at all. (Elgin, 2008). In an interview with the UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) experts they expressed their view as follows. Owen Witte who is the director of the stem cell biology and medicine said that its governments responsibility to do everything possible. Edwin Bayrd, UCLA AIDS Institute had to say that this country has a long tradition of funding scientific research from taxpayers fund. So these research programs also can never be exceptions. Whereas Stephen Brainbridge added that if one believes that life begins at the time of conception then the act of creating lives by destroying them is an evil act. (Do you believe public funds should be used to support stem cell research?, 2006) At this point in time no one knows that how successful any stem cell research is going to be. Or it is still difficult to predict that whether the stem cell research can really find solution to certain incurable medical conditions. Embryonic stem cells are clearly versatile but the scientists have not been able to control the growth of those embryonic stem cells. On the other hand the interactions of stem cells with other types of cells may lead to the development of tumors and certain kind of tissue rejection reactions. In 2006, the US National academy of science stated that development of the feasible therapies out of the embryonic stem cells research may take years or even decades. Even if they find some therapies then, they are needed to be tested first, means more investments of time and money. So the politicians who promise of finding the cure for certain diseases are becoming totally disingenuous. (Elgin, 2008). In November 2007, New Jersey voters rejected the initiative to borrow the sum of $450 million to invest or fund in a state-run stem cells program. Because the people of New Jersey knew how little was the advantage of public funding into the stem cells program in state of California. Following James Thomsons discovery that stem cells are self renewing cells, the funding to stem cells research become political feasible and very popular, though the destruction of embryos for these purpose was considered unethical. (Elgin, 2008) Conclusion According to my personal views, my religious beliefs, it is unethical to kill the embryos and harvest the stem cells in a process to save the lives. It simply means that you are killing someone to save the lives of someone. Better would be the developments of the alternatives to be away from all these ethical issues. To date there are eight alternatives available to the embryonic stem cells. (Hug, Sources of human embryos for stem cell research, 2005) The Stem cells have been found into adult tissues like skin, intestine, bone marrow, brain etc. those who are against the use of embryonic stem cells research claim the use of these alternatives of the stem cells. There is a possible way to avoid destroying the viable human embryonic stem cells in the course of conducting research of stem cells could be to produce non-viable human embryo by performing nuclear transplant into a nuclear less egg of suitable species. The Embryonic stem cells that are to be transplanted may be immunologically incompatible with that of recipient. So to solve this problem a tissue bank with the large number of different kind of stem cells can be established. In place of using new embryos and embryonic stem cells line, scientists can use the embryonic stem cells and the differentiated stem cells obtained from them. The new possibility has been found by scientist recently that the stem cells can be produced at an early stage than they used to be. Scientists have found the possibility of growing stem cells at four day old human embryo called Morula. There is a theoretical possibility in which the possibility of destruction of the embryo can be avoided. Scientists are checking and testing the possibility of growing the single cell plucked from a Morula stage of embryo. If the researches on the embryonic stem cells are being prohibited because of the destruction of the embryo then there are the chances of splitting the embryos. There are the chances of genetic modification of the oocytes in such a manner that if fertilized they wont produce a viable human being. All currently available methods of harvesting stem cells from different sources and their research are the issues to be discussed ethically in respect to the human embryo and human life. To avoid the ethical issues there are new alternatives to the sources of the cells should be taken into the consideration. (Hug, Embryonic stem cell research: an ethical dilemma, 2011) To my personal views, the use of embryo to harvest the cells are totally unethical and public funds should not be used for this kind of anti-human act, though I appreciate the process of the research that has got the hope of development of many newer medical cures. But for that many available alternatives should be taken into consideration.

Analysis: Utagawa Hiroshige ll “Nihonbashi, Thirty-six Views of Tokyo (

Niroshige ll, â€Å"Thirty-six views of Tokyo† is done in the style Ukiyo-e which during the Edo period was a way for artisans to mass produce their art work. Ukiyo-e is the technique of woodblock, Ukiyo-e has serval different themes. It consist of Bijin ( beautiful women of the pleasure quarter) Portraits of actors, Famous landscapes, and Asobi-e ( erotica ). The Nihonbasi â€Å"Thirty-six views of Tokyo† is done in the Landscape tradition, which is portrayed in the title of the print. Landscape prints normally feature a beautiful place in japan that the Chonin would want to visit, the artist Utagawa Hiroshige ll uses techniques to portray what the subject of the piece which is a harbor and shoreline that helps help portray a sense of depth and logging to the â€Å"Thirty-six views of Tokyo.† With the subject of the print being so easily given, the composition of the print is one that is not so easily seen. There is a lot that is going on in the print which at first conveys a sense of chaos, theres maybe a bridge, a shoreline with buildings, boats and a ladder of some sort right in the middle ...

The Role of Climate Change in Coral Reef Destruction Essay -- Global W

Climate change is arguably one of the most discussed issues in climatic conferences and political debates across the world. Establishment of the fact that global warming is the leading cause of climate change continues to persuade people to find out ways of reducing or mitigating the effects it has on the earth. Global warming occurs naturally, but artificial causes, which are mainly human activities, contribute to this effect. The release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from human activates has led to a 0.60C rise in global temperatures (Walther et al., 2002). This implies that different life forms are affected in one way or the other given the effect of temperature on life. Different species of flora and fauna have and continue to suffer the effect of climatic changes. Coral reef is one of seawater features that have been affected by climatic changes. This has led to destruction through coral bleaching and increased mortality, especially due to the warming of the sea that causes an increase in sea water levels (Bakerl, Glynn & Riegl, 2008). An increase in global temperature also increases ocean acidification (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). These occurrences destroy reefs resulting in a significant drop in other sea organisms that depend on the reef. This implies that climatic changes are among the most destructive environmental elements affecting coral reef population in the world. To understand how climatic changes affect coral reef population, it is important to consider different ecological processes that occur due to climatic changes, the most common being the rise in global temperatures. Results from Different Studies Investigating the Role of Climate Change in Coral Reef Destruction Evidence of Sea Acidi... ...igher—Can We Do Anything About It?. National Geographic. Retrieved Nov 11, 2013: http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-sea-level-rise/ Obura, D. (2005). Resilience and climate change: lessons from coral reefs and bleaching in the Western Indian Ocean. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science , 63, 353–372. Obura, D. & Grimsditch, D. (2009). Coral reefs, climate change and resilience : an agenda for action from the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Neptune: IUCN. Smith, V. & Buddemeier, W. (1992). Global change and coral ecosystems . Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst, 23, 89-118. Sutthacheepn, M. et al. (2013). Impacts of the 1998 and 2010 mass coral bleaching events on the Western Gulf of Thailand. Deep-Sea Research II, 96, 25–31. Walther, G. et al. (2002). Ecological responses to recent climate change. Nature, 416, 389-395.

Power Utility Consumption Capm in Uk Stock Markets

Pricing of Securities in Financial Markets 40141 – How well does the power utility consumption CAPM perform in UK Stock Returns? ******** 1 Hansen and Jagannathan (1991) LOP Volatility Bounds Volatility bounds were first derived by Shiller (1982) to help diagnose and test a particular set of asset pricing models. He found that to price a set of assets, the consumption model must have a high value for the risk aversion coefficient or have a high level of volatility.Hansen and Jagannathan (1991) expanded on Shiller’s paper to show the duality between mean-variance frontiers of asset portfolios and mean-variance frontier of stochastic discount factors. Law of one price volatility bounds are derived by calculating the minimum variance of a stochastic discount factor for a given value of E(m), subject to the law of one price restriction. The law of one price restriction states that E(mR) = 1, which means that the assets with identical payoffs must have the same price. For th is constraint to hold, the pricing equation must be true.Hansen and Jagannathan use an orthogonal decomposition to calculate the set of minimum variance discount factors that will price a set of assets. The equation m = x* + we* + n can be used to calculate discount factors that will price the assets subject to the LOP condition. Once x* and e* are calculated, the minimum variance discount factors that will price the assets can be found by changing the weights, w. Hansen and Jagannathan viewed the volatility bounds as a constraint imposed upon a set of discount factors that will price a set of assets.Therefore, when deriving the volatility bounds, we calculate the minimum variance stochastic discount factors that will price the set of assets. Discount factors that have a lower variance than these values will not price the assets correctly. Furthermore, Hansen and Jagannathan showed that to price a set of assets, we require discount factors with a high volatility and a mean close to 1. After deriving these bounds, we can use this constraint to test candidate asset pricing models.Models that produce a discount factor with a lower volatility than any discount factor on the LOP volatility can be rejected as they do not produce sufficient volatility. Hansen and Jagannathan find evidence that using LOP volatility bounds, we can reject a number of models such as the consumption model with a power function analysed in papers such as Dunn and Singleton (1986). 2 Methodology To test whether the power utility CCAPM prices the UK Treasury Bill (Rf) and value weighted market index returns, we first calculate the LOP volatility bounds.The volatility bound is derived by calculating the minimum variance discount factors that correctly price the two assets for given values of E (m). The standard deviations of the stochastic discount factors are then plotted on a graph to give the LOP volatility bound shown in figure one. Figure 1 here The CCAPM stochastic discount factors are then calculated for different levels of risk aversion. The mean and standard deviation of these discount factors are then plotted on the graph and compared to the LOP discount factor standard deviations.Pricing errors can then be calculated and analysed to see whether the assets are priced correctly by the candidate model. To accept the CCAPM model in pricing the assets, we expect the stochastic discount factors variance to be greater than the variance of the LOP volatility bounds. It is also expected that pricing errors and average pricing errors (RMSE) will be close to zero. These results will be analysed more closely in the later questions. 3 Power Utility CCAPM vs LOP Volatility Bounds In order for the power utility CCAPM to satisfy the Law of One Price volatility bound test at any level of risk aversion, the standard deviation f the CCAPM stochastic discount factor at that level of risk aversion must be above the Law of One Price standard deviation bound for the mean value of t he CCAPM stochastic discount factor at the same level of risk aversion. This is the null hypothesis and if it is accepted then the model satisfies the test. The alternative hypothesis is that it the standard deviation of the stochastic discount factor is below the Law of One Price standard deviation bound for the mean value of the stochastic discount factor.If the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted then the model does not satisfy the test. Table 1 here Figure 2 here Figure 2 shows LOP volatility bounds and the standard deviations and means of the CCAPM stochastic discount factors for levels of risk aversion between 1 and 20. It is obvious the standard deviations (Sigma(m)) of the CCAPM stochastic discounts factors are much lower than the LOP volatility bounds corresponding to the means (E(m)) of the CCAPM stochastic discount factors.This is true for any level of risk aversion, because the entire CCAPM (green) line lies below the LOP volatility bou nds (dark blue) line. Table 1 shows the standard deviations of the stochastic discount factors and the precise LOP volatility bound values, corresponding to the stochastic discount factor means so that the CCAPM can be formally tested. All of the standard deviations are lower than their respective volatility bound values. Therefore the null hypothesis is to be rejected and the alternative hypothesis is to be accepted for all levels of risk aversion between 1 and 20.Furthermore it would take a risk aversion of at least 54 to accept the null hypothesis. Therefore the power utility CCAPM stochastic discount factor does not satisfy the Law of One Price volatility bound test. These results are consistent with the equity premium puzzle study by Mehra and Prescott (1985). The study examines whether a consumption growth based model with a risk aversion value restricted to no more than 10 accurately prices equities. They have found that according to the model equity premiums should not excee d 0. 5% for values of risk aversion (? ) between 0 and 10 and values of the beta coefficient (? ) between 0 and 1. However the average observed equity premium based on the average real return on nearly riskless short-term securities and the S&P 500 for the period 1989-1978 was 6. 18%. This is clearly inconsistent with the predictions of the model. In particular if risk aversion is close to 0 and individuals are almost risk neutral, the model fails to explain why the sample’s average equity returns are so high.If risk aversion is significantly positive the model does not justify the low average risk-free rate of the sample. The results of Mehra and Prescott’s (2008) empirical study are consistent with our results, because the power utility CAPM did not satisfy our empirical tests. 4 Kan and Robotti (2007) Confidence Intervals The Law of One Price volatility bounds calculated in part 2 are subject to sampling variation. We have calculated point estimates of the volatilit y bounds, but we did not take into account that our results are based on a finite sample of Treasury Bill and market returns.To more accurately test whether the power utility CCAPM passes the LOP volatility bounds test, we need to identify the area in which the population volatility bound may lie. The area used is that between the upper and lower 95% confidence intervals for Hansen-Jagannathan volatility bounds obtained by Kan and Robotti (2007), shown in table 2. If the standard deviations of the CCAPM stochastic discount factors lie below that area for values of risk aversion between 1 and 20, then the power utility CCAPM model is to be rejected according to this test.Table 2 here Figure 3 here Figure 3 contains point estimates of the LOP volatility bounds, the standard deviations and means of the CCAPM stochastic discount factors for levels of risk aversion between 1 and 20 and the 95% confidence intervals for the volatility bounds. All of the standard deviations are below the ar ea in between the upper and lower confidence intervals for the volatility bounds. This indicates that at a 95% certainty the CCAPM does not satisfy the LOP volatility bound test even when sampling errors are taken into account. Performance of Power Utility CCAPM In recent academic literature on the subject of asset pricing models a common formal method of evaluating model performance is to calculate the pricing errors on a set of test assets. In this report the test assets are the Treasury Bill and Market Index quarterly returns from Q1 1963 to Q4 2009. The pricing error is calculated as [pic] Where [pic], [pic] Treasury Bill and Market Index returns, and [pic] is the pricing errors. Table 3 hereFor a model to correctly price an asset it would require that the pricing errors are as close to zero as possible since the pricing error is a measure of the distance between the model pricing kernel and the true pricing kernel. From Table 3 we can see that the pricing errors for the differe nt values of risk aversion are not close to zero and the size of the errors actually increases with the level of risk aversion. We can also see that the Route Mean Square Pricing Error (RSME) which measures the average distance from zero of the pricing errors is not as close to zero as we would hope and also increases with the level of risk aversion.If we note the case for a risk aversion level of 20 then the RSME is 6. 76%, since this is quarterly data this works out to an annual RSME of approximately 27%. With such large pricing errors we would not expect this model to perform strongly. Hansen and Jagannathan (1997) found that for different levels of risk aversion the pricing errors do not vary greatly. As noted above, this is not the case in our sample in which the error increases with the level of risk aversion, thus creating an ever wider dispersion of pricing errors.This is counterintuitive to what we would usually assume as with increased levels of risk aversion the consumer is only willing to accept a certain level of return for lower and lower levels of risk, therefore we would expect at some point that the mean variance level would pass the volatility bounds and therefore correctly price the assets. Conforming with this report Cochrane and Hansen (1992) found that in order to satisfy the levels of variance necessary to surpass the volatility bounds a risk aversion level of at least 40 was necessary.It should be noted that in reality this is quite unreasonable and also that for this level of variance to be attained the expected return might also have to drop below the level necessary to surpass the volatility bounds. Table 4 here From Hansen and Jagannathan (1991) we know that in order to price a set of assets correctly the stochastic discount factor (SDF) should be close to one and have high levels of volatility. Table 4 shows that SDF’s at low levels of risk aversion are relatively close to one but have very low levels of volatility.When the level of risk aversion increases the SDF’s get further and further away from one yet the volatility also increases. Therefore it seems reasonable to conclude that we would not expect any of these SDF’s to price the assets correctly. The results illustrated above are consistent with the earlier analysis and point to the conclusion that the power utility CCAPM does not do a good job in pricing the two test assets and thus does not perform well in UK stock returns. Cochrane and Hansen (1992) agree with this conclusion but Kan and Robotti (2007) find the opposite.The reason for this could be the use of sampling error in the Kan and Robotti paper and the different data used the in the analysis. This report illustrates that there exists not only an equity premium puzzle but also a risk free rate puzzle. This risk free rate puzzle as noted by Weil (1989) states that if consumers are extremely risk averse, a result of the equity premium puzzle, then why is the risk free rate s o low. Weil cites market imperfections and heterogeneity as the probable causes of this puzzle; however, this is not the explanation that Bansal and Yaron (2004) find.Using a model that accounts for investor reaction to news about growth rates and economic uncertainty they are able to go some way to resolving not only the risk free rate puzzle but also the equity risk premium puzzle. One method that could be used to improve the performance of the power utility CCAPM would be to construct the model using conditioning information; this would enlarge the possible payoff space available to investors. Kan and Robotti (2006) find that including conditioning information in models reduces the pricing errors by allowing the prices of volatility to move in line with the market.Although as Roussanov (2010) finds, conditioning information does not necessarily improve model performance and may actually exacerbate the problem. 6 Sampling Error in the Volatility Bounds When using the volatility bo unds as specified by Hansen and Jagannathan (1991) to test asset pricing models we must be wary of sampling error in the bounds. As noted previously if a model does not lie within the Hansen and Jagannathan volatility bounds then we can conclude that it does not price the test assets correctly.However, Gregory and Smith (1992) and Burnside (1994) first noted that this test does not take into account significant sampling variation and could therefore reject models that price assets correctly. Burnside (1994) uses Monte-Carlo simulation to illustrate that over repeated samples if sampling error is ignored the volatility bounds test performs poorly. Gregory and Smith (1992) state that the sampling error could be due to large variability in the estimated bounds or the use of sample data in the analysis.Kan and Robotti (2007) derive the finite sample distribution of the Hansen and Jagannathan bounds in order to take account of this sampling error. They argue that confidence intervals tha t take into account the variation can be constructed and used to test asset pricing models. The importance of this new method of testing cannot be underestimated as it could affect the decision to reject an asset pricing model or not, this is best illustrated with reference to examples. Kan and Robotti test the equity premium puzzle using data from Shiller (1989) to show the implications of taking into account sampling error.Through constructing the 95% confidence intervals for the Hansen and Jagannathan volatility bounds they are able to show that the time-separable power utility model being tested may not be rejected at low levels of risk aversion. This is in stark contrast to the findings when sampling error is not taken into account where the model is strongly rejected except for unfeasible levels of risk aversion. From Figure 3, as noted earlier, even when sampling error is taken into account for the model tested in this report it does not fall within the volatility bounds.Howe ver, it does decreases the distance between the model and the volatility bounds which is the major consequence of the Kan and Robotti paper. This new method goes some way to solving the problem noted by Cecchetti, Lam, and Mark (1994) who found using classical hypothesis tests that the Hansen and Jagannathan bounds without sampling error rejected true models too often. Again, an extension here could be to use conditioning information to improve the volatility bounds by using the methods of Ferson and Siegel (2003) and as a result hopefully reduce the sampling error in the bounds.References Bansal, R. and A. Yaron, 2004, Risks for the long run: A potential resolution of asset pricing puzzles, Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(4), pages 1481-1509, 08. Burnside, C. , 1994, Hansen-Jagannathan Bounds as Classical Tests of Asset-Pricing Models,† Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 12(1), pages 57-79 Cecchetti, S. G. , P. Lam, and N. C. Mark, 1994, Testing Volatility Restrictions on Intertemporal Marginal Rates of Substitution Implied by Euler Equations and Asset Returns, Journal of Finance, 49, 123–152.Cochrane, J. H. and L. P. Hansen, 1992, Asset Pricing Explorations for Macroeconomics, NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1992, Volume 7, pages 115-182 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. Dunn, K. , and K. Singleton, 1986, Modelling the term structure of interest rates under Non-separable utility and durability of goods, Journal of Financial Economics, 17, 1986, 27-55. Ferson, W. E. , and A. F. Siegel, 2003, Stochastic Discount Factor Bounds with Conditioning Information, Review of Financial studies, 16, 567–595. Gregory, A. W. and G. W Smith, 1992.Sampling variability in Hansen-Jagannathan bounds, Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 263-267. Hansen, L. P. and R. Jagannathan, 1991, Implications of Security Market Data for Models of Dynamic Economies, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 99, No. 2 (Apr. , 1991), pp. 225-262   Hansen, L. P. and R. Jagannathan, 1997. Assessing specification errors in stochastic discount factor models. Journal of Finance 52, 591-607. Kan, R. , and C. Robotti, 2007, The Exact Distribution of the Hansen-Jagannathan Bound. Working Paper, University of Toronto and Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Mehra, R. , and E. C.Prescott, (1985), The equity premium: A puzzle, Journal of Monetary Economics 15, 145-161. Roussanov, N. , 2010, Composition of Wealth, Conditioning Information, and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns, NBER Working Papers 16073, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. Shiller, R. , 1982, Consumption, Asset Markets and Macroeconomic fluctuations, Carnegie–Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Vol. 17. North-Holland Publishing Co. , 1982, pp. 203–238. Shiller, R. J. , 1989, Market Volatility, MIT Press, Massachusetts. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsev ier, vol. 16(3), pages 361-364.Weil, P. , 1989, The equity premium puzzle and the risk free rate puzzle, Journal of Monetary Economics 24. 401-422. Appendix [pic] Figure 1 LOP Volatility Bounds. The figure shows the LOP volatility bounds (dark blue line) which were found by using Treasury Bill and market returns as test assets. [pic] Figure 2 LOP Volatility Bounds with CCAPM.The figure shows the LOP volatility bounds (dark blue line) which were found by using Treasury Bill and market returns as test assets. It also shows the means and corresponding standard deviations of the CCAPM stochastic discount factors (green line) for values of risk aversion between 1 and 20. [pic] Figure 3 LOP Volatility Bounds with CCAPM and Confidence Intervals. The figure shows the LOP volatility bounds (dark blue line) which were found by using Treasury Bill and market returns as test assets.It also shows the means and corresponding standard deviations of the CCAPM stochastic discount factors (green line ) for values of risk aversion between 1 and 20. The figure contains the confidence intervals, with a 95% level of confidence, estimated by Kan and Robotti (2007) for E(m) between 0. 97 and 1. 0082 for the Law of One Price volatility bounds for their first set of test assets. The light blue line shows the upper bounds of the confidence intervals and the red line shows the lower bounds of the confidence intervals. Table 1 CCAPM stochastic discount factors’ means and standard deviations and corresponding LOP volatility bounds CCAPM |LOP volatility bounds |CCAPM | | |means | |st. dev. | | |0. 985121 |0. 82806186 |0. 011749 | |0. 980404 |1. 2067111 |0. 023503 | |0. 975849 |1. 57451579 |0. 035275 | |0. 971456 |1. 93015539 |0. 04708 | |0. 967223 |2. 27320637 |0. 58934 | |0. 963151 |2. 60350158 |0. 070853 | |0. 959239 |2. 92096535 |0. 082854 | |0. 955486 |3. 22555764 |0. 094953 | |0. 951893 |3. 5172513 |0. 107169 | |0. 94846 |3. 7960217 |0. 11952 | |0. 945187 |4. 06184126 |0. 132027 | |0. 942074 |4. 31467648 |0. 14471 | |0. 939121 |4. 5448604 |0. 15759 | |0. 93633 |4. 7812196 |0. 17069 | |0. 933701 |4. 99481688 |0. 184033 | |0. 931234 |5. 19520693 |0. 197645 | |0. 928931 |5. 38230757 |0. 211552 | |0. 926792 |5. 55602479 |0. 225781 | |0. 92482 |5. 71625225 |0. 240361 | |0. 923016 |5. 8628708 |0. 255322 |This table shows the means of the CCAPM stochastic discount factors for levels of risk aversion between 0 and 20, the corresponding LOP volatility bounds and the standard deviations of the CCAPM stochastic discount factors. Table 2 95% confidence intervals for E(m) between 0. 97 and 1. 0082 E(m) Lower Upper 0. 9700 3. 1823 5. 2069 0. 9710 2. 9385 4. 8383 0. 9719 2. 7038 4. 4830 0. 9729 2. 4781 4. 1411 0. 9738 2. 2617 3. 8125 0. 9748 2. 0544 3. 4974 0. 9757 1. 8565 3. 1959 0. 9767 1. 6680 2. 9080 0. 9776 1. 4890 2. 6337 0. 9786 1. 3195 2. 3731 0. 9795 1. 1597 2. 1262 0. 805 1. 0097 1. 8931 0. 9815 0. 8696 1. 6739 0. 9824 0. 7394 1. 4685 0. 9834 0. 6194 1. 2770 0. 9843 0. 5096 1. 0993 0. 9853 0. 4101 0. 9356 0. 9863 0. 3212 0. 7857 0. 9873 0. 2429 0. 6497 0. 9882 0. 1755 0. 5275 0. 9892 0. 1190 0. 4192 0. 9902 0. 0736 0. 3248 0. 9912 0. 0393 0. 2445 0. 9922 0. 0160 0. 1784 0. 9931 0. 0030 0. 1275 0. 9941 0 0. 0938 0. 9951 0 NaN 0. 9961 0 0. 0938 0. 9971 0. 0029 0. 1279 0. 9981 0. 0159 0. 1798 0. 9991 0. 0395 0. 2474 1. 0001 0. 0745 0. 3302 1. 0011 0. 1212 0. 280 1. 0021 0. 1796 0. 5408 1. 0031 0. 2498 0. 6689 1. 0041 0. 3317 0. 8123 1. 0051 0. 4255 0. 9714 1. 0061 0. 5309 1. 1461 1. 0072 0. 6481 1. 3368 1. 0082 0. 7769 1. 5437 This table shows the upper and lower bounds of the 95% confidence intervals Kan and Robotti (2007) calculated for the volatility bounds for their first set of test assets. The confidence intervals presented are for values of E(m) between 0. 97 and 1. 0082. Table 3 Pricing errors for the Treasury Bill (Rf) and the value weighted UK market index (Rm), and the Root Mean Square Pricing Error (RSME) for each level of risk av ersion Level of Risk Aversion |Error Rf |Error Rm |RSME | |1 |-0. 0104 |0. 0047 |0. 0080 | |2 |-0. 0152 |-0. 0001 |0. 0107 | |3 |-0. 0199 |-0. 0049 |0. 0144 | |4 |-0. 0244 |-0. 0094 |0. 0184 | |5 |-0. 287 |-0. 0138 |0. 0225 | |6 |-0. 0329 |-0. 0180 |0. 0265 | |7 |-0. 0369 |-0. 0221 |0. 0304 | |8 |-0. 0408 |-0. 0260 |0. 0342 | |9 |-0. 0445 |-0. 0297 |0. 0378 | |10 |-0. 0480 |-0. 0333 |0. 413 | |11 |-0. 0514 |-0. 0367 |0. 0446 | |12 |-0. 0546 |-0. 0399 |0. 0478 | |13 |-0. 0577 |-0. 0430 |0. 0508 | |14 |-0. 0606 |-0. 0459 |0. 0537 | |15 |-0. 0634 |-0. 0487 |0. 0564 | |16 |-0. 660 |-0. 0513 |0. 0590 | |17 |-0. 0684 |-0. 0537 |0. 0614 | |18 |-0. 0706 |-0. 0560 |0. 0636 | |19 |-0. 0727 |-0. 0580 |0. 0657 | |20 |-0. 0747 |-0. 0600 |0. 0676 | | | | | |The pricing errors above are calculated as [pic], where [pic], [pic] Treasury Bill and Market Index returns, and [pic] is the pricing errors. The RSME is simply the average pricing error of the stochastic discount factor for each level of risk aversion. Table 4 Summary Statistics for power utility CCAPM stochastic discount factor |Level of Risk Aversion |Average |St Dev |Min |Max | |1 |0. 9851 |0. 0117 |0. 9551 |1. 0436 | |2 |0. 804 |0. 0235 |0. 9214 |1. 1000 | |3 |0. 9758 |0. 0353 |0. 8889 |1. 1595 | |4 |0. 9715 |0. 0471 |0. 8575 |1. 2223 | |5 |0. 9672 |0. 0589 |0. 8273 |1. 2884 | |6 |0. 9632 |0. 0709 |0. 7981 |1. 3581 | |7 |0. 592 |0. 0829 |0. 7699 |1. 4316 | |8 |0. 9555 |0. 0950 |0. 7428 |1. 5090 | |9 |0. 9519 |0. 1072 |0. 7166 |1. 5906 | |10 |0. 9485 |0. 1195 |0. 6913 |1. 6767 | |11 |0. 9452 |0. 1320 |0. 6669 |1. 7674 | |12 |0. 421 |0. 1447 |0. 6434 |1. 8630 | |13 |0. 9391 |0. 1576 |0. 6207 |1. 9638 | |14 |0. 9363 |0. 1707 |0. 5988 |2. 0701 | |15 |0. 9337 |0. 1840 |0. 5777 |2. 1821 | |16 |0. 9312 |0. 1976 |0. 5573 |2. 3001 | |17 |0. 9289 |0. 116 |0. 5377 |2. 4245 | |18 |0. 9268 |0. 2258 |0. 5187 |2. 5557 | |19 |0. 9248 |0. 2404 |0. 5004 |2. 6940 | |20 |0. 9230 |0. 2553 |0. 4827 |2. 8397 | This table shows the average value, standard deviation, minimum and maximum for the stochastic discount factor at each level of risk aversion. ———————– 24th November 2011

Major trends in HRM: Final Exam Essay

1. (TCO A) Discuss two major trends that are currently affecting the practice of human resource management. Provide examples of how a company’s HRM practices might be affected by each trend. 2. (TCO B) To be a strategic business contributor, human resources must enhance organizational performance, expand human capital, and be cost effective. Discuss how HRM professionals must balance the competing demands made on them. 3. (TCO C) Explain the most significant impact of a union on human resource management. 4. (TCO D) In developing human resource strategies, businesses face several important challenges. Identify and describe four of these challenges. Link these challenges back to the HRM department’s strategy plan. 5. (TCO E) While layoffs may seem prevalent in our work environment today, many companies still face the challenge of retaining top performers and the skills needed to complete the job. Explain how you would create a proactive retention program for a company. Describe the steps you would take and substantiate each step. 6. (TCO F) Substantiate the value of employee performance evaluations to the business and the employee. Describe the factors/components you would include in a performance management program and validate those items. 7. (TCO G) Pay for performance plans vary in design. Some are designed to reward individuals as well as team results. Describe both types of pay plans. Evaluate the value of both plans as it relates to the organization/business. 8. (TCO H) Explain how human resource technology can improve efficiency and effectiveness of HRM functions. How, specifically, can technology support the business? Provide an example.