Sumitomo Corporation And Yasuo Hamanakas Copper Scandal Finance Essay

Sumitomo Corporation And Yasuo Hamanakas Copper Scandal Finance Essay The financial world had been confronted heavily by trading scandals in 1995, with Japans Daiwa Bank and the rouge trader, Nick Leeson. When it seemed the scandals couldnt get much worse, the Sumitomo Copper Scandal emerged. This was the biggest scandal in the history of commodities trading and ranked in the top five trading losses in financial history up until the late 1990s. Sumitomo Corporation is a Japanese trading house, which is currently one of the largest worldwide trading companies headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. In the 1990s Sumitomo owned large amounts of both physical copper, which was stored in warehouses and factories, as well as numerous futures contracts. Copper was a relatively small market compared to other metals, such as aluminum. According to Andrew Beattles article, The Copper King: An Empire Built on Manipulation, copper is an illiquid commodity that cannot be easily transferred around the world to meet shortages. For example, a rise in copper prices due to a sho rtage in the United States will not be immediately cancelled out by shipments from countries with excess copper. This occurs because moving copper between storage and delivery costs money, which can cancel out the price differences. It is important to note that Yasuo Hamanaka was the chief copper trader of this trading house, and attempted to corner the entire worlds copper market leaving Sumitomo with a loss of more than $1.8 billion (Beattle). WHAT HAPPENED: For ten years, Yasuo Hamanaka had successfully managed to control the worlds price of copper. He eventually came to control five percent of the entire supply of copper, which may not seem like much considering ninety-five percent was in other traders hands (Beattle). However, due to the fact the abundant and cumbersome challenges that exist in the copper market (in movement, delivery, etc.) and the fact that even the largest traders in the market owned an even smaller percentage, Hamanakas five percent was indeed very significant. During the ten years of his manipulation he was able to use Sumitomos size and large cash reserves to corner and squeeze the market through the London Metal Exchange. The London Metal Exchange is the worlds biggest metal exchange. Furthermore, the London Metal Exchanges copper price essentially dictated the worlds copper price at the time (Beattle). Although the London Metal Exchange was large in size, it was fairly poor in terms of regulation. In fact, this exchange had little to no regulation at the time of Hamanakas rampant market manipulation. The Sumitomo Copper Scandal lasted for about a decade due to these negligent and almost nonexistent regulations on behalf of this particular exchange. To put the entire crisis into laymens terms, one must first understand that Hamanaka was taking a long futures position on copper and simultaneously buying up a substantial amount of physical copper as well. This caused any one trader who took a short futures position to have to buy long positions in order to cancel out their short positions. Due to the fact that Hamanaka had a large number of long positions, those people looking to buy them had to pay increasingly higher prices. These skyrocketing futures prices are what Hamanaka was able to control; the more the prices rose, the more money he made. This is because those with short positions were still paying this higher price in order to liquidate those positions. Another way that Hamanaka was making money was that while these prices continued to rise, some people holding short positions thought that instead of paying a high price for a long position they would buy the physical copper and deliver it to the holder of the long positi ons. So, because Hamanaka also owned 5% of the physical copper he could charge a very high price to those with short positions because they didnt want to keep paying money to liquidate their short positions. Essentially, he was making money by owning long futures as well as physical copper. WHY: There are no assured reasons as to why Hamanaka engaged in such illegal trades. Perhaps he felt pressured to maintain the consistent levels of annual revenue for Sumitomos traditional copper business-about ten billion dollars. He would therefore maintain his reputation as a phenomenal copper trader as well as his firms dominance in the commodities market. It is also important to note that individuals such as Hamanaka, do attempt to corner the market in order to create an unfair advantage by purchasing a significant amount of shares. This eventually increases the price of shares, making them appear to have a greater value. As the price of the shares continues to rise, more buyers become attracted, and then demand further increases the price of the shares. This causes short sellers to be driven out of the market through a short squeeze. In the article Short Squeeze, it explains that a short squeeze is a situation in which an increase in the price of the stock triggers a rush of buying activity among short sellers. Therefore, it is necessary for the short sellers to buy stock in order to close out their short positions to minimize their losses, causing a further increase in stock prices. Overtime, this causes one to sell their holdings at an artificially inflated price and then leave their investment or opt to sell their shares with the knowledge that the price will decrease once normal supply and demand forces return (Investing Answers). WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE: Yasuo Hamanaka, also referred to as Mr. Copper, was the former copper trading chief for Sumitomo Corporation. Following research of the Sumitomo Copper Scandal, one can confidently say that Hamanaka is the key player who is held responsible for the 2.6 billion dollar loss over a ten-year period. In fact, the article, Sumitomo Corporation states that, it believed that Mr. Hamanaka was solely responsible for the unauthorized trading (215). His attempted action to corner the worlds entire copper market by falsifying financial records and forging signatures alluded to such a significant loss for the company. It is also important to note that prior to the discovery of Hamanakas accumulation of illegal trades, he was given a great amount of responsibility within the company. This was because he was perceived by top executives to have superior knowledge and experience within copper trading. Therefore, one can also conclude that the top executives within the corporation can also be held responsible for the Sumitomo Copper Scandal. This is because the Sumitomo Corporation and senior management did not have secure safeguards in place to ensure that they knew exactly what their employees were doing. Furthermore, Hamanakas reputation as being a superstar copper trader only worked to solidify the lack of regulation and discipline (Sumitomo Corporation). When Sumitomo Corporations reputation began to tarnish from individuals outside the company, they responded to the allegations by stating that Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase were the two banks responsible. In the article The Copper King: An Empire Built On Manipulation, author Andrew Beattle explains that Sumitomo Corporation claimed that Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase granted the loans to Hamanaka via future derivatives; hence the two banks kept the scheme going. Consequently, both banks were found guilty to some extent (Beattle). RIPPLE EFFECTS ON THE MARKET: Historically, there has been a close correlation in the behavior of metal prices. When one metal falls, the others tend to follow. However, the Sumitomo announcement did not harm other metals despite the recent dramatic drop in copper prices. Copper is a relatively small market compared to other metals, such as aluminum and gold. The price of the metal was above $1.25 a pound in New York in early May of 1996, but it fell to $1.04 on June 13, just before Sumitomo announced its loss. Following the announcement, copper was trading at about 89 cents (Wall). The decline in prices of copper before the Sumitomo scandal was believed to have risen from people being concerned about the number of new copper mines that were planned and the potential supply problems that it could bring about (Wall). Copper prices fell ten percent in the weeks following Hamanakas removal (Fletcher), however, prices had been falling for a while, and the scandal only exacerbated the trend (Uchitelle). The main effect of Sumitomos losses was the decline in public confidence in financial institutions. Americans wondered how well their local financial institutions were handling oversight of management. They also were concerned about a temporary decline in stock prices as well as higher interest rates for money to seek to borrow from banks (Uchitelle). The dollar is driven by peoples perception of commodity price movements, and although the dollar had weakened before news of the Sumitomo scandal, the fall in copper prices has contributed to the dollars softness (Wall). The Sumitomo affair concerned the United States about the openness of Japans financial system and the implications for interest rates. These worries as well as the copper crisis had contributed to the decline of the yen. The collapse in copper prices also hurt the Australian dollar. RISK MANAGEMENT ERRORS: In the Sumitomo copper scandal, the financial debacle originates from the failures of proper risk management. By entering into fictitious trades for over ten years and manipulating several accounts, Hamanaka successfully misled his management into believing that he was making huge profits. Hamanaka had been trading on the London Metal Exchange forward market for copper. Sumitomo was the largest participant in the physical market for copper-he handled twice the volume as his competitors. Hamanaka was known in the copper markets as Mr. Five Percent because Sumitomos copper trading team traded approximately 500,000 metric tons of copper a year, which was five percent of the total world demand for copper (Weston). In regards to risk management, whenever any hedge fund or speculator who was aware of manipulation tried to take short positions, Hamanaka invested more money into his positions, thus sustaining a higher price because he dominated the market. However, despite these illegal practices no action was taken against Hamanaka because of the profits he generated for the company (Weston). There are several reasons from a management perspective as to why the scandal carried on as long as it did. The middle office may have bypassed early warning signals perhaps because Hamanaka was perceived as an experienced senior trader. Hamanaka was chief of the trading office and intentionally had an incentive to maximize profit opportunities through illegal ways. Employees within the firm may have allowed the fraud to occur by turning the other way. This is a case of decentralization (Tschoegl). The Sumitomo scandal has provided valuable insight and enables one to appreciate and understand the importance of internal and external controls. If there had been any controls, it is believed that the scandal would have been detected much earlier and before a loss of $1.8 billion. WAS IT PREVENTABLE? IF SO, HOW? The Sumitomo Copper Crisis was, at its core, a very preventable crisis-almost embarrassingly so. The huge financial swings that the copper market saw in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a result of Hamanakas indiscretions were exactly that: the result of one mans greed and indiscretions. Hamanaka initiated and participated in the illegal trade of copper-like making off the book deals in order to recover unrealized losses-and incited a wave of regulatory laws by the London Metal Exchange and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Hamanaka exploited various agents and partnerships in his ten-year long market-manipulating extravaganza. He was able to do this due to serious misgivings and loopholes in the commodity futures markets, as well as taking advantage of gaps in the chain of command and knowledge. Hamanaka maintained two different sets of trading books: one that recorded fabricated profits for the Sumitomo Corporation and another real record of all the off-the-book and under-the-table deals that were made to maintain control of the market. This long-term interference and domination of the copper market was nonetheless very hard to maintain due to one key fact: in order to corner a commodities market, the company must actually hold the assets, which presents an additional strain on resources and funds. This very requirement may be the answer to preventing scandals like this in the future (Wall). As aforementioned, the Sumitomo Copper Crisis was largely unavoidable simply because one mans poor decisions affected the rest of the affiliated market. The essence of the problem was unauthorized trading that the culprit undertook to enhance his firms profitability and then his own career and pay, Adrian Tschoegl mentioned in The Key to Risk Management. However, the true debacle is a result of a lack of internal and external controls. The Sumitomo Corporation, which was divided into essentially three separate offices (front, back and middle), simply did not harbor or even encourage communication between departments and sectors (Tschoegl). The middle office (which is responsible for one of the most key business functions: risk management) can easily be said to have failed most spectacularly in this scandal. The lack of risk awareness and management led to a loss of $1,800 million dollars and a stain on the Sumitomo name, all because of a decentralized, non-communicative corporate str ucture (Tschoegl). The most effective approach to avoiding something like this in the future is basically three-pronged: more and better management-level controls, independent transaction monitoring, and more stringent regulation (of the London Metal Exchange, by the government, and of corporations e.g. corporate social responsibility) (Tschoegl). The management-level controls should consist of a conscious effort at centralizing every part of the company, as well as maintaining strict inter-company discipline and training. Independent transaction making should be monitored so no two-book accounting systems are permissible; that is to say, that there is a system of checks and balances within the corporation to ensure above-board transactions. In terms of regulation on behalf of various agencies and governments, its only necessary to say that more of it is probably needed to avoid price manipulation. Perhaps a system of rigorous reporting and accounting policies could be implemented, which would strength en the markets effectiveness anyways. CONCLUSION: Its fair to say that the Sumitomo Copper Crisis leaves the skilled and careful trader with a few pivotal takeaways. First, both internal and external management controls are absolutely crucial to the success of any company, but if said management is left to run unchecked through the system, mishaps and misdeeds are bound to occur. Strict and standardized corporate training and discipline is the remedy to this pitfall. Second, given the right amount of determination and finesse, the market on almost any given commodity can be cornered, for better or for worse. Events like this, despite their far-reaching negative implications for the perpetrator, always help make the market a more efficient and fluid network. The lessons that are learned from scandals such as the Sumitomo Copper Affair in the long run only work to better and enhance the market.

Geography of the Bahamas :: Essays Papers

Geography of the Bahamas The Bahamas are located in the Atlantic Ocean 49.7 miles (80 km) southeast of Florida and 49.7 miles (80 km) northeast of Cuba. Some neighboring islands to the Bahamas are Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, is located on the island of New Providence. The Bahamas encompass 700 islands and 2,000 cays, yet 30 to 40 of them are inhabited (thebahamas.com). The Bahamas are a large scattered group of islands called an archipelago. The land mass covers an area of about 4,566 sq. miles (11,825 sq. km) (Thompson 27), roughly the size of New Jersey and Connecticut combined. The islands of the Bahamas cover approximately 259,000 square miles (670,810 sq. km) of ocean (countrystudies.us). The total coastline is 2,200 miles (3,542 km), which is about 25% of all the land that makes up the Bahamas (cia.gov). The coastlines are fringed with mangroves, lagoons and coral reefs. The foundation of the Bahamas is a mixture of fossil coral and sand. There is low scrub cover across many of the islands. The northern Bahamas are considered a savannah as it consists of flat grasslands on dry harsh lands. The highest point located in the Bahamas is Mt. Alvernia on Cat Island reaching a height of 320 feet (97.54 m) (cia.gov). The only river and fresh water lake in the entire archipelago is located on Andros Island. The climate of the Bahamas is a tropical marine system. There are only two seasons in the Bahamas. Summer includes the months of May through November, while the winter months consist of December through April. Both seasons are controlled by the warm Gulf Stream and the trade winds. Moderate temperatures range from a low of 60Â °F and a high of 90Â °F (thebahamas.com). In the summer, the sea temperature is consistent around 80Â °F and generally 74Â °F by mid winter (thebahamas.com). The Bahamas get 132 cm (25 inches) of rainfall annually which mostly occurs from the occasional summer showers (Thompson 28). More often than not these rainfalls are followed by numerous days of sunshine and clear skies. Winds tend to blow easterly and rarely reach speeds greater than 13 mph creating those warm balmy sea breezes.

Tradition v.s Common Sense

Traditions are a very Important aspect of human life. They are seen as another way of life. Many traditions teach things of value to children, things which parents hope will be passed on to future generations. In many societies however, traditions have taken over the common sense of the people.Nowadays, humans blindly follow traditions, not knowing or even acknowledging what they are really doing. Whether It Is a celebratory tradition or a tradition that has been followed since ancient times, unmans will not question the motives behind it; they will just continue to follow it. In the short story â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson, villagers blindly follow their annual tradition, one that claims a life every year.All the villagers take part in this event knowing that there will be death yet no one dares to stop and question It, Even when some people do stop and question the reasons that began the tradition, they will not do anything about it because it is a tradition that ha s been followed countless and they do not want to be the only ones to question it or even worse, not follow it. This shows that human beings will tolerate acts of evil and Injustices In traditions, making them unable to step out of that circle and see what is really going on because of their preference of tradition over common sense.It does not matter if the tradition FIFO Traditions have been around for thousands of years, even before civilized human life began. They have been performed all over the world, in all points of time. In the overview by Joyce Moss and George Wilson, it is explained that ancient cultures believed sacrifices were necessary to benefit the community. In fact, during ancient times a tradition similar to â€Å"The Lottery' was such â€Å"a highly regarded mean of decision-making that eventually most civic matters were resolved by. † Joyce Moss & George Wilson) This is because traditions were among the main parts or sections of ancient human life.Even n ow, traditions are still a big part of human life. Many traditions around the world are a huge thing for humans. They will make special foods, decorations, and even rituals. However, many of these traditions are performed without thought. Many traditions are followed because it has been done before, no one has questioned it before, and so there is no reason to stop it now. In â€Å"The Lottery' one can analyze that the original meaning and aspects of the tradition have indeed been lost and that the tradition is followed Just because.The analysis made on study mode suggests that â€Å"Substituting slips of paper for chips of wood, a recital prior to the lottery, and a salute to address each person† are some of the aspects that have changed prior to the original lottery, the first one that began everything. (Analysis of the Tradition in Shirley Jackson's â€Å"The Lottery') It also mentions that the actual tradition has remained a routine. This leads to the conclusion that th e lottery is no longer continued because of the tradition, but because it has been done for so long it Just feels right to continue to follow it.In many societies, rituals are part of the traditions. Many believe these rituals are performed because of religion or a similar idea. What people do not know is that not all rituals are needed or performed because of religion. Many rituals are Just performed because of tradition. It does not matter if the ritual is harmful and has a active impact on society; many societies will still perform them Just to keep the tradition going. The short story, â€Å"The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson, shows a perfect example of this.The people of the town still perform the ritual because of the tradition held every year. They do not care if someone they love or care for dies; they just want to follow the tradition. Even the own family members participate in the ritual, which is stoning one of their own family members to death. These types of rituals are i ncredible acts of evil but humans still participate in them. In the last section of the overview by Jennifer Hicks, she explains very thoroughly the tradition of stoning. In it she explains that it was a standing ritual.She does mention that the â€Å"original paraphernalia for the lottery has been lost long ago. † (Hicks) There is a part in the story where old man Warner stated, â€Å"Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon. † This refers to human sacrifices benefiting the community with food, which is something that by the time the story takes place, which is around the 1700 to sass, should be known that it is not real. So why do they continue to do this? It is the simple reasons of following a tradition. There are many concerns on why human beings follow traditions that are inhumane instead of using their common sense.Most of the issues are due to the fact that many rituals followed by humans consist of bloodshed or even death. In many societies, traditions play a big r ole, causing more and more people to be a part of them. The main dilemma is why people accept traditions that sense that traditions that involve bloodshed and death can be no good to societies, especially societies filled with children. Traditions like these will only poison the minds of the young with the idea that a tradition must be followed no matter what. The reason people do not stop them is because they do not want to stand out.In the book â€Å"Shirley Jackson† by Friedman Lineman, it explains that Shirley Jackson was new to a small town when she moved. She did not really know anybody so she did not participate in the town's traditions. This caused other towns people to look at her weird, like an outsider. This can reflect on her short story of â€Å"The Lottery', in which the analysis can be made that Mrs.. Hutchinson was an outsider, not so much of Ewing new but the type that does not do what everyone else does, in this case, the tradition of the lottery.It is clea r that these traditions have taken over the common sense of the people. Now, people do not think before acting. They Just follow traditions to the letter. They do no stop to think about their traditions and if they are beneficial or plain out dangerous. They Just do not want to stand out; they want to be the same as everyone else. It is around these thoughts that the main concern revolves around. Humans will argue that traditions are needed when the reality is that they are not. They have gotten surrounded so much by traditions; it is like a second language to them.The short story â€Å"The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson explains how human beings in the village have been blinded by a tradition, which is the lottery. With careful analysis, it is easy to spot all blind actions carried out by the villagers. Everybody seems nice and Joyful throughout the story until the very end. â€Å"It seems as though Jackson is making a statement regarding hypocrisy and human evil. † (Analysis of the Tradition in Shirley Jackson's â€Å"The Lottery') What Shirley Jackson wants us to realize y writing this story is that people are so blinded by traditions; they might kill someone thinking it is alright.Shirley Jackson uses ideas similar to these to suggest that there is an underlying evil and weakness in human beings. The village, having performed such an act for so many years, continues on with it, with no complaints or questions being asked, and the main purpose being to carry on the tradition. In the story, it states, â€Å"There's always been a lottery says Old Man Warner. â€Å"Nothing but trouble in that,† he says of quitting the event. (122) However, almost all the villagers how some type of anxiety or fear toward the tradition.Comments like â€Å"Don't be nervous Jack† (122) and â€Å"Get up there Bill† (123) indicate that the people may not be entirely comfortable with the lottery. Yet everyone still goes along with it. Nobody openly express es or shows their fear toward the lottery. Shirley Jackson may be trying to show the reader that many individuals are not strong enough to go against or stand up to their disapproval for the fear of being rejected by their own society. Instead, the villagers will continue to risk not only their lives, but the lives of their Emily members as well.She makes suggestions that human beings are not always who they seem and can turn their back on you at any time for the sake of their beliefs, or in this case, tradition. Throughout history, humans have made the choice to choose their traditions over their common sense. They do not think of the effects that will be caused because of their actions. Nowadays, people in societies continue to follow traditions or â€Å"trends† side to watch an argument, accident or incident, rather than stepping in and doing something about it.They do not step in because they do not want to stand out in front of everybody else; they do not want the spotli ght on them. They are frightened that they will be rejected later on. It is the same thing with traditions. Human beings do not care if there is death in the tradition, they will continue to follow it as long as they do not stand out and are not rejected or looked down on. This shows that human beings will tolerate acts of evil and injustices in traditions, making them unable to step out of that circle and see what is really going on because of their reference of tradition over common sense.People need to stop and think about the effects caused by traditions instead of Just blindly following the traditions of their ancestors. If this is not stopped, future generations will continue to make blind choices as well, due to the lack of common sense. Works Cited â€Å"Analysis of the Tradition in Shirley Jackson's â€Å"The Lottery†. † Studded. Com. Studded. Com, 2008. Web. 2008.. Friedman, Lineman. Shirley Jackson. Boston: Twenty Publishers, 1975. Print. Hicks, Jennifer. â €Å"Overview of the Lottery. † Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2002.

The Quakers vs. The Puritans essays

The Quakers vs. The Puritans essays The Quakers were considered to be more liberal of all the new religious practices found in America. The Quakers didnt have any education on their practices because they saw no need for it. Everybodys own interpretation of the written word was as valid as the next persons. The term Quakers was actually considered derogatory they preferred to be called Professors of the Light or Friends, which was the most common term. The term Quaker was used to describe the people who tremble at the word of the Lord. The Quakers belief was extremely different of that of the Catholic Church, and the beliefs that were held by the Pilgrims and the Puritans. The Quakers believed that all possessed an Inner light. By finding this inner light you would have the Lords own hand helping you. You would be able to achieve spiritual perfection in a sense. This belief pertained to everyone in Gods eyes everyone was equal. The Quakers were critical in the early history of New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. William Penn was the son of a wealthy landowner and held some power in the English navy. Penns father was a friend with the king and the Duke of York, and several other people of importance at that time. Penn was somewhat of a disappointment because he got thrown out of Oxford University for hold unorthodox religious opinions. Penn was very passionate about the Quaker faith, he wrote forty-two books about his connection to his faith. Penn was awarded a great deal of land (Pennsylvania) by Charles II. The charters that Penn had, allowed him complete freedom in the designing of his own form of government. Some of the things that Penn guaranteed to the settlers were Freedom from persecution, no taxation without representation, and due process of law. Pennsylvania emerged as one of the most liberal colonies and seemed to hold the most vie ...

An Introduction to Hellenistic Greece

An Introduction to Hellenistic Greece The era of Hellenistic Greece was the period when Greece language and culture spread throughout the Mediterranean world. The third era of ancient Greek history was the Hellenistic Age when the Greek language and culture spread throughout the Mediterranean world. Typically, historians start the Hellenistic Age with the death of Alexander, whose empire spread from India to Africa, in 323 B.C. It follows the Classical Age and precedes the incorporation of the Greek empire within the Roman empire in 146 B.C. (31 B.C. or the Battle of Actium for the Egyptian territory). The Hellenistic settlements may be divided into five regions, according to and quoted from The Hellenistic Settlements in the East from Armenia and Mesopotamia to Bactria and India, by Getzel M. Cohen: Greece, Macedonia, the Islands, and Asia Minor;Asia Minor west of the Tauros Mountains;Cilicia beyond the Tauros Mountains, Syria, and Phoenicia;Egypt;the regions beyond the Euphrates, i.e., Mesopotamia, the Iranian plateau, and central Asia. Aftermath of the Death of Alexander the Great A series of wars marked the period immediately after Alexander’s death in 323 B.C., including the Lamian Wars and the first and second Diadochi Wars, wherein Alexander’s followers sued for his throne. Eventually, the empire was divided into three parts: Macedonia and Greece (ruled by Antigonus, founder of the Antigonid dynasty), the Near East (ruled by Seleucus, founder of the Seleucid dynasty), and Egypt, where the general Ptolemy started the Ptolemid dynasty. The early Hellenistic Age also saw enduring achievements in the arts and learning, however. The philosophers Xeno and Epicurus founded their philosophical schools, and stoicism and Epicureanism are still with us today. In Athens, the mathematician Euclid began his school and became the founder of modern geometry. Third Century B.C. The empire was wealthy thanks to the conquered Persians. With this wealth, building and other cultural programs were established in each region. The most famous of these was doubtless the Library of Alexandria, founded by Ptolemy I Soter in Egypt, charged with housing all of the world’s knowledge. The library flourished under the Ptolemaic dynasty and withstood several disasters until it was ultimately destroyed in the second century A.D. Another triumphalist building effort was the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The 98-foot tall statue commemorated the victory of the island of Rhodes against the predations of Antigonus I Monopthalmus. But internecine conflict continued, notably through the Pyrrhic War between Rome and Epirus, the invasion of Thrace by Celtic peoples, and the dawn of Roman prominence in the region. Second Century B.C. The end of the Hellenistic Age was marked by greater conflict, as battles raged among the Seleucids and among the Macedonians. The political weakness of the empire made it an easy target in the ascent of Rome as a regional power; by 149 B.C., Greece itself was a province of the Roman Empire. This was followed in short order by the absorption of Corinth and Macedonia by Rome. By 31 B.C., with the victory at Actium and the collapse of Egypt, all of Alexander’s empire lay in Roman hands. Cultural Achievements of the Hellenistic Age While the culture of ancient Greece was disseminated East and West, the Greeks adopted elements of eastern culture and religion, especially Zoroastrianism and Mithraism. Attic Greek became the lingua franca. Impressive scientific innovations were made in Alexandria where the Greek Eratosthenes computed the circumference of the earth, Archimedes calculated pi, and Euclid compiled his geometry text. In philosophy, Zeno and Epicurus founded the moral philosophies of Stoicism and Epicureanism. In literature, New Comedy evolved, as did the pastoral idyll form of poetry associated with Theocritus, and the personal biography, which accompanied a movement in sculpture to represent people as they were rather than as ideals, although there were exceptions in Greek sculpture most notably the hideous depictions of Socrates, although even they may have been idealized, if negatively. Both Michael Grant and Moses Hadas discuss these artistic/biographical changes. See From Alexander to Cleopatra, by Michael Grant, and Hellenistic Literature, by Moses Hadas. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 17, (1963), pp. 21-35. Source Cohen, Getzel M. The Hellenistic Settlements in the East from Armenia and Mesopotamia to Bactria and India. Hellenistic Culture and Society Book 54, 1 Edition, Kindle Edition, University of California Press, June 2, 2013.

Climate effects from historical volcanic eruptions Research Paper

Climate effects from historical volcanic eruptions - Research Paper Example The change in climatic conditions as observed by the scientist was as a result of volcanic activity. The paper will explain the various climatic effects that resulted from volcanic eruption in the past1. The change was linked to the eruption of the Laki fissure system. Laki fissure system was a chain of volcanic activities that results to the movement of lava through several cracks in the ground rather than from a single point. The eruption happened in Iceland. The Laki eruptions took place in more than 8 months and produced about 14 km3 of basalt that was made up thin, black and fluid lava. The eruption also resulted to production of ash clouds that made their way into the stratosphere. The ash clouds formed a dense haze across Europe which resulted to blockage of the sun’s rays from reaching the ground. In addition to the ash, the eruptive clouds that came out of the fissures consisted mainly of high quantities of hydrogen chloride, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen Fluoride gases2. These gases combined with atmospheric water to produce acid rain that lead to death of livestock as well as destruction of vegetations and crops. The effect was however severe in Iceland where seventy five percent of the livestock and twenty five percent of the people died from the toxic impact of the volcanic activities. The impact of the eruption was also felt in places far away from Iceland. During the period the United States recorded low temperatures. In fact, the temperatures in the northern hemisphere decreased by over a degree Celsius. There are various reasons on how large volcanic eruption may have an impact on the global climate. Volcanic eruptions often produce large quantities of carbon dioxide, a gas that is associated with the green house effect. Carbon dioxide is known to trap gases that are been radiated form the surface of the earth forming an insulations around the earth. The green house impact is essential for human survival as it maintains the temperatures

Supply Chain Management (operations management)2 Assignment

Supply Chain Management (operations management)2 - Assignment Example In order to maximize revenue, an organization has to consider the net worth of a product to the customers and what the supply chain tends to accomplish is to get the exact requests of the consumers. Supply chain management is basically concerned with issues of who is involved, cost and service in addition to integration of such kind of services (Jacoby, 2010). Supply chain strategies are directly affected by other chains available within the organizations. This includes an activity that comes up with the introduction of new products to the firm. Supply chain should also be integrated with other goals of the organization like the ones which leads to maximization of profit margin thus giving a lot of returns. Supply chains needs to be designed to eliminate unnecessary uncertainty and risks at all levels of production. Some of the risks that may come in the course of production include the risks associated with machines, logistics amongst others. Organization can optimize supply chain management to improve results and remove obstacles in several ways such as the global optimization. Having a complex network, the supply chain management have so far been developed to enable integration of products from the point it comes from the supplier to the point delivery is done. A good example is whereby an organization can be able to get a supply and directly deliver it to consumer without having to actually stock it and then goes ahead to make payments through electronic money transfer. Supply chain is considered dynamic in nature. Customers’ demands and suppliers’ potentiality will always change after sometimes. This will in turn leads to evolution in supply chain relationships. For instance, when a customer potentials increases, this will impact more pressure on the supplier to increase the rate of productivity in quantity and quality. Organizations should be able to project any risk that might come in the line of production of commodities to the