Culture briefing for a US based company selling bicycles Essay

Culture preparation for a US based organization selling bikes - Essay Example These divisions incorporate the pre-pilgrim period, provincial time, and the post-frontier time. Kenya is broadly known to contain forty two clans each with a particular primary language. Generally, every single clan has its own particular history as far as movements and resettlements, advancement, correspondence and relations with different clans, customs, conventions, just as in exchange and industry. Based on resettlements, Kenya’s populace is bunches into Bantus, Nilotes, and Cushites. Cushites incorporate Somali and Borana among others. A few instances of the Nilotes incorporate Nandi, Pokot, and the Luos. Instances of Bantus incorporate Kikuyu, Embu, Meru, and Kambas. During the pre-pioneer period, most people in Kenya relied upon harvests and creatures. In 1985, Kenya was colonized by Britain. The nation got its autonomy in 1963 (Hornsby, 2013). Topography According to Hornsby (2013), Kenya is a novel nation with a broad shoreline, an enormous extent secured by vegetati on, wonderful mountains, dry district, lakes, just as home to the Great Rift Valley. The Indian Ocean contacts Kenya towards the south east bearing. The nation has a sum of five nations as its neighbors. These nations incorporate Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Accessible sources state that the nation contains five climatic areas. These incorporate the Coast, the Rift Valley, Semi-desert, desert, and the lake locale. Just 20% of the nation is viewed as suitable for both harvest developing and creature keeping. A challenging 70% of the nation is either desert or semi desert. Political framework Since autonomy, the nation has maintained and safeguarded a concentrated type of government. It is critical to call attention to this incorporated type of government carried with it individualistic pioneers, for example, Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Arap Moi. These rulers were exempt from the rules that everyone else follows during their residencies as presidents. The present presi dent is the fourth since autonomy. The nation adjusted a multi-party framework in 1992. This saw the rise of new gatherings dissimilar to the hour of Jomo Kenya and mostly during Moi’s period whereby the nation had just a single ideological group, Kanu (Hornsby, 2013). At present, Kenya is isolated into forty seven areas each being spoken to by a representative and a congressperson. Monetary point of view Economically, Kenya is a creating country. Thus, this nation can be named as an entrepreneur country as far as the economy. It relies upon a huge extent with the global markets for exchange and trade. The nation gets the greater part of its income through the importation of money harvests, for example, espresso and tea. The travel industry is additionally all around organized and composed in Kenya and is a wellspring of outside trade. Vacationer crowd the country’s natural life saves, game parks, also at the beach front locale for its good and warm atmosphere (Hornsby , 2013). Conventions and customs Kenya includes forty two clans each rehearsing its own traditions and conventions. For example, Kambas experience different soul changing experiences. They experience inception to become grown-up individuals from the network as ahead of schedule as the age of twelve. Youngsters are given the obligation of maintaining, saving, just as protection of the network. The last stage among the Kambas is turning into a senior. The Maasai then again are known for keeping creatures and making decorations. There are

AndAlso and OrElse VB.NET Basic Logical Operators

AndAlso and OrElse VB.NET Basic Logical Operators VB.NET highlights two coherent administrators that help make your programming ... well ... increasingly sensible. The new administrators are AndAlso and OrElse and they add a ton to the old And or potentially administrators. Whats New AndAlso and OrElse have a few properties that upgrade your code in manners that past VB forms couldnt coordinate. They offer points of interest in two general classifications: You can abstain from executing some portion of a sensible articulation to stay away from problems.You can enhance code by not executing anything else of a compound articulation than required. AndAlso and OrElse are essentially similar to And or potentially with the exception of that they will impede articulation once the result is ensured. Model Assume youre coding a trial of a computation result this way: The if articulation creates a separation by zero mistake in VB 6 in light of the fact that Value3 is zero. (Yet, see the Quick Tip on separate by zero for additional on that.) It could be that the cases that outcome in Value3 being zero are uncommon and possibly happen when youre getting a charge out of a get-away a thousand miles away so you can be gotten back to fix the program in a crisis mode. (Hello! It occurs!) Lets recode the program as a .NET program utilizing AndAlso and see what occurs. Subsequent to changing And to AndAlso, the program works! The explanation is that the last piece of the compound If condition-(esteem 2 value3)- is rarely really executed. At the point when you use AndAlso, VB.NET realizes that the articulation cannot succeed once it is resolved that the initial segment of the condition-an isn't more noteworthy than Value1-is bogus. So VB.NET quits assessing the articulation in that spot. A comparative model could be developed utilizing OrElse. This investigation likewise proposes how you can add some productivity to your code by organizing a compound intelligent articulation effectively. On the off chance that you place the articulation that is well on the way to be bogus in the furthest left position when utilizing AndAlso, you can forestall execution cycles from being utilized to assess the furthest right articulation. In a solitary test, it wouldnt have enough effect to be worth in any event, considering. In any case, if your test is inside a circle or something to that affect and is executed zillions of times, it could have a major effect. Thinking about these two new VB .NET sensible administrators can assist you with evading exceptionally inconspicuous mistakes or accomplish unpretentious efficiencies.

Writing Impressive College Entrance Essays

Writing Impressive College Entrance Essays More and more people are going to college these days right out of high school, so it goes without saying that making a stellar first impression is a necessity in order to stand out from the pack and get that coveted acceptance letter to your chosen university. With that in mind, writing an impressive college entrance essay that makes admissions personnel want to get to know you even better is the ideal way to get the attention you deserve.Write to impressWhether your entrance essay is an open-ended work or directed toward answering specific admissions questions, the key to drawing in the reader and making him or her want to know more is a compelling, honest view into your life and what makes you unique, including your history, accomplishments, strongest traits, interests, extracurricular activities and, of course, grades. Since there is typically a word-count limit to adhere to, the idea here is to give the reader an interesting taste in each of these areas without inundating them wi th information.The best way to do this is to write by example â€" from an intro that puts the reader right there next to you for one of your proudest or most challenging events in life to little nuggets of interest that demonstrate the positive traits you have and want to let shine. For example, instead of telling the reader all about yourself like so:My proudest moment in life thus far was winning first place in the USAA Gymnastics competition for mens trampoline. I worked for two years training in the event and really wanted to win badly.Showing the reader by taking them with you to the moment is more effective:As I stood in front of a crowded Anaheim stadium full of 30,000 people last July, my name echoed over the loudspeaker and a rush of accomplishment and pride ran through me when I heard, And in first place in mens trampoline, Scott Smith. The words were a culmination of two years of training at the gym â€" three hours a day on weekdays and five hours a day on weekends â€" fo r a goal I had set my sights on long before I had even had a drivers license.When a writer uses this second method â€" showing, not telling â€" they take the reader to the moment with them, much like a good fiction writer draws in his or her readers. Whether the reader is a gymnastics enthusiast or not, chances are they have experienced the same sort of emotions when accomplishing something, too â€" pride and the payoff of hard work â€" and will relate to what they are reading better than simply being told by a writer, Ive worked very hard for things and am proud of myself.The secret to showing, not telling, is to not show too much. No reader (especially busy admissions office personnel) has the desire or time to read two pages of every detail of the above gymnastic event. Therefore, your little tidbits should be just that â€" three to five sentences that give them a front-row seat at the event you describe. Of course, these all dont have to be life-altering events like winning a gy mnastics championship. Showing the reader by example how you have some positive personality traits is also a sure way to make your college entrance essay stand out. For instance, rather than telling the reader youre involved in volunteerism and church functions like so:I have participated in missions visits to third-world countries each summer since I was 12 with my churchs youth group.Showing the reader this would read something like:My summer vacations since I was 12 have been spent in an exciting variety of Central American countries where I worked on behalf of my churchs youth group at teaching young children in Costa Rican, Guatemalan and Nicaraguan jungle villages some basic reading and writing skills. Not only was this experience fulfilling, seeing the children write their names for the first time in their lives and start to read simple words, but one where I made cherished friendships and realized some vital professional goals for my future in a possible career in social wor k.The maturity, worldliness and ability to think outside of your high schools walls really shine through in this last paragraph. Showing how you have such positive characteristics by the things you have taken part in is a terrific way to demonstrate to a potential college that you have thought about more than just getting finished with your classes in high school. Other excellent, worldly traits to mention would be extensive travel (whether for work or pleasure), having numerous pen pals or connections to other countries (whether you were born in Korea or have extensive family in Greece) or even places you hope to visit one day and compelling reasons why (i.e., not just because they sound cool).Making the best of gradesOf course, a college entrance essay wouldnt be complete without some mention of your high school grades, accomplishments and activities. Since not everyone is valedictorian or has a year of college already finished when they graduate from high school, it really depend s on a writers own grades whether to mention them a lot or not. If you were an A+ student in high school, of course that should be mentioned and touted; if you barely got by with Cs in most of your classes, play up the classes you did do well in or enjoyed most, and make little or no mention of the ones you didnt quite ace.Contrary to popular belief, getting into college is not all about having a 4.8 GPA and being a National Honor Society contender. Of course, if youre trying to get into Harvard or other Ivy League institutions out there with straight Bs, you better have some outstanding stories of your other accomplishments in and out of school to impress them. But an average state university does put significant stock these days in the uniqueness of their students with less than perfect grades.All the more reason to make sure your essay and the parts of your life you use in it to describe yourself make you stand out and get noticed. Your college entrance essay does not have to be a boring, form essay listing every trait you think a school wants you to have. Being yourself â€" and showing a college who that is with intimate, engaging stories â€" can make the difference between an essay that piques admissions interest or one that gets thrown into the growing pile of mediocre applicants.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Huck and His Free Spirit - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1288 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/05/17 Category Literature Essay Level High school Topics: Huckleberry Finn Essay Mark Twain Essay Did you like this example? The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain writes about Huck and his free spirit. Whenever he falls in the care or presence of rules he wants out and he wants to leave. Twain proves that rules and order dont make sense to Huck and always leaves him asking why. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Huck and His Free Spirit" essay for you Create order Huck has trouble following rules and understanding how serious they are especially if he doesnt like them. While in the care of the widow who has all these rules Huck is exasperated at the number of rules he is needing to follow, as Huck explains The widow rung the bell for supper and you had to come to time. When you got to the table you couldnt go right to eating (Cite chapter and name). As we get to know Huck in these first chapters we realize that Huck believes that some rules are silly and just plain dumb to follow. Huck feels like he can decide when to eat, he can decide when to pray, Huck may not agree with the widow, but he is not ill-mannered about her beliefs. Being a deep thinker Huck believes that rules can be dumb. Huck wonders about the difference between rules as dumb as that and then the rules that allow half of humanity to enslave and abuse the other half. Hucks friend Tom is also a rule follower, except his rules are about fiction. When talking with Huck, Tom explains How you talk Huck Finn. Why youd HAVE to come when he rubbed it, whether you wanted to or not (Cite name and chapter). After having this conversation with Tom, Huck decides to give it a try, after rubbing the lamp he realizes the rules are fake and are lies. Tom continues to try and coax Huck into thinking that if genies were real; they would follow the rules as well. Huck starts to make out the differences between the widows and societies arbitrary rules and another set of arbitrary rules, fiction. As Huck grows in th e book he realizes the different types of rules; both are arbitrary, the widows/societies and then the ones about fiction and make-believe stories. At certain points in the book, Huck feels annoyed with the rules, some of them make him unable to do things that would benefit him or he just feels that the rules are weird or dumb as they may be could save his life one day. As Huck goes on to talk about his father and the history they have together he mentions how Pap went to court to take me away with him. When Pap went to the court the widow went to court to take me away from him (cite chapter and name). Sometimes it might be fairer to break the rules; however, the judge doesnt agree. It may be breaking the rules but we all know Huck is better off without his dad, Huck doesnt even want the widow to have custody of him Huck wants to live on his own, with his own rules, on his own time; however, living without his dad is better than living with him. Huck is afraid to be living with Pap or being in the care of him. While talking to Buck about feuds between people and how they are almost governed, to the point where it makes no sense and its confusing to why anyone would ever use these rules. Buck explains by and by everybodys killed off, and there aint no more feud. But its kinda slow and takes a long time (cite chapter and name). This is but another exa mple of an arbitrary rule about the governing of feuds, the only difference is that these rules will leave everybody dead. Thinking about this Huck probably chooses to listen to this rule for there is a reason to be following it; to save his life rather than sitting straight at a dinner table and praying before everytime you eat it wont kill you if you dont do it. Huck never has the mindset of staying out of trouble, when he gets into trouble he always seems to know about all the consequences. Being knowledgeable about the consequences. Huck actions can have on him he proceeds to explain, it would get all around [] Huck Finn helped a nigger [] I was ever to see anybody from that town again Id [] get down and lick his boots for shame (cite chapter name). Huck knows and understands what consequences are and how they affect people, for example if you went to a midnight movie Thursday night instead of studying or finishing an essay you fail. Or if you help a slave escape and then everyone makes fun of you for doing that. Consequences can affect people in many ways big or small it can lead to bigger things down the road. Huck always knows when he is in trouble but never knows how to get out of it, he gets trapped by decisions and cant make the right one, while helping Jim escape Huck understands how I was full of trouble, full as I could be; and d idnt know what to do (cite chapter and name). To Huck breaking the rules is like driving on the left side of the road, no only is it exciting and fun; it is dangerous and wrong and breaking the law. Huck would feel alot better, at least for a small portion of time if he followed the rules; even if the lines on the road are arbitrary. Breaking the rules may excite Huck but in the end Huck always knows what is consequences are coming for him. Although Huck understands there are consequences for his actions he seems to act like it is a game, he doesnt understand the severity of consequences or rules, he thinks they can even be fun and silly. While talking Huck explains, I shoved the whole thing out of my head and said I would take up wickedness again (cite chapter and name). Huck talks about how he shoved all the thoughts of maybe I shouldnt do this or what consequences will come of this action, out of his mind and decides to go in and embrace the evil inside of him; even though Huck doesnt have much if any at all. As a reader it is hard to believe that someone like Huck thinks they have enough evil or corruption to break all the rules he finds. As Huck continues to explain his pla n he mentions because as long as I was in, and in for good, I might as well go the whole hog (cite name and chapter). Huck seems to think rules are a game and he can play around with them as he sees fit, because Huck seems to think about this being a game he doesnt realize what going for the whole hog really means. Huck never seems to think things through, he never seems to understand rules and why they are there. Understanding what Huck is thinking of doing is crucial to make rational decisions. Understanding consequences is only half of what is important, understanding why the rules are there in the first place is just as important; maybe even a little more. As Huck grows in this book he never seems to fully understand rules, even after he breaks them and gets in trouble, he always seems to ask why. Hucks free spirit will always be noticed, there will never be a time when Huck isnt free and does his own thing; bad or good. He may want out of rules but as he grows even more hell understand that he cant live without them.

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift and Tartuffe by Moliere

Commerce is frequently thought of as the activity of buying or selling on a large scale, whether it be goods or not, but commerce can be thought of in a different manner, simply defining it as social dealings between people. If commerce is looked at as simply the social interactions between groups of people, it exists practically everywhere on nearly a daily basis. Whether it be the exchange of some sort of â€Å"good† on a mass scale from one group to another satirically seen in Jonathan Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal†, arranging marriages as seen in Moliere’s Tartuffe, or 3RD TEXT, it can all be considered some kind of commerce. The presence of commerce in Jonathan Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal† is anything but modest, but nonetheless it is there and it does take a certain side on finding a solution for society’s main problems at that specific time. In the early 1700’s, conditions in Ireland slowly began to worsen, henc e his satirical, scathing response to the lack of solving the ever so present economic crisis the people of Ireland were experiencing. As he mentions in his proposal, poor children, predominantly Catholic, are seen all across the country, and in his point of view they are seen as burdens to their families and not so much of good use to the commonwealth. He begins to make a â€Å"modest† proposal that he claims will be a much better solution than anything else that someone can come up with, and is where the majority of the commerce is present. â€Å"That the remainingShow MoreRelatedThe Enlightenment: An Incredible Change1163 Words   |  5 PagesNeo-Classical era, many world famous writers such as Jean-Baptiste Poquelin known by Moliere, Jonathan Swift, and Francois-Marie Arouet know by Voltaire wrote some incredible stories, poems, plays and articles about the age of reason. In literature, all of them are well known by the tactics and methods they used in their styles of writing in order to persuade or inform the readers. In the Age of Enlightenment, Moliere, Swift, and Voltaire used the concept of â€Å"Satire†, such as verbal, situational, and dramaticRead MoreSatire in Tartuffe and Modest Proposal1560 Words   |  7 Pagesfollies and vices in society. In Molià ¨re’s Tartuffe and Jonathan Swift’s essay A Modest Proposal, that both obliquely criticize and burlesque human behavior and the perception we have towards others. Through a satirist delivery, these authors offer an insight past the seemingly obvious, and aim to improve this faulty custom of one sidedness rather than eliminating it. Although these pair of literary pieces illustrates satire, it is Molià ¨re’s play Tartuffe that generates a more effective delivery.Read MoreA Modest Proposal On Satire1239 Words   |  5 Pagessociety. In Molià ¨re s Tartuffe and Jonathan Swift s article A Modest Proposal, both diagonally condemn and criticize human conduct and the discernment we have towards others. Through a comedian conveyance, these creators offer an understanding past the apparently self-evident, and expect to enhance this flawed custom of one sidedness as opposed to disposing of it. The key topic of Tartuffe is hypocrisy, as presented with the disposition of the antagonist. Hypocrisy is represented in Tartuffe s characterRead MoreA Comparison of A Modest Proposal, Tartuffe, and Candide1134 Words   |  5 PagesWriters use personality traits and events to change the classical ideals. Majority of the writers focus is to change peoples attitudes. Jonathan Swift, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere, Francois-Marie Arquet de Voltaire use characterization and plot to challenge the themes of the Neo-Classical period. nbsp; In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift challenges the Neo-classical period by creating a sense of instability in their way of thinking. He attacks the society by carelessly endorsing

Light in August An Analysis Free Essays

William Faulkner’s Light in August gives us an exploration of pertinent issues in the society namely; gender, race and class.   The writer reveals his interests in history and its significance to the present by arriving at a novel which illuminates Mississippi in August, which seems to come from the far past; hence the symbolism of the title. Yet Lena Grove, a protagonist in the story contributes more meaning to the title as it also signifies her new-born child who was born in August and the â€Å"light† that the baby carries signifying a new generation devoid of racism, prejudice and discrimination. We will write a custom essay sample on Light in August: An Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now Our aim is to be able to unveil through the characters and their interactions in the story the issues which serve as the themes also of the novel.   A lot of the characters are introduced in two or three ways; first through the eyes of the other characters; second thorough a self-analysis of the characters by using internal monologues and; third through the narrator in a series of flashbacks and stream of consciousness technique. This illustrates the elements in the context where we live; the presence of rumor mongering, envy, relative perception, deception, misunderstanding and isolation. It is important to note that the narrator’s style poses before the audience a challenge of determining the truth and engaging them in the process of understanding the characters; the way it is in actual reality. The narrator may seem unreliable because it highlights how untrustworthy each of the characters’ own perceptions is, by contrasting them with each other. It does not reveal bluntly the truth even reaching a point where the narrator’s self-contradiction impacts on the complexity yet meaning of the story. I would like to use the character and situation of Joe Christmas, as significant in the revelation of racism in the society. To Christmas, traces of his Negro ethnicity, represents a stigma, which is even worsened by the way people treat him. Blackness is conceived as evil because of the perception of its impurity and aloofness from God. However the confusion lies in Christmas’ inability to decipher his true African-American lineage as he appears European. However, he also feels he does not deserve to belong in White communities and hide or run away from them. His racial identity and his mixed reaction towards it, is a play on his fondness of dealing with the society in varied ways. As he often willingly tells people that he is black, he enjoys their condemnation and hatred. In the Jefferson community even people who are sympathetic to Blacks are attacked. This is represented by the characters; Joanna and Hightower. Joanna Burden continues her ancestors’ struggle for Black emancipation, which makes her peripheral in the society just like Christmas. Joanna and Joe had sexual relationship, intensifying the affinity of their interests and perhaps the closeness of their â€Å"ostracized† situation. Hightower on the other hand has been treated with less consideration because of his ideas regarded as sacrilegious by his fellow men. When Joe Christmas and Joe Brown were suspected of Joanna’s murder, Brown had initially found a way of bringing Christmas closer to their suspicion by revealing that he was Black. It has been expressed nonetheless that accusing a White of being Black is worse a crime than being Black itself. Clearly, racial discrimination against the Black is presented here. Yet the performance of Christmas as a victim of racism is quite unclear more than being a victim of false accusations and society’s lack of â€Å"reason† and propensity to misinterpret others. One may even doubt the success of his performance in the way things are understood by the audience. His Blackness is not directly admitted by the narrator although the perception that he is brings him a lot of misfortunes. This is perhaps what the author wants us to understand. The truth most of the time is neglected in the society. Hatred and self-interests lead the people to think what they want to think of others in a manner that will benefit them. The same is true with Ms. Atkins, the dietitian, Brown, and the rest of the townspeople. The issue of racism because of this has been intensified yet alongside this is the traditional culture of condemnation that people feel toward each other in the light of selfishness. The identity of Christmas therefore becomes more than the tragedy of Blackness; it is also a tragedy of class and gender. The narration has often insinuated homosexual tendencies in the relationship between him and Brown as perceived by the townspeople and the encounter with the prostitute whom he beat, and his hatred to mostly feminine characters. His poverty as an orphan for instance has led him to a series of miseries until his death. His capture in the same way was triggered by money with the ransom placed by the relative of Joanna. So, his perceived hatred against his lineage may also translate into hatred against his social class and gender. The reader must be careful in reading or deriving the true convictions of the novel, and essentially the reading of Joe Christmas. For me, Joe Christmas is a tool for the realization of issues rather than clear-cut facts. Another character that I would like to use in relation with the issue of gender is Joanna Burden. Her relationship with Joe Christmas is described as sexual although the presentation of her two-distinct characters is important in understanding how society perceives sexuality and gender. The description of the narrator of Joanna’s feminine and masculine sides comprises stereotypes. One part is her public persona: where she is a middle-aged single woman who has lived in deep seclusion for almost all of her life, with the exception of the black people whom she takes care of, and who care for her in return. She is presented here as completely independent, calm, and unemotional. The narrator uses male adjectives to describe her. Yet who or what determines male characteristics? The other half of Joanna is her â€Å"night† personality-wild, lustful, conniving, and, according to Christmas, very feminine. Yet who qualifies feminine attitudes as we know them today, feminine indeed?   The narrator has brought to us all the time what the majority thinks of every character in the society. The author’s beliefs and ideas are concealed and are dependent on the capacity of the audience/readers to disclose them by analysis. Notice that reading and analysis are two different tasks; while most could read; only some could analyze. In relation to Joe Christmas, Joanna Burden represents all that society; its orthodox culture and mainstream tradition have imposed upon the mind-set of people. Joanna Burden represents; gender discrimination, racial and class discrimination. The painful part for Christmas is that he is bound to kill her for the â€Å"burden† that she implicitly bestowed on him. To Christmas, Joanna’s insistence for him to be educated, to be religious and her intentional deception of her other persona manifest weakness and fakeness. He felt he was deceived as she tries to be one of â€Å"them†, meaning the majority, the townspeople, the unreasonable, discriminators. Joanna symbolizes responsibility which Joe was trying to run away from. He does not want to conform. Christmas’ pasts and experiences, his uncertainties and self-confusion and identity crisis- all represents the â€Å"common† individual. We are all confused of how things are done and decided in the society. Some subject themselves to conformity just to be comfortable, while others refuse. Both died in the end. The two deaths represent both the death of all societal conditions of discrimination and confusion. The birth of Lena’s child who is a character of innocence and purity of intentions suggest the inevitable role of equality and reason in liberating from repression. In short, the way the narrator has exposed to us the events call for some historical, analytical, political and even philosophical understanding. We can not directly buy the motives presented by the narrator nor could we simply rely on the gossips of the townspeople in determining the truth. The author concealed information about the characters because the facts are treated less important more than the sentiments and beliefs that transpired in every act. The story does not even call for a â€Å"guess who† or â€Å"find out† type of goal. The tone which is one of confused nature is intended, effective and meaningful. The essence of the novel lies in that tendency of the reader to feel rather than to be satisfied, to yield an inquiring mind rather than a comfortable ending. As in the previous sections of Light In August, in the final chapters Faulkner meditates on the problems of storytelling. The information of the death of Christmas was revealed by an unknown character while the case of Lena and Byron were also resolved by a seemingly insignificant character. This poses before us that in normal circumstances, the â€Å"prominent† consisting of the highly-educated, and the elite is the source of all â€Å"perceived† truths and knowledge. We accept them not because they are real but because of the stature of the source- not knowing that beyond class, truth is not exclusive to the authority and the â€Å"famous†. The author suggests that the ability to give the past significant power in the present as it is highlighted in the discussion of Hightower’s life in the last chapter may be the key to enlightenment. In our society now and the way it is constructed, much is derived from the remains of history. The themes of racism, discrimination and inequalities for example are rooted in our colonial past. There is no light in August if these are not delved into, considered and critically understood.    How to cite Light in August: An Analysis, Essay examples

The Buffalo Creek Disaster Essay Example For Students

The Buffalo Creek Disaster Essay Category:HistoryPaper Title:The Buffalo Creek DisasterText:The Buffalo Creek DisasterThis Book was an outstanding depiction of how our court systems in the UnitedStates work. Gerald Stern, from the time he had accepted the case, in myopinion, was out for establishing justice. The Buffalo Creek Disaster lefthundreds of people to suffer without homes, belongings, jobs, family, andfriends. By the fault of the mining company, these peoples rights wereviolated. The rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were strippedaway from them in a few hours by the flood. I think the courts, Congress and attorneys all have roles and are obligatedto establishing justice. The courts are obligated to be there to listen to andmake sure that people are getting a fair chance for their case to be presented. The courts are there to make sure no corruption or slander is taking place. Itis the courts job to filter out any unnecessary baggage that may be broughtinto the picture. The courts are there to make sure everything goes by the rulesand guidelines set up by our constitution and laws. For instance, when JudgeHall had made Pittston give the plaintiffs some documents that had to do withthe case, he was making sure everything was being done lawfully. We will write a custom essay on The Buffalo Creek Disaster specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Congress has quite a different position I think. Congress has the job ofmaking sure the right laws are being made and passed in order for our society tobe centered on justice. If we have corrupted laws to work with, then our courtscant uphold justice at all. It is Congresss duty to make sure laws will bepassed that reflects the will of our people as well. This way when we do decideto use our court systems, we will feel like it is a fair system. The attorneys have the hardest role of all three. I think the attorneys arelike the student in a college class doing a research paper. They have to presentthere (plaintiffs) in a manner that is conclusive to the guidelines of theprofessor (court), which were shaped by the administrators (Congress). For themit is all about the legalities more so, than what they actually care about orthink is necessary. People always wonder why attorneys do things that seemunethical or devious. It is because they are forced to work under the strictguidelines of formality. Sometimes the only way to get things done properly isfind ways around or ways to use these laws and such to their advantage. I believe both sides of attorneys did an excellent job on their clientsbehalf. The attorneys for the mining company stuck within the guidelines of thelaw in order to do a successful job on their clients behalf, by biding timeand trying to discredit a plaintiff that was in the right. The plaintiffsattorneys did an excellent job at staying within the laws trying to discloselegally well hidden information. What each side did just goes back to thelawmakers, Congress, and brings attention to why they should be very careful inmaking laws. That is what kept the attorneys for the Buffalo Creek Disastervictims from obtaining justice for a while. It was the legalities of the courtsystem, put into effect by our Congress. They had to just wait all thesystematic issues out and then present the truth. They also had to facediscrimination in many different facets. Those of just dumb mine workers tothose of out of state lawyers. The obstacles were not easy. .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 , .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 .postImageUrl , .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 , .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3:hover , .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3:visited , .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3:active { border:0!important; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3:active , .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3 .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ua42d30ba05ad6f543f3d9a1927222bc3:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Trainers Report EssayI think that even though they made it through all of the obstacles andadversity, the victims of the Buffalo Creek Disaster were not compensated enoughfor all they went through. Like how one of the victims mentioned that the moneystill couldnt get rid of the memory and nightmares. To be honest, I dontthink that there could have been any amount of monetary reward that could repaythe victims for what they lost and what they gained. I personally think thatjustice was not achieved for that matter. Then again, if I were to comment onjustice being achieved in the legalistic sense, then yes. All of the proceedingswere handled according to the law, and one side prevailed over the other fairly. This to me would be justice in the Constitutional sense. I think the book was put together very well in the sense that it was writtenby a lawyer. The way the Chapters were separated and titled as to give quickreference. Also the way the book was written in story form as to be appealing tothe reader. Stern did an excellent job of recording the events surrounding thiscase and the information prevalent to it. The way he was very objective in hisdepictions of the moods and agendas behind the people involved, including hisown was very well done. Usually it is wise to be very skeptical towards thosewho write books involving themselves because of how they might distort the trutha little. In his book, Stern was convincing that he documented truth on theBuffalo Creek Disaster. I think like every other story, the mining company views it as somethingcompletely different. We are learning about this kind of stuff in SocialPsychology. One such thing is Confirmation Bias, once someone has made anopinion about something they will ignore things that do not agree and look forthings that support them being right. I think this happened throughout the sideof the defendants, the mining company. I also think that this happened on theside of the plaintiffs as well, because they could have done more to ensuretheir survival. Since the victims did nothing to ensure their survival and themining company was wrong, they chose to ignore that fact. Another thing that was impressed with was how captivating a book on a courtcase could be. I didnt think Id actually have the patience to read thewhole thing through, maybe skim it. I did however enjoy it, and plan to readmore books concerning court cases in the future for pleasure. History

America Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers

America Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers America AMERICA America is the land of opportunity. This country is full of great ways to better our lives. There are many different kinds of opportunities we can use to improve the quality of our living conditions. For example, there are many public school systems here, as well as the many college opportunities we are offered. This country is also a great place to find adventure, or just have a good time playing sports or exercising. Something else that is great about our country is our fantastic government system. Whether it's Federal, State, or Local government; ours is one to be proud of. America offers the most to any kind of person, no matter who you are or what you enjoy. In America there is an unbelievable amount of ways to learn. There is a public school system where anyone can go to school, Kindergarten through twelfth grade. If you want to further your education by going to college, there is a great variety of schools you could go to. If you want to be a doctor there are specific schools designed to teach people how to be doctors. Some colleges are good at different sports, and some are incredible acedemically, some schools are well-known for their drama programs or other things. Most schools offer scholarships to those who excel in specific areas. Scholarships are a good way to get financial aid if you can't or don't want to pay for college. If you're looking for action and adventure, you've come to the right place. America is the greatest place to kick back and have a good time. You could ski the icy slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Utah and Colorado, or you could surf and lay out on the sandy beaches of Hawaii or California. You could go crabbing on the rocky coast of Maine, or go ice fishing on a barren lake in the nippy weather of Alaska. Different places around the country offer a variety of seminars if you're looking for instruction, or you could read up on the subject before braving the great outdoors by yourself. Many people also enjoy sports. In Utah, there are all kinds of sports programs designed for people of all ages. This is a great place to come whether you're looking for sports action or outdoor adventure. Some might worry about the quality of our government. Despite the recent problems our president has had, the government is nothing to worry about. The local government is here to help us in any way needed. The local government helps us out with our school systems, roads, and many other things. The Federal government helps pass laws to make our states and towns better for us. All in all, the government is still going just as strong as they were in the beginning in 1776. Taking all the factors into consideration, I think America is the greatest place on earth to live. No matter what you want to do, where and when you want to do it; you can probably find it here. Whether you want to further your education, find a passion in some sort of outdoor adventure, or discover the mystery behind our government, this country is where you'll want to be. America truly is the land of opportunity.

Five Reasons Why Blogging Leads to Writing Jobs

Five Reasons Why Blogging Leads to Writing Jobs Five Reasons Why Blogging Leads to Writing Jobs Five Reasons Why Blogging Leads to Writing Jobs By Ali Hale Daily Writing Tips has already covered Five reasons why blogging improves your writing. But once you’ve polished up your skills, and grown used to writing frequently and receiving feedback, blogging can also help you get paid for your writing. 1. It’s a free (or very cheap) way to self-publish your writing Posting your writing on a blog is a form of self-publishing, even if you don’t think of it that way. After all, blogging software uses a Publish button to submit a post, and if you run Google Adsense on your blog, Google refers to you as a Publisher. In the past, to get published you either persuaded an editor to print your work, or you paid to have the piece printed yourself. Blogging allows you to self-publish for free (or at the small cost of hosting and an internet connection). If your blog becomes popular, you could run advertisements to make some money or invite sponsorship from companies – glance over to the right to see some of Daily Writing Tips’s sponsors. 2. Blogging helps you build up a portfolio of pieces One of the hardest things about getting started as a freelance writer is getting together a portfolio of your writing to show potential clients. Having a blog allows you to build up a sample of published pieces that you can use to show your writing prowess. If you’re intending to use blogging to start your portfolio, why not write guest posts for other blogs? For example, I have Daily Writing Tips, Diet Blog, Freelance Switch, The Change Blog, Dumb Little Man and Pick the Brain on my list of sites I’ve written for. Editors may take you more seriously if they can see that other people think your writing is good enough to publish. 3. You get to write about topics that you love – and build your expertise and credentials Much has been said about the need to have a blog on a niche topic – one topic that you write regularly about, rather than trying to include everything that you’re interested in. This makes it much easier to build up an interested readership, but it also helps to build your knowledge about the topic. If you’re reading other blogs and books on your subject and writing original material several times a week, you’ll almost certainly be learning something new. Having a well-established blog on a particular topic is a great way to demonstrate your expertise. For example, if you want to write movie reviews for a newspaper, pointing to your long-running blog with a weekly round-up of the latest releases could be a great way to prove that you’re up to the job. 4. A popular blog could lead to a book deal In the offline world, the sale of â€Å"blooks† is rising – books based on blogs. Several bloggers who I read have signed book deals: Darren Rowse from Problogger, Shauna Reid from The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl and Jennette Fulda (aka PastaQueen) from Half of Me. And, of course, there are some very famous examples such as Belle de Jour’s The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl. If your blog becomes big, it just might catch the attention of an agent. And even if the agents aren’t phoning you just yet, a blog could help you sell your own book. Elizabeth Soutter Schwarzer (‘Liz’ or ‘DaMomma’) from Motherhood is Not for Wimps has self-published one book and has another on the way. Collis and Cyan Ta’eed from Freelance Switch self-published How to be a Rockstar Freelancer (in both ebook and printed formats) and have another book on the way, How to be a Rockstar WordPresser. Many other bloggers offer excellent free articles on their blog but also sell ebooks which go into more depth on the same topics. 5. If you’re a freelancer, a blog is a great marketing tool Well-known bloggers who publish authoritative and well-written posts can use their blog as a mean of marketing themselves. Skellie does this brilliantly on Skelliewag, with a â€Å"Hire me† page and advertisments on the right hand side for her own services. Harry and James from Men with Pens have â€Å"Guns for Hire† which explains the writing and design services which they offer. Make sure your blog tells potential clients how they can get in touch. If someone loves your blog’s style and content, they might well want to hire you. Also, blogs tend to rank well in search engines (due to the amount of content, and because other blogs often want to link to your posts), so you’ll have greater visibility online. If you have a blog, has it helped you – directly or indirectly – to make money from your writing? If you’re not blogging yet, do you have ideas of how you’d like to use a blog? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Royal Order of Adjectives 7 Tips for Writing a Film ReviewEmpathic or Empathetic?

Civil Rights Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Civil Rights Movement - Essay Example The two white men arrested in connection with the incident were not judged. At the same time, Henry Huff, a black lady in Chicago, was expected to part with $200,000 in a court in Mississippi so as to see if she can be assisted in finding her kidnapped son. All these obstacles made them to struggle to have quality education, not to be oppressed and eliminate stereotyping. Hence the Black community came together to form the Civil Rights Movement to help in stopping segregation and discrimination against creed, race, gender and color. The community that supported it benefited in realizing equality among all races and an integrated society. After the formation of the social movement, some amendments were performed in America which assisted the blacks to realize their rights later (Vincent, 1989). The black community benefited from the 13th amendment which ended the servitude in the United States of America. It was the 14th amendment that highly benefited the black community. It granted citizenship to the blacks and barred states from cutting their immunities and privileges as prescribed in the constitution. It also prohibited all states from taking an individual’s liberty, life and property and granted equal laws’ protection. ... The black community eventually could access polling booth. The movement caused the Voting Rights Act to be passed in1965. The passage removed several racial barriers. It actually led to the alteration of American cultural, social and political way of life. Transformation in prevailing citizenship rights together with a redefinition of the courts and government’s role in guarding those rights bolstered all the Americans human rights irrespective of their individual color. Civil Rights Movement made many black employees in some organizations to publicize various abuses of civil rights that plagued them. The movement led to the emergence of Black Nationalism in America. In 1960s, many activists that were black started to ask for reforms that would lead to formation of a political system to make blacks to be less politically as well as economically crippled. With the rise of nationalism wave in the movement, some organizations emerged. One of the organization started advocating fo r â€Å"black power†. This term was clear indication racism was forever gone. Question Two Modern feminism movement describes an organized activity that attempts to empower female by revealing the interests and rights of women. Most people have counterfeit assumptions about women’s cultural beliefs, sexual preference and general point of view on life. Even the present daughters do not ever dream of leading the lives their mothers go through. Feminism movement was designed to be an intellectual and social group that inquires about transforming the society and individuals. This society includes changing the world along with changing their fathers. Its aim is to produce a society that is unbiased for all men and women by

William Shakespeare Sonnets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

William Shakespeare Sonnets - Essay Example Sonnet 144, 146, 147 and 152 are a few of his completed works and these sonnets carry with them important themes and messages. The theme of love is evident in these sonnets like all of his works. Sonnet 144 mainly discusses the theme of how women are evil owing to the distraction that they provide to men and hence move men away from their faith. The sonnet explains how men are physically attracted to women and Shakespeare considers this attraction to be of threat to pure love. On the other hand, Sonnet 146 carries a spiritual theme and reflects upon the segregation of the soul from the body upon the death of a person. Sonnet 147 explains the theme of illness and how illness drives a person towards depression. The last sonnet in discussion that is sonnet 152 revolves around the confusion of the poet regarding love and whether the love of the dark lady can be trusted and relied upon. The four sonnets carry with them individually very deep themes and meanings which are to be understood by the reader. Sonnets William Shakespeare is one name that fails to be unknown. From children to elderly, whether associated with Literature or not, everyone knows him as a man, who wrote plays and poetry. As general as that sounds, that is the magnanimity of his reputation and fame. To be more precise, William Shakespeare is a person who has contributed to English Literature more than anyone else. In his life, he was known for his plays, theatres and drama, but after his death, the rest of his published work showed that he was a much more intense and qualified poet. The sixteenth century celebrated him and his talents, nevertheless, any celebration or recognition remains small to the size of his contributions. His poetry remains alive today and his sonnets are a perfect example of it. As deep as his sonnets were, they had a certain mysterious element to it. There is a hidden story in each sonnet, yet they all seem connected and extremely personal at the same time. It’s the typical Shakespeare magic. The sonnets discussed in this paper are Sonnet 144, 146, 147 and 152; their complications, themes, story and their whole Shakespeare affect. Sonnet 144’s main theme is about how a woman is an evil figure when it comes to luring men. In this Sonnet, Shakespeare talks about good and bad people and refers them to as the â€Å"two loves† and the â€Å"two spirits†. He is explaining the human nature of men as to how women attract them physically and damage their faith. It somehow reflects the reality of life that no matter what happens; men will always have a desire for women. Shakespeare writes this sonnet with a feeling of threat that he feels from this evil to his â€Å"pure love.† This sonnet clearly explains the war that rages within a man after he falls in love; a war between his spirit and body. And according to this sonnet, the woman is the evil that supports body over the spirit. In short, the woman is like a wall between he ll and heaven. Moving on, sonnet 146 is said to be the only sonnet which has a grave religious element to it. None of the other sonnets by William Shakespeare have that connection to God. This Sonnet, in particular brings out the feeling of â€Å"impending death.† Even though there is no particular mention of God, there is a spiritual and a meditative feel about this. And once again, we witness a battle between the soul and body but in a completely different way. This battle is the detachment that takes place between the body and soul when a person dies. Sonnet number 147 is a different story in whole. It portrays the poet, that is, William Shakespeare as a sick man who is suffering from a disease that involves an excruciating fever. The expression in the sonnet

Differences and Importance of IPPS, OPPS, MPFS and DMEPOS

Differences and Importance of IPPS, OPPS, MPFS and DMEPOS The inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) is a structure of payment that comprises the instances of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) as acute care hospital inpatients. It is founded on resources that are employed to take care of recipients of Medicare in those groups. Each one DRG has a weight of payment allocated to it, founded on the standard cost of treating patients in that DRG. IPPS participates a significant function in deciding all costs of hospital as well as the costs of all tools for treating the patient all through a precise stay of inpatient (CMS. Gov, 2012). The outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) on the other side is controlled for service groups of diverse outpatient as classifications of ambulatory payment (APCs). Outpatient services in every APC are alike in expressions of clinical aspects and entailed resources. The APC payment rate In addition, for every group is wage adjusted to rationalize differences of geographic and functional in the group to all services. Hospitals In this get a fixed sum for all services of outpatient founded on classifications of ambulatory payment. Medicare apart from this, employs it to repay physicians and additional health care providers for the items and services that are not division of prospective payment systems (Herbert, 2012). A Medicare physician fee schedule (MPFS) establishes the rates of payment for therapy and physician services that are founded on conversion factors, relative value units, and cost indices of geographic practice. Durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) is recounted to reimbursement rates for these specific things to suppliers that make certain admission of a high-class of these things to the patients. It includes more than a small number of regulations of payment managing the delivery of DMEPOS things for beneficiaries of Medicare. It renders the process of competitive and authorization bidding, supplier enrollment, that have an force on suppliers payment made by the hospitals. It advances the capability of physicians to offer these things to their patients in an suitable manner. It make sure efficient supply of the required resources like health techniques, equipments, and technologies to the deprived at the right cost. There is most important divergence of recipients, provider groups, and their services offered for medical beneficiaries in these models, (CMS. Gov, 2012). OPPS and IPPS are executed for the similar provider i.e. health organizations and hospitals, nevertheless different in their recipients, who are out patients and inpatients correspondingly. DMEPOS and MPFS don’t comprise prospective payment systems and focus on supplier and physicians groups correspondingly. All these methods are structured to restrain on raise in health care services cost to the patients. It aids for the beneficiaries of medical to get quality and effective health care services at low down cost (Green Rowell, 2012). Hospitals With this are also confined to get a precise amount for their services, which they offer to the patients. Payment Expectations Both inpatient and outpatient prospective payment system methods of reimbursement are employed by Medicare to reimburse hospitals for outpatient and inpatient services, in addition to rehabilitation hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health services. It is anticipated from both providers that they ought to provide outpatient and inpatient services to the patients efficiently. It is as well anticipated that these hospitals for all time emphasize improving effectiveness and efficiency of care, while generating a results-oriented, patient-focused, market-driven environment (Zweifel, Breyer Kifmann, 2009). It is supposed to be noted down In this context, that in the instance that someone is not capable to recompense for hospitahealth services it is anticipated from the hospital that it offer the free of cost health services. It in addition have to serve a least amount number of beneficiaries of Medicare. Non-physician and physicians practitioners Under the MPFS, are remunerated that offer fundamental health services to beneficiaries of Medicare. For this group Payment expectation is to advance the quality of care for patients while eradicating barriers to thriving participation of physician. They ought to follow Medicare laws with this, consecutively to accomplish the medical beneficiaries expectation. It is essential for them In addition, to offer facilities of Medicare to the patients at decided prices with no any conflicts. It is as well presumed to non-physician and physicians practitioners that they construct of the majority of their knowledge and skills consecutively to offer patients health treatment (CMS. Gov, 2012). All hospital and physicians practitioners acquire a fixed sum for every patient and are accountable for making accessible all services for that patient above a assigned period. DMEPOS is employed for paying back suppliers of prosthetics, durable medical equipment, orthotics and supplies to the patients. Value based purchasing of health care services are Payment expectations for this provider that can offer additional transparency on quality and cost to make certain Medicare beneficiaries optimal care. Providers In addition, have to be additional spotlight to supply to CMS performance data, which is probable to have an effect on potential reimbursements to provider. There are financial penalties for those providers In condition of any infringement of CMS’ standards,who don’t meet up these standards (Mayes Berenson, 2006). It is as well anticipated from suppliers that they offer efficient supplies to the hospitals in considers ensuring the eminence of the patients health. Implication of a Case Mix Involving IPPS, OPPS and DMEPOS for A Small Hospital Implication of a case mix In a small hospital, concerning OPPS IPPS,and DMEPOS is to develop the hospital care quality and center on designing effectual improvement facilities of quality. Hospitals are a most important constituent of the delivery system of health care, which are required to implement and develop an important outcome on quality, costs and admission to care. Small hospitals can attain their payments in a appropriate way in the course of executing these methods. They might be capable to get diverse equipments and required resources at rational price all the way through suppliers (Chalfin Rizzo, 2011). It can facilitate them to offer healthcare services based on quality to the patients at a lower cost. They can obtain an appropriate amount for offering healthcare services to the outpatients and inpatients. It facilitates them to classify their services according the health regulations in an effectual way. It as well offers them equivalent opportunity to get growth since of security for payment of their services as indicated by fixed standards and sets. Hospitals of Small specialty and centers in concern of this, are obtaining the latest technology and equipment consecutively to draw high-end customers from commercial hospitals. DMEPOS can aid them to obtain these services with easiness at low down cost. These hospitals Apart from this, are proficient to administer their cash flow competently regarding their inventories and services. A fixed and proper amount of payment to the small health care providers employees can stimulate them to offer quality services to the beneficiaries of medical effectively (CMS. Gov, 2012). Small hospitals can acquire bonus payments for offering health professional shortage care. Consequently, a small hospital can associate these payment methods suitably in its operations. There possibly will be likelihood of risk to get lesser amount on the other hand, for their services since of the nature of illness of patients, high treatment cost involvement, or additional situational factors. It is since the fee is charged for the anticipated expenditure of caring for the patient. If the on the whole cost of care is additional than anticipated, the profit the hospital and doctor receive can be decreased. It can force growth of hospital in unconstructive manner. It relies on the equipped efficiency of the hospital that they can acquire additional profits by offering care at a lower-than-anticipated cost. Furthermore, there possibly will be a likelihood of less increase in standard payments for services of small hospital in novel reforms of these models of payment (Wachter, Goldman Hollander, 2005).

Economic Performance And Current Situation Overview Economics Essay

The Hong Kong ‘s economic system is presently in an upward tendency. It is said to be the universe ‘s freest economic system, the 2nd largest beginning of foreign direct investing ( FDI ) in Asia, the universe ‘s 9th largest foreign exchange militias keeping, the universe ‘s 2nd highest per capita retention of foreign exchange militias and the universe ‘s more services-oriented economic system whereby the service sector accounts for more than 90 % of GDP. Hong Kong has successfully overcome the strict challenges from the planetary recession of 2009. It has been able to raise its existent Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) from -2.7 % in 2009 to +6.8 % in 2010, therefore overcoming the economic recession of 2009. Hong Kong ‘s economic growing was achieved because of the robust rise in entire ware exports and service exports every bit good as the autumn in unemployment rate. However, the rising prices rate which is measured by the composite Consumer Pric e Index besides rise from 0.9 % in 2009 to 2.9 % in 2010, connoting that on norm the monetary values of all goods and services rose by 2.9 cents in every US $ over the twelvemonth. It is of import to observe that rising prices rate in Hong Kong, which refers to a general and sustained rise in the degree of monetary values of goods and services was chiefly due to imported rising prices, that is, addition in the monetary values of imported goods from overseas besides boosts up the monetary values of goods and services locally. The figure below shows the economic tendency of Hong Kong since 2000. From the chart, it can be clearly seen that Hong Kong ‘s existent GDP has fell by 3.7 % ( 10.5 % in 2000 – 6.8 % in 2010 ) over the last 10 old ages. At the same clip, it can besides be observed that Hong Kong experienced a major diminution from 10.5 % in 2000 to 0.1 % in 2001 because of the deterioration of the external environment prompted by the downswing in the US economic system, and with the state of affairs aggravated by the tragic event in the United States on 11th September 2001 when two air hoses crashed into the Twin Towers of World Trade Center in New York City. Furthermore, with the recent economic growing in 2010, citizens of Hong Kong are better off as the existent GDP per capita, that is, income per caput besides increases over the last three old ages from 2008 to 2010. Besides, it is every bit of import to advert that Hong Kong has four economic pillars: Trading and Logistics ( 24.1 % of GDP in footings of value-added in 2009 ) , Tourism ( 3.3 % ) , Financial Services ( 15.2 % ) , and Professional Services and other manufacturer services ( 13.1 % ) . On the other manus, there are six industries in which Hong Kong has clear advantages for farther development and which histories for 8 % of GDP in footings of value-added in 2009. The six industries comprises of Cultural and Creative Industry, Medical Services, Education Services, Innovation and Technology, Testing and Certification Services, and Environmental Services. Now, allow us analyze in deepness the different elements structuring the economic system of Hong Kong. The Domestic Sector The Domestic Sector contributed a batch on the economic growing of Hong Kong with the retail gross revenues holding a important recoil, reflecting a return of consumer assurance and strong influxs of tourers. The value of retail gross revenues increased by 18.3 % in 2010 compared to a 0.6 % rise in 2009. Furthermore, the touristry sector besides experienced a sustain growing with visitant reachings making 36.3 million, a 21.8 % addition in 2010 compared to 2009 with visitant reachings stand foring 29.6 million, a 0.3 % addition. The chart below shows how retail gross revenues and tourers reachings have fared strongly through to the twelvemonth terminal on a year-on-year footing since 2005 to 2010. Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hketosydney.gov.hk/cust/HK_Feb_2011.pdf The External Sector Hong Kong ‘s external sector besides continued to do strongly in 2010 thanks to the vigorous economic public presentation of Asiatic economic systems, peculiarly the Mainland. The Mainland and other Asiatic markets, which accounts for around 70 % of Hong Kong ‘s entire exports of goods, remained the cardinal growing driver, registering a important rise of around 20 % in existent footings in 2010 compared to a autumn of 6.6 % in existent footings in 2009. It is of import to observe that the Asiatic markets particularly the Mainland continued to surpass the US and EU markets, mirroring the divergent form of planetary economic recovery across parts due to the addition in the petroleum oil monetary values in January 2011 to US $ 93 per barrel and besides due to the political agitation in Egypt. The diagram below illustrates how the Asiatic markets have surpassed the US and EU markets over the last five old ages. Two-Speed Growth Continued Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hketosydney.gov.hk/cust/HK_Feb_2011.pdf Now allow us see the two different types of trade: seeable and unseeable. Visible Trade Visible Trade refers to the imports and exports of goods, such as oil, machines, nutrient, chemicals and so on. The major states to which Hong Kong exports its goods are Mainland of China, United States, European Union, Japan, Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Though after the planetary recession in 2009, Hong Kong ‘s exports to these states have improved well like exports to Mainland in existent footings rose from -6.6 % in 2009 to 20 % in 2010 ; yet the European Union still lagged behind with merely a 6.6 % addition in existent footings in seeable exports in 2010 compared to the other major markets who have seen a double-digit addition in exports in the current twelvemonth. Similarly, the imports of goods in existent footings rose from -9.4 % in 2009 to 18.6 % in 2010. The maintained imports for most of the merchandises like consumer goods, groceries, natural stuffs and capital goods of Hong Kong climbed significantly in 2010 compared to 2009 whilst fuels retained impo rts fell by 9.3 % ( 23.2 % in 2009 – 13.9 % in 2010 ) . This was chiefly due to the recent rise in the petroleum oil monetary values. The figure below shows how seeable imports and exports have fared since 2005. It can be seen that both imports and exports of goods have increased since 2005 and have been able to excel the planetary recession in 2009. Invisible Trade Invisible Trade refers to the exchange of services, that is, imports and exports of services like fiscal and concern services, travel services, trade-related services and transit services. Exports of services sustained a strong growing throughout 2010, jumping by 15.0 % in existent footings for the twelvemonth as a whole, following the 0.3 % growing in 2009. Among the major service constituents of Hong Kong, the exports of travel services showed the strongest public presentation thanks to the ample inflow of visitants from te regional every bit good as long-haul markets. Likewise, exports of trade-related services besides grew aggressively in 2010 benefiting from the improved trading environment in Asia. On the other manus, imports of services experienced a rise up to 10.9 % in existent footings in 2010, in contrast to the 4.9 % contraction in 2009. The imports of services grew solidly in line with improvong the economic conditions. Hong Kong Trade Balance Although Hong Kong is sing important addition in its exports and imports of both good and services, the seeable trade shortage in 2010 has widened compared to 2009. But this seeable trade shortage was overcomed by the high unseeable trade excess ; therefore assisting the economic system of Hong Kong to give a trade balance excess of $ 104.6 billion equivalent to 2.8 % of entire value of imports of goods and services in 2010 compared to merchandise excess of $ 121.3 billion stand foring 4 % of the entire value of imports of goods and services in 2009. The figure below depicts Hong Kong trade public presentation over the last five old ages. It can clearly be seen that Hong Kong has been sing seeable trade shortage since 2005 its imports exceeded its exports. However, due to its high invible trade excess over the last five old ages, Hong Kong continues to hold a favorable trade balance which underlines the state ‘s strong external fight. The Financial Sector The heavy market concerns over lifting financial shortages and public debts in a few European economic systems have made the stock market more volatile recently. As a consequence, the Hong Kong dollar topographic point exchange rate moved withing a narrow scope of 7.749 to 7.805 per US dollar in 2010. Despite a brief weakening around the center of the twelvemonth amid possible capital escapes induced by heightened concerns about the European debt crisis, the Hong Kong spot exchange rate showed renewed strength thenceforth on the dorsum of strong demand associated with the vivacious Initial Public Offerings ( IPOs ) activities. Furthermore, under the Linked Exchange Rate system, motions in the Hong Kong dollar exchange rates against other currencies closely follow those of the US dollar. In 2010, the US dollar strengthened against the Euro and the British Pound amid concerns about the European debt job but weakened further against most other currencies, particularly the Australian dol lar and the Nipponese Yen. Consequently, in December 2010 the trade-weighted Hong Kong dollar Nominal and Real Effective Exchange Rate Indexs declined by 2.2 % and 2.1 % severally from 2009. Hence, Hong Kong dollar weakened against most major currencies as shown in the figure below for the twelvemonth 2010. Hong Kong dollar weakened slightly recently in 2010/11 In add-on, Hong Kong is a extremely attractive market for foreign direct investing. Harmonizing to the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2010, Hong Kong was the universe ‘s 4th largest FDI receiver, pulling US $ 48 billion in 2009. This marks the first clip that Hong Kong has gained 4th topographic point in the planetary rankings and represents a leap from its 9th place in 2008. For the 12th back-to-back twelvemonth, Hong Kong continues to be the 2nd largest FDI receiver in Asia, after the Chinese mainland. On the other manus, Hong Kong was the 2nd largest beginning of FDI in Asia, draging Japan, with FDI escapes amounting to US $ 52 billion in 2009. Further, imparting to all major economic sectors grew at a alert gait as Hong Kong has a low involvement rate. In other footings, involvement rates on both sweeping and retail foreparts continued to remain at historically low degrees in 2010. The Labour Sector Labour market conditions improved further on a wide forepart as a consequence of the strong choice up of economic activities and substancial occupation creative activity. Entire employment rose to an all-time high by end-2010, forcing the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate down farther to 4.0 % in the 4th one-fourth of 2010. Underemployment rate likewise dropped to 1.8 % . Labour income continued besides to lift. It is of import to observe that the new occupations created were non merely adequate for absorbing the bing umemployed individuals but besides the new entrants joing the labour force. The line chart below shows the tendency in unemployment rates since 2006. Unemployment rate declined for most in 2010, led by the important upturn in labour demand Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hkeconomy.gov.hk/en/pdf/er_10q4.pdf Monetary values Inflation force per unit areas in Hong Kong went up bit by bit over the class of 2010 chiefly due to higher imported rising prices. Monetary values of nutrient and other trade goods rose strongly in the international markets in 2010 along with the continued planetary economic recovery and the really accommodating pecuniary environment worldwide. For 2010 as a whole, the Composite Consumer Price Index rose by 2.4 % following the 0.5 % addition in 2009 when the economic system was in deflation for several months in the twelvemonth. As mentioned antecedently, rising prices was besides caused by imported rising prices. In other footings, import monetary values augmented notably in 2010, due to the strong recoils in planetary trade good monetary values, higher rising prices in supply beginnings and to a lesser extent the somewhat weaker Hong Kong dollar alongside the US dollar ; accordingly, these increase the imported rising prices in Hong Kong. Inflation in Hong Kong Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.hketosydney.gov.hk/cust/HK_Feb_2011.pdf Key: CCPI stands for Composite Consumer Price Index ( * ) The underlying CCPI has netted out the effects of all relevant one-off steps introduced since 2007, including the release and Government ‘s payment of public lodging leases, rates concession, suspension of Employee Retraining Levy, and subsidies for family electricity charges. However, it is critical to indicate out that Hong Kong was non the alone state to be sing lifting rising prices on 2010. Many Asiatic economic systems with vivacious growing in activities besides saw higher inflationary force per unit areas throughout the twelvemonth.

The Correlation in Credit Risk in the market - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3729 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Correlation in credit risk is a well-known phenomenon. Understanding the causes of correlated credit losses is crucial for many purposes, such as managing a portfolio, setting capital requirements for banks, and pricing structured credit products that are heavily exposed to correlations in credit risk; for example, collateralized debt obligations (CDO). This issue has become particularly important because of the rapid growth of structured credit products in the financial markets in recent years. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Correlation in Credit Risk in the market" essay for you Create order But despite much research on the subject, we do not understand many aspects of correlation in credit risk; this paper attempts to move the literature forward. First, we explore the economic importance of contagion in credit risk correlation. This is an open empirical question. Many credit models are based on the doubly stochastic assumption that, conditional on observable risk factors, defaults are independent of each other. This assumption is widely accepted and implemented in banking to determine capital requirements.Evidence exists that contagion has a notable impact on the correlation in credit risk of firms subject to significant credit events. On the basis of these findings, some researchers have tried to include contagion in credit models. However, the economic importance of contagion in a firms credit risk correlation is not clear from the literature. If the role of contagion is statistically significant but not economically significant, modeling contagion may not be of first-order importance. But even though some researchers and practitioners reject the doubly stochastic assumption, they find that the proportion of correlation in credit risk that cannot be explained by observable risk factors is small (1 to 5 percent), which suggests that unobservable risk factors may be of minor importance in credit risk models. In this paper, we attempt to clarify this issue. We also explore the credit risk correlation pattern over time and across firms with varying credit quality. The academic literature cannot agree on these patterns either. These questions are important because credit risk has been and still is the biggest risk facing banks. And with securitization and the new products that have been developed in the financial market, credit risk has been spread out beyond the banking sector to various market segments. Ambiguity regarding these issues poses serious challenges for investors, practitioners, and regulators. In this paper, we approach cred it risk in two ways. First, unlike earlier studies, we use data from the credit default swap (CDS) market. Most researchers examine the correlation in a firms credit risk using either estimated default intensity based on actual default observations or implied default probability derived from the Merton (1974) model. The former approach may not be reliable, because some default events are strategic decisions and, therefore, may not correspond to economic default.1 Also, some financially distressed companies may be able to negotiate debt restructuring to avoid default or may be acquired with bankruptcy looming on the horizon, and these informal resolutions of financial distress are difficult to identify.2, 3 The problem of reliable numbers is a serious challenge-default is a low-frequency event, and any misclassification may have a major impact on the precision of parameter estimates. Thus, the estimated default intensity might be contaminated, and this weakness could be behind some r ather surprising findings in the literature. On the other hand, default probability estimated from the Merton model could be confounded by the oversimplified assumptions behind the model. In contrast, the CDS market enables the direct measurement of credit risk by many market participants. CDS is insurance against a default by a particular company or sovereign entity (known as the reference entity). The buyer of the CDS contract makes periodic payments to the seller for the right to sell a bond issued by the reference entity for its face value if the issuer defaults. So the price of CDS contracts (or the CDS spread) is a direct measure of the credit risk of the reference entity. Because CDS spreads can be based on a wide array of credit risk models, it is also a comprehensive measure of credit risk. The second way we approach credit risk in this paper is by investigating the observable factors and their contributions to the correlation in risk. Although previous studies have i ncorporated some macroeconomic factors into modeling credit risk, the impact of these variables is not consistent across studies, and some results are counterintuitive. We study the impact on credit risk of various macroeconomic variables as well as firm- and market-level variables, and we model the industry effect on the credit risk of individual firms. Although many researchers have suggested that the industry effect partially accounts for the correlation in credit risk, the literature has yet to provide conclusive evidence. On the basis of monthly changes in CDS spreads from January 2001 through December 2006, we find that changes in CDS spreads are positively correlated, with an average correlation of 21 percent. Observable variables at the firm level can reduce the correlation by 8 percent, resulting in a correlation of 13 percent among the regression residuals. Market-level and macroeconomic variables are significantly associated with changes in CDS spreads, with the expect ed signs of the regression coefficients. These variables, together with firm-level variables, can reduce the correlation by two-thirds to 7 percent. We also confirm the existence of the industry effect and find that firms in less cyclical industries have lower correlations in credit risk. Although industry variables are significantly related to CDS spread changes in the right directions, the industry effect can be responsible for less than 1 percent of the correlation in CDS spread changes after we control for firm-level, market-level, and macroeconomic variables. When all observable variables are combined, they can account for about 14 percent of the correlations, leaving 7 percent unaccounted for. The main observable variables that contribute to the correlations are firm-level variables and credit spreads, which can be affected by both contagion and systematic risks. Excluding these variables, the mean correlation among the residuals is 12 percent. These findings suggest that c ontagion could contribute from 33 percent to 57 percent of the correlation in credit risks. We also investigate the potential nonlinearity in the relationship between credit risk and observable variables, and find that accounting for nonlinearity does not qualitatively change our findings. Thus, the evidence suggests that contagion does play an economically important role in the credit risk correlation. In addition, we find that the correlation in credit risk is countercyclical; that is, it is higher during economic downturns and lower during booms. Also, it is higher among firms with low credit ratings than among those with high credit ratings. These findings are consistent with some theoretical predictions but not with the findings based on measures from the Merton model. We believe that the results derived from CDS spreads are more reliable because of the oversimplified assumptions behind Mertons model and the evidence in the literature that the Merton default probability m easure does not forecast default probability well. Since the study period was short, it included one full business cycle; thus, the results have general implications. The study period did not include the recent market turmoil; however, if contagion is a major phenomenon during severe economic downturns, failing to include the recent period of turmoil is biased only against the finding that contagion plays an important role. The evidence, therefore, suggests that modeling the unobservable risk factors should be of first-order importance for future research in credit modeling. This paper is organized as follows. In section II, there is a review of the current literature. In section III, description of the sample is given. Discussion of observable risk factors and their contributions to the correlation in credit risk is given in section IV. Section V presents results on the correlation in credit risk over time and by rating groups. In the last section, a brief conclusion is given . II. Literature Review Modelling Correlation in Credit Risk The two branches of credit risk measurement are (1) the structural approach and (2) the reduced-form approach. Structural models originate from the Merton (1974) model and assume that a company will default if the value of its assets is below a certain level; for example, the amount of its outstanding debt. The key to structural modelling is to capture the stochastic asset diffusion process, and default correlation between two companies is introduced by assuming that the stochastic processes followed by the assets of the two companies are correlated. Correlation in the stochastic asset diffusion processes of two firms can be caused by both observable risk factors and unobservable risk factors, such as contagion. The advantage of structural models is the flexibility in modeling correlation in credit risk; the disadvantage is the difficulty in implementing them empirically. The general theoretical predictions from this school are that credit ri sk correlation is higher for firms with a low credit rating than for those with a high credit rating, and that the correlation increases during economic downturns The reduced-form models assume that a firms default time is driven by a default intensity that varies according to changes in macroeconomic conditions In other words, when the default intensity for company A is high, the default intensity for company B tends to be high as well, which induces a default correlation between the two companies. The reduced-form models usually assume that observable risk factors are the main drivers of firm credit risk and that, after controlling for observable factors and default intensity, defaults should be independent. This is the doubly stochastic assumption. Because of its mathematical tractability, most researchers and practitioners gravitate toward this approach; thus, the doubly stochastic assumption is behind many commonly used reduced-form models to predict default, such as the dur ation models and the survival time copula models. The doubly stochastic assumption is also the key assumption behind the proprietary models. For instance, Moodys KMV Risk Advisor considers systematic factors using a three-level approach: (1) a composite market risk factor, (2) an industry and country risk factor, and (3) regional factors and sector indicators. The factor loading for an individual firm for each of the factors is estimated using asset variances obtained from the option theoretical model, and the factor loadings are then used to calculate co-variances for each pair of firms. In Credit Metrics, the credit transition matrix is conditioned on a credit cycle index, which shifts down when economic conditions deteriorate. The credit cycle index is obtained by regressing default rates for speculative grade bonds on the credit spread, 10-year Treasury yield, inflation rate, and growth in gross domestic product (GDP). In contrast, Credit Risk Plus incorporates cyclical facto rs by allowing the mean default rate to vary over the business cycle. Credit Risk Plus models find that correlation in credit risk is higher among firms with low credit ratings. In summary, the doubly stochastic assumption plays a critical role in the vast majority of credit models used in research and practice. The findings say that variations in the observable factors cannot fully explain the correlation in credit risk and that the doubly stochastic assumption is violated; however, the proportion of the correlation that cannot be explained by observable factors is rather small. The conclusion may be contaminated in two ways. First, the evidence could result from the misspecification associated with the model to predict default intensity. A different model could lead to two possibilities: (1) observable factors may be sufficient to account for the correlated default risk, or (2) the proportion not explained by observable factors could be much larger. It is not clear from the literature how the correlation in credit risk varies over business cycles and across firms with different credit quality, as studies on these subjects have yielded conflicting results. This lack of clarity poses a major challenge for investors, portfolio managers, bankers, and bank regulators. Macroeconomic Impact in Credit Risk Modelling Some studies incorporate macroeconomic conditions into credit risk models; however, researchers have used different macroeconomic variables, and some variables that are important in one paper are found to be unimportant in another. Also, some empirical results are quite counterintuitive. Some researchers find intuitive relations between credit risk and macroeconomic variables. For example, Collin-Dufresne, Goldstein, and Martin (2001) examine determinants of changes in credit spreads using changes in 10-year Treasury rates, changes in the slope of the yield curve, changes in market volatility, and monthly SP 500 returns. They find that all these variables are significantly related to changes in credit spreads, with the direction implied by structural models. Carling and colleagues (2007) investigate how macroeconomic conditions affect business defaults using a corporate portfolio from a leading Swiss retail bank. They find that the output gap, the yield curve, and consumers expectations of future economic development can help explain a firms default risk. In summary, the impact of macroeconomic variables is not consistently documented in the literature, and some results are counterintuitive. These findings add to the puzzle of whether observable risk factors can explain the correlation in credit risk. We believe that the inconsistent and sometimes counterintuitive findings may be contaminated by the noise in the default data, as default events are rare and can contain misclassifications that lead to estimation errors. CDS data are more suitable for this purpose. III. Data Description and Sample Statistics The Sample The primary data in this study are the monthly CDS data from January 2001 through December 2006. We use the five-year CDS, as this instrument is the most liquid in the CDS market. We use monthly data to match the monthly macroeconomic variables because price movements in monthly data are less contaminated than daily or weekly data by temporary imbalances between supply and demand. The CDS spread measures total credit risk, which includes both default probability (DP) and losses given default (LGD). It is widely documented that DP and LGD are positively correlated thus, the CDS spread is a comprehensive measure of total credit risk. The sample includes 523 firms (25,113 firm-month observations)-376 investment-grade firms and 147 speculative-grade firms, based on the average rating for each firm during the sample period. Our sample period (2001-2006) includes one full business cycle consisting of varying economic conditions: an economic downturn in the early period, a recovery in 2003, and a normal period afterward. Variables at the Firm, Industry, and Market Levels We use three firm-level variables to explain the changes in CDS spreads: monthly stock returns, monthly stock volatility change, and firm leverage change.According to the structural model, a firms default risk is higher when either volatility or leverage is high. Also, stock returns indicate the markets assessment of a firms future performance. Lower returns imply a dimmer outlook, which should correlate with a higher credit risk, so stock returns should be negatively associated with changes in CDS spreads. We use the following market-level variables: changes in implied market volatility (VIX), changes in market leverage, and changes in market returns (measured by NYSE-AMEX-NASDAQ value-weighted returns). An increase in either market volatility or market leverage, or a decrease in market returns, suggests a worsening economic outlook, which should be associated with an incr ease in credit risk. We define industry variables similarly-changes in industry volatility, changes in industry leverage, and changes in industry aggregate returns-and the same logic should hold at the industry level if there is an industry effect. Macroeconomic Variables We use real GDP growth rate and changes in capacity utilization rate to describe the business cycle. If credit risks are higher during an economic recession, we would see changes in CDS spreads negatively related to both real GDP growth rate and changes in capacity utilization rate. We also include inflation among our list of macroeconomic variables. Since previous studies have shown a negative relationship between real activity and inflation, we expected a positive relationship between inflation and credit risk. We use the following interest rate variables: changes in three-month T-bill rates, changes in term spreads (difference between the yields of 10-year T-bonds and three-month T-bills), and changes i n credit spreads between BBB and AAA bonds and between AAA bonds and 10-year T-bonds. The relationship between the three-month T-bill rate and credit risk should be negative for two reasons. First, the Feds monetary policy is pro-cyclical. Second, a higher interest rate can increase the risk-neutral drift of the process of firm value, thus reducing credit risks Collin-Dufresne and colleagues (2001) and Duffee (1998) both documented a negative relationship between interest rate and credit risk. Credit risk should also be negatively related to the term spread (Estrella and Hardouvelis 1991, Estrella and Mishkin 1996, and Fama and French 1989) and positively related to both measures of credit spread (Chen 1991, Fama and French 1989, Friedman and Kuttner 1992, and Stock and Watson 1989). Data Description Table 1 provides summary statistics of the sample. For all firms, the mean CDS spread is 126.27 basis points (bps). The median and standard deviation suggest that the distribution of CDS spreads is quite skewed and volatile. The mean change in CDS spreads is small (-0.07 percent), but the range is wide (-17.78 to 23.43 percent). Both the high and low in CDS spread changes are found among the speculative-grade firms; these firms also have higher mean changes in CDS spreads. As expected, all three measures (CDS spreads, equity volatility, and firm leverage) are lower among investment-grade firms and higher among speculative-grade firms. Panel B of table 1 shows that the average CDS spread was highest in 2002; it declined sharply in 2003 and 2004, then leveled off.11 The average monthly return on the NYSE-AMEX-NASDAQ index was 0.47 percent during the sample period, and the average annualized volatility was 19.08 percent. Over the entire sample period, the mean market leverage was 0.23. The average return across the industry portfolios was 0.57 percent, and the mean annualized industry volatility was 25.27 percent. Table 1. Descriptive Statistics Table 1 shows the summary statistics of the variables used in the study. Panel A presents the descriptive statistics for the firm-level variables: five-year CDS spreads (in basis points), CDS spread percentage changes, equity returns, equity volatility, and leverage. The monthly equity volatility is computed as the annualized standard deviation based on daily returns. The firm leverage is computed as the ratio of book debt value to the sum of market capitalization and book debt value. The data are from January 2001 through December 2006. Investment-grade refers to firms with ratings at BAA or above; speculative-grade refers to firms with ratings below BAA. Panel B presents the descriptive statistics of CDS spreads by year. Panel C presents the summary statistics of the market and industry variables. VIX is the implied volatility of the SP 500 index options obtained from the Chicago Board Options Exchange. The market return is the NYSE-AMEX-NASDAQ value-weighted index returns. Other market (industry) variables are the value-weighted average from all firms in the market (industry). We use the Fama-French 12-industry classification. Panel A. Firm Characteristics Variables Mean Median Minimum Maximum All firms CDS (bps) 126.27 63.10 8.65 1,632.36 CDS change (%) -0.07 -0.46 -17.78 23.43 Equity return (%) 1.23 1.13 -4.26 4.86 Equity volatility 0.31 0.28 0.13 0.78 Leverage 0.32 0.29 0.00 0.94 Investment-grade CDS (bps) 60.22 47.10 8.65 444.89 CDS change (%) -0.42 -0.60 -5.06 7.93 Equity return (%) 1.18 1.13 -0.80 4.39 Equity volatility 0.27 0.25 0.16 0.64 Leverage 0.28 0.24 0.00 0.94 Speculative-grade CDS (bps) 295.23 223.24 53.81 1,632.36 CDS change (%) 8.26 5.78 -17.78 23.43 Equity return (%) 1.34 1.34 -4.26 4.86 Equity volatility 0.41 0.39 0.13 0.78 Leverage 0.44 0.43 0.06 0.92 Table 1. Descriptive Statistics (contd.) Panel B. Summary Statistics of CDS Spreads (bps) Year Mean Median Minimum Maximum 2001 151.67 83.33 17.83 3,249.57 2002 212.29 99.70 15.22 3,232.04 2003 150.72 69.62 9.84 2,508.39 2004 109.33 49.27 8.72 1,843.10 2005 107.17 44.90 5.21 2,181.16 2006 94.39 41.40 3.98 2,396.08 Panel C. Market- and Industry-Level Variables Variables Mean Median Minimum Maximum Market aggregate return (%) 0.47 1.11 -10.01 8.41 VIX (%) 19.08 16.69 10.91 39.69 Market leverage 0.23 0.23 0.19 0.27 Industry return (%) 0.57 1.57 -12.64 10.23 Industry volatility (%) 25.27 20.21 11.91 80.57 Industry leverage 0.23 0.17 0.07 0.48 IV. Observable Risk Factors and Correlation in Credit Risk Because most of our analyses involve panel data, our estimates are based on robust standard errors. We estimated these errors by assuming independence across firms, but we accounted for possible autocorrelation within the same firm. We use the contemporaneous variables on the right-hand-side variables . Market and Macroeconomic Effect Table 2 shows the effect of firm-level variables on changes in CDS spreads. We calculate the pairwise correlations (of the raw CDS spread changes or residuals from the regressions) and report the means in the last row of the table. The first column of table 2 shows that, without controlling for any observable covariates, the average correlation in changes in CDS spreads in the entire sample is 21 percent. The correlation ranges from a minimum of -30 percent to a maximum of 72 percent, and the interquartile spans a range of 30 percent. Table 2. Effect of Firm Characteristics on the Correlation in Changes in CDS Spreads Independent Variables Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5 Equity returns -0.567*** -0.473*** [0.023] [0.025] Change in firm leverage 1.662*** 0.318*** [0.114] [0.084] Chance in equity volatility 0.199*** 0.148*** [0.015] [0.012] Constant 0.003*** -0.002*** -0.003*** 0.003*** [0.001] [0.001] [0.001] [0.001] Observations 25,113 25,113 25,113 25,113 25,113 R2 9% 5% 3% 11% Correlation/residual correlation 0.21 0.17 0.14 0.16 0.13 Industry Effect Table 5 shows the average pairwise correlation in CDS spread changes among firms in each of the 11 Fama-French industries.12 The table shows much variation in correlation in credit risk among firms in the same industry. Over the study period, the energy sector has the highest correlation among all industries, whereas the health care sector has the lowest correlation. Only four of the 11 industries h ave a higher average correlation than the overall average of 21 percent. The ranking of correlation by industry changed over the six-year study period. The financial industry had the highest correlation in 2001 and 2002, suggesting that an economic downturn affects financial firms more than others. The energy industry had the highest correlation from 2004 to 2006, likely driven by volatile price movements in oil. The health care, medical equipment, and drug industries had the lowest correlations in three of the six years, and consumer nondurable goods had the lowest correlation in two years. These findings suggest that less cyclical industries have lower correlations in credit risk. Table 5. Correlation in CDS Spread Changes Across Industries Year Ind1 Ind2 Ind3 Ind4 Ind5 Ind6 Ind7 Ind8 Ind9 Ind10 Ind11 2001 0.12 0.44 0.44 0.63 0.24 0.36 0.51 0.28 0.41 0.65 2002 0.13 0.43 0.26 0.26 0.14 0.41 0.43 0.38 0.24 0.17 0.45 2003 0.20 0.33 0.15 0.24 0.05 0.13 0.25 0.36 0.17 0.03 0.29 2004 0.24 0.26 0.21 0.35 0.17 0.21 0.26 0.32 0.23 0.14 0.30 2005 0.22 0.28 0.23 0.55 0.18 0.22 0.22 0.35 0.20 0.23 0.31 2006 0.06 0.07 0.09 0.33 0.17 0.11 0.12 0.26 0.22 0.06 0.13 2001-2006 0.16 0.28 0.18 0.35 0.18 0.17 0.16 0.29 0.19 0.11 0.22 V. Conclusions In this paper, we examine the correlation in credit risk using CDS data. We find that observable variables at the firm, industry, and market levels, as well as macroeconomic variables, cannot fully explain the correlation in credit risk, leaving at least one-third of the correlation in credit risk unaccounted for during the study period (2001-2006). These findings suggest that contagion may be a common phenomenon in an economy and that the doubly stochastic assumption may not hold in general. Because of the large proportion of correlation that cannot be explained by observable risk factors, future research in credit modeling should focus on incorporating unobservable risk factors into models. We also find that credit risk correlation is higher during economic downturns and higher among firms with low credit ratings than among those with high credit ratings. These findings are consistent with the theoretical predictions but inconsistent with some empirical findings based on the M erton default probability measure. We contend that our results are more reliable because of the oversimplified assumptions behind Mertons model and the evidence in the literature that the Merton default probability measure cannot accurately forecast default probabilities.