HR challenges in managing a network of high-class cafes in the United Dissertation

HR challenges in managing a network of high-class cafes in the United Kingdom - Dissertation Example It is evident from the study that unlike any other business type, in its essence hospitality business is largely dominated by human resources (HR) over any other aspect of the business. In other words, people, working in a hospitality organisation, create success of their organisation by their actions and decision. Provision of quality service is the main goal of any hospitality organisation, as service is the main product that organisations sell. At the same time, hospitality concerns service that is not mechanical, but rather human-made, hence HR Management is a definitive factor in delivering quality. In general, hospitality service is created, maintained and supplied by humans at all stages of operation, and the right HR policy is a definitive factor in this industry. All stages are equally important and provide equal contribution towards delivering quality service and hence profit. However, the degree of importance of HR is significantly higher outside the profit objectives â₠¬â€œ a right HR policy makes a business favourable to work in if we look at this from employee perspective; and also to be a customer if we consider this from consumer’s perspective. This is why HR aspect in hospitality appears as one of the most significant investments that often get overlooked or underestimated. Another significant issue in this dissertation will concern quality control. It is unclear at first glance what defines quality and the dissertation will thus analyse the crucial factors defining quality specifically for our type of business. Providing for the right interpretation and understanding of quality will be an essential component for an appropriate assessment of an HR policy. One of the most significant challenges this dissertation is going to analyse is the motivation of employees within cafe business. It is apparent that majority of hospitality industry employees consider their workplace as a temporary solution to earn money or receive some experience in non-home country. Clearly a fraction of people working in this sector are looking to develop themselves as professionals and consider working in a cafe as a worthy professional career. Motivation is the most significant challenge for most employers in this sector, and it happens that high percentages of people are getting withdrawn for being below the required work standard. High staff turnover in cafe industry is also the major concern for most business owners and there are a number of reasons for this. According to Mehta (2005), â€Å"once employed, a fifty percent chance exists that any given employee will leave their job within a year†. The first reason was mentioned above as the minimised potential dedication to work from employees. Secondly, according to Directgov website, over 70% of current workforce in the restaurant and hospitality sector is foreign citizens attracted by a high living wage of ?7.85 per hour in London. Their term of stay at one workplace is often li mited by their visa term, or other immigration obstacles, as well as the desire to experience different jobs during

Moral absolutism Essay Example for Free

Moral absolutism Essay When we speak of â€Å"Morality† we think of the difference between right and wrong, the difference between the good and the evil. We use morality to justify our actions and decisions. More often than not, people impose their morality on others and expect them to act in the way they find fit. They believe that the idea of right and wrong is universal. In her essay â€Å"On Morality†, Didion contradicts this theory and believes that everyone can have different ideas of morality based on their own perception. To make her point, Didion uses the examples of Klaus Fuchs and Alfred Rosenberg. Fuchs was a British traitor who leaked nuclear secrets to the Soviets, and Rosenberg was the Nazi administrator of Eastern Europe, where the Germans committed their most heinous and most murderous acts during World War II. Both of them claimed that what they did were morally appropriate. She then goes on to say that Jesus justifies what he did based on morality. The juxtaposition of these ideas affirms Didion’s theory that the conviction of morality is vastly based on perspective. This juxtaposition also helps prove that people use morality to justify almost anything. Osama Bin Laden believed that it was morally right to take the lives of millions of innocent civilians in the name of religion. President Snow, along with the Capitol, in The Hunger Games saw it fit to throw 24 teenagers in a battlefield and let them fight until only one remains. Morality does not seem like a tool to distinguish right from wrong, but a method to have a clean conscious, irrespective of whether one’s acts are good or bad. Didion also says, â€Å"For better or for worse, we are what we learned as children. † (158) This shows that the ideas we have of good and bad and the so-called â€Å"morality† is part of what we’ve learnt growing up. A lot of people might find it pointless to stay with a corpse on a highway. But to Didion, it is the moral thing to do. We do not leave behind our dead. Friedrich Nietzsche said, â€Å"Fear is the mother of morality. † Didion maintains that morality might differ from person to person. In my opinion, a lot of factors influence the decisions we make and then blame them on morality. â€Å"The right thing† is too abstract to be universal. Didion debates about the cannibalism acts and talks about the vestigial taboo that no one should eat their own blood kin. This might seem appalling to some while being a being of another’s culture. Didion says that morality has â€Å"the most potentially mendacious meaning. † (159) And I couldn’t agree more. There is a very thin line between right and wrong, and morality is what shows one where to draw it. But the basis of that line is so ambiguous, that people end up using morality to cover up their actions. The idea Didion presents is that humans are not equipped to distinguish between the good and the bad. We think that all actions are sound as long as they don’t hurt another person. But then we see people like Adolf Hitler. The man murdered millions of people. Yet, he had a bunch of supporters who helped him with these inhumane acts. But he did what he did in the name of morality, in the name of ‘respect for the greater race. ’ The central idea of this essay is that morality depends largely on perception. What one finds wrong may not necessarily be seen as inappropriate by another. â€Å"I followed my own conscience. † â€Å"I did what I thought was right. † Didion questions the reader how many madmen have said this and meant it? Didion doesn’t believe that these men shelter themselves under the illusion of morality but actually believe their actions are moral and justified. Maybe we ourselves have said it before and been wrong. Our conscience isn’t always the best judge of things. But the concept of morality makes it okay to just be impulsive and do what we think is correct in the moment. The relevance of our logic lacks frequency. One might not kill people on a daily basis but one might find it moral to do it someday and go ahead with it. Does this make them immoral? Is the act of killing immoral? What if the victim is a killer? The answers to questions relating to morality are not black or white. There could be various different instances where individuals might have different stands on issues. All of which they might believe to be morally correct. So the question is, who decides what is moral and what is not? What gives them the power to do so? Should the morality of one person be forced on another? Clearly, universal standards of right and wrong do not exist. The evidence Didion provided as well as instances we see around the world proves that fact. A lot of people do not agree with Didion’s idea of differing morality. The people who adhere themselves to a supposedly universal moral code can delude themselves into thinking people who do not follow that code are less humane. People need to stop fretting over moral absolutes and let morality run their life and effect every decision they make in order to ensure the future is safe from oppression and terrorism.

Your Body Is Never Yours Essay example -- Literary Analysis, Disgrace

In Disgrace, sex is repeatedly used a source of power. Lurie takes advantage of his young student and also pays prostitutes for sex. The most violent act of power and hatred towards sex and women is Lucy ´s rape, performed by two black men. However, I claim sex is in fact not used for power, but that the author believes that we never own our own bodies. Therefore, considering they are not ours, they cannot be violated. Furthermore, he shows us that the worth of our bodies is simply limited to the expectations of people around us. I state that in Disgrace, your body does not belong to you. It is merely a product of expectations and responsibilities. In the opening of the book, Lurie pays for the service of prostitutes to find relief. In his younger days, he could use his charm and good looks to seduce women now â€Å"if he wanted a woman he had to learn to pursue her, in one way or another to buy her† (7). He speaks of wanting something, suggesting that a woman is a thing that can be had, or in this case purchased. While reflecting of the prize he pays for his favorite-prostitute ´s body he realizes that â€Å"in a sense they own Soraya too, this part of her, this function† (2). They, being the escort company that she belongs too. Here it is implied that Soraya is just a product that can be sold and purchased, or even rented out by its owner. When, one day Lurie sees Soraya shopping with her sons, their relationship change. She becomes a person, a living being and their relation ends on her initiative. This shows of her desire to restrain herself to an object in the eyes of her customer. Subsequently, as David no longer can take pleasure from Soraya, he benefits from his position as a respected teacher to take advantage of the much younge... ...eople ´s eyes. Our bodies are not ours, as Lucy affirmed after she has decided to get married to Petrus. â€Å"With nothing. Not with nothing but. With nothing. No cards, no weapon, no property, no rights, no dignity† (205). This is how she sees herself, and perhaps how every person in the novel sees themselves. Everyone realizes that their value is bound to something other than them, David to his status as a professor, Melanie to her youth and beauty, Pertrus to his property and ownership, Lucy to being independent and Bev, who sadly knows that as a dumpy older woman she has no value at all. A sad idea, but nonetheless true in Disgrace. That we are not people but mere products, to be valued, evaluated and graded. The use of power to obtain sex or of sex to obtain power then becomes secondary. As readers we are left with the query of whom or what is deciding our value.

The Preprogrammin of a Child Essay -- essays research papers

A child is a blank book and a parent is the pen. A parent or elder makes a remark or takes action, and a child often will respond by mimicking what has been said or done. The essence of a child is one of innocence as well as gullibility. Adults serve as an abundance of knowledge, rules, and regulations, which a child is supposed to live and abide by. Not all children will obey the regulations expected of them, yet certain rules are more critical than others. When disciplining children, parents and adults take rules pertaining to gender specifications much more seriously than most other topics of obedience, without acknowledging they are practicing such behaviors. Gender distinctions are apparent within the way children are spoken to, how they are treated in certain situations, and the toys they play and interact with. Ultimately in a media driven society, such as America, it would be nearly impossible to raise a child free from gender stereotyping. Over the course of more recent yea rs the distinct gender defined world of toys has been lessened, yet most of these stereotypes still seem to appear to be engrained into a child’s brain almost from birth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As early as the birth of a child there are specified gender separations. Once born, a child is distinguished by either the color blue or pink. You can see a pink stork on the corner for a new baby girl or a blue stork for a new baby boy. Of course these colors are not comprehensible to the child, yet children throughout the rest of the neighborhood view these signs. A parent may make a comment pertaining to the neighbors having a new baby boy simply because of a blue sign. This could be one of the initial unconscious comments a parent or adult may make, which instills such beliefs that color defines gender. Throughout adolescence it is a rarity to see a young boy wearing a pink shirt, because there is a stigma associated with a young boy wearing the color pink. We take such an ineffectual concept, a color, and place behind it prejudice. Later on in life wearing the color pink can conjure up assumptions of homosexuality. These judgments have no validation to them, except the stigma American’s associated with this color throughout childhood experiences and understandings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another example of the emphasis of color on gender can be directed at the legos toy.... ...bsp;Children are blank books who need direction; it is obvious that parents are not the only ones holding the pen to dictate their knowledge. Other adults, peers, and society take their turn in marking their territory. In order to raise a child free from gender stereotypes, that child must be home schooled, not allowed to entertain themselves with most reading material available, and could not be permitted to socialize with anyone outside their â€Å"regulator.† The way in which society has been constructed restricts the level of censorship available outside the home. In other words this society has such an immense amount of gender stereotypes within every aspect of the outside world that it would be just about impossible to out run their impact. Ideally each person should be able to get past what society dictates, yet it is much easier to fall into the trap of acceptance. It is very difficult to parade a boy of two years old, in a pink outfit without feeling the stare of disapproval from outsiders. People must use the term acceptance rather than exclusion, because the worst oppression is that which is placed on a child who does not have the capability to understand his or her choices.

Baker V Osborne

Running Head: Baker v Osborne Development Corp. Case Study Unit 2 Baker v Osborne Development Corp. Bonnie Leipold LS311-37COBL Business Law Kaplan University March 12, 2013 In the case Baker v Osborne Development Corp. , Baker would be able to sue the builder since the court ruled the contract ambiguous. This was because at one point the contract read, â€Å"shall be decided by the arbitrator† and another point in the same section the contract read, to be determined by the arbitrator or by any court. The arbitration agreement was procedurally and substantively unconscionable, since the arbitration agreement was not included in any contract between the buyer and the builder. The arbitration agreement was contained in a separate document that the buyers were not asked to sign at the time of the property was purchased. The court found substantive unconscionably because it would be very unlikely for the builder to sue the buyer. Arbitration has become more known for court cases t oday.Arbitration not only avoids cost and delays for litigation but it puts the dispute in front of the arbitrator who has the expertise to understand the case. States such as New York, New Jersey have consistently enforced arbitration of disputes governed by the FAA. (Berardo & Clemens, 2012) The NCR Corporation v Korala Associates LTD case said in enforcing a valid arbitration clause the courts must look at the entire contract to determine what goes to arbitration or goes to court.This case had many possible arbitration situations; two of them involved Korala obtaining software owned by NCR, APTRA XFS and S4i. Since only the APTRA XFS was included in the contract, only the situation involving the APTRA XFS software was sent to arbitration by the courts. The issue with S4i software would have to be taken to court. This is also the case with Baker v Osborne Development Corp. , The original contract did not include the arbitration clause in question and the buyers were allowed to sue the development company. ReferencesBaker v Osborne Development Corp. , 159 Cal. App. 4th 884,71CalRptr. 3d854 (2008) Miller, R. , & Jentez, G. (2010). The legal and constitutional envionment of business. In R. Dewey (Ed. ), Fundamentals of business law : Summarized cases (8th ed. , pp. 90-91). Mason, OH: South-West Centgage Learning. Berardo, J. , & Clemens, J. (2012). Retrieved March 13, 2013 from http://claimes-management. theclm. org/home/article/ Arbitration-clauses-in-Construction-Contracts Retrieved, March 13, 2013 from http://www. ca6. uscourts. gov/opinions. pdf/08a0029p-06. pdf.

LsW

LsW LsW Lake Side Wrestling Written By: Kevin McCauley "The Wood, the glass, the fire, and the barrels never stopped anyone of the Lake Side Wrestlers from doing what they did" PART I Chapter 1 "The Beginning" Around December 27th, 1998, five local kids from the neighborhood of Lake Side Billerica, MA thought that wrestling should be their sport to perfect in. Four out of the dive kids one day were shoveling snow after a big blizzard in the Massachusetts region. Me and Ryan McCauley, triplet brothers, started doing wrestling moves in the piles of snow. Our friends Dewey Dulong and Jay Cantwell started doing moves also. We started to have so much fun because they were big fans of wrestling at the time. The moves that we first ever pulled off was the "spear," the "powerbomb," and the "vertical suplex." After a while days We would go outside in the snow and practice more and more moves.English: Cropped version of File:Cybersunday-maine...

Dye Laser Essay Example

Dye Laser Essay Example Dye Laser Essay Dye Laser Essay Name: Course: Lecturer: Date: Dye Laser Introduction A Dye laser can be described as a laser that uses an organic dye as the lasing medium. There are four main categories of lasers, which are solid, liquid, gases, and semi-conductor lasers (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). However, the dye lasers belong to the category of liquid lasers that use the organic dye as a lasing medium. They are mainly used for medical applications in hospitals. The dye lasers are also applicable in the communication technology and many spectroscopic applications (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). They are used for the purposes of treating patients with various ailments and diagnostics. They are regarded as the most versatile and successful lasers in the world today in the field of biology, chemistry and physics (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). The operations, design considerations and the practical use of the dye laser are easy to identify and explain. Operation The solutions used in the laser dyes contain organic molecules that produce fluorescent beams. When the incoming source of light is exposed to the organic molecules, the dye becomes ready to emit stimulated radiation (Rosin, 2002). At this point, the dye emits light inform of fluorescent light and within a microsecond, the organic molecules will change to their triple state. In this case, they become phosphorescence and the molecules absorb the lasing wavelength, making the dye opaque. Flash pumps laser need short durations to deliver the large amounts of energy necessary to transport the dye past the threshold before triplet absorption overcomes singlet emission (Rosin, 2002). In this case, the dye solutions should be circulated at a high speed with low input energy to avoid this triplet absorption or degradation of the solution. It should be noted that the dyes have a high capacity of being under the influence of light. Therefore, the dye operates in a large reservoir making it possible to store it for longer times (Rosin, 2002). When the beam is passed through the liquid, it only needs to pass to a few passes through the liquid to reach full power resulting to high transmittance of the output coupler. On the other hand, the high gain in energy leads to high loses due to the dye cell walls and flash pumps reflectors (Rosin, 2002). For this reason, the pump cavities are made from materials that are not reflective at the lasing wavelength while reflecting the pump wavelength. To increase this, the beam performs all its work at maximum wavelength. Design Considerations Lasers dyes have a unique design for the purposes of performing efficiently. As opposed to the other dyes, they use liquid solutions as their medium making it complicated and at the same time, making them the most effective lasers. A dye laser consists of an organic dye, which is mixed with a solvent to make the liquid. This liquid is then circulated through a dye cell. On the other hand, it can be streamed in the open air using the dye jet. After this, a high source of light with a lot of energy is needed to pump the liquid beyond the last threshold (Rosin, 2002). Mirrors are required to oscillate the light produced by the dyes fluorescence with each transitory through the liquid. The organic solution is circulated at high speeds to avoid triplet absorption and decrease degradation of the organic solution. Because the dye solution can fit in any shape, it is designed to fit in many ways. For instance, fabry-perot laser is designed to fit for flash pump lasers. They consist of two mirrors that are mounted together with the laser placed between them. The solution is usually pumped with one or more flash pumps running parallel to the dye cell in a reflector cavity. This cavity is usually water cooled to prevent the shock produced from the radiation produced by the flash pumps. In this case, the laser dyes are ready to be used for the different purposes that it is meant for. On the other hand, there is a ring laser design that is chosen particularly for the continuous operations. In this case, the mirrors are arranged to allow the beam to move in a circular motion at all times thus making it continuous. In this case, the dye cell is small, to some extent, a dye jet is usually used to avoid reflection loses in the laser dye. Similar to the fabry-perot, the solution is run at extremely high speeds to avoid absorption or degradation. Additionally, it avoids absorption form the cutting of the beams. In contrast to the fabry-perot, standing waves are not generated hence there is no spatial hole burning. Practical Uses I. Industrial Uses The laser dyes have been practically made for industrial uses. In the industries, the laser dyes are practically used to separate the isotopes of radioactive elements like uranium. Uranium is commonly used for fueling nuclear powers to generate electricity. Many industries that use nuclear power use dye laser to separate uranium from its primary form so that they can be able to use it for electricity in the company (Tilley 77). This has been an excellent discovery in the industrial world because the other lasers could not perform their work efficiently. Therefore, the dyes lasers are extremely effective and as seen uranium cannot be easily separated from its primary form with the use of other lasers. II. Medical Uses In the medical field, the laser dyes have a variety of practical uses. One of them is the laser treatment of port wine stains. The port wine stains are formations of dilated blood capillaries in the skin (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). This causes the blood vessel to swell causing reddish marks in the skins. Hence, they are referred to as the port bloodstains. Port wine stains can occur in any part of the body, but in most cases, they occur on the face of a person (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). Additionally, port wine stains can infect anybody. It does not matter the age, gender or culture that a person hails from. In this case, the laser dyes are used to remove these stains from the skin. What really happens is, a beam of 1 centimeter in diameter is directed towards the areas of the skin where there are port wine stains. When the beam is pointed directly to the stain, the beam reduces the swollen capillaries thus cleaning the stain. It is worth noting that the strength of the beam in the laser dyes to be used on a patient varies a lot (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). The strength of the beam that is used on a child is not the same strength that is going to be used on an adult or an elderly person. On the other hand, the strength of the beam that is used on the face is not the same strength that it is used on the leg or the hand. This is because it can be harmful to the health of a person. When the lasers dyes have been used to treat the skin of a person, there are no side effects like skin texture. The other practical use in the medical field is the treatment known as lithotripsy. Lithotripsy is a medical procedure that uses chock waves to break stones that form in the gallbladder, bladder and kidney. This stones are only restricted to these regions only. The disease can infect anybody it does not matter the age, gender or race. This procedure is only used as a complementary treatment procedure. In this case, near the stones there is plasma that surrounds it. When this plasma is heated, it explodes causing shock waves. These shock waves destroy the stones and break them into small pieces that can go through the bladder. Therefore, the laser dyes are used to heat the plasma directly. The beam of the laser is directed towards the plasma that is near the stones for the purposes of heating (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). After heating the plasma, it reaches a certain point then it explodes. When it explodes, it produces certain shock waves that cause the stones to break down into pieces. These small pieces can now pass through the bladder easily. It is worth noting that in the different lithotripsy procedures, it requires different wavelengths and strengths. If the stones to be treated are large, wavelengths of high energy are used while if the stones are small, small wavelengths of small energy are used. Additionally, the wavelengths that can be used in the kidney are different from those wavelengths that can be used in the gallbladder. However, there are situations when there is tissue damage near the region where the treatment is being done. It should be noted that sometimes there are no tissue damage. The other practical application of the laser dyes in the medical field is the treatment of plaque. This is when the arteries are narrowed or blocked by deposits known as plaques (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). These deposits include the fats and the cholesterol that builds up in the inside walls of the arteries. This medical condition can be referred to as atherosclerosis (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). In order to treat this disease a procedure known as angioplasty is used. There are many options of treating this, which include balloon angioplasty and laser angioplasty. In laser angioplasty, the laser is passed through the different fibers where the plaque is located. In this case, radiation waves are used to displace the plaque from the arteries so that they can be able to function normally. In these procedures, the amount of wavelength depends on the age and gender of the person (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). Additionally, it depends on the amount of the plaque. If the amount of plaque is high, the radiation to be used is high. In this case, it is crucial for doctors to be extremely cautions where using laser angioplasty (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). There are several advantages of practically using the laser dyes in this procedure as compared to the other methods. The other methods require a major surgery to be done on a person as compared to laser angioplasty (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). In this case, the patient might develop complications on the major surgery, as opposed to the laser angioplasty. Secondly, when using the other procedures the arteries tend to open up at once and sometime they exceed the level in which they are expected (Bockus and Scofield 97). This might be harmful to the patient instead of treating him (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). On the other hand, when using the laser the arteries open slowly at their own pace causing no harm to the patient and reducing the chances of exceeding the required size. The last medical use of the laser treatment is treating vascular abnormalities. Most of the time people have abnormalities in the blood vessels. For this reason, the laser dyes have been a breakthrough towards the treatment of these abnormalities. In this case, it has been discovered that the destruction of selective blood vessels in the body can cure the abnormalities (Shankarling and Jarang, 2012). This is where the laser dye is used with controlled wavelength and strength to destroy the selected blood vessels. The advantages of using this procedure as compared to the other are that it reduces the unnecessary risks. III. Communication Uses The practical uses of the laser dyes were a significant break through in the field of communication. As the term laser suggests it is to amplify, the scholars and inventor created ideas of amplifying in the field of communications. The first practical use is in the radios. This idea was first coined in by Albert Einstein, when he brought the idea of amplifying communication microwaves. In this case, there was an introduction of laser dyes in the radio communication system to make the wavelengths stronger allowing people to have better clarity when they are listening to the radios (Bamfield 33). Another practical use in the field of communication is the fiber optics. Due to the change in technology, many companies have resulted to using fiber as opposed to the past where they were using copper wires. It was not that the copper wires were not effective, but they were destroyed easily. This resulted to the introduction of the fiber optics (Duarte 22). In fiber optics, there are those wavelengths that are required to move to long distances. In this case, the laser dyes are used since they are much more effective and easier to use. Another practical usage is in the field of communication is digital communication. Telecommunications have changed to the traditional use of analogue to the modern use of digital communications. In order to transport wavelengths in the digital communications, it requires something that is faster and stronger to be effective (Pavlopoulos 84). In this case, the digital wavelengths use laser dyes to transport the wavelengths since they are much more effective and convenient in this field of communication. Conclusion Dye lasers can be described as those lasers that use organic dye solution. Laser dyes use liquid solution as the main medium. The word laser meant to amplify. When the lasers are designed, they can be in any shape because the liquid solution can be molded into any shape. In this case, the designs vary from to another depending on the usage. The basic operations of the laser dyes depend on the amount of wavelength. Additionally, the operations depend on how the beam is strengthened or reduce while using the laser dyes. The laser dyes have been a great invention to the world of physics chemistry and biology due to their practical uses. Therefore, the lasers dyes are here to stay with promising invention with new practical uses. Bamfield, P. Chromic Phenomena: Technological Applications of Colour Chemistry. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2001. Internet resource. Bockus, LB, and RH Scofield. â€Å"Phosphoprotein Detection on Protein Electroblot Using a Phosphate-Specific Fluorophore.† Methods in Molecular Biology (clifton, N.j.). 536 (2009): 385-93. Print. Duarte, F J. Tunable Laser Optics. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press, 2003. Internet resource. Pavlopoulos, Theodore G, P T. Landsberg, and A J. Kenyon. Scaling of Dye Lasers with Improved Laser Dyes. Tarrytown, N.Y: Elsevier Science, 2004. Internet resource. Rosin, Glenn. Lesser Technology: Changing the Way of Life, Forging New Opportunities. OSA-Foundation.org. 2002. Web. February 16, 2012. Shankarling, G. S and Jarang, K. J. Laser Dyes. Resonance. February 16, 2012.Web. February 16, 2012. Tilley, R J. D. Colour and the Optical Properties of Materials: An Exploration of the Relationship between Light, the Optical Properties of Materials and Colour. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2011. Print.

Quotes from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Quotes from 'I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings' I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, a famous book by Maya Angelou, is the first in a series of seven autobiographical novels. The book has been popular since it was first published in 1969. Oprah Winfrey, who read the novel when she was 15, said in a forward to the 2015 edition of the book, ... here was a story that finally spoke to the heart of me. These quotes show the searing journey Angelou traveled transforming from a victim of rape and racism into a self-possessed, dignified young woman.   Racism In the book, Angelous character, Maya, confronts the insidious effects of racism and segregation in America at a very young age, according to SparkNotes. Racism and bigotry are major themes in the novel, as the following quotes make clear. If growing up is painful for the Southern Black girl, being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. - PrefaceI remember never believing that whites were really real. - Chapter 4They dont really hate us. They dont know us. How can they hate us?  - Chapter 25How maddening it was to have been born in a cotton field with aspirations of grandeur.  - Chapter 30 Religion and Morality Angelou- and her protagonist in the novel, Maya- was raised with a strong sense of religion, which serves as her moral guide, according to GradeSaver. And that sense of religion and morality permeate the novel. I knew that if a person truly wanted to avoid hell and brimstone, and being roasted forever in the devils fire, all she had to do was memorize Deuteronomy and follow its teaching, word for word. - Chapter 6See, you dont have to think about doing the right thing. If youre for the right thing, then you do it without thinking.  - Chapter 36 Language and Knowledge The description on the back cover of the 2015 edition of the novel, notes that the book captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make things right. Probably more than anything, it is the power of Angelous words- and her emphasis on understanding- that helped to shine a light on the harsh realities of bigotry and racism. Language is mans way of communicating with his fellow man and it is language alone that separates him from the lower animals. - Chapter 15All knowledge is spendable currency, depending on the market.​  - Chapter 28 Perseverance The novel covers the years from when Maya is 3 until she turns 15. Much of the book is about Mayas attempt to face bigotry and degradation. Finally, though, near the end of the novel she also sees the honor in surrendering- giving in- when necessary. Like most children, I thought if I could face the worst danger voluntarily, and triumph, I would forever have power over it.  - Chapter 2We are the victims of the worlds most comprehensive robbery. Life demands a balance. Its all right if we do a little robbing now.  - Chapter 29At fifteen life had taught me undeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice.  - Chapter 31 Fitting In In a parable for the novel- and the world around her- Maya wanders around town one night and decides to sleep in a car in a junkyard. The next morning she awakes to find a group of teenagers, composed of many races, living in the junkyard, where they get along well and are all good friends. I was never again to sense myself to solidly outside the pale of the human race. - Chapter 32 Sources Angelou, Maya, and Oprah Winfrey. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Ballantine Books, 2015. GradeSaver, â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Study Guide.† SparkNotes, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Our country's obsession with beauty Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Our country's obsession with beauty - Assignment Example The stereotypical bleached blond, silicone enhanced, toned bodied and presumably dim-witted â€Å"bimbette† gets the attention from both sexes. Men want them. Women want to be like them, especially young, impressionable females who still don’t fully appreciate the term â€Å"superficial.† The â€Å"Barbie Syndrome† is a symptom of a society that is focused on looks to the disadvantage of everyone. The idea that youthful looks consequentially translates to youthful desirability and energy is common and helps to further the concept of the body as object. Many studies regarding this phenomenon make a direct and dangerous connection of an appearance driven society with ever-increasing instances of eating disorders particularly among teenagers. It’s not only the media reinforcing image worship; teenagers follow the example of adults who are increasingly utilizing plastic surgery to improve physical features. Ultimately, it is society that decides what the idyllic human form should be and consequently it is the duty of the adults to decide to what degree, if any, physical attributes define an individual’s value. It is also society that responsible for ending the ridiculous, seemingly ingrained idea that the looks a woman was born with outweighs any accomplishments she has earned with hard work, and

Leadership Pathways - Human resources Assignment

Leadership Pathways - Human resources - Assignment Example Management is a process, which involves coordination of activities within an organization to encourage teamwork through innovative ways to achieve predetermined objectives. However, poor management plays a critical role in degrading efficiency, which translates to irate employees thus, poor overall performance of the organization. Therefore, it is crucial that sound management exist to formulate policies, supervise and provide oversight within the organization for enhanced efficiency, which translates to increased profit margins. In line with the human resource frame illustrated above, I find the school’s dean of students as a key asset within the school setting. This is supported by the character and qualities that he displays, as he is committed and focused on his responsibilities, which he dispenses competently. Thus, the vision and objectives of the institution are effectively overseen and implemented facilitating smooth running of activities. Similarly, the dean is an effective team player encouraging his staff to exercise tolerance and uphold the best of their values, hence keeping them motivated. In addition, the dean is an effective communicator as well as a good listener, which comes in handy during problem solving and relaying new

Universality of Human Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Universality of Human Rights - Essay Example Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states that â€Å"no one shall be subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" – according to which the world rejects stoning and flogging, but not death penalties by electrocution and lethal injections. Another UN convention that disregards all forms of discrimination against the women disallows all what Taliban does to the women. While the religious zealots in the East question the degradation of western women in the form of pornography, lesbianism, prostitution and other forms of social evils. The west protects it in the names of its freedoms. Despite several Security Council resolutions, there has been no action against the Israeli blatant human violations. Therefore, over the last 65 years, the same question is raised again and again: are human rights universal? If yes, to what extent?1 HUMAN RIGHTS â€Å"Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our na tionality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status.† The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights proposes that the human rights are absolute, undeniable, equal, non-discriminatory and interdependent. It states that these rights are an inseparable part of a person living in any part of the world. Therefore, it promotes it universality and argues that this ‘universality’ is the backbone of the international covenants of human rights. 2 UNIVERSALITY OF HUMAN RIGHTS International Law recognizes this universality of the human rights. It establishes the fact that the human rights are natural born rights â€Å"for all without distinction†. This universality is itself embodied in the name â€Å"Universal Declaration of Human Rights† and in the language of the charter. The preamble of the UN charter of human rights states this universality in the words â€Å"common standard of achievement fo r all peoples and all nations". The West propagates this universal nature of the rights and establishes that these rights are owned for every men and women in every corner of the world.3 History pays homage to the West for development of the Human rights. The idea picks up in the minds of the enlightened philosophers in the old Greece, followed by the Romans through their Catholic Church and then moves up to the Northern Europe and Northern America. It develops its firm roots in the shape of Magna Carta in 1215 in Britain, in the shape of American Declaration of Independence in 1776 in America and in the shape of French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789 in France. The French Declaration was outspoken in its words for the development of the human rights. The opening words of the document stirred the world, â€Å"The representatives of the French people, organized in National Assembly, considering that ignorance, forgetfulness, or contempt of the rights of m an are the sole causes of public misfortunes and of the corruption of governments, have resolved to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, inalienable, and sacred rights of man.†4 Nonetheless, many historians opinioned that the development of universal human rights surged in the recent history with the codification of the International Law since the end of the Second World War. The formation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights

An Overview of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An Overview of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy - Essay Example As a result, Congress recently passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act 2005. This Act makes a number of significant changes to the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy framework (The New Bankruptcy Law: np). One major change is the need for all debtors considering bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 to undergo credit counseling. This counseling is designed to aid debtors in determining whether bankruptcy is truly necessary and how a repayment plan might be worked out. Significantly, debtors must select an approved credit counselor. In addition, an income test is now applied to determine whether filers are eligible for the more popular Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. To this end, a "means test" is employed to evaluate disposable income and to classify debts as secured, unsecured, and the degree of priorities. Another requirement imposes higher ethical duties on bankruptcy lawyers so that the attorneys must personally vouch for the accuracy of all information provided by the debtor. The expected effect is to make it somewhat more difficult and more expensive to retain a bankruptcy lawyer.

DRAGONWINGS SUMMARY Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DRAGONWINGS SUMMARY - Assignment Example Windrider and his son save Uncle Bright star’s son from being shot by corrupt neighborhood watchmen. Moon collects and delivers laundry to his father, but one day Black Dog, the uncle’s son beats Moon and steals money received from laundry clients. Windrider goes to an underground gang and fights Black Dog to avenge his son, in the process Moon and his father kill a man. They escape the village after the murder and plan to work for Mr. Alger. Moon and his dad move into a stable behind the house of Miss Whitlaw. The neighborhood boys are cruel to Moon, and they ridicule his English. Moon requests Miss Whitlaw to help him in writing a letter to ask the Wright brothers to help his father with plane specifications. Windrider refuses to use the specifications at first but with time he agrees. An earthquake occurs in San Francisco in 1906 and demolishes the city, and two of the family members disappear. Windrider builds a functional airplane â€Å"Dragonwings,† but Black Dog shows up and robs them off their savings. The next day the company loans Windrider lots of money. Windrider flies his plane, but in the process its frame snaps and he breaks his leg and ribs. The company helps Windrider in bringing his wife to

An Overview of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An Overview of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy - Essay Example As a result, Congress recently passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act 2005. This Act makes a number of significant changes to the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy framework (The New Bankruptcy Law: np). One major change is the need for all debtors considering bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 to undergo credit counseling. This counseling is designed to aid debtors in determining whether bankruptcy is truly necessary and how a repayment plan might be worked out. Significantly, debtors must select an approved credit counselor. In addition, an income test is now applied to determine whether filers are eligible for the more popular Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. To this end, a "means test" is employed to evaluate disposable income and to classify debts as secured, unsecured, and the degree of priorities. Another requirement imposes higher ethical duties on bankruptcy lawyers so that the attorneys must personally vouch for the accuracy of all information provided by the debtor. The expected effect is to make it somewhat more difficult and more expensive to retain a bankruptcy lawyer.

Observation Mini-Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Observation Mini-Study - Research Paper Example Using direct observation as the main approach to data collection, the researcher sought to establish whether the hypothesis of racial disparity in the sitting arrangement existed, and possibly find ways of resolving the issue by creating race parity. The researcher sought permission from the university and the management of a middle-level restaurant existing near the university well in advance prior to the study. The restaurant is situated a few miles from the university, a development that limited research-related costs upon the researcher. Sitting comfortably at the back of the restaurant between 11:00pm and 4:00pm, the researcher gathered information about the sitting arrangements, the people’s behavior and what they were saying. The outcomes revealed that in deed more whites preferred executive seats and tables stationed at the front part of the restaurant with more adequate spaces between them and tended to refer to the other races in derogatory remarks like â€Å"front seats are for whites†. In light of this, people of color including Hispanics, blacks, Africans, and Asians found themselves relegated at the back of the restaurant where the furniture were more closely-packed. This finding lends credence to the hypothesis that racial disparity plays out in the sitting arrangement of people in US restaurants. Observation as a method of research has merits and demerits. A major merit of conducting observation research is that the researcher can record what they see and hear as the focus group goes about their normal activities in real life situations, rather than relying on what they say they do (Maxfield, & Babbie, 2010). As Maxfield and Babbie (2010) have pointed out, in Criminology, observation is the main source of securing information, especially in situations where approaching criminal suspects for interview or written responses is less likely to precipitate

Factors in a child’s development Essay Example for Free

Factors in a child’s development Essay Family is one of the biggest external factors in a child’s development. The first three years of a child’s life are when their foundations are laid out influencing what type of a person they may grow up to be. A child who is given lots of love, attention and guidance are more likely to thrive compared to those who are ignored. At this very early age parents and siblings are the most important thing in a child’s life so everything they do can influence a child, this is when they first start to imitate other peoples actions so if a child is in a stimulating environment then they are more likely to want to continue to be stimulated when they reach school age. Friendships are also a major factor, by the age of three children start to form strong friendships. Friendships may begin to influence behavior, in a positive or sometimes a negative way. They will start to learn how to listen to other people’s opinions and also how to voice their own views. Read more:Â  Explain how children and young people’s development is influenced by a range of external factors essay It’s when children start making friends that their personalities really start to develop and they start either start to become a leader or a follower. Peers may become a big influence over their likes and dislikes. What a child eats also plays a big part in a child’s development both in a physical and mental way. Calcium, protein and fats are all essential in a child’s diet to help them grow. When a child starts school it becomes more difficult from a parents prospective to supervise what children are eating especially in children of high school age, too much sugary and fatty foods can lead to children becoming over weight and lacking in energy. It is important for schools to take an active approach in what children are allowed to eat when possible. In today’s world of high technology the media is also a big factor in how children develop. The television can be an amazing aid in a child’s development if watched in moderation. A child that spends too much time in front of a television may run an increased risk of becoming over weight and children who view violent television shows show a tendency towards an aggressive behavior. Social media is also taking a part in children’s developments as friendships are formed with people from all over the world that once would not have been accessible unfortunately it can also have negative results as children can be bullied without an adult around to help them and can lead to a very low self esteem.

Islamic Bank of Britain vs. Dubai Islamic Bank Comparison

Islamic Bank of Britain vs. Dubai Islamic Bank Comparison Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1- Introduction This chapter discusses the aims and objectives of the project. A detailed background of the study, research rationale and theoretical framework has also been discussed in this chapter. At the end of this chapter, the report structure of this thesis is mentioned. Research Title Islamic Bank of Britain vs. Dubai Islamic Bank (A Comparative Study) 1.2- Background of Study Islamic banking is very different as opposed to conventional banking, as it works on the principles of Islam and Sharia which entails avoiding interest and gives more preference to invest in a business and in sharing of profit and loss. There are several Islamic banks all over the world and all of them operate on the Sharia principles, however some progress to profit and some decline to loss and a prime example of this is the Islamic Bank of Britain. The Islamic bank of Britain was founded in 2004 by a group of Middle East investors. This was the first Islamic Bank in the United Kingdom. The formation of this bank was based on the simple foundation of Sharia conduct with typical products and services, however the bank underperformed, more so than anticipated. Losses were evident from the initiation of its business in the United Kingdom. Moreover, according to Financial times and its 2008 income statement, a loss of was highlighting, displaying major cause for concern. On the other hand, the Dubai Islamic Bank which was founded in UAE by Arabic investors and also adheres to Sharia principles has reported quarterly profit of US$ 122.5 million. This then raises the questions as to why Islamic Bank of Britain has been unable to attract the customers and what are the main factors causing losses for the bank every year. 1.3- Research Aim The aim of conducting this research is to discover the factors and causes troubling Islamic banking in United Kingdom as one of the major Islamic bank has accumulated losses for a considerable period of time, although its entrepreneurs are from the Gulf where Islamic banking has been growing and prospering. Moreover the rules of Sharia apply whether the Islamic Bank is in the UK or in UAE. After uncovering the underlying causes of the Islamic bankings plight in the United Kingdom recommendations will be drawn up to rectify the situation and highlight how improvements can be made. Circumstances will further be examined in form of comparisons between the United Kingdom and the UAE Islamic banks. 1.4- Research Objectives The objectives of this research are as follows: To investigate the performance of Islamic banks in UK and UAE To explore the reasons that affect the performance of Islamic Banks To study the investment portfolio of Islamic Banks in UK and UAE To analyse the impact of risks on the performance of Islamic Banks in UK and UAE 1.5- Research Rationale Islamic banking is a relatively new topic in the financial sector and especially in UK where the first Islamic bank started its business only in 2004. Though Islamic banks are quite successful across the globe, the first Islamic bank established in UK has not been able to gain significant success in the past 5 years. There is currently insufficient research conducted in regards to the performance of Islamic banks in the UK. This fact compels one to investigate this issue in order to gain some strong knowledge about the topic. 1.6- Theoretical Framework This research was designed in a structured format. Initially, a detailed study of literature was conducted. The purpose of this literature review was to gain an insight in regards to Islamic banking functioning across the globe. After reviewing the relevant literature, assessments were made as to how different Islamic banks improve their performance by designing their investment policies and how different type of risks can affect the performance of Islamic banks. This assisted in the analysis of both Dubai Islamic Bank and Islamic Bank of Britain, which further assisted in arriving at a conclusion to determine the reasons of poor performance of Islamic Bank of Britain. 1.7- Structure of Thesis Chapter 2 provides a review from literature which has been distributed into three sections. The first section describes the origin of banking and the main purpose of starting the banking. Second section explains about Islamic banking and its main functions. Chapter 3 discusses the current business operations of both the banks. I have given a detailed description of where both the banks invest their assets and how do they manage the risks. The purpose of this chapter is to find out how different investment and risk management techniques help the Islamic banks to give better performance. Chapter 4 highlights the methodology used in this thesis. A detailed description of the research methods used in thesis has been given in this chapter. All the sources of data used in this thesis have been explained in details and at the end of this chapter; I have given a detailed description of different accounting ratios used in this thesis. In this chapter, I have given a detailed description about the research methods used in this thesis. Chapter 5 comprises of different financial calculations. I have calculated various financial ratios for both the banks in order to do a side by side comparison to find out the reasons of poor performance of Islamic Bank of Britain. Chapter 6 includes a side by side comparison of the financial ratios of both the banks calculated in chapter 5. In addition to this, regression analysis has been given between certain risk ratios and profitability ratios to find out the impact of risk levels on returns. The possible reasons of poor performance of Islamic Bank of Britain in line with literature review and results in chapter 3 have also been discussed in this chapter. Chapter 7 discusses the conclusion of this thesis. All the research questions have been answered in an appropriate manner in line with the literature review and the results discussed in chapter 3, 5 6. At the end of this chapter, I have discussed any limitations of this research work. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1- Introduction This chapter provides a review from literature. It has been distributed into three sections. The first section describes about origin of banking and the main purpose of starting the banking. The second section explains Islamic banking and its main functions. Lastly the third section explains the origin of Islamic banking in Dubai and United Kingdom. 2.2- History of Banking The origins of banking are believed to have started after coinage, in the area between river Tigris and river Euphrates. People could keep their belongings safely in royal palaces and holy places. Within same period, some laws were developed and these laws are considered to be one of the earliest forms of laws (Glyn, 2002). 2.3- Banking Business A business that provides financial services to different customers and businesses is called as banking. A detailed definition of banking business can be a financial institution that accepts, collects, transfers, pays, safeguards or lends money for its customers (Sobczak, 1997, pp 6). 2.4- Islamic Banking A financial institution that operates under the principles of Islamic Shariah and it does not accept or pay out any interest (riba) is called an Islamic bank (Sadeque, 1980). Islamic banking is based on the idea of sharing profit and losses. Both the investor and the bank share any profits and losses as agreed at the time of opening the account (Venardos, 2006, pp 1). 2.5- History of Islamic Banking A few decades ago, conventional banks and other financial organisations were not providing the customers with any Shariah compliant services. This led to the necessity of starting such a financial institution that could provide the Muslim clients with the Shariah compliant services. The original Islamic bank initiated business in 1963. During the later years of 1970s, the Association of Islamic banks was established. Initially, Islamic banks were only operating in Islamic countries. In 1980, the first Islamic bank was open in a non-Islamic country and it further expanded into additional European and American countries. Within this short span of time, Islamic banks have progressed very well all over the world (Venardos, 2005, pp 65). 2.6- Services offered by Islamic Banks Islamic banks offer a range of services to their customers. A detailed description of these services is explained below. 2.5.1- Deposit Accounts Islamic banks offer three types of deposit accounts: current, savings and investment accounts. The customers are assured that they can withdraw their money on demand if agreed by both parties at the time of opening the account. In Islamic banking, demand deposits are places in a contract called Wadiah (trust). Islamic banks guarantee their customers to return their principal sum on demand. The banks cannot use this principal sum unless authorised by the customers. As the banks do not use this amount for their investments they do not pay back any profits on such accounts. Some banks offer some returns in the form of Hibah (gift). Islamic banks are using some innovative techniques for offering different products and most of the demand deposit accounts are structured within the contract of Mudharabah (Saeed, 1996, pp 101). 2.5.2- Current Accounts Current or demand deposit accounts are the same as those of conventional banks. Islamic banks guarantee the principal amount on demand (Hassan and Lewis, 2007, pp 131). 2.5.3- Saving Accounts Saving accounts are different from conventional banks in Islamic banking. In some Islamic banks, the depositors authorise the banks to use their deposited money, however they are guaranteed that they will be returned the full amount back from the bank. No profit is guaranteed in this sort of accounts. The banks usually use these deposits for short term projects (Al-Omar and Abdel-Haq, 1996, pp 51). 2.5.4- Investment Accounts Islamic banks accept the investment deposits for a fixed or unlimited time period. The investors agree at the time of opening the account to share any profit and loss at an agreed proportion. The banks do not guarantee to return the principal amount. Usually, the investment deposits have an expected maturity and expected rate of returns. Such investments are places under Mudharabah contract in which both the depositor and the bank agree at a ratio to share any profits or losses. This type of investment is totally different from conventional banks as there is no risk of losing any thing in those investments (Iqbal and Llewellyn, 2002, pp 198). 2.7- Financing modes in Islamic Banking Different banks use different modes to acquire assets and finance different projects. These modes can be distributed into three different areas namely investment, trade and lending services. 2.6.1- Investment Finance Khan (2009) says that Islamic banks can do investment financing in three different ways. First type of investment financing is called as Musharaka. In this type of investment financing, the bank can join another organisation or entity to open a joint venture. Both the parties participate in this venture in different roles. Both the parties agree on a set ratio of sharing any loss or profit before making such a venture. This type of venture is an independent entity and the bank can withdraw from this venture after an initial period. Second type of investment financing is called as Mudarabha in which the bank finances the projects and the clients provide with their expertise, labour and management. Both the parties i.e. bank and the clients share the profit but in case of any losses, its only the bank that will bear the losses. In third type of investment financing, the banks finance on the basis of an expected rate of return. If the profits are more than the expected rate of return, t he bank shares it with the clients but if the returns are lower than the expected rate, the bank will accept the lower rates. In case of any losses, the bank will share it (Khan, 2009). 2.6.2- Trade Finance Khan (2009) says that Islamic banks can do trade financing in different ways. The most common type of trade financing is called as Mark-up in which the bank buys an item for its client and the client agrees to pay back the bank the price and the agreed profit at later stage. In second type of trade financing, the bank buys an item for the client and then leases it to client for an agreed time period. At the end of the lease, the client pays the balance amount to the bank and becomes the owner of the item. Another type of trade financing is called as hire-purchase in which, the bank buys an item for its client and then hires it to the client for an agreed time period. At the end of this time period, the client becomes the owner automatically. Another type of trade finance in Islamic banking is called as sell-and-buy-back in which a client sells his property to the bank for an agreed time period at a condition that the client will buy back the property at an agreed rate. 2.6.3- Trade Finance Khan (2009) says that Islamic banks have different types of lending services including loans, no-cost-loans and overdrafts. Islamic banks offer the loans by charging the service charge. The bank does not charge any interest but they apply service charges to cover their expenses. Some Islamic banks offer the loans to needy people at no costs. Some Islamic banks also offer the overdraft services to the customers subject to some limits. The banks charge a certain amount if the customers request higher overdraft limits. 2.6.4- Miscellaneous Services Islamic banks offer additional services such as collecting the bills on behalf of different organisations, money transfers, trading foreign currency etc. Some banks charge a commission amount if their own money is not involved in such transactions. 2.8- Risks in Islamic Banking Khan (2003, pp 130-131) says that Islamic banking faces certain risks like conventional banking. The nature of these risks varies with the structure of the bank. As discussed earlier, Islamic banks usually operate under two different kinds of models. First type of model is known as the two tier Mudarabah model. This type of model operates under the principle of sharing both the profits and losses. The latter model is known as the single tier Mudarabah model. In this type of model, both the parties share the profit just on the liabilities side. Lewis and Hassan (2007, pp 144) say that Islamic banks have to follow certain rules based on Islamic Shariah. Both the authors believe that in this kind of situation, the nature of risk changes for Islamic banks and only a careful management of these risks can result in the better performance of the bank. Islamic banks face following risks: Operational Risks Credit Risks Liquidity Risks Withdrawal Risks Legal Risks 2.7.1- Operational Risks El-Hawary (2005, pp 21) says that this type of risk is caused when the people working for the bank fail to perform their duties appropriately or the systems used by the bank staff fail. Most of the time, this risk is caused due to the employees of the bank or any frauds. El-Hawary (2005, pp 21,22) has quoted the example of Dubai Islamic bank when the bank suffered huge losses due to an incompetent person during the later years of 1990s. Iqbal et al (1998) considers that the Islamic banks face more operational risk than conventional banks as a minor problem in computer systems can cost them too much. 2.7.2- Credit Risk Sundrarajan and Errico (2002, pp 5) believe that Islamic banks administer the profit loss accounts differently from conventional banks. Islamic banks determine the profit and loss ratios of different projects before the start of any agreement. On the basis of this expectation, Islamic banks set a share ratio that sometimes can cause them losses. In addition to this, Islamic banks carry on auditing the financial projects. In such situations, it becomes very difficult for the banks to standardise their financial products. Cihak and Hesse (2008, pp 5) believe that in PLS (Profit and loss sharing) accounts, the banks suffer losses as well if the profits are lower or the project ends in a loss. They believe that this is due to the reduced level of assets in the balance sheet. Sundrarajan and Errico (2002, pp 5) believe that in Mudarabah accounts, the banks can only share the profits but if the business ends up in loss, it becomes very difficult for the bank to recover the loans back due t o some legal complications as the Mudarabah accounts do not allow the Islamic banks to interfere in the business. On the other hand, in the case of Musharaka account, Islamic banks can monitor the financed projects and it reduces the risk levels significantly. 2.7.3- Legal Risk Haiwad (2008) says that Islamic banks have different kind of legal documents. He considers that due to compulsion of Islamic accounts to be Shariah compliant, the banks need to prepare a complex set of legal documents. In addition to this, the banks need to consider the local laws of the country as well before making any legal documents. Sometimes, it is very complicated to develop the legal documents that comply with both the Shariah law and the local law of the country. It ultimately increases the legal risk levels in the Islamic banks. 2.7.4- Liquidity Risk Aburime (2009) says that Islamic banks face the liquidity risk when the banks fail to sell their fixed assets at the desired rates. The banks usually develop the need to sell their fixed assets to meet their liabilities. This risk is increased due to the fact that Islamic banks do not accept any loans on interest so the Islamic banks are unable to come out of this situation by taking loans from other banks. Aburime (2009) considers that this risk is dependent on the economy of the country. The destabilisation of economy increases liquidity risk. 2.7.5- Withdrawal Risk Aburime (2009) says that sometimes, Islamic banks do not provide the customers with handsome amount of profits and it can lead to the customers withdrawing their money from the bank. In such situations, withdrawal risk is increased significantly. Aburime (2009) believes that this risk is more in Islamic banks as compared to the conventional banks. 2.9- Do Risk Levels affect Performance? Mencia (2009) says that a business can produce more money if there is greater risk at the start of the business provided the risks are managed appropriately. Kunt et al. (2009) says that those banks that generate income without any interests are at greater risks and can give better returns as compared to those that generate interest money. Haque and Mirakhor (2006) say that in Islamic banks, customers are at greater risk to lose their money and the banks are at lesser risk as Islamic banks do not guarantee any return at the time of account opening and in few accounts both profit and loss are shared. This fact can deter customers, leading them to invest their money in those banks where they do not have any risk to lose their money. Shim et al. (2000, pp 176, 177) has suggested that the extent of financing the business through debts is a useful indicator of risk levels in the business. They believe that if a business is financed more through debts, it is at higher risk. Helfert (2001, pp 128) has also same beliefs as that of Shim et al. (2000, pp 176, 177). He considers that financing the business through debts increases risks but at the same time it increases the probability of better returns as well. Falkenstein (2009) conducted research to explore the effects of risk levels on the returns of different businesses. His research results showed that the businesses that used more debts to finance their assets were at higher risk as compared to those that did not finance their assets through debts. The businesses that were at higher risk and that managed their risks appropriately produced better returns than those that were at lower risks. 2.10- Effective Risk Management in Islamic Banks Management of different types of risks is very different from conventional banks and due to some restrictions of Shariah laws it is very difficult to manage these risks. Effective credit risk management is a very complex procedure in Islamic banks as there is no permission of paying or receiving any interest. In addition to this, Sharias law does not allow to penalise the clients and this facility in Islamic banks is misused by some clients. In such situations, there are long delays in paying back the principal amount and it reduces the assets of the bank. Most of the Islamic banks use collaterals and take pledges from their clients. The best way to avoid the misuse of the facilities provides by Islamic banks, the banks can take more collateral before the start of different contracts. In addition to this, if the banks take personal guarantees before sanctioning the loans, it can help in reducing credit risk as well (Hawray et al., 2004). Shariah law forbids dealing harshly with those people that are in bad financial crisis. This facility can be misused by the clients. This issue costs the Islamic banks and it should be taken seriously. A comprehensive system to credit score each client before offering them the loan can make a huge difference. Furthermore, the banks should ask the clients to sign on possible enforcement as within Islamic law a person can be enforced if he has signed before the start of the contract. In addition to this, Islamic banks working in United Kingdom can think about legal actions against those that were unable to pay back the loans (Wilson, 2007). The nature of legal risks is very different in Islamic banks as compared to conventional banks as Islamic banks have to fulfil the requirements of both Shariah laws and local laws of the country they operate in. This makes the Islamic banking operations very complicated and legal risks are increased. The best way to come out of such situations is to make sure that prior to writing the contracts, requirements of local legislations are fulfilled as well. This can aid the banks in developing good knowledge about the possible ways of enforcement if a client fails to repay his loan. In Sharia law it is allowed to enforce those clients that file false claims. Bearing this fact in mind, Islamic banks should consider including this in the contracts. This will help the Islamic banks to reduce legal, liquidity and withdrawal risk as people will not attempt to misuse the lenient system (Djojosugito, 2008). 2.11- Diversification in Islamic Banks The banks that provide diverse financial services or spreading different risks into different geographic areas are likely to achieve improved diversification. In the case of Islamic banks, geographical diversification helps in breaking the banks concentration in limited areas and the bank usually gets good borrowers. (Greuning and Iqbal, 2008, p 264). Islamic banks mostly deal in the real estate business and most of these banks start their business from their regions and carry on working in that region. The real estate business has suffered huge losses in the past few years due to the effects of recession and interest rate variations across the globe. Due to this fact the investments in real estate have not proved very fruitful for such organisations. In order to gain good profits, Islamic banks need to diversify into different sectors and geographic areas as it will diversify the investments and the risks can be spread across different areas where the banks can get good borrowers and good investment opportunities (Islamic Investment Banking, 2009). There are different sectors that can prove beneficial for Islamic banks. The most important sector for diversification in Islamic banks is Insurance (Takaful). This sector is highly under developed even in big Islamic countries such as Malaysia where this sector is not developed much. Concentrating on this sector can prove very beneficial for Islamic banks (Thomas, KPMG.COM). Expansion of Islamic banks across different countries can prove to be very beneficial for them. Currently, Islamic banks are working in a lot of countries but their business size is very small. If these banks diversify into different zones of the world, it is inevitable to attain benefits. Furthermore, Islamic banks can consider to make strategic alliances with those conventional banks that wish to start Islamic banking as it will not only increase the size of Islamic banks but will help in obtaining a diverse work force as well. Finally, Islamic banks can get diverse competent staff that can help in improving different systems and it will ultimately result in reduced operational risks (Iqbal et al., 1998). Making of strategic alliances with other banks that wish to start Islamic banking will also help in reducing the liquidity risk. Making strategic alliances will help Islamic banks to increase their assets and the current assets level of Islamic banks will increase. This will help the Islamic banks to pay current liabilities and liquidity will be improved. Furthermore, strategic alliances will increase peoples trust in Islamic banks and the level of investments will be increased that will ultimately increase current assets and better liquidity of the banks (Iqbal et al., 1998). Chapter 3: Business Cases 3.1- Introduction This chapter will provide an overview of the current business operations of both the banks. Detailed descriptions of where both the banks invest their assets and how they manage the risks will follow. The purpose of this chapter is to find out how different investment and risk management techniques help the Islamic banks to give better performance. 3.2- Islamic Bank of Britain Islamic Bank of Britain started its business in UK in September 2004. This bank is the first Islamic Bank that started its business in UK. The bank is approved by FSA (Financial Services Authority). 3.2.1- Shareholders The bank has 10 major shareholders holding different levels of share in the bank. The biggest shareholder of the bank is Al Amal Investment and Trading that holds 52% of the total shares of the bank. IIB European Investment Company is the second major shareholder of the bank and it holds 10% shares of the bank. BNP Paribas Bahrain holds 8% of the shares; Mr. Al Rajhi holds 7% of the shares. The remaining 23% shares are owned by 6 other shareholders. 3.2.2- Investments The bank comprises of a board of directors and it is their responsibility to decide upon the investments. Most of the time, the bank invests its money in buying different properties, costly metals, different currencies etc. The bank mostly concentrates in buying the properties in United Kingdom. The board of directors decides all these matters in such a way that can be beneficial for its investors. 3.2.3- Services offered by the Bank The bank offers three main types of services to its clients Personal Business Premier 3.2.3-1. Personal Services In personal services, the bank offers current accounts, saving accounts and home purchase plans to its customers. In addition to this, the bank also offers personal finance to its customers. 3.2.3-2. Business Services In business services, the bank offers its clients business current, business savings, business finance, charity accounts and commercial property finance. 3.2.3-3. Premier Services The bank offers this service to those clients that are highly paid (at least  £100,000 per annum) and to those who can deposit more than  £75,000 in their account with a view to purchasing property in the UK that is worth more than  £250,000. 3.2.4- Risk Management in the Bank Islamic Bank of Britain manages its risks in a systematic way. Board of directors has the responsibility of managing the risks with the help of some committees assisting them. They have some written policies to manage the risks that are reviewed on a regular basis by an audit committee that is responsible to measure the risk levels and start the risk management after a certain risk threshold. The bank faces credit risk, liquidity risk, market risk and operational risk. A brief description of risk management is given below. 3.2.4-1. Credit Risk Management The bank has a systematic approach to manage the credit risk. To manage this risk certain producures are put into place such as the following: The bank makes credit policies The bank sets credit limits after assessing the profile of each borrower Credit risk assessment before start of agreement Collaterals for a few loans but in most accounts the bank does not ask for any collateral 3.2.4-2. Liquidity Risk Management The treasury department of Islamic Bank of Britain is responsible to manage liquidity risk. The bank uses following steps to manage liquidity risk; The treasury department maintains a portfolio of short term assets that can be liquefied. Comparison of liquid assets with asset maturity against any customer deposits Submission of any mismatches in liquid assets and asset maturity to financial services authority on quarterly basis 3.2.4-3. Market Risk Management The bank has a systematic approach to manage the market risk. To manage risks, the following procedures are adhered to: Profit rates for few accounts are agreed at the time of agreement start. Maturity profiles are constantly reviewed. Rates are agreed on a monthly basis for consumer finance transactions. Long term home purchase plans and commercial property finance are benchmarked against market measure. Process is assessed every six months. Profit rates on Mudaraba account are reviewed every month. 3.2.4-4. Operational Risk Management The bank has a systematic approach to manage the market risk. The board of directors of the bank is responsible to manage the operational risks. There are some risk committees that manage this risk under the guideline of the board of directors. The purpose of operational risk management is to implement such a system that can support the process efficiency and meeting the customer needs. To manage this risk the following procedure is respected: The bank aims to manage this risk by cutting down the costs on certain things. Getting reports from risk committees over regular periods of time 3.3- Dubai Islamic Bank Dubai Islamic Bank was formed in 1975 and is considered to be the first fully-fledged Islamic Bank in the world. The bank uses the latest innovative technology in its day-to-day operations. The bank is considered to be the undisputed leader in the field of Islamic banking and sets its examples for new starters in Islamic banking. A lot of Islamic banks in the world including Arab countries follow Dubai Islamic Bank to start and run their day-to-day operations (http://www.alislami.ae/en/index.htm). 3.3.1- Shareholders The Government of Dubai is the major shareholder of the bank and other shares are held by additional stakeholders in Dubai. 3.3.2- Investments The bank invests its money all over the world and is open to any businesses that require financing through the bank. The bank invests in properties, c

Americas Involvement in the Vietnam War Essay -- Vietnam War American

America's Involvement in the Vietnam War Vietnam is a time in American history that most of us would like to forget, but really, we must learn from it. Vietnam is a time where we didn't look at the whole picture, it was 'perceived through the lens of Cold War politics.' (MP:420) With the new ?domino theory,? Americans feared for their safety and the safety of the 'free world.' If they didn't step in, they would inevitably lose the world to communism. Many Americans believed our involvement in Vietnam began around 1965?the beginning of combat with American boys. In reality, engagement began much earlier, around 1945. The US supported France and rejected to recognize the Vietnamese nationalists as an actually body. The leader of the Vietnamese nationalists was Ho Chi Mihn and he was known as a communist. Our reasons for supporting France, more or less, reflected our foreign policy: containment. Post-WWII, our main focus was to contain Communism, as seen through the Truman. Doctrine. ?Truman and his advisors, who saw Communism as a monolithic force, assumed wrongly that Ho took orders from Moscow.? (AP:897) Because they believed that Ho had a connection with Communist Russia, the US wanted to support the more democratic side. American showed its support in aiding over 3/4 of the cost of France?s war. In 1954, France?s fortress at Dien Bien Phu finally fell to Ho?s forces and France asked America to step in. An international conference in ...

To Rent Or Not To Rent :: essays research papers

Renting a home to live in, rather than buying a home to live in is a much wiser decision. When renting a home you are able to have free maintenance, partially included utilities and the freedom to pack up and move at anytime you wish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We all like the luxury of being waited on, especially if it is at no cost to us. With a rental home, if the plumbing fouls up, the roof starts to leak or some other untimely mishap, free maintenance is only a phone call away for the renters because the landlord is liable for repairs on his rental properties. Whereas, the unlucky home owners better have some deep pockets when something goes awry in their household. Because a home owner does not have the free maintenance that those who rent do. The only things the home owners get are maintenance expenses and some free headaches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Partially included utilities are a real bonus for those who rent. Some rentals have both water and trash pick up paid by the landlord. That means two extra bills the renters need not to worry about. One can water his or her grass and take long showers without having the worry of having to look forward to a large water bill. While the one who owns their own home, has to be rather limited in their water use or else they may have to pay the high water bills.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Renting homes also has a nice freedom. When a person rents, they can always up and move with a written thirty day notice given to their landlord. For instance, what if the neighborhood starts to turn into a less desirable area for residing in? Like maybe the crime rate goes up or bothersome neighbors move in next door? Well then, the renter can look for another place in a more desirable part of town and move out of their rented home. On the other hand, if a person owns their home, they either have to deal with the unfavorable changes in the neighborhood or put their house up for sale.

Martin Luther King, Marcus Garvey, & Malcolm X Discussion

2012: Segregation Still at Its Worst The way todays events and the lifestyle of living is approached, the people of our past would have been surprised to know how much we have accomplished, and even more surprised to know some things still remain the same. Since the beginning of mankind, people have fought for their rights in order to make life a much easier way to live with one another. Documents like the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and even far back to the Ten Commandments, have been written to show some sort of peace structure to live by, with out harming one another.In America, freedom, justice, and equality for all has been a major issue that is yet to be fully fulfilled. Although, America is all about supporting the three lifestyles, the people are the ones who make the situation almost impossible to reach. If the strong leaders from our past were alive today helping us reach the right decision to these matters, the solutions would come even sooner to socie ty based on their helpful ideas, or maybe even the people of today would still be capable of assassinating them for their wise words and leadership.Leaders like Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr. , and Malcolm X, already had strong voices of opinion then and would have even higher voices today. Taking that if with the advanced science there is today, we would be able to bring back in time the lives of Martin Luther King Jr. , Malcolm X, and Marcus Garvey; for them to be able to be the same age they were while showing activism, and have an intellectual conversation with one another about the issues we are still facing, what would they have to say about them?Matters to discuss like the campaign election with our black President Obama, gangs in the United States, or an even more poplar subject; the battle for legalizing gay marriage throughout the states. Since Egyptian times there have been records of same sex couples, this is not a new subject to mankind but yet we treat it as if it is something our ancestors have never heard of and a new discovery. Gay marriage has been an on going debate in our society. The government trying to control who someone marries is limiting human rights. May 3rd, 2012.Walking along the beachy streets of Venice, California; Malcolm, Martin, and Marcus, run into each other while still in shock to be alive again where they are. Malcolm and Martin recognizing one another, Malcolm recognizing Marcus, and Marcus not being able to recognize neither since he came from an early time of theirs. After being together for a short amount of time in present day era, they have already learned about many events, issues, and problems there has stumbled through time. Taking a seat on a park bench, they begin to assemble some of their findings and ideas.Marcus: So men, one topic I've been hearing about both negatively and positive about has been the issue on either banning same-sex marriage or legalizing it. What do you all think should be done abou t that? Malcolm: Well beginning off with that, it brings back the dilemma we were fighting for back in our days for the right of our freedom because of the color of our skin. Even though the issue today is whether or not the same sex should be able to marry, but who is the government to tell someone who they could marry or who they cannot?Marcus: If it really is this big of an issue, all homosexuals who want to marry should just move to a state like Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is legalized, and they could colonize there to be able to marry and be more comfortable in the communities they are in rather than fighting for it where their state will not allow it. Malcolm: Marcus, my father, may he rest in peace, had a big admiration for you and your ideas about how we should have handled racism your way about moving back to Africa to avoid the segregation here.And so do I. But in this country, we have learned to build up our nation and overcome issues like racism, not fully sin ce it still exists in some ways, but its been handled to avoid discrimination. Now we believe in equality, and equality means that you have to put the same thing over here that you out over there (Malcolm 139). Our country is a nation of freedom, but yet that is taken away when the freedom of others choosing the one to marry, the ones they love, comes to place. Since the beginning of our nation we have been fighting for eligious, racial, and many other basic human rights. Denying gay marriage is fighting against a human’s basic right to love. Marcus Garvey in the beginning of this conversation, is trying to state that if it is really important to homosexuals, they should just leave their state and enter one where same-sex marriage is legal. Something he had also been saying to his people during his reign of leadership, enduring in people's mind to simply go back to Africa where they are sure to receive equal treatment within their colored people.Readings had been done about t he topic by Martin Luther King, who wanted to uncover deeper about the subject of gay marriage. He learned that conservative Theodore B. Olson, of the republican party, states in his article; â€Å" The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage†, that legalizing same-sex marriage would be a recognition of basic American principles, and it would represent the culmination of our nation's commitment to equal rights. Theodore also states that it is the last major milestone to be over came in our fight towards civil rights.After accomplishing the black and white racism battle over the years, much is still the same. Martin Luther King: Well men, after hearing you two discuss yesterday a little of what should be done about the fact of gay marriage, I went off to uncover more about the issue. According to a man by the name of Gary Gates, he did a study of how many homosexuals there are in the United States alone, and it came out to over four million gays, that’s more than four millio n people we are denying equal rights too!This does not include people who claim to be bisexual as well. Marcus: Nothing has changed. These white folks have poisoned the rest of our country to harm not only the rights of a negro anymore, but the rights of regular human beings that would only want to be one and marry. They have lost their sympathies throughout, heterosexuals have settled down to see nothing but their own interest (Garvey 205). Martin Luther King: That is right. The tables have turned that even the white folks, deny their own people of color. Only because of the sexuality they have.Imagine being told the way you were born or see things or feel for them, is wrong? And it had to be untaught to you only because others do not approve for it? Or your religion does not? That is not the way this country should be heading. Malcolm: The internal consciousness of this country is bankrupt. They make it appear they have our good interests at heart, but when you study it, every tim e, no matter how many steps they take us forward, it's like we're standing on a–what do you call that thing? (Malcolm 143). Marcus: †¦ A treadmill! Malcolm: A treadmill!The treadmill is moving backwards faster than we're able to go forward in this direction. We're not even standing still–we're going backwards. If this country really wants to find a solution to gay marriage, I suggest we take it as an aggressively strong approach to get our voices heard, heard aboard! To where others believe this country is all about equality, we will show them we still aren't. Because thats the only way America finds conclusions to her problems. When America is afraid of outside pressure, or when she's afraid of her image abroad (Malcolm 159).Martin Luther King: Wait here Malcolm, I love your enthusiasm when it comes to doing the right thing for our people, but the way we approach this issue should not be aggressively to the point where we involve outside allies to help us solve o ur problems. The government will hear it from us, and only us. Our most powerful nonviolent weapon is, as would be expected, also our most demanding, that is organization. To produce change, people must be organized to work together in units of power. Malcolm: So once again King you think we should still be resolving important issues of our society with the help of nonviolence?Now, I am not judging you on your practice of nonviolence, but I believe that I myself would go for nonviolence if it was consistent, if everybody was going to be nonviolent all the time. I'd say, okay to you King, let's get with it, we'll all be nonviolent with the homosexuals. But I don't go along with any kind of nonviolence unless everybody's going to be nonviolent. And once that happens, well then, life has really changed. But up until now 40 something years later, things still seem to be the same. So in order to get the human rights there still seems to be achieved, power and aggression should be shown ( Malcolm 139).Martin Luther King: When Negros marched back in our days, so did the nation. If we could only get all the devoted homosexuals who want to marry to unite and march together, the results would be extraordinary. The power of the nonviolent march is indeed a mystery. It will be surprising to have a few hundreds, maybe even thousands, of gays marching to produce a strong reaction in their nation. When marches are carefully organized around well-defined issues, they represent the power which Victor Hugo phrased as the most powerful force in the world, â€Å"an ideas whose time has come. Marching feet announce that time has come for a given idea. When the die is a sound one, the cause is just one, and the demonstration a righteous one, change will be forthcoming. And marching once is not going to get us straight to the conclusion we want, it will take several marches to show how serious this really is to different types of peoples lives (Nonviolence 59). Marcus: I'm beginning to agree with what King here has to say†¦the technique of nonviolence shows to have worked before and it will be a continuous practice to be done in the future obviously.I still think gays should just move together to find their comfort zone where they are accepted, but that does take away from their pride and human rights they deserve. Now I too did more research on this, and sadly marrying the same sex denies you from even greater problems that are plain out unfair. Many people suggest that same sex couples just get domestic partnership or a civil union, but this does not allow them to benefit from health insurance. They cannot gain from their title of being a wife or husband. Employers don't allow spouse or children of same sex to have health care coverage and will only extend it through marriage.Malcolm: That is a big problem. Come to think of it, when someone in your family is hospitalized, the only visitation under critical conditions, are allowed by intermediate family and spouses. So most of these same-sex domestic partnerships are not allowed to see one another if even on the verge of dying. Martin Luther King: They are making it feel that perhaps homosexuals are less than human. The white men at first refused to accept change. And now not only is it the white man who is refusing to accept change it is also the black, the yellow, the brown.The struggles these gays are going through will begin to help them to evaluate themselves, and with their determination to struggle and sacrifice, until the walls of segregation have been fully crushed by the battering rams of justice, should be met again (Nonviolence 7). Facts about how Gay marriage is illegal is unconstitutional, this law takes away basic rights to gays that are important, it really all comes down to love. Looking around at so many gay couples around America, they were so devoted to one another, as a heterosexual couple is as well.After discussing this issue with many people who are against same-sex marriage, one was a changed person in regards to it. Marriage is not just a government form to people; it is a way of expressing their life long commitment to one another. Same sex marriage should be legalized because it supports what our nation believes in and will only unite our nation more. If Martin Luther King Jr. , Malcolm X, and Marcus Garvey were still alive today, this issue would be one they too would be battling for because banning same sex marriage goes against our nations fight towards equality.Basic human rights are taken away from gay couples, the last thing these leaders wanted to leave the Earth by was to know that human rights are still taken away from their own people. Something that they fought so hard to get out of. They would want everyone to see same sex marriage as nothing new or different from heterosexual marriage, just as they taught America and the world to see black and white people no different or greater than one another. Gays are humans too a nd should have the right to commit to the ones they love.

Priestley’s Paradox

It is assumed that technology has aided the increase in interpersonal communication however it important to discuss the effects of technology on modern communication. This essay briefly provides a critical opinion on modern communication and provides examples of some interpersonal communication that rely on new technology, its potential advantage and possible dilemma with the use of modern technology in interpersonal communication. The world today is a global world; we live in a global village and the world as we know it keeps decreasing due to the rapid growth of technology. The ever increasing speed at the development of new technology creates innovative ways of communicating and in more ways than one has changed the way people communicate. Although modern communication has some advantages, which include convenience, speed, dissemination, and these advantages can be overpowered by disadvantages such as lack of content, language confusion. It will be argued here that the role of modern technology provides methods that hinder interpersonal communication, therefore while there are certain advantages associated with the increase of communications technology; these are evidently outweighed by the disadvantages. Communication is important to humans and a vital part of our world; man is a social animal and therefore requires communication as an essential tool for socializing. Focusing on interpersonal communication skills, Eunson (2008, p. 86) defines this as the processes that help, distort or block communication of messages between individuals but communicating effectively requires some basic skills such as active listening, usage and interpretation of body language and facial expressions. Technology however has created different channels to enhance interpersonal communication, invention such as mobile phones, emails, social networks, has made for easier, faster and smarter ways of communicating. This has led to the internet becoming an essential instrument in the media and communication strategies of civil society (Bailey, Cammaers, Carpentier 2008, p. 98). However with such availability, communication barriers are constantly increasing, with language confusion and a vast vocabulary of ever growing internet slang. Priestley’s paradox suggests that the rapid increase in communications technology has increased the quantity but decreased the quality of contemporary communication (Eunson 2008, p. 4-5). Whether or not this statement is entirely true, it is undeniable that it is very representative of the degree to which communication has deteriorated due to the constant increase of different technologically enhanced means of communication. Communication between individuals includes both verbal and non-verbal that can be easily misunderstood depending on the medium of communication. The occurrence of misunderstanding between individuals is heightened because of the lack of personal connection and context. Emails are generally informal, unstructured with the use of colloquialisms and jargons, email has rendered irrelevant more direct and often more effective forms of communication such as using telephone, walking down the corridor and talking, or attending meetings (Eunson 2008, p. 208-215). In addition to that, some people take advantage of the accessibility of sending an email and say things they wouldn’t feel comfortable saying in face to face conversations and messages sent can be misinterpreted or misunderstood by receiver further reducing the quality of communication. Things such as body language and eye contact is non-existent when it comes to sending emails, these are very essential part of daily conversations and some people use it as an excuse to avoid face to face conversation. Many may argue that in the past few years the world has undergone radical changes with the amount of available modern communication mediums, and these appears to have caused an increase in the number of social networks. Online communications mediums, weblogs in part, are sites of author audience interaction that differ from face to face performance and traditional reader relationship (Buckingham 2000, p. 207). Most young people spend countless hours on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo creating friendships and relationships with people they meet in cyberspace. The strangeway in which so many of these interactants see the internet as both an intimate area for exchange, as well as a place for public display, challenges our perceptions of these boundaries (Buckingham & Willet 2006, p. 19). The ease at which many disclose personal information on the internet via social networking sites is alarming as they generally are exposed to risks of contact with paedophiles (e. g. via grooming in chat rooms) and often exposure to violent or racist / hate material (Buckingham & Willet 2006, p. 94). Another advantage of communicating via social network sites is that people can share ideas a nd values while maintaining anonymity. Concerns about modern communication is the