Leila Khaled Freedom Fighter or Terrorist

Introduction It is usually easy to regard any forceful and violent behaviour as an act of terrorism rather than a cause of justice, this is normally true when extreme actions are used to voice plights of a community. A case of a Palestinian woman named Leila Khaled is analysed.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Leila Khaled: Freedom Fighter or Terrorist? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This essay elaborates her intentions with the support of academic sources and her movie in order to demonstrate her cause of action as a freedom fighter for her country and not a terrorist as perceived. Khaled extreme actions were inspired by suffering Palestinians in their tents. This essay therefore analyses Khaled cause as a freedom fighter and not a terrorist. Leila Khaled a freedom fighter Leila Khaled has strong basis to support her claims as a freedom fighter rather than a terrorist despite her extreme actions. In 1969, Khaled and another male companion decided to hijack a TWA plane from Los Angeles in route via Tel Aviv. Their intention was not to harm the passengers but rather voice their grievances. According to Eager (2008, p.186) Khaled clearly states that her intentions of hijacking planes was driven by her urge to attract international attention which had not been addressed as thousands of Palestinians languished in tents. From her intentions, it would be wrong to dismiss her actions as a mere act of terrorist. It should however be considered cause to liberate Palestinians. If indeed her intent was to inflict pain on innocent people, she could have blown up the plane with the passengers onboard as terrorists did in the U.S. during the September 11 incident. As Khaled sat while hijacking the TWA plane she saw young children sited in the palms of their parents. She was concerned about the consequences that her actions could cause in case the plan backfired and the plane exploded as a res ult of the explosives that her male companion had. While she was still meditating on her thought, she recalled what thousands of other Palestinians children underwent while in camps. She was then convinced to let the world acknowledge their grievances through any means that she could master. In the end, Khaled succeeded by landing the plane and allowing the passengers to leave before blowing up the plane. This incident attracted the attention of the international community and thus making her a strong female figure among the Palestinians and other women worldwide. She consequently became a sex icon not only for her cause but for other revolutionaries that were making their concerns known worldwide.Advertising Looking for critical writing on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In her video, she struggles to put forward the message of her revolutionary intentions rather than terrorism by clearly distancing hersel f from terrorism. As noted by Buxton and Provenzo (2010, p. 66) Leila Khaled was the first female activist who used extreme tactics to get the world’s attention on the plight of the Palestinians. Despite her actions and other several attempts to hijack planes that eventually led to her arrest and later released as a result of hostage exchange, Khaled altered the world’s image women. Although her actions tainted her image and Palestinians image during that period, her actions had indeed spoken to the world about the plight of Palestinians during their conflict with the Jews in early 1960’s. Based on these fundamental facts, the actions of Khaled have not in any way created a bad image to the Palestinians but rather ensured that their cries were heard by the international community (Martin, 2009, p. 70). As stated by Eager (2008, p.186) Khaled also explains her intentions in her book titled My People Shall Live. This book seeks to clear the air on her intentions i n the cause of her revolution. On the contrary Martin, (2009, p. 70) believes that Leila Khaled is a violent extremist as a result of her actions; she is considered a political activist with extreme and terrorist behaviors. More so, she seems to have created a foundation for other freedom figher who have committed terrorist acts by blowing themselves in order to die with passengers. Khaled has however genuinely distanced herself from such individuals and such actions. It can thus be genuinely considered that her cause was the motivation behind her extreme actions and not terrorism intentions. Conclusion As evident from the above analysis, it is clear that Khaled is not a terrorist but rather a freedom fighter despite using extreme tactics to get the attention of the international community. Her actions were a result of the international community failing to hear Palestinians cries from their tents. More so, the Palestinians image has not been damaged as a result of Khaled actions, h er actions achieved her goal of getting the world’s attention to the plights of many Palestinians. Without her extreme actions, the world could not have recognised the sufferings of Palestinians. References Buxton, C. A., Provenzo, E. F. (2010). Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School: A Cognitive and Cultural Approach. Washington, DC: SAGE. PP. 66-70.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Leila Khaled: Freedom Fighter or Terrorist? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Eager, P.W. (2008). From freedom fighters to terrorists: Women and political violence. New York, NY: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. PP. 186-190. Martin, G. (2009). Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE. PP. 70-75. This critical writing on Leila Khaled: Freedom Fighter or Terrorist? was written and submitted by user Ayleen B. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Week 4 Case Study Example

Week 4 Case Study Example Week 4 Case Study – Article Example CASE STUDY Responsibilities of auditors in case of fraud Auditors are man d with the responsibility of verifying the books of account and provide their independent as to whether they give a true reflection of financial reports of an organization. In order to operate smoothly, they usually raise matters involving managing an organization. They often assess the measures that have been put in place by the organization to control the internal systems of the body. In addition, they often scrutinize the financial reports to spot errors and omissions that have been committed while preparing the financial reports. They also evaluate inventory management systems that are being used within the organization. In case the existing inventory management is inefficient, they usually recommend the best inventory systems that can be which promote efficiency in the management of inventory. Inefficient inventory management systems often increase the lead-time when an order is hence may cause breakdown i n the production processes. It is prudent for auditors to report fraudulent transactions to the top management immediately they unearth suspicious transactions (Krishnan & Visvanathan, 2007).Independence in corporate governance The independence of corporate governance is imperative for a number of reasons. Auditors are supposed to carry out their duties independently without portraying any form of favoritism and biases. Both internal and external auditors should exercise Independency. In the case of Adelphia, Deloitte & Touche, which is reputable audit firm, failed to demonstrate that it is an independent body by colluding to defraud the company. Auditors are usually faced with the challenge of being bribed so that they can doctor the books of account. An independent corporate means that audit firms can be able to demonstrate the highest level of integrity by giving honest reports without being coerced. Auditors are supposed to safeguard the interest of shareholders rather than bein g partisan (ACCA, 2011).ReferencesACCA, (2011).Independence as a concept in corporate governance. Krishnan, G. V., & Visvanathan, G. (2007). Reporting Internal Control Deficiencies in the Post†Sarbanes†Oxley Era: The Role of Auditors and Corporate Governance. International Journal of Auditing, 11(2), 73-90.

Discussion Of The Impacts Of Introduction Of Tennis Racket On Coaching Essay

Discussion Of The Impacts Of Introduction Of Tennis Racket On Coaching - Essay Example With most sports, coaches of tennis are reluctant about the standard of applying the information to bring out the real nature of excellence in playing tennis. The scoreboard does not always tell how well someone really played, rather it shows how the player who had the better day. With no application of the modern technology performance scores such as the first-serve percentage, approaches of the net can only be determined accurately through a win or a loss. Coaches often chart matches and practices for their trainees, to clear this out. But with most of those training do not have a coach watching every move they make and checking on their progress. Introduce the Babolat pure play drive. In conclusion, we can say that one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of coaching is being able to coordinate with the players during their growth from childhood up to adulthood. The coach needs to understand their players’ emotions, reactions, and their progress in mental growth. A coach who coordinate well with the players through understanding the changes that come along physically, emotionally, and mentally stands in a better position to effectively communicate with the players with no barriers or challenges and in a case of any problem along the way they will be able to handle it perfectly. Technology is a crucial doctrine in sports since the introduction of modern technology has seen different sports make big and commendable progress. However, our focus was on the tennis game and the impacts of these modern technology introductions.

Discussion Questions Week 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discussion Questions Week 3 - Essay Example ANOVA (analysis of variance) is used to test the differences between more than two groups. The difference between ANOVA and sample statistical testing is that it compares more than just one or two variables. The importance of hypothesis testing when conducting research is that it asks a hypothetical question as well as answers it. Without hypothesis testing, the hypothesis would be pointless because there were no attempts to prove or disprove it. Also, the point of coming up with a hypothesis is to test it, so that it can either be proven or disproven; in the case that it is proven, it can become a scientific theory. There are very few cases when hypothesis testing is not used, and those cases are usually when the answer is quite obvious and it would be a waste of time and money to test on it. When someone comes up with a magnificent theory, the only thing they really can do is test it to see if it is plausible. Hypothesis testing is a critical part of conducting research as it aids in one, doing the proper research to avoid messing up entirely and two, the come upon the wanted result (or in some cases, the unexpected

Understand the implications of finance as a resource within a business Assignment

Understand the implications of finance as a resource within a business - Assignment Example The estimation of cash requirements of a company and the various decisions related to the ways of generating cash is also sometimes referred to as the financial plan. Financial planning is thus important and helpful in determining the ways through which the companies can generate cash to make the various investment decisions possible for them. Cash budgeting, which is a part of financial planning, helps assess the ways in which available cash should be utilized y the company to achieve its financial objectives. Failure to arrange for adequate finance could lead to problems for the company, and it will not be able to carry on its business activities because of limited funds required for the purpose of implementing its various investment objectives. All these facts suggest that financial plan is critical to any business organization for its future growth and sustainability. Financial information of a company is generally presented through the financial statements prepared by its accountants. The users of financial information of an organisation can either be its external users or the internal users. The internal users or the users within the organisation are mainly the management accountants of the company, who use the financial information present in the financial statements of the company to make various business decisions (Sinha, 2009, p. 21). The managers of the company are also the internal users who are engaged in the activities related to planning and controlling the daily business operations of the organisation (Nikolai, Bazley and Jones, 2009, p. 7). The financial information is utilised by them to make decisions regarding internal operations to be conducted within the organisation. For example, the managers decide on the purchase of new equipment based on the financial information provided to them by the management accountants through the fin ancial

Management Across Cultures

Management Across Cultures This report gives an insight on the topic Managing Across Cultures, and also on the following issues, it tackles the meaning of Culture, its importance and relevance, It also looks at how people from different cultures come together to share the same work values, The importance of culture in work environments and what are the various management procedures to be adopted when dealing with people from across cultures.Culture, simply put can be seen as the way of life of certain people and Managing across cultures can be seen as a way of bringing people from different cultures together using quality management, and in order do that, culture is a very important tool.Three approaches have been adopted in quality management research by Form, 1979, which is known as the Convergence approach, Child and Kieser 1979, Divergence approach and Hofstede 1980, Culture specific. All these approaches shall also be looked into and see how it relates to culture. Procedure/ methodology For this report, six links were provided by Mr. Peter Godwin and on careful evaluation on all the links, two seem most appropriate for the report and they are: 1. Quality management: a cross cultural perspective by Alessandra Vecchi and Louis Brennan. School of business, Trinity college, Dublin, Ireland. 2. Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: social behavior and applications by By John W. Berry, Ype H. Poortinga, Marshall H. Segall, Janak Pandey, ÇiÄÅ ¸dem Kà ¢Ãƒâ€žÃ… ¸ità §ibaÃ…Å ¸i Findings The term culture has been found to mean different things to different people, for some, it is dynamic and passed down from generations to generations, it has also been described as the Eye of the world. Cultures differ all around the world and for this people view it differently just as they view work values. Work values can been seen as ones performance worth, the way culture affects these values is very important if we intend to work and coexist together. Two very important standards have been set aside on how work is viewed: The entitlement standard, which states that people who work should be rewarded in return while the other one, the obligation standard is of the opinion that everyones obligation concerning work is to the society. All these can be viewed as difference of opinions on how work values are measured. International Research Team (1987) Cross cultural psychology. Handbook pg 373. Some countries debase work, for instance India, they tend to give priority to family values rather than work values. J. B. P Sinha, (1994) Cross cultural psychology. Handbook pg 373. Culture can never be over emphasized in work environments as the way people work is like their very way of life. In managing across countries, Quality managements theories have been developed to note how different managers deal with managerial polices within different cultures. Three main theories have been used to espouse quality management research and they are the Convergence, Form 1979, the Divergence, Child and Kieser 1979 and Culture specific, Hofstede 1980. Quality management. An international journal 16(2), 149. According to Form, Better management practices from managers coming from different cultures can be traced to effective learning, Form (1979) Quality management. International Journal pg 149, that is to say, once different people from different cultures are brought together to learn, they actually stand a better chance at being better managers, because they are all exposed to the same managerial practices in the long run, not at all minding where they are from, so learning helps to bridge culture barriers. The Divergence theory on the other hand is of the notion that in order to reduce performance, organizational practices must be adapted to the national context. Top managerial support turned to be a significant factor affecting quality practices. They must account for regional differences like Human resource development, customer focus and satisfaction. Child and Kieser, (1979) Quality management. An international journal pg 162. In the culture specific theory, it was viewed that if managers from different societies were faced with change, there will still be some cultural factors, like the way they think or behave that will cause them to react to change. Hofstede (1980) Quality management. An international journal pg 151. All these theories on quality management have been seen to affect culture in the sense that it shows how managers can transfer quality management practices between countries that differ in cultures and backgrounds, putting into consideration, the cultures that are most approbate to change and those that are not, thereby adopting the following management procedures or techniques in dealing with people from across cultures; Participative procedures Team work arrangement Reward schemes; thereby promoting job satisfaction among people. In the same wise, all these managerial procedures can be detrimental if not carefully looked into for not all countries view participative management in the same way, some might actually see it as a sign of weakness on the part of the managers, also in team work arrangement, not all cultures believe in team work, some believe that working alone enhances performance. An experiment was conducted by Earley (1993) cited in Cross cultural psychology pg 388, which involved using the Chinese, Israeli and Americans as subjects, During the experiment it was observed that the Israeli and Chinese teams worked together to work collectively while the Americans worked on their own individually, these shows another manner in which various cultures react to team work. And finally, the reward scheme, it was found out that the way managers from different countries view reward is totally different, for example, the Japanese managers tend to reward team work as against the Americans who believed that in dividual work is best and reward is based on individual effort. Suzuki and Kondo(1986) cited in cross cultural psychology handbook pg 389. In summary, Cultures importance in work related issues and how these can be managed can not be overemphasized because different people work in the way that they perceive is best and that why it is important to introduce quality management techniques in order to foster better management procedures being carried out in order to bridge any gaps in cultural barriers. Conclusion In managing across cultures, managers must put into consideration that they are dealing with different people from diverse cultures and backgrounds and before adopting any form of managerial procedures which involves, Participative management, team work arrangement and reward schemes, their cultural views and values taking into consideration , Forms theory of Convergence, Child and Kiesers theory of Divergence and Hofstedes theory of Culture specific, before knowing how well they would fit into any work environment either to work individually or as a team.

Comparison of Into Battle and Spring Offensive. Essay -- English Liter

Comparison of Into Battle and Spring Offensive. Spring Offensive and Into Battle In the comparison of Into Battle and Spring Offensive, it can be said that they are two opposing poems. Although both of their themes are about war, Spring Offensive is a bleak poem compared to Into Battle. One talks about the adversarial ways of the war whereas the other talks about the beautifulness of its. Both poets use 'nature' as a main object in order to describe war. In the poem of Into Battle the poet uses nature as warmth, something colorful and lively e.g. "The naked earth is warm with spring" but on the contrary to this, the poet in the Spring Offensive talks about the dark, cold, and sad sight of it e.g. "Halted against the shade of a last hill". In addition to this, the structures of the poems reflect the poets' moods. Spring Offensive's broken rhythm resembles grief of a soldier and Into Battle's half rhymes make the poem sound like a song. Into Battle seems to encourage people using both patriotism and propaganda of fighting together. Whereas, Spring Offensive is trying to protect the soldiers from war and make them realize how nonsense it is. The people (that seem to be) living in these poems have exactly opposite thoughts and mood. The soldiers that Spring Offensive talks about are worried, despondent and blank, while the ones in Into Battle are singing, as if they are going to a picnic, behaving like the enemies are the ants which are trying to steal their food. Both of them include death, but in Into Battle, death is emphasized as if it is an honor to die. The poet in the Into Battle talks about life in a pleasant manner. He sees life something colorful and worthwhile to live. On the contrary, ... ...ar is) in every stanza. Both of them set the scene before getting into the main theme. For example, in the first lines Wilfred Owen explained the location of war before actually setting the main theme, while Julian Grenfell by using the environment explained the optimistic side of war. I prefer Spring Offensive as it is more attractive than Into Battle because, it talks about the reality rather than the thoughts of an insane man who loves killing people. In addition, Spring Offensive is more convincing than Into Battle in a sense that it encourages people not to go and fight in war, with a strong emphasis by the use of language e.g. "and instantly the whole sky burned". Both of the poems are good examples of war poems. However, personally I enjoyed reading and analyzing Spring Offensive as it talks about the reality of being a soldier and life at war.

E-Banking: Trend, Status, Challenges and Policy Issues

E-banking: Status, Trends, Challenges and Policy Implications 1. Introduction In addition to introduction (section I) and conclusion (section VI), the paper includes four sections. Section II addresses the definition and current situation of e-banking. Then, section III addresses the impact of e-banking on banking business. After that, section IV addresses the major application of e-banking. That is also the bottom line whether e-banking can be viable in a country. Section V addresses the new challenges e-banking has brought and policy implications from the perspectives of society, banks, and regulatory authority as well as government. . Status 2. 1. Definition †¢ The Internet includes all related web-enabling technologies and open telecommunication networks ranging from direct dial- up, the public World Wide Web, cable, and virtual private networks. (BIS-EBG, 2003) †¢ Internet banking (e-banking) is defined to include the provision of retail and small value banking product s and services through electronic channels as well as large value electronic payments and other wholesale banking services delivered electronically. (BIS-EBG, 2003) 1 2. 2. Fundamental characteristicsComparison between the current round financial innovation (e-banking) and past financial innovations The current innovation (ebanking) Content Delivery channel innovation-deliver banking business via internet. Impact Wider Past financial innovations Products and services, i. e. , delivery, swap Narrow 2. 3. Levels/Scope of e-banking business †¢ †¢ Basic information e-banking/web sites that just disseminate information on banking products and services offered to bank customers and the general public; Simple transactional e-banking /web sites that allow bank customers o submit applications for different services, make queries on their account balances, and submit instructions to the bank, but do no permit any account transfers; †¢ Advanced transactional e-banking/web sites that allow bank customers to electronically transfer funds to/from their accounts pay bills, and conduct other banking transaction online. †¢ Usually, e-banking refers to types II and III. 2. 4. Current development situations (in industrial countries) †¢ E-banking products and services are getting more and more advanced and increasing in variety.From providing information at the early stage to providing transactional activities. 2 †¢ †¢ Both volume and share in the total banking business are getting bigger and bigger very fast (Graph, Europe) E-banking customer base is getting bigger quickly. 2. 5. Status in developing countries Developing countries are in catching up in e-banking: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The average e-banking penetration for developing countries by the end of 1999 was close to 5% (World Bank Survey, 2001). In Brazil, the number of e-banking users reached 8 million in 2000. In Mexico, the number of e-banking users reached 1. 5 million in 2000. In India, over 50 banks are offering online banking services. ICICI Bank’s e-banking is very impressing. E-banking in Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan (China) is thriving. In Ghana and some other African countries, smart cards based on Visa Horizon proximately technologies are getting started. 3. Prospects–Impact of E-banking on traditional banking 3. 1. The early conventional wisdom: †¢ †¢ Internet banking would destroy the traditional banking business model and promote the entry of newcomers from the outside of the banking industry.Developing countries could have the â€Å"opportunities to leapfrog† in the adoption of efinance on a large scale. 3. 2. In reality, e-banking develops fast, but not damaging as conventional wisdom projected. †¢ The notion of leapfrog has not worked in many developing countries due to various impediments. This can be verified by UNCTAD report. â€Å"Some positive si gns are 3 already visible, including a high level of acceptance of technology by customers and financial institutions†¦. H(h)owever, most projects have not yet been deployed on a large scale. † (UNCTAD 2002. It provides a comprehensive look at the status of efinance in developing countries.It covers arrange of areas related to e- finance including e-banking, e-payments, e-trades, and e-credit information). †¢ †¢ Even in industrial countries, e-banking is still a complementary tools to traditional banking. Lots of pure e-banking businesses have been forced out of market. Internet-only banks have been substantially less profitable. They generate lower business volumes and any savings generated by lower physical overheads appear to be offset by other types of non-interest expenditures, notably marketing to attract new customers. (De Young 2001). 3. 3.Prevailing vision †¢ The prevailing view today is that Internet banking can only succeed if it is thoroughly in tegrated within the existing banking infrastructure, which should combine â€Å"click† (e-banking) with â€Å"mortar† (physical branches) due to the importance of public trust in banks, the value of an established brand name, and the desire of customers to do something physically. †¢ According to this view, Internet is regarded simply as another distribution channel as a complement to physical braches, phone banking and ATM networks. The dominance of the so-called â€Å"click and mortar† model can be explained by its success on the ground.Two good examples are Wells Fargo in the US and Nordea in Scandinavia. 3. 4. Case-study–experience from the two most successful cases Two most successful examples: †¢ †¢ Wells Fargo (US), has actually the highest absolute number of online customers, more than 3 million out of its total 24 million customers in 2001. Nordea (Scandinavia), has 2. 3 million online customers, representing over 20% of its total customer base. It has the highest share of online customers. 4 They share the following common elements: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Both are leaders in their traditional markets and thus can capitalize on a sizable customer base.Furthermore, their customer base is technologically sophisticated. California and Scandinavia have extremely high rates of Internet use. Both are technologically advanced and started early in Internet deployment. Wells Fargo started e-banking business as early as in 1989. Both have tightly integrated Internet in their operations and their existing infrastructure. Both have large number of SME customer base. 3. 5. Prospects Bottom line: the ability to mainstream SME and individuals into E-banking. 4. Trend: The major application of e-banking—SME finance E-banking is used more and more for improving access to finance.Financial constraints for SMEs have never been effectively solved and have been thought inevitable. This section will cover t he advantages of e-banking on this aspect. 4. 1. Obstacles to SME’s access to finance 4. 1. 1. from banks’ perspective †¢ †¢ †¢ High costs and low profitability of SME loans because of the small loan size. High risks of SME loans due to lack of business track record, credit history, and transparent information. Evaluating SME risk is â€Å"too labor- intensive† to be profitable. 5 †¢ Many banks lack strategies and skills to tackle impediments associated with SME finance.In many developing countries, the staff of banks lack necessary skills to appropriately assess credit risks of SMEs 4. 1. 2. from SME’s perspective †¢ Inappropriate products and services, which are rigidly supply-driven instead of demand-driven. Commercial bank products are usually designed to meet the needs of large corporations; few products and service are specifically tailored to the needs of SMEs. SME sector is usually underserved. †¢ †¢ †¢ High interest rates. SMEs usually require much smaller loans than large enterprises. banks, therefore, usually charge high margins to cover the costs. Cumbersome procedures.Over insistence on collaterals and guarantees. SMEs usually have low- level of fixed assets and relatively high- level of working capital. Therefore, when lending to an SME, a bank needs to assess the SME’s economic viability and future cash flows instead of collaterals. However, in many developing countries, banks are still in the very early stage of mastering sound lending policies and good credit practices. Their lending appears to simply rely on collateral rather than cash- flow projections. banks’ lack of capacity of non-collateral credit assessment has caused them unable to provide lending services to SMEs. Inflexible credit criteria—one size fits all. 4. 2. New Technology, New Hope for SME Finance 4. 2. 1. From bank’s side, new technology (e-banking) makes SME finance economically p ossible (i) lower operational costs of banks †¢ †¢ †¢ Automated process Accelerated credit decisions Lowered minimum loan size to be profitable (ii) potentially lower margins 6 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Lower cost of entry Expanded financing reach Increased transparency (iii) expand reach through self-service Lower transaction cost Make some corporate services economically feasible for SMEs Make anytime access to accounts and loan information possible . 2. 2. From SMEs’ perspective E-banking business makes access to finance from banks attractive. SMEs have benefited from the development of E- finance and gradually stepped out of the informal sector. In particular, E- finance offers the following attractive benefits for SMEs: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Ease of use Lower costs of financing Convenience Time savings Operational efficiency 4. 2. 3. From the government’s perspective New technologies have provided the incentiv es/benefits for the government to improve SME finance by †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Increasing employment. Contributing to poverty reduction. Contributing to economic development.Reducing the informal sector and cash economy1 . 1 Lack of SME’s access to FIs is one of the major reasons why there are usually big informal economic sector (cash economy) in many developing countries. Improved SME access to formal financial institutions is expected to reduce the informal economic sector. 7 5. Challenges and policy implications 5. 1. Cross-border e-banking activities and its policy implications 5. 1. 1. definition †¢ Definition: Cross-border e-banking is defined as the provision of transactional on- line banking products or service by a bank in one country to residents of another country. BIS, 2003) †¢ †¢ A note on the definition: A bank delivering its e-banking activities via its physical branches/ subsidiaries in a host country does count into cross-border e-ba nking. A further note: banks can use the new delivery channel (e-banking) reach customers in another country without as much reliance on physical presence and the significant investment that it entails (example). 5. 1. 2. Two scenarios †¢ †¢ The in-out scenario—In-country institutions providing banking services to customers outside the home country.The out- in scenario—institutions based outside the home country providing banking services to parties within the home country. 5. 1. 3. Raised many challenges and questions for banking regulatory authorities (both home and host) †¢ Who should take the supervision responsibility? Borderless nature of e-banking increase the potential for jurisdictional ambiguities with respect to the supervisory responsibilities of different national authorities. Such situations could lead to insufficient supervision of cross-border e-banking activities. †¢ †¢ Does it need to be licensed?Banks that engage in cross-bor der e-banking may face increased legal risk. Specifically, unless banks conduct adequate due diligence they run the risk of potential non-compliance with different national laws and regulations, including 8 applicable consumer protection laws, record-keeping and reporting requirements, privacy rules, AML rules. †¢ Non-banks may offer with greater facility bank- like services without any type of supervisory approval or oversight due to definitional ambiguities that may exist wit regard to what constitutes a bank (or banking services). †¢ †¢ †¢ Which country’s law applies to cross-border e-banking activities.Role and responsibilities of the home country banking supervisor and local supervisor. Supervisors need to recognize that the Internet allows for the provision of e-banking services that can span geographic borders and potentially call into question existing jurisdictional authorization requirements and the regulatory processes; †¢ Supervisors need to recognize the implications of taking a restrictive approach toward currently regulated banks without an even-handed treatment of foreign organizations that may conduct identical or nearly identical activities via the Internet in the local jurisdiction. Supervisors should ensure that banks appropriately manage the legal uncertainty during the period while the legal infrastructure for cross-border e-banking remains under construction. 5. 1. 4. Its policy implications †¢ Policy goal: The objective of both the host and home supervisors should be to avoid or minimize legal risks stemming from jurisdictional ambiguities, and to ensure that e-banking activities are adequately supervised with clearly defined supervisory responsibilities. †¢Basic principle: Focus attention on the need for effective home country supervision of cross-border e-banking activities on a consolidated basis as well as continued international cooperation between home and local banking supervisors regardi ng such activities given the possible absence of a physical banking presence in local jurisdiction. Such as focus is essential to promote safe and sound cross-border e- 9 banking without creating undue regulatory burden or impediments to banks’ use of the internet delivery channel to meet customer needs. Complementary principle : Home supervisors should provide host supervisors with clear information on how they oversee a bank’s e-banking activities on a consolidated level. Host supervisor would generally rely on the home supervisor to effectively carry out its supervisory program. Where there are concerns about the effectiveness of a home supervisor’s oversight program, the host would approach the home supervisor on a bilateral basis. The host supervisor will need to consider what actions may be appropriate to protect local residents and their banking system. Cooperation among national supervisors . Rapid pace of development of e-banking and the associated risk s will require supervisory agility, resources and, in the crossborder context, cooperation between home and host supervisors. 5. 2. From the society’s perspective 5. 2. 1. Challenges 1. Theft of personal identity 2. Privacy issues 3. Who take the responsibility in case of fraud 5. 2. 2. Policy implications 1. Essential are efforts to define the privacy framework and to use technology to solve contract enforcement problems. . 3. From bank’s perspectives 5. 3. 1. Risk management challenges †¢ Adaptation to Technology issues: The speed of change relating to technological and customer service innovation in e-banking is unprecedented. This intensifies challenges to the management to ensure that adequate strategic assessment, risk 10 analysis and securities reviews are conducted prior to implementing new e-banking applications. †¢ Outsourcing issue: E-banking increase banks’ ependence on information technology, thereby increasing the technical complexity of many operational and security issues and furthering a trend towards more partnerships, alliances and outsourcing arrangements with third parties, many of whom are unregulated. †¢ †¢ Increased legal and reputational risks E-security issue: The internet is ubiquitous and global by nature. It is an open network accessible from anywhere in the world by unknown parties, with routing of messages through unknown locations and via fast evolving wireless devices.Therefore, it raises significant challenges on security controls, customer authentication techniques, data protection, audit trail procedures, and customer privacy standards.  § While companies have been keen to embrace the potential offered by these technologies, few understand the inherent vulnerability and risks associated with e- finance. Since 1999, Brazil has seen a 418% increase in electronic security incidents; Korea has seen a 932% increase and Japan has seen over 1000% increase in malicious electronic security i ncidents (Tom Glaessner et al, 2003).  § Over 57% of all hack attacks in 2002 were initiated against the financial sector (Tom Glaessner et al, 2003). Identity Theft has exploded and incidents are expected to reach almost 2 million per year by 2005 wit a cost of almost US$10 billion. †¢ Outsourcing issue: E-banking increase banks’ dependence on information technology, thereby increasing the technical complexity of many operational and security issues and furthering a trend towards more partnerships, alliances and outsourcing arrangements with third parties, many of whom are unregulated. †¢ Increased legal and reputational risks 11 5. 3. 2. Policy implications/recommendations . Establish a comprehensive security control process. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Authentication of e-banking customers Appropriate measures to ensure segregation of duties Establishment of clear audit trails for e-banking transactions Non-repudiation and accountability for e-banking trans actions 2. Centralized-back office to free staff time in sales and services areas and to consolidate process consistently across the organization. 3. Develop automated credit authorization system by developing appropriate credit scoring system and cash- flow scoring system to reduce operating costs, improve asset quality, and increase client profitability.One of the major benefits of credit scoring system is that lenders can make credit decisions without necessarily obtaining financial statement, credit reports, or other time-consuming and hard-to-get information. In particular, the financial statements of SMEs are often not complete and difficult to get. Banks can more closely align their specific credit policies and marketing strategies with the analytics, making the decision process more costefficient. (I. e. , Fair, Isaac has developed a credit scoring system specialized in SME finance—SBSS 5. (small business scoring services), which has been increasingly used by many ban ks as their SME credit decision making model. ) 4. Comprehensive due diligence and management oversight process for outsourcing relationships and other third-party dependencies. 5. Integrate cross-border e-banking risks into the bank’s overall risk management framework. 6. Legal and reputational risk management †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Appropriate disclosures for e-banking services Privacy of customer information Capacity, business continuity and contingency planning to ensure availability of e-banking systems and services Incident response planning.Segregation of duties 12 †¢ Due diligence on risk assessment 5. 4. From the authorities’ perspective (banking supervisor, central bank, related government depts. ) 5. 4. 1. Challenges from e-banking 1. Oversight of outsourcing and partnership arrangements, and the oversight of security and data integrity and controls and safeguards, especially when the supporting operations are located in another jurisdi ction . 2.The ability to adopt global technology to the local requirements: A adequate level of infrastructure and human capacity building are required before developing countries can adopt the global technology for their local requirements. 3. The ability to create the necessary level of regulatory and institutional frameworks: The lack of regulatory frameworks, trust, security and privacy standards, high trade barriers, customer and investor protections impede progress in many developing countries to implement e- finance projects. 4. E-security challenges 5. 4. 2.Policy implications/recommendations 1. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Improve system infrastructure environment for e-banking business Strengthen payment system (including RTGS, bulk/low value payment system). Improve the settlement system (e. g. , for credit cards and other forms of electronic transactions). Build-up transaction reporting/reconciliation services. Establish credit information registry and disseminating s ystem. Credit information registries, commonly known as credit bureaus in many countries, can reduce the extent of asymmetric information by making a borrower’s credit history available to 3 potential lenders. Lenders armed with this data can avoid making loans to high risk customers, with poor repayment histories, defaults, or bankruptcies. Once a lender makes a loan, the borrower knows that their performance will be reported to the credit bureau. The information contained in a credit registry becomes part of the borrower’s â€Å"reputation collateral†; late payments or defaults reduce the value of this â€Å"collateral† providing an additional incentive for timely repayment. At the same time, by reducing the information monopoly that banks have over their existing borrowers,

Offshore structures Essay

A well structure situated at the sea, some distance from the shore is known as an offshore well. This well is normally drilled at the seabed using specially designed drilling equipments and different drilling techniques are used. What are deviated wells, doglegs? A deviated well is a horizontal well drilled at an angle usually greater than 80 degrees to the vertical. It involves drilling horizontal and slant-hole wells which enhance better intersection of vertical structures in tight formations. Deviated well is essential since it prevents the fracture of vertical lines, which enhance the permeability of natural gas much higher than the unfractured rock. They increase production rate and minimize cost of ecological damage. Deviated wells can be grouped as unintentionally deviated and intentionally deviated. Unintentionally deviated implies that the well lies on a vertical or near a vertical plane. A dogleg is a sharp deviation or bend in a well’s direction or inclination. They are characterized by being abrupt, decreasing or increasing, excessive long and permissible. It can also referred to as an elbow . . Include a section on offshore well structure /design explaining how it is designed Offshore well structures are designed to bear up all foreseeable conditions which may be weather related as well as environmental loading factors such as earthquake induced loads. Accidental loads such as collisions, fires and explosions are also considered when designing a well structure . In designing this, a floating offshore structure which is polygon shaped and used for drilling or production purpose is used. It contains apertures on its sides meant for reducing the movement of the structure as a result of undersea currents. The structure further consists of a production platform extending above the water surface, and a series of buoyancy tanks which provide the structure with the ability to float. Apertures, surrounded by coamings, is located on each side of the structure to allow ocean currents to flow laterally through the center of the structure. It also makes it possible and easy for oil and gas can dissipate from the center of the structure if a rupture occurs. A fluid retention tank and ballast in the structure lowers the center of gravity of the structure and make it more stable, and a centerwell running through the longitudinal center of the structure allows one or more risers to run from the ocean floor to the operating platform. The structure can then be moored to the sea floor through the use of a catenary mooring system. . Bibliography Chow F I (Houston, TX), Freedman G W (Kingwood, TX), Kemper J H (The Woodlands, TX), Devlin P V (Pearland, TX), Polygon floating offshore structure, 1999, retrieved 23 August 2008, Graff W, J, Introduction to offshore structures: Design, Fabrication, Installation. Gulf publication company, 1981, ISBN 0872016943 Lyons W,C , Standard Handbook on Petroleum Gas Engineering. Gulf Professional publishing, 2005, ISBN 0750677856 Wilson H,W, Applied Science and Technology Index. H. W Wilson Co. publishers, 2006

Neutrinos And Gamma Rays Essays - Neutrinos, Dark Matter

Neutrinos And Gamma Rays Essays - Neutrinos, Dark Matter Neutrinos and Gamma Rays Emission of a beta particle produces an energy change in the nucleus of an atom. The energy change that is observed, however, does not add up to satisfy the Law of Conservation of energy. The conservation law can be balanced if another particle, called the neutrino is part of this process. In the time it takes to read just this sentence, more than a billion of them will have passed unnoticed through the reader's body. Neutrinos may account for an appreciable portion of the mass of the universe, even tending to slow it's rate of expansion. Originally proposed in 1931 by Wolfgang Pauli to account for mass that was mysteriously lost from certain nuclear reactions,and first observed in 1956 by Dr Frederick Reines and Dr. Clyde Cowan, neurtinos either were beleived to have no mass or to have a negligible amount of mass. Ever since their discovery scientists wondered if this elusive particle that has no electric charge and is able to pass through the entire earth without hitting anything might not have some negligible amount of mass. Because they exist in great numbers in the universe, even a small mass could provide the "dark matter" that cosmologists beleive makes up the substance of the cosmos. Having a mass, neutrinos might also be able to change into neutrinos of other types, by a process called oscillation. They have no electrical charge and are believed to travel at or near the speed of light. Neutrinos react very little with matter and only rarely do they react with protons or neutrons through a force ! called "the weak force". Their discovery enabled scientists to work out a conservation of evergy, spin, and momentum for beta decay. There are six types of neutrinos, depending upon the subatomic particles with which they are associated: electon antineutrinos with electrons, electron neutrinos with positrons, muon neutrinos and antimeutrinos with muon reactions, and tau neutrinos and antineutrinos with massive tau particles. Mass is what determines the rate at which the wave function of a particle vibrates. If the waves of two neutrinos of different masses mingle, they beat against each other much like sound waves of different pitch . If neutrinos had no mass, their waves would have the same frequency and would not be able to beat at all. A particle detector at Los Alamos National Laboratory has captured eight events that could be the first direct sightings of neutrino oscillations. If verified, the observations will prove as well that neutrinos have mass. However such experiments are not easy to carry out. In the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector experiment, a beam of protons from an accelerator is shot into a water target. Particles are absorbed and detected and some implications involving neutrino mass are made, and although this could help solve the dark matter problem it contributes nothing to the major puzzle the scientists are concerned with: the solar neutrino problem. Only about half the number of neutrinos that the theory predicts should come from the sun are actually detected. The deficit might be explained by presuming that the particles change to muon neutrinos and therefore escape detection. But if neutrinos change type over short distances as in the LSND experiment, the oscillations ! would average out over the 92 million miles that seperates the sun from the earth. Some other neutrino experiment have been undertaken to determine the number of neutrinos that actually reach the earth from the Sun and stars. One such experiment known as DUMAND, for Deep Underwater Muon and Neutrino Detector, Which was led by scientists from the Univ. of Hawaii, sought to install detectors in deep water off the coast of Hawaii's Big Island. But leaks and broken connections caused one expensive problem after another, and money for the project by the Department of Energy was recently ended. And just in November 1996 a collaboration of Greek and US physicists began their experiment called NESTOR (Neutrinos fom Supernova and Tervolt sources, Ocean Ridge). They began by lowering instument-laden platforms resembling umbrellas into the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea off the southwest coast of Greece to test a system that will look for neutrinos coming up from the ocean floor. The earth is used

Compare and contrast societies of medieval China, Arabic Caliphate, Essay

Compare and contrast societies of medieval China, Arabic Caliphate, and Christendom (Western Europe) - Essay Example The discussion of class structure shall encompass status symbols and interactions between members of different social classes. Utilizing such literature as â€Å"Po Hsing-chien,† â€Å"Su Shih,† â€Å"Ssu-ma Kwang,† â€Å"Marco Polo,† â€Å"The Hunchback† and â€Å"The Man who Never Laughed Again† from 1001 Nights, the Qu’ran, â€Å"Al-Farabi,† the Black Death reading, Matthew, Acts, Romans, The Life of Charlemagne, Chaucer’s Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, and the Magna Carta, conclusions can be drawn that will aid in the comparison of these three societies.. First to be compared among the previously stated societies is religion. One determining factor of any religion is the belief in the metaphysical or supernatural, such as a God or Gods. In medieval China, common was the belief in a multitude of spirits with different powers. For example, Miss Li and her lover in Po Hsing-Chieng visited the spirit of the Bamboo Grove in order to receive assistance in conceiving a child. (Po Hsing-Chieng, 303). Arabic Caliphate embraces a belief in one God, known as Allah. (Qu’ran). According to the Biblical book of Acts, Christendom encompassed a belief in a holy trinity, which included the Holy Spirit, God the Father and God the Son. (Acts, 2). Both Arabic Caliphate and Christendom were considered monotheistic religions, meaning they believed in one God, while medieval China seemed to embrace a belief in many spirits. It is also practical to examine each society’s members’ relationships to their God(s). Evidence from literature provides that people in medieval China thought they were consistently being watched and judged by the gods in terms of honor and morale. In â€Å"Po Hsing-Chien,† Miss Li tells her mother that they need to help the young man because the spirits would not be on their side for the bad things they had already done to him. (Po Hsing-Chien, 305). In Arabic Caliphate trust was placed in the will of

Literature review of Energy savings companies (ESCO) and marketing Essay

Literature review of Energy savings companies (ESCO) and marketing - Essay Example A true win-win-win if successfully implemented. As far as marketing is concerned it is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and values with others. It is an integrated process through which companies create value for customers and build strong relationships with them in order to capture value from customers in return. Thus for effective functioning of ESCO it has implemented various tools and strategies of marketing. According to European Union energy services, energy services are those activities which are taken up by the companies and market actors, and which result in demonstrable and sustainable savings of supplied/delivered energy in the customer's household and which includes the option of initial investment by other than the household or property owner [1]. The energy service company (ESCO) is in the business of providing broad range of comprehensive energy solutions including the designing and implementation of energy saving projects, energy conservation, energy infrastructure outsourcing, power generation, energy supply and risk management. Sixteen companies have been grouped together in the industry structure that provides projects based on ESCO structure [2, 3, and 4]. Ameresco is the only pure-play ESCO left in the market [5]. The others are Carrier, Honeywell Building Solutions SES, Johnson Controls Government Systems, L.L.C., Siemens Government Services, Inc., TAC Americas, Inc., Trane U.S., Inc., ConEdison, Constellation, FPL Energy Services, Pepco Energy Services, The Benham Companies, LLC (SAIC Acquired), Clark Realty Builders, LLC, McKinstry, Lockheed Martin and Chevron Energy [6, 7 ,8]. The ESCO customers include [9] Working of ESCO ESCO has its own way of working it starts with analyzing the part, then designs the energy efficient solution and installs the required elements, finally maintaining the system to ensure that the energy is saved during the payback period. The savings in energy costs is often used to pay back the capital investment of the project over a five- to twenty-year period, or reinvested into the building to allow for capital raise that may otherwise be impractical. If the project does not provide returns on the investment, then ESCO is often responsible to pay the difference [10]. ESCOs structure is as follows Contract Services Customer ESCO PaymentFinancing payment Contract Bank (ESCO feasibility report. 2007) Initially ESCO installs the energy conservation measures (ECM's) and measure the energy saved resulting from the projects and presents the data to the customer. A common way to calculate energy savings is to measure the flows of energy associated with the ECM, and to apply spreadsheet calculations to determine savings. They have formed a standardized table as follows; Description Typical