Case study stage q Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stage q - Case Study Example What's more, the paper additionally transfers strategies focused on to bringing the inside into a 21st century complex henceforth have a high upper hand in the market. Porter’s Five Forces Model Buyer’s Power This is the customer’s capacity to buy the UR UMUC Healthy wellness center’s items at sensible costs contrasted with different partnerships (Baltzan, 2013). In UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center, increment of the buyer’s force will essentially help business’s execution. Along these lines, the business will respect the setting sensible costs proposed to pull in enormous customer pool. Provider power This is the force by providers to flexibly the inside with required quality gear at an a lot more significant expense (Baltzan, 2013). The provider power carries an impartial effect on the business. The above power is likewise not fundamental and should not to show up among the institution’s techniques. Danger of substitute items or adminis trations This brings out how the clients can change to the competitors’ administrations and items to the detriment of UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center product (Baltzan, 2013). This power contrarily influences the wellness place since it reflects to high misfortune rate in the inside. It is likewise key to incorporate systems and strategies that draw in competitors’ clients to choose our items and administrations. ... Indeed, it is crucial to consider the factor while conceiving systems of maintaining a strategic distance from rivalry against UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center just as think of methods of contending with new contestants. Contention among existing contenders The power of contention between contenders is a significant determinant of the UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center’s achievement (Baltzan, 2013). This factor impartially influences the inside as UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center can be the most favored goal by various clients. The power should be remembered for the methodology making procedure to guarantee the inside doesn't acquire significant misfortunes because of rivalry. In the event that the company’s contenders offer quality types of assistance and appealing items, the inside is well on the way to have higher misfortunes. Porter’s three Generic Strategies are crucial in a business to guarantee they have achieved high upper hand (Baltzan, 2013). All together for U R UMUC Healthy Fitness Center to improve and accomplish a 21st century standard, I select to utilize the separation Strategy. This involves the business ought to endeavor to get interesting in the market than its rivals (Baltzan, 2013). The procedure likewise includes accentuation on marking, publicizing, plan, administration, quality, and new item improvement (Baltzan, 2013). For example, UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center can be remarkable in giving the best client support in the business by means of examining its client’s conduct. What's more, we can be remarkable by giving Wi-Fi benefits in the inside to accomplish mechanical headway level, thus guaranteeing the customers feeling the organization profits the necessary necessities, however helps them to be in contact with whom they love or need. The most significant business zone which UR UMUC Healthy Fitness Center should improve is the

Prehistoric Life During the Carboniferous Period

Ancient Life During the Carboniferous Period The name Carboniferous mirrors the most celebrated characteristic of the Carboniferous time frame: the gigantic marshes that cooked, more than a huge number of years, into todays immense stores of coal and flammable gas. Be that as it may, the Carboniferous time frame (350 to 300 million years prior) was likewise striking for the presence of new earthly vertebrates, including the absolute first creatures of land and water and reptiles. The Carboniferous was the second-to-last time of the Paleozoic Era (542-250 million years prior), went before by the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian periods and prevailing by the Permian time frame. Atmosphere and topography. The worldwide atmosphere of the Carboniferous time frame was personally connected with itsâ geography. Over the span of the previous Devonian time frame, the northern supercontinent of Euramerica converged with the southern supercontinent of Gondwana, delivering the tremendous super-supercontinent Pangea, which involved a great part of the southern side of the equator during the following Carboniferous. This pronouncedly affected air and water flow designs, with the outcome that a huge segment of southern Pangea ended up secured by icy masses, and there was a general worldwide cooling pattern (which, notwithstanding, didnt have a lot of impact on the coal overwhelms that secured Pangeas increasingly calm districts). Oxygen made up an a lot higher level of the earths air than it does today, filling the development of earthbound megafauna, including hound measured bugs. Earthbound Life During the Carboniferous Period Creatures of land and water. Our comprehension of life during the Carboniferous time frame is entangled by Romers Gap, a 15-million-year stretch of time (from 360 to 345 million years back) that has yielded for all intents and purposes no vertebrate fossils. What we do know, in any case, is that before the finish of this hole, the absolute first tetrapods of the late Devonian time frame, themselves as of late developed from flap finned fish, had lost their inner gills and were well on their way toward turning out to be genuine creatures of land and water. By the late Carboniferous, creatures of land and water were spoken to by such significant genera as Amphibamus and Phlegethontia, which (like current creatures of land and water) expected to lay their eggs in water and keep their skin damp, and in this way couldnt adventure excessively far onto dry land. Reptiles. The most significant quality that recognizes reptiles from creatures of land and water is their conceptive framework: the shelled eggs of reptiles are better ready to withstand dry conditions, and in this way dont should be laid in water or clammy ground. The development of reptiles was prodded by the undeniably chilly, dry atmosphere of the late Carboniferous time frame; probably the most punctual reptile yet distinguished, Hylonomus, showed up around 315 million years prior, and the goliath (very nearly 10 feet in length) Ophiacodon just a couple million years after the fact. Before the finish of the Carboniferous, reptiles had relocated well toward the inside of Pangea; these early pioneers proceeded to generate the archosaurs, pelycosaurs,â and therapsids of the following Permian time frame (it was the archosaurs that proceeded to bring forth the primary dinosaursâ nearly a hundred million years after the fact). Spineless creatures. As noted over, the earths environment contained an abnormally high level of oxygen during the late Carboniferous time frame, topping at an astonishing 35 percent. This overflow was particularly helpful to earthly spineless creatures, for example, creepy crawlies, which inhale by means of the dispersion of air through their exoskeletons, as opposed to with the guide of lungs or gills. The Carboniferous was the prime of the mammoth dragonfly Megalneura, the wingspan of which matched over two feet, just as the goliath millipede Arthropleura, which achieved lengths of very nearly 10 feet! Marine Life During the Carboniferous Period With the annihilation of the unmistakable placoderms (defensively covered fish) toward the finish of the Devonian time frame, the Carboniferous isnt particularly notable for its marine life, aside from to the extent that a few genera of projection finned fish were firmly identified with the absolute first tetrapods and creatures of land and water that attacked dry land. Falcatus, a nearby relative of Stethacanthus, is presumably the most popular Carboniferous shark, alongside the a lot greater Edestus, which is known essentially by its teeth. As in going before geologic periods, little spineless creatures like corals, crinoids, and arthropods were ample in the Carboniferous oceans. Vegetation During the Carboniferous Period The dry, cold states of the late Carboniferous time frame werent particularly cordial to plantswhich still didnt keep these strong life forms from colonizing each accessible environment on dry land. The Carboniferous saw the absolute first plants with seeds, just as strange genera like the 100-foot-tall club greenery Lepidodendron and the marginally littler Sigillaria. The most significant plants of the Carboniferous time frame were the ones possessing the enormous belt of carbon-rich coal overwhelms around the equator, which were later packed by a great many long stretches of warmth and weight into the tremendous coal stores we use for fuel today.

Leonard Nimoy at the Boston Pops

Leonard Nimoy at the Boston Pops Last week, I raised my right hand and exchanged a Vulcan salute with Leonard Nimoy. “That greeting originated in Boston,” Nimoy said, to cheers from the Boston Symphony Hall audience. He went on to explain that as a child he saw a priest make that hand gesture to a congregation, and was so moved that he brought it to Star Trek. For those of you who don’t know. Leonard Nimoy is famous for his role as Mr. Spock in the original 1960’s Star Trek TV series. He grew up in the Boston area, where (in his words) “they would probably say ‘He’s Spock from Stah Trek!’” Now Nimoy is 83 years old. Last week, he came home to Boston to narrate an outer space themed concert by the Boston Pops orchestra. He sat on stage and told us about his barber, who discouraged a young Nimoy from pursuing a career in acting and told him that he would be better off playing the accordion. “I like to think,” he said, “that [my barber] would have liked to see me now, sitting on stage at Symphony Hall.” “Pops” is a portmanteau of “popular concerts.” The Boston Pops was founded in 1885 with the goal of performing “light classics” and popular music: for example, excerpts from musical theater, film scores, or particularly recognizable classical pieces. Between 1980 and 1995, you could even go watch the Boston Pops conductor conduct his own film scores. His name is John Williams, and in case you haven’t heard of him he’s responsible for Fiddler on the Roof, Jaws, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Indiana Jones, Saving Private Ryan, Harry Potterand so on. That guy has over twice as many Academy Award nominations than I have years of life. It’s probably very difficult to include film scores in a concert without John Williams slipping in there somewhere. It’s definitely very difficult to include outer space themed film scores in a concert without featuring John Williams. Last night, the orchestra performed music from three John Williams film scores: E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Star Wars. * * * Symphony Hall is a lovely half-hour walk from MIT’s West Campus. The walk takes you across Harvard Bridge and down Massachusetts Avenue, past busy shops and restaurants and the bizarrely grandiose First Church of Christ, Scientist. I ate dinner then walked over with Lucas ’14, Jacob ’17, and Abby 17. We picked up our tickets at the box office. A word on those tickets. Our seats would normally have cost $94. But this is Boston, a city that caters spectacularly to young people. Symphony Hall sells special 20-under-40 tickets: tickets for people under the age of 40, that cost $20. So, we each paid $20 to sit at tables right on the concert hall floor, near the stage. And, while I’m at it, the BSO (Boston Symphony Orchestra) sells special College Cards for people like MIT students. You pay $25 once and can go to any number of concerts for no additional cost. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES!!!!!! Anyway, back to last night’s concert. The usual rows of seats had been replaced by tables and chairs, people sat around drinking wine and chatting, and waiters rushed up and down the aisles. During the performance, people whooped and cheered during their favorite songs, as if at a rock concert. The orchestra opened with Star Trek Through the Years, by Courage-Custer. That got a lot of whoops. It was impossible not to hear Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship enterprise… …and then Mr. Spock walked in, hair greyer and ears rounder than I remembered from TV. The orchestra was still playing but the audience cheered and applauded anyway. Spock waved. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek our new life and new civilizations, to boldly go… Mars, the Bringer of War.  The first movement from Gustav Holst’s famous The Planets suite. While the orchestra played, Spock sat at the front of the stage, a red folder poking out from his music stand. A big screen showed images of Mars, from drawings conceived in 1630 through high-res images taken in the past few years by telescopes and the Mars rovers. We watched an animation of the Curiosity landing. Before the third movement (Mercury, the Winged Messenger) Spock told us a bit about the winged messenger and then about the gravitationally-bound planet. “Wouldn’t we rather think of Mercury as that winged messenger â€" always noble, never caught?” Following Mercury, he looked out into the audience and said that “our planetary expedition ends with Jupiter.” He told us about its immense size, and as the orchestra played the suite’s fourth movement (Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity) we watched beautiful images of aurorae on Jupiter and close-up photographs of its moons Io and Europa. After the Holst suite, the orchestra played Debussy’s Clair de Lune and a piece from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial while Spock sat serenely with his hands folded together and smiled at the audience. “Ever since man began sketching constellations,” he told us, “we have been looking for our companions in the universe.” During the ET soundtrack, he bobbed his head to the music. The post-intermission program included On the Beautiful Blue Danube. An astronomer at Adler Planetarium in Chicago had put together a video to accompany the music. There were shots of Earth from space, of a gliding space shuttle, and of an astronaut somersaulting and tumbling through the ISS. I imagined waltzing on a spaceship with a view of earth and felt very giddy. Perhaps because the music director knew that nobody would listen to the Star Trek piece the first time around (we were all too busy whooping and cheering at Leonard Nimoy) the orchestra played it a second time, right towards the end of the concert. “Now,” Nimoy said with a dramatic pause, “for music that is particularly meaningful to me.” He put his hands in the air and said “welcome to my world.” I looked at Dora ’11 next to me and mouthed AHHHHHHHHH THIS IS SO COOL. I noticed then that Nimoy’s chair at the front of the stage was right next to the conductor, so that all of the musicians were facing him. It was like they were playing to him. Throughout the piece, he stared above our heads at some point way up at the back of the hall. After all the music was over and it was time to make his exit, he said “I bid you, wherever you are, go boldly, and live long and prosper!” I made a Vulcan salute right back at him.

The Art of Mummification Essay - 1362 Words

In this occupation certain persons employ themselves regularly and inherit this as a craft. (Herodotus) Just as Herodotus recorded, mummification dates back to early 3rd millennium B.C. It may date back many years, but was not perfected till many years later to what we officially call mummification. (Dunand 27) We call it mummification and the bodies mummies because of the Persian word for bitumen, which is mummia. The reason for this name is because of the dark skin of mummies, which people mistook for bitumen. Bitumen is a mineral formed for a tar like substance. (Becket 31) One of the main reasons to prepare the body, making it look like bitumen, was for the afterlife. After being prepared, they are still being found this day,†¦show more content†¦The most important people in the mummification process were the controller of mysteries, Lector priest, and God’s seal bearer. They were responsible for the religious preceding of the body. (Dunand 38) Many different things were mummified to be put into the elaborate tombs. Soon the process of being mummified became well known to the royals. The royals, when they were buried, had themselves put into elaborate tombs. (David 60) The royals thought that this idea would prevent grave robbers from disturbing their body. Not only were the royals buried in elaborate tombs, but at times members of nobility and officials had elaborate tombs. Common people could have elaborate tombs, but it depended on how much money they had to spend. Along with being buried in elaborate tombs to ward off grave robbers, they would be buried with animals to ward off spirits. The cultures of many people believed that the bull, baboon, cat, bird, and crocodiles were sacred. (Encyclopedia 2) They would specially have the animals mummified to resemble the gods in their religion. (Grace 24) Many cultures mummified there dead, but Egyptians were the most popular. Egyptians dates back all the way to six thousand years ago. They believed that death was the doorway to the next life and that the body needed to be intact to be accepted into the next life. (Becket 30) At first the Egyptians did not want to bury their dead in the rich agriculture, so they buried the dead on theShow MoreRelatedProcedures And The Afterlife, Ancient Egypt1686 Words   |  7 Pagesthe mummification of the royalty and the priest. I believe that understanding this material will allow us to better understand the motivations of the people who lived through this time. It will allow us to understand what motivated these people to achieve so much in their time. It is through this study into humanities that the ancient Egyptians go from being a mysterious culture that amazes us to humans who shared many of our struggles and fears. We will look at a few pieces of various art thatRead More Mummy Case of Paankhenamun Essay1072 Words   |  5 PagesMummy Case of Paankhenamun Works Cited Not Included The work I chose to analyze was from a wall fragment from the tomb of Ameneemhet and wife Hemet called Mummy Case of Paankhenamun, found in the Art Institute of Chicago. The case of the Mummy Paankhenamun is one of the most exquisite pieces of art produced by the Egyptian people during the time before Christ. This coffin belonged to a man named Paankhenamun, which translates to â€Å"He Lives for Amun† (Hornblower Spawforth 74). Paankhenamun wasRead MoreAncient Egypt : The Egyptian God Anubis Essay1244 Words   |  5 Pagespolitical structure, cultural achievement and art. Their religion consisted of up 2000 gods and goddess. Only some were worshiped universally throughout Egypt. They were often represented as being half human and half animal. As an example, the Egyptian god Anubis was half man and half jackal. He is associated with mummification and the afterlife in Egyptian mythology. Egyptian religion was oriented toward people s’ attainment of immortality signifi ed by mummification/preservation of the dead. The doctrineRead More Old Kingdom of Egypt: The Reliefs of Ankh-Neb-Ef941 Words   |  4 Pagespriests could interpret the will of the gods, and the pharaoh were duty bound to follow God’s commands. The relief’s purpose was to assist the priest in his transition to the afterlife. As such, the Egyptian culture discouraged the viewing of such art outside the tombs of their owners. The relief shows a frontal formality for the owners and artists meant them to face straight ahead. The sculptor meant the relief to face the funeral procession and rituals. It is also possible that the relief residedRead MoreEgyptian Religion and Immortality Essay1395 Words   |  6 Pages The most noticing aspect of Egyptian religion is its obsession with immortality and the belief of life after death. This sculpture can show you this on how mummification gave upbringing to complex arts in ancient Egypt. The sculpture is the Mummy Case of Paankhenamun. The artwork is currently viewed at The Art Institute of Chicago. The sculpture was from the third period, Dynasty 22, in ancient Egypt. However, the sculpture has many features to it that makes it so unique in ancient Egypt from anyRead MoreEgyptian View of the Afterlife Essay1687 Words   |  7 Pagesthat will be focused on are the multiple functions of the tomb and rituals, specifically the mummification of bodies. Ancient Egyptian tombs had many functions; the main function being to hold the bodies of the dead. Tombs were typically built during a person’s lifetime and were ready by their time of death (Olson, 2009). Before bodies were put in the tombs, they underwent a process called mummification to help preserve the body and keep it intact. The tomb was also a place where family members couldRead MoreBurial Practices of Ancient Egypt Essay1322 Words   |  6 Pagesprompted the arousal of intricate Egyptian funeral rituals. Funerary Customs Perhaps the most notorious of burial practices originating in Egypt is that of mummification. Why such an extraordinary attempt was made to preserve cadavers may seem illogical to some, the reasons for embalming the dead made perfect sense to the Egyptians. Mummification kept corpses in a desiccate, pristine condition; the body must be suitable for the owner’s spirit to return for a rendezvous, as per Egyptian belief (EvansRead MoreMasks Of Deceased Persons : Ancient Egypt792 Words   |  4 Pages Masks of deceased persons are part of traditions in many countries. The most important process of the funeral ceremony in ancient Egypt was the mummification of the body, which, after prayers and consecration, was put into a sarcophagus enameled and decorated with gold and gems. A special element of the rite was a sculpted mask, put on the face of the deceased. This mask was believed to strengthen the spirit of the mummy and guard the soul from evil spirits on its way to the afterworld. The bestRead MoreProcedures And The Afterlife, Ancient Egypt2023 Words   |  9 PagesWilliam Leaver Ruth Wollersheim Humanities 1025, Sec. 1 11/11/2016 Final Art Essay Funerary Procedures and the Afterlife, of Ancient Egypt In this paper I will plan to discuss in detail the funerary procedures that were used in ancient Egypt. I will pay particular attention as to how the Idea of the afterlife influenced many of the traditions in ancient Egypt that we now think of today. In surveying their beliefs on the afterlife we will begin to get a better picture as to how these ideas affectedRead MoreThe Life Of Ancient Egyptian Religion847 Words   |  4 Pagesconnection belief necessitated that the body remain intact while the soul traversed through the spiritual world. This afterlife belief is what supported the Egyptian art of mummification. Varying across social classes, mummification was an important ritual and rite meant to protect the deceased from loss of eternity or soul completeness. Mummification was a process done only by priests who had the ability to extract human organs without causing damage to the body. Extracted organs were placed in canopic jars

10 Interesting Fluorine Facts

Fluorine (F) is an element you encounter daily, most often as fluoride in water and toothpaste. Here are 10 interesting facts about this important element. You can get more detailed information about chemical and physical properties on the fluorine facts page. Fast Facts: Fluorine Element Name: FluorineElement Symbol: FAtomic Number: 9Atomic Weight: 18.9984Group: Group 17 (Halogens)Category: NonmetalElectron Configuration: [He]2s2sp5 Fluorine is the most reactive and most electronegative of all the chemical elements. The only elements it doesnt vigorously react with are oxygen, helium, neon, and argon. It is one of the few elements that will form compounds with noble gases xenon, krypton, and radon.Fluorine is the lightest halogen, with atomic number 9. Its standard atomic weight is 18.9984 and is based on its single natural isotope, fluorine-19.George Gore managed to isolate fluorine using an  electrolytic process in 1869, but the experiment ended in disaster when fluorine reacted explosively with hydrogen gas.  Henri Moisson was awarded the 1906 Nobel Memorial Prize in Chemistry for isolating fluorine in 1886. He also used electrolysis to obtain the element but kept the fluorine gas separate from the hydrogen gas.  Although he was the first to successfully obtain pure fluorine, Moissons work was interrupted multiple times when he was poisoned by the reactive element. Moisson was also the first person to m ake artificial diamonds, by compressing charcoal.The 13th most abundant element in the Earths crust is fluorine. It is so reactive that it is not found naturally in pure form but only in compounds. The element is found in minerals, including fluorite, topaz, and feldspar.Fluorine has many uses. It is found as fluoride in toothpaste and drinking water, in Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene), drugs including the chemotherapeutic drug  5-fluorouracil, and etchant hydrofluoric acid. It is used in refrigerants (chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs), propellants, and for the enrichment of uranium by UF6 gas. Fluorine is not an essential element in human or animal nutrition. Topical fluoride application, as from toothpaste or mouthwash, was once believed to be effective for the conversion of tooth enamel hydroxyapatite into stronger fluorapatite, but more recent studies indicate fluoride aids enamel regrowth. Trace dietary fluorine levels may impact bone strength. While fluorine compounds are not fo und in animals, there are natural organofluorines in plants, which typically act as defenses against herbivores.Because it is so reactive, fluorine is difficult to store. Hydrofluoric acid (HF), for example, is so corrosive it will dissolve glass. Even so, HF is safer and easier to transport and handle than pure fluorine. Hydrogen fluoride is considered to be a weak acid at low concentrations, but it acts as a strong acid at high concentrations.Although fluorine is relatively common on Earth, it is rare in the universe, believed to be found at concentrations of about 400 parts per billion. While fluorine forms in stars,  nuclear fusion with hydrogen produces helium and oxygen, or fusion with helium makes neon and hydrogen.Fluorine is one of the few elements that can attack diamond.The pure non-metallic element is a gas at room temperature and pressure. Fluorine changes from an extremely pale yellow diatomic gas (F2) into a bright yellow liquid at -188 degrees Celsius (-307 Fahrenh eit). Fluorine resembles another halogen, chlorine. The solid has two allotropes. The alpha form is soft and transparent, while the beta form is hard and opaque. Fluorine has a characteristic pungent odor that can be smelled at a concentration as low as 20 parts per billion.There is only one stable isotope of fluorine, F-19. Fluorine-19 is highly sensitive to magnetic fields, so it is used in magnetic resonance imaging. Another 17 radioisotopes of fluorine have been synthesized, ranging in mass number from 14 to 31. The most stable is fluorine-17, which has a half-life just of under 110 minutes. Two metastable isomers are also known.  The isomer 18mF has a half-life of about 1600 nanoseconds, while 26mF has a half-life of 2.2 milliseconds. Sources Banks, R. E. (1986). Isolation of Fluorine by Moissan: Setting the Scene.  Journal of Fluorine Chemistry.  33  (1–4): 3–26.Bà ©guà ©, Jean-Pierre; Bonnet-Delpon, Danià ¨le (2008). Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry of Fluorine. Hoboken: John Wiley Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-27830-7.Lide, David R. (2004). Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (84th ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0566-7.

Index Funds and Mutual Funds Free Essays

Whether money is be the root cause of evil or not, I don†t know. What I do know it that since the dawn of man, the concept of currency had been intimately intertwined with human society. It helps form the basis of governments, and most laws. We will write a custom essay sample on Index Funds and Mutual Funds or any similar topic only for you Order Now The world stock market is where these global force that powers our atomic age society merges into a complex matrix of financial void; opportunity in it†s most complex form. The raw power of the stock market that can either bring a man to rapid success, or completely ruin him. Two of the prominent worlds of the stock market are the topic for this research paper: Index Funds and regular mutual funds. To my horror, these two terms are incredibly vague words and each have many different parts with their own specific characteristics. I will be comparing and contrasting the over shared characteristics of both kinds of stock market investing. Let us begin by explaining what both these terms actually mean. Indexing, in its simplest form, means buying all of the stocks, bonds or other instrument of a market, or asset class, instead of trying to pick winners and losers. Index investors are content with the average performance of a market. When they invest, they buy all an amount of all the stocks within the index with the knowledge that some individual stocks will gain and some will lose. The hope and assumption is when investing in index funds, that the overall net change of all the stocks in the index average out to a gain. This is usually the case as the normal trend for a market is to gradually climb. Index investors are skeptical that on average a money manager can improve on the average performance without raising risk. They are even more skeptical after fees are subtracted. The best known index, the Standard Poor’s 500 (SP 500), is a collection of the top 500 major US stocks. However there are dozens of others, including the Euro Top 100, the largest European stocks; EAFE, a broad global index of companies from numerous countries; and the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index, a collection of government and commercial bonds. Other names for index investing include â€Å"asset class investing† and â€Å"passive investing.† As the name suggests, passive investing is basically a no brainier. The philosophy is not to worry about what individual stocks will gain or lose but to place your risks on the market as a whole. An asset class is simply a category of investment, such as stocks or bonds. No surprises – You instantly know whether your gaining or losing as your profits are based on the overall conditions of the market, or at least the section of the market you invested in. With an actively managed mutual fund investment, you may not know until the very end that the fund manager just lost you or gained you a great deal of free money. Low maintenance – No thinking required. In this sense its kinda like a slot machine just on a much larger scale and on a slot machine†¦ you never win. There is no debating over which stocks to buy, for how long to keep them. Your money stays put; you always know where it is unlike mutual funds where its always being shuffled around. Low Taxes – Taxes on distributions among shareholders is significantly less with index funds as opposed to mutual funds. This saves time and money. Low Expenses – Stock managers charge money. The better they are, the more they charge which boils down to the more you make, the more is taken out of you profit. The average general stock fund takes 1.5% of your assets each year for expenses. Some funds charge much more. The average index fund charges only 0.46%, which means more of your money, is left behind. Lower risk – As you invest in an index, your stocks are generalized throughout the market. This diversification holds a lower risk then picking out individual stocks yourself. Average returns – Investing in an index fund means you’ll never beat the market. You’ll never even match it, since fund expenses will knock a little off your returns. And even though most actively managed mutual funds don’t beat the market over time, a few managers have consistently posted outstanding performances. No downside protection – Mutual fund managers often increase their holdings of bonds and cash if they think the market is poised to fall. Index funds offer no such safeguards: If the market plunges, you’ll go down with it. That’s why most financial planners say index funds are best suited for long-term investors who can ride out dips in the market. High minimums – While index funds generally have low expenses, you may need a lot of money to get started. For example the Vanguard fund requires an initial investment of $3,000 to go into one of its popular index funds; other funds require $1,000 to $5,000. And once you’re in, it might be expensive to get out: Many index funds charge a fee to investors who don’t hold onto their shares at least a year, or more. No fun – Like I said, it†s a no-brainer. Which means you sit and watch your money travel up and down a little red line on you television screen while watching CSPAN. Not as exciting as getting the newspaper the next day and finding out your fund just quintupled. A mutual fund is a company that combines, or pools, investors’ money and, generally, purchases stocks and/or bonds. Ideally, a fund’s size and efficiency, combined with experienced management, provide advantages for investors that include diversification, expert stock and bond selection, low costs, and convenience. In terms of legal structure, a mutual fund is a corporation that receives preferential tax treatment under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. The most common type of mutual fund, called an open-end fund, allows investors to buy and sell stock in it on an ongoing basis. The mutual fund issues shares of stock to investors in exchange for cash. However, unlike most cooperations do, mutual funds don†t issue a set amount of shares; new shares are issued as each new investment is made. Investors thus become part owners of the fund itself, and thereby the assets of the fund. The fund, in turn, uses investors’ cash to purchase securities, such as stocks and bonds. This makes up the majority of the assets that the fund makes for itself. There are two main types of mutual funds, a load and no-load fund. Basically speaking, a load fund is one that has a sales charge, and a no-load does not. Those that do have sales charges simply add them on to the net asset value of the fund, thus coming up with a new, higher offering price per share. The underlying values of the fund†s shares do not change. An investor selling shares will still receive only the net asset value. A no-load fund is simpler. The net asset value is used for both the purchase price and the selling price. Therefore, the two prices are always the same. Diversification – As opposed to independent stock investing. Your money is more diversified but not as Cost – Again, as opposed to individual investing. Funds usually have trading cost discounts and can spread internal cost over the large shareholder base. Professional Management – You have a professional fund manager who watches the stock and decides where it should go and when it should go there. Tax planning difficult – because the timing of taxable distribution is uncertain. You cannot choose the sale dates for yourself and therefore there is much uncertainty on when your taxable distributions are made. Uncertainty – For competitive reasons with other mutual funds, the funds usually don†t disclose the report of a transaction until after its been made. This leaves you constantly one step behind in knowing where you money is. Manager changes – A fund can all of a sudden change a manager which you will not find out about in a timely manner. You don†t know who†s handling your money and have little control over it yourself. How to cite Index Funds and Mutual Funds, Essay examples

Traveling Down The Road free essay sample

Describe how the experiences you’ve had, the people you’ve met, and the activities you’ve joined have prepared you to reflect the honesty, integrity, and willingness to give back as expected of a Daniels Scholar. Life is full of adventures, and it’s our choice to choose the right path or not. During our long journey to success, we always make little mistakes, but learn them a long the way. It is a part of life that we explore, have fun, and to try something different for a change. Maybe to make the best time for today and in the future so it won’t always be boring and difficult. Life is like an obstacle course, it has many challenges that we have to go through that can make us struggle. Life has many difficulties that we all face that makes us weak, but later on we get stronger by learning them. We will write a custom essay sample on Traveling Down The Road or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page My life is being compared to a car on a long drive. A new car that has never been driven before is like me walking for the first time and start to explore new things and new areas that I’ve never seen or been to. My ideas and my way of life started to open up more. I wanted to try new things and have fun with my friends in my old quiet neighbor hood. Later on when I was a little bit older, I start to realize that life is not always perfect. Experiencing that un-perfect life was a hard thing to deal with. It was difficult for me to face and made me weak, but later on I got stronger everyday. I tried not to deal with my emotions and tried to make things right again. My road was rough like a dirt rocky road going up a mountain, then turned out to be smooth like a pavement road. The rough areas were starting to go away into the smooth areas. I got my emotions together to start a new era. I started changing the person who I am. I was little and weak transformed into young women wi th stronger emotions. When school was about to start again in the year 2003, I was starting to be a fifth grader and be in a new school called Skyview Elementary. I had no friends for the longest time till this girl name Morgan started talking to me. I noticed for a couple of days that she didn’t have any friends either. Morgan and I started to hang out more during recess and after school during the year. I thought to myself that my life is starting to get better, until I met her dark side that I never knew she had. One day during recess we were playing a game on the play ground. She taught me how to play a game that I’ve never heard. I listen to the instructions carefully and thought I understood clear enough. When we played, Morgan stopped the game right away. She yelled at me saying I was playing it all wrong. We tried playing it again. She stopped then slapped me in the face. I got mad and asked â€Å"Why did you slap me for?†. She yelled back at me said â⠂¬Å"You’re playing it wrong†. We stopped playing and hardly talk to each other after that. During the school years through middle school, I was alone at first, trying to get use to a new big school and new faces around. Later on I made new friends, bad friends that I always got in trouble with, but I started getting mature and getting my act straightened out. During my freshman year in high school, I started to make better friends along the way. I met my best friend Ashley during my freshman year. We’ve been friends for three years now and we always help each other when we are in need of help. Our three years of friendship, we’ve only gotten into two little fights, but we always work things out. Together till the end, the friendship will last in our memories and in our journey. My life hasn’t always been successful in my journey, but it isn’t over yet. In journey, I will keep going to my success. I will not give up on my pride and integrity. I will be strong.