Hard Work or Talent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hard Work or Talent - Essay Example Looking into the history of the US trading market there are a number of individuals whose reputation has span over years while others have popped into the market lately and made it big within a short time span. Making it big in this respect is related to how much one has made or makes in trading deals and the factors that surround their continued successes in making the right choices, deals and bets for that matter. Two characters are to be discussed and offered as examples in supporting the view that talent is the one that matters not hard work. Ken Griffin is the first one to consider and he is the Managing Director/CEO of Citadel Investment Group (Traderslog 2008). Considering its large size, it is important to study a few trends of its CEO. He started trading stock options and funds in his college days. Later developed the fund mentioned above with 4.2 million dollars (Traderslog 2008). Today it stands to be the one of the largest in the world with current management portfolio of 13 billion dollars. John Arnold is the other trader whose mastery of his business is given credit by a cross-section of huge and reputed players (Demon 2009). Taking his background for instance in Enron as a trader it is clear that his fortunes in this line of business were destined for success after scooping over 750 million dollars for the company. He was handsomely rewarded with 8 million dollars bonus. He used the bonus to start his own hedge fund by the name Centaurus Advisors, LLC. Soon he was making billion dollar bets in energy related trading and to the surprise of many he trades few times a year in the most awkward moments of the market. Last year he made slightly less than a billion dollars. In the few times he has spoken he says that he buys things at the time when they are below fair value and sell when he believes they are way above it according to Demon (2009). This simple concept relies more on talent i.e. his innate understanding of concepts

The Chinese economy has maintained a momentum of rapid growth while Essay

The Chinese economy has maintained a momentum of rapid growth while many other economies in the world have slumped - Essay Example As a result, the barriers to economic growth under the conventional planned economy were removed and full production became the order of the day. As part of the economic reforms, the country adopted a step-by-step approach in pushing the reforms ahead. At the same time, it made sure that there as a balance between the economic reforms, growth and social stability. This enabled the country to correct the notion that China is a hard place to trade as is evidenced by the large capital investment by overseas investors. According to Sharma (2007), there has been a major capital injection into the country’s economy, which been a major boost in the development of the economy. The country has also recognized the importance of a flexible monetary exchange rate. It has put measures in place to ensure that there is free capital mobility (Prasad, 2004). Economic experts have argued that the high economic growth rate registered by China will only be sustained if the country continues imple menting the comprehensive economic reforms, and the open up policies. ... This has been enabled by the ongoing reforms in the banking sector. Financial transactions and mediations in China are transacted across the banking sector. The banking industry is heavily dominated by the state-owned banks who act as the main lender to companies in China. There is an absence of the corporate bond market which underscores the crucial role that banks play in the economy of China (Li, 1997). China has instituted a reduction in interest rates to encourage more borrowing especially by people in the private sector, particularly the small and medium enterprises. Therefore, stability of the banking industry in China is crucial for sustainability of economic growth in the country (Li, Liu and Yun, n.d.). Currently, the Chinese government has accelerated efforts to address three key issues; maintaining the economic growth, avoiding social contradictions and improving the ability to cope with financial crisis. Lams have been put in place to stimulate domestic demand with an ai m of reducing the over reliance on Gross Domestic Product growth in fixed investment and export promotion. China relies more on the export market which is detrimental in the midst of a global financial crisis like the one being experienced in the world (Wang, 2010). To address this issue of export-oriented economy, the Chinese government has made it a national strategy to strike a reasonable balance between the export oriented models and inward- looking economy. This is being implemented through expansion programs in the global market, while laying down policies to promote domestic consumptions. The Chinese government is on record for trying to uplift the purchasing power of its large

CIS212 U3 Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CIS212 U3 Discussion - Essay Example t RBAC has ease of management while DAC is complicated since each new user has to go through all the details the user needs access to and add them to the list. Authentication provides a way of identifying a user by having them enter a valid username and password before access is granted. If the identifications do not match, authentication fails hence permission is denied to access the information. Its purpose is to prevent unauthorized users to access information that they are not entitled to access. Certificates provide secure communications across untrusted of vulnerable networks. They are important in securing wireless local area networks. One of the advantages of using certificates is that it ensures that any data sent online is read by only the intended recipients. This is because for that data to reach the recipients, it might have to pass through multiple computers. It also improves customer’s trust. One of the disadvantages of using certificates is that it makes the connections to slow down. Getting certificates for a business can be expensive since the service providers have to pay for its maintenances; therefore it might b e viable for small scale

Product Costing - Traditional Methods and Activity Based Costing case Essay

Product Costing - Traditional Methods and Activity Based Costing case assignment 5 accounting - Essay Example The proposed solution will prove to be very useful for the agricultural enterprises which mainly aim at employing management accounting techniques (Hicks). Considering the fact that the total ownership is focused on a particular crop which grows for a certain amount of time in a year, it is essential that the cost and profit centres are set up as they would provide the couple with a chance to make more accurate costing as well as improved pricing. This will also help the couple improve the profitability of the farms as well as ensure better management and more informed decision making for the farm. On the whole this will lead to more effective and efficient management of the farm. It is also important to note that the schematic will provide a chance for the developer to all the activities and also recognise the drivers which can be used effectively as the input values for the activity based costing systems. It is also important to note that including the cost and profit centres solutions will prove to be very beneficial for the company and will also permit the company to very effectively and accurately conduct the costing for the produces. Also the financial statements that have been provided are very helpful and beneficial for the farm to develop and design the management accounting systems and all reports effectively and efficiently. Since the proposed scheme of the relationship between the profit and cost centres are complex, it is essential to note that the possible scheme will prove to be very effective and will also be more beneficial than the basic provides (Beaulieu and Lakra). The fact that the cost centres provide support and assistance to each other has not been considered in the scheme and this leads to unrealistic solution. In a real world scenario, the cost centres will provide support and back up to each other and also in some cases to the profit centres. According to Business Dictionary Activity Based Costing, â€Å"Cost accounting approach

18th Century Spanish America and Race

18th Century Spanish America and Race Assess the role of the State of Spanish America in the formation of ideas about human differences prior to the 18th century. The formation of ideas about human difference has been contingent upon both fluid and persistent socio-political, historical and economic forces since globalisation arguably began with the age of discovery in the 1400’s, arguably spear-headed by the Spanish empire. This is perhaps most perceptible in the key signifiers of human social distinction. Concepts such as ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ appear to be static, objective human categorisations; yet, when subjected to a process of historical and geo-political scrutiny, each proves to be a subjective and poignant signifier, even a product of a process of social and historical construction and part of the production of knowledge.[1] The historical phenomenon of the Spanish State serves as an exemplar to demonstrate a convergence of ideological paradigms which shaped notions of human difference, underscoring this central contention that ideas of human difference are generated within a specific historical milie u, often involving the confrontation of two or more ethno-cultural groups. It is crucial to acknowledge that Spain’s dominance of Africa from the 15th century and parallel conquest of Latin America was enacted with the conscious and unconscious appropriation of Eurocentric ideals which emphasised European supremacy and assumed European cultural, theological and economic superiority over Amerindians. The seeds of such national superiority have been traced to Biblical delineations of difference,[2] with its demarcation of blessed and cursed progeny, reinforced historically by medieval theological thought which associated blackness with the devil and sin, while whiteness was aligned with purity and righteousness. The widely accepted European medieval theory of ‘monogenism’, derived from the Biblical teaching of a common ancestry and family tree concept of origins, gave impetus to the Spanish State’s self identity.[3] This widely accepted view within medieval Europe has been largely discredited in more recent centuries, dismissing the notion of a common human genesis.[4] The Iberian Peninsula had left a potent legacy and precedent at the conclusion of the medieval period, with Spain’s stark delineation and unyielding destruction of human difference. The pronounced ethnic diversity on the peninsula in the form of Jewish and Muslim migrants from throughout Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa, exacted a Spanish definition which underlined difference rather than similarity, and in fixating upon difference, brought the reflex action of the decimation of such diversity, through a systematic, historic and prolonged practice of massacre, segregation, conversion, inquisition and expulsion.[5] Such unenlightened, barbaric and medieval practices, one may argue, left their mark on the Spanish psyche, readily appropriated by the American Spanish state, as it imported and imposed its imperialistic, paternalistic and sanctimonious practices, upon a rich diversity of Amerindian ethnic societies. This precursor to the Spanish American state illuminates the historical consciousness of the earlier Spanish rule in Europe, revealing the cultural hegemonic assumptions and practices the Spanish state appropriated from its 14th and 15th century European roots.[6] The early 20th century pejorative branding of pre-eighteenth century Spain as the ‘black legend’ evokes â€Å"Spain’s colonial brutality in the Americas during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.† [7] Ironically, Spain drew condemnation from other European nations for such action, deemed to be an ignorant, superstitious and fanatical nation, incapable of entering modernity.[8] Spain’s European condemners had been equally culpable in sub-Saharan Africa, in stimulating the African slave trade. By casting Spain as the antithetical demon, England, France and northern Europe masked their own international sins in the process. This brief observation illustrates one process that shaped human ideas about human difference, namely, intra-cultural ignorance and an insular societal gaze which repeatedly reinforced the values, practices and beliefs of Spain’s own cultural epicentre, and in the process, defined other ethnicities by their differences an d their otherness. Moreover, the Spanish American state constructed a false social hierarchy based upon religious assumptions which condemned humans living a more unencumbered and simple existence initially beyond the grasp of modern commerce and technological innovation. Furthermore, Spain’s Eurocentrism was buttressed by the prevailing ‘Latinising’ philosophy of Emmanuel Kant, whose notions of human barbarism, cast Amerindians of the New World as intrinsically inferior beings, bereft of the light of civilised knowledge and cultural sensibilities. Kant allegedly appropriated the formative Spanish Catholic writer â€Å"Las Cassas (and his) sixteenth century prescriptions about barbarians.† [9] The black legend’s origins are attributed by Greer to the three events including â€Å"the expulsion of Jews and Moors from the Iberian Peninsula; the so called discovery of America and domination and exploitation of African and Indian slaves; and the privileged position in which Christianity found itself.†[10] Insight into the formulation of ideas concerning human difference derived from the American Spanish state are noted in revisionist views of the Black Legend, which credits Spain with the dubious honour of â€Å"commodifying labour needed for colonial expansion in the Americasinstead of (Spanish) capitalism receiving kudos for stimulating the industrial revolution.†[11] Greer’s assertion that the burgeoning concept of â€Å"race emerged in Spain from the opportunistic wealth seeker, (an individualistic cause not considered in eastern empires such as the Chinese of Ottomans), (inspiring) Spanish conquistadors and other northern European colonists,† [12] highlights the geo-political nature of constructions of human difference. Indeed, Las Cassas’s classifications of the barbarian (emanating from the sixteenth century) illustrate the artificial construction of otherness and human difference, informing the way the Spanish American state approached Amerindian et hnic groups and the African slaves. Politically motivated criteria to confer barbarian status and thereby remove human dignity, included a focus upon the absence of conventional religion, permitting a thrust of colonialism and imperialism to be sanitised as the Indians of the new World receiving civilisation, in fact a falsely ennobling enterprise. Scholars such as Greer have also drawn attention to the Spanish state’s conference of Las Cassas’ criterion of the Latinate requirement of a civilised society, a cultural construct which excluded the Americas from civility and vindicated Spain’s imposition, in effect a dangerous reinvigoration of the â€Å"humanist renaissance recovery of Roman Imperial power†. [13] Furthermore, Jesuit historian Juan de Mariana from the 1600’s drew attention to the concept of the diminution of cultural breeding through inter-racial breeding, another social construct in itself, with little basis in biological fact. ‘Inter-mixing and bastardisation†™ as it was pejoratively known, â€Å"register a religio-ethnic racism† when the assumed benefit of full assimilation to the pariah culture failed to occur. [14] This matter of the racial formulations has been extensively studied by Barth. [15] This scholar contends that ethnic identity is maintained by â€Å"repeatedly redefining social boundaries, which may or may not coincide with geographic boundaries†[16], and that by â€Å"dichotomising others as strangers or members of another ethnic group, a limitation of shared understandings (is imposed, nurturing) differences in criteria for judgement of value and performance.† [17] In relation to the American Spanish state, while the mindset instigating notions of human difference sprang from European ideologies of capitalism, conquest and misplaced notions of civilisation, the interface featuring Spanish ethnicities in the New World, allowed Spanish identity and membership, and its Amerindian corollary, to â€Å"not based upon a once off recruitment process†,[18] but rather find recurring validation and expression. As the politically and economically superior entity, the Span ish state’s view of itself was reinforced as a result of its confrontation with African and Amerindian ethnicities, while conversely, African or Amerindian ethnic groups’ sense of themselves was retained, yet their subjugation at the hand of the European Spanish super power state prior to the 18th century wars of independence, meant their ethnic expression was muted and their religious and social practices were sidelined by Spanish hegemonic insistence. Some have asserted that the Spanish state’s supremacy over the American Indians was due to â€Å"their own theory of the relativity of human social behaviour.† [19] Furthermore, the Spanish scholastics allegedly appropriated Aristotelian notions of the natural man, incapable of moral awareness and superimposed this paradigm upon the American Indian.[20] Aristotelian ideologies of the theory of natural slavery, conveniently served the imperial cause of sixteenth century Spain in the New World. The â€Å"concept of natural man – someone who had chosen to live outside the human community, thereby causing themselves to be less human and impoverished†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [21] certainly reveals a pre-existing cultural lens, which dictates what one observes while surrounded by a different culture to one’s own and what one identifies with. It is now quite self-evident that many aspects of another ethnic group and their culture remain unnoticed, as one is relatively bound by the parameters of one’s own cultural limitations and ways of understanding the world.[22] Recent scholars have helpfully turned their attention to the factors which cause new definitions of ethnicity to emerge, stabilise and be transformed.[23] The ultimate, yet hard won Amerindian independence from the dictates of the Spanish state was a signifier that inter-cultural confrontation clarified both geographic and ethnic boundaries, and in spite of the composite cultural identity nullification, the vestiges of ethnic memory were preserved, permitting a rebuilding of Amerindian cultural practices not derived from Europe. Bibliography Barth, F. (1969), Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organisation of Culture Difference, Scandinavian University Books, London. Greer, M.R.; Mignolo, W.D. and Quilligan, M. (2007) Race in the Middle Ages, chapter 4 in Rereading the Black Legend: The Discourses of Religious and Racial Difference in the Renaissance Empires University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Pagden, A. (1982), The Fall of Natural Man: The American Indian and the Origins of Comparative Ethnology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Wade, P. (1997) Race and Ethnicity in Latin America, Pluto Press, London. Wimmer, A. (2008), The Making and Unmaking of Ethnic Boundaries: A Multilevel Process Theory, AJS Volume 113 Number 4 (January 2008): 970–1022 Footnotes [1] Wade 1997:5 [2] Wade 1997:10 [3] Wade 1997: 7 [4] Ibid ,7 [5] Greer et al 2007: 75 [6] Ibid [7] Greer et al 2007:1 [8] Ibid [9] Greer 2007:1 [10] Greer 2007:2 [11] Greer 2007:3 [12] ibid [13] Greer 2007:7 [14] Greer 2007:13 [15] Barth 1969. [16] Barth 1969:15 [17] Ibid [18] Ibid 15 [19] Pagden 1982: 3 [20] Pagden 1982:3 [21] Pagden 1982: 6 [22] Ibid 4-5 [23] Wimmer :2008 1011

Analytical Chemistry :: essays research papers

Analytical Chemistry   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Analytical Chemistry is the branch of chemistry principally concerned with determining the chemical composition of materials, which may be solids, liquids, gases, pure elements, compounds, or complex mixtures. In addition, chemical analysis can characterize materials but determining their molecular structures and measuring such physical properties as pH, color, and solubility. Wet analysis involves the studying of substances that have been submerged in a solution and microanalysis uses substances in very small amounts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Qualitative chemical analysis is used to detect and identify one or more constituents of a sample. This process involves a wide variety of tests. Ideally, the tests should be simple, direct, and easily performed with available instruments and chemicals. Test results may be an instrument reading, and observation of a physical property, or a chemical reaction. Reactions used in qualitative analysis may attempt to cause a characteristic color, odor, precipitate, or gas appear. Identification of an unknown substance is accomplished when a known one is found with identical properties. If none is found, the uknown substance must be a newly identified chemical. Tests should not use up excessive amounts of a material to be identified. Most chemical methods of qualitative analysis require a very small amount of the sample. Advance instrumental techniques often use less than one millionth of a gram. An example of this is mass spectrometry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quantitative chemical analysis is used to determine the amounts of constituents. Most work in analytical chemistry is quantitative. It is also the most difficult. In principle the analysis is simple. One measures the amount of sample. In practice, however, the analysis is often complicated by interferences among sample constituents and chemical separations are necessary to isolate tthe analyte or remove interfering constituents.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The choice of method depends on a number of factors: Speed, Cost, Accuracy, Convenience, Available equipment, Number of samples, Size of sample, Nature of sample, and Expected concentration. Because these factors are interrelated any final choice of analytical method involves compromises and it is impossible to specify a single best method to carry out a given analysis in all laboratories under all conditions. Since analyses are carried out under small amounts one must be careful when dealing with heterogeneous materials. Carefullly designed sampling techniques must be used to obtan representative samples.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Preparing solid samples for analysis usually involves grinding to reduce particle size and ensure homogeneity and drying. Solid samples are weighed using an accurate analytical balance. Liquid or gaseous samples are measureed by volume using accurately calibrated glassware or flowmeters. Many, but not all, analyses are carried out on solutions of the sample. Solid samples that are insoluble in water must be treated chemically to dissolve them without any

African Americans in the Reconstruction Era Essay

The Reconstruction era was put into effect by Congress in 1866 and lasted until 1877. Reconstruction was aimed at reorganizing the Southern states after the Civil War. The reconstruction plan granted the means for readmitting the southern states into the Union, and tried to come up with the methods by which whites and blacks could live together in a non-slave society. America’s position as a country was established on principles of freedom but those beliefs were weakened by slavery. At the end of the Civil War, many blacks felt that they were entitled to start collecting the benefits that had been denied for so many years. Being able to vote, own land and have a voice in political affairs were all goals that they believed were reachable. The white, however, saw reconstruction as an embarrassing, revengeful annoyance and did not welcome it. Reconstruction was meant to give the blacks a chance for a new and better life. Many of the African Americans stayed with their old masters after being freed, while others left in search of opportunities through education and land ownership. The Southern white conservatives did not want blacks to own property, have political power, or have the right to vote in elections. In addition, the whites strongly believed that they were superior, and they worked hard to make sure legal limitations were in place to prevent the blacks from gaining any type of equality or power. President Johnson’s reconstruction plan included the black codes, which stated that the African-Americans were required to have a curfew and carry identification on their persons at all time. These regulations also bound the ‘freedmen’ to their plantations. The freed slaves merely wanted the opportunity to continue the family-based shared work methods contrary to having to accept the individual piecework structure. Former slaves wanted to be able to continue to live on the land their ancestors had farmed. African american’s lives were improved in many ways during the era of Reconstruction; one way their lives were enhanced was the establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Freedmen’s Bureau was an organization developed by Congress that assisted African-Americans to acquire an education and provided necessities of life such as food and clothing. It was important for African-Americans to become educated, because it would prevent them from being dominated by white supremacists and helped them obtain well-suited jobs. During the years after the war, white teachers who were mostly from the North, missionary organizations, churches and schools worked hard to give the emancipated population the opportunity to learn. Former slaves of every age took advantage of the opportunity to become literate. Grandfathers and their grandchildren sat together in classrooms seeking to obtain the tools of k to gain their freedom. During Reconstruction, blacks were often seen not heard. It was usually the white man’s word over the black man’s word. Even if there was a crowd of people that saw what happened, unless they were black, the people sided with the white man. However, when the situation involved a white man getting hurt or killed for supporting the black community, that’s when the government stepped in to put an end to it thus leading to the Civil R A of 1875. Many regulations were passed to help blacks during this period. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited segregation in public facilities and various government amendments, which gave African-Americans even more guaranteed rights. With government guidelines, the newly dubbed freedmen were still discriminated against by most people and were soon to be segregated once again under government decisions. The Reconstruction, although short-lived, showed the first real attempts of inclusive freedom for African-Americans. Gains were taking place, for instance, in citizenship, voting, education and politics. Consequently, the failure of Johnson’s reconstruction caused the Congress to propose its own plan, the 14th Amendment. The Amendment was designed to prohibit state governments from restricting the rights of former slaves after the Civil War. However, it had been used to grant all the personal liberties and rights conveyed in the Bill of Rights. Among other things, this prohibited ex-Confederate leaders from holding political office, and also gave the freedmen their citizenship. The rejection of the 14th Amendment paved the way for the Reconstruction Act of 1867; this dismantled all Southern governments and launched military control over the South. The Reconstruction Act guaranteed freedmen the right to vote under new state constitutions and required the Southern states to approve the 14th A With the addition of African American votes in the southern elections and the help of â€Å"Carpet  Baggers† and â€Å"Scalawags,† the Republican Party gained almost complete control over the South. Throughout this time, the ranking of freedman was significantly increased, and by 1868; many state legislatures had African American delegates. All of America, as well as the South, had to be rebuilt, and, despite the South’s hostile resistance, African-Americans were slowly and gradually becoming part of this nation. The long-awaited citizenship for Blacks was confirmed in 1868, by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. By 1870, the 15th Amendment had been added to the Constitution, which gave blacks the right to vote. The 15th Amendment forbids the states from denying the right to vote to any person on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Whites both wealthy and poverty-stricken were ruthlessly and completely against the emancipation. The poor people feared the competition in the labor force, and the rich encouraged an attitude to keeping a strong separation in the blacks and the whites. In the early years after the Reconstruction started, there was some violence towards blacks. As the years went on the violence increased, and Terrorist groups were formed. One such group known as the Ku Klux Klan better known as the KKK, surfaced to torment and commit violent acts against blacks and strong white Republicans. Because of the ratification of the 13th Amendment ending slavery in the south, the KKK emerged with a cause that has yet to be put to rest†¦the rise of white power. The KKK was formed mostly to restore slavery to America and to reinstate the Caucasian race as the most superior race in the world. A former Confederate general and Freemason, Nathan Bedford Forrest, founded the KKK in 1866 because Negroes were being allowed to enter the brotherhood of freemasonry. He held this office while he was simultaneously Sovereign Grand Commander of Scottish rite, Freemasons, and Southern Jurisdiction. Members of the KKK were very violent and used harsh actions to get their point across, but their actions were supported by their strong belief in their religion and the culture in which they were brought up in. The KKK did things based on what they believed according to their culture and how they were raised; Which, at that period of time made them extremists. Although slavery was abolished, racism was not. Because the government started recognizing African-Americans as more than just slaves, the KKK decided they would have to take matters into their own hands. They began their protest by lynching, taring and feathering, whipping, beating, and killing African-Americans in the south. Since Blacks had been given rights, the KKK felt it was their duty to prevent the former slaves from using them. Racist Groups such as the KKK operated mainly in the South; however, discrimination against the African Americans was also an issue of a smaller degree in northern cities. The KKK would destroy any black polling booth and shoot, intimidate, and kill any black person trying to vote; especially in Mississippi. KKK members went on â€Å"night rides. † On â€Å"night rides,† the KKK members dressed in white robes and went to houses belonging to empowered blacks and used threats toward family and loved ones to instill fear into their hearts has a means of control. The KKK would threaten these blacks with what would happen if they voted or took positions of power. At the end of the 19th century and the Reconstruction era, many of the whites used violent behavior to scare the African-Americans from white neighborhoods. The Whites organized protective associations, so homes in white neighborhoods could never be sold to a black man. This was also very noticeable in the makeup of many of the northern cities; these cities had well-known residential neighborhoods for African Americans. In conclusion, during this time, a country that was so well-known for its freedom, opposed in large the very definition of the word. After the Civil War, America saw a great many changes regarding civil rights and black suffrage. Many laws were passed to give African Americans more rights. Since the Reconstruction era, we as a country have come a long way. With the utilization of great leadership like Lincoln, education and recognizing our shared humanity, we could decrease the gap of equality.