Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Palestine israeli conflict for international relations class Research Paper

Palestine israeli clash for universal relations class - Research Paper Example The regular thing in the two points of view of the Israeli and Palestinian clash is that the primary explanation is on the issue of land and there are not kidding outcomes that go with the contention. There has been loss of land, loss of lives and movement of the individuals from their genealogical terrains so as to acquire wellbeing in different nations. The exploration on universal relations identify with the Palestinian Israeli clash. The examination paper analyzes the contention from a Palestinian point of view. The exploration will lead an investigation of the reason for the contention, which comprise the components that prompted the beginning of the battle. The historical backdrop of the contention helps in understanding the causes, impacts, mediations, and eventual fate of the contention. The two gatherings could simply have handily settled their contentions genially, yet this has not been the situation. The two regions have seen the requirement for proceeding to battle a war that began route before they existed. The assistance from outside gatherings in attempting to parley the contention have additionally driven the nations into further and progressively genuine proportions of managing the contention. There are a few effects that have come about because of the contention. Israel, for instance, has become a profoundly mobilize d nation, with each sexual orientation from the adolescent years turning out to be full warriors. It is a transitional experience for the youngsters to become troopers when they arrive at a particular age. For the Palestinians, the persecution they have endured on account of the Israelis has caused them to have a great deal of abhor and doubt for the Israelites. The Palestinians likewise don't have trust in the outside gatherings who have had a past filled with preferring the Israelites over them when it went to the contention. The Palestinians further fault outside powers for vigorously adding to the battle. From the Palestinian point of view, the Palestinians are the wronged party, and they would not surrender to the Israelites. They need vengeance and

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Confession Essays (269 words) - Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law

Admission Twofold Jeopardy Respondent is permitted to turn down their entitlement to a lawyer/legal counselor and speak to themselves in court. Respondent is permitted to turn down their entitlement to primer hearing and go direct to preliminary. The respondent is allowed the utilization of a private agent. State is lawfully committed to give all the proof to the respondent so they can set up their barrier. Under the California Penal Code, the respondent is permitted to be absolved (liberated from their charge) on the ground that the proof under the steady gaze of the court is deficient to support a conviction. An individual can't go to preliminary if there was a past preliminary towards that individual with similar charges, regardless of whether new proof is raised. Known as Double Jeopardy. I think the best piece of the film is the point at which the crowd discovers that Mr. Crawford is accused of new charges and Willy has the proof to convict Crawford for killing his own better half. I think this is the best piece of the film since it is the huge defining moment of the film. Here, we discover that Willy has firearm that Mr. Crawford utilized and an admission to convict him for murdering his own better half. I think this film merited review for our subject. In Forensic Science, the law and court is included and I figure this film works admirably at depicting the court and how proof is taken care of. Inquiries for test. What is Double Jeopardy? How did Willy lose the case? How did Willy make sense of that Mr. Crawford exchanged the weapons with the official (Robert Nunally)?

Friday, August 21, 2020

How to Create a Unique Value Proposition

How to Create a Unique Value Proposition Entrepreneurship is often painted as a rosy and glorious endeavor. The plot is almost always the same â€" start a business, make millions in a few years and then sit back to enjoy your success, travelling the world and sipping mojitos under the Caribbean sun as the money flows into your account. In reality, things are not so rosy. The world of business is a tough one.The competition is stiff, and if you want to succeed, you have to stand out from the crowd and showcase your awesomeness to prospective clients. You have to show your uniqueness, the need that you alone can fulfill.Without this, your brand will drown in the noise of the competition and your dreams of success and mojitos will soon be nothing more than nostalgic memories. If you don’t want to go down this route, you need to start thinking about crafting a unique value proposition for your business.A value proposition is one of the most important conversion factors. It determines whether a prospective customer will buy fr om you or move on to your competitor. It is the secret sauce that makes customers pay attention to your products and services even when competitors are offering similar products and services at cheaper prices.The less know your company is, the more important your value proposition, which is why you need to nail your value proposition right from the start.Today, we have come up with a handy guide to walk you through the process of creating a unique value proposition for your business.But before we get into the process, let us first understand what exactly a value proposition is.WHAT IS VALUE PROPOSITION? In order to understand value proposition, you first need to understand why customers buy from you. Customers don’t just buy from you because you are selling a product they need. After all, you are not the only one selling the product. Customers buy from you because you fulfill their needs in a way no other company can.Either you help them save time, you eliminate an inconvenience t hat your competitors do not, you give them extra value for their money, you offer experience or resources that your competitors don’t, and so on. That unique way in which you fulfill your customer’s needs is your value proposition.Also known as a unique selling proposition, your value proposition is your unique position within the marketplace that separates you from and gives you an edge over your competitors. It explains what benefit your products and services provide, who the benefit is meant for and how uniquely well you provide the benefit.In other words, it describes your target audience, the problem you are solving for them and why you are best placed to solve the problems compared to any alternatives your target audience might have. Without a unique value proposition, your customers have no reason to buy from you instead of your competitors.You should avoid mistaking your unique selling proposition for a slogan, a tagline, or a positioning statement. This is a mistake tha t many business owners make often. While taglines, slogans and positioning statements are important accessories to your brand, they don’t wield much influence over a customer’s decision to buy.It does not matter how good your slogan is, a customer will not buy from you if you are not solving their problem in the best way possible. Your selling proposition shows the customer that you will not only solve their problem, but that you are also the best person for the job. In a nutshell, a great unique value proposition should have:Relevancy â€" explains how your products and services solve customer problems or how they improve the customer’s situation.Quantified value â€" should show the specific benefits customers will derive from your products and services.Unique differentiation â€" should show customers why they should buy from instead of your competitors.When creating your unique value proposition, you should use the language of your consumers.A common mistake that business own ers make often is to use fancy buzzwords when coming up with a unique value proposition. How many times have you seen companies claiming that they have ‘miracle products’ that provide benefits that have ‘never been seen before’, or words like ‘value added interactions’?Such phrases only hype a product or service without showing any tangible benefit for the customer and should therefore be completely avoided when creating your value proposition.Instead of such phrases, your value proposition should be clear, direct, bold, and factual. It should describe your products and the problem they are solving the same way customers describe it (how many times have you heard customers looking for a product that provides value-added interactions?).This means that you need to step outside the office and talk to your customers in order to find out what exactly their problems and needs are.WHY IS A UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION IMPORTANT?When getting started, many business make the mistake o f trying to do a lot of things. They try to solve different problems for different people, and they want to do it well.For instance, someone launching an online fashion retail shop might attempt to be well known for high quality shoes, best looking t-shirts, most glamorous wedding dresses and lowest prices. Someone launching a restaurant might try to be known for the best fries and the best coffee and the juiciest ribs.The problem with this approach is that when you try to become known for everything, you end up without being known for anything.Businesses with a unique selling proposition don’t try to be everything for everyone. Instead, they focus on something specific and then become known for being the best in that particular thing.This not only allows them to provide the best possible value to their niche, but it also cuts out the number of businesses they have to compete against. Going back to our two examples above, let’s assume that a bride-to-be is looking for a dress fo r her approaching wedding. Will she opt for the retailer that also sells shoes, t-shirts and jeans or one whose sole focus is wedding dresses?If you are want to eat some well-made pork ribs, will you opt for a restaurant that tries to have the best coffee, the best fries, the best burgers and the best ribs, or one whose sole focus is well-done pork ribs?In both cases, I’m assuming you’d go for the latter option, because of their unique value proposition. They are not trying to be everything for everyone. Instead, they are focused on solving a single problem in the best possible way.In addition to helping you stand out and create a strong difference between your business and your competitors, a unique value proposition also has several other benefits, which include:Helps you make a strong first impression.Helps you attract the right prospects, thereby increasing both the quality and the quantity of your leads.Helps you improve your operational efficiency.Helps you increase your r evenue.Helps you gain market share in your targeted niches.Helps increase your conversion rate since you speak directly to your targeted niche and provide solutions that are specific to their needs.Ultimately helps you to increase the lifetime value of your customers.TIPS ON HOW TO CREATE A GREAT UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITIONComing up with a great value proposition takes a lot more than coming up with a creative slogan.You need to know your business and your customers inside out and understand how your products and services fit into the market.Below are some tips you need to keep in mind when coming up with a great value proposition for your business.Define Your Buyer PersonaThe first step of creating a great value proposition is to define who you are trying to market your products and services to.A value proposition is not meant to appeal to everyone with enough money to purchase your products and services. Instead, you want your value proposition to speak directly to a specific segment of the market, so your first step is to determine who this segment is.Which people will buy your products and services?Whose problems are you trying to solve. Don’t make the mistake I mentioned above of trying to be everything to everyone. That just doesn’t work. If you are solving a problem for brides-to-be, focus on brides to be.If you are solving problems for entrepreneurs who just started their first business, focus on them and forget about seasoned entrepreneurs who have launched a string of successful businesses.Don’t be lazy when it comes to defining your buyer persona [link to article on Buyer Personas]. You should research and find out as much as you possibly can about them. Some questions you should consider in this stage include: Who are your target customers? What is their age group? What is their gender? Where do they live? Are they married or single? Do they have kids? How much money do they earn? Where do they like spending their free time? What are their great est problems?The idea is to fully understand your target customers so that you can come up with a message that speaks specifically to them, a message that they can identify with. For instance, if you are selling wedding dresses, instead of trying to sell to everyone, you might focus on customers who want a lavish and exquisite wedding.With this in mind, you should have a clear understanding of the things that your target customers (those who want a lavish wedding gown) look for in wedding dresses, the anxieties they have about their wedding dresses, how much money they are willing to spend on a wedding dress, and so on.Research Your CompetitorsRemember, the main aim of a unique value proposition is to set yourself and your business apart from your competitors. In order to do this, you need to know who your competitors are and their way of doing things.Just like you did with your target customers, conduct a competitor research and try to find out as much as you can about them.Find an swers for questions like: Who are your competitors? What is their mission statement? How are their products and services similar to yours? How do they differ from yours? What kind of staff do they employ? What is their business model? How is it similar to or different from yours? What customer segment are they serving? How do they serve their customers? What do their customers like about them and their products or services?Researching about your competitors allows you to identify sections of the market that they are not covering well and other weaknesses in their strategy. You can then exploit their weaknesses and focus on areas they do not cover to differentiate yourself from them.It is impossible to differentiate yourself without first knowing what others in the same field are doing and then coming up with a way to do it better.Identify What is Unique and Compelling About Your Product or ServiceNext, you need to look keenly at the product and service you are offering and find out what makes it different from the other alternatives available in the market. Compare your products and services to those of your competitors. What can your products do better? What benefits or value do they provide that competitors’ products do not? Do your products help customers do their work faster? Are they easier to use? Do they use energy more efficiently? Are they cheaper?A good way identifying something unique and compelling about your product or service is to examine it through a technique known as the 3Ds technique.This technique involves checking whether your product or service meets the three Ds, which are Discontinuous innovation, Disruptive business models and Defensible technology. Below is a deeper explanation of the 3Ds technique:Discontinuous innovations â€" Does your product or service offer transformative benefits over other existing products by approaching the problem differently, instead of offering marginal improvements?Disruptive business models â€" Does yo ur product or service provide value and cost benefits that can help spur the growth of a business?Defensible technology â€" Does your product or service have intellectual property that you can protect to deny competitors entry and thereby gain competitive advantage?If your product or service checks any of the three boxes, you have found something unique about your business. If it checks all three boxes, you have something unique and compelling on which to base your value proposition.Another technique you can use to find a unique selling point is to dig deeper into the reasons that people are buying your products. Apart from the obvious reason, there is usually a deeper reason why people buy stuff. On the surface, it might appear that someone buying a milk shake at McDonald’s in the morning is doing so because they are hungry.Upon further investigation however, they might be buying the milk shake because they want something to keep them occupied during a long and boring drive to wo rk. Similarly, it might seem that someone who bought a Mercedes did so because they needed a vehicle for the commute to work. Why not buy a cheaper Toyota then?Upon further investigation, it becomes apparent that they bought the Mercedes because they want to improve their social status.With this is mind, try to find out the deeper, psychological reason why people are buying your products and then use it to come up with a value proposition for your products. For instance, if you are a career coach, it is obvious that anyone who buys your coaching class wants to improve their career.But why do they want to improve their career? Probably so that they can be paid more. But why do they care about being paid more? Probably so that they can buy their dream car or home, or go for the vacation they have always been dreaming about.So, in this case, you are not merely helping people improve their careers, you are actually helping them live out their dreams. You can use this in your value propo sition to show the actual value clients stand to gain by purchasing your products or services.Another option is to think about something about your product that goes against the grain, something that is not in line with your particular industry. For instance, let’s assume you are a martial arts coach who wants to launch a martial arts coaching class. Martial arts is typically male dominated.If you set up a martial arts coaching class specifically for women, you can use this in your unique value proposition. This will resonate with all the women who have always wished to take martial arts classes but could not because they found it intimidating to train together with men.In this case, you show that your business is unique by providing a safe place for women to train in martial arts.Dispel Myths and StereotypesAnother great way of coming up with a unique value proposition for your business is to dispel common myths and stereotypes about your industry. For instance, the auto repair i ndustry is well known for dishonesty. There is no shortage of scams and rip-offs that auto repair mechanics use to get an extra buck from car owners, especially women.In such a situation, if your business can buck the stereotype and provide honest service to car owners, you can use that promise as your unique value proposition. However, you should be ready to follow through with your promise. Don’t promise honest repairs and charges only for a customer to be charged for a repair that wasn’t actually done.With these tips, you will be able to come up with a great unique value proposition that sets your business apart from the competition and shows prospective customers why you are the best person for the job.EXAMPLES OF GREAT UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITIONSBelow are three examples of great unique value propositions.UberUber’s value proposition is that they provide the smartest and most convenient way to get around. Their value proposition is captured in the following words:Tap your ph one. Get where you are headed.Uber differentiates itself by showing the convenience it offers over the traditional taxi industry that it came to disrupt. No calls to dispatchers, no difficult conversations trying to explain where you are or where you want to go, no worrying whether you have enough change in your pocket. Simply tap and ride.What better way to set themselves apart from traditional taxis?StarbucksStarbucks’ value proposition is also surprisingly simple. They stand for and are well known for their premium coffee beverages. Their focus is on being the best providers of premium coffee beverages. They don’t try to be anything else. They don’t try to be the best coffee house with the lowest prices and the best sandwiches or the best smoothies.While you can also get teas, pastries and other treats in a Starbucks, premium coffee is their main focus. The rest are treats that they just happen to sell, which you can buy to go along with your delicious coffee.It is this uni que value proposition that has turned Starbucks into one of the most recognizable brands in America and the third-largest fast food restaurant chain in the world by number of locations.Apple iPhoneApple also nailed the iPhone’s value proposition. Below is the iPhone’s value proposition:Every iPhone we have made â€" and we mean every single one â€" was built on the same belief. That a phone should be more than a collection of features. That, above all, a phone should be absolutely simple, beautiful, and magical to use.With these words, Apple differentiates the iPhone from all other smartphones.With hundreds of phones in the market, Apple knew that trying to market the iPhone on its set of features wouldn’t work. After all, several other smartphones boast the same features.Instead, Apple decide to set the iPhone apart by offering a unique user experience that no other smartphone manufacturer could match. This simple value proposition has helped Apple remain at the top of the sma rtphone market for almost a decade.WRAPPING UPComing up with a great unique value proposition is about setting yourself apart from your competitors.To do this, you can’t attempt to be known for everything. Instead, focus on one thing that you can do better than anyone else and that you want to be known for and use it as your unique value proposition.Coming up with a great value proposition is also about making a connection with your audience and turning them into loyal brand ambassadors.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Ted Hughes Birthday Letters - 1199 Words

BIRTHDAY LETTERS Introduction: Conflicting perspectives are different points of view expressed and influenced by ones context and values. â€Å"Birthday Letters† by Ted Hughes is an anthology of poems challenging the accusation that he was responsible for his wife, Sylvia Plath’s death. The three poems The Minotaur, Your Paris, and Red are an insight into Hughes justification of the death of Plath using a very subjective and emotive poetic form. The poems possess many deliberate techniques such as extended metaphors, connotations, diction and juxtaposition to encourage the audience to accept his argument that he was not the one to blame for this world renown tragedy. The poem Daddy by Sylvia Plath also displays conflicting perspectives of the†¦show more content†¦YOUR PARIS Quotes: The poem â€Å"Your Paris† indicates that from the beginning of their marriage, their perspectives on life were different, antagonistic. It also shows how Hughes was uncomprehending in the face of his wife’s personality and how he tried to come to terms with it. His version of the city was so different that â€Å"I kept my Paris from you†. It was the wartime city, occupied by the Germans, As Hughes registers their different responses to the city, and he finds a way of telling the truth about their different selves and the tension between them. The irony of this is that the situation is taking place on their honeymoon, although this is a biographical fact to which Hughes does not explicitly refer. That omission is suggestive of the problems of the relationship. Plath’s spoken responses to Paris, which enabled her to cope with the intensity of its impact upon her, produced a negative reaction in Hughes, â€Å"It was diesel aflame†, and â€Å"To the dog in me†. Conclusion: Your Paris is written from Hughes’s Perspective about Plath’s perspective, thus it is unclear whether Plath truly valued the significance of Paris. Hughes initial conflicting perspectives of Plath are represented in the poem. YOUR DADDY Quotes: In Plath’s poem ‘Daddy’, Hughes begins by pointing out that mere human beings were insufficient for Plath’s worship, she needed â€Å"a god†. The psychologicalShow MoreRelatedSha’Lynn Ayler . Mrs. Cowan. Honor English 12 4Th Block.1420 Words   |  6 PagesFebruary 2017 The Life of Ted Hughes In the â€Å"The Hawk in the Rain,† Ted Hughes writes, â€Å"I drown in the drumming ploughland, I drag up / Heel after heel from the swallowing of the earth’s mouth, / From clay that clutches my each step to the ankle / With the habit of the dogged grave, but the hawk/ Effortlessly at height hangs his still eye† (News about Ted Hughes†). This is Hughes’ first and most accomplished collection to this day. During the twentieth century Hughes produced some of his mostRead MorePeople s Love At First Sight By Sylvia Plath1567 Words   |  7 Pageslove at first sight. Sylvia Plath, an American writer, experienced the desirable moment the first time she saw Ted Hughes, an English poet (Middlebrook). The romantic relationship between Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath grew instantly. They both shared a love of writing, but yet their relationship began to go downhill five years after their marriage (Popova). The marriage between Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath was de structive because of Sylvia’s unstable mental health and Ted’s unfaithfulness, but it wasRead MoreA Brief Look at Ted Hughes646 Words   |  3 Pagesquote from Ted Hughes. Ted Hughes was a man of love. Hughes was known for many of his children books and famous poems. Hughes is also greatly known for holding the title of British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death. Love was an important aspect of Ted Hughes life and two poems: Love Song and September. Ted Hughes was born August 17, 1930 in Yorkshire, England. His parents were Edith Hughes and William Henry. His father was a carpenter. Hughes had two siblings Owlyn and Gerald Hughes. At the ageRead MoreFlowered Memories: an Analysis of Ted Hughes Daffodils1319 Words   |  6 Pages‘Imagine what you are writing about. See it and live it. Ââ€"Ted Hughes, Poetry in the Making Edward James Hughes was English Poet Laureate from 1984 to his death in 1998. Famous for his violent poems about the innocent savagery of animals, Ted Hughes was born on Mytholmroyd, in the West Riding district of Yorkshire, which became the psychological terrain of his later poetry (The Literary Encyclopedia). He was married to the famous Sylvia Plath from 1956 up to her controversial suicide in 1956Read MoreTo What Extent Does Hughes Poem Your Paris Present the Main Issues of the Collection Birthday Letters?983 Words   |  4 PagesTo what extent does Hughes’ poem, ‘Your Paris’ present the main issues of Birthday Letters? (Reference to two other poems) Ted Hughes’ poem ‘Your Paris’ was written about Ted Hughes’ and Sylvia Plath’s visit to Paris shortly after their marriage on 16 June 1956. The poem is part of the collection ‘Birthday Letters’ published in 1998, 35 years after the suicide of Sylvia Plath and so is written (as most of the collection) with the benefit of Hindsight and so Hughes is able to relate their trip toRead MoreEssay about The Successful Career of Ted Hughes661 Words   |  3 PagesTed Hughes is a very successful author. There are many things that would allow you to come to this conclusion. Throughout his life, many things happened which helped contribute to his workings. Throughout his career he showed imagery, characterization, mystery, and irony techniques in his books and poems. The life of Ted Hughes contributed to many of his works. He is often referred to as one of greatest English authors in the twentieth century. He was born on August 17th, 1930 in Yorkshire. HisRead MoreAnalysis of Hughess You Hated Spain1097 Words   |  5 PagesIn You Hated Spain, Hughes explores the character of a woman and her relationship with her husband. You Hated Spain is set during the honeymoon of Plath and Hughes and is part of Hughes’ collection of poems titled Birthday Letters. Plath’s suicide was the result of a forced breakdown of communication with Hughes. Hughes’ use of free verse and enjambement creates a natural progression of thoughts. The autobiographical, ‘letter-writing’ genre suggests that these poems are a form of therapy, used toRead MoreHsc English: Conflicting Perspectives - Ted Hughes Poems985 Words   |  4 Pagescan do this by analysing the viewpoints presented by Ted Hughes’ confessional poems, The Minotaur and Red from his anthology The Birthday Letters (published 1998) and the feature article, Face of a People Smuggler by Fenella Souter, featured in Good Weekend (April 21, 2012). Through our analysis, we are able to separate fact from fallacy. The ‘truths’ presented by Ted Hughes’ The Minotaur are questionable because of the context in which Hughes released this poem. The Minotaur was published in 1998Read MoreTed Hughes: The Shadow of Sylvia Plath Essay example2299 Words   |  10 Pagesrecipient of both the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and T.S. Eliot’s prize for poetry, Ted Hughes was an acclaimed poet. The shadow of Hughes late wife, Sylvia Plath, kept Hughes stagnant in his career, in which he was known as â€Å"Her Husband† (Middlebrook). Hughes most recent collection of poems, Birthday Letters, took him over twenty-five years to write, and contains poems which recount the marriage of the couple. Hughes wrote the poems as a loving gesture towards Sylvia, but the poems were misinterpretedRead MoreConflicting Perspectives - Hughes1429 Words   |  6 PagesTogether the works of Ted Hughes, Christine Jeffs and J.D Salinger combine to enhance an understanding of the concept of conflicting perspectives. The audience can see that there is a great deal of ubiquity in relation to Conflicting Perspectives. Ted Hughes’ poetry gives his account of a tumultuous part of his life whilst Christine Jeff’s film portrays a different point of view than that given by Hughes’. It is through looking at Salinger’s novel, that the role of the authorial voice in contrast

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Study On Suggestions By Banks To Rbi Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1312 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Banks are of the opinion that it would ease the processes if regulator comes up with industry wise correlation. RBI guidelines are broader in nature. They should be more indicative. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Study On Suggestions By Banks To Rbi Finance Essay" essay for you Create order The document requirement for complying by the guidelines of RBI and Basel are highly centered according to international banks. Some scenarios are not at all relevant to Indian markets. Hence there is a need to revise the framework of guidelines with an Indian perspective so that the fatigue of writing so many documents can be done away with. RBI has modified the CRAR from 8% to 9%. This makes capital a limiting factor. Hence it restricts the natural growth of the bank. Hence the regulator should reconsider this. The terms used in the guidelines issued are directly picked from the documents in Basel or those finding implementation in foreign countries. The terms should be explained more correctly to all the banks. Conclusion Worldwide, there is an increasing trend towards centralizing risk management with integrated treasury management to benefit from information synergies on aggregate exposure, as well as scale economies and easier reporting to top management. Keeping all this in view, the Reserve Bank has issued broad guidelines for risk management systems in banks. This has placed the primary responsibility of laying down risk parameters and establishing the risk management and control system on the Board of Directors of the bank. However, it is to be recognized that, in view of the diversity and varying size of balance sheet items as between banks, it might neither be possible nor necessary to adopt a uniform risks management system. The design of risk management framework should, therefore, be oriented towards the banks own requirement dictated by the size and complexity of business, risk philosophy, market perception and the existing level of capital. While doing so, banks may critically evaluate their existing risk management system in the light of the guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank and should identify the gaps in the existing risk management practices and the policies and strategies for complying with the guidelines. Credit risk management: Risk management has assumed increased importance of regulatory compliance point of view. Credit risk, being an important component of risk, has been adequately focused upon. Credit risk management can be viewed at two levels-at the level of an individual asset or exposure and at the portfolio level. Credit risk management tools, therefore, have to work at both individual and portfolio levels. Traditional tools of credit risk management include loan policies, standards for presentation of credit proposals, delegation of loan approving powers, multi-tier credit approving systems, prudential limits on credit exposures to companies and groups, stipulation of financial covenants, standards for collaterals, limits on asset concentr ations and independent loan review mechanisms. Monitoring of non-performing loans has, however, a focus on remedy rather than advance warning or prevention. Banks assign internal ratings to borrowers, which will determine the interest spread charged over PLR. These ratings are also used for monitoring of loans. A more scientific Quantitative approach is the need of the hour. Market risk management: Asset Liability Management as a risk management technique is gaining in popularity as banks are beginning to recognize the need for proper risk management. The challenge for the banks therefore is to put in place the necessary infrastructure that can help them derive the utmost benefit from ALM. The banks progress in Asset Liability Management will depend on the initiatives of their management rather than on RBI supervision. Given the existing hurdles, the evolution of ALM in commercial banks will be a slow process. ALM has evolved since the early 1980s. Techniques of ALM have also ev olved. The growth of OTC derivatives markets has facilitated a variety of hedging strategies. A significant development has been securitization, which allows firms to directly address asset-liability risk by removing assets or liabilities from their balance sheets. Thus, the scope of ALM activities has widened. Today, ALM departments are addressing (non-trading) foreign exchange risks as well as other risks. Corporations have adopted techniques of ALM to address interest-rate exposures, liquidity risk and foreign exchange risk. Thus it can be safely said that Asset Liability Management will continue to grow in future and an efficient ALM technique will go a long way in managing volume, mix, maturity, rate sensitivity, quality and liquidity of the assets and liabilities so as to earn a sufficient and acceptable return on the portfolio. Operational risk management: The best defense against operational risk is to have effective systems and controls. These need to be appropriate to t he risks and as easy as possible to understand, implement and monitor. There is a strong common interest here between the regulator and a banks senior management. An intensified interest by the latter in everyday operational losses is likely to reduce the possibility of large losses, improve general risk awareness in a company and the regulator will feel that the interests of the consumer are being better safeguarded. When considering operational risk, the regulator faces a similar dilemma to the bank: where are the main risks, how can they best be controlled, and what level of capital can reasonably be required? In future, it is likely these questions will become even more pertinent. This is not least because regulators, in line with some banks, are carving out capital to be held specifically against market, credit and operational risk. But it is also because regulators have come to think that operational risk may not be significantly correlated with either of the other two types o f risk categories. However, as was the case with the original regulatory capital ratio set by the Basle Committee, the only real touchstone for this is some sort of reference to current aggregate capital. Another option for the regulator would be to refer to benchmark loss experiences. The problem here is that the data are often not obtainable availability differs from country to country and business to business and may not be suitable for operational risk throughout the bank. The regulator could, alternatively, rely on internal economic capital allocation. Perhaps what is needed most is time. One thing is clear, and it is that there are more questions than answers around operational risk for both banks and regulators. Consequently, both parties will need, in the immediate future, to enter into an open and technical discussion of the way forward. Supervision process: Before 1950s regulation and supervision by RBI was not that stringent as the banking activity was limited to col lection of deposits and issue of loans. Moreover, there was no separate comprehensive enactment for the banking sector. With the introduction of the Banking Companies Act, 1949, (later Banking Regulations Act, 1949) the scope of RBI supervision broadened over the years, necessary changes in the supervisory system have been made to meet with the new challenges emerging in the financial sector. In the wake of rapid changes in the financial sector such as emergence of Universal Banking, introduction of Securitization, integration of various markets, etc. a lot of preparations for further strengthening the supervisory mechanism is required, not only on the part of RBI but by individual banks also. World over the way financial markets are integrating day by day, risk is continuously increasing. RBI, keeping in view international best practices has already taken certain initiatives in this regard and there is a proposal to introduce shortly, the system of Consolidated Supervision too, alo ng with Risk Based Supervision. The impact on banks key ratios due to banking supervision reveals good results and walking on the same continuum few issues can be stressed upon like technology upgradation, corporate governance, market intelligence etc. By critically examining all the aspects related to risk management, an AHP model was developed which gave the comprehensive risk rating of the bank. This rating would help in comparison with other banks in the industry and evaluate the areas of improvement if any.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Persuasive Essay Topics Writing - the Story

Persuasive Essay Topics Writing - the Story The Ultimate Persuasive Essay Topics Writing Trick At the exact same time, it's an amazing persuasive essay idea. You will find that several of the topics can be adapted to suit almost any sort of writing assignment. Your persuasive essay needs to have a very clear plan, which will provide you an opportunity to focus on the most important elements of the work and put aside all of the minor arguments. Just write down the critical points you wish to put in your essay and concentrate on developing them. Top Persuasive Essay Topics Writing Choices Qualities of an excellent persuasive essay topic The topic ought to be specific. Quite frequently, the very best topic is one which you truly care about, but you also will need to get ready to research it. Selecting an excellent topic for your essay is among the most significant and frequently tricky parts for many students. Possessing fantastic research abilities and selecting a superb topi c is vital. Every school has to have a sex education class. There are several persuasive essay topics to pick from to finish your high school or college assignment. Even a student can begin a business online. Students with good attendance has to be rewarded. First of all, you will need to comprehend the fundamental fundamentals of persuasive writing and know the five elements of persuasion. Any idea can prove to be a wonderful foundation for a topic. It is very important to pick a topic that you truly care about because you will likely enjoy writing and it's going to be less difficult for you to have a stand on such problem and defend your standpoint. Figure out which of the topics, you presently have a fairly good background on which will make it possible for you to have a relative edge. Persuasive essays are a fantastic means to encourage the reader to check at a particular topic in a different light. An argumentative essay requires you to choose a topic and have a po sition on it. It's important to understand that essay topics are just basic ideas that leave you pondering an idea that might be a huge deal to somebody else. Deciding upon a persuasive essay topic may take a great deal of time without ending up with the terrific solution. The Battle Over Persuasive Essay Topics Writing and How to Win It Before writing any form of academic paper, it is crucial to choose the subject, and the persuasive essay isn't the exception. Persuasive essay format differs in every specific instance, even though it has some common facets. Persuasive essays haven't any paragraph limits. A persuasive essay should adhere to a typical pattern if you would like it to be readable and clear. The Characteristics of Persuasive Essay Topics Writing In most high schools, your capability of writing this kind of essay is going to be evaluated in class. There are many persuasive essay examples college students are able to make use of online. Select the period of lif e that you believe is best and compose an essay arguing why it's the very best time of life. In fact, understanding how to compose a persuasive essay is a significant skill for students of various specialties. Before you commence working on the paper, you must go through several topics to compose a persuasive essay on. Most issues can have essays on all the aforementioned questions. You must settle on a persuasive essay topic that permits you to present the most effective possible case. The most effective persuasive speeches aren't written in a rush. When prior brainstorming is finished, you might begin drafting your essay. Be sure to define the objectives of your essay clearly because your essay is dependent upon your approach. Weave in your own perspective to make it unique. Every argumentative essay ought to have an opposing view which can help you to prove you're right. Always remember a great persuasive essay ought to be persuasive. Writing an outline is a must if you need your essay to have a crystal clear and understandable structure. Writing a persuasive essay demands a great deal more than the capability of convincing the readers. It is not an easy task to accomplish. Writing a superb persuasive essay is not a simple task, however, it's achievable.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Ethics in Intercultural and International Communication

Question: 1. What topic discussed in this subject you find most interesting? 2. Write a personal reflection (with two or three supporting reasons) why you found this topic of great interest 3. How do you think you could apply it in your present or future professional career? Answer: 1. Among all the topics given in this assignment, I have decided to choose intercultural communication as my selected topic. The overarching term intercultural communication refers to the interaction among the people of different cultures and backgrounds. With the upgrading progress of globalization, people of different attitudes and backgrounds are associated within a business organization (Casmir 2013). The business experts intend to focus on the skill and competency of an individual professional rather than their religious and cultural background. Therefore, after being amalgamated with the people of different attitudes and cultures employees can get the opportunity to become familiar with different languages. Based on the religion and cultures, the language as well as the approach of communication varies. Despite the presence of diverse cultures and religions, organizational professionals intend to make an effective communication with each other in order to exchange necessary inf ormation (Samovar et al. 2014). Intercultural communication can be conducted in two categories that include verbal communication and non-verbal communication. In most of the cases, it has been observed that people of different cultures are not flexible enough to make an effective communication at the workplace due to the linguistic barriers. In this kind of situation, the organizational managers intend to maintain non-verbal communication as well. Non-verbal communication indicates interaction between sender and receiver with the help of written communication, expression, indication and so many. Intercultural communication is highly important for evaluating the skills and mental ability of an individual. Intercultural communication helps professional to come in close contact with various kinds of people, their habits, languages and manners. Professionals get the scope to be accustomed with each others cultures and attitudes (Martin and Nakayama 2013). Therefore, the professionals get the opportunity to show their versatile attitudes. In addition, when a business organization is constituted with professionals of different backgrounds, their psychology differs while taking necessary decision at the workplace. Intercultural communication helps the business managers to take collective decision at the workplace. 2. I have chosen this topic amidst the all due to several reasons. I am personally associated with a business organization working as a supervisor in customer service department. I have personally observed that intercultural communication is endowed with some of the necessary advantages as well as disadvantages. I have come across the professionals of different cultures and backgrounds. Their way of expressions, their communication approach, their psychological approaches are different from me. On one hand, I have faced innumerable barriers in order to make an effective communication with those employees. The primary barriers that I faced while interacting with those people include linguistic barriers, psychological barriers, cultural barriers and so many. As a result, I was facing difficulties to provide effective service process to the customers, as I was unable to communicate properly with them. In this kind of situation, our human resource department decided to provide an effecti ve training to those professionals in order to enhance their communication skill. After receiving the training, I was able to maintain an effective communication with those professionals. I personally observed that their way of thought while making business strategic decision helped me immense to enhance my knowledge and competency. I have learnt to develop my personal manners and attitudes by observing their cultures. A large number of employees are immensely talented and skillful. Due to their language barriers, they did not get the scope to be associated with professional field. However, my organization after implementing diversity management at the workplace has opened the door for employees of different cultures and backgrounds. As a result, I have been familiar with a large number of talented and skilful employees from whom I have learnt to develop my personal and professional skill. Therefore, as per my personal experience I have observed that people of diverse cultures and attitudes can render variation within a business organization. Therefore, intercultural communication can help the organizational professionals for communicating with diverse people and atti tudes. 3. Intercultural communication can help me to develop my present and future career immensely. As per my knowledge and experience, I have evaluated that an individual has to be very much flexible for dealing with the people of diverse cultures and attitudes. I am having a limitation in language as well as psychology. In order to communicate with the different kinds of people I should know several languages with the help of which I would be able to maintain an effective communication with them. On one hand, I would get the scope to learn various languages for enhancing my knowledge and skills. On the other hand, I would be able to make a proper and strong communication with the employees to exchange necessary information. As a result, customers would get good service process from the employees that would ultimately enhance organizational image and reputation. My professional career is highly dependent on the revenue growth of my business organization. In addition, intercultural communication would help to enhance my decision-making skill as well. In my business organization, I have to perform within a team. The business leaders focus on group performance rather than individual performance. However, while involving with a particular team I have to share my point of views towards reaching the business goal. In this kind of situation, I as a team member have to give priority on others decision as well. At that particular time, I have observed that in several times my other co-workers while expressing their own point of view regarding the business goal has provided innovative plans and thoughts that are more applicable and suitable for this particular business strategy. In this kind of situation, I get the scope to make better decision. It reflects on developing my professional career as well. On the other hand, in many cases, I would receive immense co-operation in developing my technological skill from my co-workers belonging from d iverse cultures and attitudes. I should have the capability of making a strong communication with my coworkers because of which they can understand my problem. Therefore, intercultural communication is highly important for developing my personal and professional career as well. Reference List: Casmir, F.L., 2013.Ethics in intercultural and international communication. Routledge. Martin, J.N. and Nakayama, T.K., 2013.Experiencing intercultural communication. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Samovar, L.A., Porter, R.E., McDaniel, E.R. and Roy, C.S., 2014.Intercultural communication: A reader. Cengage Learning.

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Is Wrestling For Children Essays - WWE Hall Of Fame,

Is Wrestling For Children? Is Wrestling Suitable for Children? Children all over the world are watching wrestling now more than ever. Some say it is very entertaining while others say it is garbage. Nonetheless, tickets are selling in less than an hour. ?Besides matches, which are when two or more wrestlers compete in a ring, there are also interviews where the wrestlers state how they feel to the fans. In these interviews, some wrestlers curse and say disgusting phrases that parents feel their children should not hear?, said a high-school student-wrestling fan. This is one of the many reasons why parents ban their children from watching wrestling. Although some strict parents would never let their children watch wrestling, it is still suitable for children over a certain age of about twelve or thirteen. Today, many people over the age of ten watch wrestling. Kids love to talk about Federation television programs with their friends. Attending a live event allows a family, friends and even football fans to exercise their First Amendment rights. Fans express themselves with self-styled signs that they bring to Federation live events. They even take pictures of their favorite superstars and mock them as well said a student. ?It is not right for a child to know these words but they still do learn them in school and other social places?, said a parent. Parents should not immediately think that their child is doing these things all from wrestling or something else on television. Wrestling teaches children some interesting things that they should know. The parent could let them watch it not only for the entertainment side of it, but also for its learning experience. ?The announcers at the show call the match move-by-move and also use some interesting words that helped me on the SATs?, said a student. Parents must not ban their children from wrestling all because they feel the wrestlers have no intelligence. The only reason why they might have a real reason to ban their children from watching wrestling is the sex appeal involved, stated a parent. It is not fair that if an eleven-year-old boy, who probably does not like girls yet, watches wresting and sees what happens. Parents do not want to let their children watch a woman and a man celebrate after a victory by kissing. If parents do not want their children to watch the Monday Night Raw show and the Thursday night Smackdown show, then they should let them watch the two weekend shows. These shows (WWF Superstars and WWF Livewire) are summaries of what went on in the past week without showing any violence, stated another student. In conclusion, wrestling is suitable for children depending on the maturity of that child. It is up to the parent whether their child should watch wrestling although it is practically the same as watching a rated R movie or even HBO.

Sunday, March 8, 2020

To what extent does the Dogme 95 movement challenge the conventional aesthetics of film narrative Essay Example

To what extent does the Dogme 95 movement challenge the conventional aesthetics of film narrative Essay Example To what extent does the Dogme 95 movement challenge the conventional aesthetics of film narrative Paper To what extent does the Dogme 95 movement challenge the conventional aesthetics of film narrative Paper 2002:104). The Dogme declaration was conceived and signed by both von Trier and Vinterberg and contained ten strict vows of chastity that outlined the technical specifics which a director must adhere to for their film to qualify as a Dogme certified production. The technical specifics are as follows: 1 Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought. 2 The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. 3 The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. 4 The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. 5 Optical work and filters are forbidden. 6 The film must not contain superficial action. 7 Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. 8 Genre movies are not acceptable. 9 The film format must be Academy 35 mm. 10 The director must not be credited. (Adapted from Dogme95, 2007) On completion of a film, a request is submitted to certify the film as a Dogme production. In this, the claimant must agree that the films production adheres to the vows of chastity. There are currently around 190 Dogme films listed on the official Dogme95 website. The first Dogme film production was Festen (The Celebration), a Danish film directed by Thomas Vinterberg on a budget of approximately i 650,000 (Internet Movie Database (IMDb), 2007). Festens storyline is based around the 60th birthday celebration of a familys patriarch, Helge Klingenfeldt, in which following the disclosure of alleged child buse from Helges son, Christian, is witnessed by family members and guests and the celebration becomes a weekend of revelations and events that no guest will ever forget. The second film this essay will address is the fifth installment of Danish Dogme films, Italian For Beginners, written and directed by Lone Scherfig. Italian For Beginners, which remains the highest grossing Danish language film largely due to its success in the United States (Stevenson, 2002; IMDb, 2007), follows the inter-twining paths of six main characters. In the film, a young minister, a widower, is temporarily assigned to a church whose suspended pastor drove parishioners away; he stays at a hotel where he meets Ji rgen, whos and alone approaching middle age. Ji rgens friend Halfinn, a temperamental restaurant manager, is about to be fired. Halfinns assistant is Giulia, a lovely young Italian who prays for a husband. Olympia, a clumsy bakery clerk, has an ornery father and Karen, a hairdresser, has a mother who is very ill. The paths of these six characters cross at church, in the restaurant, at the hotel, and at a local school which they begin to attend Italian evening classes. It is the contention of both Festen and Italian For Beginners to adhere to the technical guidelines which the vows of chastity outline. To a large extent both films are successful in achieving a plausible attempt at this in alluding to the wishes of von Trier to create a film which does not have the stereotypical glossy feel of a Hollywood blockbuster and taking filmmaking back to basics. Addressing these technical specifics separately, both films, which do not credit their directors, follow the rule of shooting on location and using props which would normally be found in such a setting. Festen takes place inside a large country house and its grounds in rural Denmark. As such, the onscreen action is divided between scenes which occur in the bedrooms, bathrooms, the kitchen, a large dining room and the extended exterior grounds of the house. Italian For Beginners for the large part takes place in a small Danish town in suburban Copenhagen, with a smaller segment towards the end of the film shot on location in Venice. The film makes excellent functional use of the town it is filmed in by using the main characters places of work as filming locations alongside their homes and local amenities such as local cafes, the hospital where Karens mother is an inpatient and the school lecture theatre where the main characters congregate on a weekly basis for the Italian classes. This allows for a range of props to be used which would be naturally located in these settings and largely applies to Italian For Beginners as it employs the use of multiple different locations. As Festen is filmed in fewer locations the use of props occurs to a lesser extent, however, the minor touches to a film which are achieved through the use of props is countered by the use of other technical considerations such as lighting, choice of camera shots, music and also through the use of dialogue and the proxemics of the onscreen action. The sound that features in these two films is both natural and diagetic and the music which characterises specific scenes in each film is complimentary to the storyline or the onscreen action. Italian For Beginners features music during the various religious services at the church where Andreas is the Pastor, in the Venetian restaurant where the main characters enjoy a romantic Italian meal at the end of the film and during a somber moment at the hospital where Karen is visiting her mother from an adjacent music room. Festen contains fewer incidences of music. Despite the collective, drunken, singing outbursts of the party guests, the only scene which features explicit music comes after the dinner party when some sleepless, drunk family members, guests and servants gather around the piano to dance in the early hours of the morning. This is integral to the narrative as their drunkenness symbolically marks the deterioration of the Klingenfeldt family at this particular point in the film. The camera work throughout each film uses the Academy 35mm format, neglects the use of both optical work and filters and relies on natural lighting to accompany each shot. Both films are shot in colour and feature the use of hand-held camera work in alignment with the vows of chastity, characterised by the often shaky camera movements particularly when the camera tracks characters movements or switches between shots of characters in a single scene. Furthermore, the films take place without temporal and geographical alienation, however, during the closing scenes of Italian For Beginners the characters stray away from the small Danish town which their previous interactions have taken place in and relocate to Venice to conclude their story. Despite this geographical shift, the same temporal settings apply to the action and the change in location is very much integral to the storyline as is it provides the opportunity for the culmination of the main characters dreams and desires. Festen works in an opposite way to bring together family members and guests from different parts of Denmark and Europe to descend on one specific location in the Danish countryside. Though the action takes place within many different rooms and in the exterior grounds of the house in which the story is set, the action never moves from these grounds and the equilibrium of the story is destabilized and restored within less than a 24-hour time frame. Superficial action, in terms of murders and the use of weapons, is not a part of either film, though it could be contested that superficial action to some extent is portrayed as both films contain violent outbursts of fighting and aggression. During Festen, Michael, along with some other guests, are instructed by Helge to remove Christian from the house, a task which they respond to with force and results in a fight between Christian and Michael outside in the woods. Michael is also featured in other scenes displaying aggression towards his wife (Mette) and subsequent to Helges confirmation that he did abuse Christian and his sister as children; Michael drags Helge from his bedroom in the middle of the night and begins to assault him in the garden. Aggressive outbursts similarly occur in Italian For Beginners, however, to a lesser extent than in Festen. Halfinn is a hostile character by nature and although there are no overt physical assaults in Italian For Beginners, there are several aggressive outbursts by Halfinn with Olympia in the bakers shop when he is refused rum truffles, with the hotel manager when he is fired from his restaurant job and with two patrons of the restaurant who wont remove their feet from a table. Where the two films fall short of meeting all of the criteria for a Dogme film, is with the assignment of genre. The Dogme manifesto states that to qualify as a Dogme film that genre movies are not acceptable (Dogme95, 2007), but this presents itself as a problematic area. Italian For Beginners is chiefly characterised as a romantic comedy and Festen could be labelled as a family drama or a black comedy, thus breaking the fundamental Dogme rule of no assigned genre. This area becomes problematic because in all forms of art, particularly those including the spoken word and action, there are conventions that exist which characterise texts and films and it would be near impossible to create a film that could not be assigned a genre. Marshall and Werndly (2002:114) define genre as a type of text which includes particular and recognizable characteristics that exist within a text that relate it to other texts. Some forms of genre identified by Myers (1994:210) include; a murder mystery, a riddle, a sonnet, a collections letter, or a demonstration advertisement. Furthermore, it is a specific text type which is characterized primarily by the kind of relationship it sets up between its users and certain textual properties which is important to create a relational value between the audience and the text. Moreover, genre is a highly important factor with the marketing of a film. The balance of romance and comedy in Italian For Beginners is perhaps the main component of the film that contributed to its imminent success across the continents as it provides a relational value. Festen was also successful at several International film festivals, chiefly because it was the much anticipated first Dogme production, but it could be argued that part of its success is because it too has a relational value with the audience. Its popularity may have spread because of the elements of production that gave it a genre for filmgoers to relate to, be entertained by and to be interested in. As previously stated, it was the initial contention of the brotherhood to take filmmaking back to basics and remove the Hollywood gloss in a new wave of film production. Adams (2001:1) notes that: The film business, they (von Trier and Vinterberg) concluded, had become overly dependent on special effects, fancy camerawork, and other techniques of production. Rather than being built on the bedrock foundations of drama actors playing real human beings in a story movies were becoming more and more dependent on gratuitous action, special lighting, impressive sets, optical effects, audio engineering, and all the other gee-whiz paraphernalia of showbiz. The vital essence of film, dramatic narrative, was in danger of being submerged in glitz. And as if this werent enough, they also concluded that the cult of personality surrounding the film director was detrimental to making good films. Movies are not the work of a single visionary, they argued, and too many directors spend time making artistic statements to gratify their own egos when they should be concentrating on characters and story. Meddings and Thornbury (2000:1) further state that the Dogme brotherhood, most notably von Trier, rejected Hollywood razzmatazz, and saw itself as a rescue action, attempting to restore to cinema the inner story of its characters and to rehabilitate, for the makers of films, their original joy in film-making. This would be largely achieved through dialogue and an intense focus on the characters and an attempt to reclaim reality by a wholesale purge of their aesthetic means (Matthews, 1999). Naturally, for what is essentially lost by rejecting the special effects, fancy camerawork and removing the Hollywood gloss from production, somewhere along the line must be compensated for in order to keep Dogme films visually interesting, but yet still working within the boundaries of the vows of chastity. In both Festen and Italian For Beginners, this is achieved by two different interpretations of working within the vows of chastity, particularly the rules concerned with camera work, sound, locations and lighting. Beginning with Festen, once the siblings have arrived at the country house and are preparing for dinner there are increasingly rapid cuts between three different scenes which include separate storylines for Christian, Helene and Michael. Christian and Pia (a chambermaid, friend and past lover of Christians) remain in Christians room discussing the past as Pia prepares to take a bath. Michael and Mette are seen in their bedroom arguing about Mette not packing appropriate shoes for Michael to dress in for dinner, a conversation in which Michael reveals the underlying feelings of his fathers disapproval of him because he did not attend the funeral of his sister (Linda). The absence of correct coloured dinner shoes to match his black suit adds fuel to this argument which eventually results in Michael being physically aggressive towards Mette and the instigation of sex which the viewer deduces is not wholly consensual on Mettes part. Following this Michael is seen showering as Mette prepares herself for dinner. Meanwhile, Helene and Lars (the receptionist) enter Lindas former bedroom which has the furniture covered in white sheets and in which Helene is supposed to reside in over the course of the weekend. As Helene leads Lars into the bathroom, the two begin to play a game of getting warmer, marked by following small drawings on the white walls, which is a familiar game from Helenes childhood. The intense focus on the bath in the bathroom suggests to the viewer that this is where Linda committed suicide only months prior to this gathering. The game ends with Helene locating an apparent suicide note from Linda in a light fixture on the ceiling that she conceals in her handbag without reading and which is later read at dinner. The filming cuts between these three separate scenes in an intense building of suspense and the cuts gradually become faster, cutting at integral parts of the story. The climax of the scene occurs as Pia who has been pictured underwater in the bath (mimicking Lindas possible drowning) as Helene begins to read the suspected suicide note. Helene shouts boo to Lars, Pia rises out of the water gasping for air and Michael yells as he falls in the shower and pulls down shower rail. These three separate cuts occur simultaneously, consuming less than two seconds of screen time. Additionally, using hand-held cameras to track the characters movements and to switch to views of different guests in their rooms, outside and in the dining room provides an interesting detail of this film appearing similar to a home video of a familys celebration. Cameras are also placed in unnatural positions during some scenes; as Helene pushes Lindas apparent suicide note into a pill tube pulled from her purse after locating it, a camera is placed under the bottom of the pill tube to capture the note being pushed into the brown tube. Also, in the same sequence in Lindas bedroom, the camera captures the action of the getting warmer game from above, providing an almost birds eye view of events as the camera is attached to a boom mic. However, this is something which breaks one of the vows of chastity as the camera at the point is not technically being hand-held by the standards of the Dogme manifesto.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Ecology is Good Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ecology is Good Business - Essay Example With the obvious realism of coming global ecological crisis, there have been many efforts that have been made for moral revolution which would look into probability of incorporating ecological values in the world especially in the global business culture. This has been expressed through many efforts like the green thinking that seeks to transform the world to go green and reverse the trend of environmental pollution. The call for concept of sustainable development has informed us that this world does not belong to us but rather it belongs to the coming generation. Moral transformation that leads to sustainable development has been supported by many efforts. This paper will look closely at ecology as a good business practice that is vital to the concept of sustainable development. (Brown 1996, p. 1) The concept of good ecology as equal to good business can be argued on many front depending on the issue at hand. For some issues, good ecology can turn to be bad business but on many issues, good ecology is good business. Good ecology means development both technologically and socially that is conscious of the world we are living in and the issues that are currently locking the world especially the issue of environment. Every time we mention about ecology, we cannot avoid the issue of the environment simply because it is what composes the planet. Environment is anything that surrounds us from forests, people, infrastructure, soil, and other natural and manmade features. The issue of ecology in the modern days has taken the turn of environment laws fighting to reverse the trend of a polluted landscape which is taking toll on the communities inhabiting these landscapes. Good ecological practices have been seen as those practices which care about the environment where we are living in. Unfortunately, the issue of environment has been so much politicized which has made it difficult for the world to tackle

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Portfolio Risk Utilising a Value at Risk Methodology Dissertation

Portfolio Risk Utilising a Value at Risk Methodology - Dissertation Example my gratitude and thanks to my supervisor Tony Hall and course leader Jason Law whose insight and experience showed me the right path and guidance to complete this project. My acknowledgment would not be complete if I miss to thank other tutors and classmates who were the source of learning and enjoyment throughout my stay at the university. Table of Contents Table of Contents 6 CHAPTER 1 8 INTRODUCTION TO CHINA 'S STOCK MARKET 8 1.1 Introduction 8 CHAPTER II 12 1.2 Stock Market Development from 1922 12 1.3 Institutional Facts about the Chinese Stock Industry 12 1.3.1 Stock market structure 12 1.3.2 Share structure 13 1.3.3 Investors 14 1.3.4 Listing and de-listing 14 1.3.5 Trading mechanism 16 1.4 Value at Risk 17 1.4.1 Definition of Value at Risk 18 1.5 Existing Approaches in Value at Risk Estimation 21 1.5.1 Traditional Historical Simulation 21 1.5.2 Variance-Covariance Approach 23 1.5.3 GARCH Model Building Approach 25 1.5.4 Monte Carlo Simulation 25 Chapter 3 28 Value at Risk Methodology 28 Introduction 28 1.2 Portfolio VAR 31 1.3 Historical Simulation 33 1.4 Monte Carlo Simulation 34 1.5 VAR Strengths and Weaknesses 35 CHAPTER IV 37 DYNAMIC CORRELATOIN OF CHINESE STOCK 37 4.1 Introduction 37 4.2 Data and Descriptive Statistics 40 4.2.1 The Data 40 4.2.2 Summary statistics 41 4.3 The dynamic Correlation Coefficient Model 45 4.4 Empirical Estimations 48 CHAPTER V 51 CONCLUSION 51 Effects of policy change 51 Conclusion 53 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO CHINA 'S STOCK MARKET 1.1 Introduction With China's rapid transition to a modern economy, all of its business sectors and industries are undergoing dynamic changes. A substantial amount of working capital is required by business firms, and economic development in China demands rapid advancement of capital...With China’s rapid transition to a modern economy, all of its business sectors and industries are undergoing dynamic changes. A substantial amount of working capital is required by business firms, and economic development in China demands rapid advancement of capital markets. In retrospect, the first stock in China, Shen BaoAn, was issued in 1983. By then China had no securities exchange, and stock trading activities were operated virtually underground (Chen and Sun, 2003). It was three years later, on September 26, 1986, that the JinAn Business of CICB Shanghai Trust and Invest Company began to trade its stocks over the counter. Nevertheless, the local secondary market trading was still unofficial and unorgani zed (Gordon and Li, 1991). After several years’ effort and a learning period, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenshen Stock Exchange were formally established on December 19, and December 1, 1990, respectively. Since their establishment in the early 1990s, developing Chinese stock markets have received a great deal of attention from both domestic and international practitioners and researchers. The main reason for this is that, before 1982, the Chinese economy was a central planning system in which no private business was allowed, and there was no market-oriented banking system. The constitution Act in 1982 lifted the ban on private business activities (Shirai, 2002), allowing a large number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and banks to be privatized and incorporated.

Monday, January 27, 2020

History of terrorism

History of terrorism Terrorist acts or the threat of such action have been in existence for centuries. Historical examples of terrorist events can be traced, in writing, to biblical times; the Romans were known to have both practiced and been the recipients of terrorist activities. (Carr, 2003). The earliest known organizations that exhibited aspects of modern terrorism were the Zealots of Judea, and the Sicarri, theand Jewish groups active during the Roman occupation of the first century Middle East. The preferential weapon of the Sicarri (literally, Dagger Men) was the sica, a short dagger which they used it for murdering those those (mainly Jews) they believed to be traitorsy deemed apostate and, thus, selected for execution.The Zealots, who generally targeted Romans and Greeks, gave the modern term Zealot, one translation of which is a fanatical partisan.. (Merriam-Webster, 1984). Such killings usually took place in daylight and in front of witnesses, with the perpetrators using such acts to send a message to the Roman authorities and the Jews who collaborated with them. This tactic was adopted by subsequent generation of groups which are now known as terrorists. The Assassins, also deemed as a terrorist organization, were an eleventh century offshoot of a Shia Muslim sect known as the Ismailis.They also perhaps also recognized the significance of high publicity as do contemporary terrorists. Like the Zealots-Sicarri, the Assassins were also given to stabbing their victims (generally politicians or clerics who refused to adopt the purified version of Islam they were forcibly spreading) (Bugress, 2003; Rapaport, 1965). The term Assassin (from where the modern term assassination is derived) literally meant hashish eater- , -which is in reference to the ritualistic drug-taking, they were perhaps falsely rumored to indulge in prior to undertaking their murderous missions. (Bugress, 2003; Rapaport, 1965). Often, the Assassins deeds were carried out at religious sites on holy days a tactic intended to publicize their cause and incite others to it.Similar to the numerous religiously motivated terrorists nowadays, they also looked at their deaths on such actions as sacrificial. Even though both the Zealots and the Assassins operated in the past, they are relevant today: First as forerunners of modern terrorists in aspects of motivation, organization, targeting, and goals. Second ly, although both were eventual failures, the fact that they are remembered hundreds of years later, demonstrates the deep psychological impact they caused. Sacrifice was also a central element of the killings carried out by the Thugees (from which the word thug is derived). They were the followers of an Indian religious cult which ritually strangled their victims (usually travelers chosen at random) as an offering to the Hindu goddess of terror and destruction, Kali. In this case, the intent was to terrify the victim (a vital consideration in the Thugee ritual) rather than influencing any external audience. The Thugees were active from the seventh until the mid-nineteenth centuries. They were known to have committed as many as one million murders. Perhaps they were the last example of religiously-inspired terrorism until the phenomenon re-emerged a little over 20 years ago. According to David Rapport, Before the 19th century, religion provided the only acceptable justifications for terror. (Robespierre, 2009). Probably all holy texts (not just the Quran) have been conveniently interpreted to justify violence against others. Robiespierre described terror as the emanation of virtue. An additional tendency at the end of 19th century was the ever-increasing wave of nationalism throughout the world, which incorporated the nation (the identity of the citizens) and the political state. Simultaneously, the states began to stress upon the national identities of the citizens who were conquered or colonized, much like the Jews during the period of Zealots who either chose to integrate or fight back. Over the last several decades, the most well-known, Irish nationalistic struggle has still been unresolved. Nationalism, similar to Communism was the most ideological force of the 20th century. (Burgess, 2003). Nationalists and Anarchists The English word terrorism comes from the regime de la terreur that prevailed in France from 1793-94. In the beginning it was a device of the state, and was intended to strengthen the authority of the new-found radical government, shielding it from elements thought to be subversive. Always value-laden, terrorism was, initially, a positive term. The French revolutionary leader, Maximilien Robespierre, viewed it as vital if the new French Republic was to survive its infancy, and proclaimed in 1794 that: Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible; it is therefore an emanation of virtue; it is not so much a special principle as it is a consequence of the general principle of democracy applied to our countrys most urgent needs.(Hoffman, 1988). Under such rationalization, some 40,000 people were executed by guillotine, a fate Robespierre and his top lieutenants would themselves suffered. In the meantime terrorism started to take negative undertones which it carries today. (AltThough the terrorists themselves do not consider themselves to be unconstructive or harmful to society). Edmund Burk, who demonized the French revolutionary practitioners, made the term popular in English writings. As a result of the French Revolution,new distinct concepts of nationalism and citizenship were evolved, which also led to the development of a new form of primary secular terrorism. The Italian revolutionary Carlo Pisacanes theory of the propaganda of the deed, which recognized the utility of terrorism to deliver a message to an audience other than the target, and draw attention and support to a cause was a hallmark to this new form of terrorism. (Laqueur, 1999). Pisacanes thesis was first put into practice by the Narodnaya Volya (NV), which was not in itself new and would probably have been recognizable to the Zealots-Sicarri and the Assassins. In 1878, a Russian populist group, (which was described as to Peoples Will) was formed to be in opposition to the Tzars regime. The groups most famous decisive action was the assassination of Alexander II inon 1 March 1881, which also effectively sealed their fate by incurring bringing upon themselves, the full wrath of the Tsarist regime. Unlike most other terrorist groups, the Volya went to great lengths to avoid innocent deaths, carefully choosing their targets; usually state officials who symbolized the regime. Often compromising operations rather than causing what would today be termed collateral damage. It is also called bluecalled blue on blue by the military. Volya actions inspired radicals in different places. Anarchist terrorist groups were particularly enamored by the example set by the Russian populist Volya. Nationalist groupslike the ones in the Balkans and Ireland decided to resort to terrorism to meet their goals. As the 19th century gave way to the 20th century, terrorists attacks were carried out as far as India, Japan, and the Ottoman Empire. Two US presidents and a succession of other world leaders were victims of assassination by various radical elements often affiliated to groups but operating without their explicit knowledge or support. 9 (Stern, 2001). As in Europe , terrorism arrived on American shoresalso arrived in America before the twentieth century Not only were Anarchists active in America throughoutall through the 1880s, but during the American Civil War;, had seen acts deserving of the name, committed on both sidesAnarchists as were also instrumental in the formation of the Ku Klux Klan to fight the reconstruction effort which followed. (Hoffman, 1988). Terrorism and the State Sponsored Terrorism Long before the outbreak of World War I in Europe in 1914, what would later be termed as state-sponsored terrorism had already started to manifest itself in Europe. For instance, many officials in the Serbian government and military were involved in supporting, training and providing arms to the various Balkan groups which were active prior to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand inon 28 June 1914 in Sarajevo; an act carried out by an activist from one such group, the Young Bosnians credited with setting in progress the chain of events which led to the war itself. (Guelke, 1998). Similarly, the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (MRO) survived largely because it became for all intents and purposes a tool of the Bulgarian government, and was used mainly against Yugoslavia as well as against domestic enemies. ( Walter Laqueur )that it became for all intents and purposes a tool of the Bulgarian government, and was used mainly against Yugoslavia as well as against domesti c enemies. Such examples clearly illustrate that state-sponsored terrorism is not a new phenomenon. The events in 1930s led to a fresh wave of political assassinations which justified the word terrorism. This led to proposals at the League of Nations for conventions to prevent and punish terrorism as well as to the establishment of an international criminal court (neither of which came to being as they were overshadowed by the events which eventually led to World War II).12 (Volkan, 1997). Simultaneously, in between years of war, state terrorism increased; a reference to the oppressive measures imposed by various totalitarian regimes, particularly in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Stalinist Russia. While terror from above, from the states ruling elite, was the predominant form of terror from Roman times through the French Revolution up to the present, even in the twentieth century, terror from above, such as the Hitlers Holocaust, Stalins purges, Pol Pots Killing Fields, the Rwandan massacres, and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, has clearly claimed many more lives than the terror exerted from below. (Volkan, 1997). In the beginning of twentieth century, the term terrorism started to become synonymous with terror acts from below that attempt to disrupt, overthrow, or simply express rage against the existing political order. 14(Reich, 1990).Generally, academics agree that modern terrorism from below first surfaced as an identifiably notable entity with the emergence of the Narodnaya Volya (the Peoples Will) in Russia, at the close of the nineteenth century. This particular group harboured intellectual ideologies, and they believed that by creating an institution of the state, they could ferment a revolution to completely cleanse the existing system. They tried to accomplish this by terrorist acts such as assassinating numerous Tsarist officials, including, in 1881, the Tsar Alexander II himself. (Parry, 1976).Even though they possessed an enduring hatred for their victims, this group showed remorse and regret for their actions, inflicting self-torture and beatings as punishment for taking the liv es of their victims. In fact, they were so concerned, selective and meticulous about only killing their intended victim that if their target was accompanied by a family member, or if there was a danger that innocents might be killed, they would call off the attack and wait for a better situation to present itself. (Laqueur, 2001). But they continued their actions because they comprehended that, political terror is unavoidable, moral and effective and that organized terror movements are the preferred alternative to a blind, witless insurrection of dumb people. (Ivianski, 1987). More recently, other governments, such as those of military dictatorships which ruled some South American countries in recent years, or the regimes in Zimbabwe, have also been open to charges of using such methods as instruments of state. Some commentators, such as Bruce Hoffman, argue that, such usages are generally termed terror in order to distinguish that phenomenon from terrorism, which is understood to be violence committed by non-state entities. (Hoffman, 1988). However not everyone agrees that terrorism should be considered a non-governmental undertaking. For instance, Jessica Stern insists that states in deliberately bombarding civilians as a means of demoralizing enemy, states have indeed resorted to terrorism. According to Stern, such instances include not only the Allied strategic bombing campaigns of World War II, andbut the American dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended the Pacific phase of that conflict. (Stern, 2003). This issue remains controversial, with individuals such as the World War II British Air Chief Bomber Harris was simultaneously defended and despised for his belief in the utility and morality of strategic bombing. It bears similarity to the modern-day concept of collateral damage. Terrorism Sincesince World War II In By contrast, the predominanceprevalence of non-state groups active in the terrorism that emerged in the wake of World War II is less arguable. The immediate focus onfor such activitiesty primarily mainly shifted from Europe itself to various colonies in the continents.Across the Middle East Asia and Africa, emerging nationalist movements resisted European attempts to resume colonial business as usual after the defeat of the coalition Axis powers.As the colonialists had been recently expelled from or subjugated in their overseas empires by the Japanese, it provided psychological support to such indigenous uprisings by dispelling the myth of European invincibility. Often, these nationalist and anti-colonial groups conducted guerilla warfare, which differed from terrorism mainly in that it tended towards larger bodies of irregulars operating along more along towards military lines than their terrorist partners in the other regions.Similarly in China and Indochina, such forces conducted insurgencies against the Kuomintang regime and the French colonial government respectively. In other places, like the Algeria, campaigns were fought, in both rural and urban areas, using guerilla warfare, for independence from French rule Struggle for independence against British and French rule also took place in Kenya, Malaysia, Cyprus and Palestine. (Both the French and the British bore the brunt of this new wave of terrorism, a consequence of their large pre-war empires). These struggles were conducted by groups who can more readily be described now as terrorist. These groups quickly learned to exploit the mushrooming globalization of the worlds media. According to Hoffman: They were first to recognize the publicity value inherent in terrorism and to choreograph their violence for an audience far beyond the immediate geographical loci of their respective struggles. (Hoffman, 1988). Furthermore, in some cases (such as in Algeria, Cyprus, Kenya and Israel) terrorism perhaps helped such organizations in the successful realization of their goals. As such these nationalist and anti-colonial groups are notable for any wider understanding of terrorism. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, terrorist numbers swelledincreased to include not only nationalists, but also those motivated by ethnic and ideological considerations. Nationalists groupslike the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), and its several affiliates came into existence. Moreover, other groups mushroomed such as the Basque ETA and the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The IRA also comprised of organizations such as the Italian Red Brigade, and the Red Army faction in Germany (then West Germany). With As with the emergence of modern terrorism almost a century earlier, the United States couldwas not remain immune from this latest wave of terrorism, although there the identity-crisis-driven motivations of the white middle-class Weathermen starkly contrasted with the ghetto-bred malcontent of the Black Panther Movement. (Lacqueur, 2001). Many of the terrorist groups of this period readily adopted methods that would allow them to publicize their goals and accomplishments internationally.The Palestinians were among one of the well-known groups who pioneered the hijacking of a jet airliner as a mode of operation and publicity. One such group, Black September, staged what was (until the terrorist attack of 9/11, 2001) perhaps the greatest terrorist publicity coup then seen, with the seizure and murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games.Such incidents resulted in the Palestinian groups providing the inspiration, in some cases, mentorship and training, for many of the new generation of terrorists organizations. Most of these organizations today have reduced their operations or ceased to exist altogether, whileothers, such as the Palestinian, Northern Irish and Spanish Basque groups, motivated by more enduring causes, remain active today, although some of them now have made moves towards political rather than terrorist methods.Meanwhile, by the mid-1980s, state-sponsored terrorism re-emerged, the catalyst for the series of attacks against American and other Western targets in the Middle East. Countries such as Iran, Iraq, Libya and Syria came to the forefront came to be supposedly believed to be the main sponsors of terrorism as a popular belief. Falling into a related category were those countries, such as North Korea, who directly participated in covert acts of what could be described as terrorism.[xviii] (Guelke, 1998). In the recent years the re-emergence of the religiously inspired terrorist attacks are common. But the state-sponsored terrorism remains a concern of the international community today (especially its Western constituents), although it has been somewhat overshadowed. The latest manifestation of this trend began in 1979, when the revolution that transformed Iran into an Islamic republic; the West blamed Iran to use and support terrorism as a means of propagating its ideals beyond its own borders. (Hoffman, 1988). Very soon the trend had spread to places as far as Japan and the United States, and to other major world religions as well as many minor cults. Sarin gas used in Tokyo subway attack in 1995 may not have been the first breach of the psychological barrier in the use of toxic/chemical agents becausesmallpox-infected clothing was used by the Pilgrim Fathers against the indigenous tribes of North America. Also, plague-infected bodies were launched into besieged cities and used to pollute water supplies in the fourteenth century. The same year Oklahoma bombing took place in USA. At this stage, the complex mix of motivations included religion. But it was the 9/11 al Qaeda attack which made the world realize, particularly the United States, just how risky this latest transformation had become. Contemporary Terrorism At present, terrorism influences events on the international level to a degree which was not previously achieved. This was primarily the outcome of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 on the World Trade Center, which destroyed the symbolic Twin Towers; and threatened the Pentagon. It thus dented the stronghold of America. Most Americans came to believe that an unmatched era of terrorism had erupted and the world had changed forever. Some observers of the event even believed that the daring, yet tragic, events of this particular day should be considered as an epochal moment in the history of the world. (24) (Carr, 2002). Soon after 9/11, US President George Bush declared the start of a Global War on Terrorists: an open-ended war with an undefined terminal objective. In a speech to the Congress, he committed all resources at his disposal, every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, and every necessary weapon of war (Bertrand, S, 2003) to defeating Am ericas newest adversary in that nations first war of the twenty-first century. (26)(Mandelbaum, 2001).However, for most people in the world, terrorism was not new and these events, while spectacular and disturbing, did not constitute the dawn of a new era in terrorist activities. On the contrary, the attack became a continuous and developing reality for the world, which was present in different forms for centuries. Hence, for most of the world, terrorism was familiar and acceptable as an additional form of traditional warfare. (Henrichon, 2003). Still, for most North Americans and many other Western observers, the radical novelty of the 9/11 terrorist attacks represented a new form of terrorism for the 21st century. (Deschenes, 2003). Since then, in the United States at least, terrorism has largely been equated to the threat posed by al Qaeda, a threat inflamed not only by the spectacular and deadly nature of the 9/11 attacks themselves, but by the fear that future strikes might be even more deadly and perhaps employ weapons of mass destruction. The worldwide threat of terrorism by al Qaeda and its franchises, to a large extent remained egocentric, and were seen as the rhetoric of the US administration concerning a so-called Global War against Terrorism. This was far from unique, considering the implications that al Qaeda in fact intended to start a global revolution. For instance the general public of countries such as Colombia or Northern Ireland that had long faced terrorism was more preoccupied with when and where the next FARC REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF COLOMBIA ( FARC or FARC-EP, is a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia. They have fought in the ongoing Colombian Civil War for more than 40 years)or Real Irish Republican Army attacks would occur rather than where the next al Qaeda hit will descend. Thus, the above reflections indicate, terrorism goes beyond al Qaeda, which it not only predates but will also outlive. Hence if terrorism is to be tackled efficiently, any consideration of handling it must be seen beyond the threat which is presently posed by this particular organization. Consequently, without a broad-based approach, this threat of terrorism will not only be difficult to resolve, but may become uncontrollable. The Evolution of Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century Terrorism is continuously changing. While at the surface it remains the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fearit is fast becoming a major strategic tool of the opposing forces. In the twenty-first century, it has become the most predominant irregular warfare strategy. It is easily adaptable to changes in facilities available to the terrorists, in order to operate, acquire finances, and evolve new capabilities; thereby developing a different relationship with the world at large. Two major events in the first half of the twentieth century predisposed the nature of present-day conflicts. The effects of two World Wars inflamed passions and hopes of nationalists throughout the world, and severely damaged the legitimacy of the international order and governments. During the earlier decades of the twentieth century nationalism and radical political ideologies were the major developmental forces acting upon terrorism. After World War I the Treaty of Versailles redrew the map of Europe by breaking up the Austro-Hungarian Empire and thus created new nations. It recognized the rule of self-determination for nationalities and ethnic groups. The minorities and ethnicities not receiving recognition to campaign for independence or autonomy were thus encouraged. Nevertheless, in most cases self-determination was limited to European nations and ethnic groups and deprived the others, especially the colonial assets of the major European powers, creating bitterness and setting the stage for the long conflicts of the anti-colonial period. The Arab nationalists particularly felt that they were betrayed. Believing they were promised post-war independence, they were doubly disappointed: first when the French and British were given authority over their lands; and then especially when the British allowed Zionist immigration into Palestine in keeping with a promise contained in the Balfour Declaration. In the last two decades, terrorists have committed tremendously violent acts for so-called political or religious reasons. Their political ideologies range from the extreme left to the extreme right. For example, the far left can consist of groups such as Marxists and Leninists who propose a revolution of workers led by revolutionary elite. On the distant right, one finds dictatorships which typically believe in an amalgamation of state and business leadership. Consequently, all Arabs have been united in their opposition to the State of Israel and to the Western Powers, particularly the United States. The Western world feel f eels equally a sense of guilt and remorse for the treatment of the Jews during the Second World War. (Berman, 2003). Consequently, the Western powers, under the patronage of the United Nations, have championed the Israeli right to a homeland at the expense of the Palestinians. (Hoffman, 1988). On the other hand, equally important has been the growth of Wahhabism in the Arab World. The indignation of the Wahhabis was initially directed, not against Western and colonial sources, but against those practitioners of Islam whom they believed were degrading and betraying the religion from within. The Wahhabi sect became true Islamic zealots who sought to eliminate anything or anyone who failed to meet the strict standards of their belief of purity and Islamic authenticity. (Hoffman, 1988). Even though initially a creation of eighteenth century Arabian Islam, Wahhabism has flourished because of its association with the ruling parties in most Arab countries. These particular regimes were ins talled by the Western powers when the various countries were created, because these particular Arab leaders had either granted the European powers with legitimacy during their colonial rule of the region; or had supported the Allied armies during the two World Wars. Under the old Arab system, social injustice and power were limited. However, with the new structure of states, the oil wealth, and the prevalence of modern communications, the inequality gap has been widened and the discrepancies have become much more obvious.Hence, lacking any other outlet, new and growing discontents find expression in religious extremist movements (Hoffman, 1988), like the so called Islamic Fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood and terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. In contrast, for the Palestinian movements, which had concentrated and limited their efforts in the Middle East against Israel and for the repossession and recreation of an independent Palestinian state, these new organizations have a worldwide r each. Their supporters believe that the remedy for all of the ills of modernization is to return to true Islam. This thought process, included the abolition of all laws and social borrowings from the West and the restoration of the Islamic Holy Law, the Sharia (Berman, 2003). Their aim was not only to remove the Western intruders from their homelands; they also wanted to transport their message through violent means into the heart of the Western nations, especially the hegemonic United States, their most dangerous enemies, as they see it, are the false and renegade Muslims who rule the countries of the Islamic world and who have imported and imposed infidel ways on Muslim peoples. (Lewis, 2003). In addition to the traditional terrorist groups, the nationalists, and the religious, the 1980s and 1990s also saw a growth of terrorist groups with a variety of motivations, such as narco-terrorists, eco-terrorists, anti-abortionists, and animal liberationists. Some terrorists were simply m otivated by common criminal activities. (Laqueur, 1999). Religious inspired terrorism has a universal theoretical basis. The patterns of religious violence of the Sikhs could be exactly that of Irish Catholics; or Shiite Muslims in Palestine; or a fundamentalist Christian bomber of abortion clinics in the United States. (Juergensmeyer, 2001). Special interest groups include people on the radical fringe of many legitimate causes; e.g., people who use terrorism to uphold antiabortion views, animal rights, and radical environmentalism. These groups consider that violence is morally justified to achieve their objectives. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of Cold War in the early 1990s, the features of international terrorism took on a new face. The changing geopolitical situation, following the end of the East-West conflicts, a third radical concept has evolved in the form of twentieth century terrorism. There was no Soviet Union, no Warsaw Pact, no Cold War, and no consensus on what came next. (Lacqueur, 1999). However, it was now clear that the Soviets were no longer available to provide financial support or ammunitions to terrorist organizations or to their sponsoring states. (Bell, 1999).However, instead of retreating into their own nationalistic or religious cocoons, some of these terrorist groups adapted and evolved into truly global transnational organizations. As a result, counter terrorist organizations are not confronting a specific state, nor are they confined to their old norms of understanding and operations. In addition, todays terrorist groups are very well-financed. (Kushner, 1998). Such transnational groups no longer rely on handouts from sponsoring states, but, instead, have developed exceptional methods of gaining and handling their financial resources. Today robbery and ransom are replaced by high-tech criminal businesses, such as growing drugs; fine processing and distribution operations; and, finally, money laundering through legitimate businesses. (Combs, 2003). The modern terrorist is also very well-trained and well-educated. They have not only learnt from their past experiences, but also from military and criminal training methods, and integrated them into their own training programs. The former independence and isolation of many terrorist groups has given way to complex, multilayered, transnational organizational structur es, resembling the corporate hierarchy of a multinational corporation. Lastly and most significantly, todays terrorist groups are said to have access to the knowledge of highly sensitive destructive weapons; and have the ability to use Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weaponry, although use of this type of armaments is still abhorrent to many terrorists. (Schweitzer, 1998). The use of terror has, throughout history, been known as an effective technique to achieve political, criminal, religious and ideological aims. The underlying objective to use the terror was aptly captured by the fourth century BC Chinese strategist, Sun Tzu, kill one, frighten ten thousand. The Anatomy of Terror (Sinclair, 2003) indicates that history is replete with examples of the use of terror in the pursuit of religious aims (e.g. the massacres by the Crusaders); material aims (e.g. the Stranglers of Southern India who terrorized road travellers, and the Mafia); quasi-moral, and ideological aims (e.g. General Bedfords supremacist Ku Klux Klan and the Shining Path); state and political aims (e.g. the Tzarist Okrhana and the Nazi Geheime Staatspolizei); and in the current context, religio-political aims (e.g. Al Qaeda and Hamas). Terror is easier to define than terrorism. Over 100 definitions of terrorism have been evolved. Sinclair gave interesting examples of the early use of biological and chemical agents as means of inducing fear and terror. These include the use of poison gas by the Spartans during the siege of Plataea in 428 BC; the use of smallpox infected materials by the Pilgrim Fathers from England to conquer the indigenous population