Econometrics 'A' project for MSc Economics degree course Essay

Econometrics 'A' project for MSc Economics degree course - Essay Example However, in this research we are only interested in examining the effect of total experience and attainment of a specific level of education on the wage differential between the sexes. Total experience was obtained by adding ‘months since hire’ and ‘previous Experience’ This study utilized secondary sources for data collection. The use of secondary data is useful because it is cost efficient and saves time for the independent researcher (Glaser, 1963; Hyman, 1978; Hayashi, 2000). The independent researcher has limited financial resources because he or she works alone. Such researchers are usually professionals who attempt to research some significant social problem on a part-time basis. Description of the Research Design A two-step attempt was made to discover if the income of professional females increases at the same rate as that of males with comparable education as the experience increase. During the first step the existence and strength of a relationshi p between salary and experience for male and female professionals with a given university degree in a specific job were researched using correlational methodology. During the second step a comparison was made between the incomes of males and females with the same experience. Attainment of an educational degree was held constant for each given professional position. The correlational research method was selected as the primary methodology because of its ability to discover relationships among logical variables (Wooldridge, 2008). Research Hypothesis It appears that there is a lack of congruence in the literature in establishing an association between level of income, experience and gender, and also a lack of significant research efforts towards establishing a link between income and experience by gender identification, therefore, the hypothesis was stated as a null hypothesis (Albrect et al., 2003; Atkinson et al., 2003; Blau et al., 2006). Locke, Spirduso, and Silverman (1987) recom mend that if one researches a question where no well-established theory exists one should use the format of the null-hypothesis. There will be no difference in the salary of males and females at given experience when other factors, such as academic degree (bachelor's, master's, or associate degree), and professional position are held constant. Variables The variables in this study's regression analysis are as follows: Male/female relationship (the numerical value of 0 was assigned to the male and 1 to the female variable), education and experience were considered indepen ­dent variables; annual salary depends on the aforementioned variables and therefore is considered the dependent vari ­able. A dummy variable was introduced by multiplying experience by the value of the male/female relationship for the reason mentioned below. The first independent variable, that is, male/female, was selected for its possible effect on the difference in earnings between the sexes. The second inde pendent variable, experience (in months), was chosen for its possible effect on the earning of any individual. The third indepen ­dent variable, education, allows the individual to enter a given professional position. And finally the fourth independent variable, the dummy variable, was supposed to trigger possible changes over time, that is, the closing of the male/female

Derivative Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Derivative Investment - Essay Example The other option available is to default the payment on the mortgage. It may be noted that both of these options are available with the borrower. In this context this paper presents a report on the features of the mortgage in general and an analytical study of the implicit options contained in them through an illustration. A mortgage bond issue is secured by a lien on the specific assets of an individual or a business corporation - usually fixed assets. The specific property securing the bonds is described in detail in the mortgage which is the legal document, giving the bondholder a lien on the property. As with other secured lending arrangements the market value of the collateral should exceed the amount of the amount lent or the amount of bond issue by a reasonable margin of safety. If the corporation or the individual defaults in any of the provisions of the bond indenture the lender or the trustee on behalf of the bondholders, has the power to foreclose. In a foreclosure the lender or the trustee takes over the property and sells it using the proceeds to pay the amount of debt due to the lender. If the proceeds are less than the amount of bond issue or the loan amount outstanding the bondholders or the creditor become an unsecured creditor for the balance amount. A company may have more than one bond issue secured by the same property. If a bond issue is secured by a second mortgage and the first mortgagee forecloses the first mortgage bond-holders must be paid the full amount owed them before there can be any distribution to the second mortgage bondholders (James C. Van Horne) 3.0 Kinds of Mortgages There are basically two kinds of mortgage loans; fixed rate mortgages and adjustable rate mortgages. 3.1 Fixed Rate Mortgages Fixed rate mortgages represent a very stable and popular type of mortgage. In a fixed rate mortgage the rate of interest is fixed for the life of the loan. The repayments are equal and occur at regular intervals. Normally the repayment is fixed on a monthly basis. The monthly payments constitute the payment of interest on the remaining balance and the repayment of a part of the principal amount. The mortgage term extends normally from 15 to 30 years. The fixed mortgage can be prepaid at any point of time at the discretion of the borrower. The risk on the interest rates and the prepayment risks are taken into the account of the lender. Fixed rate mortgages carry several definite advantages. The chief advantage is that in fixed rate mortgage the interest and the repayment are protected from inflation. Irrespective of the increases in the interest rates caused by any inflation the principal and interest remain same in the fixed rate mortgage. It also helps in the financial planning of t he individuals. The fixed rate mortgages are generally considered as low risk loans as the interest rate is not affected by the changes due to inflation. 3.2 Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM) According to the Federal Reserve Board the adjustable rate mortgages are loans that possess the interest rate that changes periodically or according to the loan covenants. There may be instances where the ARMs may start with lower monthly payments than fixed rate mortgages but may increase over a period of time depending upon the terms of the mortgage. For the same amount of loan the ARM

Find three logical fallacies from the article Essay

Find three logical fallacies from the article - Essay Example The post hoc fallacy claims that ‘after this therefore because of this’. Two events simply following a sequential pattern is not sufficient to prove that the second event took place because of the first one. They are mere coincidences. It is necessary to conduct a controlled study that rules out all other factors that might influence the outcome to establish a casual connection between the events that took place in sequence. However, in the present case, this study does not take place. Straw man fallacy One fallacy that is evident in the article is straw man fallacy. In fact, Straw Man fallacy is the outcome when a person plainly ignores another person’s actual position, and substitutes a distorted, exaggerated or misrepresented version of that position. In the given article, Lott claims that there were many armed attacks in the US when there was ban on carrying guns, and he claims that they might be preventable if the law allowing the public to carry concealed gu ns was enacted. The point that the attacks were not prevented is replaced by Lott with the point that they could be prevented if people had guns. Thus, he justifies his claim that people should be allowed to carry guns.

Derivative Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Derivative Investment - Essay Example The other option available is to default the payment on the mortgage. It may be noted that both of these options are available with the borrower. In this context this paper presents a report on the features of the mortgage in general and an analytical study of the implicit options contained in them through an illustration. A mortgage bond issue is secured by a lien on the specific assets of an individual or a business corporation - usually fixed assets. The specific property securing the bonds is described in detail in the mortgage which is the legal document, giving the bondholder a lien on the property. As with other secured lending arrangements the market value of the collateral should exceed the amount of the amount lent or the amount of bond issue by a reasonable margin of safety. If the corporation or the individual defaults in any of the provisions of the bond indenture the lender or the trustee on behalf of the bondholders, has the power to foreclose. In a foreclosure the lender or the trustee takes over the property and sells it using the proceeds to pay the amount of debt due to the lender. If the proceeds are less than the amount of bond issue or the loan amount outstanding the bondholders or the creditor become an unsecured creditor for the balance amount. A company may have more than one bond issue secured by the same property. If a bond issue is secured by a second mortgage and the first mortgagee forecloses the first mortgage bond-holders must be paid the full amount owed them before there can be any distribution to the second mortgage bondholders (James C. Van Horne) 3.0 Kinds of Mortgages There are basically two kinds of mortgage loans; fixed rate mortgages and adjustable rate mortgages. 3.1 Fixed Rate Mortgages Fixed rate mortgages represent a very stable and popular type of mortgage. In a fixed rate mortgage the rate of interest is fixed for the life of the loan. The repayments are equal and occur at regular intervals. Normally the repayment is fixed on a monthly basis. The monthly payments constitute the payment of interest on the remaining balance and the repayment of a part of the principal amount. The mortgage term extends normally from 15 to 30 years. The fixed mortgage can be prepaid at any point of time at the discretion of the borrower. The risk on the interest rates and the prepayment risks are taken into the account of the lender. Fixed rate mortgages carry several definite advantages. The chief advantage is that in fixed rate mortgage the interest and the repayment are protected from inflation. Irrespective of the increases in the interest rates caused by any inflation the principal and interest remain same in the fixed rate mortgage. It also helps in the financial planning of t he individuals. The fixed rate mortgages are generally considered as low risk loans as the interest rate is not affected by the changes due to inflation. 3.2 Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM) According to the Federal Reserve Board the adjustable rate mortgages are loans that possess the interest rate that changes periodically or according to the loan covenants. There may be instances where the ARMs may start with lower monthly payments than fixed rate mortgages but may increase over a period of time depending upon the terms of the mortgage. For the same amount of loan the ARM

Braswell v. United States, 487 U.S. 99 (1988) Essay

Braswell v. United States, 487 U.S. 99 (1988) - Essay Example The courts however use the doctrine to deviate from the limited liability concepts in corporate organization to hold people responsible for action that target selfish interests. The doctrine of piercing the corporate veil is a corollary to the alter ego doctrine and involves breaching of the separate legal entity of a corporation to hold shareholders liable for actions that identify abuse of responsibility. In pronouncing personal liability of a shareholder, a court is said to have pierced the veil (Weil, Lentz, & Hoffman, 2012). The alter ego doctrine and the doctrine of piercing corporate veil are therefore concepts for equitable remedy that seek to protect innocent victims from unethical practices by shareholders, employees, or directors of corporate organizations, for personal gain. The alter ego doctrine establishes deviation from the limited liability concept of corporate organizations and the doctrine of piercing corporate veil is an implementation of the alter

Effect of Video Games on Society

Effect of Video Games on Society Sam Hawkwood Over the past several years, games have received a lot of attention because of their content. Ever since the advent of the truly interactive video game – especially first person shooter games – people have been looking for signs that such media has a negative effect on. Games that are seen as violent have come under a lot of scrutiny and never more so when some tragedy happens and the perpetrator is known to play violent video games. In this paper, I will be looking at the effects that video games have had on society and I will come to the conclusion if they are good or bad for us. Gaming has gone from something that only nerds do to an activity that more enjoy than not. Rather than something that was regarded as the domain of computer geeks, its become a common activity that people of all ages are finding not only fun but acceptable. During the 80s and 90s, most games were generally all child-friendly and puzzle based, with little in the way of variety and realism, however over the past twenty years, gaming has taken a big leap into more mature games. This can be easily seen in the leap from games like Pac-Man and Mario Bros to Halo and Grand Theft Auto; such a change in little under a generation has had a big impact on society. The largest impact more modern games have had are in how they are perceived by the public. With the rate of tragedies such as shootings rising, the media has often blamed video games. There have been several shootings that have been blamed on video games in the past decade; for example, the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut was initially blamed on the popular game series Mass Effect. As stated some time after the shooting, in which 28 people lost their lives, 24 year old Ryan Lanza was named as the killer (US News). In reality, it was his brother who had stolen his ID card on his way to the school. As soon as Ryan Lanza was wrongfully named the shooter, Facebook users found his profile and learned that he was a fan of the massive hit from Bioware, the previously mentioned Mass Effect. Immediately, thousands of people went to the games Facebook page and blamed the shooting on the game. Even after Ryan was cleared as the killer, Facebook users continued to blame the game, despite the fact that the true killer, Adam Lanza, had had a history of obsessive-compulsive behavior and a fascination with mass shootings, and had not even been a serious player of video games and didnt consider them as particularly interesting. When it comes to a situation like this, video games were wrongly attacked. Although we could assume something else would be blamed if the wasnt any gaming involved. In the case of the Sandy Hook shooting, when Adam was 16, his mother took him out of school and supposedly started to homeschool him, although it was later found that he was not getting any education after his removal from school (US News). In 2011 the Valve game Portal 2 was accused of making fun of adopted children (Pcr). With no real violence, guns, swearing or nudity to speak of, you would have thought that this game would fly under the radar of the media. But unfortunately for Valve, this was not the case. Part way through the game, the primary antagonist taunts the player and says â€Å"fatty, fatty no parents†. This is clearly meant to be a joke and Valve has said that no offense was meant. This is very understandable since the voice actor for this character is the English comedian Stephen Merchant. According to WBTV News, the adopted daughter and father play the game often and when the father heard the line, he immediately turned off the game, hoping his adopted daughter didnt hear it. In a game that is very education and rated E For Everyone. WBTV News even contacted Sony, the distributors of the game. Sony told WBTV News to contact Valve, the developers of the game. But WBTV has said that Valve has not responded (Pcr). With most people of the gaming community blaming the father for over reacting to a joke, it is hard to say how this has effected society. As small of an event as this is, who knows how this could effect the future of the Portal series. In January of 2010, the British Medical Journal published an article about how video games are causing rickets to effect UK children (Cnet). According to the research, more children are staying inside and lacking vitamin D. The inactivity causes their bones to soften, leading to a physical deformity. â€Å"Kids tend to stay in more these days and play on their computers instead of enjoying the fresh air. This means that their vitamin D levels are worse than in previous years,† (Cnet). According to an article by online information technology website www.cnet.com, video game developers should make their protagonists â€Å"losers† (Cnet). Matyszczyk asked, â€Å"How about we talk to the makers of Grand Theft Auto, World of Warcraft, and the rest into making versions in which characters with vitamin D deficiency, in one way or another, losers?† While there is no real evidence to support this idea being fake, there isnt any evidence to disprove it. So while this idea could be true, most of the gaming community brushed it off as an excuse from parents who dont know how to teach their child. This effect of society has the potential to be big, but it was a small story to begin with and unless this can be proven, we will likely never hear of this again. So far, I have given examples of times where games have effected society, in a negative way (regardless of a storys popularity). There have still been multiple articles written about how video games are good for society and even your health. According to a Forbes article from November 2013 (Shapiro, J., 4 Reasons Video Games Are Good For Your Health (According To American Psychological Association), p.01), there are at least four ways that video games can improve your health. The article written by Jordan Shapiro states that playing â€Å"First Person Shooters† can improve your cognitive skills. In controlled tests, people who played â€Å"First Person Shooters† showed faster and more accurate attention allocation, higher spatial resolution in visual processing, and enhanced mental rotation. Apparently, the improvement in spacial skills that game players develop are comparable to those developed in formal courses designed to teach the same skills. There also seems the be convincing evidence that playing enhances problem solving skills, and improves creativity. â€Å"Among a sample of almost 500 12 year-old students, video game playing was positively associated with creativity.† (Forbes) Another point made by Shapiro is that â€Å"Contrast to stereotypes, the average gamer is not a socially isolated, inept nerd.† (Forbes) Many of todays gamers are not loners at all. In fact, gaming brings people together. The whole point of online gaming is working with other people to accomplish a unified goal. The Mario Bros. games have a strong co-op mode for people to play together and work together. There are other parts of online gaming that put you and your friends up against other players. When it comes to violence in gaming, there is no scientific evidence that proves that playing violent games makes you violent. In fact, there is a lot of proof showing how playing violent video games can make you a better person. A study from the University of Buffalo led by professor Matthew Gizzard, PhD, states â€Å"Rather than leading players to become less moral, this research suggests that violent video game play may actually lead to increased moral sensitivity.† (TheDailyBeast) Gizzard points out that when the players gaming session was over, he worked to identify and assess players feelings of guilt. â€Å"The research with video games is so polarizing,† Gizzard said. â€Å"You see people arguing that video games are the worst thing that ever happened to society. You have some people arguing that it it leads to school shootings. On the other side of the equation, you have people saying video games are going to be this cure for all sorts of societal ills.† (TheDailyBeast) It is still hard to say whether or not video games have been good or bad for society. There have been many many moments where games have done some bad, but there are also many times where games have been great for people. The effect video games have on people can vary. Most people would see it as a fake world where nothing in there is related to the real world. Some people see video games as simulator of real life. When people wrongly blame video games for a shooting, it is almost just like saying that television would melt your brain in the 40s and 50s. It seems to be pinning the blame on something that you dont fully understand. I do not believe that video games have been bad for society. In fact, I believe that they have allowed us to go into a new age of technology. But if people continue to see video games as evil, then maybe it shows that we arent ready for that type of technology. My conclusion is that I believe video games have been, and, for a while to come, will be beneficial for human survival. I have given several examples of how video gaming has been given a hard rap for many negative aspects of society, and how studies seem to show this is in fact not the case. We must realize we are leaving the analog age of entertainment and entering the digital age. Video gaming is a very big part of this digital age we must be careful not to quickly put blame onto something in society simply because it is not fully understood or appreciated. References Fox, L. (2013, Nov. 25). Report: Sandy Hook Shooter Adam Lanza was Obsessed with Mass Shootings. U.S. News. Retrieved from URL http://www.usnews.com/ Magnusson, H. (2014, Mar. 02). Report: 5 Riediculous Things the Media Blamed Video Games for. Cracked. Retrieved from URL http://www.cracked.com/ Ashcraft, B. (2012, Dec. 15). Report: Mob Blames Mass Effect For School Shooting, Is Embarrassingly Wrong. Kotaku. Retrieved from URL http://www.kotaku.com Nolan, H. (2012, Dec. 14) Report: The Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting: Everything We Know About the Shooter. Gawker. Retrieved from URL http://www.gawker.com (2012, Dec. 16) Report: Mass Effect Video Game Wrongfully Attacked By Facebook Group Following Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting [Op-Ed]. Inquisitr. Retrieved from URL http://www.inquisitr.com Cohen, J. (2014, Dec. 14) Report: Two Years Later, Still Learning From Sandy Hook. Npr. Retrieved from URL http://www.npr.org Wooden, A. (2011, May. 19) Report: Portal 2 slammed as insensitive by US media. Pcr. Retrieved from URL http://www.pcr-online.biz Matyszczyk, C. (2010, Jan. 21) Report: Video games blamed for return of rickets. Cnet. Retrived from URL http://www.cnet.com Shapiro, J. (2013, Nov. 27) Report: 4 Reasons Video Games Are Good For Your Health (According to American Psychological Association). Forbes. Retrieved from URL http://www.forbes.com Zawacki, K. (2014, Jul. 04) Report: Playing Violent Video Games Makes You a Better Person, Study Says. TheDailyBeast. Retrieved from URL http://www.thedailybeast.com

Congress And The Change In Term Limits Essay -- Politics Political

Congress and The Change in Term Limits In 1994, for the first time in 40 years, Congress was drastically changed. The Democratic majority was uprooted and new, lively, freshmen were instated with a job to undertake. As part of the Republican=s AContract with America,@ these new Republicans had to revise the current Congressional term limit status. In undertaking this task, these men and women ran into a seemingly stone road-block. This roadblock consisted of long-term, carreerists who were unwilling to change. The problem was not that there were no Congressmen who were committed to real change elected in 1994 because there were, but Congress was highly dominated by long-term careerists in both parties who seemed to have more loyalty to the system than to their constituents. As Thomas Jefferson put it, "Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct." (Oxford dictionary of quotations, p.272) Over time, career legislators are more likely to promote the interest of the establishment of which they are part than that of the larger public. This fact is not surprising. If most of a persons time is spent meeting with lobbyists, constituents, and bureaucrats, that person may actually come to believe what these influential people are saying. This is why new blood needs to enter Congress more frequently, in order to avoid the highly influenced Congress that is filled with old people with old ideals. Needless to say the once optimistic freshmen were unsuccessful in their task, and it=s plain to see why. Until that changes, Congress is not going to change. Congressmen need to get back to basics and realize that they are in office to serve their people, and not themselves. What would change Congress is term limits. By the middle of last year nearly half of the states had restricted, almost all of them by popular vote, the number of terms that their members of Congress could serve. But then the Supreme Court intervened. In U.S. Term Limits, Inc., et al. v. Thornton et al., a narrow five-to-four majority voided these restrictions, stating that "allowing individual States to craft their own qualifications for Congress would thus erode the structure envisioned by the Framers, a structure that was designed, in the words of the Preamble to our Constitution, to form a Amore perfect Union.@ (US Law Week, 1995) Congress, na... ..., Edward H.(2), "Six and Twelve: The Case for Serious Term Limits," National Civic Review, 1991. P. 251. Jefferson, Thomas. "Letter to Tench Coxe" 1799, The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, 3d ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979, p. 272. McLaughlin, Fabrizio, Memorandum to "all interested parties," February 6, 1996, p. 1. (www.poilticalscience/pub/quotes.com) Moore, Stephen and Steelman, Aaron. "An Antidote to Federal Red Ink: Term Limits," Cato Institute Briefing Paper no. 21, November 3, 1994, p. 21. (Http://www.cato.org) Payne, James, AThe Culture of Spending: Why Congress Lives beyond Our Means@ University Press, 1991 p. 175-80. Smith, Bradley A. "Campaign Finance Regulation: Faulty Assumptions and Undemocratic Consequences," Cato Institute Policy Analysis no. 238, September 13, 1995, p. A15 (www.cato.org) U.S. Term Limits, Inc., et al. v. Thornton et al., 63 U.S. Law Week 4413, 4432. May 22, 1995. Wall Street Journal "Conflict in Congress," Wall Street Journal, April 22, 1996, p. A22.