Every Man Dies but Not Every Man Really Lives Essay

â€Å"Every man dies but not every man really lives† was among the few words written by Sir William Ross Wallace, an American poet during the 1860s. Well, as for me I want to live my life to the fullest before I leave to my eternal home up there. Having a bucket list simply keeps me on track to full fill every minor and major thing I want to do before I kick the bucket. The very first item on my list is to tell my mother that I love her. I believe in love at first sight because since the very first day I opened my eyes until to this very second, I still love my mom. My mom is my best friend and my hero because she has been with me through my laughs, heart breaks, tears and everything that came in between. Since babies are precious angels gifted from heaven, I would not want to miss the next thing on my list which is to make a baby laugh. That moment of being so satisfied upon witnessing the joy on their faces is a feeling of no value. Next, I want to make a difference in a beggar’s life by taking some incredibly small steps which will mean so much to them some day. Back to the olden days blockbuster ‘Dr No’, right up to ‘Casino Royale’ that hit the box office in year 2006 will be one of the thing I want to do which is to watch all of James Bond’s movies. Just like how Alex Thompson wrote a poem entitled ‘My First Time’ to share his experience milking a cow, I want to roam freely and spend one week of my life to learn how to milk a cow. Besides that, I want to go on a holiday with no luggage to add a little more spice to the memories I will take back. The ‘Steel Dragon’ roller coaster in Spaland located in Nagashima, Japan will be one thrilling ride I would not want to miss. To add more excitement, I will pay the risk to swim with a shark and to swing myself in the sky on a trapeze. Besides that, one thing I will definitely do is to push a policeman down the street and run away. To appreciate mother-nature and the greens that provided me sufficient oxygen to respire, I will plant a tree with my name carved on it. Among the crazy things that I do not want to miss to do is to pretend to be invisible just like drawing a picture using a white crayon on a white paper. From laughing at a public phone to confessing my love to a traffic light, I wish to do all kind of things that will make people think I just lost my mind for one simple reason that I wish to relate to the sayings of Mahatma Gandhi, ‘Live every moment of your life as if there is no tomorrow and as if there is no one watching’. Among the few last things I will do is to fall in love. Somewhere between laughing for no reason, stupid arguments, and making fun of each other, I will fall for the ‘him’ who is willing to catch me when I fall. Elvis Presley put it best in his classic love songs and I want to fall in love with no regrets. I want to be in love with a love that is nothing because nothing last forever and therefore my love will last forever. With commitments, trust and care I want to fell so alive to be in love with the right man. Finally, I will prepare letters and leave it to cope up with my loved one once I am gone just like how Gerard Butler did to Hilary Swank in the movie, ‘P.S. I Love You’. ‘As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well used brings happy death’ said by Leonardo da Vinci is the one thing that keeps me going and to stand up to live every day of my live doing things I want to do by simply being just the way I am.

Importance of Meditation

What is meditation and what is it intended to accomplish? If you go to your doctor for stress related problems, she or he will likely tell you that perhaps the best treatment for stress is Meditation. So what is meditation? The word â€Å"meditation†, is derived from two Latin words: meditari (to think, to dwell upon, to exercise the mind) and mederi (to heal). Its Sanskrit derivation ‘medha' means wisdom. Meditation is a group of techniques that induce an altered state of focused attention and heightened awareness.Many years ago meditation was considered something just not meant for modern people, but now it has become very popular with all types of people. Published scientific and medical evidence has proved its benefits, but it still needs to be much understood. Various types of meditation that are recognized include transcendental meditation, prayer, Zen meditation, Taoist meditation, mindfulness meditation, and Buddhist meditation. Some methods of meditation may req uire the body being absolutely still or to be moved with controlled deliberation, while other types allow for free movement of the body.While the methods are different, the end goal of all types of meditation leads to a mind that is quieted, purified, and free from stress by the use of quiet contemplation and reflection. Meditation Categories. There are two general categories of meditation. Concentration techniques involve focusing awareness on a visual image, your breathing, a word, or a phrase. When a sound is used, it is typically a short word or a religious phrase, called a mantra, that is repeated mentally.The other one, called Opening-up techniques, involve a present-centered awareness of the passing moment, without mental judgment (Tart, 1994). Rather than concentrating on an object, sound, or activity, the meditator engages in quite awareness of the â€Å"here and now† without distracting thoughts. The zazen, or â€Å"just sitting†, technique of Zen Buddhism is a form of opening-up meditation. Effects of Meditation. Effects of meditation include physical, psychological, and spiritual effects.Some of physical effects include: Stabilizing blood pressure; lowering heart rate and respiratory rate; reducing stress hormones; improving mental functioning; improving brain wave coherence; improving the strength of the immune system. Some of psychological effects include: decreasing stress, anxiety, and depression; increasing joy of living; increasing positive emotions & attitude; increasing self-confidence; and increasing spiritual awareness. The spiritual effects of meditation include growing compassion; decreased sense of ego; unitive consciousness; self-realization and enlightenment.

The Radical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Radical - Essay Example For example, women in some Islamic communities are facing severe problems from the dominant male community. This paper analyses religious radicalism with the help of the problems facing by Muslim women in radical or fundamental societies. One of the recent reports from Afghanistan showed the brutalities suffered by an young Muslim girl from the hands of her husband. When Aisha was 12, her father promised her in marriage to a Taliban fighter to pay a debt. She was handed over to his family who abused her and forced her to sleep in the stable with the animals. When she attempted to flee, she was caught and her nose and ears were hacked off by her husband as punishment (Bates). Even though many of the scholars even in Muslim culture condemned above brutality, it is a fact that there are many women in Muslim communities who are suffering from similar treatments from their male counterparts. A civilized world like ours cannot tolerate such brutalities even if it has something to do with t he religious beliefs. It is hard to believe that the creator has created two types of people; one for domination and the other for suffering. Holy Bible says that Eve was created to give company to Adam; not for working as a slave to Adam. In Hindu culture also, women enjoy equal status with men. In fact, women are respected more than men in Hindu culture since they are instrumental in giving birth to future generation. â€Å"Koran says girls must stay home and that it is right to beat women if they disobey their husbands† (Chu). The above teaching of Koran cannot be accepted for an advanced culture like ours. It is difficult to digest the argument that only girls must be punished if they disobey their husband whereas boys can do anything as they like. It should be remembered that in Islamic culture, men can keep more than one wife at the same time whereas women cannot establish relations with other males. In other words, Islam treats males and females in different manner whi ch is unacceptable to any other cultures in the world. Some Muslim scholars are of the view that many of the teachings of Koran were misinterpreted. In their opinion, women beating don’t mean severe punishment in Islam. It is only a symbolic act for the wrong activities of women. In any case, it is a fact that Koran remains silent over the punishment of men who commit mistakes to their wives. Global media recently reported an incident from Saudi Arabia in which a woman who tried to drive her vehicle suffered punishment from the authorities. Woman driving is prohibited in Saudi Arabia even though it is allowed in many other Islamic countries. In other words, Saudi Arabia has its own laws and traditions which are entirely different from that in many other Muslim countries. For example, in UAE or Oman, woman driving is not a punishable act. In fact the number of women drivers in these countries is more or equal to the number of the male drivers. It should be noted that both Oman and UAE have similar culture as that of Saudi and they have no problem in allowing woman driving. It is evident from the above facts that misinterpretation of Koranic teaching is taking place everywhere in the world. Otherwise all the Muslim cultures in the world should have similar rules and regulations. The Saudi Koran and UAE Koran are one and the same; but the teachings of Saudi scholars and the UAE scholars are entirely different. In other words, Saudi is executing a hidden agenda against the women in community there

Death and Dying by Rosamond Rhodes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Death and Dying by Rosamond Rhodes - Essay Example From biological point of view, death is marked by a point where the entire or a part of the organ system ceases to work. Again, from a social point of view, death is marked by the point where a physician or a socially authorized person, after assessing a body, declares it dead. Moreover, from a moral point of view, death is that point where a person ceases to be a person i.e. when he/she can no longer act out of reasons or when they cannot be held responsible for their behavior. There are many criteria on the basis of which a person can be declared dead. First is the cardiopulmonary criterion whereby, when a person stops breathing and his/her heartbeat stops as well, the person is declared dead. This criterion has been followed by many organized religious bodies across the globe as a standard for declaring a person dead. Next is the brain dead criterion whereby a person is declared dead if his/her full brain cannot function and will never be able to function again. Studies have revea led that cardio respiratory death shortly follows brain death. Brain death, whereby a brain becomes permanently non functionary, has been accepted socially as a standard as good as the cardiopulmonary standard. The need to declare death on the basis of death of the brain has gained importance because it gives the physicians a perfectly legal and social sanction to declare a person dead, maintain the dead body using technology and remove the transplantable organs in a way such that it leads to a better functioning of the organs in the recipient. The third and most controversial criterion is the cortical death criteria. Cortical death is where a person is declared dead on the basis of the disability of a person to function as a person. Individuals who have lost cortical functions, as argued by some physicians and bioethics, have lost their capacity to feel and thus have lost everything that makes life worthwhile. Under this standard, people who are in a persistent vegetative state or those who are suffering from permanent coma can be declared dead. According to the author, by following this criteria of declaring a person dead, a scenario which would be physically, mentally and economically challenging for both patient and his/her loved ones can be avoided. Moreover, given the scarce medical resources, a significant amount of these resources can be saved by shifting them from patients in the persistently vegetative state to the treatment of those who have moral existence.2 But the reason behind the controversy surrounding this third criterion lies in the fact that different people perceive life in different ways. Whether a person should endure pain, humiliation or prolonged unconsciousness or not, is an individual’s own attitude/preference. The patients who are in an active state can make their own decisions by accepting or refusing to undergo a treatment. But for those who cannot make these decisions on their own, a person very chose to him/her takes thes e healthcare related decisions on his/her behalf. A person can, in advance choose a person whom he/she

Leadership in the Healthcare Workforce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership in the Healthcare Workforce - Essay Example in health care organizations is one thing that cannot be avoided and will always recur largely or in small doses, whether it is the employee turnover at the micro level or the governing policies put at the macro level to see that the organization delivers as expected and to its maximum capacity. Leadership is also bound to change in any given organization. It is the mandate of every leader to ensure that a health care organization has stability (Sullivan, 2008). The health care workforce is comprised of different types of professionals that work together to provide quality care to patients. Each of these professionals performs distinct or specialized tasks according to their areas of specialization. This specialization and workforce diversity results in differences in strategic orientation of the professionals: for example, objectives of nursing practitioners may significantly differ to those of medical specialists, such as gynecologists. Despite these differences, the nature of health care services requires the professionals to work collaboratively towards realization of organizational objectives. Consequently, health care leadership plays a significant role of promoting healthy working relationships among the different practitioners. As Taplin, Foster, and Shortell (2013) observe, the leadership involves creating an environment that fosters teamwork to overcome challenges of differentiation of tasks and burden of information, common in he alth care workforce. Leaders are required to provide organizational vision, as well as inspire and empower the workforce towards realization of the vision. In exploring the topic, future research can examine salient traits and behaviors of effective health care leaders (Wieck et al, 2002). It can also explore leadership style or styles used by these leaders to influence the workforce towards realization of common objectives (Cummings et al., 2009). The research can also seek to establish the influence of other important

Hotel Industry Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 12000 words

Hotel Industry - Dissertation Example Presently, there have been a number of sectors emerging to share the commercial space. With time these sectors have taken up the shape of industries which are immensely successful and contributing to the economy of the country. The specialization of the industries has made way for affluent economies of the world. This is also testimony to the flourishing financial condition of the people who are an indispensable part of the successful outcome. This further goes to explain the series of changes which have been taking place over the decade. Since the past decade there has been a lot of activities and movement of people from one place to another, there have been more and more people traveling to different destinations of the world. The tourism industry has been one of the many industries which have active and growing with time. There has been a considerable change in the hospitality industry which is a very related to the tourism industry. It would be appropriate to say that, the hospit ality industry has come to prominence in the past decade and has been one of the most important industries contributing to the financial affluence of the country. The success and the growing influence of the hospitality and its close relation to the hotel industry have been a matter of great interest to a number of researchers for a long time and there have been a number of researchers related to this. Two of the important factors in both of these industries is the satisfaction of the customers and the brand loyalty.

Declaration of Independence Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Declaration of Independence Evaluation - Essay Example It has several similarities with the work of John Locke’s second treatise of government. The first cause of the document that states that all men are created equal with inalienable rights of liberty, life and the pursuit of happiness is in conjunction with the Locke philosophy. Locke point of view was that all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal with no one having more than the other does. The document further proceeds to emphasize that government is established through the consent of the citizens to protect their rights. Finally, it states that in case the government fails to address and protect the rights of the people then it will be the right of the people to abolish or alter the government. The Locke’s philosophy is well enshrined in the declaration of independence. Hobbes counter declaration mimics the ideologies of declaration of independence and the Hobbes ideas was to justify the kings action in England as perfectly legitimate. Hobbes perception and beliefs allowed the people to elect sovereign once and after that, the people should be obedient to the government without questioning. The sovereign as called by Hobbes decides the successor and the rules. The perspective was seen the United States founding fathers that this method will leave the government vulnerable to corruption. With the idea they opted to apply Locke’s’ philosophy. Hobbesian counter declaration saw the need for the people to dissolve any political bond that have connected them and take the power of the earth. He further expounded that opinion of the humankind necessity declaring the cause that impel them to the separation. His ideologies were evident that all men are created equal and endowed with life by the creator and securing these rights the governments were to be instituted among men. Hobessian perspective on the declaration of independence could have stated that

Albert Chinalmg Achebe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Albert Chinalmg Achebe - Essay Example Born in 1930 in Ogidi, Nigeria, this 78 year old writer is widely known for his work, 'Things fall Apart', the first novel he wrote way back in 1958. This novel is in fact considered an unsentimental novel, depicting the life and ambitions of Okonkwo, a powerful leader of the Igbo community. Chinua Achebe too comes from this very community, therefore in a way he wrote about what he experienced and felt during the childhood and youth days. The main character of 'Things fall Apart, Mr. Okonkwo is the 'big man' of a traditional village, but the manner in which this man started moving towards fulfilling his ambitions led to prosecution and punishment for him. He was signalled out and targeted for fighting against colonialism. The western effect on values and institutions of traditional Africa, led to isolation of Okonkwo. Such incidents coupled with his approach towards circumstances led to his bad days and ultimately to his downfall. 'Things Fall Apart' narrated the adverse impacts of t he influence of western world on the traditional Ibo African society. Without glamorising his community i.e. the Ibo society, Achebe described how 'things' started 'falling apart' after the Europeans set foot on the African land2. The title of the book, 'Things fall Apart' has been taken from William Butler Yates's The Second Coming - 'Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold'.3 This novel proved to be hugely popular and subsequently translated into some 50 languages. About 10 million copies of this book have been sold around the world. In fact this book also formed the basis of a film 'Bullfrog in the Sun' directed by Hans Jrgen Pohland in 1972. While trying his hand at novels in 1958, Achebe is stated to have said, 'I was quite certain that I was going to try my hand at writing, and one of the things that set me thinking was Joyce Cary's novel set in Nigeria, Mister Johnson, which was praised so much, and it was clear to me that this was a most superficial picture.and so I thought if this was famous, then someone perhaps ought to try and look at this from the inside' (Gikandi, 1996). Chinua Achebe never looked back thereafter and came out with many popular novels with subjects ranging from satire on corruption to the plight of people in the ethnic violence and civil war. Some of the notable works of Chinua Achebe include Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), Beware, Soul Brother (1971), Christmas in Biafra and Other Poems (1973), Anthills of the Savanna (1987) etc. Achebe started his working days from the Nigerian Broadcasting Co. in Lagos in 1954. He also studied broadcasting from the British Broadcasting Corp. in London, but destiny had something else in store for him and instead of becoming a broadcaster, he went on to become a successful writer. Presently teaching his students as a professor at Bard College, New York, Achebe has also travelled around the world for delivering lectures on subjects dear to his heart, at different universities. He became the Editor of Okike, a reputed and most influential African literary magazine in 1971, and he continued to edit it after having accepted the post of Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1971. Married with four children, Achebe met with a serious car accident in the year 1990, and subsequently the lower part of his body was paralyzed. But the manner in which

Abstract Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abstract - Assignment Example Modernization is a positive step forward, but what about what we leave behind? Building new, technologically-advanced and expensive cities cannot alleviate poverty or reduce the income gap that is expanding every year. According to Cohen, large cities like Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Bangkok follow the unsustainable blueprint of grander projects at the expense of equity. Cohen (55) argues that growing cosmopolitan jungles like Delhi are also joining the fray by ignoring the poor and giving more power to the privileged. Cohen cites sources that highlight poor sanitation, health, housing and unemployment are the undercurrents that define 21st century cities. Sadly, these same issues were present in 19th and 20th century cities, but we have chosen to continue the trend instead of stopping it. Which begs the question, how long will we keep it going? How long do we think the poor can continue watching opportunities being given to the rich? A solution is needed; urgently. Results: Cohen argues that the events of the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street and Cabalgata de los Indignados show that we are sitting on a time bomb that will destroy everybody; the rich and the poor. As much as these events were politically motivated, social conditions played a huge role in their occurrence. The fact that they took place in major cities of those countries is another reason to worry. For example, why did the Occupy Wall Street protesters not go to Denver or Washington? The answer is because New York has enough frustrated people to sustain such a drive. We need to start designing urban 3.0, the cities that will gradually do away with the inequalities inherent in our current white elephants. Cohen’s analysis and arguments are based on past experiences and credible sources that support his claims. According to Cohen, this is not to say that urban 3.0 will solve all our problems, but it will reduce them significantly. It is all a matter of good planning

The scene emphasises the emotional trauma Essay Example for Free

The scene emphasises the emotional trauma Essay The slow build up of tension throughout the scene emphasises the emotional trauma suffered by the victims of both Salem and McCarthy. One piece of evidence we can look at that backs up this point is Elizabeths natural lie portrayed by the movie of The Crucible. This scene slowly builds up the tension and highlights the suffering of Elizabeth by slowly zooming the camera into Elizabeths face when Danforth asks her is her husband a lecher. This is deliberately used to build up tension because it is trying to make the viewer or reader feel sorry for her because she also has to deal with the court making her admit to it in front of everybody. However, I believe that Elizabeth is not thinking about what should she say to help her husbands trial, but I believe that she is questioning she really believes that her husband is a lecher. The slow zooming in of the camera angle also suggests that Elizabeth has to search her own heart deeper and got to really ask herself in her own heart whether she believes that her husband is really a lecher her reply is no. This shows the emotional trauma suffered by Elizabeth because she and Miller had to ask themselves a question from within, but the two were slightly different. I believe Millers question I believe was am I really a type of person thatll sell out my friends for my own benefit? After searching deep inside for the answer, both Miller and Elizabeth decide no. Because of this, they had to suffer; Elizabeth had accidentally accused his own husband and Miller had his life ruined, just for standing by their beliefs. Another piece of evidence is the tension given off by the suffering of the people in the court. They are not court officials, which is also evidence to emphasise the emotional trauma of the victims of both McCarthy and Salem. The play starts to build up tension because it says the right door opens on page eighty-two of the stage directions. By saying the right door opens this must mean that there is a left door as well, and the reason for Miller doing this is to tell us through stage direction that the girls have to enter slowly because there is only room for one person to pass at a time. This enhances the affect. Also by making Abigail the last person to enter makes it more dramatic because it shows how strong she is and how many people they have to go through to achieve justice and bring Abigail down. This makes us feel sorry for the people in the play because Abigail is so strong that she can do anything she pleases without the fear of the consequences, but the victims arent as fortunate which only emphasises the suffering in the play because it reminds us that she is responsible for it all. Once again this is an attack on the unfairness of society because of how the bad people can get away without the fear of the consequences and the innocent people have to pay by suffering for the deeds of others. This makes us sympathise with the suffering of the innocent, just like Millers own trial with McCarthy. Finally, there is the tension that is given to us when Proctor makes his damning speech on page ninety-six. This event makes the audience sympathise with Proctor because we, as the audience know that roaring at the court officials wont make them change their minds. Instead it would be used as evidence against you and this makes us want to shout from the audience to tell him dont shout at them! Despite this, the event is made to make us think that he doesnt know that shouting at the officials will be seen as evidence against himself. In fact there is proof that shows that he does. If he does know that shouting will only make the matter worse, why did he do it? The reason is that he is so desperate that no matter how small the chance is of convincing the court that they are condemning innocent people he still has to take it. This gets our sympathy because we feel so sorry for him that he is so desperate he even has to shout at them to try and make the court realise what they are doing is wrong. This relates back to Millers own experience because both Miller and Proctor had to stoop so low to try and convince the authorities by shouting at them, except that Miller did his shouting from the safeness within a play. In conclusion, I believe that Arthur Millers The Crucible is an attack, but only to a certain point. Using evidence I believe that he was really trying to show us two different perspectives. One, is that to find justice you have to be full of justice and fairness as a person. I believe that his second perspective was that he wanted us to see that there is responsibility attached to power and that it is important not to get caught up with the power by itself. This shows us that he is saying; Power can be a good servant, but a bad master.

Becoming An Efficient Mental Health Counselor

Becoming An Efficient Mental Health Counselor Mental health is a wide subject with many professionals incorporated. Primarily, a mental health professional is charged with the task of offering services which ultimately improve a persons mental health or treat any kind of mental illness. Different professionals exist in the mental health sector: psychiatrists, clinical social workers, clinical psychologists and mental health counselors. Although such practitioners cover the same illnesses, conditions and disorders dealt with by these professionals, depend on the perceived scope of their skills. Some mental health professionals help in the enhancement of relationships while others are charged with the responsibility of treating specific mental illnesses. Different laws guiding the mental health profession, education and training accorded to the professional apportion the scope which a mental health professional is to undertake. This document examines the plans which I will incorporate to become an efficient mental health counselor. Modalities to materialize the ethical issues which form the core basis on code of ethics under ACA will also be addressed. Insights into social change and its effectiveness in the mental health industry will be tackled as well. A comparison between a practicing mental health practitioner and my views will be tabled so will class discussions on professional identity. Literature review Duties of a Mental Health counselor Mental health counseling is a psycho-educational discipline which came into being in the 1970s. Mental Health counselors (MHCs) are charged with the task of providing mental health counseling especially to the patients through incorporating dynamic and holistic approaches which are indeed strength based. The MHCs have excellent educational qualification and knowhow, having achieved this through varied experience in counseling. While other professionals in the mental health docket are excellent in treating mental health illness, the MHCs have been grounded in counseling with emphasis in such areas as developmental theory. More often than not the MHC collects data vital in identifying the mental, behavioral as well as emotional disorders and problems affecting a particular client thereby coming up with modalities to treat the patient (Palmo, 1999). Thus the MHC does not only treat a patients dysfunction on matters regarding self awareness, general body wellbeing as well as personal gro wth but also is concerned with an individuals total environment which plays a major role in making him or her completely healthy. MHCs can thus be described as a cadre of professionals tasked to offer counseling services in mental health centers, learning institutions as well as in hospitals and clinics. The success and significance of this profession cannot be underemphasized. Through the utilization of psycho-educational approach during the counseling process, prevention of mental illness is emphasized and achieved by the MHCs. Instead of medical model a holistic approach based on developmental theory is utilized. Many individual, families as well as groups have largely benefitted from MHCs through treatment of mental disorders as well as emotional imbalances like depression, suicidal impulses, substance addiction, grief as well as self esteem issues confronting them (Crespi Stier, 1997). Developing Professional identity as a MHC When laying the basis in identifying the MHC, several factors come into play since particular professional as well as scientific aspects from the educational, psychological as well as counseling disciplines are used by the mental health counselors. Through the usage of these interdisciplinary attributes, a holistic procedure of promoting health lifestyle and in particular preserving as well as restoring mental health in an individual is achieved. As I establish my professional identity, I intend to use systemic and personal perspectives to bring to attention the contextual attributes and influences present in a persons life which ultimately contribute to mental health illnesses (Palmo, 1999). In undertaking my tasks, I will be more concerned on facilitating total mental-wellness on my clients regardless of the fact that they are suffering from developmental struggles of clinical pathology. Concentrating on the strengths achieved from undertaking several synthesized domains of a clien t will make this move easy to implement. Thus, during my practice as a MHC my focus will not be to cure mental illness in a client, rather I will be seeking to improve the general mental health of individuals through preventing the repeat of such illnesses. Through collaboration with other mental health professionals and working in community settings, I will no doubt improve my effectiveness especially when working with clients who have had a stint in interdisciplinary teams. In order to remain vital and viable in this highly competitive industry, I intend to be responsive to the market needs by being flexible in service provision amid changing mental health industry. When confronted with a psychopathology case, I intend to use the guiding philosophy of this profession which aims at restoring the development of mental health in an individual instead of searching for ways to cure the mental illness. Assisting clients to adequately adapt to the challenges associated with mental illness will also come in handy in enabling me f orge my personal identity in this profession (Seiler Messina, 2002). Ethical principles In the mental health counseling profession five major ethical principles have been advanced to act as major ethical guidelines. As such the ethical guidelines do not primarily address all the issues which confront a MHC in the course of undertaking various tasks. Its through extensive evaluation of the ethical guidelines that assists professionals when confronted with an issue which requires clarification. In this counseling profession, five principles have been advanced: autonomy, beneficence, fidelity, non-malfeasance and justice. Consistent understanding of these ethical principles helps in making it possible for an individual to better function in this profession. Below is a detailed account of how I intend to implement these ethical principles during my practice as a MHC. Autonomy This principle is largely concerned with the moral duty of a counselor to encourage a client practice their independence in regards to decision making procedures. It is the responsibility of a counselor to allow a client be autonomous and act in accordance to their values (Beck, 1999). I will thus make my clients understand the implications of the decisions they are about to make and how such decisions will be perceived in the society they are living in. I will also make sure that the clients understand the possible impact which their chosen activity will cause to other members in the society. In case a client wishes to source support from such networks as religious or spiritual leaders or from family and friends, then I will agree to it as enlisting the help and involvement of other people is vital in ensuring mental health in an individual. A client has the freedom to determine when to quit a counseling session thus I should not coerce them to remain when indeed they want to leave. I will also ensure that I provide adequate information on the progress of the counseling process. I will also pay particular keen interest to underage children and people whose mental handicap is high. This is vital in preventing them make decisions likely to cause harm to themselves or other people. Nonmaleficence Primarily, this ethical principle may be regarded as the most critical in the mental health counseling field. It entails engaging in activities which will not cause any harm to the client. In my practice as a MHC, I will be careful not to engage in any activity likely to cause intended or not anticipated harm to my clients (Crespi Stier, 1997). Sexual, emotional as well as financial exploitation are some of activities which would largely cause harm to my clients. Purporting to be qualified in some areas which I am not, possess danger to my clients. This is especially so when a counselor claims to be qualified professionally in areas he is not. Truthful representation of my qualifications vital in handling mental health challenges is important. The competence of a counselor is determined by educational competence. I will also not undertake to provide services to the clients when intoxicated, sick or when the personal circumstances surrounding myself may elicit a wrong prescription. S ince it is my ethical responsibility to mitigate any danger posed to a client, holding an insurance policy would be handy in assisting in such eventualities which would require restitution due to the harm and damage caused on any client. Abandonment of clients before completion of a counseling session is likely to cause massive harm to a client. As such I will terminate my session as provided for under AMHCA ethical considerations. Thus proper arrangements need be put in place incase interruptions are inevitable like during vacations or illnesses. It is good to refer the client to another MHC who will continue with the therapy. Incase a MHC terminates hisher practice, the stipulated procedure to transfer the clients file and information need be followed. This helps in alleviating any form of danger which would be caused to a client when immediate withdrawal of the counseling services is instituted. Engaging or condoning sexual harassment is not allowed for MHCs because of the harm caused to the clients. Thus instances of sexual solicitation, unethical physical advances or verbal conduct likely to harm my clients will not be undertaken at all. Such advances are not only offensive but they also create a hostile environ ment where efficient counseling and therapy session cannot be undertaken. Other peoples actions can cause considerable damage to my clients. Thus it is my duty to question such activities likely to cause considerable damage to an individual under my care. Beneficence This principle in mental health counseling refers to the counselors responsibility to positively influence the welfare of a client. Thus, the MHCs are required to proactively do good to people thereby preventing occurrence of any form of harm to a client (Seiler Messina, 2002). In upholding this principle in my practice, I will largely be involved in acts of mercy, charity as well as kindness. With love and genuine altruism my diagnosis and counseling will be geared towards complete healing of the clients. Acting for the benefit of others will guide me in putting in place activities which will ultimately contribute to the general wellbeing of the clients. By preventing as well as removing possible harmful setups, I will always help my clients discover and further the interests which they consider important as well as legitimate. This principle will come in handy especially when dealing with clients struggling with suicidal thoughts. My role as a MHC will be to intervene by providing the necessary therapy which will ultimately save the life of the client. Placing the client in a protective environment where the welfare of the client will not be compromised will be vital in saving the life of such clients. Justice This principle involves treating similar people with equal magnitude. A form of fairness must therefore exist when dealing with the patients (Beck, 1999). Clients presenting similar mental conditions need be accorded the same treatment. In my practice, I will ensure that I do not exhibit any form of biasness. The amount of money charged for the counseling sessions will be the same thus I will not exploit my clients on such basis as when they seem like they are from a better social group. I will also tackle the needs of each client as everyone has a right to receiving counseling sessions regardless of their social orientation. Fidelity This principle largely involves a client possessing notions of loyalty and faithfulness to the MHCs. It is important that a client is confident about the competence of the counselor as such a move ultimately makes a lasting relationship to be created (Messina, 1999). In effecting this principle, I will ensure that I do not fail to fulfill the laid down obligations which I have with my clients. In addition, engaging in activities likely to threaten the therapeutic relationship existing between me and my clients will not be undertaken. Being cultural sensitive when solving the clients problem will greatly assist in building lasting relationships with the clients. When diagnosing mental disorders present in a client, use of appropriate diagnosis methods which are efficient is no doubt important. Under this will employ DSM-IV for diagnostic purposes. Before undertaking any assessment, I will ensure that I receive consent from the clients and explain to them the nature and purpose of the test undertaken. Organizations to join Several organizations which cater for the welfare of MHCs have been formed. The American MHCs have formed an association (i.e. AMHCA) where critical impact is accorded to the American citizens through giving insights on the mental health counselors profession. The association assists its members to develop their career owing to the many informative seminars and workshops organized by the association. This ultimately translates into improved service delivery to the clients thereby raising the overall standards of the profession. This association is also working to improve the recognition accorded to the MHCs by perhaps improving the perception of the members of public regarding the practice. By being a member of this association, my success in this field will ultimately be enhanced as vital tools and programs like continuing education and mentor programs are available in this association. Through availing practical resources to the members, the association expands learning and promote s the overall practice of the professionals under this field (Beck, 1999). American Counseling association (ACA) is another body I intend to join. This association has put in place several aspects which are dedicated to promoting the general growth and development of the counseling profession. This ultimately translates into better service delivery to the clients who seek counseling services. This association which was formed in fiscal 1952 represents counselors in all practice settings. I will develop my skills and build on my knowledge base due to the leadership training, advocacy services availed to the members. I may also get a chance to continue with my education. Since this association largely represents the interests of counselors and according to the federal agencies this profession is no doubt developing. National board for the certified counselors (i.e. NBCC) is a counselors accreditation body which I intend to join as well. The association aims at maintaining a certification program geared towards identifying the counselors who have studied and obtained some form of certification. Since a register of the qualified counselors is maintained, this helps in doing-away with quacks from the practice. It is beneficial to members since counselors who meet the professions standards are recognized. Through this membership, I will obtain client referrals thereby boosting my experience and number of clients whom I handle. Incorporating social change in counseling Social change is generally exhibited due to shifts in social structure and relations which were evident in the society. Behavior modification especially for individuals with mental health incorporates such aspects as physical and mental coercion, psychotherapy as well as brain washing in order to make the patient recover and gain more control over their life. When MHCs use behavior modification techniques when counseling individuals with mental health conditions and those with disabling mental conditions considerable aspects of improvement are witnessed. Systematic desensitization which is the mostly used technique in incorporating social change assists the MHCs to offer therapy to individuals with disturbances which have identifiable sources. For instance when a client has extreme fear for the closed places this method works perfectly well. According to a professional MHC that I had a chance to interview, he suggested that Biofeedback is the most effective method of using when treat ing disturbed minds. Information regarding a problem affecting a person is given to the therapist who then monitors it through the use of a mechanical device. Desirable rewards may then be provided to the client so as to influence positive behavior (Seiler Messina, 2002). By constantly monitoring the information given, a therapist is able to develop a treatment technique which will work best for a particular client. It is also easy to use especially in different settings. The MHCs first decide on what an individual can do in order to remodel the problem. A treatment program is then devised so as to change the mental condition. Proper record keeping is vital in order to monitor the progress of the client and in case the chosen methodology proves ineffective the MHC is advised to discontinue its usage. Discussions on professional identity Having held several discussions with my fellow classmates of issues regarding professional identity of MHCs important information was realized. Since professional identity incorporates the various ways in which and individual seeks to incorporate the statuses and roles he is undertaking and experience acquired when undertaking mental health counseling ,a coherent image of the individual is realized. Since professional identity is shaped by the principles that we choose to know and the manner in which we choose to know them, then every MHC should choose the kind of identity he will uphold. It is the identity chosen which determines the kind of people chosen to interact with. Through participation in the activities and affairs of the mental health counselors profession, a practitioner is able to build on their professional identity since mutual engagement as well as shared repertoire is achieved (Messina, 1999). Affiliation to professional organizations helps to build on vital connecte dness based shared histories as well as experiences of the MHCs which ultimately shape the professional identity of individuals in this field. People develop their professional identity as a result of the identities they uphold with the people in a given profession. Since a significant need to distinguish between the MHCs from other counseling professionals like social workers, psychiatrist as well as nurse practitioners joining the MHCs associations will greatly assist in forging the professional identity of these professionals. Conclusion MHCs have masters level qualifications in counseling and the profession is based on theory and practical orientation of behavioral sciences. In order to fully qualify to be a qualified MHC then at least 60 credit hours must be dedicated to achieving specific coursework as well as supervised experience. Mental health counseling is no doubt amongst the youngest human service profession which was greatly popularized in the 1970s by the professions who were seeking for visibility and recognition in this discipline. The distinguishing aspect of this profession lies in the use of multifaceted aspects of an individual in order to restore or better still strengthen the mental health of an individual. Thus the MHC contributes significantly in enhancing the vitality and vigor of a persons mental health thereby completely sustaining the general wellbeing and soundness of a person. Unlike a major misconception that mental health counseling enables a person suffering from a mental illness to bett er cope with their situation, MHCs employ holistic attributes geared towards preventing a person from being incapacitated by a mental condition (Crespi Stier, 1997).

Of Mice And Men Essay examples -- English Literature

Of Mice And Men The novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ reveal life in the 1930’s. A time very diverse to ours. Steinback, the author of this novel wrote about various issues such as lifestyle of the travelling ranchmen, loneliness, friendship, the American dream, racism and sexism. The book is about two migrant labourers, George Milton and Lennie Small in California. Together they have a dream to save up enough to own a farm where George is his own boss and Lennie can have animal to feed and pet. But the failure of their dream is followed by many ironic twists. In this essay, I will be discussing the main issues Steinback raised through the novel about that lifestyle that revolved around ranchmen in the early 1930’s. The main characters are George Milton and Lennie small. Lennie in the novel is the least dynamic and largely mentally challenged. He has a tendency of petting soft things even dead mice and loves puppies and rabbits. He is enormously strong but emotionally dependant on his companion George who keeps reassuring him about their future. George the other character is Lennie’s best friend. He dreams of owning his own ranch. He is very short tempered but a loving and caring person. The author shows that both the main characters live a very simple life and carry their load in a small bindle which indicates that they did not have much to own. Both the ranchmen are lonely and depend on each other for companionship. When Lennie says â€Å"But not us because...because I got you to look after me and you have got me to look after you and that's why† clearly showing the friendship, strong bond between them and the reliance on each other. Steinback shapes the ranch where George and Lennie worked in as an isolated p... ...imes, the women had very few careers and were often seen as housewives to bear children or sex objects. For example, Curley always had his one hand covered in Vaseline with a glove to keep it soft for his wife when he made love to her. In the novel, Curley’s wife’s name was not mentioned at all. She was known as ‘Curley’s wife’ throughout to emphasis that she was nothing but a possession of Curley. Curley’s wife herself did not think much of her life either because she was brought up around the same narrow minded people. This approach of men towards women was clearly partial. Overall I found the novel quiet depressing and sad. Steinback described the most critical issues of the 20th century in great depth. He’s narrative method was unremarkable but effective in a simple way and was well written by Steinback to show the tough period in American history.

The Roman Military :: essays research papers fc

The strength of the Roman military was the string that held the Roman Empire together for as long as it lasted. The military was made up of strictly disciplined men whom were ready and willing to serve their emperor. The Legions Outward appearance was extremely important to the Romans and the first thing that new recruits learned was to march in perfect form. Once they knew how to march they were then assigned to the legions in which they would remain for the next 20 years of service. (the book) The legions were made up of between 5000 and 5500 men. In a legion there were 10 Cohorts and in those Cohorts there were 6 Centuries. Auxiliary troops, although not usually counted as part of a legion, were part of a legion and could raise the number of men from around 5000 to 6000. The number of legions active in the empire was consistently between 25 and 33. (internet, http://museum.simplenet.com/rome/military/military.htm) The average year for auxiliaries to serve was 25 years or less. After about 20 years in the legions they â€Å"graduated† to a veteran cohort, and continued service there for about 5 years. The soldiers who completed their 25 years of military service to Rome were given a â€Å"diplomaâ €  made of bronze. It was actually a record of their service throughout the years and a copy was kept in soldier’s files in Rome. (the book) Equipment and Supplies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Soldiers were forced to live like turtles, carrying their â€Å"homes† (tents and such) along with them in battle. Their equipment was also a hassle, but protected them well in battle. It consisted of mainly helmets and shields. They also carried personal equipment such as shoes, belts, over garments, etc. A soldier had to carry his weapons and artillery with him as well. He had spears, pilums, and pikes to be heaved at enemies. Pilums are spear like weapons that would be thrown at enemies in an attempt to pierce them through their shields. Gladiuses (swords) and Pugios (daggers) were the common hand held weapons. The Gladius was the perfect weapon for the legions because of their light weight and maneuverability. The Pugio was not only a weapon of war, but also had many common purposes.

Is ‘Lord of the Flies’ a completely pessimistic novel Essay

Goldings novel Lord of the Flies is not a totally pessimistic novel; hence this is not the only reason that it was refused by so many publishers. It is evident that although it has strong pessimism throughout the text, it is not without a brighter side. Thus, pessimism could not be at fault for the publishers lack of interest in the text as there are other grounds for their judgment. The Oxford English dictionary defines pessimism as:1.lack of hope or confidence in the future. 2.a belief that this world is as bad as it could be or that evil will ultimately prevail over good. So is Lord of the Flies a totally pessimistic novel? Well judging by the definition of pessimism, this theme is indeed strongly evident throughout the text, yet it is a far cry from being totally pessimistic as such. The novel explores mankinds potential for evil as it illustrates a number of irresponsible, malicious and violent acts performed by mere schoolboys due to the situations in which they are placed in. Maybe its only us . . . Says Simon as the idea of the beastie being only the darkness within one another hits him. Though almost every character becomes a savage (as Golding describes them), some characters represent the better aspects of human nature. Ralph represents democracy and order as he is put in power by a democratic vote, attempts to please the majority and has his eyes set upon the boys salvation off the island throughout almost all the novel. Piggy represents logic and intelligence as he is thought of the thinker and is arguably the most rational boy in the group. Simon represents natural goodness as he is the only character to continue doing what is right whilst all the other boys fall into savagery. The novel progresses with significant losses taking place; whether it is a physical loss or a conceptual loss, as Simon dies, symbolising the loss of truth, giving him a Christ-like allusion; Piggy dies, symbolising the loss of intelligence, rational thinking and civilization as the conch is destroyed along with him. However, the book ends with not a totally tragic  ending as the boys are finally rescued; contradicting the definition of pessimism as being lack of hope or confidence in the future, thus proving that this text does indeed have a silver lining. So if this novel is not totally pessimistic, what other reasons would publishers have to refuse it? Well, publishers do not necessarily choose books which they believe are good, but choose books which they believe would sell well. As Lord of the Flies was written in the early 1950s, religion and morality were much more delicate issues than they are today, thus the publishers believed that this novel would not agree with the general public. Allusions to the Bible can be found throughout the text as the themes of the original sin and falling from innocence are evident throughout. In fact, Golding initially describes the island as being a paradise, like Eden, until the boys slowly turn toward savagery and the descriptions are filled with pathetic fallacy showing the darker side of nature, such as when thunder is used to symbolise incoming conflict. The boys then begin to enter into conflict with one another, which points towards the story of the original sin in Genesis, and as religion was such a delicate issue at this time; the book was deemed as unacceptable in the early 1950s. The theme of potential evil within all of mankind is consistent throughout the text as each of the boys gradually move towards a more savage, (and later on) barbaric way of life. The idea of there being a beastie on the island is concocted by an innocent littlun (who was possibly just scared of being without an adult guardian), but this idea is then morphed into a kind of myth as each of the boys, including the biguns, begin to fear the bestie. Jack and his tribe stick a pigs head upon a stick and sacrifice it to the beastie in hopes that it will not harm them as they have attempted to pacify it. Simon then hears from the pigs head Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! which suggests the beastie was more an idea or concept rather than a physical being. However, as Simon tries to bring the truth to the boys, he is killed; much like Christ was when he aspired to bring the truth to his people. The concept of there being an evil force within all of us, and the additional religious connotations were  possibly deemed to be unpopular among the general public. Lord of the Flies is not a totally pessimistic novel; therefore this cannot be the reason to it being rejected by so many publishers. The publishers rejected it due to their views on it being too scandalous and inappropriate to reveal to the public, as is shown above. Bibliography: The Oxford English dictionary’Lord of the Flies’ – William Golding

Singlehood, Hanging Out, Hooking Up, and Cohabitation

This chapter focuses on the aspects of singlehood and the â€Å"benefits† of it as well as the downs. The Primary advantages of singlehood are the freedom that is possessed and the control over their own life. Some of the social movements which promoted singlehood are: – The sexual revolution movement: involved openness about sexuality and permitted intercourse outside marriage. – The women’s movement: Emphasized equality in education, employment and income for women. – The gay liberation movement: Provided support for a lifestyle consistent with one’s sexual orientation. There are different types of singles in the US there is the Never married singles, Divorced singles, Widowed singles. Being single has some costs; individuals who are single are more likely to contract deceases or STIs. Women are also more likely to contract STIs from men, than men are from women. There are many ways to finding a partner such as, hanging out which is getting together, in groups, it might often be referred as â€Å"Testing the waters. † Another way is hooking up, in other words, casual sex, which has no emotion behind it and no plans of seeing each other again. There is also other ways to find a partner such as using the Internet or video chatting. One way that can also be helpful is speed dating which consists of having multiple dates at once in a couple of minutes. This procedure can be helpful because both women and men can meet and socialize multiple people in a certain amount of time instead of taking the whole evening just for one date. Dating after divorce could be a little challenging and cal also have a few problems; the way they date could be completely different than when they first did. They tend to use the Internet for new partners, there are fewer potential partners, and there is a higher change of them contracting STIs. There are different types of marriages around the globe for example the Chinese have this so called â€Å"Blind Marriages† where none the bride or broom groom aren’t allowed to see each other until the actual wedding. Cohabitation is living together before marriage. There is also different name for it such as, Duration of the relationship, Frequency of Overnight Visits, Emotional or Sexual Nature of the Relationship and Sex of the Partners. As well as there are different names of cohabitation there are also different types of it. – Here and now- Money Savers- Rebellious Cohabitates – Testers- Pension Partners- Marriage Never – Engaged- Security Blanket Cohabitates Cohabitating has its pros and cons some of the advantages of it are: Sense of well-being, Delayed marriage, Knowledge about self and partner, and Safety. The disadvantages are: Feeling used or tricked, Problems with parents, Economic disadvantages, Effects on children, and other issues. Common law marriage is when couples that wanted to be married did not have easy or convenient access to legal authorities. My personal Response I believe that everything that was presented in this chapter has very informative features and some or most people could relate to. Personally I don’t have a lot of experience in this field because I’m not at the level where I feel like I’m ready to move out and cohabitate. I know for a fact that some day it’ll happen and I might acquire some features that might not be so suitable, but by reading this chapter I have a broader understanding of what it takes, and the benefits that cohabitating brings and the disadvantages as well. I think that the ways of finding a partner are pretty interesting because even thought I’m not trying to look for a partner yet, it could relate to a whole lot of people like myself. Hanging out is a pretty common thing to do and everybody does it, for the sake of finding someone, to have that feeling that your not alone or just self-satisfaction. There are the times where casual sex is â€Å"available†, for the lack of a better word, and often times cannot be given up, I guess its overwhelming? Something that also called my attention was speed dating. I think that speed dating could be a fun and sociable event that might even change lives for the better of the worse. One more advantage that I would add to cohabitation, besides the book ones, would be that you can always count on that person that you choose to be there for you through the good and the bad, someone that you can talk to and ignore the physical attraction at times and exchange thoughtful words that could make the cohabitating experience better.

Aqr Delta Strategy Essay

DANIEL BERGSTRESSER LAUREN COHEN RANDOLPH COHEN CHRISTOPHER MALLOY AQR’s DELTA Strategy In the summer of 2011, the principals at AQR Capital Management met in their Greenwich, CT, office to decide how best to market their new DELTA strategy. After launching in the late summer of 2008, the DELTA strategy had compiled an excellent track record, but David Kabiller, a Founding Principal and the Head of Client Strategies at AQR, was frustrated that the fund had not grown faster in light of its exceptional performance. In Kabiller’s experience, the combination of a solid track record plus an innovative product usually led to explosive growth in assets under management (AUM), but that had not been the case so far with DELTA. The DELTA strategy was a product that offered investors exposure to a basket of nine major hedge fund strategies. The DELTA strategy was innovative in two ways. First, in terms of its structure, AQR implemented the underlying strategies using a well-defined investment process, with the goal of delivering exposure to a well-diversified portfolio of hedge fund strategies. Second, in terms of its fees, the new DELTA strategy charged relatively lower fees: 1 percent management fees plus 10 percent of performance over a cash hurdle (or, alternatively, a management fee of 2 percent only). This fee structure was low relative to the industry, where 2 percent management fees plus 20 percent of performance, often with no hurdle, was standard. These features, while distinct relative to other related â€Å"hedge fund replication† products, had yet to fully resonate with investors, and Kabiller needed to decide on a more effective marketing approach given the large number of competitors entering this space. AQR AQR was established in 1998 and headquartered in Greenwich, CT. The founding Principals of the firm included Clifford Asness, David Kabiller, Robert Krail, and John Liew, who had all worked together at Goldman Sachs Asset Management before leaving to start AQR. Asness, Krail, and Liew had all met in the Finance PhD program at the University of Chicago, where Asness’ dissertation had focused on momentum investing. AQR’s over 200 employees managed $24.0 Billion in assets. A large amount of these assets were invested in hedge fund strategies. Professors Daniel Bergstresser (HBS), Lauren Cohen (HBS), Randolph Cohen (MIT), and Christopher Malloy (HBS) prepared this case. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright  © 2011, 2012 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-5457685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to www.hbsp.harvard.edu/educators. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the permission of Harvard Business School. 212-038 AQR’s DELTA Strategy Hedge funds Voor- en nadelen Hedge Fund: While open-end mutual funds had to register with the SEC, calculate and publish daily net asset values (NAVs), and provide investors with daily liquidity, hedge funds were not automatically regulated by the SEC and enjoyed as much flexibility as they could negotiate with their clients with respect to liquidity. In exchange for this light-touch regulation, hedge funds were restricted in their marketing: only high net worth and institutional investors could directly invest in these funds. Nevertheless, academic work had by the late 1990s established that hedge funds offered a risk exposure that was less correlated with broad market indexes than most mutual funds, and potentially offered high risk-adjusted returns. The performance of the hedge fund industry during the 2001-2002 recession was  particularly good; Exhibit 1 shows that while stock market indices (S&P and NASDAQ) fell dramatically during this period, broad hedge fund indices (e.g., DJCS_Hedge and HFRI_FW, which were designed to track the overall performance of the hedge fund industry) rose. In response to the perception that hedge funds truly offered outperformance, institutional money flowed into hedge funds during the late 1990s and 2000s, and the size of the industry grew rapidly. Exhibit 2 charts the growth in the number of funds and total AUM (assets under management) in the hedge fund industry since 1997. With this growth in assets and managers, questions began to surface about the role of hedge funds in a portfolio and whether there were other ways to capture those returns without being exposed to some of the negatives of hedge fund investing. Alternatives to hedge funds Although many investors were attracted to the possibility of obtaining high returns and/or low covariance with other investments in their portfolio, many still found hedge funds themselves to be unappealing. Among the reasons for their distaste were: a) illiquidity, b) minimum investment requirements, c) high fees, d) the difficulty of selecting the right hedge fund manager, e) the inability to gain access to high quality funds, and f) the lack of established benchmarks in the industry. Most hedge funds only allowed redemptions on certain dates – often at the end of each quarter. Additionally many funds had an initial lockup – that is, investors could not redeem from the fund for a set period after investing; the period was often one year though some funds had no lockup and others had locked up investors for as long as five years. Most funds also had a minimum investment size of at least $1 million. In addition, many investors found the fees charged by hedge funds, which often amounted to 2% of assets under management (some funds even charged the full cost of their operations to their funds, amounting to more than 2% management fees) plus an additional 20% of profits generated by the fund, to be excessive and hoped to obtain similar benefits at a lower cost. Some investors also found the idea of selecting a portfolio from the many thousands of available hedge funds to be an intimidating task, especially given the lack of transparency (both as to investment process and holdings) that was common among hedge fund managers. And of course even if  an investor could identify a set of funds that made up an attractive portfolio, the managers of those funds might not accept an investment at that time or from that investor. Finally, in contrast to the mutual fund industry, there was a lack of established benchmarks fo r hedge funds, making it difficult to assess skill versus luck and idiosyncratic versus systematic returns. While hedge fund indices existed, these were just peer groups, not true benchmarks, and were biased by a number of things, including style drift and survivorship bias. In response to these criticisms, alternative products were soon introduced into the marketplace. 2 AQR’s DELTA Strategy 212-038 Funds of Hedge Funds (FOFs) One popular alternative to direct hedge fund investing was the funds of hedge funds (FOFs) structure. FOFs aimed to take investors’ money and allocate it among a select group of hedge funds – sometimes among a small number (even in the single digits in some cases), and sometimes among hundreds of funds. onerous= burdensome/ heavy This approach solved a number of the issues facing hedge fund investors, especially those with modest capital. FOFs had less onerous liquidity rules than individual hedge funds, and FOFs were less likely to encounter liquidity problems than individual funds since they could obtain liquidity from a number of underlying funds. Still, FOFs were ultimately subject to the underlying liquidity (both with respect to liquidity terms and underlying holdings) of the funds they were investing in. In addition, a single minimum investment bought a portfolio of many funds, and an experienced and hopefully expert financial professional, or team of such professionals, selected the funds, and chose allocations among them that (presumably) produced a well-optimized portfolio. Finally, FOF managers  claimed that their experience and connections provided access to hard-to-enter funds. Thus FOFs presented an appealing package, and indeed close to half of all money invested in hedge funds came through F OFs. However, many investors were put off by FOF fees, which historically included an additional layer of fees often as high as half the level of hedge fund fees themselves (thus making total fees paid about 1.5 times higher than for direct investing). Multi-strategy Funds Another approach to obtaining an alternative-investment portfolio while avoiding some of the challenges of one-strategy-at-a-time creation was to invest in multi-strategy hedge funds. Such offerings were often made by large hedge fund firms that offered a variety of individual strategies. Investors might have the option to invest in a multi-strategy fund that allocated assets across the different silos within the firm. One major advantage of multi-strategy funds over FOFs was fees: multi-strategy funds typically did not charge an additional fee layer over and above the hedge fund fee (as FOFs did). Further, multi-strategy funds only charged performance fees when the total investment was in the money; whereas, in the case of FOFs and direct single strategy investments, an investor could be subject to performance fees even if the net, aggregate performance wasn’t positive. A second potential advantage of multi-strategy funds was in portfolio construction. Not only was the allocation among strategies performed by professionals, those professionals likely had a high level of insight and visibility into the opportunities available to the individual silo managers. Multi-strategy funds generally offered as good or better liquidity than individual-strategy funds, and of course there was no trouble gaining â€Å"access† to the underlying managers. Multi-strategy funds appeared to offer strong diversification, although in the famous case of the hedge fund Amaranth, investors thought they were investing in a diversified portfolio of strategies. However, extreme losses in one of the portfolio’s silos led to the loss of approximately 75% of total portfolio value. Consequently many investors felt they were not truly diversified if they had a large allocation to a multi-strategy fund, but this could be potentially mitigated through the right amount of transparency into the positions and  risks of the portfolio, or, of course, through diversification among several different multi-strategy funds, thereby minimizing single firm risk. silos= opslagplaatsen 3 212-038 AQR’s DELTA Strategy One potential concern with multi-strategy funds from the investor’s point of view was the question of portfolio manager quality. Although it was possible that a single firm could gather under one roof the very best managers in a variety of specialties, some investors found this implausible. Hedge fund replication Starting in 2006, a number of investment management firms also introduced â€Å"hedge fund replication† products. These strategies, implemented using liquid instruments, purported to give investors a ‘top-down’ exposure to the broad risk exposures of the hedge fund industry. These products could be viewed as an effort to provide ‘hedge fund beta,’ or the systematic part of hedge fund performance. The rationale for these products originated from studies of hedge fund returns that highlighted the idea that the line between ‘alpha’ and ‘beta,’ was potentially fluid. The alternative systematic exposures of hedge funds could be viewed as a kind of â€Å"exotic beta.† If hedge fund returns could be approximated with dynamically traded portfolios of liquid assets, then investors attracted to hedge fund returns, but potentially looking for a liquid or low-fee alternative to actual hedge funds could invest in a ‘hedge fun d replication’ product that attempted to mimic hedge fund returns using liquid assets. These top-down approaches aimed to use statistical methods to create a portfolio of liquid assets that had similar performance to hedge funds as a class. One top-down approach was to use linear regressions, or optimizations, to build a portfolio that had high correlations to historical hedge fund returns. An example of this  approach consisted of three steps. First one would obtain a long-run time series of returns on a diversified portfolio of hedge funds (e.g., the HFRI monthly hedge fund indices were commonly used). Then one would obtain returns on a large number of liquid investments-these could be indexes of stocks (e.g., S&P 500, MSCI EAFE, MSCI Emerging, Russell 2000, etc.), bonds (e.g., US 10-year government bonds), currencies (e.g., EUR-USD Spot Exchange Rate), etc. () Finally, one would use a standard statistical optimizer, or linear regression, to find the portfolio of liquid investments (either long or short and at weights implied by the statistical analysis) that most closely replicated the statistical characteristics of the hedge fund portfolio. Exhibit 3 presents the monthly returns from a set of indices that were commonly used for hedge fund replication purposes. 1 Specifically, the goal was to create a portfolio that historically moved as close to one for one with the hedge fund portfolio, so that it had high correlation with the hedge fund portfolio, and yet also matched other â€Å"statistical moments,† such as volatility, skewness, and kurtosis. Historically, and ideally on a forward-looking basis as well, this portfolio would fulfill a role in the diversified portfolio similar to the role that hedge funds would play. Exhibit 4 plots the recent return performance of a few commonly used hedge fund indices (e.g., DJCS_Hedge, HFRI_FW, and HFRX_Global), which represent composite indices of individual hedge funds and were designed to track the overall return performance of the industry; as well as a fund-ofhedge funds (FOF) index (HFRI_FOF) designed to track the overall return performance of funds of hedge funds. Exhibit 5 presents the return performance of four popular hedge fund replication index products, produced by Merrill Lynch, G oldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Credit Suisse. Exhibit 6 presents the return performance of the overall hedge fund indices alongside the performance of these hedge fund replication products. 1 This is an excerpt of the data. The full data series is in the Spreadsheet Supplement to the case. 4 AQR’s DELTA Strategy 212-038 AQR’s approach For years, the principals at AQR had been working on understanding the underlying nature of hedge fund returns and exploring the possibility of being able to capture them in a transparent, liquid and cost effective way. Thus, they were initially intrigued by the introduction of these hedge fund replication products, but very soon came to the conclusion that an entirely different approach to delivering exposure to the systematic risk factors of the hedge fund industry was needed. Whereas AQR’s competitors focused on the ‘top-down’ products described above, AQR focused on creating a ‘bottom-up’ approach that sought to deliver significant risk-adjusted returns instead of simply replicating an index by: capturing classical, liquid hedge fund strategies that were uncorrelated with traditional markets, implementing them at low cost, and then bundling these strategies into a wellconstructed single portfolio focusing on portfolio construction, risk management and trading. Origins of AQR’s approach The idea of direct, simplified implementation of core hedge fund strategies was hinted at by the pioneering work into merger arbitrage of Mark Mitchell and Todd Pulvino. Mitchell and Pulvino were both former academics (at Harvard Business School and the Kellogg School of Management, respectively) who subsequently teamed up with AQR in 2001. A simple merger arbitrage strategy, for example, worked as follows: after the announcement by Firm A of a desire to acquire Firm B, the merger arbitrageur made a purchase of the target Firm B shares while shorting the acquirer Firm A’s shares (if the acquisition was to be made in cash, the arbitrageur merely purchased Firm B shares without shorting Firm A). Typically upon the announcement of the merger, the price of the target shares would not rise all the way to the price that would be appropriate if the merger were sure to be completed. When Mitchell and Pulvino studied the merger arbitrage industry, they found that merger arbitrage strategies did deliver substantial risk-adjusted returns. Specifically, the expected returns of putting merger arbitrage  investments into place was high, and while the risk was higher than one might naturally have expected — because mergers tended to break up exactly at times of market stress, and therefore the merger arbitrage strategy had more beta, or market exposure, than might be presumed — nevertheless they found that even accounting for this risk, the performance of a naà ¯ve merger arbitrage strategy that invested in every deal was substantial. Mitchell and Pulvino also looked at the performance of actual merger arbitrage funds. A merger arbitrage fund would be expected to add alpha by correctly identifying which mergers were more or less likely to achieve completion than the market anticipated. So, for example, if the market pricing of a deal was such that the expected return would be zero if the merger was 90% likely to be completed, the merger arbitrageur’s job was to try to figure out whether in fact the merger was substantially more than 90% likely to go through, substantially less than 90%, or about 90%, and then invest only in those deals that were substantially more than 90% likely to go through. What Mitchell and Pulvino found was that merger arbitrage funds made money, but that they did not show an ability to forecast which mergers would close over and above the market’s ability. That is, the outperformance that merger arbitrageurs were generating was no greater than the outperformance that would be generated by a simple strategy that bought every target and shorted every bidder, particularly net of fees. 5 212-038 AQR’s DELTA Strategy This opened the door to a potential strategy for the replication of merger arbitrage: simply participate in every merger arbitrage deal that met a set of basic screens (e.g., size and liquidity). The benefit to investors would be a potentially more diversified portfolio of merger deals than would be obtained from a fund manager who only selected a subset of the deals, and also potentially far lower fees, because there was no need to pay an analyst  to determine which mergers were more or less likely to succeed. With this as a template, one could easily imagine a whole roster of potential hedge fund strategies that could be captured in a systematic way (e.g., long value stocks and short growth stocks, convertible arbitrage, carry trades, trend following trades and trades exploiting other wellknown empirical asset pricing anomalies). Since the early work into merger arbitrage, AQR had spent years researching these other classical hedge fund strategies that could be captured from the bottomup. Bottom-Up versus Top-Down AQR preferred their bottom-up approach for a variety of reasons. First, they felt that many hedge fund strategies earned returns for bearing a liquidity risk premium, which you could not earn by trading solely in liquid instruments as in the hedge fund replication methods. For example, in order to capture the returns from a convertible bond that traded at a discount to fair value because of a liquidity risk premium, you needed to own the convertible bond, not simply liquid assets that were correlated with the convertible bond. Second, since top-down methods aimed to maximize correlations with recent past hedge fund performance, these approaches were necessarily backwardlooking and based on what hedge funds were doing in the past. By contrast, if you ran the actual strategies, one could respond to market opportunities immediately. Finally and perhaps most importantly, AQR felt that the hedge fund indices upon which most top-down replication strategies were based had a variety of biases (e.g., survivorship bias), had too much exposure to traditional markets (i.e., equity and credit beta) and also tended to reflect the weights of the most popular strategies. Since these popular strategies were crowded with many trades, the expected returns on these strategies going forward were potentially lower. In short, while they shared the noble goals of top-down replication products (i.e., attempting to provide liquid, transparent exposure to hedge fund strategies at a lower fee), AQR felt that the approach had fundamental flaws or, as Cliff Asness put it in a speech in October 2007 on hedge fund replication, â€Å"Not Everything That Can Be Done Should Be Done.† AQR’s DELTA Strategy In late 2007, AQR decided to focus their years of research on capturing the classical hedge fund strategies in a systematic way from the bottom up by â€Å"creating our own product that would seek to deliver these strategies in a risk-balanced and efficiently implemented way.† AQR viewed their â€Å"DELTA† product as superior to the newly-introduced replication products that were being marketed as offering ‘hedge fund beta.’ In fact, AQR staff bristled at comparisons between the existing hedge fund replication products and their DELTA product. To ensure that AQR was taking a broad approach and to avoid being insular, they formed an external advisory committee made up of some very seasoned hedge fund investors to help guide the development of the product. The DELTA name was an acronym that reflected the product’s characteristics: ‘Dynamic, Economically Intuitive, Liquid, Transparent and Alternative.’ The portfolio was designed to be uncor related with the overall stock market, and would be diversified across nine broad strategy classes: a Fixed Income Relative Value strategy, a Managed Futures strategy, a Global Macro strategy, insular = bekrompen 6 AQR’s DELTA Strategy 212-038 an Emerging Markets strategy, a Long/Short equity strategy, a Dedicated Short Bias strategy, an Equity Market Neutral strategy, a Convertible Arbitrage strategy, and an Event Driven strategy. Performance AQR decided to go ahead with the creation of the DELTA strategy in the late summer of 2008. By October 1, 2008, the portfolio was fully invested and had begun to compile a track record. At the time, the staff at AQR had worried that this might be â€Å"the worst possible time to be launching a product designed to capture classical hedge fund strategies.† Nonetheless, the DELTA  portfolio performed well in the fourth quarter of 2008 immediately after its launch, an impressive feat given the turbulence in the market. Exhibit 7 charts the monthly performance of the DELTA strategy since inception. Exhibit 8 shows the raw monthly returns of the DELTA strategy, compared to the raw monthly returns of stock market indices (S&P and NASDAQ) and broad hedge fund indices (e.g., DJCS_Hedge and HFRI_FW, which were designed to track the overall performance of the hedge fund industry). Exhibit 8 also presents the â€Å"beta† of the DELTA strategy with respect to these various market and hedge fund indices, while Exhibit 9 graphs the cumulative return performance of the DELTA strategy relative to these indices. Marketing DELTA Although DELTA was off to a great start, Kabiller felt like it was underperforming its potential. By the summer of 2011, despite its excellent performance, growth in DELTA’s AUM had been modest. After giving it a lot of thought, Kabiller identified three primary challenges AQR faced in convincing investors to allocate capital to DELTA. First, many of his institutional clients had grown very comfortable selecting a set of hedge funds and paying them both management and performance fees. Exhibit 10 presents the recent annual returns of some of the largest U.S. hedge funds, many of whom had delivered stellar returns over time. Kabiller was convinced that one of DELTA’s major assets was its ability to deliver hedge fund returns with a significantly lower fee structure. But many of his institutional clients had difficulty assessing just how large an advantage this provided DELTA. For instance, if a client selected the two percent management fee with no performance fee struct ure, how much higher could they expect their after-fee returns to be? Given that performance fees were typically only paid on returns in excess of a cash hurdle, was a twenty percent performance fee really that costly to fund investors? Related considerations applied to investors that invested primarily through Funds of Hedge Funds. These investment vehicles typically added a layer of fees on top of the after-fee performance of their hedge fund investments – typically a one percent management fee and a ten percent performance fee. Due to DELTA’s multi-strategy investment approach, its after-fee performance should perhaps be benchmarked against those of fund-of-funds alternatives. Conveying to such investors the fee advantage of DELTA in simple terms – for instance, how much better their competitors’ pre-fee returns needed to be than those of DELTA to offset the fee differential – would go a long way in convincing them that DELTA was the superior approach. A second challenge in marketing DELTA was the emergence of the so-called hedge fund replication strategies. These strategies were almost the polar opposite of the fund-of-funds – they had modest fees and, because they replicated hedge fund returns using highly liquid indices, they faced little in the way of liquidity risk. Institutional investors interested in low-fee exposure to hedge fund returns found these products attractive, and Kabiller found it challenging to convey the advantages of the DELTA approach. His inclination was to focus on two key limitations of hedge fund replication. First, he felt they relied heavily on the historical relationship between hedge fund returns and major stock and bond market indices. To the extent that the relationship was not stable, 7 212-038 AQR’s DELTA Strategy or to the extent that a large fraction of hedge fund movements could not be captured by an appropriate combination of these indices, the replication approach would be limited in its ability to truly deliver in real time the actual returns being earned by the average hedge fund investor. Second, even if the strategy could replicate a large fraction of the monthly fluctuations in performance of the average hedge fund, Kabiller felt it was likely that a â€Å"top-down† approach would be limited in replicating the actual edge, or â€Å"alpha,† of the average hedge fund. Even if much of the risks to which hedge funds were exposed could be found in broad stock and bond market indices, it was unlikely that any of the informational or liquidity edges they possessed would appear in the returns of these indices. A final challenge Kabiller faced in the marketing of DELTA was its track record. Although it had outpaced the broad HFRI index since its inception in the fall of 2008, th e track record was still a fairly limited one. Moreover, since the central appeal of the product was its ability to match average hedge fund returns  with modest fees, the outperformance ironically posed something of a challenge for DELTA. Kabiller felt it would be critical to understand its source before determining whether it was an aberration or whether they possessed a sustainable edge relative to the index of hedge funds. As Kabiller looked out beyond his infinity pool and into the calm waters of the Long Island Sound, he worried that without a proper grasp of these issues, many rough sales meetings lay ahead for him and his DELTA team. 8 AQR’s DELTA Strategy 212-038 Exhibit 1 Cumulative Return Performance of Hedge Fund Indices versus Stock Market Indices, since 1996. Cumulative Return Performance of Hedge Fund Indices Versus Stock Market Indices 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 199601 199609 199705 199801 199809 199905 200001 200009 200105 200201 200209 200305 200401 200409 200505 200601 200609 200705 200801 200809 200905 201001 201009 201105 NASDAQ S&P_Index DJCS_Hedge HFRI_FW Source: Bloomberg. 9 212-038 AQR’s DELTA Strategy Exhibit 2 Total Number of Hedge Funds and Total AUM (Assets Under Management) for the Hedge Fund Industry, since 1997. Growth in Hedge Fund Industry (1997-2010) 12,000 $2,500.00 10,000 Number of Hedge Funds 8,000 $1,500.00 6,000 $1,000.00 4,000 $500.00 Hedge Fund AUM (in Billions $) $2,000.00 Number of Hedge Funds Hedge Fund AUM 2,000 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 $- Source: Created by casewriters using data from Hedge Fund Research, www.hedgefundresearch.com, accessed August 2011. 10 212-038 -11- Exhibit 3 Excerpt of Monthly Returns on Indices Commonly Used for Hedge Fund Replication (1996-2011). The full data series is contained in the Spreadsheet Supplement to the case MSCI EM 7.6% -0.6% 1.1% 5.2% 0.1% 0.9% -6.2% 2.6% 1.4% -1.4% 1.7% 1.0% †¦ -2.1% -1.4% 4.3% 0.8% -1.6% -1.9% -0.9% -7.3% -7.4% 9.1% -3.8% 0.0% 7.4% 3.9% 7.0% 6.2% -2.5% 0.5% 15.0% -0.5% 0.5% 10.9% -0.2% 1.0% 4.5% -8.7% -4.3% -8.8% -11.4% -5.4% -7.0% -1.3% -1.2% -3.5% -2.0% -2.5% -3.7% -1.1% -1.7% -2.0% 0.4% 0.1% 0.2% 0.4% -0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% -2.8% 2.0% 2.4% 2.6% 0.0% 3.0% -0.1% 0.5% 1.6% 2.4% -0.3% 5.4% 2.4% 3.4% 0.2% -0.1% -0.4% 0.0% 0.0% 1.6% 2.7% -0.7% 3.3% 5.7% 2.8% -2.0% 1.3% 2.0% 0.8% 4.0% -0.7% †¦ 4.0% 2.4% †¦ 7.6% -2.0% †¦ 0.8% 0.0% †¦ 2.8% -2.1% †¦ 4.6% -1.2% 3.7% -1.7% 5.6% 2.8% 0.9% 1.2% 2.2% 2.9% 0.9% 4.1% 0.4% 0.0% †¦ -0.7% -0.2% 1.1% 1.7% -0.9% -0.8% 0.6% -1.2% 1.4% 0.0% 1.0% 0.3% 0.0% 1.0% -4.9% 0.9% -4.2% -8.8% 5.7% 0.4% -4.4% 2.1% 0.8% 0.4% 0.4% 1.5% 0.0% -0.5% -0.3% -1.0% -1.4% 3.5% -1.2% 5.3% 3.9% 1.5% 2.6% 0.0% 0.2% -1.7% -0.6% 4.5% -1.4% -1.0% 2.8% 3.0% 1.8% 0.9% 1.0% -0.5% -0.2% -3.6% -1.1% -3.7% -0.3% 3.7% -0.2% 3.4% 0.9% 0.4% 5.1% MSCI EAFE RUSSELL 2000 S&P 500 US TREAS 2YR US TREAS 10YR CURRENCY HFRI HFRI FOF HFRI FW 1/31/1996 1.1% 2.7% 2.9% 2/29/1996 3/29/1996 2.8% 1.9% -0.6% 1.0% 1.2% 1.5% 4/30/1996 5/31/1996 5.3% 3.7% 3.1% 1.5% 4.0% 3.1% 6/28/1996 7/31/1996 8/30/1996 -0.7% -2.9% 2.6% 0.4% -1.9% 1.5% 0.2% -2.1% 2.3% 9/30/1996 10/31/1996 2.2% 1.6% 1.2% 1.6% 2.1% 1.0% 11/29/1996 12/31/1996 †¦ 1.7% 0.8% 2.3% 0.7% †¦ 2.1% 1.3% †¦ 1/31/2011 2/28/2011 0.4% 1.3% 0.1% 0.8% 0.4% 1.2% 3/31/2011 4/29/2011 0.5% 1.3% -0.1% 1.2% 0.1% 1.5% 5/31/2011 6/30/2011 7/29/2011 -1.3% -1.3% -0.3% -1.1% -1.3% 0.4% -1.2% -1.2% 0.2% 8/31/2011 9/30/2011 -4.9% -6.0% -2.6% -2.8% -3.2% -3.9% 10/31/2011 11/30/2011 12/30/2011 4.9% -2.0% -0.9% 1.1% -1.0% -0.4% 2.7% -1.3% -0.4% 1/31/2012 3.8% 1.9% 2.6% Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream. 212-038 AQR’s DELTA Strategy Exhibit 4 Cumulative Return Performance of Overall Hedge Fund Indices, since June 2007. Recent Performance of Hedge Fund Indices 120 110 100 DJCS_Hedge 90 80 70 60 200706 200708 200710 200712 200802 200804 200806 200808 200810 200812 200902 200904 200906 200908 200910 200912 201002 201004 201006 201008 201010 201012 201102 201104 201106 HFRI_FW HFRX_Global HFRI_FOF Source: Bloomberg. 12 AQR’s DELTA Strategy 212-038 Exhibit 5 Cumulative Return Performance of Hedge Fund Replication Indices, since June 2007. Recent Performance of Hedge Fund Replication Products 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 200706 200708 200710 200712 200802 200804 200806 200808 200810 200812 200902 200904 200906 200908 200910 200912 201002 201004 201006 201008 201010 201012 201102 201104 201106 ML GS JPM CS Source: Bloomberg. 13 212-038 AQR’s DELTA Strategy Exhibit 6 Comparison of Cumulative Return Performance of Overall Hedge Fund Indices versus Hedge Fund Replication Indices, since June 2007. Comparison of Recent Performance of Hedge Fund Indices Versus Hedge Fund Replication Products 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 200706 200708 200710 200712 200802 200804 200806 200808 200810 200812 200902 200904 200906 200908 200910 200912 201002 201004 201006 201008 201010 201012 201102 201104 201106 DJCS_Hedge HFRI_FW HFRX_Global HFRI_FOF ML GS JPM CS Source: Bloomberg. 14 AQR’s DELTA Strategy 212-038 Exhibit 7 Monthly Return Performance of AQR DELTA strategy, Since Inception. AQR DELTA Return Performance 5.00% 4.00% 3.00% 2.00% 1.00% 0.00% -1.00% -2.00% -3.00% -4.00% Source: Company documents. 15 212-038 AQR’s DELTA Strategy Exhibit 8 Monthly Return Performance (and Beta) of AQR DELTA strategy compared to Market Indices (S&P, NASDAQ) and Hedge Fund Indices (DJCS_Hedge, HFRI_FW), since October 2008. Date 200810 200811 200812 200901 200902 200903 200904 200905 200906 200907 200908 200909 200910 200911 200912 201001 201002 201003 201004 201005 201006 201007 201008 201009 201010 201011 201012 201101 201102 201103 201104 201105 Average DELTA 1.22% 1.72% 4.05% 2.79% -0.10% 2.32% 3.09% -0.35% 1.78% 1.93% 4.48% 2.70% -0.31% 0.96% 0.55% -0.66% -0.27% 2.23% 2.18% -3.37% 1.39% 1.62% 2.02% 3.33% 2.47% 1.03% 1.93% -0.41% -0.45% 0.92% 2.31% -0.84% 1.32% NASDAQ -17.73% -10.77% 2.70% -6.38% -6.68% 10.94% 12.35% 3.32% 3.42% 7.82% 1.54% 5.64% -3.64% 4.86% 5.81% -5.37% 4.23% 7.14% 2.64% -8.29% -6.55% 6.90% -6.24% 12.04% 5.86% -0.37% 6.19% 1.78% 3.04% -0.04% 3.32% -1.33% 1.19% 0.09 0.25 0.28 S&P_Index -16.94% -7.48% 0.78% -8.57% -10.99% 8.54% 9.39% 5.31% 0.02% 7.41% 3.36% 3.57% -1.98% 5.74% 1.78% -3.70% 2.85% 5.88% 1.48% -8.20% -5.39% 6.88% -4.74% 8.76% 3.69% -0.23% 6.53% 2.26% 3.20% -0.10% 2.85% -1.35% 0.64% 0.09 0.28 0.32 DJCS_Hedge -6.30% -4.15% -0.03% 1.09% -0.88% 0.65% 1.68% 4.06% 0.43% 2.54% 1.53% 3.04% 0.13% 2.11% 0.88% 0.17% 0.68% 2.22% 1.24% -2.76% -0.84% 1.59% 0.23% 3.43% 1.92% -0.18% 2.90% 0.69% 1.38% 0.12% 1.80% -0.96% 0.64% 0.25 HFRI_FW -6.84% -2.67% 0.15% -0.09% -1.21% 1.66% 3.60% 5.15% 0.25% 2.50% 1.30% 2.79% -0.20% 1.52% 1.28% -0.76% 0.66% 2.49% 1.19% -2.89% -0.95% 1.61% -0.13% 3.48% 2.14% 0.19% 2.95% 0.41% 1.23% 0.06% 1.45% -1.18% 0.66% 0.25 DELTA’s Beta with: DJCS_Hedge’s Beta with: HFRI_FW’s Beta with: Source: Company documents. 16 AQR’s DELTA Strategy 212-038 Exhibit 9 Cumulative Return Performance of AQR DELTA Strategy versus Market Indices (S&P and NASDAQ) and Hedge Fund Indices (DJCS_Hedge and HFRI_FW), since October 2008 Cumulative Return Performance of DELTA versus Market and Hedge Fund Indices 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 DELTA NASDAQ S&P_Index DJCS_Hedge HFRI_FW Source: Bloomberg and company documents. 17 212-038 -18- Exhibit 10 Annual Returns of Largest Hedge Funds (%) Fund Name Winton Futures USD Cls B Millennium International Ltd Transtrend DTP – Enhanced Risk (USD) The Genesis Emerging Mkts Invt Com A Aspect Diversified Programme Aurora Offshore Fund Ltd. Permal Macro Holdings Ltd USD A Canyon Value Realization Cayman Ltd A Permal Fixed Income Holdings NV USD A Absolute Alpha Fund PCC Diversified Caxton Global Investments Ltd GAM U.S. Institutional Trading K4D-10V Portfolio K4D-15V Portfolio Orbis Optimal (US$) Fund GAM Trading II USD Open Double Black Diamond Ltd (Carlson) GoldenTree High Yield Master Fund Ltd Bay Resource Partners Offshore Fund Ltd GAM U.S. Institutional Diversity Firm Name Winton Capital Management Millennium Intl. Management Transtrend BV Genesis Investment Management Aspect Capital Aurora Investment Management Permal Asset Management Canyon Capital Advisors Permal Asset Management Financial Risk Management Caxton Associates GAM Sterling Management Graham Capital Management Graham Capital Management Orbis Investment Management GAM Sterling Management Carlson Capital Goldentree Asset Management GMT Capital Corp GAM Sterling Management Size ($Bil) 9.89 8.84 8.38 6.70 5.71 5.56 5.35 5.21 4.51 4.47 4.40 3.57 3.54 3.54 3.43 3.09 2.98 2.65 2.45 2.43 2001 7.11 15.26 26.36 4.62 15.79 9.82 14.66 12.69 11.50 9.33 31.41 16.34 6.45 39.31 29.01 14.78 11.94 18.30 29.32 9.56 2002 18.34 9.61 26.26 -1.77 19.19 1.31 8.03 5.21 10.47 6.36 26.44 10.69 18.76 43.71 12.15 10.55 2.12 6.24 0.03 4.95 2003 27.75 10.89 8.48 61.98 20.59 13.58 12.56 21.87 17.59 8.07 8.09 14.74 8.46 21.60 10.84 14.49 7.62 31.42 23.24 14.60 2004 22.63 14.68 12.82 31.53 -7.72 8.15 4.86 13.56 9.37 4.06 9.97 3.55 5.56 -0.43 2.25 3.84 4.70 9.89 27.97 6.14 2005 9.73 11.31 5.99 37.86 12.01 9.47 10.65 8.35 7.69 7.00 8.03 4.98 -7.52 -16.97 8.60 4.80 5.08 13.35 30.95 10.48 2006 17.83 16.43 12.04 30.22 12.84 10.95 9.48 14.08 10.48 8.94 13.17 8.68 5.02 6.64 4.95 7.44 21.12 13.21 21.65 16.74 2007 17.97 10.99 22.38 31.68 8.18 13.14 8.90 7.52 8.42 16.33 1.06 9.48 11.62 16.57 6.98 7.93 15.96 4.60 19.84 7.76 2008 20.99 -3.04 29.38 -49.30 25.42 -21.69 -5.16 -28.36 -18.40 -23.02 12.96 7.57 21.82 35.67 -2.49 5.78 -12.40 -38.60 -20.88 -13.96 2009 -4.63 16.28 -11.27 90.44 -11.24 21.26 9.83 55.20 27.32 10.51 5.83 8.32 1.41 3.11 9.92 6.55 28.34 69.94 56.60 6.78 2010 14.46 13.22 14.89 25.06 15.36 7.31 6.38 13.46 10.40 5.36 11.42 7.80 2.46 4.58 -3.93 5.97 9.30 23.61 15.90 -1.14 2011 6.29 8.39 -8.65 -15.29 4.51 -6.01 -3.27 -4.66 -5.28 -2.06 -2.40 -2.32 -4.11 -2.67 -4.19 -2.79 Source: Morningstar Hedge Fund Database, accessed January 2012.