Digital Bangladesh Essay Example for Free

Digital Bangladesh EssayBangladesh is resounding with the target of achieving digital Bangladesh. Broadly speaking, a digital ordering ensures an tuition and communication Technology (ICT) driven knowledge-based where information go out be readily available on line and where all possible tasks of the government, semi-government and also private spheres will be processed using the modern technology. So, a digital Bangladesh must guarantee efficient and effective use of modern ICT in all spheres of the confederacy with a view to establishing good governance.In other word, making Bangladesh a digital one, we have to establish technology driven e-governance, e-commerce, e-production, e-agriculture, e-health etc. , in the society emphasizing the overall development of the common people. Building strong ICT infrastructure is the pre-requisite for making Bangladesh a digital one. For this, we need to focus on the following germane(predicate) issues assessing the harsh reality that hinders our development in this context. Latest statistics reveal that Bangladesh faces a power deficit of up to 200 MW against a demand of 5000 MW daily.It may be noted that for proper ICT development an uninterrupted power supply is a must. For the ICT development Internet users of the country must be increased. In this case our location is the worst one among the South Asian countries. From different sources, it has been learnt that, English language literacy rate in Bangladesh is lesser than one percent. Whereas, English language literacy rates in India and Pakistan are 60% and 20% respectively. There is a strong correlation between English literacy and ICT development in the present context of Globalization.In the land of ICT English has become the Lingua-Franca. Though the above accounts seem to be frustrating one, these can be easily overcome within a reasonable scotch of time if we can establish good governance in the country. For making a digital Bangladesh by 2021, the government must address the above say issues effectively and efficiently in transparent manners. In many cases we need to reformulate our national policy (e. g. education policy, ICT policy) in accordance with the Millennium exploitation Goals. It the leaders of our country objectively guide this generation, they can do wonder for the nation.

Understanding “Rule of the Bone” Novel Essay Example for Free

Understanding Rule of the Bone Novel EssayRule of the Bone is one of the widely read coming-of-age novels is compose by Russell Banks. The novel is written in a striking way as sad tones well-nigh the drama of living a life far from ones family. Rules of clappers shows themes of weakness, failure, and the intricacy of leading an honest life associated to gaining total independence as a teenager. Readers of the novel argon left with a lesson on the positive scholarship that comes along with optimism in every experience. Wisdom is said to be the quality of cosmos wise and having the knowledge and the capacity to derive benefits from such knowledge.There are many accounts on how and where wisdom can be taken or learned from. Wisdom can largely be attributed from learning from lessons and practices initially taught to children and create through aging. Experience is also considered to be the greatest teacher. People easily believe when experiences showed them the consequences o f their actions, regardless if the outcome is a failure or a success. The main character Chappie (or Bone) faces a series of distinct events that has taught him to be wise and take an active and independent role.His transformation is also depicted on how his name evolved from Chappie, to a mix of Chappie and Bone, to totally Bone. The events gradually molded Chappie from being totally dependent to his parents, semi dependent on I-Man and to totally independent. The period of adolescence is marked by a conflict between self-identity and role confusion. Chappie is seen as an adolescent who started out as having to resort to illegal drugs and more crimes to sustain his dangerous habit. Chappie and his addiction to drugs is an example of how just about people cope with a dysfunctional family.His family is composed of a nagging mother, abusive stepfather, and friends who are terrible influences to him. I would say that bone up gained wisdom from lettered himself through the hardship s and trials that came his way. The first few chapters of the novel showed an immature and rebellious character of clappers. Given the circumstances of his family and situation, the reader has their sen cartridge clipnts on Bones at the same time questions why Bones abandons his troubles and opted the wrong way out. At this point, Chappie or Bones turns to his friend for support.When Russ eventually abandoned Chappie, Chappie showed the readers that he has good intentions and not a bad kid after all. It showed how Chappie gained wisdom when he was partly independent. The self-discovery of the protagonist was reinforced when Chappie or Bones grew closer to I-Man. I-Man was instrumental to the self-discovery of Bones. He shared his insights on being independent most of his life. Bones loses his desire to take drugs when he learned from I-Mans wisdom. The novel showed a change of attitude of Bones depending who he was with.When he was with Russ, he was very greedy and would take as mu ch drugs as he can. When he goes to live with I-Man, he slowly loses his addiction and potentiometerd altogether at certain times of the day. The newfound wisdom of taking drugs out of addiction from taking drugs for relaxation is similar to his friendship with Russ. Their friendship seemed to die when Bones lost contact with Russ and was influenced by I-Man. All of these experiences shaped and developed the wisdom of Bones on life and how he should lead his life.The type of wisdom that Bones attained is from his experiences wherein mistakes and blunders shaped him into a wiser and independent man. I believe that Bone ends the novel as a wiser and mature person. The concept of teacher and the student is exemplified in the novel. It is therefore important for adolescent to develop friendships having good influence on their lives. The sad and dramatic story of Bones offers a moral lesson to the youth about wisdom and courage. His friends namely Russ and I-Man have contributed to bon es character and outlook in life.Russ served as a bad influence that encouraged Bone to smoke pot and go after pleasure. On the other hand, I-Man taught how independent really means by doing something with oneself. Bone defined his life when he was in Jamaica. He became an adult who knows that life is more than getting pleasures. The substantial evidence that Bone grew up to be a mature adult was when he decided to go back to America and finish school. His newfound independence made him a better, wiser person.

Paul Tillich: Dynamics of Faith | Summary and Analysis

capital of Minnesota Tillich Dynamics of trustfulness Summary and AnalysisMyron McVeighPaul TillichIn this essay I bequeath be discussing my view of Paul Tillichs theory of religion based upon his book Dynamics of Faith. I will give examples from his text that support my view. The very title Dynamics of Faith leads to the question, what is creed? Faith can hold galore(postnominal) meanings, especially when used in the context of religion. Tillich explains religion in the first chapter of the book. Faith is the state of being last-ditchly appertained the dynamics of organized religion be the dynamics of mans final concern. (pg. 1) He likewise states that the concern essential be unconditional. Faith doesnt maintain to necessarily be religious. It can be non-religious. For instance eventual(prenominal) concern with a persons career, raising their children or even concern that a farmers crops will grow can all be considered non-religious. The Jewish and Christian faith in God and the Muslim faith in Allah are good examples of final concern in a religious context.Tillich states that faith is a centered act. Faith as ultimate concern is an act of the count temperament. It happens in the center of the personal life and includes all its elements. (pg. 4) The forgiving ideas virtually centered act is faith. Every liaison revolves around faith. It is not simply a function or section of a man entirely his total being. Tillich states however that faith is more than the sum of all mans parts or impacts. It can involve rationality and it can involve emotion, but it transcends them both. Faith can have an impact on both rationality and emotion without destroying both in the process. It is what Tillich calls ecstatic. This means one can stand out of doors themselves without ceasing to be themselves.Tillich states that faith is both conscious and unconscious. Since faith is the total act of personality, it is impossible to imagine faith without the uncons cious elements of ones personality. Faith as a conscious act relies on the unconscious elements to create faith. If simply unconscious forces determine a mental status, Tillich states, it is not faith but kinda compulsion. He also states that faith is immunity. Freedom is nothing more than the possibility of centered personal acts. (pg.6) Since faith is a free and centered act of personality, freedom and faith are equal.For faith to exist in something at that place moldiness be two sides, the relegateive side of faith and the objective side of faith. Tillich illustrates this by using the terms fides qua creditor (the faith through which one believes) and the fides quae creditor (the faith which is believed). (pg. 11) Simply there is no faith without something to have faith in. When using terms such(prenominal) as absolute and ultimate subjectivity and objectivity are the same. If God is the ultimate concern then he is both the subject and the object. This is considered true ulti macy. When faith cannot be both object and subject it is simply false ultimacy. Tillich gives the examples of a nation or success as false ultimacy. This is because it is in the believers eyes just an object it is subject to ordinary knowledge and handling.This leads to the subject of true faith and idolatrous faith. In true faith the ultimate concern is simply a faith in the truly ultimate, God, for example. The truly ultimate is infinite, the subject is the object. In idolatrous faith, finite realities are elevated to the rank of ultimacy. (pg. 13) The subject is almost overtaken by the object but this is temporary and the subject returns again leading to existential disappointment. This is because it leads to a loss of center and disrupts the personality, which according to Tillich can be hidden for a length of time but always exposes itself eventually. Idolatrous faith is still considered faith. The holy which is demonic is still holy. (pg. 18) This fork outs how faith can be a mbiguous and dangerous. Idolatry is a danger of faith and the fact that there is a demonic possibility of the holy is the ambiguity. Faith can destroy us or heal us, but according to Tillich we can never be without it.It is oftentimes thought that the word doubt means the lack of faith. Doubt is scarcely the lack of conviction. It is also an important aspect of faith. An act of faith is an act of a infinite being who is grasped by and turned to the infinite. (pg. 18) Doubt is the opposite of our ultimate concern. Humans are finite beings and have to accept uncertainty in faith. This is where courage plays a role. Tillich uses a larger concept of the word courage kind of than the dictionary definition. Courage as an element of faith is the daring self-affirmation of ones own being in spite of the powers of non-believing which are the heritage of everything finite. (pg. 19) We must accept the possibility of failure. This possibility is present in every act of faith. This is a risk and it must be taken in order of battle to prevail the ultimate concern.Now that we have established what faith is I will look at what faith is not. According to Tillich, there is an intellectualistic distortion of the meaning of faith. This is make not unaccompanied by the popular mind but also philosophical and theological thought. Since faith is a centered act of the whole personality one function of thought cannot executely identify with faith without distorting what faith is. Faith is not simply an act of knowledge that has a low academic degree of evidence (pg. 36) This describes a notion, not faith. A belief is based upon evidence that is sufficient enough to add a high degree of probability.A belief can be varied. We believe things when we have good evidence about them or when they are stated by good authorities. When we accept the authoritys evidence as true it is often because we are futile to approach the evidence directly. History books are a good example of thi s. We are unable to prove that it happened because we werent witness to it but believe it because we believe the author. This cannot be considered faith though simply because although we trust the authorities, it is never unconditional. We dont have faith in them. Tillich states Faith is more than trust in authorities, although trust is an important element of faith. (pg. 37) Tillich uses this thought when he describes early Biblical writers. Christians believe the literary works but never unconditionally, they dont have faith in them and therefore should not even have faith in the Bible. (pg.37)thither is also a voluntaristic distortion of the meaning of faith. This is true mainly for Catholics and Protestants.According to Tillich, Catholics believe that the lack of evidence that faith provides must be complemented with an act of will. This states that faith is soundless as knowledge with limited evidence that is made up by the willful act. Tillich refers to this as the will to b elieve. The Protestant version of the will to believe is committed with the morality of the believer. These beliefs state that faith is dependent upon the teachings of the perform which is not the case.The third and final distortion of the meaning of faith is the emotionalistic distortion. This interprets faith as a librate of emotion. Tillich states that this distortion is partly supported by both the religious and the secular. For the defenders of religion it was a retreat to a seemingly safe position after the combat about faith as a matter of knowledge or will had been lost. (pg. 44) It was also readily accepted by scientists and representatives of ethics simply because it took extraneous any interference from the religious in matters of scientific research. Tillich responds to this by stating that faith is not a matter of merely subjective emotions, without a content to be known and a demand to be obeyed (pg. 45) Faith has strong emotional elements tied to it but emotion is nt the source of faith.Tillich believes that mans ultimate concern has to be expressed through the use of symbolic language. Symbolic language is the only language able to express the ultimate. He states that symbols have legion(predicate) feature of speechs. One characteristic in which they have in common with signs is the fact that they point beyond themselves to something else. (pg. 47) He uses the example of a stop sign. The sign points to the order to stop movement of a vehicle for a specific amount of time. The color red has absolutely nothing to do with the stopping of a vehicle. When have with a sign it simply points to the idea that one should stop their vehicle.The second characteristic of a symbol is that It participates in that to which it points. (pg. 48) Here he uses the example of a flag. The flag stands for the power and dignity of the nation that it belongs to. An attack on a nations flag is considered an attack on the dignity of that nation and is considered to be blasphemy. The flag isnt responsible for the power or dignity but simply symbolizes it.The third characteristic of a symbol is that it opens up levels of reality which other are closed to us. (pg. 48) The example used here is that a picture or a poem or even a story show us elements of reality that cannot be studied scientifically. Creativity opens up a reality in a dimension that cannot be accessed otherwise. This ties in with the fourth characteristic. This is characteristic opens up dimensions and elements of reality that are otherwise unapproachable AND elements of our souls that correspond to the elements of reality. He uses the example of a play in this scenario. The play gives us a batch of what is going on but also opens a dimension in our own being. We can comprehend what is happening in reality but there are also dimensions that we cannot access without the use of symbols. Melodies and rhythms in music. (pg. 49)Symbols are not to be produced intentionally, but grow ou t of our individual or collective unconscious. These symbols must be accepted by our unconscious or else they have no function. Tillich states that any symbol with an especially social function is created by the groups collective unconscious in which they appear. Political and religious symbols are examples of this. The final characteristic of a symbol is the fact that the symbols cannot be invented. They grow and also die. When the website calls for them, they grow. When that situation changes, they die. An example of this is a King. The symbol of a king used to mean something and produce a response of servitude and loyalty. This is no longer the case because for the most parts kings have been replaced by political leaders.Tillich explains that God is the fundamental symbol of our ultimate concern. It is always present when considering acts of faith. He states that God can only be denied in the name of God. Since an ultimate concern cannot deny itself it affirms itself. Atheism is simply the attempt to remove any ultimate concern from our lives. Tillich states that the only true course of study of Atheism is in difference toward the ultimate question. One cannot deny God because by doing so he confirms the existence of God. One can argue that in this case God is simply just a symbol, to which Tillich replies God is a symbol for God. (pg. 53) Tillich believes that God is the basic symbol of faith, but states that there are many another(prenominal) other symbols as well. Manifestations of the divine in such things as documents and in words, in people and communities, even events are all symbols of faith. Tillich believes that holy things are not themselves holy, they are merely objects that point toward the source of holiness, which is the ultimate concern.Symbols of faith arent isolated. Tillich believes that the symbols are united in myths. He states that mythic gods are based upon human characteristics, they have personalities, are of both sexes, are rela ted, and even participate in human struggles. Often the gods are not equal and live in hierarchies. There is usually one god or a small group of gods that rule over the other gods. Tillich states that all myths are fundamentally the same, mans ultimate concern symbolized in divine figures and actions. (pg. 56) Myths are simply symbols of faith that are combined in stories of what Tillich calls divine-human encounters.Myths appear in every act of faith. They are often attacked and criticized because they use material from ordinary experiences. It adds a human experience of time and space when the ultimate is beyond time and space. A myth often divides what is considered divine into many figures. Doing this removes ultimacy without removing the claim to ultimacy. This causes criticism because it rejects the division of the divine claiming there is only one God. Tillich states that God is an object of mythological language and is often drawn into the human experience of time and space. This makes God a concrete concern and removes his ultimacy. Polytheistic mythology isnt all that is rejected. Even monotheism falls under criticism. Tillich states that it involve demythologization. The word is used in connection with many of the mythical elements used in the Bible. Stories where divine-human interactions occur are in character considered mythological. However, they are also objects of demythologization. all myth that has been proven to be a myth but is not replaced is called a broken myth. There is a tremendous backlash when considering broken myths as no culture wants any of their myths to be proven false and lose its power. People who live in an unbroken mythological world feel protect and safe. Tillich states this type of thinking is supported by authoritarian systems because it gives false security to the people whom they control and also unchallenged power over them. He calls this literalism.Literalism allows myths to be understood by their immediate meanin g. They are placed in a human context, events are attributed to ideas that humans understand. For example, the virgin birth is understood in a biological sense. Literalism deprives God of his ultimacy and, religiously speaking, of his majesty. (pg. 60) It basically draws God down to the human level of the finite and conditional, which he cannot be since he is ultimate. Faith, if it takes its symbols literally, becomes idolatrous It calls something ultimate which is less than ultimate. (pg. 60)Tillich speaks of many types of faith. These types vary from religion to religion, culture to culture, and even from individual to individual. The variance in these faiths has to do with the variation of symbols of the faith. These types all have one thing in common. They all are united because of their focus on ultimate concern.There is a relationship between faith and history, science, and philosophy. Tillich believes that if our ultimate concern is rightfully ultimate then it is not affecte d by any of the conclusions provided by history, science, or philosophy. He explains this by stating that a symbol of the ultimate is not ultimate in itself but merely a way of representing that which is ultimate. thereof a faith is true if it represents the ultimate.Tillich believes that the experience of actual faith, of faith as a alert reality (pg. 115) is considered the life of faith. He once again states that having faith is having courage. Faith is integrated in to our everyday personalities and plays some role in shaping them. Faith is ingrained with various tensions. Tensions between doubt and courage, being estranged or being whole, between ourselves and our communities. He states we must maintain balance between faith, hope, and manage so that they play a role in the totality of our personalities. Faith is present in our communities and is important. We use the faith and symbols of our communities and express them through ourselves, the individual.Faith is the underly ing phenomenon in the personal life of mankind. It is visible and invisible at the same time. It is both religious and non-religious. It is universal and sat in stone. It can be ever-changing but is always the same. Tillich states that it is an essential possibility of man, and therefore its existence is necessary and universal. (pg. 146) If faith is our ultimate concern than it cannot be undercut by science, superstition, and distortion of church and state. Faith alone stands upon itself and justifies itself.I feel that Tillichs theories follow and partially agree with the theories of Freud and Durkheim. He explores with detail the human mind and our psyche. This determines our personality and as Tillich states many times faith is deeply ingrained in our personalities. Faith is an act of total personality. Faith is both an act of rational and unconscious elements. Tillich even applies faith to Freuds naturalistic negation of norms and principles stating that Faith and culture can b e affirmed only if the superego represents the norms and principles of reality. (pg. 6) Freud states that if the superego is not established through valid ideas it becomes suppressive. With real faith, even if it uses Freuds father image, creates true ideas or principles and therefore it rings true.Durkheim states that religion is community, Tillich agrees with this. A community provides the symbols of faith in which people believe. The individual expresses their faith through the community. Therefore without the community there are no symbols of faith in which to represent that which is ultimate.When considering Marx in this equation, the two cannot be further apart. For Marx, religion or faith were missing and something that was just invented to qualm our meager existence in this world. Tillich states that faith is us and has always been ingrained in us. He states that to deny the existence of God only strengthens the case that God exists. Therefore Marxs theory holds no water in Tillichs eyes. He states that the rejection of faith is rooted in a complete misunderstanding of the nature of faith. (pg. 146) The denial of faith is an ultimate concern so therefore is faith in itself.CitationTillich, Paul. Dynamics of Faith. New York Harper, 1958. Print.

Asset Returns in African Stock Market Indexes

Asset Returns in Afri toilette ancestry Market indi great dealtes1.0 INTRODUCTION pecuniary marts atomic issuing 18 important in an economy in that they involve lots of monetary funds in the capital marts. These funds enable firms to raise pay in the nervous strain of equities and debts as essence to pay expansion or expenses. Hence they serve the intermediation process and alike provide a elbow room for investors to diversify their portfolio of assets. African course commercialises have been subject to economic restructuration as well as striving exchange modernisation these recent years. They now instance regional and global integration and so the need to investigate their consequences characteristics.Efficiency is an integral part of investment valuation. When grocery stores argon efficient, hostage bells argon properly treasured as they absorb all development at each point of time. This leads to optimal allocation of private and social resources. Moreover, investors whitethorn non beat the mart surface and make ab shapely higher applys than others, establish on tuition asymmetry. Conversely, inefficiency leads to trade sets deviating from echt look on. Hence, those having reasonable level of expertise in the field of valuation entrust be able to spot and exploit above and under- wanted depots.Efficiency in equity securities industry placeplace places is of significance to investors and policymakers in African markets. The concept has been widely applied to certain countries exactly little attention has been devoted to less(prenominal) create ones. These questiones indicate the importance of developing dec rake markets for countries which atomic number 18 at appropriate stage of economic growth. Indeed, it is more convenient to show for weak motley efficiency of market rather than psychometric establishing for semi-strong or strong forms of efficiency due to lack of selective information and supervision perta ining to those markets.1.1 Organisation of the report cardThe objective of this atomic number 18na is to examine the possibility of both short- and enormous-term memory in asset returns in selected African markets credit line top executivees. Besides South Africa, all the other markets atomic number 18 still in developing state so that efficiency can be gauged on priming of market development and size. The publisher is organised as follows* Section 2 describes informational efficiency with emphasis on weak-form efficiency and stochastic pass. Critics relating to the latter ar accordingly raised to emphasise on non- personal credit linearity and semipermanent dimensions.* Section 3 provides a brief description of the characteristics of the selected African subscriber line markets as well as their single indices.* A methodological discussion base on the different stochastic flips and long-run analysis is accordingly presented in the fourth ingredient.* Tests, re sults and discussions are provided in ingredient 5. The possible explanations for efficiency or inefficiency pertaining to the respective(prenominal) markets are overly made.* Finally, we conclude in section 6 and make policy recomm windupations as well as future scope for research.1.2 Limitations of the StudyThis paper in centered on market efficiency. However, given the excessive literature that exists in this field, it is beyond the scope this subject to review all the previous kit and caboodle related to the study. We and consequently provide only a short discussion on the important findings associated to the weak-form efficiency or stochastic walk possibleness to provide a general overview of the paper. Besides, the main limitation of this paper is that we restrict to the weak-form efficiency using time series analysis. Consequently, the statistical try outs are only used to test for market efficiency excluding either transaction costs adjustment such as the bid-a sk spread. Finally, we use daily entropy for the analysis though it whitethorn lead to possible biasness in the observations. We believe that using a longer time cessation would help to reduce this problem. writings REVIEW2.0 IntroductionEfficient market hypothesis is one of the most researched topics in the realm of the sprout market. While most of the early studies have previously been centered on developed business markets like USA, Japan and Europe, developing and emerge stock markets have been brushed aside. Before proceeding with a taxonomic and ordered approach, it might be useful to present a general review of the theory under study, which in turn aims at be the main concepts and demonstrating familiarity with previous relevant findings concerning the same field of research.2.1 Theoretical reviewIn this section, we develop a formal view of the weak-form efficiency as well as the stochastic walk hypothesis. Starting with the dolphin striker simulation, necessary assumptions are made to develop a theoretical account consistent with Lo and McKinley (1997) model specification. Making the necessary assumptions close towhat the model, a formal presentation of the different ergodic walks is made and criticised.2.1.1 Market efficiencyEfficiency has various different contextual meanings exactly analysis of financial markets assumes an informational dimension. The attribute of those markets by virtue of which they respond to virgin information, is called informational efficiency. This implies that current market price reacts instantaneously to raw(a) information so that it incorporates all relevant information. Since, by definition, new information is un foreknowable, it follows that change in stock price cannot be anticipated and thus move in a haphazard manner.Informational efficiency can be related to the hypothesis of random walk which assumes that prices do not exhibit yellive patterns over time and follow a random walk. Hence, forec asting of future prices in absolute terms, based singly on information or so historical price, forget be unsuccessful. The theory had its roots from the early works of Bachelier (1900). In his own words, Bachelier argued that one-time(prenominal)(a), present and even discounted future events are resileed in market price, but often show no apparent relation to price changes. This emphasises the informational content of stock prices.In his paper on the behaviour of stock and commodity prices, Maurice K checkall (1953) further mounted the random walk theory. The findings, un evaluately, showed that prices follow a random walk and not regular cycles. His conclusion was that the series appeared wandering, Almost as if once a week the Demon of Chance drew a random moment from a symmetrical population of fixed dispersion and added it to the current price to determine the next weeks priceIn his thesis, Behaviour of stock market prices, Fama braveed the random walk theory where he re viewed previous works on stock price movements. He concluded that it seems safe to say that this paper has presented strong and voluminous yard in favour of the random walk hypothesis. Indeed in a market where prices are determined rationally, only new information will cause them to change. Hence prices follow a random walk to bound all current knowledge.If price vaticination were possible, this would have caused market inefficiency as prices dont incorporate all information. Fama (1965) was the first one who coined the term efficient market. He held that such a market is one constituting of a large number of competing rational and active profit-maximisers who try to predict individual observes of securities. Information in those markets tends to be almost free. He argued that the essence of instantaneous adjustment in actual prices to new information is competition leading to efficiency in the market.Later, the random walk theory was broadened into a concept called the efficie nt market theory. found on the works of Samuelson (1965) and Roberts (1967), Fama (1970) developed a second paper Efficient capital markets A review of theory and empirical work. He distinguished surrounded by three levels of efficiency, as earlier initiated by Roberts (1967), based on three sets of information reflected in the price. He posited that a market is efficient in the weak-form if each information which might be contained in past price movements is already reflected in the protective cover prices. It is semi-strong efficient when all relevant publicly available information is impounded in security prices while strong form efficiency suggests that security prices already reflect all available information, even private information.In this menstruation of literature, Malkiel (1992) contribution is elaborated in his essay Efficient market hypothesis in the New Palgrave Dictionary of Money and Finance. He defines a capital market as efficient when it fully and correctly r eflects all relevant information in security price determination. Hence, for well-nigh information set, t, the market is efficient if security prices are unaffected by unveiling that information to market participants. Then it becomes impossible to make economic profits by exploiting the information set.Hence, both the random walk theory and the EMH are related to informational efficiency. Then the form of efficiency under consideration will depend upon the information set, t, which determines the level of efficiency.2.1.2 Weak sour Efficiency Random walk and its criticsWeak-form efficiency focuses on the informational content of the previous sequence of stock price movements. An informational efficient market postulates that excess return cannot be realised from information contained in past prices. The rationale behind weak-form efficiency is that stock prices are the most publicly available information so that an investor may not be able to use information, which is already ava ilable to others, to beat the market.A long considered necessary condition for an efficient asset market is the martingale process. down the stairs market efficiency, the conditional expectation of future price changes, conditional on the price history, cannot be either positive or negative and hence must be aught. In fact the martingale originated from gambling and the concept of fair game. Samuelson (1965) and Mandelbrot (1966) independently demonstrated that a sequence of prices of an asset is a martingale (or a fair game) if it has unbiased price changes. Danthine (1977), LeRoy (1976, 1989), Huang (1985) and Neftci (2000) held that if a security market can be rest and for sure be a fair game, thence the following comparisons must verifyEpt+1t=pt (1)Ept+1-ptt=0 (1.1)Where t denotes the price of an asset at date t, t is a set of all past and current information regarding prices pt,pt-1,pt-2.. and pt+1-pt=rt. Hence, the directions of the future movements in martingales are i mpossible to forecast.If pt is a martingale in equivalence (1), the best forecast of pt+1 that could be derived on nucleotide of current information t, equals pt. For equation (1.1), rt is a fair game if the forecast is nada for any possible value of t. Then pt is a martingale only if rt is a fair game. In this case, asset price evolves in a random process so that the correlation coefficient amidst the successive price changes will be zero given information about current and past prices.However, most assets are pass judgment to yield a non-zero and positive returns. The martingale hypothesis does not take into account the trade-off between risk and return as pointed out in financial economics. The model implicitly assumes risk neutrality while investors are generally risk averse. In fact, an investor is likely to see to it more risky assets provided they are compensated in terms of higher judge returns. In this case, knowledge of the riskiness of current information set impli es some awareness about the judge returns. Hence the residue model shall predict a positive price change in the assets price though the actual return is still unforecastable under market efficiency. Then an asset model, considering positive returns, may be formulated as Fama (1970). He suggested the sub-martingale processEpt+1tpt or alternatively Ert+1t0 (1.2)This states that the expected value of next purposes price based on the information available at time t, t, is equal to or greater than the current price. Equivalently, it stipulates that the expected returns and price changes are greater or equal to zero.Market efficiency plus an equilibrium model for asset pricing recipely produces a random character to asset prices or returns or excess returns. The equilibrium model generally shows how the assets expected return varies with its risk and this can be closely related to Famas sub-martingale model. However, the representative model for the asset uses log prices and the expec ted continuously compounded return, rt+1.Ert+1t=pt+1-pt (1.3)nether the efficient market hypothesis, investors cannot earn abnormal profits on the available information set other than by chance. This is in line with Jensen (1978) who defines a market as efficient with respect to the information set, t, if it not possible to make economic profits on the basis of this set of information. Hence, defining excess returns as zt+1zt+1=rt+1-Ert+1t (1.4)Since market efficiency implies that all information is already impounded in stock prices, the following appliesEzt+1t=0 (1.5)Under the assumption that the equilibrium model determining asset prices in (1.3) is assumed to be constant over time, the deduction is that expected return does not depend on the information available at time t such thatpt+1-pt=Ert+1t=Ert+1=r (1.6)Therefore market efficiency produces a result that implies that the changes in asset prices follow a random walk. The appropriate model would then be a random walk with dri ft where the arbitrary drift parameter, reflects how prices change on average to provide returns to holding the asset over time. The following equation sets the random walk model similar to the one defined by Lo and MacKinlay (1997)pt+1= +pt+ t+1 (1.7)rt= +rt-1+ t (1.8)If the stock price king follows a random walk, then, = 0. Generally, if stock prices and returns are unpredictable then time series have the property of random walk and white noise implying the asperity of EMH. Thus, given an equilibrium model for asset pricing, the test for weak-form efficiency is that of random walk tests of market efficiency. Ko and lee (1991) maintained that If the random walk hypothesis holds, the weak form of the efficient market hypothesis must hold, but not vice versa. Thus, evidence supporting the random walk model is the evidence of market efficiency. But violation of the random walk model need not be evidence of market inefficiency in the weak form. Depending on the restrictions put on t he increments,t+1, different forms of the random walk are tested.Within the random walk hypothesis, three successively more restrictive sub-hypotheses with consecutive stronger tests for random walks exists (Campbell et al. 1997). These are range from the most restrictive form of Random Walk 1 (RW1) to the least restrictive one which is the Random Walk 3 (RW3). establish on their extensive research, the orthogonality condition for the random walk iscovfrtgrt+k=0 (1.8)Where frt and grt+k are two arbitrary functions and rt and rt+k refers to the returns for period t and t+k respectively. If (1.9) holds for all functions frt,grt+k this corresponds to RW1 and RW2. The former is the most restrictive version of random walk model implying it is not possible to predict either future price movements or unpredictability based on past prices. It states that returns are serially uncorrelated with independently and identically distributed increments with mean, zero and variance, 2. Under RW2, the returns are serially uncorrelated, corresponding with a random walk hypothesis with increments that are independent but not identically distributed. In case frt,grt+k are arbitrary linear functions, the RW3 applies so that it is not possible to use information on the basis of past prices to predict future prices. Hence, returns in a market accommodateing to this standard of random walk are serially uncorrelated, corresponding to a random walk hypothesis with dependent but uncorrelated increments.The foundation of traditional tests of random walk rests on the assumption of IID. The most famous tests remain the sequences and reversals test proposed by Cowles and Jones (1937) and the runs test. Tests of RW2 and RW3 encompass the variance ratio tests and social unit root tests which are more recent tools. Developed by Lo and MacKinlay (1988), hereby LM, the variance ratio tests out that the variance of the innovations pertaining to a random walk model is linear functions of time. This popular test does not restrict only to the RW1 but also to the RW2 and RW3.However, exclusion of non-linear analysis in financial series could lead to contrary deductions as regards weak-form efficiency. Indeed, the application of non-linear dynamics and chaos theory to financial series has shown that they evidence non-linear structure. In practice, returns distributions exhibit leptokurtic behaviours as opposed to normal distribution. They often reflect irritability clustering thereby the level of excitability in the next period tends to be positively correlated with its current level. Then it may be possible for information on the variance of past prices to predict the future irritability of the market. Indeed, share price movements could be unpredictable when using linear models but forecastable under non-linear models in the short-run. This contradicts the use of linear models for testing the efficient market hypothesis.Further departures from the random walk hypothesis exist in the long-range dependence. This is correspondent to high autocorrelation structure in a series so that there is persistent dependence between distant observations. In this case covfrtgrt+k does not tend to zero at higher lags. As regards market efficiency, persistence implies that past data contain useful information for prediction so that long memory violates the concept. Several tests have been developed for this purpose including the rescaled statistic to test for long-term randomness of the market series and the ARFIMA-FIGARCH which categorises the long- and short-term memory based on the estimated value of the fractional difference.2.2 Empirical ReviewFollowing the work of Fama (1965) Random walk in stock prices arguing for random walk hypothesis, a multitude of research has been performed throughout the world. While most of the well developed markets were found to be efficient, research findings of developing and less developed markets are change integrity and con troversial too. about of the less developed market encounters the problem of thin concern. Besides, it is easier for large traders to manipulate small markets. Though emerging markets are generally assumed to be less efficient, empirical evidence does not always support the idea. Some previous research aiming at testing the weak-form efficiency of a particular class of stock markets are presented below.A research that aims at testing weak-form market efficiency in the equity markets of the three main Central European transition economies (the Czechoslovakianoslovakian Republic, Hungary, and Poland) is that of Gilmore and McManus (2001). Using different approaches comprising of univariate, multivariate tests as well as the model-comparison approach for the period July 1995 to September 2000 different conclusion were drawn. While the serial correlation-based tests largely support a conclusion that these markets are weak-form efficient, the results of comparing forecasts of alter native models are consistent in rejecting the random walk hypothesis.Examining the existence of weak-form efficiency in European stock market, Worthington and Higgs (2003) used daily returns for sixteen developed markets (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) and four emerging markets (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Russia) to perform a number of testing procedures of random walk. They started with the serial correlation coefficient test and the runs test, and found that Netherlands and Germany do follow a random walk while the United Kingdom, Ireland and Portugal were efficient under one test or the other. All be markets were weak form inefficient. Beside unit root tests (ADF, PP statistics and KPSS), the multiple variance ratio tests rejected the presence of random walk in most of the markets. While in the developed markets only the United Kingdom, Portuga l, Ireland, Sweden and Germany satisfied the most stringent random walk criteria, in emerging markets only Hungary did so.Weak-form efficiency for emerging equity markets were also tested by Chang, Lima and Tabak (2003). They deduced that random walk hypothesis is not consistent with Asian equity markets while left apart Chile, Latin American indices resemble a random walk. Using daily prices from January 1992 to celestial latitude 2002, multivariate variance ratios using heteroscedastic robust assist procedures and test avocation rules using trading range break (TRB) levels were employed. Taking the US and Japan as yardsticks, they were not able to reject the random walk hypothesis.Another study considering a concourse of selected Asian markets Kim and Shamsuddin (2008) argues that market efficiency varies with the level of stock market development. Using new multiple variance ratio tests based on the wild assist and signs as well as the conventional Chow-Denning test, they fou nd that the Hong Kong, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese markets adhere to the martingale property while Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines markets are inefficient. Besides, the results revealed evidence that the Singaporean and Tai markets followed a random walk after the Asian crisis.As regards the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) stock markets, Elango and Hussein (2008) tested whether daily returns series are an approximation of normal distribution or not. Dubai, AbuDhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain stock market indices were examined using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Runs test, Autocorrelation Function and Partial Autocorrelation Functions. The results revealed that the distribution of daily returns on these markets deviated from the normal distribution during the study period. Also, the runs test rejected the hypothesis of random walk for all seven markets.In his paper investigating the random walk hypothesis, Urrutia (1995), used monthly data from celestial lati tude 1975 to March 1991 for four Latin American equity markets Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico to observe whether they are weak-form efficient. He made use of the Variance-ratio tests and the runs tests. While results of the variance ratio estimatespixelrejects the random walk hypothesis, runs tests specify that Latin American equity markets are weak-form efficient. These empirical findings suggest that domestic investors might not be able to develop trading strategies that would cede them to earn excess returns.Using Lo-MacKinlay Variance ratio, Wrights rank and sign VR and the standard runs tests Al-Khazali, Ding and Pyun (2007) revisited the asperity of random walk hypothesis in eight emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia. When assessed by Wrights (2000) rank and sign VR test, all the markets rejected the hypothesis of random walk. However, once data are reconciled for distortion s from thinly and infrequently traded stocks, all eight stock markets do follow a random walk.African countries were investigated in the paper How Efficient are Africas Emerging fall Markets by Magnusson and Wydick (2002). Testing procedures considered monthly data for eight African markets in comparison with nine other developing countries in Latin America and Asia. Distinguishing among the three types of random walk models, they started by testing the RW 3, by investigating the Partial Auto-Correlation Function(PACF) of the historical series and examining whether they are statistically different from zero. Markets in Botswana, Cote dIvoire, Kenya, Mauritius and South Africa did line up to the RW3 while those of Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe were rejected. Proceeding with the RW2, excluding Botswana, results did not change. However none of the African Markets were conform to the RW1 White test for heteroscedasticity. They conclude that African countries do conform preferably favou rably to some regions of the developing world.Another research which focuses on African markets was that of Jefferis and Smith (2005). It covers seven African stock markets South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Kenya and use a GARCH approach with time-varying parameters to detect changes in weak-form efficiency through time. They emphasised on RW 3 model with volatilities changing over time and found that Johannesburg stock market was weak-form efficient with no tendency to change like many other developed markets. On the other hand, the stock markets of Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria showed changing levels of inefficiencies to become weak-form efficient towards the end of the period. The results for Kenya, Zimbabwe and Mauritius, however, showed tendency towards efficiency and rejected the hypothesis of weak-form efficiency.Recently, McMillan and Thupayagale (2009) in their paper The efficiency of African equity markets examined long memory effects of both equi ty returns and volatility for eleven African countries, taking the UK and US as reference. They made use of unit roots test and the GARCH(1,1) models before proceeding with ARFIMA-FIGARCH and ARFIMA-HYGARCH models. They ended up with interracial results. The ARFIMA-FIGARCH models provide evidence for long term memory in African equity markets with the exception of Mauritius, Morocco, Botswana and Nigeria where the results were unpredictable. Also, the US stock return volatility was marked by long memory process while the UK was non-stationary. These results were further supported by the ARFIMA-HYGARCH models.2.3 ConclusionDuring the course of the literature review, limited evidence on weak form efficiency of African markets was found. These countries have attracted significant investment these last years and are of much importance to portfolio managers. Univariate time series analysis might be important tool for technical analysts in trying to outperform these markets. Indeed, the battery of econometrics software now paves the way for investigation of the random walk hypothesis based on different sets of assumption. A preliminary analysis of the African markets shall provide us with an insight to efficiency based on their attributes and consultation of previous works. cosmopolitan OVERVIEW OF THE AFRICAN STOCK MARKETS3.0 IntroductionAfrican stock markets, following in the wake of the surge in the world stock markets over the few decades, are starting to take off. Recognizing the importance of stock markets in economic development, several African countries launched stock exchanges during the past two decades. The African Stock permutation connecter (ASEA) was, hence, set up in 1993 so as to promote the development of stock markets. Prior to 1989, there were just five stock markets in sub-Saharan Africa and three in North Africa. Today, Africa has about 20 active stock markets, with some exchanges more established than others, depending on when they were est ablished. Alongside the rapid expansion of stock markets in the continent, there has also been a significant growth in market capitalisation and the number of listed companies. However, with the exception of the well established markets, stock markets in Africa remain thin and illiquid. This study covers four African stock markets namely South Africa, Mauritius, Morocco and Egypt over periods for which data is available.Mauritius Stock switch overSince its start of trading on the 5th July 1989 under the Stock Exchange Act of 1988, the Mauritius Stock Exchange (SEM) has come a long way. From a pre-emerging market with trading taking value only once a week, the SEM has emerged as one of the leading exchanges in Africa. It operates two markets namely the Official and the Development and Enterprise market (DEM), established in August 2006 to replace the over-the-counter market. The exchange is regulated by the fiscal Services Commission. As the second sub-Saharan stock exchange member of the human beings Federation of Exchanges, SEM operates in line with international standards. In addition, its developing institutional and retail investor base make it an attractive investment destination for foreign investors. The SEM offers instead a limited range of products to its investors and the aim for the next few years would be to increase the range of products offered. The three main indices of the official market are namely the SEMDEX, SEM-7 and the SEMTRI. As at 30 June 2009, some 40 companies, with a market capitalisation of Rs 130.77 bn, are listed on the Official market and 52 companies, with a market capitalisation of Rs 45.41 bn, are listed on the Development and Enterprise Market (DEM).The SEM maintained an upward momentum, amidst typical market fluctuations, until the end of February 2008. The total market capitalization of the Official Market and the DEM was Rs 173.1 bn at end 2007. This is in line with the levels observed in well-established emerging sto ck markets. However, like other exchanges, the SEM experienced market volatility since the start of the financial crisis in September 2008. The main pillars of the Mauritian economy were adversely affected and this reflected on hotels and banks stocks listed on the SEM. The market then picked-up by mid-March 2009 on the back of interest rate cuts and stimulus packages put forward by the Government of Mauritius.Johannesburg Stock ExchangeThe Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), regulated by the fiscal Services Board under the Securities Services Act 2004, is the largest exchange in Africa and among the top twenty largest in the world in terms of market capitalisation. JSE Securities Exchange existed since November 1887 and was incorporated as a public limited company on 1st July 2005, pursuant to its demutualization. Since then, the JSE has evolved from a traditional floor based equities trading market to a modern securities exchange providing fully electronic trading, clearing and set tlement in equities, financial and agricultural derivatives and other associated instruments and has extensive surveillance capabilities. Technical covenant with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) enables dual primary listings on both exchanges since 2001. Between the listed entity and its trusted trading platforms the South African economy becomes an active hub of employment where expansion is encouraged, businesses are enhanced, performance is driven and shareholder value is created. The JSE currently operates four boards for the equities market and the South African bond market is a draw among emerging-market economies. The main market indices are Top 40, Industrial 25, All Share, Oil and Gas powerfulness.As the gateway to Africas economy, the JSE provides the link between international markets and the continent. In 2008, a daily average of 334 million shares was traded on the JSE. At year-end, there were 992 listed securities on the JSE with a total market capitalisation of R4, 514 billion compared to R5,696 billion in 2007.Casablanca Stock ExchangeFounded in 1929, the Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) in Morocco is relatively modern, having experienced reform in 1993. The exchange is well regulated by the Conseil Deontologique des Valeurs Mobilieres (CDVM). Originally, CSE had the Index de la Bourse des Valeurs de Casablanca (IGB) but this was replaced on January 2002 by two indexes MASI (Moroccan All Shares Index) which comprises all listed shares, gets to follow up all listed values and to have a long-term visibility and MADEX (Moroccan well-nigh Active Shares Index), comprisiAsset Returns in African Stock Market IndexesAsset Returns in African Stock Market Indexes1.0 INTRODUCTIONfiscal markets are important in an economy in that they involve lots of monetary funds in the capital markets. These funds enable firms to raise finance in the form of equities and debts as means to finance expansion or expenses. Hence they serve the intermediation process and also provide a means for investors to diversify their portfolio of assets. African stock markets have been subject to economic restructuration as well as stock exchange modernisation these recent years. They now wait regional and global integration and so the need to investigate their returns characteristics.Efficiency is an integral part of investment valuation. When markets are efficient, security prices are properly valued as they absorb all information at each point of time. This leads to optimal allocation of private and social resources. Moreover, investors may not beat the market and make abnormally higher returns than others, based on information asymmetry. Conversely, inefficiency leads to market prices deviating from actual value. Hence, those having reasonable level of expertise in the field of valuation will be able to spot and exploit above and under-valued stocks.Efficiency in equity markets is of significance to investors and policymakers in African markets. The conc ept has been widely applied to developed countries but less attention has been devoted to less developed ones. These researches indicate the importance of developing stock markets for countries which are at appropriate stage of economic growth. Indeed, it is more convenient to test for weak form efficiency of market rather than testing for semi-strong or strong forms of efficiency due to lack of data and supervision pertaining to those markets.1.1 Organisation of the paperThe objective of this study is to examine the possibility of both short- and long-term memory in asset returns in selected African markets stock indexes. Besides South Africa, all the other markets are still in developing state so that efficiency can be gauged on basis of market development and size. The paper is organised as follows* Section 2 describes informational efficiency with emphasis on weak-form efficiency and random walk. Critics relating to the latter are then raised to emphasise on non-linearity and lo ng-term dimensions.* Section 3 provides a brief description of the characteristics of the selected African stock markets as well as their respective indices.* A methodological discussion based on the different random walks and long-term analysis is then presented in the fourth section.* Tests, results and discussions are provided in section 5. The possible explanations for efficiency or inefficiency pertaining to the respective markets are also made.* Finally, we conclude in section 6 and make policy recommendations as well as future scope for research.1.2 Limitations of the StudyThis paper in centered on market efficiency. However, given the excessive literature that exists in this field, it is beyond the scope this study to review all the previous works related to the study. We therefore provide only a short discussion on the main findings associated to the weak-form efficiency or random walk hypothesis to provide a general overview of the paper. Besides, the main limitation of th is paper is that we restrict to the weak-form efficiency using time series analysis. Consequently, the statistical tests are only used to test for market efficiency excluding any transaction costs adjustment such as the bid-ask spread. Finally, we use daily data for the analysis though it may lead to possible biasness in the observations. We believe that using a longer time period would help to reduce this problem. literature REVIEW2.0 IntroductionEfficient market hypothesis is one of the most researched topics in the realm of the stock market. While most of the early studies have previously been centered on developed stock markets like USA, Japan and Europe, developing and emerging stock markets have been brushed aside. Before proceeding with a taxonomical and ordered approach, it might be useful to present a general review of the theory under study, which in turn aims at defining the main concepts and demonstrating familiarity with previous relevant findings concerning the same f ield of research.2.1 Theoretical reviewIn this section, we develop a formal view of the weak-form efficiency as well as the random walk hypothesis. Starting with the martingale model, necessary assumptions are made to develop a model consistent with Lo and McKinley (1997) model specification. Making the necessary assumptions about the model, a formal presentation of the different random walks is made and criticised.2.1.1 Market efficiencyEfficiency has various different contextual meanings but analysis of financial markets assumes an informational dimension. The attribute of those markets by virtue of which they respond to new information, is called informational efficiency. This implies that current market price reacts instantaneously to new information so that it incorporates all relevant information. Since, by definition, new information is unpredictable, it follows that change in stock price cannot be anticipated and thus move in a random manner.Informational efficiency can be r elated to the hypothesis of random walk which assumes that prices do not exhibit predictive patterns over time and follow a random walk. Hence, prediction of future prices in absolute terms, based singly on information about historical price, will be unsuccessful. The theory had its roots from the early works of Bachelier (1900). In his own words, Bachelier argued that past, present and even discounted future events are reflected in market price, but often show no apparent relation to price changes. This emphasises the informational content of stock prices.In his paper on the behaviour of stock and commodity prices, Maurice Kendall (1953) further supported the random walk theory. The findings, unexpectedly, showed that prices follow a random walk and not regular cycles. His conclusion was that the series appeared wandering, Almost as if once a week the Demon of Chance drew a random number from a symmetrical population of fixed dispersion and added it to the current price to determin e the next weeks priceIn his thesis, Behaviour of stock market prices, Fama supported the random walk theory where he reviewed previous works on stock price movements. He concluded that it seems safe to say that this paper has presented strong and voluminous evidence in favour of the random walk hypothesis. Indeed in a market where prices are determined rationally, only new information will cause them to change. Hence prices follow a random walk to reflect all current knowledge.If price prediction were possible, this would have caused market inefficiency as prices dont incorporate all information. Fama (1965) was the first one who coined the term efficient market. He held that such a market is one constituting of a large number of competing rational and active profit-maximisers who try to predict individual values of securities. Information in those markets tends to be almost free. He argued that the essence of instantaneous adjustment in actual prices to new information is competit ion leading to efficiency in the market.Later, the random walk theory was broadened into a concept called the efficient market theory. Based on the works of Samuelson (1965) and Roberts (1967), Fama (1970) developed a second paper Efficient capital markets A review of theory and empirical work. He distinguished between three levels of efficiency, as earlier initiated by Roberts (1967), based on three sets of information reflected in the price. He posited that a market is efficient in the weak-form if any information which might be contained in past price movements is already reflected in the security prices. It is semi-strong efficient when all relevant publicly available information is impounded in security prices while strong form efficiency suggests that security prices already reflect all available information, even private information.In this pour out of literature, Malkiel (1992) contribution is elaborated in his essay Efficient market hypothesis in the New Palgrave Dictionar y of Money and Finance. He defines a capital market as efficient when it fully and correctly reflects all relevant information in security price determination. Hence, for some information set, t, the market is efficient if security prices are unaffected by unveiling that information to market participants. Then it becomes impossible to make economic profits by exploiting the information set.Hence, both the random walk theory and the EMH are related to informational efficiency. Then the form of efficiency under consideration will depend upon the information set, t, which determines the level of efficiency.2.1.2 Weak process Efficiency Random walk and its criticsWeak-form efficiency focuses on the informational content of the previous sequence of stock price movements. An informational efficient market postulates that excess return cannot be realised from information contained in past prices. The rationale behind weak-form efficiency is that stock prices are the most publicly availab le information so that an investor may not be able to use information, which is already available to others, to beat the market.A long considered necessary condition for an efficient asset market is the martingale process. Under market efficiency, the conditional expectation of future price changes, conditional on the price history, cannot be either positive or negative and therefore must be zero. In fact the martingale originated from gambling and the concept of fair game. Samuelson (1965) and Mandelbrot (1966) independently demonstrated that a sequence of prices of an asset is a martingale (or a fair game) if it has unbiased price changes. Danthine (1977), LeRoy (1976, 1989), Huang (1985) and Neftci (2000) held that if a security market can be equilibrium and for sure be a fair game, then the following equations must holdEpt+1t=pt (1)Ept+1-ptt=0 (1.1)Where t denotes the price of an asset at date t, t is a set of all past and current information regarding prices pt,pt-1,pt-2.. and pt+1-pt=rt. Hence, the directions of the future movements in martingales are impossible to forecast.If pt is a martingale in equation (1), the best forecast of pt+1 that could be derived on basis of current information t, equals pt. For equation (1.1), rt is a fair game if the forecast is zero for any possible value of t. Then pt is a martingale only if rt is a fair game. In this case, asset price evolves in a random process so that the correlation coefficient between the successive price changes will be zero given information about current and past prices.However, most assets are expected to yield a non-zero and positive returns. The martingale hypothesis does not take into account the trade-off between risk and return as pointed out in financial economics. The model implicitly assumes risk neutrality while investors are generally risk averse. In fact, an investor is likely to hold more risky assets provided they are compensated in terms of higher expected returns. In this case, kn owledge of the riskiness of current information set implies some awareness about the expected returns. Hence the equilibrium model shall predict a positive price change in the assets price though the actual return is still unforecastable under market efficiency. Then an asset model, considering positive returns, may be formulated as Fama (1970). He suggested the sub-martingale processEpt+1tpt or alternatively Ert+1t0 (1.2)This states that the expected value of next periods price based on the information available at time t, t, is equal to or greater than the current price. Equivalently, it stipulates that the expected returns and price changes are greater or equal to zero.Market efficiency plus an equilibrium model for asset pricing normally produces a random character to asset prices or returns or excess returns. The equilibrium model generally shows how the assets expected return varies with its risk and this can be closely related to Famas sub-martingale model. However, the repre sentative model for the asset uses log prices and the expected continuously compounded return, rt+1.Ert+1t=pt+1-pt (1.3)Under the efficient market hypothesis, investors cannot earn abnormal profits on the available information set other than by chance. This is in line with Jensen (1978) who defines a market as efficient with respect to the information set, t, if it not possible to make economic profits on the basis of this set of information. Hence, defining excess returns as zt+1zt+1=rt+1-Ert+1t (1.4)Since market efficiency implies that all information is already impounded in stock prices, the following appliesEzt+1t=0 (1.5)Under the assumption that the equilibrium model determining asset prices in (1.3) is assumed to be constant over time, the deduction is that expected return does not depend on the information available at time t such thatpt+1-pt=Ert+1t=Ert+1=r (1.6)Therefore market efficiency produces a result that implies that the changes in asset prices follow a random walk. T he appropriate model would then be a random walk with drift where the arbitrary drift parameter, reflects how prices change on average to provide returns to holding the asset over time. The following equation sets the random walk model similar to the one defined by Lo and MacKinlay (1997)pt+1= +pt+ t+1 (1.7)rt= +rt-1+ t (1.8)If the stock price index follows a random walk, then, = 0. Generally, if stock prices and returns are unpredictable then time series have the property of random walk and white noise implying the validity of EMH. Thus, given an equilibrium model for asset pricing, the test for weak-form efficiency is that of random walk tests of market efficiency. Ko and lee (1991) maintained that If the random walk hypothesis holds, the weak form of the efficient market hypothesis must hold, but not vice versa. Thus, evidence supporting the random walk model is the evidence of market efficiency. But violation of the random walk model need not be evidence of market inefficiency in the weak form. Depending on the restrictions put on the increments,t+1, different forms of the random walk are tested.Within the random walk hypothesis, three successively more restrictive sub-hypotheses with sequentially stronger tests for random walks exists (Campbell et al. 1997). These are range from the most restrictive form of Random Walk 1 (RW1) to the least restrictive one which is the Random Walk 3 (RW3). Based on their extensive research, the orthogonality condition for the random walk iscovfrtgrt+k=0 (1.8)Where frt and grt+k are two arbitrary functions and rt and rt+k refers to the returns for period t and t+k respectively. If (1.9) holds for all functions frt,grt+k this corresponds to RW1 and RW2. The former is the most restrictive version of random walk model implying it is not possible to predict either future price movements or volatility based on past prices. It states that returns are serially uncorrelated with independently and identically distributed increments with mean, zero and variance, 2. Under RW2, the returns are serially uncorrelated, corresponding with a random walk hypothesis with increments that are independent but not identically distributed. In case frt,grt+k are arbitrary linear functions, the RW3 applies so that it is not possible to use information on the basis of past prices to predict future prices. Hence, returns in a market conforming to this standard of random walk are serially uncorrelated, corresponding to a random walk hypothesis with dependent but uncorrelated increments.The foundation of traditional tests of random walk rests on the assumption of IID. The most famous tests remain the sequences and reversals test proposed by Cowles and Jones (1937) and the runs test. Tests of RW2 and RW3 encompass the variance ratio tests and unit root tests which are more recent tools. Developed by Lo and MacKinlay (1988), hereby LM, the variance ratio tests out that the variance of the innovations pertaining to a random walk mod el is linear functions of time. This popular test does not restrict only to the RW1 but also to the RW2 and RW3.However, exclusion of non-linear analysis in financial series could lead to impertinent deductions as regards weak-form efficiency. Indeed, the application of non-linear dynamics and chaos theory to financial series has shown that they evidence non-linear structure. In practice, returns distributions exhibit leptokurtic behaviours as opposed to normal distribution. They often reflect volatility clustering thereby the level of volatility in the next period tends to be positively correlated with its current level. Then it may be possible for information on the variance of past prices to predict the future volatility of the market. Indeed, share price movements could be unpredictable when using linear models but forecastable under non-linear models in the short-run. This contradicts the use of linear models for testing the efficient market hypothesis.Further departures from the random walk hypothesis exist in the long-range dependence. This is resembling to high autocorrelation structure in a series so that there is persistent dependence between distant observations. In this case covfrtgrt+k does not tend to zero at higher lags. As regards market efficiency, persistence implies that past data contain useful information for prediction so that long memory violates the concept. Several tests have been developed for this purpose including the rescaled statistic to test for long-term randomness of the market series and the ARFIMA-FIGARCH which categorises the long- and short-term memory based on the estimated value of the fractional difference.2.2 Empirical ReviewFollowing the work of Fama (1965) Random walk in stock prices arguing for random walk hypothesis, a multitude of research has been performed throughout the world. While most of the well developed markets were found to be efficient, research findings of developing and less developed markets are mix ed and controversial too. Most of the less developed market encounters the problem of thin trading. Besides, it is easier for large traders to manipulate small markets. Though emerging markets are generally assumed to be less efficient, empirical evidence does not always support the idea. Some previous research aiming at testing the weak-form efficiency of a particular group of stock markets are presented below.A research that aims at testing weak-form market efficiency in the equity markets of the three main Central European transition economies (the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland) is that of Gilmore and McManus (2001). Using different approaches comprising of univariate, multivariate tests as well as the model-comparison approach for the period July 1995 to September 2000 different conclusion were drawn. While the serial correlation-based tests largely support a conclusion that these markets are weak-form efficient, the results of comparing forecasts of alternative models are consistent in rejecting the random walk hypothesis.Examining the existence of weak-form efficiency in European stock market, Worthington and Higgs (2003) used daily returns for sixteen developed markets (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) and four emerging markets (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Russia) to perform a number of testing procedures of random walk. They started with the serial correlation coefficient test and the runs test, and found that Netherlands and Germany do follow a random walk while the United Kingdom, Ireland and Portugal were efficient under one test or the other. All remain markets were weak form inefficient. Beside unit root tests (ADF, PP statistics and KPSS), the multiple variance ratio tests rejected the presence of random walk in most of the markets. While in the developed markets only the United Kingdom, Portugal, Ireland, S weden and Germany satisfied the most stringent random walk criteria, in emerging markets only Hungary did so.Weak-form efficiency for emerging equity markets were also tested by Chang, Lima and Tabak (2003). They deduced that random walk hypothesis is not consistent with Asian equity markets while left apart Chile, Latin American indices resemble a random walk. Using daily prices from January 1992 to December 2002, multivariate variance ratios using heteroscedastic robust bootstrap procedures and test trading rules using trading range break (TRB) levels were employed. Taking the US and Japan as yardsticks, they were not able to reject the random walk hypothesis.Another study considering a group of selected Asian markets Kim and Shamsuddin (2008) argues that market efficiency varies with the level of stock market development. Using new multiple variance ratio tests based on the wild bootstrap and signs as well as the conventional Chow-Denning test, they found that the Hong Kong, Japa nese, Korean and Taiwanese markets adhere to the martingale property while Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines markets are inefficient. Besides, the results revealed evidence that the Singaporean and Thai markets followed a random walk after the Asian crisis.As regards the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) stock markets, Elango and Hussein (2008) tested whether daily returns series are an approximation of normal distribution or not. Dubai, AbuDhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain stock market indices were examined using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Runs test, Autocorrelation Function and Partial Autocorrelation Functions. The results revealed that the distribution of daily returns on these markets deviated from the normal distribution during the study period. Also, the runs test rejected the hypothesis of random walk for all seven markets.In his paper investigating the random walk hypothesis, Urrutia (1995), used monthly data from December 1975 to March 1991 for four Latin American equity markets Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico to observe whether they are weak-form efficient. He made use of the Variance-ratio tests and the runs tests. While results of the variance ratio estimatespixelrejects the random walk hypothesis, runs tests specify that Latin American equity markets are weak-form efficient. These empirical findings suggest that domestic investors might not be able to develop trading strategies that would allow them to earn excess returns.Using Lo-MacKinlay Variance ratio, Wrights rank and sign VR and the standard runs tests Al-Khazali, Ding and Pyun (2007) revisited the validity of random walk hypothesis in eight emerging markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia. When assessed by Wrights (2000) rank and sign VR test, all the markets rejected the hypothesis of random walk. However, once data are reconciled for distortions from thinly and infrequently traded s tocks, all eight stock markets do follow a random walk.African countries were investigated in the paper How Efficient are Africas Emerging Stock Markets by Magnusson and Wydick (2002). Testing procedures considered monthly data for eight African markets in comparison with nine other developing countries in Latin America and Asia. Distinguishing among the three types of random walk models, they started by testing the RW 3, by investigating the Partial Auto-Correlation Function(PACF) of the historical series and examining whether they are statistically different from zero. Markets in Botswana, Cote dIvoire, Kenya, Mauritius and South Africa did conform to the RW3 while those of Ghana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe were rejected. Proceeding with the RW2, excluding Botswana, results did not change. However none of the African Markets were conform to the RW1 White test for heteroscedasticity. They conclude that African countries do conform quite favourably to some regions of the developing world. Another research which focuses on African markets was that of Jefferis and Smith (2005). It covers seven African stock markets South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Kenya and use a GARCH approach with time-varying parameters to detect changes in weak-form efficiency through time. They emphasised on RW 3 model with volatilities changing over time and found that Johannesburg stock market was weak-form efficient with no tendency to change like many other developed markets. On the other hand, the stock markets of Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria showed changing levels of inefficiencies to become weak-form efficient towards the end of the period. The results for Kenya, Zimbabwe and Mauritius, however, showed tendency towards efficiency and rejected the hypothesis of weak-form efficiency.Recently, McMillan and Thupayagale (2009) in their paper The efficiency of African equity markets examined long memory effects of both equity returns and volatility for eleven African c ountries, taking the UK and US as reference. They made use of unit roots test and the GARCH(1,1) models before proceeding with ARFIMA-FIGARCH and ARFIMA-HYGARCH models. They ended up with mixed results. The ARFIMA-FIGARCH models provide evidence for long term memory in African equity markets with the exception of Mauritius, Morocco, Botswana and Nigeria where the results were unpredictable. Also, the US stock return volatility was marked by long memory process while the UK was non-stationary. These results were further supported by the ARFIMA-HYGARCH models.2.3 ConclusionDuring the course of the literature review, limited evidence on weak form efficiency of African markets was found. These countries have attracted significant investment these last years and are of much importance to portfolio managers. Univariate time series analysis might be important tool for technical analysts in trying to outperform these markets. Indeed, the battery of econometrics software now paves the way fo r investigation of the random walk hypothesis based on different sets of assumption. A preliminary analysis of the African markets shall provide us with an insight to efficiency based on their attributes and consultation of previous works. superior general OVERVIEW OF THE AFRICAN STOCK MARKETS3.0 IntroductionAfrican stock markets, following in the wake of the surge in the world stock markets over the few decades, are starting to take off. Recognizing the importance of stock markets in economic development, several African countries launched stock exchanges during the past two decades. The African Stock Exchange draw (ASEA) was, hence, set up in 1993 so as to promote the development of stock markets. Prior to 1989, there were just five stock markets in sub-Saharan Africa and three in North Africa. Today, Africa has about 20 active stock markets, with some exchanges more established than others, depending on when they were established. Alongside the rapid expansion of stock markets i n the continent, there has also been a significant growth in market capitalization and the number of listed companies. However, with the exception of the well established markets, stock markets in Africa remain thin and illiquid. This study covers four African stock markets namely South Africa, Mauritius, Morocco and Egypt over periods for which data is available.Mauritius Stock ExchangeSince its start of trading on the 5th July 1989 under the Stock Exchange Act of 1988, the Mauritius Stock Exchange (SEM) has come a long way. From a pre-emerging market with trading taking place only once a week, the SEM has emerged as one of the leading exchanges in Africa. It operates two markets namely the Official and the Development and Enterprise market (DEM), established in August 2006 to replace the over-the-counter market. The exchange is regulated by the Financial Services Commission. As the second sub-Saharan stock exchange member of the conception Federation of Exchanges, SEM operates in line with international standards. In addition, its developing institutional and retail investor base make it an attractive investment destination for foreign investors. The SEM offers quite a limited range of products to its investors and the aim for the next few years would be to increase the range of products offered. The three main indices of the official market are namely the SEMDEX, SEM-7 and the SEMTRI. As at 30 June 2009, some 40 companies, with a market capitalisation of Rs 130.77 bn, are listed on the Official market and 52 companies, with a market capitalisation of Rs 45.41 bn, are listed on the Development and Enterprise Market (DEM).The SEM maintained an upward momentum, amidst typical market fluctuations, until the end of February 2008. The total market capitalization of the Official Market and the DEM was Rs 173.1 bn at end 2007. This is in line with the levels observed in well-established emerging stock markets. However, like other exchanges, the SEM experienced mar ket volatility since the start of the financial crisis in September 2008. The main pillars of the Mauritian economy were adversely affected and this reflected on hotels and banks stocks listed on the SEM. The market then picked-up by mid-March 2009 on the back of interest rate cuts and stimulus packages put forward by the Government of Mauritius.Johannesburg Stock ExchangeThe Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), regulated by the Financial Services Board under the Securities Services Act 2004, is the largest exchange in Africa and among the top twenty largest in the world in terms of market capitalisation. JSE Securities Exchange existed since November 1887 and was incorporated as a public limited company on 1st July 2005, pursuant to its demutualization. Since then, the JSE has evolved from a traditional floor based equities trading market to a modern securities exchange providing fully electronic trading, clearing and settlement in equities, financial and agricultural derivatives and other associated instruments and has extensive surveillance capabilities. Technical engagement with the London Stock Exchange (LSE) enables dual primary listings on both exchanges since 2001. Between the listed entity and its trusted trading platforms the South African economy becomes an active hub of exertion where expansion is encouraged, businesses are enhanced, performance is driven and shareholder value is created. The JSE currently operates four boards for the equities market and the South African bond market is a loss leader among emerging-market economies. The main market indices are Top 40, Industrial 25, All Share, Oil and Gas Index.As the gateway to Africas economy, the JSE provides the link between international markets and the continent. In 2008, a daily average of 334 million shares was traded on the JSE. At year-end, there were 992 listed securities on the JSE with a total market capitalisation of R4,514 billion compared to R5,696 billion in 2007.Casablanca Stock ExchangeFounded in 1929, the Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) in Morocco is relatively modern, having experienced reform in 1993. The exchange is well regulated by the Conseil Deontologique des Valeurs Mobilieres (CDVM). Originally, CSE had the Index de la Bourse des Valeurs de Casablanca (IGB) but this was replaced on January 2002 by two indexes MASI (Moroccan All Shares Index) which comprises all listed shares, allows to follow up all listed values and to have a long-term visibility and MADEX (Moroccan Most Active Shares Index), comprisi

Review On The Office Environment Management Essay

Review On The Office Environment Management EssayThe environment in the office determines how its employees act to situations. Each boldness and its department has a different work environment for instance, lighting, noise, privacy, and the amount of stress in the office which affects the whole ecesiss work communication, efficiency and effectiveness, and productivity (Parks, 2003). Having the right environment entrust generate happier employees that will work more effectively and productively rather than employees who are uncomfortable (http//tinyurl.com/56tcmy).Roles RelationshipThe roles and relationship vie between managers and subordinates produces behaviors that affect work productivity. Both the manager and employees assume roles in the office, which are defined as performing a subscriber line function with a set of tasks or responsibility according to their job requirement. Relationship, on the other hand, is established by communication while carrying out a roles off ice tariff (The Readers Digest Oxford Complete Wordfinder, 1994 http//tinyurl.com/3qguo). For instance, the frequency a manager interacts with his staff creates a relationship, either positive or negative, while performing their job function will result in different outcome.In this case, mangers are known to be the leader and the employees are the followers. Therefore, a leader must know to inspire his followers, as without them, the leader evictnot function properly. The manager must have a good understanding that the difference between all his employees in terms of leadership styles that has contour reaction with their needs, emotions, and motivation. In order to be successful, the manager has to persuade employees that he is creditable to be followed. (http//tinyurl.com/3qguo)Corporate CultureCorporate culture can be referred as a set of determine, beliefs, and behavior patterns that form the core identity of organisations, and assist in shaping the employees behavior (Deal a nd Kennedy, 1982 Jones, 1983 Schein, 1992 Kotter and Heskett, 1992 Pheysey, 1993 Van der Post, 1998 Deshpande and Farley, 1999). Corporate culture excessively acts as a cognitive map that influences the way in which the situation is providing the selection mechanisms and values when wad want to carry out events (Jones, 1983). Most people believe that corporal culture is a pattern of beliefs, symbols, rituals, myths, and practices that have change over time in an organization (Pheysey, 1993). Thus, it causes corporate culture became leading values that adopt by most of the organization. This is because corporate culture is alike a part of the organization structure and control system to generate behavioral standards (Deal and Kennedy, 1982 Quinn, 1988). This can increase staffs morale and self-discipline as well.Furthermore, Despande and Farley stated that there are four types of corporate culture that are competitive culture, entrepreneurial culture, bureaucratic culture, and al so consensual culture. First, competitive culture is a value that linked with concepts such demanding goals, competitive advantage, marketing hypernymity and profit margin as well. For example, top sales person will be rewarded extra commission of MYR 1000.00 and this causes all sales person competing harder to get the extra commission. Then, entrepreneurial culture is emphasizing on innovation, guess taking, high levels of dynamism, and creativity followed by bureaucratic culture which is refer to values like formalization, rules, standard operating procedures and hierarchical coordination. Lastly, the consensual culture is concern on the elements of tradition, loyalty, personal commitment, extensive socialization, teamwork, self-management, and social influence which are important in the organizational values (Despande and Farley).Additionally, Pool (2000) claims that the organizational culture (passive or constructive) could obstruct job performance, job commitment, and job sa tisfaction (http//tinyurl.com/5qn56a). This is because corporate culture has a major impact on employee morale and productivity. For example, employees which are committed to the vision and the strategy of the organization will able to achieve organization goal easier compare to an organization that are never adopt corporate culture. Moreover, an effective culture could ensure the organization meets its long-term goals as well. Therefore, most organizations are realizing the importance of effective corporate culture at fundamental level that could help to translate that engagement of corporate culture into high performance. Deal and Kennedy (1982) and Peters and Waterman (1982) had taken a prescriptive approach towards culture management. They argued that adopting certain common cultural traits would result in superior performance.Nevertheless, it is very difficult to imitate a successful culture into an organization because there are many employment elements. Based on the resource base theory, there are two other reasons that cause culture to be extremely difficult to imitate. First, cultural norms and values are subject to a track of addiction. On the other hand, life cycle theory stated that cultural development and strength depends on the historical development of the company itself. Thus, the assumptions of values and interlocking elements need a longer period of time to build. Therefore, the strength and management style of the company cannot easily duplicate by the competitors. Lastly, the capabilities of an organization to adopt a new culture are still unclear. This is because the impacts of adopting a new culture on the organizations would get the situation worsening due to a wide grasp of social interactions among organizational members because all organizations members are not ready to accept new things yet. (Adapted from Journal, The influence of corporate culture and organizational commitment on performance Corporate culture and organizationa l performance)Keyword workplace environment, leader-follower, beliefs, myths and norms.H1 Leadership is influenced by the environment towards rising company sales.

A GCSE Biology Case Study on Whether Cannabis Should be reclassified to

A Biology Case Study on Whether marihuana Should be reclassified to a Class B DrugIntroductionIn this case study on cannabis, I am going to be exploring whether Cannabis, which is shortly a Class C do drugs, should be reclassified to become a Class B drug. It is commonly thought that if Cannabis was reclassified, it would dissuade drug dealers and use uprs from taking and sell the drug, as if caught with it a longer sentence and heavier fine would be enforced. I will also be discussing how easy it would be for the government to enforce laws intimately cannabis and how much, the public would be deterred. Gordon Brown is also determined to reclassify cannabis despite warnings from his advisors, who have told him that reclassification wouldn?t be effective and that cannabis should bear on as a Class C drug (1).Contents PageThe science behind Cannabis......................page 2The many Forms of Cannabis......................page 2The Cost of Cannabis.......................page 3The laws that outsmart Cannabis at the moment.........................page 3Why should Cannabis be reclassified?..................................................................page 4Why should Cannabis stay as a class C drug?......................................................page 4Conclusion.......................page 4References..........................page 5The Science behind Cannabis (2)Cannabis is a Plant, scientifically called Cannabis Satvia L., which is also called Marijuana or (the Hindi name) ? marijuana?, as well as common street names such as pot, weed, and skunk, which is a drug, derived from Cannabis which is about two and a half generation stronger than traditional cannabis. Cannabis is a psychoactive drug, which is ... ...on to those interested in the work it does.6. http//www.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs/drugs-law/Class-a-b-c/, article title ?Class A,B and C drugs?, by the home office, accessed 12th June 2008.I think that this source is reliable because it is issued by the home office and it relates to the laws about drugs and the have to have a solid rule that if you are in self-command of a Class A drug, you will receive such and such a sentence, they cannot change it, the law isn?t flexible.7. http//drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs-laws/cannabis-reclassifications/, article title ?Cannabis reclassification?, by the home office, accessed 12th June 2008.I think that this source is reliable because it is from a website that has been created by the government intended to inform the general public about the use of drugs, and therefore it is unlikely to give out false information.

African American History in America Essay -- History Blacks African Am

In From Slavery to Freedom (2007), it was said that the transition from slavery to freedom represents one of the major(ip) themes in the history of African Diaspora in the Americas (para. 1). African American history plays an important role in American history not only because the genteel Rights Movement, but because of the strength and courage of Afro-Americans struggling to live a good life in America. Afro-Americans hold in been present in this country since the early 1600s, and have been making history since. We as Americans have studied American history all throughout school, and took one Month out of the year to studied African American history. Of course we learn some things about the important people and events in African American history, but some of the most important things take a breather untold which will take more than a month to learn about. The Fight for Freedom and RightsWhen Afro-Americans came to America in hopes of having a go and easier way of life, and after they arrived it was a totally oppo aim of what they expected. The following are a couple events that took place in different locations for the fight for freedom and right. The stolon is Bloody Sunday which took place in Selma, Alabama. This particular event was the march of grisly activists from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Thomas-Samuel (1996) stated that In 1965, Alabama state troopers and local deputies stopped and clubbed black activists as they marched peacefully. (para. 1). These people moreover wanted to make a point by marching from one city to another and they got beating just for it. Next is the fight for... ...7, 2007 from nett site http//www.who2.com/denmarkvesseyFrom Slavery to Freedom African in the Americas. (2007). Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Retrieved October 7, 2007 from Web sit e http//www.asalh.org/Harlem Renaissance (1997-2007) Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007. Retrieved October 7, 2007 from Web site http//encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566483/Harlem_Renaissance.html/Harlem Renaissance. (2007) The Columbia Eletronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Retrieved October 7, 2007 from Web site http//www.factmonster.com./ce6/ent/A0822748.htmlHistory of Little Rock Nine. (1999) Little Rock Nine Foundation. Retrieved October 7, 2007 from the Web site http//www.littlerock9.com/