Analysis of the Capital Assets Pricing Model

Analysis of the Capital Assets Pricing Model Chapter I The QUARREL ON THE CAPM: A LITERATURE SURVEY Abstract The current chapter has attempted to do three things. First it presents an overview on the capital asset pricing model and the results from its application throughout a narrative literature review. Second the chapter has argued that to claim whether the CAPM is dead or alive, some improvements on the model must be considered. Rather than take the view that one theory is right and the other is wrong, it is probably more accurate to say that each applies in somewhat different circumstances (assumptions). Finally the chapter has argued that even the examination of the CAPMs variants is unable to solve the debate into the model. Rather than asserting the death or the survival of the CAPM, we conclude that there is no consensus in the literature as to what suitable measure of risk is, and consequently as to what extent the model is valid or not since the evidence is very mixed. So the debate on the validity of the CAPM remains a questionable issue. 1. INTRODUCTION The traditional capital assets pricing model (CAPM), always the most widespread model of the financial theory, was prone to harsh criticisms not only by the academicians but also by the experts in finance. Indeed, in the last few decades an enormous body of empirical researches has gathered evidences against the model. These evidences tackle directly the models assumptions and suggest the dead of the beta (Fama and French, 1992); the systematic risk of the CAPM. If the world does not obey to the models predictions, it is maybe because the model needs some improvements. It is maybe because also the world is wrong, or that some shares are not correctly priced. Perhaps and most notably the parameters that determine the prices are not observed such as information or even the returns distribution. Of course the theory, the evidence and even the unexplained movements have all been subject to much debate. But the cumulative effect has been to put a new look on asset pricing. Financial Researchers have provided both theory and evidence which suggest from where the deviations of securities prices from fundamentals are likely to come, and why could not be explained by the traditional CAPM. Understanding security valuation is a parsimonious as well as a lucrative end in its self. Nevertheless, research on valuation has many additional benefits. Among them the crucial and relatively neglected issues have to do with the real consequences of the models failure. How are securities priced? What are the pricing factors and when? Once it is recognized that the models failure has real consequences, important issues arise. For instance the conception of an adequate pricing model that accounts for all the missing aspects. The objective of this chapter is to look at different approaches to the CAPM, how these have arisen, and the importance of recognizing that theres no single ‘right model which is adequate for all shares and for all circumstances, i.e. assumptions. We will, so move on to explore the research task, discuss the goodness and the weakness of the CAPM, and look at how different versions are introduced and developed in the literature. We will, finally, go on to explore whether these recent developments on the CAPM could solve the quarrel behind its failure. For this end, the recent chapter is organized as follows: the second section presents the theoretical bases of the model. The third one discusses the problematic issues on the model. The fourth section presents a literature survey on the classic version of the model. The five section sheds light on the recent developments of the CAPM together with a literature review on these versions. The next one raises the quarrel on the model and its modified versions. Section seven concludes the paper. 2. THEORETICAL BASES OF THE CAPITAL ASSET PRICING MODEL In the field of finance, the CAPM is used to determine, theoretically, the required return of an asset; if this asset is associated to a well diversified market portfolio while taking into account the non diversified risk of the asset its self. This model, introduced by Jack Treynor, William Sharpe and Jan Mossin (1964, 1965) took its roots of the Harry Markowitzs work (1952) which is interested in diversification and the modern theory of the portfolio. The modern theory of portfolio was introduced by Harry Markowitz in his article entitled â€Å"Portfolio Selection, appeared in 1952 in the Journal of Finance. Well before the work of Markowitz, the investors, for the construction of their portfolios, are interested in the risk and the return. Thus, the standard advice of the investment decision was to choose the stocks that offer the best return with the minimum of risk, and by there, they build their portfolios. On the basis of this point, Markowitz formulated this intuition by resorting to the diversifications mathematics. Indeed, he claims that the investors must in general choose the portfolios while getting based on the risk criterion rather than to choose those made up only of stocks which offer each one the best risk-reward criterion. In other words, the investors must choose portfolios rather than individual stocks. Thus, the modern theory of portfolio explains how rational investors use diversification to optimize their portfolio and what should be the price of an asset while knowing its systematic risk. Such investors are so-called to meet only one source of risk inherent to the total performance of the market; more clearly, they support only the market risk. Thus, the return on a risky asset is determined by its systematic risk. Consequently, an investor who chooses a less diversified portfolio, generally, supports the market risk together with the uncertaintys risk which is not related to the market and which would remain even if the market return is known. Sharpe (1964) and Linter (1965), while basing on the work of Harry Markowitz (1952), suggest, in their model, that the value of an asset depends on the investors anticipations. They claim, in their model that if the investors have homogeneous anticipations (their optimal behavior is summarized in the fact of having an efficient portfolio based on the mean-variance criterion), the market portfolio will have to be the efficient one while referring to the mean-variance criterion (Hawawini 1984, Campbell, Lo and MacKinlay 1997). The CAPM offer an estimate of a financial asset on the market. Indeed, it tries to explain this value while taking into account the risk aversion, more particularly; this model supposes that the investors seek, either to maximize their profit for a given level of risk, or to minimize the risk taking into account a given level of profit. The simplest mean-variance model (CAPM) concludes that in equilibrium, the investors choose a combination of the market portfolio and to lend or to borrow with proportions determined by their capacity to support the risk with an aim of obtaining a higher return. 2.1. Tested Hypothesis The CAPM is based on a certain number of simplifying assumptions making it applicable. These assumptions are presented as follows: The markets are perfect and there are neither taxes nor expenses or commissions of any kind; All the investors are risk averse and maximize the mean-variance criterion; The investors have homogeneous anticipations concerning the distributions of the returns probabilities (Gaussian distribution); and The investors can lend and borrow unlimited sums with the same interest rate (the risk free rate). The aphorism behind this model is as follows: the return of an asset is equal to the risk free rate raised with a risk premium which is the risk premium average multiplied by the systematic risk coefficient of the considered asset. Thus the expression is a function of: The systematic risk coefficient which is noted as; The market return noted; The risk free rate (Treasury bills), noted This model is the following: Where: ; represents the risk premium, in other words it represents the return required by the investors when they rather place their money on the market than in a risk free asset, and; ; corresponds to the systematic risk coefficient of the asset considered. From a mathematical point of view, this one corresponds to the ratio of the covariance of the assets return and that of the market return and the variance of the market return. Where: ; represents the standard deviation of the market return (market risk), and ; is the standard deviation of the assets return. Subsequently, if an asset has the same characteristics as those of the market (representative asset), then, its equivalent will be equal to 1. Conversely, for a risk free asset, this coefficient will be equal to 0. The beta coefficient is the back bone of the CAPM. Indeed, the beta is an indicator of profitability since it is the relationship between the assets volatility and that of the market, and volatility is related to the returns variations which are an essential element of profitability. Moreover, it is an indicator of risk, since if this asset has a beta coefficient which is higher than 1, this means that if the market is in recession, the return on the asset drops more than that of the market and less than it if this coefficient is lower than 1. The portfolio risk includes the systematic risk or also the non diversified risk as well as the non systematic risk which is known also under the name of diversified risk. The systematic risk is a risk which is common for all stocks, in other words it is the market risk. However the non systematic risk is the risk related to each asset. This risk can be reduced by integrating a significant number of stocks in the market portfolio, i.e. by diversifying well in advantage (Markowitz, 1985). Thus, a rational investor should not take a diversified risk since it is only the non diversified risk (risk of the market) which is rewarded in this model. This is equivalent to say that the market beta is the factor which rewards the investors exposure to the risk. In fact, the CAPM supposes that the market risk can be optimized i.e. can be minimized the maximum. Thus, an optimal portfolio implies the weakest risk for a given level of return. Moreover, since the inclusion of stocks diversifies in advantage the portfolio, the optimal one must contain the whole stocks on the market, with the equivalent proportions so as to achieve this goal of optimization. All these optimal portfolios, each one for a given level of return, build the efficient frontier. Here is the graph of the efficient frontier: The (Markowitz) efficient frontier The efficient frontier Lastly, since the non systematic risk is diversifiable, the total risk of the portfolio can be regarded as being the beta (the market risk). 3. Problematic issues on the CAPM Since its conception as a model to value assets by Sharpe (1964), the CAPM has been prone to several discussions by both academicians and experts. Among them the most known issues concerning the mean variance market portfolio, the efficient frontier, and the risk premium puzzle. 3.1 The mean-variance market portfolio The modern portfolio theory was introduced for the first time by Harry Markowitz (1952). The contribution of Markowitz constitutes an epistemological shatter with the traditional finance. Indeed, it constitutes a passageway from an intuitive finance which is limited to advices related to financial balance or to tax and legal nature advices, to a positive science which is based on coherent and fundamental theories. One allots to Markowitz the first rigorous treatment of the investor dilemma, namely how obtaining larger profits while minimizing the risks. 3.2 The efficient frontier 3.3 The equity premium puzzle 4. Background on the CAPM â€Å"The attraction of the CAPM is that it offers powerful and intuitively pleasing predictions about how to measure risk and the relation between expected return and risk. Unfortunately, the empirical record of the model is poor poor enough to invalidate the way it is used in applications. The CAPMs empirical problems may reflect theoretical failings, the result of many simplifying assumptions.† Fama and French, 2003, â€Å"The Capital Asset Pricing Model: Theory and Evidence†, Tuck Business School, Working Paper No. 03-26 Being a theory, the CAPM found the welcome thanks to its circumspect elegance and its concept of good sense which supposes that a risk averse investor would require a higher return to compensate for supported the back-up risk. It seems that a more pragmatic approach carries out to conclude that there are enough limits resulting from the empirical tests of the CAPM. Tests of the CAPM were based, mainly, on three various implications of the relation between the expected return and the market beta. Firstly, the expected return on any asset is linearly associated to its beta, and no other variable will be able to contribute to the increase of the explanatory power. Secondly, the beta premium is positive which means that the market expected return exceeds that of individual stocks, whose return is not correlated with that of the market. Lastly, according to the Sharpe and Lintner model (1964, 1965), stocks whose return is not correlated with that of the market, have an expected return equal to the risk free rate and a risk premium equal to the difference between the market return and the risk free rate return. In what follows, we are going to examine whether the CAPMs assumptions are respected or not through the empirical literature. Starting with Jensen (1968), this author wants to test for the relationship between the securities expected return and the market beta. For this reason, he uses the time series regression to estimate for the CAPM ´ s coefficients. The results reject the CAPM as for the moment when the relationship between the expected return on assets is positive but that this relation is too flat. In fact, Jensen (1968) finds that the intercept in the time series regression is higher than the risk free rate. Furthermore, the results indicate that the beta coefficient is lower than the average excess return on the market portfolio. In order to test for the CAPM, Black et al. (1972) work on a sample made of all securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange for the period of 1926-1966. The authors classify the securities into ten portfolios on the basis of their betas.They claim that grouping the securities with reference to their betas may offer biased estimates of the portfolio beta which may lead to a selection bias into the tests. Hence, so as to get rid of this bias, they use an instrumental variable which consists of taking the previous periods estimated beta to select a securitys portfolio grouping for the next year. For the estimate of the equation, the authors use the time series regression. The results indicate, firstly, that the securities associated to high beta had significantly negative intercepts, whereas those with low beta had significantly positive intercepts. It was proved, also, that this effect persists overtime. Hence, these evidences reject the traditional CAPM. Secondly, it is found that the relation between the mean excess return and beta is linear which is consistent with the CAPM. Nevertheless, the results point out that the slopes and intercepts in the regression are not reliable. In fact, during the prewar period, the slope was sharper than that predicted by the CAPM for the first sub period, and it was flatter during the second sub period. However, after that, the slope was flatter. Basing on these results, Black, Fischer, Michael C. Jensen and Myron Scholes (1972) conclude that the traditional CAPM is inconsistent with the data. Fama and MacBeth (1973) propose another regression method so as to overcome the problem related to the residues correlation in a simple linear regression. Indeed, instead of estimating only one regression for the monthly average returns on the betas, they propose to estimate regressions of these returns month by month on the betas. They include all common stocks traded in NYSE from 1926 to 1968 in their analysis. The monthly averages of the slopes and intercepts, with the standard errors of the averages, thus, are used to check, initially, if the beta premium is positive, then to test if the averages return of assets which are not correlated with the market return is from now on equal to the average of the risk free rate. In this way, the errors observed on the slopes and intercepts are directly given by the variation for each month of the regression coefficients, which detect the effects of the residues correlation over the variation of the regression. Their study led to three main results. At first, the relationship between assets return and their betas in an efficient portfolio is linear. At second, the beta coefficient is an appropriate measure of the securitys risk and no other measure of risk can be a better estimator. Finally, the higher the risk is, the higher the return should be. Blume and Friend (1973) in their paper try to examine theoretically and empirically the reasons beyond the failure of the market line to explain excess return on financial assets. The authors estimate the beta coefficients for each common stock listed in the New York Stock Exchange over the period of January 1950 to December 1954. Then, they form 12 portfolios on the basis of their estimated beta. They afterwards, calculate the monthly return for each portfolio. Third, they calculate the monthly average return for portfolios from 1955 to 1959. These averaged returns were regressed to obtain the value of the beta portfolios. Finally, these arithmetic average returns were regressed on the beta coefficient and the square of beta as well. Through, this study, the authors point out that the failure of the capital assets pricing model in explaining returns maybe due to the simplifying assumption according to which the functioning of the short-selling mechanism is perfect. They defend their point of view while resorting to the fact that, generally, in short sales the seller cannot use the profits for purchasing other securities. Moreover, they state that the seller should make a margin of roughly 65% of the sales market value unless the securities he owns had a value three times higher than the cash margin. This makes a severe constraint on his short sales. In addition to that, the authors reveal that it is more appropriate and theoretically more possible to remove the restriction on the short sales than that of the risk free rate assumption (i.e., to borrow and to lend on a unique risk free rate). The results show that the relationship between the average realized returns of the NYSE listed common stocks and their correspondent betas is almost linear which is consistent with the CAPM assumptions. Nevertheless, they advance that the capital assets pricing model is more adequate for the estimates of the NYSE stocks rather than other financial assets. They mention that this latter conclusion is may be owed to the fact that the market of common stocks is well segmented from markets of other assets such as bonds. Finally, the authors come out with the two following conclusions: Firstly, the tests of the CAPM suggest the segmentation of the markets between stocks and bonds. Secondly, in absence of this segmentation, the best way to estimate the risk return tradeoff is to do it over the class of assets and the period of interest. The study of Stambaugh (1982) is interested in testing the CAPM while taking into account, in addition to the US common stocks, other assets such as, corporate and government bonds, preferred stocks, real estate, and other consumer durables. The results indicate that testing the CAPM is independent on whether we expand or not the market portfolio to these additional assets. Kothari Shanken and Sloan (1995), show that the annual betas are statistically significant for a variety of portfolios. These results were astonishing since not very early, Fama and French (1992), found that the monthly and the annual betas are nearly the same and are not statistically significant. The authors work on a sample which covers all AMEX firms for the period 1927-1990. Portfolios are formed in five different ways. Firstly, they from 20 portfolios while basing only on beta. Secondly, 20 portfolios by grouping on size alone. Thirdly, they take the intersection of 10 independent beta or size to obtain 100 portfolios. Then, they classify stocks into 10 portfolios on beta, and after that into 10 portfolios on size within each beta group. They, finally, classify stocks into 10 portfolios on size and then into 10 portfolios on beta within each size group. They use the GRSP equal weighted portfolio as a proxy for the whole market return market. The cross-sectional regression of monthly return on beta and size has led to the following conclusions: On the one hand, when taking into account only the beta, it is found that the parameter coefficient is positive and statistically significant for both the sub periods studied. On the other hand, it is demonstrated that the ability of beta and size to explain cross sectional variation of the returns on the 100 portfolios ranked on beta given the size, is statistically significant. However, the incremental economic benefit of size given beta is relatively small. Fama and French published in 1992 a famous study putting into question the CAPM, called since then the Beta is dead paper (the article announcing the death of Beta). The authors use a sample which covers all the stocks of the non-financial firms of the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ for the period of the end of December 1962 until June 1990. For the estimate of the betas; they use the same test as that of Fama and Macbeth (1973) and the cross-sectional regression. The results indicate that when paying attention only to the betas variations which are not related to the size, it is found that the relation between the betas and the expected return is too flat, and this even if the beta is the only explanatory variable. Moreover, they show that this relationship tend to disappear overtime. In order to verify the validity of the CAPM in the Hungarian stock market, Andor et al. (1999) work on daily and monthly data on 17 Hungarian stocks between the end of July 1991 and the beginning of June 1999. To proxy for the market portfolio the authors use three different indexes which are the BUX index, the NYSE index, and the MSCI world index. The regression of the stocks return against the different indexes return indicates that the CAPM holds. Indeed, in all cases it is found that the return is positively associated to the betas and that the R-squared value is not bad at all. They conclude, hence, that the CAPM is appropriate for the description of the Hungarian stock market. For the aim of testing the validity of the CAPM, Kothari and Jay Shanken (1999), study the one factor model with reference to the size anomaly and the book to market anomaly. The sample used in their study contains annual return on portfolios from the GRSP universe of stocks. The portfolios are formed every July from 1927 to 1992. The formation procedure is the following; every year stocks are sorted on the basis of their market capitalization and then on their betas while regressing the past returns on the GRSP equal weighted index return. They obtain, hence, ten portfolios on the basis of the size. Then, the stocks in each size portfolio are grouped into ten portfolios based on their betas. They repeat the same procedure to obtain the book-to-market portfolios. Using the Fama and MacBeth cross-sectional regression, the authors find those annual betas perform well since they are significantly associated to the average stock returns especially for the period 1941-1990 and 1927-1990. Moreover, the ability of the beta to predict return with reference to the size and the book to market is higher. In a conclusion, this study is a support for the traditional CAPM. Khoon et al. (1999), while comparing two assets pricing models in the Malaysian stock exchange, examine the validity of the CAPM. The data contains monthly returns of 231 stocks listed in the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange over the period of September 1988 to June 1997. Using the cross section regression (two pass regression) and the market index as the market portfolio, the authors find that the beta coefficient is sometimes positive and some others negative, but they do not provide any further tests. In order to extract the factors that may affect the returns of stocks listed in the Istanbul stock exchange, Akdeniz et al. (2000)make use of monthly return of all non financial firms listed in the up mentioned stock market for the period that spans from January 1992 to December 1998. They estimate the beta coefficient in two stages using the ISE composite index as the market portfolio. First, they employ the OLS regression and estimate for the betas each month for each stock. Then, once the betas are estimated for the previous 24 months (time series regression), they rank the stocks into five equal groups on the basis of the pre-ranking betas and the average portfolio beta is attributed to each stock in the portfolio. They, afterwards, divide the whole sample into two equal sub-periods and the estimation procedure is done for each sub-period and the whole period as well. The results from the cross sectional regression, indicate that the return has no significant relationship with the market beta. This variable does not appear to influence cross section variation in all the periods studied (1992-1998, 1992-1995, and 1995-1998). In a relatively larger study, Estrada (2002) investigates the CAPM with reference to the downside CAPM. The author works on a monthly sample covering the period that spans from 1988 to 2001 (varied periods are considered) on stocks of 27 emerging markets. Using simple regression, the authors find that the downside beta outperforms the traditional CAPM beta. Nevertheless, the results do not support the rejection of the CAPM from two aspects. Firstly, it was found that the intercept from the regression is not statistically different from zero. Secondly, the beta coefficient is positive and statistically significant and the explanatory power of the model is about 40%. This result stems for the conclusion according to which the CAPM is still alive within the set of countries studied. In order to check the validity of the CAPM, and the absence of anomalies that must be incorporated to the model, Andrew and Joseph (2003) try to investigate the ability of the model to predict book-to market portfolios. If it is the case, then the CAPM captures the Book-to-market anomaly and theres no need to further incorporate it in the model. For this intention, the authors work on a sample that covers the period of 1927-2001 and contains monthly data on stocks listed in the NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ. So as to form the book-to-market portfolios, they use, alike Fama and French (1992), the size and the book-to-market ratio criterion. To estimate for the market return, they use the return on the value weighted portfolios on stocks listed in the pre-cited stock exchanges and to proxy for the risk free rate; they employ the one-month Treasury bill rate from Ibbotson Associates. They, afterwards, divide the whole period into two laps of time; the first one goes from July 1927 to June 1963, and the other one span from July 1963 to the end of 2001. Using asymptotic distribution the results indicate that the CAPM do a great job over the whole period, since the intercept is found to be closed to zero, but there is no evidence for a value premium. Hence, they conclude that the CAPM cannot be rejected. However, for the pre-1963 period the book to market premium is not significant at all, whereas for the post-1963 period this premium is relatively high and statistically significant. Nevertheless, when accounting for the sample size effect, the authors find that there is an overall risk premium for the post-1963 period. The authors conclude then that, taken as a whole, the study fails to reject the null that the CAPM holds. This study points to the necessity to take into account the small sample bias. Fama and French (2004), estimate the betas of stocks provided by the CRSP (Center for Research in Security Prices of the University of Chicago) of the NYSE (1928-2003), the AMEX (1963-2003) and the NASDAQ (1972-2003). They form, thereafter, 10 portfolios on the basis of the estimated betas and calculate their return for the eleven months which follow. They repeat this process for each year of 1928 up to 2003. They claim that, the Sharpe and Lintner model, suppose that the portfolios move according to a linear line with an intercept equal to risk free rate and a slope which is equal to the difference between the expected return on the market portfolio and that of the risk free rate. However, their study, and in agreement with the previous ones, confirms that the relation between the expected return on assets and their betas is much flatter than the prediction of the CAPM. Indeed, the results indicate that the expected return of portfolios having relatively lower beta are too high whereas expected return of those with higher beta is too low. Moreover, these authors indicate that even if the risk premium is lower than what the CAPM predicts, the relation between the expected return and beta is almost linear. This latter result, confirms the CAPM of Black which assumes that only the beta premium is positive. This means, analogically, that only the market risk is rewarded by a higher return. In order to test for the consistency of the CAPM with the economic reality, Thierry and Pim (2004) use monthly return of stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX for the period that spans from 1926-2002. The one -month US Treasury bill is used as a proxy for the risk free rate, The CRPS total return index which is a value-weighted average of all US stocks included in this study is used as a proxy for the market portfolio. They sort stocks into ten deciles portfolios on the basis of historical 60 months. They afterwards, calculate for the following 12 months their value weighted returns. They obtain, subsequently, 100 beta-size portfolios. The results from the time series regression indicate, firstly, that the intercepts are statistically indifferent from zero. Secondly, it is found that the betas coefficients are all positive. Furthermore, in order to check the robustness of the model, the authors split the whole sample into sub-samples of equal length (432 months). The results indicate, also, that for all the periods studied the intercepts are statistically not different from zero except for the last period. In his empirical study, Blake T (2005) works on monthly stocks return on 20 stocks within the SP 500 index during January 1995-December 2004. The SP 500 index is used as the market portfolio and the 3-month Treasury bill in the Secondary Market as the risk free rate. His methodology can be summarized as follows; the excess return on each stock is regressed against the market excess return. The excess return is taken as the sample average of each stock and the market as well. After estimating of the betas, these values are used to verify the validity of the CAPM. The coefficient of beta is estimated by regressing estimated expected excess stock returns on the estimates of beta and the regression include intercept and the residual squared so as to measure the non systematic risk. The results confirm the validity of the CAPM through its three major assumptions. In fact, the null hy

Sedentary Lifestyles

Sedentary Lifestyle Monyetta â€Å"Lashalle† Calhoun Advanced Composition July 29, 2012 Professor: Symmetris Gohanna What comes to mind when you hear the word potato? French fries, hash browns, a loaded baked potato from Wendy’s maybe. Or what about the term â€Å"couch potato? † This is the only form of potato that is on my list that is not good. Being a couch potato, or living a sedentary lifestyle, is not a healthy choice. Sedentary lifestyle is the term used to describe a lifestyle with little to no physical activity.The activities of a person living a sedentary lifestyle include reading, sitting, watching television, being on the computer, and playing video games for much of, if not, the entire day. The questions at hand is what are the reasons behind living a sedentary lifestyle, what health issues can come from it, and why this lifestyle is not healthy? The lack of physical activity is believed to be a factor of obesity; this can lead to bigger health issu es such as Type 2 diabetes. This lifestyle has also been associated with accelerated aging process and premature death.With other factors such as advanced technology and pure laziness, the sedentary lifestyle is climbing the charts to becoming the leading cause of death in the U. S. These effects of living a sedentary lifestyle are reasons you should get out and get active. Here is a simple math problem: unhealthy eating + no physical activity= a greater chance of obesity. Obesity is a major factor in developing Type 2 diabetes. Obesity is the medical term used to describe a person who has excessive body fat. It can be caused by unhealthy eating mixed with no physical activity.In some people, it is hereditary and others accumulate the excess body fat by living a sedentary lifestyle. It is not healthy to live such a lifestyle. Some of the blame goes to the person living the lifestyle but one could argue that technological advances also play a part in choosing to be a â€Å"couch pot ato. † Nowadays you have the opportunity to work from home, in front of a computer or laptop. Video game creators try to mask their involvement with exercise games such as Zumba and WiiFit but that does not always work. It is ok to be lazy from time to time and have time to rest but that is only if you are up and out and being active.To prevent obesity and possibly Type 2 diabetes, exercise. The exercise does not have to be strenuous but just enough to get you up and moving. Try walking around the park or neighborhood or be active with your kids. Just by exercising 30 minutes a day for at least 5 days out of the week you can prevent the health issues. Have you ever felt older than you really are? Bones cracking, laziness, and fatigue? Well where do your symptoms come from, excessive labor or hard core working out or are you just sitting down not doing anything while your body slowly deteriorates?People who live a sedentary lifestyle accelerate their aging process by living thi s lifestyle which can cause premature death. Being inactive influences and speeds up the aging process. It is said that individuals who are physically active during their leisure time appear to be biologically younger than those who live a sedentary lifestyle. By being inactive, muscle tissues are lost and muscle atrophy, which is the shrinking and weakening of the muscles, sends the body spiraling downwards. This includes all of the body’s systems and one becomes more prone to disease and physical injury.The function of the body is something like a dependency system. Physical strength and fitness is correlated with a strong immune system function, which is the bodies armor and defense system that protects us from disease and illness. It is sort of like parent and child. Once a baby is born, it cannot fend for itself so it depends on its parent to provide what it needs and protect it from any foul harm or danger. If the parent does not do what he or she is suppose to do for t he baby and not protect it, the baby will ultimately be taken from the parent whether by law or nature.It is the same thing with a person and their body. If the body is not taken care of, its chances of becoming ill is greater than the body of a person who is physically active. A reduction in strength and general weakness weakens the efficiency of the immune system increasing the risk of health issues accelerated aging process. No one wants to look or feel older than they really are. Do not just sit around and wait for somebody to do it for you. No one can do it but you. The first law of self-preservation is self-motivation.Think about it like this: the illness and health issues are not going to keep putting off hoping you will stop living a sedentary lifestyle, so why should you put off doing something active. Put the video gaming, television, and computer time to a minimum and use that time to get healthy, get in shape, and fight off those diseases. Physical activity is said to ma ke you feel young and also look the part. So why not get that couch potato up and start cooking and aiming towards living a healthy long life versus a unhealthy and sick life. Get up, get out, and get active!

Comparing The Etruscan Civilization Between C. 1000 And...

1. The Etruscan civilization flourished between c. 1000 and 100 B.C. also known as the Iron Age (Villanovan) in Etruria or what is now known as modern day Tuscany, Italy. Etruria’s southern area was bordered by the Tiber River and its northern area was bordered by the Arno River in which the areas were broken up into city states ruled by their own rulers. 2. The Apollo of Veii is a 5ft. 10 in. painted sculpture molded out of terra-cotta. This sculpture was originally a decoration on the roof of a temple built by the Etruscans. Both the Greek and Etruscan’s style of art was similar, with that being said the particular sculpture is a resemblance of the Greek Archaic style of art. The curvilinear style along with the flat surface patterns of the folds of the drape/ clothes he was wearing, the diagonal calf muscles radiating from beneath the knee, the smile, and the style in which the hair was made (long locks) are the same characteristics of Archaic Greek art. The difference between the Etruscan and Greek art form lies in the clear and crisp contours, forms and stylization, of Apollo’s body along with the fact that he is depicted as striding (showing fluid flowing movement). This is also what makes the sculpture of Apollo of Veii realistic because the sculpture not only shows fluid motion (the position of his legs and his s tretched out arms) but also the expression that is on Apollo’s face. 3. Women are portrayed more equal to men, and have a place in Etruscan society unlike

Mental Health And Health Issues - 2301 Words

Mental health in Utah has and continues to be the forefront of concern for many throughout the state. The reasons it is such a hot bed issue is due the staggering statistics that come out every year showing Utah as one of the leading states for mental health issues per capita. One article in particular had a report that showed survey results done by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the NDSUH. They found that 22.4 percent of the Adult population here in Utah had a mental disorder in 2014 (CROFTS,2014 ). With the unfortunate trend of mental health issues being a problem in Utah, it comes without a doubt that other issues start to arise such as care for these individuals suffering from these problems. There are many agencies and programs as well professionals who fight everyday in hopes of curbing this epidemic but it is without saying that they too face dilemmas in their line of work. With the sheer number of problems as outlined above, Utah faces an uphill battle for the we ll being of its literal mental health. This calls for a larger number of professionals combating this epidemic. The questions of moral and ethical responsibilities now become a talking point. To begin I want to state that due to the complexities of the subject it would not be productive, in my opinion, to discuss why we have such a high level mental health issues in our state. The motive for exploring these concerns of patient confidentiality is because of what I believe to be the manyShow MoreRelatedMajor Health And Mental Health Issues1192 Words   |  5 PagesOutline the major health and mental health issues for Indigenous people in Australia. Has this changed over the last 15 years? What are the challenges for social work practice with Indigenous people in the Australian Context? What facilitates collaboration and efficacy in service provision? Outline how you might approach working with a client facing a specific health issue. Introduction: Indigenous community represent members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who existed in AustraliaRead MoreHealth, Mental, And Social Health Issues1584 Words   |  7 Pagesan agency that aims to assist individuals with their health and wellness goals, with a focus on medical, mental and social health issues. One of the programs at NADAP is Care Coordination, which has the primary purpose of aiding clients suffering from chronic medical conditions to effectively manage their diagnoses, such as, but not limited to, providing: assistance with medication and medical appointment adherence, access to all necessary health providers, ensuring basic social needs are met, andRead MoreThe Issue Of Mental Health Care1211 Words   |  5 Pages29, 2016, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton released an ambitious plan for addressing the issue of mental health care in the United States1. This plan echoes numerous bipartisan bills that have been produced in Congress over the past several y ears and seems to be one of the few issues that both sides of the aisle can agree on.2 Earlier this year, a bill providing additional support to mental health care was passed in the House with a 422-22 vote3, so it is now up to the Senate to pass its ownRead MoreMental Health And Behavioral Issues Essay765 Words   |  4 PagesClinical Social Workers use a person-in-situation (also referred to as person-in-environment) viewpoint to treat mental health and behavioral issues. They may work with individuals, couples, families or other types of groups (Psychology and Counseling Group, n.d.). To become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Florida, one must obtain a Master of Social Work degree from an accredited college or university, including clinical coursework, perform 100 supervised clinical hours post-degree, andRead MoreMental Health Issues Of Mental Illness Essay1756 Words   |  8 PagesWednesday, October 7th, 2015, I attended a panel discussion on mental health issues. The goal of this presentation was to bring forward the voices of those who have lived with and are still living with mental illness and discuss the best ways to fight stigma associated with mental illnesses. The members of the panel educated the audience on stigma, discussed how to fight stigma, and also shared how to provide support for those with a mental illness. I thought that this presentation was very eye openingRead MoreThe Social Issue Of Mental Health1167 Words   |  5 PagesTo discuss the social issue of mental health is to take into account a wide range of related issues and concerns, because describing the problem brings other subjects up that should also be presented. Starting with mental illness, it is defined as a wide range of mental health conditions or disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior. Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, posttraumatic stressRead MoreCommon Mental Health Issues1193 Words   |  5 PagesCommon Mental Health Issues People experience a variety of painful issues in their lives. From the beginning some issues are more challenging than others, in part because of struggles with either addiction or depression. People who manage their concerns are also managing them when they step into their daily jobs. The problems people carry with them can affect their job performance and their relationships. Their compromised attention can cause additional frustrations such as mistakes and missedRead MoreMental Health Issues in the Military3357 Words   |  14 Pagesnon-visible scars. Mental injuries are becoming increasingly common among today’s decorated war heroes. Many are too embarrassed, scared or uninformed to speak up about it. What factors increase a soldier’s chance of developing stress related symptoms? Does the military do enough to prevent, inform and treat? What else can be done to prevent a soldier from going too far, and taking their own life? The military does provide service s to protect and benefit the mental health of its soldiers; howeverRead MorePsychology : Mental Health Issues1193 Words   |  5 Pageshave a solid ability to differentiate people with mental health issues, from those that do not have mental health issues. Have you ever wondered how well psychiatrists are able to tell apart the â€Å"sane† from the â€Å"insane† (63 Slater)? Would you be willing to test the system, and see if a doctor of psychiatry would be able to differentiate the difference between someone who is acting as if they are displaying a symptom, and someone with a true mental disorder? Well, this is exactly what David RosenhanRead MoreMental Health Issues and Illness 514 Words   |  2 Pageslike to bring attention to mental health issues, specifically the stigmas attached to mental illness and help bring understanding on a misunderstood subject. Mental health problems represent an increasing part of the worldwide disease burden (Reijneveld, 2005). There is a stigma attached to children, race/culture, as well as gender differences. It is important that we as the public become properly informed on the effects that these stigmas can have on the mental health of these populations. A study

Essay on Atomic Bombing on Japan - 937 Words

Hiroshima: Was Dropping the Atomic Bomb a Military Necessity? On the morning of August 6th, 1945 at around 8:16 a.m., the United States dropped the first bomb on Hiroshima. This bomb was given the nickname â€Å"Little Boy.† Three days after the first atomic bomb was dropped, on August 9th, 1945 at around 11:02 a.m., the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. This bomb was given the nickname â€Å"Fat Man.† These two bombs immensely destroyed these cities and took the lives of many people. There was an estimated 200,000 lives taken in the atomic bombing on Japan. The war on the Pacific had been going on for over four years before the atomic bombing occurred. There were two big battles that could have led to the United State’s†¦show more content†¦Therefore, on the morning of December 7th, 1941, the Japanese decided to implement surprised attacks on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor was a US Navy base located in Hawaii. The United States was no t expecting these attacks at all. I feel that the attack on Hiroshima was retaliation for the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Although we may have gone a little over board, it had to be done to establish that the US was not a nation to be messed with. The Japanese’s opportunity to fight back was over after the first atomic bomb was discharged because the navy was taken out, the inability to import food and the lack of industrial supplies. In addition the second atomic bomb was dropped to seal the victory over Japan. Although both Japan and the United States suffered great losses from the altercations, Japan was left with much more trauma. The first atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima immediately killed an estimated amount of 66,000 people out of a population of 255,000. The second bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki instantly killed about 35,000 people. However, a numerous amount of soldiers and citizens of Japan did not immediately die. These bombings lead to an awful amount of physical effects that dismembered the country of Japan for many years. Many individuals of Japan either died or suffered from radiation burns, cancer, leukemia, and many other physical disorders. Research shows thatShow MoreRelatedThe Atomic Bombing Of Japan2375 Words   |  10 PagesIntroduction: The research question of this essay is â€Å"To what extent was the atomic bombing of Japan at the end of the Second World War Justified? In 1945, the United States authorized the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first bomb, dropped on August 6th 1945, had a total casualty rate of 135,000, including non-combatant civilians, and as this, the atomic bombing of Japan at the end of the Second World War has indeed been a hugely discussed topic withinRead MoreThe Atomic Bombing Of Japan1228 Words   |  5 Pagesnation in world’s history to subject many human beings to the atomic bombs purposely. That fact is well known to many people, but too little Americans think that the atomic bombing of Japan by the U.S. in August of 1945 in such cautious terms. Before the bombings occurred, there was a debate which was limited to the few top officials who knew of the secret of â€Å"tube alloys† and secret â€Å"S-1†. Once there was an announcement of the bombings, those who were amongst the war, overall accepted these actsRead MoreThe Atomic Bombings Of Japan1029 Words   |  5 PagesOne of the most argued topics in all of history is the atomic bombings of Japan in August of 1945. Many argued that we should have done exactly as we did, they would argue it was the only way to get Japan to surrender and to not lose any more American lives. Others believe that it was very unethical in dropping the atomic bombs. The director of Nuclear Studies Institute at American University in Washington D.C, Peter Kuznick, was against the whole idea, stating that â€Å"Truman knew he was beginningRead MoreThe Dropping Of The Atomic Bomb Essay1734 Words   |  7 Pagesdropping of the atomic bomb was used to save American lives; the most common excuse as to why President Harry Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. In Major Problems in the History of World War II it has been discussed in the chapter The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II that former President Truman recalled how he learned about the atomic bomb project as well as the public opinion on the Atomic Bomb. I believe that the solution that Truman gave when dropping the Atomic Bomb shouldRead MoreThe Atomic Bombs in Japan1373 Words   |  6 PagesOn August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima without any precedent. The explosion viciously destroyed four square miles of the city and killed 90,000 and injured 40,000. (Weber, â€Å"Was Hiroshima Necessary?†) Three days later, a second atomic bomb stroked the city of Nagasaki which killed approximately 37,000 people and injured 43,000 (Weber, â€Å"Was Hiroshima Necessary?†). These actions of the United States still remain controversial today and the UnitedRead MoreA Closer Look at the Bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki1485 Words   |  6 Pages On August 6, 1945 the course of history was changed. Two atomic bomb s were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima, and three days later, August 9, 1945, on Nagasaki that ended World War II. Japan had already been a defeated nation from conventional bombs and World War II. Many innocent lives were lost, psychological scars were left on the lives of the bomb survivors, and thus many lives were changed forever. The atomic bombings caused many people to have genetic effects due to the radiationRead MoreAtomic Bombs And Its Effects On Japan1369 Words   |  6 PagesCan you imagine how many atomic bombs that have killed many Japanese during, World War II in Japan? On August 6, 1945, a new weapon with a significant explosive power known as the atomic bombs just has been dropped on Japan. The dropping of this weapon on Hiroshima and Nagasaki there were 262,020 civilians were killed. The United States to chose the atomic bomb in order for Japan to surrender and end the war quickly. Likewise, President Truman as the duty as president and Commander in Chief to protectRead MoreMoral Dilemma in History: The Atom Bomb708 Words   |  3 PagesOn August 6, 1945, the B-27 superfortress, the Enola Gay, dropped the first atomic weapon on Hiroshima. Two days later, the B-29 bomber, the Bockscar, dropped the second and final atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Japan surrendered days later on September 2nd, 1945. Since the days of the bombings, there has been much debate about whether use of the the atomic bombs was even necessary to end the war. Even President Truman and Secretary of War Henry Stimson grappled with its necessity even after they authorizedRead MoreThe Worldly Struggles Of The Sun Shines Essay1479 Words   |  6 Pagessituation, were quite common in Japan. Since the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Korean and Japanese people have been struggling to recover, both mentally and physically. In this paper, I will discuss the issue with nuclear weapons by explaining the events in history leading to the Atomic bombings, the vi ctims’ struggle to recover from the bombings, and the action people are taking from the bombings in today’s society. The tension between the United State and Japan have? been around sinceRead MoreHiroshima, Japan, And Japan1352 Words   |  6 PagesHiroshima, Japan and Nagasaki, Japan Leader of Japan: Hideki Tojo, Minister of war Leader of United States: General Douglas MacArthur Hiroshima Hiroshima is a city located in Honshu, Japan. On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima became the first city in the world to be struck by an atomic bomb. (Hiroshima, britannica.com) From 1868 it was a military center, and was a target for the atomic bombing by U.S. during World War II. Nagasaki Nagasaki is a city located in Kyushu, Japan. Before

Dogs Make Good Companions Free Essays

Dogs make good companions, because of the loyalty, unconditional love, friendship, and protection they give. When you wake up in the morning they don’t care if you have morning breathe, bed head, and no make-up, after a long day stressful day, door to that tail-wagging ready to give you hugs and kisses because your home. It makes all You’re worries and stresses go right out the door. We will write a custom essay sample on Dogs Make Good Companions or any similar topic only for you Order Now For instance, they will always show unconditional love and loyalty. You might feel emotional, angry, or even talking out loud to yourself about your horrible day, who is there?Your dog, listening wagging its tail. They will never be judgmental, they don’t care about what name brand clothes you’re wearing, the car you drive, the house you live in, they will love you for you. If your late feeding them, or you raised your voice because they did something wrong, they won’t complain and will always forgive you. On a cold winter night they will be right there to be your snuggle buddy and keep you warm. Another instance dogs can be good protectors of their family/owner and home.Next time You’re out on a walk or in the park with family and friends watch the reactions of dogs. If a person or animal are getting a little too close they will get that alert look, eyes wide open, ears at attention, watching the surroundings. When they feel a possible threat, they get that vicious look, curled lips, fangs all out and making brutish noises through their nose, making sure, that person or animal knows they mean business when it comes to protecting Family/owner. When it comes to protecting their home, they will go to great lengths, even giving their life.Do some research on how many dogs have saved their family from burglars, fires, Carbon Monoxide Statistics show that owners are less likely to be burglarized than non- dog owners are. Dogs bark to alert, letting you know something is not wrong and for you to go investigate. Did you know dogs are also good for your health? Just petting or cuddling with your dog can Relieve stress, lower blood pressure, and lower your heart rate. Taking your dog for a walk provide them the exercise, but you’re also getting some cardio exercise in as well. Dogs sense when you’re not feeling well, staying by your side comforting you the best way they now how. When you’re emotionally drained or depressed, they are right there showing you love and support, letting you know it’s going to be all right, and they are there for you for matter what. Dogs enjoy making you smile, which is good for the soul. One final thought is dogs don’t ask for much for the unconditional love, friendship, loyalty. Dogs are willing to give their life to protect their family. Dogs need very little care for the companionship they give you in return. Sure, they need food, water, and basic care just like you, but all they want is love, attention, and affection.Rather, it’s playing fetch, going for a walk, for a ride, or cuddling on the couch, doing little things, makes the companionship stronger. Just like any other friendship in your life, you have to make time and make it work. Now ask yourself a couple of questions. Do you have friends that give unconditional love? Do you have any friends there for you 24/7? Do you have friends that want to be around you when you’re emotional, angry, and stressed? Are friends their when you’re feeling sick? Dogs just may be the true friend and companion you never had. That’s why dogs make good companions. How to cite Dogs Make Good Companions, Papers

Direct Democracy in America free essay sample

These processes are especially popular in the state of California. The roots of these procedures in the United States go all the way back to colonial times, and were adopted in the forms we know today during the progressive era. Many people believe that voters are not competent or informed well enough to make rational decisions, which is not a factual claim. While these processes are very popular today, most of the founding fathers were very wary of democracy, especially direct democracy. The times are much different now, people are more informed, and democracy today is very different than it was when The Constitution was being written. Initiative, referendum, and recall are important institutions in American Democracy that allow the people to become involved in the legislative process, and although they conflict with a key belief of the founding fathers, the voters of today are informed enough to make competent decisions. Initiative is a process that enables voters to bypass legislators by putting proposed statutes on the ballot directly or indirectly. In Direct initiative, proposals that qualify go directly onto the ballot. In Indirect initiative, proposals that qualify are sent to the legislature, and if they are voted down will then go to the ballot. Referendum is a term that refers to a measure on the ballot. There are two types of referenda: legislative and popular. Legislative referenda deal with things like changes to the state constitution and tax changes, which some states require approval of by voters. Popular referenda allow citizens to approve or repeal a law passed by the legislature. The recall process allows voters to remove and replace a public official before their term is complete, and can be seen as impeachment by the people. For any of these procedures to end up on the ballot there are several criteria that need to be met, which vary from state to state. Generally the process involves filing a petition with the state, review of the petition for conformity with the state’s requirements, preparation of the title and summary, circulation of a petition to obtain a set number of signatures, and verification of the signatures. If these requirements are met then the measure will appear on the ballot to be approved or rejected by the voters. Initiative, referendum and recall have a long history in the United States. The roots of these procedures can be traced back to colonial times. Citizens of colonial New England proposed, discussed, and voted on local ordinances at open town hall meetings. Thomas Jefferson was more receptive of democracy than his contemporaries, and advocated several direct democracy devices. This process can be seen as the predecessor to the current referendum process. In 1778, Massachusetts became the first state to hold a legislative referendum for the approval of its constitution. This procedure quickly caught on among other states, and by the end of the 19th century almost all states had decided to have their constitutions approved by referendums. In the 1800s Congress made referendum mandatory for constitutional changes by states entering the union after 1857. The progressive era of the late 1800s and early 1900s brought about the processes of direct democracy as they are used today. People began to realize that they had no means to control legislators that were out of touch with the needs of the people and governing in their own interests. This dissatisfaction is what inspired the progressive movement. This trend spread thanks to several key figures in American politics at the time. Various populist parties such as The Grangers, Farmers’ Alliance, and the People’s (Populist) party were three popular groups advocating direct democracy procedures. Proponents of direct democracy often cited the success it had in Switzerland, which was one of the biggest economies at the time. By the end of the century, direct democracy devices were not just ideas supported by radical populists, but ideas supported by a large part of the American public. This is attributed to the expensive public opinion campaigns run by John Haynes in California and Herbert Bigelow in Ohio. In 1898 South Dakota became the first state to adopt a statewide initiative and popular referendum process with a campaign led by Fr. Robert Haire. Today 24 states have adopted initiative processes, 26 have referendum, and 19 have recall. We have a government that is supposed to be of the people, by the people, and for the people. Common citizens use direct democracy processes to remind politicians that this means all people, not just wealthy donors and special interests. Since their adoption the broad goal of these processes has been to be a check on elected officials, whether that is accomplished by bypassing the legislature, applying governmental reforms, or removing unpopular officials from office. In the past several decades, initiatives have been one of the most important means for changing public policy. Initiatives are often used to pass legislation that legislatures would not normally pass themselves. Some initiatives deal with civil rights and liberties such as giving women the right to vote, the eight hour workday, and the abolition of poll taxes. Initiatives are often used to enact popular reforms. Voters have used initiatives to require direct primaries for nomination and campaign finance reform. In the 1990s Colorado started the term-limit movement by approving an initiative that enacted term limits for state office holders. Many states soon followed suit and passed similar initiatives. By passing governmental reforms voters can remind politicians that they are ultimately accountable to them, not the moneyed interests or themselves. Initiatives are also used to enact policies that deal with moral issues that politicians may not want to take a side on like physician assisted suicide, prohibition, the death penalty, medical marijuana, and state funded abortions. In 1998, voters in Washington passed an initiative that legalized medical marijuana by a margin of 59-41. This was a law the people of the state overwhelmingly approved of, but something that a politician would never vote for. The voters in Washington stood up for themselves and voiced their opinion at a time when their state government wasn’t listening. A study by David Megleby of Brigham Young University breaks down into numbers what voters use initiatives to accomplish since the 1970s. He says that three-fifths of initiatives concern government spending, public morality or political reform; One quarter seek to regulate business or labor or deal with the environment; Finally, initiatives that deal with civil rights, liberties, health, welfare, and education are rare. In the most recent years initiatives have mostly been concerned with governmental reform. Referenda can be used in several ways. The most common way is to approve amendments to a state’s constitution. Currently, 49 states require a popular vote to approve amendments to their constitutions, the exception being Alabama. Referenda are also used to repeal unpopular legislation. A recent example of this is Ohio’s Issue 2, which was on the ballot this year. This referendum asked voters whether or not to uphold the controversial anti-union law Senate Bill 5. The referendum failed to pass, instantly killing passage of the bill. Ohio voters exercised their rights and repealed a law that would have affected over 650,000 Ohioans. Some states also require referenda for bond measures and tax changes. This gives the public a say in how much money they have to give their state, which also means politicians have someone to share the blame with if people become unhappy with the tax rates. Recall elections are used to remove unpopular officials from office before their term is completed. This can motivate elected officials to stick to promises made on the campaign trail, and not to violate voter trust. The first successful recall was on California state senator Marshall Black in 1913. A somewhat recent example of this is the recall of California governor Gray Davis in 2003, one of only two successful efforts to recall a governor. Gov. Davis was not very popular in his first term, and won his second term by a narrow margin. The voters gave Gov. Davis a second chance, and he blew it. He was recalled and replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Currently voters in Wisconsin are mobilizing an effort to recall Governor Scott Walker. Earlier this year Walker championed a bill to curb the collective bargaining rights of state employees that received much criticism both in Wisconsin and the entire nation. The voters are now ready to exercise their right to remove him from office and will begin collecting signatures on Tuesday, November 15. Direct democracy processes do not solely need to be used to make policy, but can also be used to give legislators a â€Å"wake up call† that their constituents are not happy. A recent example of this is Governor John Kasich’s response to the recent failure of Issue 2 in Ohio, which was a referendum to uphold the passage of the controversial collective bargaining law Senate Bill 5. After the referendum’s failure Governor John Kasich responded by saying The people have spoken clearly. You dont ignore the public. Look, I also have an obligation to lead. Ive been leading since the day I took this office, and Ill continue to do that. But part of leading is listening and hearing what people have to say to you. Gov. Kasich knows that his constituents are not happy and that he must try to regain their trust. California is the birthplace of the modern movement to make use of the initiative process, and continues to be the birthplace of national movements through the use of this process. In 1978, California voters approved Proposition 13, which cut property taxes dramatically. Within two years, 43 states enacted some form of property tax limit. In addition to being the catalyst to the modern initiative movement, Californians have proven that initiatives are a very effective way of making policy. The initiative process plays a larger role in California policymaking than it does in any other state. 40 percent of California’s budget is driven by one initiative, Proposition 98, which set minimum funding for education, and for the most part has been followed. Californians have used the initiative process to pave the way for popular movements around the country. One example of this is Proposition 215. In 1995 voters in California passed proposition 215, making California the first state to legalize medical marijuana. Since then 15 other states and the District of Columbia have followed suit. The State of California has embraced procedures of direct democracy more than any other state, and can be seen as an example of how direct democracy is supposed to be utilized. Opponents of direct democracy devices often claim that voters are not adequately informed to make competent decisions on complex policy issues. They cite the little attention most citizens pay to these issues, the questionable reliability of the sources voters use to inform themselves, and the likelihood of voters to think only about short term interests. A study done in 1980 asked voters themselves how informed they felt they were when making their decisions about ballot issues. Although only 57 percent felt they were adequately informed in September, by the time November came 78 percent of likely voters felt they were informed adequately enough to make a decision. This shows that voters are taking the effort to educate themselves on the issues. Today we live in a society where information is more readily available than ever, so it is not hard for voters to educate themselves on these issues. Also, if someone is concerned enough with the policy direction of their state to make the effort to vote, they are most likely concerned enough to make an effort to educate themselves on the issues just like they do with the candidates. Arthur Lupia makes an argument that although many individual voters are not informed, enough are to make the group as a whole competent enough to make an informed decision. He says that although all voters are not adequately informed, with a sample size as large as an entire state, the probability that a particular voter is well informed only has to be slightly more than half to have a very high group competency level. Since the more educated you are the more likely you are to vote, it is a reasonable assumption that this probability is over half. Also, voters who pay little attention to public affairs are more likely to only vote for candidates and skip the ballot issues. This is more evidence that the probability of a particular voter being adequately informed is over half. A study done by James A. Maeder after the 1980 general election showed that voters are not short minded in voting on initiatives. In an election cycle in which Ronald Reagan won the state and their incumbent democratic senator was defeated, the voters rejected a tax cut despite the conservative trend at the time because they understood it would be bad for the fiscal health of their state in the long term. Contrary to the beliefs of many critics, the electorate is capable of thinking with their long term interests in mind. The founding fathers of the United States mostly preferred representative government to direct democracy because they did not trust the common citizen to govern in the common interest, but instead would govern in their short term narrow interests. In 1787, Alexander Hamilton said â€Å"The People are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right. † The founding fathers were so wary of democracy that in the Constitution in its original form only provided for one half of one branch of the federal government to be directly elected by the people. This is because democracy was different in the early days of the country. In those times candidates would often throw large parties in the town square and get the townspeople all liquored up to the point of near riot in order to vote for them. Voters today, however, are much more informed and sophisticated than they were in the 18th century. They also have information on public affairs that is more readily available than it was in the 18th century. Although direct democracy devices contrast with the beliefs of the founding fathers, we live in very different times; times where voters are more educated and less superficial in their decision making. Initiative, referendum, and recall are important institutions in American Democracy that allow the people to become involved in the legislative process, and although they conflict with a key belief of the founding fathers, the voters of today are informed enough to make competent decisions. Initiative, referendum and recall are an integral part of American democracy, and have been since before the country’s formation. These processes were introduced into the modern political system during the progressive era, and are still popular today.