Stock Market Volatility Around Market Shock 2005-09

Stock Market Volatility Around Market Shock 2005-09 Stock Market Volatility around market shocks event analysis during 2005-2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Project titled Stock Market volatility around market shock event analysis during 2005-09 is an effort to throw light on Performance Analysis. I have completed this project based on research, under the guidance of name of faculty, my faculty guide. I owe enormous intellectual debt to her as she augmented my knowledge in the field of volatility around market shocks and helped me learn about the topic and gave me valuable insight into the subject matter. My increased spectrum of knowledge in this field is the result of her constant supervision and direction that has helped me to absorb relevant and high quality information. I would like to express my profound gratitude towards COLLEGE NAME for giving me the opportunity to undertake the above research. Last but not the least, I feel indebted to all those persons and organizations which have helped me directly or indirectly in successful completion of this study. DECLARATION I Ghayasuddin a student of MBA of College Name respectively hereby declare that the Project Report on Stock Market volatility around market shock event analysis during 2005-09 is the outcome of my own work and the same has not been submitted to any other University/Institute for the award of any degree or any Professional diploma. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY To find out the stock market volatility. To analyze the volatility measure To understand the stock market and its importance To find out the reasons behind the downfall. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A common problem plaguing the low and slow growth of small developing economies is the swallow financial sector. Financial markets play an important role in the process of economic growth and development by facilitating savings and channeling funds from savers to investors. While there have been numerous attempts to develop the financial sector, small island economies are also facing the problem of high volatility in numerous fronts including volatility of its financial sector. Volatility may impair the smooth functioning of the financial system and adversely affect economic performance. Similarly, stock market volatility also has a number of negative implications. One of the ways in which it affects the economy is through its effect on consumer spending (Campbell, 1996; Starr-McCluer, 1998; Ludvigson and Steindel 1999 and Poterba 2000). The impact of stock market volatility on consumer spending is related via the wealth effect. Increased wealth will drive up consumer spending. However, a fall in stock market will weaken consumer confidence and thus drive down consumer spending. Stock market volatility may also affect business investment (Zuliu, 1995) and economic growth directly (Levine and Zervos, 1996 and Arestis et al 2001). A rise in stock market Volatility can be interpreted as a rise in risk of equity investment and thus a shift of funds to less risky assets. This move could lead to a rise in cost of funds to firms and thus new firms might bear this effect as investors will turn to purchase of stock in larger, well known firms. While there is a general consensus on what constitutes stock market volatility and, to a lesser extent, on how to measure it, there is far less agreement on the causes of changes in stock market volatility. Some economists see the causes of volatility in the arrival of new, unanticipated information that alters expected returns on a stock (Engle and Ng, 1993). Thus, changes in market volatility would merely reflect changes in the local or global economic environment. Others claim that volatility is caused mainly by changes in trading volume, practices or patterns, which in turn are driven by factors such as modifications in macroeconomic policies, shifts in investor tolerance of risk and increased un certainty. The degree of stock market volatility can help forecasters predict the path of an economys growth and the structure of volatility can imply thatinvestors now need to hold more stocks in their portfolio to achieve diversification(Krainer, J, 2002:1). This case is more serious for small developing economies like Fiji who is attempting to deepen its financial sector by developing its stock market. Unlike mature stock markets of advanced economies, the stock markets of less developed economies like Fiji began to develop rapidly only in the last two decades and are sensitive to factors such as changes in the levels of economic activities, changes in the political and international economic environment and also related to the changes in the macro economic variables. Therefore, in this paper, we examine if Fijis Stock market is volatile and if so, then what is the role of interest rate being one of the most important macroeconomic variables on the volatility of stock returns. This article benefits from developments in the measurement of volatility through econometric techniques. Here, the regime-switching- ARCH model introduced by Engle (1982) and its extension, the GARCH model, (Bollerslev, 1986) is used to estimate the conditional va riance of Fijis daily stock return from January 2001 to December 2005. This method allows for an objective determination of the presence of volatility. The results of estimates of stock return volatility is then related to changes in the interest rates. The second section of the paper provides an overview of Fijis stock market. The third section of the paper provides an exposition of the methodology used in this study. The fourth section provides a summary of the results and its discussion. The last section provides a summary and conclusion. INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN ECONOMY India has struggled financially since independence, experiencing slow economic growth and economic setbacks due to climatic extremes or political disturbances. The country has been gradually transforming its economic base from agrarian to industrial and commercial. Under British rule in the 19th century, Indias cottage industries and thriving trade were virtually destroyed to make way for European manufactured goods, paid for by exports of agricultural products such as cotton, opium, and tea. Beginning in the late 19th century a modern industrial sector and an extensive infrastructure of railways and irrigation works were slowly built with British and Indian capital. Nevertheless, Indias economy stagnated during the last 30 or so years of British rule. At independence in 1947 India was desperately poor, with an aging textile industry as its only major industrial sector. Economic policy after independence emphasized central planning, with the government setting goals for and closely regulating private industry. Self-sufficiency was promoted in order to foster domestic industry and reduce dependence on foreign trade. These efforts produced steady economic growth in the 1950s, but less positive results in the two succeeding decades. By the early 1970s India had achieved its goal of self-sufficiency in food production, although this food was not equally available to all Indians due to skewed distribution and occasional shortfalls in the harvest. In the late 1970s the government began to reduce state control of the economy, making slow progress toward this goal. By 1991, however, the government still regulated or ran many industries, including mining and quarrying, banking and insurance, transportation and communications, and manufacturing and construction. Economic growth improved during this period, at least partially as a result of development projects funded by foreign loans. Indias low average growth rate up to 1980 was derisively referred to as the Hindu rate of growth, because of the contrasting high growth rates in other Asian countries, especially the East Asian Tigers. The economic reforms that surged economic growth in India after 1980 can be attributed to two stages of reforms. The pro-business reform of 1980 initiated by Indira Gandhi and carried on by Rajiv Gandhi, eased restrictions on capacity expansion for incumbents, removed price controls and reduced corporate taxes. The economic liberalisation of 1991, initiated by then Indian prime minister P. V. Narasimha Rao and his finance minister Manmohan Singh in response to a macroeconomic crisis did away with the Licence Raj (investment, industrial and import licensing) and ended public sector monopoly in many sectors, thereby allowing automatic approval of foreign direct investment in many sectors. Since then, the overall direction of liberalisation has remained the same, irrespective of the ruli ng party at the centre, although no party has yet tried to take on powerful lobbies like the trade unions and farmers, or contentious issues like labour reforms and cutting down agricultural subsidies. Liberalization in India paved the way for lots of foreign companies to come and setup heir base in India and for investors across the globe to invest money in Indian stock Market. Buoyant Indian Economy really raised eyebrows of many and investment in India keeps on surging high year after year touching new height. Since liberalization the foreign investors are on a spree of investment in India both in the form of FDI and FII. Stock Exchange being the only route for FIIs to come into India has been has been spearheading the task of giving investors a bright picture of the economy leading to brining more and more investment into the state. Hence, the vital role of Stock Exchange and the association of Stock Exchange with Foreign Investment can not be undermined. In the later part of the study, we will look into the details of how the Stock Exchange is associated with FIIs and vice versa.   ABOUT STOCK MARKET AND STOCK EXCHANGES A stock exchange or bourse is a corporation or mutual organization which provides the facilities for stock brokers to trade company stocks and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for the issue and redemption of securities, as well as other financial instruments and capital events including the payment of income and dividends. In other words, Stock Exchanges are an organised marketplace, either corporation or mutual organisation, where members of the organisation gather to trade company stocks and other securities. The members may act either as agents for their customers, or as principals for their own accounts. Stock exchanges also facilitates for the issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments including the payment of income and dividends. The record keeping is central but trade is linked to such physical place because modern markets are computerised. The trade on an exchange is only by members and stock broker do have a seat on the exchange. The securities traded on a stock exchange include shares issued by companies, unit trusts and other pooled investment products as well as bonds. To be able to trade a security on a certain stock exchange, it has to be listed there. Usually there is a central location at least for recordkeeping, but trade is less and less linked to such a physical place, as modern markets are electronic networks, which gives them advantages of speed and cost of transactions. Trade on an exchange is by members only; a stock broker is said to have a seat on the exchange. A stock exchange is often the most important component of a stock market. There is usually no compulsion to issue stock via the stock exchange itself, nor must stock be subsequently traded on the exchange. Such trading is said to be off exchange or over-the-counter. This is the usual way that bonds are traded. The initial offering of stocks and bonds to investors is by definition done in the primary market and subsequent trading is done in the secondary market. Increasingly all stock exchanges are part of a global market for securities. 200 years ago in front of Trinity church in East Manhattan in U.S oldest stock exchange called New York stock exchange emerged, when there were no paper money changing hands and there was not even the idea of stock, people trade silver for papers saying they owned shares in cargo .The trade flourished. During American Revolution, the colonial government needed money to fund its wartime operations. By selling bonds they did this. Bonds are pieces of paper a person buys for a set price, knowing that after a certain period of time; they can exchange their bonds for a profit. Along with bonds, the first of the nations bank started to sell parts or shares of their own company to people in order to raise money. Thus they sell the part of the company to whoever wanted to buy it. This led to the emergence of the modern day stock market. The concept of stock markets came to India in 1875, when Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was established as The Native Share and Stockbrokers Association, a voluntary non-profit making association. BSE is the oldest in Asia. Presently India has about 10,000 listed companies, the largest number of listed companies in the world. Stock exchanges in India can be categorized as: 1) Voluntary Associations such as Bombay, Indore and Ahmedabad, 2) Public limited companies such as Calcutta and Delhi, and 3) Guarantee companies such as Hyderabad, Madras and Bangalore. Besides BSE, Indias other major stock exchange is National Stock Exchange (NSE) that was promoted by leading financial institutions and was established in April 1993. Today, these global stock exchanges have become premier institutions and are highly efficient, computerized organizations that have fostered the growth of an open, global securities market. Today India boasts 23 regional Stock Exchanges along with BSE and NSE. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research has been done by selecting the companies which are the representative of a particular sector on the basis of overall market capitalization, stocks having the highest liquidity and turnover both on the NSE and BSE. A caution was thus taken and by thorough approach the best companies were selected so as to portray a genuine picture of the sector. With the help of SPSS Package and using the quantitative techniques, the statistical analysis has been done. The following analysis has been done for all the 8 companies: Fundamental analysis. Future growth and earnings analysis. Statistical analysis. Technical analysis. ROLE OF STOCK EXCHANGES IN THE ECONOMY The Stock Exchange provides companies with the facility to raise capital for expansion through selling shares to the investing public. Mobilising Savings for Investment When people draw their savings and invest in shares, it leads to a more rational allocation of resources because funds, which could have been consumed, or kept in idle deposits with banks, are mobilised and redirected to promote commerce and industry. Redistribution of Wealth By giving a wide spectrum of people a chance to buy shares and therefore become part-owners of profitable enterprises, the stock market helps to reduce large income inequalities because many people get a chance to share in the profits of business that were set up by other people. Improving Corporate Governance By having a wide and varied scope of owners, companies generally tend to improve on their management standards and efficiency in order to satisfy the demands of these shareholders. It is evident that generally, public companies tend to have better management records than private companies. Creates Investment Opportunities for Small Investors As opposed to other businesses that require huge capital outlay, investing in shares is open to both the large and small investors because a person buys the number of shares they can afford. Therefore the Stock Exchange provides an extra source of income to small savers. Government Raises Capital for Development Projects The Government and even local authorities like municipalities may decide to borrow money in order to finance huge infrastructure projects such as sewerage and water treatment works or housing estates by selling another category of shares known as Bonds. These bonds can be raised through the Stock Exchange whereby members of the public buy them. When the Government or Municipal Council gets this alternative source of funds, it no longer has the need to overtax the people in order to finance development. Barometer of the Economy At the Stock Exchange, share prices rise and fall depending, largely, on market forces. Share prices tend to rise or remain stable when companies and the economy in general show signs of stability. Therefore the movement of share prices can be an indicator of the general trend in the economy. With countries moving away from socialistic approach and towards globalization of their economies, the role and importance of Stock Exchanges has gone up considerably. Today Stock Exchanges   depict the financial position of the economy of a country. INVESTMENST SCENAREO In closed economies only the Govt. has the sole responsibility and discretion of investment in various projects in the country. No private parties were allowed to invest in any venture. However, countries where mixed economy exist are liberal to the extent of giving permission to some private parties for investment in some selected sectors. However, countries which adopted globalization made their policies liberal enough to give private players permission to invest and run in any sector of their wish. Globalization has made the world boundary less where free flow of labour, capital exists among member countries. Interdependence among countries has given the drive a real momentum. Seeing the robust growth that some of the Asian countries registered really stunned the other nations which had closed economy. These nations which adopted globalization being the first runners were termed as Asian Tigers. Many followed the suit. Few countries followed the path of economic reforms with an anticipation of the prospective growth while the others due to some economic compulsions. A few countries like India were in real soup with acute financial crisis and were not in a position of running the socialistic approach anymore. A balance of payments crisis at the time opened the way for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program that led to the adoption of a major reform package. It went ahead with globalization and reform process in a step by step approach. Countries realizing that only domestic investments and resources can not be relied upon for rapid growth in industrialization and economy, red carpet treatment was given to foreign investors. Opening up of economies unseals the doors to the investors from other countries to invest in each others countries. These investments come in two forms, i.e, FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) and FII (Foreign Institutional Investment. FII (Foreign Institutional Investor) is an investor or investment fundthatis from or registered in a country outside of the one in which it is currentlyinvesting. Institutional investorsinclude hedge funds, insurance companies, pension funds and mutual funds. They invest in various companies through Stock Exchange. The term is used most commonly in India to refer to outside companies investing in the financial markets of India. International institutional investors must register with the Securities and Exchange Board of India to participate in the market. One of the major market regulations pertaining to FIIs involves placing limits on FII ownership in Indian companies. Sub-account includes those foreign corporates, foreign individuals, and institutions, funds or portfolios established or incorporated outside India on whose behalf investments are proposed to be made in India by a FII. Where as FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) is a component of a countrys national financial accounts. Foreign direct investment is investment of foreign assets into domestic structures, equipment, and organizations. It does not include foreign investment into the stock markets. Foreign direct investment is thought to be more useful to a country than investments in the equity of its companies because equity investments are potentially hot money which can leave at the first sign of trouble, whereas FDI is durable and generally useful whether things go well or badly. Foreign Investors always prefer FII route than FDI route since, the route of investing in stocks is easy and more liquid with less risk involved. Investors can take away their money as and when they need by making short term bucks. If we see from govts perspective, FII means incoming of a lot of foreign exchange into the country which boosts the Forex reserve. Where as Govt. is inclined to get more FDI than FII as FDI helps setting up manufacturing or service industry thereby bringing foreign exchange, employing people, business by ancillary industries and tax to govt treasury. Countries across the globe are formulating policies to attract more FDI and FII. Countries like India have modified its investment policies to make it conducive for foreign investment. REGULATORY MECHANISM FOR FII INVOLVEMENT Following entities / funds are eligible to get registered as FII: Pension Funds Mutual Funds Insurance Companies Investment Trusts Banks University Funds Endowments Foundations Charitable Trusts / Charitable Societies Further, following entities proposing to invest on behalf of broad based funds, are also eligible to be registered as FIIs: Asset Management Companies Institutional Portfolio Managers Trustees Power of Attorney Holders The parameters on which SEBI decides FII applicants eligibility. Applicants track record, professional competence, financial soundness, experience, general reputation of fairness and integrity. (The applicant should have been in existence for at least one year) whether the applicant is registered with and regulated by an appropriate Foreign Regulatory Authority in the same capacity in which the application is filed with SEBI Whether the applicant is a fit proper person. As the FIIs take the route of investing in Stocks etc through stock exchange, they have to be abide by the SEBI guidelines. SEBI generally takes seven working days in granting FII registration. However, in cases where the information furnished by the applicants is incomplete, seven days shall be counted from the days when all necessary information sought, reaches SEBI. In cases where the applicant is bank and subsidiary of a bank, SEBI seeks comments from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In such cases, 7 working days would be counted from the day no objection is received from RBI. Which financial Instruments are available for FII investment Securities in primary and secondary markets including shares, debentures and warrants of companies, unlisted, listed or to be listed on a recognized stock exchange in India; Units of mutual funds; Dated Government Securities; Derivatives traded on a recognized stock exchange; Commercial papers. MACROECONOMIC FACTORS Economic growth and GDP: The countrys GDP at current market prices is projected at Rs. 46, 93,602 crore in 2007-08 by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO). Thus, in the current fiscal year, the size of the Indian economy at market exchange rate will cross US$ 1 trillion. At the nominal exchange rate (average of April-December 2007) GDP is projected to be US$ 1.16 trillion in 2007-08. Per capita income at nominal exchange rate is estimated at US$ 1,021. According to the World Bank system of classification of countries as low income, middle income and high income, India is still in the category of low income countries. The (per capita) GDP at purchasing power parity is conceptually a better indicator of the relative size of the economy than the (per capita)GDP at market exchange rates. There are, however, practical difficulties in deriving GDP at PPP, and we now have two different estimates of the PPP conversion factor for 2005. Indias GDP at PPP is estimated at US$ 5.16 trillion or US$ 3.19 trillion depending on whether the old or new conversion factor is used. In the former case, India is the third largest economy in the world after the United States and China, while in the latter it is the fifth largest (behind Japan and Germany).   GDP at factor cost at constant 1999-2000 prices is projected by the CSO to grow at 8.5 per cent in 2008-09. This represents a deceleration from the unexpectedly high growth of 9.4 per cent, 9.6 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively, in the previous three years. With the economy modernizing, globalizing and growing rapidly, some degree of cyclical fluctuation is to be expected. Per capita income and consumption: Economic growth, and in particular the growth in per capita income, is a broad quantitative indicator of the progress made in improving public welfare. Per capita consumptionis another quantitative indicator that is useful for judging welfare improvement.The pace of economic improvement has moved up considerably during the last five years (including 2007-08). Since 2003, there has been a sharp acceleration in the growth of per capita income, almost doubling to an average of 7.2 per cent per annum (2003-04 to 2007-08).This means that average income would now double in a decade, well within one generation, instead of after a generation (two decades). The growth rate of per capita income in 2007-08 is projected to be 7.2 per cent, the same as the average of the five years to the current year. Per capita private final consumption expenditure has increased in line with per capita income. The growth rate has almost doubled to 5.1 per cent per year from 2003-04 to 2007-08, with the current years growth expected to be 5.3 per cent, marginally higher than the five year average. The average growth of consumption is slower than the average growth of income, primarily because of rising saving rates, though rising tax collection rates can also widen the gap (during some periods). Year to year changes in consumption also suggest that the rise in consumption is a more gradual and steady process, as any sharp changes in income tend to get adjusted in the saving rate. Per capita income and consumption (in 1999-2000 prices): Year Income Consumption 2007-08 Rs. Growth (%) Rs. Growth (%) 29,786 7.2 17,145 5.3 Income is taken as GDP at market prices. Consumption is PFCE. Per capita is obtained by dividing these by population. MARKET EFFICIENCY However, market efficiency -championed in the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) formulated by Eugene Fama in 1970, suggests that at any given time, prices fully reflect all available information on a particular stock and/or market. Thus, according to the EMH, no investor has an advantage in predicting a return on a stock pricebecause no one has access to information not already available to everyone else. (To read more on behavioral finance. The Effect of Efficiency: Non-Predictability The nature of information does not have to be limited to financial news and research alone; indeed, information about political, economic and social events, combined with how investors perceive such information, whether true or rumored, will be reflected in the stock price. According to EMH,as prices respond only to information available in the market, and, because all market participants are privy to the same information, no one will have the ability to out-profit anyone else. In efficient markets, prices become not predictable but random, so no investment pattern can be discerned. A planned approach to investment, therefore, cannot be successful. This random walk of prices, commonly spoken aboutin the EMH school of thought, results in the failure of any investment strategy that aims to beat the market consistently. In fact, the EMH suggests that given the transaction costs involved in portfolio management, it would be more profitable for an investor to put his or her money into an index fund. Anomalies: The Challenge to Efficiency In the real world of investment, however, there are obvious arguments against the EMH. There are investors who have beaten the market Warren Buffett, whose investment strategy focuses onundervalued stocks, made millions and set an example for numerous followers. There are portfolio managerswho have better track records than others, and there are investment houses with more renowned research analysis than others. So how can performance be random when people are clearly profiting from and beating the market? Counter arguments to the EMH state that consistent patterns are present. Here are some examples of some of the predictable anomalies thrown in the face of the EMH:the January effectis a patternthat shows higher returns tend to be earned in the first month of the year; blue Monday on Wall Street isasaying that discourages buying on Friday afternoon and Monday morning because of the weekend effect, the tendency for prices to be higher on the day before and after the weekend than during the rest of the week. Studies in behavioral finance, which look into the effects of investor psychology on stock prices, also reveal that there are some predictable patterns in the stock market. Investors tend to buy undervalued stocks and sell overvalued stocks and, in a market of many participants, the result can be anything but efficient. Paul Krugman, MIT economics professor, suggests that because of the mass mentality of the trendy, short-term shareholder, investors pull in and out of the latest and hottest stocks. This results in stock prices being distorted and the market being inefficient. Soprices no longer reflect all available information in the market. Prices areinstead beingmanipulated by profit seekers. The EMH Response The EMH does not dismiss the possibility of anomalies in the market that result in the generation of superior profits. In fact, market efficiency does not require prices to be equal tofair value all of the time. Prices may be over- or undervalued only in random occurrences, so they eventually revert back to their mean values. As such, because the deviations from a stocks fair price are in themselves random, investment strategies that result in beating the market cannot be consistent phenomena. Furthermore, the hypothesis argues that an investor who outperforms the market does so not out of skill but out of luck. EMH followers say this is due to the laws of probability: at any given time in a market with a large number of investors, some will outperform while other will remain average. How Doesa Market Become Efficient? In order for a market to become efficient, investors must perceive that a market is inefficient and possible to beat. Ironically, investment strategies intended to take advantage of inefficiencies are actually the fuel that keeps a market efficient. A market has to be large and liquid. Information has to be widely available in terms of accessibility and cost and released to investors at more or less the same time. Transaction costs have to be cheaper than the expected profits of an investment strategy. Investorsmust also have enough funds to take adva Stock Market Volatility Around Market Shock 2005-09 Stock Market Volatility Around Market Shock 2005-09 Stock Market Volatility around market shocks event analysis during 2005-2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Project titled Stock Market volatility around market shock event analysis during 2005-09 is an effort to throw light on Performance Analysis. I have completed this project based on research, under the guidance of name of faculty, my faculty guide. I owe enormous intellectual debt to her as she augmented my knowledge in the field of volatility around market shocks and helped me learn about the topic and gave me valuable insight into the subject matter. My increased spectrum of knowledge in this field is the result of her constant supervision and direction that has helped me to absorb relevant and high quality information. I would like to express my profound gratitude towards COLLEGE NAME for giving me the opportunity to undertake the above research. Last but not the least, I feel indebted to all those persons and organizations which have helped me directly or indirectly in successful completion of this study. DECLARATION I Ghayasuddin a student of MBA of College Name respectively hereby declare that the Project Report on Stock Market volatility around market shock event analysis during 2005-09 is the outcome of my own work and the same has not been submitted to any other University/Institute for the award of any degree or any Professional diploma. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY To find out the stock market volatility. To analyze the volatility measure To understand the stock market and its importance To find out the reasons behind the downfall. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A common problem plaguing the low and slow growth of small developing economies is the swallow financial sector. Financial markets play an important role in the process of economic growth and development by facilitating savings and channeling funds from savers to investors. While there have been numerous attempts to develop the financial sector, small island economies are also facing the problem of high volatility in numerous fronts including volatility of its financial sector. Volatility may impair the smooth functioning of the financial system and adversely affect economic performance. Similarly, stock market volatility also has a number of negative implications. One of the ways in which it affects the economy is through its effect on consumer spending (Campbell, 1996; Starr-McCluer, 1998; Ludvigson and Steindel 1999 and Poterba 2000). The impact of stock market volatility on consumer spending is related via the wealth effect. Increased wealth will drive up consumer spending. However, a fall in stock market will weaken consumer confidence and thus drive down consumer spending. Stock market volatility may also affect business investment (Zuliu, 1995) and economic growth directly (Levine and Zervos, 1996 and Arestis et al 2001). A rise in stock market Volatility can be interpreted as a rise in risk of equity investment and thus a shift of funds to less risky assets. This move could lead to a rise in cost of funds to firms and thus new firms might bear this effect as investors will turn to purchase of stock in larger, well known firms. While there is a general consensus on what constitutes stock market volatility and, to a lesser extent, on how to measure it, there is far less agreement on the causes of changes in stock market volatility. Some economists see the causes of volatility in the arrival of new, unanticipated information that alters expected returns on a stock (Engle and Ng, 1993). Thus, changes in market volatility would merely reflect changes in the local or global economic environment. Others claim that volatility is caused mainly by changes in trading volume, practices or patterns, which in turn are driven by factors such as modifications in macroeconomic policies, shifts in investor tolerance of risk and increased un certainty. The degree of stock market volatility can help forecasters predict the path of an economys growth and the structure of volatility can imply thatinvestors now need to hold more stocks in their portfolio to achieve diversification(Krainer, J, 2002:1). This case is more serious for small developing economies like Fiji who is attempting to deepen its financial sector by developing its stock market. Unlike mature stock markets of advanced economies, the stock markets of less developed economies like Fiji began to develop rapidly only in the last two decades and are sensitive to factors such as changes in the levels of economic activities, changes in the political and international economic environment and also related to the changes in the macro economic variables. Therefore, in this paper, we examine if Fijis Stock market is volatile and if so, then what is the role of interest rate being one of the most important macroeconomic variables on the volatility of stock returns. This article benefits from developments in the measurement of volatility through econometric techniques. Here, the regime-switching- ARCH model introduced by Engle (1982) and its extension, the GARCH model, (Bollerslev, 1986) is used to estimate the conditional va riance of Fijis daily stock return from January 2001 to December 2005. This method allows for an objective determination of the presence of volatility. The results of estimates of stock return volatility is then related to changes in the interest rates. The second section of the paper provides an overview of Fijis stock market. The third section of the paper provides an exposition of the methodology used in this study. The fourth section provides a summary of the results and its discussion. The last section provides a summary and conclusion. INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN ECONOMY India has struggled financially since independence, experiencing slow economic growth and economic setbacks due to climatic extremes or political disturbances. The country has been gradually transforming its economic base from agrarian to industrial and commercial. Under British rule in the 19th century, Indias cottage industries and thriving trade were virtually destroyed to make way for European manufactured goods, paid for by exports of agricultural products such as cotton, opium, and tea. Beginning in the late 19th century a modern industrial sector and an extensive infrastructure of railways and irrigation works were slowly built with British and Indian capital. Nevertheless, Indias economy stagnated during the last 30 or so years of British rule. At independence in 1947 India was desperately poor, with an aging textile industry as its only major industrial sector. Economic policy after independence emphasized central planning, with the government setting goals for and closely regulating private industry. Self-sufficiency was promoted in order to foster domestic industry and reduce dependence on foreign trade. These efforts produced steady economic growth in the 1950s, but less positive results in the two succeeding decades. By the early 1970s India had achieved its goal of self-sufficiency in food production, although this food was not equally available to all Indians due to skewed distribution and occasional shortfalls in the harvest. In the late 1970s the government began to reduce state control of the economy, making slow progress toward this goal. By 1991, however, the government still regulated or ran many industries, including mining and quarrying, banking and insurance, transportation and communications, and manufacturing and construction. Economic growth improved during this period, at least partially as a result of development projects funded by foreign loans. Indias low average growth rate up to 1980 was derisively referred to as the Hindu rate of growth, because of the contrasting high growth rates in other Asian countries, especially the East Asian Tigers. The economic reforms that surged economic growth in India after 1980 can be attributed to two stages of reforms. The pro-business reform of 1980 initiated by Indira Gandhi and carried on by Rajiv Gandhi, eased restrictions on capacity expansion for incumbents, removed price controls and reduced corporate taxes. The economic liberalisation of 1991, initiated by then Indian prime minister P. V. Narasimha Rao and his finance minister Manmohan Singh in response to a macroeconomic crisis did away with the Licence Raj (investment, industrial and import licensing) and ended public sector monopoly in many sectors, thereby allowing automatic approval of foreign direct investment in many sectors. Since then, the overall direction of liberalisation has remained the same, irrespective of the ruli ng party at the centre, although no party has yet tried to take on powerful lobbies like the trade unions and farmers, or contentious issues like labour reforms and cutting down agricultural subsidies. Liberalization in India paved the way for lots of foreign companies to come and setup heir base in India and for investors across the globe to invest money in Indian stock Market. Buoyant Indian Economy really raised eyebrows of many and investment in India keeps on surging high year after year touching new height. Since liberalization the foreign investors are on a spree of investment in India both in the form of FDI and FII. Stock Exchange being the only route for FIIs to come into India has been has been spearheading the task of giving investors a bright picture of the economy leading to brining more and more investment into the state. Hence, the vital role of Stock Exchange and the association of Stock Exchange with Foreign Investment can not be undermined. In the later part of the study, we will look into the details of how the Stock Exchange is associated with FIIs and vice versa.   ABOUT STOCK MARKET AND STOCK EXCHANGES A stock exchange or bourse is a corporation or mutual organization which provides the facilities for stock brokers to trade company stocks and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for the issue and redemption of securities, as well as other financial instruments and capital events including the payment of income and dividends. In other words, Stock Exchanges are an organised marketplace, either corporation or mutual organisation, where members of the organisation gather to trade company stocks and other securities. The members may act either as agents for their customers, or as principals for their own accounts. Stock exchanges also facilitates for the issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments including the payment of income and dividends. The record keeping is central but trade is linked to such physical place because modern markets are computerised. The trade on an exchange is only by members and stock broker do have a seat on the exchange. The securities traded on a stock exchange include shares issued by companies, unit trusts and other pooled investment products as well as bonds. To be able to trade a security on a certain stock exchange, it has to be listed there. Usually there is a central location at least for recordkeeping, but trade is less and less linked to such a physical place, as modern markets are electronic networks, which gives them advantages of speed and cost of transactions. Trade on an exchange is by members only; a stock broker is said to have a seat on the exchange. A stock exchange is often the most important component of a stock market. There is usually no compulsion to issue stock via the stock exchange itself, nor must stock be subsequently traded on the exchange. Such trading is said to be off exchange or over-the-counter. This is the usual way that bonds are traded. The initial offering of stocks and bonds to investors is by definition done in the primary market and subsequent trading is done in the secondary market. Increasingly all stock exchanges are part of a global market for securities. 200 years ago in front of Trinity church in East Manhattan in U.S oldest stock exchange called New York stock exchange emerged, when there were no paper money changing hands and there was not even the idea of stock, people trade silver for papers saying they owned shares in cargo .The trade flourished. During American Revolution, the colonial government needed money to fund its wartime operations. By selling bonds they did this. Bonds are pieces of paper a person buys for a set price, knowing that after a certain period of time; they can exchange their bonds for a profit. Along with bonds, the first of the nations bank started to sell parts or shares of their own company to people in order to raise money. Thus they sell the part of the company to whoever wanted to buy it. This led to the emergence of the modern day stock market. The concept of stock markets came to India in 1875, when Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was established as The Native Share and Stockbrokers Association, a voluntary non-profit making association. BSE is the oldest in Asia. Presently India has about 10,000 listed companies, the largest number of listed companies in the world. Stock exchanges in India can be categorized as: 1) Voluntary Associations such as Bombay, Indore and Ahmedabad, 2) Public limited companies such as Calcutta and Delhi, and 3) Guarantee companies such as Hyderabad, Madras and Bangalore. Besides BSE, Indias other major stock exchange is National Stock Exchange (NSE) that was promoted by leading financial institutions and was established in April 1993. Today, these global stock exchanges have become premier institutions and are highly efficient, computerized organizations that have fostered the growth of an open, global securities market. Today India boasts 23 regional Stock Exchanges along with BSE and NSE. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research has been done by selecting the companies which are the representative of a particular sector on the basis of overall market capitalization, stocks having the highest liquidity and turnover both on the NSE and BSE. A caution was thus taken and by thorough approach the best companies were selected so as to portray a genuine picture of the sector. With the help of SPSS Package and using the quantitative techniques, the statistical analysis has been done. The following analysis has been done for all the 8 companies: Fundamental analysis. Future growth and earnings analysis. Statistical analysis. Technical analysis. ROLE OF STOCK EXCHANGES IN THE ECONOMY The Stock Exchange provides companies with the facility to raise capital for expansion through selling shares to the investing public. Mobilising Savings for Investment When people draw their savings and invest in shares, it leads to a more rational allocation of resources because funds, which could have been consumed, or kept in idle deposits with banks, are mobilised and redirected to promote commerce and industry. Redistribution of Wealth By giving a wide spectrum of people a chance to buy shares and therefore become part-owners of profitable enterprises, the stock market helps to reduce large income inequalities because many people get a chance to share in the profits of business that were set up by other people. Improving Corporate Governance By having a wide and varied scope of owners, companies generally tend to improve on their management standards and efficiency in order to satisfy the demands of these shareholders. It is evident that generally, public companies tend to have better management records than private companies. Creates Investment Opportunities for Small Investors As opposed to other businesses that require huge capital outlay, investing in shares is open to both the large and small investors because a person buys the number of shares they can afford. Therefore the Stock Exchange provides an extra source of income to small savers. Government Raises Capital for Development Projects The Government and even local authorities like municipalities may decide to borrow money in order to finance huge infrastructure projects such as sewerage and water treatment works or housing estates by selling another category of shares known as Bonds. These bonds can be raised through the Stock Exchange whereby members of the public buy them. When the Government or Municipal Council gets this alternative source of funds, it no longer has the need to overtax the people in order to finance development. Barometer of the Economy At the Stock Exchange, share prices rise and fall depending, largely, on market forces. Share prices tend to rise or remain stable when companies and the economy in general show signs of stability. Therefore the movement of share prices can be an indicator of the general trend in the economy. With countries moving away from socialistic approach and towards globalization of their economies, the role and importance of Stock Exchanges has gone up considerably. Today Stock Exchanges   depict the financial position of the economy of a country. INVESTMENST SCENAREO In closed economies only the Govt. has the sole responsibility and discretion of investment in various projects in the country. No private parties were allowed to invest in any venture. However, countries where mixed economy exist are liberal to the extent of giving permission to some private parties for investment in some selected sectors. However, countries which adopted globalization made their policies liberal enough to give private players permission to invest and run in any sector of their wish. Globalization has made the world boundary less where free flow of labour, capital exists among member countries. Interdependence among countries has given the drive a real momentum. Seeing the robust growth that some of the Asian countries registered really stunned the other nations which had closed economy. These nations which adopted globalization being the first runners were termed as Asian Tigers. Many followed the suit. Few countries followed the path of economic reforms with an anticipation of the prospective growth while the others due to some economic compulsions. A few countries like India were in real soup with acute financial crisis and were not in a position of running the socialistic approach anymore. A balance of payments crisis at the time opened the way for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program that led to the adoption of a major reform package. It went ahead with globalization and reform process in a step by step approach. Countries realizing that only domestic investments and resources can not be relied upon for rapid growth in industrialization and economy, red carpet treatment was given to foreign investors. Opening up of economies unseals the doors to the investors from other countries to invest in each others countries. These investments come in two forms, i.e, FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) and FII (Foreign Institutional Investment. FII (Foreign Institutional Investor) is an investor or investment fundthatis from or registered in a country outside of the one in which it is currentlyinvesting. Institutional investorsinclude hedge funds, insurance companies, pension funds and mutual funds. They invest in various companies through Stock Exchange. The term is used most commonly in India to refer to outside companies investing in the financial markets of India. International institutional investors must register with the Securities and Exchange Board of India to participate in the market. One of the major market regulations pertaining to FIIs involves placing limits on FII ownership in Indian companies. Sub-account includes those foreign corporates, foreign individuals, and institutions, funds or portfolios established or incorporated outside India on whose behalf investments are proposed to be made in India by a FII. Where as FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) is a component of a countrys national financial accounts. Foreign direct investment is investment of foreign assets into domestic structures, equipment, and organizations. It does not include foreign investment into the stock markets. Foreign direct investment is thought to be more useful to a country than investments in the equity of its companies because equity investments are potentially hot money which can leave at the first sign of trouble, whereas FDI is durable and generally useful whether things go well or badly. Foreign Investors always prefer FII route than FDI route since, the route of investing in stocks is easy and more liquid with less risk involved. Investors can take away their money as and when they need by making short term bucks. If we see from govts perspective, FII means incoming of a lot of foreign exchange into the country which boosts the Forex reserve. Where as Govt. is inclined to get more FDI than FII as FDI helps setting up manufacturing or service industry thereby bringing foreign exchange, employing people, business by ancillary industries and tax to govt treasury. Countries across the globe are formulating policies to attract more FDI and FII. Countries like India have modified its investment policies to make it conducive for foreign investment. REGULATORY MECHANISM FOR FII INVOLVEMENT Following entities / funds are eligible to get registered as FII: Pension Funds Mutual Funds Insurance Companies Investment Trusts Banks University Funds Endowments Foundations Charitable Trusts / Charitable Societies Further, following entities proposing to invest on behalf of broad based funds, are also eligible to be registered as FIIs: Asset Management Companies Institutional Portfolio Managers Trustees Power of Attorney Holders The parameters on which SEBI decides FII applicants eligibility. Applicants track record, professional competence, financial soundness, experience, general reputation of fairness and integrity. (The applicant should have been in existence for at least one year) whether the applicant is registered with and regulated by an appropriate Foreign Regulatory Authority in the same capacity in which the application is filed with SEBI Whether the applicant is a fit proper person. As the FIIs take the route of investing in Stocks etc through stock exchange, they have to be abide by the SEBI guidelines. SEBI generally takes seven working days in granting FII registration. However, in cases where the information furnished by the applicants is incomplete, seven days shall be counted from the days when all necessary information sought, reaches SEBI. In cases where the applicant is bank and subsidiary of a bank, SEBI seeks comments from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In such cases, 7 working days would be counted from the day no objection is received from RBI. Which financial Instruments are available for FII investment Securities in primary and secondary markets including shares, debentures and warrants of companies, unlisted, listed or to be listed on a recognized stock exchange in India; Units of mutual funds; Dated Government Securities; Derivatives traded on a recognized stock exchange; Commercial papers. MACROECONOMIC FACTORS Economic growth and GDP: The countrys GDP at current market prices is projected at Rs. 46, 93,602 crore in 2007-08 by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO). Thus, in the current fiscal year, the size of the Indian economy at market exchange rate will cross US$ 1 trillion. At the nominal exchange rate (average of April-December 2007) GDP is projected to be US$ 1.16 trillion in 2007-08. Per capita income at nominal exchange rate is estimated at US$ 1,021. According to the World Bank system of classification of countries as low income, middle income and high income, India is still in the category of low income countries. The (per capita) GDP at purchasing power parity is conceptually a better indicator of the relative size of the economy than the (per capita)GDP at market exchange rates. There are, however, practical difficulties in deriving GDP at PPP, and we now have two different estimates of the PPP conversion factor for 2005. Indias GDP at PPP is estimated at US$ 5.16 trillion or US$ 3.19 trillion depending on whether the old or new conversion factor is used. In the former case, India is the third largest economy in the world after the United States and China, while in the latter it is the fifth largest (behind Japan and Germany).   GDP at factor cost at constant 1999-2000 prices is projected by the CSO to grow at 8.5 per cent in 2008-09. This represents a deceleration from the unexpectedly high growth of 9.4 per cent, 9.6 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively, in the previous three years. With the economy modernizing, globalizing and growing rapidly, some degree of cyclical fluctuation is to be expected. Per capita income and consumption: Economic growth, and in particular the growth in per capita income, is a broad quantitative indicator of the progress made in improving public welfare. Per capita consumptionis another quantitative indicator that is useful for judging welfare improvement.The pace of economic improvement has moved up considerably during the last five years (including 2007-08). Since 2003, there has been a sharp acceleration in the growth of per capita income, almost doubling to an average of 7.2 per cent per annum (2003-04 to 2007-08).This means that average income would now double in a decade, well within one generation, instead of after a generation (two decades). The growth rate of per capita income in 2007-08 is projected to be 7.2 per cent, the same as the average of the five years to the current year. Per capita private final consumption expenditure has increased in line with per capita income. The growth rate has almost doubled to 5.1 per cent per year from 2003-04 to 2007-08, with the current years growth expected to be 5.3 per cent, marginally higher than the five year average. The average growth of consumption is slower than the average growth of income, primarily because of rising saving rates, though rising tax collection rates can also widen the gap (during some periods). Year to year changes in consumption also suggest that the rise in consumption is a more gradual and steady process, as any sharp changes in income tend to get adjusted in the saving rate. Per capita income and consumption (in 1999-2000 prices): Year Income Consumption 2007-08 Rs. Growth (%) Rs. Growth (%) 29,786 7.2 17,145 5.3 Income is taken as GDP at market prices. Consumption is PFCE. Per capita is obtained by dividing these by population. MARKET EFFICIENCY However, market efficiency -championed in the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) formulated by Eugene Fama in 1970, suggests that at any given time, prices fully reflect all available information on a particular stock and/or market. Thus, according to the EMH, no investor has an advantage in predicting a return on a stock pricebecause no one has access to information not already available to everyone else. (To read more on behavioral finance. The Effect of Efficiency: Non-Predictability The nature of information does not have to be limited to financial news and research alone; indeed, information about political, economic and social events, combined with how investors perceive such information, whether true or rumored, will be reflected in the stock price. According to EMH,as prices respond only to information available in the market, and, because all market participants are privy to the same information, no one will have the ability to out-profit anyone else. In efficient markets, prices become not predictable but random, so no investment pattern can be discerned. A planned approach to investment, therefore, cannot be successful. This random walk of prices, commonly spoken aboutin the EMH school of thought, results in the failure of any investment strategy that aims to beat the market consistently. In fact, the EMH suggests that given the transaction costs involved in portfolio management, it would be more profitable for an investor to put his or her money into an index fund. Anomalies: The Challenge to Efficiency In the real world of investment, however, there are obvious arguments against the EMH. There are investors who have beaten the market Warren Buffett, whose investment strategy focuses onundervalued stocks, made millions and set an example for numerous followers. There are portfolio managerswho have better track records than others, and there are investment houses with more renowned research analysis than others. So how can performance be random when people are clearly profiting from and beating the market? Counter arguments to the EMH state that consistent patterns are present. Here are some examples of some of the predictable anomalies thrown in the face of the EMH:the January effectis a patternthat shows higher returns tend to be earned in the first month of the year; blue Monday on Wall Street isasaying that discourages buying on Friday afternoon and Monday morning because of the weekend effect, the tendency for prices to be higher on the day before and after the weekend than during the rest of the week. Studies in behavioral finance, which look into the effects of investor psychology on stock prices, also reveal that there are some predictable patterns in the stock market. Investors tend to buy undervalued stocks and sell overvalued stocks and, in a market of many participants, the result can be anything but efficient. Paul Krugman, MIT economics professor, suggests that because of the mass mentality of the trendy, short-term shareholder, investors pull in and out of the latest and hottest stocks. This results in stock prices being distorted and the market being inefficient. Soprices no longer reflect all available information in the market. Prices areinstead beingmanipulated by profit seekers. The EMH Response The EMH does not dismiss the possibility of anomalies in the market that result in the generation of superior profits. In fact, market efficiency does not require prices to be equal tofair value all of the time. Prices may be over- or undervalued only in random occurrences, so they eventually revert back to their mean values. As such, because the deviations from a stocks fair price are in themselves random, investment strategies that result in beating the market cannot be consistent phenomena. Furthermore, the hypothesis argues that an investor who outperforms the market does so not out of skill but out of luck. EMH followers say this is due to the laws of probability: at any given time in a market with a large number of investors, some will outperform while other will remain average. How Doesa Market Become Efficient? In order for a market to become efficient, investors must perceive that a market is inefficient and possible to beat. Ironically, investment strategies intended to take advantage of inefficiencies are actually the fuel that keeps a market efficient. A market has to be large and liquid. Information has to be widely available in terms of accessibility and cost and released to investors at more or less the same time. Transaction costs have to be cheaper than the expected profits of an investment strategy. Investorsmust also have enough funds to take adva

The Beatles: History, Political Environment Music Analysis

The Beatles: History, Political Environment Music Analysis Liverpool, a city 202 miles northwest of London that holds down the right bank of the River Mersey, is the second largest port in the British Isles.1 Rock ‘n roll music made its way to England through the port of Liverpool. Liverpool was the entry point for cotton and other imports, including American records, from the United States.2 As a result, compared to the rest of the people in Britain, the people in Liverpool had a stronger exposure to American music. Another factor that contributed to the Liverpudlians familiarity with American music was the presence of RAF Burtonwood, a U.S. military base a few miles northeast of Liverpool. 2 It had the most United States Army Air Forces personnel and facilities in Europe during World War II. At the end of the war, 18,000 servicemen were stationed in this base, which was so large it was known as â€Å"little America†, and they brought to England things from home, including their favorite records.2 History All four Beatles were born into the working class, amid the raining down of German bombs and the wailing of air-sirens during World War II.3 By the time they were teenagers, in the 1950s, things were only starting to settle down Britain was crippled financially, food rationing continued, and the terrain was still jagged with blast marks and craters.4 In the early 1960s, Great Britain still had vast unemployment and stultifying class disjunction, while America, on the other hand, was devastated by the Kennedy assassination and the realities of the Cold War.5 Britons were just coming to terms with the scandal surrounding Government Defense Minister John Profumos extramarital affair,6 which damaged the credibility of the government and eventually led to the resignation of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.7 The 1960s was a period defined by the Cold War and the relative economic prosperity of capitalism in the west.8 It was an era marked by rock concerts, peace demonstrations, and local pockets of activism and community.9 The Beatles early success symbolized a break with the absence of innovation and quality of late 1950s music, and at the same time it was a continuation of the legacy of the 1950s, as the song writing of Chuck Berry and the vocal style of the Everly Brothers, among many other contributing factors, were integral to the formation of the Beatles own stylistic identity.10 Popular culture was not thought to play a role in political controversy or in society at large, but that was until the end of the Second World War. The Cold War suddenly made popular culture controversial. Actor John Wayne was popular mostly because of the political positions with which he was associated. The need to compete with television led the movies to risk controversial subjects, such as anti-Semitism, homosexuality, and juvenile delinquency. Elvis Presleys introduction of rock n roll music to a white, mainstream audience solidified the association between youth and popular music. By the 1960s, the music helped to establish for teenagers a powerful sense of generational identity. The Beatles attracted a college-age audience to rock n roll, and so their vast popularity contributed to this new perception.11 It was in this period that the youth of the day began to identify with the victims of social injustice. The Hippie culture made these well-to-do young people feel that they could relate to the minority and the poor subpopulations. They pleaded with predominant institutions, the so-called â€Å"establishment†, to reverse their indifference and offer relief, but they realized that the â€Å"establishment† would not heed their moral call and that they had to take it upon themselves to organize as a political movement.12 This period had burning issues that mobilized enormous segments of society. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. magnificently translated the Civil Rights movement, primarily a minority issue, into a universal eliciting of consciousness regarding equal rights for all. The Vietnam War funneled the moral outrage of the youthful secularists into a consciousness that is said to have persisted into the present day. 12 Bob Dylan, the central figure in the emergence of rock n rolls cultural importance, had established himself as the leading young folk music performer and as a writer of powerful topical songs.9 He helped politicize a vast segment of rock culture including the Beatles, inspiring the group to accept its popularity as an opportunity to define and speak to a vital youth constituency. The Beatles music, and rock music in general, became a medium for addressing the issues and events that affected that generation.13 Society As a result of the Baby Boom and the tremendous expansion in opportunities for higher education initiated after World War II, more individuals belonged to the intellectual community or were affected by it. The Baby Boomers were also raised with increasing permissiveness by parents. Children were encouraged not only to think on their own, but to think about a wide range of heretofore suppressed thoughts. It was in the 60s that the formerly stable institutions of Western society—the church, the family, and the local community—began to break down, and as the youth of the day, in increasing numbers, began to explore widely divergent socio-cultural milieus, they came into conflict with conditions of society far less comfortable than their own. They began to identify with the victims of social injustice and pleaded with what appeared to be massive and callous institutions to reverse their indifference and offer relief. The Hippie culture was a result of this they were able t o think of themselves as outlaws, which made them feel that they could relate to the minority.12 There appears to be a connection between the cultural revolution of the sixties and the Beatles music.14 Beat music, which is exemplified by the music of the Beatles, became popular in the 1960s, and at the same time, youth propagated more egalitarian and informal ways of communication as the new standard for social interaction.15 The communication code of the peer group is characterized by an open and almost permanent negotiation of feelings and opinions.16 The Beatles songs could articulate the vocabulary of the rising youth culture so well. The Beatles songs evoked a sense of awakening, as they were articulating and promoting the open and reciprocal idiom of the peer group as a model for civil conversation, giving a full voice to youth culture.14 Politics and Economy Britain, in the 1950s, was recuperating from the aftermath of the war. The cost-of-living index continued to rise rapidly, causing strikes among market workers and employees. Acute coal shortage brought about actual importation from the United States. But employment remained high, because industries began a rapid expansion. The supply of consumer goods also continued to increase, reversing the policy on rationing. The general picture of the economy was brightening.17 The 1960s was witness to the Cold War and the relative economic prosperity of capitalism in the west.8 The United States economys longest peacetime expansion took place from 1961 to 1969.18 The period also saw the Civil Rights movement, the call for equal rights for all, and the Vietnam War, among other issues, which mobilized a huge segment of society into civil disobedience.12 Rock music, which held the youth together,11 was one of the mediums in which they addressed these issues.13 Artworld Relations Rock ‘n roll is a music form that revolutionized in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s through a mixing together of various popular musical genres of the time. It is rooted mainly on rhythm and blues, country, folk, gospel, and jazz. The style quickly spread to the rest of the world and developed further, leading eventually to modern rock music. At around the same time that rock and roll hit Britain in early 1956, a similar form of music came along which is popularly known as skiffle. It was really a fusion of American Jazz, blues and folk music. It also had been surfacing in various semblances for quite a few years.19 From its inception in the early fifties, it had offered teenagers, at that time, a new way of taking in music. With its unmistakably mutinous undertones, rock provides a musical score for the twilight universe that is adolescence. It was commonly looked down by older music listeners but for the youth of that period, it seemed like a personalized declaration of independence.20 A thumbnail chronology of 1950s rock days is a thumbnail chronology of a war between young and old.20 Before a bunch of American records reached UK and stirred the Brits, the firepower started when Bill Haleys Rock Around the Clock reached number one both in the US and UK, and Chuck Berrys Maybellene began to scream on the radios.20 By the late 1950s, rock raced across the pop charts which entertained a lot of teenagers. However, the success of the form by this time is counteracted by most adults and the music industry itself that still looks at rock disdainfully. The new sound is fighting a generational, musical, social, personal war with society.21 While somewhat disturbing societys walls, rock ‘n roll is imploding in the hearts of some teenagers in an English seaport called Liverpool,21 including the young Beatles members, John, George, Paul and Ringo. The first flourishes of rock n roll in the form of Bill Haley and His Comets aligned music with rebellious youth. Particular rock and roll idols following after started the ball rolling for the Beatles. This is topped by none other than Elvis Presley whos dubbed as the guy who lit the Beatles fuse.22 The rock artists who had a major impact on the Beatles ranged from FatsDomino, Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, little Richard, to Chuck Berry. The list goes on. To the Beatles, Elvis may have represented the music style that they wanted, but he wasnt quite the complete package. He sang brilliantly and looked fantastic. He had great songs but he didnt actually write them. However, there were other artists coming onto the scene who also wrote their own material, and this kind of self-sufficiency really appealed to the young Lennon and McCartney.23 At the top of it was Chuck Berry. He was one of the few black performers whom white teenage audience consciously listened to during the 1950s, and he did largely entertained them on the strength of charismatic stage character, his distinctive, rocking, and widely imitated guitar licks, and his ingenious songs. One aspect of Chuck Berrys tremendous influence that should be highlighted, is the way he introduced a more sophisticated and disciplined form of lyricism to rock music. Thus inspiring the likes of Lennon and McCartney to compose their own songs.23 All these musical influences were quickly spread to a mainstream audience of young people during the 1950s and 60s. Before TV took over as a multi-purpose medium for spreading this, radio was king. That well-known Beatle sense of humor came about partly because of the radio comedians they listened to as kids. At the same time, it was also via the airwaves that they first heard the strains of rock and roll. At their time, TV sets were a definite luxury, but one commodity that could probably be inside all of their homes was the radio.24 During the mid-50s the only British channels that people could tune into were those of the government-controlled British Broadcasting Corporation. The BBC basically transmitted what the adults wanted to hear, easy listening, all the way from Vera Lynn to Frankie Laine. Rock ‘n roll music was no way to be broadcasted then. Radio helped to shape the Beatles musical tastes and their sense of humor.25 Sample/Analysis Love Me Do Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon: vocals, harmonica Paul McCartney: vocals, bass George Harrison: acoustic rhythm guitar Ringo Starr: drums, tambourine The form is quite simple perhaps because Paul started composing this when he was very young, probably around 15 or 16. In line with this is the simple plaintive melody and rhythm of the song. The group has started out with simple rhythms, unsophisticated and straightforward lyrics, and themes that are very appealing to the teen audience. The very striking and remarkable feature in the song is the harmonica which John played quite well. The harmonica also added that certain x-factor to the tune and to the song in general. The lyrics were just repeated all throughout the song, which makes it quite short. The vocal aspect of the song appears to be apt for the theme of the song. The lyrics of the song is a simple dedication of a devoted lover to his loved one. The song is not as soft and mellow as Yesterday, but not as hard as Helter Skelter. Compared to the other hits of the Beatles after the release of Love Me Do, this song in particular carried a big significance to the band members because it just signaled that they are now in the recording industry, which they only used to dream of. I Saw Her Standing There Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon:lead vocals, harpsichord, banjo Paul McCartney: bass George Harrison: violin, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums, snare drum roll I Saw Her Standing There is one of the boys first fast, hard rockers. The arrangement of this song is filled with techniques and touches unique to the group that defined the early sound of the Beatles. The song narrates a simple boy-meets-girl story in the first person to which the pulsating music lends a definitely hot connotation, in spite of the lack of any explicit passion in the lyrics. They also used a type of wordplay that also became a Beatles trademark. In terms of its form, the song has a comparatively long running time of 2:52 which consists of a 2 bridge model with 2 verses intervening, one of which is for guitar solo. The fast pace of the song enhance a general feeling of urgency. Also, the tune covers a broad range and consists of an entirely interesting mix of step-wise motion with dramatic long-jumps. Each of the members contributed to the over-all excitement in the arrangement of this song. This includes Pauls boogie-woogie bass lines, which outline the chords, Ringo s elaborately syncopated drum fills that appear in the space between sections, the backing work on rhythm and lead guitars that works in fine synergy with the bass and drum parts. Furthermore, the tight vocal harmonies of Paul and John feature a type of counterpoint that seems bracingly different from what was to be heard from their contemporaries. Lastly, the handclaps and the screaming used for background punctuation are unessential yet nevertheless characteristic. The song evokes such a pleasurably exuberant mood and an absence of romantic/emotional complications. Its more of a ‘hip ditty bop noise, as Richard Price puts it, reminding us in perpetuity of the ‘nowness and coolness of being 17 and hip, as well as falling for the first time in what a teenage thinks just might be ‘real love. Although theres an eventually bitter and disappointing side to this experience, the song emphasizes that the sweeter part of it is worth taking with someone for the rest of his life. Just like any of their early period songs, this song contains no profundity in its lyrics. It just implies the usual situation that a teenager faces in terms of love and the opposite sex. It appears to be somewhat a way of expressing a teen feeling about love and the common view of the youth about it at the time. Here, it seemed that the Beatles try to make an impression that they are like the other youngster as to how they view that certain aspect of the teen wo rld. All my Loving Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon: backing vocals, rhythm guitar Paul McCartney: vocals, bass George Harrison: backing vocals, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums The song is one of the several Beatles songs with somehow superficial lyrics about love and affection. The melody is quite lively though its not as upbeat as IWant to Hold Your Hand and I Saw Her Standing There. There were also some stopgaps in between the stanzas in the song. Evidently, it is one of those songs that characterized the early songwriting and music composition of the Beatles. I Want to Hold Your Hand Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon:lead vocals, harpsichord, banjo Paul McCartney: bass George Harrison: violin, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums, snare drum roll The song is deceptively straightforward and regular in design. It starts with a falling melody. Also, it sounds closer to conservative pop than rebelliously hard rock. It has the non-intuitive two-part vocal harmony, falsetto screaming, an occasionally novel chord progression, abrupt rhythm even some elided phrasing and the overdubbed handclaps. The original song has no real lead singer or even a clearly defined melody, as Lennon and McCartney sing in harmony with each other. They sing in duet virtually the whole way through. Paul plays quite a bit of double-stops in the bass part, Ringo throws in some of his structurally significant drum fills in between the second and third phrase of each verse, and most subtle of all, George contributes a number of lead guitar fills. It was the youth who discovered the Beatles, and while young people can be easily manipulated through hype and image, in the case of the Beatles it was the music that drew them in. This song is undeniably one of the Beatles all-time hits and in several ways represents the compositional height of what could be called their Very Early period. In context of November 1963, I Want to Hold Your Hand was the best they could do, a kind of summing up of all they had done to-date. It also has a seemingly puppy-love simplicity that does hold up remarkably well like a classic. I Want to Hold Your Hand was not subject to numerous cover versions like other Beatles songs such as Yesterday or Something. Nonetheless, it was one of their greatest hits. Their early songs mostly consist of simple and uncomplicated meanings behind the lyrics that were tailored for the young audience. A Hard Days Night Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon:lead vocals, harpsichord, banjo Paul McCartney: bass George Harrison: violin, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums, snare drum roll The song has a long form, with two bridges and an instrumental break. It has a deep similarity with typical â€Å"blues† melodic structures which creates a combined style between traditional blues elements and those more recognizable as the Beatles own trademarks. A Hard Days Night is a particularly forward-looking song since it has numerous innovations in the area of harmony and arrangement. It has a generally energetic bustle that appears on its surface. On a subtle level, the very casualness of the discordance between the tunes and chords adds a characterizingly â€Å"slang† flavor to the songs over all music vocabulary. John takes most of the verse as solo and Paul with the bridge. In the chorus, Paul handles the high harmony and John the low harmony. The opening chord has its great effect because of the sudden, crisp attack of the song. The pause that follows the opening chord is an example of how suspense and a sense of rising expectations is created by a change o f pace. The effect has a surprise factor that works well at the beginning of the film or album. The song is parallel in itself since it ends off inexplicably on practically the same chord with which the song began. This also provides some unity to the song generally. Furthermore, it closes with a fade-out which was new to the Beatles at that time since the prior songs had closed with a final chord such as She Loves You and I Want to Hold Your Hand. The lyrics are far from profound. Basically, the song speaks about ones undying devotion to his loved one and how he works hard so she can buy the things she fancies. The singer sings about his tiredness when he comes home from work. But when he sees the things that his lover does, these perk him up. The song was sung on an exuberant mood along with fast paced beats in it. It also incorporated new techniques that the Beatles have not yet done in their earlier songs like Harrisons arpeggio-playing during the fade-out. The simple lyrics cater to a larger audience of young people. This is due to the theme of the song which is about love that gets it across to a lot of young listeners. Furthermore, there is but a few meanings to this song which is usually the characteristic of their early period songs. Perhaps, because their main goal by then is to gain popularity through entertaining a larger portion of music listeners, the kids. Help! Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon:lead vocals, harpsichord, banjo Paul McCartney: bass George Harrison: violin, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums, snare drum roll The song Help! has a two-part lead vocals and a speeded-up tempo. The final take in the recording session was the best, and onto this Ringo Starr overdubbed a tambourine, and George Harrison added the series of descending Chet Atkins-style guitar notes which close each chorus. One can listen to a couple of complicated, fast riffs in the song which added more pulse to the overall rhythm. The melody, somewhat, counteracted the message of the song of being depressed and disheartened. It was noticeably composed to satisfy their commercial instincts at this time. The lyrics, on the other hand, is somehow repetitive that makes the song a bit short compared to their prior songs. The vocals were solid enough to agree with the harmony of the instruments most notably the tambourine playing at the background. It still definitely has some blues elements incorporated in the song which is most common to the Beatles songs. The songs lyrics seem straightforward and superficial. The lyric that emerged was not simply a boy talking to a girl, but more of a patient to a psychotherapist or just someone seeking help from somebody else or from a mind-altering substance. The song was a marked departure from the boy-girl relationships that they have been talking about in their early songs. On the other hand, the song had commercial appeal, with its fast tempo and lively instrumentation. Here, the group is starting to develop emotional depth and weight in composing their songs. Yesterday Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Magical Mystery Tour, Track 11 (Parlophone CDP7 48062-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 12 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 7 July 1967 A Single / Baby Youre A Rich Man Recorded: 14 June 1967, Olympic Sound Studios; 19 June 1967, Abbey Road 3; 23-25 June 1967, Abbey Road 1; the song was aired on the Eurovision program Our World on 25.06.1967 Length: 2:57 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 (with occasional 3/4) Form: Intro | Verse | Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse (guitar solo) | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Refrain | Outro (fade-out) Instrumentation: John Lennon:lead vocals, harpsichord, banjo Paul McCartney: bass George Harrison: violin, lead guitar Ringo Starr: drums, snare drum roll Yesterday has a unique arrangement, an attractive tune, even some asymmetrical phrasing and a couple of off-beat chord progressions. It has a tempo that is uncharacteristically slow. The instrumental backing consists entirely of an acoustic guitar and a string quartet (two violins, a viola and a cello) with the two elements mixed. The track is sung solo by Paul virtually all the way through with a particular exception for a short patch of double tracking to highlight the high notes at the end of the first bridge. As with Pauls other hymns, the bass line of this song is played with special emphasis whether through the hard-picked notes on the low-strings of the guitar or supported by the cello. The string arrangement supplements the songs air of sadness, notably the moaning of the cello melody and its blue seventh that connects the two halves of the bridge as well as the descending line by the viola that shifts the chorus back unto the verses. There is an ironic tension between the co ntent of what is played by the quartet and the restrained, spare nature of the medium in which it is played, adding an engaging level of depth to the performance. This is quite different from the fast paced, upbeat songs of the Beatles prior to this one especially because of its soothing, light melodic structure. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Rubber Soul, Track 2 (Parlophone CDP7 46440-2) Released: 3 December 1965 Recorded: 12, 21 October 1965, Abbey Road 2 Length: 2:05 Key: E Major Meter: 3/4 (6/8) Form: Verse (instrumental intro) | Verse | Bridge | Verse | Verse (instrumental solo) | Bridge | Verse | Outro (with complete ending) Instrumentation: John Lennon: double tracked lead vocal, 6 12 string acoustic rhythm guitars Paul McCartney: harmony vocal and bass George Harrison: doubletracked sitar Ringo Starr: finger cymbals, tambourine, maracas Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) is a rhythmic acoustic ballad featuring signature Beatle harmonies in the middle eight. Norwegian wood refers to the cheap pinewood that often finished the interiors of working class British flats. The lyrics speak of an encounter between the singer and an unnamed girl. They drink wine and talk. The speaker may have been hoping to sleep with the girl, declaring its time for bed. But the girl leaves him to crawl off to sleep in the bath alone. Later, the singer finds that the girl has left him for another love, so the singer lights a fire and burns the girls house as an act of revenge. Lighting a fire may also be interpreted as smoking a cigarette or smoking some weed. The instrumental backing is acoustic in style approach. The intro is sixteen measures long. The presentation of the hook phrase consists of the solo acoustic guitar followed by the entrance of the sitar (which then carries the melody) and bass guitar. All the verses follow the pattern set up in the intro. The bridge is also sixteen measures long, and the slowness of the harmonic rhythm helps maintain the measured mood established earlier The outro provides one repeat of the hook. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) is the first pop record ever released to feature a sitar (Newman 93). In direct contrast to earlier Beatles songs such as Love Me Do and I Want to Hold Your Hand, Norwegian Wood(This Bird Has Flown)provides a darker outlook towards romantic relationships. The exotic instrumentation and oblique lyrics are indications of the expanding musical vocabulary and experimental approach that the Beatles were rapidly adopting. Yellow Submarine Writer/s: Lennon/McCartney Producer: George Martin CD: Revolver, Track 6 (Parlophone CDP7 46441-2) Yellow Submarine, Track 1 (Parlophone CDP7 46445-2) Yellow Submarine Songtrack, Track 1 (EMI 5 21481-2) Released: 5 August 1966 (Double-A Single / Eleanor Rigby and LP Revolver) Recorded: 26 May 1966, Abbey Road 3; 1 June 1966, Abbey Road 2 Length: 2:38 Key: G Major Meter: 4/4 Form: Verse | Verse | Refrain | Verse | Refrain | Verse (instrumental) | Verse | Refrain Instrumentation: John Lennon: acoustic guitar, blowing bubbles Paul McCartney: bass, acoustic guitar George Harrison: tambourine Ringo Starr: lead vocals, drums

Animal Farm Diary Entries :: Animal Farm Essays

Animal Farm Diary Entries Old major I am getting closer and closer to death. These last few years of my life have been haunted by terrible thoughts of REVOLUTION!!!! I need to tell the other animals about these thoughts. I don’t know what they will think. They may object to them greatly or they may see it as a way to be set free, but other animals will have different opinions. The cat is a household pet his life is good. He never has to do any work. He will not be keen. However there are animals like pigs that live for one purpose, to be killed. They will be keen. I will confront the animals soon. Snowball Old major rounded all the animals in the barn today. What he said shocked us all. He obviously had been thinking about it for a long time. He told each what our fate was; usually it was to be slaughtered. Instantly most of the animals realised that they should provoke this revolution or be killed. I am happy to help because it is inevitable Mr. Jones’ cold hands will slaughter me if I don’t help. Its just my mind is flooded with thoughts of what could go wrong. How would we get food? How would we run the farm? Won’t other people just come to claim the farm? So many things could go wrong but if we succeeded it would have a huge effect on not just this farm but on surrounding farms too. We could provoke these farms to follow our example. Soon animals would be seen as equals next to men. There’s even a possibility that we could be seen as superior. I say the revolution should happen and it will happen. Revolution is coming to Manor farm! Napoleon Today something happened, it was inevitable, it had to happen sometime. I knew it. Old Major gathered all the animals in the barn. He began to lay the foundations for a revolution. I admire him very much to have the courage to oppose Mr. Jones. I now am sure Mr. Jones’ rule will be other within the year. The animals want a revolution and they will get one. Revolution, I see it as a time when one person loses something and another gains something. I wish to be the one to gain. I have always been the runt in the litter, now I will become superior to everyone else. I know I can. Mr. Jones will die and I will live and my life will be great. It’s all because of revolution. People will die and I will benefit.

Household Fuel Project :: essays research papers

The UNJLC mission to the greater Darfurs and assessment of UN/NGO interest and commitment to launch an ITDG project promoting manufacture of fuel-efficient stoves from locally available organic materials by IDP camp women thus, reducing firewood consumption by 40%, has been concluded. Project proposal development responsibility were delegated to the Fuel and Energy Development Groups (F&EWD) established during the mission's visit to El Fasher, Nyala and Geneina comprising a cross section of UN and NGO partners. UNJLC and ITDG Khartoum organization management, structure and process flow discussions were concluded since the last bulletin-reporting period resulting in a formalized and systems approach that demarcates service provider and NGO stakeholder responsibility levels and assists F&EWGs in development of geographic specific project proposals, which thereafter will be forwarded by the field directly to ITDG Khartoum for compilation and presentation to DFID in accordance with donor conditions. Preliminary dissemination of road-map guidelines coinciding with inter-agency meeting in El Fasher are undergoing final revision for broad electronic dissemination to all locations by 23 September. Other significant contributions include the launching of an F&EWG inter-agency 100 household surveys in Nyala comprising World Vision, as focal point covering Kalma and Otash camps. Save the Children UK will commence survey work in Manawashe, Mushing and Duma while IRC covers Kass. Surveys are based upon data standardization mission recommendations and will capture trend information (i.e. distances currently travelled by women collecting firewood compared with 3 months ago) and gender based threat data (incidence, periodicity of risk/threat factors) and solicits GBV risk/mitigation recommendations from respondents. Data capture fields of wood fuel consumption, access, collection methods, meals preparation related to fuel availability supplement the survey's format. 13 UN and NGO partners forming the consortium of F&EWG with HelpAge nominated as focal point are concurrently carrying out a similar 100 household survey in Geneina.

Cis11 Assessment 1

Safety Styles Pty Ltd Financial Information Ratios and Financial Data Profitability201020112012 Return on assets30. 2%31. 46%31. 48% Return on equity32. 62%34. 02%34. 07% Gross profit margin57. 55%57. 51%57. 93% Net profit margin16. 04%13. 90%14. 35% Efficiency Asset turnover (times)1. 882. 262. 19 Inventory turnover (days)95. 6290. 5595. 10 Accounts receivable turnover (days)50. 3742. 6645. 16 Liquidity Current ratio4. 124. 13. 91 Quick asset ratio2. 462. 452. 21 Capital Structure Gearing ratio2. 372. 62. 54 Safety Styles Pty Ltd Application Decision It would be my recommendation to grant Safety Styles their application for additional finance. Profitability: Safety Styles Pty Ltd has demonstrated in is able to generate and increase its profits as demonstrated through the healthy Gross and Net Profit Margins. It should be noted during this three year period Safety Styles Pty Ltd has maintained and increased the Gross Profit margin, Safety Styles Pty Ltd has also maintained a healthy Net Profit Margin.Although dropping slightly the second year they have managed to improve this in their third year increasing their overall profitability Safety Styles has also increased both its Return on Assets and Return on Equity, this demonstrates the ability of the company to efficiently make use of its assets and equity which ultimately reduces requirements for more funding and reduces cost making better use of what they currently have. Efficiency: Safety Styles Pty Ltd appears on average over the last three years to be improving its efficiency to make better use of their assets and turning over their inventory.Safety should also focus on this area and strive to improve their efficiency. Whilst the values may seem quiet higher their total sales amount has raised which may not be taken into account with averages. Safety Styles may need to revisit their inventory strategy as their turn over period is quite high; this would be a benefit for them in the long term by having quicke r access to cash for investment in other assets. They should also pay attention to their Accounts Receivable Turnover and aim to reduce this. Liquidity:Whilst Safety Styles Current ratio and Quick asset ratio is declined they are both still very healthy numbers. Safety Styles non-current assets have been increasing annually. They may want to pay attention to reducing their inventory levels and accounts receivable to give them more cash and the opportunity to invest into non-current assets or reduce their liabilities as they currently has a low level of cash compared to inventory and accounts receivable. This will make the company more â€Å"liquid† in the short term.Safety Styles also has a very healthy quick asset ratio compared to the industry standard of 2. It should be noted that Safety Styles currently do not have a high level of liabilities and seem to be maintaining their levels of dent in relation to their assets Capital Structure: Safety Styles currently have a very low gearing ratio and are using retained earnings for most of their financing. External sources of financing will be a benefit to Safety Styles to help them grow and invest in additional non-current assets. Executive SummarySafety Styles appear to be utilizing their assets and equity very well currently to help produce their profit and maintain both healthy gross and net profit. If this is maintained they should be able to repay their long term liabilities and possibly improve their current asset liquidity. ? Appendix Formulas †¢Return on Assets = (Net profit before interest and taxation / Average total assets) x 100 †¢Return on Equity = (Net profit after tax and preference dividends / average ordinary shareholder’s funds) x 100 †¢Gross Profit Margin = (Gross profit / sales) x 100 Net Profit Margin = (Net profit before interest and taxation / sales) x 100 †¢Asset Turnover Ratio = ( Sales / Average Total Assets) †¢Inventory Turnover = (Average inventor y / cost of sales) x 365 †¢Accounts Receivable Turnover = (Average accounts receivable / credit sales) x 365 †¢Current Ratio = (Current assets / current liabilities) †¢Quick Asset Ratio = (Current assets (excluding Inventory and prepayments) / current liabilities) †¢Gearing Ratio = (Long-term liabilities / share capital + reserves + long-term liabilities) x 100 Ratio definitions †¢Return on Assets The Return on Assets (ROA) demonstrates how effectively a company is using its assets to generate profit. The higher the ROA the better as the company is earning more off less investment †¢Return on Equity oThe Return on Equity (ROE) demonstrates the amount of net profit generated as a percentage of the shareholders equity. A higher ROE is better as it displays how much profit is generated based on shareholder investment. †¢Gross Profit Margin oThe Gross Profit Margin (GPM) is used to display the percentage difference between sales and the cost of sales b efore any other costs are factored in.A higher GPM is better as the company is making a higher profit off its sales †¢Net Profit Margin oThe Net Profit Margin (NPM) is used to display the net profit as a percentage of the revenue generated. A higher NPM is better as it indicates a more profitable company and how effective a company is at controlling its costs †¢Asset Turnover Ratio oThe Asset turnover Ratio (ATR) displays how well a business can use its assets in generating sales or revenue. A higher ATR is better as it demonstrates the amount of dollars generated by one dollar of the company's assets †¢Inventory Turnover The Inventory Turnover formula display how often the company sells and replaces its inventory. A low Inventory turnover is preferred as this means cash is not being held in inventory, is producing more revenue and has access to an ongoing source of cash †¢Accounts Receivable Turnover oThe Accounts Receivable turnover displays the average settlem ent period (days) credit purchased are settled by the customer. A shorter average settlement period is preferred as this means funds are not tied up and can be †¢Current Ratio This ratio is compares a company’s current assets and current liabilities to measure the liquidity. A higher ratio is preferred as it generally means the business can meet their commitments †¢Quick Asset Ratio oThe Quick Asset Ratio (QAR) also known as the â€Å"Acid Test Ratio† measures if a company can meet its short term liabilities with its current assets less its inventory as you can’t always rely on inventory to be converted into cash quickly. A higher ratio means the company is in a better position †¢Gearing Ratio The Gearing Ratio (GR) measures how much capital is financed by long term finance. A high gearing ratio means a company will depend of long term loans, a low gearing ratio displays higher reliance on financing through equity investment. Typically a high leve l of gearing means a higher level of risk for the company. Ratio Calculations †¢Return on Assets o2010 – (647 / ((2122 + 2163) /2)) x 100 o2011 – (685 / ((2233 + 2122) /2)) x 100 o2012 – (712 / ((2291 + 2233) /2)) x 100 †¢Return on Equity o2010 – (585 / ((1774 + 1813) /2)) x 100 2011 – (619 / ((1865 + 1774) /2)) x 100 o2012 – (644 / ((1916 + 1865) /2)) x 100 †¢Gross Profit Margin o2010 – (2321 / 4033) x 100 o2011 – (2834 / 4928) x 100 o2012 – (2875 / 4963) x 100 †¢Net Profit Margin o2010 – (647 / 4033) x 100 o2011 – (685 / 4928) x 100 o2012 – (712 / 4963) x 100 †¢Asset Turnover Ratio o2010 – (4033 / ((2122 + 2163) / 2)) o2011 – (4928 / ((2233 + 2122) / 2)) o2012 – (4963 / ((2291 + 2233) / 2)) †¢Inventory Turnover o2010 – (((((216 + 175) + (223 + 283)) / 2) / 1712) x 365) o2011 – (((((235 + 298) + (223 + 283)) / 2) / 2094) X 365) 2012 â €“ (((((235 + 298) + (230 + 325)) / 2) / 2088) X 365) †¢Accounts Receivable Turnover o2010 – ((((561 + 552) / 2) / 4033) x 365) o2011 – ((((561 + 591) / 2) / 4928) x 365) o2012 – ((((637 + 591) / 2) / 4963) x 365) †¢Current Ratio o2010 – (1257 / 305) o2011 – (1324 / 323) o2012 – (1272 / 325) †¢Quick Asset Ratio o2010 – (((1257 – (223 + 283)) / 305) o2011 – (((1324 – (235 + 298)) / 323) o2012 – (((1272 – (230 + 325)) / 325) †¢Gearing Ratio o2010 – (((43 / (70 + 1704 + 43)) x 100) o2011 – (((45 / (70 + 1795 + 45)) x 100) o2012 – (((50 / (70 + 1846+ 50)) x 100)

Individualized Education Program Essay

Introduction â€Å"Education is important for all children, but even more so for children with disabilities, whose social and economic opportunities may be limited (Aron & Loprest, 2012. ) Depending on the quality of education doors will open and the quality of life will all be determined by one’s education. Over the last decades children with disabilities have received many benefits under the education system. There is early identification of disabilities and greater inclusion. When educators intervene early, problems can be identified, and if a child is identified with a learning disability corrective measures can be taken. Although special education laws have come a long way, there are current and future challenges that have to be overcome. This area interests me because there are huge gaps educationally between disabled children and their non-disabled peers, and it is important that special education children achieve to their full potential. Historical Development and Current Legislation Within the last four decades legal changes have resulted in many major policies in the way of educating children with disabilities. Before the 1970s the children with disabilities had few educational rights. Many children with a disability were denied a public education. However, two federal laws that were enacted in 1975 would bring about changes. These laws were, â€Å"The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). The EHA establishes a right to public education for all children regardless of disability, while the IDEA requires schools provide individualized or special education for children with qualifying disabilities (Correspondent, 2012). In 1990, Public Law 101-476 was enacted which renamed EHA to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law expanded the eligibility categories to include autism and traumatic brain injuries as well as defining assistive technology devices and services. In 1997, Public Law 105-17 often called IDEA 97 was enacted. This brought the transition plan of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) into effect. An IEP had to set out goals and indicators to fit the needs of a disabled child. â€Å"The IDEA also requires that education occur in the least restrictive environment and requires schools to take a child’s disability into account when enforcing discipline† (Correspondent, 2012). In 2001 and 2004, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) came into being. This act held schools accountable for the quality of special education provided. This act also added technology assistance and loan programs to help schools acquire needed special education resources. According to Aron & Loprest, (2012), â€Å"by the 2004–05 school – year, more than 6. 7 million children (13. 8 percent of all students nationally) were receiving special education services through the law. † The number of children served reached the highest in the middle of the decade. Since then the number of special education students has been gradually declining, and as of the 2009–10, school year, stood at 6. 5 million, or 13. 1 percent, of all students educated in the USA. Current Best Practices in Special Education Best practices in special education are linked to the child’s IEP. The No Child Left behind Act sets out guidelines for having each child achieve comparatively to other children without disabilities. Teachers need to follow through. Goals are set for each child and the curriculum is modified to meet each child’s individual needs. The teaching process is designed to be fluid, so lessons are adjusted, supplement materials are utilized and best practices that are supported by research are utilized. Students are taught in whole class, small group or on an individual basis as the need arises. Many special education students should be taught in inclusion classrooms. If the student has a special disability like Autism, the curriculum needs to be tailored to meet the needs of the student. Since there is network of persons responsible: teacher, counselor, IEP team, parents and so on, they all need to work together, and there are several accountability measures that need to be followed. In relation to associations, The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) is the only National Membership organization serving the needs of special education teachers. The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international organization for both the gifted and students with disabilities. The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) is an organization that provides a website with resources like certification, professional courses, e-journals and IEP issues and so on. There is also the National Center to Improve Practice in Special Education and the World associations of Persons with Disabilities. Special Technology and Future Trends Under IDEA, 2004, equal access to technology for all individuals irrespective of their abilities has been the focus. However, although technology in special education has improved within recent years with the focus being on assistive technology, more needs to be accomplished. An assistive service is defined as, â€Å"any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or uses of an assistive technology device† (Bausch & Ault, 2008). On the other hand an assistive technology according to Lee & Templeton is defined as â€Å"any item, piece of equipment, or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability. † Service providers must understand the nature of the disability whether cognitive, physical or sensory impairments and recommend the appropriate assistive technology. Once a student is in need of an assistive technology device as recommended in the IEP, the school must provide it at no cost to the parents. Lee & Templeton (2008), identify that â€Å"Four major models that have had significant contribution to the delivery of AT services are The SETT (Student, Environment, Tasks, & Tools) Framework (Zabala, Bowser, & Korsten, 2004), Tech Points (Bowser & Reed, 1995), Chamber’s Model (Chamber, 1997), and Unifying Functional Model (Melichar & Blackhurst, 1993) (Cited in Lee & Templeton, p. 213). However, the law related to assistive technology is vague and providers are challenged to develop effective AT services to meet needs. Many of the technological devices that have recently come on the market have been utilized successfully with special education students. For example, the communication challenges that many learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience have been resolved with newer technology like the iPad. Tools like the iPad can support learning for students with ASD. Children with autism have no control over the pace of information coming at them. Therefore in a regular classroom they would experience brain overload. However, with the iPad they can communicate about ideas, play games and even make puzzles. With the iPad children can utilize the interface unlike a laptop that uses a keyboard and a mouse. Many children with ASD cannot communicate or have limited communication skills therefore the iPad can serve as their voice and communication device. It can help the child to express his/her needs. All the child needs to do is touch a screen or point and sweep. The child touches a picture or words and it speaks out loud for them. There are thousands of APPs out there. For example, the emotion app uses diagrams and photographs and can help people with autism who often have a hard time talking to other people because they have difficulty reading someone’s facial cues. Improvements, Challenges, and Controversial Issues Educational Assessments as an Area of Improvement The passage of No Child Left Behind meant that students identified as disabled should be included in State testing and the standard used to measure how proficient they were performing should be the same as that used to measure progress of their non-disabled peers. However, although the results suggest some progress, there remain huge gaps between disabled and non-disabled peers. In the 2009 reading assessment for twelfth graders, 64 percent of students with disabilities but 24 percent of other students tested below basic proficiency; in math 76 percent of students with disabilities and 34 percent of other students fell below basic proficiency. (Aron, 2012:113). When other grade-levels are assessed they show similar gaps. There seems to be many different reasons for the lower scores among students with disabilities. The factors cited by one study were type of disability, cognitive ability, race, income, parental expectations, school absenteeism, and disciplinary problems. Grades, school mobility, and repeating a grade level were not significantly related to test scores (Aron, 2012:113). Quality of Service as Improvement IDEA and Section 504 are thought to have improved access to education for young people with disabilities. This is attested to be the millions of children who are receiving service. However, critics suggest that special education programs are not always serving the right students, and further many students are not being identified in a timely manner and given the most appropriate and effective services (Aron & Loprest, 2012). Since African Americans are over represented it seems as if some children may be misdiagnosed and inappropriately placed in special education, while others may go unidentified or not receive the services they require. Undoubtedly, many students who eventually receive special education did not receive the early intervention services to which they were entitled. Furthermore, transitions for young children from early childhood programs to preschool to school are not always smooth. When a child receiving Part C services reaches age two and a half, IDEA requires a meeting between the Part C service agency, parents, and the local education agency to determine continuing eligibility for special education services and to ensure a smooth effective transition to preschool. Critics opinion that this transition is not always timely. Funding as a Challenge Funding is a serious challenge. When IDEA was enacted, its intention was to help states provide special education by funding a portion of the additional, or â€Å"excess,† cost of special education over general education. The original legislation set the maximum federal contribution at 40 percent of the estimated excess cost of educating children with disabilities, but federal funding has never come close to this â€Å"full funding† cap. Resources are also limited. â€Å"For example, states are allowed to serve children who are at risk of a developmental delay, but only four states have opted to do so, in part because of funding concerns† (Aron & Loprest, 2012, p. 108). Parental Conflicts and Litigations as Controversial Issues Community Advocacy also seems also to present challenges. There seems to be a lot of parental conflict and confrontations since the inception of the IDEA. This is evident from the number of litigations involving parents of special education students. Schools should provide in-service sessions geared toward avoiding parental confrontation. Ballard and Hulett (2010) suggest that schools should reach out to a broader range of parent and professional education and human service clusters such as those representing all students, educationally disadvantaged students, English language learners, economically and socially disadvantaged students and students challenged in reading, math and science. Effort should also be made to bind the Internet in an effort to utilize this media of mass digital communication to further promote the objectives of the IDEA. In addition the authorities should pay attention to the statement made by Ballard & Hewlett (2010), â€Å"congress should order a national study and report. The charge: How and to what degree the IDEA principle of individualized education can be applied to all students in the nation toward the achievement of proficiency by the NCLB date of school year 2013–2014†. Why I Chose This Field and How It Relates To My Philosophy of Education and Future Professional Goals I chose this field because I believe that through teaching, I can transform students’ lives and help them to fulfill their goals and in so doing help they make the maximum contribution to developing their country and the world. All students could learn and achieve to their full potential if they are allowed to progress at their own pace in collaboration with a knowledgeable teacher or peer who can provide the needed support to allow them to grow cognitively. All students include students with disabilities who are often not encouraged and provided with the resources to achieve to their potential. As a â€Å"transformational teacher† (Stevenson, 2010) I can assist special education students to develop to their full potential through collaboration, questioning and scaffolding. As a program instructor at my previous place of employment, I noticed that there was a great deal of third graders that performed poorly on an IQ test and they were not expected to do well academically. However, there was a fourth grade teacher that I worked closely with and she convinced me that they had great potential and would provide extra support to ensure that they achieved. We placed them in the resource room to work in smaller groups until their levels in basic subjects had improved. This convinced me that students could learn if someone believed in them and provided the necessary support. I want to provide students with this â€Å"scaffold. † Scaffolding can be used as an umbrella metaphor to describe the way that â€Å"teachers or peers supply students with the tools they need in order to learn† (Jacobs, 2001, p.125). According to Vygotsky (1978) students teach through, â€Å"teacher – learner collaboration and negotiation† with teacher and peers. The teacher assists the student to reach the â€Å"zone of proximal development. † This zone is defined as the â€Å"distance between the actual development by independent problem solving and the level of potential development† (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86. Cited in S. A. McLeod 2010). Transformational teachers are conceptualized as change agents who engage students in active learning activities (reading, writing, discussions), and who develop critical thinking in students (Stevenson, 2010). Transformational teachers have mastered the art of classroom questioning. They therefore use inferential, interpretational, reflective, divergent, and transfer questions in the classroom and they teach students to ask questions (The Teaching Center, 2009). The gaps between what children with disabilities achieve in relation to their non-disabled peers need to be filled. All students could learn and achieve to their full potential if they are allowed to progress at their own pace in collaboration with a knowledgeable teacher who provides the needed support to allow them to grow cognitively. Through being a special education teacher I will make the above philosophy a reality. I aim to provide students with â€Å"scaffolding† or the support they need so they can realize their full potential. Furthermore, I aim to be a change agent in the classroom through utilizing active learning methods, encouraging questions and using technology and by being the catalyst that ignites a passion for learning in students. References Aron, L. & Loprest (2012). Disability and the Education System. Future of children. Vol. 22 (1). P. 97-122. Ballard, J. & Hulett, K. (2010). Future implications for Special Education Law. Council for Exceptional Children. Bausch, M. & Ault, M. (2008). Assistive Technology Implementation Plan. A Tool for Improving Outcomes. Council for Exceptional Children, 41(1) p. 6-14. (Correspondent, 2012) History of Special Education in the United States. Special Education News. Sept. 3rd, 2012. http://www. specialeducationnews. com Jacobs, G. (2001) Providing the Scaffold: A Model for Early Childhood/Primary Teacher Preparation. Early Childhood Education Journal, Vol. 29 (2), p. 125-130. Lee, H. & Templeton, R. (2008). Ensuring equal access to technology: Providing Assistive Technology for students with disabilities. Theory into Practice. 47, p. 212-219. McLeod, S. A. (2010). Zone of Proximal Development. Retrieved from http://www. simplypsychology. org/zone-of-Proximal-Development. html. Stevenson, J. R. (2010). Understanding the role of transformational teacher. Retrieved April 12, 2013, from http://Bethms. com/articles/pdf_articles/Stevenson_pdf/ The Teaching Center (2009). Washington University, Teaching Center. Wustl. edu Vygotsky, Lev S. (1978). Mind in society: Development of higher psychological processes. Edited by Cole, M. , John-Steiner, V. , Scribner, S. , Souberman, E. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.