Enlightenment and Religion Essay

Enlightenment has been fundamentally a humanistic movement, which proposed a new approach to basic matters of religion, faith and church. This paper aims to investigate some of the Enlightenment teachings about religion. I will use â€Å"An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?† by Emmanuel Kant and â€Å"A Letter concerning Toleration† by John Locke to demonstrate how philosophers of the Enlightenment treated religion. In explaining what Enlightenment is Kant touched some questions of religion and church. For him religion was a personal choice of every individual. In contrast, church under Kant is a part of a machinery, aimed to ruin critical thinking. As he observed: â€Å"The pastor says, â€Å"Do not argue, believe!† (Only one ruler in the World says, â€Å"Argue as much as you want and about what you want, but obey!†) In this we have examples of pervasive restrictions on freedom†. Moreover, Kant believed, that the Church uses to hide truth to keep the flock obeying. In spite of encouraging people to apply to original sources of religious teachings the clergy merely retells the ideas as they consider fit. Thusly, personal consciousness becomes replaced by collective one, embodied in the person of a priest. To make it’s control even more strict the church watches it’s believers and bides them with collective oaths. The way out of such situation is, as Kant believed, a self-understanding of every individual and free thinking about religion without advise of a church. A person, who is free in religious questions, can be called enlightened. Locke expressed similar views in his â€Å"Letter concerning Toleration†. His basic idea is that in making a religious choice a person should be free from official’s oppression. Civil authorities are to provide equal conditions to all believers and prevent conflicts on religious grounds, but not more than that. Each person has a right to care of personal salvation inside such established limits. Locke recognized, that religion makes people blindly accept a dogma and behave aggressively towards those, who do not recognize such a dogma. As regards the church, Locke explained, that it is a voluntary association of believers. A person is born outside of any church, although usually brought to church by parents. An adult and free person, however, should have a free option to chose whether to belong to any church or not. Moreover, religious questions should not be used in a discriminatory manner not only by the church, but also by private individuals, in other words, a religious beliefs should be respected by all members of the society even in case they contradict to their personal beliefs. Locke called such a state â€Å"Mutual toleration†. Authorities should not act favorably in respect of any church, although rulers are also usually adepts of a certain religious, but their laws are to be just for every religion. To ground such a thesis Locke explained, that civil freedoms do not depend upon personal views on eternal life and salvation, therefore, every person, independently of religion, has equal importance for the society. Sources Emmanuel Kant, An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment? Available at: http://www.english.upenn.edu/~mgamer/Etexts/kant.html, (last viewed: May 2, 2003) John Locke, A Letter concerning Toleration Available at: http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/amendI_religions10.html (last viewed: May 2, 2003)

Red Bull Case Study Essay

1. What is the case all about? 2. What created Red Bull’s success? Where is the core franchise and benefit? Has the product’s positioning changed over time? What is the role of alcohol mixing to Red Bull’s success? 3. What is Red Bull’s success formula? For which kind of product/beverage categories will this formula work? How does Red Bull know when to turn on the advertising? What metrics would you use to make this judgment? 4. Why did the first U.K launch go awry? 5. What changes were made for the U.S market? Should other changes be considered? 6. Assume tough competition is coming. How can Red Bull protect its franchise? What actions would you recommend? 7. What should Red Bull’s competitors do? Coke? Pepsi? Anheuser-Busch? 8. If you were an investor in Red Bull, would you take your money and run or stay for the long haul? Needless to say, the brand has developed an image for power, speed, and recklessness1, and dominates the energy drink market all across the globe. As can be seen in Pricing Strategies, the energy drink is marketed as a premium product. Special ingredients like taurine and alpine spring water in addition to a high concentration of caffeine in a can half the size of other energy drinks are used to differentiate Red Bull from competitors Red Bull is known primarily for its dominating position in the energy drink business, selling its Red Bull Energy Drink. In Austria, the company has also started its own TV channel, called Servus. TV, and a cell phone service called â€Å"Red Bull Mobile†2 Red Bull sponsors not only many extreme sports athletes3, but also a Formula 1 racing team that won both the constructors’ and drivers’ championship in 2010 and 20114 Red Bull CEO Dietrich Mateschitz has also created the foundation â€Å"Wings for Life†, which seeks to support people suffering from paraplegia. The ultimate goal of the foundation is to make paraplegia curable5. Red Bull product was positioned not for specific occasions, but rather for a range of occasions. With the flexible brand positioning â€Å"Revitalizes Body and Mind,† Red Bull touted itself as suitable for such occasions such as when a long day is over, and a long night starts. On long sleep – inducing motorways. During intensive working days when the  date planner is filling up, and your energy reserves are emptying out.

Effect of Global Financial Crisis on Banks in Pakistan

CHAPTER #01 BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT AND STATEMENT OF PROBLEM |1. 1 |Introduction | |1. 2 |Evolution and Present Status | |1. 2. 1 |Pakistan’s Banking Sector and Foreign Banks | |1. 3 |Statement of Problem | |1. 4 |Significance of Study | |1. |Scope of the Study | |1. 6 |Delimitations | | | | 1. 1Introduction: The financial crisis, which has been developing at Wall Street, has got people worried in developing countries around the world. The stock exchanges, in developing countries have crashed and things look bleak for the financial markets.The people are drawing parallels with the Great Depression of 1929, but this time the world economy seems far more reliant and countries are far more intertwined with each other. Hit by an unprecedented series of multiple events and shocks, the Global Financial System is in a state of deep distress. One after another, large global banks have faced extensive losses, some were subjected to runs, others wrapped up their business, while yet oth ers went for bail outs, mergers or other forms of restructuring. Stock markets tumbled, indices declined and their market capitalization was severely eroded.The financial crisis, triggered by an isolated problem of subprime mortgages and other alternative investment vehicles which constituted only a small proportion of global financial assets, first hit one sector of the economy i. e. housing, and has now transmitted its contagion effect across all segments of financial markets and institutions, with spillover effects into the real sector. The global economy is now witnessing a significant slowdown after a sustained period of growth. What was perceived initially as purely liquidity? runch in advanced financial markets has now turned into a solvency crisis. The depth and breadth of the financial crisis is yet not known. The crisis has generated instability by speculative trade, which has far-reaching implications around the globe. The crisis has the potential to disrupt the very foun dations of the international monetary system. The situation is not limited to the meltdown of financial markets, the real economy at the national and international level, its institutions; and its productive structures are also in difficulty.This financial meltdown inevitably, backlashes on consumer markets, the housing market, and more broadly on the process of investment in the production of goods and services. 1. 2Evolution and Present Status Pakistan is living in a highly integrated world and a major turmoil of this magnitude and would definitely create certain implications for Pakistan’s economy. Pakistan already reeling from high food and fuel prices could face adverse consequences of the global financial crisis. The country’s economy is already confronted with worst kind of macroeconomic imbalances and obviously need financing desperately.Pakistan’s economic growth has slowed down and the ripple effects of this financial crisis may or may not hit with sam e intensity or severity as it is doing to the developed world, but still there are various channels through which the crisis may hit Pakistan economy. The crisis affected area, United States and Europe, hold a fundamental value for Pakistan’s economy. The financial turmoil is more then likely to affect Europe, Japan and North American countries with full intensity. Pakistan’s external sector comprised of trade, foreign investment, remittances, and capital flows is interwoven with these countries.All these indicators of external sector have more than 50 per cent of the stake in this region. The growth model being followed in Pakistan over the years is highly dependent on foreign capital inflows, mainly from these countries. More than one-half of Pakistan's external trade is dependent on these countries. The country could be hurt if demands for its export products dropped significantly, foreign investment declines substantially and if the terms of trade are affected. Pak istan has a very inelastic import structure and if exports are hit by a crisis than the current account deficit is likely to go beyond the sustainable limits.There is an agreement among analysts that countries with heavy external financing needs are potentially more vulnerable to a credit crunch. Pakistan’s current account deficit had already touched $14 billion which is 8. 5 per cent of its GDP, in 2007-08. In the current fiscal year, the ambitious reduction in the CAD is planned but still need a financing of around $12 billion. If import compression measures fail than the financing needs would be more than that. Pakistan’s external inflows projections hinges upon inflows from GDR’s and sovereign bonds in the fiscal year 2008-09.In the current situation any inflows under these heads are most unlikely. Standard & Poor has downgraded its long-term credit rating for Pakistan to triple c plus and this is the third downgrading of this calendar year. This rating will heart some investment prospect as well. The current crisis is aggravated by rising cost of external borrowing on the one hand and scarcity of availability of external inflows coupled with volatility of oil prices in the international market on the other. Internal security situation is adding miseries to our external woes.Non-debt creating inflows like FDI and portfolio inflows had shown great resilience to external crisis last year but sustainability of this resilience is likely to be hurt. 1. 2. 1Pakistan’s Banking Sector & Foreign Banks The major area of the economy of any country is its financial sector, in recent times financial sector has received renewed focus in the world. And within the broad domain of the financial sector, it is the banking industry that has been the center of attraction for the government and policymakers, particularly in the landscape of the Universal Banking Model.Banking is one of the most sensitive businesses all over the world. Banks plays ver y important role in the economy of the country and Pakistan is no exception. Banks are not only the custodian of the assets of the general masses but also act as a major financial intermediary of the country. The banking sector influences many different but integrated economic activities like mobilization of resources, collection & distribution of public finance.Pakistan’s financial sector consists of Scheduled Commercial Banks which include nationalized, foreign, and private banks; and Non-banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs) which include Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), Investment Banks, leasing companies, modarabas, and housing finance companies. Scheduled Banks and NBFIs (excluding modaraba and leasing companies) are both regulated by the State Bank of Pakistan’s Prudential Regulations, albeit through different wings, and are subject to different SBP regulatory requirements such as capital and liquidity reserve requirements.The banking sector in Pakistan has been going through a comprehensive but complex and painful process of restructuring since 1997. It is aimed at making these institutions financially sound and forging their links firmly with the real sector for promotion of savings, investment and growth. Although a complete turnaround in banking sector performance is not expected till the completion of reforms, signs of improvement are visible. The almost simultaneous nature of various factors makes it difficult to disentangle signs of improvement and deterioration.The central bank has been following a supervisory framework, CAMEL, which involves the analysis of six indicators which reflect the financial health of financial institutions. These are: 1) Capital Adequacy, 2) Asset Quality, 3) Management Soundness, 4) Earnings and Profitability, 5) Liquidity and 6) Sensitivity to Market Risk. Pakistan’s banking sector is made up of 53 banks of which there are 30 commercial banks, four specialized banks, six Islamic banks, s even development financial institutions and six micro-finance banks.According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Financial Stability Review 2007-08, â€Å"Pakistan’s banking sector has remained remarkably strong and resilient, despite facing pressures emanating from weakening macroeconomic environment. According to Fitch Ratings, the international credit rating agency dual headquartered in New York and London, â€Å"the Pakistani banking system has, over the last decade, gradually evolved from a weak state-owned system to a slightly healthier and active private sector driven system. |BANKS IN PAKISTAN | |[pic] | |PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS | | | |First Women Bank Limited | |The Bank of Khyber | |National Bank of Pakistan | |The Bank of Punjab | |SINDH BANK | |ISLAMIC BANKS | | | |BankIslami Pakistan Limited | |Emirates Global Islamic Bank | |Dawood Islamic Bank Limited | |Meezan Bank Limited | |Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Limited | |PRIVATE BANKS | | |The Royal Ba nk of Scotland Limited | |JS Bank Limited | |Allied Bank Limited | |KASB Bank Limited | |Arif Habib Bank Limited | |MCB Bank Limited | |Askari Bank Limited | |Mybank Limited | |Atlas Bank Limited | |NIB Bank Limited | |Bank Alfalah Limited | |Saudi Pak Commercial Bank Limited | |Bank Al Habib Limited | |Soneri Bank Limited | |Crescent Commercial Bank Limited | |Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited | |Faysal Bank Limited | |United Bank Limited | |Habib Bank Limited | |Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited | |FOREIGN BANKS | | | |Albaraka Islamic Bank B. S. C. (E. C. ), | |The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Limited – Pakistan Operations | |Citibank N. A. – Pakistan Operations | |HSBC Bank Middle East Limited – Pakistan | |Deutsche Bank AG – Pakistan Operations | |Barclays Bank PLC | |Oman International Bank S. A. O.G – Pakistan Operations | |DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS | | | |House Building Finance Corporation | |Pakistan Kuwai t Investment Company Limited | |Pak Brunei investment Company Limited | |Pak Oman Investment Company Limited | |Pak Iran Joint Investment Company | |Saudi Pak Industrial & Agricultural Investment Company Limited | |Pak Libya Holding Company Limited | |China Investment Company Limited | |SPECIALIZED BANKS | | | |Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan | |The Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Ltd | |SME Bank Limited | |Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited | |MICRO FINANCE BANKS / INSTITUTIONS | | | |Khushhali Bank Limited | Rozgar Microfinance Bank Limited | |Network Microfinance Bank Limited | |Tameer Micro Finance Bank Limited | |Pak Oman Microfinance Bank Limited | |The First Micro Finance Bank Limited | As of end-2008, data from the banking sector confirms a slowdown (after a multi-year growth pattern). As of October 2008, total deposits fell from Rs3. 77 trillion in September to Rs3. 67 trillion. Provisions for losses over the same period went up from Rs173 billion in Sept ember to Rs178. 9 billion in October. In the meanwhile, the SBP has jacked up economy-wide rates of interest (the 3-month treasury bill auction has seen a jump from 9. 9 percent in January 2008 to 14 percent as of January 2009 and bank lending rates are as high as 20 percent). Overall, Pakistan’s banking sector hasn’t been as prone to external shocks as have been banks in Europe. To be certain, liquidity is tight but that has little to do with the Global Financial Crisis and more to do with heavy government borrowing from the banking sector and thus tight liquidity and the ‘crowding out’ of the private sector. Increased competition in the banking sector will force smaller banks to either sell out to other larger banks or merge. A small capital base will also restrict branch expansion of smaller banks, forcing them to focus on relatively smaller retail clients.Hence, it is foreseen that a major merger/acquisition potential in the banking sector. Competition would also spill over to other customer services such as provision of ATM machines and better banking facilities. Again, only the larger banks would be able to invest in automation technology and branch expansion necessary to improve efficiencies and mobilize cheaper funds. Foreign Banks (FB) comprises 24% of total advances and deposits within the banking system, but as a percentage of total profitability they are far ahead. A major constraint for foreign banks is the restrictions placed on branch expansion by the SBP. This should be according to liberalization policy to relax restrictions on foreign banks in emerging economies.Traditionally, the foreign banking focused on short term trade finance, targeting mainly low risk blue chip clients and high net worth individuals. More recently, foreign banks have also expanded into merchant banking, capital market operations, and consumer/retail banking. Foreign banks have been extremely successful in capturing a major market share of con sumer banking business, especially that of credit cards. Head office support in terms of international network and technology has enabled the foreign banks to become important players in the corporate and consumer banking arena. The deposits of foreign banks as ratio of total deposits increased to 27. 99 per cent in 1994-95 as compared to 21. 3 per cent in the preceding year. The advances of foreign banks as ratio of total advances have also shown an increase from 17. 64 per cent to 20. 38 per cent during the same period. Citibank earned a pretax profit of Rs. 1191. 82 million and thus it became the top profit earner among the foreign banks in Pakistan. The presence of foreign banks in Pakistan expands access to credit as well as financial services, which can spur efficiency and innovation in domestic banks, however, ripple effect of shocks from the credit squeeze in the US has impact on local financial markets through these banks. Pakistan has concentration of almost all foreign ba nks in the country.They account for one-tenth of deposits in the country in 2007-08. There are substantial changes taking place in the interrelation with the structure-forming elements in the global financial market which is seriously affecting the financial-credit mechanism in the developing countries, which have not yet developed the financial and economic structures. Countries like Pakistan sensitively react to the structural changes in the financial space. The banking and the entire financial system is much stronger now, after years of restructuring. Pakistan’s financial institutions had not invested in derivatives that had exposure to risky investment bankers.Moreover, better supervisory oversight and risk management practices introduced by the SBP have strengthened bank balance sheets while Bank asset quality, profitability, and capital adequacy have also improved remarkably in recent years. If the small size of the Pakistan’s financial market has traditionally b een a hindrance to a more efficient economy, it may actually prove to be an advantage in the current situation. There are deficiencies in the operations of the banking system, and it does not fulfill its function as finance intermediary. Hence the traditional channels of influence between financial market and real economy do not function in all respects. The banking system is on strong footing and has long term potential – a feature which has served to attract a substantial amount of FDI in the sector, with established global financial institutions now active participants in the domestic financial sector,† it has been well? governed and being in private hands under professional management, has witnessed outstanding financial performance during the last few years. With strong regulatory oversight, there has been a significant enhancement of capital and risk? weighted capital adequacy, supported by high provisioning requirements which were tightened in 2007. Stringent loa n provisioning requirement has built sufficient reserves against the NPLs’ portfolio.In contrast to the liberalized financial system in the west which took its toll in the form of the current global financial crisis, there are stringent regulations and adequate policies in place to help the banking system manage its risks. It is observed that aggregate financial soundness indicators have improved since early 2000, and continue to exhibit strong performance. â€Å"Tighter provisioning requirements may have reduced profits, but have positioned banks well,† and added ongoing consolidation and mergers have enabled a number of banks to position themselves better. The studies have shown that solvency profile has improved, and given the pressures from the macroeconomic environment, there is an indication of marginal deterioration in asset quality, which banks are well? equipped to handle. Stress tests conducted on June? 008 data indicate that the large banks are relatively ro bust, with the medium and small? sized banks positioning themselves in niche markets. Capital adequacy of the banking system is strong, 12. 1 percent at end? June 2008, well above the internationally acceptable minimum requirement of 8. 0 percent, it said and added core capital constitutes about 80. 0 percent of the total capital, and Tier 1 to risk weighted assets ratio of the banking system is at 9. 7 percent. â€Å"This strong capital base is accompanied by adequate reserves on the back of stringent provisioning requirements against classified assets – the net NPLs to net loans ratio is reasonably well? contained i. e. at 1. percent in June 2008, comparable to international best standards,† the Report pointed out. Profitability of the banking system continues to be impressive, largely emanating from the persistent growth in high? yield earning assets and expanded business volumes. Before? tax Return On Assets of the banking system remains strong at 2. 3 percent in J une 2008. The strengths built up over the years are now coming in handy in managing the recent financial strains. The Government’s and public sector organizations’ excessive borrowings from the banking system posed another challenge for the banking system. Notwithstanding, the liquidity strains were temporary and the inter? bank market is now functioning normally. Albeit going forward, the banking sector faces a significant challenge in maintaining its deposit base and in attracting new deposits, given the three rounds of increase in the rates of return on NSS instruments in the first few months of FY09. This will in a way force them to enhance the quality and returns on their liability products, and strengthen competition,† it pointed out. Liquidity position of banks also had an impact on the Non? Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs), whose main source of funding continues to be credit lines from banks. â€Å"A broader assessment of financial stability indicates t hat the financial sector is too bank? centric, and the outreach and growth of the Non?Bank Finance Companies and the Insurance sector have languished in recent years,† it said and added NBFCs face direct competition from banks and are not likely to grow significantly until their funding sources and costs are streamlined. An excessive dependence on the banking system to meet the financing needs of the economy, as well as other participants of the financial sector, is quite stark in comparison with other emerging economies, where in general, the growth in other components of the financial sector, such as capital markets, complements and supplements the financing capacity of the banking sector. While financial markets (money market and foreign exchange market) remained resilient to the developments in the macroeconomic environment and functioned well in maintaining financial stability.Despite several achievements of the financial sector in recent years, financial depth and penetr ation in Pakistan continues to be low, and SBP’s financial inclusion strategy are aimed at extending the net of financial services. A lack of confidence in banking system has also traditionally prevented a significant sector of households from keeping their savings in banks. Hence, the impact on households of a possible burst in bank insolvencies will be minimal. In addition, the majority of deposits are in the state-owned banks or banks with sizeable government presence. Indirect effects may thus become prominent in evaluating the consequences of the financial turmoil on the real economy.The tight liquidity situation particularly hampers the operations of small banks and banks with limited resources, so the possibility of insolvency and bankruptcy cannot be ignored for some banks. Pakistan is facing a gimmick of financing huge fiscal deficits in 2008-09 and if liquidity constraint remains intact with limitations on external financing, the demand for State Bank resources will grow at a faster pace. The unwillingness of the SBP to finance the deficit may have serious implications for fiscal operations. This will attract major cuts in growth enhancing development expenditure because current expenditure offers little room for adjustment. The development expenditure has crucial for job creation and interlink ages in the economy.The refinancing of fiscal deficit without SBP finances may prove to be difficult, and will further tighten liquidity conditions and could lead to insolvencies for banks as well as add further pressures on taxation options. 1. 3 – Statement of the Problem: This aim of this research is to analyse the working of foreign banks, their operations and situations after global financial crisis and the services they are providing. The benefits which they are providing to different financial and non financial organizations. The activities and practices of foreign banks operating particularly in Pakistan. Their importance in the economy a nd financial sector of Pakistan. The major reasons for their decline/incline nowadays, Problems faced by them in recent time and their tough competition from other financial institutions performing in the market.There are many risk factors that are blocking the performance of foreign banks, so in this research it is tried to get the deep understanding of impact of global financial crisis on the foreign banks and the following things: 1- The Factors involving the operations of foreign banks before and after global financial crisis. 2- The future opportunities of foreign banks operating in Pakistan. 3- What are the problems faced by foreign banks. 4- How are the risk factors hindering the performance of foreign banks. 5- What products should be focused by foreign banks for growth in future. 6- The strategies for the regulation and development of foreign banks in Pakistan 7- The Initiatives that should be taken to bolster foreign bank operations in Pakistan after global financial turmo il. So the statement of the problem can be: IMPACT OF GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS ON THE FOREIGN BANKS OPERATING IN PAKISTAN†. 1. 4 – SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: This report is useful in deeply understanding the activities and services provided by the foreign banks operating in Pakistan . Their importance in the economy of Pakistan, this report will not only gives information about present status but also gives comprehensive information about the contribution and impact of foreign banks in the financial sector of Pakistan. This report is also useful for the students and teachers providing complete theoretical and practical information about foreign banks, their functions and operations with wider perspective.This research will be beneficial for the corporations, and researchers who are interested in knowing about the services of foreign banks that will be beneficial for them. This research will also be helpful for the foreign banks in getting information about their present status and future prospects, the opportunities and threats they are facing, and the risk faced by them in Pakistan and what new products and services they can indulge in to grow in the future. This research is also helpful for me to enhance my knowledge in understanding the operations and difficulties faced by the banks. 1. 5 – SCOPE OF STUDY: This study or analysis of the foreign banks will help in identifying the impact of global finacilal turmoil on foreign banks in the financial sector of Pakistan.It includes detailed study of top renowned foreign banks operating in Pakistan. The activities & services provided by them and performance and growth during the financial crisis. 1. 6 – Delimitations: The results are purely based on the information that is provided by the institutions, investors and from other secondary sources. The key factors that may hamper the present and future performance of investment banks are the economic conditions and government policies. This research is limited to the study of the impact of global financial turmoil on few of the foreign banks operating in Pakistan; these banks mainly include Standard Chartered Bank, Citi Bank, RBS Bank and HSBC Bank.

EVALUATE THE MAIN EU REGULATORY REACTIONS TO THE FINANCIAL CRISIS Essay

EVALUATE THE MAIN EU REGULATORY REACTIONS TO THE FINANCIAL CRISIS INCLUDING THE CHANGES TO THE EU REGULATORY PROCESS FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES - Essay Example Evidently, the financial crisis began in the second quarter of 2006 in United States. To this end, there were significant losses registered banks in United States as a result of sub primal foreclosures of mortgages (Chrisdoulaki, 2010). Consequently, since the mega banks in European Union and United States were operating under business models which were similar, the financial distress facing the United States were replicated in the European Union. To this end, the mega banks located on both the European Union and United States suffered from under-capitalization and insufficient liquidity reserves. Evidently, the financial regulations of the European Union are carried out at the continental level as well as within the individual countries. The European regulatory response to the crisis was significantly slower to that of the United States. The onset of the decline in profits within the United States was immediately reflected by a similar decline in profits by E.U banks (Clark, Feldman , & Gertler, 2000). The German government and regulators in the finance industry requested the European Commission to bail them out within six months after the crisis began. The bail out of 9 billion Euros was granted and was directed at the IKB German Bank (Grote, & Marauhn, 2006). Furthermore, the governments of other member countries of the European Union pumped in capital within their financial institutions. Examples included the Northern Rock bank located in the United Kingdom. The fast pace of the spread of the financial crisis was not unexpected since most of the securitized United States debt was originated for distribution to European investors and institutions. To this end, the financial crisis that affected the European Union is blamed on the business model of â€Å"originate-to-distribute† that is synonymous with U.S banks (Mattoo & Sauve?, 2003). Evidently, the large international financial institution adopted this model which allowed the institutions to increase their lending power without disrupting the set capital standards by regulators. Moreover, this model created instruments such as credit default swaps, mortgages guaranteed by securities, and debt obligation that were collaterized (Ferran, 2012). In this regard, such instruments played a part in exploiting weaknesses evident in financial regulatory structures. In addition, under-written mortgages and securities, insufficient coordination within national regulatory bodies, and regulatory arbitrage by the regulators all played a role in undermining the regulatory structures (Smith, 2005). To this end, the challenge of identifying and enforcing effective measures in response to the financial crisis in the European Union has been slowed down since the financial regulations are normally carried out at the member country and European level ( Helleiner, Pagliari, & Zimmermann, 2010). In light of the financial crisis of 2007-2009, the subsequent sections will address the financial regulator y responses carried out by the European Union as well as changes to the EU regulatory process for financial services. Financial Regulatory Reform Plan by the European Union Following the financial crisis of 2007-2009, the European Parliament Committee for Economic and Monetary Affairs met on 21st July 2010. In this regard, they approved a version of The Dodd-Frank Act adopted by the United States. The new version would seek to improve the regulatory bodies for securities, pensions, insurance, and banking sectors. The Act would also have the authority to overrule national governments on pertinent issues. In addition, the plans by the

Sustainable tourism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sustainable tourism - Research Paper Example urism industry, local communities, and NGOs need to collaborate with each other to facilitate the production of enterprises of sustainable tourism that are of both economic value and local benefit. In planning for sustainable tourism is essential to visualize the best possible situation for tourism the community and protected area. This ultimately underpins the overall course of sustainable tourism initiatives in light of objectives that ensure sustainability is achieved (Page, 24). Sustainable Tourism’s Triple Bottom Line Three prime components known as the triple bottom line drive sustainable tourism. First is the Environmental tenet. Environmentally, this kind of tourism has very limited impact on the natural resources, specifically within the protected areas. It limits environmental damage (living resources in marines, habitats, water, fauna, flora, contamination, use of energy) and fundamentally makes an attempt to impart benefit to the environment. Second is social and c ultural conservation. Culturally and socially, sustainable tourism does not destroy the fabric of the community within which it is situated. It instead respects local traditions and cultures, stakeholders such as communities, individuals, tour operators; as well government institutions are involved in all the phases involving planning, developing, and monitoring sustainable tourism. It also creates awareness and builds the capacity of stakeholders on their specific roles. Third is economic prosperity. Economically, sustainable tourism contributes to the well-being of community by generating equitable and sustainable income for the local communities, together with all other stakeholders. It amasses immense benefits for the employees, owners and neighbors. It is not easy for sustainable tourism to... Three prime components known as the triple bottom line drive sustainable tourism. First is the Environmental tenet. Environmentally, this kind of tourism has very limited impact on the natural resources, specifically within the protected areas. It limits environmental damage (living resources in marines, habitats, water, fauna, flora, contamination, use of energy) and fundamentally makes an attempt to impart benefit to the environment. Second is social and cultural conservation. Culturally and socially, sustainable tourism does not destroy the fabric of the community within which it is situated. It instead respects local traditions and cultures, stakeholders such as communities, individuals, tour operators; as well government institutions are involved in all the phases involving planning, developing, and monitoring sustainable tourism. It also creates awareness and builds the capacity of stakeholders on their specific roles. Third is economic prosperity. Economically, sustainable tou rism contributes to the well-being of community by generating equitable and sustainable income for the local communities, together with all other stakeholders. It amasses immense benefits for the employees, owners and neighbors. It is not easy for sustainable tourism to simply start up and rapidly die, since it does not possess attributes allied to poor business practices (Page, 32). Tourism enterprises that satisfactorily fulfill the triple bottom line principle end up doing well by doing well in society.

Discuss the basic qualifications in an organized crime group Essay

Discuss the basic qualifications in an organized crime group - Essay Example Therefore, the most common characteristics of an organized crime group are that they have no political goals; they are hierarchical and have exclusive or limited membership. Organized crime groups also do belong to a unique subculture, perpetuates itself and are willing to use illegal violence to obtain whatever they intend to. Finally, all organized crime groups are monopolistic and get governed by set rules and regulations. Activities that are carried out by organized crime groups involve money laundering, illegal drug distribution, illegal prostitution and human trafficking. Organized crime syndicates are not all the same. They differ in structure because they have different objectives to accomplish. They have different funding methods and how they communicate too. The most salient aspect of a syndicate is the loyalty of its members and their ability to keep their operations a secret. Any member of a syndicate usually has a death penalty for not being loyal to the

Project Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Project Management - Research Paper Example The secondary challenge is based on the optimization of resources in a well organized manner (Larson & Gracy, 2003). We are living in the world of modern technology where execution of different software applications has made the complex methods simpler. Similarly, there are many software tools available that have made the process of project management much more effective and efficient. For fulfilling this purpose, Microsoft project is one of the basic tools that have captured the most of the importance these days. It has helped in the costs reduction, improved productivity, enhanced collaboration as well as it provides the facility of connected platforms. There are Ten Commandments of using MS project: 1. Thou shall save incremental versions of one's work. 2. Thou shall provide the right level of detail to the right project participant. 3. Thou shall not waste time trying to get MS Project to do things that a good spreadsheet would do. 4. Thou shall change today's date to the appropr iate time when creating a status report. 5. Thou shall check to make sure the program is doing what you want it to do. 6. Thou shall be patient in using the tutorial and help function to learn MS Project. 7. Thou shall save forests by printing only those pages one needs. 8. Thou shall help each other in mastering this program. 9. Thou shall not go insane by working with this software for more than 1 hour at a time. 10. Thou shall always remember that you are in control, not the software. Most Important Commandment Providing right level of detail to the right project participant is the key element or the soul of any successful project therefore, it is the most important commandment among the 10 commandments. For this commandment, information is the basic component that is required to attain the desired results. Information related to planning, execution, implementation, controlling, resources, time, budget, scheduling plays an effective role in pre-decision making process (Larson & G racy, 2003). It is also very important to discuss in detail and in-depth, each and every characteristic of the project with the project member to run it effectively. On the other hand, it is very important that each member of the project should be updated with the relevant information according to the role and project specifications. For example, the higher the role is, the greater would be the amount of information provided. However, the basic reason in the failure of any project depends on the lack of information provided by the management to any project member. 11th commandment can be added to use Microsoft Project i.e. Thou shall be tested rigorously to check the functionality of it with respect to the requirements laid down during the start of the project. Advantage of Using Project Management Software Application overshadow the disadvantages The advantages overshadow the disadvantages because the chances of project success increase by the successful implementation of these app lications. It manages the overall budget of the project, evaluates the risks associated with it, calculation of the costs and lastly, the business forecasting. It also helps in developing the performance reports and charts. It is a user-friendly software overall ( Mochal, 2006). What you need to know about the software is the approximate project management software market share that it takes to be sure that this tool is quite popular and it holds a majority of its customer

Question set 4-6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Question set 4-6 - Assignment Example The project management system enables users to easily see that resources are applied to the right tasks at the right time. It assists managers to make sure that they have allocated ample time to the employees for the success of the project (R.Drew 2009). Project management system enables assigning of tasks which can be declined or accepted by the managers depending on whether they have the time and resources to perform the tasks. This in turn provides team work since one is not assigned tasks they cannot or do not what to perform. It also ensures that there is no overlap in resource assignment (R.Drew 2009). A project sponsor is the link between the project team and the organisation executive team. They own the project and have the ultimate responsibility for seeing that the intended benefits are realized to create the value of forecast in the business case (L. Bourne 2012). An escalation process ensures that the next level of management is informed periodically, if an issue cannot be resolved by the project manager. Examples of some of the issues that are usually escalated are resource conflicts; this is where during projects people are pulled out to go and assist resolve problems in their day to day work areas threatening the projects ability to meet its schedule. Another example is when the project team realizes that late in the project, there are issues with the project’s main deliverables and the team believes that the issue cannot be corrected within the original time (efor_blog 2009). The escalation process should be defined at the beginning of the project by setting expectations as to how certain issues will be raised to the project sponsor during the project to avoid conflict between the project team and the project sponsor. The project team should keep track of the issues, regularly reviewing them and determining their significance, so that teams see which should be escalated. This can

MRES7013 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

MRES7013 - Essay Example Thus, it is oxygenated in lungs, and de-oxygenated once it passes through tissues (Guyton and Hall, 2006 p. 78). Because of its liquid nature, it is able to seep through spaces once a vascular injury occurs. We usually see it as bruising of the skin, when trauma causes breakage in the thin-walled capillaries in the dermis. The bruising then recedes with time, and the skin goes back to its previous appearance as if nothing happened. The same may not be applicable to other organs, more notably the brain. Although there is no obvious bruising similar to that seen on the skin, brain hemorrhages present with more serious signs of paralysis or changes in the sensorium, as caused by the ischemia and neuronal death of the area in the brain that should have been perfused by the injured vessel. Soon, ischemia of some brain tissue results to irreversible neurologic dysfunction. Prompt management is thus needed before neurologic defects become permanent (Kumar et al., 2010, p. 41). The age of hemorrhage is important because it determines the management of intracranial hemorrhage, as will be discussed later. The stages of hematoma are based on the form of hemoglobin in RBCs. Initially, during the hyper-acute phase or hours after the development of the lesion, hematoma is made up ofa liquid suspension of intact RBCs containing oxy- or deoxy-hemoglobin. If the blood came from an arterial source, which is the case in most non-traumatic etiologies such as aneurysm, approximately 95% of hemoglobin molecules are oxygenated.Later, water is resorbed by the brain tissue, resulting to a solidified aggregation of RBCs. As the blood ages further, the hemoglobin denatures from oxy- ordeoxy- to met-hemoglobin. This transformation is dependent on the oxidation of ferrous (Fe+2) heme iron contained by oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin to ferric (Fe+3) state, turning the

Political Order Essay Example for Free

Political Order Essay poTop 20 (+1) List of Political Ideologies You Should Know For APUSH 1. conservative – Generally a trend to maintain a traditional stance on an issue.? For example, if one was culturally conservative in the United States, they would probably be against an issue like girls wearing 6 inch tall pink mohawks to school because it is a traditionally unacceptable hairstyle. If one were fiscally conservative, they would probably be against an excess of government taxing and spending; they would want to? be â€Å"conservative† with their money. 2.liberalism – Only lately used as an opposite to the term conservative; historically, it means to hold individual liberties as the most important social or political goal.? For example, if one were culturally liberal, they would hold that girls could wear 6 inch tall pink mohawks to school because it is that person’s individual choice. If one were fiscally liberal, they would probably be for government spending on stuff like space exploration; even though it is not absolutely necessary for human survival, it is still culturally important. 3. right-wing – Are usually people or ideas that seek to uphold or return the traditional establishment of a civil society and the preservation of the domestic culture, usually in the face of external forces for change. For example, many right-wing thinkers believe that all people in America should legally have to learn English. 4. left-wing – Are usually people who wish to change or abolish the existing political or social order. Sometimes, under this category are people who try to promote equality in wealth and privilege. For example, many left-wing people believe that helping the poor at the expense of the rich is a good thing. 5. socialism – A broad term for any political ideology that promotes collective ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods and services, as opposed to private ownership (like we have in the U. S. , if your dad owns a car factory, he owns it, not the government). Communism is considered socialist. Traditionally, most trade unions can be seen as socialist because the workers â€Å"collectively own† the union. Also, social security can be seen as a socialist because it is a government organized and regulated system. 6. democratic – A system of government by which political control is retained by the people and exercised directly by citizens. Notice the little â€Å"d†. This does not mean the political party. 7. republic – A system of government by which at least some of the people have control over the government and monarchy does not exist. Notice the little â€Å"r†. This does not mean the political party. 8. fascism – A system of government that is heavily authoritarian and nationalistic. 9. authoritarian – describes a form of government that typically emphasizes the sole authority of the state in a republic or union. 10. nationalism – A political movement which holds that a nation, usually defined in terms of ethnicity or culture, has the right to constitute an independent political community based on a shared history and common destiny. 11. radicalism – Usually denotes a drastic shift from the traditional norm, usually to an extreme. 12. libertarianism – Usually a political philosophy which prioritize individual liberty and usually seeks to minimize the state. 13. communism – is a socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an equal, classless based on common ownership of the means of production and property in general. 14. populism – is a political ideology which promotes the common people above or versus the privileged. 15. progressivism – Usually seen as a political response to the Industrial Revolution, socialism, and anarchism; it is a political ideology that strives towards social justice, promotion of democracy, and government efficiency. See Progressive Party. 16. Marxism – A specific flavor of communism derived from the writings of Karl Marx. see communism. 17. federalism (Hamiltonianism) – Alexander Hamilton’s branch of political thought that promotes a strong central government composed of weaker states. This particular flavor also includes very strong governmental intervention in economic issues. 18. Jeffersonian Republicanism – In contrast to the above, a school of thought promoted by Thomas Jefferson that promotes states and individual rights over a strong central government. This flavor usually necessitates a virtuous populace. 19. Jacksonian Democracy – Usually seen as a mixture of the two above, promoted by Andrew Jackson, this system sees an increase of political involvement by the â€Å"common man† and an increase of the powers of a strong federal government. 20. localism – a political or economic philosophy that prioritizes local needs over most else. Example, a city passing a law that the only tomatoes that can be sold must be grown from a local farm is considered localism. 21. anarchism – the promotion of the abolition of all forms of government.

Credit Card Fraud Detection through Data Mining

Credit Card Fraud Detection through Data Mining Abstract With the increasing fraudsters day to day, the fallacious transaction is rapidly growing thus making the frauds in this scenario a matter of high importance. Huge database patterns are identified by various data mining models assisting to strengthen and detect the credit card fraud. This research primarily focusses on Credit Card Fraud Detection analyzing two different methods used to detect fraudulent systems and implement the new technologies to the system to minimize frauds in credit card transactions Keywords- Data Mining, Methods, Credit Card, Fraud Detection, Hybrid Technology, Neural Network, Support Vector System Data Mining is filled with application growth opportunities and research which are reliable and usable from the data. Rapid development of e-commerce, usage of credit card has become well known mode for online and regular transactions, increasing the credit card fraud simultaneously. Fraud detection is a complicated problem as unwanted transactions are hidden in the authoriosed transaction. Due to security reasons and also to gain trust of users credit card fraud detection has now become important to companies. Neural Networks [1], Bayesian Network [2], Hidden NaÃÆ' ¯ve Bayes Network [12], Dempster Shafer [10] are few methods to be justified in detecting the credit card fraudulent system. With the new technologies, it has now become easy for the companies and banks to detect the fraudulent system. With the growing credit card fraud problem in the industry this literature review will help us to understand and detect the techniques involved in detecting the fraudulent system. We will be describing two different approaches Neural Network and Support vector machine approach thus learning a new method to minimize the fraudulent system. This paper helps us to analyze data mining methods with respect to credit card fraud system. A. Neural Network Approach Neural network fraud detection method is primarily based on working of a human brain. Just as the human brain is capable of learning things from the previous experiences and uses the knowledge to decide things occurring in day to day problems the same strategy is used while detecting a credit card fraud with Neural Network system. Neural Network can reflect a small part of complexity and regulation Banks use this kind of network method to detect the credit card fraud. The moment a transaction takes place there are a set of attributes attached to it characterizing the account holder, the amount and the merchant. Considering an example, for the Mellow Bank Fraud Detection Feasibility Study a particular archived amount of data was used for model development as the authorized data wasnt easily available due to security reasons. P-RCE [3] neural network technique is used. P-RCE is used for pattern recognition as it helps to describe what exactly the human brain is thinking about. P-RCE has a single cell layer which outputs a numeric response called as Fraud score. The lower the threshold the more no. of credit card fraud is detected. Higher the credit card detection threshold less no. of fraud is detected. With 2000000 transactions of Mellon Banks data from Oct-Nov 1991, nearly measuring 50 accounts per day 40% of the fraudulent transaction was observed but prior to use of P-RCE method in Mellon Banks feasibility study the result came out to be 1 fraudulent transaction per week on reviewing 750 account per day. The improvement in the fraud detection performance was undeniably considerable. The p attern recognition method can actually help the banks to reduce 20-40% (in total) credit card fraud losses. B. Support Virtual Machine Approach An online transaction has four entities: credit card holder, credit card, the seller and the buyer. There is an independent history of transactions with each set of entities in the data set. Each entity keeps almost a consistent behavior pattern in authorized transactions. The risk of a transaction can be estimated by calculating the inconsistency of a transaction from the history of authorized transactions. Let us define Xe(t) {a1, a2, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, an) as the transactional set in the entitys history is equivalent to f(t) beingF(t) {seller, buyer, holder, card) set of entities. We calculate the score of transactions, by defining l = (l1 , l19) [3] with c as value of a feature, as SC(l,e,t) = count(c,Xe(t)) The idea to calculate how near a transaction is related to past authorized transactions therefore we consider only those transactions that are proved legitimate from Xe(t). To train and test a classifier (weight and score) we have a vector in conjunction with the classification: SVM (Support Vector Machines). They are essentially supervised learning models used for analyzing data and recognition of patterns. Using the traditional methods, raw data was classified with SVM to check the impact of general weight in the outcomes and reduce SVM complexity as well. SVM classifier was used in classifying the transactions as fraud or authorized resulting in 40-50% in most months with false alarm rate 10-12%. The online credit card fraud system can be detected and improvised with the Big Data Technologies framework. The main aim is to achieve the goal of fusing various detection methods to enhance the accuracy. A workflow was proposed [13] containing common designs of fraudulent system thus making it easier to integrate identification of fraud system. In recent years, big data platforms were released to process and operate data including MapReduce and Apache Hadoop frameworks (open source for MapReduce). Two components are primarily considered: spouts and bolts. The source of streams is referred to as spout which reads and sends tuples from external source into topology. The data processing is done by Bolt. With the reference, the paper proposes a hybrid structure with Big data efficient in solving challenges related to performance and integration. The basic workflow is defined [13] in the figure. QF- Quick filter, DSA Demper Shafer Adder (combining different fraud scores and generating a merged result), EF- Explicit filter. This workflow is designed by combining different algorithms together for a higher accuracy like two DSAs are combined so that we can aggregate their fraud score to get better accuracy; 2) Another aspect can be considered by combining supervised unsupervised fraud approaches to examine a good cover of types of fraud; 3) The filters used: QF detects only the behavior of card holder whereas EF detects the historical data in the whole model. So, to achieve faster filter we can combine QF and EF as well as to get better efficiency the combination is good to go. In this paper, we have reviewed two data mining detection methods of credit card fraud. The research papers which arent considered here might have comprehensive methods to research and implementations of new detection techniques. This research paper describes: The Neural Network can be implemented in banks to reduce the credit card fraudulent system with it P-RCE algorithm. 2) Support Vector machine can detect the frauds in ecommerce system real time but isnt much reliable for complex frauds. 3) Hybrid technology framework, the workflow is essential to detect frauds in offline system as the method but can improve accuracy, performance and efficiency. To develop a credit card fraud system, the neural network method is best suited according to my understanding as it is efficient, accurate and cost effective thus implemented in Mellon Bank. Neural Network method has some failures as well but gradually with new technology it can overcome. But to develop a strong fraud detection system using credit card we need to combine few more complex detecting methods. References [1] S. Ghosh and D. L. Reilly, Credit card fraud detection with a neural network, in System Sciences, 1994. Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Hawaii International Conference on, vol. 3, Jan 1994, pp. 621-630. [2] G. F. Cooper and E. Herskovits. A Bayesian Method for the Induction of Probabilistic Networks from Data. Machine Learning, 9(4):309-347, 1992. Santiago, Gabriel Preti, Adriano Pereira, and Roberto Hirata Jr. A modeling approach for credit card fraud detection in electronic payment services. In Proceedings of the 30th Annual ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, pp. 2328-2331. ACM, 2015. Online Credit Card Fraud Detection: A Hybrid Framework with Big Data Technologies You Daià ¢Ã‹â€ -, Jin Yanà ¢Ã‹â€ -, Xiaoxin Tangà ¢Ã‹â€ -, Han Zhaoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚   and Minyi Guoà ¢Ã‹â€ - à ¢Ã‹â€ -Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  School of Computer Science Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China Philip K. Chan, Wei Fan, Andreas 1. Prodromidir, and Salvotore 1. Stalfo, Distributed Data Mining in Credit Card Fraud Detection 2016 IEEE TrustCom/BigDataSE/ISPA H. Michael Chung Fredric C. Gey Data Mining, Knowledge Discovery, and Information Retrieval, Proceedings of the 34th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 2001 Agrawal, Ayushi, Shiv Kumar, and Amit Kumar Mishra. Implementation of Novel Approach for Credit Card Fraud Detection. In Computing for Sustainable Global Development (INDIACom), 2015 2nd International Conference on, pp. 1-4. IEEE, 2015. [2008] Abhinav Srivastava, Amlan Kundu, Shamik Sural and Arun K. Majumdar, CreditCard Fraud Detection Using Hidden Markov Model IEEE, Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing, Vol. 5, No 1., January-March D. L. Reilly and L. N. Cooper, An overview ofneural networks: early models to real worldsystems, in An Introduction to Neural and Electronic Networks, ed. S. F. Zometzer, J. L. Davis and C. Lau, 227-248, Academic Press, (1990). S. Panigrahi, A. Kundu, S. Sural, and A. Majumdar, Credit card fraud detection: A fusion approach using dempstershafer theory and Bayesian learning, Information Fusion, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 354 363, 2009. Z. D. Zhao and M. s. Shang, User-based collaborative-filtering recommendation algorithms on hadoop, in Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, 2010. WKDD 10. Third International Conference on, Jan 2010,pp. 478-481. [12] Jiang, Liangxiao, Harry Zhang, and Zhihua Cai. A novel Bayes model: Hidden naive Bayes. IEEE Transactions on knowledge and data engineering 21, no. 10 (2009): 1361-1371. [13] Dai, You, Jin Yan, Xiaoxin Tang, Han Zhao, and Minyi Guo. Online Credit Card Fraud Detection: A Hybrid Framework with Big Data Technologies. In Trustcom/BigDataSE/Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ SPA, 2016 IEEE, pp. 1644-1651.IEEE, 2016.

Factors on Stock Market Development in SAARC Region

Factors on Stock Market Development in SAARC Region The Impact of Institutional and Macroeconomic Factors on Stock Market Development in SAARC region Fayaz Ahmed Soomro Problem Statement There are many researches concerned about the relationship between the Macroeconomic variables and the stock market performances[1]. Researchers have analyzed many different factors of Macroeconomic variables like GDP, Savings, Credit facilities, Shares traded, interest rates, remittances from abroad, trade deficit, consumer banking, production of industrial goods, liquidity and more macroeconomic factors having significant impact and are the major contributors in stock market development[2]. Researches also claim that there is one way relationship between stock market development and macroeconomic variables[3]. Researchers have also concentrated on the impact of quality of institutions on the development of equity market in developing countries specially[4]. However there is has been not much interested directed towards institutional quality having impact on stock market development in SAARC region. This research is focused on testing the theory and adding empirical evidence from in terms of impact of quality of institutions on the development of equity market. This research might help the respective countries of SAARC in understanding better the factors contributing in the development of stock market in the SAARC territory and May helps the policy makers to devise better and effective policies for the whole region. Objective To determine the impact of the quality of institutions with macroeconomic factors are having on the development of stock markets in SAARC region. Research Question What is the impact of quality of institutions with macroeconomic factors on the performance of the stock markets? Literature Review Development of the Stock markets and the growth of the economy There has been found that stock market development and economic prosperity are highly correlated Levine and Zervos (1996). The study adopted positivist approach and correlational in nature and based on 41 countries in the period 1976- 1993, the quantitative method was adopted. It was deduced based on the hypothesis taking sample population of 41 countries in the period 1976- 1993 that there exist a high correlation among stock market and growth of economy. Unidirectional effect of Macroeconomic Variables Macroeconomic factors affects the stock prices in the unidirectional way that is stock prices does not affects the Macroeconomic variables to change Hussain and Mehmood (2001). The approach adopted is quantitative in nature and falls in the domain of positivist research paradigm. The deduction was based on sample population of Pakistan by considering the period of 1959-60 to 1998-99. Stock Market and Economic Prosperity Evidence from India Economic prosperity is highly related with the stock market performance in the economy Deb and Mukherjee (2008). He analysed by the quantitative research methods and hence within positivism research paradigm that in India economic prosperity leads to the better stock market performances. He deduced that there is a relationship between economic prosperity and the stock market development in India by taking sample population of India from the period of ten years. It was also found that there exists a bidirectional causal relation among the said variables. Development in the Stock Market of Pakistan Liquidity and the prices of the stocks do not have any relation in any direction Ali et al. (2010). This research falls into the Post Positivism research paradigm because it is refuting the generalization made in the literature that money supply and stocks prices have no relation at all in any direction. This was tested by using Granger-causality test, Augmented Dickey Fuller, Unit Root Test and the test of co-integration (Johansen) have been applied. He also found that there is no causality effect among the liquidity and stock prices, industrial production , exchange proportion, rising prices, balance of trade and prices of the shares in Pakistan. Foreign Direct Investment is highly related to stock market development Raza et al. (2012) this research adopted quantitative and hence followed the positivism research paradigm that is, it tested the theory in consistent with the literature. The factors like savings, rising prices and money exchange rates were also considered and were found significant. Savings were in line with stock market however inflation and money exchange rate were found to have a negative impact. The research found that 70 percent of the increase in development of stock market is caused by the one percent change in FDI inflow. This is a huge impact so the government of Pakistan should be looking forward to protect the foreign investors and facilitate them as much as possible. There should be framework under which the foreign investors can take the easily their part and keep on investing in order to promote the stock market activities in the region. Stock Market development in Bangladesh The stock market of the Bangladesh is not mature yet and it’s not up to the standards of international markets, however this research identified many factors affecting the stock market development in Bangladesh Rrahman and Rahaman (2011). The research adopted quantitative and followed Positivist approach. Data was collected from the period 2001 to 2008 and was collected from various reliable sources of Bangladesh. Many different statistical techniques were used like descriptive analyses, correlation analyses were applied. All the variables were found to have significant impact. It was also suggested that Bangladesh stock market is highly volatile and there has much to improve in order to make it up to international standards. Stock Markets and the Institutional Quality Insitutional quality plays important role in the development of various sectors of the economy. Its implication has been tested and proved significant in the non banking financial sector in the Middle East and African regions Creane et al. (2004). The proxies that were used are Banking Industry, Money Supply, yearly monetary and fiscal policies, industrial regulations, financial corruption and the quality of institutions. Recommendation made in this report is about to increase the quality of institutions. Yartey (2008) Institutional factors including the political stablity, quality in bureaucracy, stability of democracy, corruptions, general regulations and laws with other macro economic factors were found to have a significant effect on the stock market activities because it usually increases financial facility to the general public and they tend to invest in the equity market. The data was collected from the period 1990 until 2004 that is total 14 years of 42 emerging economies. The data was analyzed through regression analysis. However risk in the political stability was suggested a major contributing in the stock exchange market enhancement. In other Burhop et al. (2011) tried to find the regulatory body as the important components of the stock exchange market. In his studies he considered London equity market and the stock market of berlin and quantified as in the form of IPO- initial Public Offerings. However he could not conclude whether regulatory body plays an important role in the stock market activities but he found that long term profits and survival in the competition as the important factor in the successful market. Research Methodology Epistemology This research tries to identify the Institutional factors and other macroeconomic factors that lead to the development of stock market, this knowledge already exist and justified in the region of Middle East in the International Monetary Fund’s working paper of Billmeier and Massa (2007). Nature of Knowledge This research tries to test already existing knowledge in the literature Billmeier and Massa (2007) which was specifically applied in the regions of Middle East and Central Asia. The theory has been tested quantitatively that exist in literature and adopted Positivism approach. This research adds the empirical proof from the SAARC region. Methodology- Positivism This research is also quantitative in nature and follows the positivism approach because it’s in consistent with the existing literature and follows the systematic scientific approach to find its applicability in the SAARC region. The gap in the empirical evidence was identified and in order to fill the gap same propositions were developed but in different context of its application Validity The method, approach, statistical technique and the measurement of the variables are in consistent with the International Monetary Fund’s working paper. That means theory already exist but it has been applied in the different context that is in SAARC region. Institutional quality has been measured as a index of Economic freedom by Heritage Index of Economic Freedom and other macroeconomic variables has been measured and reported by the World Bank and the data has been collected from their published reports. The detailed measurement is as follows Market Capitalization: This is has been measured as total value of the shares outstanding in the stock markets which is the total sum of shares prices multiplied by the no of outstanding securities. For this research it has been taken as the percentage of GDP. IQ: Institutional Quality: Institutions are the formal governing bodies in any country which look after the overall governing structure of the economy. These institutions guide the economy about political activities, social activities and the economic activities. Quality of institutions is enhanced with efficient and effective working of institutions. Quality is measured by Heritage Foundation as score from 0 to 100, the lowest value being the poorest form of quality and higher the score the higher the quality. INC: Income: It is represented as the total value of production within the country and has been measured at constant base of year 2000 US $ in Billions. INV: Investment: It is represented by the addition in the aggregate value of fixed assets with any inventories. This has been taken in this research as capital formation percentage of the GDP SVT: Stock value traded: It is represented by the shares total value in the specific period. This has been also taken as percentage traded over GDP DC: Domestic credit: It is represented by the total value of lending to the customers in the private sectors. This has also been taken as percentage of GDP. Reliability This theory has been applied in the region of SAARC region from the period 1996 to 2012. It is suggested the this theory will produce more or less the same results if carried out in the different period of time in the SAARC region Generalizability This same theory was applied and proved in the region of Middle East. This research also proved and produced the same results in the SAARC region hence It can be concluded that this theory is applicable to the regions with similar conditions of economy like in Middle East and Central Asia. Synthetic a posteriori proposition The proposition in this research says that Institutional Quality and macroeconomic factors have significant and positive impact on the stock market development in the SAARC region. This proposition is a synthetic a posteriori and subject to empirical verification from the above region. Deduction Reasoning General statements 1: Quality of institutions affects significantly on the development of stock market. 2: GDP affects significantly on the development of stock market. 3: Domestic credit affects significantly on the development of stock market. 4: Stock traded value affects significantly on the development of stock market. 5: Gross capital formation affects significantly on the development of stock market. Hypotheses Ho1: Quality of the institutions affects insignificantly on the development of stock market. Ha1: Quality of the institutions affects significantly on the development of stock market. Ho2: GDP affects significantly on the development of stock market. Ha2: GDP affects insignificantly on the development of stock market. Ho3: Domestic credit affects significantly on the development of stock market. Ha3: Domestic credit affects significantly on the development of stock market. Ho4: Stock traded value affects significantly on the development of stock market. Ha4: Stock traded value affects significantly on the development of stock market. Ho4: Gross capital formation affects significantly on the development of stock market. Ha4: Gross capital formation affects significantly on the development of stock market. Conclusion 1: Institutional quality does impact significantly on the development of stock market 2: GDP does impact significantly on the development of stock market 3: Domestic credit does impact significantly on the development of stock market 4: Stock traded value does impact significantly on the development of stock market 5: Gross capital formation does impact significantly on the development of stock market Falsification As this research is in consistent with the existing theory and has been only tested without amendments hence it is not refuting any theory of knowledge but adds empirical evidence in the literature from untested region that is South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. Data Collection and Source In this research secondary data has been used. Data of institutional quality collected from the Index of Economic Freedom of Heritage Foundation. Data of macroeconomic variables collected from the World Bank. Target Population The research focuses on the regions of SAARC economies in particular countries Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Srilanka. Sample Size The dataset of 5 economies has been considered. The year 1995 to 2010 that is for 15 years of 5 countries of the SAARC region making it a total observations of 75 has been taken as the sample size. Statistical Technique The sample data of dependent variable and independent variables will be analyzed by ordinary least square method of multiple regression analyses technique. Research Model MCP = ÃŽ ± + ÃŽ ²1 IQ + ÃŽ ²2 INC + ÃŽ ²3 INV + ÃŽ ²4 SVT + ÃŽ ²5 DC + e Where MCP:Market Capitalization IQ: Institutional Quality INC: Income INV: Investment SVT: Stock value traded DC: Domestic credit 1 [1] Deb and Mukherjee (2008) Mustafa and Cagatay (2012) [2] Ali et al (2010), Raza et al (2012) [3] Hussain and Mehmood (2001) [4] Billmeier and Massa (2007), Lombardo and Pagano (2000), Yartey (2008), Burhop et al (2011)

A child Called It by Dave Pelzer Essay -- essays research papers

One Child’s Courage to Survive: â€Å" A Child Called It † Abstract This is one of the best, yet saddest books that I have ever read. There are so many bad things out there that are happening to good people. We just have no idea. You never know what is going on behind closed doors. I am so lucky not to have experienced anything like this growing up. There is so much reality in this book, but I never knew that reality was ever this awful. It brought me to a realization that I have never known before. It is extremely sad that something like this really did happen to such a sweet little boy. Summary A Child Called â€Å"It† is a story based on a real life little boy’s tribulations with his mothers shocking abuse. The first part of Dave's life was idyllic in his memory--he says his family was "the Brady Bunch"--a loving mother and father with whom he enjoyed wonderful holidays and a happy trip to the Russian River. Everyone on the outside thought that David’s family was perfect. No one in their neighborhood would have suspected anything was wrong. All that changed when Dave was in first grade. For no known reason, his mother singled him out from his siblings and began abusing him. The abuse began relatively mildly. When he and his brothers did something wrong, Dave was the one to receive punishment--at first simply banishment to the corner of a bedroom. Then, his mother began spending her days watching TV and drinking beer. Easily irritated, she yelled at Dave for the slightest reason, or sometimes for no reason at all. Soon, instead of making him go down to the basement, Mrs. Pelzer smashed Dave's face against the mirror, then made him repeat, over and over, "I'm a bad boy! I'm a bad boy!" He was forced to stand for hours staring into that mirror. Dave's father soon joined The Mother, as David called her, in her drinking. He, too, knew David was a "good boy." He did not join in the abuse, but he did not to stop it, either. David was treated like a slave in his own home. His mother treated him as if he wasn’t even a member of the family like a nobody or an â€Å"It†. She first referred to him as, â€Å"The Boy, then it quickly changed to It†. Nobody at his school liked him, they called him "Pelzer Smelzer" because his mom never washed his clothes and made him wear the same thing every day. After school, o... ...er of the Year. In 1993 Dave was honored as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans (TOYA), joining a distinguished group of alumni that includes Chuck Yeager, Christopher Reeve, Anne Bancroft, John F. Kennedy, Orson Wells and Walt Disney. (Dave Pelzer Biography 2002, Para. 2) In 1994 Dave was the only American to be selected as one of The Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP), for his efforts including child abuse awareness and prevention, as well as for instilling resilience in others. During the Centennial Olympic games, Dave was a torchbearer, carrying the coveted flame (Dave Pelzer Biography 2002, Para. 2) References American Psychological Association. (2001) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed). Washington, DC: McLaughlin & Reinking A Child Called It. (1995). Health Communications, INC. Deerfield Beach, FL: Dave Pelzer The World of Psychology. (2002). A Pearson Education Company. Boston, MA: Samuel Wood & Ellen Green Wood p. 593 Dave Pelzer Biography. (1997-2002) Book Browse LLC, Davina Morgan-Witts, CEO. San Jose, CA. (para.2). Retrieved 04/29/02 from http://www.bookbrowse.com/index.cfm/author/authorID/145.htm

The Joy Luck Club Essay -- Papers Amy Tan Essays

The Joy Luck Club 1. From the film The Joy Luck Club, Chinese girls were supposed to act obedient and respectful to their parents and elders. This included the girls having to abide by each and every Chinese tradition that their parents instilled in them. Girls were also expected to be quiet and considerate to their parents and elders. They were only supposed to speak when spoken to at all times. Acting out against anything their parents enforced upon them was completely unacceptable. 2. Much like to their parents and elders, Chinese girls were supposed to be quiet and obedient to their husbands and mothers-in-law. Girls were supposed to respect, and not openly question the decisions that were made in the household. These women were taught to always ask what the husband wants and to ignore their own wants and needs. Chinese wives were there mainly to provide the mother-in-law with grandsons. 3. Chinese victims of rape were treated with complete disrespect and disbelief. As with the one mother in The Joy Luck Club, she was kicked away by her own family for making such a claim. These rape victims were seen as disrespectful to their families and themselves. One social consequence of claiming rape is that their families shun the women and force them to leave their homes. Secondly, the community shuns them as well. As with the woman in the film, she was denied work and abandoned by her neighbors. She was eventually forced to marry her assailant in order to save her child. 4. One of the main psychological consequences of having the system of many wives and concubines is that not only the husband, but also wives have complete power over each other as in a hierarchical system. As in the film, the secon... ... did not afford her these things, Lindo is being very cautious, often critical, of her daughter and the choices that she has. 10. The daughters in this film struggled with traditional sex roles mainly due to the influence of their mothers. In many cases, the mothers tried desperately hard to encourage their daughters to have power over their lives, be successful, and have a strong self-esteem. This over-encouragement to lead a life that they could not, led many of the daughters to feel inferior because they could not live up to their mother's expectations. In some cases, this led to the daughters getting involved in relationships in which they relied on their husbands for power and support. So in essence, it was their mothers' extremely high hopes for their daughters that led them to feeling inferior as women when these hopes could not be fulfilled.