College Life Essay

College was always my main goal throughout my whole entire education life school was not for me but I managed to make it to college. I graduated from a Catholic High School with all boys who have already mentally allowed me to focus on other issues and concentrations of focuses. I still sometimes wonder what I am going to do with my major and completion of college. I need to know my future and when I leave for school I am going to have to use my morals and higher education to help me understand and cope with other everyday experiences. There are three main categories of things that I want to gain in my life experience. I want to gain moral things, also strengthen my personality, and gain a higher knowledge. After I graduation from high school, I had plan to do several things. The most important thing I plan to do is go to college, because there are so many other detractions other than a degree, from a college education I plan to pursue higher learning, to begin a career, and to make history in my family. Making history in my family is the most important thing I hope to gain from a college education. My mother was the one parent that parents graduated from college, I have two brothers and a sister who did attend college which motivated me to want to go to college; my other relatives a least graduated from high school. Taking a look back has motivated me to reach farther. Being able too graduate of a catholic department system and also a highly respected person in my senior class. I plan to make history in my family by being the first also to get a Degree in History. Pursuing higher learning, beginning a career, and making history in my family are things I hope to gain from a college education other than a degree. It is very important that I accomplish these goals so that I will have continued success. If I believe it, then I can achieve it. I am not after the meaning of life but by the grace of God I know all of these things that I know and able to learn more whenever possible. College is a step in my lifelong search for knowledge that will hopefully bring me closer to my goals. Lastly one thing I hope to gain from a college education is higher learning. Learning goes far beyond a high school education and is very necessary in today’s society. It allows us to be familiar with our environment and everyone in it, and it allows us to maintain assurance of ourselves. A lot of us would be lost without any learning at all, and our world would be very confused. One must learn to do such things as apply math skills as well as be responsible and independent. I know that a college education would allow me to acquire this ability.

Martin Luther 95 Theses Essay

The Ninty-Five Theses was written by Martin Luther in 1517 and is broadly regarded as the major catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther was an ambiguous German monk and radiant theologian. Martin Luther started a rebellion against the church’s authority which caused the collapse of religious unity of Christendom. The Roman Catholic Church, centered in Rome, extended its influence into every aspect of European society and culture. Due to the increasing power, wealth, and selfishness, a squall of criticism against the church broke out during the Late Middle Ages. Martin Luther and his Lutherans followers led a revolt against the Roman Catholic Church which helped with the creation of The Ninety-Five Theses. The beginning of the European religious problems came in the fourteenth century, when the King, Pope, and Clergy began to gain massive amounts of power and wealth. The idea of medieval Christendom was a newer concept which is basically a Christian commonwealth led by the papacy. As the church tried to create this Christendom, theorists argued that the church was only a spiritual body and therefore its power did not extend to the political realm. The theorists along with the people said that the state needed no guidance from the papacy and that the clergy was not above secular law. The church was becoming more corrupt by the day, which included: nepotism (appointing ones relative to office), pursuit of personal wealth by the bishops, and sexual indulgence of the clergy. Theologians attacked the churches authority by arguing that the church did not control an individual’s destiny, instead by accepting God’s gift of faith. I think this is a very important move by the theologians, because they are sharing similar beliefs to me. I think my church and preacher are very important but not more important the God. With the advent of Lutheranism, personal faith, rather than adherence to the practices of the church, became central to the religious life of European Protestants. The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century ushered in a spiritual revolution that had a great impact on the western world. The starting point for the reformation was Luther’s attack in 1517 on the church’s practice of selling indulgences. The Roman Catholic Church taught hat some people go directly to heaven or hell, while others go to heaven only after spending time in purgatory (a period of expiation necessary for those who have sinned excessively). Later in 1517, a Dominican friar named John Tetzel was selling indulgences in the area near Wittenberg. Luther launched his attack against Tetzel and the selling of indulgences by tacking his Ninety-five Theses to the door of the Wittenberg castle church. Luther’s t heses, or propositions, challenged the entire concept of selling indulgences not only as a fraudulent practice but also as a theologically unsafe postulation. At the heart of Martin Luther’s argument in The Ninety-five Theses was the belief that the individual achieves salvation through central religious feeling, a sense of repentance for sins, and a faith in God’s mercy, and that the church attendance, fasting, pilgrimages, charity, and other works did not earn salvation. The church held that both faith and good works were necessary for salvation. Luther insisted that every individual could discover the meaning of the Bible unaided by the clergy. This again was a contradicting idea of that of the Roman Catholic Church, as they believed only the clergy could read and interpret the Bible properly. I think these early defining ideas from Martin Luther were very powerful. I think a lot of people bought into these theses not only because they were believable, but because they could witness the wrongs that the church were committing. Luther argued that each person could directly and freely receive faith from God. Martin Luther’s ninety-five theses had a major effect on religion and culture in early western civilization. I do not think religion would be like it would today if Martin Luther hadn’t led his Lutherans and present his theses. In the fourteenth century, religion was basically all formed into one, especially in Europe. I think all societies in Europe, were part of the Catholic Church. Religion might not have ever broke apart and became their own version of faith with multiple Gods and ideas, if not for Martin Luther. If Martin Luther did not have the courage to act and speak out against something as important as religion, then Catholics, Baptists, Protestants, and Lutherans might very well be completely different or even nonexistent. I ike how Martin Luther wrote his theses by quoting scriptures and adding facts to support his campaign and show Europeans what they had believed and witnessed for so long, but lacked valor to reform. I think it is very significant for people to know about the ninety-five theses and how it helped change and shape religion in early European culture. I really enjoyed reading and writing about Martin Luther and his reformation because I have a strong belief in freedom of religion. I do not think religion should ever be force on someone, and that it should only be something chosen to participate in.

Psychological approaches to health practice Essay

Explain different psychological approaches to social care practice In this assignment I am going to look at four different psychological approaches and how they can be linked to health and social care situations, two of the approaches will be linked to health care situations and the other two to social care situations. The first approach that I am going to link to a social care situation is the behaviourist perspective, where psychologists explain all human behaviour as resulting from experience. Two of the major psychologists linked with this approach are Pavlov and Skinner and although these two believed that different processes were involved they agreed that behaviour was the result of learning. I am going to concentrate on the work of Skinner. Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an American psychologist that worked mainly with pigeons and rats to investigate the important principles of learning new behaviours. He was responsible for a very famous piece of equipment, the Skinner box, whi ch was a box that contained a lever that when pressed released a food pellet. This box reinforced lever pressing behaviour. Once the rat was put inside Skinners box it would sniff and move around and at some point push the lever and release the food pellet. When the rat has pushed the lever many times it will learn that this behaviour, pushing the lever, is followed by the release of the food pellet, the consequence. As the rat would like to have more food the pellet is experienced as reinforcing and this increases the chance of the behaviour being repeated. Skinner also investigated negative reinforcement by running a very small electric current on the floor of the box containing the rat and if the rat pushed the lever then the current would be turned off. This action was negative reinforcement. An example of this is taking a painkiller to relieve the symptoms of a headache which results in the headache going away then you have been negatively reinforced for taking a painkiller. Skinner also investigated that punishment happens when behaviour is followed by a consequence which is an unpleasant experience . He did this by having a box where the rat received a small electric shock when it pushed the lever. The consequence of pushing the lever was unpleasant, an electric shock, so the rat learned not to push the lever. The principles of operant conditioning can be used to create more helpful behaviours and remove the  unhelpful ones. The principles of reinforcement and punishment are a very powerful way to alter a person’s behaviour. This process is sometimes known as behaviour modification. My father uses this approach daily at work as he is a senior prison officer at HMP Wayland to maintain order within the regime and my mother uses the same ideas, for classroom management at Wayland Academy, on a daily basis. In both situations, good behaviour is rewarded and poor behaviour is punished but in very different ways. At Wayland Academy, where I have completed my first work placement, there is a behaviour policy called the Red Card Procedure and it is used in every classroom throughout the school. The policy is a four stage policy designed to promote good classroom behaviour and pupils receive consequences for behaviour that disrupts the learning of other students. The procedure is: Step 1 – Consequence 1 (C1) – The student receives a 10 minute detention for a first occurrence of any behaviour that disrupts others learning. This behaviour can include calling out, unnecessarily demanding the teacher’s time and using foul language. Step 2 – Consequence 2 (C2) – The student receives a 10 minute detention for a second occurrence of any behaviour that disrupts others learning. This means that the student now has a total of 20 minutes detention with the class teacher. Step 3 – Consequence 3 (Time out) – After the third occurrence of disruptive behaviour the student is sent outside the classroom and the teacher goes out and speaks to them privately explaining that they have reached their final chance of remaining in the lesson. If their behaviour is not improved after this they will be removed from the remainder of the lesson and have a 60 minute after school detention the following week. Step 4 – Consequence 4 (R ed Card) – If another example of disruptive behaviour now happens the student is removed from the remainder of the lesson and receives a 60 minute after school detention. The Red Card Procedure works on the same basis as Skinners theory that punishment occurs when behaviour is followed by a consequence that is unpleasant. If the student demonstrates disruptive behaviour then they are punished by the removal of their free time, in the form of detention, and it is hoped that this punishment will teach the student to stop the disruptive behaviour. Aldworth, C. Billingham, M. Lawrence, P. Moonie, N. and Whitehouse, M (2010) Health and Social Care Level 3 Book 1 BTEC National  Harlow: Pearson Education Limited – Pages 339-340 The second approach that I am going to link to a social care situation is the cognitive perspective where psychologists believe the brain was like a computer system and much work has gone in to understanding the cognitive processes of attention, memory, perception, information processing, thought, problem solving and language. One of the two main psychologists within this approach, that I am going to talk about, is George Kel ly. He developed a very unique psychological theory known as the Psychology of Personal Construct where he saw the individual as a experimenter, making their predictions about the future, testing them and if they need to they revise them according to new evidence. For example if an individual becomes deaf in their middle age then it might be likely that they withdraw from society and become isolated. On the other hand if they interpret it as a challenge then they may try and find new and exciting ways to work around the deafness and continue with a fulfilling life. Individuals with learning difficulties may experience frustration within their daily lives as they seek to make sense of confusing experiences. The cognitive approach can help individuals with learning difficulties in misunderstood situations, by identifying irrational thoughts, an individual can be a guide to change them, with consequent benefits on their emotions and behaviour. This work can improve an individual’s self-esteem and reduce outbursts which may be caused by a lack of understanding of the requirements that are needed for a situation. While I was on placement at Wayland Academy, I worked with the Year 7 Gold Group, which is a nurture group. The individuals in thi s nurture group all have certain learning difficulties . The group is limited to a maximum of 15 students so the staff have enough time within a lesson to go around and help everyone understand the lesson objectives and stop them from becoming frustrated. For example, one of the students within the classroom has Aspergers Syndrome which is a form of autism but it differs from other conditions on the autism spectrum by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development. The teacher and classroom assistant have certain strategies to allow this student to access learning. While they are sitting and working with him they are continually refocusing his attention on to the required task, and this may involve moving the work into his eyeline if he has become distracted. Another strategy is to repeat and reword the given  task until the student has understood fully. The teacher and the classroom assistant knows when the student has understood because when he has understood he responds to them in full sentences and when he is still struggling he only gives one word answers. Aldworth, C. Billingham, M. Lawrence, P. Moonie, N. and Whitehouse, M (2010) Health and Social Care Level 3 Book 1 BTEC National Harlow: Pearson Education Limited – Pages 350-351 and 359-361 http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Asperger’s-Syndrome.htm Now I am going to move on and look at health care situations and the first psychological approach I am going to look at is the humanistic perspective. Humanistic psychology looks at the human experience from an individual’s viewpoint and uses the idea of free will and that everyone is free to make choices. One of the two psychologists I am going to talk about is Carl Rodgers and was very interested in the whole idea concept of self. Self-concept looks at the way each individual views themselves, this includes biological and physical attributes. Self-concept is noticed at a young age, when children internalise other individual’s judgements about them and think it is true. For example if a child gets called naughty or silly throughout their childhood then their self-concept will contain these aspects and possibly shape their future in a negative way. On the other hand if a child is praised and encouraged to succeed then they will have a positive self-concept and will try better at what they do because they start to see themselves as worthwhile. Carl Rodgers is famous for forming a particular type of counselling which is based on unconditional positive regard from the counsellor, to try and help the patient gain a more positive sense of self. Unconditional positive regard refers to the idea that the counsellor supports and validates the individual’s experiences, feelings, beliefs and emotions unconditionally, whether good or bad. Over time this helps the patient accept themselves and think more positively about who they are. One of the features of this approach to helping others is to develop empathy. Empathy is the opposite of sympathy where you would feel sorry for an individual empathy us to really listen to the individual and be in tune with their emotions, and respect them for who they are This is not always easy to do because as we may not understand why the individual feels so bad about themselves about an issue we may be able to easily discharge. Nevertheless, if we try to respect the individual we maybe working with then we might start to understand the importance to them and we can become closer to displaying empathy. True empathy requires us to move aside all judgements we may have and as the saying goes ‘Put ourselves in their shoes’. Like empathy, understanding is of critical importance when applying this perspective to health care practices. Rodgers frequently referred to more then just understanding at an intellectual level: he talks about empathetic understanding which means using your own emotions and sensitivity to become a more effective person to help any individual. A lot of the time many people allow their own personal experiences and personal judgements get in the way of helping the individual by saying â€Å"Well, that’s not a problem – they should just pull themselves together! I have dealt with worse myself.† This can turn into a major barrier between patient and counsellor, instead of creating a barrier counsellors use useful questions like; How does that make you feel? Can you identify what you are afraid of? Could you tell me a little bit more about that? That seemed to upset you? All of these questions enable the individual to break down the problem without realising it so it helps the counsellor what to say and what to suggest for the next step. It has been shown , by a recent study in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical, that cognitive behaviour therapy for adherence and depression can be effective for decreasing depression and increasing adherence to medication in HIV-infected drug users. The intervention group received 9 treatment sessions over a period of 3 months, involving informational, problem-solving, and cognitive behavioral steps. At each step, the participants and the therapist collaboratively defined the problem, generated alternative solutions, made decisions about the solutions, and developed a plan for implementing them. At post-treatment, the intervention group showed significant improvements and showed a significant reduction in symptoms of depression. Depression and substance abuse are the most comorbid disorders associated with HIV-inf ection, and it is suggested that even a small change in adherence can result in improved outcomes for HIV patients. The results of this study suggest that the  integration of cognitive behavior therapy into substance abuse counseling may be useful for decreasing depression and improving adherence to medication (with continued sessions) in HIV-infected patients with a history of injection drug use. Aldworth, C. Billingham, M. Lawrence, P. Moonie, N. and Whitehouse, M (2010) Health and Social Care Level 3 Book 1 BTEC National Harlow: Pearson Education Limited – Pages 348, 349 and 357 http://www.beckinstituteblog.org/2013/03/cbt-is-effective-for-adherence-and-depression-in-hiv-infected-injection-drug-users/ The second approach I am going to discuss in relation to a health care situation is the social learning perspective. The social learning perspective is where influences happen on our behaviour from the environment around us, for example; from peers, siblings, parents, sports personalities, television and other celebrities. According to this theory role models have a huge impact on an individual’s life. While we may learn our behaviour from observing another person behave and imitating what they do, behaviour is strongly influenced by the way we perceive the role model performing the behaviour. Albert Bandura was one of the theorists within the social learning approach and he developed observational learning, which is learning behaviour from watching and observing others such as television personalities. The individual we learn from, known as the role model, and the process of imitating their behaviour is called modelling. However we do not imitate all behaviour we have observed, because it is in our interests to imitate particular behaviour influenced by the actions of the role model. If we see our role model being punished and we do not like the way they have been punished then we as individuals are less likely to repeat that behaviour, on the other hand if they have been positively reinforced and the individual sees that then they are more likely to repeat that behaviour. As above role models play a huge part in influencing behaviour of those who observe them. For example Jamie Oliver the celebrity chef has had a huge impact on primary schools around the UK, with his School Dinners Project he has managed to get local authorities to re-introduce freshly cooked meals rather than pre-cooked because they are far healthier for the human body providing the correct nutrients for a child’s needs. He has also, through his Food Foundation created the Kitchen Garden Project which educates primary school children about the joys of growing and cooking from scratch.

Miller and Modigliani Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Miller and Modigliani - Essay Example The higher the company is able to retain earnings, the lesser the dividends and the lower the retention, the larger the dividends. Finance managers then need to make a wise decision on dividends payments and investment fuelling funds from the net profit of the firm. Since the overall goal of doing business is profit maximization, organizations must know which of the two practices is better in terms of wealth creation. If it will not lead to wealth creation for the shareholders, the funds should be retained to support investment programmes. A conflict therefore arises on whether dividends payment impacts the value of the organization or not. Some critics argue that dividends are irrelevant in that the percentage paid to the shareholders does not impact the value of the business while others maintain that dividends are relevant as far as the value of the organization is concerned (Baker,2009). Modigliani and Miller Hypothesis (MM Hypothesis) Both are on the idea that dividends are irre levant in that they have no effect on the organization’s value and do not have serious repercussions on the firm. According to them, choosing an investment programme that will contribute to the firm’s profit is what is important in adding value to the business. The process of dividends sharing is less important. In the event of good markets, realistic investments, and proper tax allocation between dividend revenue and business capital, provided the organization’s investment programme, dividend sharing has no effect on the market price of shares. Their theory on irrelevance of dividends is grounded on the following assumptions; First is that the business is conducted in an environment of perfect capital markets characterized by availability of sufficient and free information at all times, no or less exchange expenses and realistic investments. The investors are not a threat to the market price of goods and services. Also the investors are assumed to be realistic, implying that the main and only goal of shareholders is wealth maximization without discriminations on dividends sharing. They need to be satisfied with the amount that they get from the shares. Modigliani and Miller assumed that tax is ‘non-existent’. Therefore there should be no tax disparities such that the tax levied on dividend is not the same with that of the earnings. If there is tax, it should be equal. The idea is to provide a differentiation between revenue from dividends and from capital earnings. Again, the investment programmes of the organization are assumed to be consistent, i.e. they do not change constantly. The investors most also be in a position to make an intelligent guess about future investment programmes and how much profit they will generate (Frankfurter, wood & wansley, 2003). The argument’s bone of contention is that provided the firm’s investment decision, it can keep its revenue for financing investment programmes or distribut e the profit to the shareholders. The market share increases from the payment of dividends while other added shares pose a drop in the value of shares. This means that the market price does not change with dividends payment. The external business support is said to affect the dividend payment on the wealth of shareholders which makes them indifferent in deciding between dividends and keeping the firm’s revenue to channel investment programmes. In this view, the business external support that is said to affect dividends payment fails to capture mm’s hypothesis of dividends irrelevance. If dividends were irrelevant, the organization’s capital expenses would rely on their rate of dividend distribution (Banarjee, 1990). The assumption on perfect capital m

Article response paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Response paper - Article Example The outcome of the study gives a clear indication that people can understand vocally expressed emotions despite linguistic abilities, even though culture and the linguistic abilities affect the level to which the emotions can be understood to some extent. Personal Observations/Comments Prior to reading this article, I was aware, albeit I had no quite thought about it that I can identify a person’s emotions based on his or her speech. This article reinforces this knowledge; the authors state that listeners respond to changes in pitch, tone, loudness, quality, and rhythm as a person speaks, forming an impression about the speaker’s emotional state. In a study carried out in 2001, four German actors addressed native people from nine different languages. The outcome of the study indicated that sixty six percent of the participants were able to identify emotional instances such as sadness, fear, joy, anger, and neutral utterances correctly (Pell, Monetta, Paulmann, & Kotz, 2 009, p. 108). The study also confirmed that natives perform better in identifying emotions in their native languages than across new languages. It was also evident that listeners whose native languages were similar to German, the language used by the actors, also identified the emotions better than those from languages with no close relations to German. The article pinpoints that the proper identification of emotions in speech is brought about by vocal cues, rather than linguistic features (Pell, Monetta, Paulmann, & Kotz, 2009, p. 116).This is because utterances are different across different languages. However, most vocal cues are universal, cutting across societies speaking different languages. Nevertheless, it is important to note that some vocal cues are localized to certain cultures due to differences in culture and other social beliefs (Pell, Monetta, Paulmann, & Kotz, 2009, p. 116). Differences in linguistics such as intonation, accent, or rhythm, may also result in differen ces in interpretation. The fact that many researches carried out on the influences of linguistic differences on identification of emotions offer conflicting results means that the effects are subjective. The successful identification of emotional activity is dependent on the audience. Some people may identify certain emotions in a speaker’s speech while others would find no emotion on it. Finally, the successful identification of emotions is dependent on the emotions to be identified. According to findings indicated in the article, seventy three percent of listeners across the language divide were able to identity anger; 66% sadness, with the lowest being disgust at 42%. This is consistent with literature documented by various scholars. Research has also showed no evidence on increased or reduced ability to identify emotions while referring to particular languages; each language displayed a distinct variance from the others, once again indicating that such inferences are subj ective. Excerpts from the Article i. â€Å"†¦The authors found that all listener groups recognized fear,, joy, sadness, anger, and â€Å"neutral† utterances strictly from prosody at above chance accuracy levels† (Pell, Monetta, Paulmann, & Kotz, 2009, p. 108). This excerpt demonstrates that audiences were able to identify emotions from speech positively, giving credence to the concept of

Main Aspects Of The Successful Concert Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Main Aspects Of The Successful Concert - Essay Example Amidst all the numerous instruments the audience was still able to concentrate on the performance and get the message clearly instead of being distracted by the instruments. However, I felt that some of the pieces were given a rather cold and unemotional performance than they deserved. The performers could have put more effort to make the pieces more lovely and alluring. Nevertheless, overall performance was insightful and great and left the audience feeling satisfied with no chance of regretting their decision to attend the concert. If I were to rate the concert, I would give the performers 8 out of 10. The first performance was three dances from The Three-Cornered Hat. The first piece of the three dances performed was the Neighbors Dance. The composer is Manuel de Falla, a Spanish man renowned for his magnificent compositions. The style period represented by this composition is modernity. The composition is based on a storybook that features three main characters, the Corregidor, the Miller, and Miller’s wife. The Neighbors Dance is a leisurely performance where Miller together with his wife joins their neighbor in a joyful dance. The genre represented in the performance of this piece is ballet. Ballet is a musical genre in the form of a dance involving formal steps and gestures. The feature that stood out most about the piece during the performance was the rhythm and passion that kept the audience captivated. Though the good application of rhythm achieved a soft and enchanting performance, I felt that this piece came out tense and dry. Regardless, it still was a superb disp lay of talent, practice, dedication, and mastery of techniques by the performers.

Marketing E-Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing E-Business - Essay Example The e-businesses should adopt a differentiating strategy. They should differentiate the services that they offer and create a whole new experience that they should offer to the end users of their product. As the new technology emerges, the e-businesses need to catch up with the technology and they also need to innovate and focus on their customers. The e-businesses need to keep their core focus as their customers. They need to offer value-added services to the customers that no other portal or B2C business is offering. In providing the consumers with these value added services, the e-businesses should also consider the fact that these value-added services are also agreed upon by the sponsors. The e-businesses need sponsors as well to support them which, again is an important factor to consider for the e-businesses. Thus, in short, what the e-businesses need to focus on is creating their own brands, focusing on the customers needs, providing them with a total new experience not offered by others, providing value added services and also taking along the sponsors agreement. Google's strategy of brokering of media types is a unique strategy that no other competitors of Google have adopted up till yet. This strategy is inline to what Google actually need to define its brand in the way. The strategy will help Google continue with what it actually does and will support the running strategy of Google. Google's strategy that it has adopted is an effective and an efficient one. The actual strategy of Google is targeting its target audience in small market niches. When Google will acquire YouTube then this will result in the ability for Google to cover the market niches and advertise more effectively. Advertising issues relating to Google will probably come to an end and Google will be able to advertise its upcoming value added services to its customers in a more efficient way. This strategy of Google is a 'differentiating strategy' that will help Google differentiate itself from its competitors. Especially in the U.S., this strategy has not been adopted by any of the competitors of Google. The media industry and Google has good ties. This is evident from the Google Ads that we see on every other site and almost all the websites support Google in it's this strategy. Thus, the strategy of brokering of media types is an effective strategy that will help Google differentiate itself from its competitors and Google can achieve a uniqueness competency through this strategy. The strategy also serves as a solution to the media ads and advertising problems of Google and also is inline with Google's current strategy. 3. What must a brick and mortar company do to transform its strategy when it decides to transform into an e-Business Brick & Mortar Company Transforms to E-Business -Strategy Transformation When a brick and mortar company decides to transform into an e-business, the first and foremost thing it needs to do is project its target audience and then change its strategy according to the type its target audien

Response paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 14

Response paper - Essay Example As far as gender roles are concerned, this movie has been specific about how women are subjected to abysmal behaviors at the hands of the people all around India and how the men in their lives play a very dominant role which basically destroys their lives more than anything else. Deepa Mehta has emphasized how widows have been at the forefront of being subjected to some of the harshest possible behaviors on the part of the society. Deepa has been vocal about this philosophy emanating out of India with this topic under consideration. The movie has highlighted how the society bears the brunt of such attitudes by its own people and what could be done in order to bring a level of sanity within the relevant quarters. Since these widows are already undergoing an ordeal at the hands of the society that they are a part of, it is the pertinent role of the society to give them happiness rather than inflict one pain after the other one, which has been the case as has been portrayed within this movie. This is one of the most pressing issues that women face within an underdeveloped society in this day and age. The gender roles therefore take the precedence within this movie since women are shown to be in a much shabby state, which does not speak well about their well-being. The manner in which the society has to come out clean is something which will play a positive role all along as far as future domains are concerned. Basically the traditional role of women in India is debated upon by different stakeholders of the society on most of the occasions and Water is one such movie that highlights the related subject (Thomas 2006). The credit for this must rest on the shoulders of Deepa Mehta for bringing a subject which has hurt the cause of the Indian society on more than one instance. In essence, this movie is an eye-opener because it highlights quite a few significant pointers and gives all and sundry food for thought to change the norms which are prevalent within India

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Leadership - Essay Example Many researchers have been struggling to define and explain the leadership traits, theories, challenges and related affairs. The importance that has been given to this area of research is the importance of leadership on employees, performance and overall success of the organizations. There have been a lot of facts and myths associated with the concept of leadership. In the past, leadership was linked by people with the superhuman characteristics bestowed by God to various leaders. This idea was further developed by Weber and named as Charisma by him. The leadership charisma involved the qualities and special characteristics that leaders posses. The leaders having leadership charisma are Charismatics. The concept of Charisma actually directs towards the special power and influence of Charismatics over the followers (Rickards & Clark, p79). In addition to the concept of charisma in leadership, it has been a point of debate if leadership skills are inborn or they can be taught. Researchers have been struggling to find an appropriate answer to this. However, it is not unjust to say that the answer to this question contains an equal portion of both statements. The answer to this question has been given attention for the reason that it may help organizations have effective leaders. Brainpower is the only thing that requires being in a person naturally. Knowledge can be gained, skills can be learnt but intelligence cannot be generated. A person needs to be intelligent and sharp in order to gain knowledge and utilize it. Leadership requires certain traits in a person. These traits include strength of mind, interest to resolve issues, ready to face challenges, power to proceed with plans, will to succeed, determination and passion (Levicki, 2008). Leadership qualities, theories and concepts are valuable and useful when it comes to practical life. The leadership skills are not limited to benefit in businesses but

Evaluation of tasks conducted at work placement Essay

Evaluation of tasks conducted at work placement - Essay Example Such meetings involved discussions on eating habits, exercise period, etc, which allowed the team to understand the condition of athlete in a better manner. It was an observation that athletes’ flexibility training was another key indicator in allowing the team to keep the athletes away from any injury throughout the season, and more the athletes involved themselves in the training, the more they avoided any muscular fatigue or soreness. In addition, analysis indicated that honesty was one of the major factors that played a vital role in monitoring them and managing the database, and I am glad that the players were very truthful and cooperative in submitting their information on weekly basis. Another important phase of the task was to record the data on weekly basis and monitor the RPE training loads of the athletes. The database required submission of every information regarding the athlete, which would result in their weekly rating after various calculations. Such rating helped the department in preparing rating chart of the whole team for every week, as well as the group average, which enabled us to issue a red flag to players in case of their higher rating on consistent basis. In brief, higher RPE rating of players was an indication of lack of energy, lower performance, chances of any injury, etc. Such monitoring enabled us to keep in contact with the players, and discuss with them any reasons of possible injury. In addition, it allowed the department to collaborate with the medical department to formulate a plan to ensure optimum level of fitness of the players. Moreover, this weekly process included competition of players with each other based on the coach’s ratings where the player with eight would be the lowest scorer, and ‘thirty-two’ would be the best scorer. Subsequently, both coach’s and RPE’s ratings were

Learning Styles and Theories Essay Example for Free

Learning Styles and Theories Essay There are multiple learning styles and theories that apply to individuals in multiple ways. The VARK learning style that my analysis revealed is read/write according to the questionnaire by Fleming (2001-2014). This categorization of my learning style compliments me well and I definitely agree that actually seeing the information spelled out in front of me allows me to better understand the information. The two learning theories that relate to my VARK learning style are behaviorism and constructivism. Behaviorism focusing on a clear goal with an automatic response and constructivism affording me the ability to problem solve. Being an andragogical learner I’m able to apply what I’ve learned during my pedagogical phase to my educational experiences. Let’s take a closer look at what behaviorism entails. Behaviorism focuses on the observable changes in behavior. Moreover, it’s the act of doing something new several times until it’s second nature. A prime example is while completing schoolwork the instructor provides continuous positive reinforcement; depending upon the grade the student will constantly modify their behavior until they receive positive reinforcement. According to Watson (n.d.) behaviorism’s goal is to explain relationships between precedent conditions (stimuli), behavior (responses), and consequences (reward, punishment, or neutral effect). Without the positive reinforcement the learned responses that the student exhibits will diminish. My VARK learning style relates to behaviorism by me receiving positive reinforcement through written praise; additionally, with good grades I will continue performing at the same level. Once I’ve developed an understanding of how a task needs to be accomplished I will tailor my actions towards that behavior to continue to receive that positive reinforcement and it becomes second nature. Along with observable changes in behavior, one-step further looks into constructivism and it’s aim on brain-based learning. Constructivism relies on what the learner already knows and the understanding of the subject at hand. Moreover, building new ideas or concepts are based upon current knowledge and past experiences and amplifies when actively engaged. According to Brunner (n.d.) the three stages of  intellectual development are enactive, iconic, and symbolic. Enactive is learning through actions on physical objects and the outcomes, iconic learning is through models and pictures, and lastly symbolic learning is the ability to think in abstract terms (Brunner, n.d.). Constructivism relates to my VARK learning style in the aspect that learning is ongoing and by reading and writing I’m constantly improving my skills and perception. There can be multiple interpretations of an excerpt of literature, therefore by having someone facilitate the learning process with the knowledge of my baseline understanding of the topic at hand that person can build upon it. Thus, my VARK learning style suggests I write out words repeatedly or read them to myself, which goes along with reviewing information multiple times, and learning takes time according to the principles of constructivism. As an adult learner my identified VARK learning style affects my educational pursuit positively. Falling into andragogical learning realm I have more experiences and therefore I can apply those experiences while learning. Adult learners take on the responsibility to be self-directed, and have a wealth of experience that enables them to transform information into meaningful cognitive and reality-based applications (Minter, 2011, p. 9). In retrospect the pedagogical concept requires the instructor to be more directive, placing students in a more passive role, and that students don’t have the motivation or maturity to be self-directed learners (Minter, 2011, p. 9). Applying active learning concepts such as reading and writing allows me to actively be categorized under the andragogical concept. Moreover, by writing and speaking the words to myself and reflecting to solve problems I’m practicing the concept of self-directed and problem-centered aspects of andragogical learni ng. Therefore, I will be able to apply my VARK learning style to complete my educational endeavors and continue on my path of success. The three learning theories of Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism can be applied to any of the four learning styles (visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic). I feel that we cannot generalize that a student will be classified solely under one learning style, they will adapt and apply what is more appropriate given the information or circumstances.  The learning theory used depends upon the learning situation. Being identified as an andragogical learner I’m able to apply life experiences, need to know, relevance of the subject matter and how it applies to me, and use my motivation to further my educational goals with the guidance of instructors that are more like facilitators. Malcolm Knowles paved the path for educators and students alike that entail specific learning principles to enable learners to thrive educationally and without his significant contribution who knows where we would be today. References Bruner, J. (n.d.). Constructivism Discovery Learning. Retrieved from http://www.lifecircles- inc.com/Learningtheories/constructivism/bruner.html Fleming, N. D. (2001-2014). Retrieved from http://www.vark-learn.com/english/index.asp Minter, R. (2011). The Learning Theory Jungle. Journal of College Teaching and Learning, 8(6), 9. Watson, J. B. (n.d.). Behaviorism. Retrieved from http://www.lifecircles-inc.com/Learningtheories/behaviorism/Watson.html

Native Americans Essay Example for Free

Native Americans Essay Native Americans were the first people living in the United States until Europeans arrived, sought to colonize and take over. During this time, Native Americans were subjugated to warfare, new government and losing their lands. Forced to submit to White settlers, many Native Americans have had to choose between assimilating into a White culture or preserving their heritage and ancestry. This essay will discuss public policy regarding Native Americans and provide some examples pertaining to ethnocentrism and cultural relativity. Public Policy and Ethnocentrism. From early on, Native American culture has been on a collision with White society. During the colonial period, the government did not want to have any issues with settlers and Native Americans. Schaefer mentions that Whites were to take precedence regardless of the needs or interference by tribes (150). The secretary of war was put in charge of the Native Americans with regard to any Federal communications. Later in 1824 the Bureau of Indian Affairs was created as an intermediary between the Native Americans and the government (Schaefer 150). As White settlers started to move west, they had felt that Native Americans were blocking their progress. This led to the Indian Removal Act that was passed in 1824 which forced several tribes to leave their ancestral lands. Schaefer also mentions, â€Å"the federal 2 government enacted legislation that affected them with minimal consultation† (151). The government’s goal was to weaken tribal institutions so that Native Americans would assimilate. The government still tried to make Native Americans become more like White homesteaders. In 1887 the government passed the Allotment Act which would turn tribal members into land owners. While each family was given 160 acres, there were some stipulations. Schaefer mentions that â€Å"the act prohibited Native Americans from selling the land for 25 years† (153). The other issue was with the Native Americans not knowing how to farm or utilize the land. They also did not receive assistance or training from the government and as a result, did not do well with homesteading. Since the land could not be legally sold, the Bureau of Indian Affairs ended up leasing the land to White landowners (Schaefer 153). During this time, it was believed that Native Americans should put aside tribal identities and assimilate into White culture. As time progressed, the Indian Reorganization Act which was also known as the Wheeler-Howard Act was passed in 1934 (Schaefer 153). This act was supposed to recognize tribal identity but still pushed for assimilation. Tribes would be allowed to create a constitution and elect leaders within reservations. The Reorganization Act did allow Native Americans to have more control over actions taken on their behalf. Schaefer mentions that this act had tried to unite government agencies with tribal dealings by immersing Native Americans in procedures common to White society (153). However, the act still allowed for non-Native Americans to control issues regarding reservations. Schaefer states that, â€Å"The Reorganization Act sought to assimilate Native Americans into the dominant society on the dominant group’s terms† (153). Moving Towards Cultural Relativity 3 After years of the United States government trying to force Native Americans to Assimilate, they have started to realize that their efforts were not facilitating pluralism. Schaefer mentions the Termination Act of 1953 â€Å"which was considered a controversial government policy towards Native Americans† (156). This act cancelled federal services such as medical care, schools, and road equipment that took effect immediately. There was no coordination between tribes or government agencies which affected the tribes in a disastrous manner. They were not able to perform some basic services such as road repair or fire protection without the government. While this policy was supposed to give Native Americans the ability to self-govern it was viewed as a way to reduce services and save money. With life on an Indian reservation being economically depressed, the government decided to try to lure Native Americans away from the reservations. In 1952 the Bureau of Indian Affairs had started programs to relocate Native Americans to urban areas. In 1962 one of the programs was called the Employment Assistance Program. Schaefer states, â€Å"the purpose was to relocate individuals or families at the government’s expense to urban areas where the job opportunities were† (157). This program was not successful as many Native Americans returned back to their reservations. Schaefer also mentions that this program had some unintended consequences where the Native Americans who left were better educated and created a brain-drain (157). This also caused many of them to understand the predicament that they were faced with in both the city and federal reservations. Through all that they have been through, Native Americans have managed to work collectively through Pan-Indianism intertribal social movements. It has caused them to unite within a common identity because of political goals. In 1944 The National Congress of 4 American Indians was formed in Denver, Colorado and registered itself as a lobby in Washington, D. C. (Schaefer 157). Their goal was to raise issues with regard to the Native. American perspective as it operated similar to the NAACP. This group was able to create the Indian Claims Commission and force the Bureau of Indian Affairs to stop the practice of termination. In 1968 the American Indian Movement was created to monitor police actions and document charges of police brutality (Schaefer 157). Schaefer states that â€Å"sovereignty which refers to tribal self-rule is supported by every U. S. president since the 1960’s† (160). This is a very complex legal relationship since there are numerous legal cases where the Supreme Court has to rule which tribes may rule themselves and where they might be subject to state and federal laws. Tribal members pay federal income, social security, unemployment and property taxes but do not pay state income tax if they live and work on reservations (Schaefer 160). Sovereignty links the actions of the federal government with individual American Indians. Schaefer argues that the government acts as a gatekeeper in determining which tribes are recognized (161). In 1978 the Department of the Interior established the â€Å"acknowledgement process† to decide if more tribes could qualify for a government to government relationship. Conclusion With all that the Native Americans have been through over the years it would seem that many of the early policies were not effective because they did not produce the desired results of forced and immediate assimilation. The only thing that the government was able to do was drive these people off their lands, relocate them and create a sense of distrust. I do feel that the 5 Employment Assistance program did contribute to having some Native Americans move out of their comfort zone and seek out other opportunities. It did cause many Native Americans to take collective action and form groups to lobby for their rights. With regard to sovereignty, it seems that Native Americans are trying to assimilate themselves by working with the government to gain recognition and reap the economic benefits. Today it seems that Native Americans are slowly assimilating into White society because of their involvement in protests, lobbying, politics and business. While Native Americans might not have achieved complete pluralism, they are still trying to adapt to contemporary society. References 6 Schaefer, R. (2012). Native Americans: The First Americans (13th ed), Chapter 6 (pp. 147- 171). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

Advantages of Composite Construction

Advantages of Composite Construction With regards to Civil and Structural Engineering, composite construction typically refers to the use of steel and concrete formed together so that the resulting component behaves as a single element. The aim of composite construction is to utilise the best properties of the different materials and to deliver performance that is greater than had the individual components been used together but not unified. In the case of steel and concrete, the best properties would be the tensile capacity of the steel and the compressive capacity of the concrete. (Nethercot, 2004) Composite construction is an effective method of construction and delivers good performance. The methodology for designing composite structures has been researched in great detail. For these reasons, composite construction is a very popular method of construction around the world. In order for the materials to behave as one element, it is necessary for some method of connecting the two materials. A shear connection between two materials will enable composite action between them. (The Institution of Structural Engineers) 2.1.1 Benefits of Composite Construction The benefits of composite construction include speed of construction, performance and value. Steel framing for a structure can be erected quickly and the pre-fabricated steel floor decks can be put in place immediately. When cured, the concrete provides additional stiffness to the structure. Additionally, the concrete encasement protects the steel from buckling, corrosion and fire. Service integration within the channels on the composite decks is another advantage to composite construction. Building quality standards can be adhered to easily by the use of pre-fabricated decks. Excessive deflections can be controlled by cambering the beams or by shoring the metal decks to limit deflection when concrete is poured. 2.1.2 Codes for the Design of Composite Structures The design of composite structures was governed by the British Standards. BS 5950-3-1 dealt with the design of beams whilst slabs were governed by BS 5950-4. Pre-fabricated decking used with composite structures was governed by BS 5950-6. Since the introduction of the Eurocode set of standards for the European Union, the design of composite structures is standardised by Eurocode 4. (BS EN 1994-1-2) (BCSA; TATA Steel; Steel Construction Institute) 2.1.3 The Principle of Composite Action The principle of Composite Action underpins the use of composite materials in construction. It relates to the interaction of two or more separate elements acting together and contributing together rather than separately. By physically connecting them, the strength of the beams and the resistance to bending, shear and torsion are significantly increased. The Principle of Composite Action is best illustrated as an example. The diagrams below shows two uniform concrete beams placed on top of each other and loaded with a uniformly distributed load. Both beams will resist the load independently and there will be relative movement between them. The bending strength will be the sum of the individual beams contribution. If the beams have width w and height h, the bending strength M will be: However, if the two beams are connected rigidly together by shear connectors and the relative movement between them is eliminated, the width remains w whilst the height becomes 2h. The bending strength M will be: This represents a doubling of the bending strength through the use of composite action. This is the principle behind the use of steel beams with reinforced concrete floor decks. The two are connected by shear connectors. The increase in strength due to composite action can be as much as 20%, resulting in lighter and thinner sections. (TATA Steel) Figure : The differences between identical beams when composite action is utilised. The beam on the left is comprised of two concrete beams that are not connected compositely. When loaded, there is relative slip between the beams. The component beams on the right are rigidly connected together by means of shear connectors. When loaded, there is no slip between the beams and the assemblage behaves as one large beam. Image from TATA Steel. 2.2 Composite Floor Deck Slabs Composite floor decks are comprised of either steel beams or concrete embedded steel beams together with a reinforced concrete slab. The profiled steel formwork that supports the concrete floor during casting is of vital importance as it also provides the shear bond to enable the materials to work compositely. The role that the profiled decking plays in fire resistance will be discussed in more detail in Section 3.3. Composite action is achieved between the beams and slab by the use of shear connectors that will be discussed in Section 2.4 in more detail. (Metal Cladding and Roofing Manufacturers Association, 2003) The profiled steel decking used in the construction of composite floor systems contributes significantly to the ease and speed at which the structure is construction. It acts as both the permanent formwork and contributes to the overall requirement of reinforcement. The performance of the steel decking when exposed to fire needs careful consideration and is dealt with in Section 3.2. Additional reinforcement is positioned in the troughs of the decking to ensure adequate performance in fire. Benefits associated with using profiled steel decking are reduced dimensions and weight of the overall structure. They also provide satisfactory performance in the areas of strength and economic constraints during construction. (Michel Crisinel, 2004) 2.2.1 Types of Composite Slabs The classification of composite slabs depends primarily on the geometry of the steel deck profile used. Shallow decks are classified by depths in the range of 120-200mm whilst deep decks are classified by depths in the range of 200-350mm. (Aida Rodera Garcia) The most common composite slab consists of the profiled steel decking and concrete cast in-situ. Once cured the concrete and decking act compositely. Sufficient interaction between the concrete is achieved by a chemical bond and a mechanical bond facilitated by the shape of the decking. In design, it is common to neglect the contribution from the chemical bond as it is unreliable. There are many different types of profiled decking available and contribute to the classification of the slab. (Nawy, 2008) Pre-cast concrete slabs can also be used to form a composite floor deck system. The slabs must be designed specifically so that they can interact with the beam system in place. The composite action in this case can be achieved by welded shear studs and transverse reinforcement across the floor deck. By utilising pre-cast concrete decks, hollow core slabs can be used. These can reduce the weight of the whole building whilst offering similar performance to solid slabs. Pre-Cast slabs are usually covered by a layer of concrete after installation to produce a more finished and aesthetic result. Figure : Examples of Hollow-Core Slabs The final type of composite floor slab is the Slim Floor. This consists of the supporting steel beam being encased in the concrete with the lower flange of the beam supporting the floor. Diagrams depicting the various composite slab types in use today are shown below. Figure 4: Proprietary Slim Floor System Slimdek- TATA Steel Figure 3: Example of Solid Slab with Topping and Encasement cast In-Situ Proprietary Slim Floor System Slimdek- TATA Steel http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0143974X99000759-gr5.gif 2.2.2 Design Composite floor decks are comprised of permanent formworks of profiled steel decking. The decking serves to support the concrete during casting and before it has cured sufficiently to support itself. It is important to ensure that after curing sufficient interaction between the concrete and steel has developed so that the assembly behave compositely. The rebar is placed in the steel decking prior to pouring as is a steel mesh that serves to minimise cracking over supports and to increase the fire resistance of the floor deck. Most decks achieve a satisfactory degree of shear connection with the concrete by the presence of embossments and indentations along the profile of the decking. This type of shear connection is known as a shear bond. (Steel Construciton Institute, 1994) The decking also contributes to the stabilisation of the structure against lateral torsional buckling of the steel supporting sections and transfers wind loading forces to the walls and columns. The decking also serves to minimise cracking of the concrete slab during expansion and contraction such as during curing and fire. This will be further discussed in Section 3. (Aida Rodera Garcia) The steel decking is normally in the range of 0.9-1.5mm thick and has a yield strength of 280-350 N/mm2. Higher strength steels may be used if the spans are longer than the norm. Typical spans for a composite floor deck are between 2.7 and 3.6m although longer spans may be achieved by shoring the deck during construction. Galvanisation of the faces of the decking is done to prevent damage to the steel during pouring and in service. 2.2.2.1 Concrete Type Strength Both Normal Weight Concrete (NWC) and Light Weight Concrete (LWC) may be used in composite floor slab construction. The most convenient method for concrete placement is by pump. The concrete type and grade is an important design consideration as it affects the final stiffness of the deck system and the strength of the shear connection. 2.2.2.2 Steel Decking Resistance The elastic moment resistance of the steel decking may be calculated from the effective breadth of the steel elements in compression. Stiffeners are present in the deck design and contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the section. In designing a deck system, moment redistribution is not allowed. This results in an underestimate of the critical load for the decking. (ECCS, 1993) 2.2.2.3 Deflection Deflection limits for a composite slab are generally the span/180. However, by shoring the composite slabs during casting, this can effectively be reduced to zero. Increased deflection limits of span/130 are allowed if pooling of the concrete occurs in the middle of the span after pouring. (ECCS, 1993) 2.2.2.4 Transverse Reinforcement The strength of the concrete should be checked to ensure it is capable of receiving the force transferred from the shear connectors. Where the concrete may be susceptible to cracking, the provision of transverse reinforcement perpendicular to the beam is required. (Aida Rodera Garcia) 2.2.3 Failure The ultimate moment resistance of a composite slab is defined as the point at which less than 2mm of longitudinal slip has occurred between the concrete and the decking. Failure of a composite deck is deemed to have occurred when slip of more than 2mm occurs. Failure most commonly occurs during curing before the concrete has reached its design strength. 2.2.4 Fire Resistance of Composite Sections The minimum slab depth will be determined by the fire insulation requirements and the amount of reinforcement that is necessary to withstand loading at the fire limit state. This will be dealt with in more detail in Chapter 3. 2.3 Composite Beams A composite beam can be structurally described as a T-Beam, with the top flange composed of concrete in compression and the steel section in tension. Forces between the two materials are transferred by shear connectors. The principle of composite action with regards to beams leads to increased strength and stiffness of the system whilst using a smaller steel section. The two main variants of composite beams used today are shown in Figure 6. Beams are usually composed of a UKB or UKC section, partially or fully encased in concrete for strength and fire resistance purposes. (ECCS, 1993) 2.3.1 Design In composite beam design, the steel section is first sized to adequately support all the loads acting on it. No contribution is taken into account from the concrete as it has not gained adequate strength for composite action. A common value for the load applied to the beam from the concrete slab is 0.75kN/m2. Once the loading has been calculated, the beam is designed according to Eurocode 3. The presence of steel decking normal to the steel section provides lateral restraint to the beam. In this case, the beam can reach its full plastic moment. In cases where the presence of steel decking is parallel to the beam, the beam is only laterally restrained at the connections at either end and the buckling resistance of the beam must be calculated based on its effective length. The effective breadth of the concrete flange, taken from the supported slab, is approximated as the span/8 on both sides of the beam. This results in an effective breadth of span/4 for simply supported internal beams. 2.4 Shear Connectors Shear connectors are an essential element of composite construction if it is to perform adequately. The main purpose of the shear connector is to provide longitudinal shear resistance between the materials so that they act compositely and to facilitate the interaction between the different materials and to allow them to act as one. (MCRMA, 2003) The shear connection between steel beams and concrete slabs is typically achieved by headed steel studs, welded to the top flange of the steel beam and subsequently encased in concrete. The performance of the studs depends on their dimensions and the spacing along the flange of the beam. Near supports, where the shear forces are greatest, the spacing is reduced. Shear studs can be welded through steel decking. Welding shear studs to the steel beams has a number of limitations and guidelines. The flange of the steel beam has to be bare and can not contain any contaminants such as intumescient paint used as fire protection or moisture. This method also works best when the thickness of the steel decking is less than 1.25mm. Weather conditions will also affect the use of this method of connection. Excess moisture in the air can result in the finished weld being brittle and prone to sudden failure. Shear connectors can also be placed during production although mistakes in placement can be difficult and costly to correct. The purpose of a shear connector is to primarily resist lateral shear forces and displacement between the beam and concrete slab. However, they are also designed to prevent upward displacement of the slab from the beam as it has a tendency to do. For this reason, the studs are headed to provide vertical resistance to seperation. 2.4.1 Types of Shear Connectors In the past, the most common method of shear connection was a headed stud. As welding is only suitable for decking with a minimum thickness, where the decking is too thin, nailed studs are used instead. The choice of which shear connector is used ultimately depends on the shear resistance required and the grade and strength of concrete used. There are four main types of shear connector in use today. The most common is the headed stud. However, with the advent of thinner composite decks, the use of headed studs is not practical. This had led to the introduction of nailed sheets of shear connectors. The dimensions of the most common stud are 19mm x 125mm and the method of connection to the steel beam is ceramic disk welding. (Aida Rodera Garcia) 2.4.1.1 Headed Studs The most common form of connecting materials compositely is with the use of headed shear studs. The behaviour of headed studs does not vary significantly when concrete properties are changed. Resistance to shear depends on the number of studs used and performance is less that that achieved by more modern shear connectors such as the Perfobondstrip or a welded T-Section. (Zingoni, 2001) The advantages of stud connectors is that the welding process is quick and simple, the placement of the studs does not interfere with the placement of reinforcement within the slab and they provide uniform resistance to shear in all directions normal to the axis of the stud. (Johnson, 2004) 2.4.1.2 Oscillating Perfobondstrip The curved form of an oscillating perfobondstrip provides better force transfer between steel and concrete than a continuous strip. The load capacity of this connector is larger than a headed stud or welded T-Section. This form of connector is most suited to light weight concrete or high strength normal weight concrete. Problems with this form of connection are difficulties in welding the section to the steel beam. (Zingoni, 2001) 2.4.1.3 Continuous Perfobondstrip The continuous perfobondstrip is similar to the oscillating perfobondstrip but achieves lower resistance values in all categories of concrete type and grade used. For this reason it is not as widely used as the oscillating form although welding is easier. 3.3.1.4 Welded T-Section Welded T-Section connectors perform very well in comparison to headed studs and achieve the same load resistance as oscillating perfobondstrip. Load capacity increases when Light Weight Concrete or high strength concrete is used. The strength comparisons of the shear connectors described above are shown in Table 1 below. The results were obtained from Galjaard and Walraven (2001) from tests carried out to Eurocode 4 standards for push-out resistance. It can be seen that large differences in resistance and ductility were observed. (Aida Rodera Garcia) 2.4.2 Shear Connector Design The choice of which shear connector design is open so long as it possesses the ductility and provides the necessary shear and separation resistance to the composite system. Headed studs are the most common form of connection and the design of such will be dealt with in this section. The design of shear connectors and composite slabs is given in Eurocode 4. Partial safety factors (ÃŽÂ ³v) of 1.25 for ultimate, 1.0 for serviceability and 1.0 for fire are specified in the codes. (Steel Construciton Institute, 1994) 2.4.2.1 Spacing The correct placement of studs along the upper flange of the beam is of great importance. It is important that the flange of the beam be clean, dry and free of contaminants such as paint or fire protection material. A number of conditions for the placement of studs are described below. The upper flange thickness may not be less than 40% of the diameter of the headed stud. After pouring, the head of the stud should have a minimum of 20mm cover. The minimum edge spacing of the headed studs is 20mm, to facilitate welding. Transverse spacing of headed studs must be greater than or equal to four times the diameter of the headed stud. Longitudinal spacing of the headed studs must lie between the minimum of five times the diameter of the headed stud and the maximum of 800mm or six times the overall depth of the slab, whichever is smaller. (ECCS, 1993) 2.4.2.2 Resistance of Shear Connectors The failure of a composite floor deck slab and the failure of shear connectors occurs due to either the strength of the concrete being surpassed or the strength of the weld connecting the studs to the flange of the beam failing. Shear connection design resistances are taken as the minimum of either the concrete or the headed stud. The equations for the design resistance of the concrete and the headed stud are given below. Where: d is the diameter of the headed stud. The ultimate tensile strength (fu) is most commonly 450N/mm2 and should not exceed 500N/mm2. The characteristic cylinder strength of the concrete is given by fck. Ec is the mean value of the secant modulus of the concrete. The values for different concrete strengths are given in the Annex Table 4. The value for ÃŽÂ ± is governed by the ratio of the height of the slab to the depth. The values of ÃŽÂ ± are given below. For 3 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ h/d à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 4, ÃŽÂ ± = 0.2(h/d +1) For h/d > 4, ÃŽÂ ± = 1.0 The partial safety factor () given by 1.25 in the ultimate limit state. (ECCS, 1993) Figure 10: Bearing stress on the shaft of a Headed Stud Connector (Johnson, 2004) 2.4.2.3 Degree of Shear Connection The degree of shear connection is based on whether the required numbers of shear connectors necessary for the composite beam to develop its full plastic moment have been installed. If fewer than the required amount necessary have been installed, the moment resistance of the composite system will be less than the maximum. The degree of shear connection is given by the equations below. Where Rc denotes the compressive resistance of the concrete slab and Rs denote the tensile resistance of the steel section. Both values are given by the equations below. Where hc is the depth of the concrete slab above the profiled decking. Eurocode 4 also provides provision for the minimum for the degree of shear connection based on the span (L) of the composite beam. These ratios are given below. For: L à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 5m, N/Nf à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ 0.4 5m à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ L à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 25m, N/Nf à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ 0.25 + 0.03L L > 25m, N/Nf à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ 1.0 (ECCS, 1993) Chapter 3 Composite Steel Deck Floors in Fire 3.1 Background The performance of composite steel deck floors in fire has been much studied to assess the design considerations that must be implemented and for designing the rules for reinforcement placement. In general, composites perform well in fire due to the insulating properties of concrete and the role of correctly placed mesh reinforcement and metal decking. (BCSA, Corus, SCI, 2007) Research conducted in the UK has concluded that previous methods of designing composite floor decks for fire scenarios was over conservative and that composite floor performance in many common fire scenarios was satisfactory. (Steel Conctruction Institute, 1991) Composite steel deck floor systems are typically not provided any fire protection material although the supporting beam to which the floor is connected is fire protected. The profiled decking of a composite floor acts as some of the tensile reinforcement of the system. For this reason, it is important to account for the effects that elevated temperatures will have on the decking. (Steel Conctruction Institute, 1991) The main contributor to the fire resistance of a composite slab is the embedded rebar mesh in the slab. As the temperature of the profiled decking increases in a fire scenario, the resistance that it provides is neglected. Additional reinforcement in placed in the slab to compensate for the loss of strength of the decking at elevated temperatures. The embedded reinforcement mesh is insulated by concrete and maintains a temperature sufficient for load bearing at the fire limit state. The positioning of rebar within composite floors typically results in higher concrete cover compared to normal reinforced concrete slabs. This results in good fire performance as the temperature of the reinforcement will rarely approach critical levels. The positioning of the reinforcement in the upper of the slab also contributes to controlling spalling in fire. The decking of a composite does play an important role however in maintaining the integrity of the concrete slab during fire. It limits the passage of flame and hot gases into direct contact with the concrete and controls spalling. 3.2 Load Resistance in Fire Design of composite slabs in fire conditions is based on the ultimate limit state properties. A composite floor slab is assumed to behave in bending as either a simply supported or continuous element. The load resistance of a composite floor deck system is due to the floor behaving as a reinforced concrete slab with loads being resisted by the bending action of the slab. Failure of a slab in fire occurs as a result of reinforcement failure. (Corus Construction Industrial, 2006) 3.2.1 Methodology There are two main methods for calculating the fire resistance efficiency of a composite floor deck system, referred to as the fire engineering method and the simplified method. 3.2.1.1 Fire Engineering Method The fire engineering method is based on the assumption that in the fire limit state, the plastic moment capacity of the floor is reached at higher temperatures and that redistribution of moments occurs where the slab is continuous. Temperature gradient experiments have produced temperature profiles such as those present in the Eurocodes. These profiles can be used to calculate the capacities of the beam in both hogging and sagging bending. The capabilities of the beams in the fire limit state can then be assessed. 3.2.1.2 Simplified Method The simplified method involves little or no calculation and relies on test data of actual fires to design the reinforcement in the composite slab. The density of the mesh can be adjusted to account for point loads and increased moment around supports. In general, the simplified method will deliver a result that demands less reinforcement in the design whilst the fire engineering method will allow greater flexibility in positioning the reinforcement and customising fire resistance time periods. The use of different grades of concrete will affect the dimensions and composition of a composite slab. Light Weight Concrete (LWC) has better insulating properties versus Normal Weight Concrete and its use will result in thinner slabs. 3.2.1.3 Design Period Deflection Limits The fire resistance of a composite floor deck system is measured as the time that a floor system can maintain sufficient load-carrying ability, maintain its integrity or by limiting heat transfer through the slab. The load-carrying ability of the composite floor system is measured by the amount of deflection that the system undergoes during fire exposure. Deflection greater than the span/30 is deemed critical as is a deflection rate greater than span2/9000d mm/min between deflections equalling span/30 and span/20. The integrity of the composite floor is deemed satisfactory for fire resistance if it can limit the passage of flame and hot gases. The insulating properties of concrete are deemed sufficient for fire resistance if after fire exposure, the upper surface temperature of the concrete slab remains below 140 °C. (Steel Conctruction Institute, 1991) 3.2.1.4 Reinforcement Fire resistance of a composite deck is attributed to the positioning of reinforcement in a mesh configuration within the slab. The most common forms of mesh are A142 mesh (6mm wires at 200mm c/c) and A193 mesh (7mm wires at 200mm c/c), the numbers referring to the cross-sectional area of steel per metre run, although larger gauges may be used if necessary. The tensile strength of the reinforcement is typically 450-500N/mm2. The positioning of the mesh is in the upper portion of the slab with a minimum cover and can be arranged to resist hogging or sagging bending or a combination thereof. (Aida Rodera Garcia) 3.3 The Fire Engineering Method The fire engineering method for composite slab design is discussed in this section. The partial safety factors at the fire limit state for materials and loads are outlined below. Materials: Steel: ÃŽÂ ³mr = 1.0 Concrete: ÃŽÂ ³mc = 1.3 Loads: Dead: ÃŽÂ ³fd = 1.0 Imposed ÃŽÂ ³fi = 1.0 3.3.1 Materials In conjunction with a suitable design fire scenario, it is possible to account for the reduction in strength of both the reinforcement and the concrete in fire conditions. With elevated temperatures, a reduction factor K may be used to account for the loss of strength associated with the increase in temperature. The table of reduction factors is given in Annex Table 5. The equations used for assessing the design strengths of the reinforcement and concrete at elevated temperatures including the reduction factor (K) are given below. Reinforcement: Concrete (Steel Conctruction Institute, 1991) 3.3.2 Depth The minimum depth of the concrete slab is taken from the tables below. Different values are obtained depending on the type of decking used, such as trapezoidal or re-entrant, and the concrete grade. This minimum depth satisfies the insulation requirement for composite slabs during fire exposure. Alternatively, the minimum depth may be taken from experimental test results from buildings of a similar design. (Steel Conctruction Institute, 1991) (Aida Rodera Garcia) 3.4 The Simplified Method The simplified method consists of installing a layer of mesh (A142, A193 or similar) in the upper layer of the concrete. One of the main differences between the Fire Engineering Method and the Simplified Method is that relatively few calculations are required for the Simplified. An outline of the Simplified Method is a follows: Imposed loads on a composite floor deck slab should not exceed 6.7kN/m2. The mesh size is chosen based on the required fire resistance period and the span of the slab. The minimum cover to any part of the mesh must be at least 15mm and not greater than 45mm. The span of a composite floor slab designed using the Simplified Method is typically 3.6m although spans greater than this may be used if adequate calculation is carried out. 3.5 Comparison of Methods While no method is definitively better than the other, they both have advantages over the other. The Simplified Method is more economical and is based directly on test results and not on theoretical calculation, which has a tendency to under-estimate the strength of materials. The Simplified Method also takes into account the contribution from the profiled steel deck even though the contribution may be small compared to that from the reinforcement mesh. The Fire Engineering Method however allows great flexibility in the customisation of the reinforcement and fire resistance periods. It is generally more expensive to design using this method as opposed to the Simplified Method though will result in thinner slabs that utilise more reinforcement. 3.6 Shear Connectors in Fire The performance of shear connectors in fire has not been widely studied. One of the major research projects on shear connectors in fire was The Restrained Beam Test conducted by British Steel as part of the Cardington Fire Tests in January 1995. The test consisted of the heating of a secondary beam and an area of the surrounding slab on the seventh-floor of the test structure. The steel section tested was a 305165 UB40 that was heated along 8m of its 9m length. Only the top 70mm of the concrete slab was taken into account. This was the maximum height of the slab above the troughs of the profiled decking. (Huang, Burgess, Plank, 1999) The temperature distributions in the steel beam and concrete slab were taken as averages of the test results recorded across the cross-sections of the components. The temperature of headed studs exposed to fire was approximated as 75% of the temperature reached by the top flange of the steel section. (Huang, Burgess, Plank, 1999) The degree of shear connection in the heated beam was assumed to be partial whilst the rest of the composite floor deck systems in the surrounding area were modelled as having full shear interaction. Analysis of the test results showed that the deflection at the mid-span of the heated beam increased with temperature. It was concluded from this that the assumption that partial interaction was corre

The First Day :: Personal Narrative Essays

The First Day      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was a bright sunny day, the sky was a soft shade of blue and there was a slight breeze in the air. I stepped out of my moms red shiny CRX as she said ‘Good Luck' to me. I forced up a weak smile as I shoved the door, and it made a woosh noise as it closed. I took a deep breathe and started walking towards the man entrance. I thought to myself, ‘Why does the school have all the buildings seperated?'      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I slowly walked forward as I started looking at all the other kids, most were in groups and all talking laughing and smiling. I felt very small, like I was an alien who had just landed on planet Earth. I thought to myself, ‘I should be at home, with my friends talking and laughing'. But I wasn't,   I was in Rocklin, California. Id moved here at the begging of August. And I'd hated it ever since. But I was willing to give Rocklin a shot, even though ever kid I'd met in town so far had said ‘Rocklin is the worst school'. As I walked forward with the white scrunched up piece of paper that told me my classes, I tried to look like I fit in. As I looked around for my class, I noticed I was on the wrong side of the building. ‘At least I know where the main building is,' I said to myself.   The main building looked bright and cheery, like the sun.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I trudged over to the main building trying not to look at anyone,   the pavement looked really white. When I got to the main building I walked up to a Miss Kerby, sitting behind a desk and asked her if she could tell me where this building was. Instead I felt like I had just been arrested for murder. I was bombarded with about 5 questions all at once. I answered them all, and with a negative tone she told me ‘I cant help you, you need your mom to go sign these'. I felt shocked and a huge amount of anger mounting up inside me. I walked straight out of the building. I didn't need to get crap from some lady when I was trying to get used to a state that I had never been too. I walked home and slammed the front door shut, and screamed at the top of my lungs ‘I hate it here, I am moving back to Illinois with my dad!' And ran upstairs to my room, slammed The First Day :: Personal Narrative Essays The First Day      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was a bright sunny day, the sky was a soft shade of blue and there was a slight breeze in the air. I stepped out of my moms red shiny CRX as she said ‘Good Luck' to me. I forced up a weak smile as I shoved the door, and it made a woosh noise as it closed. I took a deep breathe and started walking towards the man entrance. I thought to myself, ‘Why does the school have all the buildings seperated?'      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I slowly walked forward as I started looking at all the other kids, most were in groups and all talking laughing and smiling. I felt very small, like I was an alien who had just landed on planet Earth. I thought to myself, ‘I should be at home, with my friends talking and laughing'. But I wasn't,   I was in Rocklin, California. Id moved here at the begging of August. And I'd hated it ever since. But I was willing to give Rocklin a shot, even though ever kid I'd met in town so far had said ‘Rocklin is the worst school'. As I walked forward with the white scrunched up piece of paper that told me my classes, I tried to look like I fit in. As I looked around for my class, I noticed I was on the wrong side of the building. ‘At least I know where the main building is,' I said to myself.   The main building looked bright and cheery, like the sun.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I trudged over to the main building trying not to look at anyone,   the pavement looked really white. When I got to the main building I walked up to a Miss Kerby, sitting behind a desk and asked her if she could tell me where this building was. Instead I felt like I had just been arrested for murder. I was bombarded with about 5 questions all at once. I answered them all, and with a negative tone she told me ‘I cant help you, you need your mom to go sign these'. I felt shocked and a huge amount of anger mounting up inside me. I walked straight out of the building. I didn't need to get crap from some lady when I was trying to get used to a state that I had never been too. I walked home and slammed the front door shut, and screamed at the top of my lungs ‘I hate it here, I am moving back to Illinois with my dad!' And ran upstairs to my room, slammed

Acquiring Target Corporation Essay -- Business

ACQUIRING TARGET CORPORATION INTRODUCTION The current economic recession has taken a toll on corporations. Those who survive stay within their financial means, are innovative in retaining and attracting customers, and use technology to distinguish themselves from their competitors. Target Corporation is a company that possesses all of these characteristics. While some companies have cut payroll or ceased to exist, Target Corporation has survived in the economic recession and is positioned to gain further market share as economic conditions continue to improve. The purpose of this report is to analyze Target Corporation’s financial statements, determine the future growth potential of the company, and make a recommendation for or against the acquisition of the company. POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH Although many competing companies are projecting insignificant profit growth over the next few years, Target Corporation is projecting profit growth in the near future. Target expects 2012 annual sales to increase by four to five percent (Target Corporation, 2011). When combined with their continued emphasis on technology, customer rewards, and customer relations, the future of Target Corporation looks bright. Making Use of Technology Target Corporation recognizes the importance of technology in reaching its customers. In 2011 the company launched a completely redesigned website that focuses on ease of use. Target also has an industry leading mobile application that allows the company to reach its customers regardless of where they are located. In fact, Mobile Commerce Daily named Target the â€Å"2010 Mobile Retailer of the Year† (Target Corporation, 2011). It is in this sector that Target’s potential for growth is the highe... ...ved March 11, 2012, from http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031794 Microsoft Network. (2012, March 8). Target Corp. Retrieved from MSN.Money: http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/ Moore, P. (n.d.) Target to add PFresh grocery concept at 350 stores. Business News – The Business Journals. Retrieved March 13, 2012, from http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2009/11/16/daily32.html Target Acquisition. (2011, January 13). Target Pressroom. Retrieved March 13, 2012, from http://pressroom.target.com/pr/news/target-corporation-to-acquire-real-estate.aspx Target Corporation. (2011, March 11). Target 2010 Annual Report. Retrieved March 9, 2012, from http://investors.target.com Target Corporation. (2012, February 23). Target Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2011 Earnings. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from http://investors.target.com

Liberation of Woman Essay example -- Argumentative Persuasive Essays

The Liberation of Woman      Ã‚   The terms "Liberated Women" and "Women's Liberation" are not necessarily synonymous. In fact, much like the chicken and the egg, one may wonder which came first. While the term "Liberated Women" was probably not a widely used phrase until the height of the women's liberation movement, I maintain that liberated women emerged first. Moreover, it was the liberated women who inspired and initiated the women's liberation movement.    In "The Politics of Housework" Pat Mainardi writes, "Liberated women - very different from women's liberation! The first signals all kids of goodies, to warm the hearts (not to mention other parts) of the most radical men. The other signals - housework" (Bloom 492). As this quote describes, a main theme in the discussion of liberated women is sexual liberation. This theme is explored though the characters of Esther Greenwood in Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar and Brenda Patimkin in Philip Roth's Goodbye, Columbus. Several readings from "Takin' It to the Streets" discuss the politics of the women's liberation movement in terms of housework and class conflict.    Liberated women of the 1960's exercised freedoms that shocked and dismayed their mothers. They wanted the freedom to choose a career over domesticity, the freedom not to be sexually pure, and the freedom to express themselves as individuals. Liberated women wanted to have the choice to wear pants instead of skirts and avoid spending hours on hair and make-up. They did not want the primary purpose of their outward appearance to be simply to attract men. The expression of individual style and personality was key in becoming independent, freethinking women unbounded by the restrictions o... ...are still issues our society is struggling with today.    To conclude, liberated women and the women's liberation movement are two separate, but related, concepts. The concerns of liberated women are more individualized than those of the women's lib movement. Liberated women are more concerned with their own personal identities and independence, whether it's their sexual freedom or freedom from their bras. The women's liberation movement, however, is more about women's collective interests and the actions that can be taken to remove the sexual oppression that denigrates all women.    Works Cited Bloom, Alexander and Wini Breines. "Takin' it to the Streets" A Sixties Reader. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. New York: Bantam Books, 1971. Roth, Philip. Goodbye, Columbus. New York: Vintage International, 1993.   

A synthesis and discussion of Robert T. Jimenez’s article “A delicate balance”

The challenge for every ESL class teacher is to build literacy, develop written expression ability and enhancing English language of students. The article describes effective reading instruction for ESL students based on observations conducted in various classrooms over a period of two years.The approach to the observation and the framework for analysis were based on (a) the research on second language learning and bilingual education, (b) the contemporary research base on effective literacy instruction, and (c) general principles of effective instruction for low-income students.The researchers integrated these three knowledge bases with what they observed in the classrooms and the result is a framework of constructs for effective instruction for language minority students. This construct consists of the following: challenge, involvement, involvement, success, scaffolding/cognitive strategies, mediation/feedback, collaborative/cooperative learning, techniques for second language acqu isition/sheltered English, and respect for cultural diversity.These constructs, according to the researchers, are useful when considering practices and strategies in teaching and promoting literacy among ESL students. For instance, knowledge on scaffolding when introducing new vocabulary to ESL students would increase retention and subsequent use of these new words.Instead of simply defining a word, the teacher could use several of the techniques mentioned in the article like focusing students’ attention on character clues and using these clues not just in understanding the new word but comprehension of the text, too. The variety would make vocabulary learning an enjoyable experience for students.Another example by which the research could be applied and make a difference in real-life teaching is the idea that the teacher should try to incorporate all areas of literacy instruction while using one text lesson. The article indicates that the teacher should crisscross the instru ctional landscape in a wide range of oral and written activities. This would ensure that students not only thoroughly practice their language and literacy skills, but keeping the focus on one text would increase the chance of retention.

Factors Affecting Share Prices

International Research Journal of Finance and Economics ISSN 1450-2887 Issue 30 (2009)  © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2009 http://www. eurojournals. com/finance. htm Determinants of Equity Prices in the Stock Markets Somoye, Russell Olukayode Christopher Dept. of Banking & Finance, Faculty of Management Science Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Nigeria P. O. Box 1104 Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria E-mail: [email  protected] com Akintoye, Ishola Rufus Dept. of Accounting, Faculty of Management Science Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Nigeria E-mail: [email  protected] com Oseni, Jimoh Ezekiel Dept. f Banking and Finance, Faculty of Management Science Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Nigeria E-mail: [email  protected] com Abstract Brav & Heaton (2003) alleges market indeterminacy (a situation where it is impossible to determine whether an asset is efficiently or inefficiently priced) in the stock market. Kang (2008) argue that empirical tests of linear asset pricing models show presence of mispricing in asset pricing. Asset pricing is considered efficient if the asset price reflects all available market information to the extent no informed trader can outperform the market and / or the uninformed trader.This study examined the extent to which some â€Å"information factors† or market indices affect the stock price. A model defined by Al-Tamimi (2007) was used to regress the variables (stock prices, earnings per share, gross domestic product, lending interest rate and foreign exchange rate) after testing for multicollinarity among the independent variables. The multicollinarity test revealed very strong correlation between gross domestic product and crude oil price, gross domestic product and foreign exchange rate, lending interest rate and inflation rate.All the variables have positive correlation to stock prices with the exception of lending interest rate and foreign exchange rate. The outcomes of the study agree w ith earlier studies by Udegbunam and Eriki (2001); Ibrahim (2003) and Chaudhuri and Smiles (2004). This study has enriched the existing literature while it would help policy makers who are interested in deploying instruments of monetary policy and other economic indices for the growth of the capital market. Keywords: Stock prices, CAPM, models, coefficient, efficient, stock market. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics – Issue 30 (2009) 78 1. 0. Introduction The price of a commodity, the economist makes us to believe is determined by the forces of demand and supply in a free economy. Even if we accept the economists’ view, what factors influence demand and supply behavior? Price? Yes, but not all the time, at least there are some other factors. In the securities market, whether the primary or the secondary market, the price of equity is significantly influenced by a number of factors which include book value of the firm, dividend per share, earnings p er share, price earning ratio and dividend cover (Gompers, Ishii & Metrick, 2003).The most basic factors that influence price of equity share are demand and supply factors. If most people start buying then prices move up and if people start selling prices go down. Government policies, firm’s and industry’s performance and potentials have effects on demand behaviour of investors, both in the primary and secondary markets. The factors affecting the price of an equity share can be viewed from the macro and micro economic perspectives. Macro economic factors include politics, general economic conditions – i. e. how the economy is performing, government regulations, etc.Then there may be other factors like demand and supply conditions which can be influenced by the performance of the company and, of course, the performance of the company vis-a-vis the industry and the other players in the industry. In a study of the impact of dividend and earnings on stock prices, Ha rtone (2004) argues that a significantly positive impact is made on equity prices if positive earnings information occurs after negative dividend information. Also, a significantly negative impact occurs in equity pricing if positive dividend information is followed by negative earning information.Docking and Koch (2005) discovers that there is a direct relationship between dividend announcement and equity price behavior. Al-Qenae, Li & Wearing (2002) in their study of the effects of earning (micro-economic factor), inflation and interest rate (macro-economic factors) on the stock prices on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, discovered that the macro-economic factors significantly impact stock prices negatively. A previous study by Udegbunam and Eriki (2001) of the Nigerian capital market also shows that inflation is inversely correlated to stock market price behaviour.A number of models developed for asset pricing are two variable models. For instance the Capital asset pricing model (CAPM) developed by Sharpe (1964) considers the risk-free return and volatility of the risk-free return to market return as the determinants of asset price. Asset price as described by CAPM is linearly related to the two independent variables. Many studies have concluded that over the years assets were being underpriced (Smith, 1977; Loderer, Sheehan & Kadlec, 1991) and this raises the question of the adequacy of the various asset pricing models to ensure efficient asset pricing.Brav & Heaton (2003) alleges market indeterminacy, a situation where it is impossible to determine whether an asset is efficiently or inefficiently priced. Kang (2008) found that empirical tests of linear asset pricing models show presence of mispricing in asset pricing. Asset pricing is considered efficient if the asset price reflects all available market information to the extent no informed trader can outperform the market and / or the uninformed trader. This study aims at examining the extent to which some â⠂¬Å"information factors† or market indices affect the stock price.The rest of the paper is designed as follows: Section 2 reviews literature on factors influencing asset prices, effects of inefficient asset pricing and some of the existing asset pricing techniques. Section 3 states the data and the sources, the data restructuring and the model used for data analysis while Section 4 discussed and interpret the results of the data analysis. Lastly, section 4 is the conclusion. 2. 0. Conceptual Framework and Literature Review 2. 1. Conceptual Framework Several attempts have been made to identify or study the factors that affect asset prices.Some researchers have also tried to determine the correlation between selected factors (internal and external, 179 International Research Journal of Finance and Economics – Issue 30 (2009) market and non-market factors, economic and non-economic factors) and asset prices. The outcomes of the studies vary depending on the scope of the st udy, the assets and factors examined. Zhang (2004) designed a multi-index model to determine the effect of industry, country and international factors on asset pricing. Byers and Groth (2000) defined the asset pricing process as a function utility (economic factors) and non-economic (psychic) factors.Clerc and Pfister (2001) posit that monetary policy is capable of influencing asset prices in the long run. Any change in interest rates especially unanticipated change affects growth expectations and the rates for discounting investment future cash flows. Ross’ (1977) APT model which could be taken as a protest of one factor model of CAPM which assumes that asset price depends only on market factor believe that the asset price is influenced by both the market and non-market factors such as foreign exchange, inflation and unemployment rates.One of the defects of APT in spite of its advancement of asset pricing model is that the factors to be included in asset pricing are unspecif ied. Al – Tamimi (2007) identified company fundamental factors (performance of the company, a change in board of directors, appointment of new management, and the creation of new assets, dividends, earnings), and external factors ( government rules and regulations, inflation, and other economic conditions, investor behavior, market conditions, money supply, competition, uncontrolled natural or environmental circumstances) as influencers of asset prices.He developed a simple regression model to measure the coefficients of correlation between the independent and dependent variables. SP = f (EPS, DPS, OL, GDP, CPI, INT, MS) Where, SP: Stock price; EPS: Earnings per share; DPS: Dividend per share; OL: Oil price; GDP: Gross domestic product; CPI: Consumer price index; INT: Interest rate and MS: Money supply. He discovered that the firm’s fundamental factors exercise the most significant impact on stock prices.The EPS was found to be the most influencing factor over the mark et. Studying the effects of the Iraq war on US financial markets, Rigobon and Sack (2004) discovered that increases in war risk caused declines in Treasury yields and equity prices, a widening of lower-grade corporate spreads, a fall in the dollar, and a rise in oil prices. A positive correlation exists between the price of oil and war. They argue that war has a significant impact on the oil price.Tymoigne (2002) argue that in the financial market, banking convention and financial convention work together to fix the assets’ market prices. According to him the financial convention creates a speculative sentiment of whether capitalists are more prone to sell, or to buy assets while the banking convention determines the state of credit as evidenced by the confidence of the banking sector and ability of investors accessing credit leverage for asset acquisition purpose.He concluded that â€Å"conventions do not determine asset-price, it is the â€Å"law of supply and demand† that does so, conventionsâ€Å"only† influence the behaviors of financial actors† Inflation as an external factor exerts a very significant negative influence on the stock prices in Nigeria (Zhao,1999 & Udegbunam and Eriki, 2001). Factors affecting asset prices are numerous and inexhaustible. The factors can be categorized into firm, industry, country and international or market and non-market factors, and economic and noneconomic factors. All the factors can be summarized into two classes – micro and macro factors.Factors in each class of the classification are inexhaustible. For instance, the firm factors include, ownership structure, management quality, labour force quality, earnings ratios, dividend payments, net book value, etc. have impact on the investor’s pricing decision. Molodovsky (1995) believes that dividends are the hard core of stock value. The value of any asset equals the present value of all cash flows of the asset. 2. 2. Effects Of In efficient Asset Pricing Inefficient asset pricing could be a catalyst to inefficient resource allocation among competing productive investment opportunities.Underpricing can serve as positive signal to the market (Giammariano & Lewis, 1989) to compensate the uninformed and get them to participate in the new International Research Journal of Finance and Economics – Issue 30 (2009) 180 offer (Rock, 1986; Allen & Faulhaber, 1989; Grinblatt & Hwang, 1989; Welch, 1989). The market is information-sensitive. Prices tend to take a declining trend few days to the release of a firm’s new offer and the price recovery starts few days after the completion of the offer, especially if he offer is fully subscribed (Barclay and Litzenberger, 1988). Easley, Hridkjaer and O’Hara (2001) agree that market is information sensitive at least to the extent that private (insider) information affect asset returns and advised that it should not be ignored for efficient asset pricing. The f irm’s beta ratios, its market value to book value, its current price to earnings ratio and the historical growth rate in earning per share are identified by Moore & Beltz (2002) as possessing strong influence on the equity price of the firm.They also argue that the identified factors have varying effects on the price and the effects vary from time to time, sector to sector and even from firm to firm within the same industry. For instance, they argue that equity prices of individual firm in heavy industries (chemical, petroleum, metal and manufacturing) are exclusively influenced by the firm’s beta and market to book value while firms in the technology sector are influenced by the historical growth rate in earning per share as well as beta and market to book value ratio.The equity price in transportation industry is affected by beta and price to earning ratio. Though, Moore & Beltz (2002) constructed a tree relating the impact of each identified factors in each of the s elected model but did not construct a model that could be used in assessing direct impact of the identified factors on the equity price. Asset pricing could be a challenge.Hordahl & Packer (2006) argue that a clear understanding of the asset’s stochastic discount factor and future payoffs is necessary to understand the factors that determine the price of an asset. Unfortunately, only Government instruments provide their stochastic discount factor in advance while the future payoffs are not observable directly but could be derived from some other data. Corwin (2003 identifies uncertainty and asymmetric information as a strong influence on the firm’s equity pricing and as a matter of fact lead to underpriced instrument.In the light of the preceding literature review, many factors both micro and macro-economics, have impact on equity pricing in the stock market, the impact differs from firm to firm, industry to industry, economy to economy and from time to time, but one c omforting conclusion is that most of the factors appear to have the same behaviour regardless of time, industry or firm constraints.For instance, increased inflation and interest rates, declining dividends, earnings, poor management leave negative impact on equity pricing and vice-versa 2. 3. Asset Pricing Techniques There are several asset pricing models aside from CAPM and APT which are both linear model. A few of the available (non-linear) asset pricing techniques are reviewed in this section. 2. 3. 1. Residual Income Valuation This is one of the oldest valuation model with a trace to the work of Preinreich (1938).The valuation model discounts the future expected dividends and potential value of shareholders’ funds to the present value, giving effect to a proposition that the price of equity can be derived from the present value of all future dividends. Lo and Lys (2000) reviewed the Olhson Model (OM) developed in by Ohlson (1995) and which has been acknowledged with wide acceptance (Joos & Zhdanov, 2007; Chen & Zhao, 2008). The OM provides a platform for the empirical test of the residual income valuation (RIV).Lo and Lys (2000) defined RIV as: RIV = Pt = ? R-r Et (dt+r) Where Pt is defined as the equity market price at time t, dt represents dividends at the end of time t, R is the unity plus the discount rate (r) and Et is the expectation factor at time t. The RIV from the present value of expected dividend is based on the assumptions that (i) the accounting system meets the â€Å"clean surplus relation† i. e. 181 International Research Journal of Finance and Economics – Issue 30 (2009) To derive RIV from PVED, two additional assumptions are made.First, an â€Å"accounting system† that satisfies a clean surplus relation (CSR) is assumed: bt = bt-1 + xt – dt, bt represents the book value of equity at time t, xt represents the earnings at time t, and (ii) it is assumed that the book value of equity would grow at a rate les s than R, that is R-r Et (bt+r) —————) 0 The assumptions form the basis to argue that the present value of expected dividend is a function of both the book value and discounted expected abnormal earnings.In that case RIV signifying the price of the asset can be stated thus: Pt = bt +? t=1 R-r Et (xat+r) Where xat = xt – rbt-1. Testing RIV empirically could be a contention on the premises that it has only one sided hypothesis: asset price is a function present value of future dividends. A rejection of the hypothesis when tested empirically may arouse dissenting voices from researchers who had believed in the efficacy of the model. In fact, Lee (2006) expressed the view that residual income valuation model provides a better valuation than the dividend model.John and Williams (1985), and Miller and Rock (1985), argue that dividend is a communication tool for the firm to pass information to the market in the event of information asymmetry which implies that there is a positive correlation between information asymmetry and a firm’s dividend policy. 2. 3. 2. Economic Valuation Model This model traced to Tully (2000) is developed to recognize economic profits as against the use of book profit in the valuation of asset.The model builds on the premises of profit maximization by owners of the firm and the profit is not to be restricted to book value, rather it covers the opportunity cost of not investing in profitable projects. Economical profit is differentiated from the book profit as the difference from revenues and economical costs (i. e. book costs plus opportunity cost of failure to invest in profitable project. The book profit can be defined as revenue less costs while economic profit is defined as total revenue from investment less cost of capital.Economic profit is higher than normal book profit because of the opportunity cost considered in the former. There are two approaches to the estimation of economic value added (Koller, Goedhart & Wessels, 2005; Jennergren, 2008). The first is NOPLAT less capital charge (i. e. WACC multiplied by initial capital outlay). The value of the operating assets is therefore the initial capital outlay plus the present value of cash flows derived from economic value added.To obtain the equity value, the value of debt is deducted from the value of the operating assets. The second approach involves EBIT less taxes (i. e. PAT). PAT less capital charge after recognizing deferred taxes as part of the invested capital. The operating assets remain as the initial capital outlay (having considered the effect of deferred taxes) plus the present value of all income derived from the economic value added.Economic Valuation of Asset (EVA) Model as defined by Kislingerova (2000) is stated as: EVAt = Pt = NOPATt – Ct x WACCt where NOPATt is Net Operating Profit After Tax or the profit after tax (PAT), Ct is long-term capital (Ct is the sum of equity and invested capita l or alternatively, it is the total of fixed assets and net working capital), WACC is Weighted Average Cost of Capital. Whenever EVA > O, the shareholders’ wealth is maximized, if EVA =0 then there is a break-even point and at EVA < 0 the shareholders’ wealth is in decline.EVA model serves as a tool in measuring both the performance of the firms as well its value. WACC serves a dual purpose. It is used in the calculation of EVA and its serves as the rate for discounting the present value of future earnings to the present time t. The value of the firm is therefore the addition of the book value of capital and the present value of future EVA. To derive the value of equity the value of debt would be deducted from the value of the firm. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics – Issue 30 (2009) 182 2. 3. 3.Discounted Cash Flow Model The model uses accounting data as input and the objective of the model is to derive equity value of a going concern. The value of equity is derived by deducting the value of debt (excluding deferred taxes and trade credits) from the total assets. Deferred taxes are regarded as part of equity (Brealey, Myers & Allen, 2006). There are several variations to the adoption of the model (Jennergren, 2008). The discounted cash flow (DCF) is more adaptable to the valuation of a firm with high level of assets in place and low level of uncertainty about future cash flows (Joos & Zhdanov, 2007).Cash flows available for discounting include dividends, free cash flow to equity and free cash to the firm (debt and equity). A firm can experience three types of growth ranging from stable growth, high growth to stable growth and high growth through transition to a stable growth. The discount rate could be either cost of equity, cost of debt or the weighted cost of capital (WACC). The choice of discount rate should depend on the type of cash flow (equity or firm) to be discounted. At least two models can be derived from the cash flow model.The Dividend Discount (DD) Model is suitable for a firm that pays dividends close to the free cash flow or where it is difficult to estimate the free cash flow to equity. The second model, Free Cash Flow Model is suitable where there is a significant margin between dividends and free cash flow to equity or if dividends are not available. The value of firm witnessing stable growth is given as: C:UsersjoseniD esk top D esk to pDISCOUNTED CA SHFLOW MODELS WHA T THEY A RE A ND HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT ON E__filesImage8. if or a firm that experiences two stages of growth (i. e. high growth to stable growth), the value of the firm is: C:UsersjoseniDesk topDesk topDISCOUNTED CA SHFLOW MODELS WHA T THEY A RE A ND HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT ONE__filesImage9. gif The value of a firm experiencing three levels of growth (i. e. high growth through transition to stable growth) is given as: C:UsersjoseniDesk topDesk topDISCOUNTED CA SHFLOW MODELS WHA T THEY A RE A ND HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT ONE__filesImage10. gifWhere V0 represents equity value or firm value depending on which is discounted, CFt represents cash flow at time t, r represents cost of equity (for dividends or free cash flow to equity) or cost of capital ( for free cash flow to firm), g represents expected growth rate, ga represents initial expected growth (high growth period) and gn represents growth in a stable period; n and n1 are defined as the period in a two stage growth and high growth in a three stage growth models respectively while n2-n1 represents the transition period in the three stage growth model. . 3. 4. Dividend Valuation Model This is one of the commonest and simplest models for valuation of equity in the secondary market. The equity value is taken as the summation of discounted dividends receivable each year till the year of maturity and the price the equity is expected to be sold at maturity. The value of an investment is taken to be the discounted value of the cash flows.There are different variations to the model ranging from: One period valuation one Period to multi-periods Po = D1/(1 + ke) + P1/(1 + ke) Po = D1/(1 + ke)1 + D2/(1+ke)2 +†¦+ Dn/(1+ke)n + Pn/(1+ke)n – multi- period and to indeterminate length of time Infinity and, growth Po = D/(1+ke) (including Gordon growth) variations. D0(1+g)1 + D0(1+g)2 +†¦.. + D0(1+g)? Po = (1+ke)1 (1+ke)2 (1+ke)? or 183 Po = International Research Journal of Finance and Economics – Issue 30 (2009) D0– ke – g) Where: D = dividend paid / expected g = dividend’s growth rate = cost of equity or equity rate of return ke 1 – – n = period variation One of the motives behind the use of this valuation model is to identify over and underpriced shares. Moving away from the simplest form of this model Go and Olhson (1990) introduced a more tasking process for generating dividends and returns on equity investment which they adopted in some more specific valuation models .The process is based on some assumptions such that equity holders would receive net dividends and there exists a linear relationship between variables. John and Williams (1985), and Miller and Rock (1985) argue that dividend is a communication tool for the firm to pass information to the market in the event of information asymmetry which implies that there is a positive correlation between information asymmetry and a firm’s dividend policy. 3. 0. Research Methodology We define the research hypotheses, sampling and data collection techniques as well as the statistical techniques used to test the data. . 1. Research Methodology We test the following hypotheses: Ho1: The earning per share significantly affects the stock price Ho2: The national gross domestic products significantly affect the stock price Ho3: The lending interest rate significantly affect the stock price Ho4: The foreign exchange rate significantly affect the stock price 3. 2. Model From the hypotheses, the stoc k price is a function of the impact of earning per share, dividend per share, gross domestic, interest rate and oil price.We restricted the influencing factors to five as representatives of the firm’s fundamental factors and external (country) factors. A simple linear regression model derived from Al-Tamimi (2007) is adopted for the study. Unlike Al-Tamimi (2007) who included consumer price index (CPI) and money supply (MS) as independent variables, those variables were replaced with inflation rate (INFL) and foreign exchange rate (FX) in view of the significant impact they have on the economies of developing countries.SP = f (EPS, DPS, GDP, INT, OIL, INFL, FX) Where, SP is the stock price; EPS is the earnings per share; DPS is the dividend per share; GDP is the gross domestic product, INT is the lending interest rate, OIL is the oil price; INFL is inflation and FX is the foreign exchange rate. SP is the dependent variable and it is used to regress the other independent varia bles (EPS, DPS, GDP, INT, OIL, INFL, FX) in the stock market. The outcome of the regression would be the variance on the dependent variable as resulting from the impact of the independent variables.To explain the effects of multicollinearity normally associated with multi-variables in regression analysis, multicollinearity test is conducted to explain the extent of correlation between the independent variables.. A multiple regression software (WASSA) was used to test the multicollinearity among the independent variables before proceeding to conduct the regression analysis. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics – Issue 30 (2009) 3. 3. Data Sampling 184 There are over 130 companies whose shares are being traded in the Nigerian capital market.The Banking sector in the last five years has dominated the market in terms of trading volumes and market performance. The earning per share (EPS) and dividend per share (DPS) of twelve companies listed on the Nigerian Sto ck Exchange (NSE) and (average) annual GDP, crude oil price (OIL), lending interest rate (INT), inflation rate (INFL) and foreign exchange rate (FX) are used are analysed for effect on the stock price. The period covered by the data is year 2001 to 2007. The choice of the companies and period used for the data gathering depend on availability of data. . 4. Data Restructuring Weights are attached to EPS and DPS for each of the companies sampled for each of the year. The weight is derived as a ratio of the company’s EPS or DPS to the total EPS or DPS of all the companies for each of the years. The weight is thereafter multiplied with the respective company EPS or DPS to derive â€Å"weighted stock price (SP), EPS or DPS and thereafter all the companies weighted SP, EPS or DPS are summed together for each of the year (APPENDIX I). 4. 0. Findings and InterpretationIn a linear expression where more than two variables are deployed, multicollinearity between variables may not be ru led out. A multicollinearity test is therefore conducted for all the independent variables. Using the Pearson coefficient of correlation, we consider any correlation between two variables > + 0. 75 as strong. For instance, from Table 1 below there is no significant correlation between earnings per share and dividend per share. Our explanations for it are into parts.First, all the companies in the sample reported earnings per share for each of the years covered by the study though in some instances the EPS are negative but not all the companies declared and /or paid dividends throughout all the periods. Secondly, EPS movement unlike DPS is largely outside the control of the Management. There is a strong correlation between crude oil price and GDP. The justification for the correlation between crude oil price and GDP can be found in the fact that the Nigerian economy predominantly depends on oil revenue.Table I: DPS EPS GDP OIL INT INF FX Outcomes of the Multicollinarity Test (Pearson Coefficient of Correlation DPS 1 -0. 302 0. 609 -0. 395 -0. 498 -0. 521 0. 724 EPS 1 -0. 523 -0. 596 0. 366 0. 778 -0. 037 GPD 1 0. 959 -0. 702 -0. 492 0. 795 OIL INT INFL FX 1 -0. 706 -0. 434 0. 614 1 0. 988 -0. 424 1 -0. 313 1 A strong correlation also exist between INFL and INT which might be the result of manufacturers and service providers passing increased lending interest rate to consumers. A strong correlation exists between FX and GDP.Unexpectedly, there is a strong correlation between INF and EPS, we do not have any explanation for this relationship. For our regression analysis, OIL and INFL were dropped from the model. Though there is a strong correlation between FX and GDP, both variables are used in the regression. FX and GDP variables are significant to the economy of developing nations like Nigeria, therefore their exclusion from the regression would result in a very high constant (? ). 185 International Research Journal of Finance and Economics – Issue 30 (20 09)A regression analysis was run on the independent variables DPS, EPS, GDP and INT after dropping OIL, INFL and FX. Table I shows the result of the regression analysis. Table II: Summary of the Regression Analysis R2 0. 99996 ? – 67. 2385 0. 3835 0. 0869 0. 3805 – 0. 8236 – 1. 9741 Adjusted R2 0. 99978 T – Test – 9. 597 36. 259 33. 369 21. 809 – 7. 375 – 11. 214 Standard Error of Estimates 0. 4752 F – Test 5385. 033 R 0. 99998 Constant DPS EPS GDP INT FX The stock price (P) is highly sensitive to variation as indicated by R2 of 0. 99996. In other words there is 99. 9% and as a matter of fact 100% in stock variation caused by the independent variables. The variability as measured by coefficient of variation (? ) is expectedly positive for DPS, EPS and GDP and expectedly negative for lending interest (INT) though quite significantly. The ? for DPS and EPS though positive were not significant. Many of the companies resorted to bo nus issues instead of dividends and the Nigerian investors are more interested in incomes rather than capital appreciation especially where the stock market performance is poor.The failure to declare and pay dividend leaves two negative impacts on stock prices. The existing investors are denied additional funds to invest and the potential investors seeking investment incomes are discouraged. The hypothesis that EPS affect stock price significantly is accepted. The positive GDP’s coefficient in relation to the stock price is in agreement with some other studies (Udegbunam and Eriki,2001; Ibrahim 2003; Mukherjee and Naka 1995; Chaudhuri and Smiles, 2004). The ? is insignificant at 0. 805 and this might not be unconnected with the increasing foreign reserve maintained by CBN from the proceeds of crude oil sales. The proceeds of the crude oil sales are not released to the economy for investment in various productive sectors of the economy but rather held in foreign economies as p art of the CBN’s monetary policies. The domestic economy is denied of the investments that would have occurred if the funds in the foreign reserve are released for spending in the domestic economy. The hypothesis that the GDP affects stock price significantly is accepted.The coefficient of interest which is negative is expected and found to be significant. The negative coefficient of the lending interest rate is in agreement with the findings of Al-Qenae, Li & Wearing (2002), and Mukherjee and Naka (1995). Lending interest rate is a strong tool in the hands of CBN to influence the economy and where the interest is high as it is Nigeria where lending interest rates hovers between 22% and 25%, the accessibility of the investors to access funds is curtailed and the impact on the stock price would be negative as shown.The hypothesis that lending interest rate affects the stock price significantly is accepted The foreign exchange rate’s coefficient is significantly negative at significant level of 10%. This is not unexpected. Local and foreign investors tend to invest in an economy that has a very high currency exchange rate to foreign currencies. The local investors are discouraged from taking their funds out of the economy for fear of reduced purchasing while foreign investors are encouraged otherwise for increased purchasing power. The hypothesis that foreign exchange rate affects the stock price significantly is accepted.Lastly, the constant (? ) is 67. 2385 (negative). This suggests that the minimum stock price in the market is < 0. We had initially excluded FX from the regression for the reason of its collinearity with GDP but the constant was negative and excessively high. The inclusion of FX has reduced the negativity which is an indication that there are other important variable(s) that significantly affect the stock prices but not considered in this study. The stock price cannot be < 0 except the company is in liquidation. International Rese arch Journal of Finance and Economics – Issue 30 (2009) 186This raises an important question of what factor(s) could have accounted for the extra ordinary stock market performance in Nigeria between 2005 and 2007 where some stocks return over 1000% per annum. The nation House of Representative’s Committee on Capital Markets expressed disgust at the hike in the stock prices of companies in the banking and oil sectors (Thisday Newspapers, 2008). The â€Å"hike† which may not be a non-economic factor (such as political, unhealthy competition, profiteering by issuers who are at the same time market investors) may be the omitted important variable accounting for the high ?. . 0. Conclusions and Recommendations The forces of demand and supply have direct effect on the stock price while the other indeterminate number of firm, industry and country factors influences the demand and supply factors. The effect, positive or negative the other factors apart from the demand a nd supply leave on stock price are not static rather changes. For instance, lending interest rate effect could be positive or negative depending on the aim of the CBN in deploying it as one of the tools for implementing monetary policy.The study has contributed to existing literatures in confirming or raising new issues with respect to other factors influencing stock prices. 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Frank (2004) â€Å"Information Uncertainty and Stock Returns† An Article Submitted to The Journal of Finance Manuscript 1149 www. afajof. rg/afa/forthcoming/zhang_information. pdf Zhao, Xing-Qiu (1999), â€Å"Stock prices, inflation and output: evidence from China,† Applied Economics Letters, 6 Appendix Appendix I: Selected Market Indices (2001 – 2007) YEAR PRICE* DPS* EPS* GDP** INT** 42. 53 430. 00 393. 29 431,783. 10 21. 34 2001 43. 70 432. 72 412. 52 451,785. 60 29. 70 2002 109. 21 577. 63 459. 83 495,007. 10 22. 47 2003 116 . 76 552. 48 600. 59 527,576. 00 20. 62 2004 110. 56 466. 97 708. 90 561,931. 40 19. 47 2005 102. 33 553. 87 1,666. 03 595,821. 61 18. 43 2006 95. 87 549. 93 894. 96 561,776. 34 19. 1 2007 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin** : Cashcraft Asset Management Limited / APT Securities and Fund Limited * OIL** 24. 50 25. 40 29. 10 38. 70 57. 60 66. 50 54. 27 INFLE** 18. 90 12. 90 14. 00 15. 00 17. 90 8. 20 13. 70 FX ** 111. 94 120. 97 129. 36 133. 50 132. 15 128. 65 131. 43 189 International Research Journal of Finance and Economics – Issue 30 (2009) Appendix II: Regression Analysis Of Selected Market Indices (2001 – 2007) Multiple Linear Regression – Estimated Regression Equation SP[t] = +0. 38353330161483 DPS[t] +0. 086971432931437 EPS[t] +0. 38049146437789 GDP[t] -0. 82357353121514 INT[t] -1. 740597666311 FX[t] -67. 238476376193 + e[t] Multiple Linear Regression – Ordinary Least Squares Variable DPS[t] EPS[t] GDP[t] INT[t] FX[t] Constant Var iable %DPS[t] %EPS[t] %GDP[t] %INT[t] %FX[t] %Constant Variable Parameter 0. 383533 0. 086971 0. 380491 -0. 823574 -1. 97406 -67. 238476 Elasticity 2. 201042 0. 359282 2. 221624 -0. 200986 -2. 822992 -0. 75797 Stand. Coeff. S. E. 0. 010577 0. 002606 0. 017447 0. 111666 0. 17603 7. 006084 S. E. * 0. 060703 0. 010767 0. 101869 0. 027251 0. 25173 0. 078979 S. E. * T-STAT H0: parameter = 0 36. 259468 33. 368601 21. 808584 -7. 375331 -11. 214366 -9. 597156 T-STAT H0: |elast| = 1 19. 785697 -59. 07274 11. 992081 -29. 320395 7. 241855 -3. 064493 T-STAT H0: coeff = 0 2-tail p-value 0. 017553 0. 019073 0. 029171 0. 085794 0. 056618 0. 066096 2-tail p-value 0. 032148 0. 010697 0. 052964 0. 021704 0. 087356 0. 200805 2-tail p-value 1-tail p-value 0. 008776 0. 009536 0. 014585 0. 042897 0. 028309 0. 033048 1-tail p-value 0. 016074 0. 005349 0. 026482 0. 010852 0. 043678 0. 100402 1-tail p-value 0. 008776 0. 009536 0. 014585 0. 042897 0. 028309 0. 5 S-DPS[t] 0. 763848 0. 021066 36. 259468 0. 017 553 S-EPS[t] 0. 69251 0. 020753 33. 368601 0. 019073 S-GDP[t] 0. 729372 0. 033444 21. 808584 0. 029171 S-INT[t] -0. 09814 0. 013307 -7. 75331 0. 085794 S-FX[t] -0. 48017 0. 042817 -11. 214366 0. 056618 S-Constant 0 0 0 1 Computed against deterministic endogenous series *Note Multiple Linear Regression – Regression Statistics Multiple R 0. 999981 R-squared 0. 999963 Adjusted R-squared 0. 999777 F-TEST 5385. 033289 Observations 7 Degrees of Freedom 1 Multiple Linear Regression – Residual Statistics Standard Error 0. 475177 Sum Squared Errors 0. 225793 Log Likelihood 2. 086595 Durbin-Watson 3. 380955 Von Neumann Ratio 3. 944448 # e[t] > 0 3 # e[t] < 0 4 # Runs 6 Runs Statistic 1. 333946 NB: Regression analysis was done using a software developed by Wessa (2008)