Investment Philosophy Essays - Investment, Finance, Investor, Risk

Investment Philosophy The Care And Feeding Of Your Investment Philosophy If you are making a list of tasks you should accomplish in 1988, here's one to add to the list: Establish a well-balanced investment plan that suits your personal financial needs and goals. Every investor from the newest to the most experienced needs to develop or redefine an investment philosophy. The cornerstone of that philosophy should be a realistic attitude toward risk and return, especially in today's volatile financial markets. What is your personal comfort level with risk, emotionally and financially? The first step is to acknowledge your investment objective. Are you investing capital to earn income on which you will live? If so, you should probably choose the most conservative investments unless you are so well off that you can afford to take some risks. If you are investing capital to realize appreciation for a future purpose, such as retirement, you may want to be more aggressive than an investor for income would be, but how much more depends on a number of factors: Are you single or married with children and other dependents? Are you just beginning your career, heading into your peak earning years or ready for retirement? Will you need to tap your nest egg in the near future, or can you earmark a portion of your funds for long-term growth? Also important: your financial goals, your family's tax bracket and, above all, your earning power and investment temperament. Earning Power. Generally speaking, as your income rises so does your suitability for investments of above-average risk. If, on the other hand, your salary and savings are small but growing - keep risk taking to a bare minimum. Maintain only solid investments for your portfolio. U.S. Government Securities, insured certificates of deposit, high quality corporate or municipal bonds, and high quality common stocks offer you reasonable safety at a steady rate of return and they should form the base of almost every investment portfolio. If you can count on future income - or a sizable accumulation of assets - to cushion possible investment losses then perhaps you will want to consider opportunities that may carry greater risk, but also offer greater potential for profit. One way to do that is to invest in small companies with superior growth prospects or mutual funds that have a diversified portfolio in such stocks. In addition to income and net worth, measure your future cash needs, such as college tuition bills. Investment Temperament. Some people are more disposed than others to taking risks, and common sense suggests avoiding investments that leave you feeling uncomfortable. An investment of slightly above-average risk may set one investor's heart beating with anticipation - and another's beating even faster with apprehension. One helpful rule of thumb: Never invest in anything if you still feel nervous after investigating all of its pluses and minuses. Aggressive and timid investors alike can hedge risk by heeding the following five suggestions: Investigate before you invest. Careful research of potential investments often unearths the small but revealing details that, if nothing else, give you a clear idea of the kind of risk you will be taking. The greatest risk an investor can take is not knowing all the risks. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. In a word, diversity. Losses taken on one investment can be offset by gains in another. An experienced financial advisor can suggest ways to hedge risk through diversification. Set limits, and stick to them. Against their better instincts, investors often hang on to poor pertormers in the hopes they will bounce back given enough time. It takes discipline to set sell limits and stick to them, but in the long run you'll come out ahead if you do, because you'll know exactly how much you are risking before you buy. Monitor investments and the investment climate. Be prepared to adjust your holdings when research indicates it may be time to sell or when your own goals change. Similarly be alert to changes predicted for the general investment environment. If respected market analysts forecast rough weather, consider cutting your risk exposure. Conversely, consider increasing it - in line with your own risk boundaries - when the outlook turns favorable. Always Match Risk to Reward. This is possibly the most important rule

woman in nigeria Essay

woman in nigeria Essay woman in nigeria Essay Woodland Football Team The Woodland football Varsity team is more than just â€Å"a team† to most. To man it is a family, like a group of brothers! People can misunderstand how much more than just a sport football can be. Football is one of the most popular sports in America and it is not only known for how close a team bonds but a protection for one another like a brother. Football is also greatly known for the amazing physical contact of the sport. Football is more than just a sport, it’s a way of life because you can learn so much from it such as to keep pushing yourself, and work together as a team. Many people speak, and spread rumors of how we are not a very good type of role-model to look up too because many believe we are jerks. This however is way off and not true! I will admit none of us are perfect, but then again who is? We are all average students at Woodland high school. Most however are actually motivated to get better grades than most. This is because to even play on the team there are grades we all must have so this is the extra push that helps us achieve such high academic goals. On top of that succeeding in the sport and academically in high school will help us get into college. As a team we go through losses, wins, and practices in the blazing hot sun that’s way harder than most can believe. After two hours of continues hard sweaty work, any man would just want to give up and quit, but we pull together as a team to finish practice strong and conquer the game. Before every home game we have delicious bonding team dinners, and stay close together every day a t lunch. The locker room has been the place we’ve had some of the best times, in cheer and dancing, to teammates in tears from defeat. But no matter what the setting is, we go through it together, as a team, a community, and a family. All these experiences bring us close together to accomplish one goal, defeat the opponent

Disucssion question about teaching ELL learners in their own langauge, Essay

Disucssion question about teaching ELL learners in their own langauge, and do i - Essay Example In practice, this is a complicated question. Too often, students are taught exclusively in their native language, and never encouraged to learn the new language. Research bears out, it takes years to develop an understanding of a new language, so it is beneficial for the student to continue learning in their home language and allow time to solidify knowledge in the new language. One has to ask, does bi-lingual education mean teaching all ELL learners in predominant ELL language of the geographical area? If not, then how could students of more obscure languages find adequate instruction; surely, not all public schools can accommodate Vietnamese or Russian students without greatly sacrificing the quality of instruction. In theory, I don’t think there should be a question of whether it’s necessary. A democratic society doesn’t have to ask if it â€Å"believes† in multi-culturalism, as pluralism is inherent in the very foundation of our republic. What I know, is that by not encouraging bi-lingualism and progressively defined education, our nation will distinguish the flame of creativity that has carried America to international prominence over the last two

Intercultural communication in language class of culturally diverse Essay

Intercultural communication in language class of culturally diverse students - Essay Example The aim of this paper is to present two case studies identifying two major issues that come in the management of inter-cultural learning for students (World Bank, 2010). The study will be focused on the barriers among students of various cultural backgrounds. It will also elaborate how these students as learners of English as Secondary Language (ESL) respond to the difficulties? The study is comprised of two case studies and will incorporate the case scenario, its discussion and critical evaluation for each case study and will conclude with a formal conclusion. In the English language class one third of my students were from China including Zhang Li, and the rest were mixed of various nations. In learning English language class, the Chinese students were tend to be shy, introvert and reserved. They were poor in communication other students and with instructors and not very often participate in the class discussions. All members of the Chinese group including Zhang Li used to live, st udy and play together. Their attitude showed a fear and hesitation in self-expression. They were very conscious of using English as a medium of interaction. They tend to ignore the cultural aspects of the language and often confused while using phrases and explaining contexts. Moreover, all the Chinese and in particular Zhang Li, felt chauvinistic about their own Chinese culture and were obsessed with fear of interacting with foreign culture. While in English language class their belief on ethnocentrism held them back from developing cultural relations with the American culture and language.

Food Regulations in the Usa Essay Example for Free

Food Regulations in the Usa Essay Everyone has heard the stories about mad cow disease and other food-borne diseases coming into the United States from countries such as United Kingdom and China. Besides that locally, foodborne illnesses are among the top of deaths within the United States. Cause of these deaths, most could be prevented if better rules and regulations were in place federally and locally in the United States. In this paper I will be discussing insight on how the US Government can improve the effectiveness of state and local food safety programs. Food safety responsibilities at the state and local levels reside in too many agencies (health, agricultural, industry, etc. ) With all of these agencies it is hard for all of them to cooperate together when detecting and reporting said incidences to the federal level. Without an effort to build a comprehensive national regulation that cover the three basic elements of prevention, detection, and rapid response. When it comes to the area of surveillance, there is a lack in the communication chain between federal agencies, state, and local health agencies. A good example of this lack of surveillance was back in 2008, when Federal Drug Administration found traces of melamine in infant milk products. However, the FDA concluded melamine or cyanuric acid alone, at or below 1 part per million in infant formula do not raise public health concerns in babies. (2008 Chinese milk scandal) Melamine is a toxic chemical that can be harmful if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin. According to FDA scientists, melamine can be absorbed into the blood stream forming clots that can cause kidneys to malfunction. United States FDA’s limit was put at 0. 63 mg, but was later reduced to 0. 63 mg daily. The World Health Organization’s food safety director estimated that the amount of melamine a person could stand per day without incurring a bigger health risk, the tolerable daily intake (TDI), was 0. 2 mg per kg of body mass (â€Å"Melamine†) To eliminate such risks from entering into the United States, FDA needs to improve on monitoring and/or inspection of the food safety practices of foreign food producers and suppliers. A solution to this surveillance problem would be improved communications and collaboration between federal agencies, state, and local health jurisdictions involved in food safety surveillance. As well as promote access to information from multiple passive foodborne outbreak surveillance databases by federal, state, and local health jurisdictions such as Pulse-Net. With better surveillances put into place, the next step would to concentrate on the inspection and regulation phases. There was an article written in 1956 (Eat, drink, amp; be wary, 1956) that explains how FDA does not regulate everything the same. The article goes on to explain about how Florida oranges and the additives that are used and how three of the dyes were deemed â€Å"highly toxic. It also states that if the FDA were to make new laws, which can take years for them to be passed. Another way is to mandate uniformity in product dating so consumers and regulators can differentiate between production dates, â€Å"sell by† dates, â€Å"use by† dates, and if dates are based on food safety concerns or product freshness considerations. Woteki amp; Kineman wrote an article entitled â€Å"Challenges and approaches to reducing foodborne illness† how the science of foodborne illnesses are accelerating faster than laws that can protects against said illnesses. While American consumers benefit from one of the world’s safest food supplies, the existing framework is a patchwork of laws and regulations that are frequently inconsistent and lag far behind current scientific knowledge of the risks posed by foodborne pathogens and toxic chemicals. (Woteki, Kineman, 2003) With proper regulations now in place, working on proper inspection procedures would be the next step to ensure safer food being imported and exported within the United States. Federal government needs to support continued development of a uniformed food safety inspection program for all state and local health jurisdictions and encourage its adoption through federal funding. The FDA has been working on this by developing Model Retail Food Standards. (NEHA, 2011) However, to improve the regulations that are needed the FDA have areas for improvement; such as encouraging (but not mandate) more uniformity in regulatory codes nationwide. Another solution in the inspection process would be to have a secure database where all the proper documents to be accessible by user-defined personnel. There was an incident where a local health department had to file a request for a copy of the most recent inspection of a food manufacturing plant from a certain federal agency. By the time that request was processed, six months had passed and the inspection was outdated and useless. (NEHA, 2011) Overall, the United States does ok in the prevention and detection of severe cases of foodborne illnesses. However, I believe that the FDA should do a better job in communicating with state and local government to better prevent and detect said type illnesses. Again some ways that could happen is to try to get a uniformed code of regulations across nationally. Now by doing this I am not saying we will prevent foodborne illnesses totally but we, as a nation, would be better off to indicate and be able to take the corrective actions needed.

Class, Socialization, and Politics Essay -- Political Socialization an

Elections are at the core of the American political system. They are the way we choose our government, the source of government authority, and a means by which the people can influence public policy. For most Americans, voting is the only form of political participation. Essential questions to ask concerning these issues are: Who votes and why? What influences people to become voters? And what influences how they vote? It is important to approach these issues from a sociological standpoint addressing such matters as socialization and social stratification. Socialization is a gradual process that takes place as we grow up. It is the process that aids in developing attitudes and opinions that allow us get along within a society. These beliefs affect the political views we hold later in life. Through social agencies such as family, schools, peers, and media we become aware of social rules and develop a social identity. (Introduction to Sociology Pg. 96) A product of this development is political socialization, which is the process of learning political attitudes and behaviors. The idea of political socialization helps in providing the answers to the questions concerning who votes. It aids in explaining how and why people participate in politics. The strongest agent in political socialization is the family. What this means is that most children adopt beliefs similar to those held by their parents. Therefore most people will believe in and vote for issues that are important to members of their family’s. The extent to which an individ ual is involved in the political process is shaped by his or her family’s level of involvement. For example, a child is less likely to vote if they are raised by parents who don’t regularly go to the polls on Election Day. Children of course, don’t always copy their parents’ political learning’s, but are often heavily influenced by them. As a result, most people end up favoring the political party that their parents generally identify with. Social Characteristics also affect how an individual will participate in politics. Whether a person is young or old, black or white, rich or poor, northerner or southerner will have a heavy impact on his or her political opinions and behavior. Class may be just as important in shaping people’s political opinions and behaviors. The term social class refers to one of the systems of structured... ...rank of middle class tend to have a much lower level of involvement in politics while those who rise above the line feel quite the opposite. Granted there will be deviant cases that can on some level disprove these theories. But on the grand scale, class remains as the supreme cause of such severe division among the attitudes expressed by the American people. Bibliography 1.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hammond, John L. The Politics of Benevolence: Revival Religion and American Voting Behavior. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1979. 2.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Doppelt, Jack C. and Shearer, Ellen. Non-Voters: America’s No Shows. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc., 1999 3.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bailey Jr., Harry A. and Katz, Ellis. Ethnic Group Politics. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, 1969. 4.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Houtman, Dick. Class and Politics in Contemporary Social Science. New York: Walter de Gruyter Inc., 2003. 5.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Catt, Helena. Voting Behavior: A Radical Critique. London: Leicester University Press, 1996. 6.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Giddens, Anthony, Duneier, Mitchell, and Appelbaum, Richard P. Introduction to Sociology: Fourth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2003.

Ancient Egypt and Education Essay

Egypt, the gift of the Nile, is situated in the northern part of the African continent. Ancient Egypt was a desert country watered only by the Nile River which flooded the country from August to October, leaving behind a very rich black earth. The river flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The government of Egypt was autocratic, ruled by a king called Pharaoh who had absolute power. The kingdom started in 3400 B.C. when under the leadership of Menes, the first Pharaoh, Memphis in the north and Thebes in the south merged together and Egypt became a united country. The name Pharaoh meant â€Å"great house† which referred either to the palace or to the duties of the king. The land was owned by the Pharaoh who divided it among his nobles and the priests who owned large portions of the land for religious purposes. The common people tilled the land and gave large portions of their produce to their overlords, nobles, and priests. The Egyptians were polytheistic. They worshipped the sun god, Ra or Amon Ra, and Osiris , his female counterpart, the good god, who judged the dead. Their son, Horus, was god of day, and Set or Seth was their Satan. The Egyptians were firm believers in life after death, hence, they built many temples. Egyptian civilization dates back to 5000 B.C., the start of its recorded history. * Training of scribes. Scribes were in great demand to record the transactions of ecclesiastical and commercial business. This was the most coveted profession at that time. * Religious. This aim was to inculcate proper respect for the gods and the pharaoh who was also considered as god. * Utilitarian. The father wanted to transfer to his son his skills in his occupation and the mother to her daughter the skills in keeping house. * Preservation of cultural patterns. Those in charge of Egyptian education, the nobles and priests, wanted to preserve their cultural patterns, the Egyptian civilization. * Religious education. This was predominant as the priests wanted to inculcate in the minds of the learners proper respect for the gods, moral conduct, and a preparation for life after death. * Vocational-professional education. This was also predominant because they wanted to perpetuate the artistic skills that embellished their temples and other buildings and their wonderful achievements in engineering and architecture. * Military education. This was only for the sons of the nobles. * Education for public administration. This was for those who aspired for positions in the government because the pharaoh needed many assistants to implement his desires. * Priesthood education. This was for those who aspired to become priests. * Home arts education. This was largely vocational and offered to women. The Egyptian woman was accorded higher regard than in other Eastern countries at that time. They could even inherit the throne. * Writing, reading, and language education. The Egyptians used the hieroglyphics form of writing (from the Greek words hieros, â€Å"sacred† and glypho, to carve). These were pictures or signs that represented ideas. The hieroglyphics were great in number but later they were simplified into what was called hieratic (sacred) and later still into a form called demotic. * Reading, writing, and language. The learners learned the language of their respective vocations, especially commerce. * Religious and secular literature. They studied aphorisms, proverbs, moral judgments, etc. * Artistry in metals and lapidary. * Mathematics, especially geometry and surveying , were studied due to the frequent inundations of their field which washed away the landmarks which had to be replaced. * Subjects in astronomy, engineering, architecture, physics, medicine, embalming, dentistry, and law were taught in the temple schools by the priests. * Music, dancing, playing the harp, cymbals, drum, lyre, guitar, tambourine, and clapping to rhythm. * Sports, games, and physical education with swimming, wrestling, archery, and hunting and fishing taken as vocations and avocations. * The military schools offered training in the use of the bow and arrow, battle ax, lance, mace, and shield. Egypt became a military power in the ancient world from 1600 to 1400 B.C. Education was under the control of religion. This was a part of early Egyptian culture. * Home. The home provided for basic education. Home skills and rudiments of right and wrong were taught at home. * Temple schools. The temple schools were for higher education, especially for the professions such as engineering, architecture, medicine, dentistry, surveying, etc. * Military schools. These schools were only for the sons of the nobles; their purpose was for defense and aggression. * Court schools. To these schools went those aspiring for a public office and those taking up law. Law was taught by a corps, Pharaoh’s corps of public officials, part of a function of priesthood. * Vocational schools. These were schools of arts and trades. * The young studied at home, usually with the mother as teacher. * At age 5, the boys attended the reading and writing schools under the priests if the parents could afford to pay the school fees. At 17, the boys entered the schools that offered their vocations. * Apprenticeship. This was the dominant method especially in the lower and the vocational schools. * Dictation, memorization, copying, imitation, repetition. These were standard practices in teaching especially in the lower grades. * Observation and participation. These were also standard practices of teaching, especially in the vocational courses. * Although some lay teachers were allowed to teach in the lower schools, the teachers in the temple and higher schools were always priests and scribes. Flogging was used to penalize failure to learn. The pupils and students had to pay a certain amount of school fees even in the lower schools. Hence, education was not universal. Outstanding Contribution to Education The outstanding contribution of the early Egyptians to education were probably geometrical measurement and surveying. They were the first to use these two mathematical techniques and their mastery was due to the annual inundation of their fields by the Nile River, necessitating the remeasuring of their fields again and again and restoring the landmarks lost during floods. After centuries of progress, Egypt declined. Some historians trace the cause to the refusal of the priestly class to change the accepted rules and practices. The old prevented the young from learning further because of apprenticeship. But the chief cause was â€Å"the incapacity of the Egyptian mind to ascend from the practical and empirical to the scientific and universal. Conceptual thinking, reasoning, creative imagination, and intellectual curiosity were foreign to them. They saw in knowledge only a means of practical advancement; they had love of knowledge for its own sake.†