Female Education Essay

Education is one of the basic human rights. Every human being has the right to be enlightened by the light of knowledge. But like other issues of our society, a gender inequality exists in receiving education which is enacted to the females. This unwanted practice is continuing still in our society and hinders the progress of our nation. In our country, because of some old superstitions and customs, girls are deprived from many facilities which are cashed in on by males. Education is one of those. The parents think not to invest money to their female children rather than to the males. And that’s why; women of our country still can’t lead a solvent, secured, independent life. A woman without any education can’t use her skills and brain in a proper way. Because of educational ignorance, she can’t differentiate the right and wrong and take any decision correctly. She can’t use the chances to uplift her condition. She can’t nurse her family and children properly. In total, an uneducated woman leads a disorganized life. These awful facts affect the society decisively. Almost half of the population remains inoperative, unskilled, and slapdash. It lags behind the whole nation economically, academically, commercially which will suffer the future generation. If the women-folk is educated, they can utilize their skill, knowledge and work hand in hand with men in all programs of development. They can be self-employed and be a source of man power by which they can support their family financially. They can analysis any situation and take the right decision and influence her family and society in the key areas through their useful thoughts. They will be conscious about early marriage, family planning, maternal mortality rate, child mortality etc. Besides, if a woman is educated, she can take care of her children perfectly. A mother exercises an undeniable influence in the formation of children’s character and shaping their future destination. Once Napoleon said, â€Å"Give me an educated mother, I will give you an educated nation.† So, the importance of female education is beyond of words. So, if we want to live in a self-sufficient country, the females must be educated. The society must break its ancient prejudices and be open minded. The government has already taken a few steps: giving scholarships, education without fees and others to create awareness among people over this matter. If this exertion flourishes, then we may hope for an advanced, sophisticated, developed country.

Patrick henry

Patrick Henry gave his speech he knew that not everyone would accept what he had to say. To me everyone should have the courage to stand up for what they believe in no matter how everyone else will view It. Patrick Henry gave this speech because he felt that they were not treated as equals and had the right to be treated equally. Everyone should be treated equally. In 1775 and In today's society all the government cares about Is power and money not the citizens of the united States, It's ore Like what the citizens of the united States can give them.In his speech he gave all the reasons why the government Is messed up and everything that they have done to their people. He did his research before standing up In front of the crowd and telling them what he found out and his pollen on the situation. When he stood up and talked he had no notes he spoke openly about what he believed In and why. I liked how passionate and fiery, he was with regards to the situation with Britain. Henry felt t hat Britain has done wrong, and British wanted to feel superior.That was my same viewpoint, it just seemed like the British did whatever they wanted, and never cared about the colonists. Like Patrick Henry had said we are more likely to look away or shut our eyes against the truth and listen to the song of the siren till she transforms us into beats! This is still going on today in 2014, we listen to the media and our friends and families instead of us developing our own opinions and standing p for what we believe in.Eventually everything that we listen to will turn us into beasts, everything that we listen to whether it be the media or anyone else they could be filling our head with false information. We don't know the truth we only know the truth that they want us to know. Patrick Henry and his followers weren't backing down they were standing up for their rights and for what they believed in. To me that is very inspiring and many more people should follow his example. Give me lib erty or give me death!

Association Football and B Essay Example for Free

Association Football and B Essay Introduction Soccer is the world’s most popular sport. It is the national sport of most European and Latin-American countries, and of many other nations. Millions of people in more than 140 countries play soccer. The World Cup is held every four years. Soccer is one of the most famous international sports. Soccer is known world wide and is played in the Olympics. In a soccer game there are two teams of 11 players who try to score a point by kicking a ball into the opponents net. Soccer is played on a rectangular field with a net on each short side of the field. All players must hit the ball with their feet or body and only the goalie is allowed to touch the ball with his/her hands. There are many things you can do to condition yourself to play. Soccer the way we play it came from England in the 1800’s. Soccer was not that popular until the mid-1900s. Today soccer is very popular and it is one of the nations fastest-growing sports. There are many exercises and drills you can do to improve how you play soccer. There is also many physical conditioning that players can do. Soccer can help you stay fit and healthy. Many people can play soccer and benefit from it. Soccer is very fun and a great recreational sport. History of the Activity Games similar to soccer were played in China as early as 400 BC. In about 200 AD the Romans played a game in which two teams tried to score by advancing a ball across a line on the field. The Romans passed the ball to one another but they never kicked it. London children in about 1100 played a form of soccer in the streets. During the 1800’s the people of England played a game similar to soccer. Many rules changed and each person interpreted the rules differently. In 1848 a group of school representatives met at Trinity College in Cambridge and drew up the first of soccer rules. In 1863 English soccer clubs founded the Football Association. By the late 1800’s soccer began to spread to the rest of the world. The Canadian Soccer Association was established in 1912 while the United States Soccer Federation was set up in 1913. The first World Cup Championship was in Montevideo, Uruguay. Since then it has been played every four years except during WWII. During the 1970’s soccer grew to be a very popular spectator sport as well as participant sport. A soccer game begins with a kickoff in the center of the field. A coin is flipped to decide which team will kickoff. The other team kicks off at the start of the second half when the teams switch sides or nets. After a team scores the other team gets to kickoff to begin again. The kickoff takes place in the middle of the field. When the ball is kicked it must travel the circumference of the ball and touch another player before the kicker can touch the ball again. After the ball is in play it remains in play unless it crosses a goal line or a touch line. All players attempt to stop the ball from coming in their zone while at the same time trying to score a goal. A player may kick the ball into the net with any part of the body except the hands and arms. If the ball goes out of bounds the play is restarted with a corner kick, a goal kick, or a throw-in. The referee decides what type to use. If the ball crosses the goal line and the defensive team touched it last then there is a corner kick by the offense. If the offense touches the ball last and crosses the goal line then it is a goal kick. A throw in happens when the ball crosses the touch line. When it crosses the touch line the team that did not touch it last throws the ball in bounds. The ball is thrown over their head with two hands. Fouls are called when a player does not obey the rules and acts unsportsman-like. When a foul is called the opposite team receives either a penalty kick, a direct free kick or and indirect free kick. Physical Conditioning There are many exercises that people can do to improve in soccer. Exercises that strengthen your legs and improve flexibility are ideal. Physical conditioning is important if you plan on being good at soccer. Here are five exercises that are ideal for soccer: Running: running helps to improve cardiovascular fitness. In soccer there is lots of running for the ball so endurance and a speed is a must. Leg Stretches: using weights can help strengthen the legs. Using weights makes you kick harder and makes the ball travel farther, as a result you become a better player. Leg Machines: exercising all muscles in the leg makes you kick harder and prevents injury when you are diving all over for the ball. The strong muscles help prevent injuries. Stretching: stretching allows you to be more flexible. Sometimes soccer players need to kick the ball in the most awkward positions. Flexibly helps the player to kick the ball in those positions more effectively. Weight Training: all around weight training makes a soccer player even better. A stronger body helps prevent injury and improve all around performance. Practice Drills help the soccer player be more skillful and a better player. There are many drills that can be done. Drills like dribbling to head butting are often used. Some of these drills include: Practicing kicking the ball is a very important and often done drill. To practice the player will kick the ball into the net. Often there is a goalie that they try to score on. Kicking is the most important skill in soccer. Practicing will make your kick stronger and more controllable. Passing is also a very important skill. One drill that can be done is to run side by side with another player and pass the ball back and forth. This skill will improve your passing and receiving skills. Passing is also vital in the game of soccer. Heading is one of the only ways to legally hit the ball when it high in the air. With another player heading can be practiced. One player throws the ball high over top of the other player. The player then will jump up and hit the ball with his forehead and try to control the ball. Heading is very hard and often lots of practice is required. Control of the ball is also very important. By setting up pylons in any order and distance and weaving through them in a pattern like formation can improve your control of the ball. Trying to go quick can also improve your speed of running while dribbling a ball. One on one practice improves both your dribbling and tackling. With two players one is given the ball and must keep the ball away from the other player. While one player is improving his faking and dribbling the other is practicing his defense and tackling. When this drill is done often it can improve your offense as well as defense. Soccer can be done in many age groups. Children often play the sport in school as early as elementary school. Many adults also play the sport. Seniors rarely play soccer because of the easiness it is for them to get injured. Soccer is often very demanding. Soccer for many kids can be very fun. Most children don’t think of soccer as work and often enjoy playing soccer. Adults also sometimes find soccer fun and even some adults have careers in the area as a professional soccer player. Soccer is very valuable in obtaining â€Å"life long† fitness. Soccer can be a very demanding sport. Soccer can improve your cardiovascular fitness as well as strength and flexibility. All the physical conditioning and practice drills are very important in keeping fit. Soccer players are able to be healthy and strong because of the physical involvement. Association Football and B. (2017, Jun 03).

Fundamentals And Applications Of Programmable Logic Controllers Research Paper

Fundamentals And Applications Of Programmable Logic Controllers - Research Paper Example The vast number of advantages offered by Programmable logic controllers in industrial automation has ensured their predominance over the last decades and some years to come. Programmable logic controllers are cost effective for the control of complex systems, flexible and can be easily reapplied to control other systems, simplified programming and reduced downtime given their troubleshooting aid, sophisticated control owing to their computational abilities and long-term operation capability without failure given their reliable components. (Evans, 2006) The central processing unit (CPU) is involved with the performance of logic and arithmetic functions of a PLC. It utilizes the program stored in memory to process the accepted input signal from the input modules into the desired output. It sends the desired output signal to the output modules which converts it into an appropriate actuator signal. In general, the CPU performs the functions of updating the input and output, logic and arithmetic functions and memory communication. The CPU is further divided into three major subsystems; Control Unit (CU), Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) and the Registers. Instructions are fetched from a specified location and loaded into the registers then decoded by the Control Unit. The arithmetic and logic operations such as the subtraction, addition and basic logic operations such as OR/AND are done by the ALU. Control Unit directs the results into a special memory location for storage. Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) is a logic gate collection with outputs, inputs and control bits for determining operation type.

Airport Security; Screening procedures and what can we do to protect Research Paper

Airport Security; Screening procedures and what can we do to protect ourselves against terrorism in the skies - Research Paper Example These attacks prompted the US government to act fast to create stringent security laws that would ensure that the people of America were well protected. In the month of November 2001, the United States Congress created the Transportation Security Administration, commonly referred to as the TSA, under the Aviation and Transportation Act. The TSA is under the Department of Homeland Security and it is the body that holds the responsibility of overseeing security in all modes of travel and transportation. Airport security and aircraft hijacking are some of the organization’s top objectives (Caldwell, 2008). Homeland Security is the body that is tasked with maintaining security in all of the United States. TSA as part of the Homeland Security department is responsible for maintaining security in all modes of transport, most importantly at the airports. Some of the duties of the TSA as an airport security body are explained below. Among its other duties, the TSA was expected to come up with policies that would ensure that there was complete security in the US air traffic. The organization is responsible for the screening processes carried out in various airports. Both the passengers and their baggage are screened under the authority of TSA. The organization has employed about 45,000 screeners or Transportation Security Officers to carry out the screening process (Wells, 2004). Luggage theft is common in many airports across the US. The work of the TSA, according to Wells, also includes ensuring that luggage in airports is as secure as possible. The organization collaborates with other private and federal security agencies to ensure that screening and luggage security guidelines are followed without a problem. According to Tabler (2010), the TSA should be privatized if it is to carry its duties to the satisfaction of Americans. He says that most people are wary of the security breaches that happen in the airports where TSA does the

Middle East Hisory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Middle East Hisory - Essay Example The Mandate of Palestine of 1922 was borne out of the colonial designs of the British and French on the Middle East. Britain acquired Palestine, the Transjordan and Iraq, while France got Syria. It also embodied the promises these two European powers made to the Arabs and the Zionists, which eventually led to conflict. British encouragement of Zionist actions during the early years of the mandate led to increasing conflict between the Jewish immigrants and their Arab neighbors. As the Second World War loomed and the British recognized the importance of Arab support, they shifted their favors towards the Arabs at the expense of the Jewish communities who were now concentrated in fortified strongholds. As violence increased, the British decided to abandon Palestine, leaving the settlement of the Jewish question among the Zionists and Arabs. The French did not want to hand over power to the Muslims of Syria in a manner that they may be thought of giving up their traditional policy of pr otecting the Christians of the Levant. Urban populations and those of the educated Syrian elite were also demanding that Syria become independent and that Lebanon, Palestine, Transjordan, aside from the Druze and Alawite districts, become part of it. Rebels among the Druze and the nationalists led to open hostilities which did not subside until 1927. The 1952 Egyptian Revolution o... Although the king tried to institute land redistribution and other forms of reform, corruption became the main cause for the failure of his measures. Among the reasons that led to the revolution was the failed Palestine Campaign of 1948 which convinced the leaders that Farouk I was inefficient and corrupt. From 1917 to 1949, Israel occupied 78% of lands in Palestine, which was then administered by Great Britain under a League of Nations mandate. Israeli occupation led to the eviction of 750,000 Arab refugees to the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and other Arab countries. This led to Egypt's campaign against Israel in 1948 which ended in failure because of a corrupt and ineffectual government. General Neguib became commander-in-chief, president and prime minister after Farouk's abdication. Nasser was his Minister of the Interior. However, young officers in the army saw Neguib as too moderate. This resulted in his retirement and Nasser then succeeded him as prime minister in 1954. He became Egypt's president seven months later. Nasser was popular with young officers since many were recruited by him into the Free Officers movement during World War II. His republican views also attracted a large following. Increasing sympathy and concern over the plight of Palestinian Arabs who were forced to seek refuge in neighboring countries, and Nasser's espousal of Arab independence, also increased his popularity among the people and military. Most important in this period was his advocacy of liberating Palestine from Jewish occupation. His policy of Arab independence also challenged British authority, which gave him widespread support. Egypt had long endured British

Linguistics- Language Acquisition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Linguistics- Language Acquisition - Essay Example In the sense, they will imitate every aspect and word more like how they observe than what is the exact. While imitating, almost all the children reflect a tendency to make errors, these errors could be explained as general among all children, who may belong to any origin. Some of the common errors or overgeneralizations that could be identified among children are applying the meaning of a universal statement to all exceptions. This is a behavioural mistake realised among all children. For example if â€Å"dog is explained in terms of an animal having four legs, and birds in terms of all that flies†, the child will associate all animals with four legs as dogs, and all that flies as birds, including an insect. The simplest example would be that, children suggesting the past tense of verbs in a generalized way, the past tense of â€Å"come† might be guessed as â€Å"comed†. As they would have registered their mind according to what they have been taught as rules, â€Å"all verbs end with an â€Å"ed† while changing to past tense. This might be referred to as one of the simple examples of overgeneralization. From this we could understand that As far language acquisition is concerned, overgeneralizations occur in those who are in the beginning stage of learning, for example children who learns their first language at home, and adults who learn their second or non native language on condition. It is the stages involved in the process of learning a language by understanding the linguistic and grammatical rules of the particular language. A child learns by distributing the various things that exists and analyse them on the basis of communicative ideas taught by the elders. For example if an elephant is described and explained as huge in size, the child might associate this explanation with any other animal [which it might see in a book]. This is called overgeneralization. As already said language acquisition is the course of learning a language by

Recruit Requirements Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Recruit Requirements - Assignment Example The applicant further needs to have a valid driver’s license and successfully pass Physical Abilities Test (PAT), Polygraph examination, ad psychological examination (Florida highway patrol: 65th anniversary 1939-2004, 2005). They must be a citizen of United States aged 21 years or older. They should possess a High School Diploma or GED. They should also not have visible tattoos on their bodies when wearing standard uniform of the day. They should not have used any illegal drugs whatsoever for a period of not less than 3 years of making application or after they have attained 30 years of age. The applicant should also demonstrate good moral character and have no felony convictions, arrests or other law enforcement engagements entailing perjury, false statements, or criminal traffic offences. Other qualification include six months free of tobacco use and must have successfully passed investigation tests and polygraph examination (Gee, 2014). A contrasts of the requirements for Florida State Police and join Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reveal a lot of similarity. However, an officer at sheriff’s office must be at least 21 years old as compared to 19 years age required for the state police. Also, while both of state police and sheriff’s office insists on physical qualifications, the former pays a lot of attention on this qualification. This is evidenced by the limited number of female employees in these department who find the training to be excessively rigorous. However, due to the nurture of their engagement and their expansive jurisdictional coverage, it is necessary for the state police to be a notch higher than their state counterparts when it comes to physical fitness. It is under the discretion of the physician conducting PAT to determine that the applicant meets the physical requirements necessary to perform the basic functions that appertains to the

Objectives of Reconstruction in the years immediately after the Civil Essay

Objectives of Reconstruction in the years immediately after the Civil War - Essay Example the strongest desire to secure to the freedmen the full enjoyment of their freedom and their property and their interdependence and equality in making contracts for their labor† (Johnston, teachingamericanhistory.org). This is the thinking and suggestion of Andrew Johnson. At the same time, Abraham Lincoln had a similar opinion concerning the freedom of men after the civil rights, â€Å"with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds† (Lincoln, teachingamericanhistory.org). According to my view, these three great individuals had similar views in regard to the slaves and the freedmen, though the kind of approach that they had taken was different. Lincoln agitates for peace, while Andrew Johnson rejected a bill passed by the senate and approved by the house of congress. In his explanation, it is quite clear that the details of the bill were not consistent with the people’s welfare; he therefore had to reject it. Given the effort and steps taken by Andrew Johnson towards the establishment of measures that could oversee that the freedmen and the slave got justice, he has been greatly attacked by Sumner Charles, whereby he describes him with many attributes, â€Å"original partisan of slavery North; habitual compromisers of great principles; maligners of the declaration of independence† (â€Å"Charles Sumner opinion,† rug.nl). This description depicts a negative image of the one known for his understanding and good will for the people. Though all these individuals had the same aim, to deliver the slaves from the bondage of suffering, they had different approaches. Abraham Lincoln has described the origin of the civil war and has greatly included God’s involvement in his issues. He eventually urges the people to come together so as to ensure that all slaves get their rights. Andrew Johnson on the other hand is one person

Outline the historical origins of neo-conservatism and critically Essay

Outline the historical origins of neo-conservatism and critically assess its key themes - Essay Example Neoconservatives originally approached this standpoint from the left political wing, particularly in reponse to main changes in modernhistory of the United States. The majority of predecessors of neoconservativism were liberals or socialists who actively supported theWorld War II, and whose views were influenced by the Depression-era concepts of ex-New Dealers, Trotskyism followers and trade unionists, especially those who supported the political study of Max Shachtman. â€Å"A number of future neoconservatives such as Jeane Kirkpatrick and Ken Adelman were Shachtmanites in their youth, while others were later involved with Social Democrats USA. Most neoconservatives, however, including those who have been close to SDUSA, will strenuously deny, even contrary to evidence, that they were ever Shachtmanites† (Dean, 2004,p.65). Disagreement with Dà ©tente with the USSR and the ideas of New Left, who were against both Soviet and capitalist ideologies, which occurred as a reaction to the USSR’s break with Stalinism ideology in the middle of 1950s, led the Neoconservatives to break with ‘liberal consent’ established in postwar years. The ‘prototypical’ neoconservative intellectuals I.Kristol and N.Podhoretz were connected to with the magazine named ‘Commentary’, and their academic development is quite apparent in those publications of that period (Stelzer, 2004). Over the course of the 1950s and early 1960s the original neoconservatives rejected communism, but accepted socialism and supported Civil Rights Movement initiated by Martin Luter King, and integration. Whereas, at the beginning of its development, the ideas of neoconservatism became well-known among the followers of hardline Communists, usually Jewish immigrant families, who lived in great poverty and those who has now become famous neoconservative thinkers. â€Å"Many neoconservatives also came to despise the counterculture of the 1960s and what they felt was a

The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets Essay Example for Free

The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets Essay Fooled by Randomness The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets is a kaleidoscopic assessment of the human mind which is observed in the environment of Wall street and other trading markets across the world. What is observed by the reader’s point of view, changes with time, if it is viewed by turning the lens. However, outlook of the reader will also decide a number of issues that are raised in this book. Looking from one direction, the book takes notice of the various unlimited borders that have been created by mass media and its noise. Mr. Nassim Taleb tries to stress upon the fact that the common man lacks sufficient knowledge about the simple issues of probability and statistics. For example, take a steam engine. If one sees a steam engine for the first time, he may not know what is the functioning of the engine, but after a while of careful examination, one can surely get a rough idea of its working and can also predict the behavior pattern. That is one can predict the â€Å"future behavior pattern† after closely analyzing a shorter period of behavior. The example given here is compared to the life in general. There is a lot of un-expectancy in the lives of people and similarly in the stock markets. These trading markets possess a huge factor of randomness that are based upon the complex stochastic issues, and not to forget regular bouncy and spiteful surprises. The behavioral pattern of the stock markets during short time spans is not so significant and is appropriately termed as â€Å"noise† by the author. The method of extrapolating values here in this regard seems to be impossible. Yet people more often do that. They try to sketch patterns where they â€Å"do no â€Å" exist and misinterpret the function of unpredictability, search for rationalization for the occasion of probability and strongly believe that they best know about the future. And this is what is stressed in this book. The author of the book, Nassim Nicholas Taleb is a stock market player and is a expert doubter. He proclaims that mathematics is still adolescent and cannot completely explain the science of probability in the stock market. The author however is clever to understand to give adequate weight-age to the possibility of random occurrences, and their irrelevance at some occasions. He evidently observes that his consideration towards the importance of randomness has more value than the mathematical calculations. Mathematics is principally a tool to meditate, rather than to compute. He has been a witness to countless agents and traders who have been hit hardly, â€Å"blown up† in the charming phenomenon of the trade. Very often he has observed great flourishing careers brought to an end with some unanticipated market crumbling. On such occasions, people say, I had never forecasted that, miserably shaking their heads as they leave the market place. Yes, this is what the author wants to convey with his book these people have been â€Å"fooled by randomness† of the market behavior. There are many ways of getting fooled by the behavior of randomness. The most common and detrimental is to fail to predict the probability of rare occurrences. The author expresses his thought that nothing else is more certain than the occurrence of the unexpected event that is bound to occur sooner or later in future. People often sleep calmly between safe periods, and forget that the unexpected is about to come any time. Another is to see significance in some random pattern. Taleb explains with crystal clarity why the more often you look at some fluctuating quantity (the value of your share portfolio, for example), the less meaning your observations have. Yet he sees traders who watch prices move up and down in real time on screen the changes are so small as to be completely random and think they are learning something. Another issue which is more subtle yet more dangerous, is the survivorship bias: in a haphazard population, some matters will be more observable than others. Suppose for example, a trader who works on strategies that do no better than random behavior of the market, he will face fifty fifty chances of success and failure every year. Of course, it has never come to his mind, that his success is also random, however his innocent mind believes that his success was due to his superior strategies and not market randomness! The author’s view on randomness and his examples are not limited only to trade market. In reality, randomness and behavioral fluctuations occur in every field. The effect of these â€Å"random nesses† can also be overblown by a optimistic response loop, which he calls as bipolarity. For example, a job seeker does accidently well in an interview (although he is not capable, yet it is randomness) and as a result gets better results and more popularity than others who are much more skilled. Actually, human mind is structured to view patterns, to reason the cause of occurrences, and to firmly believe in those reasons and rationales. The main aspect of Talebs book is that the author is very well aware of this behavioral science of the human mind. He knows nothing he says can dismiss the false impression fashioned by unpredictability or randomness and that he is as vulnerable to the unpredictability or randomness as any other common man. Further he stresses that his only benefit is that he is at least conscious of the weak spot, and often tries to play in order to prevent himself from these situations. For example, he very often tries to ignore any form of â€Å"hot news† or any scrap information. The books short but excellent final section deals with this Zen-like problem of trying to break oneself out of a mould of thinking that cannot be broken, even though one recognizes its shortcomings. The main characteristic of the book Fooled by Randomness is that the author is very close observing a true picture of the markets with the eye of a successful trader as well as being a insider guide to non belief. True traders, I believe, dress sloppily, are often ugly and exhibit the intellectual curiosity of someone who would be more interested in the information-revealing contents of the garbage can than the Cezanne painting on the wall. (Taleb). The author does not avoid any situation of the market in his book. His examples are crunchy and repeatedly atrocious. His aggression on an assortment of features of the monetary firmament, are hurtful and luminously argued. Many people who read his book can find him exasperating and annoying. The book is a small review on the how to trade in complex situations and to closely understand the random behavior of trade markets. However, there are instances where the book is leaving some unanswered queries in the mind of the reader. The author demonstrates a contemptuous and scornful disapproval for investment managers who want to make a fortune for themselves by selling their track records. Well, later in the book, Taleb mentions that he also wants to be hedge fund manager! Can he do that without showing off his own track record with the customers? Will he take privilege of the random events that occurred to him and gave him a successful track record? Since Mr. Taleb’s elementary statement on the subject of the character of the Market theory is mistaken on some occasions, his evaluation of the neighboring reflections leads to a wrongful evaluation of human behavior and market features. At times, the reader might feel that the author is oscillating between an illogical estimation of the practical world of money market and his own emotional responses to the every day events of life. At the same time, Taleb also believes his unfinished examination and erroneously pays no attention to the quantifiable collision of various factors within the existing financial economics. This is why by the end of his book Mr. Taleb ends up not just tricked by the phenomenon randomness but to a certain extent maltreated by it. REFERENCE 1. Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Habeas Corpus and the War on Terror Essay Example for Free

Habeas Corpus and the War on Terror Essay In this paper I will be diving in to the history of Habeas Corpus and how it has evolved over the years. I will briefly explain the origination of the habeas corpus, the role it plays in U. S. A and what current action is being taken about it. I will be also looking in to the Bush administration and the way they dealt with habeas corpus. The original purpose of habeas corpus was to bring people into court rather than out of imprisonment and by the year 1230, the writs utility for that purpose was a well-known aspect of English common law. Known as the Great Writ, its codification into English law came by way of Parliament in the Habeas Corpus Act of 1641, created in response to the King of Englands actions during what is now referred to as Darnells Case. In Darnell, five English noblemen were thrown into the castles dungeon deep for failure to support their countrys dual wars against France and Spain. The men filed suit, requesting the King provide an explanation as to their imprisonment. King Charles refused, on review; the court upheld the monarchys steadfast silence, stating that the law did not require the King to provide any justification for their detention. The public outcry against this decision was deafening, prompting Parliamentary action the following year. Parliament expanded habeas rights several years later with the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, additionally requiring charges to be brought within a specific time period for anyone detained for criminal acts. By 1765, habeas corpus was firmly imbedded within the foundation of English law, as noted by William Blackstone, who described the Great Writ as a second magna carta, a stable bulwark of our liberties. This fundamental English right successfully traversed the Atlantic Ocean when our founders incorporated the doctrine of habeas corpus into the U. S. Constitution. As stated, The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. Known as the Suspension Clause, this provision specifically places the ability to suspend habeas corpus in the hands of Congress only during times of rebellion or invasion. Despite the clarity of the clause, the American debate on habeas corpus only begins at this point. The Great Writ of habeas corpus has long had an iconic status as the writ of liberty which ensured that no person could be detained in prison without being put to trial by a jury of his peers. According to the traditional version, popularized by Whiggish constitutional writers from the late seventeenth century onwards, the English constitution as embodied in the common law had, since time immemorial, striven to protect the fundamental rights of Englishmen and women, which included the right to personal liberty obban, M. Halliday, P. D. (2011). Habeas Corpus is an ancient common law prerogative writ a legal procedure to which you have an undeniable right. It is an extraordinary remedy at law. Upon proper application, or even on naked knowledge alone, a court is empowered, and is duty bound, to issue the Extraordinary Writ of Habeas Corpus commanding one who is restraining liberty to forthwith produce before the court the person who is in custody and to show because why the liberty of that person is being restrained. Absent a sufficient showing for a proper restraint of liberty, the court is duty bound to order the restraint eliminated and the person discharged. Habeas Corpus is fundamental to American and all other English common law derivative systems of jurisprudence. It is the ultimate lawful and peaceable remedy for adjudicating the providence of liberty’s restraint. Robertson. J, (2002). After the attacks of 11 September 2001, came the war in Afghanistan followed by the war in Iraq: a two-pronged engagement collectively known as the Global War on Terror As U. S. rmed forces captured enemy combatants by the M35 truckload, the Bush administration pondered how to systematically detain such persons in a manner that would provide adequate detention while maintaining intelligence-gathering capabilities vital to the war efforts. The answer was found on the island of Cuba: Guantanamo Bay. U. S. naval forces have occupied this site since 1903, and it seemed to provide the perfect solution. Relying on the Courts previous precedent in Johnson v. Eisentrager, govemment officials believed that keeping enemy combatants outside the realm of U.  S. territory would preclude such individual’s filing, among other things, claims for habeas corpus review. The govemments legal position was tested almost as quickly as the detainees arrived. Beginning in 2002, the United States transported captured enemy combatants to the area of Guantanamo Bay known as Camp X-Ray. Applications for writs of habeas corpus by Guantanamo detainees were made as early as February 2002. In Coalition of Clergy v. Bush, the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California first approached this issue in line with govemment expectations. Relying on Johnson v. Eisentrager, the court held that several U. S. citizens under the Coalition of Clergy, Lawyers, and Professors who had filed show cause petitions on behalf of enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Bay lacked standing to assert claims on behalf of the detainees. The court further concluded that, even if petitioners did have standing, this court lacked jurisdiction to entertain those claims. Moreover, the court found that no federal court would have jurisdiction over petitioners claims, so there is no basis to transfer this matter to another federal district court. Because Guantanamo Bay remained outside U. S. sovereignty, the case closely mirrored that of Eisentrager As a result, the United States failed to maintain jurisdiction and the court dismissed the petition. In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force which grants the President power to use all necessary and appropriate force' against all who either participated in any way in those attacks or gave refuge to those who participated. Under this authority, the Department of Defense ordered several enemy combatants to be transferred to Guantanamo Bay for detention. In Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, a plurality of the Court recognized that the ability to detain individuals engaged in armed conflict against the United States was so fundamental and accepted an incident to war as to be an exercise of the necessary and appropriate force Congress has authorized the President to use. Notwithstanding this explicit sanction of detention, the Court held that the citizen-detainee seeking to challenge his classification as an enemy combatant must receive notice of the factual basis for his classification, and a fair opportunity to rebut the Governments factual assertions before a neutral decision maker. The Court suggested that this could be done by an appropriately authorized and properly constituted military tribunal. Pond, B. C. (2009). The rationale for the U. S. detention policy derives from the Bush administrations comprehensive military order issued on November 13, 001, which is intended to govern the Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War against Terrorism. Purportedly modeled after a proclamation and military order issued by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during World War II, President Bushs military order limits the use of military commissions to any non-citizen for whom the president determines: is or was a member of al Qaeda, has committed, aided or abetted, or conspired to commit terrorist acts, or has knowingly harbored one or more of these individuals. Several months after the issuance of this military order, the administration began using the term enemy combatant to describe those subject to detention and trial by military commission. The administrations definition of enemy combatant, however, has varied over time. The administration sometimes uses the enemy combatant label as a term of art to describe a new and unique category of combatant in the post 9/11 world. On other occasions, the administration uses the term generically to describe what traditionally has been called lawful and unlawful combatants, while at other times the term is used synonymously with unlawful combatants. According to this definition, the term enemy combatant is not limited to war combatants alone, but includes anyone who has aided terrorist organizations fighting against the United States, including those who may have unwittingly given financial support to al Qaeda. The Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a slightly different definition of enemy combatant on March 23, 2005. According to Joint Publication 3-63, entitled Joint Doctrine for Detainee Operations, the term enemy combatant describes a new category of detainee and includes, but is not necessarily limited to, a member or agent of Al Qaeda, Taliban, or another international terrorist organization against which [the] United States is engaged in an armed conflict. Staab, J. B. (2008). Conclusion The premise behind habeas corpus as stated is to bring people into court rather than out of imprisonment. However in my opinion, during the Bush administration, they found a way around this law so as to not have to give a trial. While I want justice like the next person, I would not like to be in a situation where I am being held under the pretence that I a criminal without evidence or a trial. I am not saying that the people held were/are innocent, but I can’t help but to think we cannot be sure. I think that capturing these people were also done out of revenge and thus not urging anyone to think of their right. The 9/11 attack was gut ranching and frankly something I never want to experience again, so I do understand the need to talk less and carry a big stick. From an honest stand point, after 9/11 I was scared to do anything, while I am of no Middle Eastern decent, I look like an Indian person from India, that meant no one ask you where you are from when they look at you suspiciously. Even with all the rights I have in the U. S. A if I was suspected of being suspicious and someone higher and more powerful said that I had dealing with terrorists activities, no one will honestly believe me because of the way I look. Bring me to my point that without a trial we cannot tell for sure of the people being held in Cuba was innocent or guilty without a trail.

Do Stocks in VN30 Basket Follow Weak Form?

Do Stocks in VN30 Basket Follow Weak Form? The research question: Do stocks in VN30 basket follow weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis? PART 1: INTRODUCTION In the investment world, portfolio management refers to actions taken to maximize the return on a portfolio (Investopedia, 2016). Under portfolio management., Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) is one of the most important theories that investors should take into consideration if they aim to earn abnormal returns. This hypothesis basically illustrates the relationship between stock price and available information on the stock, which is reflected in three forms including strong form, semi-strong form and weak form. Out of the three patterns, EMH at weak form states that historical prices cannot be used to make predictions about future stock prices. This research paper will examine the weak form EMH in the context of constituent stocks in the VN30 Index an adjusted index of VN-Index (which is the market index of Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, Vietnam). PART 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Random Walk Theory and Efficient Market Hypothesis The origin of stock market efficiency can be traced back to early twentieth century when Bachelier (1900) proposed his idea about Random Walk Hypothesis. This theory affirms that prices of past, present and even the future have no correlation; in other words, security prices tend to follow randomness and therefore are unpredictable. A few studies around this issue were conducted in 1930s; however, the Random Walk Theory was intensively discussed in the 1960s. Bacheliers work was then reinforced with the introduction of Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) by Fama (1970). According to this theory, stocks always trade at their intrinsic values, making it impossible for investors to benefit from stock mispricing i.e. purchase undervalued stocks and sell overvalued stocks. As a result, the only way investors can earn a higher return than the market is by engaging in riskier investments. Nowadays, the Random Walk Theory is referred to as the weak form of EMH, stating that stock prices are random and past events have no influence on the current prices. Meanwhile, it is widely known that technical analysis is the science of using historical price patterns to anticipate future price movements. Hence, according to the weak form of EMH, there is no point in applying technical analysis to predict and beat the market. 2.2 Research studies conducted towards Weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis Many studies have been carried out to investigate the weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis, some of which fail to support the weak-form efficiency. Srinivasan (2010) examines the validity of random walk hypothesis for two major stock markets in India, i.e. SP CNX NIFTY and SENSEX, using observations from 1st July 1997 to 31st August 2010. The study applied Augmented Dickey-Fuller test and Phillips-Perron test to point out that characteristics of random walk are not present in Indian stock exchanges; hence, weak form efficiency is rejected in the case of Indian markets. As a result, this provides trading opportunities for investors to earn abnormal returns since they can make predictions about future stock prices. Similarly, Singh et al., (2016) tested the Efficient Market Hypothesis in Carbon Efficient Indices of India, the US, Japan and Brazil by using Kolmogrov-Smirnov test, Shapiro-Wilk test, runs test and autocorrelation test. The results from these statistical tests reveal t hat daily  closing stock prices do not follow random walk in all countries under investigation. This is in line with Nwidobie Adesina (2014), who conclude that Nigerian stock exchange is not efficient in weak form by employing the GARCH autoregressive model. This inefficiency, according to Nwidobie Adesina, may be explained by limited information dissemination in the market, high trading and floatation costs, information hoarding and insider trading, as well as poor implementation of investor protection laws in the country. The rejection of weak form efficiency is also found in other emerging markets, evidenced by the studies of Islam, et al. (2005), Srivastava (2010), Bà ¼yà ¼kÃ…Å ¸alvarci Abdioglu (2011), Haroon (2012) and Agbam (2015). Other studies, on the other hand, show evidence of market efficiency in some economies. Andrianto Mirza (2016) used daily stock price data collected from LQ45 Index, Jakarta Islamic Index and Kompas 100 Index during the period 2013-2014 to examine weak form efficiency in Indonesia. The results from runs test and serial correlation test demonstrate that Indonesia stock market follows weak form efficient pattern. Specifically, the following conclusions are drawn from the study: 1) stock price movement is random; 2) there is no correlations between the stock price movement of the present day and previous days. Andrianto Mirza also suggest that investors use fundamental analysis to react quickly for available information, as well as utilize news from digital media to update market conditions. Further evidence supporting the weak form efficiency of capital markets may lie in the findings of Jiang, et al. (2014), who examined WTI crude oil futures prices from 1983 to 2012. Using bootstra pping technique, the academics confirm the efficiency of crude oil futures market, and state that the market is inefficient only in case of turbulent events, such as the oil price crash in 1985, the Gulf war, and the oil price crash in 2008. 2.3 VN-Index, VN30 Index and VN30 stocks 2.3.1 VN-Index VN-Index is the index used to illustrate price fluctuations of company stocks listed on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE). The problem is that, VN-Index calculation takes into account all shares outstanding, which include free-float shares and restricted shares. Free-float shares are shares freely available for trading in the market (Standard and Poors, 2016). In contrast, restricted shares are not available for public trading as they are closely held by control group, other publicly traded companies or government agencies (Standard and Poors, 2016). As a result, some stocks such as GAS, VNM, MSN, VCB and BID can largely influence VN-Index due to their large number of restricted shares. 2.3.2 VN30 Index and VN30 stocks The VN30 Index (also known as VN30 Equal Weight Index) was first introduced to the market on February 2012, tracking the performance of the top 30 large-cap liquid stocks on the Ho Chi Minh City stock exchange in Vietnam (Phoenix Capital, 2017). This index can overcome the weaknesses of VN-Index in the following manners: Capitalization values of constituent stocks are based on the number of shares freely traded on the market (free-float); Restrict the excessive influence of a particular stock by setting the capitalization weighed limit of 10%; Among more than 300 stocks listed on HOSE categorized into 11 primary industries, stocks in VN30 basket are present in 9 industries. Moreover, stocks in the VN30 basket represent about 80% of HOSE market capitalization and 60% of HOSE market volume (Dao, 2014). From the advantages above, it can be concluded that VN30 Index can represent the Ho Chi Minh market in terms of industries, market capitalization and liquidity. This makes VN30 Index a quite useful investment instrument for index funds. PART 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Data Collection This research paper employs the quantitative method to investigate the weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis in the context of Vietnamese background. The study is based on secondary data, which are daily closing prices of stocks included in the VN30 basket. The data are collected from the database of Bao Viet Securities Company a well-known securities firm in Vietnam. It is noted that the VN30 basket is periodically reviewed and adjusted every six months on January and July (Dao, 2014). Since the introduction of VN30 Index in February 2012, the basket has been reviewed and adjusted totally 10 times. For the purpose of this study, not all 30 stocks in the basket are chosen for analysis. Specifically, the stocks selected must meet the criterion of being consecutively included in the basket for the past five years. Put it another way, if stock A is included in the basket for one period but excluded for the next period, stock A will not be considered as the object of this study. This ensures the continuity of the data and fair treatment for all stocks in the basket. After all, only 16 stocks meet the criterion (see Appendix A for the full list of stocks selected). Their closing prices are then collected for the examined period from 06th February 2012 (the first day of VN30 basket) until 20th January 2017 (the end of the latest reviewed period). 3.2 Method of Analysis The data collected are analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics software version 20. Particularly, three tests are conducted to determine whether stocks selected are at weak-form efficiency, namely runs test, autocorrelation test and Ljung-Box Q statistic. The runs test is a non-parametric test that is designed to find out whether successive price changes are independent. The test is based on the premise that if a series of a data is random, the observed number of runs in the series should be close to the expected number of runs. In this context, the runs test at 5% significance level is used to test the following hypothesis: H1: Stocks in the VN30 basket follows random walk Meanwhile, autocorrelation (or serial correlation) test measures the correlation coefficient between the stock return at current period and its value in the previous period, whether the correlation coefficients are significantly different from zero. In addition, the Ljung-Box Q (LBQ) statistic examines the joint hypothesis that all autocorrelations are simultaneously equal to zero (that is, the data values are random and independent up to a certain number of lags). In this context, the autocorrelation test and Ljung-Box Q statistic (at 5% level of significance) are employed to test the following hypothesis: H2: There is no correlation between stock prices of today and previous days In short, the combination of tests mentioned above help determine whether 16 selected stocks in the VN30 basket follows weak-form efficiency or not. PART 4: ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS 4.1 Results of Runs test Table 1 shows the results of the runs test based on daily closing stock prices of 16 chosen stocks. Table 1: Results of Runs test STB VIC SSI MSN FPT HAG KDC DPM VNM REE VCB Test Valuea 17.27 55.76 21.53 87.14 45.83 19.23 40.97 33.45 113.55 23.14 34.03 Cases 461 605 651 648 560 425 601 759 547 484 698 Cases >= Test Value 727 583 537 540 628 763 587 429 641 704 490 Total Cases 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 Number of Runs 38 20 41 18 53 8 7 17 12 10 10 Z -32.222 -33.379 -32.139 -33.487 -31.453 -34.042 -34.134 -33.478 -33.840 -33.942 -33.944 Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 Runs Test BVH HPG PVD CII GMD Test Valuea 47.31 35.31 48.11 22.33 29.84 Cases 637 660 723 627 594 Cases >= Test Value 551 528 465 561 594 Total Cases 1188 1188 1188 1188 1188 Number of Runs 39 8 9 34 43 Z -32.265 -34.071 -33.996 -32.560 -32.044 Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 a. Mean Source: IBM SPSSs result, 2017 As can be seen from the above table, the actual number of runs is significantly less than the expected number of runs (total cases), which is evidenced by negative Z-values for all chosen stocks. Furthermore, it is observed that the significant values around the mean of all stocks are 0.000 which is below 0.05 (5% level of significance). This indicates that 16 selected stocks do not follow random walk behaviour, resulting in the rejection of the null hypothesis H1 which says stocks in the VN30 basket follows random walk. 4.2 Results of Autocorrelation test The results obtained from autocorrelation test and Ljung-Box Q statistic of 16 chosen stocks are presented in Table 2. Table 2: Results of Autocorrelation test and Ljung-Box Q statistic Source: IBM SPSSs result, 2017 As can be observed from Table 2, significant positive autocorrelation (> 0.8) is detected at all 16 lags for all chosen stocks. It is noted that positive autocorrelation suggests predictability of stock prices in the short term, which provides confirmatory evidence that goes against market efficiency (Bà ¼yà ¼kÃ…Å ¸alvarci Abdioglu, 2011). Moreover, evidence from Ljung-Box Q statistic seems to suggest dependence between current stock price and prices of previous periods. It is noticeable that p-values are all equal to zero for all lags on all 16 stocks. Therefore, the Q statistic fail to support the joint null hypothesis that all autocorrelation coefficients from lag 1 to 16 are equal to zero for the observed stocks. Put it another way, the null hypothesis H2 of absence of autocorrelation is strongly rejected for all lags at 5% significance level. 4.3 Interpretation of findings On the basis of empirical results obtained from runs test, autocorrelation test and Ljung-Box Q statistic, both null hypotheses H1 and H2 are rejected. In other words, it can be concluded that 16 chosen stocks in the VN30 basket show no characteristics of weak-form efficiency. The findings of the current study are consistent with those of Truong et al. (2010), Vo Le (2013) and Do et al. (2014) who found that Vietnamese stock market is inefficient in the weak form. In general, the results of this study contradict the Efficient Market Hypothesis (Fama, 1970) and Random Walk Theory (Bachelier, 1900). As noted in the literature review, empirical studies on the weak form of Efficient Market Hypothesis in emerging markets have been thoroughly examined in recent years, as in cases of capital markets in India, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria. Although these studies generate mixed results, most of which suggest that Random Walk characteristic is not a good description of these markets. This study, by investigating a case study in Vietnam, further supports the idea of weak form inefficiency in emerging markets. The rejection of market efficiency in Vietnam have been proven by a number of studies. It seems possible that this inefficiency is due to gaps in Vietnamese financial system. Non-transparency in the disclosure of information, crowding effect and speculation are popular phenomena in Vietnam stock exchanges; thus, stock prices somehow do not reflect companies intrinsic values. These gaps are signals of an underdeveloped financial system (Fry, 1994; Leung, 2009) where asymmetric information, moral hazard and adverse selection are likely to be found (Islam, et al., 2005). As a result, investors are vulnerable to losing a substantial amount of money. Additionally, as Vietnam currently does not have a derivatives market, the investment risk can be more severe for investors. Since weak-form efficiency is not witnessed in this study, one implication of the result is that historical data and patterns may be used to make prediction about future stock prices. In other words, technical analysis might be employed by investors when making investment decisions to help them earn abnormal returns. Furthermore, as this study is based on daily data only, further research can test the Efficient Market Hypothesis by taking into account weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly or yearly data on a longer time horizon. Alternatively, future research studies may investigate the hypothesis in certain industries or different indices in Vietnam. 4.4 Limitations Due to the nature of the research question, there exists some study limitations which can partially affect the results objectivity. First, because of the selection criterion, only 16 out of 30 stocks are chosen for the purpose of the study. Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings to the whole VN30 basket since its establishment. Second, precision of data is questionable since some data of closing stock prices are missing in some trading days. As a result, this somehow impacts the accuracy of statistical tests as well as their implications. PART 5: REFLECTION ON THE RESEARCH PROCESS At the beginning of the research process, we realized that portfolio management is a massive area in finance; therefore, narrowing down this topic was critical to our group as it would affect how we could construct individual topics and research questions. However, the familiar topic of each was not in favour of others, which caused conflicts in our discussions. Hence, it was important that we be aware of these conflicts and arrive at a reasonable compromise that is beneficial to the whole group (Hede, 2007; Wu et al., 2013). Eventually, since I had prior experiences of investing in the stock market for three years and had written a dissertation about technical analysis, I received the trust from my fellows when I proposed the topic related to Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). On the one hand, I felt happy to have helped my group figure out the appropriate topic. On the other hand, I was a little bit worried as my group members had little exposure to financial markets. In fact, I ac knowledged that having to work on an unfamiliar area could lower their motivation for the research (Boneva, 2008). When it came to work allocation, some serious issues arose as there was no leader in our group. Because most of the workloads were set by oral agreements without any meeting minutes, everyone was usually vague about their responsibilities. Furthermore, our discussions did not work very well because most of them took place through WhatsApp group rather than face-to-face meetings, leading to frequent distractions from social networks. I feel these problems were really time-consuming and slowed down our groupwork performance. If I had been engaged in a similar project again, I would have nominated myself as the group leader so that I could assign workloads clearly and equally for everyone. I would have also suggested face-to-face meetings in order to have direct conversations with members. This should have brought more efficiency to the group in terms of time and contributions. Another issue that obstructed our groupwork productivity was bad time management of my team members. We all had two deadlines for two reports on the same date, but while I devised plans to finish both of which with adequate efforts, my partners fell into the trap of procrastination. Being rushed for two assignments at the same time was definitely not a good idea as it would negatively affect the performances of both (Peper, et al., 2014). To avoid this situation, we should have drawn up a timeline for the whole group so that everyone could effectively devote their time to each assignment. With regards to literature search and data collection phase, some members in the group seemed to be passive in finding articles and sharing ideas to their peers. They neither knew how to write an adequate literature review nor kinds of online sources they could employ. I feel this was partly due to their lack of background in finance and partly because they had never conducted any formal research studies before. Although this annoyed the rest of group members, we understood that this sometimes could be unavoidable in a multicultural group. We tried to give them as many related articles as possible and instructed them about skim and scan technique in order to pick essential readings. In fact, we should have reported the issue to the tutor from the beginning of the research so that those falling behind could receive additional trainings in research skills. In summary, this experience has taught me valuable lessons that are quite useful for me in future career, including how to communicate and collaborate with members in a multinational group, as well as things to do to become a good leader. I have also learnt more about how to improve time management skills, and how to resolve conflicts occurring during group works. Finally, I think I should speak my mind more frequently in the future if it is for the sake of the whole group. References          Agbam, A. S., 2015. Tests of Random Walk and Efficient Market Hypothesis in Developing Economies: Evidence from Nigerian Capital Market. International Journal of Management Sciences, 5(1), pp. 1-53. Andrianto, Y. Mirza , A. R., 2016. A Testing of Efficient Markets Hypothesis in Indonesia Stock Market. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 219, p. 99-103. Bachelier, L., 1900. Louis Bacheliers Theory of Speculation. 1st ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Boneva, D. L., 2008. Effects of Work Ethic and Social Identification on Motivation in Groups. Illinois: ProQuest. Bà ¼yà ¼kÃ…Å ¸alvarci, A. Abdioglu, H., 2011. Testing the weak form efficiency of the Turkish stock market. African Journal of Business Management, 5(34), pp. 13044-13056. Dao, T. B., 2014. VN30 Index: An Overview and Default Probability Analysis. Social Science Research Network (SSRN). Do, T. T. N., Le, T. B. Nguyen, T. T., 2014. Stock market efficiency in emerging markets: Evidence from Vietnamese stock market. s.l., s.n. Fama, E., 1970. Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work. Journal of Finance, 25(2), pp. 383-417. Fry, M., 1994. Money, Interest, and Banking in Economic Development. 2nd ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Haroon, M. A., 2012. Testing the Weak Form Efficiency of Karachi Stock Exchange. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 6(2), pp. 297-307. Hede, A., 2007. The shadow group: Towards an explanation of interpersonal conflict in work groups. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(1), pp. 25 39. Investopedia, 2016. Portfolio Management. [Online] Available at: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/portfoliomanagement.asp[Accessed 15 March 2017]. Islam, S., Watanapalachaikul, S. Clark, C., 2005. Are Emerging Financial Markets Efficient? Some Evidence from the Models of the Thai Stock Market. Melbourne, Centre for Strategic Economic Studies. Jiang, Z.-Q., Xie, W.-J. Zhou, W.-X., 2014. Testing the weak-form efficiency of the WTI crude oil futures market. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Volume 405, p. 235-244. Leung, S., 2009. Banking and Financial Sector Reforms in Vietnam. Asean Economic Bulletin, 26(1), pp. 44-57. Nwidobie, B. M. Adesina, J. B., 2014. CAPITAL MARKET EFFICIENCY. AN EMPIRICAL TEST OF THE WEAK-FORM IN THE NIGERIAN CAPITAL MARKET. Journal of Advanced Studies in Finance, 2(10), pp. 164-170. Peper, E., Harvey, R., Lin, I.-M. Duvvuri, P., 2014. Increase Productivity, Decrease Procrastination, and Increase Energy. Biofeedback, 42(2), p. 82-87. Phoenix Capital, 2017. VN30 EQUAL WEIGHT TOTAL RETURN INDEX. [Online] Available at: http://www.customindices.spindices.com/indices/custom-indices/vn30-equal-weight-total-return-index[Accessed 18 March 2017]. Singh, R., Leepsa, N. M. Kushwaha, N., 2016. Testing the weak form of efficient market hypothesis in carbon efficient stock indices along with their benchmark indices in select countries. Iranian Journal of Management Studies, 9(3), pp. 627-650. Srinivasan, P., 2010. Testing weak-form efficiency of indian stock markets. Asia Pacific Journal of Research in Business Management, 1(2), pp. 134-140. Srivastava, A., 2010. Are Asian Stock Markets Weak-Form Effcient: An Evidence from India. Asia-Pacifc Business Review, 6(4), pp. 5-11. Standard and Poors, 2016. Float Adjustment Methodology, s.l.: SP Global. Truong, D. L., Lanjouw, G. Lensink, R., 2010. Stock-Market Efficiency in Thin-Trading Markets: The Case of the Vietnamese Stock Market. Applied Economics, 42(27), pp. 3519-3532. Vo, X. V. Le, D. B. T., 2013. Empirical Investigation of Efficient Market Hypothesis in Vietnam Stock Market. Social Science Research Network (SSRN). Wu, K. et al., 2013. Supporting group collaboration in Wiki by increasing the awareness of task conflict. Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives, 65(6), pp. 581 604. Appendix A: List of chosen stocks in the VN30 basket based on the selection criterion No. TICKER COMPANY NAMES 1 STB Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank 2 VIC Vingroup Joint Stock Company 3 SSI Sai Gon Securities Incorporation 4 MSN Masan Group Corporation 5 FPT FPT Corporation 6 HAG Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company 7 KDC Kinh Do Corporation 8 DPM PetroVietnam Fertilizer Chemicals Corporation 9 VNM Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company 10 REE Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation 11 VCB Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam 12

Bernard Bolzano-Pedagogue Essay -- Biography Biographies

Bernard Bolzano-Pedagogue ABSTRACT: Bernard Bolzano (1781-1848), the famous logician and mathematician, worked from 1805-1819 as a religious professor at the Prague University. His studies focused on three main themes: (1) ethical education, including a rather liberal sexual education as well as the problems of the coexistence of Czechs and Germans in one country (with foresight into some of these matters before the rise of extreme nationalism); (2) social problems, where he formulated for the first time his social-utopian vision of human society based on the fundamental equality of people, ideas later gathered in his book, Von dem besten Staate; and (3) philosophy and religion, of which his lectures concentrate on the social function(s) of the Church and the social mission of the priesthood. Because of his opinions, he was disqualified from his professorship, resulting in a Church investigation against him. He was unable to return to the university, denied the right to publish in Austria, and relegated to li ve out his life as a private research worker. Bolzano's fate is similar to that of another pedagogue from Bohemia-Jan Patocka. Bernard Bolzano (1781-1848), presently a logician and mathematician of international repute, worked from 1805-1819 as a theological professor at the Prague University. This post he received immediately after he ended his mathematics and theology studies. In this period he had already published his first scientific study Betrachtungen à ¼ber einige Gegenstà ¤nde der Elementargeometrie (A reflection on some elementary geometry questions), which was his final dissertation study. In the study Lebensbeschreibung des Dr. B. Bolzano (Biography of Dr. B. Bolzano), he remembers, that it was not easy to dec... ...he pseudonym Charles Seasfield or the painter during the Biedermaier period - Frantiek Tkadlà ­k. He also cultivated many less well-known teachers, priests, doctors and lawyers, who concentrated on spreading culture and improving the general public education. Mostly through Bolzano, the future development of Czech education has been influenced by the Enlightenment. We can say it through the words of the Czech philosopher Jan Patoà £ka, whose life and status as a professor was very similar to Bolzano's: "Enlightenment, which does not only mean the intellectualism of man to things and the world, but the attempt to save man from enslavement, confusion and lies everywhere, where the intellect can save them entirely, not to ridicule with the depths of human existence - it is a part of the Czech destiny". (1) Notes Jan Patoà £ka: Our national program. Prague 1990. p.9

Essay on Irony, Values and Realism in Pride and Prejudice

Irony, Values and Realism in Pride and Prejudice The focus of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is the prejudice of Elizabeth Bennet against the apparent arrogance of her future suitor, Fitzwilliam Darcy, and the blow to his pride in falling in love with her. The key elements of the story are the irony, values and realism of the characters as they develop. Jane Austen ¹s irony is devastating in its exposure of foolishness and hypocrisy. Self-delusion or the attempt to fool other people are usually the object of her wit. There are various forms of exquisite irony in Pride and Prejudice, sometimes the characters are unconsciously ironic, as when Mrs. Bennet seriously asserts that she would never accept any entailed property, though Mr. Collins is willing to. Often Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth serve to directly express the author ¹s ironic opinion. When Mary Bennet is the only daughter at home and does not have to be compared with her prettier sisters, the author notes that: " it was suspected by her father that she submitted to the change without much reluctance."   (Austen 189) Mr. Bennet turns his wit on himself during the crisis with Whickham and Lydia: " let me once in my life feel how much I have been to blame. I am not afraid of being overpowered by the impression. It will pass away soon enough." (Austen 230) Elizabeth ¹s irony is lighthearted when Jane asks when she began to love Mr. Darcy: " It has been coming on so gradually that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberly"   (Austen 163). She can be bitterly cutting however in her remark on Darcy ¹s role in separating Bingley and Jane: " Mr. Darcy is uncommonly kind to Mr. Bingley, and takes a prodigio... ...kling: Irony and Fiction in 'Pride and Prejudice,'" in The Fields of Light: An Experiment in Critical Reading. New York: Oxford University Press, 1951: 164-81. Brownstein, Rachel, M. "Getting Married: Jane Austen." Becoming a Heroine: Reading About Women in Novels. 2nd ed. New York: Penguin Books, 1984. 81-134. Fein, Ellen and Schneider, Sherrie. The Rules: Time-tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right. New York: Warner Books, 1995. Menand, Louis. "What Jane Austen Doesn't Tell Us." New York Review of Books 43.2 1 Feb. 1996: 13-15. Moler, Kenneth. Pride and Prejudice: A Study in Artistic Economy. Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers, 1989. Newman, Karen. "Can This Marriage be Saved: Jane Austen Makes Sense of an Ending." ELH 50.4 (1983): 693-710. Ryle, Gilbert. "Jane Austen and the Moralists," Oxford Review, No. 1, Feb., 1966, pp. 5-18.

The Atomic Bomb :: history

The Atomic Bomb It is agreed by many parts of our society that one of the main atrocities done by the human being took place on August 6th and 9th, 1945 in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Over 170,000 innocent Japanese individuals died due to the dropping of two atomic bombs created in the United States. This transcendent historical event suddenly ended the bloody Second World War and gave the start to a new one, the cold war , which in fact led to an atomic weapons race between the Soviet Union and the United Sates of North America. It is constantly argued if the effect that the mentioned ending of the war had was positive or not to its resolution, and if the entire world got any benefits from it, but the action of dropping the nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities by the American government was completely unjustified, unnecessary, and unfair. Japan was the only nation that was still fighting against the allied countries when Germany surrendered, and its army was in very poor conditions: its troops were considerably weak, its amount of armament was running out, and the government was about to surrender in a matter of months . In addition, the final decision was not informed or warned to Japanese authorities which, in that case, could have probably prevented the catastrophe, the dropping place of the devastating bombs were of limited military value and, finally, the decision was made partly thinking of the value of its development, the political intimidation that it would create on the Soviet Union and the rest of the world, and man’s natural but vicious need of power and leadership. The expensive nuclear attack was an unneeded method to win the war because, at the time, Japan was not strong enough to fight back the allies. More than sixty Japanese cities had been destroyed during the war by conventional bombing, the country lost potential help from Germany, the home islands were being blockaded by the American Navy, and the small islands in the Pacific Ocean once occupied by Japan were now under American control. In addition to its bad situation the Soviet Union declared war against the troubled nation by attacking Japanese troops in Manchuria. The vast majority of the people around the globe knew that Japan had no possible way to win this war. Some people would argue that the bombs were developed to reduce the number of casualties from both sides by giving a quick end to the war.

Master Budget Preparation

(Master budget preparation) Sopchoppy Company manufactures a red industrial dye. The company is preparing its 2000 master budget and has presented you with the following information. 1. The December 31, 1999, balance sheet for the company is shown below. SOPCHOPPY COMPANY Balance Sheet December 31, 1999 AssetsLiabilities and Stockholders’ Equity Cash $ 5,080 Notes Payable $ 25,000 Accounts Receivable 26,500 Accounts Payable 2,148 Raw Materials Inventory 800 Dividends Payable 10,000 Finished Goods Inventory 2,104 Total Liabilities $ 37,148 Prepaid Insurance 1,200 Common Stock $100,000Building $300,000 Paid-in Capital 50,000 Accumulated Depreciation (20,000) 280,000 Retained Earnings 128,536 278,536 Total Liabilities and Total Assets $315,684 Stockholders’ Equity $315,684 2. The Accounts Receivable balance at 12/31/99 represents the remaining balances of November and December credit sales. Sales were $70,000 and $65,000, respectively, 3. Estimated sales in gallons of dye for January through May 2000 are shown below. January 8,000February 10,000 March 15,000 April 12,000 May 11,000 Each gallon of dye sells for $12. 4. The collection pattern for accounts receivable is as follows: 70 percent in the month of sale; 20 percent in the first month after the sale; 10 percent in the second month after the sale. Sopchoppy expects no bad debts and no customers are given cash discounts. 5. Each gallon of dye has the following standard quantities and costs for direct materials and direct labor: 1. 2 gallons of direct material (some evaporation occurs during processing) @ $0. 80 per gallon $0. 6 1/2 hour of direct labor @ $6 per hour 3. 00 Variable overhead is applied to the product on a machine-hour basis. It takes 5 hours of machine time to process 1 gallon of dye. The variable overhead rate is $0. 06 per machine hour; VOH consists entirely of utility costs. Total annual fixed overhead is $120,000; it is applied at $1. 00 per gallon based on an expected annual capacity of 120,000 gallons. Fixed overhead per year is composed of the following costs: Salaries $78,000 Utilities 12,000 Insurance—factory 2,400 Depreciation—factory 27,600Fixed overhead is incurred evenly throughout the year. 6. There is no beginning inventory of Work in Process. All work in process is completed in the period in which it is started. Raw Materials Inventory at the beginning of the year consists of 1,000 gallons of direct material at a standard cost of $0. 80 per gallon. There are 400 gallons of dye in Finished Goods Inventory at the beginning of the year carried at a standard cost of $5. 26 per gallon: Direct Material, $0. 96; Direct Labor, $3. 00; Variable Overhead, $0. 30; and Fixed Overhead, $1. 00. 7.Accounts Payable relates solely to raw material. Accounts Payable are paid 60 percent in the month of purchase and 40 percent in the month after purchase. No discounts are given for prompt payment. 8. The dividend will be paid in January 2000. 9. A n ew piece of equipment costing $9,000 will be purchased on March 1, 2000. Payment of 80 percent will be made in March and 20 percent in April. The equipment will have no salvage value and has a useful life of three years. 10. The note payable has a 12 percent interest rate; interest is paid at the end of each month.The principal of the note is paid off as cash is available to do so. 11. Sopchoppy’s management has set minimum cash balance at $5,000. 12. The ending Finished Goods Inventory should be 5 percent of the next month’s needs. This is not true at the beginning of 2000 due to a miscalculation in sales for December. The ending inventory of raw materials should be 5 percent of the next month’s needs. 13. Selling and administrative costs per month are budgeted to be 30 percent of each month’s sales. Of that amount, 50 percent is depreciation.These costs are paid in cash as they are incurred. 14. Prepare a master budget for each month of the first quarte r of 2000. a. sales budget with expected cash collections, including the accounts receivable for the next quarter b. production budget c. purchase budget with expected cash payments, including the accounts payable for the next quarter d. direct labor budget e. manufacturing overhead budget f. finished goods ending inventory budget g. selling and administrative budget h. cash budget i. balance sheet j. income statement

Asthma or a Chronic Inflammatory Disorder of the Airways

No longer is asthma considered a condition with isolated, acute episodes of bronchospasm. Rather, asthma is now understood to be a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways—that is, inflammation makes the airways chronically sensitive. When these hyper-responsive airways are irritated, airflow is limited, and attacks of coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and breathing difficulty occur. Asthma involves complex interactions among inflammatory cells, mediators, and the cells and tissues in the airways. The interactions result in airflow limitation from acute broncho-constriction, swelling of the airway wall, increased mucus secretion, and airway remodeling. The inflammation also causes an increase in airway responsiveness.During an asthma attack, the patient attempts to compensate by breathing at a higher lung volume in order to keep the air flowing through the constricted airways, and the greater the airway limitation, the higher the lung volume must be to keep airways open . The morphologic changes that occur in asthma include bronchial infiltration by inflammatory cells. Key effector cells in the inflammatory response are the mast cells, T lymphocytes, and eosinophils.Mast cells and eosinophils are also significant participants in allergic responses, hence the similarities between allergic reactions and asthma attacks. Other changes include mucus plugging of the airways, interstitial edema, and microvascular leakage. Destruction of bronchial epithelium and thickening of the subbasement membrane is also characteristic. In addition, there may be hypertrophy and hyperplasia of airway smooth muscle, increase in goblet cell number, and enlargement of sub-mucous glands. Although causes of the initial tendency toward inflammation in the airways of patients with asthma are not yet certain, to date the strongest identified risk factor is atopy.This inherited familial tendency to have allergic reactions includes increased sensitivity to allergens that are risk factors for developing asthma. Some of these allergens include domestic dust mites, animals with fur, cockroaches, pollens, and molds. Additionally, asthma may be triggered by viral respiratory infections, especially in children. By avoiding these allergens and triggers, a person with asthma lowers his or her risk of irritating sensitive airways. A few avoidance techniques include: keeping the home clean and well ventilated, using an air conditioner in the summer months  when pollen and mold counts are high, and getting an annual influenza vaccination.Of course, asthma sufferers should avoid tobacco smoke altogether. Cigar, cigarette, or pipe smoke is a trigger whether the patient smokes or inhales the smoke from others. Smoke increases the risk of allergic sensitization in children, increases the severity of symptoms, and may be fatal in children who already have asthma. Many of the risk factors for developing asthma may also provoke asthma attacks, and people with asthma may ha ve one or more triggers, which vary from individual to individual. The risk can be further reduced by taking medications that decrease airway inflammation. Most exacerbations can be prevented by the combination of avoiding triggers and taking anti-inflammatory medications.An exception is physical activity, which is a common trigger of exacerbations in asthma patients. However, asthma patients should not necessarily avoid all physical exertion, because some types of activity have been proven to reduce symptoms. Rather, they should work in conjunction with a doctor to design a proper training regimen, which includes the use of medication. In order to diagnose asthma, a healthcare professional must appreciate the underlying disorder that leads to asthma symptoms and understand how to recognize the condition through information gathered from the patient's history, physical examination, measurements of lung function, and allergic status.Because asthma symptoms vary throughout the day, th e respiratory system may appear normal during physical examination. Clinical signs are more likely to be present when a patient is experiencing symptoms; however, the absence of symptoms upon examination does not exclude the diagnosis of asthma.

Do You Beleive in Magic? – Harry Potter Fanfiction

Do you believe in Magic? by  Harry Potter – Stories from Tumblr  on Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 7:09am â€Å"This is outrageous! Outrageous I say! First  we have to deal with post on Sundays, and  now  we have to leave the house on a freezing cold day to take the boys on a bloody train journey?! Are these freaks so ignorant that they are completely unaware of the fact that the golf is on the TV?! † grumbled Vernon Dursley as he trailed after his family towards King’s Cross Station. Dudley kept up his brisk walking pace, not stopping while he looked over his shoulder at his father – he was determined to get his family out of the cold September rain and the biting chill that the wind carried as it blew through the car park. Regina stayed close by her husband’s side, wrapping her Burberry trench coat tighter around herself to stop more goose bumps from forming on her arms. â€Å"Considering that they don’t  have  TV’s, I’m guessing not Dad. And watch what you say, my sons are not ‘freaks’ as you so affectionately stated† Dudley countered with a roll of his eyes as he lead his family through the doors of the Station. Regina was confused when she saw Dudley smirk and she too looked over her shoulder and had to actually bite her bottom lip to suppress her smile. Petunia was glaring and tutting at her husbands behavior. Vernon, who was now well into his mid-sixties was standing in the doorway to the train station looking positively gob-smacked. His hair, which had once been thick and black, was now very thin due to the fact that he was going bald, as well as being a silvery shade of grey – as was his bristly moustache. Much to Petunia’s dismay, Vernon had not lost any weight whatsoever over the years – despite the amount of diets he went on and exercise equipment they had bought. In fact he had done the complete opposite and gained weight, making him even more obese than he had been 19 years ago. As a result, he was now blocking one of the main entrances into the station. Not that he took much notice of this mind you, he was too busy acting like a surprised fish – his beady little blue eyes protruding out of their sockets as he opened and closed his mouth continuously. For the first time that day, Vernon had stopped his complaining – he was speechless. This shouldn’t have surprised Dudley though; his father had been speechless for the past two weeks. Ever since the owls had arrived with corresponding letters informing Regina and Dudley that their twin boys, David and Richard would be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. *** â€Å"And so to conclude my speech, I would just like to say†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Dudley had to stifle as yawn as he listened to his pompous Father’s incessant rambling. He insisted upon doing this every single year – making a ‘short speech’ about his Grandchildren’s many accomplishments. Short speech my arse’ Dudley mentally scoffed as he leaned back in his dining chair and put his arms behind his head. Vernon’s speeches were always like War and Peace – he simply didn’t shut up. Dudley wouldn’t have minded if his Father prattled on at him any other time, but this was a special day and judging from his families facial expressions they were as bored as Dudley was. Regina, always considerate and polite, was the only person at the long rectangular dining table giving Vernon her full attention. That is, she was the only person who was not practically falling asleep. From the looks of it though she was not far off it. Her golden blonde hair shone in the sunlight that streamed through the conservatory roof and French windows. A soft breeze swirled through the leaves of the tall Oak trees and the Rose bushes that filled the garden. It drifted into the conservatory through the open double-doors and as the warm breeze caressed her face, it lulled her into a calm state and her eyes began to droop shut – meaning that Dudley no longer had the privilege of admiring her beautiful Emerald-green eyes. â€Å"-So now I’d like you all to join me in a toast! To David and Richard, Happy Birthday boys! Vernon announced, startling Regina out of her comatose state and bringing Dudley back to the present. â€Å"Five quid please† Dudley heard his son whisper to his brother on his right. He looked over just in time to see David’s lips pucker and his eyebrows furrow together in a frown as he dug his hand into his pocket and handed a five-po und note over to his brother. Just another two minutes and Richard would have been the one paying  him  five pounds. As David examined his new watch he nodded with an appreciate smile – this was quite impressive, Vernon’s speech had only gone on for about 28 minutes. Usually they lasted over half an hour! Dudley smiled at boys antics and got out of his seat to give his boys a hug. â€Å"Happy Birthday sons† he whispered into his boy’s messy hair as he wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders. â€Å"I hope it’s been a wonderful day† he told them both. â€Å"Well it’s not over yet! We still have presents! † exclaimed Regina as she walked back into the conservatory, her arms struggling to hold the amount of presents they carried. â€Å"Oh Mum, Dad, you really didn’t have to! † cried Richard, his eyes widening at the amount of wrapped presents his mother laid on the table in front of him and his brother. Ye, you really shouldn’t have. Really. This is too mu-â€Å" â€Å"Rubbish, it’s a special day! It’s not every day your young men turn 11 now is it? † Dudley told them whilst patting them both on the shoulder reassuringly, smiling with pride. He loved it when his boys got nervous about receiving presents and thanked God every day that they took after their mother, and were nothing like the spoiled, selfish, demanding, ungrateful child that he had been growing up. The boys exchanged a look, a smile tugging at the corner of their lips and shrugged. Well if you insist† they replied in unison and began tearing the wrapping paper and pretty red bows off of the boxes in front of them. Of course, just because they were not as selfish as Dudley did not mean they didn’t  enjoy  getting presents. They were just humble and genuinely appreciative about it all – reminding Dudley of someone he had not seen for a very long time†¦somebody he was only on Christmas card terms with†¦ No, Dudley would not think about that right now, for fear that the guilt welling up inside of him would cause angry tears to spill down his cheeks. He had to focus, he had to keep an eye open for the sign he had been waiting for since his boys were little – the sign that confirmed his suspicions. As if on cue, a loud hoot sounded off in the distance drawing everyone’s attention to the open Conservatory doors. Regina could not quite understand why Petunia gasped and put a hand over her heart in surprise, or why Vernon began choking on his birthday cake and dropped his brandy glass, and she definitely didn’t understand why her husbands face lit up and his lips curved into a huge smile as he ran to open the doors wider. â€Å"It can’t be, it simply can’t be! Vernon protested in between violent splutters and coughs, his round pig-like face turning every colour of the rainbow as he tried to clear his throat. Just as Dudley reached the doors to open them wider, two owls soared through them – landing gracefully on the dining table in front of Richard and David, an envelope with a strange emble m clasped in each of their beaks. Dudley couldn’t help but smile at the nostalgia of the moment – this was all so familiar. Contrary to what people may believe, Dudley was not surprised at all to have two owls delivering Hogwarts acceptance letters to his children. In fact, he would have been surprised if it hadn’t happened at all! Having grown up with a magical cousin, Dudley knew the signs to look for in children who were beginning to develop magical abilities. Dudley started to suspect something was going on when his boys turned four. He was watching them chase each other around the garden with sticks, pretending to be knights when David pushed his brother over. After he stood back up, Richard proceeded to chase his twin around the garden with green and yellow sparks erupting from the end of his ‘sword’ as the anger coursing through the brains caused his magic to go slightly haywire. The next incident occurred later that year on Christmas Eve. That was the year that Dudley’s Aunt Marge insisted on spending Christmas with them. Unfortunately for the Dursleys, she was also most persistent that she brought her two dogs along: ‘Ripper II’ and ‘Rex’. Regina and her husband could not say they were upset when the two dogs mysteriously went missing on Christmas Eve and reappeared the next day – multicolored and acting as though they had been Confunded, if there was such a thing. Marge didn’t stick around for very long after that. Regina was confused as to how it had happened, especially when her sons couldn’t properly explain it. But Dudley knew better, after all he’d experienced his fair share of unexplainable incidences due to his cousin growing up. Up until now, the years had been filled with incidences like that, giving Dudley more reasons to believe that when the boys turned eleven they would be receiving some kind of acceptance to a school for magic, But now that it was actually happening, Dudley positively speechless. â€Å"Well what are you waiting for boys? Open them! † Petunia prompted from the head of the table next to a dumbfounded Vernon. *** As Dudley remembered that day, he was still shocked at his Mother’s reaction to the letters. It didn’t make sense that she would be so calm about this considering the way she treated Harry whilst he had been growing up. She had been unusually calm about the whole thing, even scolding Vernon for his childish rants about how ridiculous this whole situation was. Dudley was not the only one in the Dursley family who regretted the way they had treated Harry over 20 years ago. Petunia regretted it every second of the day. After the way things had ended up between her and Lily, she knew that she should have known better than to treat Harry that way and was determined not to make the same mistakes with her Grandchildren. Vernon close your mouth please, you are not a codfish† she chastised whilst shaking her head as her husband continued to stand in the entrance, openly gaping at his son. â€Å"H-how can you be taking this so calmly?! Our Grandchildren are freaks Petunia! Fr-â€Å" â€Å"Now stop right there Vernon Dursley. For years I stood by and let you treat our n ephew as though he were dirt beneath our feet. And even though I took part in it, it is probably one of my biggest regrets. You cannot despise people for something that they have absolutely  no  control over. Now weare  going to be supportive. We  are  going to be happy and we  are  going to see our Grandchildren off! Got it? † If Vernon was flabbergasted before, then he was downright astounded now. Never had he seen Petunia act like this towards anything even remotely related to ‘magic’ – it was ridiculous to even think of the word. Magic didn’t exist! But as he took in his wife’s death glares and the way she was pointing her bony well-manicured finger at him, he dared not even to utter those words. â€Å"Dad? † Dudley’s attention was taken away from his Mother’s startling revelation as he felt a soft tugging on his jacket sleeve. What is it Ricky? † he asked his son as he bent down in front of him. His son’s blue eyes were sparkling with concern and his chubby cheeks were puffed out as he pouted. â€Å"I think we’re lost† he admitted as he examined the little piece of paper in his hands. â€Å"Well let’s see here-†Å" Dudley replied, taking the ticket from his son and examining it, â€Å"-It says Platform 9 ? †¦Perhaps if we ask someone? † he asked aloud to no one in particular. â€Å"I already did† came Dave’s voice from beside his mother. I just asked that conducter over there, he asked me ‘if I was taking the piss’† he quoted with an edge of annoyance evident in his voice. Dudley loved that about his boys, rather than wait around for someone to do things for them, they just did it themselves! It made Dudley proud to know that his boys were nothing like he was at their age. â€Å"Language†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Regina cautioned her son as she ruffled his dark hair. He may be leaving home for the first time, but he was still her little boy. â€Å"Sorry Mum† he mumbled in response. â€Å"I’m just annoyed, why can’t anybody help us? † he asked looking around the crowded platform. He had one hand on his trolley which had all of his belongings – including his new snowy white owl, Archimedes, balanced precariously on top – and his other hand grasping his train ticket firmly to save it from blowing away in the cold gusts of wind. â€Å"I can help† Petunia offered with a sigh. Dudley couldn’t help but blink at his mother, was this actually happening? â€Å"I remember the gateway that my sister walked through every year, I can lead the way† she announced in response to her families questions looks. She walked away from her husband and began weaving her way through the bustling crowd. Everyone stared after her before Dudley shrugged his shoulders and beckoned for his family to follow him. He didn’t know what to do, and his wife certainly didn’t – so what else were they supposed to do? They followed Petunia, taking care not to hit anybody with the twin’s overloaded trolleys as they navigated their way through the station. After a few minutes of walking and making sure Vernon hadn’t fainted from his wifes actions, they stopped at a red-brick wall that separated platform 9 and 10. They each huddled around it, exchanging uncertain looks. What happened now? What now Gran? † Dave asked excitedly, his eyes wide and fixed on the wall in front of him. This was about to be his first real experience with magic! â€Å"I-I don’t know to be honest! I never went through the barrier†¦only my parents and L-â€Å" she hadn’t said her sister’s name in years, and she struggled to get the name past the emotional lump in her throat â€Å"-Lily did†. Dudley was both impressed and astonished. His mother never spoke about his late aunt or uncle, or anything related to the world of magic that Petunia had intentionally blocked out for the most part of her life. Right then! Well that’s enough of  that  nonsense! Come along Petunia, we’re leavi-â€Å" â€Å"Big-D? Is that you?! † came a rather familiar voice from behind them. As Vernon turned around, his eyes widened to the size of cup saucers and popped out of his head. Walking towards them was another family. One lead by somebody that Vernon had purposefully hated ever since he could remember first laying eyes on him. A person who Vernon had neither seen nor spoke to for almost 20 years. Harry Potter. Of course this was not the same Harry Potter that Vernon remembered. The man walking towards them was much happier than he had been in his youth – as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. His dark hair was combed to the side, although a few messy strands fell into his Emerald-green eyes. He had also filled out over the years, sporting a pair of strong arms and a little bit of stubble on his well-defined jaw. He wore a simple pair of jeans, a dark collared shirt and a black leather jacket over the top to protect him from the cold. Although he was dressed casually and his hair was blowing around in the blustery wind, Vernon had never seen his nephew look happier – or better for that matter. Petunia couldn’t believe her eyes, not just when it came to Harry but the stunning red-head by his side or the children trailing after them. As Petunia surveyed the lady who was scrutinizing Petunia in return, she couldn’t help but find this somewhat ironic. Here was Harry, a grown man, practically a clone of his Father (except the eyes, he had Lily’s eyes) with a beautiful fiery red-head at his side. ‘Must be a thing with Potter men’ Petunia reasoned as she saw Harry step closer to Dudley. â€Å"You are Dudley Dursley aren’t you? † Harry asked curiously. He and the rest of the Potters had been approaching the barrier to Platform 9 ? when he heard Vernon’s irreplaceable grumbling voice, and he figured that the man standing between him and his aunt must have been Dudley. Unlike his father, Dudley had lost weight over the years. He was still a good head taller than Harry was, but he was in shape! No trace of the chubby whale-like boy that Harry remembered from his childhood remained in the man standing before him. His features were also a lot kinder, much to Harry’s surprise. ‘Are those†¦wrinkles around his eyes? From smiling? From  laughing?! Surely not, not on Dudley Dursley’ Harry rationalized in his head. â€Å"It’s me Harry† Dudley responded in a dazed sort of voice as he stared open-mouthed at his cousin. Dudley had absolutely no idea what to do when you met someone you hadn’t seen in what felt like a lifetime. So he did the first thing that came to mind – he extended his right hand in a handshake gesture. Harrys eyes moved between Dudley’s face and his hand. His face, his hand. His face, his hand, and over and over again. He had no idea what to do either in a situation like this, but he knew that a handshake wasn’t the right thing. So he did the first thing that came to mind – he extended his arms and wrapped them around Dudley’s shoulder and pulled him into a manly embrace, patting him on the back as he did so. To say Dudley was taken aback was putting it mildly. The two men hadn’t even breathed a word to eachother in years and yet they were acting like they were family! ‘What are you thinking you numpty, ofcourse you’re family! He’s your cousin for God’s sake! ’ the voice inside his head reprimanded him. ‘My cousin†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Dudley thought to himself, and then the walls in Dudley’s mind came down and the memories came flooding back to him. All of the times he had bullied Harry. All of the times he had pushed him around. All of the lost opportunities he had to tell him that he actually didn’t hate him, that he was grateful to him for saving his life all of those years ago. An emotional boulder began to form in his throat and he had to blink to hold back the guilty tears. He regained movement of his arms and embraced his cousin back, trying to communicate without words how sorry he was. How much of a Prat he felt. Neither of them knew how long they had stood their like that, but Harry immediately felt better when he pulled away from his cousin and smiled up at him. Ye, Dudley had been a Prat when they had been growing up together. But judging from how he had just responded to Harry’s hug, he felt pretty bad about it. Dudley’s eyes began to well up with tears that he dare not let fall, he was ashamed to admit that this was the first time he had ever shown public affection for his cousin. Somebody cleared their throat to Dudley’s left and he turned to see Regina standing there with a shy, awkward smile on her face. Regina didn’t need to be told who this person was that had just hugged her husband – she could tell from the way that he and his parents were acting that this was Harry Potter. Also, she remembered Dudley mentioning once how much little David resembled his estranged cousin and now that she saw him – she realized it was true. She stepped forward and like her husband had done only minutes before, extended her small, pale hand to greet him in a handshake. â€Å"I’m Regina Dursley, I can’t tell you how very happy I am to finally be meeting you Harry† she said with as much sincerity as she could muster in this emotional moment. Harry took in the woman by Dudley’s side. ‘Bloody hell, I guess she is the cause of his happiness†¦who’d have thought Dudley would settle down with someone who was genuinely nice?! Harry thought to himself. As Harry grasped her hand in his own, he realized that this woman might have just been Dudley’s saving grace. Truthfully she was very beautiful, on the inside as well as the out. Her blonde hair hung in ringlets over her shoulders, framing her heart-shaped face and stunning gr een eyes. Her lips were a soft shade of pink to compliment the baby-pink scarf she had wrapped around her neck to stop her rosy cheeks from flushing anymore with the chilly air. As dazzling as she was, she was also incredibly natural looking, especially her warm and friendly smile. It’s a pleasure to meet you too. I’m Harry, Harry Potter. And this is my wife-â€Å" he motioned for the pretty red head to step forward and she did so happily, taking Regina’s hand in her own and shaking enthusiastically. â€Å"-And his better half† she teased her husband with a coy smile and turned her head back to Regina. â€Å"I’m Ginny, it’s nice to finally meet the lovely lady who’s been sending us Christmas cards all these years† she remarked playfully. â€Å"Actually, it was Dudley who sent you the cards every year Ginny – I just took them to the post-office† Regina replied with a smile as she looked up at her husband. She said it as a joke, but there was no denying the truth that filled her words. Dudley looked down at his feet and shuffled from side to side awkwardly. ‘Trust the wives to bring up the Christmas cards and make things awkward’ he mentally mumbled to himself. â€Å"Really Dudley? You were the one th-â€Å" â€Å"Dad who’s that? † Harry was interrupted by a curious voice and he looked around to find it’s source. He couldn’t contain his startled gasp when he saw a small boy peaking his head around his Mothers body to get a look at Harry. The boy looked exactly like Dudley when he had been young: chubby cheeks, blue eyes and a head of short, blonde wavy hair. Sweetheart it’s not polite to interrupt† Regina lectured in a motherly voice, running her fingers through her son’s hair while she said it. Harry could tell that Regina was strict, but very gentle and incredibly caring. He had to admit he liked that about her. â€Å"â €™Dad’ eh? † Harry remarked as he smirked at his cousin. â€Å"It’s alright Regina, really –â€Å" Harry insisted as he knelt down so that he was at eye-level with the boy. â€Å"Hello, I’m your Uncle Harry – what’s your name? † he asked with a smile. He couldn’t believe that he was actually meeting his nephew – could he call him that? I’m Richard Dursley† the little boy proudly announced and smiled up at his Dad. â€Å"Well it’s very nice to meet you Richard, this is your Auntie Ginny† Harry introduced his wife who was also smiling down at the little boy. â€Å"Guys! Come on over, don’t be shy! † Harry called over his shoulder to his own children who were huddled around the trolleys a few feet away. A tall boy with a self-assured smirk and mischievous sparkling eyes was the first to step forward. His shaggy brown hair swayed in the breeze and he flicked it out of his eyes – not dissimilar as to how girls in shampoo commercials do – and stood inbetween his Mum and Dad. Brilliant – I could use a new cousin to torture, the other ones were getting boring† James said before his mother swatted him over the head. â€Å"Ouch, I’m just joking! Nice to meet you mate, I’m James† he said with a chuckle as he took in his little cousins shy face. James smirked when he held out his hand for the little guy to shake, but he looked hesitant to do so. â€Å"Come on, I don’t bite† he joked and smiled when Richard reached out his hand slowly and took James’s hand in his. â€Å"See? That wasn’t so hard now was it? † he asked in a light-hearted voice. Richard shook his head, smiling too. He had always wanted a big cousin. â€Å"You should write a book James, ‘How to Freak People Out in Ten Syllables or Less’† somebody scoffed from behind James who was pushed out of the way as a miniature version of Harry smirked at his older brother. â€Å"Ignore this numpty, I always do. I’m Albus, Albus Severus Potter† the boy introduced himself. James couldn’t help but roll his eyes – why did his brother  always  have to say his entire name when ever he met someone? â€Å"I’m Ricky† Richard replied, excited to be meeting someone who looked the same age as him. â€Å"And this little rascal is L- Harry where’s Lily? Ginny asked, sounding worried as her eyes darted around the platform looking for her daughter. â€Å"I don’t know love, where did you last see her? † Harry responded, copying his wife and looking around frantically for his little Princess. â€Å"She was over by the tro- Lily Luna Pot ter! What have I told you about petting animals that  don’tbelong to you? † Ginny demanded as she cocked an eyebrow at her daughter and crossed her arms. â€Å"But Mummy isn’t he lovely? † Lily chirped back at her mother as she reached up on tiptoe to put her fingers through the bars of the Snowy owl’s cage. Yes darling he is, but he’s not yours – wait, who’s is he? † Ginny asked looking to Regina and Dudley for an explanation. Harry followed his wife’s line of vision and his breath caught in his throat when he saw the owl. It reminded him so much of Hedwig! â€Å"He’s mines. His name is Archimedes. I’m David† a timid voice registered in Harry’s ears and his jaw practically hit off of the floor as another boy stepped around his Father and stood infront of Harry. Harry couldn’t believe it – he simply couldn’t. Where the other boy looked like a smaller version of Dudl ey, this one looked so much like Harry had done when he was young. Dark brown hair, with even darker shades spread throughout his messy hair which fell into his eyes – much the same as James’s did. Oh Merlin, those eyes! They were Harry’s eyes! Lily’s eyes! Petunia’s sisters eyes! As odd as this was, Harry couldn’t help but find it sweet at the same time. Dudley’s boys were loving, caring, kind miniature versions of themselves when they had been this age. Albus couldn’t quite believe it either. Besides his Father, he had never met anyone else with his Grandma Lily’s eyes before. â€Å"Wow, we’re identical! † the two boys said in unison as they looked at eachother for the first time. Ginny couldn’t suppress her watery smile as she was reminded of a young version of Fred and George, and Dudley and Harry exchanged knowing smiles as they watched their sons interact with eachother – their conversation growing more animated as Ricky joined their conversation too. It was as if the Universe was giving Dudley and Harry a second chance through their sons. That’s when something else clicked in Harry’s brain and his head snapped around to take in the sight of the trolleys, loaded with two trunks with the Hogwarts symbol on them. Could it be? â€Å"Are y- are you two- what I mean to ask is, are you two w-w-wi-â€Å" Yes† Dudley answered for him. He could just imagine how big a shock this must be to Harry. Just the thought alone of two wizards being spawned by the son of Vernon Dursley was enough to make you want to faint and then burst out laughing. â€Å"Well I’ll be†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Harry replied in a far away voice. He certainly di dn’t see this one coming. â€Å"It’s been a while Harry† Petunia acknowledged from her spot over by the barrier. Harry didn’t quite know how to react. He’d just met his two nephews, reunited with his cousin, met his cousins wife and now he was running into Petunia too? His head just might explode. â€Å"It has Aunt Petunia, you’re looking well though† he replied somewhat reserved. He was wary around Petunia given the way she had always felt about magic. â€Å"Thankyou dear, you are too† she knew it wasn’t much, but hopefully she was on the right track to some sort of reconciliation with her nephew. ‘She’s calling me ‘dear’? Blimey, someone must have spiked her morning tea with happy juice. Hmmm maybe she has changed’ Harry thought to himself as the corners of his mouth turned up into a small smile. Petunia smiled back and was about to keep up the conversation, when she was rudely cut off. â€Å"Well where is this flipping train then? I want to see it! I thought the boys were supposed to be getting on it!? † Vernon exclaimed in a rather huffy voice as he stamped his foot on the ground and crossed his arms like a moody child. â€Å"Hello to you too Uncle Vernon. And well that depends, you can come onto Platform 9 ? if you want to. But do you believe in magic? † Harry asked, knowing fine well what the answer would be, but it couldn’t hurt to try could it? â€Å"There’s no such  thing  as magic boy! Vernon retorted, his face turning purple with frustration. â€Å"I’ll take that as a no then. Ginny? Would you mind escorting the kids through the barrier with Regina and my aunt please? I’ll take Dudley through† â€Å"Come on then Ricky! I can’t wait to tell you all about Quidditch! † James called to his little cousin who’s face was the very definition of confusion as he closed his eyes and followed James through the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. â€Å"What’s Quidditch? † was the last thing Dudley heard his son ask before he disappeared infront of his very eyes. Come on Dave, I’ll take you through† Albus offered as he and Dave lined their trollies up alongside eachother and raced to get through the barrier before the other one could. Ginny, Regina and Petunia smiled at the boys antics and Ginny offered her arm to Regina. â€Å"Shall we then? † she asked kindly, motioning towards the brick wall. Regina was a little nervous but excited at the same time. This was her first proper experience with magic. â€Å"We shall† she replied playfully. Before the women were at the wall, Ginny turned back around to face Petunia. â€Å"Aren't you coming Mrs. Dursley? Ginny inquired. She no longer felt the same hostility she had before to the woman, she seemed ready to make amends after all these years. â€Å"I think I am. You know, I always wanted to walk through this barrier. For some reason, it feels like it’s the right thing to do† Petunia stated with a smile and followed her daughter-in-law and her nephews wife, giving Harry one last smile before disappearing through the veil of magic. â€Å"Ready Dudley? † Harry asked, excitement coursing through his veins. â€Å"H-Harry, I don’t know how† Dudley admitted, sounding a bit dejected and scared. What if the barrier didn’t let him through? Harry gave his cousin’s shoulders a reassuring squeeze and smiled up at him. â€Å"Don’t worry Dudley, we’ll do it together† Harry assured him. Dudley wiped away a sentimental tear that spilled over his bottom eyelid and down his cheek – this is what he had been wanting for him and his cousin for almost 20 years. He nodded and that was all the encouragement Harry needed to lead Dudley through the barrier. He kept his eyes closed the whole time, but when he heard a whole new set of noises and felt the steam in the air, Dudley opened his eyes. He honestly couldn’t believe it. Families were huddled around the platform in groups, saying their last goodbyes. Owls soared through the air and through the open windows of the train to meet their owners. The train, how could Dudley not ogle at the train?! It was huge, shiny and incredible to look at. It’s red glossy paint sparkled in the light of the old-fashioned oil lanterns that lined the walls of the platform and it appeared to radiate a sense of warmth, of welcoming. Dudley couldn’t believe that he was finally here – in Harry’s world. A world that was far better than he ever could have imagined. Dudley’s marveling of the world around him was interrupted by a grunting sound and a loud thud behind him, and he and Harry turned around – unable to contain their laughter. Vernon had apparently felt left out, standing out on the Muggle platform by himself and had felt the need to run through the barrier with his eyes closed – meaning he tripped over his own feet and face planted the ground on the other side of the barrier. Witches and Wizards looked with concern at the odd man, who lifted his head and took in his surroundings – his eyes boggling and his mouth hanging open. L-looks like Da-dad believes in m-magic after all! † Dudley managed to say inbetween outbursts of hysteric laughter. â€Å"What? Oh no, that was just something I made up. The barrier will let anyone through that has a right to – he’s a grandparent of two students, so it let him through no problem. I just wanted to get the satisfaction of hearing Vernon Dursley admi t that magic was real, althought I'm pretty sure that man will go to his grave swearing it's not – even after this! † Harry confessed and wiped away the tears on his cheeks from laughing so much. That day, Harry and Dudley reunited and waved goodbye to their children. Dudley was thankful that Albus was starting school that year too, at least Ricky and David would have someone they knew in their year. That was also the day that Harry and Dudley realized something. Standing with their families, on the platform of the Wizarding world, together after all of these years as family should be – both men had never been happier. If two people could come together after almost 20 years and put aside their differences like this, then it definately proved something – something that Vernon would still refuse to admit. Magic definitely did exist.