Analysis of Scene 2 of Blue Remembered Hills Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Scene 2 of Blue Remembered Hills Essay In scene 2, the audience can see a slight change of pace. This is shown through the lack of physical violence in this scene in comparison to the previous scene 1. The pace starts off as fidgety as the two seven year old boys-Peter and Willie- can barely keep still but the pace hardly reaches any faster than this through the rest of the scene. The point in which they are both laughing and giggling uncontrollably is the only real point where the pace picks up a bit. This is when the boys are both laughing about Wallace peeing on a gorse bush due to the fact that he thought it was on fire. The subject of Wallace visibly fastens the pace, as is evidence in many other scenes. I think the slow pace of this scene shows the actual weakness of these two boys as their dilemmas and problems at their age are partially revealed through their banter and conversation. The seemingly raw subject of Donald and the beatings he receives at home seem to strike a misunderstood chord with the two boys but they shrug off the confusion and potential sadness and envelope themselves into another situation. This awkwardness is shown in the stage directions alone as they fall silent and the tension that they do not understand is quickly broken by more childishness, and they quickly run themselves into another less sensitive subject. The moments where there is quite a fast pace in this scene is only created by the characters purposely after they are bored and have nothing else to do or interesting to say. The subject of Donald is quickly followed by a purpose running about and swooping around by the two boys to bring up the energy levels. The back and forth conversation about the Dandy and Beano gets quite tedious for Peter and he quickly is distracted by something else more active and exciting. The characters in this scene are still both Willie and Peter and the relationship between the boys familiarly stays the same. In the previous scene, the audience saw that Peter was dominant in the relationship and frequently craved control of it and of Willie, often with physical violence but in this scene, he no longer results to this and uses his words more to cajole Willie into telling him where the jam jars are. Willie also still seems to have the upper hand in the argument though as he knows all the information Peter wants to get. Because of this, Peter has to still be moderately controlled in how he acts towards Willie to get the location of the jam jars out of him. This unexpected control Willie has is evident as when Peter once again threatens Willie with physical violence-his fist- he sees that this may completely blow his chance of getting any information so he rethinks and offers him his Dandy. Willie is now in control as he shows to Peter that he doesnt care and that he could buy his own comic. This under-valued control that Willie has is still present in scene 2 and similarly continues on in the play. Concluding, there is small change of pace and characters in Scene 2 but not on a large scale. The pace is slowed down visibly from Scene 1 as there is not as much playing about and fighting between the two characters. Apart from the stage directions in Scene 1 where it clearly stated if they were moving and what actions they were doing if they were talking, this was no stated in Scene 2, therefore, I have no choice but to assume most if their conversation was given mostly in stationary mode. There was no real change in characters in Scene 2 other than the fact that In scene 1, Peter was triumphant in his method of physical beating to get Willie to give him the apple and in scene 2, Willie was triumphant in his knowledge of information to keep a secret the information about the jam jars but that was only really successful because of the distraction of the squirrel.

Indra Noori Essay --

Indra Noori is an exceptional sales-driven and business mined woman who has moved up the ranks in management within PepsiCo. Prior to working to PepsiCo, Noori has a top executive management experience working for Motorola from 1986 to 2000 and Asea Brown Boveri in 1994 (Pepsico, 2014). Moreover, through her leadership, she has helped companies generate over 10 billion dollars in sales which has opened the doors for her to work in top executive management positions (Pepsico, 2014). In India, Noori began her career as a Product Manager holding positions in Johnson & Johnson and at Mettur Berdsell (Pepsico, 2014). Indra Noori is an example of a great leader of which through her leadership, she has successfully help companies she previously worked for generate millions of dollars in revenue and help with restructuring firms. Indra has an exceptional business educational background of which she has earned her Bachelors of Science, MBA, and Masters of Public Administration degr ees (Pepsico, 2014). Indra Noori has been highly well known from many companies all over the world. In an article named â€Å"Leadership Lessons from PepsiCo CEO, Indra Noori, she stated 5 valuable leadership strategies. The five valuable leadership strategies that have inspired Indra Noori to become a great leader are 1. Balance the short term with long term, 2. Develop a deep understanding of public/private partnerships, 3. Think global, act global, 4. Keep an open mind to adapt to changes, and 5. Lead with your head and your heart (Snyder, 2013). These 5 concepts have helped Indra become a great successful leader and she has shared this mantra with many leaders speaking at various leadership conferences (Snyder, 2013). Balancing the short t... ... Works Cited Pepsico. (2014). Retrieved January 11, 2014, from Our leadership: http://www.pepsico.com/Company/Leadership Burnison , G. (2011, April 29). Fastcompany.com. Retrieved January 11, 2014, from Leadership: How pepsi's Indra Nooyi learned to be a CEO : http://www.fastcompany.com/1750645/how-pepsis-indra-nooyi-learned-be-ceo Collins, J. (2001). Good to great . New York : Harper Business. Gaille, B. (2013, October 20). BrandonGaille.com. Retrieved January 11, 2014, from Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi’s Leadership Style and Management Traits: http://brandongaille.com/pepsico-ceo-indra-nooyis-leadership-style-and-management-traits/ Snyder, S. (2013, May 7). Snyder leadership group . Retrieved January 11, 2014, from Leadership Lessons from PepsiCo CEO, Indra Nooyi: http://www.snyderleadership.com/2013/05/07/leadership-lessons-from-pepsico-ceo-indra-nooyi/

Stopping by the Woods On A Snowy Evening, Commentary

This poem was composed by Robert frost in 1922. It is narrative in style and consists of four stanzas, each stanza having four lines. Each verse is constructed in the iambic tetrameter, with eight syllables – one stressed and one unstressed syllable, alternately. As the title suggests, the poem features a journey through the woods. Frost is said to have composed this after a long night of work on another poem, ‘New Hampshire'. In the morning, when he stepped out of his cottage, it is said that he was so taken in by the scenic beauty of his surroundings that he was inspired to compose this poem there and then. Critics have marveled at the beauty of the poem, it required little thought and came to Frost in short bursts of revelation. He composed it in a matter of a few minutes. Though the language or diction used by Frost is simple, it suggests at an altogether deeper meaning. Frost's philosophy on life is reflected in this poem. The poem commences with an easy note and gives rise to wisdom later along. The persona and the author are clearly separated from each other into two different entities. The speaker is depicted at another time and place from that of the writer. The persona is a way-farer who journeys through the woods which offer him temptations which he wants to indulge in but ultimately resists. There is a mysterious quality about the woods, and the persona wants to observe and explore it further but is held back by social constraints. The line ‘I have promises to keep,' echo the obligations he has and he is forced to choose between nature and return to civilization. The title of the poem is apt and introduces the reader to the setting of the poem. Assonance can be seen in the title which gives it a soft tone, the ‘s' sound in words like ‘stopping', ‘woods' and ‘snowy' reiterates this. The poem starts off with the persona plainly stating a fact, it makes the reader wonder on the persona's acquaintance with the owner of the woods since he appears to know where he resides. The fact that the owner wasn't there to watch how beautiful his woods looked at that particular time seem to concern the persona, his tone is that of credible surprise. The ownership of the woods attributed to another person reveals his longing for a place of such beauty. The ‘w' sound is repeated in line 1, ‘Whose woods these are I think I know,' the ‘h' sound also creates a hushed effect. It is as if the persona is addressing the reader about the owner of the woods in hushed tones. This indicates the persona's appreciation and expression of feeling for natural beauty as seen in the lush woods. In this stanza, Frosts' tone becomes matter-of-fact, and it is ironic that the persona who is just a passerby while the same appreciation cannot be sensed on the owners part. The last line of this stanza, ‘to watch his woods fill up with snow' has visual imagery. It conveys a sense of distance from civilization. The ‘snow' signifies purity, an innate quality of nature. The second stanza deals with the persona halting in mid-journey. This brings on a reaction from his horse. The horse symbolizes a trained and habituated mind, stopping abruptly through the woods had brought a shadow of doubt, the horses' sense of direction was at play. ‘Without a farmhouse near' conveys a picture of the persona's earlier doings, due to force of habit the persona had always sought shelter in an enclosed space like that of a ‘farmhouse'. But now it seemed that he had simply stopped in a patch of clearing just to enjoy watching the sight of the woods. Lines 7 to 8: ‘Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year', convey the particular time period when the persona records his halt in the woods. ‘Darkest evening of the year' refers to winter solstice which normally occurs around mid-December. The persona and his horse are so isolated that nothing stands between them and the ‘frozen lake'. The ‘frozen lake' indicates the bitter cold and hardship they had had braved just so that the persona could revel in the tranquility of the woods for some time. This stanza also echoes how the persona marvels at his own marvel of the silent, still uninhabited sanctuary of nature which had taken him in, the speaker emphasizes this oddity by how his horse found it ‘queer'. The poem's rhyme scheme is in order: AABABBCBA, and so on. The verses are almost uniform in length and open-punctuation has been used. Each verse starts with a capital letter indicating the beginning of a new line and there are no instances of enjambment. The third stanza starts off with the horses' objection, ‘to ask if there is some mistake'. The horse's reasoning ability and intelligence has been brought out, it is a best of habit and also of considerable intelligence. Through his narration of the horse Frost has also brought to light his appreciation of animals in particular. The penultimate line of the stanza emphasizes the stillness of the woods. Sensory imagery has been used in ‘easy wind' and ‘downy flake'. A hyperbole or an exaggeration on the nature of snow has been employed. It is worthy to note that snow doesn't make any sound. The last stanza expresses the persona's desire to explore the woods further. He's held back by unfinished business (‘promises') and knows that he can't afford leisure. ‘Lovely, dark and deep' calls attention to the fact that he can't afford to indulge in the awaiting pleasures of the woods. There is a sense of purpose in the persona's life, the persona gathers himself and sets off towards his destination. He knows that he can't allow himself the luxury of exploring the mysterious depths of the woods and stray away from his goals. The last two lines are direct repetitions of each other, ‘sleep' can connote two different meanings. The first mention of ‘sleep' can refer to rest and relaxation, while the latter can also refer to the ‘sleep' of death. This meaningfully signifies that he has many things left to do and that he can't afford to be held back by the penetrating beauty of the woods no matter how tempting they get. This firm denial brings him back to reality and he recollects everything. This poem alludes to another one of Frost's poems, ‘The Road Not Taken' where Frost places the persona in a similar situation where the persona is forced to make a choice between two paths. One of the paths is lush, green and very welcoming but he takes the one ‘less travelled by'. His mental struggles can be seen in both of these poems. This poem also bears a similar moral message as that of ‘The Lotos-Eaters' by Tennyson, in which the soldiers decide between their chance at bliss and their responsibilities and aims in life.

Study On Term Structure Of Interest Rates Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1753 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? The term structure of interest rates is an extremely important element in Finance. It is one of the most important indicators for pricing contingent claims, determining the cost of capital and managing financial risk. Interest rates may be used in an extensive variety of applications; such as investments, long term debt, determination of the cost of capital, measurement of credit risk, valuation of contingent claims as well as pricing, hedging and managing the risk of interest rate derivatives. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Study On Term Structure Of Interest Rates Finance Essay" essay for you Create order Furthermore; interest rates are used in the establishment of fiscal and monetary policies. Maturity plays also an important role as a determinant on interest rates; since this factor determines the length on a loan. Longer term loans imply higher interest rates than shorter term loans since a longer term implies higher future uncertainty of expected outcomes. Financial theory and asset pricing models state that as maturity increases the risk involved or assumed by investors is higher. Therefore; the expected returns should be greater. Consequently; investors would be interested in knowing elasticity estimates according to specific frequencies. As maturity increases the mean increases accordingly suggesting the existence of a term premium built on the term structure. Interest rates are frequently used in several additional applications; such as fixed income securities and interest rate derivatives. In both cases interest rates play a key role; since this component is utilized to determine the present value. Within the area of financial risk management, it is important to determine how a change in the level of interest rates will affect a specific asset. Interest rate derivatives allow for the possibility of hedging risk as a result of unpredictable shocks. Financial instruments are widely applied since they are able to explain how risk management maximizes shareholders wealth. Interest rate fluctuations create one of the most important determinants on bond prices. As interest rates fluctuate; bondholders are exposed to capital losses and gains. However; this exposure is only experienced when bondholders hold bonds only for a determined period of time. In the case when bonds are hold until maturity; there is no exposure to risk. In addition; it has been shown empirically that long term bonds are more sensitive to interest rate movements than short term bonds. THEORY AND LITERATURE REVIEW The price of a bond depends on the stochastic behavior of the current and future spot rates in the economy. As a result; bond prices must be a function of the current and future spot rates. Additionally; interest rates can not be constant, since that would imply predictability on bond prices. Moreover; constant interest rates may imply no volatility on the underlying assets. Consequently; the demand for any interest rate derivatives would reduce completely since all possible risk could be vanished. Therefore it is important to model the term structure of interest rate. Theories of Term Structure In order to be able to evaluate and understand correctly the term structure of interest rates; it is important to comprehend the different theories involved. It is required to understand how the spot rates or discount factors are determined; as well as to comprehend the explanations that determine the shape of the term structure of interest rates. According to Nelson (1972); the term structure of interest rates is determined mainly by two different theories, which are the liquidity preference theory and the preferred habitat theory. Moreover; Gibson, Lhabitant and Talay (2001) agree that the term structure of interest rates is mainly explained by three theories which analyze the relationship between interest rates of various maturities and the value of the term premium. These theories include the expectations hypothesis, the liquidity preference theory and the segmented market hypothesis. Liquidity Preference Hypothesis This theory was developed by Hicks. It predicts that a term premium may be obtained by capital invested in long term bonds because bond holders will require compensation for exposure to capital fluctuations. (Nelson; 1972) According to the liquidity preference theory, investors are risk averse, prefer short term maturities and will require a premium in order to commit in long term securities. Liquidity Preference Theory admits the importance of expected future spot rates but gives more importance to the effects of the risk preferences of market participants. This hypothesis states that risk aversion will cause forward rates to be greater than expected spot rates by an amount which increases with maturity. The term premium is the increment given to investors in order to hold longer term securities since those imply higher risk. Expectations hypothesis This theory gives increasing importance on the expected values of future spot rates. This theory states that bonds are priced so that the implied forward rates are equal to the expected spot rates. This hypothesis is characterized by two propositions. The first proposition states that the return on holding a long term bond to maturity is equal to the expected return on repeated investment in a series of short term bonds. On the second proposition; it is mentioned that the expected rate of return over the next holding period is the same for bonds of all maturities. According to the expectations theory, it is argued that the term structure of interest rates is driven by the investorsacirc;â‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ expectations on future spot rates; where the forward rate is an unbiased estimator of the future spot rate. The rate of return on a bond maturing at time should be equivalent to the geometric average of the expected short term rate from t to T. Preferred habitat theory This theory was developed by Modigliani and Sutch (1966). It states that market participants are assumed to have preferred maturity ranges but will decide to change their selected habitat if a enough term premium is offered. (Nelson; 1972) According to the preferred habitat theory, investors and borrowers have different specific time horizons .The institutional investors have different maturity needs that lead them to confine their security selections to specify maturity segments. This theory contends that the business environment along , with the legal and regulatory limitations tends to direct each type of financial institutions to allocate its resources to particular types of bonds with specific maturity characteristics. DATA CONSIDERATION For determining the term structure of interest rates we have taken most actively traded wholesale bond market data from NSE website using the bhavcopy. The data was taken from 9th August, 2010 to 23rd August, 2010. Firstly we have taken all the bonds the bonds from bhav copy of WDM from NSE website. This comprised of around 4300 bond list. Then we excluded all those bonds which have not been traded in last 15 days. The bonds have improper or incomplete data have also been removed. We were left with 132 different bonds which have been included in our study. Then those observations which have been found as outliers are further removed from our data sample. The final sample after removing outliers was of 99 bonds. METHODOLOGY Yield to maturity of all these government Coupon paying bonds is calculated. The term to maturity is also calculated. This is done by using the acirc;â‚ ¬Ã…“yieldacirc;â‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  function of excel. The term to maturity is calculated using the Day360 function of excel. Test for Normality was done for both YTM and TTM series. The Jacques Bera statistics was used to check the normality of data. Cooks distance is a commonly used estimate of the influence of a data point when doing least squares regression. Cooks distance measures the effect of deleting a given observation. Data points with large residuals (outliers) and/or high leverage may distort the outcome and accuracy of a regression. A large Cooks D indicates that excluding a case from computation of the regression statistics changes the coefficients substantially. There are different opinions regarding what cut-off values to use for spotting outliers: A simple operational guideline of Di gt; 1 has been sug gested. All values greater than 4/n where n is the number of our data sample can be removed as outliers. This method is used to remove the outliers in our regression. The outlier was removed using the SPSS software. (Files attached) The regressions using various models have been run between yield to maturity data and time to maturity data. The dependent variable was Yeild to maturity and independent variable was time to maturity. This was done in EVIEWS. (Files attached ) ANALYSIS Model Equation R2 White hetroscadacity Test Residual normality Linear Y = b0 + (b1 * t) 0.357 0.017 0.008 Log Y = b0 + (b1 * ln(t)). 0.553 0.28 0.034 Inverse Y = b0 + (b1 / t). 0.377 0.011 0.057 Quadratic Y = b0 + (b1 * t) + (b2 * t**2). 0.57 0.34 0.023 Cubic Y = b0 + (b1 * t) + (b2 * t**2) + (b3 * t**3). 0.57 0.607 0.024 Power ln(Y) = ln(b0) + (b1 * ln(t)) 0.545 0.078 0.001 Growth ln(Y) = b0 + (b1 * t). 0.34 0.01 0.00047 Sqrt YTM Y1/2 = b0 + (b1 * t) 0.35 0.013 0.0009 Sqrt TTM Y = b0 + (b1 * t1/2) 0.47 0.111 0.0275 Analysis Cubic and quadratic models both have an R2 of 0.57 and the power and log model have an R2 of 0.55. Quadratic model has white heteroscedasticity value of 0.34, cubic has 0.607 and log has 0.28. Considering the R2 and white heteroscedasticity, the best model is cubic model.The equation found out to be as: YTM = 0.06-0.0028*ttm+0.015*ttm^2+0.00014*ttm6^3 RESULT The equation of term structure of interest rates can help us to determine the coupon interest of new bonds which are to be raised by issuing authorities. This can also help us to compare and estimate the coupon payments for other corporate bonds by adding the additional risk premium to the ytm at that maturity. This also helps us to get a better idea of which all bonds needs to be used for investment portfolio. GRAPHS AND PLOTS Scatter Plot Linear Model Logarithmic Model Power Model Quadratic Model Cubic Model Power 4 Model LIMITATION Inflation rate, volatility, mean, spread between long and short term rates could have a significant impact on the term structure equations but we have considered that the price of bond have included all these effects, which can be further debated. There is no common and unified frame-work which could nest all available equations. The high end models like Nelson Siegel etc were tough to implement due to knowledge and exposure constraints. Corporate bonds though have been considered to have a certain risk premium over and above the government bonds which we have included in our study but this can be a further explored. SCOPE FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENT The term structure for Interest rates equation can be improved using Splines and Knots. We have done some work on Splines in SAS but due to constraints of knowledge, the scope of improvement remains. There are few other models like Nelson-Seigel Model and Cox-Ingersoll-Ross model which can help us determine these equation better can also be implemented.