High Performance Computing Essay Example

High Performance Computing Essay Example High Performance Computing Essay High Performance Computing Essay HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING: DESIGN, BUILD AND BENCHMARK A LINUX CLUSTER by GOH YOKE LOONG KEM 050024 Semester 1 Session 2008/09 Final year research project report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering University of Malaya in partial fulfillment of the requirement to be Bachelor’s degree of Engineering DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING ENGINEERING FACULTY UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA October 2008 ABSTRACT Nowadays almost every industry needs fast processing power especially in engineering field. Manipulating high-resolution interactive graphics in engineering, such as in aircraft engine design, has always been a challenge in terms of performance and scalability because of the sheer volume of data involved. [1] Linux clustering is popular in many industries these days. With the advent of clustering technology and the growing acceptance of open source software, supercomputers can now be created for cheaper cost of traditional high-performance machines. Due to these conditions compromise, the number, variety, and specialized configurations of these machines are increasing dramatically with 32 – 128 node clusters being commonplace in science labs. [2] As a result, the intent of this research is to use the latest open source software and computers available in the computer laboratory of Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Malaya to design and build a High Performance Linux Cluster. This paper will present the clustering fundamentals and details of how to setup the cluster. High performance cluster is mostly parallel programming. This paper shows how to run parallel programming with Message Passing Interface (MPI). High-quality implementations for MPI are freely available for FORTRAN, C, and C++ for Linux. In this research, MPICH 2 is used as MPI implementation. Extensive research will be carried out by benchmarking the performance of the cluster with the standard test codes. The results gained will use to compare with the existing clusters. So far, setup of a simple cluster is done and preliminary results are obtained. Further investigation is going on. i TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Abstract Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Chapter 1 Introduction 1. 1 Introduction 1. 2 Research Objective Chapter 2 Literature Study 2. 1 What is a Cluster 2. 2 Linux, Open Sources and Cluster 2. 3 High Performance Computing 2. 4 Benchmark of Linux Cluster Chapter 3 Methodology 3. 1 Methodology 3. 2 Work Plan Chapter 4 Problems Faced 4. 1 Operating System 4. 2 Managing Cluster Chapter 5 Preliminary Result 5. 1 Prerequisites 5. 2 Creating a Simple Linux Cluster 5. Testing on Conjugate Gradient Solver List of References Appendix A – Open Sources Location Appendix B – How to Change Hostname on Linux Machines Appendix C – Tabulated Data of Testing on CG Solver Page i ii iii iii 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 5 6 6 8 9 9 9 10 10 11 14 16 17 18 19 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2. 2. 1- Logical view of HPC Figure 3. 3. 1- Flow of the project methodology Figure 5. 3. 1- Speedup versus processes for different grid L IST OF TABLES Table 3. 2. 1- Gantt chart of project iii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 INTRODUCTION Computing power and capabilities have been dramatically increased over the years, but none as dramatic as recently. Beforetime mathematical computations were facilitated by lines drawn in the sand. This eventually led to the abacus, the first mechanical device for assisting with mathematics. Much forward time came punch cards which function as a mechanical method to assist with tabulation. Ultimately, this led to ever more complex machines, mechanical and electronic, for computation. Early computers used small toroids to store hundreds or thousands of bits of information in an area the size of a broom closet. Modern computers use silicon to store billions of bits of information in a space not much larger than a postage stamp. However, as computers become more capable, certain constraints still arise. Early computers worked with 8 bits, or bytes, to solve problems. Nowadays, most computers work with 32 bits at a time, with many dealing with 64 bits per operation, which is alike increasing the width of highway. Another method for increasing performance is to increase the clock speed, which is similar to raising the speed limits. So, modern computers are the equivalent of very wide highways with very fast limits. [2] But the way, there are limits to the performance benefits that can be achieved by simply increasing the clock speed or bus width. As a result, supercomputers introduced in the 1960s were designed primarily by Seymour Cray a Control Data Corporation (CDC) as an alternative approach to increasing computer power. [3] Instead of using one computer to solve a problem, why not use many computers, in concert, to solve the same problem? 1 A computer is not just constructed on hardware. There is also the operating system and the software. There have been noteworthy developments in operating systems that will help us in our looking for higher processing power. A fairly recent evolution is Linux, an operating system wrote by a Finnish student name of Linus Torvald in 1991 with very robust multi-user and multi-tasking capabilities. [2] The Linux source code is openly available, allowing a level of control and modification unavailable in a proprietary environment. 1. 2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE The main object of this research project is to design, build and benchmark a Linux cluster for high performance computing purpose. This means that Linux must be utilized as operating system for the cluster construction. Four new and high performance computers in computer laboratory of Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Malaya will be used to build the Linux Cluster. This cluster is going to replace the cluster existing in faculty engineering which is outdated in aspect of hardware and software capabilities. The performance of the cluster will be benchmarked using standard test codes and compared with the performance of the existing clusters. The sub-objectives of the project are: a) Managing a cluster in a production environment with a large user base, job scheduling and monitoring. ) Study on Message Passing Interface (MPI) programming model, a computation comprises one or more processes that communicate by calling library routines to send and receive messages to other process. c) Study on parallel programming to know how to design and build efficient and cost effective programs for parallel computer system based on Amdahl’s Law. 2 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE STUDY 2. 1 WHAT IS A CLUS TER? In its simplest form, a cluster is two or more computers that work together to provide a solution. The idea behinds clusters is to join the computing powers of the nodes involved to provide higher scalability, more combined computing powers, or to build in redundancy to provide higher availability. Clusters of computers must be somewhat self-aware that is the work being done on a specific node often must be coordinated with the work being done on other nodes. Consequently, it makes clusters are complex in connectivity configurations and sophisticated inter-process communications between the nodes. Furthermore, the sharing of data between the nodes of a cluster through a common file system is almost always a requirement. All clusters basically fall into two broad categories: a) High Availability (HA) strive to provide extremely reliable services where the failure of one of or more components (hardware, software, or networking) does not significantly affect the availability of the application being used. b) High Performance Computing (HPC) – designed to provide greater computational power than one computer alone could provide by using parallel computing techniques. [4] 2. 2 LINUX, OPEN SOURCES AND CLUSTERS Linux is being accelerated with high speed development at a faster pace than any operating system in history. The basic idea of open source is very simple: when programmers can read, redistribute, and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves. Operating systems such as Linux, which can be 3 obtained virtually for free, provide a very economical solution to operating system licensing on large numbers of nodes. Besides that, with the familiarity of Linux, there are many tools, utilities, and application available to help build and manage a cluster. Many of these programs are available either for free or for a very reasonable cost. [4] Parallel Application MPI Linux Local Area Network Master Node Interconnect Compute Nodes Cluster Management Tools Figure 2. 2. 1: Logical view of HPC. 2. 3 HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING High-Performance Computing (HPC) is a branch of computer science that focuses on developing supercomputers, parallel processing algorithms and related to software. HPC is very important due to its lower cost and because it is implemented in sectors where distributed parallel computing is needed to: a) Solve large scientific problems Advanced product design Environmental studies (weather prediction and geological studies) Research b) Store and process large amounts of data Data mining Genomics research Internet engine search Image processing [1] 2. 4 BENCHMARK OF LINUX CLUSTER In cluster, benchmarking means measuring the speed with which a cluster system will execute a computing task, in a way that will allow comparison between different hard/software combination. Benchmarking is helpful in understanding how the database manager responds under var ying conditions. [5] Benchmarking is a tedious, repetitive task, and takes attention to details. Normally the results are not what would expect, and subject to interpretation. Benchmarking deals with facts and figures, not opinion or approximation. There are many benchmark programs for HPC. Perhaps the best-known benchmark in technical computing is the LINPACK benchmark. The version of this benchmark that is appropriate for clusters is the High Performance LINPACK (HPL). Obtaining and running this benchmark are relatively easy, though getting good performance can require a significant amount of effort. In addition, while the LINPACK benchmark is widely known, it tends to significantly overestimate the achievable performance for many applications because it involves n3 computation on n2 data and is thus relatively insensitive to the performance of the node memory system. [6] 5 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3. 1 METHODOLOGY Initially, literature review of clusters usage worldwide is compiled and commented. Information on usage of clusters in computer science field worldwide and locally was gathered from online sources such as journals and articles. A concise summary of procedures on how to design and build a cluster is presented and documented. At the same time, study are made on the user guides for Linux which as the operating system of the cluster. Besides that, reviews of cluster’ benchmark will be obtained from online sources. In order to understand the works behind test codes, study on parallel programming models is needed. The first thing to manage is the physical deployment of a cluster. After has fulfilled the minimum hardware requirements, installation of OS on each machine will be carried out by manually. Next, start to decide the free open source software going to use for the cluster construction and download them from internet. The setup procedures will then be explained and documented to illustrate the method of building cluster for 4 Linux machines. This includes preliminary tests. After cluster is build, benchmarking for cluster will be carried out. The experimental data for different test codes provided by supervisor and from internet such as LINPACK and in house codes will be recorded systematically to enable comparison cluster’s performance with others existing clusters to be made. The data collected will be tabulated and relevant graphs plotted. Next, the results will be critically analyzed. Finally, a conclusion is made based on the experimental result. At the meantime, improvement of cluster performance will be done on the job scheduling and monitoring. 6 Literature review on history and current usage of cluster Study on user guides of Linux Reviews on cluster’s benchmark Study on parallel programming models Physical deployment of the cluster Installation of OS (CentOS 5) on each machine Setup the Linux Cluster Benchmarking the Linux Cluster Improve the Linux Cluster Analysis of results Discussion and conclusion Figure 3. 3. 1: Flow of the project methodology 7 10% Analysis Improvement Introduction to Titles of Final Year Project 15% 0% Discussion conclusion Benchmarking Preparation of report and presentation 100% 10% Setup cluster Installation of OS Physical deployment Study on parallel programming Reviews on benchmarking Study on Linux user’s guide 3. 2 WORK PLAN Literature review on cluster Schedule MONTH 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 JULY’08 AUG’08 SEPT’08 OCT’08 NOV’08 DEC’08 JAN’09 WEEK 100% 100% 60% FEB’09 MAR’09 APR’09 Table 3. 2. 1: Gantt chart of project 100% 100% Today 25% 8 CHAPTER 4 PROBLEM S FACED 4. 1 OPERATING SYSTEM Problem In the early, OS (Centos5) installation kit provided by supervisor is 32 bits but currently machine running is based on AMD Opteron system which is able to support 64 bits system. This means that the usage and performance of the machines existing did not optimize. Solution Centos5. 2 for 64 bits is downloaded. 2 more machines will be installed for OS 64 bits. A comparison between performance of cluster for 32 bits and 64 bits system will be carried out. 4. MANAGING CLUSTER Problem When it comes to managing a cluster in a production environment with a large user base, job scheduling and monitoring are crucial. In order to do so, Rocks Cluster will be build. On the frontend node (head note), at least two ethernet interfaces are required but machine just has only one ethernet interface. Solution A ethernet interface (network card) has bought and now waiting for technician to open the locked CPU’s casing for installation. 9 CHAPTER 5 PRELIMINARY RESULT 5. 1 PREREQUISITES Node Hardware 4 machines have the following setup each: Processor: 2nd- Generation AMD Opteron 2. 0Ghz, 1MB L2 Cache per core. RAM: 2GB DDR2-667 MHz non-ECC Hard drive: 80GB 7200 SATA 3Gb/s NCQ Network: Integrated Broadcom 5755 10/100/1000 LAN Switch: D-Link 5-Ports 10/100Mbps desktop switch Software For the defaults installation are needed: a) A copy of the latest distribution, mpich2-1. 0. 7. tar. gz b) GNU C complier c) GNU FORTRAN, C++ and JAVA compiler if wish to write or execute MPI program in any of these languages. d) Python 2. 2 or later version, for building the default process management system, MPD. e) Setup Password-less SSH. f) Any one of UNIX operating systems, in this case CentOS 5. (one of the family of LINUX) is used. Configure will check for the prerequisites and some of dependencies will be needed to complete the ins tallation. Details to obtain the open sources software are provided in Appendix A. 10 5. 2 CREATING A SIMPLE LINUX CLUSTER Here are the steps from using MPICH2 and 4 sets of regular Linux machines to build bare-bones systems of a simple Linux Cluster. Step 1 GCC complier is installed. # rpm –Uvh gcc-4. 1. 2-42. el5. i386. rpm Follow by Gfortran, C++ and Java complier. There are needed dependencies to complete the installation. Refers to Appendix A) Step 2 Start to install the MPICH2. The tar file is unpacked in the directory home/ab01/ libraries. # tar xfz mpich2-1. 0. 7. tar. gz Now, that directory is contained a subdirectory named mpich2-1. 0. 7 Step 3 The installation directory is chose. # mkdir /home/ab01/mpich2-install Step 4 MPICH is configured, the installation directory is specified, and the configure script is ran in the source directory. # . /configure –prefix=home/ab01/mpich2-install 21 | tee configure. log Step 5 MPICH2 is build. # make 21 | make. log [6] 1 1 Step 6 MPICH is installed. # make install 21 | install. og All required executables and scripts in the bin subdirectory of the directory specified by the prefix argument to configure are collected by this step. Step 7 The bin subdirectory of the installation directory is added to the path by added command below in file etc/bashrc: PATH=/home/ab01/mpich2-install/bin:$PATH ; export PATH Step 8 Everything is checked in order at this point by doing # which mpd # which mpiexec # which mpicc Step 9 The default process manager is called MPD, which is ring of daemons on the machines where run the MPI programs. In next few steps, mpd is rang up and tested. A file named mpd. conf (/etc/. mpd. conf if user) is created by: # cd/etc # vi mpd. conf press ‘a’ then type â€Å"secretword=hpcluster†, press â€Å"ESC† and type â€Å":x† to save and exit. The file is made readable and writable only by root user. # chmod 600 mpd. conf Step 10 Bringing up a ring of one mpd on the local machine, testing one mpd command, and bringing the â€Å"ring† down is checked as first sanity. # mpd # mpdtrace # mpdallexit Step 12 A ring of mpd is brought up on a set of machines. A file named mpd. hosts is created consisting of a list of machine names, one per line and located it in root directory. These hostnames will be used as targets for ssh or rsh, so include full domain names if necessary. Steps to permanent change hostname of Linux machines are provided in Appendix B. To reach these machines with ssh or rsh without entering a password is tested by doing # ssh othermachine hostname or IP address Step 13 The daemons on the hosts in the file mpd. hosts is started by # mpdboot –n Step 14 There are some examples in the install directory mpich2-1. 0. 7/examples. One of the cpi example, which computes the value of tested by # mpiexec –n 4 cpi The value and wall time is shown after finish executed. Vary numbers of machines was tested in this example. After all of the above steps are completed, this means that MPICH2 has been successfully installed. The Linux cluster is ready to run others MPI programs and benchmarking for its performance. by numerical integration in parallel is 12 13 5. 3 TESTING ON CONJUGATE GRADIENT SOLVER Description of solver: This is an incomplete Cholesky pre-conditioned conjugate gradient solver for symmetric matrices (e. g. pressure or pressure-correction equation, heat conduction, etc. ), for multi processor run. For preconditioning matrix, parallelization technique follows that of Ferziger Peric (2004) for SIP. The rest of the codes utilize loop distribution. Purpose of Testing: Obtain the wall clock time required to solve the problem with different numbers of processor run on it. Wall clock time or wall time is a measure of how much real time that elapses from start to end, including time that passes due to programmed (artificial) delays or waiting for resources to become available. In computing, wall clock time is the actual time taken by a computer to complete a task. Results obtained use to plot speedup versus processor graph and then analyzed on it. Result of Testing: Speedup versus Compute nodes with different Grid 2. 5 2 speedup ,S 1. 5 1 0. 5 Case 1 i=100; resmax=1E-20; Grid=64x64x64 Case 2 i=100; resmax=1E-20;Grid 128x128x128 Case 3 i=100; resmax=1E-15; Grid 256x256x256 0 0 1 2 processes,N 3 4 5 Figure 5. 3. 1: Speedup versus processes for different grid 14 Discussion on Testing Result: As shown in the graph, there is a speedup around 1. 4 on 2 processes in case 1 and the tabulated data are provided in Appendix C. However, the declines of speedup are occurred at 3 and 4 processes. When the increasing communication time needed is more than the decreasing computing time with more processes, for overall, wall clock time will be slightly increased than before. Time to transfer data between processes is usually the most significant source of parallel processing overhead. There is no improvement result on 3 processes in case 2. Parallel processing overhead occurred at this point because impossible to distribute the subtask workload equally to each processor when there are 3 processes working on it. That means at some points, all but one processes might be done and waiting for one process to complete. This phenomenon called imbalance load. Also shown in the graph, case 3 has a normal speedup curve. There is a speedup around 2 for 4 processes which is quite low. Amdahl’s Law states that if P is the proportion of a program that can be made parallel, and (1 ? P) is the proportion that cannot be parallelized (remains serial), then the maximum speedup that can be achieved by using N processes is [8] 1 1? + = Maximum speedup in this case is 2 then the proportion of this conjugate gradient solver that can be made parallel will be 0. 66. This also means that there has 34% of program run in serial. 15 LIST OF REFERENCES 1. High Performance Linux Clustering, Part 1: Build a Working Cluster, Oct 2005, Aditya Narayan, Founder, QCD Microsystems, United State of America, viewed 2 August 2008, 2. Linux HPC Cluster Installation, June 2001, IBM International Technical Support Organization , Lius Ferreira, Gregory Kettemann, United State of America, viewed 18 July 2008, 3. Supercomputer, July 2008, Wikipedia, viewed 10 Oct 2008, 4. Linux Clustering with CSM and GPFS, January 2004, IBM International Technical Support Organization, Stephen Hochstetler, Bob Beringer, United State of America, viewed 20 July 2008, 5. Bechmarking, April 2007, Wikipedia, viewed 10 Oct 2008, 6. High Performance Linux Clustering, Part 2: Build a Working Cluster, Oct 2005, Aditya Narayan, Founder, QCD Microsystems, United State of America, viewed 2 August 2008, 7. MPICH2 Installer Guide version 1. 0. 7, April 2008, Mathematics and Computer Science Division, Argonnne National Laboratory, U. S Department of Energy, viewed 10 August 2008. 8. Amdahl’s Law, Dec 2007, Wikepedia, viewed 20 Oct 2008 16 APPENDIX A Open Sources Location 1) OS-Centos 5 for 32bits and 64bits Source: 2) GCC, Gfortran, C++ and Java complier Source: cd/dvd of installer Centos 5 Name: a) b) c) d) gcc-4. 1. 2-42. el5. i386. rpm gcc-gfortran-4. 1. 2-42. el5. i386. rpm gcc-c++-4. 1. 2-42. el5. i386. rpm gcc-java-4. 1. 2-42. el5. i386. rpm Dependencies required Source: cd/dvd of installer Centos 5 Name: a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) glibc-devel-2. 5-18. i386. rpm glibc-devel-2. 5-24. i386. pm glibc-headers-2. 5-18. i386. rpm glib-java-0. 2. 6-3. fc6. i386. rpm libgcj-devel-4. 1. 2-14. el5. i386. rpm libgfortran-4. 1. 2-14. el5. i386. rpm libgomp-4. 1. 2-14. el5. i386. rpm libstdc++-devel-4. 1. 2-14. el5. i386. rpm 3) MPICH2 version 1. 0. 7 Source: 4) How to setup password-less SSH using Public – Private Keys 17 APPENDIX B How to change the Hostname of a Linux system Permanent hostname change Step 1: Editing hostname file in /etc/sysconfig/network. In Linux machine etc/sysconfig/network file look like this: NETWORKING = yes NETWORKING_1PV6=no HOSTNAME=hpcluster1 The hostname in etc/sysconfig/network have changed to from original to hpcluster1, hpcluster2, hpcluster3, hpcluster4 accordingly on each machine. Step 2: The older hostname listed in /etc/hosts file were changed to new hostname manually. Step 3: After that Linux machines is reboot. Network service is restarted before rebooting by # /etc/init. d/network restart Hostname on each machine was changed to specified name and can be function properly. 18 APPENDIX C Tabulated Data of Testing on CG Solver Case 1 i=100; resmax=1E-20; Grid=64x64x64 N T1 T2 AVE 1 2 3 4 22. 1375 16. 0003 20. 272 20. 9793 22. 2508 16. 3247 20. 2426 20. 691 22. 19415 16. 1625 20. 2573 20. 9742 Speed Up 1 1. 3732 1. 0956 1. 0582 Table C. 1 : Data for case 1. Case 2 i=100; resmax=1E-20;Grid 128x128x128 N T1 T2 AVE Speed Up 1 248. 3205 245. 6234 246. 97195 1 2 129. 9253 131. 2424 130. 58385 1. 8913 3 129. 9289 128. 8646 129. 39675 1. 9086 4 110. 3437 111. 3847 110. 8642 2. 2277 Table C. 2 : Data for case 2. Case 3 i=1 00; resmax=1E-15; Grid 256x256x256 N T1 T2 AVE Speedup 1 1538. 1186 1536. 8205 1537. 46955 1 2 1023. 5759 1022. 2592 1022. 91755 1. 503 3 837. 1469 840. 9828 839. 06485 1. 8324 4 773. 0982 770. 9155 772. 00685 1. 9915 Table C. 3 : Data for case 3. = 19

Hoedads Tool and the Cooperative

Hoedads Tool and the Cooperative Hoedads are wooden-handled, mattock-like hand tools used to plant bare-root trees by the thousands quickly and mainly used by experienced crews. They are designed for steep slopes, versus the dibble, a straight-bladed, metal-handled tool with a foot platform used to plant trees on flat ground. When comparing the use of the dibble and the hoedad, a USFS study in the Western Gulf Region of the United State (2004) shows that neither method is superior to the other. The study concluded that tree planting survival, first- and second-year height, groundline diameter, first-year root weight, and first and second-year growth was found to be the same. The hoedad does speed up planting when used by an experienced user with a strong back. The Hoedad Revolution This hoedad tree planting tool inspired a name given to tree planting cooperatives of environmentalist tree planters who planted millions of tree seedlings from 1968 to 1994. During this period, new-generation tree planters used the hoedad exclusively on hundreds of thousands of regenerated forest acres. The timber industry and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) provided both land and incentive monies during this period to encourage reforestation of cutover lands. It opened up opportunities for private contractors to enter the tree planting business. There was money to be made for someone who enjoyed the outdoors, was in good physical health and could plant 500 to 1000 trees per day on steep ground. Both the hoedad tool and tool users called hoedads  were of some influence on the forest practices of the USFS and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). These spirited men and women managed  to change the stereotypical male forest worker image.  They questioned the practice of single-species reforestation and detested the wide use of herbicides and pesticides. They did extensive lobbying at national and state levels for increased funds for reforestation and promotion of sustainable forestry practices. Enter the Cooperative In addition to tree planting, these Hoedad cooperatives did precommercial thinning, firefighting, trail building, technical forestry, forest construction, resource inventory, and other forest-related labor. They grew in numbers  working in every state west of the Rockies and  Alaska  and living in the most remote areas in the mountains of the West. They later traveled through the Eastern US to planting job sites where programs like the Forest Incentives Program (FIP) were paying private forest owners to reforest and manage according to multiple-use principles. The most notable cooperative was  based in Eugene, Oregon.  Hoedads Reforestation Cooperative (HRC) was the largest of the co-ops, was established by a Peace Corp volunteer and thrived as a tree planting cooperative for over 30 years. These Independent tree planter contractors were able to make millions of dollars (and plant millions of trees) through these planter-owned cooperatives. HRC disbanded in 1994, largely because of a dramatic decline on federal lands in reforestation and other timber harvest associated forestry work. According to Roscoe Caron, a former tree planter and Hoedad president, HRC was also instrumental in breaking the males-only ethic of forest work, questioning the wisdom of monoculture reforestation and challenging the liberal use of herbicides. In celebration of the 30-year Hoedad reunion (in 2001), the Eugene Weekly and Lois Wadsworth compiled some of the most detailed information on Hoedads to date for the article Tree Planters: The Mighty Hoedads, Back for a 30-year Reunion, Recall Their Grand Experiment.

Quality Management and Continuous Improvement Uni 2 DB SA Third Week Essay

Quality Management and Continuous Improvement Uni 2 DB SA Third Week - Essay Example changing business environment and fluctuating costs involved in product development, it may be difficult for them to charge full-rate prices in future, which eventually may affect its profitability and productivity growth. Secondly, low-price strategy carries a risk that the cost leader, in its single-minded desire to reduce costs may lose sight of changes in customer’s tastes, eventually, the company might make decisions that reduce costs but drastically affect product demand. Furthermore, competitors’ ability to imitate cost leader by lowering their cost structure is another threats posed to Aldi, they might be beaten at their own game causing them to struggle to compete in future (Hill & Gareth 2011). Aldi stores focuses on low-cost leadership strategy to win its market share and encourage customer loyalty. The company focuses on low-income customers and offers limited amounts of product assortment, which has made them a more competitive store. The low-price strategy together with discounts offered on products by Aldi has forced other organizations to lower their prices in an effort to survive in the market. Yes, this strategy affects the amount allocated on adverting because these companies tend to keep their costs low by minimizing advertising expenses on television and the internet. These organizations tend to achieve the lowest costs possible; adverts on television and the internet are associated with high costs, which these firms seek to

How does poverty effect disabled children living in a single parent Dissertation

How does poverty effect disabled children living in a single parent family - Dissertation Example In reference to the paper, it has been proved that, disabled children exhibit higher chances of growing in poverty in comparison to their developing peers. The correlation between child disability and poverty is of great concern as it gives a clue that disabled children are prawn to conditions that impede their development, education adjustment and attainment. Moreover, the conditions increases exposure of the disabled children to poor health risks, social exclusion and additional impairment. Similarly the connection between child disability and poverty represents a significant challenge to formulated social policies that aims at improving the disabled individual life chances and also addressing the discrimination and the disadvantage faced by individuals with disability. Child disability socio-economic factors prevalence has been documented repeatedly. However, little is known about the factors that trigger the socio-economic impacts. Empirical evidence shows that there exist three factors that impact on socio-economic gradients. As a matter of fact, families taking care of a disabled child have higher chances of getting into poverty; moreover, chances of them avoiding poverty are very limited. This is because of the indirect and direct causes that come with raising a disabled child. Indirect costs are such as the financial effects of declined maternal employment rates among families with disabled children. ... 2004). In reference to the paper, it has been proved that, disabled children exhibit higher chances of growing in poverty in comparison to their developing peers (Emerson & Hatton 2007, Fujura & Yamaki 2000). The correlation between child disability and poverty is of great concern as it gives a clue that disabled children are prawn to conditions that impede their development, education adjustment and attainment. Moreover, the conditions increases exposure of the disabled children to poor health risks, social exclusion and additional impairment. Similarly the connection between child disability and poverty represents a significant challenge to formulated social policies that aims at improving the disabled individual life chances and also addressing the discrimination and the disadvantage faced by individuals with disability (Cabinet Office 2005, Department for Education and Skills 2003, United Nations 2006, Department of Health and Human Services 2005). Child disability socio-economic factors prevalence has been documented repeatedly. However, little is known about the factors that trigger the socio-economic impacts. Empirical evidence shows that there exist three factors that impact on socio-economic gradients (Emerson & Hatton 2009, P.120). As a matter of fact, families taking care of a disabled child have higher chances of getting into poverty; moreover, chances of them avoiding poverty are very limited. This is because of the indirect and direct causes that come with raising a disabled child (Dobson et al. 2001, Leonard et al. 1992, Tibble 2005). Indirect costs are such as the financial effects of declined maternal employment rates among families with disabled children (Loprest &

Old School Versus New School Hip Hop Essay Example for Free

Old School Versus New School Hip Hop Essay Benjamin Anderson Ms. Marae Bailey English 110 January 18, 2010 Old School versus New School Hip Hop Many people believe that all hip hop music is the same. They think hip hop is about the beat of the music and the fame of the rapper. However, the true difference occurs when you look at how old school hip hop became mainstreamed. Original hip hop was about the disc jockey that played the music. The music of hip hop were humble and about pleasing the crowd; while new school has become more commercial due to the involvement of major record companies. The hip hop of today is not the hip of yesteryear. Hip hop began in the streets of New York City, in the Bronx area. The local Disc Jockeys would have free parties in the local parks or at local school playgrounds for the main purpose of promoting themselves and to advertise for future parties that they were having at a club or a local community center, in which they would charge a cover price to get in. A Disc Jockey usually has couple of his friends around to help carry equipment like records crates and to help with the setup. The Disc Jockey would usually pay the guys for helping him. The setup guys also helped out during party by getting on the microphone, and saying crowd participation rhymes, this would help keep the people on the dance floor. They would later be known as Masters of Ceremonies or MCs. MCs would take light-hearted jabs at other disc jockeys and lyricists. After awhile, the disc jockey with better MCs, would bring in larger crowds, in turn, giving the disc jockey a bigger pay day! As the disc jockey and his MCs got more popular and more money started flowing in the disc jockey’s pocket, the disc jockey would be able to pay those guys strictly to be MCs, and someone else to handle setup issues. Now, back in seventies, a good disc jockey could make around $1000. 00 for playing music for five hours. Out of that money he would have to pay MCs, and he might have two to four people as MCs. The disc Jockey would have to pay the setup guys too. MCs would get paid from $100 to $200 per party. Local record companies like, â€Å"ENJOY† record saw the money making potential in this new Hip hop craze, so local record companies that were based in the New York City area, would find the hottest Disc Jockeys and MCs combination to sign on their record label. Then a person could go out and buy his or her favorite Disc Jockey or MC’s record at the local record store. Local radio stations started to play the song on air too. The Disc Jockeys that were able to get a record deal started to make more money and their MCs did too! Hip Hop music was still local to New York, until major record companies like, RCA, EMI, Polygram Records, and CBS started to buy out the all the local record companies. Now the major the record companies had worldwide distribution for the records that they sold. Hip hop was now going nationwide, and it was going to be as big as Rock and Roll. Hip hop going nationwide lead to birth to the new school hip hop. Major record companies wanted to sign up hip hop group to their label, but they didn’t want to sign the disc jockey of the group. The record companies felt that they should not have to pay someone that was not performing on the record. A lot times, a producer from the record company would strike a deal with the MCs, by telling them that they are doing all the work, and the fans are screaming their names, not the disc jockey. So MCs would get the contract and the Disc Jockey was cut loose, making this the end of Disc Jockies or MCs, and the birth of the rapper. New school rappers these were making from $100,000,000 to $200,000,000 an album. Now the rapper was headlining show and filling football stadium seats. The rapper that used to be the MCs for the disc jockey, began paying the disc jockey to spin or play music for him or her at a concert. Hip hop is now known all over the world, sung in many different languages. The lyrics of today’s hip hop rappers are not like the MCs of yesterday, Rappers now talk about how much money they are making and disrespecting women in their songs. Some rappers like tell how they made it from the drug game to the rap game, while rappers talk about the use of drugs and types drugs they prefer to use. A rapper’s lyrics often reflect the violent lifestyle of American inner cities afflicted with poverty. The â€Å"N† word is used a lot in today rapper’s lyrics In conclusion, we see that rappers remain a big part of the old and new school hip hop era and that sampling and mixing of music to create the hip hop sounds have not changed much as hip changed from old school to new. Getting the crowd hype and dancing on the floor hasn’t changed much from old to new. But, as we saw the disc jockey’s setup guy, whose original job was to set up and rap into the mike so that the crowd could focus on the music of the DJ, has grown to become to multimillion dollar money making rapper. What most people today don’t know is that it was the fall of the disc jockey, the original star of the show, which led to new school hip hop.

To what extent does Jane Eyre’s past affect her fate? :: English Literature

To what extend does Jane Eyre’s past affect her fate? Charlotte Brontà « uses many different ways to affect Jane Eyre’s fate. By giving Jane a difficult and tiresome childhood from a very young age it has an effect on her adult life. From a very early age Jane Eyre had a very unusual childhood. She started in a very unloving family with her aunts and cousins. She felt unloved and had a sense of refusal. Her cousin John beat her and she always hit back. When she did so, she was often caught and locked in the red room. Her auntie sent her to Loward boarding school. This was a very worrying time for Jane because already at the age of around 10 she has had no love and care in her life. The boarding school didn’t aid her in anyway. At boarding school Jane did not fit in. Again she was not cared for. She felt unsafe, unhappy, but does find her first friend. Helen Burns is a real turning point in Jane’s life. Jane really stood up for her new friend too. When Helen gets punished Jane stays with her. Little bits like this help to shape Jane into a Lady and who she will be when she is older. Jane’s new friend was a good believer in God. When Helen was very ill, Jane realises that Helen is in trouble and could die, Helen tells Jane what will happen when she dies. â€Å"I am very happy, Jane; and when you hear that I am dead, you must be sure and not grieve: there is nothing to grieve about.† This scene takes part in Helen’s bed, and is a very touching scene of the two girls bonding. The scene is clam and relaxed. By using long sentences, you can get a feel that Helen’s voice is soft, and that there is there are no interruptions. Helen goes on later to say, â€Å"I have only a father, and he is lately married, and will not miss me. By dying young, I shall escape great sufferings. I had not qualities or talents to make my way very well in the world: I should have been continually at fault† Jane and Helen have something in common here. The girls both have the sense that their families don’t love them and that they are in life on their own. But, now they have found each other, the girls are comforted that they are not the only ones. Helen has her own beliefs and opinions too. â€Å"†¦my Maker and yours, who will never destroy what He created. I rely

Covey 7 Habits Analysis

I have always been a firm believer that there are many different types of leaders. To be a leader you must have natural ability, and have the ability to listen and grow. Being in many leadership roles and positions has helped me to become the best person that I can be. Looking at leadership and management however opened my eyes to a new concept. I had never before realized how much the two go hand in hand. I feel the two words are synonymous in some aspects. My Leadership and Management style helped me to realize what kind of natural skills I have as a leader, and what kind of defined skills I have as a manager.My â€Å"Lamp† chart really was split between the two entities. I always thought that I was much more of a leader than a manager. Come to find out I have skills in both sides that compliment one another. My Leadership style consists of many components, but the main two are my creating abilities and my empowering abilities. I feel that these two are the natural traits th at I have, and they are things that I have expanded on the more I learn about others, and myself. I have always been a creative person, the one with the ideas and new concepts.This has allowed me to be an effective leader in my positions to find other ways to do things, and to be successful at implementing new ideas. I also have the ability to empower those around me. What this means is to get people excited and willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the goal or task we may face. I do this by believing in those around me and giving others the tools they need to lead themselves. My management style however is a bit different. I believe management skills are learned unlike leadership traits.Through the positions I have held on campus, in high school, an in the work place I have learned to become more responsible and in turn some vital managerial skills. Through my â€Å"LAMP† I have come to realize my top two managerial skills are organization, and I am very job centered . I have not always been an organized person, and still believe that there is much room for improvement. With that being said my organizational skills have vastly improved while in college and it is due to the roles I have had within clubs and organizations, and most importantly my fraternity.Organization didn’t come easy for me, but I realized to become an effective manager I needed to be organized, this directly translates to being an effective leader as well. Poor organization can lead to loss of credibility and that is something I try to stay away from. I am also very job centered. This means I like to know what needs to be done, by whom, and with a set date. If I have all of that I am able to delegate and get jobs finished in a timely manner. Being job centered really means I like to have defined roles.Who’s doing what is a big deal for me, especially in managerial and leadership positions. Now the question is are Leadership and Management the same? I think not. T here is a reason that the two are separated on the test. Both Leadership and Management skills are vital when taking any role or position of power. The differences lie in how you take charge and take control. Leadership skills I feel are things you are born with. Leaders also are people who are highly revered, someone who you look up to or want to be.While Managerial skills can be taught if enough hard work and effort is put in. Yet managers sometimes are not revered as a role model because for the most part they tend to be your boss and make less of a personnel connection. This is why I feel having defined skills in both areas can make you the most effective person you can be. Being a great leader allows you to connect with people, excite people, and build credibility. While being a good manager means you delegate well, you stay organized and on task, and you oversee/stay on top of those whom you are managing.According to Kotter in the article What Leaders Do â€Å"Management is a bout coping with complexity. Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change. † Good management is what keeps chaos from occurring. Kotter talks about how management is a major component in consistency and profitability if we look at it from a business aspect. This article describes how management is all about the complexities and how to good managers cope. â€Å"More change always demands more leadership. † (pg.. 86 Kotter. ) Things are ever changing today. This is why leadership as a practice has now become so important.Kotter talks about the abilities of leaders to run with the change and make things work with little room for discrepancy or chaos. A good leader is someone who can roll with the punches, figure out a new plan of action, and take charge all at once. Leadership is something that takes courage to make the tough decisions when something arises. The two styles although different do go hand in hand. When looking at Leadership and Management in relation to the Greek community we see how vital it is to have students who exemplify both qualities.When obtaining a Leadership role within a Fraternity or a Sorority you are taking a lot of responsibility. To run a Greek house you must have the support and respect from all members, otherwise you can accomplish nothing. Fraternities and Sororities were built on the basis that we share the same goals and aspirations, it is the Leaders job to remind everyone that so they are able to carry on together. Leadership skills also come in handy when relating to your members. If you approach them as a manager instead of their leader they may lose that connection with you.With that being said the Managerial side of running a Chapter also is very important. I like to think of this as the work side. When managing a Greek house you must always be on top of the logistical or behind the scenes work that many members never really get a chance to see, whether it be connecting with nationals, working with hou sing corp. , or going to IFC meetings. This is where being a manager plays a big role because with all of this work organizational skills, delegation, and planning all must take place otherwise mayhem could occur.Once things get out of hand it is hard to pull them back, that is why staying on top of everything as a manager is just as important as being the leader that everyone wants to follow. Another way to look at leadership and management in daily life is Stephen Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The book looks at how to be the most effective person you can be. The steps you need to take to do so is also a major component in the book. The 7 Habits prepares you to change your outlook on what it really means to be effective, and in turn what it takes to be a leader.Habit one is Be Proactive. Sounds pretty self-explanatory but when you look more in depth you can really learn a lot from this habit. Being proactive is the root to being effective. It is t he first step away from dependence towards independence. Being proactive means taking initiative, getting things done, and overall taking control of your life. When you become proactive you take responsibility for your choices. You learn what it means to really take accountability and get things done. Being proactive really is all about getting yourself to do what needs to be done and being accountable for that.I have personally seen myself start to be more proactive the older I get. I was a huge procrastinator when I was younger and was always rushing to get things done. Now by being more proactive I have found time to do others things and take on more responsibilities as a leader. Habit two is, begin with an end in mind. This boils down to setting goals. Whenever starting a project or taking something over know what you want to achieve when you begin. This is very important in measuring success. If you have a goal you have a target you are trying to reach.The more solidified the g oal the more prepared you can become while trying to achieve it. To begin with an end in mind is like setting a personal goal or mission statement that can be applied to everything that you do, thus knowing what you can and want to achieve. I find habit two extremely insightful. I have always been an activator, someone who loves to start things and get them off the ground, my problem sometimes is once I start I don’t know where to go. This habit is really on that I connected with because I feel it can help me solidify what I want to do and where I want to go when starting any project in my life.Habit three is put first things first. In other words it is to prioritize by importance rather than urgency. Many times people get caught up and procrastinate, leaving them behind and always rushing to catch up on due dates. In the book there is a chart called the time management matrix, which shows four quadrants. The ideal quadrant is two, if you are living in this quadrant you have your priorities in check and have some free time to enjoy life. Most people however live in quadrant one, which is crisis management and never having free time because of poor pre planning.I find this habit to be one of the more difficult ones to live by. In my â€Å"LAMP† planning was my lowest strength on the management side. I struggle with putting first things first because sometimes I literally do not put first things first. This is something since reading the seven habits that I know I need to work on for my own leadership and management needs. Habit four is think win-win. This chapter explains all the different types of people that are out there. It explains that some people are out there only working for the good of themselves and do not care if they push anyone down to get where they want.This chapter focuses on looking at life from the perspective of win-win. Therefore everyone is no worse off than before. If we always went into a deal looking for the best option fo r both parties then things would run a lot smoother. This habit teaches us that making the right call and doing the right thing will propel you further than if you are only looking out for your own self interest and nothing else. I feel that I am pretty acclimated with this habit. I have always been the type to seek mutual agreements on deals or trades.I feel that by both parties becoming better off there is more room for working together or trading again in the future. Someone who only looks out for themselves will end up burning many bridges and will have no one to rely on soon enough. Habit Five is seek first to understand, then to be understood. This means to listen to someone, really listen to someone. Habit five is all about understanding someone, fully listening and caring about what they say. In turn they will do the same for you. Empathetic listening is key when connecting and seeing where someone is coming from. This is a great characteristic to have as a leader.When someo ne feels like they are really being heard, then they will make a conscious effort to hear you out. This will in turn create an environment of complete unity and will make it that much easier to get things done when you can see from others points of views and they can see from yours. I feel that I have been getting better at understanding first then seeking to be understood. Many times during the beginning of my Presidency I would try to be heard first, what I noticed is that nobody listens when all you want is to be heard. Everybody has a voice and those voices need to have the opportunity to share.Once I learned this many people who I had never even connected with much before my term started coming to me for daily advice because I would actually listen to them. In turn I found myself with a mass support system within the house. Habit Six, Synergize. To combine the strengths of everyone in the group for cohesive and effective teamwork is what synergy is all about. You can also use s ynergy to bring all seven habits together as well. Once you can figure out a way to make them all work then the habits almost condense into one proactive effective lifestyle. To truly understand synergism you must understand and trust the process.The whole is greater than the sum of its parts is a great way to think about synergism. Working to combine the best attributes of people into one is very hard to do but with synergy you must trust others and trust yourself. Synergy can even be related to work, using synergistic energy to bring new ideas and methods is vital to keep things moving and to renew. I feel that because of my Leadership studies minor I have been able to see strengths in people and work together with them implementing my strengths to maximize the potential of the group and do the best job that we can.I also noticed that working as a team and feeding off of others ideas really gets the engines going, creating a better work environment and creating healthy competition . Habit 7, Sharpen the Saw. This is taking a step back, viewing where you are, your goals, and life and really taking the time to meditate and think of how you are effective, and more importantly how you can become even more effective. When you â€Å"Sharpen the Saw† you are taking the time to focus on you. This can even be things like working on your physical health and mental well being.This is very important because if you feel tired, overworked, or stressed it is time to re-evaluate everything and have a plan to better yourself. I like to think of sharpening the saw as if I am looking at my effectiveness and goals from an outsiders view and how I can grow to become a better leader. I feel that I do not take enough time to do this. , partially because I do not manage my time as well as I would like to, to really evaluate myself and how I am doing. I do find it is really difficult to revisit my strengths and weaknesses and how to improve them because I am too worried about how everyone else is doing.When looking at the seven habits and the move from dependence, to independence, and ultimately interdependence I see how the seven habits can really be effective. I found that the seven habits, if utilized correctly can really change your life. The book however in my opinion goes too in-depth about how to use the habits. I feel that it could be condensed, giving more information about the habit itself, and less about how to live your life. The habits should be interpreted by each person from their own standpoint because everyone will use them differently.The part of the book I connected with most was the circle of concern and the circle of influence. This really hit the nail on the head for me. I find myself worried about too much instead of figuring out ways to use my influence to change them. If I was less concerned, and more influential the problems I face would not be there in the first place. This is something I have tried to work on ever since readin g Covey’s book. I also have become more aware of myself. Habit 7 opened my eyes to the fact that I really do need to take care of myself more. By doing this I can effectively use the other six habits to my advantage.Overall I found the habits to be a guide for how to not only be a leader, but how to live life. The habits themselves are great tools to use in a leadership position or to just become a better person. The habits paired with my strengths and my management styles really all coincide. Now I just need to take what I know, take a step back and see how I can apply it to my everyday routine. I want to live like my favorite quote says, â€Å"Don’t count the days, make the days count. † Muhammad Ali. The only way to make the days count is hard work, effort, and the application of my strengths and the seven habits.

Managing Role Stress as a nurse Essay

Role Stress is the number one reason nurses leave the nursing field (Chang, Hancock, Johnson, Daly, & Jackson, 2005). Role Stress happens when you find yourself experiencing things that you did not expect to happen to you as a nurse. It is the difference your perception of a role versus the reality of your role. You might first experience this as a new grad Nurse without confidence, facing unrealistic expectations, and value conflicts. You could also experience Role Stress due to a lack of job control, high demands, and work overload. We are now being faced with shorter and shorter hospital stays equaling more work to be done in less time. (Blais & Hayes, 2011, pg. 27 ) A nurse experiencing Role Stress might end up with Role Strain. â€Å"An emotional reaction accompanied by psychological responses, such as anxiety, tension, irritation, resentment, depression, and job dissatisfaction† (Blais & Hayes 2011, pg. 27). A stressor that one might experience as a substitute school nurse is the lack of consistency on policy from one school to another. A good way to manage the stress caused by the inconsistency is to research school nurse policies in the state you are in, and work under those regulations. Also, voicing your concerns to those involved can help if done politely. This was shown to be effective, thus eliminating stress. In another example; one may not realize the emotional stress of a job. Death in the ED can take a toll on both staff and family. It can produce feelings of guilt, anger, failure. One might become numb and develop emotional defenses to cope with the way they feel. To help with this special education or training can be given to the nurse, which can help improve wellness and performance (http://emedicine. medscape.com/article/806280-overview). In every different nursing environment we will eventually run into stressors, that can cause role strain. There are fortunately some strategies that can help manage stress. A plan of care to manage stress might be helpful to all working in the health care field. The following interventions might help reduce stress: Learn how to identify problems and solve them, have good time management skills, delegate well, and learn to not procrastinate. It is also helpful to not assume too many roles, to arrive early, and prepare ahead of time to eliminate any work overload stress. (Blais & Hayes, 2011, pg. 29). A short term goal could be to arrive early to work everyday which in return could prevent some additional stress.. A long term goal would be the reduction of stress through applying the above strategies, as well as doing something healthy for yourself, such as a walk, exercise, alone time, or perhaps a good book. Using community resources and help available through specialist and friends can also be beneficial. In summary, it is first necessary to take care of yourself, then you will be in a position to apply the many other helpful techniques enabling you to care for others. References Blais, K.K. & Hayes, J.S. (2011). Professional Nursing Practice: Concepts and Perspectives (6th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, Inc. Chang, E.J., Hancock, K.M., Johnson, A., Daly, J., & Jackson, D. (2005). Role stress in nurses: Review of related factors and strategies for moving forward. Nursing and Health Sciences, 7, 57-65. Medscape. (2009). Grief Support in the ED. Retrieved September 4, 2013, from http://emedicine,medscape.com/article/806280-overview)

Organic Food essays

Organic Food essays Everybody is jumping on the organic food bandwagon. Why? It is healthier. If you do not believe me look at the numbers according to an article in Newsweek since 1991 the purchasing of organic food has raised twenty percent. There are many other reasons why organic food is better. Organic food is better because it is healthier, better for the Earth, and is better quality food. I. Organic food is healthier. A.) It is gown in natural soil so Mother Nature grows the plants like a garden. 1.) Regular farmers use chemicals that kill the entire natural organism that help the soil release the soils nutrients into the plants. 2.) Farmers that use chemicals make animals that burrow the earth not do their part in nature, which will effect root development and drainage. 1.) There is no risk at all for food poising. a.) if a distributer of regular foods forgets to wash off pestisides the consumer could get food poising II.) Organic food is better for the Earth. A.) There are no pesticides that can pollute the Earth or the ozone lair. B.) There is no imbalance in nature. 1.) Farmers get help from nature to make their food. III. Organic food is better quality food. A.) The Organic farmers must follow stricter regulations then regular farmers. 1.) The regulations for organic farmers must make sure that any soil, holding center, or packing utensils must not have any trace of chemicals to make sure it is certified organic. B.) All Health food stores receive all of their produce from regional areas to maintain freshness. 1.) Organic stores most likely recive their fodd within one-three days of being picked, but regular stores recive fruits at least a week old from Florda or California. That is why they use petsisides to maintanie fressness ...

Philosophical Quotes on Violence

Philosophical Quotes on Violence What is violence? And, accordingly, how should non-violence be understood? While I have written a number of articles on these and related topics, it is useful to look at how philosophers have synthesized their views on violence. Here is a selection of quotes, sorted out into topics. Voices on Violence Frantz Fanon: Violence is man re-creating himself.George Orwell: We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.Thomas Hobbes: In the first place, I put for a general inclination of all mankind a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death. And the cause of this is not always that a man hopes for a more intensive delight than he has already attained to, or that he cannot be content with a moderate power, but because he cannot assure the power and means to live well, which he hath present, without the acquisition of more.Niccolà ² Machiavelli: Upon this, one has to remark that men ought either to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge.Niccolà ² Machiavelli: I say that every prince must desire to be considered merciful and not cruel. He must, however, take care not to misuse this mercifulness. [†¦] A prince, therefore, must not mind incurring the charge of cruelty for the purpose of keeping his subjects united and confident; for, with a very few examples, he will be more merciful than those who, from excess of tenderness, allow disorders to arise, from whence spring murders and rapine; for these as a rule injure the whole community, while the executions carried out by the prince injure only one individual [†¦] From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved more than feared, or feared more than loved. The reply is, that one ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved, if one of the two has to be wanting. Against Violence Martin Luther Kind Jr.: The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.Albert Einstein: Heroism by order, senseless violence, and all the pestilent nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism- how I hate them! War seems to me a mean, contemptible thing: I would rather be hacked in pieces than take part in such an abominable business.Fenner Brockway: I had long put on one side the purist pacifist view that one should have nothing to do with a social revolution if any violence were involved... Nevertheless, the conviction remained in my mind that any revolution would fail to establish freedom and fraternity in proportion to its use of violence, that the use of violence inevitably brought in its train domination, repression, cruelty. Isaac Asimov: Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.

Emprical evaluation of Value at Risk(VaR) model using the Lusaka stock Dissertation

Emprical evaluation of Value at Risk(VaR) model using the Lusaka stock exchange - Dissertation Example Abstract This study develops an evaluation of Value at Risk measure for a portfolio consisting of three stocks traded at the Lusaka stock Exchange. The analysis set out from 1-day, 1% VaR and take a two dimension approach: the volatility models and the distributions are used when computing VaR. Consequently, the historical volatility, the EWMA volatility model, GARCH-type models for the volatility of the stocks and of the portfolio and a dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) model were considered. VaR was computed using standard normal distribution, and other different methodologies of taking into account the non-normality of the returns (the Cornish-Fisher approximation, the modeling of the empirical distribution of the standardized returns and the Extreme Value Theory approach). The objective was to evaluate the Value at Risk model using the Lusaka stock exchange return. The results suggest that using conditional volatility models and distributional tools that account for the non-n ormality of the returns leads to a better VaR-based risk management. ... ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2 DECLARATION 3 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 7 1.1 INTRODUCTION 7 1.2 Overview of Lusaka Stock Index 9 1.3 Problem statement 12 1.2.2 Research Questions 13 1.2.1 Objectives 14 1.2.3 The Hypothesis: 14 1.2.4The organization of the rest of the chapters 14 LITERATURE REVIEW 15 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 27 3.1 Introduction 27 3.2.2 Discussion of the Model 30 3.2.3Advantages of GARCH 31 3.3 Other Models 31 3.3.1 GARCH DCC 31 3.3.2 Historical volatility 33 3.3.3 EWMA Volatility Model 33 3.4 Distributions 34 3.4.1 The standard normal distribution 34 3.4.2 The historical quantiles 35 3.4.3 the t-Student, Normal Inverse Gaussian (NIG) and Generalized Hyperbolic (GH) distributions 35 3.4.4 The Cornish-Fisher (CF) approximation 36 3.4.5 Extreme Value Theory(EVT) 36 Methodology 39 4.1 Introduction 39 4.2 Research Design 39 4.3 Sources of Data 40 4.5 Data Collection Methods 40 4.6 Data Reliability 40 4.6 Data Analysis 41 4.7 Limitations to the Study 41 4.8 Summary 41 5.0 DAT A ANALYSIS , FINDINGS AND DISCUSION 42 5.1 The Data 42 5.2 VaR using the Historical Volatility 47 5.3 VaR using the EWMA volatility model 58 5.4 VaR using a GARCH volatility model for portfolio returns 66 5.5 VaR using GARCH volatility models for the stock returns 77 6.0 CONCLUSIONS 98 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1.1 INTRODUCTION In the financial literature, three types of risk are distinguished; these are business risk, strategic risk and financial risk. Business risk pertains to the risks a firm faces exclusively on account of their presence in some product market. This type of risk stems from uncertainty in such activities as technological innovations, product