Portfolio management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Portfolio management - Term Paper Example Generally, it is believed that the beginning of portfolio construction started in 1952 after the Portfolio Selection hypothesis of Harry Markowitz was published. This is the theory that introduced Modern Portfolio Theory to the world and offered a framework intended to maximize returns at a certain volatility level, described as the standard deviation of returns. Currently, an amalgamation of various theories forms the foundation for the process of investment consulting. It is this process of investment consulting that formalizes investing and develops a blue print for constructing one’s portfolio. Thus, the investor’s Financial Advisor must develop a blueprint for the investor on the basis of his/her needs and objectives, investment parameters as well as long-term asset allocation approach (McMillan & Pinto, 2011). After the strategic asset allocation has been developed, then, portfolio construction can start. As an aspect of the process of portfolio construction, investment options should be assessed not in seclusion but as complements to one another and as important elements of a bigger whole. When constructed suitably, the entire portfolio must minimize single-manager risk while at the same time looking to make the most of portfolio-wide returns, which is facilitated by combining managers that display low historical correlation in addition to exhibiting different behaviors in various market environments. There are four vital steps in portfolio construction which include determination of objectives and goals, asset allocation, searching and selection of a manager and performance monitoring. The first step is determination of investment parameters and involves cash flow requirements, risk tolerance of the investor, performance objectives, investment restrictions and time horizon. The second s tep is definition of investment strategy and consists of formulation of policy statement, risk optimization/reward

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Summary Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Summary Essay The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often considered Twains greatest masterpiece. Combining his raw humor and startlingly mature material, Twain developed a novel that directly attacked many of the traditions the South held dear at the time of its publication. Huckleberry Finn is the main character, and through his eyes, the reader sees and judges the South, its faults, and its redeeming qualities. Hucks companion Jim, a runaway slave, provides friendship and protection while the two journey along the Mississippi on their raft. The novel opens with Huck telling his story. Briefly, he describes what he has experienced since, The Adventures ofTom Sawyer, which preceded this novel. After Huck and Tom discovered twelve thousand dollars in treasure, Judge Thatcher invested the money for them. Huck was adopted by the Widow Douglasand Miss Watson, both of whom took pains to raise him properly. Dissatisfied with his new life, and wishing for the simplicity he used to know, Huck runs away. Tom Sawyer searches him out and convinces him to return home by promising to start a band of robbers. All the local young boys join Toms band, using a hidden cave for their hideout and meeting place. However, many soon grow bored with their make-believe battles, and the band falls apart. Soon thereafter, Huck discovers footprints in the snow and recognizes them as his violent, abusive Paps. Huck realizes Pap, who Huck hasnt seen in a very long time, has returned to claim the money Huck found, and he quickly runs to Judge Thatcher to sell his share of the money for a consideration of a dollar. Pap catches Huck after leaving Judge Thatcher, forces him to hand over the dollar, and threatens to beat Huck if he ever goes to school again. Upon Paps return, Judge Thatcher and the Widow try to gain court custody of Huck, but a new judge in town refuses to separate Huck from his father. Pap steals Huck away from the Widows house and takes him to a log cabin. At first Huck enjoys the cabin life, but after receiving frequent beatings, he decides to escape. When Pap goes into town, Huck seizes the opportunity. He saws his way out of the log cabin, kills a pig, spreads the blood as if it were his own, takes a canoe, and floats downstream to Jacksons Island. Once there, he sets up camp and hides out. A few days after arriving on the island, Huck stumbles upon a still smoldering campfire. Although slightly frightened, Huck decides to seek out his fellow inhabitant. The next day, he discovers Miss Watsons slave, Jim, is living on the island. After overhearing the Widows plan to sell him to a slave trader, Jim ran away. Jim, along with the rest of the townspeople, thought Huck was dead and is frightened upon seeing him. Soon, the two share their escape stories and are happy to have a companion. While Huck and Jim live on the island, the river rises significantly. At one point, an entire house floats past them as they stand near the shore. Huck and Jim climb aboard to see what they can salvage and find a dead man lying in the corner of the house. Jim goes over to inspect the body and realizes it is Pap, Hucks father. Jim keeps this information a secret. Soon afterwards, Huck returns to the town disguised as a girl in order to gather some news. While talking with a woman, he learns that both Jim and Pap are suspects in his murder. The woman then tells Huck that she believes Jim is hiding out on Jacksons Island. Upon hearing her suspicions, Huck immediately returns to Jim and together they flee the island to avoid discovery. Using a large raft, they float downstream during the nights and hide along the shore during the days. In the middle of a strong thunderstorm, they see a steamboat that has crashed, and Huck convinces Jim to land on the boat. Together, they climb aboard and discover there are three thieves on the wreck, two of whom are debating whether to kill the third. Huck overhears this conversation, and he and Jim try to escape, only to find that their raft has come undone from its makeshift mooring. They manage to find the robbers skiff and immediately take off. Within a short time, they see the wrecked steamship floating downstream, far enough below the water-line to have drowned everyone on board. Subsequently, they reclaim their original raft, and continue down the river with both the raft and the canoe. As Jim and Huck continue floating downstream, they become close friends. Their goal is to reach Cairo, where they can take a steamship up the Ohio River and into the free states. However, during a dense fog, with Huck in the canoe and Jim in the raft, they are separated. When they find each other in the morning, it soon becomes clear that in the midst of the fog, they passed Cairo. A few nights later, a steamboat runs over the raft, and forces Huck and Jim to jump overboard. Again, they are separated as they swim for their lives. Huck finds the shore and is immediately surrounded by dogs. After managing to escape, he is invited to live with a family called the Grangerfords. At the Grangerford home, Huck is treated well and discovers that Jim is hiding in a nearby swamp. Everything is peaceful until an old family feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons is rekindled. Within one day all the men in the Grangerford family are killed, including Hucks new best friend, Buck. Amid the chaos, Huck runs back to Jim, and together they start downriver again. Further downstream, Huck rescues two humbugs known as the Duke and the King. Immediately, the two men take control of the raft and start to travel downstream, making money by cheating people in the various towns along the river. The Duke and the King develop a scam they call the Royal Nonesuch, which earns them over four hundred dollars. The scam involves getting all the men in the town to come to a show with promises of great entertainment. In the show, the King parades around naked for a few minutes. The men are too ashamed to admit to wasting their money, and tell everyone else that the show was phenomenal, thus making the following nights performance a success. On the third night, everyone returns plotting revenge, but the Duke and King manage to escape with all their ill gotten gains. Further downriver, the two con men learn about a large inheritance meant for three recently orphaned girls. To steal the money, the men pretend to be the girls British uncles. The girls are so happy to see their uncles that they do not realize they are being swindled. Meanwhile, the girls treat Huck so nicely that he vows to protect them from the con mens scheme. Huck sneaks into the Kings room and steals the large bag of gold from the inheritance. He hides the gold in Peter Wilkss (the girls father) coffin. Meanwhile, the humbugs spend their time liquidating the Wilks family property. At one point, Huck finds Mary Jane Wilks, the eldest of the girls, and sees that she is crying. He confesses the entire story to her. She is infuriated, but agrees to leave the house for a few days so Huck can escape. Right after Mary Jane leaves, the real Wilks uncles arrive in town. However, because they lost their baggage on their voyage, they are unable to prove their identities. Thus, the town lawyer gathers all four men to determine who is lying. The King and the Duke fake their roles so well that there is no way to determine the truth. Finally, one of the real uncles says his brother Peter had a tattoo on his chest and challenges the King to identify it. In order to determine the truth, the townspeople decide to exhume the body. Upon digging up the grave, the townspeople discover the missing money Huck hid in the coffin. In the ensuing chaos, Huck runs straight back to the raft and he and Jim push off into the river. The Duke and King also escape and catch up to rejoin the raft. Farther down the river, the King and Duke sell Jim into slavery, claiming he is a runaway slave from New Orleans. Huck decides to rescue Jim, and daringly walks up to the house where Jim is being kept. Luckily, the house is owned by none other than Tom Sawyers Aunt Sally. Huck immediately pretends to be Tom. When the real Tom arrives, he pretends to be his younger brother, Sid Sawyer. Together, he and Huck contrive a plan to help Jim escape from his prison, an outdoor shed. Tom, always the troublemaker, also makes Jims life difficult by putting snakes and spiders into his room. After a great deal of planning, the boys convince the town that a group of thieves is planning to steal Jim. That night, they collect Jim and start to run away. The local farmers follow them, shooting as they run after them. Huck, Jim, and Tom manage to escape, but Tom is shot in the leg. Huck returns to town to fetch a doctor, whom he sends to Tom and Jims hiding place. The doctor returns with Tom on a stretcher and Jim in chains. Jim is treated badly until the doctor describes how Jim helped him take care of the boy. When Tom awakens, he demands that they let Jim go free. At this point, Aunt Polly appears, having traveled all the way down the river. She realized something was very wrong after her sister wrote to her that both Tom and Sid had arrived. Aunt Polly tells them that Jim is indeed a free man, because the Widow had passed away and freed him in her will. Huck and Tom give Jim forty dollars for being such a good prisoner and letting them free him, while in fact he had been free for quite some time. After this revelation, Jim tells Huck to stop worrying about his Pap and reveals that the dead man in the floating house was in fact Hucks father. Aunt Sally offers to adopt Huck, but he refuses on the grounds that he had tried that sort of lifestyle once before, and it didnt suit him. Huck concludes the novel stating he would never have undertaken the task of writing out his story in a book, had he known it would take so long to complete.

The Young Persons Development Children And Young People Essay

The Young Persons Development Children And Young People Essay Parents that are going through a marriage breakdown, divorce and separation can be stressful for all involved particularly the children/young person. They can become emotionally withdrawn and suffer a lack of confidence which can create low self esteem. Due to family upheaval, they may lose focus in their own abilities and suffer mentally. Similarly, children from single parent families may suffer from a lack of a male/female role model which can cause social stigma. Dual parents and lone parents may have to work long hours, leaving little room for direct social, emotional and intellectual support. Becoming part of a new step-family through a parent meeting a new partner can cause friction between children from each side. This could lead the child/young person to become socially and emotionally withdrawn which could increase the risk of bullying by peers. Having numerous siblings can have an impact on children causing additional needs to be met. Children may feel frustrated with lack of attention within the home and also may be required to assist with siblings needs which could cause social and emotional problems. Additionally, becoming a brother/sister to a new sibling for the first time can be stressful and having to adapt to not being an only child can be difficult at first and can create an emotional strain on the child. Being part of a social care system through neglect, physical/emotional abuse and loss of parent can prove difficult for children and although this can largely be a positive experience for many, it can also lead to problems within all areas of development particularly in relation to social and emotional areas. Having a sick parent/carer can be extremely challenging for children, their social and emotional wellbeing can be affected with having to endure possible social stigma and suffer emotionally if not supported in the correct manner. Time off from school may cause intellectual issues and additional help may be required. Family bereavement can be extremely traumatic for children even when a child/young person has been prepared. This can create emotional strain and unexpected outbursts of emotion should be expected. Socially, children may feel different from their peers who havenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t experienced bereavement. They may suffer intellectually due to missing school days and also concentration and behaviour may be affected when they are in school. Moving house and/or area can be difficult for children as they have to adjust to a whole new social situation with changing schools and adapting to new routines. Children may become socially introverted and display high levels of emotion. Cultural differences can affect a child/young person through English being spoken as a second language which can cause a lack of confidence at school and additional intellectual support being required. Health There can be many health aspects that affect a child/young personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s development. Children become extremely resilient and are often able to manage their conditions very well; however, certain aspects of their development can prove challenging throughout periods of ill health. Children may suffer from conditions such as asthma, which if not well controlled, can cause children to have extended periods of time off from school. This in turn leads to intellectual development being compromised as well as social development due to relationships not being maintained. Disability in children, whether it be physical or intellectual can be particularly difficult. A child that has a hearing impairment may suffer physically through loss of balance or socially through having to communicate in alternative ways such as sign language/makaton. A physical disability such as Cerebral Palsy can be physically challenging due to being restricted in taking part in certain activities. This can affect social situations due to these restrictions and can affect a child/young person emotionally questioning why they are different causing low self-esteem. Being diagnosed with a serious illness such as cancer as a child/young person can also prove to lead to developmental issues. All areas of development can be compromised, intellectually, through missing school and being too ill to complete set work. They may suffer physically depending on the specific illness causing them to be weak and/or in too much pain and discomfort to complete physical activities. Socially they may be too ill to interact with others and/or maintain friendships. They may also become emotionally withdrawn and find it difficult to cope with their emotions. Allergies affect many children, particularly food allergies; this in turn can lead to social problems as they may become excluded from certain situations where their allergies are not known. In contrast they may feel a certain social stigma as their allergies are highlighted, for example; when eating lunch at school, they may be required to wear a special badge which shows their allergies, causing them to feel different from their peers. They have to be more physically aware of their condition and how this can cause changes in their body and manage this accordingly. Environment Environmental factors can play a huge part in affecting a child/young personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s development. These can vary from cultural factors to living conditions. Children/young people from less advantaged backgrounds who live in poverty can have their development seriously compromised. They are less likely to have educational support from parents/carers which in turn creates intellectual problems for the child/young person. This is further influenced by having a lack of learning resources available such as access to computers and books. They may become disillusioned with education from an early age which sets them on a path of social and emotional turmoil. Also, they may suffer socially by not being able to participate in certain paid activities offered through school and outside school which means they interact less in physical activities. They may also feel that they cannot compete with their peers with regards to fashion trends and owning the latest technology. They might not seem to be as physically strong as their peers; parents/carers might experience difficulty in providing healthy, regular meals which can cause problems with their phy sical well-being. Their emotions can seem quite immature at times and they may well become emotionally withdrawn but also prone to emotional outbursts associated with behavioural difficulties, displaying a lack of attention.

cyborg performance :: essays research papers

Explore the relationship between the body and technology in the work of Orlan and Stelarc A performer is essentially composed of two entities: the self and the representation of the self. The human body is the physical manifestation of this represented self and is interpreted by the observer depending on its gender, age, colour, attractiveness, adornment and perceived disabilities (these perceptions often being culture-bound as well). In addition to this, the performer uses make-up and costume, and interactions with the performance space to affect the interpretation. For the focus of a performance space, what better place to start with than this powerful physical signifier? In performance, there is a tendency to perceive the actor and the body as a very separate entity to the concrete, technological elements of the stage. Orlan and Stelarc, contemporary performance artists, challenge this perception - Mcclellan (1994, para.14) describes them as â€Å"the post-human Adam and Eve†, suggesting that they are heralding in a new ‘breed’ of performer, inextricably related to, and even created by, technology. This certainly reflects the role of the body and technology in current Western society - medical technology can create life in vitro and, defying nature, can alter its intrinsic genetic makeup, and internet technologies can allow a person to project a fabricated disembodied persona onto the ‘net’ to interact with others over vast distances. Orlan and Stelarc embrace technological integration as a prerequisite to their work – the questions lie in what it means to the self if the way in which it is represented (the bod y) is altered. In combining aspects of endurance and durational performance art, Orlan presented the alteration of her own body in the surgical theatre. ‘The Reincarnation of Saint Orlan’ is her most well-known piece of work, begun in 1990. However, she did begin performing in the 1960s when, even then, she demonstrated a subversive attitude towards the body. In 1964 she used her own body as †a unit of measurement (‘Orlan-corps’)† to measure public buildings (Flande [ed.], ‘Biography’, www.orlan.net). This project continued into the late 1970s. The reduction of her body to a tool of measurement was the less extreme forerunner to the reduction of it as a canvas in ‘The Reincarnation of Saint Orlan’. In both pieces, she objectifies her body, however in ‘The Reincarnation of Saint Orlan’, the implications on herself and her audiences are far more controversial. A surgical textbook defines ideal beauty as â€Å"[that] of a white woman whose face is perfectly symmetrical in line and profile† (Balsamo cited in Auslander, 1997, p.

Case Study Research Essay

Case One: Barsz v. Max Shapiro, Inc. Ind. Ct. App. 600 N.E.2d 151 (1992) Fact: Marjorie Barsz brought negligence action against Shapiro’s Delicatessen Cafeteria to recover for personal injuries sustained when she slipped and fell, breaking her right ankle and left knee cap. Her husband, Carl Barsz brought action against the restaurant for loss of consortium with his wife due to Mrs. Barsz’s injuries. The Circuit Court of Shelby County granted summary judgment for the restaurant, and the plaintiffs appealed. The Court of Appeals of Indiana, First District held that genuine issues of material facts existed and reversed the summary judgment. Issue: Was Shapiro’s Delicatessen Cafeteria negligent in identifying and remedying the condition of the floor in the restaurant, causing Marjorie Barsz’s accident? Rule: GOLBA v. KOHL’S DEPT. STORE, INC. Ind. Ct. App. 585 N.E.2d 14 (1992) Analysis: To avoid summary judgment, Marjorie Barsz had to show that there was a defective condition in the floor of the restaurant which caused her slip and fall, and that the restaurant unreasonably failed to discover and remedy the hazardous condition. Genuine material facts existed which precluded summary judgment for the restaurant. Summary judgment is generally inappropriate in negligence cases. Trial Procedure Rule 56(C) Conclusion: A restaurant cannot be held strictly liable for a fall that occurred before having a reasonable chance to remove a foreign substance from its floor; restaurant as not the absolute guarantor of customer safety. However, summary judgment cannot be granted when a genuine material fact exists. Case Two: Golba v. Kohl’s Dept. Store, Inc. Ind. Ct. App. 585 N.E.2d 14 (1992) Facts: Plaintiff Stella Golba brought negligence action against defendant Kohl’s Department Store stemming from a slip and fall accident. Ms. Golba stepped on a small object on a glossy floor, causing her to trip and fall. The floor had only been swept once on the morning of the accident. The Circuit Court of Starke County granted the store’s motion for summary judgment, and the plaintiff appealed. The Court of Appeals of Indiana, Third District held that material issues of fact existed and reversed the summary judgment. Issue: Was Kohl’s Department Store negligent in maintaining their floors in a safe condition for patrons? Rule: BURRELL v. MEADS Ind. 569 N.E.2d 637 (1991) Analysis: A land owner is subject to liability for physical harm caused to his invitees by a condition on the land if, but only if, he knows or exercising reasonable care would discover the condition, and should realize that it is an unreasonable risk of harm to invitees, and should expect that they will not realize the danger, or will not protect themselves against it, and fails to exercise reasonable care to protect them against the danger. Normally, determining whether the host has exercised reasonable care to make their premises safe for an invitee is a question of fact for a jury. Conclusion: Sweeping of a floor only once in the morning does not constitute exercise of reasonable care to prevent injury to customers from objects left in the floor. The issue of fact as to whether the store had notice of the object in the floor precluded a summary judgment.

Electronic Monitoring

Electronic Monitoring INTRODUCTION This research paper will define electronic monitoring, how electronic monitoring works and discuss the advantages and disadvantages. Electronic Monitoring started in 1987. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Newfoundland are the only provinces in Canada that use electronic monitoring (EM), because they were not afraid to embrace the new technology. Electronic monitoring is not a penal sanction, but rather a means to enforcement of nonincarcerative sanctions (Tonry, 179). After the offender has served a period of incarceration and the Provincial Corrections feel the offender is a good candidate he/she may be released on EM. The judge can also make recommendations for the offender to be on EM. The primary purpose of EM is to divert offender from incarceration that can reduce cost, and avoid over-crowding at prisons (Berlin, 77).WHAT IS ELECTRONIC MONITORING a) Definition of Electronic Monitoring The offender wears a bracelet on the wrist, ankle or neck (Berlin, 77) , (which acts as a radio signally device) and this bracelet sends a continuous signal to a receiver in the offender's place of residence (which is attached to the phone) and the phone sends the signal to a computer-processing unit at the Provincial Corrections Facility.TBEC Enduro - Friars Well, Melton Mowbray - 12th O...The computer records the absence or presence of the offender during a designated time period (Goff, 323). Before the offender is released on EM, the Corrections official and offender make a schedule. This schedule makes it possible for the offender to remain at work, school, and to leave his home. During the time he is not at home, there is no signal going to the Provincial Correctional Facility. The offender is in violation when the computer does not receive the confirmation that the offender is at home (Berlin, 77).

buy custom Components in Development of Literacy Skills essay

buy custom Components in Development of Literacy Skills essay First, phonological awareness is a necessity in literacy development where the spoken language is taken apart in different ways such as breaking sentences into words and words into syllables. Consequently, the syllables are then separated into smaller but individual sounds known as phonemes. This forms the foundation of literacy development where one can distinguish different sounds. In learning to read essay, Sophia, who treated Fredrick as one of her children, began training him on phonological awareness where she would teach him the alphabet as well as three to four-letter words (Peterson and Brereton 230). The knowledge Fredrick gained made him learn more because he was in a position to read. Moreover, word identification is also a component of literacy skills development. Word identification refers to the skills a reader uses with an aim of identifying words when spelling or reading. Both learning to read and one writers beginning, depict situations where Fredrick and Welty respectively learnt to read and write from through assistance of their guardian in word identification. Most important, word identification comprises of configuration use as well as sight word recognition. Oral language development forms the fundamental element of literacy. Oral language development is achieved through informal or even guided conversation. In the Weltys narrative, one writers beginning, it is evident that Welty literacy development was instigated by informal oral awareness (Peterson and Brereton 628). Often, Welty would hear her mother read stories and through this, she learnt how to read. Similarly, according to a room of ones own, Woolf literacy skills development was enhanced by oral language. She learnt how to ask questions that made him to gain more knowledge. There are different components of literacy skills development. These include Phonological awareness word identification and language development. Phonological awareness is a necessity in literacy development where the spoken language is taken apart indifferent ways such as breaking sentences into words and words into syllables. Moreover, word identification refers to the skills a reader uses with an aim of identifying words when spelling or reading. On the other hand, language development is achieved through informal or even guided conversation. Buy custom Components in Development of Literacy Skills essay