Paul Loebs Soul of Citizen

In this book, Loeb has basically created a guide for aspiring community activists, organizers, and anybody willing to make a change. In the book, he has made an outline of what it takes to be an activist and how to remain one. Since Loeb himself is a political activist, through the book, he is trying to inspire and motivate the public to air their voices and to take action against the negative government policies. To achieve this, he has emphasized on the influence which the people are capable of.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Paul Loeb’s Soul of Citizen specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Through out the book, there seems to be five main points that keep cropping up every time. The first point is that; people have such a huge potential to enforce their wishes if they wanted to. This potential is usually unknown to the public and has the capabilities of not only making their lives better, but also everyone ’s. Secondly, he has reminded the people that they are not perfect and they will never be. This means that they should never undermine themselves and think that they are not good enough to do anything. Also, others usually wait for the best time to act and the truth of the matter is; there will never be a perfect time. Therefore, the best time to act is now. Thirdly, he urges the people not to despair if their actions do not yield results immediately. Loeb says that change happens slowly, and people have to learn to be patient and not loose hope. The fourth point is that; people should take pleasure in their quest for justice and equality. Loeb has reminded the citizens that, even though their specific goals might be unclear, they should relish every part of the ‘journey’. Finally, he has motivated the citizens by telling them that their efforts are bound to go a long way more than they can ever imagine. Every move they make never goes unnoticed. In the end, in o ne way or the other, their efforts will be rewarded and everybody will benefit. To attain closure, Loeb has narrated stories of various ordinary individuals who have come to learn his lessons. In one of the examples, he tells the story of a girl student in Virginia Tech who spent her election time drinking rather than voting. Afterwards, she became concerned with the global warming and started an environmental movement in her college. On another story, as a young man, Barack Obama was involved in a student movement that was against apartheid. It was during this movement that Obama started catching the eye of the public. Loeb goes on to narrate the stories of Joan Blades and an eighth grade drop out who designed an innovative job plan. The lesson carried in all those stories is; a mere citizen is capable of bringing great change.Advertising Looking for report on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Perhaps his greatest m otivation came from the anti-war movement in the late 60s during the Vietnam War. During that time, there were several anti-war movements throughout the country operating independently. Almost every sort of person was attracted to this movement; from campus students, middle class society and even the people in federal institutions were no exceptions. Apparently, this movement revealed the extent of division in the American society. The Stanford campus was no exception either. After learning about the destruction of life and environment in Vietnam by the American military, Loeb decided to join the movement too. The department of Electrical Engineering in his campus was involved in research of bombs being used in Vietnam. Together with his friends, Loeb invaded that department with pictures of Vietnam’s destruction. This eventually led to his suspension together with his friends. The war later ended after several years of fighting. It is believed (a belief held by many) that th e movement played a major role in ending the war. This was a great motivation for Loeb to become a political activist. What Loeb is teaching in his book is true. Citizens of a country are capable of making any changes they want without the approval of the politicians. This has been well demonstrated by the recent movement in the Arab nations. The citizens of Tunisia and Egypt have managed to evict their presidents without following any written law. This movement was as a result of a horrific act committed by a Tunisian youth. It is true; a single person can make a difference. Loeb’s teachings have strong basis since every government has the capability of doing more to the people. If one lives in a free democratic country, it is his role to be involved in the affairs of the country. The public should never expect change to come by itself; they should take action if they desire to see any changes. Every registered citizen should vote for his candidate of choice; it is a democra tic right which should be taken seriously. Also, every citizen should belong to a political party of his choice and be updated on its activities. Apart from that, citizens should read newspapers, write to congressmen, volunteer in campaigns and be involved in political forums; especially on the internet.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Paul Loeb’s Soul of Citizen specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the Soul of a Citizen, Loeb is trying to remind the public about their democratic rights and how to exploit them. He has no way become an extremist, but he is just among the right minded people. This report on Paul Loeb’s Soul of Citizen was written and submitted by user Jenna Albert to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Gatsby - nick carroway essays

Gatsby - nick carroway essays Nick Carraways character is both part of the story and at the same time the medium through which we perceive it. One must assume that because he is an independent character he is not a completely objective source of information. As everything in the novel passes through him there is no other un-biased source of information, so one must interpret his thoughts and opinions carefully. There is also another important factor about Nick Carraways narration that should be considered; he is a fictional character created by Fitzgerald and used by him as a tool for narration so anything that Carraway relates to the reader is simply Fitzgerald communicating to the reader by proxy. There fore he is telling the reader what Fitzgerald wants us to know, so his narration is at least reliable in that sense, although perhaps not always completely clear and objective he is nevertheless fundamentally reliable. Whether or not Nick Carraway is a likeable character or not is very central to the novel. One must ask whether Fitzgerald wants us to like him or not. This will govern the way that the reader interprets the opinions and descriptions that he relates to us. Crucially, the judgements that Nick sometimes passes on people will carry much more weight if the reader actually finds Nick an amenable character. Nicks opinions of him self are interesting...he tries to be as impartial as possible...he sees himself as an extremely tolerant person, willing to hear people out....says he does this from the advice of his dad...he likes people to be well behaved....he is perhaps slightly hyporitcal when he says that everything Gatsby represents he regards with unlimited scorn but then goes on to speak of his admiration for the man. Nicks opinions of himself can be very revealing, the first two pages of the novel are very interesting as he reflects upon his own character. His opinions of himself are quite high, he even admits to being so ...

Personal Selling and Customer Focus Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Selling and Customer Focus - Personal Statement Example In order for Studio Productions to improve the company’s well-being, it, therefore, needs to implement a customer service system that is first and foremost, customer focused. The goal of customer service is to â€Å"attract and keep customers who are satisfied, loyal and speak well of the company, but perhaps most importantly, to keep profitable customers† (Gustafsson, Ekdahl and Edvardsson 344). Hence, a customer service system must always ensure client satisfaction, and if possible, exceed client needs. Second, it must also be effective in achieving the company’s goals. While a satisfied client-base is in itself an advantageous end, for Studio Productions to benefit from service developments, the system it adopts must go beyond the minimums of customer satisfaction and reap additional benefits for the company. From a service perspective, these should include improved cross-sell and up-sell rates, higher problem resolution, and higher customer satisfaction and r e-purchase (Carlson Marketing Group 8). It should also improve sales through higher lead-to-close ratios, increased margins, and repeat business (8). Third, given the drastic changes occurring in today’s business environment, a customer service system must also be flexible in its ability to embrace change and adapt accordingly. And finally, a good customer service system must also be cost-effective, such that it must provide saving efficiencies and revenue enhancements for the company, improving the bottom-line.  In order for Studio Productions to improve the company’s well-being, it, therefore, needs to implement a customer service system that is first and foremost, customer focused. The goal of customer service is to â€Å"attract and keep customers who are satisfied, loyal and speak well of the company, but perhaps most importantly, to keep profitable customers† (Gustafsson, Ekdahl and Edvardsson 344). Hence, a customer service system must always ensure cli ent satisfaction, and if possible, exceed client needs. Second, it must also be effective in achieving the company’s goals. While a satisfied client-base is in itself an advantageous end, for Studio Productions to benefit from service developments, the system it adopts must go beyond the minimums of customer satisfaction and reap additional benefits for the company. From a service perspective, these should include improved cross-sell and up-sell rates, higher problem resolution, and higher customer satisfaction and re-purchase (Carlson Marketing Group 8). It should also improve sales through higher lead-to-close ratios, increased margins, and repeat business (8). Third, given the drastic changes occurring in today’s business environment, a customer service system must also be flexible in its ability to embrace change and adapt accordingly. And finally, a good customer service system must also be cost-effective, such that it must provide saving efficiencies and revenue enhancements for the company, improving the bottom-line.   For a customer service system to work, however, Studio Productions must conduct improvements in both internal and external customer service structures to improve client satisfaction and loyalty. Internally, this requires developing a â€Å"service culture† among all employees with a well-defined set of corporate values, a strong commitment to quality improvement, the ability to accept change, a strong sense of teamwork, and a clear understanding of their roles in improving customer relationships.

Research the event regarding the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Paper

The event regarding the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords - Research Paper Example The first step to saving her life was the quick reaction of her intern, Daniel Hernandez. He rushed to her side just moments after the shooting, applied pressure to the entry wound to stem the bleeding and lifted her head up to keep her from choking on her own blood. He was called a hero for his quick thinking which played a vital role in saving her life. Gabrielle Giffords was rushed into the hospital immediately just 38 minutes of the shooting. She was conscious when she was immediately rushed to OR where trauma surgeon Peter Rhee, a former military surgeon who served in Afghanistan, worked with remarkable efficiency. The bullet hit at the back of the skull and exited at the front, travelling through the left side of the brain. The fact that the bullet went through and through, rather than staying and damaging was another reason why she survived such a fatal injury. One of her doctors believe that she was fortunate because, had she encountered a bullet in such an area which would almost prove it fatal, according to Michael Lemole, chief of neurosurgery said that they very quickly took her to the operating room, once in the room they performed the routine procedures for such an injury. They had to artificially protect the brain with an artificial layer. Surgeons had to remove some of her damaged tissues, but in her case the damage was not as serious. The biggest challenge that the doctors faced was that the brain may well start responding to commands like squeezing someone’s hand. The bullet of a small caliber pistol entered the back of her head and exited the front damaging the left side which controls speech. Dr Rhee told that Ms, Giffords was fortunate because the bullet stayed on the left side and did not travel through the midline which would have resulted in death. The doctors also did not have to remove so much of the dead brain tissue and bone fragments, because pieces of bones travel within the brain cause

The Term Mass Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Term Mass Culture - Essay Example Spread of Mass Culture Culture, particularly the mass culture, has spread rapidly with the passage of time. There was a time when there was little or no globalization in the world. Even the concept of national culture was non-existent in a vast majority of countries because of the fact that regional differences dominated. Within the same country, people belonging to different regions had possession of different kinds of regional resources. This gave rise to the development of subcultures in the same nation wherein people were classified into different communities with distinct values, norms, and principles. Regional culture was stronger than the national culture and the mass culture was non-existent. This was predominantly the time till the mid 19th century. The onset of industrial revolution brought a change in the trend and national culture started to gain dominance over the regional cultures. With the development of technology and the identification of new opportunities of employm ent and business, people developed acceptability towards external cultures. As technological trade amongst countries improved, consumers in different countries started using same products. This trend continued over the centuries. People from the underdeveloped countries started migrating towards the developed countries in large numbers in search of better opportunities of employment. The technological exchange was followed by the cultural integration and unification across nations. This happened since the start of the industrial revolution till the late 1900s. Then came the era of massive exchange of cultures; particularly the 21st century. While all kinds of technologies contributed towards the development of mass culture, one technology that played the most important role in the spread of mass culture was the Internet. Internet provided people with the opportunities to communicate with one another almost free of cost from different parts of the world. Many of the brick and mortar businesses also got transformed into virtual businesses because of the reduced costs and increased profitability of businesses. The development and introduction of the social media websites aided in the creation of a virtual self of their users. Today, a vast majority of the people all over the world have similar lifestyles in that they use same products, are the employees of same organizations irrespective of geographic variations, speak same languages, and understand and respect one another’s values. This is what has fundamentally promoted the mass culture. There is a very small percentage of people who have not merged into the mass culture. Mass Culture and Popular Culture People sometimes use mass culture and popular culture interchangeably. â€Å"The development of the idea of popular culture is linked to arguments about meaning and interpretation which predate but become strikingly evident in the debates over mass culture† (Strinati, 1995, p. 3). There is a very thin line of distinction between the mass culture and the popular culture. The popular culture is the totality of the norms, values, and perspectives of a given culture. â€Å"Popular culture is made from within and below, not imposed from without or above as mass cultural theorists would have it† (Fiske, 1991, p. 2). Mass culture can be considered popular culture in a vast majority of cases, though mass culture is not necessarily always popular,

Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation

Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation Introduction: According to the topic of discussing the differences between Islamic securitisation and conventional securitisation, the discussion will lead to the satisfactory aspects of comprehensive analysis of the information gathered during the research. Moreover, it continues with the Islamic securitisation structure on the qualitative as well as quantitative basis according to the difference from the conventional securitisation structure. Securitisation which openly deals with the trade have more emphasis on the aspects to provide lucidity that it is riba-free (non-Islamic interest free) and its mechanism is based on shariah compliant system. We will be discussing different aspects that provide a clearer picture to mechanism that how it works i.e. structure, elements of risk shifting (risk scattering) and risk sharing in the deemed process so far as the area requires a lot more research to acquire steadiness in financial world and to enrich more on the topic some distinctive facts and figure are discussed as well. Background information of the topic: From the beginning of the Islamic banking in early 1960s which reckons the acuity of Islamic Shariah according to Quran and Sunnah brought into account as legal maxims with many ideas to facilitates the use of finance in both debt based and equity based. Not only Muslims countries regarding Islamic securitisation is worried about many factors to find a way out to enrich financial systems many other countries however following the conventional financial and banking systems. In the start and yet it is quite infant situation of securitisation because of the collective concerns of lenders or financier and borrowers. Lately, it has to move on with incentive compatibility and attractiveness for investors. Financial intermediaries even nowadays face quite drastic situations despite their in-house financial management; debt handling being a global concern. There is a wider line drawn understanding the differences between Islamic ways and uses of securitisation and its conventional counterpar t though it seems quite trembling discussing about when it is debt based securitisation. Refer to the figures shown below which signifies the basic mechanism of securitisation; providing a clearer picture to its importance. According to Masum Billah M., in his article Shariah Frameworks of Securitisation in the Capital Market, he discusses about securitisation being a prevalent method of financing nowadays more precisely in corporate sector. Furthermore he illustrates securitisation that where the company pooled its illiquid assets together and issued a claim to a pool of assets and when the assets are securitised, it made the assets tradable in the financial market. Furthermore, he presented the simplest definition that the securitisation is a process where corporation converts its physical assets in to financial assets. Masum aggregated in his words about the assets that have to be securitised have to be illiquid – cannot be traded in share market or secondary market- and should also have produce cash flows over its lifetime. Besides that, the assets should have financial value so that they can be used as a claimed against the securities. From the above depiction, a securitisation engages the s ale of a large pool of assets by an entity or the originator that creates or purchases the assets in the course of its business to bankruptcy remote, special purpose vehicle (SPV). The SPV acts as an issuer, issue and sale the securities through either in a private placement or public offering. When securitisation process is closed funds flow from the purchasers of the securities to the issuers and from the Issuers to the Originator. All these transaction occur virtually simultaneously. (Masum) Hence, the above description is the basic structure of securitisation. The actual structures are more complex because it involves more elements and participants. Refer to the rainbow-pie chart which presents a practical implication of securitisation according to Commerz bank. The above implementation can be an example of securitisation though many different approaches and products that provide seamless structure on Shariah compliant way which lie still under research yet required to be evolved. Scope of the research: The entire research is nourished on the basis of salient research techniques which consist of a vast study of reference books, written journals (inclusive of e-journals), research papers, seminar notes, open survey from public and some online resources. Furthermore, it helped a lot as a combination of theoretical and statistical comparison between conventional and Islamic securitisation in the literature review (which encompasses the knowledge as well as defined focus on the topic) with ground reality at an optimum level. Literature Review: Before moving on with detailed analysis there is a need to proclaim types (structures) of securitisation in general depiction. According to Masum, there are three main structures commonly used in securitisation. The originator chooses between three types of structures: pass-throughs, asset backed bond and pay-through. Masum further defined those structures coming forth; pass-through structures likely represent the direct ownership by the originator in a portfolio of assets. The originator services the portfolio, makes collections, and passes them to the investors. In pass through, the securities is not debt obligations of the originator thus, do not appear on the originators financial statement. Since the ownership of the assets lies with the originator, pass-through is designed to represent an assignment of a portion of ownership, rights and obligation but not a conveyance of title. (Masum) Masum elaborates that the Asset-Backed bond is collaterised by a portfolio of assets. The Asset-Backed Bond is a debt obligation of the issuers. In the issuers financial statement, the collateral remains as assets and the Asset-Backed Bond appears as a liability. The cash flows from the asset are not dedicated to the investors. The investors only receive a part of the cash flows and the residual remains with the issuers. One of the important aspect of the Asset-Backed Bond is that the securities is over-collateralized i.e. the value of the underlying assets is significantly in excess of the total obligation. For example, Company A issued RM1, 000,000.00 of bond using the Asset-Backed Bond structures. The value of the underlying assets that backed the bond is RM2, 500,000.00. The issuer chooses to over-collateralised its bond in order to provide some level of comfort to the investors. (Discussed by M.M. Billah in his paper) Lastly, he concluded with the final structure of securitisation is the pay-through structures. This structure has combination of pass-through and Asset-Backed Bond. The bond is collateralized by a pool of assets and appears on the issuers balance sheet as a debt. However, the cash flows arise from the assets is passed to the investors. The issuer only earns the service fees from the investors. From the above description of the mentioned, we can see that pass-through is the structure closest to satisfy the Islamic principle. Under pass-through, the cash flows collected are dedicated to the investors and the issuer only earns the service charge. Besides that, the security does not classify as a debt by the originator. Henceforth, conventional securitisation must be secluded according to research in different products and approaches and thus a large part of the conventional securitisation market – for example, mortgage backed securities, would be prohibited because the income (th ough not the principal) element of the cash flow would be characterised as riba. Similarly, CDOs and other such instruments could not be allowed as an asset class as these represent Debt rather than an allowable commodity or activity. However, these restrictions do not mean that an Islamic securitisation market cannot develop. There are many classes of assets with a long history of securitisation that are halal (allowable), in particular any physical asset such as plant and machinery, and many of the techniques used in a conventional securitisation transaction are equally valid in an Islamic transaction. The remainder of this article will try to show just how similar those requirements are, and point out some further underlying differences in structuring a Sharia compliant securitisation. Mervyn and Kabir (2007) conversed Islamic point of view of investments in different aspects according to ethics and moral besides regulatory framework and it is quite well defined perception that an investor needs a brighter depiction of profit generation to allow him to think about different financial intermediaries in this modern world though it is going through analysis time to time since many years following their psyche on the other hand banks being financial intermediary have to put through making most of it avoiding concept that money should not be loan according to legal maxims. According to Ayub M. (2007), Islamic principles can make the difference and that Islamic finance is passing significant milestones; which lead entrepreneurs not to stop putting their research on and on. Islamic researchers are more concerned meeting shariah compliant regulatory requirements. Sohail (2006) overstated that Islamic retail banking and finance is not only designated for Muslim community on ly; which means Islamic retail banking products are adopted to some extent because of their competency and efficiency, and are being used under the umbrella of conventional (non-Islamic) banks; they often call it as window for Islamic banking products. Detailed analysis of differences between Islamic securitisation and its conventional counterpart: Islamic lending transactions are governed by the precepts of the shariah, which bans interest and stipulates that income must be derived as return from entrepreneurial investment. Since Islamic finance is predicated on asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, structuring shariah-compliant securitisation seems straightforward. As mentioned in by Kabir and Mervyn (2007) according to Humayoun A. Dar; fixed-return modes deals with the control and management of funds as clients have the possession which was made available by the investors, financial frameworks are often used with different areas of Islamic banking products like investment accounts based on mudharabah and saving account based on wadia, inclusive of Islamic retail banking products like Islamic mortgages, Islamic auto finance, sukuk (Islamic bonds) and many other products dealt with the concept of asset-backing and riba-free i.e. Islamised frameworks. Nonetheless, financial institutions have been able to develop various forms of Islamic finance instruments that are virtually identical to their conventional counterparts in substance. Since most Islamic financial products are based on the concept of asset backing, the economic concept of asset securitisation is particularly amenable to the basic tenets of Islamic finance. Securitisation under Islam ic law bars interest income and must be structured in a way that rewards investors for their direct exposure to business risk, i.e., investors receive a share of profits commensurate to the risk they take on in lieu of pre-determined interest. All three asset types of Islamic finance are principally eligible for Islamic securitisation; however, unresolved issues, including restrictions on debt trading or the management of prepayment risk could limit their indiscriminate use as collateral. Characteristics of conventional securitisation only apply if they convey a sufficient element of ownership to investors as entrepreneurial investment in real economic activity within an interest-free structural arrangement. In addition, also administrative issues, such as underwriting standards, issue placement and the procurement of ratings, are subject to religious scrutiny. Any capital generated from securitised issuance under Islamic law is to be used exclusively used for the repayment of initial funding. Conventional securitisation, which originated in non-Islamic economies, invariably involves interest bearing debt. Although the religious prohibition of the exchange of debt and the required conferral of ownership interest to participate in business risk still poses challenges to further development of Islamic securitisation, the gradual acceptance of Islamic investment certificates, so-called sukuk bonds, represents a successful attempt to overcome these impediments based on the adequate interpretation and analogical reasoning of shariah principles applied in Islamic finance. Sukuks are shariah-compliant and tradable asset-backed, medium-term notes, which have been issued internationally by governments, quasi sovereign agencies, and corporations after their legitimization by the ruling of the Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in February of 1988. Sukuk notes convey equity interest to (capital market) investors in the form of a call option on partial or complete ownership of underlying reference assets, including the right to some calculable rate of return as a share of p rofit (secondary notes) and the repayment of the principal amount (primary notes). All three broad types of Islamic finance transactions (asset-, debt- and equity-based) can be reference assets of such Islamic securities. Following exhibits (3 and 4) provide the sukuk implementations. Detailed analysis of elements of risk shifting and risk sharing in securitisation process: Over the last five years, the sukuk has evolved as a viable form of capital-market-based Islamic structured finance, which reconciles the concept of securitisation and principles of the shariah law on the provision and use of financial products and services in a risk-mitigation structure subject to competitive pricing (El-Qorchi, 2005). Notwithstanding these religious constraints, Islamic finance can synthesize close equivalents to equity, mortgages, and derivatives known in conventional finance. To this end, it relies on structural arrangements of asset transfer between borrowers and lenders to emulate traditional interest-bearing financial contracts. Since lending transactions under Islamic law are based on the concept of asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, it also appears relatively straightforward to structure a shariah-compliant asset-backed securitisation (ABS) that delivers a risk-return profile similar to a conventional structure. Howe ver, conventional securitisation was developed in non- Islamic economies and invariably involves interest-bearing debt. Essentially, asset securitisation represents a cost-efficient and flexible structured finance1 technique of liquidity transformation and risk transfer, which converts present or future asset claims of varying maturity and quality into tradable debt securities. The various methods of securitisation have much to offer, but so far they have found only limited acceptance in Islamic finance due to religious restrictions on the sale and purchase of interest-bearing debt and legal uncertainty surrounding the enforceability of investor interest under Islamic jurisprudence. Over the last five years, the nascent Islamic securitisation market has seen many positive developments owing to the adoption of enabling capital market regulations, a favorable macroeconomic environment, and financial innovation aimed at establishing shariah compliance. The most popular ABS structures w ithin Islamic finance are commonly referred to as sukuk bonds backed by either one of the three basic forms of Islamic finance (synthetic loans, sale- leasebacks, or profit-sharing arrangements). Asset securitisation describes the process and the result of issuing certificates of ownership as pledge against existing or future cash flows from a diversified pool of assets (reference portfolio) to investors. (Jobst, 2006b). Foreign Investment Insurance Policy-FIIP by The Islamic Corporation For The Insurance of Investment And   Export Credit ICIEC Islamic securitisation transforms bilateral risk sharing between borrowers and lenders in Islamic finance into the market-based refinancing of one or more underlying Islamic finance transactions. Protection against basic risk; can be unless returns for investors are linked to the rate of interest on the underlying assets, there is a risk that the relationship between the rate paid on the underlying assets and that paid on the securities will differ over time. Normally a swap will be arranged to protect against this risk. In addition, conventional securitisation is virtually absent in Islamic countries, where Islamic home finance and sukuks provide a potentially untapped market for structured finance. Islamic securitisation complements the conventional ABS universe as an alternative and more diversified funding option that broadens the pricing spectrum and asset supply as high demand for alternative investment products causes greater lending width amid a low-yield market environment. In some circumstances, the shariah compliance also entails tax exemptions when investors hold direct ownership interest in the securitised assets. Conclusion: Islamic securitisation is a helpful and important tool, which must be carried out prior to the issuance of Islamic bonds or Islamic Debt Securities. By securitising assets, the Islamic way, Muslim investors can now participate in the bond market without worrying that the process of securitising the assets and issuing of the bonds are contradictory to the Islamic teachings. Islamic finance is being more attractive for not only the Muslim community but for non-muslim world. Its products are being progressive even though there been some hurdles and late development of Islamic banking and finance industry and moreover it is has been so securitised for customer satisfaction and avoided almost the pity of riba-based banking structure. In this regard, it has a more focus on the revision and research on the proposed and as well as on financial structures that are being practiced nowadays. It has been proven that many big names like HSBC, Lloyds and Standard Chartered are putting there focus on Islamic products and especially on retail banking products and securitisation products. Suggestions and Recommendations: Islamic Finance Expanding Rapidly (2007) by IMF(MCM Dept.) Many Islamic products have the thirst to be researched on and provided quite attractive picture for entrepreneur to spot focus on Islamic finance industry. Besides many Islamic retail banking products, Sukuk (i.e. Islamic Bonds – despite of the type), Takaful (Insurance) and Tawarruq (AAOIFI standardised loan) are called out as the future for Islamic banking and might have a better attraction to conventional banking world as well. References(s): Aggarwal, R. K. Yousef, T. (2000) Islamic Banking and Investment Financing, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing Ahmad Ausaf (1993) Research Paper 20: Contemporary practices of Islamic financing techniques, Islamic Research and Training Institute, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ahmad Ausaf (1987) Development and Problems of Islamic Banks, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ayub M. (2007) Understanding Islamic Finance, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester Commerz Bank, Securitisation of Banks, https://cbcm.commerzbank.com/en/site/banks/securitisation_cf_banks/index.jsp [Access Date: 14th August 2010] Deringer (2006), Islamic finance: basic principles and structures Freshfields Bruckhaus Consultants, pp 30. Dualeh, S. (1998). Islamic Securitisation: Practical Aspects. Paper presented at the World Conference on Banking, July 8-9, 1998, Geneva. El-Qorchi, Mohammed (2005), Islamic Finance Gears Up, Finance and Development (December), International Monetary Fund (IMF), 46-9. Fabozzi, F. J. (ed). (2001). Accessing Capital Markets through Securitisation. New York: Fran J Fabozzi Associates. Hassan Kabir M. Lewis Mervyn K. (2007) Handbook of Islamic Banking, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham IMF, Islamic Finance Expanding Rapidly, URL: [Accessed on: 18th August 2010] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2007/res0919b.htm Islamic Credit and Political Risk Insurance, A Useful Risk Management Tool For BanksURL:http://www.kantakji.com/fiqh/Files/Insurance/Islamic%20Credit%20and%20Political%20Risk%20Insurance.htm [Access Date: 17th August 2010] Jaffar S. (2006) Islamic Retail Banking and Finance: Global Challenges and Opportunities, Euromoney Books, London Jobst, Andreas A. (2006b), Asset Securitisation: A Refinancing Tool for Firms and Banks, Managerial Finance, Vol. 32, No. 9, 731-60. Kazarian G. E. (1993) Islamic versus traditional banking: Financial Innovation in Egypt, Boulder: Westview Press Kothari, Vinod (n.d.). Securitisation: a Primer. Available at: , Access Date: 17th August 2010. Manjoo F. A., (2005) Securitisation: An Important Recipe for Islamic Banks A Survey, Review of Islamic Economics, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2005, pp.53 Masum Billah, M. (unknown), Shariah Frameworks of Securitisation in the Capital Market URL: http://www.applied-islamicfinance.com/sp_securitisation_1.htm [Access Date: 10th August 2010] Mullineux, A. W. Murinde, V. (2003) Handbook of International Banking, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham Usmani M. M. T. (1988), An Introduction to Islamic Finance, Islamic Publication, pp. 1-5, Karachi Zaher, Tarek S. Hassan, Kabir M. (2001) A comparative Literature Survey of Islamic Finance and Banking; Financial Markets, Institutions and Intruments, Blackwell, New York Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation Introduction: According to the topic of discussing the differences between Islamic securitisation and conventional securitisation, the discussion will lead to the satisfactory aspects of comprehensive analysis of the information gathered during the research. Moreover, it continues with the Islamic securitisation structure on the qualitative as well as quantitative basis according to the difference from the conventional securitisation structure. Securitisation which openly deals with the trade have more emphasis on the aspects to provide lucidity that it is riba-free (non-Islamic interest free) and its mechanism is based on shariah compliant system. We will be discussing different aspects that provide a clearer picture to mechanism that how it works i.e. structure, elements of risk shifting (risk scattering) and risk sharing in the deemed process so far as the area requires a lot more research to acquire steadiness in financial world and to enrich more on the topic some distinctive facts and figure are discussed as well. Background information of the topic: From the beginning of the Islamic banking in early 1960s which reckons the acuity of Islamic Shariah according to Quran and Sunnah brought into account as legal maxims with many ideas to facilitates the use of finance in both debt based and equity based. Not only Muslims countries regarding Islamic securitisation is worried about many factors to find a way out to enrich financial systems many other countries however following the conventional financial and banking systems. In the start and yet it is quite infant situation of securitisation because of the collective concerns of lenders or financier and borrowers. Lately, it has to move on with incentive compatibility and attractiveness for investors. Financial intermediaries even nowadays face quite drastic situations despite their in-house financial management; debt handling being a global concern. There is a wider line drawn understanding the differences between Islamic ways and uses of securitisation and its conventional counterpar t though it seems quite trembling discussing about when it is debt based securitisation. Refer to the figures shown below which signifies the basic mechanism of securitisation; providing a clearer picture to its importance. According to Masum Billah M., in his article Shariah Frameworks of Securitisation in the Capital Market, he discusses about securitisation being a prevalent method of financing nowadays more precisely in corporate sector. Furthermore he illustrates securitisation that where the company pooled its illiquid assets together and issued a claim to a pool of assets and when the assets are securitised, it made the assets tradable in the financial market. Furthermore, he presented the simplest definition that the securitisation is a process where corporation converts its physical assets in to financial assets. Masum aggregated in his words about the assets that have to be securitised have to be illiquid – cannot be traded in share market or secondary market- and should also have produce cash flows over its lifetime. Besides that, the assets should have financial value so that they can be used as a claimed against the securities. From the above depiction, a securitisation engages the s ale of a large pool of assets by an entity or the originator that creates or purchases the assets in the course of its business to bankruptcy remote, special purpose vehicle (SPV). The SPV acts as an issuer, issue and sale the securities through either in a private placement or public offering. When securitisation process is closed funds flow from the purchasers of the securities to the issuers and from the Issuers to the Originator. All these transaction occur virtually simultaneously. (Masum) Hence, the above description is the basic structure of securitisation. The actual structures are more complex because it involves more elements and participants. Refer to the rainbow-pie chart which presents a practical implication of securitisation according to Commerz bank. The above implementation can be an example of securitisation though many different approaches and products that provide seamless structure on Shariah compliant way which lie still under research yet required to be evolved. Scope of the research: The entire research is nourished on the basis of salient research techniques which consist of a vast study of reference books, written journals (inclusive of e-journals), research papers, seminar notes, open survey from public and some online resources. Furthermore, it helped a lot as a combination of theoretical and statistical comparison between conventional and Islamic securitisation in the literature review (which encompasses the knowledge as well as defined focus on the topic) with ground reality at an optimum level. Literature Review: Before moving on with detailed analysis there is a need to proclaim types (structures) of securitisation in general depiction. According to Masum, there are three main structures commonly used in securitisation. The originator chooses between three types of structures: pass-throughs, asset backed bond and pay-through. Masum further defined those structures coming forth; pass-through structures likely represent the direct ownership by the originator in a portfolio of assets. The originator services the portfolio, makes collections, and passes them to the investors. In pass through, the securities is not debt obligations of the originator thus, do not appear on the originators financial statement. Since the ownership of the assets lies with the originator, pass-through is designed to represent an assignment of a portion of ownership, rights and obligation but not a conveyance of title. (Masum) Masum elaborates that the Asset-Backed bond is collaterised by a portfolio of assets. The Asset-Backed Bond is a debt obligation of the issuers. In the issuers financial statement, the collateral remains as assets and the Asset-Backed Bond appears as a liability. The cash flows from the asset are not dedicated to the investors. The investors only receive a part of the cash flows and the residual remains with the issuers. One of the important aspect of the Asset-Backed Bond is that the securities is over-collateralized i.e. the value of the underlying assets is significantly in excess of the total obligation. For example, Company A issued RM1, 000,000.00 of bond using the Asset-Backed Bond structures. The value of the underlying assets that backed the bond is RM2, 500,000.00. The issuer chooses to over-collateralised its bond in order to provide some level of comfort to the investors. (Discussed by M.M. Billah in his paper) Lastly, he concluded with the final structure of securitisation is the pay-through structures. This structure has combination of pass-through and Asset-Backed Bond. The bond is collateralized by a pool of assets and appears on the issuers balance sheet as a debt. However, the cash flows arise from the assets is passed to the investors. The issuer only earns the service fees from the investors. From the above description of the mentioned, we can see that pass-through is the structure closest to satisfy the Islamic principle. Under pass-through, the cash flows collected are dedicated to the investors and the issuer only earns the service charge. Besides that, the security does not classify as a debt by the originator. Henceforth, conventional securitisation must be secluded according to research in different products and approaches and thus a large part of the conventional securitisation market – for example, mortgage backed securities, would be prohibited because the income (th ough not the principal) element of the cash flow would be characterised as riba. Similarly, CDOs and other such instruments could not be allowed as an asset class as these represent Debt rather than an allowable commodity or activity. However, these restrictions do not mean that an Islamic securitisation market cannot develop. There are many classes of assets with a long history of securitisation that are halal (allowable), in particular any physical asset such as plant and machinery, and many of the techniques used in a conventional securitisation transaction are equally valid in an Islamic transaction. The remainder of this article will try to show just how similar those requirements are, and point out some further underlying differences in structuring a Sharia compliant securitisation. Mervyn and Kabir (2007) conversed Islamic point of view of investments in different aspects according to ethics and moral besides regulatory framework and it is quite well defined perception that an investor needs a brighter depiction of profit generation to allow him to think about different financial intermediaries in this modern world though it is going through analysis time to time since many years following their psyche on the other hand banks being financial intermediary have to put through making most of it avoiding concept that money should not be loan according to legal maxims. According to Ayub M. (2007), Islamic principles can make the difference and that Islamic finance is passing significant milestones; which lead entrepreneurs not to stop putting their research on and on. Islamic researchers are more concerned meeting shariah compliant regulatory requirements. Sohail (2006) overstated that Islamic retail banking and finance is not only designated for Muslim community on ly; which means Islamic retail banking products are adopted to some extent because of their competency and efficiency, and are being used under the umbrella of conventional (non-Islamic) banks; they often call it as window for Islamic banking products. Detailed analysis of differences between Islamic securitisation and its conventional counterpart: Islamic lending transactions are governed by the precepts of the shariah, which bans interest and stipulates that income must be derived as return from entrepreneurial investment. Since Islamic finance is predicated on asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, structuring shariah-compliant securitisation seems straightforward. As mentioned in by Kabir and Mervyn (2007) according to Humayoun A. Dar; fixed-return modes deals with the control and management of funds as clients have the possession which was made available by the investors, financial frameworks are often used with different areas of Islamic banking products like investment accounts based on mudharabah and saving account based on wadia, inclusive of Islamic retail banking products like Islamic mortgages, Islamic auto finance, sukuk (Islamic bonds) and many other products dealt with the concept of asset-backing and riba-free i.e. Islamised frameworks. Nonetheless, financial institutions have been able to develop various forms of Islamic finance instruments that are virtually identical to their conventional counterparts in substance. Since most Islamic financial products are based on the concept of asset backing, the economic concept of asset securitisation is particularly amenable to the basic tenets of Islamic finance. Securitisation under Islam ic law bars interest income and must be structured in a way that rewards investors for their direct exposure to business risk, i.e., investors receive a share of profits commensurate to the risk they take on in lieu of pre-determined interest. All three asset types of Islamic finance are principally eligible for Islamic securitisation; however, unresolved issues, including restrictions on debt trading or the management of prepayment risk could limit their indiscriminate use as collateral. Characteristics of conventional securitisation only apply if they convey a sufficient element of ownership to investors as entrepreneurial investment in real economic activity within an interest-free structural arrangement. In addition, also administrative issues, such as underwriting standards, issue placement and the procurement of ratings, are subject to religious scrutiny. Any capital generated from securitised issuance under Islamic law is to be used exclusively used for the repayment of initial funding. Conventional securitisation, which originated in non-Islamic economies, invariably involves interest bearing debt. Although the religious prohibition of the exchange of debt and the required conferral of ownership interest to participate in business risk still poses challenges to further development of Islamic securitisation, the gradual acceptance of Islamic investment certificates, so-called sukuk bonds, represents a successful attempt to overcome these impediments based on the adequate interpretation and analogical reasoning of shariah principles applied in Islamic finance. Sukuks are shariah-compliant and tradable asset-backed, medium-term notes, which have been issued internationally by governments, quasi sovereign agencies, and corporations after their legitimization by the ruling of the Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in February of 1988. Sukuk notes convey equity interest to (capital market) investors in the form of a call option on partial or complete ownership of underlying reference assets, including the right to some calculable rate of return as a share of p rofit (secondary notes) and the repayment of the principal amount (primary notes). All three broad types of Islamic finance transactions (asset-, debt- and equity-based) can be reference assets of such Islamic securities. Following exhibits (3 and 4) provide the sukuk implementations. Detailed analysis of elements of risk shifting and risk sharing in securitisation process: Over the last five years, the sukuk has evolved as a viable form of capital-market-based Islamic structured finance, which reconciles the concept of securitisation and principles of the shariah law on the provision and use of financial products and services in a risk-mitigation structure subject to competitive pricing (El-Qorchi, 2005). Notwithstanding these religious constraints, Islamic finance can synthesize close equivalents to equity, mortgages, and derivatives known in conventional finance. To this end, it relies on structural arrangements of asset transfer between borrowers and lenders to emulate traditional interest-bearing financial contracts. Since lending transactions under Islamic law are based on the concept of asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, it also appears relatively straightforward to structure a shariah-compliant asset-backed securitisation (ABS) that delivers a risk-return profile similar to a conventional structure. Howe ver, conventional securitisation was developed in non- Islamic economies and invariably involves interest-bearing debt. Essentially, asset securitisation represents a cost-efficient and flexible structured finance1 technique of liquidity transformation and risk transfer, which converts present or future asset claims of varying maturity and quality into tradable debt securities. The various methods of securitisation have much to offer, but so far they have found only limited acceptance in Islamic finance due to religious restrictions on the sale and purchase of interest-bearing debt and legal uncertainty surrounding the enforceability of investor interest under Islamic jurisprudence. Over the last five years, the nascent Islamic securitisation market has seen many positive developments owing to the adoption of enabling capital market regulations, a favorable macroeconomic environment, and financial innovation aimed at establishing shariah compliance. The most popular ABS structures w ithin Islamic finance are commonly referred to as sukuk bonds backed by either one of the three basic forms of Islamic finance (synthetic loans, sale- leasebacks, or profit-sharing arrangements). Asset securitisation describes the process and the result of issuing certificates of ownership as pledge against existing or future cash flows from a diversified pool of assets (reference portfolio) to investors. (Jobst, 2006b). Foreign Investment Insurance Policy-FIIP by The Islamic Corporation For The Insurance of Investment And   Export Credit ICIEC Islamic securitisation transforms bilateral risk sharing between borrowers and lenders in Islamic finance into the market-based refinancing of one or more underlying Islamic finance transactions. Protection against basic risk; can be unless returns for investors are linked to the rate of interest on the underlying assets, there is a risk that the relationship between the rate paid on the underlying assets and that paid on the securities will differ over time. Normally a swap will be arranged to protect against this risk. In addition, conventional securitisation is virtually absent in Islamic countries, where Islamic home finance and sukuks provide a potentially untapped market for structured finance. Islamic securitisation complements the conventional ABS universe as an alternative and more diversified funding option that broadens the pricing spectrum and asset supply as high demand for alternative investment products causes greater lending width amid a low-yield market environment. In some circumstances, the shariah compliance also entails tax exemptions when investors hold direct ownership interest in the securitised assets. Conclusion: Islamic securitisation is a helpful and important tool, which must be carried out prior to the issuance of Islamic bonds or Islamic Debt Securities. By securitising assets, the Islamic way, Muslim investors can now participate in the bond market without worrying that the process of securitising the assets and issuing of the bonds are contradictory to the Islamic teachings. Islamic finance is being more attractive for not only the Muslim community but for non-muslim world. Its products are being progressive even though there been some hurdles and late development of Islamic banking and finance industry and moreover it is has been so securitised for customer satisfaction and avoided almost the pity of riba-based banking structure. In this regard, it has a more focus on the revision and research on the proposed and as well as on financial structures that are being practiced nowadays. It has been proven that many big names like HSBC, Lloyds and Standard Chartered are putting there focus on Islamic products and especially on retail banking products and securitisation products. Suggestions and Recommendations: Islamic Finance Expanding Rapidly (2007) by IMF(MCM Dept.) Many Islamic products have the thirst to be researched on and provided quite attractive picture for entrepreneur to spot focus on Islamic finance industry. Besides many Islamic retail banking products, Sukuk (i.e. Islamic Bonds – despite of the type), Takaful (Insurance) and Tawarruq (AAOIFI standardised loan) are called out as the future for Islamic banking and might have a better attraction to conventional banking world as well. References(s): Aggarwal, R. K. Yousef, T. (2000) Islamic Banking and Investment Financing, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing Ahmad Ausaf (1993) Research Paper 20: Contemporary practices of Islamic financing techniques, Islamic Research and Training Institute, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ahmad Ausaf (1987) Development and Problems of Islamic Banks, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ayub M. (2007) Understanding Islamic Finance, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester Commerz Bank, Securitisation of Banks, https://cbcm.commerzbank.com/en/site/banks/securitisation_cf_banks/index.jsp [Access Date: 14th August 2010] Deringer (2006), Islamic finance: basic principles and structures Freshfields Bruckhaus Consultants, pp 30. Dualeh, S. (1998). Islamic Securitisation: Practical Aspects. Paper presented at the World Conference on Banking, July 8-9, 1998, Geneva. El-Qorchi, Mohammed (2005), Islamic Finance Gears Up, Finance and Development (December), International Monetary Fund (IMF), 46-9. Fabozzi, F. J. (ed). (2001). Accessing Capital Markets through Securitisation. New York: Fran J Fabozzi Associates. Hassan Kabir M. Lewis Mervyn K. (2007) Handbook of Islamic Banking, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham IMF, Islamic Finance Expanding Rapidly, URL: [Accessed on: 18th August 2010] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2007/res0919b.htm Islamic Credit and Political Risk Insurance, A Useful Risk Management Tool For BanksURL:http://www.kantakji.com/fiqh/Files/Insurance/Islamic%20Credit%20and%20Political%20Risk%20Insurance.htm [Access Date: 17th August 2010] Jaffar S. (2006) Islamic Retail Banking and Finance: Global Challenges and Opportunities, Euromoney Books, London Jobst, Andreas A. (2006b), Asset Securitisation: A Refinancing Tool for Firms and Banks, Managerial Finance, Vol. 32, No. 9, 731-60. Kazarian G. E. (1993) Islamic versus traditional banking: Financial Innovation in Egypt, Boulder: Westview Press Kothari, Vinod (n.d.). Securitisation: a Primer. Available at: , Access Date: 17th August 2010. Manjoo F. A., (2005) Securitisation: An Important Recipe for Islamic Banks A Survey, Review of Islamic Economics, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2005, pp.53 Masum Billah, M. (unknown), Shariah Frameworks of Securitisation in the Capital Market URL: http://www.applied-islamicfinance.com/sp_securitisation_1.htm [Access Date: 10th August 2010] Mullineux, A. W. Murinde, V. (2003) Handbook of International Banking, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham Usmani M. M. T. (1988), An Introduction to Islamic Finance, Islamic Publication, pp. 1-5, Karachi Zaher, Tarek S. Hassan, Kabir M. (2001) A comparative Literature Survey of Islamic Finance and Banking; Financial Markets, Institutions and Intruments, Blackwell, New York

African American Essay

Working with African American men as a counselor its necessary to have a strategic plan to be able to work around there ego. African American men in no way wants to feel belittled or not in control. African American men wants to play the â€Å"head of the household role†. According to this case study I would like to do role playing so both individuals can have a better understanding how the other feel. Majority of the therapy sessions would be role playing with some talk sessions. I would like to play the mediator role in this specific case and give homework assignments to the couple. Given that I don’t see Sue as the issue the session would mostly be geared towards Jeremy. Given the Chinese culture I am more worried about how therapy will work for Jeremy. Chinese culture †¢Small numbers of close, lifelong friends who feel deeply obligated to give each other whatever help might seem required. †¢Relationships with other people involve reciprocal obligations. †¢Avoid direct confrontation, open criticism, and controversial topics. †¢maintain harmony †¢Faith in personal relationships than in written rules and procedures for structuring interactions. Questions I would like to address 1. Prior to marriage how did Jeremy about an interracial child? 2. What has influenced Jeremy thinking on having a child? 3. Why has the dynamics of the relationship changed since Sue parents moved to the same city? 4. Has Sue parents been an influence on their relationship? 5. Has Sue discussed her concerns to Jeremy about their marriage? 6. How was Jeremy and Sur relationship prior to marriage? 7. How does Jeremy family feel about his marriage? 8. Besides the issue with having a child, what other issues is the marriage facing? 9. Jeremy working more hours, is that optional or mandatory? 10. What are some of Jeremy concerns about having a bi-racial child?

The Representation of Youth Tribes and Subcultures in the Cinema of John Hughes

In this research essay I expect to find that the use of youth tribes and subcultures can clearly be identified in mid-80s comedy-dramas; particularly in those written, produced and directed by John Hughes. The primary texts I will be analysing are The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Weird Science. I have selected these texts as they are few of many that represent young people in an oppositional approach compared to the dominant ideologies of society at that time.I will be using Paul Hodkinson’s Youth Cultures: Scenes, Subcultures and Tribes and Stuart Hall’s Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices as secondary sources to inform this essay. I will also be looking at how teenagers have been represented in other media texts such as Grease and the American Pie sequel. The term â€Å"representation† can be defined as to how the language of media and its conventions are used to represent certain people and objects to the te xt’s targeted audience. Stuart Hall states in his book Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices that his definition of representation is:â€Å"To put it briefly, representation is the production of meaning through language†. Hall, (p. 16). Since the film industry blossomed it has been dominated by many ideologies as to what is ‘acceptable’ and what can be perceived as taboo; these theories also suggest how people should be represented. For example, theorist Vladimir Propp proposed that there are eight main characters to a film, stating that the woman is the passive â€Å"damsel-in-distress†. In Propp's book Morphology of the Folktale it is stated that the children who are interested in the fairy-tale genre, they apply their personalities with the character they feel most connected with:â€Å"Presumably, the kinds of choices made by a child might be related to his personality. For example, does a little boy select a female d onor figure to aid him against a male villain? Does a little girl select a male donor figure to assist her against her wicked stepmother? † Propp, (p. 10). However due to the numerous revelations, character ideologies have been adapted and have proven that the damsel can be subverted into the protagonist of a story and, more often than not, the antagonist; in particular, the ‘evil stepmother'.The genre of comedy-dramas came of age in the late 70s with romances and teenage dramas; however the genre was suddenly exemplified in the 80s by director John Hughes along with the infamous ‘brat pack’ of the era. In comedy-dramas the narrative normally includes tropes such as ‘the guy gets the girl’ with the help and guidance from his trusted sidekick who has to climb over the difficult obstacles of life and society. An iconic example of this trope can be seen in the late 70s classic musical Grease; where the boys in a gang are wearing leather jackets, th ey smoke, carry weapons and drive fast cars.As it quotes in Paul Hodkinson's Youth Cultures: Scenes, Subcultures and Tribes this was incredibly common for the transition from teenage years to adulthood: â€Å"Most obviously perhaps there has been the development of a series of legal classifications associated with different stages of youth, notably the age at which young people can vote, have sex, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol and drive motorcars†. (p. 4). In comparison to the ‘girl gang’ of the film, where Olivia Newton-John’s character Sandy is wearing pastels throughout the movie, which connotes her virginal lifestyle.This is where John Hughes appends a proclaimed statement that all teenagers are in some way the same and are based in stereotypes which make them similar, which is why I have chosen to analyse the films The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Weird Science due to the fact that the main characters are all teenagers and the trilogy of films show the representation of youth tribes in a clear, semantic perspective that states that however a teenager may present themselves, they are all in some particular way the same.In the first chapter of the book Stereotypes and Stereotyping by C. Neil MacRae et al they state that stereotypes only exist in someone’s point of view: â€Å"This type of thought process reflects the most traditional conceptualization of stereotypes within social psychology, in which stereotypes are considered to be the â€Å"pictures in the head† of individuals looking out into their social words. But stereotypes also exist from the point of view of the person who is being stereotyped†. (p. 3)The Breakfast Club (1985) is a unique film, in the genre of teen comedies, because it focuses on the stereotype and probes deeper into the issue of ‘why they are the way they are’. This is a contrary to the teen comedy genre because most of such movies will defend st ereotypes of many forms, including sexuality and race. This can be seen in films such as American Pie and Not Another Teen Movie; the latter of which was effective in battling stereotypes by reinforcing them and therefore turning them into paradoxes. However, The Breakfast Club battles contemporary stereotypes differently.Each character has a personal problem that, seemingly, led to the way they act in public. Bender, being a rebel, retells how he is abused by his father. Such abuse can create a level of apathy about life, but Clark (a victim of a different kind of abuse) goes on to assume it is all â€Å"for show†. One can quickly see that the film not only addresses stereotypes, but it challenges them by showing that each student has an assumption about the other. By the end, everyone acknowledges that their colleagues are more rounded and individual than they initially thought, but agree that they are different.Johnson writes to the principal that they learned they all con tained some form of each stereotype and finished the essay with this following quote: â€Å"You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But, what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, and a princess and a criminal. Does that answer your question? † (The Breakfast Club, 1985). In 1990, Hughes directed a film that changed the traditional family’s Christmas’ dramatically.Home Alone, starring Macauly Culkin, was the beginning of one the most noticeable and well-known series in filmmaking and sticking to comedy-dramas, Hughes includes two robbers who act as the antagonists. However, he also included a subversion of intelligence between the 8 year old Kevin McAllister and the two inseparable robbers. Hughes portrays the child to be an intelligent, smart boy who sets his house with childish pranks as obstacles for the robbers to come across. However the adult burglars are repr esented as complete idiots and fall for each trap.The sharp direction within this subversion of the characters has become a trope in the comedy-drama genre. John Hughes is a well-acknowledged film director, producer and writer who has created some of the most humorous and warm-hearted movies for a family -based cinematic entertaining experience; and it was his movie-making abilities that gained him the label ‘the king of teen comedy’. Every young character in each infamous John Hughes film have been represented as clever and witty and they can easily get away with more than any normal teenagers should; especially Matthew Broderick’s character of Ferris Bueller.This subversion of intelligence from Home Alone could be seen four years earlier in one of Hughes’ greatest creations: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986). This film has been constructively criticised for its pure creativity and originality throughout the entire plot of the piece. Ferris Bueller a t the beginning of the film seems to just be a normal young man, who has the skill of faking an illness to skip school; however, he has an extraordinary amount of luck and whatever he plans for the day, it goes swiftly without questioning.Hughes has written the three main characters of Ferris Bueller, Cameron Frye and Sloane Peterson with individual, unique personalities. According to Pieter J. Fourie's: Media Studies, Volume 1: Media History, Media and Society, Levi-Strauss' theory of binary opposition can shape a person's identity: â€Å"Binary oppositions suggest that the meaning of something depends on its opposite: ‘good' is dependent on ‘bad'. Levi-Strauss' point of departure was that a collective practice of laws, rules and values direct the individual's thinking and behaviour.Furthermore, society's collective existence shapes the individual and determines his or her individuality. † (p. 249). Bueller is shown as a young man who knows everybody and wants to make the most of his life, whereas his pessimistic best friend, Frye, contrasts in personality as he seems to be living on his death bed due to his non-existent relationship with both parents. Peterson, however, is a beautiful young woman who has the reassurance of a motherly figure which can help provide Frye with the hope and faith that he needs.The subversion of intelligence is introduced into the film with the first sight of the Dean of Students, Edward Rooney. His determination to catch out Ferris on his ninth ‘sick day’ of the semester boils over his initial integrity and dignity, from getting spat in the face with Slush Puppie to being chased around the neighbourhood by the Bueller family’s pet Rottweiler. Rooney is represented as a teacher who has completely lost any glimpse of pride; leaving the three students roaming the streets of downtown Chicago with charm and comical wit.Art Silverblatt claims in his book Genre Studies in Mass Media: A Handbook tha t Ferris becomes a role model for everyone, even the adults: â€Å"Ferris’ nemesis, the school disciplinarian, Mr. Rooney, is obsessed with â€Å"getting Bueller†. His obsession emerges from envy. Strangely, Ferris serves as Rooney’s role model, as he clearly possesses the imagination and power that Rooney lacks†. (pp. 104-105). Weird Science (1985) was written and directed by John Hughes and stars one of the main members of the 80s ‘brat pack' Anthony Michael Hall who plays Gary Wallace, and Ilan Mitchell-Smith as Wyatt Donnelly.Another trademark characteristic that can be seen in numerous Hughes films is that the majority of them are set in the fictitious Chicago suburb of Shermer, Illinois. The first time the audience spots the two Science geeks in the film is when they're gawking at the girls gym class at school. They may be skinny, but Hughes didn't write them to have glasses or severe acne, as he didn't feel the need to classify the ‘gee ks' from the ‘jocks' as they caneasily be spotted without their stereotypical features; for example the geeks normally have their trousers hoisted up paste their waste, showing their ankles, whereas the jocks would have letterman jackets, be well built and structured but also be shown as a little bit dumb. However, what Hughes does, is write the characters in a way that any actor of the film could play that character, I believe that the semantic purpose of the film is to inform the audience that stereotypes only exist if the audience perceive them to be that stereotype; this means that everyone can be seen as the same without any judgement of their clothing or hairstyle.The end of the film supports my suggestion, as the two geeks get both of the jocks' girlfriends due to the help of their Barbie-doll 23 year old, computerised woman Lisa, played by Kelly LeBrock. In conclusion, the representation of youth tribes used within the cinema of John Hughes is trying to inform the audi ence that there are stereotypes, but they are only perceived via a person’s point of view.This perception of stereotypes creates space for characters to be represented within an archetype; which portrays them to be seen as the same, in a small, yet evidently noticeable way. The mid-80s opened up the possibilities for teen dramas and John Hughes created iconic role models using teenage adolescence for the young public viewers. According to Art Silverblatt’s Genre Studies in Mass Media: A Handbook, he claims: â€Å"By the 1980s, adolescence, even with its uncertainties, emerged as the centre of popular culture, with adulthood reduced to irrelevance†. (p. 105).

Free Essays on Van Gogh

"What lives in art and is eternally living, is first of all the painter, and then the painting." - Vincent Van Gogh Expressionism is an art form in which the very style itself and the symbols that the artist uses are meant to express his innermost feelings on the subject. Vincent van Gogh has often been hailed as the quintessential expressionist painter. His artwork covers a range of moods over the years, and his canvases are almost mirrors into his troubled soul. Vincent van Gogh lived a troubled life. He once described his childhood as " cold, gloomy and sterile." He alienated himself from his parents and siblings by being a stubborn and reclusive child. He was clumsy, uncommunicative, and lived an early life of solitude, being misunderstood by his own family. The only sibling he had any sort of close relationship with was his brother, Theo. He would later be Vincent’s biggest supporter, both moral and financial, during the formative years of his unsuccessful career in art. As the young Vincent grew up, he realized that art was his calling in life. He decided that he would paint and make a living off his sales. Ironically, though his paintings may sell for millions today†¦van Gogh actually sold only one painting in his lifetime, and this, for the meager cost of 40 francs. Van Gogh’s problems were numerous. First of all, he just didn’t have the social skills to be happy in his personal life. He had a few disastrous relationships with women before sinking deep into solitude and depression. His paintings during his troubled romances and the ensuing heartbreaks are filled with darkness and pain, reflecting his inner sorrow. Secondly, while Vincent’s paintings were indisputably brilliant, he simply didn’t have the interpersonal skills to make any sales! The legend has it that he actually used to argue with buyers who praised them, trying to convince them forcefully that his work was not remarkably good! He was an... Free Essays on Van Gogh Free Essays on Van Gogh "What lives in art and is eternally living, is first of all the painter, and then the painting." - Vincent Van Gogh Expressionism is an art form in which the very style itself and the symbols that the artist uses are meant to express his innermost feelings on the subject. Vincent van Gogh has often been hailed as the quintessential expressionist painter. His artwork covers a range of moods over the years, and his canvases are almost mirrors into his troubled soul. Vincent van Gogh lived a troubled life. He once described his childhood as " cold, gloomy and sterile." He alienated himself from his parents and siblings by being a stubborn and reclusive child. He was clumsy, uncommunicative, and lived an early life of solitude, being misunderstood by his own family. The only sibling he had any sort of close relationship with was his brother, Theo. He would later be Vincent’s biggest supporter, both moral and financial, during the formative years of his unsuccessful career in art. As the young Vincent grew up, he realized that art was his calling in life. He decided that he would paint and make a living off his sales. Ironically, though his paintings may sell for millions today†¦van Gogh actually sold only one painting in his lifetime, and this, for the meager cost of 40 francs. Van Gogh’s problems were numerous. First of all, he just didn’t have the social skills to be happy in his personal life. He had a few disastrous relationships with women before sinking deep into solitude and depression. His paintings during his troubled romances and the ensuing heartbreaks are filled with darkness and pain, reflecting his inner sorrow. Secondly, while Vincent’s paintings were indisputably brilliant, he simply didn’t have the interpersonal skills to make any sales! The legend has it that he actually used to argue with buyers who praised them, trying to convince them forcefully that his work was not remarkably good! He was an...

How successful was Louis XVIII in establishing stability in France during his reign Essay Example

How successful was Louis XVIII in establishing stability in France during his reign Essay Example How successful was Louis XVIII in establishing stability in France during his reign Paper How successful was Louis XVIII in establishing stability in France during his reign Paper Essay Topic: History Louis XVIII came to the throne after the warfare and economic dislocation of the Napoleonic years. He was king of France from 1814 until his death in 1824. To decide whether he was successful or not, first the word success has to be defined. Success is, in terms of being king, keeping the country running well (socially, economically and politically). I feel that during Louiss time as king, many important changes and incidents happened for the French people which he handled amicably and he was an overall success. His reign can be split into different periods, the liberal era and the ultra era. Upon coming to the thrown in 1814, Louis XVIII faced several problems. Since the demise of his brother, Louis XVI, France had been characterized by warfare and economic dislocation (Randell). Napoleon had left a war-weary population under heavy taxes to bankroll his doomed foreign conquests that had resulted in France being on the periphery of international politics. How ever Napoleon was successful in setting up an effective civil service bereft of corruption and the French people, particularly the Bourgeoisie, had gained from the French Revolution and feared the new Bourbon monarch would revert to the ways of the Ancien Regime. Thus, many would not have been heartbroken had Louis XVIII faltered. Many of the royalists supported him for what he stood for, not for who he was. They yearned for the political stability associated with a legitimate monarchy and were not pre-occupied with who filled the role. They wanted to gain a sense of security and permanence that had been missing in the recent past (Randell). They too were wary of Louis intentions. One of Louis first and arguably wisest decisions was to introduce the Charter by which he would rule. It acted as a stabiliser as the first few months of his rule was crucial in gaining the silent trust, if not the public support, of the French people, especially the pays legal, those involved in politics. It was significant as it showed Louis accepted the gains the people had made as a result of the Revolution. The Charter guaranteed equality before the law for every Frenchman, proportional taxation, press freedom and the up keeping of a meritocracy in the civil service and military. This disproves the opinion of many that whilst in exile the Bourbons learnt nothing and forgot nothing. There existed a faction within the Royalists known as the Ultras. These were considered more royalist than the king himself. Many were i migri s and wanted an Autocracy, as in the days of the Ancien Regime. They possessed political clout in abundance and Louis was successful in keeping them in check, however they gain importance in the later years. The downfall of many Kings is in the Ministers they appoint. Louis XVIII shrewdly appointed competent moderate ministers in the face of an Ultra dominated Chamber, the most prominent Ellie Decazes. Under his guidance France experienced an economic boom which brought prosperity to the people and fostered stability in the country. Napoleon escaped from Elbe in 1815 and seized power in a period knows as the 100 days. Due to the support the French people gave him the allies punished France by making them pay war indemnities and stationing their troops in France until this was paid off. The presence of foreign troops in France angered the French people but the economic boom allowed for France to pay off the war indemnity by 1817 and the allies duly removed their troops. Louis was once again successful. Louis XVIII was successful in resisting the temptation to involve the Church in state affairs, especially education. However they were one of his main supporters as the Church was the source of news and information for all peasants, thus it was an effective tool in maintaining support. The King did make minor errors however. He restored the Bourbon flag as the national flag. After the 2nd restoration the King was seen as a puppet of the allies and the French people felt he turned a blind eye to the white terror, where Royal sympathisers persecuted those who had supported Napoleon upon his return. Was Louis XVIII successful as King of France? At home and abroad? Louis XVIII was king of France between 1815 and 1824. To decide whether he was successful or not, first the word success has to be defined. Success is, in terms of being king, keeping the country running well (socially, economically and politically) and making sure that the French people have the best conditions for life possible, this may mean that they are not completely content. During Louiss time as king, many important changes and incidents happened for the French people, many of which I feel Louis handled with great shrewdness and intelligence; therefore I feel that as king of France, Louis XVIII was a success. This is because of his attitudes politically, introducing the charter and therefore realizing that France could no longer return to the ancien regime; because he chose ministers who had moderate elements, so France could attempt to recover after war; and because he did his best to avoid any extremes in policy. On the other hand, there is evidence that Louis could have been described as a poor king, with, even though he was not directly involved, the white terror and the Ultra government, which had power But in 1820 the situation was becoming increasingly chaotic and Decazes resigned. Meanwhile Louiss age (he was 65 at this point) was telling on him. It was getting harder for him to fend off the Ultras. Increasingly power even within his own cabinet was passing out of his handsin particular when he was forced to accept Villi le (1822-1824) as prime minister and to take on board his brother as a member of the cabinet.

Augustine and Aquinas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Augustine and Aquinas - Essay Example Considering the ethical theory of St. Augustine, the action of the office worker was doing bad as his action was causing others to suffer, an evil consequence. According to Augustine evil can be referred as the lack of goodness but people are allowed to do evil in order to achieve what has been destined by God. So those who are being burdened by the evil of the office worker should not focus on the evil deed but have faith that it is what god wants to happen. But Augustine does not refer that each action should be penalized but at least such actions need some ultimatums to be corrected. While Aquinas theory predicts that since the office worker was doing evil, it was by his own will. So he should have been penalized to learn what his duty is and let others not be burdened and de-motivated by the evil of a careless worker. Analyzing the act of Rhonda, it is well established that back-biting about others is a bad act while she was gossiping about others including her friends. This act can’t be justified to be good in either Augustine’s philosophy or following the theory of Aquinas. As both believe that evil is something that lack goodness, either of them differs in the way that evil is caused. Aquinas believe that evil is not determined by the outcomes but by the intent of individual committing that deed, while Augustine believes that one chooses to be evil as it is destined by god. Utilizing Aquinas belief it can be justified that since Rhonda does not attempt to hurt others intentionally but to have good time so this intention might make her act to be good but the other side of it can’t be ignored as this is against the laws of god to enjoy by hurting others. So the act of Rhonda may be considered evil as it was intentional and done by the her own will and not forced, as defined by the Aquinas’s philosophy while it was leading to an

Low Cost Airlines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Low Cost Airlines - Essay Example For more than a decade now, the potential of the low-cost airline business has been evident from the huge capitalization of these airlines at stock market spheres (Brock, 2000). For example, at the start of the current decade, in 2002, Ryanair realized a market capitalization of 4.9 billion Euros, which was 45 percent more, when compared to the levels realized by British Airways (Rhoades, 2008). The increased uptake of low-cost airlines was evident from its revenue levels, which were approximated at 20 times compared to that of the traditional competitor (Dempsey and Goetz, 1992). The huge success of starter low-cost airlines in the industry has led to the emergence of new airlines in the same category and using the same business, trying to mirror their strategies. The success of these airlines can also be traced from the fact that they have stimulated a new class of demand, which offers evidence that they are not getting their customers from traditional airlines; low-cost airlines a re attracting new demand and customers into the industry (Dresner, Lin and Windle, 1996). Due to the major impact of low-cost airlines, traditional airlines have acknowledged the threat of the growing competition; therefore, have reacted to the new business model, especially in the line of business travel (Meyer and Menzies, 2000). This paper will explore the success strategies of low-cost airlines; explore the factors behind their success, analyze their business model and prospect their growth. The deregulation of air transport Following the enactment of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, the control of airline business and services was, to some extent, moved from the political system to the market system (Dempsey and Goetz, 1992). Deregulation refers to the change of the control exercised over air travel from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which administrated the entry of airlines into the business, their exit and the pricing of airline services, to the partial control and administration of business systems and infrastructure. Deregulation also featured the abolishment of the CAB’s control of mergers, intercarrier agreements and customer affairs (Dempsey and Goetz, 1992). The complete shift of the control took place after the endorsement of the CAB sunset ACT of 1984, which gave way to the economic liberalization of the management of air travel, which was part of deregulation, which was started after the realization that the political control of the economy did not serve the best interests of the public (Dempsey and Goetz, 1992). The air freedoms that came after deregulation Following the deregulation of the management and the control of airline services, all airline operators were allowed the freedom to operate on any route that they chose to operate. The operators of air travel services were allowed the freedom to set the fares of their travel services like they deemed fit, which would be influenced by the forces of demand, and the supply of air travel services (Dempsey and Goetz, 1992). During the time before the deregulation, there were some carriers that were not allowed to operate out of specified states, but after deregulation, these carriers were allowed to fly and operate across the country, without any limitations. Following the deregulation of the air travel industry, the restrictions that had been set in the way of entry into the industry were abolished (Dempsey and Goet