Assignment 1: Interview Preparation and Discussion

Refer to the Course Project Overview in Module 1. Early in the course, you have selected a mental disorder to work on for your course project. In Module 3, as part of your course project, you will conduct field research on the practice related to your selected disorder. To gather information for your field research, you will interview a mental health professional to learn about the practice related to the disorder. In this assignment, you will prepare for the interview.

• Write ten interview questions that will bring out the information you need.
• Formulate questions that ensure an appropriate understanding of the disorder. These questions should assist in differentiating the chosen disorder from those found within and outside its parent category.

Ensure that the person you interview has a background in the disorder you are studying.

By Saturday, October 4, 2014, post your questions to the appropriate Discussion Area.

Through Wednesday, October 8, 2014, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses. In your review and comments to your peers, be sure to discuss how your questions and those of your peers may have been similar or different. Discuss how this relates to the disorder you have selected to study.

In this exercise, you will use a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to calculate the exponential growth of a population of your choosing. (If you use the linked spreadsheet below, it is recommended that you consider relatively small populations and not those of entire nations.)

 

Click here to open the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet(see attachment) that you will use to perform the calculations for this assignment.

In the spreadsheet, perform the following operations:

1. Input a population value into the box next to Initial Populationon the spreadsheet. This population should be anything such as the people, animals, microorganisms, or plants.
2. Input a rate of growth for your population into the box next to Rate 1. Since we are interested in a positive annual percent growth rate per year, this number should be greater than zero percent. Be sure to input this number in the form of a decimal.
3. Repeat the above procedure for Rate 2 and Rate 3. Make sure that the values you select differ by two percent. For example, the values 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 would be good choices.
4. Under the Time (years)column, input three different year values. Make sure that your values increase by a minimum of ten years. For example, 10, 20, 30 years would be good choices. If you want to see a more dramatic change, select a longer time frame such as 10, 50, and 100 years.
5. When you input all of your data, you’ll see that the spreadsheet has performed the calculations for the future size of each population, rate of growth, and time interval. Additionally, this information will be presented graphically in the chart. To draw an exponential curve for each series, do the following:
   1. Right click on the middle point for one of the series.
   2. Click on add trendline.
   3. Under Trendline Options, select Exponential.
   4. Click Close
   5. Repeat these steps for the other series.

Now that you’ve completed your analysis, it is now time to report the results and examine your findings.

In a Microsoft Word document, respond to the following:

1. Calculate what the future size of the population will be, given a specific initial population, rate of growth, and time interval.

Use the exponential equation: Future value = Present value * exp(rt)

• exp is the base “e”
• r = annual rate of growth expressed as a percent
• t = years

Note: The spreadsheet performed these calculations for you, so you can check the answer you obtain with those in the spreadsheet. In order to perform this calculation, you’ll need to have access to a scientific calculator that will have an ex button in order to perform the exp(rt) calculation. There are a number of free scientific calculators available over the Internet. Additionally, all smartphones have calculator apps that have a scientific mode. Check with your instructor for a list of currently available free options if you do not own a scientific calculator.

1. Repeat the calculation for at least two other values of t; make sure they are at least two years apart from one another. Use the same values you input into the spreadsheet and compare the answers you obtain to those that appear in the spreadsheet.

1. Repeat the calculations using two more selections of population growth rate; ensure that each population growth rate is at least two percent different than the others. Use the same values you input into the spreadsheet and compare the answers you obtain to those that appear in the spreadsheet.

1. Examine the graph that your spreadsheet produced based upon the calculations. Did this graph consist of straight lines or curved lines? Describe the shape of these lines for each growth rate. How did they differ? Why?
2. Explain the implications of growth rate for your population. What do you think will happen over a long period of time if a given population of organisms is allowed to increase without limits? Are there environmental factors that keep populations from growing exponentially unchecked? What would be the impact on environmental resources?
3. Explain the likelihood of your results. Would it be expected that the percent growth rate would stay constant over long periods? Is exponential growth an appropriate assumption for long periods? If not, what other changes in population size might be expected?

For this assignment, you will submit a spreadsheet and a report. The spreadsheet will be the Microsoft Excel file containing your analysis. 

 

The report will be a Microsoft Word document in which you will address all of the questions in this assignment in the form of a narrative.

Case Study

The failure of Washington Mutual

Closure of Seattle-based saving and loan association Washington Mutual (WaMu) was by far the biggest bank failure in the history of the United States. The nation’s sixth largest bank, which at one point held $307 billion in assets, was seized by regulators and sold at bargain rice ($1.9 billion) to JP Morgan Chase in 2008. Case agreed to assume WaMu’s debt, which saved taxpayers from having to bail the firm out. Depositors were insured against losses, but WaMu stockholders were wiped out and 18,000 employees lost their jobs.

For decades Washington Mutual had an admirable track record. It has survived as a regional thrift for over a hundred years, weathering both the Great Depression and the savings and loan crisis of the 1980’s. However, WaMu’s ethical climate changed dramatically for the worse when under the leadership of Kerry Killinger, who became the company’s CEO in 1990. CEO Killinger wanted to make WaMu the “Wal-Mart of banking” by offering mortgages and credit cards to lower and middle-income individuals who could not get loans from other financial institutions. To achieve this goal, the fire began a rapid expansion program, buying other thrifts and opening hundreds of branches across country.

Expansion also meant dramatically increasing loan volume and becoming a major player in the subprime mortgage market. Subprime loans are high risk/high margin. They go to consumers who normally couldn’t qualify for home loans due to credit problems or inadequate income. Because they are risky, lenders can charge higher interest and fees. Washington Mutual, along with other major lenders like Countrywide and Wachovia, began to offer a variety of new mortgage products. These included (a) adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) with low initial interest rates that then adjusted upward, (b) no down payment loans, and (c) flexible payment plans that allowed homeowners to determine how much to pay each month. Some borrowers took advantage of the new mortgage options to get into houses they otherwise couldn’t afford, or to refinance their current residences, using their home equity to buy everything from swimming pools and new cars to expensive electronics. Some consumers never intended to pay their home loans back.

In 2003 WaMu announced its new advertising slogan, “The Power to Say Yes,” which also became the firm’s mantra. Just saying yes meant giving loans to just about everyone who asked for one, regardless of income, credit history, or ability to repay. Little or no documentation was required. In one case, for example, a mariachi singer applied for a loan, claiming earnings of $100,000 or more. To document his claim, the applicant provided a picture of himself, dressed in his mariachi costume, in front of his house. His application was approved.

According to senior mortgage underwriter Keysha Cooper, “At WaMu, it wasn’t about the quality of the loans; it was about the numbers. They didn’t care if we were giving loans to people that didn’t qualify. Instead, it was how many loans did you guys close and fund?” Cooper reports being pressured by brokers and supervisors to approve questionable loans. In one case, when she refused to OK a suspect loan application, she was put on probation and her manager signed off on the mortgage.

WaMu generously rewarded those who helped create high loan volume, further encouraging excessive risk and fraud. Realtors could receive “referral fees” of over $10,000 for steering clients to WaMu. Agents often did not mention this arrangement to home buyers or clearly explain the terms of the loans to borrowers. Brokers could earn $20,000-$30,000 off of a $500,000 mortgage, and top producers were sent on all expenses paid trips to Hawaii and other vacation destinations. Loan officers pushed variable rate loans in particular because they generated higher fees for the officers and higher earnings for the firm. Between 2003 and 2006, the percentage of adjustable rate mortgages at WaMu grew from 25% to 70% of new home loans. The stock price rose, and CEO Killinger reaped a windfall in bonuses. He received over $100 million during his tenure at Washington Mutual, the vast majority during the peak of the firm’s subprime push.

Washing Mutual and its competitors operated under the faulty assumption that housing prices would continue to increase indefinitely (housing markets typically rise and fall). When housing prices declined in 2007-2008, subprime and then prime mortgage defaults soared, igniting the mortgage crisis. Millions had to abandon their homes because they couldn’t afford rising payments, lost their jobs, or now owed more than their homes were worth. Wall Street investment banks (which bought bundles of subprime mortgages and sold them to overseas investors) had to be propped up by the federal government. The stock market crashed, and the world economy headed into a recession.

Washington Mutual was particularly hard hit by the mortgage crisis. The default rate on its subprime loans rose to over 27%, and financial losses mounted. As the firm’s stock price tanked, Killinger was fired, and depositors withdrew $17 billion. The run on the savings and loan prompted its closure and sale. In just a few short weeks, “the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom” was gone.

Question:

1. What signs of an unhealthy, unethical climate do you see at Washington Mutual?

2. What similarities do you see between the WaMu story and other examples of corporate ethical failure?

3. How much responsibility do you place on homeowners for the mortgage crisis and the collapse of Washington Mutual?

Read Attachment

Suppose that you are a borrower with an investment project that has a rate of return of 1.7%. To fund your project, you would have to do which one of the following?