Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Java vs. C++ Essays - Cross-platform Software, Java Platform

Java vs. C++ Essays - Cross-platform Software, Java Platform Java vs. C++ subject = Freshman title = Java vs. C++ Since their inception, computers have played an increasingly important role in todays society. Advancements in technology have enabled computers to become faster and cheaper. Today, the majority of families own a home computer that is vastly more powerful than giant mainframes of years gone by. Computer hardware has been evolving rapidly with no end in sight, and with all of the advancements in computer hardware come advancements in computer software; gone are the days when FORTRAN and COBOL were the languages of choice. Today,vvv two hot new object oriented programming languages have entered the computer programming arena, Java and C++, this paper will examine the similarities and differences between these new languages. Both Java and C++ are object oriented programming languages, but what does that mean? Object oriented programming (OOP) emphasizes data, instead of algorithms for solving problems. Instead of trying to fit a problem to the procedural approach of a language, OOP attempts to fit the language to the problem, in other words, OOP is structured to produce an answer without changing the question. Object oriented programming involves two separate parts, class and objects. Class is a specification that describes a new data form, it is a template that defines how an object will look and behave.(Kaj 1996, 8) An object is that particular data structure constructed using the parameters defined by class.(Prata 1995, 5) The object oriented programming approach to program design is to first design classes that accurately represent those things with which the program deals. A drawing program, for example, might define classes to represent rectangles, lines, circles, brushes, pens, and the like. The class definitions, recall, include a descriptions of permissible options for each class, such as moving a circle or rotating a line.(Prata 1995, 5) The main advantages of OOP, besides being able to create more complex software, and develop answers without changing the questions, are numerous. OOP facilitates creating reusable code, which can save a lot of work. Information can be hidden to safeguard data from improper access. Polymorphism lets the programmer create multiple definitions for operators and functions, with the programming context determining which definition is used, also Inheritance lets the programmer derive new classes from older ones. When using OOP, the programmer can focus on representing concepts, instead of concentrating on tasks. (Prata 1995, 6) Java, although in many respects similar to C++, is actually just a more simplified version of the latter. Java has a C++ like syntax, but it is more purely object oriented, also, memory management, which can be a problem with C++, is no longer a factor with Java, due to the fact that Java incorporates a built in garbage collector, which makes it unnecessary to explicitly free allocated memory.(Kaj 1996, 1) Another difference is that Java, unlike C++, does not contain pointers.(ftc.nrcs.usda.gov/devtools/java/java/noMoreC/index.html) (A pointer is a variable that tells a computer where data is placed.)(Prata 1995, 93) Java does not have an explicit pointer type, instead, it does passes all arrays (information entered into the program and stored in memory) and objects by reference,(ftc.nrcs.usda.gov/devtools/java/java/noMoreC/index.html) meaning that the objects or arrays in question have been defined elsewhere in the program, and the programmer does not have to keep pointing out wh ere that information is stored. Since Java does not contain pointers, struct and union (two C++ favorites) are not part of the language because they rely on pointers to function.(ftc.nrcs.usda.gov/devtools/java/java/noMoreC/index.html) Java differs from C++ in other ways too, command line arguments that are passed to a Java application are different in number and type than those passed to a C or C++ program. For example, when someone starts a C++ program, the system passes two parameters to it: argc- the number of arguments in the command line, and argv- a pointer to an array of strings that contain the arguments. When a Java application is started, the system passes only one parameter, args- an array of Strings (not a pointer to an array) that contain arguments.ftc.nrcs.usda.gov/devtools/java/java/noMoreC/index.html Speaking of strings, (A string is a series of characters, much like a sentence.)(Prata 1995, 8), they are different in Java. In C++, strings are stored in arrays, in Java strings are treated as their own objects, and do

Saturday, November 23, 2019

5-Paragraph Argumentative Essay on Abortion

5-Paragraph Argumentative Essay on Abortion 5-Paragraph Argumentative Essay on Abortion In the modern world, the debate on whether abortion should be legalized has dominated discussions for years. While some people see abortion as murder, others believe that abortion should be allowed in the case of ‘unwanted’ pregnancy. This is when the pregnancy was not planned, and the mother is either not ready to have a child, or the birth of the child may pose a danger to the mother and the child. When one participates in this debate constructively, you need to prepare a well-structured essay that demystifies the issues surrounding the abortion issue. Such an essay can be an important tool that people can use to support, or oppose, the issue of legalizing abortion. A 5-paragraph argumentative essay on abortion should include the following five points: The first paragraph should introduce the debate and the contested issues concerning abortion. For instance, the writer should explain who supports legalization of abortion, and who does not. The writer should also give the reasons why people have these differing opinions. The second paragraph should explore one side of the debate. For instance, the writer can explore whether abortion should be legalized and whether such action of legalization of abortion will be a violation of human rights, ethics, laws governing the society, and the rights of any specific member of a group of the society. The third paragraph should explore the other side of the debate. In this case, the writer should explain why legalization of abortion is vital and the conditions under which it should be allowed. The writer can explain what the repercussions would be if the state does not legalize the issue of abortion and what society stands to lose by having a blanket ban on abortion. The fourth paragraph should explore the validity of the arguments that both sides provide. The literature on the issues that the writer raises in support of the issue of abortion and its legalization should be discussed. The writer can use legal arguments as part of its presentation, or, religious arguments to credit or discredit the arguments of both sides of the debate. The fifth paragraph should present the facts that emerged in the previously written paragraphs. Since the fifth paragraph is the concluding paragraph, the writer can give his/her personal opinion based on the facts presented. Why not to try our professional essay writing service designed to help students with writing college essays. Get a custom paper on Abortion now!

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Changes in Apple's Supplier Code of Conduct Essay

Changes in Apple's Supplier Code of Conduct - Essay Example At Apple, we value our workers as really, they are the reason for our success. We, therefore, require of every supplier that transacts any dealings with Apple to exhibit genuine intention to protect the rights of our workers at all times. A maximum of 60-hour work week should always be observed. We ensure that our suppliers strictly follow this. This ensures that our workers are not over-worked, and hence they remain productive. By 2014, about 92% of our suppliers complied with this. We are custodians of human rights as well. This is seen in our use of conflict-free minerals in our products. Suppliers affiliated with Apple are usually held accountable to hiring procedures that are ethical.For productivity, good health is key. That is why at Apple, we really care about the safety and health of our workers. In order to ensure that this is maintained, we have sought to train our management staff and workers. In an effort to assure that safety and good health is maintained, we launched a bout 870 projects in 2014 to improve conditions at the places of work. This was done through the Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) Academy. We have also come up with a comprehensive mapping program that aims to make steadfast our chemical management functions.We have great regard for the environment at Apple. That’s why we ensure that our products and services are environmentally conscious. We are doing all we can to ensure that the natural resources that have been bestowed upon us are well conserved.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

CV Creation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CV Creation - Essay Example r the new joiner to ensure a smooth transition into the company; coordinate with the Line departments and employees on employee separation to collate all company items to be returned by the employee prior to leaving and coordinate with the concerned to ensure all items are collected back to ensure a smooth employee exit process; compile and maintain updated files, records and databases related to department activities for record purposes and to ensure easy retrieval of the same; prepare relevant and timely reports for Manager review and highlight areas of concern for decision making and corrective actions; check the pantry inventory and ascertain adequate inventory stock by replenishing them timely to ensure employee satisfaction Arrange summer training/ internal ship program for UAE nationals in the company as per requirement from various educational institutions to ensure DPG’s commitment towards the society in developing UAE nationals; prepare relevant reports/statistics/surveys related to Junior Trainees in order to provide management information; identify suitable platforms like career fairs, universities etc to source potential UAE national candidates for the company to develop them for future roles Over sixty trainings arranged for internal staff (sales people, technical training, upper management, etc); coordinating with experienced external trainers from various training companies; responsible for writing weekly progress reports for submission to top management; keep an up to date filing system includes proper attendance sheets, certificate copies, feed back forms and training evaluation after each training session as an ongoing basis; prepare summary of training attendees based on the database provided by service team at the end of every month to know the progress of training programs; make sure that the training venues are booked according to the calendar and the training materials are readily available for each session Wrote periodic reports to

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Customer perspectives revisited Essay Example for Free

Customer perspectives revisited Essay When a business loses the drive to pursue and retain customers, it loses its soul and therefore the right to exist. No business can function, thrive or prosper without a reliable customer base. In the customer perspective theory BSC makes it clear that it is not only essential to know who the target customers are and how a business can better serve that customer base. The BSC identifies three primary ways of providing services to customers in the Balance scorecard system. Operational excellence emphasizes low prices, and convenience ( Nevin 2003). Product leadership focuses on providing the  best product in the market. In customer intimacy the business stresses the development of long term relationships with the customer, doing whatever is necessary to know what it is that the customer truly wants. It does so while maintaining as much knowledge as possible of its customers. The reason for these efforts in acquiring superior customer knowledge comes down to the point that the businesses are attempting to provide as much satisfaction to the customers as possible. The other reasons include customer loyalty and the need for more market share. (Balancedscorecard. org. ) INTERNAL PROCESS PERSPECTIVE REVISITED: This area focuses on identification of the things that would need to be done in order to continue to add value to the customers and ultimately to the shareholders (Nevin 2003). The internal process aims to serve the customer and increase the total value of the organization, as well as keep record of the companies progress. The team’s objective is primarily to develop better products, to find better ways of manufacturing better products. To find better ways of delivering their products, and to find better ways of delivering better services after the products had been delivered. LEARNING AND GROWTH PERSPECTIVE REVISITED: This may actually be the most important aspect of the entire process. Organizations would get as far as their employees could take them. A team that lacks knowledge may not be able to provide the necessary services required by the customers. Therefore genuine effort must be made to keep employees abreast of necessary information. And that is what the learning and growth perspective tries to define. It emphasizes that information be made available to the employees. It requires the employees skills be as sharp as necessary. It does not want employees to be ignored. Again the key here is that any organization would only go as far as the employees could take it. With adequate care and education, employees can only do better for the company. It is important to point out that the BSC system does not ignore the financial perspective. But the key is that when a company has satisfied the other objectives, that company stand a pretty good chance of doing well financially. BALANCE SCORECARD AS A STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: Obviously putting a business and management strategy is important, but no strategy will function if it does not actually get implemented. So the first step in resolving the  issue of non-implementation, is to identify what the potential problems towards implementation may be, and then address those issues. According to fortune magazine (1999) about 70% of strategies are poorly executed, so how can it be executed better. Both the team and the management must pay attention to the four barriers: the vision barrier, the people barrier, the resource barrier, and the management barrier. (1) VISION BARRIER: To overcome the vision barrier, employees must not be kept in the dark. The BSC wants management to be very clear as to what the vision is. When possible place a figure on the  vision . For instance if the goal is to manufacture products without defects 90 % of the time, then it may be made clearer by stating exactly that. That figure of 90% translates the vision to a level that could not be misunderstood. Give the employees the appropriate knowledge base and strategic structure, that makes the entire strategic objective easier to follow. Management should facilitate a total understanding of the strategy and the whole structure in order to enable all the team members to fully understand the strategy and therefore work towards achieving it as a unit. (Kaplan Norton).

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Hester Essay -- essays research papers

Throughout the Rocking-Horse Winner†, Hester was overly materialistic, emotionally cold towards her children and in self-denial over her own faults. Hester had expensive tastes and she insisted in keeping up the latest style. The â€Å"expensive and splendid toys† that filled the nursery were more than the parents modest income could afford. Paul asked for an explanation of luck. Hester responded by saying â€Å"it’s what causes you to have money†, quickly making a connection between luck and wealth. And while she discovered she had a knack for sketching â€Å"furs and dress materials† she adored, making hundreds of pounds per year did not appease her elegant tastes, for it still wasn’t enough to keep up her extravagant lifestyle. When Hester found that she had mysteriously acquired five thousand pounds, she quickly asked for the whole sum at once. This money was not used to pay off the debts the household so sorely needed; it was used to purchase more cozy and unneeded items. The â€Å"sprays of mimosa and almond blossom† emanated from the home and was more pungent than before. Hester fe lt that her financial state couldn’t afford to buy a car but ironically she purchases tutors for Paul and expensive items for their home. While Hester fancied lavish items, she also strived to be prestigious and gain social stature. This stature was always hard to preserve for â€Å"there was never enough money†. Hester toiled to maintain her superior status and was willing to sacrifice her money to buy â€Å"iridescen...

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Red Bull’s current marketing strategies Essay

How should Red Bull market its brand in the future? I think, although Red Bull has been extremely successful in the past, times have changed and the company and products should change with it, otherwise we probably lose market share to the tremendous increased number of competitors in no time.At the height of early mornings and late nights, Red Bull energy drink became the fuel of choice for people from all walks of life. So how is Red Bull marketing its brand to meet the changing needs and budgets of its customers? How will the privately owned Austrian company expand its product line beyond the silver-bullet beverage that â€Å"gives you wings†? My conclusion is that we should focus on what the consumers want, need, and can afford and different marketing techniques. Red Bull founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, introduced his â€Å"tonic drinks† to the Austrian market in 1987. â€Å"Red Bull got off the ground in no time flat, giving people wings right from the start.† It wasn’t until ten years later, Red Bull charged into the United States, launching a new category of non-soda energy drinks aimed at burned out high school kids, college students, and overworked individuals. In my opinion Red Bull should focus not only on low cost marketing, but also areas of mass marketing. Red Bull is an energy drink with an amazingly clever marketing strategy, but could use an extra shove in areas. Since its inception, Red Bull has shunned print advertising in its marketing strategy. Red Bull has also chosen to eliminate billboards, banner ads, taxicab holograms, blimps, and Super Bowl spots as a form of advertising. It has not created one web-marketing campaign, and it hasn’t nipped or expanded its product line. This could be a good area to begin. Promoting the drink with prints or web-marketing campaigns could add to the many satisfied consumers. Red Bull’s website could also use renovations. The website, http://www.redbullusa.com/start.html, does not include an in-depth analysis on ingredients contained in the drink, whereas Dark Dog and Red Devil do. If consumers wanted to learn what was contained in the drink and how they benefit from the product, the information should not only be available, but in abundance. Also, Super Bowl advertising has proved to be very beneficial,  with more viewers than any TV program. Advanced communications technology is creating a generation where many individual can be touched by one visual. However, Red Bull chooses to use advertising that cost little or nothing. Red Bull has also adopted another form of low cost advertising. Red Bull sets its grassroots ethic into motion with a simple, yet masterful marketing force, student brand managers. In Europe, collegiate buzz junkies have been successfully addicting friends and classmates for years thanks to a foolproof branding plan; Red Bull provides the student representatives with free cases of its energy drink and then encourages the kids to throw a party. Red Bull could also use this technique with older individuals in high stress occupations. This will not only spread the word quickly and cheaply, but to more individuals of different ages. This would allow Red Bull to expand its target. â€Å"In terms of attracting new customers and enhancing consumer loyalty, Red Bull has a more effective branding campaign than Coke or Pepsi,† says Nancy F. Koehn, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School and author of Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers’ Trust from Wedgwood to Dell (Harvard Business School Press, 2001). â€Å"Red Bull is building a beverage brand without relying on the essential equipment of a mass-marketing campaign. Perhaps the indispensable tools of marketing aren’t so indispensable after all.† With the little advertising Red Bull uses, an extra push in one of these areas could prove very beneficial for the company. Resources: Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers’ Trust from Wedgwood to Dell (Harvard Business School Press, 2001) http://www.redbullusa.com/start.html http://www.plan-b.biz/pdf/Speed_In_a_Can.pdf http://www.darkdog.com/ http://www.reddevilusa.com/ http://www.safefoodonline.com/safefood/Uploads/appendix_I_stimulant_drinks_in_ireland%2520_trans_mgmt.pdf

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Explore the ways in which writers present strong feelings to interest the reader or audience

Various techniques are used by writers to present strong feelings which evoke emotion from the reader or audience. Literary techniques are used in great lengths to both emphasise strong feelings in a literary piece and to also evoke strong feelings from an audience. The techniques embody language, structure and form. The experimentation of structure and poetic techniques used by writers create strong feelings within both the contemporary and present audience, ensuring audiences were and always will be interested in the literary piece.In the prologue of the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ the audience learn that two dignified households in the city of Verona hold an ‘’ancient grudge’’ towards each other, which remains a source of the violent conflict which is central to the play. It can be suggested that hatred has grown stronger over a long period of time. Similarly, the structure of the poem undermined traditional Elizabethan sonnets which were tradit ionally love poems. Shakespeare’s, however, changed this form to show hatred, violence, conflict and death to foreshadow the ending of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.An Elizabethan audience would have recognised this, creating a feeling of excitement and curiosity within them. Likewise in ‘sonnet 43’ Browning has also undermined the traditional form of a sonnet to create religious imagery to describe her lover. Browning’s sonnet discusses and compares her strong feelings for her lover and as her description develops she illustrates that she loves him with the emotions of an entire life from childhood right through to death. ‘’I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life!– And, if God choose, I shall love thee better after death’’. She worships her lover with all her heart and respects him much more than she does her religion. He touches all aspects of her life and gives meaning to her whole existence. The au dience would be shocked as during the Victorian era religion was paramount in the lives of the people. However, it is not just love for one person that is described but the feeling of love itself. Similarly, as Romeo and Juliet become innocent victims of an atrocious ‘‘strife’’ between their families when they ‘’take their lives’’.Considerably, the poet evokes strong feelings towards the emotion of love when Browning is describing the intensity of religion and the link between death and love, as Shakespeare does when he links the idea of love and death in the prologue, allowing both the audience and the reader to openly question the content without profanity. In the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ segregated from society is a dominant feeling and a reoccurring theme. Romeo and Juliet go to extreme lengths to preserve their love together.They did this as according to Elizabethan society it was nor their ‘Fate’ nor ‘Destiny’ to ever be together. Therefore by choosing to be together consequences to them both mocking society. Juliet was Romeos second love which is ironic and therefore mocks society because Elizabethans believed in fate and destiny and that you could only ever love one person. If you loved again you weren’t really in love or you previous relationship wasn’t love but lust. Romeo’s feelings power his actions contradicting the Elizabethan norm which would undoubtedly evoke strong feelings such as disgust and shock from the audience.Alternatively in the poem ‘My last duchess’ the writer evokes strong feelings from the reader by focusing on the dominance and control of the Duke towards his wife. The audience in this case is this the ambassador acting on behalf of Ferdinand referred to in the poem as ‘The Count, your master’ but in reality it is the reader. This makes the reader feel rebellious as they are ‘eavesdroppin g’ on an interesting conversation. This completely contrasts to Romeos relationship with Juliet. They respect and accept each other as equals whereas the Duke doesn’t respect his wife or even acknowledge her.The duke refers to his wife, not by her name, by ‘she’. A contemporary reader would accept this as men were the dominant spouse. ‘’Half flushed that dies along the throat’’. This is ironic as it is said that the duke killed or had his wife killed, we could interpret that he beheaded or had her beheaded. This would surprise the reader as the duke earlier in the poem he compliments his wife, calling her a ‘wonder’. Although his words and actions are brutal the duke would have been accepted by society as men were believed to be higher than women.Romeo and Juliet’s love was not accepted by an Elizabethan society but they choose to ignore their friends and family, therefore appalling their audiences and mocking their entire beliefs. In the play Romeo and Juliet confusion, doubt and uncertainty are common emotions. During the balcony scene Juliet is speaking her mind unaware that Romeo had been listening. ‘’Be sworn my love, and I shall no longer be a Capulet’’. She would disown her family to be with Romeo, someone whom she had just met. This would have stunned an Elizabethan audience as she came from a rich, well respected family.There is more confusion when Juliet’s feelings change, ‘’ it is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden’’. Shakespeare uses the ‘rule of three’ to emphasise on the word ‘too’. He does this to show how strong Juliet’s doubt towards Romeo is. An Elizabethan audience would be confused as to how she could change her mind as they believed in love at first sight and this was going against that belief. Shakespeare mocks his entire society though his characters by showing them that fate and destiny is not written in the stars but is decided by you.Equally, in the poem ‘The Laboratory’ there is a lot of confusion between the character and the reader. The woman in the poem is searching for the perfect poison to commit a murder. She cannot seem to decide what poison she would like and is distracted by the â€Å"exquisite blue† colours of the poisons. ‘’Yonder soft phial†¦ sure to taste sweetly, – is that poison too? ’’. Her actions are very child-like and due to her frequent change of mind the reader will begin to doubt her motive and seriousness.The reader feels confused at her motives and could assume the poem is comic and not serious. By using a question mark, the poet emphasises the protagonists confused mind. This confusion is further highlighted by the â€Å"-â€Å"which separates the question from the rest of the stanza and draws it to the attention of the reader. Clearly, Shakespeare and Mr and Mrs Browning all convey strong emotion to the audience and readers whether it is through language, structure or form. This is one of the main reasons why their literature has lasted and is greatly treasured.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

British Petroleum Company, Ltd. Essay Example

British Petroleum Company, Ltd. Essay Example British Petroleum Company, Ltd. Essay British Petroleum Company, Ltd. Essay Formed in 1909, British Petroleum (BP) was the world’s seventh largest industrial company and the third largest oil company based on 1986 sales figures. As a part of its decentralization plan which prepares for the privatization of the nationalized industries, the British Government initiated a sale of BP’s stock in March 1987. Later on BP announced an offering of new stock in conjunction with the government sale in July 1987. Underwriting agreement was made between BP and both the domestic and international underwriters on 15 Oct 1987.The offering date was set for 30 Oct 1987. The price for both the fixed-price offer and the international offer was set at ? 3. 30 payable in three installments. While the first installment of ? 1. 20 was due immediately upon sale, the second and third installment of ? 1. 05 were due on 30 Aug 1988 and 27 April 1989 respectively. Right after the underwriting agreement was made, the stock market suffered its largest decline in history. The underwriters of the BP issue faced substantial losses as a result of the drop in BP price.Refusing to rescind the deal, the British government announced on 29 Oct 1987 that the offering would proceed as planned, and the Bank of England would offer a repurchase plan for the underwriters. The bank would buy for ? 0. 7 any and all partly paid BP shares that would begin trading the following day. Those who sold their shares to the bank would then be relieved of the second and third installments. The offer to repurchase shares would expire on 6 Jan 1988. Case ObjectivesWith the drop of BP’s stock value and the Bank of England’s offer of the repurchase plan, the objectives of this case study is to 1) Evaluate from the point of view of the U. S. underwriters the value of the repurchase plan, so as to help decide if they should sell their partly paid BP stock to the Bank of England instead of holding on it to sell it to the individual investors after the offering date; 2) To compare the value for the repurchase plan with the total change in equity value of the U. S. underwriters, so as to have an extra reference on the value of the repurchase plan. Discussion The Repurchase Plan as a Put Option According to the case, anyone who owned partly paid BP shares could sell them at any time to the Bank of England for ? 0. 7 regardless of the then prevailing market price. We have concluded that this offers the equivalent of the Bank of England writing a put option with the strike price of ? 0. 7 plus the present value of the remaining two installments of the price of the BP shares. To be more specific, since the option could be exercised anytime during the life of the offer, it should be treated as an American option. Â ¦ Methodology The Black-Scholes ModelAfter the identification of the repurchase plan as a put option, it comes to the vital part of the case study- valuation of the option. As stated earlier, the repurchase offer resembles an American put option which means the Binomial model would be more appropriate for the calculation of the option price. We are aware that the a major limitation with the Black-Scholes model is its incompetence in pricing an American option due to the fact that it only calculates the option price at expiration. However, the statistics given are not sufficient enough for us to precisely compute the price of an American option.Furthermore, the main objective of this report is to estimate the value of the repurchase offer as a whole rather than calculating the exact price of the option at a specific date. That being said, we would treat the option as a European option for the sake of simplicity. For European options, the binomial model tends to converge with the Black-Scholes formula as the number of steps increases. Since the statistics of days after the announcement of the repurchase plan are fairly limited, we have decided that the Black-Scholes Model would perform better for this case scenario. Assumptions Limitations Term Structure As the period between the announcement and expiration date of the repurchase plan is a little bit more than 2 months (From 29 Oct 1987 to 6 Jan 1988), we have chosen to use the term structure of 3 months (Exhibit 8), which is closest to this period, for the pu rpose of our calculation. Volatility In selecting the data to calculate for the volatility, we did recognize that using the daily stock prices from 16 to 19 Oct 1987 (Exhibit 7) should be problematic with the stock market crash.As the Black-Scholes model assumes a lognormal distribution of volatility, using the Black-Scholes model to process this set of extreme data would lead us to the assumption risk, which is the risk that the Black-Scholes is inappropriate to be used to value options for the period. Alternatively, we considered about avoiding the crash period by only using the data before or after the crash (i. e. from beginning of Oct to 16th or from 19th to the end of the month). However, as we only have one month data on hand, further cutting half of it would leave us too little data for a fair calculation.However, if we do have data of a longer period, we would choose to use the data after the crash as it would be better matched with the case. Â ¦ Stock Price As we see a he althy financial status of BP according to its income statements and balance sheets (Exhibit 1-3), it is assumed that the stock price of BP will never drop to zero in the period. To support this, we have calculated the book value per share of BP, which is USD3. 73. (Please refer to the work sheet Book Value of BP in the Excel file for calculation details. Â ¦ Trading Days The number of trading days in a year is assumed to be 252 according to the usual practice for the calculation of volatility. Â ¦ Calculation Results With the help of the Black-Scholes model, we come up with the answer of USD0. 38 as the value of the put option, which is equivalent to the value of the repurchase plan to the U. S. underwriters at the end of 30 Oct 1987. (For details on the calculations, please refer to the work sheets of Black-Scholes Model and Volatility in the Excel file. )Apart from using the Black-Scholes model, we also calculated the implied put option/repurchase plan value by calculating the c hange in equity value of the publicly traded U. S. underwriters between 29 Oct 1987 and 30 Oct 1987 for comparison (Please refer to the work sheets of Equity Value Change and Black-Scholes Model for the calculation details). Before the results were being worked out and compared, we have assumed the two values to be close to each other, as we assumed a semi-strong form of market efficiency, with which stock prices are believed to reflect all publicly available information.In this case, as the announcement of the repurchase plan was made to the public on 29 Oct 1987 after the close of the London and New York markets, we believed the change in stock prices of the U. S. underwriters should reflect the value of the repurchase plan on the next trading date (i. e. 30 Oct 1987), with the assumption of the repurchase plan being the only factor influence the stock prices on that day. However, the two values that we got turned out to be more inconsistent with each other than we thought, with U SD0. 8 as the value from Black-Scholes model and USD1. 02 as the implied value from the equity value change. Assuming the market participants are rational, the change in the equity price of the US listed underwriters should correctly reflected the true price of the repurchase plan (i. e. the put option). If the put option was USD1. 02, the volatility of the stock price of BP should be 145. 49% under the Black-Scholes model (calculated by trial and error) instead of 60. 11% (Please refer to the work sheets of Volatility for the calculation details).The great difference between the two volatilities may be due to insufficient of data (especially the price change after the market crash) as provided by the case and the Black-Scholes Model may not be applicable in the time when the stock market is fragile. Apart from using Black-Scholes model and market reaction to the stock price of the US listed underwriters, we use another way to evaluate the put option. We estimated that the book valu e per BP share as of 30 Oct 1987 was USD 3. 73. Normally, the stock price should not below the book value per share.Otherwise, it would provide an incentive for the major shareholder to privatize the company. As of 30 Oct 1987, the share price of BP was USD4. 56 (? 2. 65 X 1. 722 (the exchange rate of USD to GBP). The difference of the share price and book value per share as of 30 Oct 1987 was USD0. 83. If the estimated book value per share was correct, the room for the drop of BP would be USD0. 83. When we compared the put option price implied by the market (i. e. USD1. 02) with USD0. 83, we see that there is a premium of USD0. 19.The premium may be the reward for the insurance protection factor and time value of the put option. The premium may also reveal the market overreacted to the information of repurchase plan. Conclusion BP’s stock offering was an important part of the British Government’s decentralization plan back then. The repurchase plan had not only succes sfully prevented a political setback, it had also worked well as a protective arrangement of the British Government to ease the nerve of the panicking domestic and international investors amidst the aftermath of the largest stock market decline in history.The limitations discussed above may have inevitably caused some error in the computation of the implied volatility of the stock price of BP after the announcement of the repurchase plan. However, from the prevailing up movement of the stock prices of the four US investment banks and BP, we could see that the response to the plan from the financial market was excellent.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

How to Pronounce the Spanish RR

How to Pronounce the Spanish RR Pronouncing the RR sound in Spanish can be difficult for some, but its possible to learn! 10 Steps to Master the Spanish RR Sound Keep in mind that there are two R sounds in Spanish: the single R sound and the double R (or RR) sound.Keep in mind that the single R sound is used whenever the single R appears in a word, except when its at the beginning of a word or after an L, N or S, when the RR sound is used.The RR sound is also used to sound the letter combination of rr, which used to be considered a separate letter of the Spanish alphabet.Keep in mind that the Spanish R and RR dont share the distinctive R sound of English. Think of them as separate letters entirely.Remember that the RR is a trilled sound formed by a flapping of the tongue against the front roof of the mouth.Visualize the front of your tongue as a flag flapping in a vigorous breeze.Now try purring like a cat. If youve succeeded, you are approximating the RR sound.Alternatively, relax and pretend youre a child making the sound of a revving-up motor.Another way is to pretend it is extremely cold. Now make the sound of exhaling with your lips flap ping together. Now do the same thing with your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Alternatively, loosely hold the tip of your tongue at the front roof of your mouth. Now try blowing air between the tip of the tongue and roof of your mouth while you partly relax the tongue. Try an Audio Lesson To hear the rr sound in words as spoken by native speakers, listen to an audio lesson on rr. Sample words in this lesson are perro (dog), carro (car), barra (bar, such as one made of metal) and hierro (iron, the metal).

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Socket programming Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Socket programming - Research Paper Example However, sockets can also be used to facilitate communication on one computer being either as synchronous (blocking) or an asynchronous (non-blocking) socket (Luo etal., 2009). The difference between the two is that the blocking socket ensures socket operation to be completed before the program resumes the next execution. On the other hand, non-blocking socket usually allow the application to be responsive to other events The development of socket programming has achieved notable success over the years. It all started with the development of a free version of UNIX operating system in the year 1978, the BSD UNIX by Bill Joy. The second free version of BSD was released some months later which become the internet backbone due to its open source concept. On this front, it was notable in facilitating the development of TCP/IP with UNIX as the research platform (Parziale etal., 2009). This breakthrough into spearheading internet research using UNIX operating system made Bill Joy to be regarded as the â€Å"Edison of the Internet†. The socket interface development was initially conducted on BSD UNIX after which it was later incorporated into other operating system to simplify porting applications (Mansfield & Antonakos, 2010). Stream socket (SOCK_STREAM) – mainly involved in connection-oriented data transmission where the data is usually considered as a stream of bytes. Uses the bind (), listen (), accept (), and connect function to establish connectivity and develops flow control to ensure there is no data overruns. To effect communication successfully, a stream socket requires that the two parties involved in the communication process to establish the connection first before initiating the dialog process. The client program requests for connection after which the server program determines the suitable socket connection. The data being transmitted is bound to arrive following its sending order without any duplication or errors.