Movie Analysis Supersize Me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Movie Analysis Supersize Me - Essay Example Culture of the Spanish influenced to build up the behavior of the persons engaged in that drama. The documentary ‘supersize me’ is a behavioral oriented and cultural oriented movie with much impact on the current prevailing US culture. The region where the story takes place is in United States and the culture affecting the hero of the story was the American culture of having fast food from the posh restaurants, in the movie context the starring character finds his 5 time daily food in Mc Donald restaurant. The environment which describes here is the food experimenting intention by the hero ,where he also wanted to establish that the outside junk foods are good for health and it will cause no effect on the health, there he doesn’t follow the principle’when health is lost something is lost’. The values mainly depicted in the movie are the cultural values which were priorly stated and the family values where the utmost care taken by the family in bringi ng back to normalcy. Personality: Personality of the person is the self-concept. That is, they offer a structure for the person so that a reliable pattern of behavior can be build up. It is the particular amalgamation of attitudinal, emotional, and behavioral reaction patterns of a human being. At the same time as there are various different theories of personality that explain the relevance and components of the personality traits of the individual. A short definition would be that personality is made up of the attribute patterns of belief, approach and behaviors that create a person unique. Besides to this, personality arises from inside the human being and remains reasonably reliable throughout life. Some of the basic individuality of personality consists of: Psychological and physiological, multiple expressions, Consistency and finally the It impacts behaviors and actions. This particular drama Biutiful follows the personality traits of the people. Story is usually talks about t he relationship between the father and his children’s. The unique personality of the father, children develop their own culture and attitude to react with the certain situations. Motivation: The motivation is a widely described behavior of individuals, where they are the tendency for the doing the particular actions due to external or internal stimuli. The internal factors of the motivation are the within the individual as they arise due to the basic need fulfillment of the person,or to achieve a particular goal.There can also be the motivation due to less-apparent causes like the altruism and selfishness,the motivation is indirectly related to emotion. Non-behavioral psychologists observe motivation to have two proportions, intensity (strength) and direction (behavior focused) As the Maslow’s hierarchy of the needs is considered; there are four kinds of needs for an individual. The hierarchy model of Abraham Maslow is in the pyramid form, from the bottom. It states th e psychological need of a person where the person is more selfish in his own ways and he gives priority to his personal comfort than considering the needs and wants of others. The main constraints of the psychological needs are the breath, food, finance and the other essential resources. The second is the safety need which mainly emphasis on the safety and security of the family, finance, resources and the security of oneself from any other calamities and robbery. The next step in the pyramid shows the necessity for the love and care

What Is Meant By The Term Business Sector Marketing Essay

What Is Meant By The Term Business Sector Marketing Essay A business sector can be defined as three different things. These are the public, private and voluntary sector also known as the community sector (not for profit). The three different sectors have different purposes and I will go through what these are. The private sector is quite the opposite from the public sector. The private sector is run by private individuals and not controlled by the government. In the UK the private sector employs the majority of the workforce and is responsible for allocating most of the resources within the economy. The main role of private sector businesses is to make a profit from the services and products they provide for their customers. Some examples of private sector businesses include retail sales, catering, entertainment and health and fitness. Virgin is an example of a massive private sector company that makes a major contribution to the wealth of the United Kingdom. We can also break this down further as the private sector contains businesses that are run differently to others. These include a sole trader, a partnership, a private limited company, a public limited company and a franchise. I will now go into detail about why each of the businesses is different which will show why although still falling under the same category of the private sector these businesses are slightly different from each other. Sole Trader A sole trader is a company run by only one person so, will have to fund the business out of their own pocket. This type of business is easily set up and you are your own boss which also means all the profits that the business makes you are able to keep all to yourself. This all sounds well and good however, a sole trader also has some disadvantages. First of all, the owner will have to deal with any loss to the company which is unlimited liability. It could also be quite hard in getting the money to set up a business as the banks have a stereotypical view of sole trader businesses going out of business in the first year. You also might find that you have to work long hours and get very little holiday if any at all. Sole traders are usually quite small businesses such as an electrician or a plumber. Partnership A company run by between 2-20 people. It could be much easier for a partnership to get the money together to start a business as banks look favourably on partnerships as they tend to succeed more compared to for example, a sole trader. Again, we have disadvantages and advantages of a partnership. Any loss made within the company can be split between the owners but equally any profits will also have to be divided between all owners. The decision making process could be a disadvantage too. There could be split views on a certain matter which could cause friction between the owners. Private Limited Company A company owned by shareholders and run with limited liability. A downside to a private limited company would be that they cannot offer company shares to the public (float its shares on the stock exchange) this could restrict access to finance especially if the business wishes to become larger. Because a private limited company has limited liability they are only liable to any debts up to a maximum of what they have invested themselves. This of course is a good thing. You can only lose what you are prepared to put in. A private limited company also has tighter control on who it issues shares to so this is another good thing. Public Limited Company Only two people are needed to run a public limited company however, there is no upper limit. The public including other businesses can buy shares in the company which is good as this means a company can expand by doing this. Most of the shares are bought and sold through the stock exchange and for the publics benefit the share prices are printed in the newspapers so that the public can know the prices. Also, like a private limited company, shareholders have limited liability so, if a company were to go bankrupt then the shareholders are only responsible for the value of their shares. Franchise A franchise is an agreement between two parties to allow an entrepreneur to run a business for somebody else but, operate under their name and to sell its goods or services. This agreement grants the rights to operate a certain business at a single address. The rights in the agreement could allow for use of a company trademark, designs and book keeping etc. There is a much reduced risk in setting up a franchise as opposed to the above examples as the name that you are using to trade under is already a well established business therefore this reduces the risk of setting up a business dramatically. You pay for the image the company has already established. Voluntary Sector This sector works on very limited budgets. This sector has organisations ranging from national bodies to small local groups. These include youth and community groups, touring clubs, social clubs, sports club associations and art associations. The voluntary sector organisations do not make a profit but at the same time they must work in credit if they are to not go bankrupt. People who work for these organisations do not get paid. The money comes purely from donations or fundraising. 2 + 3. Name three businesses from three different Business Sectors and describe by writing a paragraph on each, what each business does. Public Sector NHS The NHS is publicly funded and provides mostly free services to anyone who lives in the UK however, there can be some charges associated with eye tests, dental care and prescriptions. The business purpose of the NHS is to provide a service to the public rather than making a profit. It is the largest publicly funded health service in the world and is funded by the government. Around 60% of the budget allocated to the NHS is used to pay staff. Drugs and other supplies take up 20%. The remaining 20% is split between things such as training costs, medical equipment, catering and cleaning. Below is a diagram of how the NHS works: NHS.gif Image taken from: www.nhs.uk/England/AboutTheNhs/Default.cmsx Private Sector Carphone Warehouse Known as the Phone House outside of the UK the Carphone Warehouse has three different fields of operation: Distribution, data services and telecom services. The Carphone warehouse sells mobile phones, accessories and even insurance. They provide sales of goods where the customer can purchase anything they like within a selected branch over the counter. They also have a website where customers can purchase goods and have them conveniently delivered to their home saving time and money. Also, like many successful businesses they have expanded their business nationwide and even abroad which has proved very successful. The main aim for a private sector business such as the Carphone Warehouse is to make a profit from the services they provide to their customers. A private sector company is very unlikely to get involved in the non profit area of business. Store numbers at 31st December 2009 european_map.jpg Image taken from: www.cpwplc.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=123964p=irol-history Voluntary Sector Oxfam Oxfam was founded in England in 1942. It is a non-political, independent organisation, with no religious affiliations. Oxfams aim is a simple one: To work with others to find lasting solutions to poverty and suffering. This is given on their website www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/kidsweb/oxfam/whatox.htm Oxfam have programmes in over 70 different countries. They work with local people to help improve their life. They might help train health workers, set up a school and safeguard water supplies. Oxfam respond to emergencies helping people who have been hit by a disaster like that of a hurricane or a flood. They also speak up on behalf of people to ensure that governments listen to them and act on better supporting people in disaster hit areas. A voluntary sector organisation such as Oxfam does not work like the other sectors do. They do not exist to make a profit and are not funded by the government. They rely on donations and fundraising by everyday normal people to help them keep running. 4. Justify why each of the 3 businesses is in its sector Public Sector NHS The NHS is in the public sector which is paid for by the government. It is in this sector precisely for that reason. The government pays the staff employed by the NHS who are doctors, nurses and midwifes etc. The NHS is different from a private sector company as it doesnt seek to make profits but instead it provides a service to the people. They might charge for a few things like a prescription or an eye test but overall the NHS is a free service funded by the government which comes from tax payers money. Private Sector Carphone Warehouse The Carphone Warehouse is in the private sector as its main aim is to make a profit and to maximise its profits. All private sector companies have the same aim. They all exist to make a profit. They are not funded by the government (public sector) and they do not exist to provide a free service and rely on donations to run the business (voluntary sector). This is why the Carphone Warehouse fits into the private sector. Voluntary Sector Oxfam Oxfam is in the voluntary sector as its neither funded by the government nor set up to make a profit. Oxfam is a registered organisation that aims to help people in need. The services they provide are free. The money to help keep the charity running has to be raised from fundraising and donations. 5. Describe the term Business Classification According to www.rmcareers.com the term Business Classification means: The systematic arranging of business operations into groups or categories according to certain criteria. Another way to explain this is to say that we have three different Business sectors, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. These three sectors are split according to the type of service they provide, this is what we call Business Classification. For example, the primary sector takes natural resources and converts them into primary products. All businesses that fall under this category are therefore classed as primary. We can include in the primary sector, agriculture, fishing, forestry, mining, oil extraction and quarrying. The secondary and tertiary sectors are arranged in the same way. The secondary sector is made up of businesses that manufacture finished goods. Manufacturing industries such as vehicle production, making of clothing and engineering all come under the secondary sector. Finally, the tertiary sector is made up of businesses that sell a product to the public. The tertiary sector provides services to the general population and businesses. We can include retail, transportation and restaurants under the tertiary sector. So, to conclude, Business Classification means to organise businesses into sectors that match the criteria in which they operate. 6. Explain why it is important to have a Business Classification system It is important to a lot of people including the government that we have a business classification system so, we can notice certain areas which need improving or so that people such as investors know where to invest their money (or to at least have an idea). To give an example of this, we could have a potential investor who is looking to invest some money into a certain business sector. This person would need to know what is happening in the different sectors so he can know how secure his investment within that area is. If he didnt have the correct information that he needed then he might put a lot of money at risk not knowing what will happen to it whereas, with the correct information and by looking at the growth and decline in certain sectors, he can be more sure of where his money would be safer placed. It is also important that we have a Business Classification system so that the government can successfully record information from the different business sectors to show which areas are growing and which are declining. This is vital so that our economy is always progressing the best that it could be. The government will know by looking at the different sectors which areas need money put into them and which areas dont need as much help. 7. Provide one example of a business from each type of Business Classification and say why it has been included in that classification Primary Fishing Fishing is a primary sector business as fishermen take natural resources and convert them into primary products. In this example it would be the many different types of fish that they catch (natural resource) and then turn into a primary product allowing them to be sold at a fish market or similar. Secondary Car Manufacturing Car manufacturers fit into the secondary sector as they create a finished usable product such as in this example a car. They manufacture a product so they fall under the secondary sector. Tertiary Supermarkets A supermarket falls under the tertiary sector as they provide services to the general population and to businesses. A supermarket will typically purchase manufactured goods from secondary sector businesses and sell them to the consumers. An example could be fish. At first a primary product which is then manufactured (a secondary product) then sold to the public by the supermarket (tertiary). 8. Explain which sectors as identified by the Business Classification System, are growing and which are declining Primary Although in the primary sector there are certain areas which are growing such as the production of organic food and the extraction of minerals, overall the sector is declining. We can see various different reasons for this including that of non renewable resources. We only have limited amounts of things such as coal, petroleum and natural gas. All of these things cannot be produced, grown or generated. Once these are gone, they are gone. A number of Nottingham mines have closed over the years including the RJB owned mine which saw its profits drop dramatically leading up to its closure. The coal reserves soon ran out which caused hundreds of employees to transfer to other mines in the region. We are now importing a lot of non renewable sources from abroad. We do this because finding new resources can be very expensive and difficult. This, of course, causes the primary sector to decline. Secondary The secondary sector is declining and I think the obvious thing here is of course the advances in technology. Why would a business pay for somebody to do a job when we now have robots that can do things at a much lower cost and perhaps even better than a human? Also, a lot of companies have now relocated abroad to countries where manufacturing costs are much lower so that they can continue to make profits instead of paying high labour costs. Examples could be of the textile and ship building industries which have vanished due to cheap imports. This also causes the secondary sector to decline. Tertiary The tertiary sector is forever growing and this is because everyone needs a service that falls under the tertiary sector. Everyone needs to eat so we have places like McDonalds and Burger King. As a country becomes more developed there is an increasing need for tertiary sector services such as transport and banking. The tertiary sector should keep steadily growing over time because again the demand for goods is growing.

Essay --

Radiation has always been in everyday life even before Roentgen discovered x-ray. The mountains give off natural radiation, other forms of radiation are coal burning power plants, x-rays from a TV, and an airplane ride. The average dose from background radiation is about 360 mrem every year. There are two types of radiation, nonionizing and ionizing radiation. Examples of nonionizing radiation are microwaves and radio waves broadcasting. Ionizing radiation refers to gamma and x-rays. Ionizing radiation means that the rays are able to remove an electron from the atom then ions can be formed. The ions can cause damage when reacting with other atoms. Cells are able to be repaired if low dose are received. However, if cells get a high dose, the cells will be damaged or possibly die. If the cell is damaged permanently then it is referred to as a mutated cell. There are ways to better understand how radiation affects the body when compared to other every day activities. If an occupational worker receives 1 rem per year then is it possible that 51 days is expected to be lost. A person that smokes 20 cigarettes a day takes about 6 years off of their life. People that are overweight by 15% take about 2 years off of their life. In actuality radiation would seem as though it is not any more harmful than other everyday activities people decide to do such as smoke, chew tobacco, or sky dive. The risk of taking days, weeks, years off of ones lives will always be present depending on the activity they choose to be part of. However, radiation exposure in the healthcare field is used to extend the patient’s life by helping them find out what is going on in their body. A patient that comes in with RLQ pain, nausea, and vomiting then an abdomen x-r... ...om the radiation, the source of radiation comes from beneath the patient. Spot fluoroscopy should be utilized to minimize radiation to the patient, radiologist, and radiologic technologist. Radiologist and radiologic technologist must wear a lead apron and thyroid shield. A lead shield is put on the front to protect the radiologist and the tech. (Statkiewicz-Sherer, 1983) Radiation has changed drastically over the past 118 years. Exposures are much quicker, digital imaging is a possibility in most hospitals, and most importantly, radiation protection. Many people have died, some without realizing that they were killing themselves, for the advancement of x-rays. Because of these advancements physicians are able to tell patients what is going on very quickly and without much delay. It is very important to remember the 3 cardinal rules: distance, time and shielding.

Thistles by Ted Hughes. Question: Critically analyse the poem

Question: Critically analyse the poem, paying attention to diction & imagery, showing how they are effective in describing thistles. P : Thistles are described as if they were nature's avengers. Q : Thistles ‘spike' ‘Against the rubber tongues of cows and the hoeing hands of man & ‘†¦a revengeful burs of resurrection' R : Thistles inflict pain towards ‘the hoeing hands of men' which gives readers the spa image of men destroying the plants in the soil  with a hoe, perhaps for the unnecessary need for urbanization and other recreational purposes. It seems that the thistles are punishing man for destroying nature. Even though the ‘cows' mentioned somewhat destroy plants, or to be specific, grass for it is their staple food, they seem to not be a part of the ones punished for their rubber tongues' gives the image of a lifeless tongue where it does not feel pain, having the qualities of rubber- lifeless and feeling nothing. Hence, the thistles are described as avengers for those who abuse and destroy nature for unnecessary wants. It seems as if avenging is the purpose of the thistles' existence and for their resurrection- the phrase ‘a revengeful burst of resurrection seems to give the image of revenge, powering the process of resurrecting the thistles. Hence, the suggested reason for their existence and their behavior in punishing men describes them as if they are nature's â€Å"avengers†. P : Despite being described as â€Å"nature's avengers†, they seem to have an evil side that is abeing brought alive by what could be perceived as the evil present in the world as represented by – â€Å"underground stain of a Viking†. Q : â€Å"From the underground stain of a decayed Viking†, † the gutturals of dialects† & space every one manages a plume of blood†. R : Readers get the impression that thistles are being brought to life ‘From the spaceunderground stain of a decayed Viking'. Now, a Viking is a monstrous, wild and spaceevil legendary barbarian and the fact that its remnants are absorbed in the growth of spacethistles could suggest that evil is being transferred to them as seen from their evil spaceacts or purpose in trying to hurt innocent animals (‘cows'), men and even plague the space'summer air'. Also, it seems as though the spirits of the dead Vikings are spacewhispering to the growing thistles with ‘the gutturals of dialects' perhaps to impart spacetheir evil nature and character. It is seen that after being grown amongst the space spac ‘decayed Viking' and taking its essence (like fertilizer from a dead animal) and after spacebeing imparted of the Viking's evil nature, the next line that comes shows that evil spaceis being put into action where Every one manages a plume of blood'. R : Furthermore, it seems as though thistles began and end with the presence of blood- spac'From the underground stain of a decayed Viking' they grow and before growing spac'grey like men', ‘Everyone manages a plume of blood'. Hence, this parasite-like spacebehavior gives thistles an evil character for it thrives and is brought alive with blood spaceand that it's suggested sole purpose in life is to hurt those alive (to get ‘a plume of spaceblood') for that is the only thing that they seem to do in the poem before dying. In spaceaddition to that, ‘blood' or rather, bleeding is associated with being caused by pain spaceand those who thrive on it is said to be somewhat inhumane and evil, like thistles. P : Thistles have the characteristics of a Viking, perhaps because they absorb the spaceremnants and essence of Vikings. Q : ‘Of splintered weapons and Icelandic frost thrust up', ‘They are like pale hair and spacethe gutturals of dialects' & ‘Every one manages a plume of blood'. R : The metaphor ‘splintered weapons' and ‘Icelandic frost' gives the idea of spacethistledowns that outline thistles. These thistledowns could be sharp, being like space'splintered weapons' and could be the part that spike ‘the rubber tongues of cows spaceand hoeing hands of men'. One can imagine the image of the thistledowns getting spacestiff and ready to spike (‘Icelandic frost thrust up'). These thistledowns have spacesimilarities to that of a Viking's ‘pale hair' and ‘the gutturals of dialects' are like spacethe whizzing sound thistles make as they disperse through the air, trying to find spacevictims or their prey to spike them for blood. Hence, it seems that the evil nature spaceand the physical appearance of Vikings are being passed down to thistles perhaps as spacethey absorb the essence of dead Vikings which is represented by the word ‘stain' spacethat could of blood. Afterall, it is believed that one would posses the characteristics spaceof whose essence they have absorbed into themselves. In addition to the mentioned spacecharacteristics passed down, the predatory nature of Vikings is similar to that of spacethistles for both is bloodthirsty, ‘a plume of blood' being the goal in life. P : Thistles are also endlessly revengeful Q : ‘Every one a revengeful burst / Of resurrection' & ‘Their sons appear / Stiff with spaceweapons, fighting back over the same ground'. R : Thistles, in this poem is described in an almost chronological form where the spores spaceor seeds are being dispersed (‘crackle open under a blue black pressure') on to the space'underground' where the ‘stain of a decayed Viking' acts as a source of fertilizer spacethat completes thistles' growth before the thistles spike the air again and manages a spaceplume of blood' each. Then they ‘grow grey like men' and die as suggested by the spacewords ‘mown down', perhaps by man in the process of mowing their green lawns in spacethe summer. However, notice that after this batch of thistles are dead, ‘Their sons spaceappear / Stiff with weapons, fighting back over the same ground'. The word ‘sons' spaceand ‘feud' make the situation seem as if it is a battle (for battles are usually fought spaceby men). ‘Fighting back over the same ground' shows the characteristic of thistles spacebeing endlessly revengeful for the thistles are being â€Å"born† over and over again. spaceFurthermore, the fact that the â€Å"battle† is staged in the summer' that occurs in the spaceearlier half part of the year symbolizes the fact that thistles' time would not be up spaceany time soon and that they would continue â€Å"fighting†. The ‘blue-black pressure' spacethat causes the dispersal of the spores or seeds may also symbolize the immense-spacepressure the thistles have on their offspring, perhaps in their expectancy of the spaceoffspring fighting after their time. It may be ambiguous, carrying the fact that after space'Thistles spike the summer air' and get â€Å"injured† by being â€Å"mown down† by men spaceor being chewed by ‘cows' (I do not suppose cows swallow such spiky plants. They spaceperhaps spit them out. Furthermore, thistles are mentioned to only pass through spacecows' mouths and to the ‘rubber tongues' which could imply that thistles are not spacebeing swallowed) they painfully, in their injured condition as suggested by the word space'blue-black', as if having wounds, they ‘crackle open' themselves to disperse the spaceseeds or spores. Hence, even though the process of breeding another generation of space†army troops† is painful, the thistles carry on. This shows their endless revenge for spacethey do not stop at anything to fight. P : Thistles are also described as annoying pests, a nuisance to the living and the dead. Q : ‘Against the rubber tongues of cows and the hoeing hands of men', ‘ Thistles spike spacethe summer air', ‘From the underground stain of a decayed Viking' & ‘Their sons spaceappear†¦fighting back over the same ground'. R : Thistles are portrayed as bothersome. Firstly because they plague the happy and spacecheerful atmosphere of the ‘summer air'. The line ‘Thistles spike the summer air' spacegives this impression. The ambiguous word ‘spike' could mean that they simply spacespike the air with their sharp body. On the other hand, it could mean that they spaceplague the air and sort of poison the cheerful summer air with pain that is delivered spaceas they ‘manage a plume of blood'. Thistles bother animals even when they are spaceeating (cows) as suggested by the line ‘Against the rubber tongues of cows' and spacethistles disrupts men's work by poking them as they work as suggested by the line space ‘Against†¦the hoeing hands of men'. It is not only those alive that are being spacebothered. Ancient ‘decayed Viking' in the ‘underground' are also being fed on, as spacesuggested by the word ‘stain' which gives us the impression of a bloodstain, in the spaceline ‘From the underground stain of a decayed Viking'. It is almost a parasite-like spacebehavior for the thistles seem to be taking blood from animals, man and even spacecompose, which makes them a nuisance for they rob away peace- imagine thistles spacespiking you every moment when you are trying to enjoy the ‘summer air'. In spaceaddition to that, the fact that thistles are being produced after their â€Å"forefathers† spacehave served their purpose (in obtaining ‘a plume of blood' each) let us see thistles spacein the light where they appear to be irksome in the sense that they do not stop spacebothering and disturbing.

A Dirty Job Chapter 8

8 A STREETCAR NAMED CONFUSION Into the breech of the Castro district Charlie Asher charged, an antique sword-cane from the store on the van seat beside him, his jaw set like a bayonet, his visage a study in fearsome intensity. Half a block, half a block, half of a block onward – into the Valley of Overpriced Juice Bars and Outlandish Hair Highlights – rode the righteous Beta Male. And woe be unto the foolish ne'er-do-well who had dared to fuck with this secondhand death dealer, for his raggedy life would be fast for the bargain table. There's going to be a showdown in Gay Town, Charlie thought, and I am gunning for justice. Well, not really gunning – since he had a sword concealed in a walking stick, not a gun – more of a poking for justice – which didn't really have the avenging angel connotation he was looking for – he was mad, and ready to kick ass, that's all. So, you know, just watch out. (Coincidentally, Poking for Justice was the title currently second in popularity at Castro Video Rentals, closely edging out A Star Is Born: The Director's Cut, and outranked only by Cops Without Pants, which was number one with a bullwhip.) Charlie turned off Market Street and just around the corner on Noe Street he saw it: Fresh Music, the sign done in blocky, Craftsman-style stained glass, and he felt the hair at the back of his neck bristle and an urgency in his bladder. His body had gone into fight-or-flight mode, and for the second time in a week, he was going against his Beta Male nature and choosing to fight. Well, so be it, he thought. So be it. He would confront his tormentor and lay him low, as soon as he found a parking place – which he didn't. He circled the block, cutting between cafs and bars, both of which were in abundance in the Castro. He drove up and down the side streets, lined with rows of immaculately kept (exorbitantly priced) Victorians and found no quarter for his trusty steed. After a half hour of orbiting the neighborhood, he headed back uptown and found a spot in a parking garage in the Fillmore, then took the antique streetcar back down Market Street to the Castro. A cute little green, Italian-made antique streetcar, with oak benches, brass railings, and mahogany window frames – a charming brass bell and a top speed of about twenty miles per hour: this is how Charlie Asher charged into battle. He tried to imagine a horde of Huns hanging off the sides, waving wicked blades and firing arrows as they passed the murals in the Mission district, perhaps Viking raiders, shields fastened to the sides of the car, a great drum pounding as they rowed in to pillage the antique shops, the leather bars, the sushi bars, the leather sushi bars (don't ask), and the art galleries, in the Castro. And here, even Charlie's formidable imagination failed him. He got off the car at Castro and Market and walked back a block to Fresh Music, then paused outside the shop, wondering what in the hell he was going to do now. What if the caller had just borrowed the phone? What if he stormed in screaming and threatening, and there was just some confused kid behind the counter? But then he looked in the door, and there, standing behind the counter, all alone, was an extraordinarily tall black man dressed completely in mint green, and at that point Charlie lost his mind. â€Å"You killed her,† Charlie screamed as he stormed by the racks of CDs toward the man in mint. He drew the sword as he ran, or tried to, hoping to bring it out in a single fluid movement from the cane sheath and across the throat of Rachel's killer. But the sword-cane had been in the back of Charlie's shop for a long time, and except for three times when Lily's friend Abby tried to leave with it (once trying to buy it, when Charlie refused to sell it to her, then twice trying to steal it), the sword hadn't been drawn in years. The little brass stud that you pushed to release the blade had stuck, so when Charlie delivered the deathblow, he swung the entire cane, which was heavier – and slower – than the sword would have been. The man in mint green – quick for his size – ducked, and Charlie took out an entire row of Judy Garland CDs, lost his balance, bounced off the counter, spun around, and again tried for the single draw-and-cut move that he had seen so many times in samurai movies, and had practiced so many times in his head on the way here. This time the sword came free of the scabbard and slashed a deadly arch three feet in front of the man in mint, completely decapitating a life-sized cutout of Barbra Streisand. â€Å"That is un-unfucking called for!† thundered the tall man. As Charlie recovered his balance for a backhand slash, he saw something large and dark coming down over him and recognized it at the last instant, as the antique cash register slammed down on his head. There was a flash, a ding, and everything got dark and gooey. When Charlie came to, he was tied to a chair in the back room of the record store, which looked remarkably like the back room of his own store, except all the stacked boxes were full of records and CDs instead of all variety of used jetsam. The tall black man was standing over him, and Charlie thought at first that he might be turning to mist or smoke, but then he realized it was just that his vision was going wavy, and then pain lit up the inside of his head like a strobe light. â€Å"Ouch.† â€Å"How's your neck?† asked the tall man. â€Å"Does your neck feel broken? Can you feel your feet?† â€Å"Go ahead, kill me, you fucking coward,† said Charlie, bucking around in the chair, trying to lunge at his captor and feeling a little like the Black Knight in Monty Python's Holy Grail after his arms and legs had been hacked off. If this guy took one step closer, Charlie could head-butt him in the nads, he was sure of it. The tall man stomped on Charlie's toes, a size-eighteen glove-leather loafer driven by two hundred and seventy pounds of death and used-record dealer. â€Å"Ouch!† Charlie hopped his chair in a little circle of pain. â€Å"Goddammit! Ouch!† â€Å"So you do have feeling in your feet?† â€Å"Get it over with. Go ahead.† Charlie stretched his neck as if offering his throat to be cut – his strategy was to lure his captor into range, then sever the tall man's femoral artery with his teeth, then gloat as the blood coursed all over his mint-green slacks onto the floor. Charlie would laugh long and sinister as he watched the life drain out of the evil bastard, then he would hop his chair out to the street and onto the streetcar at Market, transfer to the number forty-one bus at Van Ness, hop off at Columbus, and hop the two blocks home, where someone would untie him. He had a plan – and a bus pass with four more days left on it – so this son of a bitch had picked the wrong guy to fuck with. â€Å"I have no intention of killing you, Charlie,† said the tall man, keeping a safe distance. â€Å"I'm sorry I had to hit you with the register. You didn't really leave me any options.† â€Å"You could have tasted the fatal sting of my blade!† Charlie glanced around for his sword-cane, just in case the guy had left it within reach. â€Å"Yeah, sure, there was that one, but I thought I'd go with the one without the stains and the funeral.† Charlie strained against his bonds, which he realized now were plastic shopping bags. â€Å"You're messing with Death, you know? I am Death.† â€Å"Yeah, I know.† â€Å"You do?† â€Å"Sure.† The tall man spun another wooden chair around and sat on it reversed, facing Charlie. His knees were up at the level of his elbows and he looked like a great green tree frog, crouched to pounce on an insect. Charlie noticed for the first time that he had golden eyes, stark and striking in contrast to his dark skin. â€Å"So am I,† said the evil mint-green frog guy. â€Å"You? You're Death?† â€Å"A Death, not THE Death. I don't think there is a THE Death. Not anymore, anyway.† Charlie couldn't grasp it, so he struggled and wobbled until the tall man had to reach out and steady him to keep him from toppling over. â€Å"You killed Rachel.† â€Å"I did not.† â€Å"I saw you there.† â€Å"Yes, you did. That's a problem. Will you please stop thrashing around?† He shook Charlie's chair. â€Å"But I wasn't instrumental in Rachel's death. That's not what we do, not anymore, anyway. Didn't you even look at the book?† â€Å"What book? You said something about a book on the phone.† â€Å"The Great Big Book of Death. I sent it to your shop. I told a woman at the counter that I was sending it, and I got delivery confirmation, so I know it got there.† â€Å"What woman – Lily? She's not a woman, she's a kid.† â€Å"No, this was a woman about your age, with New Wave hair.† â€Å"Jane? No. She didn't say anything, and I didn't get any book.† â€Å"Oh, shit. That explains why they've been showing up. You didn't even know.† â€Å"Who? What? They?† Mint Green Death sighed heavily. â€Å"I guess we're going to be here awhile. I'm going to make some coffee. Do you want some?† â€Å"Sure, try to lull me into a false sense of security, then spring.† â€Å"You're tied the fuck up, motherfucker, I don't need to lull you into shit. You've been fucking with the fabric of human existence and someone needed to shut your ass down.† â€Å"Oh, sure, go black on me. Play the ethnic card.† Mint Green climbed to his feet and headed toward the door to the shop. â€Å"You want cream?† â€Å"And two sugars, please,† Charlie said. This is really cool, why are you giving it back?† said Abby Normal. Abby was Lily's best friend, and they were sitting on the floor in the back room of Asher's Secondhand, looking through The Great Big Book of Death. Abby's real name was Alison, but she would no longer tolerate the ignominy of what she called her â€Å"daylight-slave name.† Everyone had been much more responsive to calling her by her chosen name than they had been to Lily's, Darquewillow Elventhing, which you always had to spell for people. â€Å"Turns out it's Asher, not me,† Lily said. â€Å"He'll be really pissed if he finds out I took it. And he's Death now, I guess, so I could get in trouble.† â€Å"Are you going to tell him you had the book?† Abby scratched the silver spider stud in her eyebrow; it was a fresh piercing and still healing and she couldn't stop messing with it. Abby, like Lily, was dressed all in black, boots to hair, the difference being that she had a black-widow's red hourglass on the front of her black T-shirt and she was thinner and more waiflike in her affected creepiness. â€Å"No. I'll just say it got misfiled. That happens a lot here.† â€Å"How long did you think it was you?† â€Å"Like a month.† â€Å"What about the dreams and the names and stuff it talks about, you didn't have any of that, right?† â€Å"I thought I was just growing into my powers. I made a lot of lists of people I wanted gone.† â€Å"Yeah, I do that. And you just found out yesterday that it was Asher?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Lily. â€Å"That sucks,† said Abby. â€Å"Life sucks,† said Lily. â€Å"So, what now?† asked Abby. â€Å"Junior college?† They both nodded, woefully, and looked into the depths of their respective nail polishes to avoid sharing the humiliation of one of them having gone from dark demigod to local loser in an instant. They lived their lives hoping for something grand and dark and supernatural to happen, so when it had, they took it more in stride than was probably healthy. Fear, after all, is a survival mechanism. â€Å"So all these things are soul objects?† asked Abby, as cheerfully as her integrity would allow. She waved to the piles of stuff Charlie had marked with â€Å"Do Not Sell† signs. â€Å"There's like a person's soul in there?† â€Å"According to the book,† said Lily. â€Å"Asher says he can see them glow.† â€Å"I like the red Converse All Stars.† â€Å"Take them, they're yours,† said Lily. â€Å"Really?† â€Å"Yeah,† Lily said. She took the All Stars off the shelf and held them out. â€Å"He'll never miss them.† â€Å"Cool. I have the perfect pair of red fishnets I can wear with them.† â€Å"They probably have the soul of some sweaty jock in them,† Lily said. â€Å"He may worship at my feet,† said Abby, doing a pirouette and an arabesque (remnants, along with an eating disorder, of ten years of ballet lessons). So I'm like a Santa's Helper of Death?!† Charlie said, waving his coffee cup. The tall man had untied his one arm so he could drink his coffee, and Charlie was baptizing the stockroom floor with French roast with every gesture. Mr. Fresh frowned. â€Å"What in the hell are you talking about, Asher?† Fresh felt bad about hitting Charlie Asher with a cash register and tying him up, and now he was wondering if the blow hadn't caused some sort of brain damage. â€Å"I'm talking about the Santa at Macy's, Fresh. When you're a kid, and you notice that the Santa Claus at Macy's has a fake beard, and that there are at least six Salvation Army Santas working Union Square, you ask your parents about it and they tell you that the real Santa is in the North Pole, and he's really busy, so all these other guys are Santa's helpers, who are out helping him with his work. That's what you're saying, that we're Santa's helpers to Death?† Mr. Fresh had been standing by his desk, but now he sat down again across from Charlie so he could look him in the eye. Very softly he said, â€Å"Charlie, you know that that's not true now, right? I mean about Santa's helpers and all?† â€Å"Of course I know that there's no Santa Claus. I'm using it as a metaphor, you tool.† Mr. Fresh took this opportunity to reach out and smack Charlie upside the head. Then immediately regretted it. â€Å"Hey!† Charlie put down his cup and rubbed one of his receding-hairline inlets, which was going red from the blow. â€Å"Rude,† said Mr. Fresh. â€Å"Let's not be rude.† â€Å"So you're saying that there is a Santa?† Charlie said, cringing in anticipation of another smack. â€Å"Oh my God, how deep does this conspiracy go?† â€Å"No, there's no goddamn Santa. I'm just saying that I don't know what we are. I don't know if there is a big Death with a capital D, although the book hints that there used to be. I'm just saying that there are many of us, a dozen that I know of right here in the city – all of us picking up soul vessels and seeing that they get into the right hands.† â€Å"And that's based on someone randomly coming into your shop and buying a record?† Then Charlie's eyes went wide as it hit him. â€Å"Rachel's Sarah McLachlan CD. You took it?† â€Å"Yes.† Fresh looked at the floor, not because he was ashamed, but to avoid seeing the pain in Charlie Asher's eyes. â€Å"Where is it? I want to see it,† said Charlie. â€Å"I sold it.† â€Å"To who? Find it. I want Rachel back.† â€Å"I don't know. To a woman. I didn't get her name, but I'm sure it was meant for her. You'll be able to tell.† â€Å"I will? Why will I?† he asked. â€Å"Why me? I don't want to kill people.† â€Å"We don't kill people, Mr. Asher. That's a misconception. We simply facilitate the ascendance of the soul.† â€Å"Well, one guy died because I said something to him, and another had a heart attack because of something I did. A death that results from your actions is basically killing someone, unless you're a politician, right? So why me? I'm not that highly skilled at bullshit. So why me?† Mr. Fresh considered what Charlie was saying, and felt like something sinister had crawled up his spine. In all his years, he didn't remember ever having his actions directly result in someone's death, nor had he heard of it happening with the other Death Merchants. Of course you occasionally showed up at the time when the person was passing, but not often, and never as a cause. â€Å"Well?† Charlie said. Mr. Fresh shrugged. â€Å"Because you saw me. Surely you've noticed that no one sees you when you're out to get a soul vessel.† â€Å"I've never gone out to get a soul vessel.† â€Å"Yes, you have, and you will, at least you should be. You need to get with the program, Mr. Asher.† â€Å"Yeah, so you said. So you're – uh – we're invisible when we're out getting these soul vessels?† â€Å"Not invisible, so to speak, it's just that no one sees us. You can go right into people's homes and they'll never notice you standing right beside them, but if you speak to someone on the street they'll see you, waitresses will take your order, cabs will stop for you – well, not me, I'm black, but, you know, they would. It's sort of a will thing, I think. I've tested it. Animals can see us, by the way. You'll want to watch out for dogs when you're retrieving a vessel.† â€Å"So that's how you got to be a – what do they call us?† â€Å"Death Merchants.† â€Å"Get out. Really?† â€Å"It's not in the book. I came up with it.† â€Å"It's very cool.† â€Å"Thanks.† Mr. Fresh smiled, relieved for a moment not to be thinking about the gravity of Charlie's unique transition to Death Merchant. â€Å"Actually, I think it's a character from an album cover, guy behind a cash register, eyes glowing red, but I didn't know that when I came up with it.† â€Å"Well, it makes perfect sense.† â€Å"Yeah, I thought so,† said Mr. Fresh. â€Å"More coffee?† â€Å"Please.† Charlie held out his empty cup. â€Å"So, someone saw you. That's how you became a Death Merchant?† â€Å"No, that's how you became one. I think that you may, uh – † Fresh didn't want to mislead this poor guy, but on the other hand he didn't actually know what had happened. â€Å"I think you may be different from the rest of us. No one saw me. I was working security for a casino in Vegas when that went sour for me – I have a problem with authority, I'm told – so I came to San Francisco and opened this shop, started dealing in used records and CDs, mostly jazz at first. After a while it just started happening: the glowing soul vessels, people coming in with them, finding them at estate sales. I don't know why or how, it just did, and I didn't say anything about it to anyone. Then the book came in the mail.† â€Å"The book again. Don't you have a copy around?† â€Å"There's only one copy. At least that I know of.† â€Å"And you just mailed it out?† â€Å"I sent it certified mail!† Fresh boomed. â€Å"Someone at your store signed for it. I think I did my part.† â€Å"Okay, sorry, go on.† â€Å"Anyway, when I got to the Castro it was a very sad place. The only guys you saw on the street were very old or very young, all the ones in the middle were either dead or sick with HIV, walking with canes, towing oxygen cylinders. Death was everywhere. It's like there needed to be a soul way station, and I was here, trading records. Then the book showed up in the mail. There were a lot of souls coming in. For those first few years I was picking up vessels every day, sometimes two or three times a day. You'd be surprised how many gay men have their souls in their music.† â€Å"Have you sold them all?† â€Å"No. They come in, they go out. There's always some inventory.† â€Å"But how can you be sure the right person gets the right soul?† â€Å"Not my problem, is it?† Mr. Fresh shrugged. He'd worried about it at first, but it seemed to all happen as it should, and he'd gotten into the rhythm of trusting whatever mechanism or power was behind all of this. â€Å"Well, if that's your attitude, why do it at all? I don't want this job. I have a job, and a kid.† â€Å"You have to do it. Believe me, after I got the book, I tried not doing it. We all did. At least the ones I've talked to did. I'm guessing you've already seen what happens if you don't. You'll start hearing the voices, then the shades start coming. The book calls them Underworlders.† â€Å"The giant ravens? Them?† â€Å"They were just indistinct shadows and voices until you showed up. There's something going on. Starting with you, and continuing with you. You let them get a soul vessel, didn't you?† â€Å"Me? You said there's a bunch of Death Merchants.† â€Å"The others know better. It was you. You fucked up. I thought I saw one flying over earlier in the week. Then today, I was out walking, and the voices were bad. Really bad. That's when I called you. It was you, wasn't it?† Charlie nodded. â€Å"I didn't know. How could I know?† â€Å"So they got one?† â€Å"Two,† Charlie said. â€Å"A hand came out of the sewer. It was my first day.† â€Å"Well, that's it,† said Fresh, cradling his head in his hands. â€Å"We are most certainly fucked now.† â€Å"You don't know that,† Charlie said, trying to look on the bright side. â€Å"We could have been fucked before. I mean, we run secondhand stores for dead people, that's sort of a definition of fucked.† Mr. Fresh looked up. â€Å"The book says if we don't do our jobs everything could go dark, become like the Underworld. I don't know what the Underworld is like, Mr. Asher, but I've caught some of the road show from there a couple of times, and I'm not interested in finding out. How 'bout you?† â€Å"Maybe it's Oakland,† Charlie said. â€Å"What's Oakland?† â€Å"The Underworld.† â€Å"Oakland is not the Underworld!† Mr. Fresh leapt to his feet; he was not a violent man, you really didn't have to be when you were his size, but – â€Å"The Tenderloin?† Charlie suggested. â€Å"Don't make me smack you. Neither of us wants that, do we, Mr. Asher?† Charlie shook his head. â€Å"I've seen the ravens,† Charlie said, â€Å"but I haven't heard any voices. What voices?† â€Å"They talk to you when you're on the street. Sometimes you'll hear a voice coming out of a heating vent, a downspout, sometimes a storm drain. It's them, all right. Female voices, taunting. I've gone years without hearing them, I'll almost forget, then I'll be going to pick up a vessel, and one will call to me. I used to phone the other merchants, ask them if they'd done something, but we stopped that right away.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because that's part of what we think brings them up. We're not supposed to have any contact. It took us a while to figure that out. I had only found six of the merchants in the city back then, and we were having lunch once a week, talking about what we knew, comparing notes – that's when we saw the first of the shades. In fact, just to be safe, this will be the last time that you and I have contact.† Mr. Fresh shrugged again and began to untie Charlie's bonds, thinking: It all changed that day at the hospital. This guy has changed everything, and I'm sending him out like a lamb to the slaughter – or maybe he's the one to do the slaughtering. This guy might be the one – â€Å"Wait, I don't know anything,† Charlie pleaded. â€Å"You can't just send me out to do this without more background. What about my daughter? How do I know who to sell the souls to?† He was panicked and trying to ask all the questions before he was set free. â€Å"What are the numbers after the names? Do you get the names like that? How long do I have to do this before I can retire. Why are you always dressed in mint green?† As Mr. Fresh untied one ankle, Charlie was trying to tie the other back to the chair. â€Å"My name,† said Mr. Fresh. â€Å"Pardon?† Charlie stopped tying himself up. â€Å"I dress in mint green because of my first name. It's Minty.† Charlie completely forgot what he was worried about. â€Å"Minty? Your name is Minty Fresh?† Charlie appeared to be trying to stifle a sneeze, but then snorted an explosive laugh. Then ducked.

Procedures of Termination Essays

  Procedures of Termination Essays   Procedures of Termination Essay Procedures of Termination Essay Employee job loss is part of a company-wide reorganization. You may think everyone is getting the same package, but that is rarely the case. Factors such as length of service and level in the organization are all considerations when assembling separation packages. If you dont ask you will never know what your employer might have been willing to give you.  If you are a member of a protected class (e.g., over the age of 40, women, minorities, etc.) you may have additional bargaining power. Employers would rather pay an additional few weeks of severance than risk going to court. Ask if your benefits can be extended.  Employee may be able to retain his employee benefits for a bit longer if his employer is willing to pay his job loss out over time. But before considering this option employee should check his local unemployment office before asking for this option as this could affect when he may be eligible for unemployment benefits.  Ask for a letter of reference.  The actual letters mean little to prospective employers. However, manager is less likely to say anything negative if he has provided you with a letter of reference. If employee is being fired then he may ask if he can resign  It is an uncomfortable situation for everyone when someone is fired. To preserve your employment record, ask your supervisor if you can resign. Most employers will gladly accept your offer to prevent conflict. If you take this route, be sure your employer agrees not to challenge your unemployment claim.  Government employees rights  If you are a government employee the employee can not fired you until he has a good reason to do this. Civil service laws protect local , state or federal government employees so employee must know his rights and he cannot be fired for ex ; if his boss wants to hire his brother instead of him . Employees with contracts  Workers with formal, written employment contracts can be let go only under a provision spelled out in the contract. Most union members have this kind of employment contract. Signed a contract and cannot be fired according to his contract.  Procedures of Termination of employment contract  Workers with formal, written employment contracts can be let go only under a provision spelled out in the contract. Most union members have this kind of employment contract. Signed a contract and cannot be fired according to his contract. A contract of employment may be terminated by mutual agreements, by frustration, by expiry, by dismal by the employer, or by notice given by the employer.  Mutual agreement  Termination by agreement may be effected either orally or in writing. It can take place at any time. It is difficult to demonstrate that the agreement to terminate was in fact on a mutual basis. If the employee later contends that they were given no choice but to consent to the ending of the employment which is resign or be dismissed then this will not be regarded as being by consent. Dissatisfaction  Frustration occurs when the performance of a contract of employment becomes impossible or is different from that what had been agreed between the parties at the time of entering to the contract and when the one party is unforeseen and available for event which has occurred without the fault or default of either party to the contract. For example where the subject becomes unlawful where a party to the contract becomes unavailable in unforeseen circumstances such as sentence of imprisonment and sometimes long term sickness are the cause of contract termination. Expiry  It may be assumed that the fixed term contract are expired at the end of period, it needs to be carefully consider the terms of contract it is crucial to keep in mind that non-renewal of a fixed term contract for whatever reason amounts to a dismissal for the purposes of unfair dismissal and redundancy and, as such, must be carried out fairly so as to avoid a claim for unfair dismissal. In addition, the legal dismissal procedure generally applies to the expiry of a fixed term contract (whereby the employee should be invited in writing to a formal meeting, the outcome should be confirmed in writing and the employee should bse advised of his/her right of appeal). Dismissal by the employer  There are five reasons for dismissing an employee.  1. Conduct  2. Capability  3. Redundancy  4. Some other substantial reasons  Resignation by the employee  As a result of dismissal by the employer, the employee may resign with or without notice. A failure to give notice is a breach of contract except where the employee is justified in resigning in response to repeatedly constructive dismissal by the employer. Reference Ian beard well, (2004) human resource management (4th ed), Financial Times, Prentice hall  Case studies  Nestle UK.  Astra Zeneca  Hackett (1991) human resource management (2nd Ed), Thomson  Arthur, D., the Employee Recruitment and Retention Handbook, AMACOM, 2001.

Tom Wolfes The Bonfire of the Vanities essays

Tom Wolfes The Bonfire of the Vanities essays Tom Wolfes The Bonfire of the Vanities is an entertaining, amusing, yet serious story. It sheds light on the imperfections of man and says a lot about human nature, mostly negative. In the following paper, Ill discuss some of Wolfes underlying themes and try to interpret what he wants the reader to take away from his book. Some of the things Ill talk about are class roles, the perception of ethnicity and race, money issues, self image, and lastly womens issues. Well start off with the subject of class roles and differences. Shermans ride through the Bronx is one of the best displays of these roles and differences. Here, a rich white couple is utterly lost in the worst part of the Bronx. They are driving a $48,000 Mercedes absolutely scared out of there minds. Sherman is in such fear of the locals he refuses to stay stopped at red lights because he thinks he might be attacked. The actions of Sherman and Maria prove how far apart the social classes in America really are. Two people from the upper class cant even feel normal driving through a part of a lower class neighborhood. The separation between rich and poor is incredible. The conversation between Reverend Bacon, Moody, and Fiske also correctly portrays the class gap. Bacon talks about how the upper class simply helps the lower class out of fear. They want to lower the steam effect and keep the lower class happy. The success of the upper class relies on a content lower class. In order for the rich to stay rich they need the poor to stay poor. Next, Ill talk about the perception of ethnicity. People in this novel are very ethnocentric and Wolfe uses this fact to bring out their prejudices against people that arent like them. One of the main groups that gets picked on are people of Jewish decent. Kramers coworkers Andriutti and Caughey say, Did you know that Jewish guys all ha...

How Weather Affects Fall Colors

How Weather Affects Fall Colors Nothing says autumn quite like a lazy drive through the countryside with the sun illuminating oranges, reds, and yellows in the treetops. But before planning a day of leaf-peeping, its a good idea to check local and regional weather forecasts- and not simply for travel weather purposes. Weather conditions such as temperature, precipitation, and amount of sunlight, actually determine how vibrant (or not) fall colors will be. Leaf Pigment Leaves have a functional purpose for trees: They produce energy for the entire plant. Their broad shape makes them good for capturing sunlight. Once absorbed, the sunlight interacts with carbon dioxide and water within the leaf to produce sugars and oxygen in a process known as photosynthesis. The plant molecule responsible for this process is called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is responsible for giving a leaf its trademark green color. But chlorophyll isnt the only pigment residing within leaves. Yellow and orange pigments (xanthophylls and carotenoids) are also present; these remain hidden for most of the year because chlorophyll masks them. Chlorophyll is continually depleted by sunlight and is replenished by the leaf through the growing season. Only when chlorophyll levels subside do the other pigments  become visible. Why Leaves Change Color While a number of factors (including weather) influence the brilliance of leaf color, only one event is responsible for  triggering  the decline of chlorophyll:  the shorter daylight and longer overnight hours associated with the change in season from summer to fall. Plants depend on light for energy, but the amount they get changes through the seasons. Beginning on the summer solstice, Earths daylight hours gradually decrease and its nighttime hours gradually increase. This trend continues until the shortest day and longest night is reached on December 21 or 22 each year (the winter solstice). As the nights progressively lengthen and cool, a trees cells begin the process of sealing off its leaves in preparation for winter. During winter, temperatures are too cold, sunlight too dim, and water too scarce and susceptible to freezing to support growth. A corky barrier is formed between each branch and each leaf stem. This cellular membrane blocks the flow of nutrients into the leaf, which also stops the leaf from making new chlorophyll. Chlorophyll production slows and eventually stops. The old chlorophyll begins to decompose, and when its all gone, the leafs green color lifts. In the absence of chlorophyll, the leafs yellow and orange hues dominate. As sugars become trapped inside the leaf by the trees sealant, red and purple (anthocyanins) pigments are also created. Whether by decomposition or by freezing, all of these pigments eventually break down. After this happens, only browns (tannins) are left. Effects of Weather According to the U.S.  National Arboretum, heres how the following weather conditions at each stage of the leaf growing season work to the benefit or detriment of  foliage come September, October, and November: During spring, a wet growing season is ideal.  Drought conditions during the spring (the beginning of the leaf growing season)  can cause the sealing barrier between leaf stem and tree branch to form earlier than normal. This, in turn, can lead to an early shutdown of leaves: Theyll drop before theyve had a chance to develop fall coloration.From summer into early autumn, sunny days and cool nights are desirable.  While adequate moisture is good during the early growing season, it works to mute colors in the early fall. Cool temperatures and abundant sunshine cause chlorophyll to be destroyed more rapidly (recall that chlorophyll breaks down with exposure to light), thus allowing yellows and oranges to be revealed sooner, and also promoting the formation of more anthocyanins.  While cool is best, too cold is detrimental. Freezing temperatures and frosts can kill thin and fragile leaves.During autumn, calm days prolong viewing opportunities.  Once the autumn season arrives, l eaves need time for the buildup of chlorophyll to entirely fade and their dormant pigments to fully take over. Gusty winds and hard rains can cause leaves to fall before their full color potential is reached. The conditions that make for spectacular autumn color displays are a moist growing season followed by a dry autumn with warm, sunny days and cool (but not freezing) nights.

Marriage versus living together Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Marriage versus living together - Essay Example They would not have anyone on their head to do the chores and thus be responsible for their own acts, behaviors and just about everything that comes under the heading of cohabitating. There is the premise that knowing the other partner is significant since it will form up as an essential ingredient in the line of marrying each other. One finds the strengths and the weaknesses of the other person when he lives with the partner and thus finds what is going on within their own lives and how best they could share their own selves with their chosen partners. Furthermore, the significance of living together by the couples becomes apparent when the issue of rockier marriage arises. This is because men and women would cheat after they are married and hence there would be no looking back by the other partner. In a living together scenario, if a partner cheats the other partner, there is always room for leaving the other partner high and dry and moving out of the house. The relationship ends there and then – no room for legal procedures, no court cases and no litigations at all. Cheating after marriage is a trauma that can neither be taken by a man nor by a woman, no matter whichever society they belong to. Nearly every culture has had some negatives drawn against the element of cheating in a marriage and thus all endeavors must be made to address this issue once and for all. Also, the pros and cons of living together have been outlined in cultural settings and have usually been described in detail by the cultural understandings and interpretations. Some religions like Islam are totally against such practices and even the religion of Christianity at some places and more so within the sexual domains has abstained from cohabitating in essence. Marriage however is a totally different perspective that is on offer even in the present times. It asks for more

Modual 6 questions see below Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Modual 6 questions see below - Coursework Example Industrial farming quickly utilize the top soil. When the top soil is exhausted the land remains bare, and the farmers clear trees for more virgin lands. Since its inception, a third of the earth’s topsoil has been lost. Making the Industrial farming one of the largest enemy of the soil. The soil is diminishing in quantity and quality in Midwestern areas. This is due to the heavy agricultural machinery that compact the soil leaving behind heterogeneous clamps that are loose and impermeable to rainwater leading to erosion. Plant roots are unable to penetrate the land and the reverse process of compaction will require decades to occur. Sahel is another location with diminished quality and quantity of soil. The consequences include the region moving more into a desert periphery. The regions now experience hot days and harsh winds. A large portion of the soil has turned into stone hard soil that water and plant roots are unable to filter or penetrate. The lands stretching from the northern Africa are also having poor quality and quantity of soil. This is due to human activities such as overgrazing and deforestation. The consequences of their action are desertification and huge famine in 1980s that killed over 100,00o people in the region (Richardson, 2008) Soil is the mixture of fine matter consisting of organic remains, rock particles and clay. It forms the top most layer of the earth and support plant growth. It is normally black or dark brown in color and act as a habitat for some animal as insects and worms. Soil erosion comprises of the removal of the earths top soil that has no vegetative cover by surface runoffs and other agents. This top soil is normally rich in humus and the best for plant growth. Soil erosion occurs when agents as wind and water flow over the soil carrying the loose top soil and depositing it at other places like riverbanks and the ocean. Soil desertification is the degradation of land due to loss

Health and social care Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health and social care - Assignment Example The policy also focuses on restricting the supply of drugs and imposing restriction on the people who are engaged in drugs trade activities. The Care Standard Act 200 imposed for providing assistance to the children by reducing the irregularity and unfairness. Various facilities residential care homes, nursing homes and children homes for development of health of the children. The main aim of this standard is to enhance the health of the children. This act covers a wide perspective such as parental responsibility, protection of child etc. This act imposes duty and responsibility on wide number of individuals or organizations for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of the children (Waller, 2009). The main role or the responsibility of the work force development is to assist the volunteers, staff and the trustees by performing the function as an individual or in team and thus assisting them to develop and improve their skills , creativity , understanding and knowledge in performing the work effectively and efficiently towards the achievement of the goals and objectives. It also helps in improving the delivery of services. The term children workforce is considered as a narrow perspective for discussing and determining whether the work is paid or unpaid. The workforce development mainly comprises of recruiting, retaining and developing of the volunteers and staff for achieving the objectives and goals set by the organization. Training, induction, qualification, appraisals, monitoring, supervision and reading together contributes towards the workforce development. Work force development strives towards providing better service to the individuals and the communities who are invol ved. It fulfils the expectation of the funders in terms of improving the effectiveness and quality. It provides better opportunities to its employees for personal growth and development. Therefore it plays an important role and the people in various areas of workforce are

Chapter Summaries and case Studies Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Chapter Summaries and Studies - Case Study Example This paper will present a summary of chapters 1 to 5 and tackle the case study questions for the Akron Children Hospital. Chapter one is titled Introduction to Business Research, and in this chapter, the authors offer an introduction on the reasons why the business research should be studied. It highlights the relevance of the information and its significance in giving organizations a competitive advantage in the business world. The authors are keen to introduce the role of research in developing a business strategy as well as in making decisions. An intriguing aspect tackled in this chapter is the hierarchy of information followed by many organizations when making decisions. After offering such an informative introduction, the authors proceed to present a preview of the entire research process. From this review, readers get to understand that, research is not always problem solving based. Qualities of good research are also discussed in this introductory chapter. In a bid to place emphasis on different research methodologies, four different research studies are presented in this chapter and the type o f each research discussed in details (Cooper & Schindler, 2013). Chapter two of the book tackles a significant aspect in research which surrounds ethics. Notably, each field of study has a cord of ethics that researchers must adhere to. Such ethical considerations are critical in promoting the integrity of the research as well as in the development of a favorable relationship between the respondents and the researcher. More critically, some business researchers have sponsors who provide the funds for carrying out the research. Therefore, a cord of ethics also governs the relationship between the researcher and the sponsor (p. 39). Moreover, researchers rely on the efforts of the members to collect and analyze data. The relationship between the researchers and the team members should also be governed by a defined cord of ethics. The authors

Doctrine of Judicial Binding Precedent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Doctrine of Judicial Binding Precedent - Essay Example In London Tramcars Co Ltd v London County Council2, Lord Halisbury ruled that when the House made a ruling on a 'point of law', it becomes 'conclusive upon the House afterwards, and it is impossible to raise that question again as if it was res integra and could be re-argued'. In short, the House of Lords cannot later undermine their own rulings on points of law. The issue can be debated again, but not res integra. In practice, this means that anyone coming before the House of Lords can argue prior precedent, and if that precedent applies, the House of Lords is powerless not to rule in their favor on that issue. â€Å"This coercive character of the doctrine of precedent is a feature peculiar to the English legal tradition†3. Even in the United States legal system, precedent is not absolutely binding, in two ways. 1. It is possible in the United States tradition to overturn precedent. Dred Scott, Plessy v. Ferguson...famous cases that changed the course of American law and juri sprudence involved overturning prior cases. 2. There is more leeway for precedent to be ruled non-binding or to be reinterpreted more carefully Judges in the British tradition are supposed to interpret law, not make law, even more so than in the United States system. The House of Lords only has the leeway to interpret law when there is no law already in place. Further, not only is precedent binding, but the English system is further peculiar because individual precedents are powerfully binding4. Even in the French and American traditions, lines of cases are interpreted and their varying precedents debated, but in the UK tradition, an individual case is understood and can â€Å"create a binding precedent, similar to a statute†. Beamish v. Beamish was a key case in establishing this doctrine, ironically itself an example of a single case creating binding precedent. Combined with the London Tramway case, it is only possible for precedent to be overturned by an act of Parliament, whose sovereignty cannot be undermined. One of the consequences of the increasing importance of precedent was that legal reporting and the documentation and maintenance of case law became far more important4 . It seems that the doctrine emerged as a reaction to parliamentary sovereignty4 . Prior to the emergence of the doctrine, only Parliament could make clear, consolidated law that was held within â€Å"four corners†, complete like a room. When the House of Lords makes a judicial opinion, it takes on the force of law and has statutory implications. People must abide by the regulation. If the House of Lords interprets that a particular environmental law applies to an industry, it has the effect of changing the enforcement as powerfully as an act of Parliament. One could in fact argue that the law of binding judicial precedent essentially elevates the court to the level of law, which is an important addition to Browne-Wilkinson's comment. How, then, can Browne-Wilkinson's co mment be interpreted? It points to several truths about the Commonwealth law that the doctrine of judicial binding precedent can obscure. First, previous Lords made those precedents and made those rulings. This means that, while from the modern perspective, law may be interpreted rather than created, it was created at one point, and will be created again whenever there are gaps. Second, in practice Lords do make law, the doctrine be damned. This is because it is up to the Lords themselves to determine if

Formal legal brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Formal legal brief - Essay Example Their demand was that the statute should be declared unconstitutional as it makes impossible to exercise the liberty interest protected under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Both the District Court and then the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit expressed the view that the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution encompasses a due process liberty interest in controlling the time and manner of one’s death, and that the Washington statute is unconstitutional when it applies to terminally ill competent adults who want to hasten their deaths. Whether the Washington state statute which holds that a person who assists in hastening the death of terminally ill people is unconstitutional as it violates the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? The Washing state statute which holds that a person who knowingly causes or aids another person to attempt suicide is guilty of felony of promoting suicide attempt is not unconstitutional as it does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause. The first point is that the due process clause does not protect the right to commit suicide and hence the same does not allow the right to assist in committing suicide. Secondly, from the legal traditions of the nation and its history, it is evident that the due process clause does not consider the right to assistance in committing suicide as a fundamental liberty interest. First of all, a patient who is suffering from such a terminal illness with extreme pain has no legal barriers to getting such medications which will even cause unconsciousness and hasten death if the main purpose is to help reduce pain. In such a situation, it is unnecessary to answer the question whether a mentally competent person with great suffering and pain has a constitutionally cognizable interest to control his or her own death. Secondly, the liberty as protected under the due process clause does not include

Doctrine of Judicial Binding Precedent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Doctrine of Judicial Binding Precedent - Essay Example In London Tramcars Co Ltd v London County Council2, Lord Halisbury ruled that when the House made a ruling on a 'point of law', it becomes 'conclusive upon the House afterwards, and it is impossible to raise that question again as if it was res integra and could be re-argued'. In short, the House of Lords cannot later undermine their own rulings on points of law. The issue can be debated again, but not res integra. In practice, this means that anyone coming before the House of Lords can argue prior precedent, and if that precedent applies, the House of Lords is powerless not to rule in their favor on that issue. â€Å"This coercive character of the doctrine of precedent is a feature peculiar to the English legal tradition†3. Even in the United States legal system, precedent is not absolutely binding, in two ways. 1. It is possible in the United States tradition to overturn precedent. Dred Scott, Plessy v. Ferguson...famous cases that changed the course of American law and juri sprudence involved overturning prior cases. 2. There is more leeway for precedent to be ruled non-binding or to be reinterpreted more carefully Judges in the British tradition are supposed to interpret law, not make law, even more so than in the United States system. The House of Lords only has the leeway to interpret law when there is no law already in place. Further, not only is precedent binding, but the English system is further peculiar because individual precedents are powerfully binding4. Even in the French and American traditions, lines of cases are interpreted and their varying precedents debated, but in the UK tradition, an individual case is understood and can â€Å"create a binding precedent, similar to a statute†. Beamish v. Beamish was a key case in establishing this doctrine, ironically itself an example of a single case creating binding precedent. Combined with the London Tramway case, it is only possible for precedent to be overturned by an act of Parliament, whose sovereignty cannot be undermined. One of the consequences of the increasing importance of precedent was that legal reporting and the documentation and maintenance of case law became far more important4 . It seems that the doctrine emerged as a reaction to parliamentary sovereignty4 . Prior to the emergence of the doctrine, only Parliament could make clear, consolidated law that was held within â€Å"four corners†, complete like a room. When the House of Lords makes a judicial opinion, it takes on the force of law and has statutory implications. People must abide by the regulation. If the House of Lords interprets that a particular environmental law applies to an industry, it has the effect of changing the enforcement as powerfully as an act of Parliament. One could in fact argue that the law of binding judicial precedent essentially elevates the court to the level of law, which is an important addition to Browne-Wilkinson's comment. How, then, can Browne-Wilkinson's co mment be interpreted? It points to several truths about the Commonwealth law that the doctrine of judicial binding precedent can obscure. First, previous Lords made those precedents and made those rulings. This means that, while from the modern perspective, law may be interpreted rather than created, it was created at one point, and will be created again whenever there are gaps. Second, in practice Lords do make law, the doctrine be damned. This is because it is up to the Lords themselves to determine if

Suggest me a good topic Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Suggest me a good topic - Term Paper Example Subway Restaurant has been its major strength that has seen it occupy an appropriate competitive advantage in the food industry. The restaurant offers fast food services such as; turkey breast, roasted beef, steak, cold cut combo, cheese, subway melt et cetera. Moreover, the restaurant provides different types of beverages to its customers. Description of the Products and Services The products offered by the Wali subway restaurant are of good quality and standards. For instance; the mouth-watering turkey and roasted beef salad with raspberry vinaigrette from exclusively selected recipes of canola oil, diced red onions and avocado, cooked and chopped turkey breast, reduced fat feta cheese perfectly crushed, walnuts, and arugula. The mixture hysterically prepared and spray backed to give a great taste. For the raspberry vinaigrette the combined ingredients of balsamic vinegar, canola oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, raspberry jam, fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste placed into a medium-sized bowl the whisked thoroughly until the dressing is smooth enough and the jam is properly dissolved. The restaurant also serves Monterey jack Taquitos and backed shredded beef, a meal that is children friendly and very tasty. To make this meal the chef uses high quality ingredients of chill powder garlic powder, lime juice, adobe sauce with little chili pepper, chopped yellow and red bell pepper, cooked and shredded roast beef, boneless blade roast, and canola cooking spray. The menu offered by the Wali subway restaurant makes an effort to create a healthy diet by utilizing clean and up to standard products in a clean environment. The restaurant also takes into consideration a special group of its customers such as the vegetarians by offering old-fashioned food strictly for vegetarians. Variety of this special menu include kuja, matar, badem, and gobhi that are mostly served with mint chutney, tamarind chutney, paneer, mixed vegetable pickle, sauteed smash of sweet pum pkin, and fenugreek. The special drinks offered in this place include sweet lassi that is often served with kulhars. In order to reach out for the customers and for the convenience the customers, Wali restaurant offers an online menu and online services where customers can place orders and make inquiries in the day's specialty. The restaurant also offers room booking services online. Opportunities for the products Selection of products and services offered by the Wali restaurant involves an appropriate identification and mobilization of resources after undertaking economic and social facets analysis. For this reason, Wali restaurant management has to take part fully in the interaction with their potential customers in order to get acquainted with their social and economic conditions. Those customers, who participated, provided the human resource of Wali restaurant with important information and referrals on the products and services that could be offered by the restaurant. These inf ormation and ideas are then supplemented with details obtained from assessment of the area around Manassas, Virginia where the restaurant was located. Reintegration of the already existing restaurants and the products and services they offered was also done. With this information the Wali restaurant decided to offer a variety of products including turkey breast, roasted beef, steak, cold cut combo, cheese, subway melt et cetera since Virginia was multi-ethnic with diverse culture. The management also considered

Impact of Discount rate Changes on Stock Market Return

Impact of Discount rate Changes on Stock Market Return CHAPTER 1 Stock market plays an important role in the economic development of a country. Stock exchange performance has attained significant role in global economics and financial markets, due to their impact on corporate finance and economic activity. For instance stock exchanges enable firms to acquire capital quickly, due to the ease with which securities are traded. Stock exchange activity, thus, plays an important role in helping to determine the effects of macroeconomic activities. Stock market returns are the returns that the investors generate out of the stock market; it can be in the form of dividends or profits, as a company gets its dividends and profits in the form of their share holders in the secondary market. Well there is a definite change in the market as with the behavior changes with the discount rate, changes can be technical or non-technical. Technical changes refers to the internal changes and non-technical as external changes which are mostly related to the behavior and response of the customers and consumers. Equity returns also measured by the industrial index respond rather rapidly to the unexpected announcements of discount rate changes. Not only affecting equity returns, the unexpected discount rate changes also contribute to higher market volatility. An unexpected discount rate change also induces trading which is more supportive of the contention that public information causes price changes with trading. Increased trading volume due to unexpected public information, however, occurs only in the current period. Whenever, the market is not efficient, stock prices adjust to new information slowly and it is possible to generate abnormal profits. Financial market volatility is important for investors confidence, for port-folio selection, and for the pricing of both primary and derivative securities. Market volatility is not related to existing public information such as expected discount rate change announcements. Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index  (KSE-100 Index) is a  stock index  acting as a standard to compare prices on the  Karachi Stock Exchange  (KSE) over a period of time. In formative representative companies to calculate the index on, companies with the maximum  market capitalization  are selected. On the other hand, to ensure maximum market representation, the company with the maximum market capitalization from each sector is also incorporated.. 1.2 Problem Statement To study the impact of discount rate changes on stock market return 1.3 Research Hypothesis: The expected discount rate change announcements have impact on stock market return. 1.4 Outline of the Study The aim of the study is to observe Impact of Discount rate Changes on Stock Market Return. This Study is observing on Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). The  Karachi Stock Exchange  is a  stock exchange  situated in  Karachi,  Pakistan, established on 18 September, 1947 it started with 5 companies with a capital of Rs. 37 million. It is Pakistans biggest and oldest stock exchange, with a lot of Pakistani as well as overseas listings. Its present premises are placed on Stock Exchange Road, in the heart of Karachis Business District. KSE starts with a 50 shares index. As the market develops a representative index was needed. In poor political condition, social issues, financial and other problems, KSE played a very important role in the financial system of Pakistan. KSE 100-index showed a return of 40.19% and became the sixth best markets in the year 2007. It gets a biggest milestone by touching of KSE-100 Index level of 15,000 for the foremost time in the history of Karachi sto ck exchange on 20 April, 2008. On the other hand, the raise of 7.4 percent in 2008 build-up the best performer in all the emerging market. The KSE 100TM Index closed at 9645 points on 19 June, 2010. Although by 30th July total market capitalisation of the KSE reached Rs2.95 trillion, approximately around 35 billion dollars CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW As it can be figured out by the models of stock market and about the interest rates, value of share in the stock market, maturity of the bonds with short run and long run and the value of the capital as well as the factor of production, All these things influence a great deal towards the changes as well as the demand and supply model. Equilibrium is also there, which is basically an intersection, the point where the quantity of supply equal to the quantity demands. Output and interest rates plays a bigger role in the discount changes, as from the different policies, laws and models have been mentioned in the previous studies. If prices are fixed country can never faced inflation because of the nominal and real rates. Output depends on the stock market and fiscal policy (Blume, 1994). The stock market is the ratio of steady-state profit to the steady-state interest rate. If the money increases in the market the steady-state effects are quite clear, Output and stock market are higher in the equilibrium. The higher money stock lowers the real interest rate and thus the cost of capital. This was all about a monetary expansion under fixed price. We find that in the pre-79 period, there was no securities market response to either technical or nontechnical changes, while in the post-79 period there was no response to technical changes (Hardouvelis and Gikas, 1987). Discount rate changes will affect market rate and equity returns if such changes brings information about either short- or long- run monetary policy objectives. So an in increase in the discount will definitely help to attract more and more people towards the policy, and there will be a huge amount of change in the customers and clients response towards it. As a result, current (spot) and expected short-term rates rise in reaction to reduced short-run money growth. Long-term rates and forward rates may also increase to reflect the higher expected short-term rates. It doesnt have much impact over the long-term rates as it has on short-term rates just because the monetary policy and consumers response (Maberly, 1992). Short term rates makes more people attractive and kind of working well for the secondary markets, so mostly they all rely on the short-term rates, as they prefer short-term rates than long-term rates. And short-term is the one which affect a great deal. The impact of discount rate changes on equity prices can operate through two possible channels. This is most readily seen by viewing the value of the firm as the present value of its future net cash flows. To some extent discount rate increases (decreases) result in increases (decreases) in interest rates. It has also based on the capital or investment as well, capital can fall or rise just because of the stock prices, stock prices has an ultimate effect on capital and economic activity can be disturbed too, that also can be altered due to this price change. If the capitalization rates and cash flow expectation are affected by discount rate changes, these effects will also work in the same direction. From previous studies we have an i dea that stock prices declines to be associated with discount rate increases (Ederington and Lee, 1993). Considering the New York stock exchange, the stock return data are the daily percentage return on the New York Stock Exchange value-weighted index and is denoted SP. The interest rate data are for constant maturity Treasury securities and include eight different maturities: 90-, 180-, and 360-day bills and three-, five-, seven-, ten-, and twenty-year bonds. These rates are obtained from DRI, who compile them from the Federal Reserve Board Statistical Release from DRI. These eight interests are used to calculate seven forward rates in addition to the 90-day bill rate. The stock price coefficient for the post-79 period suggests a 1 percent increase (decrease) in the discount rate will result in a decline (increase) of 1.06 percent in stock prices. A similar finding in reported for the interest rate data. Only one interest rate series evidences a significant market reaction in the pre-79 period, while six of the eight interest rates indicate a significant market response over the post-7 9 period (Gerety, and Mulherin, 1992). Although the early researches result indicates that the real issue is whether the observed announcement effect, regardless of the monetary policy regime, indicates market inefficiency. In classification of the discount rate changes from the previous discussion we have evaluated that to assess properly the announcement effects of discount rate changes, it is necessary to distinguish technical from nontechnical changes. There are several short comings with this approach that limit its usefulness in predicting discount rate changes and cast substantial doubt on the assumption of discount rate erogeneity (Lee and Bong, 1992). Researches rely on two different methods to classify discount rate changes. The best model, both in terms of in-sample fit and prediction of actual discount rate changes, related changes in the discount rate (measured in basis points) to the spread between the Fed Funds rate and the discount rate. Nonetheless, if the model incorporates the relevant information set, then by construction the forecast and optimal predictions based on available information and, therefore, rational. Through the study of different modules we came on to know in conclusion that the purpose of this has been to reconcile previous findings of both an endogenous discount rate and discount rate announcement effects with market efficiency (Harris, 1986). By classifying discount rate changes as either technical or non-technical, and recognizing that the latter are (at least) partially endogenous, it is argued that, within the framework of market efficiency, the discount rate can fail tests of statistical erogeneity and still exhibit announcement effects. The empirical evidence of this paper supports this view and suggests that previous studies were missing specified by not controlling for the purpose of discount rate change. The evidence also implies that the common assumption contained in virtually all theoretical and empirical macroeconomic models, that the discount rate is either purely endogenous or purely exogenous, is inappropriate. This also specifies market only react when there appears to be a shift in policy- in the discount rate. At least from this standpoint, one cannot rule out the discount rate as a useful tool of monetary policy. Eventually, our results support the existence of efficient markets based on the dual findin gs that only nontechnical changes are characterized by announcement effects and that virtually the entire market adjustments occurs by the end of the announcement day (Jones, 1994). From previous studies the issue of monetary neutrality has long been debated by financial economists. There was evidence been brought in to the market which says that increases in the growth rate of money raises stock returns? Monetary policy affects the real economy, and whether its effects are quantitatively important, remain open questions. These questions by examining the effects of monetary policy innovations on stock return data. Theory posits that stock prices equal the expected present value of future net cash flows. To examine the relationship between monetary policy and stock returns, a variety of empirical techniques are employed. The size portfolios are useful for investigating why monetary policy matters, if in fact it does. If monetary policy has real effects, one reason for this could be that it affects firms balance sheets. To investigate whether monetary policy affects size and industry portfolios, both impulse responses and innovation accounting methods are used. Al l the results in table one to four measures the effects of monetary policy shocks on nominal stock returns. In considering the question of monetary neutrality, we are interested in whether monetary policy affects real stock returns. Thus rather than complicate the analysis by considering the best way to measure expected inflation we focus on results using nominal returns. Through the different systems results reported are robust to minor changes in the specification. When total reserves are dropped, employment growth or unemployment is used instead of industrial production growth, the non stationary variables are first-differenced, and the number of lags is changed (Marshall and David, 1992). There was another approach to identifying monetary shocks is Data and Methodology which is been made to the use of Federal Reserve statements and other historical documents over the period to identify exogenous changes in monetary policy and the responses of real variables. This narrative approach has recently employed to assemble a much larger sample of monetary policy shocks. An alternative way is used to test whether monetary policy affects stock returns (Morse, 1981). A growing number of papers in both the economics and finance literature focus on the effect of economic news on asset returns. Nonetheless, there seems a wide gap between these two literatures. These elements of surprise in one particular type of news announcements of short-term interest rate decisions made by the Open Market Committee affect the volatility of the stock market in the short term. Relationship between monetary policy and daily stock market volatility from two vantage points: days around regularly scheduled meetings of the stock market committee, the main monetary policy making body and days of actual policy decisions involving the target level of the federal funds rate (Fama and Kenneth, 1995). Turning to the days of actual policy decisions regardless of whether they were announced on regularly scheduled meetings days. Some evidence was found that such decisions tend to boost volatility in the stock market. The effect of policy decisions is greatest that exclude those decisions that were fully anticipated by market. Besides identifying monetary policy announcements as an important source of short-run volatility in the stock market, this will also addresses broader issues in the finance literature. In particular, higher interest rates induce higher leverage ratios, which in turn increase the risk associated with holding stocks and the volatility of stock returns (Patell and Wolfson, 1984). In examining the relationship between the stock market and fiscal policy, all models combined two different approaches widely used in the monetary economics and finance literature. In particular, in analyzing the markets response to scheduled and unscheduled announcements, a potentially interesting issue is whether the corresponding impulse response functions for volatility are significantly different. Other issues that also merit further consideration include a closer look at the relationship between first- and second- moment responses to policy news and the explicit analysis of risk premiums around announcements days (Penman, 1987). From all these models and theories, have come to know that anything that happens in the secondary market, it does have an impact over the entire economy as we have gone through from the different examples across the world. Even if it is pre-announcement, monetary policy or whatever, stock market does change its state according to the circumstances and events. Pre-announcements are also made as precautions that are for safety announcements for the share holders of the companies. Due to this they can easily draw their amount and will not have to see further more difficulties. Unpredictability or volatility is always there in the market, when the investors just to keep on guessing for the right time to invest and stock holders wait for the right time to buy shares of the companies and all this process makes things more complicated especially for the investors and then it effects the stock market. Monetary policy on the other hand takes things more attractive for the investors and share holders that they believe their money is in safe place so they would love to invest as long as they are sure about the monetary policy (Stoll and Whaley, 1990). Policies are always made for the betterment of the people who are your clients or customers as per organization requirements, it also refers to the trust that how much they trust on their policies that people could come and invest. Banks do the same thing; the only thing they sell is trust, because as many people trust on you as they will go on to be their customers. Many of the sources indicate that there is a connection between news and stock prices, finance literature highlights that too. The finance literature focus on economic announcements per se, without controlling for the element of surprise in such announcements, might help to explain why so many studies have failed to find a significant link between market volatility and economic news. Either by implicitly assuming that the conditional volatility of stock returns is time invariant or by simply leaving its time-varying nature unspecified, monetary economists have failed to consider a potentially significant effect of policy surprises on the short-run behavior of the market (Wood and McInish, 1985). Equity returns also measured by the industrial index respond rather rapidly to the unexpected announcements of discount rate changes. Not only affecting equity returns, the unexpected discount rate changes also contribute to higher market volatility. An unexpected discount rate change also induces trading which is more supportive of the contention that public information causes price changes with trading. Increased trading volume due to unexpected public information, however, occurs only in the current period. Whenever, the market is not efficient, stock prices adjust to new information slowly and it is possible to generate abnormal profits. Financial market volatility is important for investors confidence, for port-folio selection, and for the pricing of both primary and derivative securities. Market volatility is not related to existing public information such as expected discount rate change announcements (Richard Roll and Stephen Ross, 1986). CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHOD This chapter explains the methodology used for the research study. The main research data set is used in this paper consist of KSE 100 index listed on Karachi Stock Exchange. It is the data for last ten years 2000 to 2010 for every monetary policy has been announced Data would be collected through the website and business recorder website. This chapter also discusses the methods to evaluate validity and reliability of research for the factors associated with the Impact of Discount rate Changes on Stock Market Return. 3.1 Method of data collection: The secondary data which was used in this research was available on the website of Karachi Stock Exchange from 2000 to 2010. 3.2 Sample size and Sampling Technique: In this research, data from the year 2000 to 2010 has been taken as a sample size. The data collected through Karachi Stock Market and State Bank of Pakistan 3.3 Instrument of Data Collection: This research was carried out through Secondary Data. 3.4 Statistical tool used: In order to measure the relationship between the variables stock market return and discount rate and impact of discount rate change on stock market return, Regression is used as a statistical tool in this research. SPSS software is used to evaluate the relationship between the two variables CHAPTER 4 RESULTS Hypothesis Testing Ho: The expected discount rate changes announcements have impact on stock market return. Table 4.1 From the above Durbin Watson value, it has been clarified that there was an existence of auto correlation in the data set. In order to resolve the issue we have generated the lag variables of the dependent variable up to the level 2. Table 4.2 Form the above table we can observe the value of the Adjusted R Square is .934 or 93.4%. It means that 1 unit change in the set of independent variables brings out the 93.4% change in the variation of dependent variable. With the inclusion of the lag variables in the data set, the problem auto correlation has been resolved. The Durbin Watson value mentioned in the above table is 1.964 closer to 2. Value closer to 2 means that there is no auto correlation exists in the data set. Table 4.3 From the above table we can observe that the significant value of the above ANOVAs test model 2 is less that 0.05. It means that the data is suitable for the application of regression model. Table 4.4 The above table shows the coefficient value of the analysis. As it can be observed that, the significant value of the discount rate is less than 0.05 it means that the change in discount rate has a significant impact on the stock therefore; the Null hypothesis is not rejected. At 95% confidence interval level the significant value of alpha/constant is 0.000 it means that the in the absence of all the variables the minimum return of the KSE is equal to the alpha value. The Beta value of lag 1 is 5376.550 it means that the today returns from the stock market is dependent on the stock market returns after the announcement of last monetary policy. For e.g. if the current stock return are equal to 1 the stock returns after the announcement of the next monetary policy is 5376.550 times of the current stock returns. The relationship of the lag 2 stock returns is vice versa of the lag 1 stock returns. It has a negative relationship with the current stock returns. Graph 4.1 The above diagram shows the trend of the KSE index and the change in discount rates for the last 10 years in the country. On a whole an upward trend has been observed in the KSE 100 index it is due to the increase in the FDI investments as well as the development in the financial sectors. The change in the discount rate shows overall a mix trend, we can observe a huge peaks and valleys in the graph. In our research, we have not found any significant relationship among the announcement of change in discount rate and stock returns. Some of these factors are political situation of the country, foreign direct investments, Law and order situation and most importantly exchange rate. Collectively, all these factors are contributing in the stock returns. However, change in the discount rate do impact the stock returns but, not in the short run, in the long run the chances are quite high that it does impact on the stock returns in Karachi Stock market. The reason behind the Long term affect i s that, the change in the discount rate affects the profitability of the companies in the next coming quarters so, immediately the affect in the stock returns are not massive that are in the long run. 4.2 Hypotheses Assessment Summary The hypotheses of this research study are based on variables like stock market return and discount rate intraday. The significant value is less than 0.05 It means that the data is suitable for the application of regression model. S.NO. Hypotheses T SIG. RESULT H1 the expected discount rate changes announcement have impact on stock market return. 11.991 .000 Accepted CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH 5.1 Conclusion As anticipated, expected discount rate changes, representing existing public information, have no impact on the trading volume for the current period nor does for any other periods. Public information also induces trading only in the current period but not in the future periods. More trading has occurred during the decreasing discount rate periods than the increasing discount rate periods as evidenced by the significant parameter. 5.2 Discussion This research shows that the change in the discount rate shows overall a mix trend, it can be observed a huge peaks and valleys in the graph. In this research there was no significant relationship found among the announcement of change in discount rate and stock returns. The reason behind this is, other than monetary policy there are lots of other factors that are contributing towards the stock returns in Karachi stock market. Some of these factors are political situation of the country, foreign direct investments, Law and order situation and most importantly exchange rate. Collectively, all these factors are contributing in the stock returns. However, change in the discount rate do impact the stock returns but, not in the short run, in the long run the chances are quite high that it does impact on the stock returns in Karachi Stock market. The reason behind the Long term affect is that, the change in the discount rate affects the profitability of the companies in the next coming qua rters so, immediately the affect in the stock returns are not massive that are in the long run. In this research it has been identified more accurately that if and when the stock market responds to the release of the discount rate change information. More importantly, studying the market volatility and trading volume sheds additional light on the information literature. Equity returns respond negatively and significantly to the unexpected announcements of discount rate changes, while the expected changes generally have no bearing on the equity returns. 5.3 Implementations For practical implementation, this research can be used to analyze the impact of Discount rate Changes on Stock Market Return as The effect of discount rate changes on stock market returns. Equity returns generally respond negatively and significantly to the unexpected announcements; however, the effect of expected changes on equity returns is insignificant. Abnormal trading volume occurs only in period. 5.4 Recommendations Pre-announcement, monetary policy or whatever, stock market does change its state according to the circumstances and events. Pre-announcements are also made as precautions that are for safety announcements for the share holders of the companies. Due to this they can easily draw their amount and will not have to see further more difficulties. Unpredictability or volatility is always there in the market, when the investors just to keep on guessing for the right time to invest and stock holders wait for the right time to buy shares of the companies nd all this process makes things more complicated especially for the investors and then it effects the stock market. CHAPTER 6 REFERNCES Blume, L, 1994, Market statistics and technical analysis, the role of volume. Journal of Finance, 49, 153-181. Ederington, L.H and Lee, J.H, 1993, How markets process information, News releases and volatility, Journal of Finance, 48, 1161-1191. Fama and Kenneth, 1995, Size and book-to-market factors in earnings and returns, Journal of Finance, 50, 131-156. Gerety, M.S and Mulherin, H.J, 1992, Trading halts and market activity, An analysis of volume at the open and the close, Journal of Finance, 47, 1765-1784. Harris, L, 1986, A transaction data study of weekly and intradaily patterns in stock returns, Journal of Financial Economics, 16, 99-117. Hardouvelis, Gikas, 1987, Reserves announcements and interest rates, Does monetary policy matter? Journal of Finance, 42, 407-422. Lee, Bong-Soo, 1992, Causal relations among stock returns, interest rates, real activity, and inflation, Journal of Finance, 47, 1591-1603. Maberly, E.D, 1992, Odd-lot transactions around the turn of the year, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 27, 591-604. Jones, 1994. Information, trading and volatility, Journal of Financial Economics, 36, 127-154. Morse, D, 1981, Price and trading volume reaction surrounding earnings announcements, A closer examination. Journal of Accounting Research 19, 374-383. Marshall and David, 1992, Inflation and asset returns in a monetary economy, Journal of Finance, 47, 1315-1342. Penman, S.H, 1987, The distribution of earnings news over time and seasonalities in aggregate stock returns, Journal of Financial Economics, 18, 199-228. Patell, J.M and Wolfson, M.A, 1984, The intraday speed of adjustment of stock prices to earnings and dividend announcements, Journal of Financial Economics 13, 223-252. Richard Roll, and Stephen Ross, 1986, Economic forces and the stock market, Journal of Business, 59, 383-403. Stoll and Whaley, 1990, The dynamics of stock index and stock index futures returns, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 25, 441-468. Wood, and McInish, 1985, An investigation of transaction data for NYSE stocks, Journal of Finance 60, 723-739. Impact of Discount rate Changes on Stock Market Return Impact of Discount rate Changes on Stock Market Return CHAPTER 1 Stock market plays an important role in the economic development of a country. Stock exchange performance has attained significant role in global economics and financial markets, due to their impact on corporate finance and economic activity. For instance stock exchanges enable firms to acquire capital quickly, due to the ease with which securities are traded. Stock exchange activity, thus, plays an important role in helping to determine the effects of macroeconomic activities. Stock market returns are the returns that the investors generate out of the stock market; it can be in the form of dividends or profits, as a company gets its dividends and profits in the form of their share holders in the secondary market. Well there is a definite change in the market as with the behavior changes with the discount rate, changes can be technical or non-technical. Technical changes refers to the internal changes and non-technical as external changes which are mostly related to the behavior and response of the customers and consumers. Equity returns also measured by the industrial index respond rather rapidly to the unexpected announcements of discount rate changes. Not only affecting equity returns, the unexpected discount rate changes also contribute to higher market volatility. An unexpected discount rate change also induces trading which is more supportive of the contention that public information causes price changes with trading. Increased trading volume due to unexpected public information, however, occurs only in the current period. Whenever, the market is not efficient, stock prices adjust to new information slowly and it is possible to generate abnormal profits. Financial market volatility is important for investors confidence, for port-folio selection, and for the pricing of both primary and derivative securities. Market volatility is not related to existing public information such as expected discount rate change announcements. Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index  (KSE-100 Index) is a  stock index  acting as a standard to compare prices on the  Karachi Stock Exchange  (KSE) over a period of time. In formative representative companies to calculate the index on, companies with the maximum  market capitalization  are selected. On the other hand, to ensure maximum market representation, the company with the maximum market capitalization from each sector is also incorporated.. 1.2 Problem Statement To study the impact of discount rate changes on stock market return 1.3 Research Hypothesis: The expected discount rate change announcements have impact on stock market return. 1.4 Outline of the Study The aim of the study is to observe Impact of Discount rate Changes on Stock Market Return. This Study is observing on Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). The  Karachi Stock Exchange  is a  stock exchange  situated in  Karachi,  Pakistan, established on 18 September, 1947 it started with 5 companies with a capital of Rs. 37 million. It is Pakistans biggest and oldest stock exchange, with a lot of Pakistani as well as overseas listings. Its present premises are placed on Stock Exchange Road, in the heart of Karachis Business District. KSE starts with a 50 shares index. As the market develops a representative index was needed. In poor political condition, social issues, financial and other problems, KSE played a very important role in the financial system of Pakistan. KSE 100-index showed a return of 40.19% and became the sixth best markets in the year 2007. It gets a biggest milestone by touching of KSE-100 Index level of 15,000 for the foremost time in the history of Karachi sto ck exchange on 20 April, 2008. On the other hand, the raise of 7.4 percent in 2008 build-up the best performer in all the emerging market. The KSE 100TM Index closed at 9645 points on 19 June, 2010. Although by 30th July total market capitalisation of the KSE reached Rs2.95 trillion, approximately around 35 billion dollars CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW As it can be figured out by the models of stock market and about the interest rates, value of share in the stock market, maturity of the bonds with short run and long run and the value of the capital as well as the factor of production, All these things influence a great deal towards the changes as well as the demand and supply model. Equilibrium is also there, which is basically an intersection, the point where the quantity of supply equal to the quantity demands. Output and interest rates plays a bigger role in the discount changes, as from the different policies, laws and models have been mentioned in the previous studies. If prices are fixed country can never faced inflation because of the nominal and real rates. Output depends on the stock market and fiscal policy (Blume, 1994). The stock market is the ratio of steady-state profit to the steady-state interest rate. If the money increases in the market the steady-state effects are quite clear, Output and stock market are higher in the equilibrium. The higher money stock lowers the real interest rate and thus the cost of capital. This was all about a monetary expansion under fixed price. We find that in the pre-79 period, there was no securities market response to either technical or nontechnical changes, while in the post-79 period there was no response to technical changes (Hardouvelis and Gikas, 1987). Discount rate changes will affect market rate and equity returns if such changes brings information about either short- or long- run monetary policy objectives. So an in increase in the discount will definitely help to attract more and more people towards the policy, and there will be a huge amount of change in the customers and clients response towards it. As a result, current (spot) and expected short-term rates rise in reaction to reduced short-run money growth. Long-term rates and forward rates may also increase to reflect the higher expected short-term rates. It doesnt have much impact over the long-term rates as it has on short-term rates just because the monetary policy and consumers response (Maberly, 1992). Short term rates makes more people attractive and kind of working well for the secondary markets, so mostly they all rely on the short-term rates, as they prefer short-term rates than long-term rates. And short-term is the one which affect a great deal. The impact of discount rate changes on equity prices can operate through two possible channels. This is most readily seen by viewing the value of the firm as the present value of its future net cash flows. To some extent discount rate increases (decreases) result in increases (decreases) in interest rates. It has also based on the capital or investment as well, capital can fall or rise just because of the stock prices, stock prices has an ultimate effect on capital and economic activity can be disturbed too, that also can be altered due to this price change. If the capitalization rates and cash flow expectation are affected by discount rate changes, these effects will also work in the same direction. From previous studies we have an i dea that stock prices declines to be associated with discount rate increases (Ederington and Lee, 1993). Considering the New York stock exchange, the stock return data are the daily percentage return on the New York Stock Exchange value-weighted index and is denoted SP. The interest rate data are for constant maturity Treasury securities and include eight different maturities: 90-, 180-, and 360-day bills and three-, five-, seven-, ten-, and twenty-year bonds. These rates are obtained from DRI, who compile them from the Federal Reserve Board Statistical Release from DRI. These eight interests are used to calculate seven forward rates in addition to the 90-day bill rate. The stock price coefficient for the post-79 period suggests a 1 percent increase (decrease) in the discount rate will result in a decline (increase) of 1.06 percent in stock prices. A similar finding in reported for the interest rate data. Only one interest rate series evidences a significant market reaction in the pre-79 period, while six of the eight interest rates indicate a significant market response over the post-7 9 period (Gerety, and Mulherin, 1992). Although the early researches result indicates that the real issue is whether the observed announcement effect, regardless of the monetary policy regime, indicates market inefficiency. In classification of the discount rate changes from the previous discussion we have evaluated that to assess properly the announcement effects of discount rate changes, it is necessary to distinguish technical from nontechnical changes. There are several short comings with this approach that limit its usefulness in predicting discount rate changes and cast substantial doubt on the assumption of discount rate erogeneity (Lee and Bong, 1992). Researches rely on two different methods to classify discount rate changes. The best model, both in terms of in-sample fit and prediction of actual discount rate changes, related changes in the discount rate (measured in basis points) to the spread between the Fed Funds rate and the discount rate. Nonetheless, if the model incorporates the relevant information set, then by construction the forecast and optimal predictions based on available information and, therefore, rational. Through the study of different modules we came on to know in conclusion that the purpose of this has been to reconcile previous findings of both an endogenous discount rate and discount rate announcement effects with market efficiency (Harris, 1986). By classifying discount rate changes as either technical or non-technical, and recognizing that the latter are (at least) partially endogenous, it is argued that, within the framework of market efficiency, the discount rate can fail tests of statistical erogeneity and still exhibit announcement effects. The empirical evidence of this paper supports this view and suggests that previous studies were missing specified by not controlling for the purpose of discount rate change. The evidence also implies that the common assumption contained in virtually all theoretical and empirical macroeconomic models, that the discount rate is either purely endogenous or purely exogenous, is inappropriate. This also specifies market only react when there appears to be a shift in policy- in the discount rate. At least from this standpoint, one cannot rule out the discount rate as a useful tool of monetary policy. Eventually, our results support the existence of efficient markets based on the dual findin gs that only nontechnical changes are characterized by announcement effects and that virtually the entire market adjustments occurs by the end of the announcement day (Jones, 1994). From previous studies the issue of monetary neutrality has long been debated by financial economists. There was evidence been brought in to the market which says that increases in the growth rate of money raises stock returns? Monetary policy affects the real economy, and whether its effects are quantitatively important, remain open questions. These questions by examining the effects of monetary policy innovations on stock return data. Theory posits that stock prices equal the expected present value of future net cash flows. To examine the relationship between monetary policy and stock returns, a variety of empirical techniques are employed. The size portfolios are useful for investigating why monetary policy matters, if in fact it does. If monetary policy has real effects, one reason for this could be that it affects firms balance sheets. To investigate whether monetary policy affects size and industry portfolios, both impulse responses and innovation accounting methods are used. Al l the results in table one to four measures the effects of monetary policy shocks on nominal stock returns. In considering the question of monetary neutrality, we are interested in whether monetary policy affects real stock returns. Thus rather than complicate the analysis by considering the best way to measure expected inflation we focus on results using nominal returns. Through the different systems results reported are robust to minor changes in the specification. When total reserves are dropped, employment growth or unemployment is used instead of industrial production growth, the non stationary variables are first-differenced, and the number of lags is changed (Marshall and David, 1992). There was another approach to identifying monetary shocks is Data and Methodology which is been made to the use of Federal Reserve statements and other historical documents over the period to identify exogenous changes in monetary policy and the responses of real variables. This narrative approach has recently employed to assemble a much larger sample of monetary policy shocks. An alternative way is used to test whether monetary policy affects stock returns (Morse, 1981). A growing number of papers in both the economics and finance literature focus on the effect of economic news on asset returns. Nonetheless, there seems a wide gap between these two literatures. These elements of surprise in one particular type of news announcements of short-term interest rate decisions made by the Open Market Committee affect the volatility of the stock market in the short term. Relationship between monetary policy and daily stock market volatility from two vantage points: days around regularly scheduled meetings of the stock market committee, the main monetary policy making body and days of actual policy decisions involving the target level of the federal funds rate (Fama and Kenneth, 1995). Turning to the days of actual policy decisions regardless of whether they were announced on regularly scheduled meetings days. Some evidence was found that such decisions tend to boost volatility in the stock market. The effect of policy decisions is greatest that exclude those decisions that were fully anticipated by market. Besides identifying monetary policy announcements as an important source of short-run volatility in the stock market, this will also addresses broader issues in the finance literature. In particular, higher interest rates induce higher leverage ratios, which in turn increase the risk associated with holding stocks and the volatility of stock returns (Patell and Wolfson, 1984). In examining the relationship between the stock market and fiscal policy, all models combined two different approaches widely used in the monetary economics and finance literature. In particular, in analyzing the markets response to scheduled and unscheduled announcements, a potentially interesting issue is whether the corresponding impulse response functions for volatility are significantly different. Other issues that also merit further consideration include a closer look at the relationship between first- and second- moment responses to policy news and the explicit analysis of risk premiums around announcements days (Penman, 1987). From all these models and theories, have come to know that anything that happens in the secondary market, it does have an impact over the entire economy as we have gone through from the different examples across the world. Even if it is pre-announcement, monetary policy or whatever, stock market does change its state according to the circumstances and events. Pre-announcements are also made as precautions that are for safety announcements for the share holders of the companies. Due to this they can easily draw their amount and will not have to see further more difficulties. Unpredictability or volatility is always there in the market, when the investors just to keep on guessing for the right time to invest and stock holders wait for the right time to buy shares of the companies and all this process makes things more complicated especially for the investors and then it effects the stock market. Monetary policy on the other hand takes things more attractive for the investors and share holders that they believe their money is in safe place so they would love to invest as long as they are sure about the monetary policy (Stoll and Whaley, 1990). Policies are always made for the betterment of the people who are your clients or customers as per organization requirements, it also refers to the trust that how much they trust on their policies that people could come and invest. Banks do the same thing; the only thing they sell is trust, because as many people trust on you as they will go on to be their customers. Many of the sources indicate that there is a connection between news and stock prices, finance literature highlights that too. The finance literature focus on economic announcements per se, without controlling for the element of surprise in such announcements, might help to explain why so many studies have failed to find a significant link between market volatility and economic news. Either by implicitly assuming that the conditional volatility of stock returns is time invariant or by simply leaving its time-varying nature unspecified, monetary economists have failed to consider a potentially significant effect of policy surprises on the short-run behavior of the market (Wood and McInish, 1985). Equity returns also measured by the industrial index respond rather rapidly to the unexpected announcements of discount rate changes. Not only affecting equity returns, the unexpected discount rate changes also contribute to higher market volatility. An unexpected discount rate change also induces trading which is more supportive of the contention that public information causes price changes with trading. Increased trading volume due to unexpected public information, however, occurs only in the current period. Whenever, the market is not efficient, stock prices adjust to new information slowly and it is possible to generate abnormal profits. Financial market volatility is important for investors confidence, for port-folio selection, and for the pricing of both primary and derivative securities. Market volatility is not related to existing public information such as expected discount rate change announcements (Richard Roll and Stephen Ross, 1986). CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHOD This chapter explains the methodology used for the research study. The main research data set is used in this paper consist of KSE 100 index listed on Karachi Stock Exchange. It is the data for last ten years 2000 to 2010 for every monetary policy has been announced Data would be collected through the website and business recorder website. This chapter also discusses the methods to evaluate validity and reliability of research for the factors associated with the Impact of Discount rate Changes on Stock Market Return. 3.1 Method of data collection: The secondary data which was used in this research was available on the website of Karachi Stock Exchange from 2000 to 2010. 3.2 Sample size and Sampling Technique: In this research, data from the year 2000 to 2010 has been taken as a sample size. The data collected through Karachi Stock Market and State Bank of Pakistan 3.3 Instrument of Data Collection: This research was carried out through Secondary Data. 3.4 Statistical tool used: In order to measure the relationship between the variables stock market return and discount rate and impact of discount rate change on stock market return, Regression is used as a statistical tool in this research. SPSS software is used to evaluate the relationship between the two variables CHAPTER 4 RESULTS Hypothesis Testing Ho: The expected discount rate changes announcements have impact on stock market return. Table 4.1 From the above Durbin Watson value, it has been clarified that there was an existence of auto correlation in the data set. In order to resolve the issue we have generated the lag variables of the dependent variable up to the level 2. Table 4.2 Form the above table we can observe the value of the Adjusted R Square is .934 or 93.4%. It means that 1 unit change in the set of independent variables brings out the 93.4% change in the variation of dependent variable. With the inclusion of the lag variables in the data set, the problem auto correlation has been resolved. The Durbin Watson value mentioned in the above table is 1.964 closer to 2. Value closer to 2 means that there is no auto correlation exists in the data set. Table 4.3 From the above table we can observe that the significant value of the above ANOVAs test model 2 is less that 0.05. It means that the data is suitable for the application of regression model. Table 4.4 The above table shows the coefficient value of the analysis. As it can be observed that, the significant value of the discount rate is less than 0.05 it means that the change in discount rate has a significant impact on the stock therefore; the Null hypothesis is not rejected. At 95% confidence interval level the significant value of alpha/constant is 0.000 it means that the in the absence of all the variables the minimum return of the KSE is equal to the alpha value. The Beta value of lag 1 is 5376.550 it means that the today returns from the stock market is dependent on the stock market returns after the announcement of last monetary policy. For e.g. if the current stock return are equal to 1 the stock returns after the announcement of the next monetary policy is 5376.550 times of the current stock returns. The relationship of the lag 2 stock returns is vice versa of the lag 1 stock returns. It has a negative relationship with the current stock returns. Graph 4.1 The above diagram shows the trend of the KSE index and the change in discount rates for the last 10 years in the country. On a whole an upward trend has been observed in the KSE 100 index it is due to the increase in the FDI investments as well as the development in the financial sectors. The change in the discount rate shows overall a mix trend, we can observe a huge peaks and valleys in the graph. In our research, we have not found any significant relationship among the announcement of change in discount rate and stock returns. Some of these factors are political situation of the country, foreign direct investments, Law and order situation and most importantly exchange rate. Collectively, all these factors are contributing in the stock returns. However, change in the discount rate do impact the stock returns but, not in the short run, in the long run the chances are quite high that it does impact on the stock returns in Karachi Stock market. The reason behind the Long term affect i s that, the change in the discount rate affects the profitability of the companies in the next coming quarters so, immediately the affect in the stock returns are not massive that are in the long run. 4.2 Hypotheses Assessment Summary The hypotheses of this research study are based on variables like stock market return and discount rate intraday. The significant value is less than 0.05 It means that the data is suitable for the application of regression model. S.NO. Hypotheses T SIG. RESULT H1 the expected discount rate changes announcement have impact on stock market return. 11.991 .000 Accepted CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH 5.1 Conclusion As anticipated, expected discount rate changes, representing existing public information, have no impact on the trading volume for the current period nor does for any other periods. Public information also induces trading only in the current period but not in the future periods. More trading has occurred during the decreasing discount rate periods than the increasing discount rate periods as evidenced by the significant parameter. 5.2 Discussion This research shows that the change in the discount rate shows overall a mix trend, it can be observed a huge peaks and valleys in the graph. In this research there was no significant relationship found among the announcement of change in discount rate and stock returns. The reason behind this is, other than monetary policy there are lots of other factors that are contributing towards the stock returns in Karachi stock market. Some of these factors are political situation of the country, foreign direct investments, Law and order situation and most importantly exchange rate. Collectively, all these factors are contributing in the stock returns. However, change in the discount rate do impact the stock returns but, not in the short run, in the long run the chances are quite high that it does impact on the stock returns in Karachi Stock market. The reason behind the Long term affect is that, the change in the discount rate affects the profitability of the companies in the next coming qua rters so, immediately the affect in the stock returns are not massive that are in the long run. In this research it has been identified more accurately that if and when the stock market responds to the release of the discount rate change information. More importantly, studying the market volatility and trading volume sheds additional light on the information literature. Equity returns respond negatively and significantly to the unexpected announcements of discount rate changes, while the expected changes generally have no bearing on the equity returns. 5.3 Implementations For practical implementation, this research can be used to analyze the impact of Discount rate Changes on Stock Market Return as The effect of discount rate changes on stock market returns. Equity returns generally respond negatively and significantly to the unexpected announcements; however, the effect of expected changes on equity returns is insignificant. Abnormal trading volume occurs only in period. 5.4 Recommendations Pre-announcement, monetary policy or whatever, stock market does change its state according to the circumstances and events. Pre-announcements are also made as precautions that are for safety announcements for the share holders of the companies. Due to this they can easily draw their amount and will not have to see further more difficulties. Unpredictability or volatility is always there in the market, when the investors just to keep on guessing for the right time to invest and stock holders wait for the right time to buy shares of the companies nd all this process makes things more complicated especially for the investors and then it effects the stock market. CHAPTER 6 REFERNCES Blume, L, 1994, Market statistics and technical analysis, the role of volume. Journal of Finance, 49, 153-181. Ederington, L.H and Lee, J.H, 1993, How markets process information, News releases and volatility, Journal of Finance, 48, 1161-1191. Fama and Kenneth, 1995, Size and book-to-market factors in earnings and returns, Journal of Finance, 50, 131-156. Gerety, M.S and Mulherin, H.J, 1992, Trading halts and market activity, An analysis of volume at the open and the close, Journal of Finance, 47, 1765-1784. Harris, L, 1986, A transaction data study of weekly and intradaily patterns in stock returns, Journal of Financial Economics, 16, 99-117. Hardouvelis, Gikas, 1987, Reserves announcements and interest rates, Does monetary policy matter? Journal of Finance, 42, 407-422. Lee, Bong-Soo, 1992, Causal relations among stock returns, interest rates, real activity, and inflation, Journal of Finance, 47, 1591-1603. Maberly, E.D, 1992, Odd-lot transactions around the turn of the year, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 27, 591-604. Jones, 1994. Information, trading and volatility, Journal of Financial Economics, 36, 127-154. Morse, D, 1981, Price and trading volume reaction surrounding earnings announcements, A closer examination. Journal of Accounting Research 19, 374-383. Marshall and David, 1992, Inflation and asset returns in a monetary economy, Journal of Finance, 47, 1315-1342. Penman, S.H, 1987, The distribution of earnings news over time and seasonalities in aggregate stock returns, Journal of Financial Economics, 18, 199-228. Patell, J.M and Wolfson, M.A, 1984, The intraday speed of adjustment of stock prices to earnings and dividend announcements, Journal of Financial Economics 13, 223-252. Richard Roll, and Stephen Ross, 1986, Economic forces and the stock market, Journal of Business, 59, 383-403. Stoll and Whaley, 1990, The dynamics of stock index and stock index futures returns, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 25, 441-468. Wood, and McInish, 1985, An investigation of transaction data for NYSE stocks, Journal of Finance 60, 723-739.