Themes of Forgiveness in Literature

Themes of Forgiveness in Literature Themes Of Forgiveness In Novels Forgiveness. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is an action or a process of forgiving or being forgiven. On the other hand, Brà ¥kenhielm (1993) said that the difficulty of defining forgiveness is because it is very much like love, it is ambiguous. Also, that there is no single concept that can define what it is. But there are many authors who tried to define forgiveness in many ways, two of these ways are: in psychological perspective and in theological perspective, respectively. One of the many authors is Canale (1990), according to him, forgiveness is a therapeutic agent in psychotherapy and that it is a cognitive restructuring that complements the emotional aspects of dealing with pain and resentment in therapy. Forgiveness cannot be described or defined using only one concept. In this paper, I will discuss four of the most popular books in relation to forgiveness. These books attack different aspects of forgiveness. It is very interesting to know that one simple word can have multiples and multitudes of different applications. In this paper, the following books will be discussed briefly: Author: Robert Enright and Joanna North Title: Forgiveness: A Bold choice for a Peaceful Heart (1992) Author: Robin Casarjian Title: The Handbook of forgiveness (2005) Author: Everett L. Worthington Jr. Title: The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness Author: Simon Wiensenthal Exploring Forgiveness by Robert Enright and Joanna North (1998) This book is a compilation of 12 great, touching short stories that will teach any person how to deal with one of lifes toughest issues. This will help you face real and deep problems with acceptance and confidence in a positive way. To start with, Chapter 2 of this book tackles about a mother who forgave her daughters murderer. The title of the article is: the power and reality of forgiveness. It is a very sad but inspiring story. If you come to think of it, how can a mother forgive her daughters murderer? It is very unusual but it is the right thing to do. This was just the beginning of it. The mother didnt instantly forget what has happened to her daughter. It took her lots and lots of strength to face her daughters murderer and tell him that she doesnt want him to be killed. Instead, she appealed for a lifetime imprisonment without bail. It was hard for her, but she realized that it was the right thing to do. After the tragic event, the mother became a part of a team that motivates people who suffered the same pain that she did. Today, she probably enjoys her life with her conscience clear helping other people cope up with the same situation as she did. This is what is meant by power and reality of forgivenes s. Another point stressed in the book is that of Joanna North, on her article named, The Ideal of Forgiveness: A Philosophers Exploration. It is a clear, thorough explanation on what forgiveness is, what it is not, and other aspects of forgiveness such as its multiperspectival nature. North (1998) said that forgiveness is more than just acceptance of the person who have been wronged. Forgiveness is multiperspective in nature, in the sense that it takes into account the point of view of the wrongdoer: the process of being forgiven, the process of acceptance of forgiveness of the wrongdoer from the injured party. This acceptance of forgiveness is commonly known as self-forgiveness of the wrongdoer. When these two concepts have been joined together, process of forgiveness and self-forgiveness of the wrongdoer, then, we will have a bigger understanding on what forgiveness is really all about. Forgiveness: A Bold choice for a Peaceful Heart by Robin Casarjian (1992) In this book, Casarjian (1992) stresses that forgiveness frees us from fear, which is an underlying feeling behind resentment. Furthermore, it focused on a broad range of topics, from why to choose forgiveness, forgiveness for your family, forgiveness for yourself, and lastly, forgiveness for the world. Also, Casarjian (1992) said that forgiveness equals peace. Forgiveness, regardless of the situation or problem, gives the peace that we really want and yearn. According to Casarjian, forgiveness is the means of the heart to mend itself and make it whole again. It gives us the freedom to love, sincere love. When we experience forgiveness, or we accepted forgiveness from others, we are transformed, giving us a fresh start. Furthermore, it tells about how our physical health may improve if we practice forgiveness. It goes beyond understanding others, to how they cope up with the situation. Forgiveness must not be dependent on somebody elses readiness or willingness to forgive. It explains that each person has his or her own way of letting go of their pain and anger. Let them be. Respecting them is another aspect of forgiveness. Not letting your self-forgiveness be dependent on the other persons feelings or emotions. The Handbook for forgiveness by Everett L. Worthington Jr. (2005) In this book, Worthington (2005) describes that forgiveness isnt just a science, it is also an art. This discussion can be found in chapter 1 of the book. In this discussion, I will be focusing on the questions answered by Worthington in chapter 1. One question is: How does forgiveness affect the participants in the forgiveness process?. According to Worthington, forgiveness involves a wrongdoer, a victim, and sometimes a third party, for instance, a small range of the society. For the wrongdoer, some might actually be able to forgive themselves easily, some may not. But, one thing is for sure, for a transgressor that is forgiven, response is a must both intraphysically and interpersonally. This implies that the experiences of the perpetrator are interlocked with the experiences of the victim. For the victim on the other hand, forgiveness is dependent on the personality and experiences of the victim. Some people might forgive easily, some may not. This accounts to a number of personal characteristics. Also, forgiveness can also involve people around you: relatives, neighbours, etc. This is why crimes affect society. In most tribes, wrongdoings can disrupt the harmony of it. That is why forgiveness is a crucial subject. Worthin gton summarized that forgiveness is a complex summary of intrapersonal process, interpersonal process, and interpersonal process within societal and political context. Another interesting concept presented in the text is the benefits of forgiveness. Like what Casarjian (2005) mentioned in his book, forgiveness has a lot of benefits: physical, mental, relational, and spiritual health. The explanation is a trivial one. According to Ludwig et al. (2001), Unforgiveness is stressful and makes people drown in their negative thoughts. This results in different negative consequences, be it physically, mentally, relationships, or spiritual health. Also, a survey in 2001 associates fewer poor health conditions in elderly people with forgiveness. Moreover, forgiveness lessens the anger, pain, and other negative feelings that a person experiences. Another interesting concept discussed in the book was correlation of primate conflicts with human forgiveness. This was a study about the reconciliation behaviour of Chimpanzees and Macaques. The observed responses to conflict was kissing and the so-called hold-bottom ritual. Kissing in Chimpanzees was a sign of reconciliation between two former opponents. The conclusion of this study was that it was unable to prove that the former opponents have forgiven each other; the positive side was that the behavioural correlate levels of anxiety reduced or lowered after the reconciliation between the former opponents. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiensenthal (1998) This is a very intriguing book that aroused the minds of many thinkers and writers. It is about a concentration camp prisoner who was subjected to an unexpected situation wherein a dying SS (German militia) man asked for his forgiveness after having participated in the Jews genocide. His response was to walk away. Nothing. He questioned if his response to the situation was right or wrong. He confronted the reader that if the reader was in his place, what would the reader do. Wiensenthal wanted to pose a question to the reader, that in the case wherein the author already exposed his tragic situation. Wiensenthal wanted the reader to put their fit on his and question his mind, What would I do?. This is a question that not only tickles the minds of the reader. This question poses a more serious predicament to consider his/her personal moral and ethical beliefs. These moral and ethical beliefs influence our actions greatly towards negative situations like crimes, justice, compassion, and individual responsibility. Further reading of the book contains the responses of 53 different men and women about the question posed by Wiensenthal. The respondents came from different backgrounds. Their responses acted as pillars for the readers to be able to contemplate on their own perspectives. His work I believe was to wake up the readers, to stand up, to think, to survive and face the obligation it entails. As what he have said, Survival is a privilege which entails obligations. I am forever asking myself what I can do for those who have not survived. -Wiensenthal (1989), p. 351.

Wwii and Immigration

Following decades of isolationist policy, World War II was an essential time in the United States history because it gradually opened up American society to once again receive immigrants who are in search of better opportunity and refuge. In the early 19th century, the United States began to re-think about its stance on immigration. As the numbers of immigrants increased, questions about the leniency of the American government on immigration were raised by the â€Å"Progressive Movement†. Consequently, the United States began to employ a closed door policy of immigration.Chinese male immigrants, who had been coming in masses, inspired the implementation of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which forbade further immigration of laborers of Chinese descent. This act forced prohibited Chinese males from bring over their families and destroyed possibilities of citizenship for Chinese immigrants by making them permanent aliens. Furthermore, in 1907, adding to the isolationist stanc e of the U. S. , the city of San Francisco attempted to remove Japanese students from white schools and put them in segregated schools with Chinese students.The Japanese government was infuriated by with this comparison to the Chinese; this led to the establishment of the Gentleman’s Agreement. This was an informal agreement stating that the Japanese government would restrict further immigration of their people to the United States and, in return, Japanese children in San Francisco would be able to attend school with white children. Over the next half century, further restrictions on immigration were implemented, many based on racist assumptions that immigrants were inassimilable and could not be Americanized.However, we see examples in Nisei Daughter, where the children like Monica and her siblings became Americanized and came to detest the strict Japanese culture their parents were raised in. this contradicts the assumption that immigrants would not assimilate. Continued pr essure to limit immigration in the United States eventually led to the Immigration Act of 1917, which created the Asiatic Barred zone. This meant that people from the Asiatic zone, which included Japan, Korea, India, and Arabia were barred from coming to the United States. Furthermore, the Act restricted people who were illiterate and above the age of 16 from immigrating.As a result of the 1917 Act, the immigration process included a literacy test that only allowed people of a certain educational background to enter the United States under the assumption that they would be able to assimilate better with America’s progressive ideologies, provide skills for the work force, and contributing to the economy. Despite increased restrictions, in between the First and Second World War, immigration to the US was relatively high due to the scarcity of unskilled labor needed in mines and factories in the United States.After WWI, The Immigration Act of 1924 was passed which set a quota of a 165 thousand immigrants per year allowed into the United States. While there had been restrictions placed on Asian immigrants before 1924, there were still ways for students to come into America. Thus, the Second Quota Act was passed which stated that no Asians were permitted to come to the United States. There was an exception of 50 people per country provided those who came were racially white, jut just happened to be living in Asian countries.This act made it easier for people from Germany, France, and Great Britain to migrate to the United States because they were white and as such were thought to be able to assimilate more easily into the American Culture. The only region these quota restrictions did not apply to was the western Hampshire. These limitations did not apply to Mexican immigrants because there was a high demand for their labor in the south, and employers made it difficult for congress to restrict that labor. Overall, Before World War II, it was extremely hard to immigrate to the United States unless there was demand the labor of immigrants.By 1924, there was a clear racial hierarchy among immigrants in the United States based on skills as well as race. In Homestead: The Households of a Mill Town, Margaret Byington mentions the difficulties immigrant communities, such as the Slavs, faced as they tried to assimilate into the American culture. The government did not take any steps to address the hardships of these communities or help them assimilate into American culture. This is important because, after WWII, the United States went out of its way to welcome immigrants and develop programs to ease the adjustment process.The United States was very dissatisfied with their involvement in WWI; thus when the Great Depression occurred, they dealt with it by further isolating themselves from the rest of the world. The United States government focused on solving its economic difficulties at home and dealing with the decade long depression. Even after WWII began in Europe, the United States stayed true to its isolationist policies and wanted nothing to do with the war. However, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 forced the United States to enter WWII. Success in WWII made the United States the leading power in the world.After the United States witnessed the devastation Hitler had caused in WWII, the American government vowed to never allow that to happen again. As a result, immediately after WWII, the lessons learned from Hitler were applied to Stalin in the cold war. Instead of turning away from communist Russia, the United States engaged in the Cold War. Their goal was to contain communism around the world. The United States began strengthening their relationship with their own allies by building programs that would help these countries with education and health in order to get their assistance in containing the spread of Communism.After WWII though, Americans, especially those in the executive branch who dealt with f oreign policy, increasingly saw immigration and naturalization policies as tools for shaping foreign relations and advancing American interest. One of the first acts passed in the interest of immigration reform was The McCarran Walter Act of 1952, which not only illuminated the category of aliens ineligible for citizenship. This was the category many of the Issei Parents in Nisei Daughter were placed in but now they were permitted to become American citizens like their Nisei children.Also, the restrictions of The Asiatic Barred Zone, was lifted. Now, all Countries including China, who had previously was not been allowed to send any immigrants to the United States, unless they were white, now have a small quota to send people to the United States regardless of their racial background. Also, there was recognition among Americans that there were more people who wanted to come to the United States than the country could accommodate. As a resold priority was given to those who had family in the United States and needed to be reunified with them.Although some of the restrictions on immigration were loosened with The McCarran Walter Act, the country still allowed only a small number of people to immigrate. President Truman was pushing for immigration reform for years and was not fully satisfied with the new policy so the United States government sought out ways to expand immigration while still keeping what was best for the country in mind. President Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, signs in the passage of the immigration and nationalization act of 1965.This act reforms the country and erases the old system of discriminatory and restrictive quotas based on national original and race while replacing it with a much less racist system. It was a new way of thinking, not just about immigrant but toward the American society. To manage immigration now, the United States divided the world into western hemisphere which constituted North, Central and South America, and Eastern hemisphere which was everything else. Over 300 thousand immigrants are allowed to come to the United States yearly with this new cap.Certain people were given preference with 80 percent of the groups under the new cap coming under different forms of family unification. Because of our involvement with different wars around the world and our efforts to end communism, the United States was increasingly allowing people to come above the set cap to find refuge in our country. These new loose policies on immigration coincided greatly with the civil rights movement. The movement comes at the same time the US becomes conscious of its role as a world leader.When the United States sought out to stop communism, they needed to show the world that their system was better but they could not do that when the world saw America as segregated and racist against some of their own people. Unequal treatment among Americans led some countries to want to turn to communism as a better policy. Immigration r eform and the Civil Rights Movement reinforced one another and eventually left. In 1950s, more than half of immigrants came from Europe and there were more Canadians coming into the country than Mexicans but beginning with 1965, Asians and Mexicans have began to come in mass.Congress did not understand when they passed act of 1965 was just how large the number of immigrants coming in would become. This unexpected increase in immigrants scared some Americans. There was especially great number of people coming from Mexico who many entering the country illegally and not being counted in the quota. The Mexican population in the US jumped from 60 thousand people in the 1940s to 1. 6 million in the 1980s. Even though this high number of immigrants was brought up concerns about the current immigration policy, the country’s new understanding after WWII would not allow then to close their doors once again.

An Analysis Of Hedge Fund Performances - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3037 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? 1. INTRODUTION: Hedge funds are actively managed portfolios that hold positions in publicly traded securities. Gaurav S. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "An Analysis Of Hedge Fund Performances" essay for you Create order Amin and Harry M. Kat (2000) stated on their report that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A hedge fund is typically defined as a pooled investment vehicle that is privately organized, administrated by professional investment managers, and not widely available to the publicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. It charges both a performance fee and a management fee. It allows a flexible investment for a small number of large investors (usually the minimum investment is $1 million) can use high risk techniques. 1Now days it is very clear that in the matter of alternative investment mutual fund is not performing well. As a high absolute returns and typically have features such as hurdle rates and incentive fees with high watermark provision hedge fund gives a better align to the interests of managers and investors. 2Moreover mutual funds typically use a long-only buy-and-hold type strategy on standard asset classes, which help to capture risk premia associate with equity risk, interest rate risk, default risk etc. However, they are not very helpful in capturing risk premia associate with dynamic trading strategies. That is why hedge fund comes into the picture. This is the year of 2009, which takes the greatest history of the world in the following century. In the year of 2008 the world saw the greatest fall down of the world economy. Lots of people missing their jobs, lots of company were stopped. The world economy faced the highest losses in the history. These all factors are showing only one way to makeover from that greatest downfall that is hedging. 3The last couple of decades have witnessed a rapidly growing in the hedge funds. Relative to traditional investment portfolios hedge funds exhibit some unique characteristics; they are flexible with respect to the types of securities they hold and the type of the position they take. 1 Agarwal, V. and Naik, N. (2000). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Multi-period performance persistence analysis of hedge fund sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The journal of financial and quantitative analysis. Vol. 35, No,3. PP-327. 2 Agarwal, V. and Naik, N. (2004). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Risks and portfolio decisions involving hedge fundsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The review of financial studies, Vol. 17, No.1. PP-64. 3 Journal of banking and finance 32(2008) 741-753- à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Hedge Fund Pricing and Model Uncertaintyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? by Spyridan D. Vrontos, Ioannis D. Vrontos, Daniel Giomouridies. 4The number of FOHFs increase by 40% between 2001 and 2003, and now comprised almost two third of the $650 billion invested in the USAà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hedge fund market. Due to its nature it is difficult to estimate the current size of hedge fund industry. 5Van Hedge Fund Advisors estimates that by the end of 1998 there were 5380 hedge fund managing $311 in capital, with between $800 billion and $1 trillion in total assets, which indicates the higher number of recent new entries. So far, hedge fund is based on American phenomena. About 90% hedge fund managers are based in the US, 9% in Europe and 1% in Asia and elsewhere. Now a dayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s around 5883 hedge funds are trading around the world. (*Barclay Hedge database) 4 Financial times, 29th October, 2003. www.vanhedge.com https://www.barclayhedge.com/products/hedge-fund-directory.html 1.1 Categories of Hedge fund investment objectives: Event Driven: Distressed securities- manager focuses on securities of companies in reorganization and bankruptcy, ranging from senior secured debt to the common stock of the company. Risk arbitrage- manager simultaneously buys stock in a company being acquired and sells stock in its acquirers. Global: International- manager pays attention to economic change around the world (except the United States) but more bottom-up oriented in that managers tend to be stock-pickers in markets they like. Uses index derivatives to a much lesser extent than macro managers. Emerging- Manager invests in less mature financial markets of the world, e.g. Hong Kong, Singapore, Pakistan, India. Because shorting is not permitted in many emerging markets, managers must go to cash or other markets when valuations make being long unattractive. Regional- Manager focuses on specific regions of the world, example- Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Global macro: Opportunistic trading manager that profits from changes in global economies typically based in major interest rate shifts. Uses leverage and derivatives. Market neutral: Long/short stocks- half long/half short. Manager attempts to lock-out or neutralize market risk. Convertible arbitrage- Manager goes long convertible securities and shorts the underlying equities. Stock index arbitrage- Manager buys a basket of stocks and sells short stock index futures, or the reverse. Fixed income arbitrage- Manager buys T-bonds and sells short index futures or the reverse. Short sales: Manager takes a position that stock prices will go down. Used as a hedge for long only portfolios and by those who feel market is approaching a bearish trend. U.S Opportunistic: Value à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Manager focuses on assets, cash flow, book value, out-of-favor stocks. Growth à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Manager invests in growth stocks, revenues, earnings, and growth potential are keys. Short term à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Manager holds positions for a short time frame. Fund of fund: Capital is allocated among a number of hedge funds, providing investors with access to managers they might not be able to discover or evaluate in their own. Usually has a lower minimum than a hedge fund. Source: Carl Ackermann, Richard McEnally, and David Ravenscraft, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The performance of hedge funds: Risk, Return and Incentives,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Journal of finance 54, no.3 (June 1999) figure 1, page-843. Reproduced from a hedge fund database firm named Managed Account Report (MAR) Inc, and distributed through LaPorte Asset Allocation System. 2. Literature review: Despite the increasing interest and recent development, few studies have been carried out on hedge funds comparing to other investment tools like mutual funds. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“An analysis of Hedge Fund performance 1984-2000à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? by Capocci Daniel using one of the greatest hedge fund database ever used on his working paper (2796 individual funds including 801 dissolved), to investigate hedge funds performance using various asset-pricing models, including an extension from of Carhartà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1997) model combined with Fama and French (1998), Agarwal and Naik (2000) models that take into account the fact that some hedge funds invest in emerging market bond. At the end they found that their model does a better job describing hedge funds behaviour. That appears particularly good for the Event Driven, Global Macro, US Opportunistic, Equity non-Hedge and Sector funds. Since the early 1990s, when around 2000 hedge funds were managing assets totalling capital of $60 billion, the subsequent growth in the number and asset base of hedge funds has never really been refuted. The industry only suffered from a relative slowdown in 1998, but since then has enjoyed a renewed vitality with an estimated total of 10,000funds managing more than a trillion US dollars by the end of 2006. The growing trend of the sector remained remarkably sustained during the stock market collapse that started in March 2000, when the NASDAQ composite Index reached an all-time high of 5,132 and finished three years later with a floor level of 1,253. In the meantime, the global met asset value (NAV) of hedge funds continued to grow at a steady rate of 10.6% (Van Hedge Funds Advisors International, 2002), contrasting with a decrease of 2.7% in the worldwide mutual fund industry ( Investment Company Institute, 2003). In 2001, Capocci and Hubner(2004) estimated that there were 6,000 he dge fund managing around $400 billion. In 2007, Capocci, Duquenne and Hubner (2007) estimated that there were 10,000 hedge funds managing around $1 trillion. This is a growth of 11% in the number of funds and 26% in assets over six years (6PhD thesis paper by Daniel P.J. Capocci). Other studies from practitioners Hennessee (1994), and Oberuc (1994) also showed an evidence of superior performance in the case of hedge funds. Ackernann and Al. (1999) and Liang (1999) who compared the performance of hedge funds to mutual funds and several indices, found that hedge funds constantly obtained better performance than mutual funds. Their performance was not better than the performance of the market indices considered. They also indicated that the returns in hedge funds were more unstable than both the returns of mutual funds and those of market indices. According to Brown and Al. (1997) hedge funds showing good performance in the first part of the year reduce the volatility of their portfolio in the second half of the year (Capocci Daniel- An analysis of hedge fund performance 1984-2000). Taking all these results into account hedge funds seems a good investment tool. 6 PhD thesis paper by Daniel P.J. Capocci. Electronic copy available at: http//ssrn.com/abstract=1008319. 3. Research design and Methodology: In this section I would like to describe the empirical methodology to be used to measure the performance of hedge fund as well as the performance of FTSE 100 and SP 500. My aim is to identify which will give the better return for an investor. To investigate hedge funds performance and performance of FTSE 100 and SP 500 my study will follow some models like 4-factor model from of Carhartà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1997) model, the 3-factor model from Fama and French (1993) models, the Sharpe ratio (1966) and Jensenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s alpha (1968) and CAPM. I divide my research into three sections. First section will analyse the performance of hedge funds, FTSE 100 and SP 500. This section sets out the models of performance measurement I will use. Second section will made correlation between Hedge fund vs. FTSE 100 and Hedge fund vs. SP 500 to find out the better portfolio. Third section will exposes a discussion as well as a description of my database and finally concludes the paper. 3.1. Performance measure models: The 4-factor model from Carhart (1997) Carhartà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1997) 4-factor model is an extension of the Fama and French (1993) factor model. It not only takes into account the size of the firms, the book to market ratio, but there is an additional factor for the momentum effect. Grinblatt, Titman and Wermers (1995) define this effect as buying stocks that were past winners and selling past losers. This model is estimated with the following regressions: Rpt-Rft=ÃŽÂ ±p+ÃŽÂ ²pi (Rmt à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Rft) + ÃŽÂ ²p2 SMBt +ÃŽÂ ²p3 HMLt + ÃŽÂ ²p4 PR1YRt + ept t= 1,2,,T Where SMBt= the factor mimicking portfolios for size; HMLt= the factor mimicking portfolio for book to market equity; PR1YRt= the factor mimicking portfolio for the momentum effect7 7 for a description of the construction of PR1YR see Carhart (1997). As stressed by Daniel et al. (1997), this model, which is effectively a four factor Jensen measure, assumes that betas with respect to the returns of four zero investment factor mimicking portfolios, are appropriate measures of multidimensional systematic risk. According to this model, in the absence of stock selection or timing abilities, the expected return for a fund is the sum of the risk free return and the products of the betas with the factor risk premium, which are simply the expected returns of each of these zero investment portfolios. The Carhart (1997) approach identifies a matching passive portfolio return for each fund return. This passive return, which is subtracted from the fund return to generate ÃŽÂ ±p, is a weighted average of the returns of the Carhart factor portfolios and the return of a one month T-bill (Capocci Daniel 2001, Journal- European Private Bankers, Nov, 2001). The 3-factor model from Fama and French (1993): Fama and French (1993) 3 factor model is estimated from an expected form of the CAPM regression. It takes the size and the book to market ratio of the firm into account. It uses the time series approach from Black, Jensen, and Scholles (1972) in the sense that the monthly returns on stocks are regressed on the returns to a market portfolio of stocks and mimicking portfolios for size and book to market. It is estimated from the following extension of the CAPM regression: Rpt-Rft=ÃŽÂ ±p+ÃŽÂ ²pi (Rmt à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Rft) + ÃŽÂ ²p2 SMBt +ÃŽÂ ²p3 HMLt + ept t= 1,2,,T Where, SMBt= the factor mimicking portfolios for size, and HMLt= the factor mimicking portfolio for book to market equity. SMLt which comes from small minus big meant to mimic the risk factor in returns related to size, and HMLt which comes from high minus low meant to mimic the risk factor in returns related to book to market equity8. HML (respectively SMB) is neutral relative to the size effect (respectively to the book to market). This means that these factors do a good job isolating the firm-specific components of returns (Fama and French 1993, 1995, 1996 and 2000). 8 See Fama and French (1993) for a precise description of the construction of SMBt and HMLt. The Sharp Ratio (1966): The Sharp ratios (1966) calculate the ratio of the average excess return and the return standard deviation of the fund that is being evaluated. As such it measures the excess return per unit of risk. Assuming all asset returns to be normally distributed, the CAPM tells us that in equilibrium the highest attainable Sharpe ratio is that of the market index. In more general terms, the market indexà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sharp ratio represents the set of return distributions that is obtained when statically combining the market index with cash. With the market index being highly diversified, these distributions offer the highest achievable expected return for every possible standard deviation (Gaurav S. Amin and Harry M.Kat (2002), Hedge fund performance 1990-2000). Jensenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Alpha (1968): Jensenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s alpha was introduced in Jensen (1968) and equals the intercept of the regression: (Rh-Rf)= ÃŽÂ ± + ÃŽÂ ² (Ri- Rf) + eh, Where Rh is the fund return, Rf is the risk free rate and Ri is the total return on the market index. Like the Sharpe ratio, Jensenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s alpha is rooted in the CAPM. According to the CAPM, in equilibrium all (portfolios of) assets with the same beta will offer the same expected return, any positive deviation therefore indicates superior performance (Gaurav S. Amin and Harry M.Kat (2002), Hedge fund performance 1990-2000). Capital Asset Pricing Model: The first performance model that will be used is a capital asset pricing based single index model (CAPM). This model developed by Sharpe (1964) and Linter (1965) is the oldest performance evaluation model. Its formula is the following: Rpt à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Rft = ÃŽÂ ±p + ÃŽÂ ²p (Rmt-Rft) + ept t= 1,2,, T Where, Rpt= return of fund p in month t, Rft= risk free return on month t, Rmt= return of the market portfolio on month t, ept= the error term, ÃŽÂ ±p and ÃŽÂ ²p= the intercept and the slope of the regression estimated. The intercept of this equation, ÃŽÂ ±p commonly called Jensenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s alpha (1968) is usually interpreted as a measure of out or under performance relative to the market proxy used. There are several extension of this model have been developed like- the Breeden (1979) intertemporal CAPM or the Ferson and Schadt (1996) CAPM that allows time variation in the expected returns and the risk (Capocci Daniel 2001, An analysis of hedge fund performance 1984- 2000). 4. Data Preparation: For data preparation my first step will be to collect the monthly data of the hedge fund index, FTSE 100 and SP 500. For my data collection I will use some sources like- Credit Suisse/ Tremont Hedge Fund Index (CSTHFI hereafter) which is an appropriate representative of the entire hedge fund industry, there are three biggest database of hedge fund in the world these are Managed Account Reports (MAR), Hedge Fund Research, Inc (HFR) and TASS Management (TASS). These databases were the most used in academic and commercial hedge fund studies. For the FTSE 100 and SP 500 I will use yahoo finance. 4.1. Bias in Hedge fund data: According to Ackermann et al. (1999) and to Fung and Hsieh (2000), two upward biases exist in the case of hedge funds. They do not exist in the case of mutual funds, and they both have an opposite impact to the survivorship bias. Survivorship bias is an important issue in mutual funds performance studies (see Carhart and al. 2000). This bias is present when a database contains only funds that have data for the whole period studies. In this case, there is a risk of overestimating the mean performance because the funds that would have ceased to exist because of their bad performance would not be taken into account. The two upward biases exist because, since hedge funds are not allowed to advertise, they consider inclusion in a database primarily as a marketing tool. The first phenomenon stressed by Ackermann and al. (1999) and called the self-selection bias is present because funds that realize good performance have less incentive to report their performance to data providers in order to attract new investors. The second point called instant history bias or backfilled bias (Fung and Hsieh 2000) occurs because after inclusion a fundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance history is backfilled. This may cause an upward bias because funds with less satisfactory performance history are less likely to apply for inclusion than funds with good performance history (Capocci Daniel 2001, An analysis of hedge fund performance 1984- 2000). To avoid these biases I will try to take all funds both living and dissolved into account. Once I have collected all the data that I need I will use SPSS to test the correlation between my two benchmarks FTSE 100 and SP 500. 5. Contingency Plan: To make my research effective I made a well constructed plan. I have drafted a project plan (Appendix A) with scheduled dates for when I intend to complete sections for submission. After completing my final exam I will jump in to this field. Advises from previous students who completed their dissertation, I made my project plan flexible to keep some things in mind like supervisorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s holiday and any unforeseen events such as my illness. I will try to keep a good communication with my supervisor for checking that I am in right track. I plan to make some formal meetings with my supervisor to discuss my progress and I will try to inform him about the state of my work. It is hard to spending too much time over one task and going off track, I hope I will manage this if there is no rush at the very last minute. Another worry is the collecting and analysing the data, that is why I plan to collect the data early June once I have finished my research design. If I face any kind of difficulties I will inform him and make a cut-off point where I should stop searching the board data and start my own primary data. As I do all SPSS classes and briefly touched about this, I think it will be easy to analyze the data but I need to increase a bit of use of control on it by practicing more. So I will set aside time for collecting data and practice more SPSS for regression analysis. I hope if all these go well, I will make my dissertation very effectively.

Persuasive Speech On School Dress Code - 1316 Words

â€Å"Congress shall make no law... prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech...†. This is what our first amendment speaks about. The freedom of speech and expression. Schools have been violating this law in the place of school dress codes. There should not be a dress code in school because it violates the first amendment, they do not support creativity and they are expensive. Dress codes violate the first amendment. Students should have the ability to express themselves as it is their right to do so, but schools are prohibiting them from being able to express themselves. In the article Are Student Dress Codes a Violation of Civil Rights, Yates Kimberly claims, â€Å"If a school district can show that political†¦show more content†¦This shows that by cutting off their clothing, you are preventing them from expressing themselves and showing creativity. By cutting off this method of creativity, you make them less and less creative. There is even more evidence for this in the Article Uniforms Limit Number of Outlets for Creativity and Self-Expression. Linn Hoofnagle portrays that, â€Å"they restrict self-expression. We live in a dynamic society, full of unique characters that make our world a spontaneous one. Cutting that off at a young age only stifles creativity and encourages conformity†. This shows that by removing self-expression and cr eativity, you teach students that everybody looks the same. This is not true. By teaching students this, it will make them less creative as seeing people who don’t look the same will make them more creative. This will also make it so that instead of introducing yourself to others you stay to yourself more often. Dress codes are bad as it makes kids less creative. My final reason is because they are expensive according to an article called How Much Does a School Uniform Cost. â€Å"The average cost of a school uniform is $25-$250. Without any school specific designs and $100-$500 with school specific designs.† This is per uniform. If you wanted to have fiveShow MoreRelatedSchool Uniform, Persuasevi Speech1607 Words   |  7 Pages105 11/ 30/ 2007 Persuasive speech School uniform Introduction (Significance and background) Everybody in this class room has had or will have children. Anyway it will happen that your kids will become the most important point of your life. You will do everything to keep them happy. When they are small only you can influence on their behavior. Parents always want to see their kids healthy, well-bread and happy. After some time, when your heirs grow up enough, they will go to school. As soon as thisRead MorePersuasive Speech On Flip-Flops1674 Words   |  7 PagesPersuasive Speech Outline Presenter: Student Name Questions Type: Policy Organization: Classical Argument General Purpose: To persuade. 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After receiving the prompt for a reflective research essay three, I beganRead MoreThe Negative Effects Of School Uniforms2630 Words   |  11 PagesRunning Head: SCHOOL UNIFORMSSolis 1Final PaperDylan SolisEnglish 102 SCHOOL UNIFORMSSolis 2The first record of school uniforms in education have been around England since 1222 (â€Å"Should Students,† 2016). But, the origin of school uniforms can be traced back to the sixteenth century. School uniforms back then weren’t as seen as in today’s society. Back then wearing robes compared to a tucked in polo shirt with dress pants were considered school uniforms. The difference with wearing school uniforms backRead MoreThank You for Arguing Reading Logs Essay6613 Words   |  27 Pagesrhetoric, the art of argument, tends to succeed in persuading others to do their bidding. Many powerful politicians today mastered this tool. The most toughest arguments can be won with this art. Rhetoric has helped mankind develop complex societies, codes, and laws. â€Å"Every one of America’s founders studied rhetoric, and they used its principles in writing the Constitution (4)†. An example of someone using rhetoric effectively is a U.S. president attempting to persuade the citizens to vote for him. TheRead MoreLanguage of Advertising and Communication Via Advertising16651 Words   |  67 Pages2.5. Comparative Advertising 31 2.6.Conclusion 33 Chapter 3. Pragmatic aspects of advertising 34 3.1. Pragmatics and Advertising 34 3.2. Concept of Appeal 37 3.3. Relational Aspects of Advertising 39 3.4. Speech Acts in Advertising 41 3.5. Conclusion 44 Conclusion 46 Bibliography 49 Appendix 52 Introduction The subject of this research is the analysis of the language of advertising and its relation to socialRead MoreLanguage of Advertising and Communication Via Advertising16638 Words   |  67 Pages23 2.5. Comparative Advertising 31 2.6.Conclusion 33 Chapter 3. Pragmatic aspects of advertising 34 3.1. Pragmatics and Advertising 34 3.2. Concept of Appeal 37 3.3. Relational Aspects of Advertising 39 3.4. Speech Acts in Advertising 41 3.5. Conclusion 44 Conclusion 46 Bibliography 49 Appendix 52 Introduction The subject of this research is the analysis of the language of advertising and its relation to social environmentRead MoreLiterary Devices in Pride and Prejudice8198 Words   |  33 Pagesstylistic devices in their language. The research of dictionary and contextual logical meanings has been always topical because the usages of them today are on the same levels as many years ago. Knowledge and usage of them make our language and speech more intelligent, richer and more colorful. We can see that stylistic devices are used in all spheres of human activities, in politics, in science and literature. The theme of my diploma paper is â€Å"peculiarities of the lexical stylistic devicesRead More Cameroonian Students’ Complaint Letters and Job Applications3983 Words   |  16 Pagessocio-cultural/linguistic context of Cameroon which is predominantly French. Mark DeLancey aptly observes that: one cannot travel in Cameroonian cities without gaining a sense of pervasiveness of French culture as an influence on Cameroon. In terms of language, dress, items for sale in shops and stores, and in numerous other ways, one is constantly reminded of France’s role. (p. 202) If the best way for the French-speaking Cameroonians to show respect and be polite in formal letters is to begin and end themRead MoreFreedom of Speech, Comparing Freedom of Expression in the Statutory Law and the Sharia Law19992 Words   |  80 PagesMohammad (PBUH) fourteen centuries ago. The same is the 100% authenticity of certain books of Hadith, i.e. Saheeh Al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim. Sunnah is included in the Hadith books. Definition of the Holy Qur’an Nooriddin Antar says: â€Å"Qur’an is the Speech of Allah (SWT) which was descended to His Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), written in the Mos’haf, reported from generation to another generation by credible groups, Allah is worshiped by It, and It is miraculous by the shortest of Its Sowar.† The Holy Qur’an