Hamlet’s Indecision Essay

Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a bright young man with many talents. He is an academic, a witty orator, and a flawless actor. Certainly, he has the potential to do anything he wants which may have included, in the future, being the King of Denmark. His aptitude for all things calls into question why there is a great delay between Hamlet’s decision to avenge his father’s murder and the actual revenge. It is Hamlet’s idealism which leads to indecision and the reevaluation of his choice to kill Claudius. Hamlet actions should not attributed to mental illness but the purity of his soul. He believes fully that men were born good and were meant to do good things. His strong belief system contrasts strikingly with the reality and corruption of the world when he returns home. He comments on the state of Denmark and more specifically his father’s house, â€Å"‘Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed; Things rank and gross in nature possess it merely† (Act I, sc ii). He is disgusted not just by his home community but the evil which existed in his family. He finds it difficult to resolve his illusions of what his world was with the reality of the situation. It is his idealist personality which allows him to conceal his bitterness while his internal will pressures him to avenge his father’s death. Hamlet attempts to use logic, a typical idealist characteristic, to determine what course of action he must take. Hamlet struggles with idea that he may be a coward for his inaction. At this point in the play Hamlet does not understand that it is his ‘goodness’ that is delaying his revenge. Despite his nightly supernatural chat with the ghost of his murdered father, he is still unsure if justice should be done by his own hand. Hamlet understands that if Claudius did kill his father he must kill Claudius. He understands that in a world of lies it was hard to tell truth from fiction, and a sinner from a saint. Therefore, Hamlet must have independent proof that his uncle murdered his father. A play within a play is the only way Hamlet, besides direct conformation, is going to be able to tell if Claudius is guilty. It is for this reason that Hamlet invites players in to perform a â€Å"murderous† play to ferret out the truth from his mother and new father. Hamlet’s inability to understand the motives of evil in actions and thought can also be attributed to his sole idealistic viewpoint. He does not understand why anyone would commit murder and therefore he is uncertain that he had ability to violently kill a man. Murderous revenge represents everything that Hamlet is not. Hamlet’s rational intellect allowed him the clarity of mind to understand both the good and bad in the act of the revenge. The mental degradation of Hamlet, is believed to be insanity by the other characters but it was clear to the audience that he is merely coming to terms with what he believes to be right. Hamlet is a religious man and murder was a sin. Hamlet is a man of classical philosophy and revenge is not rational. Choosing to appear mentally impair is good strategy because if the characters believe he is unwell, he will not be able to figure out the true. Hamlet’s true character remains unblemished. Hamlet is a man who believes in chivalry, and slaughter is not gentle. It is those idealistic qualities which causes the postponement of Claudius’ death. It is in the moment that Hamlet allows his emotion to dominate over his intellect that Claudius was killed. He is consumed by the thoughts of his father’s demise and is haunted by the knowledge that his father’s soul will not be able to rest until his death is avenged. Hamlet willfully concludes, â€Å"My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth† (Act IV sc iv). It is then that Hamlet finally had the ability to suppress his idealistic nature, and do what is right. The murder is not a well planned scheme and occurs in the heat of the moment. Hamlet, after the murder of Claudius never once wavers in his decision. He has done what is right and believes that â€Å"There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow† (Act V sc ii). Oddly enough fatalism is part of idealistic theory and therefore Hamlet always remains true to himself and his idealism. Hamlet’s idealism makes him the perfect tragic protagonist and leads to theme of indecision. Without his intense regard for the ideals of truth, justice, goodness and beauty there would be no play. His fatal flaw, the belief that men and therefore the world are inherently good, created a moral dilemma which the characters, and plot revolves. Even Hamlet, the academic, comments on the presence of hamartia in human nature. He stated: oft it chances in particular men That for some vicious mole of nature in them, As in their birth, wherein they are not guilty, By the o’ergrowth of some complexion, Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason, Their virtues else, be they as pure as grace, As infinite as man may undergo, Shall in the general censure take corruption From that particular fault. (Act 1, sc 4). Hamlet continues late in the resolution of the play, â€Å"though I am not spleenative and rash Yet have I in me something dangerous† (Act V. sc i. ) Hamlet’s idealistic nature mismatched with his pragmatic circumstances, which creates the ultimate theme and driving force behind all the rising action, falling action, and resolution of this tragedy.

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis: a Miracle or a Curse?

Have you ever wondered what life would be like without physical pain? Would life be more peaceful? Would we be more aggressive or would we possibly be incapable of enjoying the pleasures of life? We may think we are better off without pain but â€Å"Pain is simply our intrinsic medical adviser to warn us and stimulate us† (H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau). Some people have been able to experience this anomaly, the ability to be incapable of experiencing any physical pain. These people are proven examples that pain is in fact necessary. Without pain one an never truly discover their body’s physical limits and may against their knowledge inflict a great deal of pain upon themselves. People with the inability to feel pain have the disease called Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis (CIPA). CIPA is categorized as a Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathic disease. Congenital Insensitivity to pain is the inability to feel uneasy sensations pertaining to an individual from birth. Anhidrosis is the inability to sweat thus causing the incapability to regulate body temperature. HSAN type IV is a genetic disorder caused by multiple DNA mutations. These mutations occur on the neuropathic tyrosine kinase receptor types one (ntrk1 gene). In normal people the NGR (neuropathic gene receptor) stimulates the growth support and the survival of the autonomic sympathetic neurons as well as nociceptive sensory neurons, which transmit pain sensations to the spinal cord and the brain. Mutations occur in portions of the gene that encode the intracellular and extracellular domain of the protein, which may affect the variability in presentation. Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathic (HSAN) type IV causes Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis. HSAN IV is the second most common type of HSAN. CIPA symptoms normally manifest at an early age, but can be difficult to diagnose. Infants with CIPA rarely cry from normal ailments, such as not crying when hungry as they cannot sense hunger and they can sleep soundly throughout the night as they cannot sense their needs that need to be met. Parents believe it to be a blessing that their child doesn’t cry until other onset symptoms occur. These symptoms include unexplained fevers, self-mutilation, and developmental delay. When teething children often chew on anything they can, but since children with CIPA don’t realise the pain of biting themselves, teething becomes dangerous. Many CIPA children begin to bite off their own tongue and fingers when teething; often ripping out their own teeth as well. Around this time, parents begin to realise that these symptoms are not normal for children. People with CIPA can’t live a normal life because of the many unfortunate ailments caused by the disease. Hyperactivity is a common characteristic of children with CIPA, as is eing unable to differentiate between temperatures. Many children die early because it is very easy for them to overheat as they cannot regulate their own body temperature. The lack of sweating causes the skin to become thick and susceptible to skin infections and cellulitis. Their bones deteriorate over a shorter period of time than normal bones. Their joints are overused usually confining patients to a wheelchair (wheelchair boun d). An infinite number of patients develop appendicitis and die because they are unable to feel the pain that this would normally cause. It is impossible to determine the number of CIPA patients, as there is quite a discrepancy in the statistics. Unfortunately, there is no cure for CIPA, and they are very few treatment options. Since it is a rare disorder there hasn’t been a lot of research done on the topic. To regulate the body temperature, some individuals with CIPA have to wear a special cooling vest designed by NASA, and must have a controlled thermostat. These individuals, like 11 year old Kayla Woodhouse, need to have a cooler filled with ice pack re-fills for her vest, and fluids to keep her hydrated. Other patients with CIPA wear goggles to protect their cornea, which would otherwise become damaged from their habit to scratch themselves. Gabby Gingras is one of the well known CIPA patients who wears goggles to prevent further damage. Gabby also had to have her teeth removed by the age of two to prevent further irreparable damage to her fingers. People with CIPA need constant supervision to avoid future injuries. Life without pain is more difficult than at first glance; it wouldn’t be as wonderful as we would assume. Upon further investigation of CIPA, although it may seem like a wonderful thing t is an extremely dangerous disorder that most often results in premature death. Until we find a cure, people who have CIPA are forced to painlessly suffer. Imagine if humans could suddenly no longer feel physical pain: Pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and manufacturing companies would cry all the way to their banks. Bibliography Axelrod, F. B. , von Simson, G. G. , Oddoux, C. (20 08, August 5). Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy IV. GeneReviews. Retrieved November 15, 2008, from, http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/bookshelf/br. fcgi? book=gene&part=hsan4. Brown, A. (2006, May 20). It’s not so easy being a superhero. The Gazette. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20060520/ai_n16434313. Lambert, K. (n. d). How CIPA Works. How Stuff Works. Retrieved November 12, 2008, from http://health. howstuffworks. com/cipa. htm/printable. Lee, B. (2008, November 17). Health Talk: Congenital insensitivity to pain. The Tartan. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from http://www. thetartan. org/2008/11/17/scitech/healthtalk. Wells, H. G. (1988). The Island of Dr. Moreau. New York: Signet Classic.

Export Assistance and Incentives

Export incentives Devices used by countries to encourage exports. These can include tax incentives for exporters, allowing them exemptions from the normal provisions of anti-monopoly legislation, preferential access to capital markets, priority Developing countries have started manufacturing industries only recently. As a result, their cost of production generally tends to be high because of the following reasons: ? Total market availability within the country is small with the result that the economies of large-scale production cannot be reaped. Productivity of labor is low because the level of mechanization as compared to that in the developed countries is low. ?Manufacturing units in developing countries, being small and new, have considerably less expertise in the field of international marketing and because the volume of exports is low, the per unit cost of trade promotion expenditure tends to be high. India has to raise higher resources for development which has to be done thro ugh a number of indirect levies which tend to push up the overall cost of production.Most developing countries have, therefore, resorted to a number of export promotion measures. India has also been providing export assistance to Indian exporters. However, the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and countervailing duties does not allow specific types of export subsidies. The Government of India is, therefore, removing those export incentives which are not WTO compatible. NEW SYSTEM OF EXPORT ASSISTANCE: From 1992, export incentive system in India has been made simple. There are essentially three major incentives.These are: (1) Market-based Exchange Rate; (2) Fiscal Concessions, and (3) Facilities under the Export-Import Policy. These are discussed in detail below: MARKET BASED EXCHANGE RATE: For long, external value of the rupee was managed by the Reserve bank of India (RBI) by pegging the value of the rupee to a basket of currencies. RBI used to keep the value of the rupee at a level which was higher than the real value. In the post-Economic Reforms period, the Government of India decided to abolish all direct incentives to exports and promote exports through the exchange rate mechanism.Accordingly, the Liberalized Exchange Rate Management System (LERMS) was introduced. Under this system, there were two exchange rates: one official rate which was determined by the RBI as was the practice earlier; and second, a rate which was quoted by the banks based on the demand-supply position. Exporters had to surrender 40 per cent of their foreign exchange earnings to banks and could sell the residual 60 percent at the market rate which was normally expected to be more attractive than the official rate.Through this mechanism the Government hoped to achieve two objectives: First the difference between the market rate and the official rate would provide enough incentives to the exporters. Second, this would introduce a self-balancing mechanism for the balance of trade, because only that much imports could be made which could be financed through the market i. e. the resources available through the 60 percent account. One year’s experience revealed that rupee remained stable in the international market. This gave to the Government for full convertibility on the trade account.Accordingly, rupee was made fully convertible for export-import transactions in March 1993. This would provide more financial benefit to the exporters as under the LERMS, they had to surrender 40 per cent of their receivables at a discount which averaged about 15 per cent when LERMS was in operation. Since March 1993, the exchange rate of the rupees is fully determined by the demand supply conditions in the market. Under such a system, exporters will get benefit when rupee depreciates while importers will lose. When rupee appreciates, the balance of benefits will be just the reverse. TAX CONCESSIONS: a)In the computation of total income, Section 80-HHC allows a deduction of the whole of the profit derived from the export of goods or merchandise. The requirement of minimum tax contained in Section 115-J does not apply to exporting corporate assesses. This benefit is also available to supporting manufacturers exporting through Export/ Trading Houses provided that the amount of deduction claimed is retained as a reserve for the purpose of the business of the assesse. However, the budget for the year 2000-2001 has reduced this exemption by 20 per cent every year to be phased out in five years. b)Exemption from taxation of the profits from overseas projects to the extent of 50 per cent. (c)Exemption from taxation of 50 per cent of royalty, commission, fees or any similar payment obtained from the exports of technical know-how and technical services. (d)A 10-year tax holiday for 100 per cent export-oriented units and for units located in Free Trade/Export Processing Zones. (e)Discounted rates of customs duty on imports of selected items of machinery for export produc tion. ? EXPORT ASSISTANCE AND INCENTIVES AVAILABLE TO THE EXPORTSExport assistance and a variety of facilities and export incentives available to the Exporters are given in mindset and more aggressive approach is needed to develop technology. Export capabilities and to enhance such exports. These may include better Management of trade policies at international level, simplified procedures, better Incentives for high value-technology incentives exports etc. Export incentives can play an integral role in developing export capability and can encourage exports by providing financial assistance to exporting companies to enable them to compete effectively in international markets.For South African industries facing exchange rate fluctuations and constant threats of competitors in other developing markets, tools to enhance global access to key markets are imperative. In addition to benefits available under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) (legislation passed in the United St ates of America), bilateral trade agreements such as the one between South Africa and the European Union, the General System of Preferences (GSPs), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) provide assistance ranging from marketing support to export credits. The primary export incentives currently in operation in South Africa include: ? Export marketing and investment assistance scheme (EMIA) ? Tariff Restructuring Program, ?Sector Assistance Scheme (SSAS), ?Rebate Provisions ?Export Credit and Foreign Investment Reinsurance Scheme (ECRS), ? Duty Credit Certificate Scheme (DCCS), ?Motor Industry Development Program (MIDP), ?Sector Partnership Fund, ?Export Credit Incentives and Export Finance. EXPORT MARKETING AND INVESTMENT ASSISTANCE SCHEME (EMIA)The purpose of the EMIA scheme is to partially compensate exporters for certain costs incurred in respect of activities aimed at developing export markets for South African pro ducts and to recruit new foreign direct investment into South Africa. Additional benefits are awarded to small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) and businesses owned by the previously disadvantaged. The financial assistance is in the form of reimbursement and is not a pre-paid benefit.TARIFF RESTRUCTURING PROGRAM: By virtue of South Africa’s World Trade Organization (WTO) membership, import tariff levels are also being reduced and the import tariff listings are being simplified by reducing the number of tariff headings. Export incentives relate only to the export of goods destined for recognized export markets, which in general means to countries outside the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). SECTOR ASSISTANCE SCHEME (SSAS)Financial assistance is available to industry sectors with the objectives of developing new export markets; broadening the export base; stimulating the participation of SMMEs in the export sector, promoting black economic empowerment (BEE) and women empowerment within the overall objective of job creation. REBATE PROVISIONS: Is aimed at the promotion of manufacturing and exportation of goods, and are available to certain manufacturing industries in respect of duties applicable to imported goods, raw materials and components used in manufacturing, processing and for export.EXPORT CREDIT AND FOREIGN INVESTMENT REINSURANCE SCHEME (ECRS) Provides exporters with insurance cover against political and transfer risks, as well as commercial and insolvency risks. A special dispensation exists for SMMEs. DUTY CREDIT CERTIFICATE SCHEME (DCCS) This scheme is designed as a temporary â€Å"kick-start† measure to enhance the export competitiveness of certain prescribed textile and clothing products by offering duty credit certificates to qualifying exporters. These duty credit certificates could be used to off-set customs duties payable on import of similar products.MOTOR INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (MIDP) Is available to motor vehicle assemblers and component manufacturers and exporters. The programme enables local vehicle and component manufacturers to increase production runs and encourages rationalization of the number of models manufactured by way of exports and complementing import of vehicles and components. EXPORT CREDIT INCENTIVE Financing at reduced rates by the Investment Development Corporation (IDC). An export credit incentive is available to selected expansion schemes expected to result in increased foreign exchange earnings.Financing of credit for exporters of capital goods is also available through the IDC or private-sector merchant banks at reduced rates. ? Credit facilities under the export finance scheme for capital projects: Credit facilities are available to exporters of capital projects under the Export Finance Scheme for Capital Projects to allow them to compete internationally by offering buyers competitive rates denominated in US Dollars. FACILITIES AND INCENTIVES TO INDIAN EXPORTE RS Promotion of export has been a major thrust area of the Ministry of Commerce And Industry for the last three decades.Apart from this. Many other Central/State Ministries have also been involved in the promotion of India’s exports. Many Exports Promotion Councils, Public Sector Undertakings, Chambers of Commerce, Industries’ Associations and Services Organizations are also contributing towards the promotion of Indian exports. The facilities and incentives presently available to the Indian exporters include the Following. MARKETING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE (MDA) The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has a scheme of MDA, which was launched in 1963 with a view to stimulate and diversify the export trade, along with he development of marketing of Indian products and commodities abroad. The MDA is utilized for: Market research, commodity research, area survey and research; Participation in trade fairs and exhibitions; Export publicity and dissemination of information; Trade delegation and study teams; Establishment of offices and branches in abroad; Grant-in-aid to Export Promotion Councils and other approved organizations for the development of exports and the promotion of foreign trade; and any other scheme which is generally aimed at promoting the development of markets for Indian products and commodities abroad.MARKET ACCESS INITIATIVE (MAI) The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has introduced the MAI in April 2001 with the idea that the Government shall assist the industry in R&D, market research, specific market and product studies, warehousing and retail marketing infrastructure in select countries and direct market promotion activities through media advertising and buyer-seller meets. Financial assistance shall be available under the scheme to EPCs, industry and trade associations and other eligible activities, as may be notified from time to time. A small allocation of Rs 42 corer has been made for 2002-03. ?CENTRAL ASSISTANCE TO STATES The S tate Governments shall be encouraged to fully participate in encouraging exports from their respective States. For this purpose, a new scheme â€Å"Assistance to States for Infrastructural Development for Exports† (ASIDE) has been initiated which would provide funds to the States based on the twin criteria or gross exports and the rate of growth of exports from different States. Eighty per cent of the total funds would be allotted to the States based on the above criteria and remaining 20 per cent will brutalized by the Centre for various infrastructure activities that cut across State boundaries, etc.A sum of Rs 49. 5 crore has already been sanctioned for 2001-02 and furthers a sum of Rs 330 crore has also been approved for 2002-03. The State shall utilize this amount for developing complementary and critical infrastructure. TOWNS OF EXPORT EXCELLENCE A number of towns in specific geographical locations have emerged as dynamic industrial locations and handsomely contributing to India’s exports. These industrial cluster-towns have been recognized with a view to maximizing their export profiles and help in upgrading them to move up the higher value markets.A beginning is being made to consider industrial cluster towns such as Tripura for Hosiery, Panipat for Woolen Blankets and Ludhiana for Woolen knitwear. Common service providers in these areas shall be entitled for EPCG Scheme, funds under the MAI scheme for creating focused technological services, priority assistance for identified critical infrastructural gaps from the Scheme on Central Assistance to States. Units in these notified areas would be eligible for availing all the Exim Policy Scheme. The Government of India has framed several schemes to promote exports and to obtain foreign exchange.These schemes grants incentive and other benefits. The few important export incentives, from the point of view of indirect taxes are briefed below: ? FREE TRADE ZONES (FTZ) Several FTZs have been estab lished at various places in India like Kandla, Noida, Cochin, etc. No excise duties are payable on goods manufactured in these zones provided they are made for export purpose. Goods being brought in these zones from different parts of the country are brought without the payment of any excise duty. Moreover, no customs duties are payable on imported raw material and components used in the manufacture of such goods being exported.If entire production is not sold outside the country, the unit has the provision of selling 25% of their production in India. On such sale, the excise duty is payable at 50% of basic plus additional customs or normal excise duty payable if the goods were produced elsewhere in India, whichever is higher. ELECTRONIC HARDWARE TECHNOLOGY PARK / SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY PARKS This scheme is just like FTZ scheme, but it is restricted to units in the electronics and computer hardware and software sector. ADVANCE LICENCE / DUTY EXEMPTION ENTITLEMENT SCHEME (DEEC)In this s cheme advance licence, either quantity based (Qbal) or value based (Vabal), is given to an exporter against which the raw materials and other components may be imported without payment of customs duty provided the manufactured goods are exported. These licence are transferable in the open market at a price. EXPORT PROMOTION CAPITAL GOODS SCHEME (EPCG) According to this scheme, a domestic manufacturer can import machinery and plant without paying customs duty or settling at a concessional rate of customs duty.But his undertakings should be as mentioned below: Customs Duty RateExport ObligationTimetime 10%4 times exports (on FOB basis) of CIF value of machinery5 years Nil in case CIF value is Rs200mn or more. 6 times exports (on FOB basis) of CIF value of machinery or 5 times exports on (NFE) basis of CIF value of machinery. 8 years Nil in case CIF value is Rs50mn or more for agriculture, aquaculture, animal husbandry, floriculture, horticulture, poultry and sericulture. 6 times expor ts (on FOB basis) of CIF value of machinery or 5 times exports on (NFE) basis of CIF value of machinery. years . Note:- NFE stands for net foreign earnings. CIF stands for cost plus insurance plus freight cost of the machinery. FOB stands for Free on Board i. e. export value excluding cost of freight and insurance. DEEMED EXPORTS The Indian suppliers are entitled for the following benefits in respect of deemed exports: ? Refund of excise duty paid on final products ?Duty drawback ?Imports under DEEC scheme ?Special import licenses based on value of deemed exports The following categories are treated as deemed exports for seller if the goods are manufactured in India: 1.Supply of goods against duty free licences under DEEC scheme 2. Supply of goods to a 100 % EOU or a unit in a free trade zone or a unit in a software technology park or a unit in a hardware technology park 3. Supply of goods to holders of licence under the EPCG scheme 4. Supply of goods to projects financed by multila teral or bilateral agencies or funds notified by the Finance Ministry under international competitive bidding or under limited tender systems in accordance with the procedures of those agencies or funds where legal agreements provide for ender evaluation without including customs duty 5. Supply of capital goods and spares upto 10% of the FOR value to fertilizer plants under international competitive bidding 6. Supply of goods to any project or purpose in respect of which the Ministry of Finance permits by notification the import of goods at zero customs duty along with benefits of deemed exports to domestic supplies 7. Supply of goods to power, oil and gas sectors in respect of which the Ministry of Finance permits by notification benefits of deemed exports to domestic supplies MANUFACTURE UNDER BONDThis scheme furnishes a bond with the manufacturer of adequate amount to undertake the export of his production. Against this the manufacturer is allowed to import goods without paying a ny customs duty, even if he obtain it from the domestic market without excise duty. The production is made under the supervision of customs or excise authority. DUTY DRAWBACK IT means the rebate of duty chargeable on imported material or excisable material used in the manufacturing of goods in and is exported.The exporter may claim drawback or refund of excise and customs duties being paid by his suppliers. The final exporter can claim the drawback on material used for the manufacture of export products. In case of re-import of goods the drawback can be claimed. The following are Drawbacks: ?Customs paid on imported inputs plus excise duty paid on indigenous imports. ?Duty paid on packing material. Drawback is not allowed on inputs obtained without payment of customs or excise duty.In part payment of customs and excise duty, rebate or refund can be claimed only on the paid part. In case of re-export of goods, it should be done within 2 years from the date of payment of duty when the y were imported. 98% of the duty is allowable as drawback, only after inspection. If the goods imported are used before its re-export, the drawback will be allowed as at reduced per cent. ? NAME Yash patel COLLEGE NAME Kamala Mehta College of commerce ROLL NO. 156 PROJECT NAME Export assistance and incentives CLASS T. Y. BCOM (B) ?

Personal Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Personal Philosophy - Essay Example Nursing requires that both nurses and nursing educators explore their own values so they can be better placed to appreciate and respect the cultural values and beliefs of the communities and individuals they serve. It is not possible to examine the aspect of scholarship in nursing education in isolation from the scholar within the â€Å"scholarship†, this comprises of individuals who embody several traits among which are; intense intellectual curiosity, disenchantment with prevailing systems as well as persistence for scholarly growth. In case these ideas were to be inculcated into the scholarship in a school of nursing, they would significantly contribute to the education of nurses who are not only professionally competent but also capable of dealing with situations beyond their call of duty should circumstances a rise. As aforementioned, my core principles are; do no harm and provide the best possible care; these can be implemented in nursing scholarship to mound the trainee s into moral and ethical professionals (Silva and Ludwick, 2005). When nurses are educated in and environment that allows them to express their curiosity, they will acquire more knowledge through in-depth research and studies which will ultimately make them better placed to deal with patients from their wealth of both theoretical and practical knowledge. Furthermore, when they are disenchanted with the prevailing systems, it means they will desire to improve them by examining alternatives and this will boost creativity. The second aspect of my personal philosophy has to do with elimination of discrimination, while this has been covered in nursing training; the elements of prejudice are still evident in nursing practice. This is however not exclusively emanating from nurses but possibly from patients as well, for instance a patient may express discriminatory, for instance racial bias to the attending nurse. In case, the nurse is not objective in his/her practice of care, they may dev elop a negative attitude towards the patient due to the offence and this may be reflected in the quality of care. In my opinion, the best way to bring about changes in the scholarship of nursing through scholarship is to teach it both as a science and art, such that it creates and avenue for excellence through which teachers supply technical knowledge, wisdom and humanity to students (Silva 2012). After the examination of prevailing conditions changes can be implemented through Lewis model of change that requires, the unfreezing of previously held perception, then the scholars can move on to other ideas which if found to be progressive can be refrozen until such a time they will require to be changed of improved (Mitchell 2013). In addition, this also results in inspiring students to think critically and reflectively so that they question convectional practices and strive to be better citizens of the nursing and global community. While ethics may be theoretically taught in class, un til a student is inspired to examine the process of nursing for him/her and make their own conclusions, they will only see them as abstract concepts. For effective change in the field of nursing scholarship; so that it may produce the best caliber of nurses, it is

Performance Review Takes a Page from Facebook Research Paper - 1

Performance Review Takes a Page from Facebook - Research Paper Example It is true that social media has found massive inroads in the lives of many but delegating such an important task to informal social media conversation is not only time consuming but might also be ineffective. Formal performance evaluation not only tells people where they stand but also provides guidance as to how to increase performance in future. There are other important elements of performance feedback and evaluation as well like anonymity which might not be fulfilled through regular conversation. It is therefore safe to disagree with the statement that regular conversation eliminates the need for formal performance evaluations. Regular conversation is important in today’s society and people should have a forum where they can voice their concerns and can get help. There is no doubt in the efficacy of making regular conversations with employees but the purpose of formalized performance evaluation is to informs employees about their performance for a time period. Regular conversations might not fulfill this purpose because performance evaluation should be spaced accurately so that employees have a chance to show improvements. Performance evaluations cannot be taken every month and week, and this is why formal performance evaluation and feedback is important. In different age groups performance feedback effectiveness through social networks will be very different from each other. For example for veterans such a method might not work at all because they are not very technology friendly (Jeffries, 2007). They might be more comfortable with face to face performance evaluation or paper based evaluations. Baby boomers might also not as comfortable with technology as other younger age groups (Perez, 2009), and therefore they might also not prefer such system of performance evaluations. Other age groups like Generation X and generation Y might be more comfortable with performance evaluations done through social media. This is because of their

Obligation to family according to jane English Essay

Obligation to family according to jane English - Essay Example Some may find this argument demeaning to parents, especially those parents who go way beyond the extra mile in making sure that their child is well provided for. However, English (147- 154) is not arguing about whether or not children should help out their parents or if they should act positively in response to what their parents did for them. Instead, she is talking about the foundation on which such respiratory actions should be based. Her postulations are very important and should be looked at in a serious way because it could have serious implications. As the economy has become worse, younger people have to take care of their parents. In this regard, there is s slowly developing an attitude among young parents that when they grow old, their children will have to take care of them. This is risky attitude which can affect the society very negatively and lead to dire economic issues for a nation. Parents should learn how to provide for their children and at the same time secure thei r own future in order to benefit from them later children when the children grow up. Her arguments are therefore not just a social issue but an economic issue which must be looked at. She also argues that children are not in any way obliged to repay their parents in any way because anything that the parents did for them is supposed to have been done for friendship and not for any other reasons. To illustrate her point, she gives an analogy of two neighbours. She gives an analogy of a person named Max who has just arrived in a new place and asks a neighbour to take in his mail when he will be on vacation for a month. Jane English argues that in this case, the issue of owing can be appropriately applied because even if Max will not owe Nina anything, he is morally obligated to give a similar flavour for Nina in the future. However, in another scenario, if Nina mows Max’s lawn when max was away, despite that Max did not ask for this favour, Max will not owe or have any obligatio n to do such a favour to Nina, but because Nina’s lawn mowing was a friendly gesture, Max may want to return this by showing friendship to Nina such as by giving a friendly chat to her in the backyard or helping her catch her pet etc. She gives these two analogies as a way to indicate the parent-child relationship. Therefore, how the child and the parent should relate should be like the second analogy, where Nina mows Max’s lawn without him asking him, and therefore leaves Max with not moral obligation to reciprocate. Parents give to their children many things, including life, without expecting that the child will give them anything in return, but out of unconditional filial love. Anything less than this would them unable to relate well and would lead to it being unnecessarily restrained and constrained. By voluntarily giving birth to the child, educating the child, giving the child other gifts and other basic necessities, the parents are just doing their duty and crea ting a basis for mutual friendship with the child. The child will therefore not bear any moral obligation to pay back to his or her parents. In summary, her thoughts and ideas can be put this way; She points out to very important issues which regard to how the parent and the child should relate. She believes that a good parent should and must be motivated by the love of

How did the protestant Reformation change the relationship between Essay

How did the protestant Reformation change the relationship between England and Spain - Essay Example As Franklin (19-21) points out, the problem of Protestantism was not easily solved anywhere. For instance, in England, it led to a bloody religious war that led to the execution of Queen Mary on the order of her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth. Spain, under King Philip, remained faithful to the catholic faith and as a result, it supported the side of England that was supporting catholic faith. After the defeat of the catholic side by the execution of Queen Mary, political tension between Spain and England started to build and within no time, the two nations were on each other’s throat. In early 17th century for instance, King Philip of Spain sent an army of professional military men to go and fight for the side of England that was supporting catholic faith. This was however retaliation to the action of England fighting non Protestants in Netherlands, which at the time was a colony of Spain. These religious wars continued for decades before ever reaching an amicable diplomatic sol ution. According to William (205), it was not just political relations between these two countries that were severed, since trade was also very much severed between the two nations. At that time, there was almost no private sector and any private businesses that traded internationally. They were only trading locally, and governments were very much involved in international businesses and there were times when people would entirely depend on the government to import essential things such as food and clothing. In realization of this, King Henry of England tried to build a good relationship with Spain, in order to improve the trade between Spain and England. This was achieved by the use of marriages between the sons of King Henry and a Spanish princess (Brans et al. 452). However, when one of the sons decided to divorce his wife, this created problems because the church (catholic) opposed

Female Homeless Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Female Homeless - Speech or Presentation Example I have observed these issues in the culture of the people who live near Acadiana Outreach Center and this could has been one of the drives to establish this center within this place. I know that it is the wish of everyone here to live a dignified life with good places to settle and feel secure in the places in which we live. The places we live after we have divorced, have been bereaved or any form of unfortunate issue that befall us and leave us without a man we can depend on for a shelter and other basic need. Although these issues seem to have little impact on the lives of the people who are directly affected, there are effects that are extended to all the dependants of the women who lack the privilege of a place to stay, a place they can call home. This is because some of the homeless women are not without other roles but carry responsibilities of mothers and the providers for younger children and also are required to offer security to these dependants. These life demands push som e women into the streets or poor shelters where they seek cheap means of sustaining their lives as well as those of the children that depend on them. This is because most of the homeless women have no source of income and therefore, live on limited resources most of which come from begging and daily wages that they get from small businesses and daily labor. Today, we will focus on the ways through which homeless women can get some places to live and establish a sustainable way of living, which would be less dependent begging. This will mean that women will have their own plans to acquire dignified places of residence where they will not be vulnerable to the risky conditions of poor environment, which does not guarantee their security. We will also focus on the provision of the homes that is done by the government and how women can benefit from it with a focus of the requirement that a woman need to have so that be guaranteed it. This will not be a form of one side discussion but it will require all people to participate through asking questions and seeking clarification of an issue at any point in the course of this presentation. We that in mind, we can embark on the discussion on the various issues that have exposed women in the society to the risky homelessness and the contribution of the Acadiana Outreach Center in alleviating the condition. As many of you are aware, there are things that we face as women in the society since the cultural restrictions do not allow the women to own property. Because of this, many single mothers, divorced, unmarried, separated or widowed women who have little income have to undergo serious struggle to sustain themselves in good places in the world. Many of those who have little income do not have enough resources with which they can secure basic needs that they have for their lives. This situation has faced those women who have low education attainments because they do not secure opportunities in good paying labor market and therefore have to undergo a lot of struggle to get their needs (Burt, Pearson & Montgomery, 2007). In this discussion, I will use some materials that are contained in a small booklet that each of you will receive so that they can revisit the discussion later. These booklets will be available for everyone by the time we finish

International Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

International Marketing - Essay Example Fast food restaurants are reflecting greater flexibility in adapting to the local tastes and cultures and also in generating price ranges for the products through evaluation of the economic potential of the people. Global fast food companies like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut and Dunkin Donuts to name a few are observed to take resort of the localization strategy to help gain an effective penetration in the local markets. Fast food restaurants pertaining to America are observed to produce food products of hybrid varieties relating to the different countries in which they have opened up their branches. Customization and localization are generated in the food products by the fast food restaurants like that of McDonald’s that produces McKroket a beef and bun product for the Netherlands market while selling shrimp with cocktail sauce in Germany. For Greece and Israel, McDonald’s has its own set of Greek Burger and McKebab respectively. KFC operating in the Ch inese market aims to produce food products for the breakfast menu catering to regional preferences and tastes. Similarly, Dunkin Donuts operating in the South Korean market is observed to market breakfast foods like bagels and doughnuts which contribute in attracting potential customers (Sten, 2010). Federal Republic of Brazil is identified as the largest nation compared to other Latin American countries measured in terms of population and also the size of its geographical territory. Brazil tends to attract potential tourists from different nations owing to its natural and social diversity. Cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro reflect a larger population mix owing to the growth of urban and industrial development. Brazil also reflects to be the sole country in the whole of America that has a Portuguese speaking population. The continuous inflow of tourists in the Brazilian region owing to the existence of social, cultural, ethnic and biodiversity is observed as a

The benefits of legal human cloning research outweigh the opponents Paper

The benefits of legal human cloning outweigh the opponents negitives - Research Paper Example This process eliminates the emotional pain and expense that accompanies the condition. Moreover, it even puts more couples in a position to have their own children (â€Å"The Advantages of Cloning† par. 6) Rejuvenation, also called therapeutic cloning, can only be advanced through the use of human cloning technology. In this process embryonic stem cells are vital as they are used to produce new tissues and organs, which are used to replace faulty ones such as hearts, spinal cord cells for paraplegics’ tissues. Thus, in this case, cloning plays a key role in preventing and alleviating human suffering for humans who have ailments like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. At the same time, if well advanced, even the aging process could be reversed (â€Å"Benefits of Cloning: Benefits of Human Cloning† par. 2). Despite cloning being controversial, it may be a viable solution to many people considering genetic engineering may offer parents a choice of determining what features they would like their children to have. This is concerning their cognitive abilities and physical abilities (â€Å"The Advantages of Cloning† par .14). In addition, parents could have the chance to be better at raising their children, as genetically modified children would have their needs and abilities known to their parent’s beforehand (Smith par. 10). Apart from this, children would be less susceptible to illnesses since all defective genes would be corrected, and immunity boosted at the time of cloning. Moreover, through cloning organs used for transplants would be made readily available through human cloning. For example, currently there are no human livers to make transplant to those patients in need them, instead, pig livers are used to work as a provisional solution until a donor is found. Consequently, human cloning readily avails the required organs without having another person’s

Power and control as related to the movie The Book of Eli Research Paper

Power and control as related to the movie The Book of Eli - Research Paper Example In wide strokes, the film likewise takes after a Western plot: the man with no name, a more peculiar, comes into town, executes the scalawags, and leaves. Be that as it may The Book of Eli, dissimilar to most hostile to religious Westerns, insists the force of God and investigates how religion could be utilized for great or sick. Eli is the model of the positive force of religion. Soon after the war, Eli heard a voice, probably Gods, controlling him to discover the last duplicate of the Bible in presence, covered under rubble. The voice let him know to take the Bible west and let him know he might be secured from anybody and anything (The Book of Eli). This insurance is outlined throughout every battle scene in the film. In the initial two, groups of hooligans debilitate Eli with blades and clubs as recently witnessed in Nigeria where dozens were killed because of struggle over power (NBC). Eli tries to defuse the circumstances, conversing with them and battling if all else fails. Be that as it may when he battles, he is unstoppable, moving with economy and effortlessness, uniquely in contrast to the blundering scalawags. This sign is clear to his adversaries: as the boss lowlife, Carnegie, notes: "Nobody can deal with themselves as you do. In the later two battles, the scoundrels strike him with weapons. But their shots bafflingly miss, while Eli shoots with destructive precision. The lowlifes face off regarding this. The hooligans propose that "hes secured by one means or another in that he cant be touched." Carnegie negates them. "Hes simply a man. Put a projectile in him and hell go down." Late in the film, Carnegie tests this, shooting Eli, and abandoning him for dead. However Eli survives, climbing again to keep strolling west, demonstrating Carnegie off (The Holy Bible). Where Eli is intrigued by peace, staying away

The Sense in Organisational Learning, Knowing and Sense making Essay Example for Free

The Sense in Organisational Learning, Knowing and Sense making Essay Experience in Learning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Learning is the acquisition of knowledge, ideas, concepts, experience and any other kind of element that can be acquired. Learning is the retention of knowledge. It is also a skill such as using tools, creating crafts or simply driving a car. Learning involves practice. Practice is a way of retaining learning. But most of all, learning is a change in behaviour.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As far as I could remember, I learned to walk, speak and do many types of activities in the house by the acquisition of these knowledge and experiences. Either I would learn by following and mimicking gestures that the elder people would show me or I would engage into the experience of the concept. For example, I learned not to run fast down the stairs because one time that I did, I fell three flights and bumped my head. I learned how to remember the names of many relatives by repeatedly seeing them in family gatherings. Conversing with these people required me to utter their names and so that helped me remember their names and how I was related to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As I entered formal learning, other tools where available for me to increase knowledge and experience. Reading books was a way to learn how to know things. Before operating machines such as household appliances or laboratory machines, it is imperative to read instruction manuals so that I could transform myself into someone who did not know how to operate the machine into someone who knew how. And therefore there was a definite change in behaviour because of this. Learning things on your own is different when learning inside an organization. Experience in Participating in an Organization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are two general kinds of participants in an organization or in a group endeavour. One can either be an active or a passive participant. Active participation involves doing different roles at different times depending on the need of the organization. In group discussions for example, one can be an initiator, regulator, informer, supporter or an evaluator. All these roles must be found in the whole group embodied by its participants in order for the group to develop and evolve its visions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another insight I gathered from participating in organizations is that one can learn fully if one keeps an open mind and heart. Each participant has his unique person moulded from a definitive history. Each person has his own ideas and learning style. If participants do not cooperate in the organizations, it will be harder to achieve objectives. Sometimes, participating in an organization requires one to compromise some comfort zones. There will be moments when a co-participants’ idea does not match your own. Sometimes, this will be cause of conflict. However, after the exchange and debate on the idea, conflict is soon resolved. Even at times when breakdown of the organization occurs, this will also signify that the conflict was resolved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I cannot be half part of an organization. Participation in an organization must be whole for it to be worthwhile. Being a part of an organization means adhering to its vision, mission and goals. If a person cannot embrace the organization’s objectives, then his participation will be futile. From what I observed, when organizations have members that are half believers of the organization’s goals, their participation in the organization are half done as well. Their motivations to act on the organization’s needs are also superficial and the tendency to protect one’s self interest over the group’s interest is stronger. Four Learning Theories   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Learning whether it involves an individual or a group is possible. Four theories of learning guide many teachers, managers and leaders into helping their constituents acquire knowledge and experience. The behaviourists, cognitive, humanist and situational orientation of learning are four theories that have been developed in the field of learning. The Behaviourist theory developed by practitioners of psychology believes that a person learns according to how the environment gives it instructions. Experimental procedures have been used to study behaviour in this discourse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Cognitive orientation does not believe so. Scholars of the cognitive theory believe that the individual learns due to its mental abilities. The process of knowing or â€Å"cognition† was the one leading the act of learning therefore learning relied much on an individual’s thinking capacity. The Humanist approach followed a certain process of growth patterned from human growth. Learning for these theorists involves a person’s evolution of needs that Maslow and Rogers have defined. The Situational orientation in learning relies on the involvement of a person to different community events and practices. Through individual’s participation to these frameworks, learning is experienced and thereby achieved. The Organization’s capability of learning, sensing and knowing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The individuals that constitute the organization bring all their learning abilities into the organization thereby helping the organization achieve goals. When organizations are able to achieve their goals, learning, sense making and knowledge achieved is not only claimed by each participant in the organization but the organization as a single entity as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Organizational knowing creates three kinds of knowledge. Tacit knowledge is found the experience and expertise of participants. Explicit knowledge is visualized as rules and routines that participants undergo. Cultural knowledge can be found in the organization’s assumptions, beliefs and values. The ‘corporate culture’ idiom has been coined due to the effort to package cultural knowledge of the organization so that it can be taught to employees. New knowledge is achieved by sharing and integrating these three types of knowledge. With new knowledge, the organization has the capacity to act on decisions that help the organization transform their potentials. Although new alternatives are achieved, new uncertainties are also acquired but essential to the organization’s ability to form new knowledge is the capacity of the organization to evolve facing challenges of its industry and ever changing environment. â€Å"The central argument is that any organization is the way it runs through the processes of organizing   This means that we must define organization in terms of organizing.   Organizing consists of the resolving of equivocality in an enacted environment by means of interlocked behaviors embedded in conditionally related processes. To summarize these components in a less terse manner, organizing is directed toward information processing in general, and more specifically, toward removing equivocality from informational inputs.† (Weick 1979:90-91)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Besides knowledge making, the organization also goes through the process of sense making. If decision making leads to decisions, sense making leads to the sense of the organizations’ existence of its decisions thereby breaking all kinds of elements that leads to ambiguity and confusion in the organizations’ processes. Sense making is essentially answering Weick’s question, â€Å"How can I know what I think until I see what I say?†. â€Å"In dealing with organizational issues, sense making requires us to look for explanations and answers in terms of how people see things rather than rather than structures or systems. Sense making suggests that organizational issues strategies, breakdowns, change, goals, plans, tasks, teams, and so on are not things that one can find out in the world or that exist in the organization. Rather, their source is peoples way of thinking.† (Universiteit Twente, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sense making is a better tool in arriving at information for use in the workplace. Studies have proved that sense making has been successful in understanding deaf culture, in reflective thinking in the nursing practice, has been experienced in media education in classrooms with students, and proven beneficial for hard discourses such as sexism, racism and the like.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While Weick emphasize sense making in the retroactive context, Gioia and Mehra deemed the importance of prospective sense making as well. These two approaches further cement the invaluability of sense making in organizations. Each time that participants work towards a common goal, they are compelled to gather past knowledge, experience and facts, make sense out of it collaboratively to learn a new tool that will help the organization achieve their prospects that they envision in the future. Conceptualization of the future in organizations therefore is facilitated by sense making.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this light, sense making further becomes a strategic tool that helps organizations articulate their common visions which can be called prospective ‘sense-giving’ while the tools that helps organizations decipher differences in actions so the that their selection may work well for their group can be termed as retrospective â€Å"sense-discovering†. Furthermore, the notion of sense making being partly deliberate and part emergent makes it a powerful tool for organization management, leadership and organizational learning. At best, sense making is an on-going process much like what learning is. There is no limit to learning. The fact that man has yet to use 97% of his brain capacity, that there is much need for compassion in the world tells many scholars that there is much sense in the notion of sense-making. Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Learning is the ability that sets man apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Although there is learning in other animal species, organizational learning has captured man’s ability to prove himself as an intelligent animal in the social context. When a person enters and organization, he sets himself as a member of a whole. As a participant of the whole, the individual synergizes his learning capacities, styles and objectives with other members of the whole. Learning of the individual found in the whole is made possible only if the organization is able to learn first.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the learning tools of sense making, the organization is able to form new knowledge. The knowledge formed has characteristics not found in individual learning. The knowledge formed from sense making in organizations hold both retrospective and prospective senses of the organization as a whole. Elements that form this knowledge is derived from the collective behaviour, cognition, experience and growth patterns of each individual making the collective acquire its own behaviour, experience, growth pattern and intelligence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reflecting on my own learning capacities including development of my own senses, I can prepare myself as I become a part of an organization. Many people enter organizations thinking that they are social institutions fully inorganic. With further understanding of sense making, I have become fully aware that organizations are alive because not only do they reproduce (forming other sub organizations, become global organizations and multinationals), react to stimulus (such as currency fluctuations, technological breakthroughs), grows (such as increase in revenue, increase in employees), they also essentially learn, produce knowledge and ultimately try to make sense in this world. References: Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1978) Organizational Learning: a theory of action perspective, Addison-Wesley, Reading MA. Brookfield, S. (1987) Developing Critical Thinkers: Challenging Adults to Explore Alternative Ways of Thinking and Acting, Open University Press, Milton Keynes. Burke, P. (2000) A Social History of Knowledge, Polity Press, Cambridge. Choo, Chun Wei (2006) The Knowing Organization: How organizations use information to construct meaning, create knowledge and make decisions, Oxford Uni. Press, Oxford. Dimitrov, V., Kuhn, L. and Woog, R. (2002) Complexity Thinking: A Catalyst for Creativity, School of Social Ecology and Lifelong Learning, UWS Printery. Easterby-Smith, M., Burgoyne, J. and Araujo, L. (1999) (Eds.). Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization: developments in theory and practice, London, Sage. Field, L. and Ford, B. (1995) Managing Organizational Learning: From Rhetoric to Reality, Longman, Melbourne. Fitzgerald, A. and Teal, G. (2003) Organizational Learning and Development Reader, Mc Graw-Hill, North Ryde. Fineman, S., Sims D.and Gabriel, Y. (2006) Organizing and Organizations, SAGE Pub., London. Flood, R.L. (1999) Rethinking the fifth discipline: Learning with the unknowable. Routledge, New York. Foley, G. (Ed) (1995) Understanding adult education and training, Allen Unwin, St Leonards, NSW Glassop, L. and Waddell, D. (2005) Managing the Family Business, Heidelberg Press, Heidelberg, Victoria. Harvard Business Review (2001) Organizational Learning. McGraw-Hill, New York. Lassey, P. (1998) Developing a Learning Organization, Kogan Page, London. Nonaka, I. (1991) The Knowledge Creating Company, Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Pearn, M., Roderick, C., Mulrooney, C. (1995) Learning organizations in practice. McGraw-Hill, London. Polanyi, M. (1962) Personal Knowing; Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Senge, P. (1992) Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization, Random House, Milsons Point. Senge, P., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., Smith, B. (1994). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization, Double Bay Dell Publishing, New York. Senge, P. (1999) The dance of change: the challenges of sustaining momentum in learning organizations, Random House, Milsons Point. Shaw, P. (2002) Changing the Conversations in Organizations London: Routledge. Stacey, R., Griffin, D. and Shaw, P. (2000) Complexity and Management, London: Routledge. Stacey, R. (1996) Complexity and Creativity in Organizations, San Francisco: Berret-Koehler. Summers, J. and Smith, B. (2004) Communication Skills Handbook, Wiley and Sons, Milton, Qld. Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice; Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge University Press, N.Y. Weick, Karl E. 1979. The Social Psychology of Organizing. 2nd ed. Random House: New York. Weick, K. L. (1995) Sensemaking in Organizations, SAGE Pub., London Universiteit Twente. 2004. Sense Making. [http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Organizational%20Communication/Sensemaking.doc/]

Effects of Sedentary Lifestyle on Obesity

Effects of Sedentary Lifestyle on Obesity Introduction Currently, obesity and overweight is a main global health problem plaguing almost the whole planet. Studies show that in 2005 1.6 billion adults were overweight and 400 million adults were obese. As it is portrayed, obesity and overweight is a problem of the contemporary societies that cannot be confronted. According to a recent study of the World Health Organisation, it is predicted that there will be 2.3 billion overweight adults by 2015 in the world and more than 700 million of them will be obese. Also it is important to realise that obesity and overweigh are modern problems of the societies since statistics referring to these problems did not exist 60 years ago. Therefore, it is clear that obesity and overweight apart from genetic predisposition and psychological disorders might derive as well from the modern sedentary lifestyle that is highly affected by the recent technological development and from poor nutrition as there is an increase in convenience food. However in order to understand the extent and significance of the problem it is important to define and analyse overweight and obesity. Obesity can be defined as a medical condition in which body fat has accumulated to the extent that it has a negative effect on health. A healthy body requires a minimum amount of  fat  for the proper functioning of the  hormonal,  reproductive, and  immune  systems, as  thermal insulation, as  shock absorption  for sensitive areas, and as  energy  for future use. But the accumulation of too much storage fat can impair movement and flexibility, can alter the  appearance of the body and cause health problems. Obesity increases the likelihood of  various diseases like heart disease,  type 2 diabetes,  breathing difficulties during sleep (pulmonary diseases), hypertension, certain types of  cancer, and  osteoarthritis. In particular, cancer of the colon as well as prostate in men and cancer in breasts, ovaries and cervix in women have been found to be related to obesity. Furthermore, hypertension has been found to be related CHD and strokes. As a result, obesity has been found to reduce  life expectancy and be one of the leading  preventable causes of death  worldwide. Investigators have estimated that if everybody had the optimal body mass there would be 3 years added to life expectancy, 25 percent less coronary heart disease and 35 percent less congestive heart failure and brain infection. Overweight is generally defined as having more  body fat  than is optimally  healthy, without reaching the body fat value for obesity. The generally accepted view is that being overweight causes similar health problems to obesity, but to a minor degree. It is estimated that the risk of death increases by 20 to 40 percent among overweight people and that being overweight at age 40 reduces life expectancy by three years. Being overweight or obese has been identified also as a cause of  cancer. Psychological well-being is also at risk in the overweight individual due to social  discrimination. However, children under the age of eight are normally not affected. The prevalence of obesity and overweight is strongly related to age. The 16 to 24 years age group (for both men and women) is substantially less at risk of  becoming obese than older age groups. Those aged between 25 and 34 have the second lowest rates of obesity and overweight. Middle aged people are those who are in the most risky position of becoming obese or overweight. In order to further understand obesity and overweight it is important to analyse the methods used in order to classify and tell the degree to which a person is overweight or obese. The most popular method used is that of  the Body Mass index  (BMI), or  Quetelet index. The Body Mass index is a statistical measure of body weight based on a persons weight and height. Though it does not actually measure the  percentage of body fat, it is used to estimate a healthy  body weight  based on a persons height. Due to its ease of measurement and calculation, it is the most popular diagnostic tool to identify weight problems within a population, usually to classify adult underweight, overweight and obesity. Body Mass Index is found by dividing the body mass in kilograms by the square of height in meters. This technique can also act as a health since it appears to provide relative results concerning the degree of risk associated with overweight or obesity. Mortality and morbidity start increase at high rates at a BMI of more than 25. Therefore the desired levels of BMI are those below 25. Below there is a table of the BMI classification according to the World Health Organisation confirming what was previously stated. Classification BMI(kg/m2) Underweight

The process in Financial intermediation in the banking sector

The process in Financial intermediation in the banking sector The financial intermediation is defined as the process which had been carried out by the financial intermediaries as the middleman between the borrower (spender) and lender (saver) to smooth the flow of fund. The financial intermediation called as the process of using the indirect finance in the financial system, which the primary route to transfer funds from lender to borrower. Those savers who have the surplus money will deposits their fund in the financial institution, which will lends those funds to borrowers such as business firms, households, government or foreigners who shortage of fund. Financial intermediary are those financial institution such as commercial bank, finance company, merchant bank, Islamic bank and Brokerage Company. The financial intermediary help to transfer the funds between the lender and borrower in the ways of borrow money from the lender-saver and then using this money to make loan to borrower-spender. For example, the financial institution acquires fund s through public by issuing liabilities such as time deposits and saving accounts. After that, the bank might use that fund to acquire an asset by making loan to the people needed fund for investment or buying that company bond in the financial market. As a result, with the help of financial intermediary, the money successfully transfers from public to the borrower. Financial intermediaries play an important role in the financial system because they help to facilitate the risk transfer and in dealing with the increasingly complex of financial instruments and markets. The financial intermediarys role is to transform the assets which are less desirable by a large portion of public in to assets that are more preferable by the public. This transforming have serve four economic function which are providing maturity intermediation, reduction of risk by diversification, reducing the contracting and information processing costs and to provide a efficient payment mechanism. Besides, many subsequent authors also have stressed about the role of transaction cost in the financial intermediaries. Due to the financial intermediaries are very specializing in information processing, they have create the well-functioning financial institutions that has greatly reduced the transaction and information for customer. They can achieve the economy of balance through sp ecialization; this is because they are handling very large number of transaction so they are able to minimize the fixed costs by ward off the same production of information faced by borrower and lender. In addition, Petersen and Rajan (1994) stated that financial intermediaries develop specialist or expert people in evaluating prospective borrowers and investments projects. Other than that, they can also exploit customer information and reuse that information over time and again. As a result, there are more funds are made available for investments. For example, the fixed cost of assets evaluation mean that the financial intermediaries have an advantage over an individual because they allow the costs to be shared. Faulkender and Petersen (2003) mentioned that the information acquisition cost maybe still can lower down by establish a long-run relationship between the borrower and financial intermediaries. Furthermore, financial intermediation has gain confidence and trust from the pub lic by protect their assets with providing efficient service to help them manage their assets. This is because the financial intermediaries help them channel funds more efficiently to productive investments through funding pooling, better identification and monitoring of profitable investments and risk diversification. Diversification allows allocating assets and bearing risks more efficiently. Those investments are protected against from unconscientiously borrowers by the institutions qualified loan officers and well-trained investment analysts seek good investment opportunities and screen prospective securities so as to obtain the best yield available for the risk level that suits the investors preferences. Thus, the financial intermediaries are vital part for our economic system and in order to maintain the flow of money in the economy. Diamond and Dybvig (1983) show that how the financial intermediaries can improve the risk sharing and thus improve the economy welfare. The financial intermediarys help to diversify the risk of the lenders (savers) by help them to investigate their savings across different sector of business. They have the ability to get the important information that concern about the borrowers financial position compare to those in direct finance route which lender directly lends their money to borrowers in financial market without any information about the borrowers. Financial intermediaries can have the borrowers such important information is because they already have a history of exercising discretion with this type of information, and help to reduce unreliable information concerning the borrowers. This will help to solve the problems create by asymmetric information which are adverse selection and moral hazards. Financial intermediaries help them to screen risk, monitor risk and evaluate risk. It is more efficient for financial institution to screen the investment opportunity and risk on behalf of individuals compare to an individual to screen its. Since the institution has all the important information available about the lenders and borrowers, it helps to reduce the information costs for analyzing their data and save their time. Thus, individual can enjoy other services provided by the financial institution which can enable them to deposit and withdrawal funds without negotiation whereas the borrowers can avoid having a deal with individual investors. It concludes that it helps those individual not only save their time and money, and also offer low risk investment opportunity to them. If there is no the financial intermediaries, the lenders-savers and borrowers-spenders have to pay higher transaction and information costs and the facing the problem create by the asymmetric information such as adverse selection problem and moral hazards problems. Hirshleifer and Riley (1 979) said that adverse selection problems arise before the transaction occurs. Usually those people who agreeable to pay higher interest rate will be worse risk and thus the lenders are more likely had make a loan to high risk borrowers This problem only occurs on the borrowers but not the lenders. However, the moral hazard problem occurs after the transaction which it arise just as the borrowers involve in the chance of their loan will being repaid back to the lenders. It also will happen when the borrowers is taking too much risk as the costs incur more than the benefit that gains by borrowers. Therefore, it will discourage the individual savers from lending money to those borrowers who have such investment opportunity and affected the whole economic development in the country. Amina (2009) show that financial intermediaries also provide maturity flexibility service to individuals by creating financial claims with wide range of maturities so as to balance the maturity of different instruments so as to reduce the gap between assets and liabilities. As if there are no financial intermediaries, individual savers have to purchase the securities of borrowers it will lead them to have many uncertain risks such as the conflicting of the maturity needs of lender and borrower. For example, most lenders would like to lend money at short maturity, however normally the borrower will attempt to borrow for a longer maturity. It would make difficult for the borrower to match their larger loan amount with the small amounts of individual savings which are desired by the lenders then it will make the borrowing more difficult. In addition, financial intermediaries perform an important function as maturity intermediation to make sure investment from lenders and money borrowing for borrowers flawless. In the existence of financial intermediary, individuals income tax differentials are mitigated which it help to transfer tax deductions from low to high income tax payers and to provide tax free services in place of taxable interest. For example, the income invested in and earned by pension funds is not taxed until retirement when the rates are generally lower than before the retirement. Beside, commercial bank also rewards depositors with free service, which are non taxable, rather than pay interest, which is taxable. The depositors will receive nontaxable benefits such as checking accounts, travelers checks and low rate loan in return for the use of the money. In conclusion, the existence of financial intermediary played a very important role in the economic development of the country. In this modern world, it would not have been so efficient, aggressive and progressive without the financial intermediation. Financial intermediaries provide a convenient and safe place where lenders can safely invest excess money and borrowers can easily borrow fund with the low cost and low risk. Question 2: Compare money and capital markets and identify the major issuers of securities in the different markets and the difference among the various types of securities within and between each of the markets. Within your discussion of the money markets include a consideration of the role of the Federal Reserve System (Fed) and the banking system as they interact through required reserve maintenance and monetary policy actions by the Fed. Consider in your analysis the types and significance of the links between the money and capital markets via the term structure of interest rates, issuers of debt and equity, or the characteristics of these securities. There were two group of markets can be found in financial market. They were the capital market and the money market. Although they both come from financial market but they consist of differences. In capital market, we will found the stocks and bond market but in general it is the market for securities where long term funds can be raised by companies or government. To raise the funds, a person needs to purchase a price-set bond in order to borrow their money to the government or business for period of time and this will gain higher return as promised. The government or company paid the lenders through interest that accrues from the borrowings. Another way for the government or company to raise the fund is through the stock market. By using this method, they will sell shares of their stock which is the ownership of the company to the public or companies. Dividends will be paid to the shareholders as agreed by the company as the return on their investment. There were two markets in the capital market: Primary market and secondary market. New issues are distributed to the investor in the primary market and the secondary market is the place where trade securities. In money market, it is about the global financial market. The money market is the place where borrowing and lending in a short-term period. Short-term liquid funding also will be provided to the global financial system. The period of the borrowing of money by the company in a money market has an average of thirteen months. There are few common types of things that being used in the money market such as bankers acceptance, certificates of deposits, commercial paper and repurchase agreements. Normally the money market consists of banks borrowing and lending but money market also will involve by financial companies. A large amounts of asset where issued by the finance companies to fund themselves which is secured by the promise of eligible assets into an asset backed commercial paper conduit. The difference between the two markets is that capital market is for long term investment. They were selling stocks and bonds to borrow money from investors to operate their company. In money markets, it is the short term borrowing or lending market. The banks borrow and lend between themselves and it is usually paid back within thirteen months. The differences can be seen through the ways the two markets used for borrowing or lending transaction. In capital market, primary and secondary markets are interrelated. Securities emerge in primary market while other dealings take place in secondary market. However, there was no sub-division in money market. In efficient money market, secondary market does take place too. In capital market, the financial instrument that being used are debentures, shares, public sector bonds and units of mutual funds. On the other hand, money market uses different financial instruments such as Treasury bill, call money, commercial papers, and certificate of deposits. There were several characteristic of the securities in the money market. They are rapid maturity, safety, liquidity funds of securities of the money market. Short-term capital requirements of the business and government can be solve by issuing money market securities. The maturity of the securities is between three months and matured within one year. Federal funds and repurchase agreements are the money market instruments that examine the maturity of the securities. The credit ratings that surpass the other investment grade debt instruments make money market securities the safest investments available. (Jim Orrill, 2010) The SEC helps ensure this safety by mandating that at least 95% of a money market funds securities must be ones that have earned the highest rating of at least two of the five major credit rating institutions. Federal Reserve System is often referred as Fed is the central bank of the United States. In Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia or BNM is our central bank. Although central bank may differ in terms of structure and modus but they have common responsibility which is to maintain the monetary and financial stability. Sometimes, they are responsible for developing the financial infrastructure and participating in the overall development of nation. Bank Negara Malaysia is responsible to maintain the monetary stability. Preserved the value of the ringgit is the best way to ensure the price stability. This can maintain the inflation of the country low and stable. By maintaining the inflation at low and stable condition will not diminished the purchasing power of ringgit. When the inflation rate is high, people will tend to consider about their purchasing power. When this happened, demand for real assets like properties and houses will be higher because they were thought to be more inflation-proof. Interest of people will be less on investment in the productive capacity of the economy. The interest of holding saving in the financial system will be lesser as they expect that their savings value will be diminished. Fixed income earners will feel their ability to purchase goods and services become less. Bank Negara Malaysia influences the level of interest rates to conduct its monetary policy. Interest rates are the rate that the borrowers of the loan have to pay and the depositors earn on their deposits. To encourage people to save more, interest rate will be given at a high rate. When the economic is weak, funds will be injected into the banking system to reduce the interest rates. Economic activity will be stimulated by the increasing consumption and investment. (Elgilani Eltahir Elshareif, 2010) Short term and long term interest rates of fixed securities is important for the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. Usually the short-term rates will be influence by central bank, while the basis of investors expectations of future real interest rates and inflation affect long-term rates. The future real interest rates will affect the domestic investment and production. The real sector of the economy will affect by the term structure transmits monetary policy. In the open economy system, the structure will affect international capital flows and hence exchange rate. Required reserve is referring to the amount that the banking institution place with the BNM in compliance with the Statutory Reserve Requirement. Cash in vault of the banking institution and the demand deposits with BNM are considered as excess reserves. Demand and time deposits placed by the financial corporations are deposits of the private sector. Money market securities are extremely liquid can be converted into cash quickly. As the principles of these debts are repaid very rapidly thus the liquidity of the investment was gained. These securities give the optimum way to the public to invest in the money market securities by trading in large denominations. The money market securities are a wholesale market of short term debt instruments. Question 3: Are the following statements consistent or inconsistent? Explain your answer and discuss how equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets. Answer: Yes, the statement equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets is consistent. An equilibrium relationship can be exists between cash and futures markets. In order to explain how equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets, we first need to take a look on the meaning of future and cash markets and understand how they functions in the commodity market, then we proceed with the basic relationship that arises between both markets. Lastly, we will explain how arbitrage and the law of supply and demand lead the future price to the equilibrium level. The futures market is a place where participants can trade for future contract. A future contract is a contract that involves two parties to buy or sell a specified asset on a specified future date at a price agreed today. While the cash market is a market in which the buyer makes an immediate payment for physical commodities that equal to the current market price, which also called the spot price. The purchaser of a future contract which represent as a long position holder undertakes to receive the delivery of the commodity on future and want to pay it for a low price as possible, while the seller of a futures contract which represent as a short position holder promises to deliver the commodity on future and want to receive a high payment as possible. Long Position Short Position Hedger Secure a current price to protect against future rising Secure a current price to protect against future declining price Speculator Secure a current price in anticipation of rising prices Secure a current price in anticipation of declining prices As above mentioned, the traders in the future market basically classified into two categories: hedgers and speculators. Hedgers can be farmers, dealer, foresters and oil drillers. They have the preexistence risk that connected with a commodity and they enter the market to reduce that risk. Thus, intended to protect against the price risks, they on purpose trade in the futures market to secure the future price of a commodity and sell it later in the cash market. Unlike hedger, speculators aim to profit from the vary price change that hedgers are protecting themselves against. They do not intend to minimize the risk but rather to get benefits from the intrinsically risky nature of the commodity market. For example, we assume a farmer bears the risk at the planting time associated with the uncertain harvest price his wheat will worth on the later 6 months. To avoid this risk he may enter the future market and sell a future contract. For instance, if the current market price for wheat is $10 per ton and he expected to produce 1000 tons of wheat in the next six months, he could lock the price at $10 per ton and selling a 1000 tons wheat future contract. In this manner, the farmer intends to establish a price today that will be harvested in the futures. At the end of the 6 months, the price of wheat in the cash market is actually $9 per ton, so the farmer benefit from the future contact and escapes the lower price. However, if the prices of wheat in cash market were $11 per ton, then the speculator would benefit from the future contact instead of the farmer. Since the future prices are fluctuate based on unpredictable circumstance, the gap between future price and spot price might be huge, hence, people calling the basis as referring to the difference between the cash price and future price of a contract. When a future contract near to its maturity date, the future price and spot price will move close to each other and finally become the same at expiration. Which means the basis must be zero at the maturity of the future contract. From Fig 4.3, we can see that as the delivery month of a future contract is neared, the futures price centralize to the spot price of the asset, and at the delivery period, future price equals to the spot price. So, as time passes, the basis narrows approach maturity of the contract. This behavior of the basis over time is known as convergence, this can be easily explained by arbitrage and the law of supply and demand. For example, suppose that future price is much higher than the spot price as time goes near to the contracts month of delivery. In this condition, traders will catch the arbitrage opportunity of shorting futures contracts, buying more underlying asset and then making delivery. Due to this, the future price will tend to fall, and suppose that future price is much lower than the spot price. Again, there will be arbitrage opportunity, traders are more willing to acquire short contract and cause more long future contract in the market. Thus, the futures price will tend to arise. In this manner, whether the future price is lower or higher to the spot price, at the expiration, both will be equal. In terms of supply and demand, the effect of arbitrage attracts traders to shorting futures contract and creates an increase the supply of contracts to market so makes the future price fall. Inversely, buying the underlying asset causes the demand of assets increase; as a result the future spot price will increase as well. In conclusion, we know that no matter how the future price is difference to the cash price, at the maturity, the basic must be zero, which means that the future price and cash price are equal. Therefore, we can say equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets. Question 5: If banking were to be based on interest-free transactions, how would it work in practice? Do we really need Islamic banks? Is Islamic banking viable? How does Islamic banking fare and conventional banking differ? How many Islamic banks are working at present and where? The Interest-free transactions of Banks Practice Islamic banks are the financial institutions that operate base on Shariah principles. Islamic scholars commend trade-oriented banking in place of traditional interest-bearing credit oriented banking. The major vehicle of interest-free banking is a two-tier mudarabah, which is a business contract negotiated on the basis of profit-sharing ratios between two profits-seeking parties, A and B. Parties A provide funds to party B, party B independently manages the business according to the agreed terms. From the banking point of view, it is an advance agreement on a ratio in which realized business profits are to be shared. The basis of two-tier mudarabah is one mudarabah between the surplus economic units (depositors) and financial institution in order to replace interest-bearing contracts between savers and banks; and another mudarabah between the financial institutions and the deficit economic units in order to replace interest-bearing contracts between banks and ultimate users of funds. So, banks can negotiate deposits and advances on the basis of profit-sharing ratios. In effect, interest-bearing loans are replaced by profit-seeking investments and qard hasanah (loans on zero interest). Interest-free financial institution can efficiently perform all types of intermediation after eliminating interest from the system and the replacement of interest rates by profit-sharing ratios has profound macroeconomic consequences for unemployment, inflation, stability, growth, and income distribution. The Needs of Islamic Banks With Conventional Bank Many Islamic banks use the facilities of conventional banks for treasury management, foreign exchange, portfolio services and investment banking. Major multinational conventional banks have the critical mass to provide specialist service while Islamic banks are usually too small in size to take on such services themselves. Outsourcing makes sense for organizations when the benefits of internalization are outweighed by the administrative costs of trying to extend their functions into new areas where demand is limited. As most Islamic banks are located in the Muslim world, where most of the demand is for core banking services rather than for highly specialized finance, it is a potential management distraction to widen the facilities on offer excessively. This could actually result in deterioration in the quality of the basic level of deposit and funding services. Islamic Bank is Viable Islamic banking and finance are emerging as viable alternatives to conventional interest-based banking and financing. The long run goal of BNM is to construct an Islamic banking system operates same as the conventional banking system. However, an Islamic banking system requires three important elements to qualify as a viable system, such as a large number of players, various types of instruments and money market in Islamic world. In addition, the socio-economic values in Islam must be reflected in an Islamic banking system. BNM spreads the virtues of Islamic banking to distribute Islamic banking on countrywide with a lot of players and able to reach all Malaysians by achieving the above objective. Islamic financial products and services are being in their existing infrastructure and branches. It was seen as the most successful way to increase the number of financial institutions offering Islamic banking services efficiently. On 4 March 1993, BNM introduced an idea is known as Interest-free Banking Scheme (Skim Perbankan Tanpa Faedah). There are many Islamic banking services that provided by the banks using a range of Islamic concepts such as Mudarabah, Musyarakah, Murabahah, Ijarah and others. Mudarabah (Profit-sharing) A capital provider and another party to allow the entrepreneur to carry out business projects based on a profit sharing ratio under an agreement. However, the capital provider of the funds needs to bear all losses. Musyarakah (Joint Venture) The sharing of profits will be distributed base on predetermined ratio for a partnership or joint venture of a particular business. Both parties will bear the losses base on equity participation. Murabahah (Cost Plus) Sales agreement is applicable on the condition that the sale of goods at a price, other costs and the profit margin are agreed to by both parties. Ijarah (Leasing) A lesser (owner) leases property to a lessee at an agreed rental against a fixed charge. Islamic Banking versus Conventional Banking The difference between Islamic Banking and Conventional Banking which is conventional banking eliminates the risk while Islamic banks take the risk when involve in any transaction. In addition, conventional banks do not bear the liability only get the benefit from customers when involve in transaction with customers in form of interest. On the other hand, Islamic banks bear all the liability in transaction with consumer because in getting out any benefit without taking its liability is illegal in Islamic principles. In retail deposit services include the provision of current accounts and low-risk investment accounts base on mudarabah with clients sharing in any bank profits. Conventional banks provide similar deposit services at retail level and allow overdrafts on current accounts, which often incur both fixed-rate charges and interest. Islamic banks cannot offer overdraft facilities on current accounts. However, depositors who get temporary financial difficulties due to events beyond their control such as illness may receive interest-free loans. Conventional banks offer savings rather than investment accounts, the major attraction of such accounts being the interest paid to depositors. This often increases as the minimum notice period for withdrawals lengthens, with accounts which for example require three months notice for withdrawals paying more interest than those requiring one months notice. Some Islamic banks apply similar stepped returns with their investment accounts, with a higher prop ortionate profit share as the period of notice for withdrawals increases. Moreover, conventional bank concern on money as a medium of exchange, valuable and interest on capital is charging on time value basis. Islamic banks focus on the real asset but money is just a medium of exchange goods services for earning profit. In conventional banks, Government gets the loans easily from BNM through Money Market without any capital development expenses. In Islamic banks, Government cannot obtain loans without capital development expenditure. Lastly, debts financing in conventional banks has the benefit of leverage for a project because interest expense is deductible expense form taxable profits. This leads to maximize the tax burden over salaried persons. So, the saving and disposable income is affected badly and decrease in the real GDP. In Islamic banks, Mudarabah and Musharakah provide extra tax to Federal Government and minimize the tax burden over salaried persons. Hence, the savings and disposable income is rise and increase in the real GDP. List of Other Financial Institutions Offer Islamic Financial Products and Services According to the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, there are currently 275 institutions worldwide that follow Islamic banking and financing principles, collectively managing in excess of $200 billion. These institutions are spread throughout 53 countries, including Europe and the United States. Twenty institutions now offer a variety of Islamic financial services in the United States. The Islamic banks are not the only banking institutions drawn in Islamic banking but Islamic banking services were introduced by other financial institutions via the Islamic Banking Scheme. In Malaysia, there are separate Islamic legislation and banking regulations in financial systems. The Islamic Banking Act (IBA) was established to provide BNM with the authorizations of supervising and regulating the Islamic banks. On 1 July 1983, Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) was the first Islamic bank established and was operated base on Shariah principles. After few years, BIMB expanded rapidly and was being listed on the Main Board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). After that, BNM allowed the existing financial institutions to offer Islamic banking services through Skim Perbankan Tanpa Faedah. The Islamic Interbank Money Market (IIMM) was established to link the financial institutions and their instruments. The National Shariah Advisory Council on Islamic Banking and Takaful (NSAC) was established as the highest Shariah authority on takaful in Malaysia. On 1 October 1999, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (BMMB) was established. The establishment of BMMB was the result of the joining between Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad (BBMB) and Bank of Commerce Berhad (BOCB). Islamic Banks 1. Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) 2. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (BMMB) Commercial Banks 1. Alliance Bank Berhad 8. Malayan Banking Berhad 2. AFFIN Bank Berhad 9. AmBank Berhad 3. OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad 10. Public Bank Berhad 4. Citibank Berhad 11. RHB Bank Berhad 5. EON Bank B