One Of The Nine Circles Of Hell In The Inferno That I Would Like To E

B. One of the nine circles of hell in ?The Inferno? that I would like to change is the Eighth circle, which is known as Canto XVIII. But before I do, let me introduce and explain briefly on each bolgia. This circle is called Malebolge.The classes of sinners are grouped into ten separate pockets called bolgia. An arching bridge connects each bolgia. The first out of ten bolgia, houses the panderers and the seducers. Horned devils serve as the guardians and lay out the punishments for the sinners. The second bolgia is where the flatters are held and punished. The sinners are to wallow in a floor excrement. The sinners lay upside down in a hole where only their feet stick out with flames engulfing them in the third bolgia know as the Simonists. In the fourth bolgia, the Soothsayers, is perhaps the strangest. Here, there are punished by having their bodies all twisted up in a demented way. In the Fifth bolgia, the Grafters, a black devil slings the sinner into the burning tar and pokes at him with his pitchfork so that he/she stays under the tar's surface. The sixth bolgia is the Hypocrites. The sinners all ?wear cloaks with hoods pulled low covering the eyes? that are ?lined with lead? (in 63-66). In addition, they must also walk at a steady pace. The seventh bolgia are the thieves. Serpents chase people around who are naked and terrified. Their hands are also tied behind their backs by the serpents, which also coil around their bodies. The seventh bolgia is called the Exchange and Interchanged. The eighth is called the Deceivers. It is brightly marked due to flames that burn all around. The ninth bolgia is called the Sowers of Scandal and Schism. The sinners are torn and ripped and walk around with their guts spilling from their abdominal cavity. Their bodies do heal, but then go through the pain again of being split open. Finally, in the tenth bolgia, The Alchemists and Falsifiers, they are plagued with different types of illnesses including leprosy. They all drag themselves on the ground because they are so weak they are unable to walk. If I were to change it, then I would take out at least three bolgias, making there only 7. I would elaborate more on each and add in more gruesome details on how the devils tortured the sinners. Maybe they could I would also like to leave its position where it is. If I would of moved it, then it wouldn't make sense. That is how I would change Dantes work around for a bit. My only purpose in changing it is so that it would be more elaborate and not have that ?crowded? feeling going on with the 10 bolgias. But other than that, I think it is good the way it is.

The Story of Bonnie and Clyde by Bonnie Parker

The Story of Bonnie and Clyde by Bonnie Parker Bonnie and Clyde were legendary and historic outlaws who robbed banks and killed people. The authorities saw the couple as dangerous criminals, while the public viewed Bonnie and Clyde as modern-day Robin Hoods. The couples legend was in part helped along by Bonnies poems: The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, and The Story of Suicide Sal. Bonnie Parker wrote the poems in the middle of their 1934 crime spree, while she and Clyde Barrow were on the run from the law. This poem, The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, was the last one she wrote, and the legend reports that Bonnie gave a copy of the poem to her mother just weeks before the couple was gunned down. Bonnie and Clyde as Social Bandits Parkers poem is part of a long-established outlaw-folk hero tradition, what British historian Eric Hobsbawm called social bandits. The social bandit/outlaw-hero is a peoples champion who adheres to a higher law and defies the established authority of his time. The idea of a social bandit is a nearly universal social phenomenon found throughout history, and ballads and legends of them share a long set of characteristics. The main feature shared by ballads and legends around such historical figures as Jesse James, Sam Bass, Billy the Kid, and Pretty Boy Floyd is the enormous amount of distortion of the known facts. That distortion enables the transition of a violent criminal into a folk hero. In all cases, the peoples champion story the people need to hear is more important than the facts- during the Great Depression, the public needed reassurance that there were people working against a government perceived as callous to their predicament. The voice of the Depression, American balladeer Woody Guthrie, wrote just such a ballad about Pretty Boy Floyd after Floyd was killed six months after Bonnie and Clyde died. Curiously, many of the ballads, like Bonnies, also use the metaphor of the pen is mightier than the sword, stating that what newspapers have written about the bandit hero is false, but that the truth can be found written in their legends and ballads. 12 Characteristics of the Social Outlaw American historian Richard Meyer identified 12 characteristics that are common to social outlaw stories. Not all of them appear in every story, but many of them come from older ancient legends- tricksters, champions of the oppressed, and ancient betrayals. The social bandit hero is a man of the people who stands in opposition to certain established, oppressive economic, civil, and legal systems. He is a champion who wouldnt harm the little man.His first crime is brought about through extreme provocation by agents of the oppressive system.He steals from the rich and gives to the poor, serving as one who rights wrongs. (Robin Hood, Zorro)Despite his reputation, he is good-natured, kind-hearted, and frequently pious.His criminal exploits are audacious and daring.He frequently outwits and confounds his opponents by trickery, often expressed humorously. (Trickster)He is helped, supported, and admired by his own people.The authorities cant catch him through conventional means.His death is only brought about by the betrayal by a former friend. (Judas)His death provokes great mourning on the part of his people.After he dies, the hero manages to live on in a number of ways: stories say that he is not really dead, or that his ghost or spirit con tinues to help and inspire people. His actions and deeds may not always gain approval or admiration, but rather are sometimes decried in the ballads as mildly stated criticism to outright condemnation and refutation of all the other 11 elements. Bonnie Parkers Social Outlaw True to the form, in The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, Parker cements their image as social bandits. Clyde used to be honest and upright and clean, and she reports that he was locked up unjustly. The couple has supporters in the regular people like newsboys, and she foretells that the law will beat them in the end. Like most of us, Parker had heard ballads and legends of lost heroes as a child. She even references Jesse James in the first stanza. What is interesting about her poems is that we see her actively spinning their criminal history into a legend. The Story of Bonnie and ClydeYouve read the story of Jesse JamesOf how he lived and died;If youre still in needOf something to read,Heres the story of Bonnie and Clyde. Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang,Im sure you all have readHow they rob and stealAnd those who squealAre usually found dying or dead. Theres lots of untruths to these write-ups;Theyre not so ruthless as that;Their nature is raw;They hate all the lawThe stool pigeons, spotters, and rats. They call them cold-blooded killers;They say they are heartless and mean;But I say this with pride,That I once knew ClydeWhen he was honest and upright and clean. But the laws fooled around,Kept taking him downAnd locking him up in a cell,Till he said to me,Ill never be free,So Ill meet a few of them in hell. The road was so dimly lighted;There were no highway signs to guide;But they made up their mindsIf all roads were blind,They wouldnt give up till they died. The road gets dimmer and dimmer;Sometimes you can hardly see;But its fight, man to man,And do all you can,For they know they can never be free. From heart-break some people have suffered;From weariness some people have died;But take it all in all,Our troubles are smallTill we get like Bonnie and Clyde. If a policeman is killed in Dallas,And they have no clue or guide;If they cant find a fiend,They just wipe their slate cleanAnd hand it on Bonnie and Clyde. Theres two crimes committed in AmericaNot accredited to the Barrow mob;They had no handIn the kidnap demand,Nor the Kansas City depot job. A newsboy once said to his buddy;I wish old Clyde would get jumped;In these awful hard timesWed make a few dimesIf five or six cops would get bumped. The police havent got the report yet,But Clyde called me up today;He said, Dont start any fightsWe arent working nightsWere joining the NRA. From Irving to West Dallas viaductIs known as the Great Divide,Where the women are kin,And the men are men,And they wont stool on Bonnie and Clyde. If they try to act like citizensAnd rent them a nice little flat,About the third nightTheyre invited to fightBy a sub-guns rat-tat-tat. They dont think theyre too tough or desperate,They know that the law always wins;Theyve been shot at before,But they do not ignoreThat death is the wages of sin. Some day theyll go down together;And theyll bury them side by side;To few itll be griefTo the law a reliefBut its death for Bonnie and Clyde. - Bonnie Parker 1934 Sources Hobsbawm, Eric. Bandits. Orion, 2010.Lundblad, Bonnie Jo. The Rebel-Victim: Past and Present. The English Journal 60.6 (1971): 763–66.Meyer, Richard E. The Outlaw: A Distinctive American Folktype. Journal of the Folklore Institute 17.2/3 (1980): 94–124.Muecke, Stephen, Alan Rumsey, and Banjo Wirrunmarra. Pigeon the Outlaw: History as Texts. Aboriginal History 9.1/2 (1985): 81–100.Roberts, John W. Railroad Bill and the American Outlaw Tradition. Western Folklore 40.4 (1981): 315–28.Seal, Graham. The Robin Hood Principle: Folklore, History, and the Social Bandit. Journal of Folklore Research 46.1 (2009): 67–89.

Social Networking Sites Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Social Networking Sites - Essay Example With the increasing use of technology, it has become more acceptable for individuals across the globe who share common interests to interact online and discuss their subject of interest. I love collecting stamps, but most of the friends within my inner circle before I joined Facebook were not similarly inclined. Although they would pass on stamps to me to add to my collection, they were not in the least interested in discussing them. When I joined Facebook however, I was able to contact other people who were also interested in stamp collection and were as passionate about it as I was. My contact with them was not restricted by my geographical location, because the world wide web allowed me the opportunity to make contacts with people I would never have been able to connect with otherwise. The best part of it was that I could interact with these people free of cost, without needing to pay large sums of money to travel long distances for meetings. Facebook also provided me a forum to e xchange stamps and get new ones I did not have in my collection. My friends on Facebook were quite willing to send me their extra stamps in exchange for some of mine and this was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Entering into new relationships on social networking sites however, also has its negative aspects. One example of this is online dating sites. They provide the opportunity to make lots of contacts, hence there is an excellent chance to connect with a love interest, but there are also some significant disadvantages. At the outset, most dating sites are paid ones, therefore they are expensive to use. Secondly, there are also safety concerns that are associated with using such social networking sites. The online interaction with the individual in question occurs on the basis of photographs exchanged over the web, which might not necessarily represent what

Constitutional Law of the EU Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Constitutional Law of the EU - Case Study Example Individuals were given the right to bring actions before the ECJ for judicial review of the acts of Community institutions under Article 173. However, as a means of enforcing individual rights, this Article has limited utility as, first, individuals are not permitted to bring actions against Member States and therefore have no rights or remedies where a State violates their Community law rights and, secondly, individuals are required to demonstrate that the measure is a decision which is of direct and individual concern to the applicant. An individual cannot challenge regulations unless it is demonstrable that it is merely a decision in the garb of a regulation1. The individual must show that the effects of the decision apply directly to the applicant without depending on the exercise of discretion by another body2. Moreover, the decision must affect the individual's legal position3. The ECJ has taken its own view as to the nature and effect of treaties known as the doctrine of 'direct effect.' The concept of Direct Effect of EC law was developed by the ECJ to allow individuals and organisations to use the provisions of EC law within their Member States' domestic courts without having to wait for the Member State to fulfil some obligation which it had omitted to do. Although, individuals could complain to the Commission, nevertheless they could not compel the Commission to ensure that their rights were enforced if the Commission was chary of doing so4. The implication of this jurisprudential concept is that individuals can obtain the required mandate directly from community law, for enforcement in their own national courts. It also places control in the hands of ordinary individuals, as per the provisions of Article 226 EC, which enables the Commission to initiate proceedings against Member States for breaches. Direct effect has in this manner empowered every citizen of the Union to participate actively and in this manner has brought the community into their lives. Its legal foundations were established in Van Gend En Loos 5 in which the Court held that an individual was entitled to invoke Article 25 EC in order to prohibit Member States from introducing new customs duties on imports and exports and other charges having equivalent effects. The Court held that Article 25 EC was directly effective and could be challenged by individuals in the national courts. However the ECJ reasoned that direct effect exists and that the individuals may have the rights conferred upon them directly under EC treaties. This reasoning was based on the need to carry out the political and legislative programme that the treaties had set out to create a community not only of states but also of personsthat calls for the participation of everybody. The spirit of the preamble to the EC implies that reference has to be made not only to member governments but also to individuals, and is therefore, more than an agreement which creates mutual obligations between the contracting states. In this way it is distinct from other international treaties and constitutes a new legal order of international law for the benefit of which the stated have limited their sovereign rights, although within limited fields, the subjects of which comprise not only member states but also their nationals. Therefore it was concluded that, community lawis intended to confer upon individuals righ ts which become part of their

Justification program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Justification program - Essay Example ven the most conscious commercial kitchen operations consider kitchen wastes as undesirable but inevitable part of the food expenditures that cost hospitals 4 to 8 percent in terms of food wastages (Chardoul & Coddington, 2012). In my investigation on the kitchen operations, I have noticed that nutrition and the presence of malnutrition are very vital in the overall treatment and care of our patients. However, I have observed that some food is not being eaten, that is, it is going to waste; as a result, it is not contributing to nutrition (Bauers, 2011). I think that all the food reduction measures especially the ones that affect the portion sizes, should be considered in consultation with the hospital nutritionists. I think inclusion of an effective Food Waste Program will be important in the kitchens, canteens and in the wards. After tracking down the sources of these organic wastes, I have noticed that most of them were emanating from pre and post consumer sources in the food areas. Note that some of these food wastes are in two categories: Non-perishable and unspoiled perishable foods (Perry, 2014). When serving, some patients may not report for meals and these foods are returned to the kitchen, but still considered as waste. As a result, managers start seeing volume of food waste generated and the costs to take the large bins away. I think that with the Food Waste Program, such wastage can be minimized by taking the food back to the kitchen. Nevertheless, I think I will like to make a distinction of the types of foods that can be taken back to the kitchen. Some types of food wastes have no value such as meat bones and onions. Conversely, there are those referred as valuable food wastes and I have observed that they are being generated both in service of the patients and at the canteens. For example, I h ave seen there are unserved food wastes, untouched food wastes and plate wastes. For the untouched food wastes, for example, comprise the plated food that has

Nick Leeson’s strategy to earn trading profits on derivatives?

Nick Leeson’s strategy to earn trading profits on derivatives? Originally, trader Nick Leeson was supposed to be exploiting low-risk arbitrage opportunities that would leverage price differences in similar equity derivatives on the Singapore Money Exchange (SIMEX) and the Osaka Exchange. In fact, he made up a strategy to earn trading profits on derivatives where he would have to take much riskier positions by buying and selling different amounts of the contracts on the two exchanges or buying and selling contracts of different types. Leeson was speculating wildly and completely without authorization, in massive amounts on movements in the Japanese stock and bond markets. Leesons trading activities mainly involved three futures markets: Futures on the Japanese Nikkei 225 stock index, futures on 10-year Japanese Government bonds (JGB futures) and European futures. Leeson executed a trading strategy known as a straddle, with the objective of making a profit by selling put and call options on the same underlying financial instrument, in this case, the Nikkei 225 Index. Most of his trading was a bet on the volatility of the Tokyo stock and bond markets. In his futures positions, he was betting that the Tokyo stock market would rise and the bond market would fall. He was long Nikkei 225 futures, short Japanese government bond futures, and short both put and call options on the Nikkei Index. He was betting that the Nikkei index would rise, but he was wrong; instead it fell, causing him to lose $1.39 billion. A straddle will generally produce positive earnings when markets are stable but can result in large losses if markets are volatile. He planned his strategy taking into consideration the Japanese futures market as in Japan the margin is posted on a net basis for all costumers and if there are customers who are in short position, firm can take long position without any need to pay the call margin. He utilized this opportunity through his bogus error account 88888 and companies account 99002. What went wrong that caused his strategy to fail? Leesons strategy failed because he was taking into consideration that the market had experienced an extended bull run throughout the late 1980s and after that, it had fallen to half of its 1989 high. He thought that it had fallen enough and from now it would only go up, and he continued to bet that it would rise; but the Nikkei 225 index only kept falling. Leeson further increased the size of his open positions even as his losses increased due to volatility in the markets. He did nothing to hedge his position to lay off his potential losses if the markets did move the wrong way. In effect, Leeson was accepting unlimited liability. The second thing that was that he was relying on the bank interest rate; that it would decrease but eventually the exact opposite happened and the interest rate increased to a high. He thought if that the interest rates were low at the moment and if they were going to rise they would hurt him as more of the investors would move towards safe earning through the high interest rate returns, making the investment into market to reduce and hence to make himself on the safer side he invested into government bonds futures. Nick Leesons doubling strategy failed because he increased the size of his open positions even as his losses increased due to volatility in the markets and kept doubling his contracts whilst the Nikkei 225 continue to plummet following an earthquake in Japan. However, Leesons unauthorized trading positions suffered huge losses, and his operation unraveled. Moreover, interest rates did not rise as he expected which lead to further losses incurred on the Japanese government bond futures. He left the behind with huge liabilities totaling $1.4 billion, leading to the bankruptcy to the one of the oldest bank in Britain. Why did Nick Leeson establish a bogus error account (88888) when a legitimate account (99002) already existed? Nick Leeson established a bogus error account (88888) even when a legitimate account (99002) already existed, in order to conceal his unauthorized trading activities. Initially he claimed that he opened the error account (88888) to conceal a single loss of 20,000 pounds sterling that had resulted from an accounting error until he could make up the difference through trading. However, he continued booking various losses into the error account (88888) as a holding area for any premiums or losses that he made and also continued to increase his volume of trading and level of risk taking. It was a loophole he exploited to set up bogus accounts for non-existent clients to mask mounting debts. While the legitimate error account was known to Barings Securities in London, the bogus account was not. However, the bogus account was known to SIMEX as a customer account, not as an error account. In this way, Leeson could hide his balances and losses from London but not Singapore. One the other hand, SIMEX thought the bogus error account, 88888, was a legitimate customer account rather than a proprietary Barings account. The account enabled Leeson to take advantage of the rules of Japanese Futures market at that time. In Japan margin was posted on net basis for all customers. Therefore if many customers were short index futures, the firm could take long position without having to post cash margins. Why did Barings and its auditors not discover that the error account was used by Leeson for unauthorized trading? The reason why Barings and its auditors did not discover Leesons unauthorized trading and fraudulent activities was mostly a lack of internal checks and balances, and because Leeson was hiding in Barings organized chaos. Leeson was also given power due to his knowledge and there was no inquiry done into his trading just because he reported a profit to the company. Barings was impressed by Leesons achievements which lead them not to disclose to SIMEX that he infact had been disqualified from taking the UK traders exam (Broady, Roland, Woods, 2008). According to Ron Baker, the Head of Financial Products Group for Barings, There were no clearly laid down reporting lines with regard to Leeson, and in actual fact, there were several people responsible for keeping an eye on Leesons performance, but each one of them assumed that the other was watching closer than them, thus allowing Leeson several holes to get through. An internal auditor audited the Singapore office of Barings in 1994 and he reported that unauthorized trading could have happened because of the fundamental principle of the industry segregation of front and back office activities. The results were disclosed to the directors as well as some of the auditors recommendations, but the directors did not implement these recommendations (Collier Agyei-Ampomah, 2006). Moreover, Leesons actions could have been avoided if the Barings executives had done a comprehensive review of Leesons funding requirements, as well as set restrictions to what Leeson could or could not do. However, he also discovered that none of these changes to the internal structure had been implemented when the bank collapsed. One of the main reasons why Leeson was able to get away with so much was that there was no clear segregation of duties (Broady, Roland, Woods, 2008). The nature of the Japanese futures market at the time did not require exchanges to have a separation between the customer and the proprietary funds, which made it difficult to separate the funds and the position of the firm or customer. Leeson was left to be in control of everything that should have been checked by a superior or manager of some other department, which enabled him to track and modify the contents of his rogue account as he wished and keep his activities from being disclosed. Although the Director of BFS and the Finance Director of BSS, Simon Jones, pledged to the public that he would attend to the issue of segregation, he never actually took any action to separate Leesons front and back office doings. The Bank of England made a report on the matter and according to the report, the London senior management actually considered Jones to be an inadequate communicator, and were concerned with the fact that he was not as involved as he should have been in the affairs of BFS. Furthermore, the Bank of London also criticized the process of Leesons funding. Firstly, credit checks should have been performed on the large amounts of funds changing hands, but this was not performed either. Secondly, Bank of London discovered that there was no clear record of whether the funds reported were needed for its clients, or for its own accounts. This made reconciliation virtually impossible. The trading account was also not shown on any files or statements transmitted from Singapore to London, and thus auditors could not find any existence of the error account. Moreover, SIMEX categorized the 88888 account as a customer account rather than an error account. Internally, Barings had raised issues about having proper reconciliation in 1992. The risk manager of Londons branch, Gordon Bowser, had strongly recommended a development of a solid reconciliation process. However, Bowser left two others (Simon Jones and Tony Dickel) who had internal conflict over Leeson, to decide on the matter of reconciliation procedures, there was no solid arrangement between the two and Leeson was left to create the procedures for himself, allowing him to dictate the way he managed things. The loss of reconciliation meant that auditors could not trace the nature of these funds and thus they were unable to uncover the error account that Leeson used for his tradings. Over the years, there were several cases of internal conflict which was beneficial to Leesons stealthy activities. A particular example of this was in 1995, where SIMEX became apprehensive about the ability of Barings to meet its large margins in Leesons error account. SIMEX addressed a letter to Simon Jones, with the letter noting that a further $100 million should have been in account 88888. Instead of addressing the matter himself directly, Jones passed the letter to Leeson for Leeson to draft a response on his own. Lastly, when Leesons activities were finally being caught on by SIMEX, but they had not managed to find out exactly what was happening, SIMEX posted another letter to the Singapore branch, expressing doubts about Barings ability to fun margin calls. The letter was then referred back to London and from there; SIMEX was assured that opposite positions were being held in Japan. However, the truth was no opposite positions were being held and SIMEX officials made no follow-up checks with Osakas Stock Exchange to authenticate the claims. Why did none of the regulatory authorities in Singapore, Japan, and the United Kingdom not discover the true use of the error account? None of the regulatory bodies of Singapore, Japan on the UK discovered the true use of Leesons error account because firstly, it was visible to them only as a customer account, and SIMEX had also granted an exemption on the number of contracts that Barings could hold with the presumption that Barings was hedging and not speculating. This is in fact due to Barings conservative firm reputation, which lulled exchange and clearing houses into a false sense of security. Additionally, Barings speculative position was hidden with the use of an omnibus account and with this account, the brokers customers identities could successfully be hidden from the exchange and clearing houses. A number of happenings in the UK also allowed Leeson to hide and manage his activities easier. At that time, the Bank of England had a rule known as the Large Exposure Rule which stated that a bank is unable to lend more than 25% of its capital to any single entity. Barings made a request to Bank of London for an exception and argued that one exchange should not be classified as one entity. The supervisor in charge of Barings activities recognized the argument and the request and promised to review it and in the meantime, he offered Barings an informal concession for Japan, which Barings extended to Singapore and Hong Kong. On the matter of the Large Exposure Rule, the supervisor failed to respond until one whole year later, and his answer was that there were no exceptions to be made and the positions taken under the informal concession should be unwound. By that time, the damage had already been done. The Bank of England also found that following the consolidation of Baring Securities Ltd and Baring Brothers and Co., it allowed the two to be categorized as one entity for capital adequacy and large exposure purposes, but the process of this consolidation was too informal and the results of it played a part in Leesons unauthorized activities. This not only meant that Leeson could hide his activities, but also the fact that he had access to a much larger pool of capital. Why was Barings Bank willing to transfer large cash sums to Barings Futures Singapore? Barings Bank believed that the large cash sums transferred to Barings Futures Singapore was for loans to customers as portrayed on the Barings Futures Singapore balance sheet. The key aspect of Japanese Future market was that exchange did not require a separation between customer and propriety funds. Therefore it was impossible to distinguish between the firms and the customers position. Why did the attempt by the Bank of England to organize a bailout for Barings fail? Throughout that weekend, the Bank of England hosted meetings in London to try to form a consortium to bail out Barings. The attempt by the Bank of England to organize a bailout for Barings failed because no one would assume the contingent risk of additional, but as yet undiscovered losses. Bank of London made a huge effort to organize a bailout for Barings bank. The bailout failed because Barings bank reached the position where losses amounted more than double the capitalization of the bank;, estimated losses approached $1.1 billion. Further losses were inevitable and thus there was no one ready to assume the contingent risk of additional but yet undiscovered losses. The bank was trapped in such a situation that the amount of future losses was unknown and unrevealed due to the unauthorized dealing by Nick Leeson. Suggest regulatory and management reforms that might prevent a future debacle of the type that bankrupted Barings. There have been numerous cases of collapses and overwhelming losses to companies in the corporate and banking sector and this called for some serious reformation, with particular attention to derivatives. The entire sector did not sit up and take notice until the Baring Brothers bankruptcy. How could an entity steeped with trust and history fall apart with no signs? Following the bankruptcy, reports were created by the Bank of England, SIMEX, and the Group of Thirty to suggest ways in which regulators and legislators could increase monitoring of financial activities. After the collapse of Barings Bank, an article was published with the name of Global Institutions, National Supervision and Systemic Risk, and this article underlines the reforms and changes in the financial sector that have already been implemented. The reforms that have already been implemented included: the expanded usage of netting and collateral; enhancements in methods to measure risk; greater off-balance-sheet risk disclosure; extensive increases in major financial institutions equity capital, financial sector consolidation; and encouragement of growth of securitization. The Bank of Englands report detailed how the losses occurred, the reason the losses were unnoticed in and out of Barings, and the lessons learnt from the bankruptcy. The following are the five lessons the Bank of England identified (Ambit ERisk, 2010): Management teams have a duty to understand fully the business that they manage; Responsibility for each business activity has to be clearly established and communicated; Clear segregation of duties is fundamental to any effective control system; Relevant internal controls, including independent risk management, have to be established for all business activities; Top management and the Audit Committee have to ensure that significant weaknesses, identified to them by internal audit or otherwise, are resolved quickly. The list that Bank of England came up with seemed simple, but the truth was one (or usually several) points listed were often the reason why corporations lost large amounts of money in the derivatives market. Other ways in which to prevent future debacles like the Barings collapse would be an increase in supervision of employees. Leeson never had a trading license prior to his arrival to Singapore and there was scarce monitoring of his activities since no one person was directly responsible for supervising his trading activities (Burnett, 2006). Also, a clear reporting line should be enforced because Leesons fraud could have been facilitated by confusion in having two reporting lines: one to London for proprietary trading and the other to Tokyo for customer trading. Top management should also be aware of the business that they are dealing with. In the case of Barings Bank, Leeson was reporting huge profits to the company but top management should have known that arbitraging is a relatively low risk and low profit business (Collier Agyei-Ampomah, 2006), so how on earth could Leeson have been reporting such massive profits? Top management could have identified these flaws immediately if they had known and had they done their job properly (Narayanaswamy, 2008). It is thus very important for top management to have sufficient knowledge of the field (or be involved in) to understand the complexities of business and its fundamental concepts. Based in Washington DC, the Group of Thirty began to be particularly apprehensive of the risks that derivatives posed. The Group has issued numerous periodicals to address these problems, mainly publications like International Insolvencies in the Financial Sector, Discussion Draft, which outlined fourteen ideas to reduce risk in the financial sector, particularly with derivatives. Another publication titled International Insolvencies in the Financial Sector, Summary of Comments from Respondent Countries on Discussion Draft, which showed member countries responses and opinions regarding the proposed changes to financial institutions. It was noted that the support for these changes were generally strong among all the countries that responded, which showed how Barings failure rocked the entire worlds confidences in the financial sector.

Contribution of Countryside Tourism to the UK Travel and Tourism Indust

Contribution of Countryside Tourism to the UK Travel and Tourism Industry Across the UK there are 4 main categories of tourist and visitor attractions. These categories are:  · Large City/Large Town,  · Seaside,  · Countryside/Village,  · Small Town. The table above shows that; domestic trips to the countryside area, has now gone into second place out of the 4 categories of tourist and visitor attractions. Over recent years (since 2000) there has been a slight decrease from 24% (2000) to 22% (2003). For day trips across the UK Cities are more popular amongst tourists. This could be for a number of reasons like;  · More spending opportunities,  · More shopping/activity facilities etc. The table above talks about Domestic Holidays. As shown above the countryside category accounts for at least a quarter of all holidays in terms of the 4 different holiday destinations. It is seen as equally important to the Travel and Tourism Industry in the UK. It is a close third in the ranking behind the categories; Large City/Large Town and Seaside. The table above also shows the percentage of spend at these destinations. In the countryside category spending is quite lower in comparison to the top 2 categories; Large City/Large Town and Seaside. This again could be for a number of reasons like; * Fewer shopping opportunities in the countryside compared to the other categories, * Also the activities on offer in the countryside are usually free The Economic Impact of Recreation and Tourism in the English Countryside The English countryside attracts a huge amount of tourists every year. In 1998, visitors to the countryside spent  £11.5 billion. This consequently generated 340,000 jobs. Visitor spending in the countryside rose in real terms ... ...e Visit Britain should advertise the British countryside and remote coastline a lot more abroad on things like TV, posters, in travel agents etc. This would improve the amount of visitor spend from overseas by a lot because there is a lot of potential growth from the 94% of overseas visitors who just visit UK cities. Day visitors to the UK countryside: In 1998 day visits to the UK countryside and remote coastline survey indicated that 1,253 million people went on leisure day visits from home to the countryside, together with an estimated 90 million visits to open coastline. A total of 1,343 million day trips or 25% of all leisure trips in England. Expenditure associated with these trips amounted to  £8,942 million. This category of tourists to the countryside is by far the most important because it generates three quarters of the total income into countryside tourism. Contribution of Countryside Tourism to the UK Travel and Tourism Indust Contribution of Countryside Tourism to the UK Travel and Tourism Industry Across the UK there are 4 main categories of tourist and visitor attractions. These categories are:  · Large City/Large Town,  · Seaside,  · Countryside/Village,  · Small Town. The table above shows that; domestic trips to the countryside area, has now gone into second place out of the 4 categories of tourist and visitor attractions. Over recent years (since 2000) there has been a slight decrease from 24% (2000) to 22% (2003). For day trips across the UK Cities are more popular amongst tourists. This could be for a number of reasons like;  · More spending opportunities,  · More shopping/activity facilities etc. The table above talks about Domestic Holidays. As shown above the countryside category accounts for at least a quarter of all holidays in terms of the 4 different holiday destinations. It is seen as equally important to the Travel and Tourism Industry in the UK. It is a close third in the ranking behind the categories; Large City/Large Town and Seaside. The table above also shows the percentage of spend at these destinations. In the countryside category spending is quite lower in comparison to the top 2 categories; Large City/Large Town and Seaside. This again could be for a number of reasons like; * Fewer shopping opportunities in the countryside compared to the other categories, * Also the activities on offer in the countryside are usually free The Economic Impact of Recreation and Tourism in the English Countryside The English countryside attracts a huge amount of tourists every year. In 1998, visitors to the countryside spent  £11.5 billion. This consequently generated 340,000 jobs. Visitor spending in the countryside rose in real terms ... ...e Visit Britain should advertise the British countryside and remote coastline a lot more abroad on things like TV, posters, in travel agents etc. This would improve the amount of visitor spend from overseas by a lot because there is a lot of potential growth from the 94% of overseas visitors who just visit UK cities. Day visitors to the UK countryside: In 1998 day visits to the UK countryside and remote coastline survey indicated that 1,253 million people went on leisure day visits from home to the countryside, together with an estimated 90 million visits to open coastline. A total of 1,343 million day trips or 25% of all leisure trips in England. Expenditure associated with these trips amounted to  £8,942 million. This category of tourists to the countryside is by far the most important because it generates three quarters of the total income into countryside tourism.

Political Participation Essay

There are three most important components of politics namely- political party, interest groups, and social movements. . An organization or group of people working together to gain political power is called political party. People which have common motive or interest , get together for influencing political process is called interest group. â€Å"An informal network of activists who seek to transform the values of the society is called social movement . †(An introduction to political science edited by RAND DYCK page 337). Considering the importance of political participation in the political arena although these components are imperfect but they still have a lot of role to be played in the political arena . â€Å"Political parties are one of the fundamental elements in contemporary liberal democracies. The place that they occupy is itself a consequence of the very concept of democracy, founded upon the pluralism of interests, the unanimous rejection of single party system, and political competition in choosing of the leaders and policies. But over and above that fundamental and crucial choice, western political parties appear to be playing an increasingly important role as consequence of functions that they assume in the life of liberal political societies. It is fair to say, without exaggeration, that the political parties control the political process from the raising of political consciousness to the elaboration of policies and their implementation. Admittedly, the political parties are by no means the only agents involved ( not only is the party system pluralistic ,but the parties themselves hold no monopoly over the exercise of some of their functions), and their role, furthermore, varies from one country to another. But they are usually the essential agents in political life. † (government and politics in western Europe by YVES MENY page 79) â€Å"Like political parties , interest groups play a vital role in making public opinion heard in government. In the united states it is comparatively simple to organize a group whose purpose is to influence government . moreover , there are so many groups that already exist that finding one sympathetic to one’s goal is not difficult. The political process is also open to communication from organized groups as well as from individuals. Even groups advocating controversial positions will usually find someone in government willing to hear them out. Interest groups operate in many different ways. Some organizations seek to mobilize public pressure on government through techniques such as letter writing campaigns or public demonstrations. Others work more directly with government officials ,lobbying for appointment of judges and administrators and supporting certain court cases are common interest group tactics . † (politics a handbook for students by ROBERT WEISSBERG PAGE 79) Like political parties and interest groups, social movements also play an important role in political arena . social movements help in putting pressure on the government for changing some values and norms for the society. Social movement is form of rebel against the government for changing some laws or norms of the society. There are various ways of doing social movement even except doing violence for example non-cooperating with the government , doing fasts and gathering on roads and protesting against the government . social movement is one of the way for citizens to express their views to government , to participate in political system and to influence the policies of the government. â€Å"Interest groups and social movements are sometimes also called nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). This term is particularly common in the fields of international relations and development, but NGOs are also active in domestic politics. Such organizations are part of neither the state nor international organizations such as united nation . in addition to targeting states and trying to change domestic policies, they aim to influence international organizations such as UN and world trade organization . (WTO) â€Å" ( STUDYING POLITICS EDITED BY RAND DYCK WRITER- MIRIAM SMITH PAGE 338 ). Examples showing role of political parties In India , political parties has a significant role to be played in political arena for political stability and political efficiency. India is a multiparty system containing six national political parties namely- nationalist congress party , Indian national congress, bharatiya janta party, communist party of India, bahujan samaj party, communist party of india(Marxist). There are also different state parties in India. One of them that I know about is SHIROMANI AKALIDAL . SHIROMANI AKALIDAL is currently ruling party of punjab . This party has played an important role in development of punjab as a state. They have made many budgets get passed from the central government for the development of the state. In Anandpur sahib shiromani akalidal party passed a budget to make VIRASAT –E-KHALSA. This is one of the great sikh museum showing all the sikh history. This sikh history museum is also known as khalsa heritage. shiromani akalidal is also passing bills for giving subsidies to set up industries . shiromani akalidal is also helping farmers by providing subsidies and pesticides and fertilizers at cheaper rates. It is also passing bills for developing roads and building big multi complexes. This party has consecutively won the election twice as they are doing the good job in developing the state. This party is playing an important role in developing the state. This is what the role of the political party is and it has great importance in developing the state through participation in political arena . political parties are helpful in almost all types of governments to develop the state except in the cases of dictatorship, authoritarian regime and totalitarian regime. Examples showing role of interest group In india, business group can also be the example of interest group. All the businesses have same interest or motive so they get together to influence political process of the government. Interest group is type of pressure group which puts pressure on the government for achieving their motive. Business groups have the same motive one is to increase the profit and other is to lessen the government requirements to proceed in the business. They always put pressure on the government to reduce the taxes so as to increase their profit. They also put pressure on government to pass the annual budget more in favour of development of business organizations . They also force the government to pass the laws for not allowing the foreign companies to settle in their country so as to decrease competition and hence earn higher profits. There are many other pressure groups which are influencing the government through their participation in political arena like student organization , linguistic groups, professional groups , peasants organization and media. All these are influencing political processes of government through participation in political arena and achieving their motives. This political participation by pressure groups is forcing government to make the rules or laws in which all the groups are satisfied and hence proper laws by the government for its citizens. Examples showing role of social movements It is a movement that strives to change political or social values of the society. There are many social movements which have influenced the political working of the government and hence changed the social value of the society. one of the movement made by Gandhi before the independence of india by gathering people of CHAMPARAN was DALIT movement . DALITS are those people who were traditionally considered untouchables. In this movement Gandhi want the upliftment of rights of peasants who were considered untouchables by the society so for bringing equality in the people he lived in dalits houses for almost more than one and half month. He also wrote the letter to the legislature for making some laws which uplift socio-economic status of the dalits. These social movements thus help in changing the social values of the society which are detrimental for the society and hence transforming the society and making it a best society to live in where there is equality and all norms and laws which are good for the society and its individuals. conclusion Considering the importance of political participation in political arena, it can be concluded that role of political parties , interest groups and social movements has not been overstated and they play an important role in the politics of the government and in improving the society. Political parties help in development of the state through making bills pass from the central government for all the purposes like construction of national highways and for subsidies to different groups and thus play an important role in development of the state through political participation. Interest group also play an important role in political life of government through political influence in the political processes of the government . Interest groups influence political processes for achieving their motives and this does not allow the government to overuse its powers . Hence it plays an Important role through political participation in political arena. social movements also play an important role in the political arena as they help in transforming the social values of the society which are not good for the society. In the nutshell , it can be concluded that political parties , interest groups and social movements all these have significant role to be played in political arena.

Homonyms quiz - Emphasis

Homonyms quiz Homonyms quiz Homonyms are words that are pronounced or spelt in the same way but have different meanings – there and their, for example. This ten-question quiz will test you on some of the most commonly confused homonyms. How well do you know your allusions from your illusions and your pails from your pales? After youve answered the questions and been given your score, an explanation of each pair of homonyms will appear. Good luck! He gives the ____ of knowing exactly what needs doing, but I wonder if he really does. allusionillusionCould you ____ with me for ten minutes? I’m just running a little late. bearbareIs everyone here? Do we have a full ____? complementcomplimentI’d appreciate it if you could be ____ about this; we’re keeping it quiet until the details are finalised. discreetdiscreteOur guest speaker this week is the ____ Dr Greggs. eminentimminentThe project is now in ____ fourth week, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a catch up. it'sitsWe felt his comments were beyond the ____ and hope he plans to issue an apology. palepailOur ____ concern is that the project may not be completed before the June deadline. principleprincipalWe’ll give you free ____ regarding design and pictures. reignreinCan we arrange to have some branded ____ made? stationarystationery How did you do? Let us know by popping a comment in the box below.

The magic and illusion Essays

The magic and illusion Essays The magic and illusion Essay The magic and illusion Essay Essay Topic: Invisible Monsters Prospero has a servant in the form of the spirit Ariel. Ariel has lots of special powers himself. He can be invisible and cause lots of apparitions to take place. Sometimes, Ariel is visible to everyone on the stage. Obviously, the audience can see him whenever he appears on stage, but during certain times in the play, he is invisible to different people. To show this in the 17th century would have been very hard. Clues have to be taken from the script which suggests when Ariel was invisible to certain people. Another way of learning when he is visible to different people is to study the way in which he speaks. If he speaks to someone directly, he will normally be visible to them. If he speaks to the audience rather than to the person, he is invisible. A 17th century audience would have to bear this in mind when watching the play. Being very superstitious, they would understand, however, that spirits only appear to certain people at certain times, so it would not be too hard for them to take this on board. An example of Ariel being invisible to only a section of the actors on the stage is in Act 1 Scene 2, when Ariel sings an enchanting song to Ferdinand, luring him to meet Miranda. Neither Miranda nor Ferdinand can see the spirit, but Prospero can, and he talks to Ariel, promising to set him free. In Act 3 Scene 3, Prospero conjures up a banquet for Alonso and the rest of the royal party. Just as the members of the party prepare to eat, the banquet disappears. This would have been very difficult to show in the 17th century. I cannot think of any way 17th century actors would have been able to show this, apart from standing the banquet table on a trap door and then releasing the trap door. This is not a perfect way of showing the table disappear, but it is the only way I can think of showing it in 17th century theatre. Towards the end of the play, a lot is said about Gods of the Ancient Romans, particularly Juno, Ceres and Iris. In most Jacobean masques, there was a lot of emphasis on classical mythology. Prosperos masque is no different. Audiences in 17th century England would have a basic knowledge of Ancient Roman and Greek gods. They would know the names of the gods and what they stood for. Before the masque, Ariel appeared as a harpy to Alonso and his friends. A harpy was part of ancient mythology. A 17th century audience would take the events in The Tempest as gospel. They believed in witchcraft and spirits. The Tempest was all about these things, so the people just took it as a play which included, and may have been based on, real incidents. The inclusion of Caliban within the play gives an insight into 17th century travel. America was a relatively new country as far as Europe was concerned. Europeans considered themselves civilised. When they encountered a new race of people, they were considered uncivilised and savage. This is emphasised in Caliban, who is shown as a monster. He is ridiculed by Prospero an educated and civilised Duke, and when Trinculo discovers him, he considers taking him back to Italy as a sort of freak-show. Were I in England and had but this fish painted, not a holiday fool there but would give a piece of silver: there would this monster make a man; any strange beast there makes a man: when they will not give a doit to relieve a lame beggar, they will lay out ten to see a dead Indian. Europeans did not understand the new race of people that they had found, and because they were different, they were considered dangerous. In the play it is said that Calibans mother was a witch. This adds to the bad attitude of the Europeans to the Native Americans. The Tempest is based around Italy, but Shakespeare still refers to the Englishs attitude towards foreigners, by making Trinculo talk about what it would be like if he were in England. He does not just mention any country in Europe he mentions England. Maybe this is because Shakespeare did not have any knowledge of other European countries attitudes, or perhaps he just thought England was the worst in this way. Things are very different in the 21st century. We no longer believe in superstitions such as witches and evil spirits. There is always the odd person who holds onto old beliefs, but generally, we are rid of those superstitions. Science and mathematics can explain most things that happen. For a world that no longer believes in witches and monsters, we still have a lot to do with these things. We read horror books about beings coming back from the dead; we still celebrate Halloween; we watch films of vampires and witches. In the 17th century, these things would have been taken very seriously. Nowadays, however, it is only for fun that we do these things. Shakespeares plays are still watched the world over, the same plays that were watched when he first wrote them. They have not been changed and so still contain wizards, witches, monsters and spirits within them. However, modern-day directors have to find a way of presenting these magical creatures to a modern-day audience without them appearing comical. As part of the play, the characters must be taken reasonably seriously so that the story can be appreciated. 21st century audiences expect more from a play than they would have done 300 years ago, even if the play were written that long ago. Although modern directors have a somewhat harder task than their 17th century counterparts, they have technology on their side. Technology has increased magnificently since The Tempest was first performed, and this enables directors to create more spectacular special effects. Electricity plays a massive part in these effects. With the use of electricity, different lighting can easily be used for different scenes, to create different atmospheres. The first major part of the play takes place on the ship during the storm. More elegant scenery can be used to create the impression that the actors are indeed on a ship. Special lighting used alongside sound effects, can be used to give the impression of sailing on the sea. Thunder and lighting can be heard in the distance with the aid of a sound recorder. Prospero has a lot of powers. As well as controlling the elements, he has power over human beings. After telling Miranda the story of how they arrived to be on the island, Prospero wishes to talk to Ariel. Miranda does not know of the existence of Ariel, so before he talks to his servant, Prospero sends her to sleep. He does this by making her sit on his magic cloak, and then by a sort of hypnosis, she falls asleep. This act of magic does not require any special effects. All it needs is good acting by the actors playing Miranda and Ferdinand for the audience to believe that it is happening. A lot of the magic events that take place in the Tempest are similar to the one above. Many do not need special effects, and just rely on the talents of the actors. When Prospero freezes Ferdinand, all the actor playing Ferdinand has to do is simply stand still. After the storm, the next magic event that would require some thought would be when Ariel sings a song to Ferdinand about his father. Ariel at this time is invisible to Ferdinand. To make this clear to the audience, Ariel could be suspended by some wires above Ferdinand, so he cannot see the spirit. Alternatively, only Ariels voice could be heard, so it is clear that the spirit cannot be seen. This trick could be used when Ariel overhears Sebastian and Antonio plotting to kill Alonso. He could hover above the traitors in the same way that he did when luring Ferdinand to Miranda. When he sends the group to sleep, he could sprinkle some glitter or some kind of dust over them. That way, it is visible to the audience that something is going on. The main acts of magic are the banquet, the masque and Ariel appearing as a harpy. The banquet and the harpy incident could be shown by the same method. Both are illusions that disappear after being seen by Alonsos group. Both these incidents could be shown by holograms, which could be projected from the back of the theatre onto the stage. Advanced computer imaging could make it seem as if the harpy was talking, then the hologram could simply disappear, making it seem as if the objects were actually on the stage and have vanished. Despite what the audience believes outside a theatre, once inside, they are usually willing to believe anything as long as it makes good theatre. Most people will let go of their normal beliefs if it means that they will enjoy the show more. Directors have to keep this in mind. Maybe the audience will not believe in spirits and witches in everyday life, but if a play they are watching contains these things, they will accept them, as long as they are made reasonably believeable. For a play to be successful, a director has to make sure that the illusions and magic are portrayed as realistically as possible and the audience can believe for a while that these things are real.

John Gotti Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

John Gotti - Essay Example Gotti was short tempered and easily angered. Gotti always wanted to be a gangster as he saw them in his neighborhood everyday. His first step towards this was when he joined local mobsters along with his brothers. He quit school at fifteen and joined a teenage gang, Fulton-Rockaway Boys. Gotti was arrested five times between 1957 and 1961. John Gotti's criminal career started with the Gambino family with fencing stolen goods from the John F. Kennedy International Airport then known as Idlewild Airport. In 1978 in the month of February Gotti was arrested for the United hijacking and two months later while Gotti was on bail he was arrested a third time for hijacking a cargo of cigarettes worth $50,000. He was later found accountable for the Northwest hijacking and was sent to Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary to serve four years in jail. After his release he returned back to his old crew and started working for capo regime Carmine Fatico, who was charged of loan sharking and made Gotti capo of the Bergin Crew, he was accountable to Aniello Dellacroce and Carlo Gambino. Paul Castellano was declared the head of the family after Gambino's death; however he did not earn the respect of his subordinates.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman Essay - 2

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman - Essay Example or about the value, limitations, and ethical implications of ethnography as a way of making sense of social conduct, for instance – in your personal and professional roles? The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is one of the modern classics in the medical anthropology genre. Tracing the immigration and the challenges of assimilation of a Hmong family into the USA, the book is admirable on many counts. Firstly, for medical professionals, it offers valuable insights into the symptoms, treatment options and overall management of epilepsy in children. Second, it presents the unique challenges faced by health care professionals in a multi-cultural environment. Third, the book documents the broader details of Hmong ethnography, adopting classical anthropological approaches. The rest of the essay will elaborate these features, as well as noting the personal and professional impact the book has had upon the writer. The central dialectic in the book is how the shaman istic animism followed by the Hmong conflicts with the rationality of Occidental medicine. While the cultural heritage of the Hmong is rich and colourful, it betrays its superstitious underpinnings when juxtaposed with modern scientific knowledge and advancement. In other words, in light of our overall increase in the knowledge of the world, much of the Hmong beliefs appear mythical. In the classic case of conflict illustrated in The Spirit Catches You, we see how Hmong culture is markedly at odds with modern science.