A Day That Marks The Progression Of Our Nations Military

Operation Enduring PMS January 24, 2013 is a day that marks the progression of our nation’s military to one of gender equality. Women are now allowed to compete for combat roles alongside men. In fact, two women have completed the Army Ranger course at Fort Benning. This is one of the hardest courses to complete in the Army. Wikipedia provides this description for the school, â€Å"ranger students conduct about 20 hours of training per day, while consuming two or fewer meals daily totaling about 2,200 calories, with an average of 3.5 hours of sleep a day. Students sleep more before a parachute jump for safety considerations. Ranger students typically wear and carry some 65–90 pounds of weapons, equipment, and training ammunition while†¦show more content†¦Their standards are high for one reason: combat readiness. These standards have been around for a long time and have made our military the strongest fighting force on the planet. Women have been in the military for a long time, but they have served in combat support roles. That is not to say that women have not ever been in combat. There are a lot of great stories of heroic women who have gone above the call of duty to keep this country safe. However, they have not had to do it on a regular basis. Being in a combat role is extremely hard on one’s body. Most men who do this job come away with injured backs, PTSD, worn out knees, and many other role specific injuries. These injuries accumulate over an extended amount of training and combat experience. Are women up to this arduous task? Women are not ready to join the ranks of men in the combat arms. Gender equality has no place on the battlefield. This is based on the following reasons: 1) Biologically, women are not equipped to handle the body stresses that are associated with combat roles. 2) The addition of women in combat roles will undoubtedly increase the number of sexual assaults, STDs, and pregnancies in the various military units. 3) History has shown that the military lowers its standards for women. In a combat role, women must be able to complete the standards that are set for men. The first reason that women

Marketing Promotion Sales Promotion - 2118 Words

Promotion: Sales Promotion: 1. We will use free samples to give people a chance to try the product. We will send free sample to retail stores and supermarkets. They can have a section for Nestle to help people if they need assistance. 2. We will make the combo. The combo is water, chocolate and ice cream. Sometimes elderly have a desire for something sweet but because they are health conscious our modified product is healthy. This way the customer and consumers are happy and satisfied. 3. We will also set a buy one and get one deal. Old people are caring; they always buy things for their grandchildren. Sometimes they want to eat ice cream and they can buy it and get one free to their grandchildren. Personal Selling: Personal selling is†¦show more content†¦This describes an old man takes his grandson and they eat Nestle ice cream together. They feel so happy. Sometimes old man feel so lonely, they want to do things with their grandchildren. This ad will make old people want to buy ice-cream to share with their grandchildren. Pull strategy is used because old people care about their health. Our products have so many Vitamins and nutrition. So we use newspapers and televisions to communicate the marketing message to old people. For example, Promotion Strategy Of the six elements of promotion, Nestle uses advertising, sales promotions online marketing, and public relations to engage loyal customers and persuade new users to buy Kit Kat. Kit Kat advertising efforts includes print, billboards, bus stops and television. Sales Promotions is in form of contest aimed at the end consumer. They had four major contests with cash and travel prizes. During the summer 2012 Olympics, consumers could vote for the number of medals they believed Canada would bring home for a chance to win $25,000.Kit Kats â€Å"Big Break† contest gave away $1,000 each week for the duration of the promotion with an additional three $100,000 grand prizes. Recently, Kit Kat asked fans to vote for their favorite Chunky flavor for a chance to win a trip to one of the three U.S. destinations. Online Marketing Kit Kat uses Facebook and Twitter to keep consumers informed of product developments and upcoming events. So Online marketing is good for seniors cannot come

Megatrend and Entrepreneurial Mindset

Question: Discuss about the Megatrend and Entrepreneurial Mindset for Business. Answer: Megatrend is a global and sustained macro-economic developmental force which affects the business, governments, society, culture as well as the personal lives of human beings that defines the period of change and thereby making change an imminent as well as increases the pace of change visibly. It is important to mention that megatrend has become one of the most common research subjects in the recent past with many researchers and scholars taking interest in this subject (Kaffka Krueger, 2012 p, 32). With the world undergoing globalization megatrend has become a key subject that has increased the pace of change in the world clearly reflecting on the need of adaptation for the people, businesses as well as for the government entities to get accustomed to the change happening all across the world. Megatrend has been seen to affect the financial markets in terms of sales and generation of revenue which also directs an economy to a certain direction. It is important to mention that ther e have been number of megatrends which have even driven the global economy clearly showing its power and importance in the global economy. Megatrend and entrepreneurial mindset are clearly related as for businesses it is very important to follow the megatrend effectively (Singh et al., 2009 p, 26). Megatrend is a key issue in businesses since it is much bigger problem for the businesses to cope up with megatrends. Under circumstances of megatrend the entrepreneurial mindset as well as the innovation of a company will have to be changed in order to cope up with the excessive pressure that comes from the market (Belkhir, 2015 p, 15). Putting myself in the shoes of an entrepreneur it could be said that megatrend is a key aspects that has to be handled by me effectively for the effective running of the business. In this world of volatility, ambiguity, uncertainty and complexity it is important to understand the vital changes major changes which are coming in the field of technology as a well as innovation as an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur I will have to identify the different problems which might arise in the business under megatrend and how it could be solved by me in order to run the operation accordingly. Being best prepared for the future challenges is extremely important for an entrepreneur. It is very important to understand megatrend as this will help me to drive the business accordingly as well as take relevant business decisions effectively. There are certain aspects which could change the face of the economy and accordingly develop a strong hold over the new generation people. Megatrends are slow in nature and hence as an entrepreneur it is very important for me to understand the slow movement of glacier from the mountains and take steps accordingly (Day, 2015 p, 18). Megatrends normally affect the business and hence it is very important for me to take care of innovation part of the business during the period of megatrend. as opposed to a more general business problem megatrends poses much bigger threat since it comes slowly and hence it has to be understood be me effectively so that as entrepreneur I could make effective decisions. It is also important for me to understand the concept of entrepreneurial mindset effectively as it will be effect ive to understand the impact of a megatrend effectively (Mittelstaedt et al., 2014 p, 62). The entrepreneurial mindset refers to the state of mind of a person where he or she is able to conduct entrepreneurial activities effectively in order to get the best possible outcomes from a given task. Effective entrepreneurial mindset is effective in drawing the best possible opportunities and innovation that helps to create value out of the business. As a future entrepreneur it is very important for me to be able to assess the different situations of the business and accordingly develop a strong platform of understanding which will help me to develop the business scenario. The entrepreneurial theories indicate some key issues which I have to understand effectively in order to be able to solve problems related to business as well as innovation problems (Lee et al., 2010 p, 35). The key issues in entrepreneurship are mainly the financial issues, workforce issues, marketing issues and hence it would be effective to understand these issues so that innovation in the business could be handled effectively. A megatrend if taken lightly could pose problems for an entrepreneur and hence I will have to be very assiduous in understanding recent business trends of innovation and the future trends as well so that ideas could be implemented effectively. It is important to mention that innovation is one of the key issues that as an entrepreneur I will have to look after since this is the megatrend in the business. Innovation has been one of the biggest aspects that companies nowadays emphasise on due to its effective quality of helping companies to gain competitive advantage. Nowadays the common problem in business is to develop a strong hold over the market through hiring workforce and also through innovation. As an entrepreneur it is important that I am able to solve these problems. Having effective workforce was always a priority for a business and this is where the entrepreneurial mindset comes into the picture (Edgeman Eskildsen, 2012 p, 55). There few effective ideas which I could use to solve human resource and innovation problems in the company with the help of effective entrepreneurial mindset. For instance the megatrend in the HR is gaining the trust of the employees. As the entrepreneur I have to use my skills and will have to be employee oriented. It is important that the employees are given ample attention which would help to develop a perfect platform for the employees to work in the company (Haynie et al., 2012 p, 81). I would directly interact with the employees for the effective communication between the lower level employees and the upper level employees which would help to understand the needs and wants and address them accordingly which will encourage them to work in the company. On the other hand it will also be effective in driving the interest of the employees to contribute in the overall development of the organisation. Apart from that it is also important to understand the technological development whi ch the world is consistently undergoing and it is also considered as the megatrend in the business environment (Baines et al., 2010 p, 41). As an entrepreneur I will have to be very prudent in implementing the technological skills and resources so that the best possible level of innovation could be done on the products and services designed as well as in the way business is done. another key problem that needs to be solved in this era of megatrends is gaining customer satisfaction which is only possible when the employees work as a unit and also when they have effective knowledge about the work they are doing and hence as an entrepreneur it is important to frame effective research and development program and also effective training program which will help to make the employees well prepared so that they are able to treat consumers effectively and gain their confidence. In most of the multinational companies like Tesco and Apple Inc workforce management is done through a very holisti c approach and taking into account the aspects of entire human resource management. It is important to mention since digital transformation is a key aspect in the business having an effective hold over the digital platform through the business will largely help to mitigate many problems. The digital media nowadays helps to communicate and it stands to be one of the remedies for few problems and hence this becomes immensely important to be taken care of. As a business student and as an aspiring entrepreneur I have realized that megatrend is a key subject and hence it will have to be consistently studied in order to get entrepreneurial insights which will help me in the long run (Mauer et al., 2009 p, 19). References Baines, S., Bull, M. and Woolrych, R., 2010. A more entrepreneurial mindset? Engaging third sector suppliers to the NHS.Social Enterprise Journal,6(1), pp.49-58. Belkhir, L., 2015. The Innovation Levers to Sustainability Management: Entrepreneurship, Design and Policy.Journal of Management and Sustainability,5(1), p.10. Day, G.E., 2015. Is our health workforce prepared for future health megatrends?.Australian Health Review,39(5), pp.487-488. Edgeman, R.L. and Eskildsen, J.K., 2012. Viral innovation: integration via sustainability enterprise excellence.Journal of Innovation and Business Best Practices,2012, p.1. Haynie, J.M., Shepherd, D., Mosakowski, E. and Earley, P.C., 2010. A situated metacognitive model of the entrepreneurial mindset.Journal of business venturing,25(2), pp.217-229. Kaffka, G.A. and Krueger, N.F., 2012. From Grand Idea to Viable Execution: How Do Ventures and Entrepreneurs Co-Evolve?.Available at SSRN 2098031. Lee, S.M., Olson, D.L. and Trimi, S., 2010. Strategic innovation in the convergence era.International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development,9(1), pp.1-12. Mauer, R., Neergaard, H. and Linstad, A.K., 2009. Self-efficacy: Conditioning the entrepreneurial mindset. InUnderstanding the entrepreneurial mind(pp. 233-257). Springer New York. Mittelstaedt, J.D., Shultz, C.J., Kilbourne, W.E. and Peterson, M., 2014. Sustainability as Megatrend Two Schools of Macromarketing Thought.Journal of Macromarketing,34(3), pp.253-264. Singh, N., Bartikowski, B. P., Dwivedi, Y. K., Williams, M. D. 2009. Global megatrends and the web: Convergence of globalization, networks and innovation.ACM SIGMIS Database,40(4), 14-27.

True Romance Essays (663 words) - English-language Films

True Romance Once again, Quentin Tarantino outdoes himself. The movie True Romance was excellent. It presented real issues that some people are forced to deal with in their lives. The title of the movie is misleading. You would think this was going to be a love tory. Actually it is, but unlike any love story I've ever seen. It's filled with violence, action, blood, guts and gore. Like most other Tarantino movies it revolves around the violence we rarely see or experience in our lives. He also incorporates rugs and racism, hate and love and his usual corny way of portraying them. In Tarantino films, violence is presented in a totally different approach than movies like Rambo or Die Hard. Although you have the same amount of people dying, Tarantino seems to have this perverted and gruesome way of presenting it to his audiences. He always takes violence to the extreme. In the scene with the pimp he doesn't just shoot the pimp in the back or chest. He goes right for the gusto...his balls !!!! (OUCH) Another example of this is when Dennis Hopper was killed. We all knew what h pened to him, but Tarantino makes sure he shows us the oozing bullet wound to his head. Some people think this is taking violence too far; however, acts of this nature happen in the real world every day. I guess this is his way of giving us a "reality heck." Shit like this happens to people. We are so sheltered in our comfortable little worlds we don't even realize this kind of stuff goes on. Variety. Isn't it supposed to be the "spice of life?" Well, Tarantino gets so damn spicy it can make yo sweat bullets. What is it about violence that is so attractive to the general public? There are so many people who would rather see a violent movie than a movie filled with romance or adventure. If you were to compare the revenues from box office earnings I'm almos positive the movies filled with blood and guts earn much more than other movies. (Disney is the only exception I can think of off the top of my head !!!) Naturally, if a person in the movie industry knows this will make them mega bucks , they will con nue to make movies like this to make more money. Tarantino tends to slide in a little racism in his flicks. It's pretty obvious it's not the main topic, but it is apparent. Hopper was unique when he told the Sicilian guy his great, great, great, great grandmother had slept with a nigger and that's y he had dark skin and brown eyes. I think Hopper knew he was a goner and wanted to insult the hell out of the guy before he died !!!!! He was so casual about the whole thing. He just sat back smoking the dudes cigarette and blasting his family. There are so many people who say this kind of movie affects people in a negative way. They think it has an impact on criminal behavior. That's bullshit. I have seen violence in movies and on television and I haven't had the smallest inkling to go ou and kill anyone or anything. I believe if a person has it in them to commit these kinds of acts they will do it regardless of what they see on T.V. or in the movies. Their moral upbringing or lack of one would be a bigger contributing factor than vie ng a movie. Movies are made to entertain. The social issues they touch on are just that, issues. The controversy they create comes solely from the opinions of the viewers. Isn't that half the fun of watching a controversial movie? It gives our minds food for t ught. It affords us the opportunity to discuss what we have seen with our friends. We can learn from listening to how other people perceive things. THAT is what makes a movie great !!!!

Piety Is a Part of Justice free essay sample

Individuals are not rigid or stable and certainly not universal. He gives no support to his statement; he simply asserts it, as if it should be obvious. Socrates says that defining piety as, what [ Typhoon is] doing now, is not a sufficient definition because it is simply an example of piety. Something cannot be defined by an example. Typhoon cannot base a definition of piety on his own actions. He commits the fallacy of self-reference; using his own actions as the standard. The standard Typhoon gives, (himself), Is not specific or universal enough for others to use In Judging their own actions.Therefore It falls as a useful standard of piety. Typhoons second definition is that piety is that which is dear to the gods. In other words, actions that are pleasing to the gods are pious, and actions that are displeasing to them are impious. Socrates pretends to be pleased with this definition because Typhoon seems as if he may have finally provided a model with which to measure all pious things. We will write a custom essay sample on Piety Is a Part of Justice or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Typhoon states that actions being pleasing to the gods provides a standard that should enable everyone to recognize what is pious and hat is impious.Socrates reminds him that piety and Impiety are not the same thing, they are opposites. The gods do not seem to agree on much of anything, let alone that which Is Just or good, and certainly that which Is pleasing. So the same thing that Is loved by one of piety. What Is pious of one god may be Impious to another. Typhoons second definition is inherently self- contradictory. Therefore it is certainly not useful as a standard of measuring piety. Typhoons third definition of piety states that, piety is that which is dear to all the gods.In other words, anything that all the gods love, in unanimous agreement, is pious. That which they all collectively hate, is impious. To check the validity of this argument, Socrates then is it pious because they love it? This may simply be circular reasoning. Although Its certainly an interesting question, It fails to supply any qualities that are universally valid. Socrates and Typhoon seem to agree that the gods love piety because It Is pious, not that something Is defined as pious because It Is loved by the gods. However, they both completely fall at defining piety.Not only In this particular argument, but throughout the whole story they fall In this endeavor. The statement that, the pious is loved by the gods because it is pious, never of piety, that it is loved by all of the gods. This statement still fails to supply an unchanging standard with which to measure piety. In conclusion, Socrates appears to long for a perfect, personal and unchanging standard for piety, ( a faultless, unchanging god perhaps), based on a flawless being whose moral standards are perfect and concrete. Unfortunately, both Socrates and Typhoon fail to give any specific instances of either piety or Justice. However, they do deal with the criteria by which such standards could be found. Typhuss argument that piety is a part of Justice, specifically that part concerning the care of the gods, comes closer to satisfying Socrates than all the other arguments. At least this definition uses skillful service as the criteria as opposed to the previous definitions which use Typhoon himself, the emotional, ever-changing gods, and that which all the gods can agree on. We can only answer Socrates primary question, what is piety), once we have a solid, universal standard by which to measure piety.The statement that piety is a part of Justice comes the closest to answering Socrates inquiry because Justice is as close to a universal, unchanging standard that Typhoon ever reaches in this particular dialogue. Justice at least has somewhat of a solid meaning. Although it may differ slightly from society to society and era to era, it is certainly more universal than an individual (Typhoon) or the gods, and what they find pleasing. For our purposes, it is as close to a standard that is ever reached in Deputy

Human Error and Human-Computer Interaction Essay Example

Human Error and Human Human Error and Human-Computer Interaction Essay Human Error and Human-Computer Interaction Essay The context of human error has been considered as one of the most important issues because of its enormous effect in both human and economic aspects. Accordingly, all humans have experienced human error. Errors can be made when people interact with machines and other complex systems. Herein, people have a tendency to do things which are contrary to their expectations and intentions. Depending on the complexness of a certain system and the human intentions that interacts with it, errors can be anything from a discomfort (which are often unnoticeable) to a actual tragedy or calamity. Human error an happen in the plan, design, management, operation as well as maintenance of complex systems characterized by the modern life. Since humans, depend largely and increasingly on these systems to have a better living, it is transparent that human error has a potentialities and has a frequent source of risks to human life and welfare as well as the natural environment (Senders Moray, 1991). Errors in human can result in both human and economic cost. In line with the human factor, errors can result to anxiety, depression, disappointment and stress at work which may result in the inability of the individual to finish their tasks or responsibilities effectively and mat also lead to negative emotions. In terms of the economic aspects, the economic costs largely depend on the error numbers as well as the time spent in the diagnosis of such error and the recovery. Because of these enormous effects, researchers and scholars has spend their time in analyzing and understanding the context of human error. There are various areas or fields in which human can occur, and one of these is the errors in Human-computer interaction (HCI). Primarily, the main goal of this paper is to determine the relations of human error with Human-computer interaction. Part of the discussion of the topic is the definition of human error and the types of human errors. This paper also attempts to provide practical examples of human errors and the future perspectives, reduction and prevention of human error. Pertinent conclusion will also be provided to summarize the findings of this report. For many years, many scholars and researchers has been trying to determine the nature and definition of human error. Human error is regarded as departure from expected, desirable and acceptable practice on the individual part which can result in undesirable and unacceptable results or outcome. Accordingly, human error has played a very crucial role in various large-scale hazardous and life-threatening events and occurrences (Reason, 1990). Some researchers believed that human error might not be an accident because of itself but it might be a result of multiple factors which are not able to control (Reason, 1990). As mentioned earlier, human error can error in various fields from military, politics, economic, computer systems, medical fields, engineering and others. It is said that errors, specifically the human errors are rare occurrences as compared with correct actions or successes. The kinds in which errors can take are restricted and may appear in variety of contexts, but only a few behavioral approaches seems to be accountable for all such errors (Rizzo, Bagnara Visciola, 1987). Nonetheless, comparable types of errors can be seen in perception, speech, problem solving, decision making and actions. However, human errors are less likely to happen tasks are automatic or skilled based such as driving, than when the action call for a rule or process to be considered. It is noted that those actions which call for the utilization of knowledge to solve new issues and conflicts are regarded as the most vulnerable tasks to human errors. The reason for this is because knowledge, like principle, should be translated into correct course of concrete actions, hence, error can be encountered in this translation process (Bogner, 1994). An error has always been attributed to a mismatch of the computer system to human nature and capabilities (Rasmussen, 1987). To illustrate, controversies, technical problem, lost files, or other mistakes in relation to the use of computers are often blamed to either the machine or the human. Errors paved the way to the creation of back up files, for example, and the improvement and innovation of machines to assist humans in working or accomplishing their tasks faster and easier. Human error definition has not only been the subject of the interest of the scholars and researchers but also the types of human error. According to some scholars there are two types of human errors in accordance with the systematic causes of failure. These types of human error include the active errors and latent errors. As Reason (1990) has noted, active errors are errors whose effects are immediately felt. Such errors include syntax error which prevents the efficient compilation or invalid algorithms. On the other hand, Reason (1990) has defined latent errors as errors in which adverse consequences may lie dormant within the system for a long period, and only becomes obvious when such is combined with other factors to hinder the defenses of the system. Aside from Reason, Rasmussen (1982) has also been able to provide other types of human error and these include knowledge based, rule based and skill based human error (see Appendix 1). The taxonomy of human errors is needed when discussing or understanding errors that people encounter with the use of machine. Examples of errors include functionality problems, usability problems, inefficiency, and interaction problems. Functionality Problems Functionality problems refer to the mismatch between the task and the program. This mismatch occurs when ones plan has not been accomplished or one’s goal has not been achieved with the use of particular computer program. Functionality problems are classified according to technical criteria like origin in the process of software development and consequences for the action process (see Appendix 2; Brodbeck et al. , 1992). Usability Problems Although the functionality of a computer program is sufficient for a certain task, errors still occur. They can be caused by a mismatch between user and computer, called mismatch of usability. From an action-theory perspective, mismatches of usability can be differentiated according to steps in the action process and different levels of action regulation. A common hypothesis in action theory is that actions are goal-oriented (Volpert et al. , 1987). Within this approach, the action process comprises goal and plan development, the execution of actions as well as monitoring, and feedback processes (Lewis Norman, 1986). Similar to Hacker (1986), three levels of action regulation are distinguished within the framework of hierarchically organized action plans and goals. There are at least three aspects of the knowledge base for regulation: knowledge of facts, knowledge of procedures, and understanding in the sense of mental models. This knowledge is used to develop goals and plans. Errors arising from usability problems include errors in knowledge, thought, memory, judgment, errors on the level of flexible action patterns habit, omission, recognition, and sensimotor (see Appendix 3. Knowledge errors occur when one is unable to do a task with the computer because one does not know certain commands, function keys, rules, and so forth. Thought errors occur when goals and plans are inadequately developed or when wrong decisions are made in the assignment of plans and subplans although the user knows all the necessary features of the system. Memory errors occur when a certain part of the plan is forgotten and not executed, although the goals and plans were initially correctly specified. Judgment errors appear when one cannot understand or interpret the computer feedback after an input. Errors on the level of flexible action patterns occur when well-known actions are performed. Habit errors imply that a correct action is performed in a wrong situation. Omission errors happen when a person does not execute a well-known subplan. This is most likely when the person is interrupted in an action plan. Recognition errors appear when a well-known message is not noticed or is confused with another one. Finally, sensorimotor errors are placed at the sensorimotor level. There is only one category here because, at this level, it is empirically difficult to differentiate among planning, monitoring, and feedback (see Appendix 4; Brodbeck et al. , 1992). Inefficiency Errors and inefficient behavior have a large conceptual overlap. A detour to reach a goal may be conceptualized as an inefficiency but also as an error, because usually ones goal is to proceed in the most straightforward manner. If there is any differentiation between the two terms, inefficiency could be formally defined as any deviation from an optimal action path (Volpert et al. , 1981). However, this conceptualization has its difficulties: it may be more cost effective, in the psychological sense, to use a strategy that is inefficient in the formal sense because setting up plans and differentiated calculations for them also imply psychological costs (Schonpflug, 1985). Interaction Problems Interaction problems suggest that human error occurs not because of individual problems with the computer, but because of the mismatch between individuals. Although the individuals actions are more or less correct, an error occurs because of an organizational lack of coordination, unclear task allocation, or because of lack of communication between individuals (Brodbeck et al. , 1992).

Reasons for the recent global financial crisis Essay

Reasons for the recent global financial crisis - Essay Example The present article has identified that the cause of the recent financial crisis and economic recessions has been attributed to various factors in the economy. The initial trigger of the financial crisis has been traced to the toxic mortgage backed assets whose decline in value and uncertain duration led to massive losses in the U.S economy. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were both taken over by the US government. Lehman Brothers was declared bankrupt since it could not increase its capitalization. Merrill Lynch was bought by the Bank of America while American International Group (AIG) was rescued by the Federal government through an $ 85 billion capital bailout. Washington Mutual which is currently the largest bank failure was purchased by J P Morgan Chase. The crisis can be traced to the failure of the real estate market due to subprime lending which saw the commercial and residential housing prices increase for a decade from 1990. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 saw the econom ies in Asia generate huge current account surpluses which were invested offshore in economies like US and UK in order to keep the nominal exchange rates low. The US stock prices went high due to the influx of capital. The high growth in economic demands and especially in China saw commodity prices such as minerals, oil and food soar up from late 2004 to late 2007. There are numerous explanations and arguments which have been proposed as the causes of the 2008-2009 financial crisis and the recessions.... The burst of the housing bubble led to massive loan defaults which led to the decline in the values of the mortgage backed securities (Freedman 2010). The subprime mortgages were risky since their true values were hidden in the house price appreciation which allowed mortgage refinancing. The real estate bubble was occasioned partly by easy credit in the economy which was facilitated by expansionary monetary policy of the Federal Reserve where the Fed funds rate was cut from 6.5% in 2000 to 1% percent in 2003 (Freedman 2010). Innovations in the financial system resulted to collateralized debt obligations and other derivatives which fueled the housing bubble. Losses of US subprime mortgages were estimated at $ 250 billion dollars in 2007 while the decline in the stock market capitalization was $ 26,400 billion dollars from the period July 2007 to November 2008. Weak banking regulations and poor risk assessment methods forced coupled with the government regulations which blended the ope rations of mortgage providers and investment banks saw many risky and unqualified customers access the housing mortgages (Freedman 2010). According to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the aggregate collateralized debt obligations issuance expanded from USD $ 150 billion in 2004 to US $ 500 billion in 2006 before increasing further to US $ 2 trillion by the end of the year 2007. The value of the Mortgage backed assets held in banks’ books, insurance companies and other major financial institutions explains how the burst of the housing bubble led to massive losses to holders of the mortgage backed securities. However, subprime mortgages had higher interest rates after the initial offer and only 43 percent of the adjustable rate mortgages were subprime