Panama Cannal Essays - Panama Canal, Gatun Dam, Culebra Cut, Canal

Panama Cannal The Panama Canal; A Shorter Trade Route. Jo Bob Running head :The Panama Canal; A Shorter Trade Route Abstract For centurys man has used water as way to get from one place to another very quickly. The Panama Canal is no exception. From around the start of the 16th century people have been trying to find a way to cut a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. Many misfortunes and deaths have been sacrificed to obtain this goal. Finally in 1914 the American had completed one of the greatest feats of all time the Panama Canal, cutting a many months journey to nine hours. The Panama Canal; The Shorter Trade Route. Europeans had wanted of Central American canal as early as the 16thy century; President Ulysses S. Grant sent seven expeditions to study the feasibility of digging the cannel. As travel and trade in the Western Hemisphere increased the need for a canal grew increasingly more important. To sail from the Atlantic to the pacific, ships navigated around the Cape Horn. This was a long and very dangerous trip especially around the tip of South America. A New York to San Francisco journey measured more than 13000 miles and took months to complete. The canals construction was badly needed. History Of Canals A canal is an artificial waterway built for navigation, crop irrigation, water supply and drainage. Canals are usually connected with natural bodies of water or other canal. Canals have been used for thousands of years. They started out in early civilization in the middle east as a way to bring water to the city and to water their crops. In the 3rd century the Chinese began building canals, the longest of these early canals was more than 1000 miles long. Making it the longest artificial waterway in the world. (Britannica(no date)) Romans built huge canals mainly for military transport. By the twelfth century 85% of all Medieval European travel was by waterway.( Britannica(no date)) The greatest invention in canal construction came along 1373. The Dutch developed the pound lock system. The Lock system uses a series of chambers that can be flooded or drained so the ship can change elevation. This allowed canals to be built where elevation made it impossible. This brings us to the modern era of canal building and one of the greatest engineering feats of all time the Panama Canal. The French A French Developer Ferdinand de Lesseps believed that the Panama Canal could make lots of money for investors. The French cut a broad path through the jungle and on January 20, 1882 they commenced digging. They brought with them tons of modern equipment. They had steam shovels and locomotive and dredges. Their work crews were mostly black and Indian labors. In the first months, the digging proceeded slowly but steadily. Then the rain began and the French faced many dangers. The crew faced miles upon mile of impassable jungle, and very heavy rain. In the jungle they also faced insects, snakes, swamps, small pox, malaria, yellow fever, and flooding of the charges river. The Charges sakes across the canal route a total of fourteen times. The French dammed the river so they could drudge the canal but every time it would rain the river would swell and break the dams. It would sweep away workers, destroy equipment, and fill in the canal with sediment. If that wasnt enough the stagnate water that was formed, breaded large amount of deadly insects. Three out of four men hospitalized at the very modern Ancon hospital died. Finally in 1888 the project was abandoned and lots of French investors lost money. About $287,000,000 had been spent eleven miles of the canal had been dug and 20,000 men lost their lives.(Britannica(no date)) The canal remained unfinished but the dream had not yet died. Theodore Roosevelt would soon take up the cause. The Americans The strategic necessity and the desire of business men to have access to the Pacific market combined in the late 1890s to convince the president and Congress that a canal linking the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean was vital to Americans. The British government gave up its right to joint construction with The United States in 1901. The French company, which had tried unsuccessfully to dig the canal

SCHAFER Surname Meaning and Family History

SCHAFER Surname Meaning and Family History The Schfer surname and its variations such as Schaefer come from the Middle High German schà ¦fà ¦re, meaning shepherd, a derivative of schaf, meaning sheep.  See SCHAFFER for another possible origin. Schfer / Schaefer  is the 11th most common German surname. Surname Origin: German, Jewish Alternate Surname Spellings:  SCHAEFER, SCHAF, SCHAAP, SCHAEFFER, SHAVER, SCHEFFER, SCHAFFER Famous People With the SCHAFER  / SCHAEFER Surname Arnold  Schfer  - German historianWill Schaefer  - American composerPierre Schaeffer -  French composer, writer, broadcaster, and engineerEdward Albert Sharpey-Shafer (born  Edward Albert Schfer) - English physiologistTim Shafer - American computer game designer Where Is the SCHÄFER Surname Most Common? According to surname distribution from Forebears, the  Schfer surname is most common in Germany, ranking as the countrys 72nd most common surname. The alternate spelling of Shaefer is even more common, coming in at 57th.  WorldNames PublicProfiler, which combines data on the surname under the Shaefer spelling (the   umlaut converts to ae),  indicates the surname is very prevalent throughout Germany, especially the southern half of the country in states such as Hessen,  Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden Wà ¼rttemberg and  Nordrhein-Westfalen. Surname maps from Verwandt.de indicate the  Schfer last name is most common in western Germany, especially in the counties or cities of Berlin, Lahn-Dill-Kreis,  Kà ¶ln,  Gießen,  Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, Mayen-Koblenz, Frankfurt am Main and Wetteraukreis. Genealogy Resources for the Surname SCHÄFER Meanings of Common German SurnamesUncover the meaning of your German last name with this free guide to the meanings and origins of common German surnames. Schafer  Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Schafer  family crest or coat of arms for the Schaefer surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. Schaffer  DNA  Surname ProjectIndividuals with the Schaffer  surname, and variations such as Schaefer, Schaeffer, Schafer, Schaffler, Shafer, Shaffer, Shaver and Sheaffer, are invited to participate in this group DNA project in an attempt to learn more about Schaffer family origins. The website includes information on the project, the research done to date, and instructions on how to participate. SCHAFER  Family Genealogy ForumThis free message board is focused on descendants of Schafer  ancestors around the world. FamilySearch - SCHAFER  GenealogyExplore over 3.7  million results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Schafer surname on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. SCHAFER  Surname Mailing ListFree mailing list for researchers of the Schafer  surname and its variations includes subscription details and searchable archives of past messages. DistantCousin.com - SCHAFER  Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Schafer. GeneaNet - Schafer  RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Schafer  surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. The Schafer  Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Schafer  surname from the website of Genealogy Today. References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Deciding to decide review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Deciding to decide review - Essay Example Justification of petitions at the Supreme Court must meet clearly outlined criteria. This is the only way that a case on certiorari will be deemed acceptable at the Supreme Court. In the event that the Supreme Court does not necessarily have to be involved, then higher courts more or less apply the same process in justifying the certworthiness of certiorari cases. According to Perry (1991), a case on certiorari is said to be certworthy if it meets the circuit conflict, importance, and egregiousness criteria for cert. Certiorari cases capture the attention of the higher courts, and especially the Supreme Court, if they exhibit critical circuit conflicts. The availability of a circuit conflict does not automatically justify certworthiness. Higher courts or the Supreme Court for that matter has its evaluative measures that determine the criticality of the conflict, subsequently informing whether or not cert. is granted. Conflicts within and across circuits may or may not be deemed necessary for consideration by the higher courts. However, the justification process is clearly outlined so that an ultimate decision is reached from the facts, issues, concerns, or conflicts presented on the table. The importance of the certiorari case is another justification factor considered in the process of determining the certworthiness of the case. A case’s uniqueness, political and societal importance, and legal importance of a petition (Perry, 1991) are the primary factors that inform the importance of a certiorari case. Here, the implications of the petition are prioritized. Notably, the depth of the matter may not count as much. The political, societal, and legal factors subject to a certiorari case make all the difference. The process of determining the certworthiness of a certiorari case is undoubtedly intensive and extensive. What matters to the higher courts or the Supreme Court in particular are the three

Seisin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Seisin - Essay Example This enabled different people to access seized property while away in pilgrimage or crusade, without necessarily having the idea of the right of ownership (Harold p 313). In chapter 2, according to Magna Carta, the legal concept of seisin of barons or earls in the chief by the military service, at the time of death owes relief. The notion of seisin inheritance develops by the old shelter from which the heirs of a Knight owes less according to ancient custom fees on seisin land. Moreover, in chapter 4, the guardian of the seisin land, takes reasonable customs, services and produce from the heir of the earth (Batten p 104). In contrast, destruction or waste of goods and men, committed toward ship of the lands and any other minor to the sheriff responsible for issues, determines two discreet men of fee. Besides, the sale of wardship of land to anyone that makes destruction or waste losses wardship and the land transferred to lawful and discreet men of a fief. According to Chapter 12, the legal concept of seisin does not impose on any kingdom, unless directed by a joint council of the kingdom. However, the difference develops for individual cases such as ransoming, that makes the eldest son in the country a knight. The marrying of the eldest daughter in the country levies a reasonable aid in different cities such as London. Chapter 16, allows anyone to enjoy the benefits of seisin, and no one distrains the chance of greater service for knight’s fee in seisin land (Edgeworth, Brendan, Neave & Ronald p 267). In Magna Carta, chapter 18, the inquest of novel disseizing and darrein presentment does not hold anywhere than their own county courts, in solving cases based on seisin (Makdisi p 29). These forces were chief justifies sending two justifiers in every county four times a year. The justifies with four knights of the county chosen by the county hold assizes in the county court in the place of meeting within the court. Chapter 39

Armstrong Gets Dumped by Shelly Banjo Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 27

Armstrong Gets Dumped by Shelly Banjo - Article Example This article gives the reader an insight into Armstrong’s doping scandal. It shows how this issue began, and its final implications, which leave Armstrong in a negative light. Most importantly, the US-Anti Doping Agency (USADA) declares Armstrong guilty of doping, based on a 200-page report with intensive details, which point to the fact that Armstrong ran a complex doping operation. It is decided that he is a drug cheat when he fails to defend himself against these allegations. What follows is the stripping off all his seven Tour de France wins. Different organizations he collaborated with deny him and promise to cut business relations with him. For example, Nike terminates his contract abruptly, while some cycling chiefs from International Cycling Union (UCI) require Armstrong to repay all the prize money from the stripped winnings from 1998-2005, and he resigns as the chairperson of Livestrong, his cancer foundation (â€Å"The Wall Street Journal†).  In this articl e, the author takes a neutral stand, as she neither supports nor condemns any of the parties involved in this whole issue. The author only reports on the facts as they are, and does not give a personal opinion on the overall issue. This is a commendable approach, essential in reporting, for bias avoidance.  Armstrong’s doping scandal raises many concerns in the cycling sport, as doping is mentioned as a trend among some cyclists. Nonetheless, doping, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency is illegal. One of the reasons is that it adversely affects the health of the involved athletes, and is considered cheating in sport (Porterfield, 2007).  

Kirkpatricks Theory of Change Management

Kirkpatricks Theory of Change Management According to (Kirkpatrick, 2001), the important element of a preforming well manager is handling with change. Running change combine theoretical in image with practical application to address the manager effective managing change with record interference. There are three element empathy, participation and communication are the approaches for managing change efficiently. In effective managing change Kirkpatrick describe that how the key and action is supportive for implementing new ideas policies and strategies for almost any kind of organization. According to (Rags dell, 2001)The main objective of every organizational change is to shift the organization from its existing position to an advantageous position, on the other hand the organization change can be achieve in different ways whichever through fundamental change or through incremental change. According to (Tushan et al, 1985) Dealing between two types of change by creation of punctual equilibrium model of organization change. According (Charles Handy, 1990), today change is pole apart because it is flashing. He thinks this kind of modern disorganized change calls for alternating positive impact thinking to compact with it. In case of curt house hotel the management needs to look after for the upcoming changes in the organization. As they are changing the property from 3 stars to 4 stars they need to look after on the three element of the change management. If the organization will give a look on these elements they will achieve the objective in next summers. Its a long term plan so that they have to think before and they need to use the management function. They will provide a quality service to Japanese delegates with no hassle. How to manage change effectively Kirkpatrick recommends a organized model for managing change. There are certain steps for managing change efficiently are as follows: Shaping the requirements and aspiration for a change Formulating an uncertain strategy. Investigating possible feedbacks. Creating an ultimate result. Creating a schedule. Making a plan for change. Executing the change. Individual reaction on managing change. (Bridges, 1986 et al), we can identify that how individual apply change by the use of various models to describe this occurrence by process. The most important objective of each and every skilled employee to understand the concept of change and how its effects on individual, and change is also give an advantage to the employee to accomplish the goals and objectives. Change affects the performance of an individual with an organization more efficiently. From here (Juck, 1990 et al), The set of approaches to change concerns the experience of individual in the managing process focus on the psychological adjustment that individual person of organization must make during organizational change. Kirkpatricks 3 elements of managing change (Kirkpatrick, 1985), the first things to managing change are believe that change is necessary; employee can be motivating in the company towards change by creating the realness for change. These are 3 methods for creating realness to change first one is sensitive people about the pressure of change, shows discrepancy between undesirable stale of affairs, and communicate positive realistic expectation for the advantage of change. (Kirkpatrick, 2001), three elements explore how employee thinks about change and how their motives, needs, and possibilities carried them until goal. The crucial ingredients of Kirkpatrick three elements of managing change is empathy which is really beneficial and use full for organization. The main thing of any organization is communication, which is called central of all the effective change. Communication is creating understanding between two or more people- is not complete definition of communication but the communication is treatment of listening and feed back is practical and cogent. Another and very important elements of change management are participation, which is perceived as a sough- after result of the empathy and communication. Empathy, 1st key (Robert bacal), the first elements of managing change is empathy, employee reaction to change are commonly not logical from and outsiders perspective. People reach according to their needs and want. People reaction to any change differs between person-to-person or even within one person. It refers to ability to walk in other persons shoes and more importantly, the emotional of individual faced with change. Knowing the employees understanding their concerns, and developing empathetic relation ship with the employees should be normal procedure of all managers. It is more critical during period of managing change. (Kirkpatrick, 2001), According to Kirkpatrick manager should put him self in the place of employee, which is, best way to realize the employees feeling and it is also better for manager to achieve the goal with the support of team. Empathy is also a good way to know the person individually. A better manager knows the individuals who will be affected by change. There are some steps by which a manager can know about the employees, first step is looking personal files, second step is asking questions from the employee and the next and last step is listening and observing. Empathy is no inherited trait; this is something that can be developed by gating to know the other person the better way to know the person individually to analyze of conversation with each of the staff members, which they resist of, accept a change. Empathy also helps to provide clues for the communication and participation. Participation, 2nd key. (Coch et al, 1948), Main action step in managing change is participation. Participation is the change tends to reduce resistance build on the change and motive people to make the change to work. Participation may also lead to obtaining new information from that participation, information that may enhance the effectiveness of the change or the future (Kirkpatrick, 2007), Participation is technique for use in conducting instructional meetings. It consists of participation of the part of learners under the guidance and control of the leaders. It only effectively used when experience have idea to contribute. The participation has its two basic approached first one is which one is most common form is to have discussion among the participation without any hesitation and leaders gives questions and problems to entire group. Employers answer it to the leader. Second approach is that group is divided into buzz group of 4 or 5 people so that each employee can participate actively. (Cynthia D.scott, 1995), people will more really accept change if they are involved in the process involvement means that they will have a role in defining how to meet a goal, or respond to a new situation. Communication, 3rd key (Robert bacal), communication play an essential role to the employees for effective change management in an organization. Managers need to have an effective communication between employees to make them realize how communication is important and it also create understanding in an organization. Managers need to look after on the employees whether they understand the importance of change management because its a two way method. (Kavanaugh and ninemier), the effective communication will build a better relationship among the staffs in the organization. It also improves productivity in an organization and it provides a growth to better levels of guest satisfaction. (Sir nick Scheele, 2007), systematic communication with the employees in an organization offer an important phase for creating support to feel part of the result.

The Impact of Gender on Family Life Essay -- The Social Construction o

Conceiving of gender as a social construction rather than a biologically assigned identity helps explain historical fluctuations in men’s and women’s practices and in culturally bound definitions of appropriate male and female behavior. Hansen argues that an individual’s gendered behavior is influenced by culturally constructed notions of what is appropriate for good mothers or good fathers or good people to do when caring for children (Hansen 7). The perception of American families as â€Å"small, self-reliant units headed by a breadwinning father and cared for by a stay-at-home mother† (1) has considerable influence over family life. This cultural construction affects everything from childrearing to networking to the workplace and individuals must consciously strive to break away from these roles. Both clinging too and attempting to break from these roles can have significant effects on one’s family experience. For the past two centuries at least, the tasks of child rearing and caregiving have been assigned primarily, though not exclusively to women (Hansen 6). Arlie Hochschild presents the idea of a gender strategy as â€Å"a plan of action through which a person tries to solve problems at hand, given the cultural notions of gender at play† (7). This is something that is necessary for â€Å"not-so-nuclear† families in order to function and get by. Women are â€Å"located at the structural nexus of domestic work, child rearing, and paid labor, they nonetheless exercise some discretion about how they act on and interpret their situations† (7). Many women take into consideration where it is appropriate to take a stand for a equality or when they should back down for the sake of a marriage or to prevent fighting within the family. Men and wome... ...ry have shaped the mindset of the people. The idea is so solidified in our minds that a complete change may never be able to occur. Either way, the most important factor for changing the family dynamic will be time. Works Cited Cherlin, Andrew J. Public and Private Families: An Introduction. 6th. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print. Hansen, Karen V. Not-So-Nuclear Families: Class, Gender, And Networks of Care. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2005. Print. Johnson, Michael P. A Typology of Domestic Violence: Intimate Terrorism, Violent Resistance, and Situation Couple Violence. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2008. Print. Tichenor, Veronica Jaris. â€Å"Gendered Bargain: Why Wives Cannot Trade Their Money For Housework† from Earning More and Getting Less: Why Successful Wives Can’t By Equality. 2005. Rutgers University Press. Print. The Impact of Gender on Family Life Essay -- The Social Construction o Conceiving of gender as a social construction rather than a biologically assigned identity helps explain historical fluctuations in men’s and women’s practices and in culturally bound definitions of appropriate male and female behavior. Hansen argues that an individual’s gendered behavior is influenced by culturally constructed notions of what is appropriate for good mothers or good fathers or good people to do when caring for children (Hansen 7). The perception of American families as â€Å"small, self-reliant units headed by a breadwinning father and cared for by a stay-at-home mother† (1) has considerable influence over family life. This cultural construction affects everything from childrearing to networking to the workplace and individuals must consciously strive to break away from these roles. Both clinging too and attempting to break from these roles can have significant effects on one’s family experience. For the past two centuries at least, the tasks of child rearing and caregiving have been assigned primarily, though not exclusively to women (Hansen 6). Arlie Hochschild presents the idea of a gender strategy as â€Å"a plan of action through which a person tries to solve problems at hand, given the cultural notions of gender at play† (7). This is something that is necessary for â€Å"not-so-nuclear† families in order to function and get by. Women are â€Å"located at the structural nexus of domestic work, child rearing, and paid labor, they nonetheless exercise some discretion about how they act on and interpret their situations† (7). Many women take into consideration where it is appropriate to take a stand for a equality or when they should back down for the sake of a marriage or to prevent fighting within the family. Men and wome... ...ry have shaped the mindset of the people. The idea is so solidified in our minds that a complete change may never be able to occur. Either way, the most important factor for changing the family dynamic will be time. Works Cited Cherlin, Andrew J. Public and Private Families: An Introduction. 6th. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. Print. Hansen, Karen V. Not-So-Nuclear Families: Class, Gender, And Networks of Care. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2005. Print. Johnson, Michael P. A Typology of Domestic Violence: Intimate Terrorism, Violent Resistance, and Situation Couple Violence. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2008. Print. Tichenor, Veronica Jaris. â€Å"Gendered Bargain: Why Wives Cannot Trade Their Money For Housework† from Earning More and Getting Less: Why Successful Wives Can’t By Equality. 2005. Rutgers University Press. Print.

Harshad Mehta Scam

Harshad Mehta scam: Harshad Mehta  was an Indian stockbroker and is alleged to have engineered the rise in the BSE stock exchange in the year 1992. Exploiting several loopholes in the banking system, Harshad and his associates siphoned off funds from inter-bank transactions and bought shares heavily at a premium across many segments, triggering a rise in the Sensex. When the scheme was exposed, the banks started demanding the money back, causing the collapse. He was later charged with 72 criminal offenses and more than 600 civil action suits were filed against him.He died in 2002 with many litigations still pending against him. 3. 1 Ready Forward Deal (RF): †¢ The crucial mechanism through which the scam was effected was the Ready Forward deal. †¢ The Ready Forward Deal (RF) is in essence a secured short term (typically 15 day) loan from one bank to another bank. The lending is done against Government Securities exactly the way a pawnbroker lends against jewelry. †¢ In fact one can say that the borrowing bank actually sells the securities to the lending bank and buys them back at the end of the period of the loan at (typically) a slightly higher price. It was this RF deal that Harshad Mehta and his associates used with great success to channel money from banking system. 3. 2 The Mechanics of the Scam: As explained above, a ready forward deal is, in substance, a secured loan from one bank to another.To make the scam possible , the RF had to undergo a complete change. In other words it practically had to become an unsecured loan to broker. This was wonderfully engineered by the brokers. To give a better understanding of the mechanism, the whole process has been segregated into 3 different parts. . The settlement process 2. Payment cheques 3. Dispensing the security 1. The settlement Process: ? The normal settlement process in government securities is that the transacting banks make payments and deliver the securities directly to each other. ? Dur ing the scam, however, the banks or at least some banks adopted an alternative settlement process which was similar to the process used for settling transactions in the stock market. ? In this settlement process, deliveries of securities and payments are made through the broker.That is, the seller hands over the securities to the broker who passes them on to the buyer, while the buyer gives the cheque to the broker who then makes the payment to the seller. ? In this settlement process, the buyer and the seller may not even know whom they have traded with, both being known only to the broker. ? There were two important reasons why the broker intermediated settlement began to be used in the government securities markets. ? The brokers instead of merely bringing buyers and sellers together started taking positions in the market.In other words, they started trading on their own account, and in a sense became market makers in some securities thereby imparting greater liquidity to the mar kets. ? When a bank wanted to conceal the fact that it was doing an RF deal, the broker came in handy. The broker provided contract notes for this purpose with fictitious counter parties, but arranged for the actual settlement to take place with the correct counter party. 2. Payment Cheques: ? A broker intermediated settlement allowed the broker to lay his hands on the cheque as it went from one bank to another through him.The hurdle now was to find a way of crediting the cheque to his account though it was drawn in favor of a bank and was crossed account payee. ? As it happens, it is purely a matter of banking custom that an account payee cheque is paid only to the payee mentioned on the cheque. In fact, exceptions were being made to this norm, well before the scam came to light. ? Privileged (corporate) customers were routinely allowed to credit account payee cheques in favour of a bank into their own accounts to avoid clearing delays, thereby reducing the interest lost on the amo unt. Normally, if a customer obtains a cheque in his own favour and deposits it into his own account, it may take a day or two for the cheque to be cleared and for the funds to become available to the customer. At 15% interest, the interest loss on a clearing delay of two days for a Rs. 100 crores cheque is about Rs. 8 lakhs. ? On the other hand, when banks make payments to each other by writing cheques on their account with the RBI, these cheques are cleared on the same day. ? The practice which thus emerged was that a customer would obtain a cheque drawn on the RBI favoring not himself but his bank.The bank would get the money and credit his account the same day. ? This was the practice which the brokers in the money market exploited to their benefit. 3. Dispensing the security: ? The brokers thus found a way of getting hold of the cheques as they went from one bank to another and crediting the amounts to their accounts. This effectively transformed an RF into a loan to a broker r ather than to a bank. ? But this, by itself, would not have led to the scam because the RF after all is a secured loan, and a secured loan to a broker is still secured. What was necessary now was to find a way of eliminating the security itself! There are three routes adopted for this purpose: 1. Some banks (or rather their officials) were persuaded to part with cheques without actually receiving securities in return. A simple explanation of this is that the officials concerned were bribed and/or negligent. A more intriguing possibility is that the banks' senior/top management were aware of this and turned a Nelson's eye to it to benefit from higher returns the brokers could offer by diverting the funds to the stock market. One must recognize that as long as the scam lasted, the banks benefited from such an arrangement.The management of banks might have been sorely tempted to adopt this route to higher profitability. 2. The second route was to replace the actual securities by a wort hless piece of paper – a fake Bank Receipt (BR). This is discussed in greater detail in the next section. 3. The third method was simply to forge the securities themselves. In many cases, PSU bonds were represented only by allotment letters rather than certificates on security paper. And it is easier to forge an allotment letter for Rs. 100 crores worth of securities than it is to forge a 100 rupee note!Outright forgery of this kind however accounted for only a very small part of the total funds misappropriated 3. Bank Receipt: ? In an RF deal, as we have discussed it so far, the borrowing bank delivers the actual securities to the lender and takes them back on repayment of the loan. In practice, however, this is not usually done. Instead, the borrower gives a Bank Receipt (BR) which serves three functions: ? The BR confirms the sale of securities. ? It acts as a receipt for the money received by the selling bank. Hence the name – bank receipt. ? It promises to deliver the securities to the buyer.It also states that in the meantime the seller holds the securities in trust for the buyer. ? In short, a BR is something like an IOU (I owe you securities! ), and the use of the BR de facto converts an RF deal into an unsecured loan. The lending bank no longer has the securities; it has only the borrower's assurance that the borrower has the securities which can/will be delivered if/when the need arises. BRs issued without Backing of Securities: ? As stated earlier, a BR is supposed to imply that the issuer actually has the securities and holds them in trust for the buyer.But in reality the issuer may not have the securities at all. ? There are two reasons why a bank may issue a BR, which is not backed by actual securities: 1. A bank may short sell securities, that is, it sells securities it does not have. This would be done if the bank thinks that the prices of these securities would decrease. Since this would be an outright sale (not an RF! ), the ban k issues a BR. When the securities do fall in value, the bank buys them at lower prices and discharges the BR by delivering the securities sold. Short selling in some form is an integral part of most bond markets in the world.It can be argued that some amount of shortselling subject to some degree of regulation is a desirable feature of a bond market. In our opinion, an outright sale using a BR, which is not backed by securities, is not harmful per se though it violates the RBI guidelines. 2. The second reason is that the bank may simply want an unsecured loan. It may then do an RF deal issuing a â€Å"fake† BR which is a BR without any securities to back them. The lending bank would be under a mistaken impression that it is making a secured loan when it is actually advancing an unsecured loan.Obviously, lenders should have taken measures to protect themselves from such a possibility During the scam, the brokers perfected the art of using fake BRs to obtain unsecured loans fr om the banking system. They persuaded some small and little known banks – the Bank of Karad (BOK) and the Metropolitan Cooperative Bank (MCB) – to issue BRs as and when required. These BRs could then be used to do RF deals with other banks. The cheques in favour of BOK were, of course, credited into the brokers' accounts. In effect, several arge banks made huge unsecured loans to the BOK/MCB which in turn made the money available to the brokers. 4. Breakdown of the Control system in scam: ? The scam was made possible by a complete breakdown of the control system both within the commercial banks as well as the control system of the RBI itself. ? We shall examine these control systems to understand how these failed to function effectively and what lessons can be learnt to prevent failure of control systems in the future. ? The internal control system of the commercial banks involves the following features: 1. Separation of Functions:The different aspects of securities tr ansactions of a bank, namely dealing, custody and accounting are carried out by different persons. 2. Counterparty Limits: The moment an RF deal is done on the basis of a BR rather than actual securities, the lending bank has to contend with the possibility that the BR received may not be backed by any/adequate securities. In effect, therefore, it may be making an unsecured loan, and it must do the RF only if it is prepared to make an unsecured loan. This requires assessing the creditworthiness of the borrower and assigning him a â€Å"credit limit† up to which the bank is prepared to lend.Technically, this is known as a counterparty limit. 5. Other Aspects of the scam: ? There are several aspects of the scam which are closely related to the securities markets, but which are different from the operational aspect of the markets. ? These pertain to information that can cause significant changes in the prices of securities as well as the information supplied by the commercial ba nks on their financial performance. ? On each occasion the coupon rate was increased by 1/2%, thereby raising the coupon rate from 11. 5% to 13% during this ten month period.The major implication of raising interest rate on new borrowings is that it would trigger a fall in the market prices of the old loans which are pegged at the old (lower) interest rates. The price of the 11. 5% Government Loan 2010 dropped by 3% to 5% with each coupon rate hike. If anyone has advance information about these changes in the coupon rates, he could make enormous amounts of riskless profit by short selling the old securities just before the announcement of rate hike and buying back (covering his position) after the prices have fallen. ? Somebody who took a short position of Rs. 00 crores before the coupon hike of September 1991 could have made a profit of Rs. 15 crores, practically overnight! Since several persons in the Finance Ministry and the RBI are likely to be aware of the impending hike in the coupon rate, the chance of leakage of this all important information is always there. ? There have been several allegations in this regard. However, it will probably be very difficult to prove with any degree of certainty that there was insider trading based on information about coupon rate changes, because of the size of the market. With a daily trading volume of Rs. 3000 – 4000 crores, it would have been very easy for anyone to take a position (based on inside information) of Rs. 500 or even Rs. 1000 crores without anyone suspecting anything untoward. 6. Impact of the scam: ? The immediate impact of the scam was a sharp fall in the share prices. The index fell from 4500 to 2500 representing a loss of Rs. 100,000 crores in market capitalization. [pic] ? Since the accused were active brokers in the stock markets, the number of shares which had passed through their hands in the last one year was colossal.All these shares became â€Å"tainted† shares, and overnight they became worthless pieces of paper as they could not be delivered in the market. Genuine investors who had bought these shares well before the scam came to light and even got them registered in their names found themselves being robbed by the government. This resulted in a chaotic situation in the market since no one was certain as to which shares were tainted and which were not. ? The government's liberalization policies came under severe criticism after the scam, with Harshad Mehta and others being described as the products of these policies. Bowing to the political pressures and the bad press it received during the scam, the liberalization policies were put on hold for a while by the government. The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) postponed sanctioning of private sector mutual funds. ? The much talked about entry of foreign pension funds and mutual funds became more remote than ever. The Euro-issues planned by several Indian companies were delayed since the ability of In dian companies to raise equity capital in world markets was severely compromised. Harshad Mehta Scam Harshad Mehta scam: Harshad Mehta  was an Indian stockbroker and is alleged to have engineered the rise in the BSE stock exchange in the year 1992. Exploiting several loopholes in the banking system, Harshad and his associates siphoned off funds from inter-bank transactions and bought shares heavily at a premium across many segments, triggering a rise in the Sensex. When the scheme was exposed, the banks started demanding the money back, causing the collapse. He was later charged with 72 criminal offenses and more than 600 civil action suits were filed against him.He died in 2002 with many litigations still pending against him. 3. 1 Ready Forward Deal (RF): †¢ The crucial mechanism through which the scam was effected was the Ready Forward deal. †¢ The Ready Forward Deal (RF) is in essence a secured short term (typically 15 day) loan from one bank to another bank. The lending is done against Government Securities exactly the way a pawnbroker lends against jewelry. †¢ In fact one can say that the borrowing bank actually sells the securities to the lending bank and buys them back at the end of the period of the loan at (typically) a slightly higher price. It was this RF deal that Harshad Mehta and his associates used with great success to channel money from banking system. 3. 2 The Mechanics of the Scam: As explained above, a ready forward deal is, in substance, a secured loan from one bank to another.To make the scam possible , the RF had to undergo a complete change. In other words it practically had to become an unsecured loan to broker. This was wonderfully engineered by the brokers. To give a better understanding of the mechanism, the whole process has been segregated into 3 different parts. . The settlement process 2. Payment cheques 3. Dispensing the security 1. The settlement Process: ? The normal settlement process in government securities is that the transacting banks make payments and deliver the securities directly to each other. ? Dur ing the scam, however, the banks or at least some banks adopted an alternative settlement process which was similar to the process used for settling transactions in the stock market. ? In this settlement process, deliveries of securities and payments are made through the broker.That is, the seller hands over the securities to the broker who passes them on to the buyer, while the buyer gives the cheque to the broker who then makes the payment to the seller. ? In this settlement process, the buyer and the seller may not even know whom they have traded with, both being known only to the broker. ? There were two important reasons why the broker intermediated settlement began to be used in the government securities markets. ? The brokers instead of merely bringing buyers and sellers together started taking positions in the market.In other words, they started trading on their own account, and in a sense became market makers in some securities thereby imparting greater liquidity to the mar kets. ? When a bank wanted to conceal the fact that it was doing an RF deal, the broker came in handy. The broker provided contract notes for this purpose with fictitious counter parties, but arranged for the actual settlement to take place with the correct counter party. 2. Payment Cheques: ? A broker intermediated settlement allowed the broker to lay his hands on the cheque as it went from one bank to another through him.The hurdle now was to find a way of crediting the cheque to his account though it was drawn in favor of a bank and was crossed account payee. ? As it happens, it is purely a matter of banking custom that an account payee cheque is paid only to the payee mentioned on the cheque. In fact, exceptions were being made to this norm, well before the scam came to light. ? Privileged (corporate) customers were routinely allowed to credit account payee cheques in favour of a bank into their own accounts to avoid clearing delays, thereby reducing the interest lost on the amo unt. Normally, if a customer obtains a cheque in his own favour and deposits it into his own account, it may take a day or two for the cheque to be cleared and for the funds to become available to the customer. At 15% interest, the interest loss on a clearing delay of two days for a Rs. 100 crores cheque is about Rs. 8 lakhs. ? On the other hand, when banks make payments to each other by writing cheques on their account with the RBI, these cheques are cleared on the same day. ? The practice which thus emerged was that a customer would obtain a cheque drawn on the RBI favoring not himself but his bank.The bank would get the money and credit his account the same day. ? This was the practice which the brokers in the money market exploited to their benefit. 3. Dispensing the security: ? The brokers thus found a way of getting hold of the cheques as they went from one bank to another and crediting the amounts to their accounts. This effectively transformed an RF into a loan to a broker r ather than to a bank. ? But this, by itself, would not have led to the scam because the RF after all is a secured loan, and a secured loan to a broker is still secured. What was necessary now was to find a way of eliminating the security itself! There are three routes adopted for this purpose: 1. Some banks (or rather their officials) were persuaded to part with cheques without actually receiving securities in return. A simple explanation of this is that the officials concerned were bribed and/or negligent. A more intriguing possibility is that the banks' senior/top management were aware of this and turned a Nelson's eye to it to benefit from higher returns the brokers could offer by diverting the funds to the stock market. One must recognize that as long as the scam lasted, the banks benefited from such an arrangement.The management of banks might have been sorely tempted to adopt this route to higher profitability. 2. The second route was to replace the actual securities by a wort hless piece of paper – a fake Bank Receipt (BR). This is discussed in greater detail in the next section. 3. The third method was simply to forge the securities themselves. In many cases, PSU bonds were represented only by allotment letters rather than certificates on security paper. And it is easier to forge an allotment letter for Rs. 100 crores worth of securities than it is to forge a 100 rupee note!Outright forgery of this kind however accounted for only a very small part of the total funds misappropriated 3. Bank Receipt: ? In an RF deal, as we have discussed it so far, the borrowing bank delivers the actual securities to the lender and takes them back on repayment of the loan. In practice, however, this is not usually done. Instead, the borrower gives a Bank Receipt (BR) which serves three functions: ? The BR confirms the sale of securities. ? It acts as a receipt for the money received by the selling bank. Hence the name – bank receipt. ? It promises to deliver the securities to the buyer.It also states that in the meantime the seller holds the securities in trust for the buyer. ? In short, a BR is something like an IOU (I owe you securities! ), and the use of the BR de facto converts an RF deal into an unsecured loan. The lending bank no longer has the securities; it has only the borrower's assurance that the borrower has the securities which can/will be delivered if/when the need arises. BRs issued without Backing of Securities: ? As stated earlier, a BR is supposed to imply that the issuer actually has the securities and holds them in trust for the buyer.But in reality the issuer may not have the securities at all. ? There are two reasons why a bank may issue a BR, which is not backed by actual securities: 1. A bank may short sell securities, that is, it sells securities it does not have. This would be done if the bank thinks that the prices of these securities would decrease. Since this would be an outright sale (not an RF! ), the ban k issues a BR. When the securities do fall in value, the bank buys them at lower prices and discharges the BR by delivering the securities sold. Short selling in some form is an integral part of most bond markets in the world.It can be argued that some amount of shortselling subject to some degree of regulation is a desirable feature of a bond market. In our opinion, an outright sale using a BR, which is not backed by securities, is not harmful per se though it violates the RBI guidelines. 2. The second reason is that the bank may simply want an unsecured loan. It may then do an RF deal issuing a â€Å"fake† BR which is a BR without any securities to back them. The lending bank would be under a mistaken impression that it is making a secured loan when it is actually advancing an unsecured loan.Obviously, lenders should have taken measures to protect themselves from such a possibility During the scam, the brokers perfected the art of using fake BRs to obtain unsecured loans fr om the banking system. They persuaded some small and little known banks – the Bank of Karad (BOK) and the Metropolitan Cooperative Bank (MCB) – to issue BRs as and when required. These BRs could then be used to do RF deals with other banks. The cheques in favour of BOK were, of course, credited into the brokers' accounts. In effect, several arge banks made huge unsecured loans to the BOK/MCB which in turn made the money available to the brokers. 4. Breakdown of the Control system in scam: ? The scam was made possible by a complete breakdown of the control system both within the commercial banks as well as the control system of the RBI itself. ? We shall examine these control systems to understand how these failed to function effectively and what lessons can be learnt to prevent failure of control systems in the future. ? The internal control system of the commercial banks involves the following features: 1. Separation of Functions:The different aspects of securities tr ansactions of a bank, namely dealing, custody and accounting are carried out by different persons. 2. Counterparty Limits: The moment an RF deal is done on the basis of a BR rather than actual securities, the lending bank has to contend with the possibility that the BR received may not be backed by any/adequate securities. In effect, therefore, it may be making an unsecured loan, and it must do the RF only if it is prepared to make an unsecured loan. This requires assessing the creditworthiness of the borrower and assigning him a â€Å"credit limit† up to which the bank is prepared to lend.Technically, this is known as a counterparty limit. 5. Other Aspects of the scam: ? There are several aspects of the scam which are closely related to the securities markets, but which are different from the operational aspect of the markets. ? These pertain to information that can cause significant changes in the prices of securities as well as the information supplied by the commercial ba nks on their financial performance. ? On each occasion the coupon rate was increased by 1/2%, thereby raising the coupon rate from 11. 5% to 13% during this ten month period.The major implication of raising interest rate on new borrowings is that it would trigger a fall in the market prices of the old loans which are pegged at the old (lower) interest rates. The price of the 11. 5% Government Loan 2010 dropped by 3% to 5% with each coupon rate hike. If anyone has advance information about these changes in the coupon rates, he could make enormous amounts of riskless profit by short selling the old securities just before the announcement of rate hike and buying back (covering his position) after the prices have fallen. ? Somebody who took a short position of Rs. 00 crores before the coupon hike of September 1991 could have made a profit of Rs. 15 crores, practically overnight! Since several persons in the Finance Ministry and the RBI are likely to be aware of the impending hike in the coupon rate, the chance of leakage of this all important information is always there. ? There have been several allegations in this regard. However, it will probably be very difficult to prove with any degree of certainty that there was insider trading based on information about coupon rate changes, because of the size of the market. With a daily trading volume of Rs. 3000 – 4000 crores, it would have been very easy for anyone to take a position (based on inside information) of Rs. 500 or even Rs. 1000 crores without anyone suspecting anything untoward. 6. Impact of the scam: ? The immediate impact of the scam was a sharp fall in the share prices. The index fell from 4500 to 2500 representing a loss of Rs. 100,000 crores in market capitalization. [pic] ? Since the accused were active brokers in the stock markets, the number of shares which had passed through their hands in the last one year was colossal.All these shares became â€Å"tainted† shares, and overnight they became worthless pieces of paper as they could not be delivered in the market. Genuine investors who had bought these shares well before the scam came to light and even got them registered in their names found themselves being robbed by the government. This resulted in a chaotic situation in the market since no one was certain as to which shares were tainted and which were not. ? The government's liberalization policies came under severe criticism after the scam, with Harshad Mehta and others being described as the products of these policies. Bowing to the political pressures and the bad press it received during the scam, the liberalization policies were put on hold for a while by the government. The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) postponed sanctioning of private sector mutual funds. ? The much talked about entry of foreign pension funds and mutual funds became more remote than ever. The Euro-issues planned by several Indian companies were delayed since the ability of In dian companies to raise equity capital in world markets was severely compromised.

The History of the Freedom Riders Movement

The History of the Freedom Riders Movement In 1961, men and women from throughout the nation arrived in Washington, D.C. to end Jim Crow  on interstate travel by embarking on what were called â€Å"Freedom Rides.†Ã‚  On such rides, racially mixed activists traveled together throughout the Deep South- ignoring signs marked â€Å"for whites† and â€Å"for colored† in buses and bus terminals. The riders endured beatings and arson attempts from white supremacist mobs, but their struggles paid off when segregationist policies on interstate bus and rail lines were struck down. Despite these achievements, the Freedom Riders aren’t the household names like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., but they’re civil rights heroes nonetheless. Both Parks and King would be heralded as heroes for their roles in ending segregated bus seating  in Montgomery, Ala.   How the Freedom Rides Got Started In the 1960 case Boynton v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation in interstate bus and rail stations unconstitutional. But the high court’s ruling didn’t stop segregation on interstate bus and rail lines in the South from persisting. Enter the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a civil rights group. CORE sent seven blacks and six whites on two public buses headed for the South on May 4, 1961. The goal? To test the Supreme Court ruling on segregated interstate travel in the Confederate states. For two weeks, the activists planned to flout Jim Crow laws by sitting on the front of buses and in â€Å"whites only† waiting rooms in bus terminals. â€Å"Boarding that Greyhound bus to travel to the Deep South, I felt good. I felt happy,† Rep. John Lewis recalled during a May 2011  appearance on â€Å"The Oprah Winfrey Show.† Then a seminary student, Lewis would go on to become a U.S. congressman. During the first few days of their trip, the mixed-race group of activists traveled largely without incident. They didn’t have security and didn’t need it- yet. After arriving in Atlanta on May 13, 1961, they even attended a reception hosted by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., but the celebration took on a decidedly ominous tone when King alerted them that the Ku Klux Klan was organizing against them in Alabama. Despite King’s warning, the Freedom Rides did not change their course. As expected, when they reached Alabama, their journey took a turn for the worse. A Perilous Journey On the outskirts of Anniston, Alabama, members of a white supremacist mob showed just what they thought about the Freedom Riders by bashing in their bus and slashing its tires. To boot, the Alabama Klansmen set the bus on fire and blocked the exits to trap the Freedom Riders inside. It wasn’t until the bus’ fuel tank exploded that the mob dispersed and the Freedom Riders were able to escape. After a similar mob attacked the Freedom Riders in Birmingham, the U.S. Justice Department stepped in and evacuated the activists to New Orleans. The federal government did not want more harm to come to the riders. The Second Wave Due to the amount of violence inflicted on Freedom Riders, the leaders of CORE had to abandon the Freedom Rides or continue sending activists into harm’s way. Ultimately, CORE officials decided to send more volunteers on the rides.  Diane Nash, an activist who helped to organize Freedom Rides, explained  to Oprah Winfrey: â€Å"It was clear to me that if we allowed the Freedom Ride to stop at that point, just after so much violence had been inflicted, the message would have been sent that all you have to do to stop a nonviolent campaign is inflict massive violence.† On the second wave of rides, activists journeyed from Birmingham to Montgomery, Alabama in relative peace. Once the activists touched down in Montgomery, though, a mob of more than 1,000 attacked the riders. Later, in Mississippi, Freedom Riders were arrested for entering a whites-only waiting room in a Jackson bus terminal. For this act of defiance, authorities arrested the Freedom Riders, housing them in one of Mississippi’s most notorious correctional facilities- Parchman State Prison Farm. â€Å"The reputation of Parchman is that it’s a place that a lot of people get sent . . . and don’t come back,† former Freedom Rider Carol Ruth told Winfrey. During the summer of 1961, 300 Freedom Riders were imprisoned there. An Inspiration Then and Now The struggles of the Freedom Riders garnered nationwide publicity. Rather than intimidate other activists, however, the brutality the riders encountered inspired others to take up the cause. Before long, dozens of Americans were volunteering to travel on Freedom Rides. In the end, an estimated 436 people took such rides. The efforts of the Freedom Riders were finally rewarded when the Interstate Commerce Commission decided on Sept. 22, 1961, to ban segregation in interstate travel. Today, the contributions the Freedom Riders made to civil rights are the subject of a PBS documentary called Freedom Riders. In addition, in 2011, 40 students commemorated the Freedom Rides of 50 years before by boarding buses that retraced the journey of the first set of Freedom Riders.

Evolution of music essays

Evolution of music essays In the video we saw in class we learned about the advancement of music with the development of technology. The first thing that we saw was how the bell makers now use computers to eliminate the unwanted sounds from bells by creating bells of different shape. Also we saw how the organ manipulates sound by sending it through different tubes of different diameters and by decreasing or increasing the size of the tubes then we saw how technology manipulates all those sounds by using filters. How those filters work. Sound is converted into a digital signal of ones and zeros that that signal can be filtered using hardware or software. Since sound is already converted into ones and zeroes, using software we can eliminate parts of sound for which we already know how the signal would lock like in numbers. Hardware wise I dont really know how it is done. Then we saw how a professor from a university was given the task of finding out the quemical components of the varnish and of the wood of Stradivarius violins that way we could reproduce those. When locking into the varnish he found out that the varnish contained powder made from precious stones. Then when he locked into the chemical components of the wood of the violine he found out that the wood was wood of fresh just cut wood that was marinated since it was fir a time in salt water probably do to that the wood was transported by drag in it through the sea to the place of its destination. The professor theory is that the two famous violin makers didnt really knew or specifically choose the wood and the varnish it was gust luck and being at right place at the right time. ...

Strict Censorship Policies of Google Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strict Censorship Policies of Google - Case Study Example The world’s largest search engine then announced redirecting to an uncensored version located in Hong Kong in the hopes of circumventing mainland China’s laws which only heightened Chinese officials’ ire. Furthermore, regardless of Google’s act of leaving China, it remained to be a far competitor from the Haidu, China’s most popular search engine. In the same vein, Google did not lose as much revenue as the Chinese market represented only a small fraction of what comprised the company (Heft and Barboza). As reported by the prevalently government lenient news agency, Xinhua, the government sees that â€Å"regulation on the Internet is a sovereign issue† and that Google has no right to attempt or to impose its own standard on what the government should and should not censor (Na, Yunlu, and Hao, par. 5). There seems to be a great disparity between the conception of human rights as viewed in a Western concept especially among Americans and the en cumbrance of Chinese law which majority of its citizens tend to dismiss. To reiterate, it is difficult to point out people’s rights when they are in fact unaware that such rights do exist.The world’s largest search engine then announced redirecting to an uncensored version located in Hong Kong in the hopes of circumventing mainland China’s laws which only heightened Chinese officials’ ire. Furthermore, regardless of Google’s act of leaving China, it remained to be a far competitor from the Haidu, China’s most popular search engine. In the same vein, Google did not lose as much revenue as the Chinese market represented only a small fraction of what comprised the company (Heft and Barboza). As reported by the prevalently government lenient news agency, Xinhua, the government sees that â€Å"regulation on the Internet is a sovereign issue† and that Google has no right to attempt or to impose its own standard on what the government should and should not censor (Na, Yunlu, and Hao, par. 5). There seems to be a great disparity between the conception of human rights as viewed in a Western concept especially among Americans and, the encumbrance of Chinese law which majority of its citizens tend to dismiss. To reiterate, it is difficult to point out people’s rights when they are in fact unaware that such rights do exist. A country’s business climate must be understood by a business professional in order to have a greater perspective on how to conduct one’s self and how to carry out one’s business in a certain location. This would be applicable on specific matters as people and cultures are diverse. More than this, laws are also an integral part that must be kept in mind to avoid complications that could lead to lawsuits and legal dilemmas. The instant case presents us with two sides of an argument where a company’s very own principle goes against a country’s law and regulations. What may be a common practice in one country may be absolutely prohibited in another and where a company cannot make amends with this fact, then there is inevitably the meandering situation where things are bound not to work out.  

Jesus & Mohammed Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jesus & Mohammed Paper - Assignment Example Jesus and Mohammed singlehandedly made a greatest impact on the society of their time and shaped the course of history for over two thousand years. Their religions reflected similarities and differences in lives and deaths of both Jesus and Mohammed. Jesus was born 4BC from Virgin Mary and did not have an earthly father but was raised by his mother and stepfather. Mohammed was born 570 CE (Common Era), almost 6 centuries after Jesus, from Abdullah and Aminah, and was raised mostly by his nurse as was customary in the desert countries, as well as grandfather and uncle because his parents and other closest relatives had died when he was just a boy. (Rodinson, 2002, p.46) The lives of these great religious leaders were described in hagiographical books: Jesus’ in Gospels and Mohammed’s in Suras. Jesus was a carpenter and Mohammed was first shepherd and then caravan trader. (Rodinson, 2002, p.58) Jesus was speaking Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek (Peters, 2011, p.45) but did not write any book himself; Mohammed spoke Arabic and left records that were compiled into Quran (Phipps, 1999, p.81). Jesus started his ministry at 30 and continued it for the next 3 years. Most of the time, he was staying in Galilee. It is believed that Mohammed have received a revelation and a call at 40 and ministered for 22 years traveling more widely due to his occupation. (Peters, 2011, p.65) Both Jesus and Mohammed performed miracles. The first miracle Jesus performed was turning water into wine at the wedding party (John 2:1-11); to contrast, Mohammed forbade wine drinking as he considered it â€Å"an abomination of Satan's work† (Quran, Sura 5:90). Jesus attracted people by miracles, signs and sermons (Peters, 2011, p.47) and Mohammed - by his teaching and wisdom. In the Gospel, Jesus is often described in the presence of women; however, there is not a single mention about any relationship or wife. Jesus did not have a wife; he was a celibate (Peters, 2011, p.46). The n umber of Mohammed’s wives is uncertain as they go in Quran unnamed and uncounted (Peters, 2011, p.180). Both spiritual leaders caused religious disruption and brought change to the traditional establishments. Their ministries and teachings led to the new religion creation rather than reformation of the old. Jesus shook Judaism, stating that he was the Son of God, while Mohammed never made such claims. Their messages were contrasting in many ways. Jesus himself did not wage any war and never ordered to kill anyone. To the contrary, he taught to â€Å"turn the other cheek†, did not resist the arrest and discouraged his disciples from the fight. Jesus’ legacy is the religion of pardon, tolerance and love even for the enemies. On the opposite, Mohammed fought in a number of battles, converting captives into Islam; he was granting them forgiveness in exchange for conversion. He wore â€Å"two coats of mail†, swinging the sword and leading Muslims into war (Phi pps, 1999, p.62) He believed that Allah gave him permission to cut infidels (The Quran, Sura 9:5, 29), calling his actions â€Å"Jihad† – â€Å"holy war†. Jesus death was public: he was crucified by Romans at the age 33 as one of the worst criminals, suffered an excruciating pain, was forsaken by all and a mob was spitting on him. However, after such a terrible death, Jesus resurrected and ascended to Heaven. The tomb he was buried in was opened three days after his death by angels. Mohammed