NPS Deploying network policy server Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

NPS Deploying network policy server - Essay Example Each and every employee in the organization who participates in project implementation has the responsibility do so. Because of the reason above, the best way in ensuring data security in for one central park and at the same time being economical to the company is by investing it the team’s technology. Technology is very dynamic and new things come every other time. When a principle instructs the vendor to direct or educate the employees on information system security the concerned employees feel that their contribution to the company is valued. The information security system that is supposed to be implemented in a bank must take in consideration the four major principles of information security. These are information confidentiality, integrity, authenticity and availability. Information confidentiality is whereby the information of a company is protected from getting into the hands of people who are not authorized. Integrity is a security factor that stops undetected modific ation of data for example the issue of students examination result cannot be modified or edited by unauthorized person because it is only the examination coordinator that have the right of doing editing it. The integrity is breached when anybody who is not an exam coordinator make an amendments. Authenticity means that particular information that is used for a certain purpose is genuine. The validity of individual that get access to some data is ensured by using authentication methods for example he use of password. The security of information that goes via internet is aided by ensuring that the channel that it goes through is the right one (Mueller, 2011). This is by use of IP address that is assigned to each computer. Availability means that the information is accessible anytime the users want. The paper gives details on implementing Network Policy Server in one central park. Security vulnerability Servers are network-based. This exposes all the data it contains to network attacks . A network attacker can use the exposures in the protocols that are ranked high and stronger applications to cultivate the disadvantage that are not checked by the firewalls that are of previous version. The access may prove dangerous as the client data would be reviewed during the transfer to a third party and it would be difficult to track as the activity is a part of the process created for a particular server and hence the severity of this activity is high. Considering the fact that only the users that are involved into this activity will have access to the transferred data, the likelihood of any intrusion is moderate. Database server that stores employee information uses student’s identification details as the only form of security. A password cracker that can overcome the technology used in designing the password can get access to the employee information. More so, database administrator’s password can be cracked and modification. Company’s information fo r example policies can create a mess in the institution. Super user privileges grant a great amount of power to any party who has access to the super user account. If an aggressive party is able to access a super user account on the database server they will be able to copy. The wireless access point devices are vulnerable to physical damages for example fire or theft. This will lead to denial of services in the entire department that

Imperialism and 1st World War Essay Example for Free

Imperialism and 1st World War Essay The portrayal of the artists is indeed a true picture of the horrors of World War I which cannot be envisioned by just reading accounts of the war as given in different readings. The paintings reveal the disgusting events that will surely put the shivers into the generation of today in realizing the atrocities and soul stirring hardships that were experienced by all those who were part of the war. While the monarchy of the combating countries relaxed and simply gave orders it were the soldiers representing the states that bore the brunt of the chilling circumstances. Soldiers were silent observers in seeing their colleagues butchered in helplessness while they themselves were lucky to come back alive into their trenches unaware of what the next day had in store for them. The medical corps and nurses were always on the alert to receive the dead and grievously wounded soldiers while those who were captured had to submit to the inhuman tortures at the hands of their captors. Several soldiers were maimed in leading a life of revulsion, helpless in leading a life of misery. The onslaught of gas attacks made several soldiers to die in agony while many suffered psychologically in being unable to lead normal lives. The fear of gas attacks was so severe that soldiers had to always move with gas masks in specified territories. There was always a sinister plan underway and it became difficult for the combatants to judge about who friends are and whom to understand as enemies. There was always an ongoing process to build tunnels and infrastructure to face the challenges of enemy attacks in a war that never seemed to end. All who were physically fit could be expected to be called for war duties with little hope of returning alive. The war was extensively destructive as nothing was spared and all means were used to inflict the maximum damages irrespective of the intensity of suffering and loss to life. Human life appeared to have no value nor did the sufferings of the masses for the leaders who gave orders to fight with the sole objective of winning the war. The focus was on winning over the adversaries by whatever means that was possible in using weapons and other means that inflicted maximum loss and suffering. References Discussion, Imperialism and 1st World War, http://dl. bergen. edu/webct/entryPageIns. dowebct

Reflective practice is an integral part of developing skills to improve

Reflective practice is an integral part of developing skills to improve Reflective writing is as a medium for an individuals reflective capacity to be communicated and examined both internally and externally. Self directed learning is emphasised through reflective writing as students engage in a more holistic approach which uncovers the reasons behind their actions. Experience and learning Moon (2004) emphasised that an individual can both reflect in order to learn or learn as a result of reflecting. Through experiencing new situations medical students are able to learn and develop new skills but the level of learning depends on the depth of reflecting of the experience. This is often why reflection is described as learning through experience. Reflection of an experience is associated with deep learning where the student is able to gain more insight into the decisions behind the actions involved. (Marton,Hounsell, Entwistle 1984) By learning through experience students are able to build on previous knowledge which covers a solid knowledge base that can be applied to changing situations and which experiences can be drawn from. Learning does not stop at reflection but involves the changing in decision making processes and actions that reflection should bring about in future situations. What is learnt from reflection must be put into practice for it to be effective. Kolb (1984) proposed that Learning does not result from having an experience but occurs when an experience is examined, reviewed and reflected upon. This process allows a connection to form between theory and actions where an experience involves preparation, action, reflection and connection back to previous knowledge. Refection involves lifelong learning as the changing nature of medicine and ethical concerns continues to challenge practitioners. Emotions and Reflection William (2002) said Actions are so much more powerful if they arise from both feelings and thoughts. Reflection involves the process of understanding and examining emotions and how they affected a situation. Emotions are an integral part of any experience and it is through reflective practice that the impact emotions has on a situation comes to light. Practitioners have to deal with many different situations that can cause psychological and emotional strain. Reflective writing allows emotions to be dealt with and not compressed. Through expressing personal feelings practitioners are able to be more focused and self-aware which can increase their capacity to feel empathy for patients situations. Empathy makes patients feel more understood and heard and through reflective writing the promotion of understanding of patients situations and vulnerabilities can be achieved. (Squier 1998) Negative feelings can hinder performance through self doubt and lack of confidence but through reflecting on negative experiences these emotions can be used to improve performance and encourage self directed learning. (Olckers, Gibbs, Duncan 2007) Reflective writing allows students to use emotion in their writing which assist in overcoming psychological and emotional barriers which they may face and provides an opportunity to examine potential moral consequences of an action. Reflective writing allows students to deal with their emotions instead of suppressing them and allows the development of strategies to deal and express emotions in different settings. This promotes a sense of practitioner wellbeing where the mental, emotional and spiritual health of practitioners is looked after. Through reflecting on emotions a connection between the medical profession will the rest of society is built where there is less risk of practitioners becoming detached and intolerant. Reflection and learning in the Professions Reflection in the medical practice can be viewed from three directions; reflection-on action, reflection-in action and reflection-for action. (Killion, Todnem ,1991) Donald Schon (1983) developed theory of reflective professional practice by developing reflective- in and reflective-on action. Reflection- in action involves connecting past experience, feelings and knowledge to a current situation. This process allows new insight and understanding to be established in relation to the situation which will influence the decisions made by the medical practitioner as the situation develops. This type of reflection is particularly important to medical practitioners who face complex and new situations regularly and who need to make fast accurate decisions and actions. (Schon 1983) Reflection-on action involves reflecting on a situation that has occurred and analysing decisions made to determine weaknesses or possible improvements that could be implemented in future practice. This form of reflection is often only undertaken when something goes badly or not to plan but it is essential for reflection to take place after experiences that went well to fully reflect on an individuals strengths and weaknesses. There is also pr-action reflection which describes a form of reflection before an action is taken. This form of reflection aims to prepare professionals to be able to deal with situations where there may be no time to reflect in action so it becomes important to reflect prior to action. (Mann, Gordon and MacLeod, 2009)Reflection prior to action is often done unconsciously where future possible actions are accessed and evaluated and goals are set. In medicine if prior knowledge of patients condition is known research through literature, past case studies and communication with other health professions can result so that possible conditions which may be present can be dealt with. Reflection for action can be used to view the situation from a variety of perspective not just from ones self. It can include perspectives of the patient, other health professional and text based knowledge. This form of reflection can reduce mistakes and prepare practitioners for possible unforeseen circumstan ces. (Keith Ong 2011) Reflection and Personal Development Reflective practice is a key skill for medical students to develop and continue to use throughout their medical careers. Reflective practice assists medical students and practitioners to refine their ability and continually challenge their own decisions making process. The goal of reflection according to Epstein, should be to develop not only ones knowledge and skills, but also habits of mind that allow for informed flexibility, ongoing learning and humility, (full text1 19) Personal and professional development is an integral part of the medical profession. This development is cultivated by reflective practice which allows self-assessment and professional identity to be uncovered. Professional identity is established through reflective writing as a medium for practitioners to express their own voice and perspective, and clarify and refine personal values which may be competing or conflicting to others. (Shapiro 2006) Through becoming more self-aware reflective practice allows practitioners to become more engaged and aware during clinical encounters and improve clinical reasoning. This is why reflection has close links to safe practice as critical though has been put into decisions allowing care to be solely patient based. (Bansman 95). Critical examination of decisions allows problem solving skills to enhance which contributes to more effective treatment of patients. Reflection assists in guiding present and future decisions and actions in a competent and knowledgeable way through allowing new experiences to draw on pervious situations to increase understanding of patients and to extend empathy towards them. (Wald 2010) Reflective writing improves clinicians stores of empathy, reflection, and courage Writing that affects the reader is art (Charon 2004) Reflective practice is shown to have many benefits for practitioners not only through clinical skill improvements but assisting in developing the whole person by developing interpersonal skills. Practitioners improve skills of empathy as they are more aware of their patients and their own emotions and how those emotions may effect the consultation or decision made by the patient. Reflective practice allows a connection to form between technical and knowledge based facets and emotional aspects. It aims to develop personal skills which will enhance and guide technical learning and performance in a clinical setting. Through assessing the bigger picture though reflective practice students are able to deal with more complex and unforseen issues. The process of reflection Reflection may be difficult to teach (Stimson 2009, Roberst 2009) although reflective frameworks can assist in engaging individuals with reflective practices and developing skills for future internal reflection. Reflection in a practical setting needs to be continuous for the knowledge uncovered during reflection to be translated into action. Gibbs (1988) created the Five stages of reflection model which can be used as a guide for reflective writing. This model represents the cycle that reflective practice is a part of. The five steps of this model include describe, reflect, research and analyse, decide, act and evaluate. Brookfield (1987) approach to reflection involves using the view points of a number of different perspectives know as the four lenses. It involves researching, analysing and connecting through critical reflection. Conclusion Reflective practice is an important attribute for undergraduate medical students as it increases self-awareness, refines problem making skills and prepares students to deal with complex, unpredictable situations. Through reflection students are able to refine their clinical skills by recognising their strengths and weaknesses which develops personal competence and identity. Although reflection takes time and effort the long term benefits create a more competent and compassionate practitioner

Urban Public Art in Canada Essay -- Canadian Art

When on holiday in any city, the visitor inevitably snaps photographs of the iconic public statuary and buildings in an effort to identify a location through association with landmarks and architecture. It is allowed freely without intrusion of private indoor spaces and confirms the identity of the place visited. The relationship of the art to the environment is illustrated and the fact that one is â€Å"being there† is documented. When at home in any city, the citizen approves or disapproves of what is presented in the form of urban public art as part of his or her own cultural identity. A sense of ownership and contribution confirms that one â€Å"belongs there†. From time to time what doesn’t belong, in the view of the citizen, is the art. There is no question that urban public art has value. Visitor and citizen benefit from the safe, politically correct selections of well-formed art committees that portray history, fame, or simply artistic caprice. Th is paper will discuss three specific examples of modern sculpture in Canada, all of which at one time have been considered contentious and controversial. The fourth example is of art that was never created. In each case, the specific relevance and importance of the pieces to the associated environment have been determined according to prevailing local civic attitudes. The service of urban public art to the civilized population is as old as civilization itself. Ancient monuments, architecture, and sculpture of almost every continent and every era are important facets of historic cultures. Exceptional figures and events have been immortalized through art. Religions have been fostered through worship of inanimate representations of divine symbols. The dead have been memo... ... and the artist are not on common ground in some cases. Art appreciation and art itself is constantly changing and the public forum is important not only for open expression, but also for open appreciation and freedom to express opinions. Even the incredible Gothic style of architecture was criticized in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as opus modernum, or modern art (Gardner, 1959, 243) as if it were inferior to the traditional and known. The three sculptural pieces mentioned caused similar discussion about misfit in three different decades but also found a societal best-fit in the end. All have supporters and detractors which illustrate the relationship between art and community is alive—not that one kind of urban public art is favoured over another—rather that we all have opinions and we all care about who and what â€Å"belongs there†. Urban Public Art in Canada Essay -- Canadian Art When on holiday in any city, the visitor inevitably snaps photographs of the iconic public statuary and buildings in an effort to identify a location through association with landmarks and architecture. It is allowed freely without intrusion of private indoor spaces and confirms the identity of the place visited. The relationship of the art to the environment is illustrated and the fact that one is â€Å"being there† is documented. When at home in any city, the citizen approves or disapproves of what is presented in the form of urban public art as part of his or her own cultural identity. A sense of ownership and contribution confirms that one â€Å"belongs there†. From time to time what doesn’t belong, in the view of the citizen, is the art. There is no question that urban public art has value. Visitor and citizen benefit from the safe, politically correct selections of well-formed art committees that portray history, fame, or simply artistic caprice. Th is paper will discuss three specific examples of modern sculpture in Canada, all of which at one time have been considered contentious and controversial. The fourth example is of art that was never created. In each case, the specific relevance and importance of the pieces to the associated environment have been determined according to prevailing local civic attitudes. The service of urban public art to the civilized population is as old as civilization itself. Ancient monuments, architecture, and sculpture of almost every continent and every era are important facets of historic cultures. Exceptional figures and events have been immortalized through art. Religions have been fostered through worship of inanimate representations of divine symbols. The dead have been memo... ... and the artist are not on common ground in some cases. Art appreciation and art itself is constantly changing and the public forum is important not only for open expression, but also for open appreciation and freedom to express opinions. Even the incredible Gothic style of architecture was criticized in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as opus modernum, or modern art (Gardner, 1959, 243) as if it were inferior to the traditional and known. The three sculptural pieces mentioned caused similar discussion about misfit in three different decades but also found a societal best-fit in the end. All have supporters and detractors which illustrate the relationship between art and community is alive—not that one kind of urban public art is favoured over another—rather that we all have opinions and we all care about who and what â€Å"belongs there†.

Nec Electronics Corporation (Nece) Case Study Essay

INTRODUCTION In early July 2007, the New York based hedge fund Perry Capital proposed to raise its stake in NEC Electronics Corporation (NECE), the then publicly listed subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, NEC Corporation, from 4.8 percent to 25 percent. The offering was  ¥5,000 a share, at about 60 percent premium. Perry’s investment in NECE traced back to late 2005, the year its first exposure to Asian markets, with the initial investment cost at around  ¥3,200 a share. Perry believed the intrinsic value of NECE was to release after restructuring its business strategy, albeit NECE was expected a loss in FY2005. This paper studies the investment of Perry Capital in NECE, and particularly looks at Perry’s consideration to increase its stake in NECE to 25% at that time. INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN JAPAN As shown in Exhibit 1, the long-lasting deflationary Japanese economy since 1997 probably comes to an end with its CPI rebounded from negative in 2006. At the same time, Bank of Japan has loosed its monetary policy by raising the interest rate above zero since 2006. These two data suggest that Japanese economy is pending an exit from the lost decade. Looking at the Nikkei 225 index shown in Exhibit 2, the bullish trend since 2003 shows the investors are optimistic towards companies’ future earnings. The improving market sentiment stems from the amelioration of Japanese economy, with its GDP growth rate has become positive since 2000, as shown in Exhibit 3. Moreover, Japan’s export industries have been performing well due to its weak currency. Perry’s investment in NECE can be a sensible move as Japan is one of the leading countries in producing innovative technological products. In 2007, Japanese high-tech products secure a significant market share in the world. These industries include automobile, IT, communications, mechanism and robot, new materials, etc. In addition, Japanese firms allocate significant amount of resources in their product R&D area, the efforts paid in improving product quality and promoting innovation enhance Japanese firms’ competitive strength overtime. Essentially, Perry’s investment philosophy is looking at the fundamental of the company, building good relationship with the management, investing in good company, and possibly keeping its portfolio beta at a considerably low level. As Perry’s portfolio has been performing well since its inception, the venture into Japanese market is compliant with its investment strategy, where stocks in Japanese market produce reliable streams of cash flow, and more importantly, there are valuable cheap stocks to pick in Japanese market, these characteristics are aligned to Perry’s taste. CHALLENGES TO INVEST IN JAPAN The first time venture suggests Perry is novel to the Japanese market. As the probability of success of Perry’s investment in NECE highly depends on the assumption made to restructure NECE’s business division, Perry must convince the parent company NEC to share its vision. Agency problem would be a potential challenge for Perry to maintain a good relationship with NEC. As the subsidiary will become a separate entity from its parent company upon listing, it is questionable whether the parent company will longer treat the two different entities equivalently. For instance, will the parent company shift the loss-making divisions to its subsidiary, which then can help the parent company to get rid of loss at the expense of its subsidiary’s financial report? Furthermore, Japan’s system of corporate governance is said lacks of effective protection to minority shareholders. Controlling shareholders in Japan are not required to prove that their dealings with the company are fair, and self-dealing is not formally defined by law. Furthermore, in Japanese model of stakeholder capitalism, management could be entrusted to safeguard the interest of a range of key shareholders, rather than focusing more narrowly on maximizing returns to shareholders, which might weaken minority shareholders’ power in deciding an important issue. FUNDAMENTAL VALUE OF NEC ELETRONICS CORPORATION Perry team made a few assumptions to evaluate NECE in early 2006. Since the exact date of evaluation is not clearly stated in the case, we will first evaluate NECE at 2007 based on the assumptions made and then apply the same methodology to other years. Team Perry used an approach that employed EBITDA multiples for each segment: MCU, CCD and Communications. We use the information from exhibit 7 and exhibit 8 to infer the fundamental value from 2004 to 2007 and future. We then make inference on value of NECE based on 03/2006 and 03/2007 values. Note that information from exhibit 6 and 8 are from 2007. Fundamental Value of NECE at 03/2007 Assumptions used in valuing MCU division: I. MCU is able to match the average EBIT margins of comparable firms, which is 17.70%. II. 15% of the  ¥83 billion depreciation cost is attributed to MCU for the next few years. III. A conservative approach of 9 times EBITDA multiples is used. Assumptions used in valuing CCD division: I. EBIT margins of the remaining business are 5%. II. 45% of the  ¥83 billion depreciation cost is attributed to MCU for the next few years. III. 7 times of the EBITDA multiples is used. Assumptions used in valuing communications division: I. EBIT margins could be negative. II. To avoid loss, exiting this line is an attractive option. III. Estimated cost of exit at most  ¥100 billion. The fundamental value of NECE on 03/2007 is the summation of each division’s fundamental value: Note that the Fundamental value is higher from year 2005 to 2007 except year 2004. EVALUATION ON ASSUMPTIONS USED The first assumption expects MCU would be able to match the EBIT margins of comparable firms. However, there is a large dispersion in the EBIT margins among the comparable firms. The large difference of EBIT margins between the comparable firms could suggests that the cost differentials are significant among these firms. Indeed, the uneven distribution of EBIT margins among comparable firms could also because of the small number of sample size used, which in turn soften the estimation power of this assumption. The second assumption is to give the CCD EBIT margins of 5%. However, as the average EBIT margins of the comparable firms is around 16%, with the range between 7.3% to 42.3%, Ercil’s might probably be too conservative than he should in valuing the CCD segment in NECE. Moreover, Ercil also assumes that he will be able to exit the communication segment at a cost less than 100b which is again a conservative estimation as mentioned in the case. Given the above these assumptions made by Ercil, it seems that he is a conservative investor who prefers to take conservative valuation in his investment discretion. Though his conservatism might make the estimated NECE fair value become less attractive, his prudent investment strategy could probably in turn safeguard his clients’ money in any unfavorable event. Below shows some assumptions made by Ercil that are reasonable. First, instead of using 11x EBITDA multiples to value NECE’s MCU segment, Ercil used a lower of 9x EBITDA multiples. This assumption is definitely acceptable as it is in line with Perry team’s prudent investment strategy. In addition, the depreciation cost allocation made by Ercil seems reasonable. Ercil allocated 45% of depreciation cost into the communications segment, as there was a significant amount of capex used to build the plant in Yamagata in the recent past. Based on Ercil’s assumptions we manage to breakdown NECE balance sheets based on its divisions. This activity illustrates that the EBIT margin estimates are consistent with exhibit 8 and has no mathematical or financial discrepancies in terms of amount allocated to each sectors. EBIT margin for communications segment is indeed negative for year 2007 based on Ercil’s assumption. We observe high expense in communications area possibly due to expropriation of NECE by its parent company, NECE that will be discussed below. POTENTIAL AGENCY PROBLEM ON NECE’s MARKET VALUE Our case analysis assumes that market is efficient, implicating that outsider anticipate potential agency problem within NECE. Besides demanding fair return on their capital, controlling shareholders should ultimately bear all agency costs they create. This is consistent with the journal â€Å"Agency Costs, Mispricing and Ownership Structure† by Sergey, Fritz and Greenwood (Sergey Chernenko, 2010), whereby the case of NECE is used to illustrate the impact of agency cost on market value. Agency problems in subsidiary-parent relationships could stem from 3 scenarios: I. Related party transactions: Based on the journal, following NECE listing in 2003, the development of microchips for NEC’s phone brought in excessively high capital expenditures and research and development expenses to NECE. Following it was the low transfer prices to the parent company, NEC. This is due to the weak fiduciaries duties law on company in the interest of minority shareholders. II. Usurped business opportunities: Indirect influence of parent company on their subsidiaries such as continuing a business venture that profits the parent despite the subsidiaries making losses make it hard to be detected. In particular, NECE incurred excessive R&D cost and capital expenditures to enhance NEC competitive position in the market. III. Minority squeeze outs- Cash-out merger is an example of minority investors being squeezed out. NEC bought back NEC System Technologies 20 months after listing it, evidently showing NEC’s involvement in this form of related party transaction. Based on the journal’s samples, Investors who bought the subsidiaries share upon listing sold their shares back to the parent during repurchase at a loss of 39% to 71%. Therefore, in perfectly efficient market, minority shareholders fully anticipate agency problems. If controlling shareholder is expected to divert resources, the market will price the equity accordingly (lower) than in the scenario where agency problem is absent. One caveat is that, investors might not be fully informed (market is not totally efficient) that in turn creating incentive for agency problems. PROSPECTS OF NECE The fundamental value of NECE is severely undervalued compared to its market value in 2007; this might be due to the agency problem that persisted between NEC-NECE. We conclude that NECE is a potential lucrative investment if Ercil is able to remove the communications segment and thereby removing the potential agency problem in NECE. Nevertheless, the reluctance of NEC to remove the communications segment and the weak protection of minority interest in Japan cast shadow on the prospects on NECE. Worsening the situation, NECE was nearly delisted in 2007, implying that liquidity could have drastically decreased. Note that also the MCU and Other Divisions remains relative stable (slight increase) over the projection years. Historical Performance of Publicly Listed Subsidiaries of Parents in Japan Our findings are consistent with the data given in Exhibit 4. If market is efficient, the incentives for parent company to list its subsidiaries arise either when the market value of subsidiaries is overpriced upon listing or if the parent company’s internal capital is inadequate to fund attractive investment opportunities. In the case NECE, the former scenarios seem to be more plausible as according to the graph above. This could lead to drop in future market performance as market absorbs more information. Source: http://www.nber.org/papers/w15910 According to Fritz (2010), the negative performance of listed subsidiaries over the first 36 months following IPO can be seen via industry adjusted returns of -6.2%,-13.43% and -13.98% over the one-,two- and three year horizons after IPO. This is again consistent with the case of NECE. Both subsidiaries with ex ante scope for agency problem (such as sales relationship) and those where parent has retained little equity despite substantial control over its subsidiaries illustrated poorer performance. On top of that, a great portion of listed subsidiaries were subsequently repurchased by their parent at a discount to the IPO price. The historical performance of publicly listed subsidiaries of parents is consistent with the case of NECE. In this case, NEC hold 20% of NECE total equity but have significant control over NECE operations and sales. This leads to expropriation of minority shareholders and lower market price following IPO. A FEASIBLE STRATEGY FOR PERRY TEAM There are three options for Perry team: to increase its stake in NECE with the expectation that NEC management will eventually share Perry’s vision to dispose the communications segment; to arrange for possible merger and acquisition for NECE; to exit the investment in NECE. To consider the action on the $150 million position in NECE, Ercil is likely to expect the maximum likelihood among these three scenarios. The first option is essentially the proposed increasing stake in NECE by Perry in the case. However, this move requires substantial amount of capital to fund the investment; the investment does not necessarily realize Perry’s objective to dispose NECE’s communications division as NEC will still be the largest shareholder in NECE. Since the investment in NECE in 2006, Perry team has been approaching NEC and asking for NECE business restructuring, the two parties have yet reached a consensus about the issue. It seems that NEC executives are unlikely to change their position in the future as well. The second option is to create a proxy fight for possible takeover or merger of NECE. The biggest impediment in this strategy is the same as the first strategy – the parent company NEC is holding a controlling amount of 70 percent stake its subsidiary, proxy fight might be too costly to execute. Furthermore, it is generally believed this strategy is far from reality because a hostile acquisition for NECE would significantly destroy the business relationship between the acquirer firm and the giant conglomerate, NEC. In addition, it is the time where Tokyo Stock Exchange is placing NECE on a watchlist for possible delisting due to its concentrated ownership structure. For Perry team, unwinding the 5 percent stake (or more if either option 1 or option 2 is adopted) in NECE would mean more difficult after delisting. Perry needs to find a potential buyer for the whole or portion its holdings in NECE. Exit strategy implies to realize the loss in this investment. Suppose Perry bought NECE stocks at an average price of  ¥3,200 per share, NECE share price is around  ¥2,900 per share in July 2007, which means Perry will record a loss of about 10 percent in its investment in NECE. As NECE has been recorded loss during Perry’s investment period, this small 10 percent loss may in turn support the immediate exit strategy, so as to minimize the loss because NECE’s business prospects are full of uncertainties. SCREENING GLOBAL ECONOMIC CONDITION Before making the final decision among the above three options, Ercil will definitely examine the current global economic condition. Generally speaking, if the global market sentiment is positive, it may worth for a riskier investment strategy to seek for higher return. On the contrary, higher return investment securities such as equities markets are usually too risky to attract capital inflow. As government bonds are deemed safe haven for investors, bonds yield curve can give some signal about the likelihood of future economic condition. Ercil examine the U.S. government bonds yield curves and TED spread at that time. It is observed that the T-bills have begun to deviate downward from T-bonds since Q1/2007 (Exhibit 5). Soon after July 2007, TED spread begins to rise (Exhibit 6). The declining short term T-bills yield suggests the investors become cautious and allocate their money in the bonds market. The increasing TED spread may infer the condition of liquidity shortage in the market, where lenders require higher returns for lending out their money. According to bonds yield equation: Forward Rate=Expected Discount Rate Tomorrow+Liquidity Premium As TED spread implies liquidity premium becomes dearer, the declining T-bills yield is attributed to the expected fall in future interest rate in the U.S. market. Simply saying, market anticipates a loosening monetary policy adopted by the Federal Reserve. RECOVER LOSS: JPY/USD EXCHANGE RATE INCREASE While the exit strategy might be a better move after looking at global market sentiment, Ercil will consider whether he should immediately convert the JPY to USD. As exchange rate movement is closely related to interest rate movement between two countries, it is observed that Japan’s interest rate is at 0.50% (Figure 1) while U.S. interest rate is around 5% (Exhibit 7). The huge differential between the two countries interest rate infers the potential gain from going against USD. In addition, given the interest rate parity condition in Forex market, the expected decrease in U.S. interest rate (as the declining yields curves suggest) will probably result in the appreciation of JPY against USD, as shown in Figure 8. In conclusion, if there could be a potential gain from holding JPY against USD, which can in turn recover some of the loss from Perry’s investment in NECE. By holding JPY, Ercil probably can go for his conservative investment strategy by buying fixed income securities, gold and other safer investment assets, or just holding cash. If JPY/USD does not perform as what Ercil predicted, he will only face one side risk (the continual increase in U.S. interest rate that further pumps up USD/JPY) but is protected from the continual decline of JPY (as Japan’s interest rate is near zero that means Bank of Japan is effectively powerless in pushing down its interest rate).

Proof of a Physical World essays

Proof of a Physical World essays Proof of a Physical World (i.e. Were not just floating brains) 1) The mind perceives or creates the physical world 2) The mind cannot create anything original A) The mind did not originate the ideas of the physical world, but still creates it 1) The mind can only borrow ideas from experience to create something 2) If an idea is borrowed, than the idea is not original A1) The mind cannot create anything original 1) I think, therefore I am: the mind is the only thing thus far that can be proven to exist 2) By necessity, it is our mind then, that creates the world A2) The mind perceives or creates the physical world 1) If something is not original, the idea has existed before 2) The mind did not originate the ideas of the world B) The ideas of the physical world existed before our mind perceived them 1) If our mind alone exists, then the physical world and its ideas could not exist before our mind perceived them 2) The ideas of the physical world existed before our mind perceived them C) Our mind alone does not exist Im not sure if this is the proper layout you want, so please give me some feedback on that. Further, Im not entirely sure if the words original and originate can be swapped as in Argument B. Any input would be super swell. Thanks. The idea exists that we are floating brains, and that the physical world is only existent because our mind perceives it. The argument is that there is no physical world, only our minds and their creations. I disagree: Regardless of whether our mind alone exists, it is our mind that perceives the physical world: a fact that cannot be argued. However, our mind is incapable of creating anything original. If I were to give a child a crayon and ask him to draw something who ...