Thursday, January 23, 2020

Test Bias Essay -- Bias in Mental Testing

In the helping professions such as psychology, counseling, social work and education, it is imperative that we as professionals understand tests and be able to administer them properly to our clients or students. Tests should be carefully selected, as each has a purpose and as we are aware, there are biases within various tests. A biased test is one in which there are methodical distinctions in the meaning of test scores correlated to different groups. Most tests are well-formulated; however none are absolute. Tests are often administered to make substantial conclusions that will affect the lives of the test-taker. The test-taker is unaware of these biases that are in favor of or in opposition of specific groups of people and the results could have a major effect on the test-taker. Testing has become a major aspect of the American society. In academic settings, tests scores are used in determining if a student will graduate high school, selecting students for admission to college, placing students into special education, and various other reasons. Within the corporate arena, businesses may use testing to select individuals for job placement. In the United States, testing is inescapable, and test results could have an extensive influence on individuals. Despite the commonality of testing there is a large discrepancy of results between individuals of certain races, social class, and geographical locations. It was previously suggested that the generous gap in test scores were due to differing educational systems, however researchers now seek other justifications. Is it possible that these tests are erroneous? Did they measure what they were intended to measure? Individuals in the field of education, who agree that individua... ...ork: Free Press. Hilliard, A.G., III (1995), ed. Testing African American students: special reissue of the Negro Educational Review. Chicago: Third World Press. Jencks, C. and Phillips, M. (1998), eds. The black-white test score gap. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. Jenson, A.R. (1980). Bias in mental testing. New York: Free Press. Matarazzo, J. (1972) Wechsler’s measurement and appraisal of adult intelligence. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins. Reynolds, C.R. and Brown, Robert T. (1984), eds. Perspectives on bias in mental testing. New York: Plenum Press. Thorndike, R. (1971). Concepts of cultural-fairness.Journal of Educational Measurement,  8(2), 63-70. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/pss/1433959 Whiston, S. (2009).  Principles and applications of assessment in counseling. (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Risk Management: New Challenges and Opportunities for Insurance Sectors

Risk management can be described as like the other management procedures of identification, assessment and prioritization of risk. Actually risk management is very much equal to walking on the rope. As defined in ISO 31000 the effect of uncertainty on objectives whether it positive or negative. Risks can come from uncertainty in financial markets, project failures, legal liabilities, credit risk, accidents, natural causes and disasters as well as deliberate attacks from an adversary. Risk Analysis Risk analysis is the process of systematically identifying and assessing the potential threats and uncertainties that occur when trying to achieve a certain goal (such as completing a project), and then finding a reasonable strategy for most efficiently controlling these risks. Risk analysis also helps to define preventive measures to reduce the probability of these factors from occurring and identify countermeasures to successfully deal with these constraints when they develop to avert possible negative effects on the competitiveness. Insurance The most common tool used in risk management is insurance. Besides the standard health, life, and possibly disability insurance, we have to look at the types of liability and property insurance that may we need. Specialized insurance for particular risks in business can also be necessary. For instance, in an industry a chemical component is used in production process, they need special toxic risk insurance. A sense of security may be the next basic goal after food, clothing, and Shelter. An individual with economic security is fairly certain that he can satisfy his needs (food, shelter, medical care, and so on) in the present and in the future. Economic risk (which we will refer to simply as risk) is the possibility of losing economic security. Most economic risk derives from variation from the expected outcome Need for awareness on insurance products Life insurance and general insurance have more products to facilitate the customer needs. According to most of the surveys individual lack the awareness, literacy and skills to adequately assess their needs for financial and social protection and to choose appropriate insurance services. Raising awareness and educating on individuals are challenging priorities for research studies. Because of trends towards increased responsibility of the individuals for the management of risks and coverage, as well as consequences wrong or inappropriate decisions. The education process in the insurance sector involves different types of stake holders’ insurance authorities, insurance entities and intermediaries, other insurance providers, distributors, NGOs and customers themselves. Importance of insurance Importance of insurance is definitely increasing and expanding. Households should be encouraged and provided with the possibilities to enhance their awareness, responsibility to the coverage of their overall risk exposure as well as their understanding the knowledge of insurance products. Yet little research has been undertaken on this subject. With in a frame work of general financial education insurance subject is being handled. Better understanding of financial products can be given to potential consumers. Evaluation of risk in new areas of personnel insurance Increase in perceived and real risk. Emerging catastrophic bond markets shows the rise in risk levels. The range of conventional and new large scale risks seems to have expanded and their frequency has increased. They included risk related to industrial (Bhopal), natural (earthquakes, floods), terrorist attacks, new technologies risks (cyber crimes), Health risk against new diseases. Enhanced needs and demand for risk coverage: Broad increase in savings interest of population started investing in assets like houses, buying materials like gold, investment in financial markets have to be protected. The relative complicity and heterogeneity of insurance products develops confusion among the non expert consumers, as they need insurance. Existing products and new age products have to be updated to the present scenario. Responsibility of the insurance companies to get the feed back from the consumers. Know the difficulties in getting their service. Short term mindset of consumer does not encourage them to get long term coverage. Various studies will help the sectors to study the consumer’s knowledge about the insurance products. Tools like the number of complaints received from the customers, questionnaires to collect the position of the consumer can be used. Innovation of Insurance opportunities in capital markets The capital market risk usually defines the risk involved in the investments. The stark potential of experiencing losses following a fluctuation in security prices is the reason behind the capital market risk. During the global financial turmoil of 2007 and 2008, the stocks were worst affected, even well performing stocks are also beaten up. This is a characteristic feature of capital market. How ever in the time of market fluctuation and turbulence volatile seasons investors losing their hard earned money. Loss occurred to the investors makes the disbelief in capital market and views the market as a gambling spot. Resulting further investment in capital markets by them is stopped. Stock market has to search for another investor. The interest of protecting the investment of the investor is maintained by SEBI and Government of India through its policies, guidelines and certain regulations. Monitoring the markets fraudulent, watc hing the short selling, bulk Purchase, inside trading, etc†¦.and helps logically to protect the investors by legitimately. Apart from SEBI and government interest some professional system has to emerge for protecting investments. Many researches have to be done to provide an insurance system or scheme to capital market securities. Financial innovation has allowed many types of risk to become more tradable including like credit, interest rate, foreign- exchange risk and equity. Risk transfer and a new system for protecting investments of investors in capital market securities have to be analyzed. Emerging capital markets needs investments in a continuous mode. Then only corporate of India can adventure into expansions, mergers and acquisitions to proceed their plan for development. Recent turmoil experienced that no IPO issue got success and others likely to issue IPO is delayed. Financial risk transfer and transparency have been dominant themes since the World War II. Insurance risk comes in many varieties and also segmented into broad categories e.g. life, mortgages, car loan, assets against theft, fire, flood, earth quake, corps. Financial innovation has allowed many type of risk to become tradable including credit, interest rate, foreign exchange risk. The potential market is vast, with total premiums of all the world’s insurers equaling to US$ 4.1 trillion. Most insurance are asset based securities. Treating the investments of securities in capital market as a product and providing insurance as like other risk class is the idea behind the research. Increasing trend in insurance linked securities attracted the research concept. CAT bonds were issued against catastrophic risks such as windstorms, (hurricanes, typhoons) and earth quakes. These serve as collateralized protection for extreme event risk at a multi year fixed price. Industry loss warranties, CAT bonds, cat swaps are triggered by specific indexes. The purpose of the research is to extent insurance linked securities concept and providing an insurance coverage at a premium for expected loss. All progress is born of inquiry. Doubts is often better than overconfidence, for it leads to inquiry leads to invention†-Hudson maxim Any research on this topic will give a better beginning of new innovation to one of the financial market instrument of capital market. Financial institutions, government funds and large retail participants from house hold savings floods the funds to capital market. Further more the inventions to the betterment of the system will bring the trust in the mind of investor. The capital market provides both overnight and long term funds and uses financial instruments with long maturity periods. The following financial instruments are traded in this market are Foreign exchange instruments, Equity instruments, Insurance instruments, Credit market instruments, Derivative instruments. This research deals for the investments in equity stocks. Insurance and Reinsurance Insurance companies are in the business of assuming risks from individuals or companies. They manage those risks by diversifying over a large number of policies, Perils and geographic regions. A particularly difficult problem is the management of risk from high severity, low probability events (catastrophe risk, or â€Å"CAT† risk), such as that posed by major earthquakes or hurricanes. The risk from low severity, high probability events (for example, auto collision or medical insurance) can be diversified by writing a large number of similar policies. Suppose that the insurer charges a premium equal to the expected average annual loss and has a very large number of policies. By the law of large numbers, it can expect to pay out approximately this amount in claims in each year. Under the CAT bond scenario, investors purchase the bond and exchange a principal payment now for future coupon (interest) and principal payments. These payments are contingent on loss experience or the occurrence of a specified catastrophic event. If the bond is not triggered, the investor receives full coupon and principal payments over the life of the bond. If the bond is triggered, the investor may lose the right to future coupon payments, principal payments or both, depending on the type of bond Methodology 1. Formulating the research problem and extension of literature survey. Selecting the securities for investigation from NSE India from Nifty stocks in which investment is going to be insured. Collecting data for period ten years from web sites of NSE and several associated agencies for the frequency of peeks and deeps of price movements. Comparing the data with existing technical analysis theories for trigger price calculating. For the same period of time fundamental analysis has to be done for the same stock. Knowing stability and financial performance of the stock then correlating the both analysis and finding the stocks for making model. . 2. Development of working hypothesis& Building model. After extensive literature survey a model has to be build. Testing for hypotheses for the formula arrived. Development of working by hypotheses is to be state in clear terms. Working hypothesis is intensive assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences. Conclusion The contribution that the research should make an exposure to the insurance companies to concentrate and find possibilities to take the investment made in capital market as product. By two ways this research will benefit the society one is protecting the investment of the investor by which building the trust and make the continuous investment in capital market through that the market may get regular in flow of funds. Another is new business emerged to the insurance companies. Reference http://finance.mapsofworld.com/primary-market/problems-indian.html

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

New England Patriarca Mafia Essay - 2693 Words

Organized crime in the United States keeps the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in a never-ending investigation of criminals suspected of the infiltration of legitimate businesses. A notorious twentieth century organized group was the New England Patriarca Mafia, or N.E.P.M.. Originating in 1915, the N.E.P.M. evolved over the early twentieth century decades, until 1954 when Raymond Loredo Salvatore Patriarca was donned as boss* and promptly began to expand its power. Due to mafia-related language that will be present throughout the paper, a page of definitions is supplied at the end of the paper. Defined words throughout the paper will be noted with an asterisk, â€Å" * †. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;To gain a basic knowledge for what†¦show more content†¦nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Raymond Patriarca was born on March 17, 1908 in Worcester, Massachusetts to Italian immigrants Eleuterio and Mary Jane (DeNubile) Patriarca. At age three, the Patriarca family relocated to Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island, where his father opened a liquor store. Spending 59 of his 76 years of life being classified as a criminal*, Patriarca wasted no time in earning his nickname of the â€Å"King of Rackets†. It started at age seventeen, when he served his first jail sentence for a liquor law violation. His first known criminal position was serving as a guard for mafia bootlegging shipments as well as a hijacker of rival shipments. At age 21, he was imprisoned again, but this time being convicted of federal offenses including conspiracy to murder, armed robbery, violating the White Slave Act*, adultery, auto theft, and breaking and entering. In the late 193 0s, Patriarca gained attention from the mafia and became an important Lieutenant and Hitman for Phil Buccola, the current New England mafia boss. In 1938, Patriarca was convicted of carrying a gun without a permit, possession of burglary tools and the armed robbery of the Brookline Jewelry firm, and was sentenced three to five years in state prison. This case was theShow MoreRelatedBiography Of James Joseph Bulger Jr.1708 Words   |  7 PagesGoodnough). With that being said Whitey was allowed to do this because of his deal with the FBI. Whitey had been swung by the FBI to help them in shutting down a rival of his, the Patriarca crime family. This was part of the mafia that was based in New England. The FBI agents working on shutting down the Patriarca family ignored Whitey’s criminal sanctions as long as it remained violence free. Well Whitey failed to hold up his end of the deal on this one. It was brought to local, state, and federal