Legal Issues And The Electronic Health Record - 1074 Words

Legal Issues and the Electronic Health Record Jessica Frame Ogeechee Technical College: HIMT 1150 Abstract With the current implementation of the electronic medical record (EHR), there are legitimate issues and concerns that need addressing before one can fully understand the EHR. While implementing an HER offers things such as improved quality of care and increased patient safety, there are also legality issues one faces and may not realize when utilizing an EHR documentation standards change, as well as medical liability. The sooner a facility or physician’s practice come to acknowledge and address the patient care issues involved in the EHR, the easier and smoother a transition becomes from the â€Å"old school† paper chart to the new-and-improved electronic health record. Keywords: Electronic health record, EHR Legal Issues and the Electronic Health Record The electronic health record or EHR is an exciting technological advance in the medical community, helping to streamline healthcare for patients multiple areas. While there are many obvious and great reasons as to why one should implement and EHR, there are also many legality issues associated with upgrading from a paper record. Knowing the risks associated with implementing an EHR and how to avoid mistakes common issues associated with one (EHR) in a medical setting is detrimental to the adaptation of electronic health records and the positive or negative feedback received from making such a big change in a healthcareShow MoreRelatedThe Code Of Ethics For Nurses1082 Words   |  5 PagesAssociation, 2015). Ethical issues related to electronic health records (EHRs) are extremely beneficial to clinicians, patients and an organization. This is because it not only increases access to health care, but it does reduce costs, improves the quality of health and care provided. The EHR is ac curate to an extent, however its positive effects on productivity, should not underestimate the negative effects that ensues from using EMR. There are some Electronic health records that create conflict amongRead MoreLegal, Ethical, And Policy Issues1392 Words   |  6 Pages Legal, Ethical, and Policy Issues, Oh My! Julia Colasurdo SUNY College of Technology at Alfred State Abstract Legal, ethical, and policy issues are an important aspect of nursing and medical informatics. Nurses should be aware of the dilemmas facing the use of informatics in the health care facilities. It is important to note the legal issues facing nursing because of the charges of negligence that can be incurred on the nurse if not aware. Ethical dilemmas of privacy including securityRead MoreTechnology Applications For Nursing Care995 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction: 4 2.0Ten Concepts: 4 2.1Nursing Informatics as a Specialty 4 2.2 Use of Computers a Necessity in Health Care 5 2.3 The Open Source Soft Ware In Nursing 5 2.4 Physiologic Monitoring System 5 2.5 The Significance of Technology Applications to Nursing Care. 5 2.6 Electronic Health Record 6 2.7 Future Uses of Telehealth 6 2.8 Legal and Ethical Aspects 6 2.9 Ethical, and Professional Issues In Information Security 6 2.10 Ethical Applications in Informatics 7 3.0 Critical Evaluation: 7 3.1 PERSONALRead MoreThe Electronic Health Record ( Ehr ) Essay1367 Words   |  6 PagesThe electronic health record (EHR) is a developing idea characterized as a longitudinal accumulation of electronic health data about individual patients and family member (Gunter Terry, 2005). Fundamentally, it was a component for incorporating health care information as of now gathered in both paper and electronic therapeutic records (EMR) with the end goal of improving the quality of care. Despite the fact that the classic EHR is a different area, cross-institutional, even national build, theRead MoreEssay Hybrid Health Record1063 Words   |  5 PagesHybrid Health Record Hybrid Health Record Ryan Engle 250129 Western Governor’s University Abstract Management of health records is becoming increasingly complex. I will discuss the management of â€Å"Hybrid† health records, including legal issues. Additionally, I will evaluate a sample record policy for compliance with Washington State Administrative Code, Medicare Conditions of Participation, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act. Hybrid Health Record Electronic Health RecordsRead MoreInformation Technology And Legal Issues1692 Words   |  7 PagesInformation Technology and Legal Issues Technological advancements continue to expand worldwide, transforming businesses as it develops, especially in the health care industry. Technology plays a significant role in health care including patient intake, monitoring of data, order entry, and self-care strategies. Handheld devices such as iPhones and iPads as well as Android smartphones and tablets are replacing traditional monitoring and recording systems. Innovations in telemedicine allow patientsRead MoreEssay On Electronic Health Record1358 Words   |  6 PagesAn Electronic Health Record is an electronic version of a patient medical history, that is maintained by the provider over time, and may include key administrative, clinical data relevant to that persons care under a health care provider, including demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports (â€Å"Electronic Health Records,† cms.gov, March 26, 2012). In 2009 , the Health Information Technology for EconomicRead MoreInformation And Communication Technologies ( Icts )909 Words   |  4 Pagesproblem to the patient. The monitoring systems like infant warmer makes alarms when temperature rises or falls, Numerous risk points contribute to alarm- and monitoring-related adverse events, including alarm fatigue, com-munication breakdowns, training issues, and equipment failures. According to Pelczarski, alarm fatigue is one of the most common contributors to alarm failures. â€Å"Staff become overwhelmed by the sheer number of alarm signals, which results in alarm desensitization and delayed response orRead MoreThe Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act1416 Words   |  6 PagesHistory The history of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPPA, began in 1996 when a legal mandate was issue by Congress to protect the ethical principles and confidentiality of patient information (Burkhardt Nathaniel, 2014). Prior to this legislation, employees were not protected between jobs. Waste, fraud and abuse in health insurance and healthcare delivery was prevalent. The need to protect the rights of the patient was needed but also the Act contained passagesRead MoreWhy Should A Health Information Professional Possess A Fundamental Understanding Of The Law?1432 Words   |  6 Pagesquestions #1 Why should a health information professional possess a fundamental understanding of the law? Because it allows the HIM professional to be consciously aware of the duty and responsibility that he/she has in regards to patient confidentiality, privacy and security. It also allows them to know what the repercussions might be in case they were to break the law. #2 Does a single document or source of law exist where an individual can find all of the rules governing health information? Why or why

The Management of Emotions Free Essays

Managing emotions adequately is vitally important in practically every area of live. Children learn this skill first from the example of their parents. These skills are transferred to society as the child grows and broadens his or her connections with the outside world. We will write a custom essay sample on The Management of Emotions or any similar topic only for you Order Now Emotional management skills become increasingly important as the human being moves through life. In the workplace, both managers and employees need to adequately manage their emotions in order to successfully accomplish their diverse tasks. In personal life, emotional management is important in the home in order to raise healthy, balanced individuals who will in their turn function well in the workplace. Emotions are an integral part of humanity. The management of emotions is therefore a task that faces every person in every stage of life daily. It is unfortunate that emotional management is not a topic consciously dealt with at either the home or learning institutions. The result of strong, badly managed emotions is often conflict, according to the Conflict Research Consortium (1998). Emotional and conflict management are closely connected. Once the conflicting parties realize this, it is easier to focus on the steps necessary towards a resolution of the conflict. There are many professionals offering advice on adequately managing emotions. The Conflict Research Consortium for example focuses its advice on the issue of emotions and conflict. Conflict is more easily resolved, according to this premise, when the emotions involved are explored and understood. Once each party understands the other’s emotions, the issue of conflict becomes simpler and indeed could be eradicated entirely. This is especially so in personal relationships. Parties involved in romantic or family relationships will most often benefit from exploring the emotion involved in conflict. Emotions are also frequently both the cause and result of interpersonal relationships in the workplace. The emphasis on increasing profits and remaining at the top of the business world can cause extreme stress for managers. This stress, if not adequately managed, often find an outlet in inadequately managed emotions. Employees suffer as a result and in turn are the victim of emotional outbursts and conflicts. Hence, the initial cause of badly managed emotions is stress. In workplace relationships, emotional management should therefore be integrated with several other elements to understand the inherent cause-and-effect relationships in each individual case. Ironically, emotional outbursts resulting from profit-related stress has exactly the opposite of the desired effect. According to Gerson (2002), a manager who makes a habit of berating and shouting at employees is unlikely to see a favorable profit margin. Gerson therefore recommends that a program be implemented to handle work-related stress and its concomitant emotions. Emotions are part of human life. So is change. The extreme and rapid changes in the world today adds to stress both in business and in general life. This increases the danger of emotions that manifest in unacceptable ways. In extreme cases, the failure to recognize the need for managing emotions may lead to crimes such as rape or even murder. This makes it clear that emotional management in today’s fast-changing world has become of extreme importance. Learning to adequately handle emotions should first and consciously be taught at home and afterwards in learning institutions. This would benefit not only business, but also personal relationships and general society. In terms of business, employees who feel they are valued will perform better, work harder and create the revenue sought by managers. Managers therefore need to handle their emotions adequately to achieve this, as seen above. Children who never learn to manage their emotions are more likely to engage in criminal activities. Society benefits more greatly from stable, productive individuals. In order to achieve this, emotional management is of greatest significance in early home life and education. How to cite The Management of Emotions, Essay examples

Aviation Management Analysis

Question: Write how stress leads to aviation related accidents and mention about Yerkes-Dodson Law with all the referencing and recommendation. Answer: Stress and Aviation Accidents In the industry of aviation stress is the phenomenon that is common, and there are three sources which it is composed of psychological, environment and physiological stressors. Due to the influence of their occupation professional pilots are likely to experience stress during flight, during ground work activities and even during their personal time (Hanoch, 2004). The stress is due to responsibility, workload and thousand of passenger's safety that are transported across the world. This stress causes the impact on one's job, health, cognitive function, and performance. This stress jeopardizes the relevance in decision making and cognitive function leading to errors by the pilot. There is high work load management and good health both psychological and physical that is required to carry out their work. There are various accidents that have occurred due to the high-stress level of pilots such as the American Airlines Flight 1420, Asiana Airlines Flight 1420 and the Polish Airforce Tu-1 54. These are one of the most tragic accidents that occurred due to high-stress levels of the pilots (Ison, 2015). The Yerkes-Dodson Law illustrates the impact that arousal due to emotions on the task of performance. There is the linear relationship that arousal has with the performance. Safety in the world of aviation is dependent on the air pilot since too much emotional stimulation good lead to them become overloaded and decisions that are not right leading to accidents (POULOSE, 1992). Their needs to various training that are required to conducted for minimizing the stress level of the pilots (Rosekind, 2006). It is necessary that the crew needs to be trained in behavioral strategies so that they can manage the stress. Automation of Aircraft Though there has been increased automation of the cock-pit, however this has lead to various issues. There is a decline in the basic cognitive and manual flying skills because there being a lack of feel and practice with the aircraft. A system failure caused by the un-commanded disengagement leads to consequences that are advance and damaging. There can be the distraction for the pilots who are interacting through automation. There is too much time that may be spent by the crews of flight in trying to understand the conditions, origin or the causes of multiple alarm or an alarm; this could lead to distraction from the tasks that are a priority and the flying of the aircraft. There may be difficulty in understanding the situation and to regain/gain control when it is the limit that is reached by automation. There being failures in automation or disconnect the tasks that the flight crew or the pilots are allotted may go beyond their individual capabilities or as a team. There might not be sufficient information that a flight crew has regarding malfunctions or failures of automation of the effects that it may have. For aircraft that are highly automated, there may be problems and issues that occur when the transitioning to a model that is degraded example there being various failures requiring less automated or a manual flight. There are limitations that exist with respect to the Diagnostic systems that are dealing with the various failure; there are various unexpected issues and situations that require deviations from the SOP or the Standard Operating Procedures. This leads to the situation of automation dependency which has been described commonly as an issue in which pilots who fly routines with systems that are fully automated are confident with respect to the controlling of the airplanes trajectory only with the systems full functionality. This lack of confidence usually stems from the combination of having knowledge that is inadequate of the systems that are automated themselves unless there is the employment of all and there is manual flying which is lacking and management competence of the aircraft. The solution to ensuring that there is no damage caused due to the automation of flying is that pilots are required to be trained. It is necessary that sufficient understanding is given regarding both the both the full as well as the partial use and the basis for automated system functionality. Ensuring that the pilots understand the essentiality of monitoring the function that are expected from automation so that in the case of an event where there are inputs that are incorrect or there is some kind of malfunction have consequences that are unexpected it is necessary to have corrective actions on time (Wald, Fay, Gleich, 2010). There are various such kinds of efforts that could be made to resolve the issues that are resulted from automation of flying. References Hanoch, Y. (2004). When less is more: Information, Emotional Arousal and the Ecological Reframing of the Yerkes-Dodson Law.Theory Psychology,14(4), 427-452. Ison, D. (2015). Comparative Analysis of Accident and Non-Accident Pilots.Journal Of Aviation Technology And Engineering,4(2), 20. POULOSE, M. (1992). Microwave landing system modeling with application to air traffic control automation.Journal Of Aircraft,29(3), 348-354. Rosekind,. (2006). 'Alertness Management in Aviation Operations: Enhancing Performance and Sleep'.Asem,77(12). Wagener, F. Ison, D. (2014). Crew Resource Management Application in Commercial Aviation.Journal Of Aviation Technology And Engineering,3(2), Wald, A., Fay, C., Gleich, R. (2010).Introduction to aviation management. Berlin: Lit.

Words Speak Louder Than Actions free essay sample

Many people would disagree, but all great speeches by famous people such as Martin Luther King, Jr. , Abraham Lincoln and even Adolph Hitler demonstrate that words are more powerful than actions. Strong words speak louder than actions. Actions are needed but sometimes your words can be more help than anything you could possibly do. Words can change the way a person views and idea. A person skilled with words can capture an audience and can even change the world just by talking. When Martin Luther King, Jr. started his movement for equal rights he had a choice. He could lead a violent revolution of the people or lead the peaceful movement of equality. Mr. King decided to lead the peaceful movement and gave his I have a Dream speech. His words captured the hearts of a nation. His words held such meaning and power people had no choice but to listen. We will write a custom essay sample on Words Speak Louder Than Actions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His words changed history forever. Mr. King’s speech is a perfect example of words being more powerful than action. If he had decided to take the capital by storm and rioting it would have had a complete opposite effect on the world. Sitting down and talking is almost always the better path. Words create thoughts and ideas. These thoughts and ideas are the beginning of change or resolution to a problem. Discussing a problem or speaking your mind can help other people to understand your point of view and possibly change their opinion to your opinion. In Hunger Games Katniss speaks to the crowd candidly and wins them over. If she had not won them over with her words, she would not have gained sponsors, which in turn saved her life later down the line. Her candid words saved her life. During the presidential debate for the United States of America, both presidential candidates attempted to sway the voters to vote for them. They tried to speak respectfully and straightforward to the public. At the same time, they spoke condescending and biting against their opponent. Their words and the strength of their speech determined the leader of our great country. I know first hand how words speak louder than actions. When my little brother was on the roof of our house and so afraid that he could not move. I stood under him on the ground and spoke to him in a matter-of-fact voice that was calm and comforting. My words kept him from being afraid and making a wrong decision that could potentially harm him. He was able to sit still until my dad could go up on the roof and bring him down safely. History, literature, current events and personal experience are just a few of the things in life that dramatically show that words speak louder than actions.

7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat Essays

7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat Essays 7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat Essay 7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat Essay 7 reasons to eat more saturated Fat Dr. Mercola – Foodconsumer. org The idea of this article is to describe how the scary idea of saturated fat wasn’t so bad for you. In fact the article states seven reasons why we need it. One reason why you need it is to improve cardiovascular risks. It says in the article that saturated fat plays a key role in cardiovascular health. The research says that when women diet, those eating the greatest percentage of the total fat in their diets as saturated fat lose the most weight. A second reason why you need it is because it strengths your bones. Calcium requires saturated fat to have any effect to the bones. A third reason why is because it improves liver health. Saturated fat has show to protect the liver from alcohol and medications that are used for pain or arthritis. A fourth reason is because it helps healthy lungs. Inside lungs there is a thin coat of fat, which is if coarse is 100% saturated fat. A fifth reason is because it provides for a healthy brain. Similar to the lungs the brain is made of fat and cholesterol. With out it, lack of saturated fat will rob your brain of the raw materials needed to function optimally. A sixth reason is that it provides as a proper nerve signaler. The fat will help send signal messages. And lastly it provides for a strong immune system. Saturated fat plays key roles in immune health. Over all, this article intrigued me because I always thought I needed to steer away from any thing with saturated fat. Now I come to know that I need saturated fat in my every day diet!

What To Do If You Find A Baby Squirrel

What To Do If You Find A Baby Squirrel Grey squirrels are abundant in many parts of the United States. And it is right around now that these frequently spotted mammals are having their babies. Grey squirrels have babies twice a year - in the early spring  and the late summer. So it is that time of year again when baby squirrels may be just making their first  appearances or even venturing from their nest.   Grey squirrels typically have three to four babies in each litter. By four weeks of age, the babies  eyes open and by six weeks, the young are making their way out of the nest. By the time they reach eight or nine weeks of  age, baby squirrels are no longer nursing and are generally able to survive on their own in the wild. So its a short window in which baby squirrels rely on their mothers to survive. But despite their  mothers best intentions during this period, it doesnt take much - a storm, a downed tree, or  prowling house pets - to seperate a young baby squirrel from its mother.   What should you do if you find a baby squirrel in need of help? For starters, you should assess whether or not the squirrel is injured. Is it bleeding or does it  appear to have broken bones? Do you see any wounds? Was the squirrel being attacked by a cat? If you answered yes to any of these questions, contact your local wildlife emergency center as soon as possible.   If youre not sure whom to call, start with your local animal shelter or police station. They should  have contact information for your nearest wildlife hospital or rehabilitation center. If the squirrel is not injured, and it looks like it weighs around a half a pound or so, it may just  be old enough to survive on its own. A good rule of thumb is that if the squirrel is old enough to run  from you, it is old enough to take care of itself.   If you do decide to pick up the squirrel in order to evaluate it, be sure to wear thick leather gloves  before handling. Even baby squirrels can have a strong bite! According to the Wildlife Center of Virginia, if the squirrels tail is fluffed out and it weighs more than 6.5 ounces, it does not need human intervention in order to survive. If not, the squirrel may still need to nurse and be cared for by its mother.If you can locate the nest, place the baby in a box with an open lid at the base of the tree where the nest is located, If it is cold out, add a bag of warmed rice or hand warmers to the box to keep the baby warm while it waits for its mother. Check back frequently to see if the mother has found and relocated her baby. If not, call a wildlife rehabilitator to reassess the situation. Whatever you do, do NOT attempt to bring the baby squirrel home and raise it as a pet. While they may seem cute and cuddly as babies, squirrels are wild animals and it wont take long before they need to get back out into the wild. But too much time around humans could make it more difficult for a squireel to survive on its own. When in doubt, call your local wildlife rehabilitators and they can talk you through the situation and  help you assess whether or not human intervention is needed. In many cases, nature can take care of itself and the baby squirrel can survive just fine without your help. But if help is needed, there are teams of professional and volunteer rehabilitators that can assist a young animal in getting back on its feet.

Proposal Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Proposal Argument - Essay Example One of the most controversial debates on the crimes committed in the world today is influenced by movie viewing, and addiction is on gun control among the youths (Spitze 217). The rapid rate of increase in criminal acts is the major reason why almost all countries in the world have to reinforce their internal and external security systems in order to ensure proper security conditions in their countries. Two questions remain to be debated on this issue; first, whether the governments should enact laws to regulate the handling of firearms in each country and secondly, whether the governments or any other formed agency should have the mandate of enforcing these rules and controls the handling of firearms across the globe. Motivated by the same spirit of the need to help straighten the bend that has started appearing in our youths of late, this paper seeks to determine the level of potentiality of the media houses to contribute to the inculcation of this outlawed vice in the young genera tion, mostly college students. This paper will therefore examine the close relationship between the movie industry and the performing art and the various related arrays of crimes that are performed these days in various parts of the world. More significantly, this analysis will be carried out on the youths of the age between fifteen years and thirty years and come up with recommendations on what is suppose to be done in order to minimize or abolish completely this rising vice around the globe. Despite all these attempts to solve the looming security threats, efforts made by various governments have yielded no mentionable success and security threats remain an issue in pursuit. However, it has been noted that most insecurity issues around the world are committed by the young generation most of whom are college students or those fresh from college. Talk about the suicide bombers, the abductors, kidnappers, rappers, the answer lies with the young man or young girl who wakes up every mo rning only to fix his or her eyes on the television always with a dozen of movie collections and a bunch of story books in a coach somewhere in the homes. Suppose you were watching, the seven o’clock news one evening after work together with your innocent son or daughter in his or her usual coach and his or her whole bunch of movie collection besides him or her and you see the police notifying the public about him or her at that moment for alleged danger potentiality. What questions will cross your mind? Will you say he or she is not the one the police are talking about? Alternatively, will you rush to the police that very moment and tell them they are mistaken in their identification and have to apologize? Romer argues that our children are endowed with everything they need to practice violence right from the house; he argues that while these young adults may look innocent before our eyes, they secretly learn these criminal acts behind our back and later on go out to practic e these vices (Romer et al 97). This has been alleged is the tie between crimes committed by most college students and the movie industry. According to Roberts and Doob, the violent movies are the most alleged sources of online lessons conducted in a manner hard to suspect for such criminal engagements. Most people

Are social networking sites useful for Literature review

Are social networking sites useful for recruitment(Facebook,twitter,linkedin) - Literature review Example s an act that involves finding the right people and is closely related to selection since both processes are aimed at getting employees with the right attitudes and competencies. In order to initiate recruitment process, a job must be advertised so that potential candidates can be attracted to that position (Breaugh & Starke, 2000). There are several recruitment methods that organizations use to choose their employees and they range from local newspaper adverts, billboards, recruitment agencies among others that have existed since time immemorial. The latest form of recruitment is online recruitment that entails the use of social networking sites such as Facebook, twitter and linkedln among other methods (Brown & Vaughan, 2011; Galanaki, 2002; Marler, 2009). Organizations have considerable freedom in selecting the people they choose based on their preferences, however, legislation tend to play a significant role in overseeing the recruitment process. Among the things that touches on the legality of recruitment process mainly touches on age, sex, race, and disability among others (Fu, 2007). Governments are introducing increased legislation concerning recruitment process mainly to protect the rights of its citizens against exploitation of the business community. Houghton and Joinson (2010) argues that ethical issues that surround the recruitment process are important factors that must be considered by any organization, lest they interfere with their integrity. However, in recent times, ethical dimensions of human resource have been downplayed in literature leading to, moving to emphasis on strategic it and best practice. To ensure good ethical standards, the tone set by recruitment team is very important since it represents the attitude of their organization together with its members (Decker, 2006). The growth rate of social networking sites is very high since twitter posted a growth rate exceeding 1300% within very few years of operations (Caers & Castelyns,

The First Day of School Essay Example for Free

The First Day of School Essay First walking into my new school of Terrace Park Elementary during the middle of 6th grade, I must have been the most awkward person on the planet. Moving schools because of my acceptance into a more challenging school curriculum, I had been told this group of students would help me learn much faster than the ones at my old schools. The material would have been learned at a much faster paced and higher level of difficulty. It was as if my old elementary school had kicked me out, placing me with kids who these similar â€Å"problems† as me. It had never occurred to me that the new environment I was in was so different than what I was used to. Going to this new school required a fifteen minute drive commute to and from home daily. This inconvenience made it hard for me stay connect with my classmates in the afterschool extracurricular activities. Changing schools meant meeting a new group of people I did not know. Joining the school mid-year I was the stranger that came in knowing nothing about how the school worked. Most people had already formed their little friend groups and created their own schedules. see more:my first day at school essay for kids On the other hand, the large amount of people at this school meant that some students still had time expand their friend group. It was a whole new experience and it was a case I had never handled in my life before. The two school environments were just too different. My new school was two stories high and had twice the amount of students. It was harder to get around the school and find my new classes. It had recently been renovated, so the whole appearance of the school was much more modern. Upon arriving, I noticed many remarkable building features. A five foot circular stained glass window started at me with its amiable eyes. The wolf drawn seemed to represent the school mascot. Compared to my old school, this school had much more classrooms and facilities. The six groupings of classrooms, the football and track field outside, the gym and cafeteria were all spread out. The colorful colors that were painted on school did nothing but spur my curiosity. Right outside the cafeteria was the playground of all children’s dreams. It was spacious and had two different playgrounds. There seemed to be a caterpillar toy that the underclassmen were fighting over. The real attraction, however,  was the large football field beyond the playground. I watched the daily lifestyle of this school I as wandered about. Some students hung out by the cafeteria eating their breakfast, some were conversing in the halls and some had already sat down in their classrooms. Twenty minutes before school had even started the amount of activity was surprising, when compared to my previous school. Yet people seemed to not notice me, whenever I passed by, none seemed to fully acknowledge my presence. Back home, I had friends how rushed to greet me as I walked through the doors of the classroom. The staff all were familiar with me and wore willing to help me out in any situation. As the first bell rung, I knew it was time to start my â€Å"first day† of school. Walking into Mr. Hagen’s room, I noticed a row of computers in the back right corner of the room. Their placement against the wall made it seem like they had never been used for a long time. I walked in, only to be greeted by a young aged man who I assumed to be the teacher for this 6th grade class. As I was introduced to the class, my experience as a stranger had officially began. I stood at the front of the room and slowly walked toward the seat I had been assigned. After a little bit of adjusting, the final bell rung and class had started. The first day was the day that would decide everything – from what type of friends I made to the spot I would sit during lunch. Knowing this, I tried my best to make myself look as normal as possible, attempting to discard my own shy character. Scanning the room, I knew absolutely no one. Making friends was also never one of my assets. Each person looked the same. I sat down next to a boy who had unkempt hair and had a Hawaiian shirt loosely thrown over a white t-shirt. Everyone knew my name, because it was different than the typical American name. The name â€Å"Jonah† was sure to stick in their minds, at least for next week or two. The faster paces of the classes were too much for me to handle for I never been used to such a speed in my previous school. I sat there, lost, wondering what to do. The faces of all the other students around me were intent and focus on their given task. I was left out of the atmosphere of the classroom. When lunch finally came, I was finally relieved of the pressure of the classroom. As a stranger, I remembered that didn’t know anyone well enough to sit with. For all I knew, I didn’t even know how to buy lunch. I frantically asked myself, â€Å"Is it the same way as my old school? Will I have the same PIN number? Where will I sit?† Luckily, on the way out  of the room, I was invited to eat with the boy with unkempt hair. I later learned that his name was Randy and that he was one year younger than me. As I sat down at the lunch table, many other kids sat down with me. All of them stared at me because they had never seen me there before. I was unable to come up with courage to talk to them, therefore awkwardly sitting at the table eating my lunch. I knew that they did not mean to be unkind, but just wanted to understand more about who I was. To my delight, I ran out onto the field and felt freer to finally act as myself again. The size of the field was much larger than I had expected from first look. The only color I could notice around me was the shade of green. Looking around, I had no one to kick my soccer ball with. Throughout the day, I received countless glares from many people I didn’t know. Many others from different classes had asked me many times for my name, asking me how I was and where I had come from. They had asked me so many types of questions that sparked one after another, triggering a large chain of questions that I did not know the answer to. Many of the others just called â€Å"hey new kid!† I will admit that my feeling of fear was more than I could handle. There was so much nervousness that I would start sweating and my nerves would spark all over my body. Walking in for the first time through those doors of Terrace Park Elementary made me feel so small in this large school. I was not used to such a large community, I like it when my classrooms were all close together, the student were allowed more changes to interact and the staff would be able to more easily connect with us. The few smiles I had received when entering felt forced- the ends of their lips raised for a quarter of a second. I had thought that I was different than all the rest of the kids – Was it my looks? My clothes? My awkward trot? Some might have thought that I was just another one of those Asian nerds. I felt that I would have trouble fitting in. that I should have probably stayed at my old school. Why would I just make my life harder for myself when I could just be chill with my old group? I knew that the ambivalent glances I received were not meant to be malicious. I know that even I would have done the same to a new student. My initial fears had changed th e way how every face in the school had looked. Even a perfectly joyful person could seem to have cruel intents. Trying to along with the other students was just a nightmare. I have always heard that the best thing to do on a first day of school was to make a good impression. However, I was never the type who was easy to get along with or outgoing. I tried leaving all those traits behind me as I spoke up, but it was no use. My true nature showed one way or another. My shyness only helped distance me from the other students around me, as if no one had wanted to become my friend. All the small things happening around me were, I was tuned into the world or small details. As I felt time go in in slow motion, I watched as the 1st graders dragged the lunch basket to their grade table, gave each other a high five for a job well done and then walked to the lunch line. I saw the fly buzzing around the air above me, before stopping on the table next to me. I had nothing else to pay attention but these fine details, no one would spare a second on the new kid at the table. I almost wanted to cry to show how I felt, but I realized that would probably ruin what first impressions I had left. Looking back, I realize that this experience was not that bad. It was own expectations of a new school that had caused me to sense so many different feelings. The feeling of a stranger was only because I was a new face in town. It was natural that the other students were curious of who I really was. It is even possible that, just as how I was too scared to talk to my new classmates, they had also been hesitant to approach me. Being a stranger was only temporary; I would eventually have assimilated into the daily lifestyle of Terrace Park. While that first day was particularly bad, I quickly was able to adapt to the situation in the coming weeks. I had become acquainted with the few students at my table in just a week, the rest of class in a month. This group of students who had all seemed so large at first was not as scary as they had originally seemed. They were actually very friendly; each of them had qualities that made them attractive. I had become very good friends with some of them, influencing my friends I my future schooling years. One could say that this school year affected my future directly. I would never have chosen the friends if it had not been for my experience at Terrace Park. The people that I had grown to enjoy were those who were smart and were willing to help me with any problems I had. I learned that other people are generally kind in nature, but just have trouble expressing their feelings. I have realized that I would never have attended Edmonds-Woodway High School without the experiences I had. I wanted to follow where my friends had gone to school, so I had chosen Edmonds-Woodway instead of my home school of Lynnwood.  Today, I have absolutely no regrets for changing schools mid-year during the 6th grade. I know I am a stranger, but I also know that being a stranger does not last for an eternity – t here will be a point where you will be a part of the village. We all know that every student had at least a couple first days of school. The moment where we walk into a classroom is always the worst part. We have no idea what could happen next. We see and meet people that we have never been familiar with. The sea of new faces would only help overwhelm the normal person. Shaky legs, sweat rolling down foreheads and that feeling of being a stranger will always be the initial feeling of the average person. Especially when we walk into the classroom midyear, these feeling are only amplified. Having no idea how to fit, we tend together take two actions. In my case, I tend to try to change my personality to make a good first impression, only to realize that I am unable to keep it up for days or weeks. Rather than to mess around with our true personalities to make that first impression, acting as yourself will allow others to truly know us better. People are much friendlier than we originally think; they are that frightening once we get to know them. Even more so, a bad impression does not mean that the rest of their life is ruined. Their identity can be redeemed through their actions. The important thing is not to worry and things will usually work themselves out. It is human nature to adapt to situations as the conditions change. Whenever a new student joins a classroom, the environment will change slightly. As time goes on, you will become a part of the environment that the rest of the students are used to. Working and communicating with others are a main part of changing from being a stranger to becoming a acquaintance and possibly to becoming a friend. This situation can apply to almost everyone. All new students will feel like a stranger a t one point or another. The time has come to realize that the overstated fears of the first day have only created discomfort in those who are new. No matter what, we cannot avoid the way that people look on u as strangers. But really, we are not entirely strangers. The only difference between you and them is the time spent attending that school.

National Tv Turnoff Week :: essays research papers

Every year thousands of people across the nation turn off their television for seven days to celebrate National TV-Turnoff Week. During this week people are supposed to take time to reflect, spend time with their kids, and go outside and breathe the fresh air. Participating in this event is one of the most challenging things one can do. Most will come out failing and exhausted and the ones that do accomplish it will end up going back to their comfy couch and television sets. National TV-Turnoff week is an extremely unnecessary event that corporations use to lure people out of their homes and into a high priced world where the average person cannot survive. The main goal of this week is to make people go out and spend money. As a result it makes the economy grow. But what society doesn't understand is that not everyone can afford the luxuries the world has to offer. The geniuses behind this idea are such scammers. Are viewers supposed to go a week without television and realize how amazing the outside world is and spend more time there than in their homes? North America is made up of a society where everybody owns at least one television set. It is one of the most used appliances in the household and watching it daily has become routine for most. It would be almost impossible to stop this activity cold turkey. Taking away the television would be like taking away milk from a baby. Without the television people would be deprived of entertainment. It is too expensive to go out these days considering that movie tickets, gas prices, and restaurant meals are too costly for the average person. The number one reason why the nation watches television is because of one simple word: laziness. Nowadays nobody has time to go to art exhibits, make crochet doilies, and prepare candle lit dinners. What seems to be on everybody’s mind, are deadlines, cell phones, soccer games, the Internet, fast food, and total chaos. There are so many family situations where both parents work, children are rushed into life and having a quiet dinner is absolutely impossible. Most households consider watching the television good quality, family time. It is a time where families can catch up on each other’s lives, and still be entertained. The television also doubles as an inexpensive babysitter. Children are hooked to the television as teenagers are to their CD player.

Leaves a lot to be desired

Charleston, South Carolina area. But excluding all of its faults, my paychecks have never been late and I have yet to be laid off, which lay-offs are not uncommon in the DoD world. V. T. Malcolm – Leaves a lot to be desired I work for V. T. Malcolm, we are a Department of Defense contractor out of Charleston, SC. Our main corporate office is in Chesapeake, VA, we also have offices in CA and FL. Our main specialty is communications. There is a Joke at Malcolm, â€Å"that for a technology driven Communication Company our inter-company communication is antiquated at best. † My so-called rise in the companyI have worked there for four years and all four years I have had â€Å"supply specialist 2† as my official title. Titles do not mean much at Malcolm. In those four years I have held the positions of; shipping and receiving clerk, warehouseman, forklift operator, forklift trainer, safety officer, tool room clerk, tool room supervisor, inventory specialist, building maintenance, warehouse supervisor, production supervisor, government tool specialist. My rate of pay has increased a dramatic seventy three cents from my starting date. There are no bonuses for non-managerial staff.If my valuation is up to snuff and the moon is in the right orbit I have been lucky enough to get a Cost Of Living Adjustment of twenty-five cents for my yearly raise. Other than that we receive no other improvements in pay or incentives for our work. It has been written multiple times in emails and said in meetings to â€Å"be done with your work and you will be rewarded with more work†. This has been explained that you need to do you work as soon and as good as possible and your â€Å"reward† for this hard work will be more work. Meaning if they feel that you are not up to speed or quality on your org there is a possibility you could be furloughed.At V. T. Malcolm they do not fire workers, but they do furlough. The idea being behind this is if you are fire d you can collect unemployment almost immediately, which Malcolm has to pay into, however if you are furloughed there is a six week waiting period (hoping that they call you back to work) enacted by the unemployment department before you can begin collecting unemployment. During this time Malcolm figures you cannot go that long without a paycheck, so they are hoping you will find another Job so they do not have to pay any extra towards your unemployment check. These are Just a few ways in which they feel they motivate workers to work.A sliver of management style Now when I first started at Malcolm they would do an â€Å"all-hands† meeting approximately every six to eight week in which the general manager would basically give us a â€Å"state of the company' update and finish it with a grilled hamburger and hotdogs lunch with a couple of sides and a drink. About a year and a half ago we had a steak lunch with baked potatoes and all the dressings. Starting a week later we had a massive layoff of approximately half of our working force. Since that point we had one lunch meeting in which we were, for lack of a better term, told that we are doing k but things are looking up.That was over six months ago and things are not looking great. There is a large contract that is going to run dry by the end of the year if we do not get replacement contract there will be a layoff in that department. In the department that I am currently in we have approximately six contracts currently at work. However three of them are not large and do not last for more than a few months. One is in the beginning stage and is contingent on a lot of things happening t the beginning and from what I understand we are struggling to keep up to the deadlines.One is in full swing and it is also struggling to keep up. And the last one is the one I am on, it is scheduled to end September 30th of this year. As we sit right now it is well known that we will not be able to complete it successfully by the end of contract. There is currently sitting a possibility that the contract could be extended if we can show that we can do the work and meet the deadlines, but at this point with the amount of work left to do and the amount of employees currently assigned to the contract it will be very unlikely to happen.Individual Management Style I have given you all this information to give you an idea of what it is like where I work. Now management wise, I will begin with myself, and tell you how I work with my employees. I am the immediate supervisor for four employees currently. I recently had one move to a different project and the other left the company for a better Job. I have an employee who is degreed but is currently working at a low end laborer Job go for an interview on Friday for a position that is within her area of study.So there is a distinct possibility soon to have only three employees which will make it interesting n ending this contract successfully. I try to be a very people orientated manager. I have an open door policy with my employees and encourage dialogue flow both ways. I want to know when something is working and when something is not working. I ask them often if they need anything from me, if there is something I could do or get for them to make their Jobs easier. If the time is available for me and the workers are at a certain point where I can step in then I get in the warehouse and work with them.On Fridays I bring in donuts in the morning, knowing which specific ones employees prefer and try to have them available. I do what I can do to have a good working relationship with the employees. I have had personal one on one meetings with the employees to get to know them better and tell them a little about myself. I tried to find out what their fears at work are and what they feel about the work they are doing, what I can do to help them, and what motivates them.When I get emails regarding them or that concern them in any way I make it a point to either post the email or at least go to the ones involved and let them know exactly what was said so there is complete open dialogue. Now if there is something negative happening guarding one of my employees from higher up the hierarchy and I am made aware of it, depending on the situation I may make the employee at least partially aware of what is happening (I would want to know if the roles were reversed, and try to keep that in mind). Group Management Style Unfortunately this type of interaction between supervisors and employees stops with me.My immediate supervisor has yet to come to my warehouse and check on me and the production rate since I took over from Just being a warehouse manager to both the warehouse manager and production manager which has been a little over a onto. When I go to his office for help or guidance I receive short curse-filled answers, when he is there, or get told how busy he is and that he couldn't possibly do (whatever it is I ask of him) now but maybe later in the week he might have a chance, he will get back to me. Which doesn't happen I usually have to get the answer else wards or make it up myself.This is the response I receive from the project manager as well (for him it is usually by email for he is impossible to locate in person). I recently sent an email to the project manager breaking down all the tasks we have until the end of the contract (September 30th) as per time it will take to do them in man hours and material needed and compared that to the employees I have at my disposal, their amount of man hours left till the end of the contract and asked for a specific number of more employees to be able to complete this Job successfully by the end date.He then did not address the email I sent him but sent out a department wide email asking what resources we need to complete the tasks at hand and gave a sooner closing date. I then adjusted my numbers and sent him back an mail asking for the adjustment, Justifying th e reason why and attached the previous email to the one that was sent out for all to see with the hopes that some good will come of it.In a later email that I was cad on he briefly mentioned that he is requesting additional help in areas needed but we need to strive to complete this contract with what we have since that is the task that we were originally given and at this late stage the â€Å"Calvary' may not arrive in time. But at the end of each email he writes â€Å"motivate your people to be done with the work that they have and they will be rewarded with more work†. I liken that to telling someone in captivity to each your slop (even though the dogs refuse to eat it) and we will give you more.From my perspective on an upward trend this is where the management skills end and threats and intimidation begins. Then the department head always has a bad attitude and is in a hurry to be going somewhere. I have tried to have conversations with this man and it always ends with him telling me we are working on getting more contracts but right now he's not even sure if he will have a Job come tomorrow. That is the last thing you want to tell your employees!! Next as a general manager for the Charleston division's level this man is more concerned about the aesthetics of the place then how the place is actually running.We may not have working toilets (true story) but he was very upset that our lawn service was a day behind on cutting the grass. When the air conditioning was out in the building besides the one he works in there was a 10 day delay in getting it fixed due to cost? But when it went out in his building and the part was going to take two days to get delivered, he paid extra to overnight it and have it installed the following day. Which by the way while waiting for the part he went home because it was Just too hot to work.The place was 80 degrees. My warehouse hits 80 by eleven am and is usually hovering between 94 to 97 degrees by the time we go ho me. Of course we have no air conditioning and during the summer we have two small heaters. I had to â€Å"acquire† individual space heaters for the workers to get them close to being warm enough to do their work. Corporate Style Management Finally at the corporate level, well basically if you are not in the corporate office you are an annoying little ant that keeps getting in the way.Once a year we have awards sent out for â€Å"outstanding† workers. It always works out the same, one award for San Diego, one award for Pensacola, one award for Charleston, and the rest for Chesapeake. All of the events and recognition on our company web site goes to VA. We have even had pictures of work that was done by workers in Charleston, at Charleston locations mislabel as VA Jobs. And even though there were corrections sent into the main office about that fact a re-print, correction, or update was never publicized acknowledging the mistake.All of the current events are about VA, lo cally e have volunteered at charity events and those have been overlooked to write about how the CEO ran a marathon (not for a charity, Just for his own good). The one time the CEO came to Charleston for an â€Å"all hands meeting† it was to tell us that we were doing good and keep up the good work and that VA thanks Charleston for supporting them. Even though at that moment in time Charleston had the highest amount of revenue coming into the company including all North America entities. When you get that kind of support then you question why moral is as low as it has almost ever been?I think you have answered your own question. V. T. Malcolm used to not be like this from what I hear from the â€Å"old-timers† even as short of a time as seven years ago Malcolm valued their employees. Bosses used to take pride in what their workers did and in reflection workers took pride in what work they put out. After being sold four times and this final one to a holding company out of England I think workers are Just too shaky in their Jobs and bosses are too concerned with their Jobs and the bottom line to care what happens to the company.The consensus is that the company will be broken apart and sold piece by piece to the highest bidder. And that leaves everyone's Job in a state of limbo. Management is either too self-absorbed or too nervous as what's going to happen next that all management training (if any) has been thrown out the window and it is simply look out for one's own good. Meanwhile we are bidding and receiving Jobs we are not even remotely qualified for, but get them because we are the lowest bidder.Which means we have to cut costs (usually on the working man, not the overpaid administration) and thus we have multiple mistakes by workers who are making barely above minimum wage so they don't care what kind of product they put out. So we transfer everyone around hoping to make a change but we still have low skilled, low paid workers doing Jobs th at are scrutinized by government employees (usually paid a lot higher) and thus the product is rejected and our management cannot figure out why they are receiving such low quality work.So I have a couple of theories; first you get what you paid for, meaning low paid workers gets low quality work. Second, when the only time you check the work is when it has already gone through your customers Quality Assurance program and failed miserably, that leaves a bad taste in the SQ rep and they will be expecting poor laity work from your company so things will fail even if they are within passing range. Finally issues like this start from the top down and if you want good work you have to hire good workers and support them.Poor management breeds poor workers. I believe it is time for a shakeup at Malcolm from the top down. 1 . Set Goals, setting clear and concise goals lets you know exactly what you expect and where you expect to go. 2. Prioritize, what tasks to I need to do to achieve my go als, how does this task help me complete my goal, and what extent does this task help me achieve y goal. By choosing which one of those your tasks falls under it helps you achieve your goal quicker and easier. 3. Keep a task list and use the above guidelines to help prioritize those tasks. . Schedule tasks; this helps keep them in control and gives you a guideline to follow 5. Focus on one task at a time; trying to do too much at once gets confusing an leads to frustration, failure, and ultimately giving up. 6. Minimize distractions; we are used to multitasking today but if we can concentrate on one thing and do it to the best of our abilities we will succeed. 7. Overcome Procrastination: simply stop being lazy 8. Take breaks; Even superman took a break every now and again. 9. Say â€Å"No† – when you feel overwhelmed Just say no.There are times where you Just can't do it all. 10. And finally Delegate Tasks; you have people who work for you and you hired them to do mor e than make copies and get your coffee. Use their skill set and ease your load a bit. (William) These are all things that Malcolm supervisors need to learn. Add these in with people skills and V. T. Malcolm is set for success. We put out a good product usually. We need good people working for us. To get good people working for you, you need to have good management.Management that trust and uses their employees to the fullest. Management at its lowest form is managing people. You don't manage people by scare tactics and bullying them. That is something that most people learn in high school. Management is a bit like water once the flow starts downhill it usually trickles all the way to the bottom. References William, D. K. (n. D. ). Http://www. Lifelike. Org/articles/productivity/lo-proven-time- management-skills-you-should-learn-today. HTML. Retrieved from http:// www. Lifelike. Org.

Napoleon Bonaparte DBQ Essay

The ideals of the French Revolution were â€Å"Equality, Liberty, and Fraternity,† but the methods that were used to fulfill these goals were complicated. During the Reign of Terror, about 40,000 people were guillotined because of Maximilien Robespierre. He thought that “Liberty could not be secured unless criminals lose their heads”. Napoleon Bonaparte, a Revolutionary hero, seized control of the government in France in 1799, he was looking to bring peace to the French people by ending the Revolution. For this to be done, he had to be in complete control like a monarch or a dictator. However, the French people still wanted to have some of the privileges they had during the Revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte stabilized and united French society, yet supported the ideals of French Revolution. Peace came to France with Napoleon’s strong rule. After making himself a consul for life, he re-established the French monarchy, naming himself Emperor Napoleon I in 1804. He centralized French government by appointing new officials, made tax collections more efficient, and created a National Bank. He believed that he was chosen by God to be in power and made others believe it through the Napoleon Catechism. It showed the French people that Napoleon was blessed to get the throne. â€Å"Â…he whom God had raised up under difficult circumstances to re-establish the public worship of the holy religion of our fathers and to be the protector of it† (Document 7). Napoleon brought civil rights back to France through codes and treaties that talk about revolutionary ideals. The Napoleonic Code is an example. It recognized the equality of all citizens before the law, protected property rights, safeguarded employers by outlawing trade unions and strikes, and supported religion. Napoleon also signed the Concordat of 1801 with the Pope to reverse the dechristianization attempts made during the â€Å"Republic of Virtue.† Napoleon was not a religious man, he realized that most people needed to practice their faith. This made the Catholic Church an ally and they retained the power to nominate bishops, in return, the Pope agreed to recognize the accomplishments of the Revolution and to not question the ownership of the land that had been distributed back then. Napoleon wanted to be the emperor of all of Europe. This could be foreseen  in Jacques Louis David’s painting of Napoleon’s Crossing the Alps (Document 4), where he was portrayed with power, strength and an iron fist. He was a short man, but had an extremely large ego. He controlled a strong army and conquered much of Europe. His empire was made up of the Italian and German states, Spain, Western Russia (for a short amount of time), and Switzerland. With all his power, he still did not mistreat the citizens of the newly conquered territories. He abolished feudal rights and the internal trade barriers in Spain with his Imperial Decree at Madrid in 1808. Napoleon’s concern for the inhabitants of Westphalia was expressed in his letter to Jerome Napoleon in 1807: â€Å"I want your subjects to enjoy a higher degree of liberty, equality, and prosperity hitherto unknown to the German people† (Document 7). Napoleon’s monarch rules stabilized and unified French society, as well as supported some of the ideals of the French Revolution but, Napoleon considered himself friendless and Count Mole perceived the thought behind Napoleon’s actions as â€Å"nothing but his own gratification, of magnifying himself and his power without limit and without rest† (Document 2). The middle class, who had fought a bloody revolution to end absolute rulers, tolerate Napoleon’s ways. With Napoleon in charge their ideals and rights were safe, they would accepted more his policies and given up some of their basic civil rights. Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769-1821, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France(October 2008)

22 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels For Aspiring Sci-Fi Authors

22 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels For Aspiring Sci-Fi Authors Science fiction is a genre that has evolved in unpredictable and exciting ways. From The Burroughsian Period (named after Edgar Rice Burroughs and beginning in 1901) to todays bestsellers, the genre has moved from hard science to Space Age exploration to a new interest in self-actualization, the dark side of technology, and what it means to be human.If youre an aspiring science fiction writer, here are some novels- both newly published and classic- that you should add to your reading list. In them, youll discover how the genre has evolved and where it is heading, both of which will be invaluable to your writing and planning.Below are some must-read science fiction novels for aspiring sci-fi writers. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.Newly publishedInfinite Detail by Tim Maughan (March 5, 2019)Infinite Detail is a fast-pasted thriller in which an act of cyberterrorism creates a techno-apocalypse and the Internet crashes, shutting everything as we know it down. Seeking answers for how to live , lost, unplugged souls head to the Croft, an area of Bristol where people who have already unplugged live. The Croft is a digital no-mans-land, without surveillance and Big Data dependence. As a center of creative counterculture, a young woman there named Mary claims she has found other ways of connecting with others without the use of technology. Its the end of the world as we know it, but does the world fare better after the Internets demise?Finder by Suzanne Palmer (April 2, 2019)Finder is an action-packed science fiction caper story that won a Hugo Award and is the debut novel from Suzanne Palmer. Its protagonist is Fergus Ferguson, interstellar repo man and professional finder (a name he prefers to con artist or thief). His latest job entails finding the spacecraft Venetias Sword and stealing it back from an ex-nobleman turned power-hungry trade boss. He finds the ship in the farthest corner of space, in a deep space colon called Cernee. There, he learns that the enemy of my e nemy is my friend, and must navigate a field of space mines, a small army of hostile mercenaries, and an alien species he once through to be only myth. He thought it would be a simple job- like the others- but its becoming more apparent that it isnt.The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch (February 6, 2018)Advertised as Inception meets True Detective, The Gone World follows a NCIS special agent on a murder case that involves the fate of mankind. When tasked with uncovering the truth of the murder of a Navy SEAL and the disappearance of his family, Shannon Moss learns that the missing SEAL was an astronaut aboard the spaceship U.S.S. Libra- a ship assumed lost to the currents of Deep Time. In her search, she encounters Terminus, a mysterious world-destroying event discovered by a top-secret team of government time travelers.In her search for the SEALs missing teenage daughter, Moss travels to the future to explore possible versions of what might be in order to solve the present-day case. There, she witnesses the cataclysmic end of humanity itself and is left to determine how to stop it.The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (July 3, 2018)In this alternate history science fiction story, The Calculating Stars imagines an alternate history in which a meteorite falls to Earth in 1952, destroying much of the East Coast, including Washington, D.C. Following the event, space exploration becomes a necessity, as the Earth heads at breakneck speed toward becoming uninhabitable due to the events impact on the planets climate. Enter mathematician and World War II pilot Elma York, who sets her sight on flying into the stars to search for humanitys next great hope.Winner 2018 Nebula for Best Novel, Hugo Finalist for Best Novel, 2019 Campbell Memorial Award Finalist, and 2019 Locus Finalist for Best Science Fiction Novel- The Calculating Stars has a long list of accolades and spots on bestselling lists since it was published in 2018.Emily Eternal by M.G. Wheaton (April 23, 2019)Emily Eternal is about Emily, is an A.I. designed by scientists to help people cope with trauma. She has been designed to solve advanced mathematical problems and unlock the deepest secrets of the human mind, including its capacity for empathy. Her work and purpose take on a deeper meaning when it is discovered that the sun will explode 5 billion years before it was originally expected.With the human race at an existential crossroads, she does the unthinkable and determines a way to solve the problem. However, not everyone trusts her intentions, so her servers are destroyed, leaving Emily and her friends with limited hope- but hope nonetheless- that they can race against time and save humanity.Famous Men who Never Lived by K. Chess (March 5, 2019)Noted as a Most Anticipated Book of 2019 at The Verge, Barnes Noble Sci-Fi Fantasy Blog, and more, K. Chesss debut novel, Famous Men Who Never Lived gives readers a glimpse of an alternate history in which nuclear war sends 156,000 r efugees into modern-day New York City. Among them is Hel, a doctor who has difficulty adapting to the new reality shes facing, so she creates a museum to preserve the memories and stories that would otherwise be forever lost. In the midst of her work to preserve her lost past, she faces anti-immigrant attitudes and hostility. Then, when the only copy of a science fiction story from her world, The Pyronauts, goes missing, she is forced to face what has been lost and determine just how far she should go to recover it.Within a world that is foreign to her, and as she seeks to assimilate while grieving what has been lost, Hels character offers a fresh perspective on what it means to be an immigrant facing the end of ones culture. In this important debut novel, readers will find parallels with todays news in a world that is both different and familiar.Vigilance by Robert Jackson Bennett (January 29, 2019)Robert Jackson Bennetts Vigilance takes readers on a dark and twisting ride in what can only be classified as a science fiction action parable of an America that has accepted gun violence as the norm. Its satire at its best and spins the idea of Hunger Games in an even darker direction.Set in 2030, the story follows the life of executive producer John McDean, who produces Vigilance, a reality game show designed to ensure American citizens remain alert and vigilant to all threats, both foreign and domestic. In the reality game environment, an active shooter is introduced to public spaces and prize money is given to anyone who is armed and ready to take down the shooter. Then, McDean ends up on the other side of the camera, and his whole reasoning for the show is seen through new eyes.Much like the worlds depicted in the stories, the science fiction genre has evolved significantly, from the classics to modern bestsellers. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.The Classics1984 by George OrwellNominated as one of Americas best-loved novels by PBSs The Great American Read, 1984 is a chilling, dystopian tale that will ring strangely familiar in modern times, despite having been written in 1948. It is the story of Winston Smith, who works for the Ministry of Truth and lives in one of the three totalitarian super-states that rule the world. At first, Winston does what hes told and tows the Party line; however, he begins to see through the lies built around government surveillance, controlled narrative, and serious loss of civil rights. Meanwhile, Big Brother is always watching, so he must hide the fact that he is beginning to think for himself.From revised dictionaries attempting to control human thought through language, to the concept of using perpetual war to keep citizens in their place, this story has become a manual of sorts for describing the course of modern political movements getting dangerously close to the dystopian world that Orwell foretold.Altered Carbon by Richard K. MorganAlthough written in 2003, Altered Carbon has already found its place amon g the classics and has been reimagined into a popular Netflix series, created by Laeta Kalogridis. It shows a world in the 25th century, where humankind lives throughout the galaxy and is monitored by the U.N. There is also an expensive procedure available where one can store his or her consciousness in a cortical stack at the base of the brain, which can then be downloaded into a new body (called a sleeve), thus escaping death itself.The main character is ex-U.N. envoy Takeshi Kovacs, who has been dispatched 180 light-years from his home into another body living in Bay City, in what was once San Francisco. In the shady underbelly of the city, in a decidedly cyberpunk world, he discovers how existence can be bought and sold as he attempts to solve a rich mans murder.Brave New World by Aldous HuxleyWritten in the 1930s and influenced by political fascism, Aldous Huxleys Brave New World offers dystopian world that is both prophetic and terrifying. While addressing 21st-century issues such as the domination of mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, and elitism, it offers a glimpse into a future world where humans are genetically bred and indoctrinated into castes chosen for them before birth by an authoritarian government.With heavy references to Shakespeares work, it is sometimes a biting criticism on capitalism, and often a glimpse of the potential horrors that come with the power of genetic engineering getting into the wrong hands. Its a must-read for anyone wanting to see how modern political movements can inspire classic science fiction bestsellers.A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter MillerFirst published in 1959, A Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel depicting a planet ravaged by nuclear war razed the Earth, as its survivors return to a type of dark age where science is hated and books are destroyed. In this setting, a small order of Catholic monks seeks to fight against the ignorance and barbarism that n ow faces humanity. Having won the 1961 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel, it explores the themes of religion and church versus state in a world where civilization has severely decayed.The Children of Men by P. D. JamesAlso released as in a film adaptation, The Children of Men is a dystopian novel published in 1992 set in a time of mass infertility. The story takes place in the United Kingdom, which is under autocratic rule, and explores themes of human frailty in a narrative voice that alternates between first and third person points of view.While the beginning is set in the year 2021, the narrator reveals events that occurred in 1995, which is referred to as Year Omega, where the sperm count of males fell to zero and a feminist civil war broke out, threatening the mass extinction of humanity. There is an elite class known as the Omegas, who are young and the last-born humans on earth, but they are both spoiled and violent. They treat their elders, the non-Omegas, with conte mpt, and live in a world where newborn animals are treated like infants, dressed in infant clothing, and pushed around in strollers.Theo, the protagonist, who is known as a dissident, encounters a revolutionary group known as The Five Fishes, who task him with helping to protect a woman who is an anomaly because she is pregnant. Beautifully written with poignant characterization, Children of Men explores themes of politics and power in times when the fate of humanity is grim.Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. DickFirst published in 1968 and the inspiration for the 1982 film Blade Runner, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is set in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, where nuclear global war has severely damaged the planet and humanitys way of life. Those who are able have already fled the planet, ravaged by war and pollution, and those who remain exist in a world that is nearly uninhabitable.The protagonist, Rick Deckard, is one of the not-so-fortunate. He makes his living as a government-sanctioned bounty hunter destroying renegade androids, which have been built in the dearth of living creatures (along with realistic animals). The androids are so life-like and sophisticated, that they are indistinguishable from real humans, prompting the Earths government to distrust them. However, Ricks interaction with one android in particular forces him to question what it means to be a human.Dune by Frank HerbertPublished in 1965, Frank Herberts Dune tied with Roger Zelaznys This Immortal for the Hugo Award in 1966 and won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. It imagines a feudal interstellar society of planetary fiefs controlled by noble houses and tells the story Paul Atreides, whose family are stewards of the planet Arrakis.Despite the planet being a desert wasteland that is mostly inhospitable, it is the only source of mà ©lange, commonly known as the spice- a drug that enhances mental abilities and can extend life. With themes of politics, re ligion, ecology, and technology, Dune explores common topics within a very uncommon place and is often considered to be one of the best and imaginative science fiction books ever written.Foundation by Isaac AsimovFirst published in 1951 and nominated as one of Americas best-loved novels by PBSs The Great American Read, Foundation contains five interrelated short stories and is often considered to be one of the most important works in hard science fiction. Within the five stories- The Psychohistorians, The Encyclopedists, The Mayors, The Traders, and The Merchant Princes- Asimov reimagines the fall of the Roman Empire taking place on a galactic scale. With themes focusing on economics and history, and a notoriously tough read, it is considered to be one of Asimovs best works.Frankenstein by Mary ShelleyPublished in 1823, Frankenstein is one of the earliest examples of science fiction and allegedly was written in a contest of sorts among some of the literary greats of the Romantic per iod to see who could write the most horrific tale. Considered to be a classic in Gothic and Romantic literature, it tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, whose efforts to cheat death lead him to the creation of monstrosities. Its narrative framework consists of letters written by Captain Robert Walton, who details the events taking place at an unspecified time in the 18th century and the story, as told to him by Victor Frankenstein himself.The Handmaids Tale by Margaret AtwoodOriginally published in 1985, The Handmaids Tale is a dystopian novel written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It won the 1985 Governor Generals Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987, and was nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker Prize, and the 1987 Prometheus Award. It has also been adapted into a film, an opera, and a TV series on Hulu.Set in the near future the Republic of Gilead, a fundamentalist theocratic state with a low birth rate, the men in charge enslave fertile women known as handmaids and force them to have their children. As a seminal work of feminist literature, it explores the subjugation of women in a patriarchal society, and is told through the point of view of Offred, a handmaid for a Commander who is suspected to be infertile.The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas AdamsPublished in 1979, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy follows the misadventures of the last surviving man, Arthur Dent, after the Earth has been destroyed by a Vogon constructor fleet to make way for a hyperspace bypass. It was first broadcast as a radio series on BBC radio in 1978, and later became known as a trilogy in five parts.The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is absurdist, bombastic, and a lot of fun. It is a wildly imaginative adventure building off multiple science fiction tropes, but retains enough cynicism to be appreciated as a work that is much deeper than it initially appears on the surface. Simply put, it is a must-read for any science fiction ent husiast, and has been adapted into comic books and stage shows, and earned Douglas Adams a spot as Guest of Honour at the 1979 World Science Fiction Convention, held in Brighton, England.Neuromancer by William GibsonPublished in 1984, Neuromancer, one of the best-known works in the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction, was written by American-Canadian writer William Gibson as his debut novel. It was the first novel to win the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award.Its protagonist is Henry Case, a washed-up computer hacker and hustler surviving in the dystopian underworld of Chiba City, Japan. The story imagines a world where hackers and cyborgs work together to against massive, nefarious corporations, and is a must-read for fans of the more recent Ready Player One.Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt VonnegutPublished in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Five is a novel containing equal amounts of science fiction and anti-war sentiment. Its protagonist is Billy Pilgrim, a soldier who has become unstuck in time, and bounces back and forth in a nonlinear fashion on his personal timeline in a time-traveling narrative that explores the horrors of war through an unreliable narrator. Billy believes he was held in an alien zoo on the fictional planet Tralfamadore as he experiences post-traumatic stress disorder from his experiences as a soldier. With extensive use of irony, black humor, and didacticism, Vonneguts signature simplistic style of writing makes Slaughterhouse-Five one of his best-loved works.Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. HeinleinWritten in 1961, Stranger in a Strange Land is speculative fiction set in a post-Third World War United States, where organized religions control politics. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who was born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians, only to come to Earth as a young adult. He must learn what it means to be a man, while simultaneously teaching Earthlings about Martian concepts such as grokk ing and water-sharing.It won the 1962 Hugo Award for Best Novel and the 1987 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award.The War of the Worlds by H. G. WellsPublished in 1898 and first serialized in 1897 by Pearsons Magazine in the UK and by Cosmopolitan magazine in the US, The War of the Worlds is a classic tale of alien invasion. As one of the earliest stories depicting conflict between humanity and an extraterrestrial race, it is told via first-person narration by an unknown protagonist living in Surrey, and his younger brother living in London as Martians invade the Southern part of England.The War of the Worlds is a seminal work in the science fiction classic canon, and has been reimagined for feature films, radio, comic books, a television series, and sequels or parallel stories written by other authors.

The Ol Olde Gets Old

The Ol Olde Gets Old The Ol Olde Gets Old The Ol Olde Gets Old By Mark Nichol Writers’ efforts to evoke a folksy or quaint sensibility by using a variation on the word old often fail because they use the wrong form. This post discusses the proper use of the variations. When the intent is to simulate a drawl, the correct version of old is ol’, which follows the common pattern of dropping a word’s final consonant to relax pronunciation, as in, for example, rollin’ in place of rolling. This is the use seen in phrases such as â€Å"good ol’ boy† and in the song title â€Å"Ol’ Man River,† which alludes to the personification of the Mississippi River as an entity oblivious to the cares of the people who travel on it. â€Å"Good ol’ boy† has positive and negative connotations in the American South and other areas; the positive sense is of a humble but well-bred man, though the pejorative sense of an ignorant and intolerant man is dominant. (In one region of England, however, the connotation is simply of a likeable man.) â€Å"Good ol’ boys’ club† or â€Å"good ol’ boys’ network alludes to an excessively insular group of men who discriminate against or ostracize others who are different or not associated with them. (The phrases were inspired by the British English notion of the â€Å"old boy network,† describing men linked by virtue of being alumni of certain prestigious public schools, with a similar but somewhat more elitist subtext.) Ol’ is preferable to ole (not to be confused with olà ©, a Spanish exclamation synonymous with bravo! and, like that word, always punctuated with an exclamation point, which is nevertheless enshrined in the name of the Grand Ole Opry and in Ole Miss, the nickname for the University of Mississippi, as well as in the song title â€Å"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.† When establishing a reference to a real or imagined medieval sensibility, the archaism olde often appears in such designations as â€Å"Ye Olde Shoppe.† Olde dates back to a time when spelling was more flexible (and may reflect pronunciation during that era) and was revived starting in the mid-nineteenth century to suggest an air of antiquity. Olde is valid, if a bit precious, but the word that often precedes it is misunderstood. Note that ye is not used here as an archaic form of you; it includes a variant of the obsolete English letter thorn, which resembles a mash-up of b and p and represents the soft th sound in the (as opposed to the hard sound in thorn). Therefore, it is correctly pronounced as the. Olden is a variant of the adjective old, unnecessary except to lend a flavor of antiquity (as in the phrase â€Å"in olden times†). Auld, from an earlier pronunciation for old, was preserved in northern England and in Scotland; it’s best known as the first word in the song title â€Å"Auld Lang Syne† (in Scots, literally â€Å"old long since,† meaning â€Å"long ago† or â€Å"old times†). Old itself is often part of a nickname bestowed out of respect; among the recipients of such an epithet are President Andrew â€Å"Old Hickory† Jackson, two naval vessels dubbed Old Ironsides because of their sturdy hulls, and the nursery rhyme character Old Mother Hubbard. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point ArcCannot or Can Not?90 Verbs Starting with â€Å"Ex-†

The Secret Loin and The Rocking Horse Winner Essay

The Secret Loin and The Rocking Horse Winner - Essay Example This paper talkst he first story told about the importance and need to represent myself and my thoughts. Importantly, the second story, guided to avoid being too much greedy because it thrills but it kills in the long run. The second story also guided to think money as a tool of living. The objective of one’s existence should be to enjoy the life because believe it or not humans get only one go around in this world and therefore, it is people’s duty and responsibility to stop worrying about the future and initiate to live in the present. The present moment is what we all got and we can either enjoy it or waste it. In the paper we can find out the description of the first story. The story entitled â€Å"The Secret Loin† discussed two characters, whom were bored with exactitude of the routine. They were basically studying at Junior High School and there they were not permitted to have a conversation with anyone. They were expected to take classes and go home without thinking for a moment during the entire day. The thinking is the process that is the most difficult act for human beings. Most of the humanity wants to execute predetermined stigmata and manage the old routine The story at hand depicted a human urge and need to say what they want to say. This paper says that the second story with the title of â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner† is written to tell people that unjustified greed and longing for the money is going to kill. The story attributes an anxious mother who wants to make money all the time. Furthermore, she is always worried and has a habit of blaming others for her own troubles. Paul is the name of the abovementioned mother’s son and he is told by her that she is miserable because of his father’s unluckiness. She also told him that luck is important, due to its ability to attract money. Paul in the vague of making a lot of money starts betting on horse races. Finally, with the help of Bassit and Uncle Oscar, Paul initiated to make money big time. But, one day while riding his rocking horse he fell and contracted an incurable brain disease and

How Culture affects Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

How Culture affects Anthropology - Essay Example Culture and society are different notions. If culture is a system of learned behavior perceptions and patterns, society is a group of interacting beings.   So animals also have societies. Though it is one of the prerogatives of human societies the ability to interact directly or indirectly with each other.   And one human society is distinguished from another one in terms of shared traditions and expectations.Despite the difference between human societies and cultures, they are closely interrelated because culture is created and transmitted to others in a society.   Cultures are not the product of separate individuals.   They are the permanently developing products of people interacting with each other.   Cultural patterns such as language and politics are useless except if they are not engaged in the interaction of people.   If you were the only human on earth, language or government would of no effect (Bernard, 1998, p. 14).The notion "culture" can be interpreted many d ifferent ways.   Some understand it as an opportunity to insight into a high-quality literature, art, music. Each science has its own understanding of culture. Cultural dimensions of logic, values and aesthetics are indeed of a great concern for philosophers. Social workers and people concerned themselves with the practical problems of minority groups also use this notion as a part of their stock in trade. Important research in medicine and in nutrition is oriented in cultural terms. On the other hand for anthropologists the notion "culture".... Cultures are not the product of separate individuals. They are the permanently developing products of people interacting with each other. Cultural patterns such as language and politics are useless except if they are not engaged in the interaction of people. If you were the only human on earth, language or government would of no effect (Bernard, 1998, p. 14). The notion "culture" can be interpreted many different ways. Some understand it as an opportunity to insight into a high-quality literature, art, music. Each science has its own understanding of culture. Cultural dimensions of logic, values and aesthetics are indeed of a great concern for philosophers. Social workers and people concerned themselves with the practical problems of minority groups also use this notion as a part of their stock in trade. Important research in medicine and in nutrition is oriented in cultural terms. On the other hand for anthropologists the notion "culture" generally means the full range of learned human behavior patterns (Bernard, 1998, p. 27). The term was first used in this meaning by the English anthropologist Edward B. Tylor. He defined culture as a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Of course, it is possessed and created not only by men but by women as well. The decisive term in this definition is "acquired." This underlines the feature that, as humans, we are not born with culture itself, but with the ability for culture. That is what we learn it, through our interactions and communication with other people in general. We practice the fundamental constituent of this learning in our childhood,

Viruses vs. Windows Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Viruses vs. Windows - Essay Example I would also turn on the windows update option in order to receive security updates for his/her windows. I would recommend my neighbor to install an antivirus application and update it on a regular basis. I would not recommend him/her to use a free version of the above-mentioned antivirus applications because they are sometimes unable to deal with dangerous viruses. Licensed applications provide reliable security to the files stored in any machine. I would recommend my neighbor to use Avast antivirus application because it has eight effective real-time shields that protect the system from viruses, as well as consumes fewer system resources as compared to other antivirus applications. My last recommendation for him/her would be to avoid opening junk emails and suspicious internet links because they are likely to contain viruses. Both of these antivirus applications run very well on the Windows XP. I would also turn on the windows update option in order to receive security updates for his/her windows. I would recommend my neighbor to install an antivirus application and update it on a regular basis. I would not recommend him/her to use a free version of the above-mentioned antivirus applications because they are sometimes unable to deal with dangerous viruses. Licensed applications provide reliable security to the files stored in any machine.

Analysis Of Hedge Fund Performances

Analysis Of Hedge Fund Performances 1. INTRODUTION: Hedge funds are actively managed portfolios that hold positions in publicly traded securities. Gaurav S. Amin and Harry M. Kat (2000) stated on their report that A hedge fund is typically defined as a pooled investment vehicle that is privately organized, administrated by professional investment managers, and not widely available to the public? It charges both a performance fee and a management fee. It allows a flexible investment for a small number of large investors (usually the minimum investment is $1 million) can use high risk techniques. Nowadays it is very clear that in the matter of alternative investment mutual fund is not performing well. As a high absolute returns and typically have features such as hurdle rates and incentive fees with high watermark provision hedge fund gives a better align to the interests of managers and investors. Moreover mutual funds typically use a long-only buy-and-hold type strategy on standard asset classes, which help to capture risk premia asso ciate with equity risk, interest rate risk, default risk etc. However, they are not very helpful in capturing risk premia associate with dynamic trading strategies. That is why hedge fund comes into the picture. This is the year of 2009, which takes the greatest history of the world in the following century. In the year of 2008 the world saw the greatest fall down of the world economy. Lots of people missing their jobs, lots of company were stopped. The world economy faced the highest losses in the history. These all factors are showing only one way to makeover from that greatest downfall that is hedging. 3The last couple of decades have witnessed a rapidly growing in the hedge funds. Relative to traditional investment portfolios hedge funds exhibit some unique characteristics; they are flexible with respect to the types of securities they hold and the type of the position they take. 1 Agarwal, V. and Naik, N. (2000). Multi-period performance persistence analysis of hedge fund s?. The journal of financial and quantitative analysis. Vol. 35, No,3. PP-327. 2 Agarwal, V. and Naik, N. (2004). Risks and portfolio decisions involving hedge funds?. The review of financial studies, Vol. 17, No.1. PP-64. 3 Journal of banking and finance 32(2008) 741-753- Hedge Fund Pricing and Model Uncertainty? by Spyridan D. Vrontos, Ioannis D. Vrontos, Daniel Giomouridies. 4The number of FOHFs increase by 40% between 2001 and 2003, and now comprised almost two third of the $650 billion invested in the USAs hedge fund market. Due to its nature it is difficult to estimate the current size of hedge fund industry. 5Van Hedge Fund Advisors estimates that by the end of 1998 there were 5380 hedge fund managing $311 in capital, with between $800 billion and $1 trillion in total assets, which indicates the higher number of recent new entries. So far, hedge fund is based on American phenomena. About 90% hedge fund managers are based in the US, 9% in Europe and 1% in Asia and elsewhere. Now a days around 5883 hedge funds are trading around the world. (*Barclay Hedge database) 4 Financial times, 29th October, 2003. www.vanhedge.com http://www.barclayhedge.com/products/hedge-fund-directory.html 1.1 Categories of Hedge fund investment objectives: Event Driven: Distressed securities- manager focuses on securities of companies in reorganization and bankruptcy, ranging from senior secured debt to the common stock of the company. Risk arbitrage- manager simultaneously buys stock in a company being acquired and sells stock in its acquirers. Global: International- manager pays attention to economic change around the world (except the United States) but more bottom-up oriented in that managers tend to be stock-pickers in markets they like. Uses index derivatives to a much lesser extent than macro managers. Emerging- Manager invests in less mature financial markets of the world, e.g. Hong Kong, Singapore, Pakistan, India. Because shorting is not permitted in many emerging markets, managers must go to cash or other markets when valuations make being long unattractive. Regional- Manager focuses on specific regions of the world, example- Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Global macro: Opportunistic trading manager that profits from changes in global economies typically based in major interest rate shifts. Uses leverage and derivatives. Market neutral: Long/short stocks- half long/half short. Manager attempts to lock-out or neutralize market risk. Convertible arbitrage- Manager goes long convertible securities and shorts the underlying equities. Stock index arbitrage- Manager buys a basket of stocks and sells short stock index futures, or the reverse. Fixed income arbitrage- Manager buys T-bonds and sells short index futures or the reverse. Short sales: Manager takes a position that stock prices will go down. Used as a hedge for long only portfolios and by those who feel market is approaching a bearish trend. U.S Opportunistic: Value â€Å" Manager focuses on assets, cash flow, book value, out-of-favor stocks. Growth â€Å" Manager invests in growth stocks, revenues, earnings, and growth potential are keys. Short term â€Å" Manager holds positions for a short time frame. Fund of fund: Capital is allocated among a number of hedge funds, providing investors with access to managers they might not be able to discover or evaluate in their own. Usually has a lower minimum than a hedge fund. Source: Carl Ackermann, Richard McEnally, and David Ravenscraft, The performance of hedge funds: Risk, Return and Incentives,? Journal of finance 54, no.3 (June 1999) figure 1, page-843. Reproduced from a hedge fund database firm named Managed Account Report (MAR) Inc, and distributed through LaPorte Asset Allocation System. 2. Literature review: Despite the increasing interest and recent development, few studies have been carried out on hedge funds comparing to other investment tools like mutual funds. An analysis of Hedge Fund performance 1984-2000? by Capocci Daniel using one of the greatest hedge fund database ever used on his working paper (2796 individual funds including 801 dissolved), to investigate hedge funds performance using various asset-pricing models, including an extension from of Carharts (1997) model combined with Fama and French (1998), Agarwal and Naik (2000) models that take into account the fact that some hedge funds invest in emerging market bond. At the end they found that their model does a better job describing hedge funds behaviour. That appears particularly good for the Event Driven, Global Macro, US Opportunistic, Equity non-Hedge and Sector funds. Since the early 1990s, when around 2000 hedge funds were managing assets totalling capital of $60 billion, the subsequent growth in the number and asset base of hedge funds has never really been refuted. The industry only suffered from a relative slowdown in 1998, but since then has enjoyed a renewed vitality with an estimated total of 10,000funds managing more than a trillion US dollars by the end of 2006. The growing trend of the sector remained remarkably sustained during the stock market collapse that started in March 2000, when the NASDAQ composite Index reached an all-time high of 5,132 and finished three years later with a floor level of 1,253. In the meantime, the global met asset value (NAV) of hedge funds continued to grow at a steady rate of 10.6% (Van Hedge Funds Advisors International, 2002), contrasting with a decrease of 2.7% in the worldwide mutual fund industry ( Investment Company Institute, 2003). In 2001, Capocci and Hubner(2004) estimated that there were 6,000 he dge fund managing around $400 billion. In 2007, Capocci, Duquenne and Hubner (2007) estimated that there were 10,000 hedge funds managing around $1 trillion. This is a growth of 11% in the number of funds and 26% in assets over six years (6PhD thesis paper by Daniel P.J. Capocci). Other studies from practitioners Hennessee (1994), and Oberuc (1994) also showed an evidence of superior performance in the case of hedge funds. Ackernann and Al. (1999) and Liang (1999) who compared the performance of hedge funds to mutual funds and several indices, found that hedge funds constantly obtained better performance than mutual funds. Their performance was not better than the performance of the market indices considered. They also indicated that the returns in hedge funds were more unstable than both the returns of mutual funds and those of market indices. According to Brown and Al. (1997) hedge funds showing good performance in the first part of the year reduce the volatility of their portfolio in the second half of the year (Capocci Daniel- An analysis of hedge fund performance 1984-2000). Taking all these results into account hedge funds seems a good investment tool. 6 PhD thesis paper by Daniel P.J. Capocci. Electronic copy available at: http//ssrn.com/abstract=1008319. 3. Research design and Methodology: In this section I would like to describe the empirical methodology to be used to measure the performance of hedge fund as well as the performance of FTSE 100 and SP 500. My aim is to identify which will give the better return for an investor. To investigate hedge funds performance and performance of FTSE 100 and SP 500 my study will follow some models like 4-factor model from of Carharts (1997) model, the 3-factor model from Fama and French (1993) models, the Sharpe ratio (1966) and Jensens alpha (1968) and CAPM. I divide my research into three sections. First section will analyse the performance of hedge funds, FTSE 100 and SP 500. This section sets out the models of performance measurement I will use. Second section will made correlation between Hedge fund vs. FTSE 100 and Hedge fund vs. SP 500 to find out the better portfolio. Third section will exposes a discussion as well as a description of my database and finally concludes the paper. 3.1. Performance measure models: The 4-factor model from Carhart (1997) Carharts (1997) 4-factor model is an extension of the Fama and French (1993) factor model. It not only takes into account the size of the firms, the book to market ratio, but there is an additional factor for the momentum effect. Grinblatt, Titman and Wermers (1995) define this effect as buying stocks that were past winners and selling past losers. This model is estimated with the following regressions: Rpt-Rft=ÃŽÂ ±p+ÃŽÂ ²pi (Rmt â€Å"Rft) + ÃŽÂ ²p2 SMBt +ÃŽÂ ²p3 HMLt + ÃŽÂ ²p4 PR1YRt + ept t= 1,2,,T Where SMBt= the factor mimicking portfolios for size; HMLt= the factor mimicking portfolio for book to market equity; PR1YRt= the factor mimicking portfolio for the momentum effect7 7 for a description of the construction of PR1YR see Carhart (1997). As stressed by Daniel et al. (1997), this model, which is effectively a four factor Jensen measure, assumes that betas with respect to the returns of four zero investment factor mimicking portfolios, are appropriate measures of multidimensional systematic risk. According to this model, in the absence of stock selection or timing abilities, the expected return for a fund is the sum of the risk free return and the products of the betas with the factor risk premium, which are simply the expected returns of each of these zero investment portfolios. The Carhart (1997) approach identifies a matching passive portfolio return for each fund return. This passive return, which is subtracted from the fund return to generate ÃŽÂ ±p, is a weighted average of the returns of the Carhart factor portfolios and the return of a one month T-bill (Capocci Daniel 2001, Journal- European Private Bankers, Nov, 2001). The 3-factor model from Fama and French (1993): Fama and French (1993) 3 factor model is estimated from an expected form of the CAPM regression. It takes the size and the book to market ratio of the firm into account. It uses the time series approach from Black, Jensen, and Scholles (1972) in the sense that the monthly returns on stocks are regressed on the returns to a market portfolio of stocks and mimicking portfolios for size and book to market. It is estimated from the following extension of the CAPM regression: Rpt-Rft=ÃŽÂ ±p+ÃŽÂ ²pi (Rmt â€Å"Rft) + ÃŽÂ ²p2 SMBt +ÃŽÂ ²p3 HMLt + ept t= 1,2,,T Where, SMBt= the factor mimicking portfolios for size, and HMLt= the factor mimicking portfolio for book to market equity. SMLt which comes from small minus big meant to mimic the risk factor in returns related to size, and HMLt which comes from high minus low meant to mimic the risk factor in returns related to book to market equity8. HML (respectively SMB) is neutral relative to the size effect (respectively to the book to market). This means that these factors do a good job isolating the firm-specific components of returns (Fama and French 1993, 1995, 1996 and 2000). 8 See Fama and French (1993) for a precise description of the construction of SMBt and HMLt. The Sharp Ratio (1966): The Sharp ratios (1966) calculate the ratio of the average excess return and the return standard deviation of the fund that is being evaluated. As such it measures the excess return per unit of risk. Assuming all asset returns to be normally distributed, the CAPM tells us that in equilibrium the highest attainable Sharpe ratio is that of the market index. In more general terms, the market indexs sharp ratio represents the set of return distributions that is obtained when statically combining the market index with cash. With the market index being highly diversified, these distributions offer the highest achievable expected return for every possible standard deviation (Gaurav S. Amin and Harry M.Kat (2002), Hedge fund performance 1990-2000). Jensens Alpha (1968): Jensens alpha was introduced in Jensen (1968) and equals the intercept of the regression: (Rh-Rf)= ÃŽÂ ± + ÃŽÂ ² (Ri- Rf) + eh, Where Rh is the fund return, Rf is the risk free rate and Ri is the total return on the market index. Like the Sharpe ratio, Jensens alpha is rooted in the CAPM. According to the CAPM, in equilibrium all (portfolios of) assets with the same beta will offer the same expected return, any positive deviation therefore indicates superior performance (Gaurav S. Amin and Harry M.Kat (2002), Hedge fund performance 1990-2000). Capital Asset Pricing Model: The first performance model that will be used is a capital asset pricing based single index model (CAPM). This model developed by Sharpe (1964) and Linter (1965) is the oldest performance evaluation model. Its formula is the following: Rpt â€Å" Rft = ÃŽÂ ±p + ÃŽÂ ²p (Rmt-Rft) + ept t= 1,2,, T Where, Rpt= return of fund p in month t, Rft= risk free return on month t, Rmt= return of the market portfolio on month t, ept= the error term, ÃŽÂ ±p and ÃŽÂ ²p= the intercept and the slope of the regression estimated. The intercept of this equation, ÃŽÂ ±p commonly called Jensens alpha (1968) is usually interpreted as a measure of out or under performance relative to the market proxy used. There are several extension of this model have been developed like- the Breeden (1979) intertemporal CAPM or the Ferson and Schadt (1996) CAPM that allows time variation in the expected returns and the risk (Capocci Daniel 2001, An analysis of hedge fund performance 1984- 2000). 4. Data Preparation: For data preparation my first step will be to collect the monthly data of the hedge fund index, FTSE 100 and SP 500. For my data collection I will use some sources like- Credit Suisse/ Tremont Hedge Fund Index (CSTHFI hereafter) which is an appropriate representative of the entire hedge fund industry, there are three biggest database of hedge fund in the world these are Managed Account Reports (MAR), Hedge Fund Research, Inc (HFR) and TASS Management (TASS). These databases were the most used in academic and commercial hedge fund studies. For the FTSE 100 and SP 500 I will use yahoo finance. 4.1. Bias in Hedge fund data: According to Ackermann et al. (1999) and to Fung and Hsieh (2000), two upward biases exist in the case of hedge funds. They do not exist in the case of mutual funds, and they both have an opposite impact to the survivorship bias. Survivorship bias is an important issue in mutual funds performance studies (see Carhart and al. 2000). This bias is present when a database contains only funds that have data for the whole period studies. In this case, there is a risk of overestimating the mean performance because the funds that would have ceased to exist because of their bad performance would not be taken into account. The two upward biases exist because, since hedge funds are not allowed to advertise, they consider inclusion in a database primarily as a marketing tool. The first phenomenon stressed by Ackermann and al. (1999) and called the self-selection bias is present because funds that realize good performance have less incentive to report their performance to data providers in order to attract new investors. The second point called instant history bias or backfilled bias (Fung and Hsieh 2000) occurs because after inclusion a funds performance history is backfilled. This may cause an upward bias because funds with less satisfactory performance history are less likely to apply for inclusion than funds with good performance history (Capocci Daniel 2001, An analysis of hedge fund performance 1984- 2000). To avoid these biases I will try to take all funds both living and dissolved into account. Once I have collected all the data that I need I will use SPSS to test the correlation between my two benchmarks FTSE 100 and SP 500. 5. Contingency Plan: To make my research effective I made a well constructed plan. I have drafted a project plan (Appendix A) with scheduled dates for when I intend to complete sections for submission. After completing my final exam I will jump in to this field. Advises from previous students who completed their dissertation, I made my project plan flexible to keep some things in mind like supervisors holiday and any unforeseen events such as my illness. I will try to keep a good communication with my supervisor for checking that I am in right track. I plan to make some formal meetings with my supervisor to discuss my progress and I will try to inform him about the state of my work. It is hard to spending too much time over one task and going off track, I hope I will manage this if there is no rush at the very last minute. Another worry is the collecting and analysing the data, that is why I plan to collect the data early June once I have finished my research design. If I face any kind of difficulties I will inform him and make a cut-off point where I should stop searching the board data and start my own primary data. As I do all SPSS classes and briefly touched about this, I think it will be easy to analyze the data but I need to increase a bit of use of control on it by practicing more. So I will set aside time for collecting data and practice more SPSS for regression analysis. I hope if all these go well, I will make my dissertation very effectively. Analysis Of Hedge Fund Performances Analysis Of Hedge Fund Performances 1. INTRODUTION: Hedge funds are actively managed portfolios that hold positions in publicly traded securities. Gaurav S. Amin and Harry M. Kat (2000) stated on their report that A hedge fund is typically defined as a pooled investment vehicle that is privately organized, administrated by professional investment managers, and not widely available to the public? It charges both a performance fee and a management fee. It allows a flexible investment for a small number of large investors (usually the minimum investment is $1 million) can use high risk techniques. Nowadays it is very clear that in the matter of alternative investment mutual fund is not performing well. As a high absolute returns and typically have features such as hurdle rates and incentive fees with high watermark provision hedge fund gives a better align to the interests of managers and investors. Moreover mutual funds typically use a long-only buy-and-hold type strategy on standard asset classes, which help to capture risk premia asso ciate with equity risk, interest rate risk, default risk etc. However, they are not very helpful in capturing risk premia associate with dynamic trading strategies. That is why hedge fund comes into the picture. This is the year of 2009, which takes the greatest history of the world in the following century. In the year of 2008 the world saw the greatest fall down of the world economy. Lots of people missing their jobs, lots of company were stopped. The world economy faced the highest losses in the history. These all factors are showing only one way to makeover from that greatest downfall that is hedging. 3The last couple of decades have witnessed a rapidly growing in the hedge funds. Relative to traditional investment portfolios hedge funds exhibit some unique characteristics; they are flexible with respect to the types of securities they hold and the type of the position they take. 1 Agarwal, V. and Naik, N. (2000). Multi-period performance persistence analysis of hedge fund s?. The journal of financial and quantitative analysis. Vol. 35, No,3. PP-327. 2 Agarwal, V. and Naik, N. (2004). Risks and portfolio decisions involving hedge funds?. The review of financial studies, Vol. 17, No.1. PP-64. 3 Journal of banking and finance 32(2008) 741-753- Hedge Fund Pricing and Model Uncertainty? by Spyridan D. Vrontos, Ioannis D. Vrontos, Daniel Giomouridies. 4The number of FOHFs increase by 40% between 2001 and 2003, and now comprised almost two third of the $650 billion invested in the USAs hedge fund market. Due to its nature it is difficult to estimate the current size of hedge fund industry. 5Van Hedge Fund Advisors estimates that by the end of 1998 there were 5380 hedge fund managing $311 in capital, with between $800 billion and $1 trillion in total assets, which indicates the higher number of recent new entries. So far, hedge fund is based on American phenomena. About 90% hedge fund managers are based in the US, 9% in Europe and 1% in Asia and elsewhere. Now a days around 5883 hedge funds are trading around the world. (*Barclay Hedge database) 4 Financial times, 29th October, 2003. www.vanhedge.com http://www.barclayhedge.com/products/hedge-fund-directory.html 1.1 Categories of Hedge fund investment objectives: Event Driven: Distressed securities- manager focuses on securities of companies in reorganization and bankruptcy, ranging from senior secured debt to the common stock of the company. Risk arbitrage- manager simultaneously buys stock in a company being acquired and sells stock in its acquirers. Global: International- manager pays attention to economic change around the world (except the United States) but more bottom-up oriented in that managers tend to be stock-pickers in markets they like. Uses index derivatives to a much lesser extent than macro managers. Emerging- Manager invests in less mature financial markets of the world, e.g. Hong Kong, Singapore, Pakistan, India. Because shorting is not permitted in many emerging markets, managers must go to cash or other markets when valuations make being long unattractive. Regional- Manager focuses on specific regions of the world, example- Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Global macro: Opportunistic trading manager that profits from changes in global economies typically based in major interest rate shifts. Uses leverage and derivatives. Market neutral: Long/short stocks- half long/half short. Manager attempts to lock-out or neutralize market risk. Convertible arbitrage- Manager goes long convertible securities and shorts the underlying equities. Stock index arbitrage- Manager buys a basket of stocks and sells short stock index futures, or the reverse. Fixed income arbitrage- Manager buys T-bonds and sells short index futures or the reverse. Short sales: Manager takes a position that stock prices will go down. Used as a hedge for long only portfolios and by those who feel market is approaching a bearish trend. U.S Opportunistic: Value â€Å" Manager focuses on assets, cash flow, book value, out-of-favor stocks. Growth â€Å" Manager invests in growth stocks, revenues, earnings, and growth potential are keys. Short term â€Å" Manager holds positions for a short time frame. Fund of fund: Capital is allocated among a number of hedge funds, providing investors with access to managers they might not be able to discover or evaluate in their own. Usually has a lower minimum than a hedge fund. Source: Carl Ackermann, Richard McEnally, and David Ravenscraft, The performance of hedge funds: Risk, Return and Incentives,? Journal of finance 54, no.3 (June 1999) figure 1, page-843. Reproduced from a hedge fund database firm named Managed Account Report (MAR) Inc, and distributed through LaPorte Asset Allocation System. 2. Literature review: Despite the increasing interest and recent development, few studies have been carried out on hedge funds comparing to other investment tools like mutual funds. An analysis of Hedge Fund performance 1984-2000? by Capocci Daniel using one of the greatest hedge fund database ever used on his working paper (2796 individual funds including 801 dissolved), to investigate hedge funds performance using various asset-pricing models, including an extension from of Carharts (1997) model combined with Fama and French (1998), Agarwal and Naik (2000) models that take into account the fact that some hedge funds invest in emerging market bond. At the end they found that their model does a better job describing hedge funds behaviour. That appears particularly good for the Event Driven, Global Macro, US Opportunistic, Equity non-Hedge and Sector funds. Since the early 1990s, when around 2000 hedge funds were managing assets totalling capital of $60 billion, the subsequent growth in the number and asset base of hedge funds has never really been refuted. The industry only suffered from a relative slowdown in 1998, but since then has enjoyed a renewed vitality with an estimated total of 10,000funds managing more than a trillion US dollars by the end of 2006. The growing trend of the sector remained remarkably sustained during the stock market collapse that started in March 2000, when the NASDAQ composite Index reached an all-time high of 5,132 and finished three years later with a floor level of 1,253. In the meantime, the global met asset value (NAV) of hedge funds continued to grow at a steady rate of 10.6% (Van Hedge Funds Advisors International, 2002), contrasting with a decrease of 2.7% in the worldwide mutual fund industry ( Investment Company Institute, 2003). In 2001, Capocci and Hubner(2004) estimated that there were 6,000 he dge fund managing around $400 billion. In 2007, Capocci, Duquenne and Hubner (2007) estimated that there were 10,000 hedge funds managing around $1 trillion. This is a growth of 11% in the number of funds and 26% in assets over six years (6PhD thesis paper by Daniel P.J. Capocci). Other studies from practitioners Hennessee (1994), and Oberuc (1994) also showed an evidence of superior performance in the case of hedge funds. Ackernann and Al. (1999) and Liang (1999) who compared the performance of hedge funds to mutual funds and several indices, found that hedge funds constantly obtained better performance than mutual funds. Their performance was not better than the performance of the market indices considered. They also indicated that the returns in hedge funds were more unstable than both the returns of mutual funds and those of market indices. According to Brown and Al. (1997) hedge funds showing good performance in the first part of the year reduce the volatility of their portfolio in the second half of the year (Capocci Daniel- An analysis of hedge fund performance 1984-2000). Taking all these results into account hedge funds seems a good investment tool. 6 PhD thesis paper by Daniel P.J. Capocci. Electronic copy available at: http//ssrn.com/abstract=1008319. 3. Research design and Methodology: In this section I would like to describe the empirical methodology to be used to measure the performance of hedge fund as well as the performance of FTSE 100 and SP 500. My aim is to identify which will give the better return for an investor. To investigate hedge funds performance and performance of FTSE 100 and SP 500 my study will follow some models like 4-factor model from of Carharts (1997) model, the 3-factor model from Fama and French (1993) models, the Sharpe ratio (1966) and Jensens alpha (1968) and CAPM. I divide my research into three sections. First section will analyse the performance of hedge funds, FTSE 100 and SP 500. This section sets out the models of performance measurement I will use. Second section will made correlation between Hedge fund vs. FTSE 100 and Hedge fund vs. SP 500 to find out the better portfolio. Third section will exposes a discussion as well as a description of my database and finally concludes the paper. 3.1. Performance measure models: The 4-factor model from Carhart (1997) Carharts (1997) 4-factor model is an extension of the Fama and French (1993) factor model. It not only takes into account the size of the firms, the book to market ratio, but there is an additional factor for the momentum effect. Grinblatt, Titman and Wermers (1995) define this effect as buying stocks that were past winners and selling past losers. This model is estimated with the following regressions: Rpt-Rft=ÃŽÂ ±p+ÃŽÂ ²pi (Rmt â€Å"Rft) + ÃŽÂ ²p2 SMBt +ÃŽÂ ²p3 HMLt + ÃŽÂ ²p4 PR1YRt + ept t= 1,2,,T Where SMBt= the factor mimicking portfolios for size; HMLt= the factor mimicking portfolio for book to market equity; PR1YRt= the factor mimicking portfolio for the momentum effect7 7 for a description of the construction of PR1YR see Carhart (1997). As stressed by Daniel et al. (1997), this model, which is effectively a four factor Jensen measure, assumes that betas with respect to the returns of four zero investment factor mimicking portfolios, are appropriate measures of multidimensional systematic risk. According to this model, in the absence of stock selection or timing abilities, the expected return for a fund is the sum of the risk free return and the products of the betas with the factor risk premium, which are simply the expected returns of each of these zero investment portfolios. The Carhart (1997) approach identifies a matching passive portfolio return for each fund return. This passive return, which is subtracted from the fund return to generate ÃŽÂ ±p, is a weighted average of the returns of the Carhart factor portfolios and the return of a one month T-bill (Capocci Daniel 2001, Journal- European Private Bankers, Nov, 2001). The 3-factor model from Fama and French (1993): Fama and French (1993) 3 factor model is estimated from an expected form of the CAPM regression. It takes the size and the book to market ratio of the firm into account. It uses the time series approach from Black, Jensen, and Scholles (1972) in the sense that the monthly returns on stocks are regressed on the returns to a market portfolio of stocks and mimicking portfolios for size and book to market. It is estimated from the following extension of the CAPM regression: Rpt-Rft=ÃŽÂ ±p+ÃŽÂ ²pi (Rmt â€Å"Rft) + ÃŽÂ ²p2 SMBt +ÃŽÂ ²p3 HMLt + ept t= 1,2,,T Where, SMBt= the factor mimicking portfolios for size, and HMLt= the factor mimicking portfolio for book to market equity. SMLt which comes from small minus big meant to mimic the risk factor in returns related to size, and HMLt which comes from high minus low meant to mimic the risk factor in returns related to book to market equity8. HML (respectively SMB) is neutral relative to the size effect (respectively to the book to market). This means that these factors do a good job isolating the firm-specific components of returns (Fama and French 1993, 1995, 1996 and 2000). 8 See Fama and French (1993) for a precise description of the construction of SMBt and HMLt. The Sharp Ratio (1966): The Sharp ratios (1966) calculate the ratio of the average excess return and the return standard deviation of the fund that is being evaluated. As such it measures the excess return per unit of risk. Assuming all asset returns to be normally distributed, the CAPM tells us that in equilibrium the highest attainable Sharpe ratio is that of the market index. In more general terms, the market indexs sharp ratio represents the set of return distributions that is obtained when statically combining the market index with cash. With the market index being highly diversified, these distributions offer the highest achievable expected return for every possible standard deviation (Gaurav S. Amin and Harry M.Kat (2002), Hedge fund performance 1990-2000). Jensens Alpha (1968): Jensens alpha was introduced in Jensen (1968) and equals the intercept of the regression: (Rh-Rf)= ÃŽÂ ± + ÃŽÂ ² (Ri- Rf) + eh, Where Rh is the fund return, Rf is the risk free rate and Ri is the total return on the market index. Like the Sharpe ratio, Jensens alpha is rooted in the CAPM. According to the CAPM, in equilibrium all (portfolios of) assets with the same beta will offer the same expected return, any positive deviation therefore indicates superior performance (Gaurav S. Amin and Harry M.Kat (2002), Hedge fund performance 1990-2000). Capital Asset Pricing Model: The first performance model that will be used is a capital asset pricing based single index model (CAPM). This model developed by Sharpe (1964) and Linter (1965) is the oldest performance evaluation model. Its formula is the following: Rpt â€Å" Rft = ÃŽÂ ±p + ÃŽÂ ²p (Rmt-Rft) + ept t= 1,2,, T Where, Rpt= return of fund p in month t, Rft= risk free return on month t, Rmt= return of the market portfolio on month t, ept= the error term, ÃŽÂ ±p and ÃŽÂ ²p= the intercept and the slope of the regression estimated. The intercept of this equation, ÃŽÂ ±p commonly called Jensens alpha (1968) is usually interpreted as a measure of out or under performance relative to the market proxy used. There are several extension of this model have been developed like- the Breeden (1979) intertemporal CAPM or the Ferson and Schadt (1996) CAPM that allows time variation in the expected returns and the risk (Capocci Daniel 2001, An analysis of hedge fund performance 1984- 2000). 4. Data Preparation: For data preparation my first step will be to collect the monthly data of the hedge fund index, FTSE 100 and SP 500. For my data collection I will use some sources like- Credit Suisse/ Tremont Hedge Fund Index (CSTHFI hereafter) which is an appropriate representative of the entire hedge fund industry, there are three biggest database of hedge fund in the world these are Managed Account Reports (MAR), Hedge Fund Research, Inc (HFR) and TASS Management (TASS). These databases were the most used in academic and commercial hedge fund studies. For the FTSE 100 and SP 500 I will use yahoo finance. 4.1. Bias in Hedge fund data: According to Ackermann et al. (1999) and to Fung and Hsieh (2000), two upward biases exist in the case of hedge funds. They do not exist in the case of mutual funds, and they both have an opposite impact to the survivorship bias. Survivorship bias is an important issue in mutual funds performance studies (see Carhart and al. 2000). This bias is present when a database contains only funds that have data for the whole period studies. In this case, there is a risk of overestimating the mean performance because the funds that would have ceased to exist because of their bad performance would not be taken into account. The two upward biases exist because, since hedge funds are not allowed to advertise, they consider inclusion in a database primarily as a marketing tool. The first phenomenon stressed by Ackermann and al. (1999) and called the self-selection bias is present because funds that realize good performance have less incentive to report their performance to data providers in order to attract new investors. The second point called instant history bias or backfilled bias (Fung and Hsieh 2000) occurs because after inclusion a funds performance history is backfilled. This may cause an upward bias because funds with less satisfactory performance history are less likely to apply for inclusion than funds with good performance history (Capocci Daniel 2001, An analysis of hedge fund performance 1984- 2000). To avoid these biases I will try to take all funds both living and dissolved into account. Once I have collected all the data that I need I will use SPSS to test the correlation between my two benchmarks FTSE 100 and SP 500. 5. Contingency Plan: To make my research effective I made a well constructed plan. I have drafted a project plan (Appendix A) with scheduled dates for when I intend to complete sections for submission. After completing my final exam I will jump in to this field. Advises from previous students who completed their dissertation, I made my project plan flexible to keep some things in mind like supervisors holiday and any unforeseen events such as my illness. I will try to keep a good communication with my supervisor for checking that I am in right track. I plan to make some formal meetings with my supervisor to discuss my progress and I will try to inform him about the state of my work. It is hard to spending too much time over one task and going off track, I hope I will manage this if there is no rush at the very last minute. Another worry is the collecting and analysing the data, that is why I plan to collect the data early June once I have finished my research design. If I face any kind of difficulties I will inform him and make a cut-off point where I should stop searching the board data and start my own primary data. As I do all SPSS classes and briefly touched about this, I think it will be easy to analyze the data but I need to increase a bit of use of control on it by practicing more. So I will set aside time for collecting data and practice more SPSS for regression analysis. I hope if all these go well, I will make my dissertation very effectively.