Corporate Governance; Executive Compensation Fifteen years ago, in fiscal year 2002, Microsoft granted 254,000,000 stock options to its employees as part of their compensation. The options had an expiration of 10 years and an exercise price of $ 24.27. Assume that Microsoft's dividend rate was 0%, its stock volatility was 0.39, the risk-free rate was 5.4%, the Microsoft stock price on the date of grant was $ 24.27, and the number of outstanding shares was 10,700,000,000. 1. What was the fair market value of all these 2002 executive stock options on their date of grant, according to the Black-Scholes formula? 2. Suppose that Microsoft used a different compensation policy and decided to grant shares of stock to its employees instead of stock options. How many shares would the company have to issue the same amount of economic value as calculated in the answer to question 1 above? Assume the stock price is $ 24.27 per share. 3. If the stock's volatility was 0.39, then Microsoft's shares had a two-thirds probability of rising or falling by 39% or less over the next year. If the stock had risen 39% over the next year, what would have been the value of the options granted in question 1, and what would have been the value of the shares granted in question 2? If the stock had dropped 39% over the next year, what would have been the value of these shares and options? Assume that volatility, dividends, and the riskfree rate are unchanged. 4. Based on your answer to question 3, which would have been the best compensation policy for Microsoft: delivering an equal amount of economic value through shares or through options? In reaching your conclusion, what goals and assumptions would you consider most important to you? Are you surprised that in the years since 2002, Microsoft and many other firms have shifted their equity compensation away from options and largely towards shares? Credit Derivatives Suppose you are structuring CDO consisting of three bonds. Each of the bonds has a probability of 8% over the next seven years and a recovery rate of 0.35. The coupon payment on each of the three bonds is 5% per year, compounded annually, but paid at the end of six years. (Assume that the recovery rates apply to the amounts received at the end of six years for the principal and the compounded coupon. ) Suppose also that the underlying assets of the CDO consist of equal amount invested in the three bonds, ie, for a notional amount of $ 390 million, with equal investment of $ 130 million in each bond. The CDO is split into two tranches, a senior tranche and an equity tranche. The interest rate during the 6-year period is constant at 6% per annum. 1. Assuming that the default events of the three bonds are uncorrelated, draw the tree illustrating the various outcomes and the associated probabilities. (1 point) 2. Draw the cumulative probability distribution of the cash flows at the end of six years from the portfolio underlying the CDO. (1 point) 3. Suppose the credit rating agency requires the senior tranche to have a probability of less than 2% at the end of the maturity of six years to be given an AA rating. What is the maximum and minimum size of the senior tranche in terms of cash flows at the end of six years? If AA bonds with a six-year maturity are yielding 4% today, what is the present value of the senior tranche? (2 points) 4. Compute the maximum and minimum payoffs at maturity to the equity tranche, as well as its value today, if there is in arbitrage. (1 point) 5. Suppose that the three bonds are correlated in the following manner. Bond 1 and Bond 2 are correlated such that, if Bond 1 defaults, the probability of Bond 2 defaulting is 0.6. However, if Bond 1 does not default, the probability of Bond 2 not defaulting is also 0.9. Bond 3 is uncorrelated with Bonds 1 and 2. Redo your calculations for questions 1 to 4 above. (2 points) 6. Go back to the zero correlation case. Suppose a CDS contract is available on one of the issuers of one of the three bonds, Bond 1. Suppose the price of the CDS is 300 basis points per year for six years, payable on a compounded basis at the end of the six years. What is the maximum size of the AAA tranche now, if this one-third of the total portfolio is fully protected against default and the probability of it being tightened to 1%? (2 points) 7. Discuss, without calculations, how your answer might change if the credit rating agency used the expected loss percentage rather than the probability of loss as the criterion for the AAA rating. (1 point) 8. (Bonus) What would happen to the maximum size of the senior tranche in part (6) if the investments in the three bonds are $ 100 million, $ 130 million and $ 160 million, respectively? (Please provide simple calculations if needed.) (2 points)

Go to  the website for the Society for Technical Communication, and research the answers to the following questions.

Write  the answers in your own words using complete sentences.

· What is the Society for Technical Communication (STC)?

What is STC's mission statement? ( Note  this can be quoted from the STC site.)

· To be considered technical communications, communications must exhibit one or more of three characteristics. What are they?

· Name three technical communications careers.

· What is the name of the STC peer-reviewed journal?

· What is a special interest group (SIG)?

· Name one SIG of the STC.

What is your city and state? What professional chapter of the STC is closest to where you live?is your city and state? What professional chapter of the STC is closest to where you live?

· What is (are) the difference (s) between technical  writing  and technical  communication ? Yes, I know this repeats a question from the How-To assignment; by using different words to respond to the question, which you must to satisfactorily respond to each assignment, you automatically delve deeper into this important topic.

· Based on your reading of Ch. 3 and 20 of your text, what are the characteristics of writing at work? What should you keep in mind when writing at work, and how does it differ from writing for school or in your personal life?

Use  APA formatting for your assignment.

Submit  your assignment as a Microsoft® Word document (.doc or .docx) to the Assignment Files tab. Word is the only acceptable file format for this assignment.

1. In your opinion / experience, what is the primary reason for a public administrator to be well educated in financial management? 

2. How can an administrator best learn about programs and services provided by their organization? To what level should they be able to adequately manage the organization's finances?

For the essay, you will need to:
1.    Watch this video: The Kidder Overview of Understanding Ethics: Part 1, 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9z9NVMYj88

2.    Watch this video: Rush Kidder: 4 Paradigms of Dilemmas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wwQ5uTAJ5g

3.    Read this summary of Rush Kidder's book, How Good People Make Tough Choices (PDF file)
http://ssbea.mercer.edu/blanke/Kidder.pdf

4.    Read these articles for some background information:
•    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/business/merck-agrees-to-pay-950-million-in-vioxx-case.html?_r=0
•    http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/26/business/many-see-hope-in-parkinsons-drug-pulled-from-testing.html
•    http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/news/20090701/fda-may-restrict-acetaminophen#1
•    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide
•    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/health/14kelsey.html

5.    Read this New York Times article, New Drugs Stir Debate on Rules of Clinical Trials
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/health/research/19trial.html?scp=1&sq=target:%20cancer%20amy%20harmon&st=cse&_r=0

6.    Write an essay that discusses the ethical issues involved in the New York Times article above about the two cousins.  Make sure to focus on the ethical dilemmas in terms of Kidder's paradigms (where relevant).

7.    Submit your Word doc containing your essay.  (Please remember that your essay needs to be 1000 – 1500 words.)
 

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Order instructions:

(Please choose any TWO of the following assignments) 

I. Criticize the newscast. Observe how many minutes of actual news vs. commercial time, top story, human-interest story, etc. Which stories were teased during commercial breaks? Do you feel like the stories were legitimate news stories? What would you do differently? 

II. Describe the economic and political dynamics that brought about the birth of RCA. 

III. What were the events that led to the "quiz show scandals"? What were the major effects after the scandal broke?

Toulmin Analysis Prompt

DIRECTIONS: Write a 500-700 words (not less than 2 pages) Toulmin analysis essay on the article “Let My Teenager Drink” by T. R. Reid (see the article below).

· Your Toulmin analysis assignment asks you to apply the Toulmin model.

· The basic and most important parts of the Toulmin model are: (1) the claim (2) the Ground (support) and (3) the warrants .

· You can also point out qualifiers for the claim, backing for the warrants and possible forms of rebuttal if they are present in the article. You should also point out (even though they are not formally part of the Toulmin model) who the targeted audiences are and how the article incorporates ethos, pathos, and logos.

· Remember that figuring out the targeted audience will help you come up with warrants, and when the audience changes, the warrants change as well.

Tips: In your introduction paragraph:

· introduce the author and the title of the article

· summarize the article

· write your own thesis/opinion sentence

In the body paragraphs, discuss the CLAIM, GROUND, WARRANT(S) and any other Toulmin terms you find in the article.

Let My Teenager Drink

By T.R. Reid May 4, 2003

My 16-year-old called me from a bar. She said my 17-year-old was there, too, along with the rest of the gang from high school: "Everything's fine, Dad. We'll be home after last call."

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Like many other parents, I knew my teenagers were out drinking that Saturday night. Unlike most American kids, though, my daughters were drinking safely, legally and under close adult supervision — in the friendly neighborhood pub two blocks from our London home.

My kids could do that because Britain, like almost every other developed nation, has decided that teenagers are going to drink whether it's legal or not — and that attempts at prohibition inevitably make things worse.

Some countries have no minimum drinking age — a conservative approach that leaves the issue up to families rather than government bureaucrats. In most Western democracies, drinking becomes legal in the late teens. In Britain, a 16-year-old can have a beer in a pub if the drink accompanies a meal. Most publicans we knew were willing to call a single bag of potato chips — sorry, "crisps" — a full meal for purposes of that law.

And yet teen drinking tends to be a far more dangerous problem in the prohibitionist United States than in those more tolerant countries. The reason lies in the law itself. Because of our nationwide ban on drinking before the age of 21, American teenagers tend to do their drinking secretly, in the worst possible places — in a dark corner of the park, at the one house in the neighborhood where the adults have left for the weekend, or, most commonly, in the car.

Amid a national outcry over an epidemic of "binge drinking," the politicians don't like to admit that this problem is largely a product of the liquor laws. Kids know they have to do all their drinking before they get to the dance or the concert, where adults will be present.

On campus, this binge of fast and furious drinking is known as "pre-gaming." Any college student will tell you that the pre-game goal is to get good and drunk — in the dorm room or in the car — before the social event begins. It would be smarter, and more pleasant for all concerned, to stretch out whatever alcohol there is over the course of an evening. But Congress in its wisdom has made this safer approach illegal.

Our family currently has kids at three U.S. universities. The deans of all three schools have sent us firm letters promising zero tolerance for underage drinking. In conversation, though, the same deans concede readily that their teenage students drink every weekend — as undergraduates always have.

The situation would be vastly easier to manage, these educators say, if they could allow the kids to drink in public — thus obviating the "pre-game" binge — and provide some kind of adult presence at the parties.

But those obvious steps would make a school complicit in violating the prohibition laws — and potentially liable for civil lawsuits.

The deans lament that there is no political will to change the national drinking age — or even to hand the issue back to the states. Politicians, after all, garner support and contributions from the interest groups by promising to "stop teen drinking."

But, of course, the law doesn't stop teens from drinking. "Most college students drink . . . regardless of the legal drinking age, without harming themselves or anyone else," writes Richard Keeling, editor of the Journal of American College Health.

As a wandering Post correspondent, I have raised teenagers in three places: Tokyo, London and Colorado. No parent will be surprised to read that high school and college students had easy access to alcohol in all three places. In all three countries, kids sometimes got drunk. But overseas, they did their drinking at a bar, a concert or a party. There were adults — and, often, police — around to supervise. As a result, most teenagers learned to use alcohol socially and responsibly. And they didn't have to hide it from their parents.

In the United States, our kids learn that drinking is something to be done in the dark, and quickly. Is that the lesson we want to teach them about alcohol use? It makes me glad my teenagers had the legal right to go down the street to that pub.

Assignment Directions

You will submit a final draft of the educational research proposal specified below using the Proposal Template. The sections of the Proposal you will complete now and for which you must provide the final draft are:

• Introduction
  • Problem Statement

The research problem is significant and researchable using quantitative methodology.

• Purpose
• Review of Related Literature

The Review of Literature, one of the three articles of the final proposal. The review thoroughly evaluates the quality and accuracy of the article based on established criteria. The review clearly addresses all of the following:minimum of three articles for the final proposal. The review thoroughly evaluates the quality and rigor of the article based on established criteria. The review clearly addresses all of the following:

• The relevance of the article to your research study.
• The article's topic provides a foundation or support for your research study.
• The research hypotheses were related to your research study.
• The conclusions of the study were supported by the data in the study.

The conclusions establish or support the need for your research study.

• Methodology

The Methodology section presents a clear, detailed, and appropriate description of the following:

• Research Design
• Research Hypothesis
• Null Hypothesis
• Independent Variable
• Dependent Variable
• Definition of Key Terms
• Participants and Sampling Plan

The Methodology section demonstrates knowledge of the relationship between the different elements of the methodology.

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Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

 Disorders of Development or Aging

video link

https://www.ted.com/talks/wendy_chung_autism_what_we_know_and_what_we_don_t_know_yet?utm_campaign=tedspread–b&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapters 15 and 17 in the course text, as well as the article titled “Ethical Considerations in Geriatric Neuropsychology,” and view Dr. Chung’s Ted Talk, Autism – what we know (and what we don't know yet) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Pick a disorder of brain development (e.g., onset during childhood) or aging (e.g., dementia due to a neurodegenerative disorder). Explain the symptoms, how the diagnosis is made (e.g., findings on brain imaging, laboratory testing, etc.), the neurobiological basis for the disorder (e.g., CNS structures involved and neurotransmitters), and current treatment options (including mechanism of action for any drug therapies). You must use a minimum of two peer-reviewed articles in your discussion to support your statements.  

Guided Response: Review several of your colleagues’ posts and respond to at least two of your peers by 11:59 p.m. on Day 7 of the week. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful interactive discourse in this discussion. In your response you must comment on the neurobiological basis for the disorder that your classmate has described as well as at least one current and relevant research study related to diagnosis or treatment of the disorder.

Part 1. Your Personal Discourse Community: In groups, discuss a membership / interest group you belong to: a book club, sports team, fraternity, sorority, stamp collecting group, gaming group, a church group, even a closed Facebook page w/a specific focus. Identify the following points:

· What are the group’s agreed upon common goals?

· How do group members communicate with each other?

· How do participating group members provide information and feedback to each other?

· What genres or forms of communication, topics, and texts do members of the group use to uphold the purpose of the group?

· What specific forms of language does the group use exclusively, including specific terms, “lexis” (jargon), and / or acronyms?

· What is the relationship between novice and expert members in your group?

Write a 1-1/2 to 2- page paper, double-spaced, and formatted in APA style, discussing your findings.

Prepare an 8-10–page report in Word. This report should include a project history of your recent Trillo Apparel Company District 4 Production Warehouse Move experience over the last five weeks.  Your final report should include the following sections: •Executive Summary  •Project Performance and Status Report  •Organizational Structure  •Project and Administrative Teams  •Project Risk and Change Management  •Project Management Techniques Employed  •Conclusion   Include appropriate reports from your final project plans to corroborate your overall report. You may also use diagrams, charts, and other visual aids to make your report more effective. Assume that the report will be presented to the Board of Directors of Trillo Apparel Company. Your report should be done in the APA style.  In addition to the report, prepare an 7-9–slide presentation in PowerPoint that summarizes key aspects from the report.

Assignment 1 Grading Criteria     Maximum Points     An 8-10 page final report is prepared for the Trillo Apparel Company Board of Directors that includes each of the seven sections identified.      100     The report is detailed and provides supporting documentation      40     The report includes a detailed status report      40     Included a 7-9 slide PowerPoint presentation for presentation to Trillo Apparel Company Board or Directors.     60     The presentation is professional in appearance and geared toward the correct audience.     30     Used correct grammar, spelling, and word choice and cited all sources using correct APA style.     30   Total:  300