Communication of Respect

| Business CommunicationTrimester 2 AssignmentSubmitted By:Aksha AnandPGDM-A(2011-2013)Roll No: 06| | | | | | | | The communication of respect has been established as a significant dimension of cross-cultural communication to define and fully understand respect in cross-cultural interactions. The communication of respect can be examined and seen as a field of study. This framework is devoted to the communication of respect from both respect and communication competence. Study describes that good communication is a serious and specific study of the communication of respect. Evaluation of cross-cultural communication competence of respect across cultures in an environment where such pan-cultural communication is growing is extremely important. EXPLAINING RESPECT There are different disciplines dependent upon communication. Respect according to many researchers is both group and individually defined and oriented. It is inseparable from communication as there is no way to show respect in the absence of verbal or non-verbal communication. Also, many researchers allow respect to go undefined relying entirely on participant perception of the term. However, unlike previous views, communication of respect is a complex concept and more than merely simple politeness and courtesies. COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE- THE DIFFERENCES Cross cultural communicative competence framework developed by Ruben, has identified seven behavioural dimensions of cross cultural competence. They are * Display of respect * Interaction posture * Orientation to knowledge, Empathy * Self-oriented behaviour * Interaction management * Tolerance for ambiguity. Several years later on, it has been increased to nine dimensions by sub-dividing self-oriented behaviour into three distinct dimensions – * Task oriented roles * Relational roles * Individualistic roles. Communication of respect is heavily impacted by cultural norms. For many Koreans, respect is communicated via formality whereas for many Americans, respect is communicated in initial interacti ons by treating others equally. Sometimes due to lack of cross culture language, respect may not be effectively communicated. CONSEQUENCES OF RESPECT AND DISRESPECT Respect is very important silent feature in our communication and there are serious effects related to respect or the lack of the same. Therefore the phenomenon merits scholarly attention. Success is often dependant on being able to communicate respect and avoiding communication of disrespect. Communicating respect leads to a â€Å"social healing effect† on psychological perceptions of previously strained relationships. This article seeks not only to recognize the important work devoted to the communication of respect that has already been written, but also calls for more work to be done. THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNICATION OF RESPECT One of the key conceptual frameworks devoted to communication of respect is presented by Van Quaquebeke (2009) which distinguishes respect from tolerance and elaborates on two distinct types f respect. Tolerance is aligned with appraisal, whereas respect is closely aligned with recognition. Appraisal respect is evaluative and focuses on a result, while recognition respect is more process focused and occurs in interaction. The author of this article emphasizes on interactional respect. From a culture general communication perspective, there are four domains of communication competence that determine how respect is communicated interpersonally.

Analyse and present research information Essay

Computers R’ Us have the following organisational requirements: Security and confidentiality requirements Management and accountability channels Research strategies- use a combination of research via print and online Presenting Information – All information in Arial, font 12 Procedures for updating records – This is the task of the HR manager and the sales manager. The 3 new products to be launched are: 1. Lenovo Yoga – A convertible laptop-tablet 2. Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker – A Bluetooth ultraportable speaker for music on the go   3. Astro Pro 2- An external power bank or battery charger for laptops, smartphones, iPhone etc. PART A The objectives of each research topic are as follows: OBJECTIVES FOR THE THREE NEW PRODUCTS TO BE LAUNCHED: Due to changed industry trends, there is a need for new products to be launched. Failure of the past products In order to increase the profitability for the company. OBJECTIVES FOR CHOOSING A NEW COURIER COMPANY: Faster service More customer satisfaction Increasing complaints for the previous company OBJECTIVES FOR CHOOSING A NEW OFFICE RENTAL PLACE: To avoid unwanted expenses Parking availability To reach out to more customers Increased profitability. PART B RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS For new products launch: The current market scenario needs to be researched in detail. Current availing prices and strategies, and competitors activities need to be assessed. For courier company: Feedback needs to be taken from existing customers of the courier company. Market research to be conducted on the reliability of the company. Rental property: A good real estate to be consulted and detail research to be done on the pros and cons of each location. BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY For new products launch: Attending technology expos, Research on Internet, Technology Magazines, Consulting Tech Gurus. For courier company: Directories, Internet research, Google Places ratings. Rental property: Real estate websites, Real estate offices, Newspaper adverts. , Magazine listings. KEW WORDS AND PHRASES FOR ONLINE SEARCH For new products launch: Computers and accessories in demand, Hot new products, Must have computers, Computers to buy 2014, Accessories to buy 2014, Affordable computers+ accessories. For courier company: Best courier service, Courier in Melbourne, Melbourne courier service. PART C PRODUCTS TO BE LAUNCHED LENOVO YOGA: The Yoga is perhaps one of the most usable devices on the market. It has a great keyboard, track pad, and touchscreen, and can be used in multiple positions. Yoga combines the productivity of an Ultra-book with the touch experience of a tablet, taking full advantage of the Windows 8 functionality. The screen flips a full 360 degrees into four modes that make it easy to create, share, or consume content. Combine those with its long battery life, and the Yoga provides ultimate versatility. The Lenovo Yoga comes at a wholesale price of $550 and is sold at a current market price of  $699, which gives a profitability of $150 per piece sold. It is a definite hit with consumers due to its unique design and diverse usability. Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker: Enjoy your music on the go, everywhere you go. The SoundLink ® Mini Bluetooth speaker delivers full, natural sound from an ultra-compact speaker that fits in the palm of your hand. It connects wirelessly to your smartphone, tablet or other Bluetooth device, so you can listen to your music, videos or games anytime, anywhere. Just grab it and go. Features Advanced audio performance delivers full-range listening experience The most compact mobile speaker from Bose easily goes where you go Wirelessly connects to your Bluetooth device Rechargeable battery plays up to 7 hours USB port allows for software update to ensure ongoing Bluetooth device compatibility Soft covers are available separately in blue, green or orange The speaker comes with charging cradle and power cord and accessory covers are available separately The speakers come at a wholesale price of $150 and the current market price is $200. Though the profitability is not much but the speakers are highly in demand and sellable very fast. Astro Pro 2: Astro Pro2 is one of the newest laptop external batteries, which provide 1 full charge to laptops equals to 9 cycles on phones. New, yet been noted to be a dependable external charger. Dependable because it does not only give exact status, but also super powered with a built-in high capacity of 20000mAh. Product Features Slim and comfortable in a small pouch. Fashionable feature that fits any occasion and rugged for daily use. Lightweight. Its only two pounds when shipped. With a built in lithium polymer battery: Ensures longer laptop battery life up to 8 hours or more. This external battery is equipped with two outputs for greater function. Impressive LED lights to display battery status and percentage: Astro Pro2 LED lights are consistent, clear, and accurate all the time. They update not only the ‘in and out’ details, but they also provide the laptop battery life’s percentage. With this, the user won’t find  it hard when to stop and connect this battery to your starving laptop. Aluminium body in a stylish packaging. Great deal with various inclusions: 1 Anker Astro Pro2 20000mAh external battery, four phone connectors, 1 USB cable, 10 laptop connectors, 1 DC power cable, 1 AC 100-240V adapter, 1 pouch and user guide Dimensions: 4.9 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches; 1.2 pounds The wholesale price for Astro Pro 2 is $99 and its current market sale price is $135. Sales are very high for this product. COURIER COMPANY GOLDEN MESSENGERS – An established transport and delivery company, Golden Messenger provides express courier services in Melbourne and across Australia. Golden Messenger offers a Guaranteed Minimum Delivery Time (GMDT): their deliveries, whether as-needs or scheduled, are on time or it’s free. If you need same day delivery, they are the business courier service to call. Messenger can help you with your day-to-day business delivery and run-around needs in the Melbourne CBD and metropolitan area. They provide ad-hoc courier deliveries (Standard, Express and Priority), logistics solutions, banking (including pick-up and banking of cheques) and mail runs. They can utilise a light van, taxi truck, half-tonne or one-tonne van or tray to carry out permanent runs or contract transport. Golden Messenger also offers country and interstate parcel and mail courier services, whether your freight is a full or less-than-full truckload. They will manage all your intrastate and interstate transport needs, including carton delivery. Golden Messenger is a professional team of couriers with a focus on communication, operating 24 hours and 7 days to transport your deliveries on time. RENTAL OFFICE PROPERTIES Option 1 – 1ST FLOOR ROOMS/OFFICES FOR LEASE – NEPEAN HWY FRANKSTON. Located in an ideal location, this office has a reception area, spilt system heating and cooling, shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. Secured entry with intercom access. Total rooms – 2. Rent cost – $12000 p.a. or $1000 p.m. Option 2 – 4/79-83 Miles Grove, SEAFORD 3198 *Industrial 1 Zone *89 Sq. m (approx.) factory type location *Ideal for storage/online business *Kitchenette *Toilet and shower *Available now *$800.00 per calendar month, plus GST, plus outgoings (O/G’s Approx. $1,000 per annum) Option 3 – 22/94 High Street, BERWICK 3806 Modern office space. Dedicated air conditioner, suspended acoustic ceiling, sink/kitchen area, carpeted. Front building entry to Main Street, rear building entry to car park. Rent – $1650 p.m. PART D /22/94 HIGH STREET, BERWICK VIC 3806 For Lease /94 HIGH STREET, BERWICK VIC 3806 For Lease $1,650 p 94 HIGH STREET, BERWICK VIC 3806 For Lease $1,650 p 4/79-83 MILES GROVE, SEAFORD VIC 3198 For Lease $9,600 pa

Amazon Evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Amazon Evolution - Essay Example The creation of the search engine by Amazon.com operates like Google, and helps ease on the internet search.   The system (A9.com) has been installed in a personalized manner that allows users to create and save and control their previous visits. Amazon also created the SQS system; the system stores the queues and message data in Amazon’s network making it reliable and available in various data centers. Amazon has also installed bookmarking equipments and a tool bar that enables users to browse the search results. A9 relies heavily on Google for the applied technology while; Amazon focuses on improving consumers’ experience. Amazon, therefore, has created its core capability to consumers with its convenience and ready access, personalized services, competitive prices amongst other consumer base benefits (Rainer, 2008).Question 4Issues of Decentralized information managementIn the recent times, data management strategy is changing to data service resulting from the inc reased distribution lines. Consumer ignores the database cover on the thought that; it concerns architectures. In case of the SQS, Data services moves from source A to B via an incorporating process. Therefore, the data volumes and the rush for timely information mount pressure to the consolidating application resulting to reduced data duplication. The ultimate results involve issues concerning consistency, recoverability and access which need resolutions (Rainer, 2008).Securing information proves easier than maintaining the security levels of information.

The Education System in Great Britain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Education System in Great Britain - Essay Example Assessment Reform Group, 2006 research argues that various teaching practices rely on the understanding of language and socials behavior with the learning environment. The strategies in teaching frequently recommend for the use of various teaching aids to ensure that all students are incorporated especially those that need special attention like the autism students. There should be a clearly defined teaching structure and daily routine entangled with the use of visual cues where appropriate. According to Broadfoot, teachers should ensure that they use unambiguous classroom language to make clear their teaching and enhance proper understanding of the students in all their teachings. Clear explanations and regulations in classes, playground, and other social rules should be emphasized by the teachers. Additionally, there should be sharing of the purpose of activities and assessment as well as their intended outcomes.Assessment Reform Group, 2006 research argues that various teaching pr actices rely on the understanding of language and socials behavior with the learning environment. The strategies in teaching frequently recommend for the use of various teaching aids to ensure that all students are incorporated especially those that need special attention like the autism students. There should be a clearly defined teaching structure and daily routine entangled with the use of visual cues where appropriate. According to Broadfoot, teachers should ensure that they use unambiguous classroom language to make clear their teaching and enhance proper understanding of the students in all their teachings. Clear explanations and regulations in classes, playground, and other social rules should be emphasized by the teachers. Additionally, there should be sharing of the purpose of activities and assessment as well as their intended outcomes.   Assessment Reform Group, 2006 argues that learning is one of the most basic processes in a personal life course. It is second to one o f the most contrived processes, the assessment of that learning. Most developed countries have been making efforts to pursue reliable and valid means of assessing peoples’ learning, a process that generates a high volume of published discourse and not infrequently, dissent as well as the documentation of various assessment policies which are inclusive of practices and theories. Some of the discourses include the ways learners can move the next stage ensuring their learning progress.

Outcome and Assessment Information Set Data that Predict Pressure Research Paper

Outcome and Assessment Information Set Data that Predict Pressure Ulcer Development in Older Adult Home Health - Research Paper Example According to the American Geriatics Association (2005), â€Å"Pressure ulcers are areas of tissue damage that develop when the skin and soft tissues (eg, muscle) are squeezed between the bones and the surface that is in contact with the body, such as a mattress.† These ulcers occur around areas such as hip, heel and buttocks. Methods The results of the research by Bergquist-Beringer and Gajewski, which was conducted among 5395 non-hospice patients of 60 years or older showed that bowel incontinence, needing assistance with grooming, dependence in ability to dress the upper body, dependence in ability to dress the lower body, dependence in toileting, inability to transfer, being chairfast or bedfast, and the presence of a PrU on admission were positively associated with new PrU development (Bergquist-Beringer and Gajewski, 2011). The factors raised in the researcher were therefore concluded as the risk factors for pressure ulcers for patients in home healthcare. In a similar re search conducted among 1711 nonhospice patients 60 years or older, Bergquist (2003) however came out with results that were not directly in line with the risk factors pointed out by the former researchers. Unlike the first researchers but not in sharp contrast to their results, Bergquist pointed to the risk factors for pressure ulcers for patients in home healthcare as Limitation in activity to bed, dependence in dressing, urinary incontinence, and needing assistance with transferring predicted Stage I pressure ulcer development (P

Applying principles of stakeholder management to analyse Essay

Applying principles of stakeholder management to analyse organisational practice - Essay Example Based on the first principle of Clarkson’s principles of stakeholder management, managers are obliged to acknowledge and monitor the personal concerns of all Facebook’s legitimate stakeholders. Specifically in the case of the general public, it becomes the sole responsibility of the company to protect the privacy and security of its active and inactive users. Upon analyzing the organizational practices of Facebook, this study will not only apply Clarkson’s first principle of stakeholder management to the case of Facebook but also identify and provide concrete evidences on how Facebook continuously violates the main concern of its valuable users. Contextualization of the Issue As a social networking company, Facebook is earning its profit out of its advertising gains. Aside from its advertising business, the company is also earning large sum of revenues out of selling virtual goods like US$1 in exchange for Facebook’s electronic and personalized greeting ca rd, etc. It means that the more active users Facebook could gather each year, the company’s ability to earn more from its investment value increases. Considering the fact that the business model of Facebook is to indirectly earn revenues from its active subscribers, Swartz (2010) revealed that Facebook is not focus on protecting the privacy of its valuable users. ... Furthermore, the use of koobface, malware, and botnet increases the risk wherein Facebook users are at risk of other forms of computer viruses, adware, worms, spyware, crimeware, Trojan, and scareware among others (Damballa, 2010; Skoudis & Zeltser, 2004, p. 2). Since Facebook encourages its users to share their personal date to the public, its valuable users become at risk of becoming a victim of these computer viruses (Sizemore, 2010; Swartz, 2010). Aside from the risk of computer viruses, it is safe to conclude that the private information gathered by this particular social networking site are most likely being use to assist its advertisers in search for a more accurate target market. Without the knowledge of the active Facebook users, advertisers and sellers of various products and services are able to enjoy the benefit of learning more about another person’s online behaviour and personal preferences (Swartz, 2010). In worst cases, Facebook users can be at risk of becoming a victim of cybercrimes like cyber bullying or cyber terrorism (Donahue, 2010) or even increases the risk for security data breeches (Sizemore, 2010). Since there are a lot of negative consequences associated with the use of Facebook, there is a growing scrutiny about Facebook users’ privacy and security. The issue behind Facebook users’ privacy and security is an on-going concern of many people. In fact, Mui (2011) revealed that Facebook is now being considered as a â€Å"worldwide photo identification database†. For these reasons, countries like China, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Syria, Vietman, and Uzbekistan has already banned the use of this particular social networking site (Cooper, 2010;

Managerial Decision making essay 6 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managerial Decision making 6 - Essay Example Despite the enormous pressures through sanctions and other measures by the US and its allies, Iran has held ground that it will not stop its nuclear programs. After many rounds of negotiations, it is clear that the US cannot achieve its goal of convincing Iran to stop its nuclear programs and hence this stalemate will have to be addressed by approaching the negotiation table using other approaches. In a stalemate negotiation, the issues of concern must shift from hard-line positions to new ones, which will ensure that the fears of each group are met and addressed. In this case, the solution shifts from a competitive approach where each group wants to win, to a new approach where each group wins, that is, a win-win solution (Bazerman & Moore, 2009). In these negotiations, the issues always boil down to US wanting to reduce Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and Iran seeking to maintain them, which leads to a stalemate at the end. In such a negotiation, it is important to identify th e issues of agreement between the two parties, then the issues of contention and hence decide where to compromise and also where necessary come up with new solutions discussed together on the table. Further the two groups must now frame the agendas of the negotiations in a more promising way. Like in any negotiation, cognitive mistakes can happen in such a negotiation. Such mistakes include irrational escalation of commitment, self –serving biases, negotiator overconfidence and issues and problem framing. To avoid irrational escalation of commitment, it is important to have an external advisor, who warns the group when they start acting irrationally when in the heat of the negotiations. In addition, to self-serving biases, it is important for negotiators to listen to others and consider their motivations for their positions in the process (Foreman & Selly, 2001). Negotiator overconfidence may lead negotiators to believe that their

Globalisation and corporate responsibility Case Study

Globalisation and corporate responsibility - Case Study Example ation has changed the economic aspect of the country through exposing the economy to competitive companies which plays a very minimal role in payment of taxes and improvement of the living standards of the people. Ecologically, globalization has led to a reduction in biodiversity and widening of the gap between the rich and poor in the society (Mullerat 2010). In Tanzanian case, the collapse of the textile industry due to the influx of secondhand clothes has increased the level of unemployment in the country, an aspect that has increased the poverty levels among the local population. Culturally, globalization has led to the exchange of cultural aspects among the global citizens. This has played a significant role in changing the consumption behavior of the local population. The integration of economies has had a major impact on economies of developing countries. Initially, these countries had tariffs which protected the interests of the local businesses. This is through limiting the amount and the quality of the products that were entering their economies. However, integration of economies has exposed these countries to intensive competition from developed countries. These are countries that have invested heavily in the modern technologies in order to reduce the costs of production. As a result, they are able to produce high quality products at very low costs. In the Tanzania case study, the integration of economies has made it hard for the government to control the influx of cheap clothes from developed countries. Initially, laws limited these clothes to only charity groups. However, with the increasing levels of globalization, the government is losing revenue which is directed towards developed countries. This is created unbalanced trade in the world . With the increasing levels of liberalization of markets, the local companies are unable to compete with multinational companies. These global firms have diversified their operations to different parts of the

Economics - Economic Policy - Discuss and critically evaluate the Essay - 1

Economics - Economic Policy - Discuss and critically evaluate the rescue and stimulation packages by the UK Government since the start of the credit crunch in 2007 - Essay Example It is in this backdrop, we analyze the factors leading to the crisis and the efficacy of the rescue and stimulation packages introduced by the UK government to improve the situation. According to the Banking Guide it has been an episode of financial instability that was, arguably, the most serious since the 1930s. It states â€Å"The risks of negative equity (where mortgages are greater than the value of the property) became a reality and mortgage defaults hit record highs. Banks have lost the trust which is a pre-requisite to the efficient functioning of credit markets†. The table as given in Appendix I shows the fall in the world’s major equity markets since June 2007, and the cumulative change from 30-6-2007 to 10-10-2008 in the case of ‘FTSE All-share Index’ of the UK is negative by 40.9%. The habit of borrowing by the individuals and corporate bodies ingrained predominantly in the US culture at a staggering level which over the period of time made the financial structure in the country vulnerable. As a lighted  match to a  train of gunpowder, the subprime crisis acted as a trigger for the collapse of the leading banks. The cases of isolated bad debt in the banking system could be a normal phenomenon. However, when it has become impossible to quantify the bad debts in the nation as a whole, the system became victim to the crisis. This unprecedented phenomenon has arrested the flow of capital and liquidity, fundamental to the banking system. It is a vicious circle and the banking system has been clogged up completely due to growing suspicion among the market players. The bank finance locked up in subprime mortgages and housing development projects has paralyzed the system as a whole. The bailout plan was formulated under the Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, who h ad been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs earlier.

Sex Education in Secondary Schools Essay Example for Free

Sex Education in Secondary Schools Essay Background The health and bright future of every adolescent is shadowed by risk of sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancy and even abortion, that will enable them to reach their goals in life. Research shows that one youth is infected with HIV every hour of everyday, while 5% increase in teenage birthrate, 40.5 births per 100 young woman ages 15-19 (Hamilton et.al.2009).This mind numbing fact, is pointed to the aggressiveness, curiosity and misguidance of teens about the issues of sexuality. In a Christian country, like Philippines, these issues are taken with great care and fragility, hence, according to Wagoner (2001), this are public issues that should be treated with rights, respect and responsibility instead of fear, denial and blame. The youth have the right to accurate information, deserving of respect and do have an obligation to act responsibly. Ignorance regarding this is a crucial matter that has an easy remedy: educate the youth and give hope for a more informed tomorrow (Leavitt, 2009). Because like what Wagoner (2001) said, â€Å"By this we could protect their (youth) health and their lives.† Sex education on the other hand, according to Kirby (2002) and Alford (2003), it teaches about abstinence as the best method of avoiding STDs and unintended pregnancy through contraception, it talks about interpersonal and communication skills which help young people explore their own values, goals and options, a prevention program that will affect multiple behavior and achieve positive health impacts. As support to the global call of sex education, Representative Lagman (2008) said that Reproductive Health Bill was formulated by the congress here in the Philippines, that promotes information on access to both natural and modern family planning method, which are medically safe and illegal permissible and assures an enabling environment where women and couples have the freedom and choice on the mode of planning their family while strengthening PopCom in educating the youth. For this reason, the researchers would like to expose the importance and effects of sex education program in the learning of teens and in the preservation of the country as a whole at the same time, assist and guide the youth to be responsible not only in their decision but more importantly to their judgment as to what Villegas (2009) said, â€Å"The only thing that will bring things to order is time.† Statement of the Problem 1. What are the importance of integrating sex education in the learning of teenagers? 2. What are the effects of integrating sex education in the learning and intellectual growth of teens? 3. What would be the impacts of sex education in social, spiritual and sexual development of teens? Statement of the Objectives 1. To instill among the youth the importance of sex education. 2. To show the effects of integrating sex education in the learning and intellectual growth of teens. 3. To reveal the impacts of sex education in social, spiritual and sexual development of teens. Scope and Limitations of the Study The study is only limited on the importance and effects of integrating sex education on the learning of teenagers in the secondary level and it’s feasible contribution towards nation building and global prosperity. It was conducted at La Filipina National High School, La Filipina, Tagum City, from February to March 2010 and was participated by 100 respondents consisting of 20 teachers (five every year level) and 80 students (20 per year level). Significance of the Study For the youth: The main purpose of this study is to provide information about sex education, its importance and effects to the academic performance of teens towards self-preservation and to showcase a wide array of choices to help live a healthy and productive life that would ensure active participation of youth in nation building and global development in the future. For the parents: The significance of the study is to help them to realized their big and vital duty to guide the youth and inculcate among them the values they should bear in mind to lighten their path towards a brighter future. For the teachers: The relevance of this research is to equip them with the right concept in providing not only quality education but also how education be used in fighting ignorance as core cause of deemed tomorrow. For the community: The importance of this research is to give the correct and clear meaning of sex education, as well as, its objectives to awaken the community of its advantage to address the increasing population growth and lessen if may not eradicate sexually transmitted diseases infected and to bring back youth closer to the Almighty creator. Definition of Terms Sex Education -is a program that teaches about abstinence and about using condoms and contraception to avoid STDs and unintended pregnancy, thus develop interpersonal and communication skills. Abstinence -refraining from doing sexual activity before marriage. Sexually Transmitted Disease -or STD is a disease transferred sexually like AIDS, HIV and many more. Morality-is a conduct or attitude judgment from moral standpoint. Unintended Pregnancy -is similar to unwanted pregnancy. Contraception is the process of controlling birth. Reproductive Health Bill -is a bill in the congress that: †¢ Aims to control rapid population growth, unwanted pregnancy and abortion. †¢ Provide the public contraceptives and intensive discussions about issues of sexuality. Chapter II Review of Related Literature The question of weather sex education should be taught in school took along debate up to this very moment inspite with the fact given by the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and Demographic Research and Development Foundation, restated by Dr. Singson (2010), 26 percent of our Filipino youth nation wide from 15 to 25 admitted to have a premarital sex experience, and worst is 38 percent of youth are already in live-in arrangement. The Philippine Situationer dated 2009, added that about 1.8m boys and 670,000 girls aging 15-24 have pre-marital relations already, 766 HIV seropositive children and youth, and got pregnant between 18-19 years old that contribute to 400,000 indused abortion annually thus infecting the quality of education gained by youth that unable them to be productive. Wagoner (2001), emphasized sexuality education is not an either/ or proposition, it’s the reality young people needed and deserved. He further stretched, that he will always believe that the better way is to try rights, respect and responsibility to give young people tools and, more they will make safe and responsible decision out of it. Sex education on the other hand, according to Alford (2001), teaches abstinence as the best method to avoid HIV, unintended pregnancy and abortion, it provides value based education, shows variety of choices in the manner of living, accurate information about the reality of sexual issues, teaches proper usage of contraceptive materials to serve as protection, and preaches religious values to give youth opportunity to explore their own. Macken in 2006 also mentioned the programs efficacy in preventing HIV and other STD. Leavitt (2009), determined ignorance regard safe sex is a crucial matter with an easy remedy: educate the youth and give them hope for an informed tomorrow. However, Anderson (1993) President of Probe Ministries International, viewed that the problem is not lack of education, but lack of moral instruction, according to him, young people needed information about sex, but it must be placed in moral context. He further said that we should provide youth with biblical principles and moral leadership in dissecting this issues. In contrary, researchers of Advocates of Youth (2009), stated that sex education clearly shows programs that do not encourage teens to start sexual intercourse, do not increase even the frequency, instead decrease the number of sexual partners which was supported by Kirby (2001) and Alford (2003) and in Mckeon’s research in 2006. That is why Rep. Edcel C. Lagman (2008), author of the RH Bill of the Philippines, wishes to proved that, (1) Information and access to natural and modern family planning (2) Maternal, infant and child health and nutrition (3) Promotion of breast feeding (4) Prevention of abortion and management of post-abortion complications (5) Adolescent and youth health (6) Prevention and management of reproductive tract infections, HIV/AIDS and STDs (7) Elimination of violence against women (8) Counseling on sexuality and sexual and reproductive health (9) Treatment of breast and reproductive tract cancers (10) Male involvement and participation in RH; (11) Prevention and treatment of infertility and (12) RH education for the youth strengthen PopCom, are vital to promote a well oriented community that shall raised the level of public awareness on the urgent need to protect and promote reproductive health and rights. The study of Kohler and et al. (2008) said, that its not harmful to teach teens about birth control in addition to abstinence. Mauluer et al. (2009) also added, that sex education greatly boost the delay if not decreased the intercourse participation rate. Dr. Markham (2009), told that we need to develop prevention programs that address the needs of the students who are not yet sexually active to promote skills and attitude to help them wait until they are older to have sex, we need to provide knowledge of condom and other contraceptive materials to the sexuality active and to give accurate and factual information and services related to STD’s through education. Albert (2010) said, that no one suggests to set guidelines alone will work at all time for all people, that it is important that we will have a large portfolio and effective options, and that is what education could cater. Effects In the academic and intellectual growth. Supposed sex education is effectively implemented. The Millennium Development Goal or MDG #2, which seeks to achieve universal primary education will be attained, for the program will help youth to proceed and finish proper education, thus, creating them employable, said Virola (2009). Senderowitz in 2000 analyzed that, learning about the reproductive health is pout of the larger developmental process as child become adult. He further stated, this developed self-esteem, a sense of hope and goals for the future, and respect for others. Pick de Weiss et al. (1998), said that the study of Institute Mexicano de Investigacion de Familia y Poblacion or (IMIFP) and the New York- based Population Council showed that the course can increase student’s knowledge on how to incorporate sex in the larger context of life. Delano in 2000, Association for Reproductive and Family Health Executive Director, revealed that this assessment could provoke life-building skills like negotiation skills, values classification, refusal skills, decision- making and goal setting. She further emphasized, that this skill will enable youth to cope with the demands and challenges of growing up and self management. Moreover, Mahler (1896) agreed, because according to her this will help youth develop and practice decision- making skills, because sex education is not just about sex, but it facilitates self-esteem and the feeling that you have options and you are in control of things. Nguer in 1999 added, that this education allows youth to be more mature and to be able and face some of life’s problems, it was also supported by Vincent et al. (1987), that the program is focused to improve decision-making skills, interpersonal communication skills, self-esteem and balancing of personal values, which is parallel to what Bailie said in 1995, thus, expressed a strong desire for better education and parents should be part of it. In the study of Cairns (1990), he found out the self-esteem and locus of control were associated with benefits in a single sex school than a mixed- sex environment. Mallam (1993) also revealed that this kind of curriculum showed attitudes toward academic subjects. Impacts on the Social, Sexual and Spiritual development †¢ Social advancements Since social aspect is defined as the relationship and communication into someone or to the community, as a whole. Integrating sex education according to Kirby, restated by Leavitt (2009), that this program can effectively reduced the number of sexual partners. Sex education had been successful in various settings. Sendorovitz (2000), written that the program include peer-based approaches and media activities to reach people thus young people can comfortably and safely explore issues and concerns to practice safer sexual behaviors. Whitaker (2000), reported that its effects were safer behavior and strong ties in the family, school and church. Nguer of 2000 also emphasized, that this also involves respect and responsibility. Since the values of respect for women by men and violence were instill in their minds. Bailie (1995) also added that the opportunity for individual counseling with someone they trust like their parents and friends are also given importance. According to Dohoney (2007) they (youth) learned about how to say no to sex which is a clear result of having a sound judgment. †¢ Sexual improvements Sexual activities are both natural to human and animals yet for human it’s more sacred and treated with respect. Kirby (2007) found that 30 percent of this program lessens sex frequency and 60 percent reduced unprotected sex. Kohler et al. (2008) said that teens who received sex education were 60 percent was likely to report becoming pregnant. According to Grunseit (1997) this activity delayed the inset of sexual activity, reduced the number of sexual partners and decrease unplanned pregnancy and STD rates and a significant reduction in sexual risk-taking. Dohoney (2007) said, that receiving sex education before the first sexual activity has the positive outcome. According to Lagman (2008) this reduces abortion rates by as much as 85 percent that negates the need to legalize abortion. He added that the United Nation and countries with sex education stated, that the youth understand the proper sexual values, early initiation is delayed, multiple sex partners is avoided, spread of STDs is prevented. In conclusion he said this raise the level of public awareness on the urgent need to protect and promote reproductive health and rights. †¢ Spiritual enlightenment When temptation comes let GOD be your guide. 1 Corinthian 10:13 said, â€Å"There hath no temptations taken you but such as in common man: but GOD is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted. â€Å"It is clearly stated that with intimate relation with GOD no temptation will ever shake the foundation of our very soul which is faith. According to Leavitt, the mission can only be achieved by offering a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as the best way to live a sexually pure life. In addition, Sanches (2010) said, that if you’re sexually pure because you are educated, you will avoid things that may tempt you to do pre-marital sex, and aborting baby. You won’t feel cheap like used rags, because you believe in God and with it the pursuit for sexually pure is easy. Chapter III Methodology Locale of the Study The location of the study may be classified into two: First, was at La Filipina National High School, La Filipina, Tagum City and the second was at the University of Southeastern Philippines,Tagum-Mabini Campus, Apokon, Tagum City. The former, includes the gathering of data through survey and latter, signifies the interpretation, analysis and making of the entire research study. Procedure After deciding the topic, researches of the anything related to it followed. From these researches, the researchers come up to a survey questionnaire form making it accurate to answer the problems and objectives of the study. The survey was made last March 2, 2010 at La Filipina National High School which was participated by 20 students and 5 teachers every year level summed up to 100 respondents. In every year level, the focus of the survey was only on the first section class having 20 respondents each, composed of 10 boys and 10 girls selected on random order. For the teachers, there were no specific guidelines on choosing who will answer the survey questionnaire. The respondents were chosen for they will be the one who will be affected directly for what so ever the result may be. Interpretation and analysis of the data gathered followed to form the summary, conclusions and recommendations.

Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)

Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) 1. Introduction Markowtiz (1952) did the ground work for the CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model). From the study of the early theories we know that the risk of an underlying security is measured by the standard deviation of its pay off or return. Therefore, for a larger risk we will have higher standard deviation of the respective security return. Markowtiz argued that the standard deviations of security returns for any two securities are not additive if they are combined together unless the returns of those two assets are perfectly positively correlated. He also observed that the standard deviation of security return of a portfolio is less than the sum of the standard deviation of those assets constituted the portfolio. Markowitz developed the efficient frontier of portfolio, the efficient set from where the investors select the portfolio which is most suitable for them. Technically, an investor will hold a mean-variance efficient portfolio which will return the highest pay off to them with a given level of variance. Markowitz’s computation of risk reduction is very rigorous and tedious. Sharpe (1964) developed the single index model which is computationally efficient. He derived a common index where the asset return is related with the common index. This common index can be any variable which has influence on the asset return. We can apply this single index model to the portfolio as well since the expected return of a portfolio is the weighted average of the expected returns of the constituents of the portfolio. When we need to analyze the risk of an individual security, we have to consider the other securities of the portfolio as well. Because, we are interested about the additional risk being added to the portfolio when one addition security is added to the portfolio. Thus the concept of risk share of an individual security to the portfolio is different from the risk of that security itself. An investor faces two kinds of risks. One is called the systematic risk and the other is known as unsystematic risk. Unsystematic risk is a kind of risk which can be minimized or eliminated by increasing the size of the portfolio, namely, by increasing the diversity of the portfolio. The systematic risk is well known as the market risk. Because, it depends on the overall movement of the market and the financial condition of the whole economy. By diversifying the portfolio, we cannot eliminate the systematic risk. Theoretically CAPM offers very commanding predictions about how to measure risk and return relationship. However, the empirical evidence of CAPM is not very encouraging. One may conclude that these failings are rooted in poor construction of the model but once can argue that this failing arises because of the difficulties of building comprehensive and valid test model. The estimation strategy of CAPM is not free from the data-snooping bias. Because of the non-experimental nature of economic theory we cannot avoid this problem. Moreover a lot of investigations already have been done to test the validity of the CAPM. Thus, no attempt has been made in this paper to test the validity of the model. Here in this paper we will critically examine some literatures on CAPM testing. We will begin with understanding the model. We will briefly outline some mathematics required to understand the underlying assumptions of the model. Then we will focus on the single and multi-factor CAPM models to a nalyze the model assumptions and restrictions required to hold these models to be true. 2. The Capital Asset Pricing Model Explained   In 1959 Markowitz introduced the notion of mean-variance efficient portfolio. According to him it is optimal for an investor to hold a mean-variance efficient portfolio. The mean-variance efficient portfolio is a portfolio for an investor where he minimizes the portfolio return, given the expected return and maximizes expected return, given the variance. Later Sharpe (1964) and Lintner (1965b) further developed the work of Markowitz. In their work it has been showed that if the investors’ expectations are homogeneous and when the hold the mean-variance efficient portfolio then in the nonexistence of market friction the market portfolio will be a mean-variance efficient portfolio. There are two basic building blocks to derive the CAPM: one is the capital market line (CML) and the other one is the security market line (SML). In CAPM the securities are priced in a way where the expected risks are compensated by the expected returns. As we will be investigating different form of CAPM in this work it is worthy to review the basic notions of CML and SML. The capital market line (CML) conveys the return of an investor for his portfolio. As we have already mentioned, there is a linear relationship exists between the risk and return on the efficient portfolio that can be written as follows: On the Other hand the SML specifies the return what an individual expects in terms of a risk-free rate and the relative risk of a portfolio. The SML with security i can be represented as follows: Here the Beta is interpreted as the amount of non-diversifiable risk intrinsic in the security relative to the risk of the efficient market portfolio. The utility function of the market agent is either quadratic or normal All the diversifiable risks are eliminated The efficient market portfolio and the risk-free assets dominate the opportunity set of the risky asset. We can use the security market line can be used to test whether the securities are fairly priced. 3. The Logic of the Model: To understand the logic of CAPM, let us consider a portfolio M. To clear the asset market this portfolio must be on the efficient frontier. Thus the underlying concept that is true for minimum variance portfolio, must be true for the market portfolio as well. With the minimum variance condition for portfolio M when there are N risky assets, we can write the minimum variance condition by the following equation: Where is the expected return on the asset i and . The market beta for the asset is derived by dividing the covariance of the market return and individual asset return by the variance of the market return, In the minimum variance condition stands for the expected asset return whose market beta is zero which implies that the asset return is not correlated with the market return. The second term of the equation represents the risk premium. Here the beta measures how sensitive the asset return is with the variation in the market return. Sharpe and Lintner focused on three important implications. They are: 1)the intercept is zero; 2) Beta can completely capture the cross sectional variation of expected access asset return; and, 3)The market risk premium is positive. Sharpe and Lintner in their CAPM model assumed that the pay off from a risky asset is uncorrelated with the market return. In their model the beta becomes zero when the the covariance of a asset return offsets the variance of the other assets’ returns. When the borrowing and lending is risk free and when the asset return is not correlated with the market return then the asset return equals the risk free rate. In the Sharpe-Lintner model the relationship between the asset return and the beta is represented by the following equation: However, this assumption of riskless borrowing and lending is unrealistic. Black (1972) developed a CAPM model where he did not make this extreme assumption. He showed that the mean variance efficient portfolio can be obtained by allowing the short selling of the risky assets. The Black and Sharpe-Lintner model differ in terms of the . Black observed that has to be less than the expected market return which allows the premium for the market beta to be positive. In the Sharpe-Lintner model the expect return was the risk free interest rate. The assumption that Black made about short selling is not realistic either. Because, if there is no risky asset (Sharpe-Lintner version) and if there is unrestricted short selling of the risky asset (Black version) then the efficient portfolio is actually not efficient and there does not exist any relation between market beta and CAPM (Fama and French: 2003). So, the CAPM models are built on some extreme assumptions. To testify the validity of these models researchers have tested the model against the market data. In this paper we will investigate some of those empirical researches. 4. Literature on CAPM testing There are three relationships between expected return and market beta which is implied by the model. First, the expected returns on all the underlying assets are linearly related to their respective betas. Second, the premium for beta is positive which implies that the expected return on the market portfolio exceeds the expected return on assets. Moreover, the returns of these assets are uncorrelated with the expected return of market portfolio. Third, in the Sharpe-Lintner model we see that the underlying assets which are uncorrelated with the market portfolio have the expected returns which are equal to the risk neutral interest rate. In that model, if we subtract the risk free rate from the expected market return, we get the beta premium. Conventionally the tests of CAPM are based on those three implications mentioned above. 4.1 Tests on Risk Premiums Most of the previous cross-section regression tests primarily focus on the Sharpe-Lintner model’s findings about the concept and the slope term which studies the relationship between expected return and the market beta. In that model they regressed the mean asset returns on the estimated asset betas. The model suggests that the constant term in the cross-section regression stands for the risk free interest rate and the slope term stands for the difference between market interest rate and risk free interest rate. There are some demerits of the study. First of all, the estimated betas for individual assets are imprecise which creates the measurement error when we use them to explain average returns. Secondly, the error term in the regression has some common sources of variation which produces positive correlation among the residuals. Thus the regression has the downward bias in the usual OLS estimate. Blume (1970) and Black, Scholes and Jensen (1972) worked on overcoming the shortcomings of Sharpe-Lintner model. Instead of working on the individual securities they worked on the portfolios. They combined the expected returns and market beta in a same way that if the CAPM can explain the security return, it can also explain portfolio return. As the econometric theory suggests, the estimated beta for diversified portfolios are more accurate than the estimated beta for the individual security. Therefore, if we use the market portfolio in the regression of average return on betas, it lessens the cr itical problem. However, grouping shrinks the range of estimated betas and shrinks the statistical power as well. To tackle this researchers sort securities to create two portfolios. The first one contains securities with the lowest beta and it moves up to the highest beta. We know that when there exists a correlation among the residuals of the regression model, we cannot draw accurate inference from that. Fama and Macbeth (1973) suggested a method to address this inference problem. They ran the regression of returns on beta based on the monthly data rather than estimating a single cross-section regression of the average returns on beta. In this approach the standard error of the means and the time series means can be used to check whether the average premium for beta is positive and whether the return on the asset is equal to the average risk free interest rate. Jensen (1968) noted that Sharpe-Lintner model also implies a time series regression test. According to Sharpe-Lintner model, the average realized CAPM risk premium explains the average value of an asset’s excess return. The intercept term in the regression entails that â€Å"Jensen’s alpha†. The time series regression takes the following form: In early studies we reject Sharpe-Lintner model for CAPM. Although there exists a positive relation between average return and beta, it’s too flat. In Sharpe-Lintner model the intercept stands for the risk free rate and the slope term indicates the expected market return in access of the risk neutral rate. In that regression model the intercept is greater than the risk neutral rate and the coefficient on beta is less than . In Jensen’s study the p value for the thirty years period is 0.02 only which indicates that the null hypothesis is rejected at 5% significance level. The five and ten year sub-period demonstrates the strongest evidence against the restrictions imposed by the model. In past several studies it has been confirmed that the relationship in between average return and beta is too flat (Blume: 1970 and Stambaugh: 1982). With the low betas the constant term in the time series regression of excess asset return on excess market return are positive and it becomes negative for the high betas of the underlying assets. In the Sharpe-Linter model, it has been predicted that portfolios are plotted along a straight line where the intercept equals the risk free rate, , and the slope equals to the expected excess return on the market rate . Fama and French (2004) observed that risk premium for beta (per unit) is lower than the Sharpe-Lintner model and the relationship between asset return and beta is linear. The Black version of CAPM also observes the same where it predicts only the beta premium is positive. 4.2 Testing the ability of market betas of explaining expected returns Both the Sharpe-Lintner and Black model predict that market portfolio is mean-variance efficient. The mean-variance efficiency implies that the difference in market beta explains the difference in expected return of the securities and portfolios. This prediction plays a very important role in testing the validity of the CAPM. In the study by Fama and Macbeth (1973), we can add pre-determined explanatory variables to the month wise cross section regressions of asset return on the market beta. Provided that all the differences in expected return are explained by the betas, the coefficients of any additional variable should not be dependably different from zero. So, in the cross-section analysis the important thing is to carefully choose the additional variable. In this regard we can take the example of the study by Fama and MacBeth (1973). In that work the additional variables are squared betas. These variables have no impact in explaining the average asset return. By using the time series regression we can also test the hypothesis that market betas completely explain expected asset return. As we have already mentioned that in the time series regression analysis, the constant term is the difference between the asset’s average return and the excess return predicted by the Sharpe-Lintner model. We cannot group assets in portfolios where the constant term is dependably different from zero and this applies only the model holds true. For example, for a portfolio, the constant term for a high earning to price ratio and low earning to price ratio should be zero. Therefore, in order to test the hypothesis that betas suffice to explain expected returns, we can estimate the time-series regression for the portfolios and then test the joint hypothesis for the intercepts against zero. In this kind of approach we have to choose the form of the portfolio in a way which will depict any limitation of the CAPM prediction. In past literatures, researchers tend to follow different kinds of tests to see whether the constant term in the time-series regression is zero. However, it is very debatable to conclude about the best small sample properties of the test. Gibbons, Shanken and Ross (1989) came up with an F-test for the constant term that has the exact-small sample properties and which is asymptotically efficient as well. For the tangency portfolio, this F-test builds an entrant by combining the market proxy and the average value of an asset’s excess return. Then we can test if the efficient set and the risk free asset is superior to that one obtained by combining the market proxy and risk free asset alone. From the study of Gibbons, Ross, and Shanken (1989) we can also test whether market betas are sufficient enough to explain the expected returns. The statistical test what is conventionally done is if the explanatory variables can identify the returns which are not explained by the market betas. We can use the market proxy and the left hand side of the regression we can construct a test to see if the market proxy lies on the minimum variance frontier. All these early tests really do not test the CAPM. These tests actually tested if market proxy is efficient which can be constructed from it and the left hand side of the time series regression used in the statistical test. Its noteworthy here that the left hand side of the time series regression does not include all marketable assets and it is really very difficult to get the market portfolio data (Roll, 1977). So, many researchers concluded that the prospect of testing the validity of CAPM is not very encouraging. From the early literatures, we can conclude that the market betas are sufficient enough to explain expected returns which we see from the Black version of CAPM. That model also predicts that the respective risk premium for beta is positive also holds true. But at the same time the prediction made by Sharpe and Lintner that the risk premium beta is derived from subtracting the risk free interest rate from the expected return is rejected. The attractive part of the black model is, it is easily tractable and very appealing for empirical testing. 4.3 Recent Tests on CAPM Recent investigations started in the late 1970s have also challenged the success of the Black version of the CAPM. In recent empirical literatures we see that there are other sources are variation in expected returns which do not have any significant impact on the market betas. In this regard Basu’s (1977) work is very significant. He shows that if we sort the stocks according to earning-price ratios, then the future returns on high earning-price ratios are significantly higher than the return in CAPM. Instead of sorting the stocks by E/P, if we sort it by market capitalization then the mean returns on small stocks are higher than the one in CAPM (Banz, 1981) and if we do the same by book-to-market equity ratios then the set of stocks with higher ratio gives higher average return (Statman and Rosenberg, 1980). The ratios have been used in the above mentioned literatures associate the stock prices which involves the information about expected returns which are not captured by the market betas. The price of the stock does not solely depend on the cash flows, rather it depends on the present discounted value of the cash flow. So, the different kind of ratios discussed above play a crucial role in analyzing the CAPM. In line with this Fama and French (1992) empirically analyzed the failure of the CAPM and concluded that the above mentioned ratios have impact on stock return which is provided by the betas. In a time series regression analysis they concluded the same thing. They also observed that the relationship between the average return and the beta is even flatter after the sample periods on which early CAPM studies were done. Chan, Hamao, and Lakonishok (1991) observed a strong significant relationship between book-to-market equity and asset return for Japanese data which is consistent wit h the findings of Fama and French (1992) implies that the contradictions of the CAPM associated with price ratios are not sample specific. 5. Efficient Set of Mathematics The mathematics of mean-variance efficient set is known as the efficient set of mathematics. To test the validity of the CAPM, one of the most important parts is to test the mean-variance efficiency of the model. Thus, it is very important to understand the underlying mathematics of the model. Here, we will discuss some of the useful results of it (Roll, 1977). Here we assume that there are N risky assets with a mean vector ÃŽ ¼ and a covariance matrix ÃŽ ©. In addition we also assume that the covariance matrix is of full rank. is vector of the portfolio weight. This portfolio has the average return; and variance. Portfolio p is the minimum variance portfolio with the mean return if its portfolio weight vector is the solution to the following constrained optimization: We solve this minimization problem by setting the Lagrangian function. Let’s define the following: The efficient frontier can be generated from any two minimum variance portfolios. Let us assume that p and r be any two minimum variance portfolio. The covariance of these two portfolios is as follows: For a global minimum-variance portfolio g we have the following: The covariance of the asset return of the global minimum portfolio g and any other portfolio as defined as a is as follows: For a multiple regression of the return of an asset or portfolio on any minimum variance portfolio except the global minimum variance portfolio and underlying zero-beta portfolio we have the following: The above mentioned result deserves some more attention. Here we will prove the result. As . The result is obvious. So, we just need to show that and . Let us assume that r be the minimum variance portfolio with expected return . From the minimization problem we can write the following: Portfolio a can be expressed as a combination of portfolio r and an arbitrage portfolio which is composed of portfolio a minus portfolio . The return of is expressed as: Since , the expected return of is zero. Because, as mentioned earlier that it is an arbitrage portfolio with an expected return of zero, for a minimum variance portfolio q. We have the following minimization problem: The solution to the optimization problem is c=0. Any other solution will contradict q from being the minimum variance. Since, , thus taking the derivative gives the following expression: Setting the derivative equal to zero and by substituting in the solution c=0 gives: Thus the return of is uncorrelated with the return of all other minimum variance portfolio. Another important assumption of the CAPM is if the market portfolio is the tangency portfolio then the intercept of the excess return market model is zero. Here we will prove the result. Let us consider the following model with the IID assumptions of the error term: Now by taking the unconditional expectation we get, As we have showed above, the weight vector of the market portfolio is, Using this weight vector, we can calculate the covariance matrix of asset and portfolio returns, the expected excess return and the variance of the market return, Combining these results provide, Now, by combining the expression for beta and the expression for the expected excess return give, Therefore, the immediate result is 6. Single-factor CAP In practice, to check the validity of the CAPM we test the SML. Although CAPM is a single period ex-ante model, we rely on the realised returns. The reason being the ex ante returns are unobservable. So, the question which becomes so obvious to ask is: does the past security return conform to the theoretical CAPM? We need to estimate the security characteristic line (SCL) in order to investigate the beta. Here the SCL considers the excess return on a specific security j to the excess return on some efficient market index at time t. The SCL can be written as follows: Here is the constant term which represents the asset return (constant) and is an estimated value of . We use this estimated value as an explanatory variable in the following cross-sectional regression: Conventionally this regression is used to test for a positive risk return trade off. The coefficient of is significantly different from zero and is assumed to be positive in order to hold the CAPM to be true. This also represents the market price of risk. When we test the validity of CAPM we test if is true estimate of . We also test whether the model specification of CAPM is correct. The CAPM is single period model and they do not have any time dimension into the model. So, it is important to assume that the returns are IID and jointly multivariate normal. The CAPM is very useful in predicting stock return. We also assume that investors can borrow and lend at a risk free rate. In the Black version of CAPM we assume that zero-beta portfolio is unobservable and thus becomes an unknown parameter. In the Black model the unconstrained model is the real-return market model. Here we also have the IID assumptions and the joint normality return. Many early studies (e.g. Lintner, 1965; Douglas, 1969) on CAPM focused on individual security returns. The empirical results are off-putting. Miler and Scholes (1972) found some statistical setback faced when using individual securities in analyzing the validity of the CAPM. Although, some of the studies have overcome the problems by using portfolio returns. In the study by Black,Jensen and Scholes (1972) on New York stock exchange data, portfolios had been formed and reported a linear relationship between the beta and average excess portfolio return. The intercept approaches to be negative (Positive) for the beta greater than one (less than one). Thus a zero beta version was developed of the CAPM model. The model was developed in a model where the intercept term is allowed to take different values in different period. Fama and Mcbeth (1973) extended the work of Black et al (1972). They showed the evidence of a larger intercept than the risk neutral rate. They also found that a linea r relationship exists between the average returns and the beta. It has also been observed that this linear relation becomes stronger when we work with a dataset for a long period. However, other subsequent studies provide weak empirical evidence of this zero beta version. We have mixed findings about the asset return and beta relationship based on the past empirical research. If the portfolio used as a market proxy is inefficient then the single factor CAPM is rejected. This is also true if the proxy portfolio is inefficient by a little margin (Roll: 1977, Ross: 1977). Moreover, there exists survivorship bias in the data used in testing the validity of CAPM (Sloan, 1995). Bos and Newbold (1984) observed that beta is not stable for a period of time. Moreover, there are issues with the model specifications too. Amihud, Christen and Mendelson (1993) observed that there are errors in variables and these errors have impact on the conclusion of the empirical research. We experience less favourable evidence for CAPM in the late 1970s in the so called anomalies literature. We can think the anomalies as the farm characteristics which can be used to group assets in order to have a high ex post Sharpe ratio relative to the ratio of the market proxy for the tangency portfolio. These characteristics provide explanatory power for the cross-section of the average mean returns beyond the beta of the CAPM which is a contradiction to the prediction of CAPM. We have already mentioned that the early anomalies include the size effect and P/E ratio as we have already mentioned. Basu (1977) observed that the portfolio formed on the basis of P/E ratio is more efficient than the portfolio formed according to the mean-variance efficiency. With a lower P/E firms have higher sample average return and with high P/E ratio have lower mean return than would be the case if the market portfolio is mean-variance efficient. On the other hand the size effect shows that low market capitalization firms have higher sample return than would be expected if the market portfolio was mean-variance efficient. Fama and French (1992,1993) observed that beta cannot explain the difference between the portfolio formed based on ratio of book value of equity to the market value of equity. Firm has higher average return for higher book market ratio than originally predicted by the CAPM. However, these results signal economically deviations from CAPM. In these anomalies literatures, there are hardly any motivations to study the farm characteristics. Thus there is a possibility of overstating the evidence against the CAPM since there are sample selection bias problem in estimating the model and also there is a problem of data snooping bias. This a kind of bias refers to the biases in drawing the statistical inference that arises from data to conduct subsequent research with the same or related kind of data. Sample selection bias is rooted if we exclude certain sample of stocks from our analysis. Sloan (1995) argued that data requirements for the study of book market ratios lead to failing stocks be ing excluded which results the survivorship bias. Despite an ample amount of evidences against CAPM, it is still being widely used in finance. There is also the controversy exists about how we should interpret the evidence against the CAPM. Some researchers often argue that CAPM should be replaced with multifactor model with different sources of risks. In the following section we will analyze the multifactor model. 7. Multifactor Models So far we have not talked anything about the cross sectional variation. In many studies we have found that market data alone cannot explain the cross sectional variation in average security returns. In the analysis of CAPM, some variables like, ratio of book-to-market value, price-earning ratio, macroeconomic variables, etc are treated as the fundamental variables. The presence of these variables account for the cross-sectional variation in expected returns. Theoretical arguments also signal that more than one factor are required. Fama and French (1995), in their study showed that the difference between the return of small stock and big stock portfolio (SMB) and the difference between high and low book-to-market stock portfolio (HML) become useful factor in cross sectional analysis of the equity returns. Chung, Johnson and Schill (2001) found that the SMB and HML become statistically insignificant if higher order co-moments are included in the cross sectional portfolio return analysis. We can infer from here that the SMB and HML can be considered as good proxies for the higher order co-moments. Ferson and Harvey (1999) made a point that many econometric model specifications are rejected because they have the tendency of ignoring conditioning information. Now we will show one of the very important results of the multifactor model. Let us consider a regression of portfolio on the returns of any set of portfolios from which the entire minimum variance boundary can be generated. We will show that the intercept of this regression will be zero and that factor regression coefficients for any asset will sum to unity. Let the number of the portfolios in the set be K and is the (Kx1) vector of time period t of asset returns. For any value of the constant ÃŽ ¼, there exists a combination of portfolio and assets. Let us consider ÃŽ ¼ be the global minimum variance portfolio and we denote the portfolio as op. Corresponding to op is minimum variance portfolio p which is uncorrelated with the return of op. As long as p and op are efficient portfolios in terms of the minimum variance their returns are the linear combinations of the elements of , where and are (Kx1) vectors of portfolio weights. As p and op are minimum variance portfolio their returns are linear combinations of the elements of , Then for the K portfolios we have, By rearranging, we get the following, Substituting this value into ÃŽ ¼ returns the following: Now let us consider a multivariate regression of N assets on K factor portfolios, where a

Teaching Philosophy Statement Essay -- Philosophy of Teaching Educatio

Teaching Philosophy Statement Teaching is a profession which allows one to influence many lives. It is because of this opportunity to touch lives that I have decided to enter the teaching profession. I understand that the benefits of this profession are mostly intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic, yet the thought of inspiring students to learn drives me closer to the teaching profession. Monetary gain from a certain profession is minimal compared to the feeling that at the end of the day you have touched someone’s life. To summarize, the reason that I am entering the teaching profession, is my conviction to touch lives. Full of life and well lit will be two ways of describing my classroom. Nothing is more depressing than working in a dimly lit room. I hope to fill the walls with a few bulletin boards and yet not make the room look crowded and cluttered. The clock will be placed at the front of the room so the students will be able to pace themselves and see it clearly. I will seat in a traditional manor but allow the students to sit were they like. Once in the classroom, I feel my teaching style will lean toward that of a traditionalist. If one was to ask any college instructor in America to compare the high school graduate of today with the graduate of twenty years ago, they would almost always reply, â€Å" The student twenty years ago was more equipped for college than the student of today.† Upon further exploration, I found that many college level math courses were taught in the eighth and ninth grades in the early seventies. What does this have to do with me being a traditionalist you ask? America has left behind many of the great principles of education which made this nation great. In general ... ...d of imparting that knowledge to others. When my student walks out of my classroom I pray that I change the way they view the world. My goal would be that each one feels my desire to enlighten them academically. Knowing that there are thousands of teachers out there doing there best in the struggle to educate, I still feel the urge to out and be the best I can be. Many of the old timers say, â€Å"Just wait until you get in the classroom with a bunch of thirteen year olds cussing and carrying on and whose parents don’t give a @!$#% and then we’ll see what’ll happen.† My reply to this is simply, â€Å"We’ll see, we’ll see.† So in every seminar I will attend or in every staff meeting I am part of, I will be a continual learner. I will be faithful and do what I love.Teach! Teaching with fire! Teaching with passion! Teaching with compassion! I want to be a teacher.

Communication Encourages Learning Essay -- Education Teaching Papers

Communication Encourages Learning The classroom needs to be an open forum in which students and teachers are allowed and encouraged to share opinions and experiences. When this communication breaks down the learning environment also fails. I remember being in the first grade and one of the students in our class was trying to say something to the teacher. Obviously this was not a real stimulating conversation as we were only in the first grade. When the student started talking the teacher became irritated and told the student to stop talking. The student tried again to say something to the teacher, at this point the teacher went ballistic yelling and screaming for the class to be quite and not talk. This teacher proceeded to place the student in the corner to punish her, when the student again tried to say something to the teacher, the teacher tied her to her chair and ordered everyone in the room to stay silent. Observing this display had an enormous effect on all the people in that room. We as students felt that we did not have anything of value to say, and therefore should not speak up. We also learned a fear of reactions that may come by expressing what we had to say. Fortunately since this experience I have not encountered another such teacher, and have had teachers who have gone out of their way to encourage class discussion. I think it is also important for teachers to be aware of the games students are playing. My sister and I can both remember being in grade school and playing game like the farmer and the dell, in this game kids stand around in a circle and one student calls other students into the circle to be a part in the song. The problem with this is that the kids who are quite or shy tend to get left out, and ... ...icate is in the classroom, where they spend most of their time. If people can communicate with each other, and have an understanding that not everyone will agree, then they will be much more productive in life. They will be able to get their point across while at the same time hearing another point of view. This skill is imperative to survival in our growing and changing society. WORKS CITED Cheney, Lynne V. "PC: Alive and Entrenched." The Presence of Others. Comp. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruskiewicz. New York: St. Martins, 1997 112-123. Hooks, Bell. "Keeping Close to Home: Class and Education." The Presence of Others. Comp Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruskiewicz. New York: St. Martins, 1997 85-96. Rose, Mike. "Lives on the Boundary." The Presence of Others. Comp. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruskiewicz. New York: St. Martins, 1997 97-111

Roger and Me

The movie â€Å"Roger and me† by Michael Moore is a documentary about Roger Smith's takeover of General Motors in the late 1980's. Moore documents the transition from prosperity to poverty in the city of Flint, Michigan. There are three different angles from which to look at the situation in Flint. These three different angles are a conflict theorist’s view, a functional analysis’ view, and a symbolic interactionist's view. The first view, conflict theory, is looking at who has the power, how they're using this power, and who they're exploiting with it. A conflict theorist would view the situation as Roger Smith using his power to ruin Flint, Michigan. Smith became the CEO of General Motors and started making massive changes immediately. He started by laying off thousands of auto workers at the Flint, Michigan auto plants so that GM could make new plants in Mexico, even though GM was making record profits. The auto workers were devastated and although they strived to better themselves and get new jobs, there were none available. Secondly, the functionalist's view can be applied to this situation. A functional analyst's view is a pretty broad one that consists of looking at the big picture and how everything works or doesn't work together. Functionalists would say that it was a necessary step for GM to close its plants in Flint because it will bring in more profits and allow the company to grow larger. Having cheaper labor in Mexico will lower the prices of new cars too. On the other hand, GM is being dysfunctional by closing the plants since that is where most of the citizens of Flint work. With so many people unemployed, the economy of Flint became horrible. No one bought anything so stores went out of business, creating even more unemployment. The final view if that of the social interactionist's. Throughout the movie, Roger Smith is portrayed as an evil figure. Everyone that Moore interviews view General Motors and Smith as the devil. Flint, Michigan is viewed as dying town that isn't worth anything anymore. Celebrities such as Robert Schuller, Pat Boone, Anita Bryant and Bob Eubanks all come to Flint in an attempt to raise the citizens’ spirits. Robert Schuller looks like a savior when he comes with motivational ideas to preach to the towns unemployed and tell them what they should do. Bob Eubanks, who is seen as the guy who made it out of Flint and became famous, comes and has a live newlywed game to cheer everyone up. Even the President of the United States comes to talk to some of Flint's citizens, but he doesn't have much to offer other than a free lunch. To bring it all together, Michael Moore did a very good job at documenting the reactions of everyone involved from the workers to the CEO of the company. Conflict theory, functional theory, and social interaction are the three important views that can be applied to the â€Å"Roger and Me† film. Looking at all three views together is essential to seeing the whole story and how everyone involved feels about it.

Competition in the Movie Rental Industry: Netflix and Redbox

The competitive forces in the movie rental industry are quite strong, as I will explain through the five forces model. There are a vast amount of substitutes for watching a movie. You can go to a play, sporting event, concert, out the lake/beach, go for a run, watch regular television, go shopping; I could go on and on. Also, torrenting or pirating movies is growing increasingly popular. Buyers have a strong presence in this industry mainly because they are picky about how much they will pay to rent or stream a movie.With the amount of substitutes and their pickiness, they make this industry more competitive than what it may seem. Suppliers can make this industry very difficult because there is so much red tape in the movie industry. There are copyrights and restrictions on everything. This gives the supplier a lot of leverage and for the most part, they know that they can demand a price of just about anything. I see the potential and threat of new entrants being moderate to strong. First off; many customers have their loyalties whether it be to Netflix, Redbox or a local hometown movie rental.Secondly; pricing, availability and quality are all key factors. Lastly you have to have a large sum of money upfront in order to get the ball rolling. As I mentioned prior, gaining rights from movie companies is not cheap. The rivalry among the competitors is rather intense as they are battling for the best prices, biggest variety, quickest accessibility for the customer, and quality movies (HD streaming, few scratches and number of blu-rays). With the growing increases in technology and home entertainment, there are major forces pushing for change in the movie rental industry.In addition to this; we now live in a world where people want something and they want it NOW. I work in retail and this â€Å"in the now† era is changing everything and is putting a lot of pressure on almost any company. This has increased the push for expansion of online streaming and or th e ease of access to movie rental kiosks. Also in this new world, there is a huge demand for entertainment. Our generation spends more time in front of the TV and now computers, tablets and smart phones than ever before.The increase in the quality of televisions, surround sounds and filming capabilities is pushing the envelope. People are also always looking for the biggest bargain while maintaining quality. When looking at a strategic map the two variables would be price and how quickly the product can be attained. Netflix and Redbox rank high within each category. On the other hand Blockbuster and Movie gallery would be ranked much lower due to their high prices and the fact that you have to go out of your way to a brick and mortar store.The biggest key success factor to me over the next 3-5 years will be the capability to stream HD content at home. I understand that this hinders on your internet provider due to bandwidth. But I believe that if a customer can stream HD content it w ill save them the cost of purchasing a blu-ray player and blu-ray videos. To stem off of this idea, it’s going to depend upon how quickly the customer can obtain the video. After those two factors, I think that price (low) will then come into play. People want things to be as simple and as user-friendly as possible.Whether this is how it easy is to navigate a website or make purchase at a kiosk machine. Lastly I foresee the variety being a component of success; I don’t know about you but I do miss some of the movies from the 90s. After performing a SWOT analysis of Netflix, the company looks increasingly more popular. First off, lets look at Netflix’s strengths. Overall Netflix has had strong financial stability as they have grown their margins year over year. They definitely have their brand name out on the market; much of this can be attributed to their amount of advertising.You can say that they have alliances given that their videos can be streamed on virtua lly any device (phone, tablet, and computer). This also allows their content to be viewed virtually anywhere. The fact that they teamed up with Oracle to work on their website was a very beneficial move as this gives them somewhat propitiatory technology. I personally enjoy their recommendations and it is obvious that with their next arrival that they have strong logistics. They have a big cost advantage too.If I can stream a whole season of How I Met Your Mother in one day, I feel as though the $8. 9 that I spent was a good investment and yet I still have another 29 or 30 days to go. The two times that I had to deal with their customer service; they quality of service was outstanding and I’ve heard many other wonderful testimonials. When looking at weaknesses, I feel that their inability to provide new releases is a major drawback. In addition to this, they need to amp the selection for online streaming since streaming is expanding rapidly. The issue at hand with streaming i s that it can potentially lead to server crashes if there are too many users on at once.Netflix can also be very enticing to hackers since there is so much personal information stored. I would say that the biggest opportunity for Netflix would to be to make deals with the movie production companies to allow Netflix to offer new releases. To feed off of that, they need to increase their variety; particularly in the selection of indie and international films. With as big as they have become Netflix should try to gain rights to more countries. They could try to test out the video rental industry. This would help them out as gamers can stream Netflix on their consoles.Since they have software to offer recommendations based off of likes, they could look into developing a music streaming service similar to Pandora. Lastly, they need to set up kiosks in high traffic shopping areas. Maybe they could start this by putting up kiosks in each of the 50 towns in which they have a distribution ce nter. I see the biggest threat being the increasing amount of pirating movies and people performing illegal downloads. The supplier has a lot pulling power as they can quote big prices. If other companies began to enter the online streaming idea; Netflix will have to look for ways to distinguish itself.Redbox’s SWOT analysis does not make it look as attractive as Netlfix, however it is still pretty strong. Again starting with strengths; Redbox has its kiosks placed in prime locations. It is much more convenient for a customer to pick up a movie as they are walking out of the grocery store or McDonald’s than it is for them to drive to a physical store location. It is good for both the store and Redbox. I feel that their prices give them a large competitive advantage especially when comparing to the price of a rental from Blockbuster or Movie Gallery.Their smartphone app allows the customer to decide whether or not they can go out and pick up a certain film. I know that many people appreciate the fact that Redbox has many new release films. Moving on to weaknesses; the biggest issue with kiosks is the amount of variety and inventory. There are only 20 to 30 films to choose and I feel that folks enjoy more choices. The other issue with kiosks is that nobody is there to inspect the condition of the disks therefore a customer can potentially rent a scratched up disk.The beauty of Netflix is that your movie will arrive on your doorstep or you can stream it instantly. With the increasing price in gas, it can be seen as somewhat of an inconvenience to drive out to a kiosk. On a positive note, Redbox has many opportunities available to it. They can start off by offering online streaming. Like Netflix, I suggest that they look into tapping into the video game market at their kiosks. After lifting their lawsuits from Universal and Warner bros, they should renegotiating the length of time that it takes to get their hands on new release films.Redbox’s biggest threat would if/when other companies also begin to offer rentals via kiosk locations. The advances in technology may one day lead us away from using discs and virtually everything will be done online. They also face uncontrollable threats such as snow days. It is much easier for the customer to stream a video with Netflix than it is for them to bundle up, clear off their vehicle and risk their lives in hazardous driving conditions. Financially Netflix has been quite sound since its creation.I am rather impressed with how well its gross profit and net income have steadily increased year over year. On the other hand, it does somewhat bother me that their stockholder’s equity has decreased each year since 2005. Recommendation: Netflix: I recommend to Netflix that they look into adding kiosk locations in attempt to drive out Redbox as much as possible. This will pull in any more customers because not everyone enjoys being on a subscription and paying monthly rates. By the time everything turns completely towards online streaming, you will be leaving Redbox in the dust with almost nothing.To further help with pulling customers away from Redbox, Netflix needs to look into gaining access to new release films. With their powerful software, Netflix should look into a streaming service similar to Pandora and or create something like iTunes where customers can purchase and download music. Redbox: Redbox has got to get with the program and offer online content. Along with this, they should offer some sort of subscription service to ensure that they are holding onto their customer base. They could also look into having a rental service via online so that they can offer their customers more variety in movies.

The Darker Side of Shakespeare

In William Shakespeare’s play, â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream†, the audience is spectator to a much darker Shakespearian comedy than many of Shakespeare’s other works. The play begins with a young woman by the name of Hermia is torn between marrying the man that her father has chosen for her or facing death for defying her father’s wishes. The audience sees dark humor through Puck’s antics in pleasing his Oberon. The two enjoy playing mean tricks on innocent characters they come across, obviously exhibiting a dark sense of humor. Shakespeare also incorporates dark magic into â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream† with the fairies in the forest. Whereas fairies are typically portrayed as helpful, innocent creatures, Shakespeare’s fairies seem only to create mischief and chaos. Also portrayed in this play is the dark side of love and romance. The darkness of the play is obvious from the first page through the last page, obviously displaying Shakespeare’s darker intentions for this play. The most obvious element of â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream† is the element of dark humor. Oberon’s mignon, Puck, is constantly entertaining Oberon in any way possible. In most cases, this entertainment incorporates playing tricks on unsuspecting characters. Puck and Oberon seem to have a darker sense of humor, enjoying seeing others in states of confusion or embarrassment. Early in the play, Puck talks about the pranks that he has been known to play, telling the audience that, â€Å"†¦ sometimes lurk I in a gossip’s bowl, in very likeness of a roasted crab, and when she drinks, against her lips I bob and on her withered dewlap pour the ale. The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale, sometimes for three-foot stool mistaketh me; then slip I from her bum, down topples she, and â€Å"tailor† cries, and falls into a cough† (Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 47-54). By turning himself into a crab and lurking in a bowl of ale to scare a woman, and making himself appear to be a stool so that when a woman sits on him, he can make her fall, Puck makes it obvious that he cares about nothing but entertaining himself and his king. One example of this darker humor is when Puck changes Bottom’s head into that of an ass. As if this single trick isn’t entertaining enough, Puck then casts a spell over Titania causing the fairy queen to fall in love with Bottom. When Puck tells Oberon how the trick played out, Oberon is obviously happy with the results, telling Puck that, â€Å"This falls out better than I could devise† (Act 3, Scene 2, Line 35). The relationship between Oberon and Puck is one similar to a King and Court Jester during medieval times. Puck exists only to entertain Oberon, and it is very obvious that the two have a much darker sense of humor than others. The second element of â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream† that exhibits an obvious darkness is the magic and fairies within the play. Typically, fairies are thought to be good creatures who are helpful and innocent. However, the fairies that Shakespeare has envisioned are a much darker breed than what the audience would normally expect. The fairies that exist in this play are more known for creating a sense of chaos. The most prominent fairy in the play is Puck, the trickster of the forest. We see the darker side of the magic that Puck practices on several occasions throughout the play. One of the more obvious examples of Puck’s dark magic is when he decides to relinquish the Athenian youngsters of their relationship troubles. Puck uses magic to make Demetrius fall in love with Helena. This is a darker spell because it interferes with the ability of Demetrius to truly exhibit free will and love who he wants. Puck tracks down the Athenian he is to cast the spell upon in the forest, â€Å"When thou wakest, let love forbid; Sleep his seat on thy eyelid: So awake when I am gone† (Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 67-68). In the process of â€Å"helping† the young lovers with this love triangle, Puck casts the spell on the wrong Athenian man. The plan backfires, and it is Lysander who is made to woo Helena. As Puck and Oberon watch their antics unfold, Puck is obviously entertained by the confusion that he has caused. Puck tells Oberon, â€Å"Shall we their fond pageant see? Lord, what fools these mortals be!† (Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 115-116). The third element of Shakespeare’s play that incorporates a darker feeling is that of love and relationships. This is most evident in the relationship that exists between Titania and Oberon. While most comedies are full of love and passion, Shakespeare places a dark emphasis on relationships in â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream†. The marriage of Titania and Oberon is thrown into chaos over a changeling that Titania has taken under her care. Because of Titania’s actions, Oberon is in a rage and essentially trying to get revenge on her. This takes on a dark element when Oberon encourages Puck to play a trick on her, resulting in Titania falling temporarily in love with Bottom. Unfortunately for the fairy queen, Bottom’s head has been transformed into that of an ass. Puck takes great delight in his bizarre love connection, however, saying, â€Å"When in that moment, so it came to pass, Titania waked and straightway loved an ass† (Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 33-34). The audience sees a different kind of relationship between Titania and Oberon – one in which Oberon obviously must always be â€Å"in charge†. By not allowing Oberon to have control of the changeling, she has obviously thrown their relationship out of balance. It appears to the audience that Titania is expected to bend to Oberon’s wishes at all times. The audience is exposed to the darker side of Titania in her battle with Oberon. When the two meet by accident in the woods, Titania is furious with Oberon for interrupting the fairy dances that Titania and her fairies partake in. Titania’s darker side is uncovered in her accusations to her husband, â€Å"The ox hath therefore stretch'd his yoke in vain; The ploughman lost his sweat, and the green corn; Hath rotted ere his youth attain'd a beard; The fold stands empty in the drowned field; And crows are fatted with the murrion flock† (Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 78-82). Titania’s word choice alone has a dark connotation, and she makes it clear that the disturbance of the fairy dance will have dark consequences for others. Shakespeare’s comedy, â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream† leaves the audience reeling from a sense of darkness within the play. This play is not a typical comedy in that many of the comedic elements are darker than other plays in the same genre. Shakespeare shows the audience the darker side of humor through the interactions between Oberon and his servant, Puck. The element of dark magic also makes its way into the play, through the chaotic realm of the fairies in the forest, changing the typical role of a fairy in writing. Lastly, Shakespeare makes his audience aware of the darkness that exists within the various relationships in the play. Almost all of the lovers in this play have a darker element to their relationships. Shakespeare, through diverse characters, intrigues the audience with an obvious fascination with the darker side of the most common elements of his play. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1980.