Essay --

B00454342 AFST/HIST 283A, Introduction to African History December 16, 2013 1. (a) Africans and Europeans had religious relations. The spread of Christianity was introduced by the Byzantines, specifically in the Horn of Africa and the Nile Valley. They also had political and economic relations. When the European countries and empires, such as the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, interest in Africa increased, they began to impose their rule on Africa. Europeans saw an opportunity for personal benefits in Africa because of its plethora of natural resources. These empires practiced mercantilism. European nations were the mother countries of Africa. The Europeans would use the colony for natural recourses and once these resources were obtained they would produce goods to sell back to the colonies. Another economic relation between the two was slavery. During the Atlantic Slave Trade, Europeans would buy and sell slaves from Africa. This also resulted in sexual relations between Africans and Europeans, resulting in mixed races. (b) In North and West Africa the Asians and Africans had religious, political, and economic relationships. The trade routes between Asia and North Africa are ancient due to the accessibility through the Suez Canal and the Bab el Mandeb. These trade routes allowed culture, traditions, religion, and ideas to culturally diffuse between the two countries. Religiously, the spread of Islam was mainly due to the expansion of the Muslim political system. Muslims were seen as liberators from the harsh rule of the Byzantines, so the Africans welcomed them. The Muslim government in North Africa allowed religious freedom. 2. (a) African Traditional Religions (ATRs) are pantheistic. The power of a god is manifeste... ... literate and was educated about the world. These elites formed social organizations, independent churches, and newspapers. Once independence was achieved Africans struggled taking control of the economy because they had no prior training, but politically they had some success. Therefore, African poverty was a result of colonial exploitation by the capitalist west. They became very dependent on trade, specifically imports, many of which came from their previous colonizers. However, colonization and decolonization expanded connections between Africans and the world beyond its borders. After decolonization, Africans increased their mobility out of the continent, furthering the cultural diffusion and Westernization of their customs, traditions, and beliefs. They also have altered the cultures of other peoples by influencing aspects of culture such as music and sports.

Eclipse Aviation Case Study

Eclipse Aviation is a big private jet manufacturer, who does not create new jet aircrafts, but also new jet customers. Their aim is to offer the convenience, performance and safety of private jet travel to be available to more people but not only the elites. So their offers on products are more likely to be affordable, easy to own, easy to operate, but with nice performance capabilities previously found only in military and commercial aircraft.The company seems to have a good idea, but the reality does not go to the right direction. Eclipse Aviation was judged to be bankrupt by the Federal Bankruptcy Court of the United States in 2009. Bankruptcy documents indicated that a total of USD 702. 6 million was owed. After the bankruptcy, the assets were bought by a new company, Eclipse Aerospace, to continue its business. The bankruptcy of the company was due to the problem of the market.The market was expected to have a nice performance, but finally it didn’t develop as well as it was expected. At the same time, many of the startups like Eclipse entered the market. At this point, the rivalry of the competitors was quite high in the market. The current aviation market does not perform well either. According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the total worldwide aviation shipments fell by 2. 1% to 369 units in the first quarter of 2012, compared with 377 in the first quarter of 2011.Eclipse has not publicized its orders of the new aircraft, Eclipse 550, of the first quarter of 2011, but according the datasets of its nearest competitors – Embraer Phenom 100 and Cessna Mustang, they didn’t perform well on the market at the beginning of the year. Both of them only delivered 4 and 7 of their lightest jets, compared to the number of 41 and 43 in the first quarter in 2011. As the market seems to have a great uncertainty, I don’t think that it would be a good idea to invest in this startup.

The Development Of Individualism And Humanism - 1804 Words

Jack Woodward AP Euro/ Period 1 9-1/17 1: One broad theme of this chapter is the development of individualism and humanism, and how they shaped the Renaissance. These beliefs changed and shaped the renaissance because they supported the idea of allowing individuals to choose their faith in religion and their jobs. For example, the time of humanism and individualism during the renaissance inspired others such as Plato to teach the best way to define something and Baldassare Castiglione to write the courtier. It also taught people the importance of being independent. Before humanism and individualism people believed their lives were predetermined and it was only working and fighting, because they were told their life was predetermined†¦show more content†¦3: The concepts of secularism, individualism, and humanism, were all necessary during the Renaissance because it emphasizes the learning of Greek and Roman history as well as human behavior and the importance of focusing yourself. Humanism led people to believe th at their life wasn’t predetermined and that they didn t have worship god. They were able to learn in schools and become whatever they pleased. They also allowed to take interest in hobbies and passions such as painting or music. People became less concerned with about their beliefs and god and started focusing more on their own problems. They became more focused on their own wants and needs and decided to do what they wanted. People soon gave up on worshipping god by replacing it with secularism, humanism and individualism. They also began to congratulate themselves and others on work instead of god. 4: Artistic greatness manifested during the Renaissance because of humanism, wealthiness and power. Humanism had a great impact because it encouraged people to focus more on themselves then on the will of god. This caused schools and classes for teaching art to form as well as freedom of job choice which created careers for a lot of well known artists. Another factor to the increase in art was rich families with power. They began to pay for art and education for painting, instead of spending it for the war. Another boost they gave to art was buying painters to paint for them andShow MoreRelatedThe Renaissance Essay1164 Words   |  5 Pagestransformation from the Medieval outlook. Secularism humanism and individualism were three aspects of life that appeared in the Renaissance and each of those three aspects had a great impact on the socio-economic and political structure of the era. During the Renaissance, the concept of individualism emerged. It stressed personality, uniqueness, genius, and full development of one’s capabilities and talents. During the Middle Ages individualism was highly abandoned. Almost any idea deviating fromRead MoreThe Renaissance Prince Essay853 Words   |  4 Pageschurch controlling the land, although the church would still have a hand in government. It would no longer shun the vast stores of knowledge created in the past and ignored for a thousand years, although opponents would remain. The ideas of humanism, individualism, and secularism would come to play a role in society as they had in the past. Niccolo Machiavelli lived in a time when the Renaissance was at its peak, and, as a part of it, manifested its ideas in his works. His most famous piece, The PrinceRead MoreTaking a Look at the Italian Renaissance690 Words   |  3 PagesMasaccio High Renaissance 1450 - 1500 → Piero della Francesca, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci Late Renaissance 1500 - 1700 → Raphael, Titian, Carlo Maderno, Artemisia Gentileschi Take notes on the contributions that the artist made to: → development of art techniques → furthering of ideas of philosophy, nature, and society. → influence on or reveals about techniques (art), society (values, ideas, culture), artist ⇒ beauty, value (sales price), techniques (style) ~~ The Renaissance isRead MoreThe Philosophical Point Of Humanism1733 Words   |  7 Pages intellect.gif (9933 bytes) Renaissance Humanism Humanism is the term generally applied to the predominant social philosophy and intellectual and literary currents of the period from 1400 to 1650. The return to favor of the pagan classics stimulated the philosophy of secularism, the appreciation of worldly pleasures, and above all intensified the assertion of personal independence and individual expression. Zeal for the classics was a result as well as a cause of the growing secular view of lifeRead MoreThe Renissance was a Cultural Movement of Humanism718 Words   |  3 Pagesand later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term renaissance came from the French word meaning rebirth. The defining concept of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was a distinct movement because it broke from the medieval tradition of having pious religious motivation for creating art or works of literature. The Renaissance humanism was a collection of Greek and Roman teachings, undertaken by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are known as Renai ssance humanists. During the RenaissanceRead MoreEssay on Western Civilization1179 Words   |  5 PagesWestern Civilization In this essay I will be discussing four of the major themes in this course in terms of progress, they will be religion, humanism, individualism and secularism. I will discuss these concepts within the countries of England, France, and Russia, and show my point of view on each. Religion was very dominant throughout the early history in England, especially during the 16th and 17th centuries. This started to change during the late 17th century, when people started focusingRead MoreThe Middle Ages And The Renaissance1137 Words   |  5 PagesThe Middle Ages is thought to be a time period of obliviousness by many historians, where diminutive or no developments took place. The church was the focus of attention, and rather than a logical outlook of the world, beliefs were concentrated around fallacies; on the other hand, the resurgence of education and innovations that followed the Middle Ages and was branded as the Renaissance. There have been disagreements as to whether the Renaissance is actually a isolated time period, or instead, justRead MoreThe Renaissance And The Medieval Period1658 Words   |  7 Pagesimportance of the individuals and its talents. This idea, known as individualism, is apparent in the philosophy and art of the period. While medieval s cholars studied ancient Greek and Roman documents to learn about Christianity, Renaissance scholars studied them to discover more about human nature, which was later known as humanism. 2. Compare Mirandola’s and Machiavelli’s notions of humanism. According to Mirandola’s views humanism was to be able to focus on the questions of logic, semantics andRead MoreEssay about Italian and Northern European Renaissance758 Words   |  4 Pagesviewed and thought about themselves. The idea of a person thinking of themselves of an individual instead of a group became a large focus in philosopher’s writings. Individualism was celebrated and encouraged during this time. Early Italian Renaissance also marked the changes in social, political, and economical changes. The development in political stability was due to the increased contact with other civilizations, and urbanization hit its climax. The arts of the Italian Renaissance reflectedRead MoreIndividualism in China1039 Words   |  5 PagesIndividualism - the lack of it or the excess of it - has often been considered a major problem in the modernization of China. In the early decades of this century reformers championed individualism in opposition to traditional authority in both thought and social life, and especially in opposition to the Confucian family system. Others contended that what thwarted Chinas modernization was not the absence of individualism but rather a surplus of it.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The common term for individualism

The U.S. Border Patrol - 1104 Words

In 1924, the U.S. Border Patrol started its service for our nation. Although changes have affected nearly every aspect of its operations from its earliest days, the values; professionalism, honor, integrity, respect for human life, and a shared effort, helped shape the Border Patrol from the early years and they still remain the same today. Since the very beginning agents have been patrolling our borders, â€Å"Mounted watchmen of the U.S. Immigration Service patrolled the border in an effort to prevent illegal crossings as early as 1904† (Border Patrol History, web). The agent’s efforts were undertaken only when resources permitted. The inspectors were all out of El Paso, Texas, â€Å"Though they never totaled more than seventy-five, they patrolled as far west as California trying to restrict the flow of illegal Chinese immigration† (Border Patrol History, web). In 1915, Congress approved a separate group of Mounted Guards, often called Mounted Inspectors. Most rode on horseback, but a few operated cars and even boats. Although these inspectors had broader arrest authority, they still largely pursued Chinese immigrants trying to avoid the Chinese exclusion laws. The agents were immigrant inspectors, assigned to inspection stations, and could not watch the border at all times, â€Å"Texas Rangers were also often assigned to patrol duties by the state, and their efforts were noted as singularly effective† (Border Patrol History, web). Customs violations and intercepting communications toShow MoreRelatedEssay on Why should the U.S have border patrol?1611 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿United States Border Patrol: Why should the U.S have border patrol? Illegal immigrants have always been a problem in the United States for some time now. â€Å"In October 2008, the illegal immigrant population stood at 11.9 million according to the Pew Hispanic Center† (Illegal Immigration Facts Statistics†). An efficient border patrol in our country would be a good step in the right direction to stop illegal immigration and the effect it has on our country. Illegal immigrants are at fault for suchRead MorePhl 323 Code of Conduct1676 Words   |  7 PagesAlex Cardenas Code of Conduct The United States Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency and is one of the largest in the world. The purpose of the Border Patrol is to keep terrorists and the weapons terrorists use out of the nation’s borders. In addition, the Border Patrol also serves to ensure that international and trade is conducted in a lawful way (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2014). As a federal agency, the Border Patrol is under high public scrutiny. A federal agent thatRead MoreImmigration Act Of The Border1473 Words   |  6 PagesBorder Patrol began in 1904 when illegal crossings at the border were prevented by seventy five â€Å"mounted guards† who were given directives by the U.S immigration service to patrol the border (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, n.d). Patrols were, however, not consistent because of limited resources and little supervision. They attempted to prevent Chinese illegal migration as they patrolled along the border in California. However, from 1915, resources such as horses, cars and boats were added toRead MoreEssay United States Border Patrol1416 Words   |  6 PagesBorder Patrol The U.S. Border Patrol to me is very important to the United States of America and to me as well. Without the Border Patrol, America would be a goat standing in the middle of a wolf cage. The Border Patrol and their agents border the boundaries of America so we can be safe in our homes. People don’t realize how important any kind of law enforcement is, until the day that they need assistance comes. I don’t take our men and women who protect us Americans; it is something that not everyoneRead MoreBorder Patrol Essay1156 Words   |  5 Pages United States Border Patrol has been around since 1904 enforcing and regulating laws under the immigration and Nationality Act. U.S. border patrol is now under the Department of Homeland Security, which was created as a response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. Over the years, their jurisdiction and missions have changed to better protect the safety of nation. Although border patrol is a need for any nation, their extensive acceptations to constitutional laws can often be taken advantageRead MoreHomeland Security Chapter 9-10 Essay923 Words   |  4 Pagesattempts and successes at border patrol. Beginning with the U.S customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol office has like many other agencies, merged with the DHS following 9/11. The reason is because the Border Patrol is now after 9/11 been concerned with the prevention of terrorist’s entry. The Border Patrol also merged with customs, which has a long history with border patrol. The CBP has been charged w ith guarding 7000 miles of U.S Land border. The Border patrol has been very concernedRead MoreMilitarization of the U.S. Essay1637 Words   |  7 PagesMilitarization of the U.S. Militarization of the U.S. -- Mexico Border By Joan J. Jaimes June 22, 2000  ¡Corranle, allà ­ viene la migra!, translated into English, this means Run, there comes immigration! This is what illegal immigrants shout everyday when they are about to cross the Rio Grande in search for better lives. Unfortunately, not many get through alive because of the militarization that has developed on the U.S. border with Mexico. Operation Rio Grande continues a process put inRead MoreThe Impact Of Immigration On The United States Essay931 Words   |  4 Pages Many People can speculate if the U.S.-Mexican border is truly a significant factor for our government’s safety or just there wasting money, time and land. By allowing the government to fund the border many improvements could be made. Border Safety, can create a safer border environment by facing the multiple Issues and Challenges, like illegal Immigration, Drug Enforcement, and cross-border Transportation, and Technological imp rovements by Homeland security influence the agents, trying to ceaseRead MoreThe Issue of Mass Illegal Immigration to the United States829 Words   |  3 PagesSince the 1700’s the U.S. has been working on and has implemented policies try to restrict and govern the immigrants entering this country. Many immigrants come to America looking for a better way of life than what was destined for them in their native lands. Prior to the events of 9/11, for nearly two decades, America welcomed immigrations to our country with open arms. After 9/11, America’s ideals begin to shift pertaining to immigrants, our nation’s safety, and border patrol. America was leftRead MoreBorder Security Through Technology and Manpower Essay1654 Words   |  7 PagesIt was reported in the San Antonio Express News that â€Å"Border-Patrolling Drones Would Call Texas Base Home.† Lynn Brezosky reported that â€Å"U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin cut the ribbon for the launch of the nation’s fourth base for operating border surveillance drones.† This is important in securing the U.S.-Mexico border, which the U.S. has an approximate 1,933 mile long border with Mexico (Beaver). Brezosky also reported that â€Å"the Homeland Security budget called for two

My Addiction Assignment On Coffee Essay - 1252 Words

Hamda Awawdeh Psychology 2000 My Addiction I decided to do my addiction assignment on coffee. I have chosen coffee because I can never go a day without it. I usually drink coffee around three times a day, one cup in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. My sisters always think that I’m going overboard with how much coffee I drink. It helps me wake up and feel more energized, which helps me throughout the day. I feel like my coffee addiction started when I began to go to college, because that’s when my stress level reached its max. I was always over stressed about assignments and tests and coffee was like a stress reliever for me. It would calm my headaches down and help me focus on what I needed to do. Before college, I used to only drink coffee once in a while and I never really relied on it like I do now. Once I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is turn my coffee maker on, and make coffee to start off my day. I usually just drink a cup of coffee for breakfast instead of eating anything. This is a very typical routine for me and it’s been this way for a while, so it’s going to be a very interesting experience to stop for three days. My main fear for giving up coffee for three days is that I know I will be lacking a lot of energy. Without it I always feel very tired and sluggish and I can never focus. I feel like I will be very tempted to drink coffee, but I’m going to try my best to stop for the next three days. Day one was a MondayShow MoreRelatedAddiction And Recovery Assignment : An Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting1516 Words   |  7 PagesAddiction and Recovery Assignment: Going To an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting For this addiction assignment I attended meeting run by the oldest Alcoholics Anonymous group in Auburn, Maine. This group, the Auburn Serenity Group, was founded in 1959. 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Consumer can reach everywhere including at restaurant, coffee shop and various places more (Painter, 2001). In the beginning, internet usages are limited to adult. Nowadays, usage internet is unlimited to adult only. The kids also use internet. For example, facebook. Facebook is a social site. ConsumerRead MoreWriting Rehab (Personal Essay)1026 Words   |  5 Pagesgiven this assignment to describe what kind of writer I am, I panicked. I spent hours staring at a blank page, trying to decide whether to fabricate a story, describe my feelings of inadequacy in the area of writing or simply drop this class. The truth is my past is very blurry, I may have been an excellent writer at one time in my life, but the chances of me remembering that are very slim. So this is not so much a story from my life, it is more of the story of why I can’t remember my life. 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The Tempest as a Power Struggle Between the New and the Old World Free Essays

To what extent do you agree that The Tempest is a power struggle between the old and the new world? Shakespeare’s Plays II Assignment 1 Rocio Corral Garcia 119042576 It is generally accepted that Shakespeare’s Play The Tempest is complex in many senses, but it cannot be denied that it is especially rich in terms of interpretation. A huge variety of critical analyses have been written about Shakespeare’s last play suggesting different possible approaches to it, such as human salvation, magic, colonisation and power. This essay will focus on the struggle between the old and the new world, which is one of the major themes in this play and that can be easily applied to politics and conspiracy in their more broad sense. We will write a custom essay sample on The Tempest as a Power Struggle Between the New and the Old World or any similar topic only for you Order Now Prospero is a European who dominates the island on his own and he is able to do so because he has magic powers. In this way he controls the island and its inhabitants by combining threats of force, promises of freedom and all kind of techniques characteristic of a proper dictator. He takes charge of the island which does not belong to him and exerts his power over the inhabitants, forcing them to serve him as slaves. It is almost impossible to draw a parallelism between this situation and the European colonial power in North America during the XVII century. Thus, it may be assumed that the old world stands for Europe and all its common practices and customs while the new world is represented by the uncivilised island. Throughout the whole play the reader is able to find several occasions in which the struggle between the new and the old world is very noticeable. In the first scene of the play, for example, we find the exchange between Prospero and Miranda talking about what has been left in the old world: dukedom and serving women. For them, living in the island means abandoning all these things and implementing facets of the new world. Miranda has been educated by her father following the old world rules but at the same time she has learned the secrets of the island by Caliban. Caliban is a native of the island who rails against language and is forced to submit. He reveals against all those things related to the old world, since he belongs to the new one. This fighting is constant along the play. Then, on the second act Shakespeare presents the difference between the new and the old world in terms of appearance. That is to say, the green and the light of the new world contrast with the European world. The new world is wild and uncivilised. Gonzalo has his own dream which is labelled as a utopian view of the island. He portrays it without order and hierarchy. In his new world there would not be chaos because everyone will be happy: I’ the commonwealth I would by contraries Execute all things; for no kind of traffic Would I admit; no name of magistrate; Letters should not be known; riches, poverty, And use of service, none; contract, succession, Bourn, bound of land, tilth, vineyard, none; No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil; No occupation; all men idle, all; And women too, but innocent and pure; No sovereignty; The reader may acknowledge this as the internal fight men had in this era. Following this scene we find the metaphor of the drunken servant men that come to the island and they imagine that they are able to rule it, thinking that they will secure the loyalty of a native through gifts and the promise of benevolent ruling. This metaphor is made on the basis of a strong parallelism with the real accounts of the colonisation. So, there cannot be any reading of The Tempest without considering it as a study of colonialism. During the colonisation the struggle between the colonizers and the colonized world was a constant feature, so this view support the idea that The Tempest is a clear example of the struggle between the old and the new world. The English colonial project is on Shakespeare’s mind throughout the play, as almost every character, from Gonzalo to Stephano, imagines how he would rule the island if he were its king. Shakespeare seems as well to be influenced by Montagne’s essay â€Å"Of the Cannibals† since the name of Prospero’s servant is Caliban could be an anagram of â€Å"cannibal†. Prospero stands for the dominant part in his relationship with Caliban and his allusions to him are most the time is contemptuous. Prospero describes Caliban as: â€Å"Devil, a born devil on whose nature, Nurture can never stick† This description of Caliban is quite similar to those descriptions of the â€Å"savages† by Captain John Smith who set the first English settlement in Jamestown, or to those descriptions given by Mary Rowlandson later in the XVII century. These descriptions fit perfectly with Prospero’s concept of Caliban, so maybe Shakespeare’s intention here is to make a direct link between the current accounts of the colonisation process and the situation of the play. Again, this makes a clear instance that the play wants to portray the confrontation between the old and the new world. This clear struggle in the play between the new and the old world may be emphasized by political themes associated with Caliban’s conspiracy and Prospero’s colonialist control of the island. This essay will focus now on the political issue of the play. On the one hand, it may be clear that usurpation is the main political theme pervading the play. The possibility of usurpation is precisely what allows Prospero to legitimise and sustain his totalitarism on the island. Paradoxically, he was first usurped from his throne and it is him who repeats that behaviour in the island. Prospero’s power is proved by Caliban’s resistance. Caliban stands for the main dissident voice in the play. His threatening integration of Prospero’s rhetoric makes him a dangerous insider to the established system: â€Å"You taught me language, and my profit on ’t Is I know how to curse. The red plague rid you For learning me your language! † Caliban’s use of language illustrates perfectly the potential to resistance contained within power. , and Prospero’s response to Caliban consists in violent outbursts of rage: â€Å"Hag-seed, hence! Fetch us in fuel. And be quick, thou ‘rt best, To answer other business. Shrug’st thou, malice? If thou neglect’st or dost unwillingly What I command, I’ll rack thee with old cramps, Fill all thy bones with aches, make thee roar That beasts shall tremble at thy din. Prospero’s violence hardly hides his terror at Caliban’s appropriation of his language. On the other hand, the play deals perfectly with the topic of conspiracy, being Caliban its maximum exponent. Caliban resists to Prospero’s authority, but this authority may be called into question, since Prospero gets it by means of usurpation. Anyway, Caliban’s role is essential in ter ms of resistance; however, by depriving Prospero by his unique discourse, he represents the existence of alternative voices in the island. He exposes three different versions of the past in the island: Caliban’s, Ariel’s and Prospero’s, although it is the latest the one who succeed. Prospero appropriates the past of the island, and he rewrites history according to his own standards, in order to construct a credible narrative. Caliban shows his resistance: â€Å"This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother, Which thou takest from me† Prospero manages to make his version the one to be trusted. He describes Sycorax as the malevolent witch, a chaos and evil, which contrasts with him, the balance. This is another actual clue that asserts the play as the struggle between the new and the old world. Prospero assures that it was Sycorax who imprisoned Ariel and it was him who released Ariel. It seems that Sycorax is dead, since she does not appear on stage, but her presence lurks ominously in the background. Despite her physical absence from the play Sycorax has great importance. In the politics of the play she serves an ideological function as she is constructed as the evil witch, the ‘other’, through which Prospero’s ownership of the island is legitimised. She is constructed as being the antithesis to Prospero – female, non-European and evil – and Prospero uses her to justify his acts of dispossession. Prospero shapes the past on his own way. However, the presence of other rivals frightens Prospero, and his anxiety increases as it is shown with his irrational outburst of anger at Caliban’s command of language. Besides, in the island there are different ideological ways of thinking, such as Gonzalo’s political manifesto mentioned above â€Å"No sovereignty† (2. 1, 156). Indeed, Gonzalo’s utopia is likely to the real hierarchy in the island, ince there is a king but without sovereignty. Another aspect of the play that may be related to politics is the marriage between Miranda and Ferinand, since it serves as an agreement between the old world, here represented by Ferinand, and the new world, embodied by Miranda. In this way the marriage stands as a peace treaty between both worlds. It might repre sent a political marriage, which were very common during the Elizabethan period. The reader may find another political marriage in the play, since in Act II Alonso’s daughter marries the king of Tunis against her wishes. But this is not the case of Miranda, since she falls in love to Ferinand at the first glance. However, this marriage is a sort of business because Miranda is a political tool in Prospero’s plan. Besides, it is very interesting that Miranda is the only female character on an island full of men. She makes possible the reconciliation and redemption of both, Prospero and Alonso. The most important value of Miranda is her chastity which enables the marriage. Virginity is a matter of politics in the play, since with Miranda being not pure the marriage would not be possible. But Prospero makes sure that her daughter is virgin and emphasizes Miranda’s purity linking her to her mother: Thy mother was a piece of virtue, and She said thou wast my daughter; and thy father Was Duke of Milan, and his only heir And princess no worse issued. Finally, it may be concluded that The Tempest presents different instances of the struggle between the old and the new world, and that Shakespeare draws a strong parallelism with the issue of colonisation and the plot of the play. It might be also acknowledged that there is a final reconciliation between both worlds which is sealed by Miranda and Ferinand’s marriage. Although this play was composed in the XVII century, there are several timeless topics that Shakespeare portrays like political usurpation, conspiracy and struggle for power, that occupy a first place in present day life. Bibliography Primary texts: Shakespeare, William. The Riverside Shakespeare, ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974 Secondary texts: Free Tempest Essays: â€Å"Relevance of The Tempest Today† Retrieved February 26, 2012 from: http://www. 123HelpMe. com/view. asp? id=7486 Gibson, Rex. The Tempest. Cambridge Student Guides. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,2006. Hamilton, Donna B. Virgil and The Tempest: The Politics of Imitation . Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1990. Montaigne, Michael de, The Complete Essays. London: Penguin,2003. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Gonzalo’s speech. (2. 1,123-32) [ 2 ]. Montagne, Michael de. The Complete Essays. Trans. M. A. Screech. London: Penguin, 2003 [ 3 ]. Prospero’s description of Caliban (4. 1,188-9) [ 4 ]. Caliban’s speech (1. 2,369-70) [ 5 ]. Prospero’s speech (1. 2,371-76) [ 6 ]. Caliban’s words (1. 2,334. 5) [ 7 ]. Prospero’s speech (1. 2,56-59) How to cite The Tempest as a Power Struggle Between the New and the Old World, Essay examples

Business Finance for Expected Stock Returns and Volatility

Question: Discuss about theBusiness Finance for Expected Stock Returns and Volatility. Answer: Mean Return Mean Return is the sum of all the returns of a certain security in a certain period divided by the number periods (French Schwert, 1987). This measure is important as it is used to determine which company has higher expected return and therefore it can be used by potential investors to make valuable decision on which company to invest. Company with high mean return is preferred by investors as compared to that with low mean return because high mean return means high expected returns to the investor. In the case of News Media Ltd and HR Resources Ltd, HR Resources Ltd will be attractive to the investor as it has a potential return of 0.3391 every month compared to News Media Ltd which has a potential return of 0.1696.However, the two companies mean return is far much below the market mean return which is 38.04.This means that the two companies are not expected to do well when compared to other companies in the market. The Standard Deviation It is a measure of how spread the returns are from the mean return. It is indeed the square root of the variance of the security returns ( Djulbegovic Hozo, 2005). The higher the standard deviation the higher the volatility of the company`s security return and vice versa. The standard deviation for News Media Ltd is 0.96%,this means that the likelihood of actual returns of this security to differ from the mean return is 0.96% and that of HR Resources Ltd is 0.84%.Thus according to the two standard deviation, News Media Ltd is considered more volatile than HR Resources Ltd and risker. The Coefficient Of Variation It is the ratio of standard deviation to the Mean (Brigham Houston, 2012). This measurement is useful when one wants to compare the outcomes from two scenarios or companies. For example the coefficient of variation of 5.68% in the case of New Media Ltd indicates that the returns for this company have a variation of 5.68% relative to the Mean and that for HR Resources Ltd has a variation of 2.47% relative to its Mean. Therefore New Media Ltd has more variation, relative to its Mean. This means that New Media Ltd is more risky compared to HR Resources Ltd. The Correlation Coefficient It measures the degree to which two factor`s movements are related (Mukaka, 2012). The range for correlation coefficient is -1 to 1.A value of -1 denotes a ``perfect negative correlation and that of 1 denotes a ``perfect positive correlation.The correlation between New Media Ltd and HR Resources Ltd is -0.45.This means that there exist weakly negative correlation between the two companies. Standard Deviation Of Returns For A Portfolio It measures how spread the funds returns are from the expected normal returns of a two or more combined stocks (Duchin Levy, 2009). The deviation in this case for New Media Ltd and HR Resources Ltd is -0.11.This means that deviation in case of a portfolio is less than of holding individual stock. Thus holding a portfolio of the two stocks would be less risky than holding individual stock. Beta Coefficient It measures how the sensitive the share price is to the movement in the market price. It is the best measure of systematic risk (Fabozzi Francis,1978). It is prevalently used in capital asset pricing model to get required rate of return. A beta of -1.29 for New Media Ltd indicates that this security has a risk and return that is below the average (the market risk and return).For HR Resources Ltd a beta of 2.55 indicates that this security has a risk and return that is above the average. Thus New Media Ltd has a lower risk and return while HR Resources Ltd has a higher risk and return. References French, K.R., Schwert, G.W., 1987. Expected stock returns and volatility. Journal of financial Economics, 19(1), pp.3-29. Djulbegovic, B. and Hozo, I., 2005. Estimating the mean and variance from the median, range, and the size of a sample. BMC medical research methodology, 5(1), p.13. Brigham, E.F. and Houston, J.F., 2012. Fundamentals of financial management. Cengage Learning. Mukaka, M.M., 2012. A guide to appropriate use of correlation coefficient in medical research. Malawi Medical Journal, 24(3), pp.69-71. Duchin, R. and Levy, H., 2009. Markowitz versus the Talmudic portfolio diversification strategies. The Journal of Portfolio Management, 35(2), pp.71-74. Fabozzi, F.J. and Francis, J.C., 1978. Beta as a random coefficient. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 13(1), pp.101-116.