The Use Of Information Technology In Finance Essay Example for Free

The Use Of Information Technology In Finance Essay The world is continuously under the process of change, ever since its inception. This change has resulted into a number of advancements. Science and Technology has been at forefront in bringing these changes with the aim to ease the life of the people. Â  Despite, this being a regular process, the acceleration of the change brought by information technology in the last century is second to none. In the recent history, no other field of science has affected so many diverse walks of life, as the information technology did. Now, information technology is considered as the lifeblood for any organization, offering any sort of product or service. Information Technology requirement is now considered the part of infrastructure for any sort of business activity. Today, when we recall the spread of computer and information technology few decades down the memory lane, we find the quote of the IBM’s president in 1940’s who said, I think there is a world market for about five computers. Â  However, if we see the penetration of information technology in any walk of life, we find our lives miserable without it, no matter to what field of study do we belong. I have a finance major and the field of finance and its associated fields are no exception and these fields have potential to make the most of information technology resources available worldwide at this point of time. Â  Thus, this article is intended to explore the possible applications of information technology in the field of finance. To carry out this assignment, four modes of information were explored. These were web search, blogs, job search and articles. The web search was done through Google and Alta Vista. Few of the keywords used are as follows: IT and Finance Use of IT in Finance Application of IT in the field of finance Studying Finance using IT Financial Softwares Features of Financial Softwares How IT supports financial decisions Financial ERPs etc In caser of Blogs, a number of blogs were explored. Two of them are: http://www.corporatefinanceblog.com/ http://www.bilgilizce.com/lectures-on-corporate-finance/ Following Job Sites were explored. http://jobs.jobbankusa.com/js/action/searchresults.asp http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/ The job requirements for the accounts manager, director finance, financial consultants, and business analysts were explored. The sites that were explored are CIO.com, BusinessWeek.com, ComputerWorld.com etc. The key words used were ‘financial solutions’, ‘finance and technology’ etc. When we look at finance, five discreet fields come to our mind. These are corporate finance, trade finance, personal finance, public finance. Looking from broader perspective, the student of Finance also studies its associated fields like banking, investment, derivatives, risk management, stock trading, financial statement analysis etc. Each of these subfields also has application of information technology. Â  However, before going into details, first of all, let’s look at the application of information technology in the field of finance, generally. In the field of finance, one of the most sophisticated and crucial, yet important task is to develop financial models to analyze the feasibility of various alternatives from the financial perspective. Previously, these models were used to be developed manually. However, now with the help f sophisticated applications and enterprise resource planning (ERP) softwares like Oracle Financials and the financial modules of SAP provide the capability to develop one’s own financial model within no time. No doubt, still the logic needs to be created by the professional of finance, but now he does not need to worry about minor calculation mistakes, leading to highly misleading results, all he has to worry about is the logic behind the model, the accuracy and speed that the information technology provides in the development financial model increases the efficiency of that financial professional. This was just one application; there is a whole arena of services that information technology has to offer to the students and professionals of the field of finance. Even the spreadsheets like Excel can provide the capability of financial functions like scenario planning, what-if analysis and so on. At the professional level, the use of databases, data warehouse and business intelligence helps in trend analysis through application of very advanced algorithms in very large amount of data which is next to impossible manually and totally impossible to be done manually, if required to be done in the same amount of time that is required by a computer for the same task. However, again, computer is the machine the reliability of the results depends on the logic provided by the operator. But now, advanced computer applications such as artificial intelligence, neural networks etc. have also a limited capability of learning from past and deducing logic. If these systems become reliable and full tested in future, these applications can revolutionize the world of finance as well. Now let’s have a brief look at the application of information technology in various branches of finance. In corporate finance, two most important goals are to increase the corporate value and reduce the financial risk. Risk analysis and management requires the trend analysis of past data. As already mentioned, through the use of data warehouse and business intelligence tools, this task can be done very efficiently. A data warehouse contains the archived data where as business intelligence tools help to extract meaningful information out of it. Likewise, data mining tools can be used to identify the trends in the past data. In public finance, the scope is large, resources are very limited and alternatives are very diverse. Thus, it requires using techniques like what-if analysis, goal seeking etc. A range of tools are available to carryout these tasks, ranging from Microsoft excel to custom developed ERPs. In personal finance too, the use of automated tools save time. Likewise, the trade financing needs careful forecasting, a number of tools are available for that too, again ranging from excel to neural networks. Thus, in today’s job market, the more sophisticated the financial task is, the more technical skills are required by the company. To sum up, the field of finance can leverage upon the opportunities of ease, accuracy and speed provided by information technology in order to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and reliability of financial decision, as these decisions have significant impact on the financial health of the organization in professional life. Â  In this connection, I belief that the student of finance must be well aware and well acquainted with the opportunities that information technology provides to the field of finance. Bibliography Chorafas, D. (2007). Risk Management Technology in Financial Services (Elsevier Finance). St. Louis: Butterworth-Heinemann. Financial-i Awards Kyriba the 2007 Prize for Most Innovative Cash Forecasting Solution. (2008, Feb. 26). Business Wire, 23. Lee, J., Trippi, R. (2000). Artificial Intelligence in Finance Investing: State-Of-The-Art Technologies for Securities Selection and Portfolio Management. Milwaukee: Irwin Professional Publishing. (2008). Handbook on Information Technology in Finance (International Handbooks on Information Systems). New York: Springer.

Genital Infections Essays -- Health, STD

Introduction Rapid laboratory detection of genital infections in pregnant women is very important, mainly because of the ability of the bacteria to colonize the endocervical lining and cause injury to the fetus (1). Epidemiologic data indicated that their presence in the genital tract has been associated with the incidence of urethritis, vaginitis, cervicitis, PID, pyelonephritis and pathology of pregnancy and newborns, and, therefore, their rapid and specific diagnosis is important (2). There are more than 30 different sexually transmissible agents. The most common bacteria are Chlamydia trachomatis (C.trachomatis). The prevalence of C. trachomatis infection in sexually active adolescent women, the population considered most at risk, generally exceeds 10%, and in some adolescent and STD clinic populations of women, the prevalence can reach 40%. Also in newborns occur as a result of prenatal exposure; approximately 65% of babies born from infected mothers become infected during vaginal delivery. Infections caused by C.trachomatis are particularly difficult to confine as a high proportion of these infections are asymptomatic thus making part of the population (those not tested) a reservoir for further transmission (3). While diseases caused by C.trachomatis have been recognized for many years the discovery of diseases associated with Mycoplasma genitalium (M.genitalium) are very recent findings. M.genitalium which was discovered in the early 1980s has recently been proven to be a significant pathogen similar to C.trachomatis in several respects, such as preference to the genital tract and mode of transmission. A few studies have reported on M.genitalium in PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease) and TFI (Tubal Factor Infertility) and... ...ng only one sampling and one test, has proven to be a simple and rapid method for the detection of C.trachomatis and M.genitalium which is clinically very significant, particularly in management of pregnant women as a high risk groups in country. We therefore recommend that this duplex PCR assay may be used instead of conventional methods like as bacterial culture and serology for rapid and high sensitive diagnosis of genital bacterial in clinical sample. Finally our findings revealed that in Sabzevar (East region) compared with other studies done in north, center and south of Iran, infection with C.trachomatis is higher than other area and should be considered in national preventive planning for screening and treatment in response to strategic plan of Eastern Medit erranean Region of World Health Organization (EMRWHO) 2009-2015 (28).

My Life According to Erik Erikson Essay

Allow me to relay to everyone the stages I went through in my life based on â€Å"Erik Erikson’s Developmental Theory† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). Here, I will mention the developmental milestones and successes that I experienced: The first stage is known as â€Å"Infancy† which begins from â€Å"birth to eighteen months† wherein according to Erik Erikson, is the stage where an individual’s crisis will be on â€Å"trust vs. mistrust† (Wagner, 2009, p. 1). During this stage, I believe I have succeeded and learned to trust because of the person who constantly took care of me (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). My mother, for sure, has always been there for me: providing me with all the essential things I need like food, water, milk, clothing, shelter, etcetera; making sure that I am free from harm & diseases; and ensuring that she is there no matter what happens (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). Through instincts, this made me realize that I will be okay and that the world or environment is a safe one, thus, I learned to trust (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). The second stage which is technically referred to as â€Å"early childhood† covers â€Å"eighteen months to three years† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). The crisis that an individual is faced with during this stage is known as â€Å"autonomy vs. shame† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). Here, I have to â€Å"defecate† alone; my mommy no longer has to buy diapers for me because I can already tell her when I need to â€Å"defecate† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). Learning this task made me realize that I already have self-control and since I am already courageous enough to defecate alone, I have also conquered â€Å"shame†; I know I am already capable of doing something and that boosted my self-esteem thus I achieved â€Å"autonomy† instead of â€Å"shame† (or being ashamed) (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). The third stage is from â€Å"three to five years† or the â€Å"play age† wherein a person’s â€Å"ego development outcome† would either be â€Å"initiative† or â€Å"guilt† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). Here, I have imagined that â€Å"Barney, Baby Bop, and BJ† would come along and play with me; I have learned so many things with them including some of the big â€Å"Why† questions I had (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). Through role playing, I have also learned that there are some who are not like me; there are boys and there are also girls (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). I have somehow realized that one is made for a purpose, for instance boys are supposed to act like this while girls, the other way around (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). Such role playing made me take the initiative to carry out my â€Å"natural desires† which is why I have conquered â€Å"unnecessary† guilt (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). The fourth stage is the â€Å"school age† which is from â€Å"six to twelve years old† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). Here, one has to develop the strengths known as â€Å"method and competence† because the crisis that an individual faces during this stage is â€Å"industry vs. inferiority† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). During this stage, I have learned that I can no longer just go to my parents when I have dilemmas; I have to find a way and be â€Å"competent† in order for my peers not to make me feel â€Å"inferior† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). I developed a sense of industry during this phase because I kept on learning and I was always willing to do anything just to learn/acquire new skills which was one of the reasons why I always have excellent grades, thus I have conquered â€Å"inferiority† early on (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). The fifth stage is known as â€Å"adolescence† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). I have acquired the strengths known as â€Å"devotion and fidelity† during my adolescent years (12 – 18 years), that’s why I have managed to go through the crisis â€Å"identity vs. role confusion† with ease (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). Friends played a large role in this stage of my life since I discovered who I am as an individual through my interactions with them; I came to know what makes me weak, as well as, what I can do to pick myself up etcetera. I have been successful in discovering my identity, thus, I did not experience â€Å"role confusion† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). The sixth stage is from 18 to 35 years old which is technically referred to as â€Å"young adulthood† wherein the dilemma one has to face is â€Å"intimacy and solidarity vs. isolation† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). Fortunately, I have experienced love already; it has been a â€Å"reciprocally fulfilling† one which is why I have not felt â€Å"isolation† (Newman, 2009, pp. 16 – 40). The seventh and eighth stages are phases wherein the crises to be faced are generativity vs. stagnation and integrity vs. despair, respectively (Syque, 2009, n.p.). I would gladly relay my experiences on this to everyone; however, I have not yet reached these stages.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Essay - 1888 Words

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Monetary Fund (IMF), international economic organization whose purpose is to promote international monetary cooperation to facilitate the expansion of international trade. The IMF operates as a United Nations specialized agency and is a permanent forum for consideration of issues of international payments, in which member nations are encouraged to maintain an orderly pattern of exchange rates and to avoid restrictive exchange practices. The IMF was established along with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development The IMFs Main Business: Macroeconomic and Financial Sector Policies In its oversight of member countries economic policies, the IMF looks mainly†¦show more content†¦iv. To assist in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments in respect of current transactions between members and in the elimination of foreign exchange restrictions which hamper the growth of world trade. v. To give confidence to members by making the general resources of the Fund temporarily available to them under adequate safeguards, thus providing them with opportunity to correct maladjustments in their balance of payments without resorting to measures destructive of national or international prosperity. vi. In accordance with the above, to shorten the duration and lessen the degree of disequilibrium in the international balances of payments of members. The Fund shall be guided in all its policies and decisions by the purposes set forth in this Article. Selected IMF Lending Facilities Stand-By Arrangements form the core of the IMFs lending policies. A Stand-By Arrangement provides assurance to a member country that it can draw up to a specified amount, usually over 12–18 months, to deal with a short-term balance of payments problem. Extended Fund Facility. 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