Saturday, May 23, 2020

How to Play Chinese Liars Dice

Throughout China, Liar’s Dice (è ª ªÃ¨ ¬Å Ã¨â‚¬â€¦Ã§Å¡â€žÃ© ª °Ã¥ ­ , shuÃ… huÇŽng zhÄ› de shÇŽizi) is played during holidays, especially Chinese New Year. The fast-paced game can be played by two or more players and the number of rounds is limitless. Players usually agree to a predetermined number of rounds or set a time limit but none of that is set in stone; new players and additional rounds can be added as the game goes along. While the number of players and rounds may be casual, Liar’s Dice can also be quite intense as its traditionally a drinking game. In China, in addition to holiday celebrations, its also common to see it being played at bars, in clubs, and even outdoors at sidewalk restaurants. What Youll Need to Play Liars Dice One cup for each playerFive dice for each playerOne table How to Play the Game The first player, Player One, is determined by rolling the dice to see who has the highest number. Once play has started, the winner from the previous round goes first. If there are more than two players, decide in advance if the play will move clockwise or counterclockwise around the table. Each player has their own set of five dice. In some places, the dice you have is known as your stash. The total number of dice (five per player) is known as the pool. All of the players: Place the dice in the cup.All of the players: Cover the cup with your hand.All of the players: Shake the cup with the dice inside.All of the players: Place (or slam) your cup upside down on the table, keeping your stash hidden from view.All of the players: Lift the cup and look at the dice, being careful not to reveal what youve rolled to anyone else.Player One calls how many dice of a certain value are on the table. This number is based on the entire pool, including his or her own stash. For example, Player One could call out, â€Å"two fives.† At this point, the remaining players can either accept the call and move on to the next player, or they have the option of calling Player One a liar. (It doesnt matter whether Player One has a five or not. Bluffing is not only allowed—its actually encouraged. What matters is if the next player believes Player One is bluffing and calls him or her out on it.)If Player One is believed, the next person becomes Pl ayer Two. Player Two must now call out a number that is of greater value than the previous call. For example, if Player One called out â€Å"two fives,† Player Two must call out a minimum of â€Å"three fives.† â€Å"Three fours† or four twos† would also be unacceptable. However, even if the numerical face value is higher, Player Two cannot call out anything less than three of something. (For example, two sixes is not a legitimate call.) Again, if the Player Two is believed, the play moves on to the next player.When a players call is not believed, he or she is called out as a liar. At this point, everyone must reveal their dice. If the player who made the call is correct, the player who called him or her out must pay the forfeit. If he or she is incorrect, the forfeit is theirs. Once the forfeit is paid, the round is over and the winner begins the next round. If its drinking game, the forfeit usually involves doing a shot of whatever the player is drinking . Of course, you dont have to drink to play Liars Dice. Forfeits can also be money or some form of token.Subsequent rounds simply repeat the actions of the first until the predetermined number of rounds or the time limit is reached—or the players simply decide to call it quits. Tips for Players of Liars Dice In some versions of the game, the one is considered a wild number, which means it can be played as any number between two and six.Beware of cheaters who use the edge of their cup to turn their dice as they return it to the table after seeing what theyve rolled.When the venue becomes too noisy, players often use hand signals to indicate their calls rather than shouting them out. The first number is the how many, the second number is the value of the dice. The hand signals are as follows: One: Hold up your hand and extend the pointer finger upward.Two: Hold up your hand and extend the pointer and middle fingers upward into a V-shape (like a peace sign).Three: Hold up your hand and extend the pointer, middle, and ring fingers upward.Four: Hold up your hand and extend the pointer, middle, ring and pinky fingers upward.Five: Hold up your hand with all five fingers extended upward (like a stop sign) or pinch all five fingers together.Six: Fold the pointer, middle, and ring fingers into a fist and extend the thumb and pinky fingers outward.Seven: Make a fist and extend the thumb outward and pointer finger downward.Eight: Make a first and extend the thumb upward and the pointer finger forward (like a gun).Nine: Make a fist, extend the pointer finger and curve it (like making a C).Ten: Make a fist or using two hands, extend the pointer finger of the right hand upward and with the left hand extend the pointer finger to the right and cross it with the right hand forming a sig n.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Using the Spanish Phrase A Pesar De

A pesar de is one of the idioms that Spanish uses the most often to convey the idea of in spite of or despite. A related phrase, a pesar de que, is often translated as even though or even if. Grammatically, these phrases are known as terms of concession, meaning that they are used to diminish the importance of what follows. Pesar is the verb for to weigh, but that isnt important here because the phrases have meanings of their own. The difference between a pesar de and a pesar de que is that the former acts as a preposition in that it is followed by an object such as a noun or pronoun, while the latter is followed by a clause (a subject followed by a verb). Using A Pesar De For example, see how a pesar de is followed by an object in these sentences: El matrimonio es và ¡lido a pesar del error ortà ³grafico. (The marriage is valid despite the spelling mistake.)A pesar de sus problemas, es fà ¡cil hablar con à ©l. (In spite of his problems, its easy to talk to him.)Einstein era mal alumno a pesar de su inteligencia. (Einstein was a poor student despite his intelligence.)A pesar de no estudiar, he aprobado el curso. (In spite of not studying, I have passed the course. Note that although estudiar is a verb, it can be an object because it is an infinitive functioning as a noun.)A pesar del voto de este domingo la decisià ³n final no està ¡ en manos de los puertorriqueà ±os. (Despite the vote this Sunday, the final decision isnt in the hands of Puerto Ricans.)Su sinceridad y su fortaleza, a pesar de sus dificultades, fueron una gran leccià ³n para mà ­. (Her sincerity and her strength of character, despite her difficulties, were a great lesson for me.) Using A Pesar De Que But a pesar de que is followed by a noun (or pronoun) with an accompanying verb. That verb should be in the subjunctive mood if the action of the sentence is hypothetical or has yet to occur. Me gusta el esquiar a pesar de que el equipo de esquà ­ es caro. (I like skiing even though ski gear is expensive.)Fuimos a la playa a pesar de que hacà ­a viento. (We went to the beach even though it was windy. Note that the subject of hacà ­a is implied rather than specified.)A pesar de que voy a clases de canto desde hace mucho tiempo, no puedo bailar. (Even though Ive been going to classes since a long time ago, I cant dance.)Casandra preferirà ­a vivir con su hermano a pesar de que à ©l sea pobre. (Casandra would prefer to live with her brother even if he is poor. Note that the subjunctive is used because of the hypothetical nature of the sentence.)No puedo ganar dinero a pesar de que vaya a cumplir 25 aà ±os en octubre. (He cant earn money even though he is going to be 25 years old in October. Note that the subjunctive of ir is used because because it refers to a future event.)Te extraà ±o a pesar de que estamos juntos. (I miss you even thought were together.) Common Phrases Using A Pesar De Two everyday phrases including a pesar de are shown in boldface in these sample sentences: A pesar de los pesares, la tormenta ya no es una amenaza. (In spite of everything, the storm still isnt a threat.)A pesar de todo seguimos adelante. (Despite everything, were continuing forward.) Two Related Phrases: Pese A, Pese A Que The phrases pese a and pese a que can be used in the same way as their longer counterparts: Pese a ello, la organizacià ³n de las elecciones sigue siendo un campo de disputa. (Despite this, the organization of elections keeps on being a field of dispute.)Dijo que pese a su fortuna, el dinero no es su principal motivacià ³n. (She said that despite her fortunate, money is not her principal motivation.)Pese a que estaba roto el aire acondicionado, estuvimos un buen rato allà ­ dentro. (Even though the air conditioning was broken, we were in there for a good while.)La habà ­a completamente olvidado, pese a que vi la pelà ­cula un millà ³n de veces. (I had completely forgotten the film, even though I had seen it a million times.)

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Article Reflection Free Essays

In the article it goes over five steps to introduce vocabulary and to teach/ instruct it in a way that will actually resonate with the students. The 5 steps can be compared to the drill and kill method often used with vocabulary terms, which is useful sometimes, but the lasting knowledge is not as well remembered. The first step, key characteristics of vocabulary instruction, deal with multiple exposures, freeloading key vocabulary, and nonlinguistic representations, which we do in class through the use of brain pops, pictures rain during notes, and posters created in class about specific topics. We will write a custom essay sample on Article Reflection or any similar topic only for you Order Now Step two, is using those tier 3 words that are specific to our content with the mixture of tier 2 and tier 1 vocal. Step three, is a print rich environment where students have their work on the walls representing terms learned as well as posters or chances to write/read. Step four is building on vocabulary strategies or, to put in simple terms, routine of studying vocal. Step five is having digital tools to support the previous steps. I have put these strategies o use in my class with a very good response from my students. Overall they seem to be able to manipulate the terms and then reuse them in the proper way, but also using the term outside of the context learned. I consider this very good because most of the time students will simply use the examples giving in class; which is more memorization than actual retention and comprehension. Below I show you how used each step in class: Step 1: Exposing students to vocabulary in multiple ways such as: flash cards ‘posters created/stories/videos/did grams Step 2: In notes and explanations I use terms like infer, identity#y’, resolve, and other terms that can be used in other areas, but we partner them with tier 3 words that are specific to science. I have heard the students use words in multiple classes that we have studied in my class as well as others. For example they use infer a lot in both social studies and science. Step 3: Student have created their own print rich environment through creating posters, writing stories, giving explanation essays, and creating diagrams. Step 4: Students have learned what to expect when it comes to learning about new vocabulary in class. Typically it will be introduced in their notes along with a picture or demonstration so we may refer back to it. Then students will usually get some kind of worksheet that emphasizes the terms. Followed by hands on activity where they actually must apply those terms and manipulate. Final step is usually creating flashcards or simply answer vocabulary terms. How to cite Article Reflection, Papers

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Private Equity Performance

Question: Discuss about the Private Equity Performance. Answer: Introduction In modern world, the pressure is greater than the earlier times which has created a huge impact on the running of business. There is a wide range of instruments in the derivative world, which have to be considered and handled in todays world. The costs have increased to a larger extent as the inefficiencies of operations has increased. The range of assets is growing endlessly, by the passage of time and thus, the requirement of managing such assets is increasing. The instruments of derivatives and equity had arrived much earlier, but the use is growing in the recent times. The private banks and fund managers are engaged in the usage of new types of market instruments. The instruments carry a huge amount of risk in the manner of processing and others, which form a part of the portfolio of the client. There are a number of areas which requires variances and development due to the challenges in terms of the structure of an organization, development of products, process of investments, c ommunication structure, legal and compliance, management of risks etc. The intelligent managers are growing at a faster pace by the creation of new products and markets, by shifting from the traditional strategies and ideas to a modernize market ideology and strategies (Aouni et al., 2014). Portfolio and performance of Equity As stated by Aouni et al., 2014, the emergence of financial economy has lead to substantial advantages for the mediocre- income countries and the developing ones, globally. The opening of the financial plans has brought about great deal of motivation for the investors all around the world. They are able to expand and specialize in the choice of investments, in the local and international assets, which has increased the rate of returns as per their expectations. They are also able to increase their financial ideas and also fund the plans of expansion. The investment procedure is becoming more efficient which is leading to a boost in the living and other standards of investors. Globalization of financial markets has demonstrated a double sided nature. The country which has increased the economic growth, through liberalization has also increased the risk of crisis in the financial growth and development. Portfolio flows has been a major controversial aspect of financial downfall in most countries across the world. As stated by Klingebiel, Rammer, 2014, Asset allocation is the strategy to balance the risks and rewards, in which the portfolio assets are apportioned as per the requirements of an individual. There are two major forms of portfolio allocation which are as follows: Strategic asset allocation: It requires the setting up of targets for the allocation and then rebalancing of such portfolio in a periodical manner. The procedure is similar to the buying and holding and not the trading concept. The allocation targets changes over a period of time as per the change in the investors goals and objectives and as per the horizon of time. Tactical asset allocation: It allows a range of percentages in a class of assets which consist of a minimum and maximum percentage of acceptances by an investor, in order to gain advantage from the market conditions and factors. Thus, one can move upward to the higher end of range when the stock expectation to grow better increases; and move towards the lower end of range after the expectation grows miserable and depressing. As discussed by Bodie et al., 2014; for the management of investment, there are two basic approaches: Active management of asset: It is based on a fundamental principle that, by following a particular style of analyzing produces returns and rewards which can control the market activities. The inefficiencies present in an economy can be turned into an advantage, and it is escorted with higher than average costs. One who is in the favor of the approach of active management,the selectionof the stock is usually based on the following styles: Top Down approach One, who follows such approach, firstly looks at the whole market scenario and policies which help in the determination of the likelihood of such industries which will grow well, given the present cycle of economic flow. After the making of the choice, specific stocks are selected on the basis of companies which will prove to be an advantage as per the particular industry. Bottom Down approach One, who follows such approach, ignores the conditions of market and the trends which are expected to continue for every year. The companies are put under an evaluation procedure, in which they mark on the strength of their financial statements and other criteria. The main ideology and concept behind following such approach, is that a strong company is likely to develop and grow no matter what economic and market conditions occur and prevail. Passive management of asset: It is based on a principle, that there is efficiency in every market scenario and that the returns from the market cannot exceed in a regular manner. The investments of lower costs which are to be held for a longer term can help in the gathering of the best returns and advantages. One who is in the favor of the approach of passive management,the selectionof the stock is usually based on the following concepts and theories: Efficient market theory The above theory forms the basis of an idea that the information which creates an impact an emphasis on the market and economy is easily available and processed by all the investors. The information consists of changes in the management of the company and interest rate announcements and others. The believers of such theory consider that there can be no way to thrash the market average. Indexing To gain advantage from the efficient market theory, index funds can be used. Also, a portfolio can be developed which would be a mimic of a special index. The index funds mostly consist of transaction costs and expense ratio, which are lower than the average of the same. They help in surpassing the actively funds which are managed well and have higher costs and expenses. Investors must consider the need of investing in a fast developing firm or low priced industries. These judgments can be passed by looking at the key financial metrics described below: Growth Investing The style of growth and returns decides the investors point of view of deciding the portfolio to be considered. An investor looks for the firms that have higher earnings, rates of growth, return on equity, margin of profit and lower yields of dividend. The Investing on growth is based on the idea that, if an industry has all the above features, then it is earning a lot in terms of monetary value and also is innovating in its field of service. Thus, the growth is at a much greater pace and also it is in the process of the reinvestment of its majority earnings to continue the growth stability and development in the future times. Value Investing The style of investing focuses on the trading of strong industries at a good value. They look for a lower price to earnings and price to sales ratio and a higher yield of dividend. The value style shows the price of buying and investing. Also, the preference for investing in small or larger companies is a question of investors. Thus, the measuring capacity of a company size is called capitalization of market or cap for short. The capitalization of a market is the number of shares outstanding, of a stock which is multiplied by the price of share. Smaller Cap Few investors believe that small capitalized companies are capable in the deliverance of better returns as they have huge amount of opportunities for development and are swifter in nature. However, there is a high risk for the greater returns which can be derived from those small caps. Also, the firms which are smaller in size have lesser resources and often they have less diverse lines of business. The share prices are much wider and flexible which cause huge losses or gains. Thus, investors can be comfortable in undertaking such extra levels of risk, if they want to acquire greater rewards and returns. Larger Cap The major risk avoidance investors are more comfortable with the stocks of larger caps. The larger caps such as Microsoft and GE have been around for a while and have overpowered the industries. These industries are unable to develop in a quick manner as they already are so huge in nature and size. However, they are unlikely to get out of the business without any warning. The larger cap investors can be expected to gain slight lower returns as compared to the smaller caps. But, the risk is higher in smaller caps and larger in larger caps (Beringer, Jonas Kock, 2013). Thus, the above decision should be taken as per the style which will be a fit for the investors and will feel comfortable while holding for a longer term. A risk is the measure of possible value of losing or gaining of expected returns, delivered from an investment. It is very uncertain and there are various types of risks which form the part of the market and economy. As stated and discussed by Pinedo Walter, 2013 the risks are defined and described below: Investment Risks To make suitable recommendations and decisions from an investors point of view, the concept of risk undertaken while making an investment must be understood well and efficiently. Every investment carries certain amount of risk and vulnerability which is associated with the nature and amount of risk which can be overcome by an investor. One should understand the trade off requirement between returns and amount of risk which are assumed by investors who are willing to face such risks in order to achieve their financial goals and objectives. Interest Rate Risks It is a possibility of a debt with fixed rates to decline in the terms of value, which is a result of a potential increase in the rate of interest. The investors on buying the securities with a fixed rate of return expose themselves to a higher rate of risks. This is possible for bonds and stocks and cant be denied. Business Risks The measuring of the risks which are in association with the particular securities and bonds are considered under the business risks. It is also known as unsystematic risk and all businesses in the similar industry comprises of similar business risks. To be more specific, all the business risk refers to the possible situations in which the stock or bond issuer faces bankruptcy and become unable to pay off the interest and principal amounts in case of bonds. Also, a common and easy way for the avoidance of such unsystematic risks is the diversification by the buying of mutual funds, as they hold stocks and bonds of many various companies. Credit Risk The possibility of a particular bond issuer to not make the payments or principal repayment as per the expected rate of interest is referred to as the Credit risk. The higher interest rate of bond increases the credit risk of a particular bond. Taxability Risk The risk of security which was issued with the status of exemption, have a potential expectation to lose the status before the maturity. Since, the bonds of municipal nature carry a lower rate of interest than the fully taxable ones; the holders of bond will have a lower yield as per their expectations. Call Risk The possibility of a bond security to be called up before the maturity period is known as the call risk. It moves parallel to the risk of reinvestment and the bond holder must be capable of finding an investment which can provide same amount of income for the amount of risk. When the rates of interest are declines, call risk becomes more active as the companies trying to avoid expense will redeem the issue of bonds and replace with lower rate of interests. Inflationary Risk The risk of purchasing power and inflationary is used interchangeably and, it is the chance of an asset to erode off as inflation causes decline in the currency of a country. It is also the risk of an investment declination, which is caused by the future inflation. In order to fight strongly against such risks, appreciable investments should be taken resort of, as they can stay ahead of inflation over a much longer period of time. Liquidity Risk It refers to the possibility of an investor to be able to buy or sell an investment and as per the desire and sufficient requirements as there are limited opportunities. It can be overcome by sale of real estate and in most cases there is no difficulty in the sale of such property and assets. Market Risk Systematic risk and market risk is interchangeably used and it refers to the risk which can affect all the securities in a similar way. It is a risk which cannot be controlled by result of diversification and the important point is the correct way of recommendation of mutual funds. Reinvestment Risk The bonds which are on the verge of becoming due are often forced to buy securities which do not provide same income levels, unless the credit or market risk capability of the investor increases. It is the risk which the declining rate of interest will lead to decline in the flow of cash from an investment. It happens when the payments of the principal and interest rates are reinvested at lower rates. Political or legislative Risk The risk which is associated with the possibility of the actions of government or social changes and results in the lowering of the value is termed as social, political or legislative risk. Currency or Exchange Risk It is a type of risk which arises from the fluctuations in currency of one country with the country. If a countrys asset comprises mainly of foreign assets, then it can be a major issue, as the risk increases when the currency of such country drops particularly (Teller Kock, 2013). The risk of currency is lower in case of long term investments as they have time to level off the risk over the time period. Conclusion Thus, on the survey of the various types of investments done above, we can get an overall view that most of the investments are full of risk and are unpredictable on majority basis. The various approaches of investments are described above which very well explains the risk and reward of the same. The global financial structure and economical conditions are changing and the requirements of the investors are changing accordingly. The pattern of the investor and the trends followed by the modern investors are explained above. Thus, we can conclude that there various factors and instruments which define the nature of risks. The instrument which can perform the best is analyzed and thus to take a portfolio decision, one needs to attain a super knowledge about the different theories and approaches connected with the same. The best analysis tools should be used and performed and the risk and rewards must be evaluated as per the requirements of the investors. The investors must be highly updated with the types and manner to avoid all kinds of risk which prevail in the market place. The risk considerations for both the short and long term investors are provided which concludes that long term risks can be avoided more easily and strongly. References Aouni, B., Colapinto, C., La Torre, D. (2014). Financial portfolio management through the goal programming model: Current state-of-the-art.European Journal of Operational Research,234(2), 536-545. Available online at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221713007959 Beringer, C., Jonas, D., Kock, A. (2013). Behavior of internal stakeholders in project portfolio management and its impact on success.International Journal of Project Management,31(6), 830-846. Available online at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263786312001627 Bodie, Z., Kane, A., Marcus, A. J. (2014).Investments, 10e. McGraw-Hill Education. Available online at https://101.99.50.98:8080/dspace/handle/TVDHKT/22462 Klingebiel, R., Rammer, C. (2014). Resource allocation strategy for innovation portfolio management.Strategic Management Journal,35(2), 246-268. Available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smj.2107/full Pinedo, M., Walter, I. (Eds.). (2013).Global Asset Management: Strategies, Risks, Processes, and Technologies. Springer. Available online at https://books.google.co.in/books Teller, J., Kock, A. (2013). An empirical investigation on how portfolio risk management influences project portfolio success.International Journal of Project Management,31(6), 817-829. Available online at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263786312001688