Wednesday, October 30, 2019

HUMAN RESOURCE RESEARCH PAPERS Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HUMAN RESOURCE PAPERS - Research Paper Example The employees at all levels have a major part to play in this regard and they should take the collective effort to prevent any such situation in the organization. If any such situation arises in any organization then the management of the organization has to pay a very high price for that in terms of legal compensation or the ruining of the reputation of the company (Decenzo, 2013). Thus it is important to understand the issue from the perspective of the employees and that of the victims and how it can be prevented or dealt with in case any such situation arises. Since prevention is always better than cure hence the employer or the managers should always take a necessary step to prevent the occurrence of any such situation. They should ensure that there is no gender discrimination and every individual working in the organization should have respect for the sexual orientation of the fellow colleagues. The managers should implement a policy such that any such situation can be prevented and the code of conduct that the employees should follow in the organization should be mentioned to all the employees working (Paludi and Paludi 2003). The employees should be aware of the actions and legal steps that would be taken against the person who would commit such a belittling crime. In case such an incident occurs immediate investigation and timely action needs to be taken against the person committing the crime. The company in no way should try to safeguard such an employee even if he holds some high position in office. The employees of a company also have the duty to ensure that there is no prevailing hostility in the environment of their particular department. If an employee is apprehensive about the behavior of any co worker then the person should immediately report it to the higher management and seek for corrective action. Immediate action has to be taken by the

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Chesapeake and New England Colonies Essay Example for Free

The Chesapeake and New England Colonies Essay Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by the people of English origin, by 1700 the regions had evolved into two distinct societies. These two colonies divided based on their values and goals for their future, New England believed in unity, religion, and family, while the Chesapeake region believed in success, working alone, and entrepreneurship. Their lives really centered around what they believed in and was the determining factor on why these societies are very different. New England came over with a sense of unity and equality for their people. They wanted what was best for everyone. Massachusetts wanted to have the poor and the rich in their town as well as everyone having a share of the meadow or planting ground. They wanted people to have equal portions and opportunities. They sought comfort and strength in each other to reach goals and worked together to get the job done. John Winthrop who was an English Puritan speaks of knitting together and working as one man. He preaches about looking over one anothers flaws and pushing forward and supplying people with the necessities they need. He sees they should be the city upon the hill, a model for everyone to follow, and learning and experience with and form each other, together as one. He wants a tight knit community where everyone helps out and believes in one another. This region is more interested in building a strong sense of community and bond with one another. The New England region relied strongly on their religious beliefs and the church had a strong influence over the people. They turn to God in time of need and despair as well as in happiness. The people will preach the Lords words and be his servants. They vow to walk in the ways of Christ with the church and the other people. They unify and work together for the church and for the Lord. They overlook each others flaws and help each other day by day because thats what being apart of the church is. They want a perfect and united society and God to walk with them through it. This region wants to be able to have the religious freedom they deserve and believes God will take them where they need to go in life. Family was just as important to the New England region as religion and unity. Family ties all these values together into one. They wanted a certain amount of families in their towns. The ship full of emigrants bound for New England are full of families and marriages that have lasted a while. All these families make the community a whole, without them there wouldnt be the values to unify them or bring them together through the church. Basing their life off of these values and putting them into effect made their lives successful. They built such a strong community for themselves because they were in the right mindset and had the right tools to walk them through it. People and families are the backbone that need to be there in order for the town to survive and no one giving up. They were wealthy aspiring leaders and people throughout the region. Virginia and the Chesapeake region had different views on their lifestyle. They believed in success no matter how they got there, they just wanted the profit from it. Only the wealthy made their way through with their riches such as gold. John Smith a leader in Virginia tells that the people with money, spare clothes, credit to give bills of payment, gold rings, fur, or anything of that sort were welcome to purchase supplies. The dug for gold and other riches in the ground. They were not about equality or giving equal opportunities to the rich and poor. More men came to Virginia, it wasnt really family oriented either. There was only eleven out of many men coming to Virginia. The reason people came was for the profit and hope to gain riches. The people of Virginia worked alone and believed in entrepreneurship. They didnt care how they got to the top, as long as they were there. They didnt believe in working together to accomplish something, they wanted all the credit to themselves. They were self employed and wanted to make new businesses being their own boss selling valuables. The only people who helped them out was the many servants protecting them. They had no sense of community or compassion for other people. They thought about themselves before anything. Their motivation was the profit they would consume from it, not worrying about what it may have caused for others to reach that. These people wore more messy and dirty clothing than Virginia because they were working and some people were poor, and they had a lot of servants. These regions were completely opposites in the way they chose to live. The New England region believed in a strong community with families and religion supporting them, while the Chesapeake region wanted profit and riches, preferred working alone to get the necessities they needed. The New England ways gave us a sense of democracy and working together as a whole.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Student-Centered Learning Essay -- Education Students Educational Pape

Student-Centered Learning Student-centered learning is a broad teaching approach that encompasses replacing lectures with active learning, integrating self-paced learning programs and/or cooperative group situations, ultimately holding the student responsible for his own advances in education. Student-centered learning environments have a heightened advantage over the traditional teacher-centered, subject-centered environment in that they provide complimentary activities, interactive in nature, enabling individuals to address their own learning interests and needs and move forward into increasingly complex levels of content to further their understanding and appreciate subject matter. The student-centered learning environment has the student need satisfaction as its primary focus whereas the subject-centered environment has the transmission of a body of knowledge as the primary focus (Clasen & Bowman, 1974, p. 9). Student-centered learning, when used properly, can change the face of education into a life- long learning process in which the student seeks solutions to problems without complete dependency upon an instructor. The student learns to reason on his own to find a foundation for venturing out with successful experiences under his belt. The learning environment concept has been around for some time. Its roots can be traced back to "early apprenticeship, Socratic, and similar movements that have sought to immerse individuals in authentic learning experiences, where the meaning of knowledge and skills are realistically embedded" (Land & Hannafin, 1996, p. 396). As immigrants flooded the United States, educators sought methods of education for the masses and the creation of a universal, or national system. The fa... ..., Hill, J. R., & Land, S. M. (Winter 1997). Student-centered learning and interactive multimedia: status, issues, and implications. Contemporary Education, 68, 2, 94-97. Land, S. M., & Hannafin, M. J. (1996). Student-centered learning environments: foundations, assumptions, and implications. Proceedings of selected research and development presentations at the 1996 national convention of the association for educational communications and technology. (pp. 396-402). Indianapolis: Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Land, S. M., & Hannafin, M. J. (May 1997). The foundations and assumptions of technology-enhanced student-centered learning environments. Instructional Science, 25, 3, 167-202. Warmkessel, M. M., & McCade, J. M. (Spring 1997). Integrating information literacy into the curriculum. Research Strategies, 15, 2, 80-88.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Free College Essays - Anse as a Vulture in As I Lay Dying :: As I Lay Dying Essays

Anse as a Vulture in As I Lay Dying Human beings are commonly accepted as social creatures. They are considered evolved due to the fact that they were the first animals to develop a written language to help with communication. In the book, As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner compares the characters to less evolved species. The resemblance between the characters and their inanimate counterparts in nature is used in the book to show how inhuman they are in personality. Many birds are carnivorous, that is, they prey upon other animals for food. In this book, Faulkner uses the character of Anse Bundren to personify a vulture. Anse is compared to predatory birds in order to expose the similarities of the nature and behavior, of the human and the animal species. Anse resembles a vulture when Addie first sees him. She describes him as a tall bird hunched in the cold weather (170). Anse is often depicted as having a humped, motionless, and cold silhouette (51-52). While he gazes at Addie lying in bed, he partakes an "owl-like quality of awry-feathered, disgruntled outrage within (49)." Anse is often unshaven, dirty, seeming dark and dreary. He is selfish and continually on the prowl, like a culture, for more money and extravagance. The Latin meaning for the word "vulture" is the basic nature of these birds: breeze scavengers. Rarely flapping their large wings, vultures cruise by on air currents, searching for dead animals to eat. Anse grabs Addie's attention by driving past the school house watching Addie. He drives by, trying to catch a glimpse, almost stalking her, as a vulture would stalk its prey before attacking. Anse is not gentle and loving. He stands, stiff as a scarecrow, silent, and grotesque. His position evokes fear in others and makes them do what he desires. When Addie excepts Anse's proposal to marriage, he takes her from her home and place of birth, and brings her to his farm. Addie's life, from that point on, is harsh and ungratifying. It is when Addie is with Anse, that she realizes that her father's beliefs are true -- the purpose of life is to get ready to be dead. Anse, like a vulture, is cool and calculating. As Addie is lying in bed, Anse sits on the front doorstep of the house waiting for her to die.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Bingo: Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix Product Strategy †¢ Bingo positioned itself as chips with an Indian twist. The 16 flavours introduced at launch were carefully developed through R&D †¢ The initial offerings were a mix of potato chips and finger snacks †¢ The potato chips segment includes variants like masala, salted, tomato inspired by snacking habits of Indian consumers †¢ The offerings under finger snacks include Pakoda (Live Wires) and Khakra (Mad Angles) †¢ These offerings were further differentiated by providing SKU’s at Rs. , Rs. 10 and Rs. 20 Marketing Mix Pricing Strategy †¢ The main objective for ITC was to compete effectively with the existing players. Hence, ITC launched a direct frontal attack by introducing similar priced SKU’s †¢ ITC already enjoyed cost advantage over competitors through its eChoupal initiative. This also facilitated timely supply of raw materials †¢ ITC’s printing and packaging business also lead to high quali ty, cost effective and innovative packaging Marketing Mix Promotional Strategy Bingo was strategically launched at the time of world cup to cash in on the popularity of snacks among the cricket lovers of the country †¢ The advertising strategy revolved around slapstick humour and irrelevant themes to hold eyeballs, garner attention and interest, and stand out from the clutter †¢ ITC booked 10 to 15 spots per channel per day, 20 spots on radio stations supported by thousands of hoardings advertising the product.According to industry estimates, the total advertising spent in the initial 6 months were roughly 100 crores While its competitor Frito-Lay focussed on celebrity endorsements, Bingo chose a different route †¢ Since the product is aimed towards the young population, digital media was heavily used. For instance, the Bingo National Gaming Championship across 4 cities with more than 25000 participants †¢ Bingeonbingo. com and Mad Angles Twister application (Fac ebook) were other initiatives in online media Marketing Mix Distribution Strategy †¢ ITC already had a well-established distribution network through its cigarette and tobacco related offerings which were leveraged for Bingo Further, the company distributed around 4 lakh racks across all retailers to display the brand at all Points-of-scale †¢ Within 6 months Bingo was available across 250000 retailers in the country †¢ A crucial alliance with Future Group led to all future group retail outlets like Big Bazar, Food Bazar stocking only ITC’s Bingo †¢ HORECA (Hotels, Restaurants and Catering Sector), Local betel shops are all being used to distribute Bingo to a wide range of audiencesValue Proposition †¢ Variety and innovation in a largely undifferentiated market †¢ Foray into the â€Å"Health Snacks† segment by introducing Bingo as Baked Chips †¢ ITC launched Bingo in 16 flavours to cater to the tastes of the country †¢ Leveraged t he retail and marketing expertise of ITC Foods Market Share before Bingo 25% 10% 65% Lays Haldirams Others Market Share after Bingo Lays 12% 27% 45% Bingo Haldirams 16% Others

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Pivot Points of Alcohol Consumption Control essays

The Pivot Points of Alcohol Consumption Control essays For thousands of years alcohol has been regarded by society as a temporary escape from reality and the tensions of everyday life. People use alcohol to reduce stress, to relax, and to enjoy a good evening. This should be the real purpose of alcohol drinking. This is the way in which alcohol should be looked upon. There should be no reason for alcohol drinking to be looked upon as negative action. Drinking alcohol however, is in fact regarded as a negative action by society and the government. This is not because of the action drinking alcohol itself but actually because of the abuse people undertake with such an action. Alcohol reduces the ability of a human being to undergo the basic and every day thought processes, in such a way impeding a person under the influence of alcohol to engage in regular and everyday events. Arguably, the problem of alcohol drinking counts for one of the largest threats to human life in the world. This is due to the high number of fatalities occurring fro m alcohol related murders, fights, and most of all- traffic accidents. Alcohol abuse impairs a humans ability to drive a vehicle and consequently creates simple grounds for death from a car collision. In the United States alone, drinking and driving accidents account for the number one cause of death among all age groups, mainly however, young adults and late teenagers. Youth in the United States is suffering from a high number of fatalities and injuries caused from falls, burns, crashes, drowning, violence, suicide, and poisoning- where the highest percentage of these accidents are related to alcohol. Due to the fact that alcohol abuse is such a high cause for morbidity and injury, governments and societies of countries all over the world concentrate on different techniques and methods in which to decrease these regrettable incidents. The problem is however, alcohol cannot be completely abolished. Drinking alcohol has formed such a large part of life...

Monday, October 21, 2019

buy custom Bluetooth Modelling essay

buy custom Bluetooth Modelling essay With the introduction of wireless communication, it has change the entire world; Bluetooth is such technology which has the ability to transmit both data and voice transmissions at same time. Bluetooth consists of a small microchip, and the technology behind it is short-range link to exchange information between two devices such as a computer to mobile device or mobile to mobile device. When two devices having Bluetooth come within short distance (10 meters) of each other, those two devices will detect each other and connections will be automatically. Since the technology was introduced, it has eliminated the need of connecting many wired devices; Bluetooth devices will connect instantly even if the device does not have a clear line of sight, and connection distance can be increased to 100 meters with the uses of an amplifier. The usage of this new technology is huge; when you are in the house PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) synchronizes with your house and the front door unlocks, w hen you approach your car; with a touch of a button the door unlocks, as you arrive near the reception of an hotel the door open itself automatically. Introduction Handheld devices are increasing becoming part of people daily lives, and the mobile usage in the world is increasing exponentially; already people are using mobile phones, palmtop and laptop computers . Majority of these devices dont have a compatible data communication interfaces, or, if they do, their interface will require cumbersome connections and configuration procedures, when you connect it with another device. A solution was created that was able to get rid of cumbersome connecting cables, and short-range wireless links was used to facilitate on-demand connectivity among different devices. The ideal technology was Bluetooth since it was inexpensive, enabling of compelling applications, and it has been universally adopted by device vendors. In 1998, a group of five major electronics companies- Nokia, Ericsson, IBM, Intel and Toshiba- created an open network technology that is used throughout the world to connect handheld devices. At the moment almost all the electronics manuf acturing companies in the world have joined the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). This new technology has been named after a tenth century King of Denmark, Blatand Bluetooth who was able to unite his warring Viking tribes under a common rule in Denmark, while Bluetooth logo is based on Runes surrounding the King ruled. Bluetooth technology uses a radio frequency (RF) communication interface and other associated communication protocols and usage profiles which will be discussed later in this paper. The technology behind Bluetooth can operate in the 2.4 GHz ISM (industrial, scientific, and medical) radio frequency (RF) band, also this new technology can support low cost, its power efficient, and it is also a single-chip technology. Scatternet proposed here is based on a tree structure by designating a node leader to initialize the protocol and generate a centralized algorithm which will assign the roles of the network nodes. A tree topology network results to form a scatternet and develop coordinates devices. A device called the leader will start the piconet by acquiring all slaves in its range, a maximum of seven slaves. A master and its slaves form a piconet whose clock is synchronized with the clock of the master. Slaves and their master communicate through a piconet. During scatternet formation, the main issues that affect it are; how nodes will make discovery, how piconet sizes are balanced and how masters and gateways are chosen. What is a Bluetooth? This is a wireless technology that will allow connectivity between two or more devices that are Bluetooth enabled, for example a mobile phone and a computer. This technology is utilizing a 2.4 GHz radio spectrum and the devices must be at a range of 10 meters or more when an amplifier is used. But, due to variations among the mobile service providers, not all the Bluetooth technology will offer the same of functionality in devices. Bluetooth technology uses short- range communications technique which is intended to replace cable connecting portable at same time maintain a high levels of security. The advantages of this technology are that, it consumes low power and the cost is also low, while its specifications will define a uniform structure that will be used for a wide range of devices to connect and communicate with other devices. This new technology has achieve a global acceptance, this because Bluetooth device can connect to other Bluetooth enabled devices almost anywhere in th e world, and at same time Bluetooth device can communicate at same time up to seven other Bluetooth enabled devices within a single piconet-ad hoc networks. The strength of this new technology is its ability to handle both data and voice transmissions at same time, and this has enable people to enjoy various innovations that come with this new technology, such as hands-free headset for voice calls, mobile phone applications printing and fax capabilities. History of Bluetooth In 1994, Ericsson company started developing a device that will connect mobile phones to other devices without a cable interface, but in 1998, a special group of companies going by the name Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) was formed by five major mobile manufacturing companies: IBM, Intel, Nokia, Toshiba and Ericsson, with the aim of promoting widespread commercial acceptance of this new technology. Within six months, Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) started inviting other telecommunication companies globally, and as a result of that they initiated a free access to Bluetooth technology, at same time these companies pledged to support any new specification of Bluetooth. Years later, with dollar signs gleaming in their eyes, the rest of telecommunication manufacturing companies quickly jumped on the bandwagon, In no time, almost 2,000 Bluetooth "adopters" to their ranks and the number continues to grow. The initial aim of Ericsson Company to start developing Bluetooth was to unite computer devices and other telecommunication devices, such as mobile phones without the use of a cable. Thus, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) thought it quite fitting to name this new technology after the Danish King Harald "Bluetooth" Bltand; the Danish king was given that nick name Bluetooth because he used to love eating blueberries and that his teeth were stained blue due to the habit of eating blueberries; However, this is mere speculation. There are some IEEE standards which are found in Bluetooth technology, but the main difference about this new technology is that specifications or platform which Bluetooth operate is for a complete system; from physical layer to application layers found in other devices. Bluetooth specification Since its inception, Bluetooth technology has maintained a global standard with known specifications. Bluetooth has heralded itself as a universal communicator and the technology can be used in any country in the world. The following are the standard specifications of Bluetooth technology: Frequency Range Bluetooth technology operates under the frequency of 2.4 GHz, globally, this band used by this technology is free and unregulated, except in countries such as Japan, France and Spain, this bandwidth has been reduced, but these restrictions have been eliminated in both Japan and Spain. In France, its military have rights over the 2.4 GHz frequency band, but the authority over 2.4 GHz band was relinquished in January, 2001. Most countries in the world are beginning to regulate 2.4 GHz frequency band, thus ensuring the band will be available for Bluetooth appliances. Physical Layer The Bluetooth hardware has been made with a single 9*9mm chip, this hardware is found in all the electronics that are Bluetooth enabled, and can communicate with any Bluetooth device that is found within a radius of ten meters or this distance can be increases to 100 meters only if an amplifier has been used. The maximum data rate that can be used to transmit data is 1Mbps for 1st generation technology, and at same time Bluetooth technology uses Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying (GSSK) for radio frequency modulation. In the near future, this technology should allow achievement of between 2- 12 Mbps transfer rate. Noise Immunity Bluetooth technology is designed to work in a noisy environment, there are two powerful techniques that has enable this Bluetooth technology to achieve this purpose of operating under a noisy environment. These techniques are as follows: a. Frequency Hop (FH) spread spectrum; this is a technology which divides the frequency band into smaller channels. The technology will hop channels and in return it will minimize potential interference in Bluetooth technology operations. Bluetooth device after transmitting packet of data, the device will hop to another frequency and this is determined by the master. The goodness of this technology will provide a low level transmission security that cannot be cracked; in fact this technique will prevent the E0 encryption scheme from being cracked. b.Error control; this technique will enable Bluetooth receiver not only to detect error received, but it will correct the same transmitted error. The technique has the capability of limiting any noise that is being transmitted over a long distance links. There are 3 errors which have been well defined in Bluetooth technology specifications: 1/3 Rate FEC, 2/3 Rate FEC, and Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ). Although this technology has reduced the number of re-transmitted data, FEC has slow down transmissions, and therefore is not suitable to be used in a noise free environment. But, packet headers are exception for this technology because it can work well regardless of environmental factors. Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) incurs less overhead than Forward Error Correction (FEC), but it is less effective in term of ability to correct errors. But if the transmitter will not receive an ACK the data will be resent after a predefined period of time. Data Transmission Bluetooth technology will allow data to be transmitted in a synchronously way or asynchronously way. In voice transmission, The Synchronous Connection Oriented (SCO) method is widely used, since voice transmission need a smooth transmission and voice is transmitted via reserved intervals, in other words, packets of voice will be sent in groups without interruptions. Bluetooth technology is compatible to TCP/IP protocols and therefore can be well suited to traditional networking with other devices. I Bluetooth hardware; within a piconet, master-slave pair will have a different transmission mode and this transmission mode can change dynamically [3]. The frequency bandwidth is usually controlled by master unit- the slave unit does not have capability of transmitting data unless it has polled by the master unit. The master unit usually broadcast messages to the slave unit and this is via the ACL link, while Time-Division Duplex (TDD) technology will allow transmission in both direction in SCO and ACL. Power Bluetooth technology has a way of limiting its transmitting power to exactly what is needed; the signal strength of the transmitting power is dynamically modified to suit the required distance which information is transmitted. Trading off response time against battery usage; device that are Bluetooth enabled are reluctant to use unnecessary power. In comparison to a mobile phone, a Bluetooth device usually uses 3 per cent less power typically used by mobile phones. Security Bluetooth technology offers security through authentication of the devices involved in the connection and data exchange [4]. This is usually done at the Link Management Protocol (LMP) layer. Normally, this authentication based security utilizes the identification of the devices in use. Other ways of security involve implementing confidentiality and key derivation. Bluetooth PIN is what is generally used in creation of the Bluetooth key whereby the key is entered into both devices to be paired. The E22 algorithm is the algorithm used to generate an initialization key also known as the master key whereas the encryption of packets and confidentiality granting is done with the E0 stream cipher. This cipher is supported by use of a cryptographic secret which is an earlier generated master key. Below is an image describing the Bluetooth encryption process between a master device and a slave by use of both keys? Bluetooth utilizes three different encryption modes that are used to support the technologys confidentiality security service [5]. The first mode commonly known as plainly Encryption Mode 1, allows no encoding of any data being exchanged or being transmitted. In other words, traffic between the devices involved is not encrypted. In this particular mode, a device does not initialize any security measure. Traffic moves to and fro in a raw state having no security procedure interfere with it. A device in this non-secure mode has its authentication and encryption functionalities totally disabled and traffic just bypasses them [2]. Encryption Mode 1 allows unrestricted access to the particular device, meaning that the device does not prompt another device to identify itself as it tries to connect to it nor does it encode the data it transmits to any device. This particular mode utilizes no key a slave Bluetooth device receives and as a result, no encryption whatsoever is performed on eith er individually addressed traffic or broadcast addressed traffic. This is the most non-confidential mode for Bluetooth devices and is not recommended by the authorities. This mode leaves all data packets in transmission accessible to any intruder or Bluetooth user within range of the master device [1]. Bluetooth Encryption Mode 2 performs encryption only on individually addressed traffic based on individual link keys [13]. However, these links have to be individual. This encryption mode does not perform encryption on broadcast traffic. In other words, encryption is only offered in the connection to only one device but when the devices to connect to are more than one, no encryption is performed. However, when the connection is point-to-multipoint, the traffic transmitted is not encrypted [12]. This mode as compared to the first mode, offers a little bit of confidentiality in that it allows encryption of data transfer. A security concern is however raised in that it only offers confidentiality when only two devices are involved in the data transfer[11]. This means that if more than two devices were in the same Bluetooth range and one of the devices (the master) wants to connect or transfer data to the rest of the devices (the slaves), the traffic would be open to intrusion even if au thentication is enabled and verified. Thus it would be in order to declare that Bluetooth encryption mode 2, though confidential unlike Bluetooth Encryption Mode 1 that offers no confidentiality whatsoever, is still not satisfactorily confidential enough. This mode offers a leeway to intruders once the number of slaves exceeds one, thus challenging the security of the Bluetooth technology. The mode creates restrictions to data exchange [6]. Bluetooth Inquiry When two devices that are Bluetooth enabled want to start communicating they will do so by using Inquiry Phases, in inquiry phase one of the Bluetooth enable is assumed to be in master mode while the other one is assumed to be in slave mode [7]. The master will then send the packages and listen to respond that will come from the slave, also the slave mode listen package that is coming from the master and then send a return package. During the process of inquiry the Bluetooth enabled devices will change (hop) their frequencies a lot, but at a certain time during the hopping process Bluetooth enable devices will use the same frequency in the same time interval during the process, but further synchronization can be achieved in the process. The frequencies which are used during the inquiry are a subset of 79 frequencies which are widely used by the piconet in an operation. These frequencies are usually generated by resident counter and a GIAC or DIAC address [7]. The 32 frequencies that are used GIAC hop pattern are usually being spread across the spectrum by the scattering stage and it is usually at the end of the generation of frequency process in the Bluetooth. The inquiry process that are used in scattering are 0-5 and 53-78, but 32 frequencies are further divided into two trains, A and B and each will have 16 frequencies. The frequencies in a train usually changes over time, but the trains will exchange one frequency after every 1.28 seconds and this is based on changes in the free-running counter. After this period has elapses[10], the Bluetooth device enable will re-enters the scan substate and it will scan again, it will use a scan of length 11.23ms rather than 10ms which will allow a scan device to receive at least one full inquiry train, which will allow for timing misalignment. Piconets and Scatternets The ad hoc network will consist of many wireless devices that are able to communicate to each other, without a central controlling device [11], and this is the method used by Bluetooth device. In Bluetooth there is no dedicated Access Point to control data transmissions, instead the first Bluetooth enabled device will initiates a transmission and thus becomes a temporary master of the network; master is not a dedicated device like an Access Point. In PANs, Bluetooth enable devices that are closer can discover each other and form a small network- piconet, and without the help of a user[11], and this will enable data to be transferred from one Bluetooth enable device to another, for example, between a mobile phone to a laptop; by coming near the user will instruct the mobile or computer what action to perform [11]. Piconet This network is usually formed when two or more Bluetooth enable devices discover each other and begin to communicate, this network can accommodate up to eight Bluetooth enable devices, this is because address is only 3 bits long; in binary only values upto 07 (slaves) can be stored in the address field [12], but the master will not have any address, but 0 will be reserved for broadcast messages. In this process one of the devices will act as a master and the rest of devices will act as slaves; this is usually the first device which start transmission will become the master. Scatternets A Bluetooth enabled device can be a master in one of piconet, but it can also be a slave in another piconet network that is within a reachable distance [2]. Also a slave device can also connect into two different piconets that are within its reachable distance. However, a Bluetooth enable device cannot be a master for more than one piconet; this is because master device determines the hopping pattern used for a piconet [2] If a Bluetooth enabled device connect to two piconets, it will keep track of both frequency-hopping patterns of both piconet so that it can stay in touch with both piconet [2]. A master will transmit packets to its slaves to maintain the link, and this is usually based on negotiations that are between the master and its slaves devices. Thus, a Bluetooth device which is a member of two piconets must at all the time listen for these transmission that is coming from the master [2]. Scatternet protocol formation Wang, 5, postulates that there are two protocols for forming connected scatternet protocols. The resulting topology in both cases is a Bluetree. Each node assumes two to three roles. The single node initiates a blueroot the first protocol which is the root of the bluetree. This is how a rooted span tree is built: the root is assigned the role of a master and one hop neighbor of the root will be its slave. The roots children are then assigned additional aster role while the neighbors not assigned specific roles will be slaves of the new masters. The procedure is repeated until all the nodes are assigned. This happens by assigning only one node for each master. The bluetree scatternet formation consists of three phases. In the first phase each node collects information about its neighbors and creates a visibility graph. Nodes randomly go into page scan states inviting a maximum of N nodes to join their piconets. Disconnected piconets are formed after the first case while the master collects slaves information and share it with the slaves. During the second phase, Bluetooth nodes collect a maximum N slaves from piconets formed during the first phase. These nodes are then turned to bridges. During the last phase, piconets connect to form scatternet. A scatternet is formed by joining tree roots whereby each tree is a collection of nodes. The nodes alternate between three modes namely Comm, Comm/Scan and Inquire. Every root in the tree selects a leaf as the coordinator and the modes Scan and Inquire search for coordinators while noncoordinators do Comm/Scan. When they find each other, coordinators inform roots which enter page and page scans modes. This results to two roots to communicate and the master code becomes a new root. If a tree gets disconnected, the algorithm changes roles depending on who left the tree. A Bluetooth sensor network is also called a Bluetooth node whose work is to collect sensed values from sensor. The formation process involves two processes; the first and second phases. During the first phase connections and information about neighboring nodes are made. Information sensed by each node is sent to the Super Master (the network node) which orchestrates the network collected from the internet. Each node makes an inquiry during this phase one at a time during which other nodes make an inquiry scan. Inquiring nodes establish a network through SDAP and information collected during an inquiry is sent to the parent forming the matrix. As the node finishes an inquiry, then the next device starts its inquiry. When all nodes have taken their turn, the device gives the parent its turn to and shares all the information. Running this backs the algorithm traverses tree nodes and returns information to the super master. This helps to collect network information as the super master ch ooses K nodes and the selection is done on every ode through the tree and coordinated by the super master. Alternating bit protocol [14] Alternating bit protocol is a simple data layer protocol that is used in transmitting corrupted or lost messages in one direction between a pair of protocol entities. The messages sequences alternates between 0 and 1. M= messages sent from sender to receiver and A= acknowledgements sent from receiver to sender The protocol uses positive acknowledgment and other information of one bit to each message that is exchanged. Only one bit of message can be sent at a time; stop and wait. The model from this protocol is build from sender and receiver otherwise known as automata. The messages are exchanged between two fifo lossy channels, M and A. The sender will be able to read messages by the producer and send it through M. Acknowledgment for the message is then waited through A. the sender will be required to resend the message with the same bit if the acknowledgement does not arrive. If received, the sender will be able to send the next message from producer with an incremented bit. In this model, the A and M channels are unbounded because the resent data is not bounded as the figures below suggests in states s1, s3, r0, r2. The figures below give the automata of the receiver and sender. M!m0= sending of a message with bit 0 through channel M M?m0= reception of data with bit 0 through M nop= transition has no effect on channels Protocol validation Validation protocol is defined as a means of testing processes to ensure that they are valid and effective. Its main purpose is to help determine if certain rules or procedures are followed correctly. The protocol employs certain instructions that are followed to accomplish an end result. Computer networking protocol validation is done using some simulation and testing. To verify a protocol it has to be described in a structured way. There are usually two ways in doing this, use an implementation in a regular programming language and the use of a high level formalization language like PROMELA [15]. What is promela? This is a modeling language process which is used to verify the logic of parallel systems; the programming language is mostly used because it can be dynamically used to create a concurrent process in modeling, for example in distribution systems. In this Modeling, communication via message channels can defined to be synchronous or asynchronous, and this system can be analyzed by a spin model checker to find out if the modeled system has produced a desired behavior; the spin will perform a random or iterative simulations of the system execution or it can use a C programming that will perform a fast verification of the system for correctness. During the verification processes , the spin checkers will check if the deadlocks are there in the system, unspecified receptions and unexecutable code in the system. There are good reasons for an individual to use this programmable language, first, in designing and verification coordination structures in the distribution system software is regarded as harder in practice than the design of a non-interactive sequential computation, for example computation of compound interests. Second, system computation can be done more thoroughly and more reliably today than the verification of even the simplest computational procedure. Promela program contain many features that are not found in other mainstream programming languages, and these features will help a programmer to construct a high level models of distribution systems as you compare with other programs. For example, it will include specification of non-deterministic control structures; in other words, the program will have fairly rich set of primitives for inter-process communication. The limitation for this program is that it lacks some features that other programming languages have, for example f unctions that will return values, expressions with side effects and functions pointers; this is for the simple reasons that PROMELA is not a programming language but it is used to create a verification models. The model differs in two ways from a program written in programming language such as java or C++. A verification model will contain things that are not part of the implementation of the program, for example it can contain worst case assumptions about the characteristic of the environment that the verification model may interact with the system and this can either be implicitly or explicitly which will contain a specification of correctness properties of the program. Verification model will represent an abstract of original design that contains only those aspects that are found in the system. PROMELA is drives many characteristics from C program, for example syntax for Boolean and arithmetic operators, but POMELA has other differences that, is important to focus on the construction of high-level models of the interactions in distributed systems. The constructed model in PROMELA is made up of three basic types of objects: data objects, processes and message channels. Processes in PROMELA are proctypes and are mostly used to define behavior, in the program, there must be at least one proctype which must be declared in a model, and for the verification to be of much use there must be at least one process instantiation. The body of proctype is made up of zero or, one or many statements and the execution of the statement in the program is somewhat special because it will double as the primary for enforcing process synchronizations. Data or message channels can either be declared either globally, and this is found outside the process type declarations, or locally within a proce ss type declaration, these are the two types of levels of scope in PROMELA programming language: global and process local. It is not possible to restrict the scope of a local object to only part of a proctype body. Conclusion This paper has allowed me to go thoroughly into the new emerging technology; Bluetooth, with time this new technology applications will keep developing this is because of the need of mobility. Bluetooth technology is among the many proximity technologies being employed all over the world, such proximity technologies are: Infrared, RFID, and contact less Smart cards. Most of people using this new emerging technology are concern about the various issues such as: usefulness, acceptance, applications, security, usability, and reliability of technology. In order for these concerns to be taken care of, many specialists working with this new technology are continuously working to improve profiles into the emerging technology. Version two of Bluetooth technology can handle most of these concerns, SRFT Bluetooth technology has been created for financial transactions used in short range, and this has been a major step in the improvement towards Mobile Financial transactions. At the moment, Bl uetooth will provide auto connection between two devices that are Bluetooth enabled, with compromise to security. A recent article may seem to spell some trouble on the future of this new technology; Bluetooth. Recent Intel Development forum said the technology company was giving up on the deadlocked ultra-wideband IEEE task group, and the company has decided on going it alone with their new technology that will compete with Bluetooth technology, they are calling wireless USB. This new technology being initiated by Intel will do everything Bluetooth technology does and, but in term of Bluetooth found in PCs will be all dead. Ultra-wideband will able to provide a substantial performance benefits over Bluetooth technology, because it will be able to approach the speed of USB 2.0 and 1394. This means there will be faster connections, and at moment the faster connection is increasingly required by devices such as: apple iPod, digital cameras and removable hard drives. The lack of this throughput is what ended the Intel/Bluetooth technology honeymoon. If these new technologies were to be developed by Intel, they would give Bluetooth a run of its money. If the new technology will posses reliable compatibility, faster data transfer rate and the backing of a major player in the telecommunication industry- Intel, then surely Bluetooth will be in danger and may fall to the wayside in term of competition. However, at moment Bluetooth technology has already grabbed a large share of the market and it has a head start on whatever other new technologies that will come into being to compete. This also means, Bluetooth technology will have price advantage because research and design phase of Bluetooth technology has already been completed. Also, those special interest groups that advocate for the use of Ultra-wideband are at deadlock and as for now, no progress on the device has been made, so, as for now Bluetooth technology has the monopoly on the short range, low power wireless technology that are Bluetooth enabled. Bluetooth technology is also getting better on itself, the special interest group (SIG) is working on a new version of specifications that are found in Bluetooth technology. The group at the moment is working on the version 1.1, also, a group by the name Radio2 is working on the problems Bluetooth technology has with bandwidth technology, interference and problems with setup connection. If Radio2 can achieve their objectives of increasing the bandwidth, decreasing interference of Bluetooth with other technologies, and lastly correct the problems of connection setup, the future will be brighter for Bluetooth technology, and the technology will be able to compete well with the performance of new technology that will come into the market. Based on various evidences from all aspects of applications, this new technology is definitely a technology that has valuable uses in the world today. If Bluetooth technology continues to be unchallenged in the world, even though it has its drawbacks, it will grab a large share in wireless device technology. With the backing of major telecommunications companies which has put their money in research and development, it will be extremely difficult for other emerging technology to overcome Bluetooth technology. Buy custom Bluetooth Modelling essay

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Requirements for a Geography Degree

Requirements for a Geography Degree Earning your college degree in geography shows prospective employers that you can solve problems, research solutions, utilize technology, and see the big picture. A typical geography degree involves a wide variety of coursework within the discipline to expose students to all aspects of this fascinating wide-ranging subject. Undergrad Geography Coursework A typical undergraduate geography degree consists of coursework in geography and other disciplines. In many cases, the college courses taken in other subjects fulfill a students general education (or GE) requirement. These courses can be in subjects such as English, chemistry, geology, math, sociology, political science, foreign language, history, physical education, and other sciences or social sciences. Every college or university has different general education or core required courses for all students earning a degree from that university. In addition, geography departments may impose additional interdisciplinary requirements on students. You will typically find that a college or university will offer either of Bachelor of Arts degree in geography or a Bachelor of Science degree in geography. Some colleges and universities offer both Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A. or A.B.) and the Bachelor of Science degree (B.S.) in geography. The B.S. degree will typically require more science and math than the B.A. degree but again, this varies; either way its a bachelors degree in geography. As a geography major you will be able to select from a plethora of interesting courses about all facets of geography as you work toward your geography degree. However, there are always core courses that every geography major must meet. Lower Division Course Requirements These initial courses are typically lower division courses, which means they are designed for freshmen and sophomores (students in their first and second years of college, respectively).  These courses are usually: An introduction to physical geography lecture (sometimes including a laboratory course in which you make maps, use Geographic Information Systems [GIS], work with compasses and topographic maps, etc.)An introduction to cultural or human geography lectureWorld regional geography lecture During the first two years of college, a student would likely take their lower division geography courses and maybe a handful of other lower division geography courses. However, freshman and sophomore years are usually the time to take your general education courses to get them out of the way. You will take most of your geography courses (and your schedule will mostly be geography courses) only during your junior and senior years (third and fourth years, respectively). Upper Division Course Requirements There are core upper division requirements that usually include: Geographic techniques and methods (learning about geography journals, the use of the library, research, using computers for cartography and GIS, using other software platforms, and learning how to think geographicallyCartography and/or Geographic Information Systems laboratory (4 to 8 hours a week learning how to make maps and making maps on computer)History of geographic thought (learning about the history and philosophy of geography as an academic discipline)Quantitative geography (statistics and analysis of geographic problems)One upper division course in physical geographyOne upper division course in cultural or human geographyOne regional geography course to learn about a specific region of the worldSenior project or capstone project or advanced seminarField work or internship Additional Geography Concentrations Then, in addition to the core upper division courses, a student working toward a geography degree might focus within a specific concentration of geography. Your choices for a concentration might be: Urban and/or economic geography and/or planningGeographic Information Systems and/or cartographyPhysical geography, environmental studies, climatology, or geomorphology (the study of landforms and the processes that shape them)Human or cultural geographyRegional geography A student would likely be required to take three or more upper division courses within at least one concentration. Sometimes more than one concentration is required. Upon completion of all coursework and university requirements for a geography degree, a student is able to graduate and show the world that he or she is capable of great things and is an asset to any employer!

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Welfare reform and not being able to survive on current minimum wage Essay

Welfare reform and not being able to survive on current minimum wage - Essay Example These were the first laws to recognize the overtime pay policies, eight-hour workday, and minimum wages for workers. A century later, there has been a lot of criticisms on the impact and effects of these minimum wages in America. Ehrenreich (3) argue that â€Å"minimum wages is a contributing factor to inflation, unemployment, and high prices†. On the other hand, other people believe that minimum wages play a role in protecting the rights and welfare of workers. Ehrenreich (1) is one of the people who argue against the establishment of minimum wages. She argues that by creation of a minimum wage, the government and business organizations are exploiting the society. This is because the minimum wages established by the government cannot help an individual to live comfortably in the society (Ehrenreich, 16). For example, the current minimum wages in United States is 7.50 dollars per hour. Ehrenreich (7) explains that this amount of money is very little, and it cannot make a person to live comfortably in any States, within America. For example, this amount of money cannot pay a nice two bed roomed house in United States. This is for an individual who is working for about 40 hours per week. Ehrenreich (17) argues that the â€Å"group of people who are vulnerable, and greatly affected by this concept of minimum wages are single mothers†. These are women who are alone, and they are forced to carter for the need of their children. The 7.50 m inimum wages is not sufficient to help these women carter for their needs. It is because they lack time to seek other works, or work for overtime, for purposes of supplementing their incomes. This is because they have to carter for the needs of their offspring’s, and hence they are forced to leave work early. In fact, Ehrenreich (12) explains that â€Å"most employers normally complain that the major problem they

Friday, October 18, 2019

Urban sustainable development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Urban sustainable development - Research Paper Example Many major cities across the world are undergoing immense struggle in their efforts to accommodate the ever-rising populations and tackle the multi-dimensional challenges of urban development (Haughton, 1994). If the present inclinations continue into the near future, only a few states are likely to reap from the numerous aids of sustainable urban development (Sustainable Development Solution Network, 2013). Thus, there is an urgent need for cities to develop and integrate succinct models of sustainable development so that they can become better placed in confronting the challenges of the new century. The major aim of this paper is to discuss and analyze the concept of sustainable development with special attention to sustainable development in an urban context. The discussion begins with a precise definition of sustainable development before proceeding to an analysis of the incentives that led to the development of the concept of sustainable development over time. Finally, the paper discusses the effect of sustainable development on the planning of maintainable cities in the 21st century. This discussion is made clear by using the case study of Hong Kong city as one of the cities whose developments have been greatly influenced by the concept of sustainable development. Sustainable development can be perceived as a kind of development that addresses the needs of the current population without undue compromise to the capability of the future populations in fulfilling their needs (Rogers, 2008). To a larger extent, sustainable development encapsulates three different aspects of sustainability. These are economic, social, and environmental sustainability. It is important to note that these aspects form the basic premises of sustainable development. There is a consensus that a sustainable development entails an integrated and comprehensive approach to social, economic, and environmental aspects and processes. Several initiatives on sustainable

Description of Investment Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Description of Investment Banking - Essay Example In addition, investment banks can also assist the mergers and acquisitions of companies and provide services such as trading of derivatives and securities. It trades and promotes securities for assets or other securities (i.e. derivatives) on its selling side. On the other hand, it also advises individuals and companies on how to invest their monies as its buying function. Advise typically dispensed by investment banking usually involves equity, insurance companies, mutual funds and hedge funds. An investment banker or the person who provides investment banking services to his or her clients are licensed and subject to the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Regulatory Authority (SEC). a. Front office – is the most common function of investment banking where it helps its client to raise capital for their business or give advise during acquisitions and mergers. Raising funds for its clients could take in the form of issuing marketable securities (such as stocks), coordinate and negotiate with the company to be acquired or merged with and coordinate with bidders. Investment banks do not take in deposits from the general public and instead, it involves itself in the buying and selling of investment securities and other tradable securities. The investment banker assumes the role of a trader as he or she buys and then sell securities with a spread or margin on every trade completed. This function of investment banking, however, was blamed as the culprit of the recent financial crisis because the â€Å"financial bubble† that burst and precipitated the crisis came from reselling of complex derivates and debts that cannot collect until ultimately, it took its toll on the US financial system. b. Middle office – the middle office involves the research function of investment banking.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Organisational Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organisational Leadership - Essay Example The scare coincided with the retirement of John Scott the long serving CEO and the new CEO'S initial months at the head of the organisation has been problematic. Media stores have suggested that he hasn't effectively managed the reputation damage to Retailco's brand and was not fully conversant with or effectively leading the international markets. In addition to that, the Executive Board is uncertain as to how to develop the China strategy and as a consequence its share price and ability to raise funds from investors is at risk.† Thus, the purpose of this part is to provide a solution to the challenges faced by Retailco Company. Reputation is often associated with damage and it’s never intentional. For instance, the Snow ball chocolate contamination has badly ruined the Retailco company reputation. No single organisation intends to temper with its perfect reputation on purpose. According to the reputation theory, reputation damage can be mitigated and managed. In additi on to that, reputation risks makes organisations not to meet expectations in terms of revenue and also give surprises that are unpleasant. To manage reputation risks, company’s managers should invest in trust as it is the principal currency. All in all, successful mitigation of reputation damage helps in achieving of high performance, activity and behaviour consistent alignment with the expectations of the stakeholder. For purposes of managing the company reputation risk, the CEO needs to identify and appreciate his stakeholders as vital ingredient for managing reputation. This is because; the primary stakeholders are vital organisation components without whom the organisation cannot function properly. The stakeholders are such as the customers, suppliers, employees and stakeholders. Even though secondary stakeholders are not that important, the loss of any of them or a substitute addition is not critical in any business environment. As such, the CEO of Retailco company shoul d identify 6-7 stakeholders whom he should closely watch. In addition to that, the CEO should comprehend that there is no way that is simple when it comes to managing reputation. He should aim at preventing the situation in which the company reputation can be damaged. As such, he should put in place a protection policy. Since Retailco Company is managing business internationally, he should have a clear understanding of the factors that might affect his business such as competitive, economic, environmental and market factors. In addition to that, he should ensure that his employees understand the language of the people that houses its foreign operations. Furthermore, they should comprehend the attitudes of the people in the foreign country and also the things that motivate them. Finally, the company should ensure product sustainability through building products that are perfect and do not cause harm that is unnecessary. In addition to that, the managers should use their business to i mplement and inspire solution to crisis that is environmental among others. If all the above measures are followed, the company will regain its reputation again. In the light of the above, the reigning CEO should gather his employees together his employees together for purposes of imposing his beliefs, values, vision, goals and assumptions. All these are aimed at solving the problem in the company which is brand reputation. This is a perfect way of developing leadership and organisation culture. The end result is equipping of organisation employees

Personal Income Tax and Revenue Forecasting Assignment - 1

Personal Income Tax and Revenue Forecasting - Assignment Example The lower tax rates are expected to stimulate economic activity and to encourage business to move from the shadow to the official (taxpaying) economy, so some of the revenue loss will ultimately be recovered. The Ministry of Finance forecasts collections of 7,789,000 markka (MK) for 2001. Data on tax collections are reported on the following page. Based on the information provided, the ministry definitely needs to revise its 2001 forecast. This is because the pace of tax revenue being collected is not coinciding with its revenue forecasting, which is 7.8 million markka. Basically, at its best point, the tax revenue averaged about 1.2 million markka, at the end of 1999 and 2000. However, the data in 2001 shows a significant drop compared with the past three previous years when tax revenues were compared. This means that it will probably take about 20 more years or so until tax revenue reaches 7.8 million markka, because if it took 3 years to get to 1.2 million in revenue—one multiples 3 by 7 and one gets the number of approximately 21 years to create that amount of revenue. Of course, revenue could increase exponentially in years to come, thus making the target goal of 21 years achieved in a faster time period. However, the important point to remember is that there are several factors that go into how such data is arrived at in the first place. So, supposing that Vardar’s markka strengthens as time goes on and that more people are able to pay taxes due to the economy being stimulated and people being freed up to make more money—it is entirely possible that the economy will grow significantly before the 21-year window of economic growth is due. It depends on if people can get the jobs to provide for their families and support the economy. What factors might influence the patterns seen in the data include a variety of things. In former Soviet

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Organisational Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organisational Leadership - Essay Example The scare coincided with the retirement of John Scott the long serving CEO and the new CEO'S initial months at the head of the organisation has been problematic. Media stores have suggested that he hasn't effectively managed the reputation damage to Retailco's brand and was not fully conversant with or effectively leading the international markets. In addition to that, the Executive Board is uncertain as to how to develop the China strategy and as a consequence its share price and ability to raise funds from investors is at risk.† Thus, the purpose of this part is to provide a solution to the challenges faced by Retailco Company. Reputation is often associated with damage and it’s never intentional. For instance, the Snow ball chocolate contamination has badly ruined the Retailco company reputation. No single organisation intends to temper with its perfect reputation on purpose. According to the reputation theory, reputation damage can be mitigated and managed. In additi on to that, reputation risks makes organisations not to meet expectations in terms of revenue and also give surprises that are unpleasant. To manage reputation risks, company’s managers should invest in trust as it is the principal currency. All in all, successful mitigation of reputation damage helps in achieving of high performance, activity and behaviour consistent alignment with the expectations of the stakeholder. For purposes of managing the company reputation risk, the CEO needs to identify and appreciate his stakeholders as vital ingredient for managing reputation. This is because; the primary stakeholders are vital organisation components without whom the organisation cannot function properly. The stakeholders are such as the customers, suppliers, employees and stakeholders. Even though secondary stakeholders are not that important, the loss of any of them or a substitute addition is not critical in any business environment. As such, the CEO of Retailco company shoul d identify 6-7 stakeholders whom he should closely watch. In addition to that, the CEO should comprehend that there is no way that is simple when it comes to managing reputation. He should aim at preventing the situation in which the company reputation can be damaged. As such, he should put in place a protection policy. Since Retailco Company is managing business internationally, he should have a clear understanding of the factors that might affect his business such as competitive, economic, environmental and market factors. In addition to that, he should ensure that his employees understand the language of the people that houses its foreign operations. Furthermore, they should comprehend the attitudes of the people in the foreign country and also the things that motivate them. Finally, the company should ensure product sustainability through building products that are perfect and do not cause harm that is unnecessary. In addition to that, the managers should use their business to i mplement and inspire solution to crisis that is environmental among others. If all the above measures are followed, the company will regain its reputation again. In the light of the above, the reigning CEO should gather his employees together his employees together for purposes of imposing his beliefs, values, vision, goals and assumptions. All these are aimed at solving the problem in the company which is brand reputation. This is a perfect way of developing leadership and organisation culture. The end result is equipping of organisation employees

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Hoarding Disorder Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hoarding Disorder - Research Paper Example In comparison, OCD has a lifetime prevalence of 1% to 2% of the American population. Between 25% to 30% of patients with OCD meet medical hoarding disorder criteria (Brauer et al., 2011). Two key treatment options exist for hoarding disorder: medication and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Medication is often the first line of cure even when the clinical practitioner recommends CBT. SSRI (Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors) medications are the most common medications prescribed for those with compulsive hoarding (Steketee and Frost, 2013). Examples of SSRI are venlafaxine and paroxetine, which the sufferer normally takes high amounts of for a minimum of three months. CBT is a common treatment for OCD as trials that apply conventional CBT methods also apply to hoarding disorder. However, reports of responses to CBT by compulsive hoarders reveal poor responses and success rates (Brauer et al., 2011). Alternatively, intensive CBT with a skilled therapist in the course of an extended period can help alleviate hoarding disorder. Physicians often administer CBT for compulsive hoarders in six sessions. A third but uncommon treatment option for compulsive hoarding is intervention. Overall interventions for OCD include EBP (Evidence-Based Practice) treatments and regimens, which are also applicable in the treatment of hoarding disorder. EBP and regimens can be in the form of therapy strategies and medications. The latest EBP treatments tackle a crucial but generally under-studied psychological health issue like hoarding disorder that physicians are not ready to treat (Muroff et al., 2011). EBP treatment methods are special and path breaking in the sense that they are manual-based treatments. EBP treatments further measure the intensity of hoarding amongst suffers to accomplish three key outcomes: knowledge expansion, skill attainment and devotion, and involvement in and gratification with

Human genome online assignment Essay Example for Free

Human genome online assignment Essay 1) If genetic manipulation does become a reality, I think allowing non-disease characteristics to be altered would have serious ethical and social implications. Screening for diseases and treating or eradicating them totally would be a huge benefit to mankind, but to use genetic technology to produce â€Å"designer babies† will most likely lead to a social divide similar to that portrayed in the movie â€Å"Gattaca† (De Vito and Niccol, 1997). Such technology would most likely be expensive and only those who can afford it will benefit and gain undue advantage over those not fortunate enough to have the financial means to avail of the technology, leading to a social system where you have the genetically-enhanced superior class and the â€Å"inferior† citizens conceived the natural way. 2) I don’t think life insurance companies should have access to a person’s genetic information. As it is, I believe insurance policies already hold a lot of stipulations that policy holders more often than not, end up receiving the short end of the bargain. If insurance companies find out that a person has a predisposition to a disease, they could easily refuse to provide that person with insurance and that I think, would be unfair since they would be depriving that person of his need to secure financial aid in case he does get sick. In the interest of fairly sharing risks though, insurance companies may be allowed limited access to genetic information. Limited, because I believe the welfare of policy holders should still be of topmost priority and any form of discrimination against individuals should not be allowed. 3) Yes, I believe that the information from the Human Genome Project (HGP) will bring tremendous benefits to a lot of people in the next 20 years. Technology develops at a very fast pace and it is not impossible that Collins’ predictions may very well come true. Already, the underlying genetic problems responsible for certain diseases have already been identified and with the genetic map from the HGP, the causes of a lot of other afflictions will be identified and from there, therapies can and will be developed. Even though custom-made therapies will most likely be more difficult to develop and perfect, the identification of disease genes will still greatly benefit the general population (Nova Online, 2001). 4) I think we are not that prepared for the implications that will result from the applications of these information. Right now, our society is already struggling with various other ethical issues in other biotechnological fields like stem cell research and it would be too naive to ignore the present and potential issues that may arise due to the far-reaching consequences of the HGP. 5) I don’t think employers should have access to an individual’s genetic information since there is the danger that a person may be discriminated on the basis of his genetic profile. As of present, I think discrimination may be viewed as singling out an individual for what he is (e. g. his race, gender, etc. ), but to discriminate someone based on his genetic profile would also mean discriminating him for what he could be. A person can be at risk for a certain disease but that’s just it – it’s a probability, not a guarantee. Besides, it would also mean discounting a person’s capabilities in spite of whatever genetic condition he may have. There have been countless stories of people overcoming their disabilities so there is no reason that one should be discriminated or favored based on his genetic makeup. 6) I don’t think it is that surprising, especially if I consider that like me, these lower organisms are alive, so it’s really just logical that we do share something in common. Considering though how much more complex we seem to be compared to these organisms, then yes, it is surprising that we don’t seem to be that genetically different from them. 7) I believe that testing of unborn children should be confined to deleterious genes, i. e. those that have serious and possibly life-threatening consequences such as that with diseases. I believe it’s a matter of putting things in perspective. Traits and disabilities like homosexuality or color blindness may be undesirable but they really seem trivial compared to serious afflictions that may mean life or death for the child. 8) If it’s a curable or preventable disease, then I would probably be in favor of being tested so that I can take the necessary steps to prevent or prepare myself in case I do get sick. However, I can’t say that decision would be as simple in the case of non-treatable diseases, because as with the woman who tested positive for a BRCA mutation (Nova Online, 2001), knowing that I am at risk for a disease that has no cure will probably mean that I will be living my life everyday with a sword hanging over my head and it would be very hard to live life that way. 9) Yes, I would want my mate and I to be tested if we were carriers for a disease prior to having children. I wouldn’t want to take the risk of bearing a child only to have him/her suffer from the disease that we carry when we could’ve spared him/her from that difficult life. I believe that I owe it to my future child to have myself and my partner tested. 10) I don’t think genes or genomic material should be patented because as Lander has observed, apprehensions over whether a particular gene or part of the genome has already been patented has become a limiting factor in that drug companies usually wouldn’t want to take the risk of working on treatments that might already be protected by a patent (Nova Online, 2001). I believe that there are several ways that scientists can approach a disease and develop a treatment for it, so why patent genes or genomic material? Why not just let everybody have access to such information so that not only one drug company can work at a specific disease but rather several, so that there’s a better chance that one of them will be able to develop a treatment which they would then have all the right to patent? Let’s take for example the case of cystic fibrosis. The gene responsible for this disease was discovered way back in 1989 and yet no cure has been discovered up to now (Nova Online, 2001). It only goes to show that identifying the gene responsible for the disease does not automatically mean that the cure would also be discovered consequently, so why allow the burden of further limitations brought on by patents? References: De Vito, D. (Producer), Niccol, A. (Director). (1997). Gattaca [Motion Picture]. USA: Sony Pictures. NOVA Online. (2001). Cracking the code of life. Retrieved May 30, 2007, from http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/genome/program. html.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Do Stocks in VN30 Basket Follow Weak Form?

Do Stocks in VN30 Basket Follow Weak Form? The research question: Do stocks in VN30 basket follow weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis? PART 1: INTRODUCTION In the investment world, portfolio management refers to actions taken to maximize the return on a portfolio (Investopedia, 2016). Under portfolio management., Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) is one of the most important theories that investors should take into consideration if they aim to earn abnormal returns. This hypothesis basically illustrates the relationship between stock price and available information on the stock, which is reflected in three forms including strong form, semi-strong form and weak form. Out of the three patterns, EMH at weak form states that historical prices cannot be used to make predictions about future stock prices. This research paper will examine the weak form EMH in the context of constituent stocks in the VN30 Index an adjusted index of VN-Index (which is the market index of Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, Vietnam). PART 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Random Walk Theory and Efficient Market Hypothesis The origin of stock market efficiency can be traced back to early twentieth century when Bachelier (1900) proposed his idea about Random Walk Hypothesis. This theory affirms that prices of past, present and even the future have no correlation; in other words, security prices tend to follow randomness and therefore are unpredictable. A few studies around this issue were conducted in 1930s; however, the Random Walk Theory was intensively discussed in the 1960s. Bacheliers work was then reinforced with the introduction of Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) by Fama (1970). According to this theory, stocks always trade at their intrinsic values, making it impossible for investors to benefit from stock mispricing i.e. purchase undervalued stocks and sell overvalued stocks. As a result, the only way investors can earn a higher return than the market is by engaging in riskier investments. Nowadays, the Random Walk Theory is referred to as the weak form of EMH, stating that stock prices are random and past events have no influence on the current prices. Meanwhile, it is widely known that technical analysis is the science of using historical price patterns to anticipate future price movements. Hence, according to the weak form of EMH, there is no point in applying technical analysis to predict and beat the market. 2.2 Research studies conducted towards Weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis Many studies have been carried out to investigate the weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis, some of which fail to support the weak-form efficiency. Srinivasan (2010) examines the validity of random walk hypothesis for two major stock markets in India, i.e. SP CNX NIFTY and SENSEX, using observations from 1st July 1997 to 31st August 2010. The study applied Augmented Dickey-Fuller test and Phillips-Perron test to point out that characteristics of random walk are not present in Indian stock exchanges; hence, weak form efficiency is rejected in the case of Indian markets. As a result, this provides trading opportunities for investors to earn abnormal returns since they can make predictions about future stock prices. Similarly, Singh et al., (2016) tested the Efficient Market Hypothesis in Carbon Efficient Indices of India, the US, Japan and Brazil by using Kolmogrov-Smirnov test, Shapiro-Wilk test, runs test and autocorrelation test. The results from these statistical tests reveal t hat daily  closing stock prices do not follow random walk in all countries under investigation. This is in line with Nwidobie Adesina (2014), who conclude that Nigerian stock exchange is not efficient in weak form by employing the GARCH autoregressive model. This inefficiency, according to Nwidobie Adesina, may be explained by limited information dissemination in the market, high trading and floatation costs, information hoarding and insider trading, as well as poor implementation of investor protection laws in the country. The rejection of weak form efficiency is also found in other emerging markets, evidenced by the studies of Islam, et al. (2005), Srivastava (2010), Bà ¼yà ¼kÃ…Å ¸alvarci Abdioglu (2011), Haroon (2012) and Agbam (2015). Other studies, on the other hand, show evidence of market efficiency in some economies. Andrianto Mirza (2016) used daily stock price data collected from LQ45 Index, Jakarta Islamic Index and Kompas 100 Index during the period 2013-2014 to examine weak form efficiency in Indonesia. The results from runs test and serial correlation test demonstrate that Indonesia stock market follows weak form efficient pattern. Specifically, the following conclusions are drawn from the study: 1) stock price movement is random; 2) there is no correlations between the stock price movement of the present day and previous days. Andrianto Mirza also suggest that investors use fundamental analysis to react quickly for available information, as well as utilize news from digital media to update market conditions. Further evidence supporting the weak form efficiency of capital markets may lie in the findings of Jiang, et al. (2014), who examined WTI crude oil futures prices from 1983 to 2012. Using bootstra pping technique, the academics confirm the efficiency of crude oil futures market, and state that the market is inefficient only in case of turbulent events, such as the oil price crash in 1985, the Gulf war, and the oil price crash in 2008. 2.3 VN-Index, VN30 Index and VN30 stocks 2.3.1 VN-Index VN-Index is the index used to illustrate price fluctuations of company stocks listed on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE). The problem is that, VN-Index calculation takes into account all shares outstanding, which include free-float shares and restricted shares. Free-float shares are shares freely available for trading in the market (Standard and Poors, 2016). In contrast, restricted shares are not available for public trading as they are closely held by control group, other publicly traded companies or government agencies (Standard and Poors, 2016). As a result, some stocks such as GAS, VNM, MSN, VCB and BID can largely influence VN-Index due to their large number of restricted shares. 2.3.2 VN30 Index and VN30 stocks The VN30 Index (also known as VN30 Equal Weight Index) was first introduced to the market on February 2012, tracking the performance of the top 30 large-cap liquid stocks on the Ho Chi Minh City stock exchange in Vietnam (Phoenix Capital, 2017). This index can overcome the weaknesses of VN-Index in the following manners: Capitalization values of constituent stocks are based on the number of shares freely traded on the market (free-float); Restrict the excessive influence of a particular stock by setting the capitalization weighed limit of 10%; Among more than 300 stocks listed on HOSE categorized into 11 primary industries, stocks in VN30 basket are present in 9 industries. Moreover, stocks in the VN30 basket represent about 80% of HOSE market capitalization and 60% of HOSE market volume (Dao, 2014). From the advantages above, it can be concluded that VN30 Index can represent the Ho Chi Minh market in terms of industries, market capitalization and liquidity. This makes VN30 Index a quite useful investment instrument for index funds. PART 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Data Collection This research paper employs the quantitative method to investigate the weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis in the context of Vietnamese background. The study is based on secondary data, which are daily closing prices of stocks included in the VN30 basket. The data are collected from the database of Bao Viet Securities Company a well-known securities firm in Vietnam. It is noted that the VN30 basket is periodically reviewed and adjusted every six months on January and July (Dao, 2014). Since the introduction of VN30 Index in February 2012, the basket has been reviewed and adjusted totally 10 times. For the purpose of this study, not all 30 stocks in the basket are chosen for analysis. Specifically, the stocks selected must meet the criterion of being consecutively included in the basket for the past five years. Put it another way, if stock A is included in the basket for one period but excluded for the next period, stock A will not be considered as the object of this study. This ensures the continuity of the data and fair treatment for all stocks in the basket. After all, only 16 stocks meet the criterion (see Appendix A for the full list of stocks selected). Their closing prices are then collected for the examined period from 06th February 2012 (the first day of VN30 basket) until 20th January 2017 (the end of the latest reviewed period). 3.2 Method of Analysis The data collected are analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics software version 20. Particularly, three tests are conducted to determine whether stocks selected are at weak-form efficiency, namely runs test, autocorrelation test and Ljung-Box Q statistic. The runs test is a non-parametric test that is designed to find out whether successive price changes are independent. The test is based on the premise that if a series of a data is random, the observed number of runs in the series should be close to the expected number of runs. In this context, the runs test at 5% significance level is used to test the following hypothesis: H1: Stocks in the VN30 basket follows random walk Meanwhile, autocorrelation (or serial correlation) test measures the correlation coefficient between the stock return at current period and its value in the previous period, whether the correlation coefficients are significantly different from zero. In addition, the Ljung-Box Q (LBQ) statistic examines the joint hypothesis that all autocorrelations are simultaneously equal to zero (that is, the data values are random and independent up to a certain number of lags). In this context, the autocorrelation test and Ljung-Box Q statistic (at 5% level of significance) are employed to test the following hypothesis: H2: There is no correlation between stock prices of today and previous days In short, the combination of tests mentioned above help determine whether 16 selected stocks in the VN30 basket follows weak-form efficiency or not. PART 4: ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS 4.1 Results of Runs test Table 1 shows the results of the runs test based on daily closing stock prices of 16 chosen stocks. Table 1: Results of Runs test STB VIC SSI MSN FPT HAG KDC DPM VNM REE VCB Test Valuea 17.27 55.76 21.53 87.14 45.83 19.23 40.97 33.45 113.55 23.14 34.03 Cases 461 605 651 648 560 425 601 759 547 484 698 Cases >= Test Value 727 583 537 540 628 763 587 429 641 704 490 Total Cases 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 Number of Runs 38 20 41 18 53 8 7 17 12 10 10 Z -32.222 -33.379 -32.139 -33.487 -31.453 -34.042 -34.134 -33.478 -33.840 -33.942 -33.944 Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 Runs Test BVH HPG PVD CII GMD Test Valuea 47.31 35.31 48.11 22.33 29.84 Cases 637 660 723 627 594 Cases >= Test Value 551 528 465 561 594 Total Cases 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 Number of Runs 39 8 9 34 43 Z -32.265 -34.071 -33.996 -32.560 -32.044 Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 a. Mean Source: IBM SPSSs result, 2017 As can be seen from the above table, the actual number of runs is significantly less than the expected number of runs (total cases), which is evidenced by negative Z-values for all chosen stocks. Furthermore, it is observed that the significant values around the mean of all stocks are 0.000 which is below 0.05 (5% level of significance). This indicates that 16 selected stocks do not follow random walk behaviour, resulting in the rejection of the null hypothesis H1 which says stocks in the VN30 basket follows random walk. 4.2 Results of Autocorrelation test The results obtained from autocorrelation test and Ljung-Box Q statistic of 16 chosen stocks are presented in Table 2. Table 2: Results of Autocorrelation test and Ljung-Box Q statistic Source: IBM SPSSs result, 2017 As can be observed from Table 2, significant positive autocorrelation (> 0.8) is detected at all 16 lags for all chosen stocks. It is noted that positive autocorrelation suggests predictability of stock prices in the short term, which provides confirmatory evidence that goes against market efficiency (Bà ¼yà ¼kÃ…Å ¸alvarci Abdioglu, 2011). Moreover, evidence from Ljung-Box Q statistic seems to suggest dependence between current stock price and prices of previous periods. It is noticeable that p-values are all equal to zero for all lags on all 16 stocks. Therefore, the Q statistic fail to support the joint null hypothesis that all autocorrelation coefficients from lag 1 to 16 are equal to zero for the observed stocks. Put it another way, the null hypothesis H2 of absence of autocorrelation is strongly rejected for all lags at 5% significance level. 4.3 Interpretation of findings On the basis of empirical results obtained from runs test, autocorrelation test and Ljung-Box Q statistic, both null hypotheses H1 and H2 are rejected. In other words, it can be concluded that 16 chosen stocks in the VN30 basket show no characteristics of weak-form efficiency. The findings of the current study are consistent with those of Truong et al. (2010), Vo Le (2013) and Do et al. (2014) who found that Vietnamese stock market is inefficient in the weak form. In general, the results of this study contradict the Efficient Market Hypothesis (Fama, 1970) and Random Walk Theory (Bachelier, 1900). As noted in the literature review, empirical studies on the weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis in emerging markets have been thoroughly examined in recent years, as in cases of capital markets in India, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria. Although these studies generate mixed results, most of which suggest that Random Walk characteristic is not a good description of these markets. This study, by investigating a case study in Vietnam, further supports the idea of weak form inefficiency in emerging markets. The rejection of market efficiency in Vietnam have been proven by a number of studies. It seems possible that this inefficiency is due to gaps in Vietnamese financial system. Non-transparency in the disclosure of information, crowding effect and speculation are popular phenomena in Vietnam stock exchanges; thus, stock prices somehow do not reflect companies intrinsic values. These gaps are signals of an underdeveloped financial system (Fry, 1994; Leung, 2009) where asymmetric information, moral hazard and adverse selection are likely to be found (Islam, et al., 2005). As a result, investors are vulnerable to losing a substantial amount of money. Additionally, as Vietnam currently does not have a derivatives market, the investment risk can be more severe for investors. Since weak-form efficiency is not witnessed in this study, one implication of the result is that historical data and patterns may be used to make prediction about future stock prices. In other words, technical analysis might be employed by investors when making investment decisions to help them earn abnormal returns. Furthermore, as this study is based on daily data only, further research can test the Efficient Market Hypothesis by taking into account weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly or yearly data on a longer time horizon. Alternatively, future research studies may investigate the hypothesis in certain industries or different indices in Vietnam. 4.4 Limitations Due to the nature of the research question, there exists some study limitations which can partially affect the results objectivity. First, because of the selection criterion, only 16 out of 30 stocks are chosen for the purpose of the study. Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings to the whole VN30 basket since its establishment. Second, precision of data is questionable since some data of closing stock prices are missing in some trading days. As a result, this somehow impacts the accuracy of statistical tests as well as their implications. PART 5: REFLECTION ON THE RESEARCH PROCESS At the beginning of the research process, we realized that portfolio management is a massive area in finance; therefore, narrowing down this topic was critical to our group as it would affect how we could construct individual topics and research questions. However, the familiar topic of each was not in favour of others, which caused conflicts in our discussions. Hence, it was important that we be aware of these conflicts and arrive at a reasonable compromise that is beneficial to the whole group (Hede, 2007; Wu et al., 2013). Eventually, since I had prior experiences of investing in the stock market for three years and had written a dissertation about technical analysis, I received the trust from my fellows when I proposed the topic related to Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). On the one hand, I felt happy to have helped my group figure out the appropriate topic. On the other hand, I was a little bit worried as my group members had little exposure to financial markets. In fact, I ac knowledged that having to work on an unfamiliar area could lower their motivation for the research (Boneva, 2008). When it came to work allocation, some serious issues arose as there was no leader in our group. Because most of the workloads were set by oral agreements without any meeting minutes, everyone was usually vague about their responsibilities. Furthermore, our discussions did not work very well because most of them took place through WhatsApp group rather than face-to-face meetings, leading to frequent distractions from social networks. I feel these problems were really time-consuming and slowed down our groupwork performance. If I had been engaged in a similar project again, I would have nominated myself as the group leader so that I could assign workloads clearly and equally for everyone. I would have also suggested face-to-face meetings in order to have direct conversations with members. This should have brought more efficiency to the group in terms of time and contributions. Another issue that obstructed our groupwork productivity was bad time management of my team members. We all had two deadlines for two reports on the same date, but while I devised plans to finish both of which with adequate efforts, my partners fell into the trap of procrastination. Being rushed for two assignments at the same time was definitely not a good idea as it would negatively affect the performances of both (Peper, et al., 2014). To avoid this situation, we should have drawn up a timeline for the whole group so that everyone could effectively devote their time to each assignment. With regards to literature search and data collection phase, some members in the group seemed to be passive in finding articles and sharing ideas to their peers. They neither knew how to write an adequate literature review nor kinds of online sources they could employ. I feel this was partly due to their lack of background in finance and partly because they had never conducted any formal research studies before. Although this annoyed the rest of group members, we understood that this sometimes could be unavoidable in a multicultural group. We tried to give them as many related articles as possible and instructed them about skim and scan technique in order to pick essential readings. In fact, we should have reported the issue to the tutor from the beginning of the research so that those falling behind could receive additional trainings in research skills. In summary, this experience has taught me valuable lessons that are quite useful for me in future career, including how to communicate and collaborate with members in a multinational group, as well as things to do to become a good leader. I have also learnt more about how to improve time management skills, and how to resolve conflicts occurring during group works. Finally, I think I should speak my mind more frequently in the future if it is for the sake of the whole group. References          Agbam, A. S., 2015. Tests of Random Walk and Efficient Market Hypothesis in Developing Economies: Evidence from Nigerian Capital Market. International Journal of Management Sciences, 5(1), pp. 1-53. Andrianto, Y. Mirza , A. R., 2016. A Testing of Efficient Markets Hypothesis in Indonesia Stock Market. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 219, p. 99-103. Bachelier, L., 1900. Louis Bacheliers Theory of Speculation. 1st ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Boneva, D. L., 2008. Effects of Work Ethic and Social Identification on Motivation in Groups. Illinois: ProQuest. Bà ¼yà ¼kÃ…Å ¸alvarci, A. Abdioglu, H., 2011. Testing the weak form efficiency of the Turkish stock market. African Journal of Business Management, 5(34), pp. 13044-13056. Dao, T. B., 2014. VN30 Index: An Overview and Default Probability Analysis. Social Science Research Network (SSRN). Do, T. T. N., Le, T. B. Nguyen, T. T., 2014. Stock market efficiency in emerging markets: Evidence from Vietnamese stock market. s.l., s.n. Fama, E., 1970. Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work. Journal of Finance, 25(2), pp. 383-417. Fry, M., 1994. Money, Interest, and Banking in Economic Development. 2nd ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Haroon, M. A., 2012. Testing the Weak Form Efficiency of Karachi Stock Exchange. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 6(2), pp. 297-307. Hede, A., 2007. The shadow group: Towards an explanation of interpersonal conflict in work groups. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(1), pp. 25 39. Investopedia, 2016. Portfolio Management. [Online] Available at: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/portfoliomanagement.asp[Accessed 15 March 2017]. Islam, S., Watanapalachaikul, S. Clark, C., 2005. Are Emerging Financial Markets Efficient? Some Evidence from the Models of the Thai Stock Market. Melbourne, Centre for Strategic Economic Studies. Jiang, Z.-Q., Xie, W.-J. Zhou, W.-X., 2014. Testing the weak-form efficiency of the WTI crude oil futures market. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Volume 405, p. 235-244. Leung, S., 2009. Banking and Financial Sector Reforms in Vietnam. Asean Economic Bulletin, 26(1), pp. 44-57. Nwidobie, B. M. Adesina, J. B., 2014. CAPITAL MARKET EFFICIENCY. AN EMPIRICAL TEST OF THE WEAK-FORM IN THE NIGERIAN CAPITAL MARKET. Journal of Advanced Studies in Finance, 2(10), pp. 164-170. Peper, E., Harvey, R., Lin, I.-M. Duvvuri, P., 2014. Increase Productivity, Decrease Procrastination, and Increase Energy. Biofeedback, 42(2), p. 82-87. Phoenix Capital, 2017. VN30 EQUAL WEIGHT TOTAL RETURN INDEX. [Online] Available at: http://www.customindices.spindices.com/indices/custom-indices/vn30-equal-weight-total-return-index[Accessed 18 March 2017]. Singh, R., Leepsa, N. M. Kushwaha, N., 2016. Testing the weak form of efficient market hypothesis in carbon efficient stock indices along with their benchmark indices in select countries. Iranian Journal of Management Studies, 9(3), pp. 627-650. Srinivasan, P., 2010. Testing weak-form efficiency of indian stock markets. Asia Pacific Journal of Research in Business Management, 1(2), pp. 134-140. Srivastava, A., 2010. Are Asian Stock Markets Weak-Form Effcient: An Evidence from India. Asia-Pacifc Business Review, 6(4), pp. 5-11. Standard and Poors, 2016. Float Adjustment Methodology, s.l.: SP Global. Truong, D. L., Lanjouw, G. Lensink, R., 2010. Stock-Market Efficiency in Thin-Trading Markets: The Case of the Vietnamese Stock Market. Applied Economics, 42(27), pp. 3519-3532. Vo, X. V. Le, D. B. T., 2013. Empirical Investigation of Efficient Market Hypothesis in Vietnam Stock Market. Social Science Research Network (SSRN). Wu, K. et al., 2013. Supporting group collaboration in Wiki by increasing the awareness of task conflict. Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives, 65(6), pp. 581 604. Appendix A: List of chosen stocks in the VN30 basket based on the selection criterion No. TICKER COMPANY NAMES 1 STB Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank 2 VIC Vingroup Joint Stock Company 3 SSI Sai Gon Securities Incorporation 4 MSN Masan Group Corporation 5 FPT FPT Corporation 6 HAG Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company 7 KDC Kinh Do Corporation 8 DPM PetroVietnam Fertilizer Chemicals Corporation 9 VNM Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company 10 REE Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation 11 VCB Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam 12