Essay Examples on Rasputin Essay Example

Essay Examples on Rasputin Paper 1st Essay Sample on Rasputin Few historians figures have been as shrouded in myth and speculation as Grigory Rasputin.At the height of his fame, he was though to be no less than a demonic figure, possessed of supernatural powers, dissolute agent of the forces of evil with an ironclad, perhaps sexual, hold on the throne of Imperial Russia.( Grigory Efimovich Rasputin is without a question one of the most scandalous figures in Russian history.He is known for his strange powers and mysterious influence over others, which has brought him in the highest circles of St.Petersurg society.He captured attention of the clergymen of Russian Empire.The monk performed his miracles within the palace on Tsarovich Alexis Nicholaievich, the inheritor of the throne, who was born with Hemophilia.Rasputin was able to stop the bleeding and save Alexiss life several times, since the top medical professors couldnt.Rasputin was an illiterate Syberian peasant who entered the highest circles of the Romanov dynasty, a monk whose fame as a health healer and visionary was hidden by scandalous orgies and his very name became known for corruption and dishonesty.His scandalous healings and predictions gained trust from females who gave him sex to save their soul and Tsarina Alexandra, whose child he saved but gained her heart and trust.While he healed the people who trusted him, his enemies were planning his death. Grigory Rasputin was born in western Siberia, in the Tyumen district, about 200 miles east of the Ural Mountains in the late 1800s.Peasants were causal in keeping track of such events, so we do not know the exact date he was born.Estimate of the year as early as 1860 and late as 1873. (Rasputin, 3)As a young boy, he had a strange love toward animals, he was able to hypnotize people to do anything he wanted them to, and also he saw different visions. As a young man, Rasputin was a complete rake. 2nd Essay Sample on Rasputin Folkloresare tales shroudedin mystery and mysticism, often depicting a time and an era long since dead, but there is a story of a man, not to long ago which entertains all the traits of a tall tale.Nobody in recent Russianhistorycommands as much villainy, sainthood and mystery as the charismaticand often elusive Grigory Efimovich Rasputin. This saint who sinned# played a constructive role in the disruption of the Romanov family, the political upheaval of Russia and the eventual fall of the Tsar and his family.There were some that believed him a messenger of god, but in truth Rasputin was a just man, a man who had the incredible ability to deliver people from the confinements of their minds to the righteousness of faith.As past tales have shown, the religious or revolutionary awakening of an individual or a nation results in an irrevocable disruption of the current foundation.Whether Rasputin was the political mastermind or just a humble monk who believed in the pleasures and gratuit y of occultism, he changed Russia in a way that will never be repeated or repented. Tsar Nicholas II son Alexei the only male produced by the royal couple, was the foundation of Rasputins bond with the Tsars.On the second meeting with the tsars, Rasputin requested to meet their son. # He asked for their consent to relieve the childs suffering with a prayer.# Alexei had not been able to fall asleep, beleaguered by his last attack ofHemophilia.# The eccentric peasant approached the crib and began to pray.#Before the tsars themselves, the boy began to grow tranquil and peacefully fell asleep.He awoke healthy the next morning, and it was called a miracle by the tsarina.#Rasputin had now become indispensable. #But Rasputins behavior grew more out of control by the minute. We will write a custom essay sample on Essay Examples on Rasputin specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Essay Examples on Rasputin specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Essay Examples on Rasputin specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Genetically Engineered Foods essays

Genetically Engineered Foods essays Ever since humans began to grow their own food thousands of years ago, we have been struggling to find ways to make our crops grow bigger and better. In recent centuries though, science has made great improvements in the field of agriculture. This started with Robert Blakewell, an English farmer in the 1700's. Blakewell created herds of superior cattle, horses, and sheep by only breeding his best individual animals. By taking the best and eliminating the worst, he was able to raise livestock that was better than any other farmer's (Trede). By the 1900's, Americans had begun to produce hybrid corn by combining all different kinds of corn into one strain (Trede). From the early 1920's through the 1960's and even up until today, this method has more than tripled the yield of the world's best cropland (Avery). Because of this, Third World countries now have 35% more food per person than they did before any scientific advancements. The method of cross-breeding to create superior hybrids is known as classical breeding. Classical breeding has been going on for years, and continues to be used by farmers and planters. It is a simple way to help a plant or animal evolve into a more desirable breed. Based on this technology alone, we have been able to create breeds efficient enough and with a high enough yield to sustain us so far. However, if the current rate of population growth remains constant, by the year 2030 almost 90% of humans may have to give up eating meat in order to have enough food for everyone (Avery). Classical breeding isn't efficient enough to keep up with this demand. For example, European company Syngenta developed a corn with the intention of making it resistant to the European corn borer. Limiting their methods to conventional breeding, though, they were only able to improve the yield of the corn by 10% (Pollack). This experiment took 12 years to complete, an average length of time wh en dealing with class...

Australian adversarial criminal justice system Essay

Australian adversarial criminal justice system - Essay Example Just as humans are likely to commit errors of judgment, the criminal justice system, run by humans is likely to suffer such errors in judgment. These errors of judgment translate to guilty criminals going unpunished or being unapprehended, and to innocent individuals being sent to jail for crimes they did not commit. The terms â€Å"getting off on a technicality† are terms heard often enough when the legal provisions of the criminal justice system serve to protect the rights of all individuals, even those who are guilty. And yet these provisions are in place to protect the rights of the innocent and to afford due process of law. For which reason, most people remark and are resigned to the fact that when all is said and done the criminal justice system is about as fair and effective as we can reasonably expect. It is a statement which speaks of the need to â€Å"make do† because things â€Å"could have been worse.† It is important however to evaluate the differenc e and decide where the above statement indeed deserves the people’s resigned acceptance. This paper shall now consider the above statement and its merits in the actual criminal justice system. It shall consider the viability of the statement while assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the current Australian criminal justice system. ... The best argument in this adversarial system is used to decide on the case. The parties have control over their case and the presentation of evidence in their favour. They also have freedom to use legal representation if they so desire (Stacy, 1999). The parties also decide if there is a need for a jury in a civil case. The judge’s role in this adversarial system is to ensure that the case proceedings are impartial and fair. He has to make his decision based on his independent decision and he must oversee the proceedings in order to ensure that the rules of court are followed. In effect, while a jury rules over issues of fact, the judge decides over issues of law (Victoria University, n.d). In this adversarial system, there is a need to secure the rules of evidence and procedure. Each court has its rules which are meant to ensure fair and equal treatment of adversarial parties. It also ensures that the jury is not distracted by unnecessary materials and evidence; that unreliab le and unfairly obtained evidence is not admitted in the court proceedings; and that evidence which is purely of character nature is not allowed to be entered in evidence (Victoria University, n.d). This adversarial system protects the strict rules of evidence and procedure where hearsay evidence, irrelevant evidence, opinion evidence, evidence illegally obtained, and prior convictions, as well as evidence reflecting bad character is not admissible in evidence (Victoria University, n.d). In this system, the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff or the party initiating the case. It requires proof beyond reasonable doubt for criminal cases, and balance of probabilities for civil cases

CJUS 340 Research Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CJUS 340 Research Question - Essay Example es in which one or two/more parties consent to commit a crime that does not hurt or violate a third party are prostitution, suicide, and gambling (McWilliams, 1996). Since no two victimless crimes are similar, these crimes have been categorized as low level or high level victimless crimes. This research seeks to answer the question â€Å"Is there such a thing as a victimless crime? To obtain and analyze data on this question, interviews and questionnaires will be presented to different types of participants who will have been recruited into the study. The targeted potential participants include inmates, junior and senior criminal justice system officers such as investigators and lawyers. Further, perpetrators of the alleged victimless crimes will be interviewed for their opinions and feelings about their crimes. Through face-to-face interviews and correspondence, participants will be able to give their views on this rather controversial issue. This collection of data will be followe d by an exhaustive analysis of the responses given and presentation of the obtained outcome. To be included in the presentation are the numerous recommendations that the participants will have given in response to questions that seek their opinion on the way forward on the issue of victimless crimes. As is the case in any other research, all the ethical and legal regulations will be obsereved and adhered to during the entire research, particularly the data collection and analysis stages, which require conformity to several legal and ethical requirements. For instance, the consent of all participants will be sought and the implication of their participation made quite clear to them. Further, the information given by participants will be treated

Pick any Business Law Case and write a 4 Page paper including a Work Essay

Pick any Business Law Case and write a 4 Page paper including a Work Cited Page - Essay Example The facts of the case were simple, Pinnacle Entertainment Inc, a Delaware corporation possessing 97% interest on Belterra Resort Indiana, transferred the title and possession of a riverboat to Belterra Resort Indiana. Pinnacle acquired the remaining 3% interest on Belterra in August of 2001. The Indiana Departments of Revenue conducted an audit of sales tax and use tax of Belterra in 2002 and proclaimed in its assessment that Belterra owed tax amounting to $1,869,783 plus interest and penalty, for acquisition of the riverboat. Belterra protested against the assessment of the Department and the Department after hearing the matter, issued a letter of findings denying the letter of protest. Belterra filed an appeal with the Indiana Tax Court. Both the parties filed for summary motion. The court in Belterra Resort Ind, LLC v. Ind. Dep’t of State Revenue, 900 N.E. 2d 513, 517 granted Belterra’s motion for summary judgment and reasoned that Belterra was not liable for use tax on its acquisition of the river boat due to the fact that the transaction was a contribution to the capital and not the result of a retail transaction (â€Å"Indiana Department of Revenue†). The Revenue Department was not satisfied with this judgment and this led to the case in hand, which was filed in the Supreme Court of Indiana. The problems which the Supreme Court had to sort out before moving with the case were numerous. Firstly, reaching a conclusion that whether the transfer of the river boat from the parent company (Pinnacle) to its subsidiary company (Belterra) was a â€Å"retail transaction† under the Indiana code section 6-2.5-3-2(a), as because the use tax can be imposed on Belterra for the riverboat only when it was acquired under retail transaction (Indiana Department of Revenue v. Belterra Resort). Secondly, the court had to determine whether the riverboat was obtained with or without consideration. Belterra argued that when no consideration was given f or the riverboat, the transaction was not a retail transaction, as  § 6-2.5-4-1(b)(2) states, â€Å"[a] person is engaged in selling retail when†¦he†¦ transfers that property to another person for consideration† (Indiana Department of Revenue v. Belterra Resort ). Thirdly, in the instant case the other critical legal issue was to find out, whether capital contribution by itself meant transfer of property without consideration. Belterra cited Grand Victoria Casino & Resort, LP v. Ind. Department of State Revenue, 789 N.E.2d 1041 to support his contention that capital contribution without consideration gave exemption from taxes (Rucker 827). Fourthly, the court had to determine whether there was exchange of some form of consideration other than cash in between Pinnacle and Belterra. The problem was to get an answer to the questions that â€Å"Was there any other benefit inuring to Pinnacle?† or â€Å"Was there some detriment borne by Belterra?† (Rucker 828). Fifthly, the court had to determine whether the presence of consideration in a transaction is enough to make it a retail sale. Justice Boehm states, â€Å"‘consideration’ is a necessary but not a sufficient condition to render a transaction ‘Selling at retail’† (Rucker 829). This however was contradictory to what Justice Rucker opined before. In the former context it was stated that when capital contribut

The process in Financial intermediation in the banking sector

The process in Financial intermediation in the banking sector The financial intermediation is defined as the process which had been carried out by the financial intermediaries as the middleman between the borrower (spender) and lender (saver) to smooth the flow of fund. The financial intermediation called as the process of using the indirect finance in the financial system, which the primary route to transfer funds from lender to borrower. Those savers who have the surplus money will deposits their fund in the financial institution, which will lends those funds to borrowers such as business firms, households, government or foreigners who shortage of fund. Financial intermediary are those financial institution such as commercial bank, finance company, merchant bank, Islamic bank and Brokerage Company. The financial intermediary help to transfer the funds between the lender and borrower in the ways of borrow money from the lender-saver and then using this money to make loan to borrower-spender. For example, the financial institution acquires fund s through public by issuing liabilities such as time deposits and saving accounts. After that, the bank might use that fund to acquire an asset by making loan to the people needed fund for investment or buying that company bond in the financial market. As a result, with the help of financial intermediary, the money successfully transfers from public to the borrower. Financial intermediaries play an important role in the financial system because they help to facilitate the risk transfer and in dealing with the increasingly complex of financial instruments and markets. The financial intermediarys role is to transform the assets which are less desirable by a large portion of public in to assets that are more preferable by the public. This transforming have serve four economic function which are providing maturity intermediation, reduction of risk by diversification, reducing the contracting and information processing costs and to provide a efficient payment mechanism. Besides, many subsequent authors also have stressed about the role of transaction cost in the financial intermediaries. Due to the financial intermediaries are very specializing in information processing, they have create the well-functioning financial institutions that has greatly reduced the transaction and information for customer. They can achieve the economy of balance through sp ecialization; this is because they are handling very large number of transaction so they are able to minimize the fixed costs by ward off the same production of information faced by borrower and lender. In addition, Petersen and Rajan (1994) stated that financial intermediaries develop specialist or expert people in evaluating prospective borrowers and investments projects. Other than that, they can also exploit customer information and reuse that information over time and again. As a result, there are more funds are made available for investments. For example, the fixed cost of assets evaluation mean that the financial intermediaries have an advantage over an individual because they allow the costs to be shared. Faulkender and Petersen (2003) mentioned that the information acquisition cost maybe still can lower down by establish a long-run relationship between the borrower and financial intermediaries. Furthermore, financial intermediation has gain confidence and trust from the pub lic by protect their assets with providing efficient service to help them manage their assets. This is because the financial intermediaries help them channel funds more efficiently to productive investments through funding pooling, better identification and monitoring of profitable investments and risk diversification. Diversification allows allocating assets and bearing risks more efficiently. Those investments are protected against from unconscientiously borrowers by the institutions qualified loan officers and well-trained investment analysts seek good investment opportunities and screen prospective securities so as to obtain the best yield available for the risk level that suits the investors preferences. Thus, the financial intermediaries are vital part for our economic system and in order to maintain the flow of money in the economy. Diamond and Dybvig (1983) show that how the financial intermediaries can improve the risk sharing and thus improve the economy welfare. The financial intermediarys help to diversify the risk of the lenders (savers) by help them to investigate their savings across different sector of business. They have the ability to get the important information that concern about the borrowers financial position compare to those in direct finance route which lender directly lends their money to borrowers in financial market without any information about the borrowers. Financial intermediaries can have the borrowers such important information is because they already have a history of exercising discretion with this type of information, and help to reduce unreliable information concerning the borrowers. This will help to solve the problems create by asymmetric information which are adverse selection and moral hazards. Financial intermediaries help them to screen risk, monitor risk and evaluate risk. It is more efficient for financial institution to screen the investment opportunity and risk on behalf of individuals compare to an individual to screen its. Since the institution has all the important information available about the lenders and borrowers, it helps to reduce the information costs for analyzing their data and save their time. Thus, individual can enjoy other services provided by the financial institution which can enable them to deposit and withdrawal funds without negotiation whereas the borrowers can avoid having a deal with individual investors. It concludes that it helps those individual not only save their time and money, and also offer low risk investment opportunity to them. If there is no the financial intermediaries, the lenders-savers and borrowers-spenders have to pay higher transaction and information costs and the facing the problem create by the asymmetric information such as adverse selection problem and moral hazards problems. Hirshleifer and Riley (1 979) said that adverse selection problems arise before the transaction occurs. Usually those people who agreeable to pay higher interest rate will be worse risk and thus the lenders are more likely had make a loan to high risk borrowers This problem only occurs on the borrowers but not the lenders. However, the moral hazard problem occurs after the transaction which it arise just as the borrowers involve in the chance of their loan will being repaid back to the lenders. It also will happen when the borrowers is taking too much risk as the costs incur more than the benefit that gains by borrowers. Therefore, it will discourage the individual savers from lending money to those borrowers who have such investment opportunity and affected the whole economic development in the country. Amina (2009) show that financial intermediaries also provide maturity flexibility service to individuals by creating financial claims with wide range of maturities so as to balance the maturity of different instruments so as to reduce the gap between assets and liabilities. As if there are no financial intermediaries, individual savers have to purchase the securities of borrowers it will lead them to have many uncertain risks such as the conflicting of the maturity needs of lender and borrower. For example, most lenders would like to lend money at short maturity, however normally the borrower will attempt to borrow for a longer maturity. It would make difficult for the borrower to match their larger loan amount with the small amounts of individual savings which are desired by the lenders then it will make the borrowing more difficult. In addition, financial intermediaries perform an important function as maturity intermediation to make sure investment from lenders and money borrowing for borrowers flawless. In the existence of financial intermediary, individuals income tax differentials are mitigated which it help to transfer tax deductions from low to high income tax payers and to provide tax free services in place of taxable interest. For example, the income invested in and earned by pension funds is not taxed until retirement when the rates are generally lower than before the retirement. Beside, commercial bank also rewards depositors with free service, which are non taxable, rather than pay interest, which is taxable. The depositors will receive nontaxable benefits such as checking accounts, travelers checks and low rate loan in return for the use of the money. In conclusion, the existence of financial intermediary played a very important role in the economic development of the country. In this modern world, it would not have been so efficient, aggressive and progressive without the financial intermediation. Financial intermediaries provide a convenient and safe place where lenders can safely invest excess money and borrowers can easily borrow fund with the low cost and low risk. Question 2: Compare money and capital markets and identify the major issuers of securities in the different markets and the difference among the various types of securities within and between each of the markets. Within your discussion of the money markets include a consideration of the role of the Federal Reserve System (Fed) and the banking system as they interact through required reserve maintenance and monetary policy actions by the Fed. Consider in your analysis the types and significance of the links between the money and capital markets via the term structure of interest rates, issuers of debt and equity, or the characteristics of these securities. There were two group of markets can be found in financial market. They were the capital market and the money market. Although they both come from financial market but they consist of differences. In capital market, we will found the stocks and bond market but in general it is the market for securities where long term funds can be raised by companies or government. To raise the funds, a person needs to purchase a price-set bond in order to borrow their money to the government or business for period of time and this will gain higher return as promised. The government or company paid the lenders through interest that accrues from the borrowings. Another way for the government or company to raise the fund is through the stock market. By using this method, they will sell shares of their stock which is the ownership of the company to the public or companies. Dividends will be paid to the shareholders as agreed by the company as the return on their investment. There were two markets in the capital market: Primary market and secondary market. New issues are distributed to the investor in the primary market and the secondary market is the place where trade securities. In money market, it is about the global financial market. The money market is the place where borrowing and lending in a short-term period. Short-term liquid funding also will be provided to the global financial system. The period of the borrowing of money by the company in a money market has an average of thirteen months. There are few common types of things that being used in the money market such as bankers acceptance, certificates of deposits, commercial paper and repurchase agreements. Normally the money market consists of banks borrowing and lending but money market also will involve by financial companies. A large amounts of asset where issued by the finance companies to fund themselves which is secured by the promise of eligible assets into an asset backed commercial paper conduit. The difference between the two markets is that capital market is for long term investment. They were selling stocks and bonds to borrow money from investors to operate their company. In money markets, it is the short term borrowing or lending market. The banks borrow and lend between themselves and it is usually paid back within thirteen months. The differences can be seen through the ways the two markets used for borrowing or lending transaction. In capital market, primary and secondary markets are interrelated. Securities emerge in primary market while other dealings take place in secondary market. However, there was no sub-division in money market. In efficient money market, secondary market does take place too. In capital market, the financial instrument that being used are debentures, shares, public sector bonds and units of mutual funds. On the other hand, money market uses different financial instruments such as Treasury bill, call money, commercial papers, and certificate of deposits. There were several characteristic of the securities in the money market. They are rapid maturity, safety, liquidity funds of securities of the money market. Short-term capital requirements of the business and government can be solve by issuing money market securities. The maturity of the securities is between three months and matured within one year. Federal funds and repurchase agreements are the money market instruments that examine the maturity of the securities. The credit ratings that surpass the other investment grade debt instruments make money market securities the safest investments available. (Jim Orrill, 2010) The SEC helps ensure this safety by mandating that at least 95% of a money market funds securities must be ones that have earned the highest rating of at least two of the five major credit rating institutions. Federal Reserve System is often referred as Fed is the central bank of the United States. In Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia or BNM is our central bank. Although central bank may differ in terms of structure and modus but they have common responsibility which is to maintain the monetary and financial stability. Sometimes, they are responsible for developing the financial infrastructure and participating in the overall development of nation. Bank Negara Malaysia is responsible to maintain the monetary stability. Preserved the value of the ringgit is the best way to ensure the price stability. This can maintain the inflation of the country low and stable. By maintaining the inflation at low and stable condition will not diminished the purchasing power of ringgit. When the inflation rate is high, people will tend to consider about their purchasing power. When this happened, demand for real assets like properties and houses will be higher because they were thought to be more inflation-proof. Interest of people will be less on investment in the productive capacity of the economy. The interest of holding saving in the financial system will be lesser as they expect that their savings value will be diminished. Fixed income earners will feel their ability to purchase goods and services become less. Bank Negara Malaysia influences the level of interest rates to conduct its monetary policy. Interest rates are the rate that the borrowers of the loan have to pay and the depositors earn on their deposits. To encourage people to save more, interest rate will be given at a high rate. When the economic is weak, funds will be injected into the banking system to reduce the interest rates. Economic activity will be stimulated by the increasing consumption and investment. (Elgilani Eltahir Elshareif, 2010) Short term and long term interest rates of fixed securities is important for the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. Usually the short-term rates will be influence by central bank, while the basis of investors expectations of future real interest rates and inflation affect long-term rates. The future real interest rates will affect the domestic investment and production. The real sector of the economy will affect by the term structure transmits monetary policy. In the open economy system, the structure will affect international capital flows and hence exchange rate. Required reserve is referring to the amount that the banking institution place with the BNM in compliance with the Statutory Reserve Requirement. Cash in vault of the banking institution and the demand deposits with BNM are considered as excess reserves. Demand and time deposits placed by the financial corporations are deposits of the private sector. Money market securities are extremely liquid can be converted into cash quickly. As the principles of these debts are repaid very rapidly thus the liquidity of the investment was gained. These securities give the optimum way to the public to invest in the money market securities by trading in large denominations. The money market securities are a wholesale market of short term debt instruments. Question 3: Are the following statements consistent or inconsistent? Explain your answer and discuss how equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets. Answer: Yes, the statement equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets is consistent. An equilibrium relationship can be exists between cash and futures markets. In order to explain how equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets, we first need to take a look on the meaning of future and cash markets and understand how they functions in the commodity market, then we proceed with the basic relationship that arises between both markets. Lastly, we will explain how arbitrage and the law of supply and demand lead the future price to the equilibrium level. The futures market is a place where participants can trade for future contract. A future contract is a contract that involves two parties to buy or sell a specified asset on a specified future date at a price agreed today. While the cash market is a market in which the buyer makes an immediate payment for physical commodities that equal to the current market price, which also called the spot price. The purchaser of a future contract which represent as a long position holder undertakes to receive the delivery of the commodity on future and want to pay it for a low price as possible, while the seller of a futures contract which represent as a short position holder promises to deliver the commodity on future and want to receive a high payment as possible. Long Position Short Position Hedger Secure a current price to protect against future rising Secure a current price to protect against future declining price Speculator Secure a current price in anticipation of rising prices Secure a current price in anticipation of declining prices As above mentioned, the traders in the future market basically classified into two categories: hedgers and speculators. Hedgers can be farmers, dealer, foresters and oil drillers. They have the preexistence risk that connected with a commodity and they enter the market to reduce that risk. Thus, intended to protect against the price risks, they on purpose trade in the futures market to secure the future price of a commodity and sell it later in the cash market. Unlike hedger, speculators aim to profit from the vary price change that hedgers are protecting themselves against. They do not intend to minimize the risk but rather to get benefits from the intrinsically risky nature of the commodity market. For example, we assume a farmer bears the risk at the planting time associated with the uncertain harvest price his wheat will worth on the later 6 months. To avoid this risk he may enter the future market and sell a future contract. For instance, if the current market price for wheat is $10 per ton and he expected to produce 1000 tons of wheat in the next six months, he could lock the price at $10 per ton and selling a 1000 tons wheat future contract. In this manner, the farmer intends to establish a price today that will be harvested in the futures. At the end of the 6 months, the price of wheat in the cash market is actually $9 per ton, so the farmer benefit from the future contact and escapes the lower price. However, if the prices of wheat in cash market were $11 per ton, then the speculator would benefit from the future contact instead of the farmer. Since the future prices are fluctuate based on unpredictable circumstance, the gap between future price and spot price might be huge, hence, people calling the basis as referring to the difference between the cash price and future price of a contract. When a future contract near to its maturity date, the future price and spot price will move close to each other and finally become the same at expiration. Which means the basis must be zero at the maturity of the future contract. From Fig 4.3, we can see that as the delivery month of a future contract is neared, the futures price centralize to the spot price of the asset, and at the delivery period, future price equals to the spot price. So, as time passes, the basis narrows approach maturity of the contract. This behavior of the basis over time is known as convergence, this can be easily explained by arbitrage and the law of supply and demand. For example, suppose that future price is much higher than the spot price as time goes near to the contracts month of delivery. In this condition, traders will catch the arbitrage opportunity of shorting futures contracts, buying more underlying asset and then making delivery. Due to this, the future price will tend to fall, and suppose that future price is much lower than the spot price. Again, there will be arbitrage opportunity, traders are more willing to acquire short contract and cause more long future contract in the market. Thus, the futures price will tend to arise. In this manner, whether the future price is lower or higher to the spot price, at the expiration, both will be equal. In terms of supply and demand, the effect of arbitrage attracts traders to shorting futures contract and creates an increase the supply of contracts to market so makes the future price fall. Inversely, buying the underlying asset causes the demand of assets increase; as a result the future spot price will increase as well. In conclusion, we know that no matter how the future price is difference to the cash price, at the maturity, the basic must be zero, which means that the future price and cash price are equal. Therefore, we can say equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets. Question 5: If banking were to be based on interest-free transactions, how would it work in practice? Do we really need Islamic banks? Is Islamic banking viable? How does Islamic banking fare and conventional banking differ? How many Islamic banks are working at present and where? The Interest-free transactions of Banks Practice Islamic banks are the financial institutions that operate base on Shariah principles. Islamic scholars commend trade-oriented banking in place of traditional interest-bearing credit oriented banking. The major vehicle of interest-free banking is a two-tier mudarabah, which is a business contract negotiated on the basis of profit-sharing ratios between two profits-seeking parties, A and B. Parties A provide funds to party B, party B independently manages the business according to the agreed terms. From the banking point of view, it is an advance agreement on a ratio in which realized business profits are to be shared. The basis of two-tier mudarabah is one mudarabah between the surplus economic units (depositors) and financial institution in order to replace interest-bearing contracts between savers and banks; and another mudarabah between the financial institutions and the deficit economic units in order to replace interest-bearing contracts between banks and ultimate users of funds. So, banks can negotiate deposits and advances on the basis of profit-sharing ratios. In effect, interest-bearing loans are replaced by profit-seeking investments and qard hasanah (loans on zero interest). Interest-free financial institution can efficiently perform all types of intermediation after eliminating interest from the system and the replacement of interest rates by profit-sharing ratios has profound macroeconomic consequences for unemployment, inflation, stability, growth, and income distribution. The Needs of Islamic Banks With Conventional Bank Many Islamic banks use the facilities of conventional banks for treasury management, foreign exchange, portfolio services and investment banking. Major multinational conventional banks have the critical mass to provide specialist service while Islamic banks are usually too small in size to take on such services themselves. Outsourcing makes sense for organizations when the benefits of internalization are outweighed by the administrative costs of trying to extend their functions into new areas where demand is limited. As most Islamic banks are located in the Muslim world, where most of the demand is for core banking services rather than for highly specialized finance, it is a potential management distraction to widen the facilities on offer excessively. This could actually result in deterioration in the quality of the basic level of deposit and funding services. Islamic Bank is Viable Islamic banking and finance are emerging as viable alternatives to conventional interest-based banking and financing. The long run goal of BNM is to construct an Islamic banking system operates same as the conventional banking system. However, an Islamic banking system requires three important elements to qualify as a viable system, such as a large number of players, various types of instruments and money market in Islamic world. In addition, the socio-economic values in Islam must be reflected in an Islamic banking system. BNM spreads the virtues of Islamic banking to distribute Islamic banking on countrywide with a lot of players and able to reach all Malaysians by achieving the above objective. Islamic financial products and services are being in their existing infrastructure and branches. It was seen as the most successful way to increase the number of financial institutions offering Islamic banking services efficiently. On 4 March 1993, BNM introduced an idea is known as Interest-free Banking Scheme (Skim Perbankan Tanpa Faedah). There are many Islamic banking services that provided by the banks using a range of Islamic concepts such as Mudarabah, Musyarakah, Murabahah, Ijarah and others. Mudarabah (Profit-sharing) A capital provider and another party to allow the entrepreneur to carry out business projects based on a profit sharing ratio under an agreement. However, the capital provider of the funds needs to bear all losses. Musyarakah (Joint Venture) The sharing of profits will be distributed base on predetermined ratio for a partnership or joint venture of a particular business. Both parties will bear the losses base on equity participation. Murabahah (Cost Plus) Sales agreement is applicable on the condition that the sale of goods at a price, other costs and the profit margin are agreed to by both parties. Ijarah (Leasing) A lesser (owner) leases property to a lessee at an agreed rental against a fixed charge. Islamic Banking versus Conventional Banking The difference between Islamic Banking and Conventional Banking which is conventional banking eliminates the risk while Islamic banks take the risk when involve in any transaction. In addition, conventional banks do not bear the liability only get the benefit from customers when involve in transaction with customers in form of interest. On the other hand, Islamic banks bear all the liability in transaction with consumer because in getting out any benefit without taking its liability is illegal in Islamic principles. In retail deposit services include the provision of current accounts and low-risk investment accounts base on mudarabah with clients sharing in any bank profits. Conventional banks provide similar deposit services at retail level and allow overdrafts on current accounts, which often incur both fixed-rate charges and interest. Islamic banks cannot offer overdraft facilities on current accounts. However, depositors who get temporary financial difficulties due to events beyond their control such as illness may receive interest-free loans. Conventional banks offer savings rather than investment accounts, the major attraction of such accounts being the interest paid to depositors. This often increases as the minimum notice period for withdrawals lengthens, with accounts which for example require three months notice for withdrawals paying more interest than those requiring one months notice. Some Islamic banks apply similar stepped returns with their investment accounts, with a higher prop ortionate profit share as the period of notice for withdrawals increases. Moreover, conventional bank concern on money as a medium of exchange, valuable and interest on capital is charging on time value basis. Islamic banks focus on the real asset but money is just a medium of exchange goods services for earning profit. In conventional banks, Government gets the loans easily from BNM through Money Market without any capital development expenses. In Islamic banks, Government cannot obtain loans without capital development expenditure. Lastly, debts financing in conventional banks has the benefit of leverage for a project because interest expense is deductible expense form taxable profits. This leads to maximize the tax burden over salaried persons. So, the saving and disposable income is affected badly and decrease in the real GDP. In Islamic banks, Mudarabah and Musharakah provide extra tax to Federal Government and minimize the tax burden over salaried persons. Hence, the savings and disposable income is rise and increase in the real GDP. List of Other Financial Institutions Offer Islamic Financial Products and Services According to the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, there are currently 275 institutions worldwide that follow Islamic banking and financing principles, collectively managing in excess of $200 billion. These institutions are spread throughout 53 countries, including Europe and the United States. Twenty institutions now offer a variety of Islamic financial services in the United States. The Islamic banks are not the only banking institutions drawn in Islamic banking but Islamic banking services were introduced by other financial institutions via the Islamic Banking Scheme. In Malaysia, there are separate Islamic legislation and banking regulations in financial systems. The Islamic Banking Act (IBA) was established to provide BNM with the authorizations of supervising and regulating the Islamic banks. On 1 July 1983, Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) was the first Islamic bank established and was operated base on Shariah principles. After few years, BIMB expanded rapidly and was being listed on the Main Board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). After that, BNM allowed the existing financial institutions to offer Islamic banking services through Skim Perbankan Tanpa Faedah. The Islamic Interbank Money Market (IIMM) was established to link the financial institutions and their instruments. The National Shariah Advisory Council on Islamic Banking and Takaful (NSAC) was established as the highest Shariah authority on takaful in Malaysia. On 1 October 1999, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (BMMB) was established. The establishment of BMMB was the result of the joining between Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad (BBMB) and Bank of Commerce Berhad (BOCB). Islamic Banks 1. Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) 2. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (BMMB) Commercial Banks 1. Alliance Bank Berhad 8. Malayan Banking Berhad 2. AFFIN Bank Berhad 9. AmBank Berhad 3. OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad 10. Public Bank Berhad 4. Citibank Berhad 11. RHB Bank Berhad 5. EON Bank B

The Fundamentals of Macroeconomics

Before being able to grasp what economics has to offer it is important to understand the terms and concepts that are frequently used in economic. This paper will consist of two parts, part one will explain six terms; gross domestic product (GDP), real GDP, nominal GDP, unemployment rate, inflation rate, and finally interest rate. Part two will consist of describing how three economic activities, such as purchasing of groceries, massive layoff of employees, and decrease in taxes. There will also be a few different examples that affect government, households, and businesses.(Part one)Start by describing the six economic terms.Gross domestic product (GDP) is the most used economic measure when it comes to determining the value of goods and services that are produced in a given year (Colander, 2010). There are four categories to GDP's consumption, government spending, investments, and net exports. The GDP reflects the total amount of both goods and services that were bought and sold, and there for can measure a country standard of living. It does not account for any goods or services that they may have in other countries.Real gross domestic product (RDP) is the final value that is given to a product or service based on the current economy. This type of GDP adjusts with the price levels in order to produce a more accurate number. Nominal gross domestic product (NDP) is the gross domestic product without taking into account inflation and can be misleading because appear to be higher than it really is because it has not been adjusted for inflation. Unemployment rate is the amount of people that are not employed and are looking for work. This reflects only the people who are ability to work, willing to work, and are looking for employment.Inflation rate is a level price of goods and services increasing. Inflation causes the value of the dollar to decrease meaning that people have less purchasing power. The increase in this rate is usually calculated annually, but can a lso be requested monthly.Interest rate is the percentage charged on loans and is charged annually. The higher the risk the borrower is the higher the interest rate this could be because of past experiences, late payments or not paying at all. If the borrower is low risk, then the interest rate will be low.(Part two)There are many activates that affect businesses, household, and government economies, here are three and examples of how purchasing of groceries, massive layoff of employees, and decrease in taxes. The purchasing of groceries by customers controls supply and demand. When the economy is good customers buy more there is greater chances of businesses making a profit, and when the economy is in a recession customer buying power is low. The recession and customers not buying groceries businesses will have to lay people off.The purchasing of groceries also affects the government because the government receives sales tax on the purchase of these items. A massive layoff of employ ees will cause the unemployment rate to go up, and when people have been layoff they purchase less and collect unemployment. This affects businesses because demand of products and services are down, and they are not making as mush product as they once did. The household is effect with no money coming in they cannot pay their bills, or supply what the family needs to live. The government is affected because the people that were laid off are collecting unemployment from the government.Decrease in taxes happens sometimes when the government has to intervene to slow down or try to reverse a recession. The government uses this policy to lower taxes to get people more money to spend so businesses can make products. When a business is producing products they are able to buy their workers and hopefully be able to hire more workers to help meet demand. With the decrease of taxes the government will have less money coming in for schools, to fix the streets, etc.Economics is a constant cycle p eople have to work to make money to buy things that the household needs. Businesses need workers to produce products  or services, which they are paid to do. The government relies on the taxes from workers, and businesses. Whenever money is spent there is going to be someone at a loss and someone at a gain, but it seems to always to come around full circle.

Arthur Conan Doyle reveals Holmes Essay

Examine how Arthur Conan Doyle reveals Holmes character and his relationship with the police. Sherlock Holmes was created by Conan-Doyle in 1887. When Arthur Conan-Doyle’s character, Sherlock Holmes surfaced, London in the era of Queen Victoria was an intriguing place to live. At this time, Victorian people feared crime greatly due to the prostitution, drug abuse but mainly an infamous murderer, Jack the ripper. This brutal murderer was loose on the streets of London attacking vulnerable women savagely with a sharp, long-bladed weapon, this panicked many women due to the fact that the police’s methods were seen as inefficient; therefore would rarely solve the cases by catching the ruthless villains. Many Victorians had little if no faith for the police in London, as they did not appear to be protecting the public. On the other hand, Holmes, who is an excellent detective, is well known for his use of logic and observational understanding to unravel complicated cases. He described himself as a ‘consulting detective’ an expert who is brought in to cases that have proven too difficult for other investigators; we are told that he is often able to solve a problem without leaving his home. This is prodigious as Holmes was actually an amateur detective, not a member of the London police force. The purpose of this essay is therefore to show Holmes character and his relationship with the police. In some cases Holmes breaks the law, in others he does not. One example of when he doesn’t is in Silver Blaze; Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson pay a visit to their old friends the Baskervilles and find themselves in the middle of a mystery involving a missing horse and its dead trainer. Doyle reveals through his writing that Holmes’s character is very egotistical. This is shown many times throughout the story:† I follow my own methods and tell as much or as little as I choose. † Here, Holmes is being very demanding showing that he does not have much respect for other people; this is very shocking as Watson is not only a companion but most importantly a friend too. I think Doyle does this to ensure Holmes is referred to as a very dominant character in addition to being arrogant and making people feel small and unimportant. Doyle through his use of language creates Holmes’s character to have a greater intelligence over the police. Doyle uses sarcasm to show this: â€Å"Inspector Gregory, to whom the case has been committed, is a very competent officer, were he but gifted with the imagination he might rise to great heights during his profession. † This also shows that Holmes has no faith in the inspector in solving the case as Doyle uses the word ‘might’ to show the sarcasm therefore implying that he has no hope for the police in cracking the mystery. This same egotistical behavior towards the police is also repeated later on when Holme’s says â€Å"See the value of imagination; it is the one quality which Gregory lacks. † As this is repeated in his writing it reveals that Doyle is trying to emphasize Holmes’s views of the police as being incompetent. Furthermore, Holmes relationship with the police is very argumentative. Holmes is always mocking the police by acting witty. This is shown when Holmes says† The inspector here has done all that he could possibly be suggested; but I wish to leave no stone unturned in trying to avenge poor Straker, and in recovering my horse. † Doyle uses this sarcastic language to reveal Holmes true disrespectful manner and arrogance towards the police. In addition to that Holmes finds great pleasure in finding the clues way before the police are anywhere near. When the inspector says â€Å"I cannot think how I came to overlook it,† Holmes replies â€Å"I only saw it because I was looking for it! † Doyle, with the use of that language implies that Holmes was actually observing the murder scene, whereas the inspector did not think to do that. To Holmes, using his logic and observational understanding is general common sense, this is one of the reasons how Holmes makes the detectives feel incapable of their job in which they specialize in.

Examples of Polar and Nonpolar Molecules

Examples of Polar and Nonpolar Molecules The two main classes of molecules are polar molecules and nonpolar molecules. Some molecules are clearly polar or nonpolar, while many have some polarity and fall somewhere in between. Heres a look at what polar and nonpolar mean, how to predict whether a molecule will be one or the other, and examples of representative compounds. Key Takeaways: Polar and Nonpolar In chemistry, polarity refers to the distribution of electric charge around atoms, chemical groups, or molecules.Polar molecules occur when there is an electronegativity difference between the bonded atoms.Nonpolar molecules occur when electrons are shared equal between atoms of a diatomic molecule or when polar bonds in a larger molecule cancel each other out. Polar Molecules Polar molecules occur when two atoms do not share electrons equally in a covalent bond. A dipole forms, with part of the molecule carrying a slight positive charge and the other part carrying a slight negative charge. This happens when there is a difference between the electronegativity of each atom. An extreme difference forms an ionic bond, while a lesser difference forms a polar covalent bond. Fortunately, you can look up electronegativity on a table to predict whether or not atoms are likely to form polar covalent bonds. If the electronegativity difference between the two atoms is between 0.5 and 2.0, the atoms form a polar covalent bond. If the electronegativity difference between the atoms is greater than 2.0, the bond is ionic. Ionic compounds are extremely polar molecules. Examples of polar molecules include: Water - H2OAmmonia - NH3Sulfur dioxide - SO2Hydrogen sulfide - H2SEthanol - C2H6O Note ionic compounds, such as sodium chloride (NaCl), are polar. However, most of the time when people talk about polar molecules they mean polar covalent molecules and not all types of compounds with polarity! Nonpolar Molecules When molecules share electrons equally in a covalent bond there is no net electrical charge across the molecule. In a nonpolar covalent bond, the electrons are evenly distributed. You can predict nonpolar molecules will form when atoms have the same or similar electronegativity. In general, if the electronegativity difference between two atoms is less than 0.5, the bond is considered nonpolar, even though the only truly nonpolar molecules are those formed with identical atoms. Nonpolar molecules also form when atoms sharing a polar bond arrange such that the electric charges cancel each other out. Examples of nonpolar molecules include: Any of the noble gasses: He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe (These are atoms, not technically molecules.)Any of the homonuclear diatomic elements: H2, N2, O2, Cl2 (These are truly nonpolar molecules.)Carbon dioxide - CO2Benzene - C6H6Carbon tetrachloride - CCl4Methane - CH4Ethylene - C2H4Hydrocarbon liquids, such as gasoline and tolueneMost organic molecules Polarity and Mixing Solutions If you know the polarity of molecules, you can predict whether or not they will mix together to form chemical solutions. The general rule is that like dissolves like, which means polar molecules will dissolve into other polar liquids and nonpolar molecules will dissolve into nonpolar liquids. This is why oil and water dont mix: oil is nonpolar while water is polar. Its helpful to know which compounds are intermediate between polar and nonpolar because you can use them as an intermediate to dissolve a chemical into one it wouldnt mix with otherwise. For example, if you want to mix an ionic compound or polar compound in an organic solvent, you may be able to dissolve it in ethanol (polar, but not by a lot). Then, you can dissolve the ethanol solution into an organic solvent, such as xylene. Sources Ingold, C. K.; Ingold, E. H. (1926). The Nature of the Alternating Effect in Carbon Chains. Part V. A Discussion of Aromatic Substitution with Special Reference to Respective Roles of Polar and Nonpolar Dissociation; and a Further Study of the Relative Directive Efficiencies of Oxygen and Nitrogen. J. Chem. Soc.: 1310–1328. doi:10.1039/jr9262901310Pauling, L. (1960). The Nature of the Chemical Bond (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 98–100. ISBN 0801403332.Ziaei-Moayyed, Maryam; Goodman, Edward; Williams, Peter (November 1,2000). Electrical Deflection of Polar Liquid Streams: A Misunderstood Demonstration. Journal of Chemical Education. 77 (11): 1520. doi:10.1021/ed077p1520

Julius Caesar the tragic hero essays

Julius Caesar the tragic hero essays Only the ignorant would deny that the title of a novel or play has no relevance to the play itself. Unfortunately, those ignorant minds have caused the true tragic hero of Shakespeares Tragedy of Julius Caesar, an area of dispute. Brutus seems to be a candidate because he appears more than Caesar in the play, but without Caesar the whole play would be lost. It is an indisputable fact that Julius Caesar is the Tragic Hero. It is arguable that Brutus fits Aristotles guidelines for a tragic hero. He has a high position in society, which is evident through that fact that he is a senator. Brutus also has a noble and famous family name. In the play, even his enemies speak well of him (Shakespeare V, 5, 73-75). Brutus is also very prosperous. He is very wealthy and has many loyal friends. It also seems that he has a great relationship with his wife, because when she was concerned about him, he spent time to talk to her and comfort her. Furthermore, his tragic flaw causes him it make a mistake. He ends up murdering Caesar because of his overwhelming patriotism. Brutus is more concerned about his nation than he is about any single man. Although Marcus Brutus seems to fit Aristotles qualifications of a tragic hero, the fact that Caesar fits it better is undeniable. Shakespeare makes his point almost too clear. First, the citizens of Rome love Caesar so much that they offer him the thrown three times. Brutus is barely known by the citizens. Julius Caesar had already been the leader of Rome without being king, and had led his own army to many great victories, which is obviously a sign of much power. Caesar can brag of his prosperity, through his wealth, his many friends, and his loving wife. Caesars tragic flaw helps to make his death more of a tragedy. He is too trusting and over-confident in the loyalty of his friends. In no part of the play did Caesar imagine that his closest friends ...

Juvenile Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Juvenile Death Penalty - Essay Example Rehabilitation of juveniles is the main aim of the juvenile justice system not imprisoning and punishing them as majority of us think. Juvenile courts are closed to the public unlike the normal proceedings that are open to the public. Juvenile court proceedings are sealed hence no one see them and they are later on destroyed when the juvenile reaches between the age of eighteen and twenty one years. In law, the news media are not usually supposed to report the name of the minor involved in a criminal proceedings. Unlike the adults' status, the minors' status has special penalties, restrictions and protection. In many western countries, the rights and status of minors is compared to the state of women and racial minorities before they acquired equal right. United States and Somalia have not ratified the United Nations Convection on the rights of the child like all other members states of the United Nations. The News Hour with Jim Lehrer presented a debate on the decision of the Supreme Court ruling to ban death penalty of murderers of under the age of eighteen years. The debate was held on March 1, 2005 the same day the ruling was made. It was presented by Gwen Ifill as she hosted Jan Crawford Greenburg - The Chicago Tribune.

Criminal Law Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Criminal Law Assignment - Essay Example The most popular rhetorical questions are, what do you mean by â€Å"reasonable†? â€Å"How do you recognise a reasonable man?† â€Å"Based on what criteria will one judge as to the reasonableness of a person?† reasonable person as the â€Å"ordinary person, is the person you must consider when you are considering the effect which any acts, any conduct, any words, might have to justify the steps which were taken in response thereto, so that an unusually excitable or pugnacious individual, or a drunken one or a man who is sexually impotent is not entitled to rely on provocation which would not have led an ordinary person to have acted in the way which was in fact carried out.2 Long before the enactment of the Homicide Act 1957, the philosophy of the reasonable man had been fairly established. Section 3 of the Homicide Act 1957 provides that where on a charge of murder there is evidence on which the jury find that the person charged was provoked (whether by things done or by things said or both together) to lose his self-control, the question whether the provocation was enough to make a reasonable man to do as he did shall be left to be determined by the jury. Furthermore, in determining that question, the jury shall take into account everything both done and said according to the effect, which, in their opinion, it would have on a reasonable man. In Regina v Smith decided by the House of Lords, section 3 of the 1957 Act was further discussed that where there is evidence on which the jury can find that the defendant was provoked to lose his self-control, (1) the judge is bound to leave that matter to the jury and (2) the jury are to decide the matter by taking into account everything done and said according to the effect which, in their opinion, it would have on a reasonable man. 3 The enactment of the Homicide Law proved to be divisive in the light of the Philosophy of the Reasonable Man. Lord Hoffmann observes, section 3 modified the law in two