Youth Today Essay Example for Free

Youth Today Essay We live in an enthralling world and even more enthralling society. From the moment we wake up until the moment we go back to our beds, we avail of media. At the end of the day, you avail of the latest news from your television and crave for your favorite music over the radio and even log on to be connected to the rest of the world through the World Wide Web. Our society is becoming more and more capable of being constantly informed, entertained, and connected to the other individuals at the click of a button. Life without media is simply unthinkable. The youth of today is perhaps the most significant users of media. As Burtina (2005) posits the idea that as intelligent as we are, with the freedom and ability to make our own choices, the issue on how much influence does media have over our decision can be put to a test. This could be one of the stringent issues that can necessitate a lengthy explanation and can provide a good avenue that there can be no doubt that media influences us in innumerable ways. Mass media plays a vital role in the lives of the people in the society. It is a tool for news, information, promotion, and a platform for sharing ideas. It has a unique capability to dramatize, to focus, to reinforce and more importantly, to ensure that people participate in a process called bottom up communication. Not only that, mass media also contributes to the dissemination of information and popularization of practices that all add up to the cultural heritage of a nation. The mass media can be one enormous factor in our environment that influences decisions and acts to inspire the youth. It is noteworthy that not all messages that media projects, though, are not at all positive. Mckee (2009) has given some significant questions such as: Do you feel attempting a stunt from a movie? Do you base your fashion on what you see the celebrities are wearing? Do you copy the hairstyle of your famous personalities? Have you ever attempted to walk model like in an attempt to imitate those ramp models in fashion shows? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then it is fitting to say that media works positively in exerting influence in one’s life. Youth Culture Media strongly affects youth culture. A teenager’s life has never been considered â€Å"boring.† From cellular phones to iPod Touch, he would present the latest Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber’s latest songs. You would also see dangling earrings to skimpy shorts and mid-rift blouses. Name the culprit – it’s the media. Lady Gaga’s fashion and manner of dressing may be too much for our youth but who would want to be left behind? As the word bandwagon would apply, it simply means equipping oneself with media’s hype. There are superstars – from movie idols, singing sensations and a lot more to mention that introduce songs and dance crazes that become for a while part of popular culture. According to Maslog (1992) only those with integrity are likely to endure and become part of the culture. He continued by saying that the rest are thrown into the dustbin of history. Examples of the more enduring musical contributions, perhaps, are the Beatles’ music, the Elvis rock and the Armstrong blue. They may not sound â€Å"pleasing† to the ears of our youth today but these are concrete examples of media’s propagation of popular culture. On the other hand, Maslog pointed media for the proliferation of fashion. It is noticeable that every year the high caliber gurus of fashion led by Christian Dior, from their fashion olympuses in Paris, New York or London, make their latest pronouncements about the newest thing to wear for milady. And annually the mass media dutifully report these pronouncements to a female world waiting with bated breath to wear what Christian Dior thinks they should wear. It is fantastic to see how men can dictate to a world of women what they should wear year after year. Historically, we can recall how the mini skirt started in a small way in London way back in 1967. It was within five years the mini skirt enveloped the whole world, which caused a drop in textile sales, and became the symbol of the female liberation from social restrictions. In connection with this, then came the maxi, a reaction to the mini, and then the midi, a compromise. If it not the hemline it is the neckline that is going up or down. Among those who became popular icons and styles are Marilyn Monroe, the GI pin-up girl of Vietnam, popularized the plunging neckline and the cleavage. After these, came the see-throughs and the Cardigan top, which is nothing more than a loose shirt or jacket worn over hot pants or bikini wear, thanks to mass media. What will happen to the next millennium trend of fashion? Candy, Vogue, Cosmopolitan to name a few can give us the answers and for sure whatever it is the fashion pages of the newspapers, from television and movies will never tell a lie . Youths are the main targets of the sophisticated fashion.

Cost Leadership Strategy Business Comparison

Cost Leadership Strategy Business Comparison Identify two very different organizations that compete on a cost leadership strategy and explain how they do this, i.e. find out what they do that enables them to keep their prices low. Introduction What is difference between manager and a leader? This is a question that asked more than one and answered in many ways. The big difference between manager and a leader is they motivate peoples who work or follow them. By the way , many peoples are act in both roles , they have the management jobs, but they realize that they can not buy heart ,especially follow them down a diffcult path, and so act as leaders too. 1.1 Manager Management which is the organization and coordination of the activities of an enterprise in accordance with certain policies and in achievement of defined objectives. A Manager is the person responsible for planning and directing the work of a group of individuals, monitoring their work, and taking corrective action when necessary. Managers have a position of authority vested in them by the company, and their subordinates work for them and largely do as they are told. As a manager, in all his work within the scope are under the management and administrative. Managers are paid to get things done, they are subordinates too, often within tight constraints of time and money. They thus naturally pass on this work focus to their subordinates. Work under the administrator is qualified for all work and maintain, without change. As a manager in the management all structures and systems are oriented. All the positions are set by the system, and work is also to go along with the system. In the management system, managers are being controlled, including time, work, and salary. In other way , the manager need to focus on bottom line and control the complete the attention of all the work off the assembly line. Leadership is just one important component of the directing function. A manager cannot just be a leader, he also needs formal authority to be effective. For any quality initiative to take hold, senior management must be involved and act as a role model. T his involvement cannot be delegated. 1.2 Leader Leadership which is academics have great difficulty in defining what a leader is, or pinpointing the reason behind an organisations success. A leader who impact the realization of a goal to achieve a group of people. A leader by its meaning is one who goes first and leads by example, so that others are motivated to follow him. This is a basic requirement. To be a leader, a person must have a deep-rooted commitment to the goal that he will strive to achieve it even if nobody follows him. As a leader, should have innovative ideas and the establishment of a management system without having to be free of innovation. And this will improve a leaders ability. When a leader of the freedom of growth and development. Leader development focuses on the development of the leader, such as the personal attributes desired in a leader, desired ways of behaving, ways of thinking or feeling. The other set of behaviors is referred to as people-oriented style, where the leader provides a more supportive role in providing a positive work environment. In a group where all the members do not allow the system to be controlled, the development of all are free. And all the members are relying on trust to maintain. Besides , as a leader need take care of his own group and motivate the group. The leaders just need to focus on the horizon members only and teach the horizon members to lead their own groups. This will lead the team with team spirit. 1.3 Manager and Leader Managers think incrementally, whilst leaders think radically. Managers do things right, while leaders do the right thing. This means that managers do things by the book and follow company policy, while leaders follow their own intuition, which may in turn be of more benefit to the company. A leader is more emotional than a manager . Men are governed by their emotions rather than their intelligence . This quotation illustrates why teams choose to follow leaders. Leaders stand out by being different. They question assumption and are suspicious of tradition. They seek out the truth and make decisions based on fact, not prejudice. They have a preference for innovation. A leader is someone who people naturally follow through their own choice, and managers must comply. A manager may only be passed to give the company time and the power of loyalty to their own position, not because of his leadership results. A leader may not have organizational skills, but his vision of the people rally behind him. 1.4 Conclusion Management and leadership are two different ways organizations. Managers use a formal, rational method, and the use of the leaders of the enthusiasm and aroused emotions. William Wallace is a good example of a wise leader, but must not be considered manager. 2.0 Introduction Operating a successful business strategy is based. But there are, of course, different types of business strategy. Among one of the business strategy is cost leadership strategy. Companies choose cost leadership strategies unique features or customer can accept the relatively standardized product. In other words, with the lowest levels of differentiation and the lowest price competitive. Companies want to be a cost leadership strategy the following must be maintained at lower costs, create value for our customers ongoing efforts to target success. 2.1 Mass Market Mass marketing is product advertising maximum exposure to consumers. This is opposite to where the idea of niche markets and sell products is to promote a specific target market. The target market is identified through research as the most likely to buy a product to consumers part of. Mass marketing also operating the business with products caters for all or public which sell considerably cheap in the perception of consumers. Take a look in a example that Ramly burger and Macdonald burger , Ramly burger is cheaper than Macdonald burger because Ramly burger just a normal tiny business and Ramly burger just only can buy in Malaysia. Macdonald more expensive because it is an international networking business and their cost is higher , some more need register trademarks and a lot of law enforcements stuffs to protect their rights. Besides , Macdonald is one of the top global brands, branding is expensive need a lot of constant advertising. In other way , how does the Ramly burger to keep their price low? By reducing cost , Ramly burger no need to actually rent a land or building to sell , just need to place at a roadside stall to sell it. The supplier also will be cheaper and this make all the cost lower already. Ramly burger dint provide a good enviroment for customers just at the roadside , so the cost will reduce too. Some more , Ramly burger no need to register trademarks and a lot of law enforcement stuffs so their cost will be lower. Besides , process for make the burger is easier and faster also , customers just need to wait about few minutes only. Ramly burger provided a good services such as faster ,cheaper and easier. 2.2 Niche Market Niche market focus on a small population, but specific and clear of all marketing segments. Niches do not exist, but create to determine the needs, desires and not being addressed or not by other companies, and develop and deliver goods or services to meet their requirements. Niche market operating with products cater for a particular segment of consumers which sell at considerably cheap but premium in the perception of consumers. As a strategy, niche marketing is aimed at being a big fish in a small pond instead of being a small fish in a big pond. For example , Old Town Coffee Shop and Starbucks Coffee Shop , even though Starbucks more expensive than Old Town but still have many peoples willing to pay the premium price for the Starbuckss coffee. Starbucks more famous than Old Town , can be compare with the brand. Then, Starbucks provide internet access and better enviroment compare with Old Town. Old Town cheaper than Starbucks and a lot types of drinks and foods to order too. Star bucks coffee is more expensive because the cost is higher and Starbucks there have varieties of coffee such as latte , cappuccino , espresso , blended and many more. Why peoples willing to pay premium price for the products? Now the people of this age, everyone says the standard of living, it is necessary to improve their standard of living, with a good eat well, so now the people of this age are willing to spend a lot of money in his own body, so let his comfort. Even the Starbucks productss price is higher but still have a lot peoples willing to pay the premium price for the coffees to improve their standard of living. Besides, starbucks coffee has many types of tricks such as latte, cappuccino, espresso, blended and many more, is because of this it has attracted many customers willing to pay premium price for the coffees. 2.4 Conclusion Whether expensive or cheap products, will have its own intrinsic value. Usually get a lot of people will put the lowest cost to the most appropriate price. Even then the high value products, it is still the same living standards in pursuit of will buy. Cost leadership strategy may have a low customer loyalty short comings, such as price-sensitive customers will switch a low-cost alternative product available. One as the cost leaders reputation may also lead to lower quality status, which may cause a company is difficult to rename itself or product in the future if it chooses to transfer to a different strategy.

History of Climate Records and Climate Change in Mexico City Essay exam

History of Climate Records and Climate Change in Mexico City Mexico City lies in the Basin of Mexico, and has been one of the most densely-populated areas of the world for thousands of years[1]. Consequently, it serves as a prime area for exploration of human impacts on climate and climate change. Mountains surround the Basin of Mexico on three sides; when the Spanish conquered the basin in 1519, it contained five lakes that connected during times of abundant precipitation. The lakes were drained as modern Mexico City expanded and today the majority of the basin is covered with human structures and concrete roads (Kasperson et al, 1995). With latitude 19 degrees and an elevation of 2250m, Mexico City has a temperate climate year-round. Summer brings intense convective rains caused by the unstable air and moist conditions of the prevailing trade winds (Juaregei, 1997). An abundance of historical data has the power to tell us whether the climate has always been this way, or if manÕs overbearing presence in the Basin of Mexico has had real effects on the areaÕs climate. Source: www.holyartworks.com Lake Texcoco, the site of modern Mexico City, during the time of Aztec rule (around 1500) Although the area that Mexico City now occupies has was settled by man over 6,000 years ago, regular reports of temperature and rainfall were not collected until 1826. The Mexico City newspaper, El Sol, was the publication that first made regular weather reports available (OÕHara and Metcalfe, 1995). More widespread collection of weather data was taken beginning in the 1870Õs through the newly-establish Meteorological Observatory, which introduced meteorological stations throughout the country, but civil unrest later on... ...ents. Eds. Jeanne X. Kasperson, Rogr E. Kasperson, and B.L. Truner II. New York: United Nations University Press, 1995. Juaregei, Ernesto. ÒClimate Changes in Mexico During the Historical and Instrumented Periods.Ó Quarternary International. Vol. 43/44. (1997): 7-17. Juaregei, Ernesto. ÒHeat Island Development in Mexico City.Ó Atmospheric Environment. Vol. 31, No.22. (1997): 3821-3831. Metcalfe, Sarah E. ÒHistoical Data and Climatic Change in Mexico: A Review.Ó The Geographical Journal. Vol. 153, No. 2. (1987): 211-222. OÕHara, Sarah L., and Sarah E. Metcalfe. ÒThe Climate of Mexico Since the Aztec Period.Ó Quarternary International. Vol. 43/44. (1997): 25-31. OÕHara, Sarah L., and Sarah E. Metcalfe. ÒReconstructing the Climate of Mexico from Historical Records.Ó The Holocene. Vol. 5, No. 4. (1995): 485-490.

Reasons I am Pro-choice Essay --

â€Å"God send us someone to cure cancer, AIDS, etc., etc.† â€Å"I did but you aborted them.† Abortion is a very serious topic that is separated by two groups pro-life or pro-choice who often argue on what is fair. Pro-choice is the people who believe it is the woman’s choice to choose if she wants an abortion or not. They don’t think the fetus is a human until a certain point in the pregnancy. Pro-life is when people believe that getting an abortion is killing a human being with rights. They want abortion to be illegal whether the woman wants one or not. Even though some say that having an abortion is killing an innocent baby and that it brings on many problems later in life, many pregnant women are not ready to have a child and some just do not want kids and they should have the right to get an abortion. If abortion was made illegal many would turn to â€Å"back-alley abortions† which are done in unsafe ways and it could result in more fatalitie s. It is common for anti-choicer to claim that having an abortion can lead to many complications in the future. Some say that having an abortion if you have been pregnant before increases the chances of breast cancer significantly but research found that this was not true. It is also said that having an abortion can lead to several disorders like depression, being bipolar and abuse of drugs and alcohol. Although it is a possibility, the original test was faulty because the subjects were not screened before hand to see if they already had the disorders. Others may say that an abortion is more dangerous that giving birth even when preformed by a professional. In reality, carrying a pregnancy to turn can be 10 times more dangerous than having an abortion but having an abortion still has it’s risk. In ... ...to many problems in the future but if abortion was illegal it would only worsen the conditions and number of fatalities. The complications that are given are often untrue and used to try and make a women change her decision. Young women get pregnant and often do not want the child because they are still getting their life in order and planning for the future. Other women may not want children because of the money, time, and responsibility needed to take care of a child. If in the future abortions are made illegal the amount of deaths because of unsafe abortion methods used when a women is desperate for one. â€Å"God send us someone to cure cancer, AIDS, etc., etc.† â€Å"I did but you forced her to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term, forcing her to become a single mother with limited income, having to sacrifice her college dreams in order to provide for her unwanted child.†

Metallica Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"If you came here to see spandex and big hair, this ain’t your band†, Metallica’s â€Å"war cry† throughout the early eighties. While the rest of the hard rock bands wanted to get rich and a lot of women, Metallica, as in the words of former lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, â€Å"Our hole existence pretty much was guitar, dominating the world and getting liquored up†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was a new wave a British Heavy Metal entering the cassette and 8-track decks of people everywhere. Over in Denmark, current Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, was a hug fan of this type of music. So obsessed with this music, Lars Ulrich wanted to start a heavy metal band... a band that he could play his favorite songs with.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other side of the globe, James Hetfield, Metallica’s current rhythm guitarist and lead singer, was looking to start a band of his own. His current roommate had taught him how to play guitar and James was very motivated to get something started. In effect, James had put a listing in a worldwide music magazine, The Recycler under â€Å"H† for â€Å"Heavy Metal†. James and Lars, were the only ones listed, so it was obvious that the two should talk to each other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the fall of 1981, the band â€Å"Metallica† was formed. Playing drums was Lars Ulrich, on bass guitar was Ron McGoveny, playing lead guitar was Dave Mustaine, and rhythm guitar and lead vocalist was James Hetfield. During the song writing process over the next few months, the band became very addicted to Alcohol. When drunk, Dave Mustaine would get very violent, while the rest of the band would get happy. Happy and Violent people just don’t mix. Ron McGoveny could not handle the situation with Dave, and so he left the band.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lars, James, and Dave then went around to local clubs to check out bassists’ from other bands. At one club, they found Cliff Burton playing with a band called Trauma. Cliff Burton was a technical engineer and could do certain things on a bass that would make it sound like noises from a guitar. After the show that night, Lars, James, and Dave confronted Cliff asking him to join â€Å"Metallica†. Cliff said he would join, only if the band relocated from Los Angeles to San Francisco.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Los Angeles, Metallica recorded their first demo... ...the Page,† written by Bob Segar, was placed on this album. James Hetfield states, â€Å"When I first heard this song, the lyrics spoke to me and I realized that this song was written for me, written for Metallica.† The Video released for this song showed a story of a prostitute trying to support and provide a normal life for herself and her daughter, accompanied by the song in the back-ground.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the start of Metallica, the members have always been about the fans, and for the fans. The members of Metallica consider themselves to be four lucky fans who got together in a garage. Metallica’s music goes much more deeper in emotions than rap and other new forms of â€Å"popular† music. Since the day I started listening to Metallica, there hasn’t been a day that went by where I didn’t listen to them. Metallica has a song for every person and every emotion. By cutting there hair, by changing what ways they allow their music to be produced, they have grown up. Metallica was started by 17 year olds and while they are in their ripe, current age 37, they will continue making music that suits them, and only them. For that reason, they have my full and undivided respect.

Investment Banking

Investment Banking in 2008 Group Report 1. Failure Analysis: Identify the major factors that contributed to Bear Stearns’s failure? Who stood to benefit from its implosion? How did Bear Stearns’s collapse differ from the ‘Long Term Capital Management’ failure a decade earlier? What could Bear Stearns have done differently to avoid this fate? In the early 2000’s? And during the summer of 2007? And during the week of March 10, 2008? (1) Identify the major factors that contributed to Bear Stearns’s failure? Bear’s somewhat cutthroat and renegade culture of maverick may have contributed a lot to their failure.This culture somehow made it killed by the credit crisis, while other investment banks survived. But the direct factors resulted in Bear’s implosion were the failure of Ralph Cioffi’s High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund and Enhanced Leverage High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund, which invested in sophisti cated credit derivatives backed by mortgage securities. And these failures cost Bear more than 1. 6 billion dollars to prop up two hedge funds. And the failures of two hedge funds led to a continuous questioning about Bear’s financial stability.At the same time, Bear concentrated its business on CDOs, which means it had high exposure to this item. Thus when credit crisis happened, it is significantly impacted. And in early 2008, Moody’s downgraded 163 tranches of mortgage backed bonds issued by Bear. Almost everyone realized that Bear will face liquidity problem. But meanwhile, Bear highly relied on repo to finance itself. When lender lost confidence in Bear, it failed in finding another effective way to find cash. In sum, the reasons above contributed to the failure of Bear in 2008 crisis. (2) Who stood to benefit from its implosion?JP Morgan is the beneficiary from Bear’s bankruptcy. It gained a company which had $172. 61 worth less than 8 months ago with an i ncredible low price of $10 a share. (3) How did Bear Stearns’s collapse differ from the ‘Long Term Capital Management’ failure a decade earlier? The origin in LTCM’s failure was the high-leveraged structure. It obtained excessive debt for the investment of the bonds. Simultaneously, the market capacity was not sufficient to support LTCM’s large bloated size. As time had gone, market competition and capacity diminished its profitability.But with such a high leverage, LTCM had no other choice but to gain enough profit to move on. Therefore, they got a foot into some unfamiliar area. Meanwhile, as to the trading strategy, LTCM held a large quantity of asset with low liquidity. However, situation was different from what they had predicted. Big loss happened eventually, but LTCM could not sell asset for enough cash. It inevitably had to go bankruptcy. High leverage structure of Bear’s hedge fund also had great impact on its collapse. But the awful strategy of Bear’s management should blame most for its bankruptcy.If it was in a less turbulent environment, things might be different. Continual bad news about Bear from executives’ unmannered behavior to its first quarterly loss since foundation ruined the confidence of investors. And another difference in the failure of both was that Bear mainly died of market failure. When the whole market was fear of the loss of subprime asset, the large subprime assets holding companies such as Bear Stearns, could not avoid a fate of great loss and liquidity problem. (4) What could Bear Stearns have done differently to avoid this fate?In the early 2000’s? As an investment bank, Bear was just in pursuit of the return while underestimated the potential aftermath of being too risky. Most of its profit was composed of fixed income securities. Meanwhile, Bear should not let each hedge fund manager just specialize in a particular security to make volatility. It is obvious that Bear’s risk management had significant flaw. Furthermore, since the over-confident Bear was desperate for the incredible return, it was not attentive to such supernormal growth of the housing price.They should not just concentrate on CDOs without also devoting their asset in other business, as diversification is so important for a firm. But it may not happen, since Bear was not less greed than the surrounding. And during the summer of 2007? If Bear realized the market could not be defeated, they should have controlled Cioffi’s risky action of raising new hedge fund with a higher leverage. Conversely, they should liquidate the fund. If the liquidation was performed, they should not have lost such great amount in this worthless fund.And meanwhile it began to try to search for cash to finance itself. Except those worthless ‘toxic assets’, Bear still had some assets, which could provide it some cash flow. If Bear sold these assets earlier with determination, they might not sink in liquidity problem so deeply. And during the week of March 10, 2008? After Bear was downgraded by Moody, market had lost confidence in it. Almost everyone realized bear’s liquidity problem. When pointed out to have liquidity problems, Bear’s executives should realize the severity of the crisis rather than believing the worst was once again behind them.Even though they could not recover from the difficulty, prime actions could be taken, including exposing the reality to the market, reassuring the investors, making urgent strategies, applying for emergent aids from the Fed, and applying for temporary held in stock trading. 2. Liquidity Crisis and Business Model of Investment Banks: What is the role of Liquidity for banking and investing banking firms? Is perception of Liquidity more important for a banking/investment banking firm than manufacturing firms (such as Ford or Boeing)? Why?What could Bear Stearns have done to address its Liquidity concern s, which initiated the run on the bank? Looking back, what lessons can we infer from Bear Stearns’s failure regarding the business model of investment banks? Looking forward is the concept of ‘pure-play’ investment banks sustainable? (1) What’s the role of liquidity for banking and investing banking firms? Liquidity can reveal the untrue existence of cash (and cash equivalents), short-term investments, accounts receivable and accounts payable, etc. To which extent it lives up to the real condition.It measures whether the bank’s business is legal, reasonable and whether the financial status is promptly and properly reflected on the financial reports. Liquidity risk is also important. It values the repayment of debt and reminds the board of the corporation’s risk at any time. Managing liquidity is a daily process requiring bankers to monitor and project cash flows to ensure that adequate liquidity is maintained. The investment portfolio serves as the primary source of liquidity and represents a smaller portion of assets. Investment securities can be liquidated to satisfy deposit withdrawals and increased loan demand. 2) Is perception of Liquidity more important for a banking/investment banking firm than manufacturing firms (such as Ford or Boeing)? Why? Yes. The main sources of funding for commercial banks are deposit, interbank borrowings, commercial banks deposits, the international money market borrowings and the issuance of financial bonds, among which the short-term deposit accounts for the vast majority of the proportion. However, these funds are primarily used for commercial loans, discounting business, securities investment, etc. These higher profitability and long-term loans account for the absolute proportion in the composition of assets.This mismatch between assets and liabilities makes the liquidity of assets very important in banks’ operation. Since when sudden changes occurred in the market, a large n umber of customers will be forced to perform withdrawal, therefore the bank will be very difficult to realize its assets and to meet its liquidity needs. In some sense, it is similar for the investment banks. The difference is just that they do not raise money from retail depositors; most of the money is funded in the interbank market and is used to hold illiquid mortgage backed securities.Once banks were not able to provide funding for business, a banking contagion will occur and spread. A traditional manufacturing business is generally funded by equity or long-term debt and has steady cash flows from business operations. Even in the case of a collapse of such businesses, it would not have the same contagion effect as banks. (3) What could Bear Stearns have done to address its Liquidity concerns, which initiated the run on the bank? 1. The basis of the modern financial system is not physical assets, but people’s confidence in this system.Actually when the rumor of BSC runnin g out of cash was widely spread, BSC was forced to make a public announcement to ensure the public that their financial situation was solid and their liquidity was sufficient. Unfortunately, BSC did not take valid action or provide strong evidence such as strengthen its financial sheets or reducing leverage to convince investors. The board should pay more attention to the operation of the corporate rather than participate in a bridge tournament. 2. BSC could reduce leverage by selling their risky assets to generate cash during a period of financial stress.They should maintain enough reserves in the form of short-term instruments of the highest credit quality to meet the obligation. So an amount of funds should be invested only in instruments that have guaranteed liquidity, like treasury instruments. 3. Bear Stearns, three-quarters of whose revenue was still dependent on the market (see the source below), should adopt diversification strategy to find a real alternative to business an d improve its finance. The plans could be accelerate the development in other countries and diversified business, including equities, investment banking and asset management businesses.Source: http://finance. sina. com. cn/money/future/20080403/09024705325. shtml (4) What lessons can we infer from Bear Stearns’s failure regarding the business model of investment banks? Diversification of the investment is the foremost thing to consider for any matured investor. Investing heavily into one company, one industry, or having only one investment strategy is unadoptable. You are banking for speculation that one company or industry will always do well. But in fact, it is hardly possible to be in perfect condition at any time.You must make your investment portfolio diversified. Maybe an element of international stocks can be added into the portfolio. When the U. S. market is unprofitable, it still has the chance to get profits from Asia and Europe so as to keep the portfolio solid. So metimes high leverage can kill a firm. In March 2008, Bear owned tangible equity capital of about $11 billions versus total assets of $395 billions—a leverage ratio of 36. For several years, this reckless financing bring the company a profit margin of about one third and a return on equity of twenty percent.However, when the market endured a sharp downturn, Bear lose a lot of capital and willing creditors. During the ensuing months, the same story was to be played out at scores of other banks and non-banks. (5) Looking forward is the concept of ‘pure-play† investment banks sustainable? The performance of a pure-play investment bank can be highly influenced by the type of investing style which targets at it. For instance, if a pure-play bank's business is favored by growth investing, the company will do well during a bull market, where growth stocks tend to outperform the market.Conversely, a pure-play bank associated with growth investing will do poorly during bea r market, when a value investing strategy is historically more profitable. What’s more, the pure-play investment banks have relied heavily on short-term capital, especially repo transactions in which counterparties take collateral as security against the cash they lend. As public companies, pure-play banks faced pressure to deliver return on equity comparable to that of universal banks, even as those banks put competitive pressure on traditional advisory businesses such as M;A, underwriting, and sales and trading.In response, pure-play banks resorted to the two advantages they had over non-depository institutions: unlimited, unregulated leverage capacity, and increasing reliance on proprietary trading to deliver earnings. 3. Systemic Banking Crisis and Regulation: What is a â€Å"systemic banking crisis†? What is ‘banking contagion†? What was the rationale for the creation of ‘fire-wall’ of separation between investment banking and commercial b anking in USA that was institutionalized by the Banking Act of 1933? Why did the regulators weaken and phase out that ‘fire-wall of separation’ in 1990s?Identify the major Deregulatory Acts and its role in the meltdown of the investment banking industry? In your opinion, based on lessons from past global banking crisis, what steps should regulators institute now to address similar future problems? (1) What is a â€Å"systemic banking crisis†? Systemic banking crisis refers to the crisis detrimental to the whole financial system. It is the fatal chaos that several disastrous crises occur simultaneously, such as monetary crisis, banking system crisis, foreign-debt crisis, etc.The crisis expands from one financial market to another. For example, from the stock market to the real estate market or foreign-trade market, etc. (2) What is ‘banking contagion†? Banking contagion refers to a scenario where the banks, which initially affected by some crisis sprea d to the other banks even the other countries whose economy is previously healthy. In this scenario, the expansion could be very quick and disastrous. The international spread might cause the whole banking system to be paralyzed and need another several more years for recovery. 3) What was the rationale for the creation of ‘fire-wall’ of separation between investment banking and commercial banking in USA that was institutionalized by the Banking Act of 1933? There are 3 major factors. 1. Risk of losses (safety and soundness). Banks that engaged in underwriting and holding corporate securities and municipal revenue bonds presented significant risk of loss to depositors and the federal government that had to come to their rescue; they were also more subject to failure with a resulting loss of public confidence in the banking system and greater risk of financial system collapse. . Conflicts of interest and other abuses. Banks that offer investment banking services and mutu al funds were subject to conflicts of interest and other abuses, thereby resulting in the harm to their customers, including borrowers, depositors, and correspondent banks. 3. Improper banking activities. Even if there were no actual abuses, securities-related activities are contrary to the way banking ought to be conducted.The Act prohibited the combination of a depository institution, such as that, commercial banks (those that accept deposits) were prohibited from engaging in most investment banking activities, including underwriting and selling securities, and from affiliating with investment banks and other companies â€Å"engaged principally† in the trading of securities. Likewise, investment banks were barred from accepting deposits. (4) Why did the regulators weaken and phase out that ‘fire-wall of separation’ in 1990s? Inspired by a desire to make U. S. nvestment banks competitive with foreign deposit-taking investment banks such as UBS, Deutsche Bank, an d Credit Suisse First Boston, a Republican Congress and President Clinton passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act in 1999, permitting insurance companies, investment banks, and commercial banks to compete on equal footing across products and markets. (5) Identify the major Deregulatory Acts and its role in the meltdown of the investment banking industry? 1999–Glass-Steagall Act Fell The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 had larger ramifications than any other steps in deregulation.Repealing this act made it possible for investment banks to be savings and loan banks and to receive to the same government protections as savings and loan banks. An investment bank could make investments with people's savings, sometimes irresponsibly, and those investments now were guaranteed by the federal government. 1988–Securitization In 1988, securitization, or repackaging assets as a financial instrument to sell to investors, became legal. Banks were a llowed to sell their mortgages to SPVs. Mortgages were no longer being made to hold but to sell, and lending requirements became substantially more lenient.This created a combination of bad loans and banks without the funds to back them up. 2004–SEC In 2004, the SEC abolished the â€Å"net capital† rule, which restricted the amount of debt their brokerage units could take on-demonstrated this growing appetite for leverage. This led investment banks to leverage themselves at a financially irresponsible 30 to 1 percent, meaning that for every $1 they had on hand they had $30 in debt. When some of these investments collapsed, the banks did not have the ready capital to maintain their companies. Ultimately, increased leverage and proprietary trading ravaged the nvestment banking industry, leading to the collapse, merge, or restructure of all 5 major pure-play banks on Wall Street. This time, the SEC took the unprecedented step of temporarily banning short sales of financia l institution stocks. The ban caused massive losses in hedge fund portfolios and dissuaded them from making additional investments, denying would-be issuers access to needed capital. Moreover, the SEC placed a ban on so-called ‘naked’ shorting, which reduced the total amount of short interest that could accumulate in a stock. 6) In your opinion, based on lessons from past global banking crisis, what steps should regulators institute now to address similar future problems? 1. The regulations should be placed on the fundamental part of economy. For example, when there seems to have bubbles in one field, the Fed should not ignore. It should adjust the policy towards the industry to change the unbalanced situation. 2. To fortify the risk awareness continuously in traders’ mind, especially those who control the wealth of millions of people. Their behaviors might have huge influence to the market and the profitability of the firms. 3.The Fed should research for adjustm ent for investors from the market of different systems to ensure that obstacles will not exist in multinational trades. Meanwhile, policies of staying resistant to exterior crisis should be prepared in case of the explosion of crisis. 4. Federal Bailout and Public Policy: Why did the Federal Reserve bail-out Bear Stearns? Why was Lehman Brothers allowed to collapse while Bear Stearns was not? Is the Fed orchestrated sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America the optimal solution for addressing the crisis? Could Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have survived with out becoming bank holding companies?In your view, what public policy role should the Federal Reserve play in maintaining sustainability in global banking and stability securities markets? Why was there such a public out-cry against the bailout of Wall Street investment banks? Based on this recent performance how would you rate the Federal Reserve’s response to the financial crisis? (1) Why did the Federal Reserve bail-o ut Bear Stearns? If Bear went bankruptcy, it would affect other firms in Wall Street as well, since Bear was a market leader in prime brokerage and clearing who provided trading and back-end services to many other Wall Street financial institutions.Most customer asset would get frozen in the event of bankruptcy, and many hedge funds had collateral in the firm. Because of Bear’s holding of 13 trillion credit default swaps, the collapse of Bear would influence many other companies, which means too big to fail at that time. However, the Fed didn’t forecast that this kind of matter will happen again. The Fed Reserve bailed out Bear Sterns just to avert crisis and dissuade further irresponsible risk-seeking. The bailout benefited Wall Street at the expense of Main Street and the low share price was to discourage banks from taking on similar risk. 2) Why was Lehman Brothers allowed to collapse while Bear Stearns was not? The decision to let Lehman Brothers fail was largely m ade by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the British Financial Services Authority. The public outcry over the taxpayer assumption of $29 billion in potential Bear losses made repeating such a move politically untenable. Therefore, the Fed refused to back Lehman’s liabilities and backstop losses from Lehman’s toxic mortgage holdings. Moreover, Barclay’s quitted the acquisition, worrying that it could not be satisfied with the timely shareholder approval, which directly led to the collapse of Lehman.The Fed also wanted to set it as an example, to let other company to know that not every time the government will come out to bail out the company, so they will have deliberate consideration repeatedly before making all kinds of risky investments. (3) Is the Fed orchestrated sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America the optimal solution for addressing the crisis? No. This transaction doubled the investment banking size of Bank of America. Furthermore, it exposed Bank of America to mortgage-backed securities, which had negative impact on the long-term credit rating of the bank.This transaction could not prevent the occurrence of another such case like Merrill Lynch’s, and this behavior could not bring unforgettable lesson to other banks. (4) Could Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have survived without becoming bank holding companies? No. According to the research, Goldman Sachs was a major beneficiary of the government’s bailout of the financial services industry, not only through AIG but also through its ability to fall under the regulatory umbrella as a bank holding company, which made it eligible for debt guarantees and other government backstops.Every financial services company on the earth wanted to become a bank and line up for the handouts coming from Washington such as American Express, GE Capital, and GMAC. Even Willem Buiter, a former central banker, wanted to become a bank. Goldman was in a more precarious position than bank holding companies because of the vulnerabilities of being a broker-dealer. Nouriel Roubini warned repeatedly before Lehman’s collapse that the large full services broker-dealer model was broken. (5) In your view, what public policy role should the Federal Reserve play in maintaining sustainability in global banking and stability securities markets?From the lesson of subprime housing crisis, we think the Federal Reserve should control the capital, but without influencing the supply and demand. Since this crisis was created by those bad loans, the government’s control would limit people to invest on housing market, and somehow be better for people who are really in need of a place to stay. Furthermore, we have several pieces of advice to the Fed, besides in housing matters: a) Regulate the gross domestic and international banking environment. b) Reinforce the supervision over the risk control of investment banks. ) Restrict the expansion of any potential crisis once any symbol occurs. d) Do best to avoid the asymmetric information in the market. e) Ensure a fair and open environment for trading. (6) Why was there such a public out-cry against the bailout of Wall Street investment banks? People’s being against to government’s bailout the Wall Street had 2 main reasons. First, people believed Wall Street got this mess by themselves and they should be the one to clean it up, rather than that the government used tax payer money to save the Wall Street.They thought this was not fair, because this kind of action would increase the US government’s debt, and tax payer would have to pay more tax in the future to cover this debt. This debt may take a long time to be recovered. Second, when the government did get involved in the Wall Street crisis, the free market would not exist anymore, and next time if any firm had problem, they would ask the government to save them, which would totally be against the American economic policy , and belief. 7) Based on this recent performance how would you rate the Federal Reserve’s response to the financial crisis? Based on the recent performance, we think they had done what they had to do, but we think they should let the economic fail, based on the free market of American. They should let the invisible hand control the market, and the market should flow freely by itself. It will come back up, however long it takes. Now the government is using the tax payer’s money to cover Wall Street crisis, which actually is not fair.

Bridge damage

Every year, many types of failures affect structures as a result of hydraulic action. In fact, hydraulic damage is unpredictable, so protecting bridges from this type of damage is essential. Every year, a huge sum of money and a lot of time are spent in repairing bridges because of hydraulic damages. In the past two decades, the quick deterioration of bridge structures has become a serious technical and economical problem in a lot of countries especially in highly developed ones. A better way to prevent these additional expenditures is by protecting bridges from this type of damage through correct design and construction.The purpose of this study is to summarise information about hydraulic damage and identify various methods of bridge pier design and construction that might help prevent hydraulic damage. The study also examined various causes of bridge failure due to hydraulic damage and tried to determine factors such as what would be the best shape for the bridge to avoid hydraulic damage, the most useful types of materials for constructing bridges, and the methods of construction most conducive to protecting bridge piers from this type of damage.The study aims to explain the factors that affect hydraulic damage resulting in bridge failure and come up with clear type methods to protect bridge piers from hydraulic damage. Generally, the loss of pier stability results more from the subsoil factors rather than force factor. This section reassesses the types of failures that may happen to bridges as a result of Hydraulic action and it can be divided into five major categories, namely, Scouring, Bank Erosion, Hydraulic forces on piers, Failure due to ice forces, and Failure due to debris.Scouring is one of the most common causes of hydraulic damage and it is estimated that nearly 60% of all failed bridges failed because of this. When the speed of flowing water is more than it should be, it may reduce the bed level by excavating and removing the bed materials and m aking large holes around the piers that gradually cause bridge failure. Local scour removes bed material from around the piers and abutments, also at bridge piers. The effect is usually greatest near the upstream nose of the piers, which may lead to the pier being damaged first at the upstream end and thus sloping.Geometric parameters are important in the estimation of localised scour, including degree of flow contraction caused by the bridge restricting the flow area, and foundation geometry. The geometry of piers can be illustrated by the shape, length, width and alignment with the flow of individual piers. Bank erosion and channel migration are other factors; several rivers tend to change their route with time. A bridge that is located to suit one location of the main channel may become progressively at risk to scour failure as the river changes.Abutments or piers placed on the original floodplain, if not designed to accommodate channel migration, may be undermined or otherwise w eakened if this occurs. Protection repairs involving the placing of rock guard around bridge piers can reduce the flow area of the main span and direct to flow being diverted on the way to other channels. For example, a river with a sharp longitudinal gradient and high flowing velocity will be more prone to bank erosion than a flat slope river with low velocity.Flowing water (Hydraulic Force) applies force on bridge piers. One such force works alongside the route of flow, and is referred to as drag force. The other force is typically applied to the direction of flow, and is referred to as lift force. If the flow aligns with a pier and has a lift force equal to zero, the capacity of the pier to withstand lift and drag forces might be reduced during a flood if scouring also occurred around the base of the pier. Debris has an effect on hydraulic acts of bridge performance.Debris can limit flow leading to significant scour levels around piers. Assembled debris can negatively impact the passageway under a bridge by increasing the hydraulic load on the bridge and this can also affect the hydrostatic forces which may cause structural failure. Ice can also inflict forces against structures due to its extension during freezing, but this appears improbable in the fluvial location. The impact of sheets of ice on the piers probably is the greater risk.Crushing is a common type of ice failure as it results in high forces or loads on a bridge pier. The main cause of bridges failure due to hydraulic damages is scour. Several methods are available to protect bridge piers from hydraulic damages, however the first step of pier design is estimating the depth of scour, but it is recommended that the overall design should involve the calculation of afflux, depth of scour and various type of hydraulic loads. Scour protection measures should also be considered during the designing process.Generally, the methods relevant to both the piers and the abutments can be classified into two most important groups, namely: methods consisting of strengthening the subsoil and methods consisting of strengthening the foundations. Foundation of bridge piers on floodplains should be placed at the same depth as the piers foundation in the stream channel. Also, streamline pier shapes helps to reduce scour and minimise the potential of debris build up. Many types of bed materials scour at different rates but loose granular soils have lower resistance to scour.Scour in sand bed stream will be as deep as scour in cohesive or cemented soils. Scour will achieve its highest depth in sand and gravel bed materials in hours, cohesive material in days, limestone in years and dense granites in centuries. Massive rock configuration is highly anti-scour during the lifetime of a typical bridge. In different types of foundations, especially piled foundations, using less significant number of long piles to extend bearing resistance will provide greater resistance to pile failure due to scour co mpared to shorter piles.The top of the pile cap should be placed at a depth below the existing river bed level and at the same level as estimated general scour depth. Stone aprons (Riprap) are situated around piers and abutments as a flexible way to avoid local scour development; the specific parameter that should be considered here is using a large enough stone because it should remain stable under maximum velocities. Also, the stone should be located in a pre-excavated position beneath the bed of the river so the velocities are not increased by its existence.Constructing bridge piers deep enough to avoid this requires a riprap. This means that while increasing the depth of the pier’s and abutments’ foundation from the bed surface, it becomes more efficient in withstanding a high velocity of flood flow. Another thing to be considered is supplying a roadway that comes close to the profile so it will be overtopped before the submergence of the bridge superstructure. Thi s is useful in reducing scour at the bridge piers. Another method of preventing hydraulic damage is through a process called Enlargements.Enlarging the base of piers may limit the depth of local scour. Additional protection method is positioned at the bridge pier foundation on floodplains and it should be at the same depth as the pier foundation in the stream channel because there is uncertainty in predicting the level of scour. Using extreme limitations in foundation design if there is any likelihood that the channel will shift its location onto the floodplain over the life of the bridge is a good policy.There are many more types of bed and bank protection including gabions and gabion mattresses and proprietary systems of interlocking blocks, alteration of a pier’s nosing shape and provision of piles of a smaller diameter than the width of the pier. The benefit of a stone protective covering layer, roughly the nose of a pier, is easy to situate and it does not need any exten sive dewatering or diversion work. However, it is not always cost effective The Oreti River Road Bridge is a two lane-bridge built in 1995. It holds Highway 99 crossways. It involves 20 spans of 12 m.with eight spans which are placed over the main channel and each pier was designed with two rows of six 7. 6 m. driven RC piles; largest size of bed materials has been reduced by 100mm to 50mm at present. In 1975, scour occurred and four central piles in each group of 12 gone from 5 of the piers and survey shows that scour bed level was 1 to 5 m. below the scour depth that was predicted. To repair damage, they put protective rocks below the bridge with a top elevation of 1. 7 m. beneath the underside of pile caps and they built a rock weir about 60 m. downstream of the bridge.