“Devil in a Blue Dress” By Walter Mosley Essay

When will it end? Racial stereotypes have been around since the 19th century and its presence is the United States is still felt; this ideology has been portrayed in all types of mediums where semiotics influence a person’s thought process. The influence of racial stereotyping has molded how a person judges another person by the basis of their race. Walter Mosley, the author of Devil in a Blue Dress, takes advantage of existing racial stereotypes to inform his readers of the enormous issue still facing society today. Mosley has incorporated the issues of ethnic discrimination noticed in media and advertisements in Western Culture while mass advertisements from the media has led the battle for racial stereotyping. A common stereotype portrays all African-Americans to speak â€Å"ghetto† also known as Ebonics. The Hip-Hop and media industry are two of the main mediums that has effectively influenced popular culture. M.T.V (Music Television) liberally broadcasts programs to its viewers African Americans people speaking words such as â€Å"y’all and n’ah mean† are just the tip of the iceberg for this dialect of English. The effect of portraying all black people in television talking â€Å"ghetto† significantly demeans their image of knowledge and their ability to communicate proficiently with society. If one just watched M.T.V all of their life, he or she they would assume all African-Americans people speak another dialect of English. The effect of the Ebonic stereotype has carried over into English literature. Walter Mosley incorporates the stereotype of African-Americans speaking Ebonics to give his readers a sense of why black people talk in â€Å"ghetto†. Easy, one of the main characters in Devil in a Blue Dress, states â€Å"I always tried to speak proper English in my life, the kind of English they taught in school, but I found over the years that I could only truly express myself in the natural, â€Å"uneducated† dialect of my upbringing.† The significance of this passage demonstrates black people who use Ebonics know how to speak proper English but they choose not to because they ultimately decide to speak in Ebonics to express their ideas more accurately. It is human nature for one to do an action or develop a habit that makes them feel comfortable. Although people are misled to think that black people are not literate enough to speak proper English maybe they just do not want to. However, Black people haven’t only been the target of racial stereotyping. White people have been portrayed by media, advertisements, and magazines to be rich and successful. For example, a Caucasian person is usually featured on the cover of Forbes magazine. To be featured on the cover of the business magazine one must be successful and witty in their business endeavors. There are people from every race that have been successful in the business world, but it is white people who are represented the most. How come Forbes magazine do not like to feature other ethnicities more often or why not add Ebonics to the cover of the magazine? Television ads such as the Cingular commercial boasting their national coverage depicts two white male business partners communicating with each other from far distances. These usages of media to convey racial stereotyping are effective. The mass stereotyping in the media has caused society to develop messages of white people being the â€Å"supreme’ being and the most intelligent opposed to African Americans who are port rayed to be illiterate and unable to speak English properly. The history between white and black people has created a grudge filled with pain and guilt that kept both of them intolerable of each other’s values. A large void characterized by the pride and ego of both races has made it difficult for society to integrate a healthy relationship between the two ethnicthicies. According to Demoit, solving the problem of their relationship would mean we as an individual would have to â€Å"scrub off the dirt of ill will.† Although the media can depict the two ethnicities living happy ever after, the goal of reaching a agreement between the two races will be very difficult For instance, the explicit show Southpark features only one African American child among a Caucasian dominated population. Token, the name of the child, suggests that he is the token black friend among his group of white friends. Therefore, television is emanating wide void between black and white relationships. Mosley incorporates the stereotyping of the â€Å"supreme† white male in Devil in A Blue Dress. Dewitt Albright, a rich businessman, symbolizes as the epitome of the successful white male who has many connections that the ordinary person would not have. From the beginning to the end of the novel Mosley explicitly describes Albright to be well dressed in a white suit  complemented with white silk socks. One of the passages in the novel after an unknown person knocks out Easy has a concerned Primo trying to figure out the situation. Primo states, â€Å"What happened, Amigo? You have a fight with your friends?† a delusional Easy asks â€Å"What friends?† Primo replies â€Å"Joppy and the white man in the white suit.† The white man in the white suit Primo describes is Dewitt Albright. The significance of Dewitt Albright wearing this white suit throughout the entire novel creates an image of an individual radiating success from his body. Albright, one of the more notable characters in the novel, is not the only white character in the novel; Mosley explicitly describes all the white characters in the novel to wear fashionable clothing while the black character’s appearance depict a less affluent individual. The psychological effect of mass advertisements has helped develop racial stereotypes. Mass consumerism has given rise to mass advertisements, which has the power to influence large portions of society (Twitchell 204). Since large portions of the populations in the United States have televisions in their household society is constantly fed information from the media. The images of sex, alcohol, and racism have a profound effect on society that is non-promiscuous to its viewers. Works Cited: Demott, Benajamin. â€Å"Put on a Happy Face: Masking the Differences Between Blacks and Whites.† Signs of Life: in the United States 5 (2006): 1-805. Mosley, Walter. Devil in a Blue Dress. New York: Washington Square P, 2002. 1-261. Twitchell, James B. â€Å"What We are to Advertisers.† Signs of Life: in the United States 5 (2006): 203-207.

Absolute Truth †Is There Such a Thing as Absolute Truth? Essay

There are two answers for the question, â€Å"Is there such a thing as absolute truth? † The answer could be either yes or no. In my opinion, the answer is yes, because every individual lives his or her life in various experiences. Some people claim to know the absolute truth. Individuals based their truth on experiences and emotions and at times not logically consistent. When force fields such as emotions are present decisions are made then opinions are formed. For example, politics, I state politics because it never has a common ground. In politics you’re either Democrat or Republican, and both parties feel their plan is the absolute truth. As an American, we have the right to our own opinion but realize that our opinion is not the absolute truth. To make the statement that there is no absolute truth is invalid. Because one plus one does equal two so there is absolute truth which can be proven and understood. Is there such a thing as absolute truth? Yes, because of human conscience that â€Å"duty† within us that tells us that certain things are right and wrong. Therefore, our conscience let us know there is something wrong with pain, hunger, rape and makes us aware that love, peace, and charity are positive things for which we should strive for. In my opinion it so important to understand the concept of absolute truth in all areas of life this includes religion, because consequences exist in life for being wrong. For instance, a nurse can give a patient the wrong amount of a medication that can kill them; having an investment broker make the wrong monetary decisions can put you and your family in poverty; getting on the wrong bus will take someone where they do not wish to go; and dealing with an cheating spouse can result in the destruction of a family and potentially divorce. There are so many religions in this world that attempt to give their meaning and definition to absolute truth. Your existence is absolute truth which is simple. Through religion, mankinds seek God, we hope for the future, forgiveness of our sins, peace in the midst of struggle, and answers to our deepest questions. Religion is really proof that mankind is more thanjust a highly evolved creature. God implanted in man the desire to know him, and God is indeed the Creator, which makes Him the standard for absolute truth, and with His authority that establishes the absolute truth.

Hey Neighbour, Stop piggybacking on my Wireless by M. Marriott Essay

Hey Neighbour, Stop piggybacking on my Wireless by M. Marriott - Essay Example The dangers of having an unsecured Wi-Fi are tackled in this article. A man who did not set up protection for his wireless was accused of downloading and using something illegal. Child pornography was the case for this man and he was put to court due to his negligence to protect his connection. Although some people purposely leave an open connection, it is unsafe to assume that no harm will be done by other people who use open connections. Other people leave it open believing that it is an act of kindness to provide internet convenience for other people. Others are victims of indirect distribution of illegal things such as underage pornography. It is a common case that unsecured internet routers have brought legal trouble for subscribers and so the court have indeed created procedures that counter or prevent those kinds of things. However, not all can be prevented. Due to people’s negligence of their own responsibility, trouble still finds them. The only way that it can be prevented is to have cautioned that you always protect your connection. As we know that, we should act on our own and put a stop to bad things that might happen. As a community, we should educate others about this to help community protection and avoid trouble. More and more people are becoming victims of fake networks or hotspots because of the need for internet these days. People who are unaware that they are connecting to fraudulent connections are taken advantage on hackers by phishing for their private information that they input to such fake hotspots.

The Role of HR generalist Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Role of HR generalist - Coursework Example He is expected to diagnose data besides facilitating it. They are expected by the management to be its true business partner. Their role even spreads further to talent management, turnover, declining productivity and recruiting. According to Kandula, (2004), human resource generalist is expected to be at the forefront in matters to do with diagnosing human capital concerns as opposed to employee issues. Human resource managers are involved in developing employees, managing workforce, developing personnel policies and procedures and ensuring that internal policies conform to all laws that affect the workplace. According to Jackson, & Mathis (2010), he is expected to develop ways of meeting human resource need with regard to future. Entry-level position of generalist is mostly renamed as personnel assistant, and they provide reinforcement to the entire department. Examples of generalist titles include human resource business partner, human resource branch manager and people services ma nager. Planning and employment of workforce: he does the role of a recruiter. This includes conducting interviews, implementing recruitment strategy of the organization and conducting reshuffles within the workforce. A clear example is the staffing specialist or manager. Developing human resource: this work involves conducting training, evaluating training programs and development programs. This training may consist of specific fields like sales techniques. A superb example includes leadership development manager. Total rewards: At entry-level they are referred to as salary administrators. They are expected to perform analyzing job duties, performing job evaluations and conducting compensation surveys. They monitor benefit programs and cost. Example job titles are benefits analyst and specialist manager. Employee labor relations: while at entry-level they are known as labor relations specialist. They interpret union

Lean Manufacturing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Lean Manufacturing - Research Paper Example In the past decade, rigorous approaches have been employed to eliminate insignificant expenditures in manufacturing. This trend has become global in scale evidenced by its adoption in British manufacturing from Japan’s car industry. The principles of lean focuses on minimizing costs induced from redundant tasks while directing the business to practices that adds value to the firm. However, it would not be good to expect maximum and lasting benefit from temporary implementation. These protocols are more on bringing about discipline, setting standards, improving cohesion across the business, providing everyone with a core ethos. It is of course significant that the system is well understood by the senior management who as expected must have a clear goal. Lean manufacturing practices are preferred in numerous manufacturing operations over traditional mass production techniques (Doolen and Hacker 2005). Contentions on lean practices arose as researchers argued that these practices are not as competitive and applicable to other operational environments, like those that prioritize considerations such as flexibility of volume, leadership in technology, speed in market and development of new products.. These researchers also identified alternative practices on operation (i.e. strategies that sustain supplemental capacity in the overall supply chain and has been observed to be advantageous). This, however, is in direct contradiction with the waste reduction philosophy of lean practices.

Business 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business 4 - Essay Example The article also notes that key to using all the above powers is by sing them ethnically. This means that carefully applicability of powers where is does not oppress the powerless is welcome. Similarly, the article notes that personal power is negative while social power is positive. This implies that exercising individual power does not do good to serve the interest of the followers but instead portray those in power as authoritative and serving self-interest. Hence, those who best enjoy the power are those with social power. It works in favor of the followers contrary to satisfying the individual interest. The negativity of the personal power comes because it serves the interest of the holder at the expense of the majority. Because of all these, the article notes that power has a role to play in aligning the followers towards the mission they are expected to accomplish. Hence, the functional power sources includes control of critical resources as well as strategic contingencies. Moreover, the article shows that recognizing the symbols of both power and powerless is essential in diagnostic skills for managers. As a manager, one is expected to pay attentive to the subordinate or the followers by understanding their needs. This is important because it eases the administration duties and leading the mass. Similarly, recognizing followers and understanding their needs helps in building political skills that a leader or the person in power can use towards influencing them. Additionally, most organizations striving to excel have organizational politics that have become part of work life. Some portray political behaviors, which comprises of actions not sanctioned to influence others for personal goals. Therefore, it is the duty of a manager-to-manage organizational politics so that it does not derail the good work done by others who are focused and

Seneca, On the Shortness of Time Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Seneca, On the Shortness of Time - Essay Example We understand the value of life through living. Those who delay and linger will always waste their time thinking about the future and not the present. In life, many people start living when their end is near. Long life is not guaranteed by chronological age. This only reminds us that one exists for a very long time. This is compared to the man whose ship has failed to sink but hit in a storm and later tossed by waves in circles. Such kind of a man usually thinks that he has traveled for a long way while in the real sense he has just been going in waves. These kinds of people realize how time passes quickly during their mortal danger. During this dangerous moment, they try their level best to use money to lengthen their lives. In other situations such kind of people uses their time as if it is a commodity which can be easily replaced any moment. Due to the fast movement of time, many people have been mistaken by thinking that it is very easy to postpone the preparations for the coming old age. This is why most people arrive as children at old age. According to the Seneca, life comprises three parts: â€Å"what will be, what is now and what has been†. The past is the only secure part as it is outside control of fate and it cannot be easily hurt. Furthermore, Seneca implies that, ‘what is’ means that the present is short and passing. Thus, if a man occupies himself he will actually have no extra time for mental tranquility. Life is desperate for those who kept piling more riches, power and earthly pleasures and those who wasted time on superfluous matters. These people cheat time through lies and harmful behaviors and always cling towards illusionary youthful images. Thereafter, they wail because they claim their unaccomplished life as they lacked time to enjoy the fruits from their efforts and enjoy their dreams. In contrary, the wise time users are ever willing to march towards the end of their life. They live more years in religious creation,

Influence of Technology on Nursing Education Thesis

Influence of Technology on Nursing Education - Thesis Example In this context, the researchers have put forward an effective step to developing an understanding of nurse’s perception about the barriers for online education. The wide scope of this field is rejected, mostly by the nursing staffs. This is because of various reasons such as the lack of necessary computer skills, inefficient training in the prevailing education system, lack of motivation and orientation etc. The willingness of the staffs is also accountable for the rejection. The attitude of nurses with regard to the concept of online education is different from the nursing students and the employed nursing staffs. The study is done based on the hypothesis that the nursing students have a positive attitude towards the online education. Among the hospital employed nurses, lack of staff confidence in using technology inhibits their use of online education. Today the hospitals are providing quality healthcare with advanced technologies. The need of continuing education helps to improve the quality of service. These circumstances laid the platform for the nontraditional academic system of learning. These educational programs and training sessions are important to update the medication, skill, and techniques of the nurses. The virtual hospitals are the other out breaking area in the IT field. The simulation labs are very much efficient in e-learning. Various barriers such as lack of access to computers and the internet, lack of orientation and motivation towards the use of computer technologies, the multigenerational gap among the employers etc., influence the perception of the nurses towards applying the technology to further advance their education prospects. The TIGER is the Technology Informatics Guiding Educational Reform which initiative to enable practicing nurses and the nursing students to fully update in the emerging Digital El ectronic era in healthcare.

Commercial Aircraft Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Commercial Aircraft Industry - Essay Example This tells just how competitive an industry really is. A market structure defines the condition of a prevailing market and identifies how it is made up in terms of Perfect Competition: Large number of firms, with homogenous products, characterizes this and therefore there is no specific preference by the consumer for the product. The barriers of entry are low and so competitors exit in and out of the market. Since there is myriad options for the customers, prices are set by customer demand. Consumers and suppliers have a complete knowledge of the market. In an ideal scenario, a perfectly competitive market on one extreme balances a monopoly on the other. In reality, no such thing as a true perfectly competitive market exists. Let us now consider the other popular types of market structures, monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition. Monopolistic Competition: Monopolistic competition is a market structure in which many companies operate independent of each other in an industry. In monopolistic competition, there are too many companies and so the primary aim is to attract customers to one's own product specifications. In monopolistic competition due to the large number of firms, the companies can enter the market relatively easily since the barriers of entry are less, although more compared to perfect competition. This makes profit margins low due to the long-term equilibrium Due to the competitions; firms drop prices in order to expand volumes. Monopolistic competition has a normal downward-sloping demand curve. The competing companies in monopolistic competition are forced to vary the price rather than set a stable price and hold it. In monopolistic competition, there are many firms vying for control of one market. Each firm offers a different type of product or differentiate their product to achieve that edge in marketing of their products. Differentiation is a necessity to attract consumers by a parameter beyond the price. Monopoly: A monopoly is a market structure in which, there is only one company that operates within the industry. This generally does not exist, since substitutes in some form emerge usually. Unregulated monopolies with no government ties can generally do whatever they want. After all, there is no one else to offer a different sort of service or a different price. Monopoly may be characterized by high influence on prices and output. Barriers of entry are high and pricing strategies are employed to stifle competition. Monopolies are achieved by being the first in the field, by mergers and acquisitions or being a patent holder or by nationalisation. Complacency may be an issue due to the lack of competition, rendering it inefficient and consumers may be affected by the high pricing power of the firm. Oligopoly: An oligopoly is a market structure in which there are a small number of interdependent companies in the industry. In oligopolies, there are few companies so if you were a company and you made some sort of decision, it will

Networking and communication sys (sockets) Assignment

Networking and communication sys (sockets) - Assignment Example In contrast, for example, when we send letter through post office, no connection is established between the sender and receiver of the letter .To reestablish connection in this connectionless communication system, next letter is the only option. Fig 2 Connection –oriented and Connectionless Socket Programming(Ginni T. 2010) 3. Analyzing the flow of code from top to bottom gives a better understanding. Set up few variables to store information on the IP address and port on which the socket server will be executed to generate socket. Next, bound it to the specified addresses and port. Wait for incoming requests to establish connections. Once a client connection is received, the socket accepts the request to handle information exchange. Client now sends some data as input, which is read by the server socket and executed. Both generated sockets are terminated after server sends output back to the client (as in Khanna S.1995). Summarizing, the four important steps in socket program ming between client and server involves; opening the socket; opening an input and output stream to the socket; reading from and writing to the socket according to server protocols; cleaning up . 4. Socket is implemented at the client side for sending requests to the machine port, and requires IP/hostname (address) of the server while Server Socket, executed on the server side, listens and answers client queries in reference to its port number. 5. Thread is the smallest unit of processes during execution that can be scheduled by an operating system. It is used for duplication of computer programs, when two or more tasks are executed concurrently. The thread has four high level states namely, ready, running, waiting and dead. Fig 3. A process with two threads of execution (Shaw Philip 2011) 6. Threads can be created by either implementing runnable interface when requirement is of single thread and extending the thread class for multiple threads. Depending on number of threads either o f the two process is preferred. Extending Thread Class Fig4.Thread Creation(Olira G.) is preferred while creating multiple threads. 7. When a thread instead of being scheduled by current operating system is lined up by virtual machine, its called green thread whereas working thread usually handles many concurrent tasks, allocating one thread to perform one task. 8. Thread is the smallest unit of processes during execution, which can be organized by an operating system whereas runnable is an interface used to create threads in the same process. Implementing a Runnable may have some advantages over extending thread while creating single thread. 9. Multithreading is the execution of different parts of a process  called  threads,  simultaneously at the same time without interfering with each other. In reference to multithreading, synchronization is the capability to control the access of multiple threads (or tasks) to the shared resources so that one thread do not alter a shared v ariable while another is in the process and hence, avoiding errors. In the diagram there are three threads of a single process, each with a different query and response. Fig5. Synchronization in Multithreading(LandrieuS.,2008) 10. Preemptive scheduling is the act of temporarily interrupting a  task  being carried out by the processor and resuming it later. Time slicing is the time period for which

Virtue ethics Essay Example for Free

Virtue ethics Essay Virtue ethics belongs to the branch of philosophy called ethics. Virtue ethics is also a sub branch of normative ethics and it contrasts with disteleology because normative ethics is more concerned about characteristics of a person rather than the moral duties and laws they must abide, so Natural Moral Law, Kantian ethics and Divine Command are usually dismissed by Virtue Ethics. This ethical theory also contrasts with consequentialism e. g. Utilitarianism which is more focused on results and outcomes. Virtue ethics was first introduces by Plato and was further developed by Aristotle. Virtue ethics is based on the focus of characteristics, also known as virtues. This means the good character traits an individual has- and the opposite of a virtue (a vice) which are the negatives traits of an individual. Virtue ethics can be seen as an anti-theory because it is not concerned about the theory aspect but rather it is about the practice of it. In other words Virtue ethics focuses upon what kind of human being you ought to be rather than the actions of a human being. Plato, in his book â€Å"Republic†, focused on justices and further on argues that, with his beliefs about the soul, that there is a virtue connected to such part of the soul. These different parts of the soul, are called imperative and it is divided into three parts, with a virtue connected to it. These virtues are the cardinal virtues; thus reason and wisdom are one, the human spirit performing well is paired with courage and destiny which is paired with temperance or otherwise known as moderation (self-control). If we have all these virtues we can obtain justice, the fourth virtue. According to Plato, justice is an important virtue because it balances out the interrelationship between the parts of the soul. There is justice when reason rules over spirit and desires. Wisdom is the knowledge of Forms especially the knowledge of the Form of God, having to know what goodness is itself. The forms are the fixed, unities and unchanging concepts that are ultimately real. This type of thinking presupposes both anthropological dualism and ontological dualism. The problems with Plato is that he has based his argument on a questionable metaphysic cleansing that we cannot prove something we have little to no experience to. The concept about the soul and the priparte are criticised because there is no empirical evidence to support it, it is only logic and reason. A fortiori is the criticism of the preparative soul because there is no solid empirical evidence to support it. Furthermore there is no evidence to support the claim that there are forms, again it is only a concept based on reasoning. Lace Wing presents the argument that even if ontology accepted Virtue Ethics, then it is unclear what the practical implications are. If Virtue Ethics is an anti-ethical theory then to how would you practice it? What would you do afterwards? How would knowing these virtues and forms affect you? In the hope of rescuing Virtue Ethics, Aristotle (Plato’s student) delivers his interpretation of this ethical theory. Aristotle does not necessarily agree into Plato’s metaphysic, epistemology or ontology but he does agree with Plato that reason is vital to virtue’s. This is because human’s are rational animals and agrees that virtue’s are vital to human flourishing otherwise known as â€Å"eudsimonia†. Unlike Plato, Aristotle believes that there are only two kinds of virtues; intellectual virtues and moral virtues.

Human Rights Essays Grotesque Violation Sudan

Human Rights Essays Grotesque Violation Sudan Grotesque Violation Sudan Since early 2003, the world has been witness to the grotesque violation of human right in the Darfur region of Sudan. More than two and a half million civilians have been removed from their homes and roughly four-hundred thousand have been killed in what has been deemed genocide. Despite actions taken by the American and European governments, wealthy celebrities and humanitarians from all around the globe, the conflict in Darfur remains. It is the moral and ethical responsibility of America, Europe and China to give foreign aid to the suffering people of Darfur and chastise the Sudanese government for allowing these crimes to happen. It is also the peoples’ universal right to be protected from genocide and torture inflicted by the Janjaweed militia and encouraged by the Sudanese government. Conflicts in Sudan can be dated back as far as the fourteenth century. The main source of conflict today deals with ideology, ethnicity and competition for resources between the people and the Sudanese government, (Snyder, 2007). Torture, rape and murder has been all too frequent for the civilians in Darfur and war has been a major part of their history. This is no way how people should be forced to live and how a government should govern its people. The current conflict in this region has been labeled by the United Nations as â€Å"the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today†, (Kim, Torbay, Lawry, 2007, 353). Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, began an initiative in 2005 to encourage the international community to accept its responsibility for the crisis in Darfur. He said, â€Å"There can be no excuse, no defense, no justification for the plight of millions of our fellow beings in Africa today†¦.It is obscenity that should haunt our daily thoughts that four million children will die in Africa this year before their fifth birthday†¦.I fear my own conscience on Africa. I fear the judgment of future generations, where history properly calculates the gravity of the suffering,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). President George W. Bush has also recognized that something needs to be done in Darfur. He said, â€Å"I promise this to the people of Darfur: the United States will not avert our eyes from a crisis that challenges the conscience of the world. For too long the people of Darfur have suffered at the hands of a government that is complicit in the bombing, murder and rape of innocent civilians. My administration has called these actions by their rightful name: genocide. The world has a responsibility to put an end to it,† (Fox News, 2007) Increasingly large amounts of Western citizens believe that the violation of human rights in Darfur, at least in part, is their own responsibility. This is seen very frequently on television with promotional commercials that state, â€Å"Save Darfur!† Documentaries such as â€Å"The Devil Came on Horseback† and â€Å"Darfur Now† have also helped give awareness to the public about crimes being committed in Sudan. The West bears a lot of the universal responsibility to provide, promote, and protect human rights. Americans, along with other powerful countries, have a great sense of pride when it comes to helping others. Western states are collectively responsible for much of the current world social and international order, as well as for the political and economical situations of Africa today, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 490). This does not mean that African states and other African actors do not have the same ethical responsibility. Many African leaders are primarily responsible. It is necessary for key international organizations, such as the United Nations, to sort out global ethics and it is necessary to sort out what ethical responsibilities global actors have, (Reeve, 2006, 6). William J. Talbott argued that, â€Å"an appropriate empathic outside observer may be in a better position than insiders to morally evaluate the practice or social arrangement,† (Tablott, 2005, 71). He went on to say, â€Å"First, reliable moral observation, especially across cultures, requires empathic understanding. Not all moral observers have the same degree of empathic understanding. Second, one’s interests or desires can introduce biasing factors that lead to self-serving rationalizations of one’s moral judgment. Other things being equal, moral observers without such biases are more likely to make reliable moral judgments than those with such biases. The problem is exacerbated if the self-serving judgments are socially enforced,† (Talbott, 2005, 76). Many individuals involved in the world debate about human rights now accept that â€Å"to protect against harm and to aid the deprived are strong universal duties,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). On-the-ground and regional research by the International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Refugee International, and Physicians for Human Rights have been the center of important work dating back to the beginning of the conflict, (Reeve, 2006, 5). The conflict in Darfur shows that the intrastate collective action problem has not been properly addressed by a traditional multilateral approach. Instead the crisis in Darfur demonstrates the need for an expanded view of modern international law in the face of intrastate conflict that includes systematic intervention procedures and preventative aid, as well as a comprehensive approach that recognizes and integrates non-governmental organizations and non-governmental organization alliances, (Welling, 2007,149). Many states, organizations, and individuals deny responsibility in Darfur to avoid, prevent, or create harm. Two of these very important states are Russia and China, who have not supported international intervention in Darfur. Russia has blocked votes to take action against the Sudanese because of its arms dealing and China has because of its interest in oil. William J. Talbott reinforced the idea as to why states like Russia and China do not intervene. He stated, â€Å"Where a culture’s practices are supported by socially enforced self-serving justifications, the result will typically be a wide spread moral blindness, a blindness that is unlikely to be detected by the members of the culture who benefits from the practices and, because of the social enforcement, unlikely to be voiced by those who are disadvantaged by the practices,† (Talbott, 2005, 73). China’s need for oil reserves is growing along with the population and the Sudanese are providing oil, (Human Rights Watch, 2003). â€Å"Oil was the driving force behind Sudan’s civil war. Oil is driving genocide in Darfur,† (Virginia Quarterly, 2007, 2). Thomas Pogge stresses that citizens around the world need to take responsibility to protect each others’ human rights, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 488). His idealistic idea rejects the â€Å"concentric-circle theory of obligation† and â€Å"communitarian arguments† that people have a bigger responsibility to their families, communities, and nation than to â€Å"strangers with whom they have no, or very tenuous, connections,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 488). Some may argue that this idealistic idea goes against human nature, and they may argue in favor of a more realistic notion.; however, the recognition of individual human rights requires a standpoint from which to criticize not only a culture’s external norms, but also its internal norms, (Talbott, 2005, 87). Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights promotes the idea that every state, institution, and individuals have the responsibility to protect everyone’s human rights. This is a fine example of global ethics. Article 28 states, â€Å"everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized,† (UN, 1948). â€Å"Common-sense morality† helps people to make decisions about their own responsibilities. This often accepts the â€Å"concentric-circle theory of obligation†, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). This also suggests that people have the greatest responsibility to improve those harms these individuals have caused. According to Henry Shue, the first duty is to avoid depriving people of their rights, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). States and social institutions have special responsibilities to ameliorate harm that they, or their formal and legal ancestors, have caused. These states and social institutions have a responsibility not only for â€Å"sins of commission†, but also for â€Å"sins of omission†, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). Shue argues that we have the responsibility to protect others from harm and to aid the deprived. To avoid these duties is to commit a â€Å"sin of omission,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). Movements for basic human rights usually develop in reaction to oppressive social practices, (Talbott, 2005, 87). There have been many carefully assembled eyewitness accounts of mass executions of African civilians, clearly murdered because of their ethnicity, (Reeves, 2006, 6). The United States Government has â€Å"substantial intelligence on Khartoum’s movement of corpses from better known sites to remote desert dumping grounds†, (Reeves, 2006, 6). According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, many of the rights of the civilians have been obviously violated. Article 3 states, â€Å"everybody has the right to life, liberty and security of person.† There have been accounts listed by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that some two-hundred thousand people have been killed during this conflict, (Fox News, 2007). This clearly violated article 3. Ahmed Adam Ali, a civilian currently taking refuge in eastern Chad, described the violations by the Janjaweed. He said, â€Å"The Janjaweed kill us because they want our land.† He claimed the Janjaweed said, â€Å"we don’t like black people in Darfur. Sudan is for Arabs, not Africans,† (Snyder, 2007). Of his village’s two-thousand people, Ali says, the Janjaweed killed four-hundred, including his brother, and bombers pursuing them on their multiple-week trek to camp in eastern Chad where one-hundred more were killed, (Snyder, 2007). There have been â€Å"hundreds of accounts, authoritatively assembled, of the ethnic targeting and comprehensive destruction of African villages† by Khartoum and the Janajaweed, (Reeves, 2006, 6). As seen in Ahmed Adam Ali’s account, it is clear that these assaults are charged with racial hatred. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, â€Å"no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.† According to Amnesty International, a report found that rape and other forms of sexual violence in Darfur are being used as a weapon of war in order to humiliate, punish, control and inflict fear and displace women and their communities. These rapes and other sexual violence constitute grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report also examines the consequences of rape which have immediate and long-term effects on women beyond the actual physical violence, (Amnesty International, 2004). Human Rights Watch showed an example of Khartoums’s political and military command and control hierarchy. In a December 2005 report by Human Rights Watch there was a claim that stated: â€Å"Whether [National Islamic Front] policy [in Darfur] amounted to genocide remains unclear. The [UN] International Commission of Inquiry into the crimes in Darfur concluded that there was no government policy of genocide, but that crimes may have been committed by individuals with genocidal intent and that this question should be resolved in a court of law. Determining whether there was genocidal intent requires access to government documents and to those in the leadership, who planned and coordinated the campaign in Darfur, (Reeves, 2006, 6). A determination of genocidal intent does not require documentary evidence. There is already overwhelming evidence of the intent to commit acts that destroy a national, ethical, racial or religious group, which is defined by the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crimes of Genocide, (Reeves, 2006, 7). Eric Reeves has pointed out several examples of how the Sudanese government has in fact committed genocide. He lists: 1.) The government, working along with the Janjaweed, has deliberately destroyed as many as eighty to ninety percent of the villages of African tribal groups. 2.) More than ninety percent of the total casualties are from African tribal populations. 3.) The people who are being displaced report that the massive destruction, killing, rape, abductions, and torture are from the African tribal populations in Darfur. 4.) The livelihoods of the displaced African tribal populations have been deliberately destroyed by the Sudanese government and Janjaweed. 5.) Damaging attacks on the African tribal populations are very often followed by the use of racial slurs from the Janjaweed aimed at this population. 6.) All evidence suggests that these actions are systematic, pre-planned, and coordinated, (Reeves, 2006, 6). There has been enough information available that vast exercises in ethnically targeted human destruction have been taking place, (Reeve, 2006, 6). It was clear to Western policymakers in late 2004 that the treatment of the people of Darfur constituted as genocide, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 497). On September 9, 2004 Colin Powell, the secretary of State during the first Administration of President George W. Bush, used the word â€Å"genocide† to describe the situation in Darfur, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 498). On September 21, 2004, at the United Nations, President George W. Bush himself also used to term, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). African areas of Darfur have experienced killing, raping and expelling of its inhabitants. Arab militias burned villages, killed animals, and poisoned wells, thus inflicting â€Å"conditions of life calculated to bring about a group’s physical destruction,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 498). This is considered a form of genocide under Article II (c) of the 1948 Convention Against Genocide, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 498). Former Prime Minister Tony Blair talked about the world’s moral obligation and his then Chancellor, Gordon Brown, asked the question, â€Å"if not now, when? If not us, who?† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 510). Brown went on to say that it does not matter who causes Africa’s problems; everyone is responsible for solving them. Around the same time, General Romeo Dallaire added to this notion. He wrote: â€Å"Our governments are ourselves, at least in the West. Citizens are capable of actions in democracies, and of expressing their views to their elected representatives. Particular Western states may well have obligations to particular African countries for damaging them in the past or for not assisting them in the present. But this does not absolve other states of the responsibility to help Africans now,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 510). The realization by powerful world leaders that there is a universal ethical responsibility to protect individuals from genocide has drawn debates around the globe. Russia and China have not supported international intervention in Darfur. By doing nothing when human rights are clearly being violated, gives the notion that these actions are â€Å"ok† by world standards. Abandoning the internal conflicts in Darfur weakens international efforts. This also creates a culture of impunity. Allowing genocide to continue gives a signal to African governments, especially the Sudanese government, that the international community accepts governance through murder and ethnic hatred, (Welling, 2007, 154). The willingness of the international community to intervene in intrastate conflicts lowers the level of violence state actors will risk and contribute to more serious foreign policy issues, (Welling, 2007, 154). When action is taken, results are noticed. When no action is taken, obviously, there are no positive results. The primary responsibility for the Darfur genocide falls on the Sudanese government and the Janajaweed, (Garcia, 2006, 51). No Western power had any reason to promote this genocide, nor did any do so. In fact, Western democratic powers strongly oppose such violations of human rights. Contributory factors might partially implicate the West, which has been hesitant to offend the central Sudanese government because it wanted to buy oil from the Sudanese, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 498). The Sudanese government also placed itself as a western ally in the war on terrorism, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 489). Another factor was the peace agreement between the Northern and Southern Sudan after their long civil war. Despite the evidence of mass murder, rape and torture, only small actions have been made to help the victims in Darfur. According to the United Nations Security Council, some of these small actions include a United Nations arms ban on all belligerents, a travel ban and asset freeze on some Sudanese. Also a decision has been made by the Council to refer suspected Sudanese war criminals to the International Criminal Court, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 499). These actions are not enough. People continue to die and only minimal actions, at best, are being made. Some African Union monitors have been in Darfur, logistically assisted by the West, watching what has been taking place. Unfortunately these monitors have been inadequately supplied. Nearly half of the expected personal from the African Union is currently in place, (Garcia, 2006, 53). Fred Nyabera, executive director of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches, has welcomed a pledge of three-hundred million dollars in aid from the Sudanese government to help in the Darfur region. However, he claims that this is insufficient and should not divert attention from the underlying causes of the conflict. He said, â€Å"It is a positive step, but it is not enough,† (Christian Century Foundation, 2007, 15). He went on to say, â€Å"The real issues have never been sufficiently addressed. The focus has always been on the consequences,† (Christian Century Foundation, 2007, 15). Mark R. Amstutz would agree that foreign aid can undermine the goals being pursued, (Amsturtz, 2005, 30). Many world powers have failed to do anything in Darfur, and in some disrespect encouraged the hellacious violation of human rights. This needs to change immediately. The Chinese own forty per cent of a large oil project in Sudan and have also built a one-thousand six-hundred kilometer pipeline there, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 499). In exchange for access to the Sudanese oil, China gave the Sudanese government three arms factories. China is not a democracy and its citizens are probably unaware that the Chinese government is supporting a regime that condones genocide. Unfortunately, even if the Chinese population knew of what was happening in Darfur, they would not be able to criticize the Chinese government or take humanitarian action. China’s interests are a main reason why the Security Council has not taken stronger measures against the Sudanese government. Russia also invests in Sudanese oil and sells arms to the government, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 499). China and Russia prevent the United Nations Security Council from acting quickly or by applying sanctions. China and Russia have repeatedly threatened to use their individual vetoes to block all United Nations Security Council efforts to place sanctions on the Sudanese government, in order to protect their individual economic interests, (Welling, 2007, 160). Because of this, the international community allowed the killing to persist. Russia has blocked votes because of its arms dealing and China has because of its interest in Sudanese oil. It may also come as no surprise that the two most destructive regimes have been the Soviet Union (Russia) and communist China, which together are responsible for murdering ninety-seven million people, or more than half of all the twentieth century’s democide, (Amstutz, 2005, 95). Whatever actions the West and the international community take to improve the conditions in Darfur, they may not be enough. Humanitarian relief has been the primary aid given to the suffering individuals. The United Nations has not given as much support as it possibly could. Also, Western democratic states could provide more aid to individuals suffering in Darfur. Genocide is a political and military matter which at times is out of the hands of humanitarians willing to help. Genocide requires solutions made by political and military powers. Anything less than these actions suggests that â€Å"the world is indicating an acceptance of the genocidal status quo,† (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 499). While states have many incentives for intervening in situations like Darfur, history has shown that, whether acting unilaterally or through the United Nations, states unusually intervene late or not at all. In Rwanda, the death toll reached eight-hundred thousand before effective actions were taken by the United Nations, (Welling, 2007, 157). The willingness of the international community to intervene influences the level of violence state actors will risk and contributes to more serious foreign policy issues, (Welling, 2007, 155). The world community, especially developed nations, pays for humanitarian crises that result from intrastate conflict. Many of the costs associated with intervention do not include the social and ethical costs of the nearly four-hundred thousand lives that have been lost. Even with regional organizations such as the European Union, the African Union, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization involved in Sudan, they have not resolved the Darfur conflict in a speedy fashion, (Welling, 2007, 159). Some governments, such as the American, seem desperate not to be forced to do anything requiring serious diplomatic or political capital, even as it continually talks about the word â€Å"genocide† whenever the subject of Darfur arises, (Reeves, 2006, 7). The European Union has given millions of Euros to Darfur and the African Union has provided troops. However, the number of African Union troops in Sudan is restricted to a very small amount, while the region of Darfur they need to monitor is nearly the size of Texas, (Welling, 2007, 159). Obviously more ground and air support is needed. As of right now, the Security Council members desired to limit the troops’ mandate and refrain from giving the troops permission to protect innocent civilians. The African Union does not even have the most basic supplies. It cannot afford items such as tents, transportation or even food and medicine. Other states are still unwilling to help. For example, Germany gave the African Union computers for technical support, however, the instructions were in German, (Welling, 2007, 159). Diplomats from the region asked for support from the African Union to meet its challenges; however, only United Nations Member States outside of the African Union can provide the type of support needed. Darfur needs a peace agreement and an extensive multinational force to carry it out, (New York Times, 2007). Humanitarian intervention needs to continue in Darfur in hopes to â€Å"remedy mass and flagrant violations of basic human rights of foreign nationals by their government,† (Amstutz, 2005, 143). The United Nations, along with other world actors, need to take more serious action in preventing the genocide that is taking place. Global ethics requires global responsibility. All who are responsible for genocide must take responsibility. The â€Å"when† is now, and the â€Å"who† is everyone, (Howard-Hassmann, 2005, 510). The global responsibility includes all world actors, and it allows no government, no institution, and no individual to deny responsibility. The West may have a special responsibility to cure past harms and prevent present ones, but it is not the only region of the world to be responsible. International responsibility includes the need to understand that the Sudanese government is causing great atrocities in Darfur right now and all world actors need to hold them accountable for what has, and continues to, happen. The genocide must stop now! Bibliography Amnesty International. 2004. â€Å"Sudan: Darfur: Rape as a Weapon of War: Sexual Violence and its Conseguences.† http://www.amnesty.org/en/report/info/AFR54/076/2004. (10 January 2008). Amstutz, Mark R. 2005. International Ethics: Concepts, Theories, and Cases in Global Politics. New York: Rowman Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Christian Century Foundation. 2007. â€Å"Aid pledge to Darfur ‘not enough’, says African church leader.† Vol. 124 Issue 22: 15. Garcia, J. Malcolm. 2006. â€Å"African Promise.† The Virginia Quarterly. August-September 2006:49-77. Howard-Hassmann, Rhoda E. 2005. â€Å"Genocide and State-Induced Famine: Global Ethics and Western Resposibility for Mass Atrocities in Africa.† Persectives on Global Development and Technology, Vol. 4, issue 3-4: 487-516. Kim, Glen, Rabih Torbay and Lynn Lawry. 2007. â€Å"Basic Health, Women’s Health, and Mental Health Among Internally Displaced Persons in Nyala Province, South Darfur, Sudan.† American Journal of Public Health. February 2007. Vol. 97 Issue 2: 353-361. Reeves, Eric. 2006. â€Å"Dissent.† Watching Genocide, Doing Nothing. Fall 2006: 5-9. Snyder, David. 2007. â€Å"See no evil.† US CATHOLIC. January 2008: 30-35. Talbott, William J. 2005. Which Rights Should Be Universal?. New York: Oxford.University Press The New York Times. 2007. Editorial, 1 November. Playing Sudan’s Game: pg. A.26 The Virginia Quarterly. 2007.† Editor’s Desk.† The Quandary of Oil in Africa. Winter 2007: 1-3. Welling, J.J. 2007. â€Å"Non-governmental Organizations, Prevention, and Intervention in Internal Conflict: Through the Lens of Darfur.† Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. Vol. 14 #1. (Spring 2007): 147-179. 2007. â€Å"Bush Announces New Economic Sanctions on Sudan to Halt Darfur.† Fox News. http://foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,275994,00.html. (10 January 2008). 2003. â€Å"China’s Involvement in Sudan: Arms and Oil.† Human RightsWatch. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/sudan1103/26.htm. (10 January 2008). 1948. â€Å"Universal Declaration of Human Rights.† United Nationshttp://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html. (9 January 2008).

Competition in the banking industry

Competition in the banking industry The banking system of a country plays a vital role in social welfare of the people in the country and of people of the world in general. It offers services to enterprises and consumers to undertake their business activities and to easily perform their day-to-day transactions. It is necessary to ensure an efficient functioning of the banking system; otherwise, a dull and bogus banking system brings about an ultimate threat of potential for financial instability. That is the reason why the competition in financial sector is of much importance. The importance is for many reasons; i.e. it relates to the efficiency, quality and innovation of the production of financial services. Most importantly, it helps in taking careful decisions in policy making for banks (Claessens and Laevens, 2003). In recent years, a lot of research work has been carried out, investigating the nature of competition in the banking industry along with the degree of competition, factors affecting the competition and the effects of competition on other market factors on micro level as well as on macro economic level. An explanation for the vast amount of studies on this topic is that competition can not be measured directly due to the lack of detailed information on prices and costs of the various banking products (Bikker et al., 2007). This topic has also gained popularity among bankers, economists and policy makers because of globalisation, liberalization of financial markets and banking harmonization all over the world, especially in the European Union. Since early 90s, there are a lot of regulatory changes observed in the banking industry in order to achieve the establishment of a single, competitive market in the financial sector of Europe. It was initially triggered with the implementation of the Second Banking Coordination Directive defining conditions for Single Banking License. As a consequence, entry barriers have been removed substantially for the new entrants increasing competition, coupled with a significant consolidation process. The intuition behind this was Market Contestability; a market is contestable if there are no barriers to entry, exit is absolutely costless and the prices are highly elastic to demands for industry output. The key idea is that a firm may be compelled to be more competitive and efficient by the prospect of new entrants (Allen and Engert, 2007). Furthermore, costless exit means that if a firm enters into a new market and then decides to withdraw, it is required to recover sunk entry costs. These features insure that even if a market has a small number of active firms, it is still effectively contestable and competitive (Nathan A. and Neave E., 1989). Moreover, the pro-competitive deregulation process has increased the level of competition (Cetorelli, 2004), particularly in non-traditional and non-interest bearing areas of banking activity (Goddard et al. 2001). Trivieri F. (2005) documents that in the course of the 1990s, the Italian banking system underwent profound changes at normative and institutional levels, which led among other things to a significant relaxation of the entry barriers, to the liberalisation of bank branching, to the redefinition of ownership structure and to a large number of mergers and acquisitions. The effects of these transformations and, in particular, of those linked to the process of consolidation have been studied by many authors (see, among others: Resti, 1997; Angelini and Cetorelli, 2000; Messori, 2001; Sapienza, 2002; Focarelli et al., 2002; Focarelli and Panetta, 2003). According to European Central Bank 1999, 29 percent banks had been merged or shrunk between 1985 and 1997. In Italian banking industry, the Second Banking Directive was implemented in 1993, followed by a 20 percent reduction in the number of banks as a result of consolidation. It is observed that competition has been increased in recent years in European banking markets which is also generally true for Italy. Angelini and Cetorelli (2000) cite that a rise in the competition is easily found in European banking markets during recent years. Danthine, Giavazzi, Vives and von Thadden (1999) report a somewhat generalized decrease in banks net interest margins across Europe during the 1990s. Consistent with the European evidence, a declining trend in bank margins is also observed across different markets in Italy. This paper focuses only on the banking industry of Italy and analyzes the evaluation of competitive conditions, nature and the degree of competition in the Italian banking industry using firm-level balance sheet data. In this paper, we explore more thoroughly the competitive nature and degree of competition in the Italian banking industry by adopting a methodology developed in empirical industrial organization and used extensively in banking. Further more, we will compare our results with previous results to find out that whether the degree of competition has been increased or it has been as same as it was in the past. The setup of the remainder of this paper is as follows. Section 2 contains some important information about structure and features of a competitive banking industry which helps in understanding the competition more thoroughly. Next Section 3 introduces the original Panzar-Rosse model along with the previous studies in the field. Section 4 gives a brief explanation of the general Panzar and Rosse model. This section also shows the interpretation of the H-statistic along with the description of the testing hypothesis. Following Section 5 deals with the empirical model used in this study including long-run equilibrium test. This section also contains the banks data used for the empirical illustration for our theoretical findings. Finally in the last Section 6 empirical results and conclusion is discussed. OPTIMAL COMPETITIVE STRUCTURE OF THE BANKING SYSTEM According to Northcott C. (2004), competition improves efficiency and growth in the banking sector but market power or concentration is necessary for stability in the industry. Moreover, competitive environment promotes productive and allocative efficiency leading towards economies of scale while market power improves credit availability, stability, quality of banks loan portfolios, screening of loans and monitoring them. As a result, market power should not be eliminated, but rather used to facilitate an environment that promotes competitive behaviour. FEATURES OF A COMPETITIVE BANKING INDUSTRY Concentration weakens competition by fostering collusive behaviour among firms. Increased market concentration was found to be associated with higher prices and greater than normal profits (Bain, 1951). Smirlock (1985) and Evanoff and Fortier (1988) argue that higher profits in concentrated markets could be the result of greater productive efficiency. Berger (1995) finds some evidence that the efficiency hypothesis holds in US banking. In Europe, on the other hand, structural factors appeared to be more important and the SCP hypothesis seemed to hold (Goddard et al., 2001). If a well-developed financial system is provided then contestability improves with new entrants. Contestability is not necessarily related to concentration or the number of banks. Concentration and competition can exist together because of the presence of asymmetric information and branches and the effect and use of new technologies. (Northcott C, 2004) LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL ISSUES: According to Bikker and Haaf (2000), initially the economic literature on the issue of competition in the industrial sector can be divided into two main categories; structural approach and non-structural approach. Structural approach can be further divided into two main paradigms. First type of structural approach is Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) paradigm, which tells us that the degree of competition is determined by the structural characteristics of the market, such as, number of firms, size of the firms, etc. The SCP was developed in the early 1950s by Mason (1939) and Bain (1951). Bain (1951) constructs the market power hypothesis that collusive behaviour is initiated by high concentration which results in large profits for firms. Later, Stigler (1964) and Demsetz propose efficiency hypothesis in contrast of marker power hypothesis stating that the efficiency of bigger firms may be the reason for high concentration instead of collusive behaviour of firms, while during 1980s, Baumol, Panzar and Willig (1983) build contestability hypothesis. Their hypothesis states that if entry and exit barriers are relaxed then competition may be prevailed (Mkrtchyan A. 2005). Second approach is Efficient-Structure-Hypothesis (ESH), which states that greater concentration in the industry not only increases the level of efficiency in the sector but also increases the degree of competition in that sector. Non-structural approach is based on describing the nature of competition in the context of the studies of New Economic Industrial Organization (NIEO). It suggests non-structural models to analyse the competition in markets which do not rely on the markets structure. Particularly, Klein (1971), Baumol, Panzar, and Willig [1982] provide a theory that shows that market competitiveness can be inferred irrespective of the structure of the market. NIEO studies include Iwata Model (1974), Brasnahan Model (1982), Rosse and Panzar (1977), Panzar and Rosse (1982), Panzar and Rosse Model (1987), etc. Non-structural method or firms input-output cost studies have gained more popularity than the structural approach among academics, researchers, analysts and policy makers. Particularly Panzar and Rosse model (1987) is the most widely used and is very popular model for competition. Duncan (2003) mentions that the Panzar and Rosse (P-R) model provides a comprehensive and simple method to calculate the competition. It does not require intensive data as compared to other models and has been firmly related to theoretical side. The information required for this model is easily available as it calculates the sum of the factor prices elasticities estimated from a reduced form of revenue function. The Rosse-Panzar test has been developed to examine competitive conditions in the light of the contestability theory (Rosse and Panzar, 1977; 1982; 1987). This approach measures the degree of competition by analyzing how each banks revenues react to changes in input prices. It has primarily emerged to test market conditions that encompass all spectrums of competitiveness away from the restrictions brought about by the structural concepts. Basically, it depends on the relationship between gross revenues of the firm and the change in its input prices by using a statistic which is called the H-statistics that measures the sum of elasticities of total revenue with respect to each input price. As this approach includes the revenue equation so for banks, mainly the revenues are interest revenue. In this approach, h-statistics is used to measure the degree of competition. The H-statistics will tell us the responsiveness of revenues to the changes in input prices. If h-statistics is less t han or equal to zero then there will be monopoly, if it is between zero and one then there will be monopolistic competition and if it is equal to one then there will be perfect competition (Greenberg J. and Simbanegavi W.). This approach is preferred when testing the data of different individual banks. Moreover, P-R approach yields similar results without any ambiguity as it has clearly defined hypotheses with specific interpretations. PREVIOUS GENERAL STUDIES ABOUT BANK COMPETITION: Rearrange the literature review according to the claessens and neave. A great number of papers have been written on investigating competition in the banking industry using Panzar and Rosse model (1987). But the motivations for analyzing the nature of the competition are vastly varied like contribution of institutional and structural factors, growth, regions, stability, financing, efficiency, contestability, consolidation, cross-border capital flows, risks etc. The summary of the previous works and their findings can be seen in the Appendix Table 1. Panzar J. and Rosse J. (1987) develop test for Monopoly and use linear regression model to estimate the H-statistic for the newspaper industry, reporting that it is vague to conclude that the newspaper firms earn oligopoly profits. Looking at the cross-country studies carried out in the EU banking markets, one of the earliest analysis is undertaken by Molyneux et al. (1994) who test the Panzar-Rosse statistics on a sample of banks in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK for the period 1986-89. Results indicate monopolistic competition in all countries except Italy where the monopoly hypothesis can not be rejected. Shaffer and Disalvo (1994) use this test to analyze the data of a duopoly banking market in south central Pennsylvania to exercise the procedure for concentration and competitive conduct. Waleed Murjan and Cristina Ruza (2002) examine the Arab Middle Eastern banking markets with this test concluding that the banking sector is more competitive in non-oil-producing countries than the banking industry in oil-producing countries. Gelos and Roldos (2002) apply this method on 8 different countries of Latin America and Europe, finding that market contestability prevents the competitive pressure from declining which can happen because of the consolidation while Claessens and Laeven (2003) process the data of 50 countries obtaining the same results. Bikker and Haaf (2002) assess the banking industry in 17 European countries and six countries that are outside of Europe comparing competitive conditions and market structure. Goddard, J. and Wilson, J. (2006) report misspecification bias in the revenue equation for the banking sectors of 19 developed and developing countries. They suggested a dynamic revenue equation for unbiased estimation rather than fixed effects estimation which is severely biased towards zero. Gilbert (1984) and Berger (1995) test the data for 8,235 banks in 23 developed nations producing the results that a higher degree of market power has less risk exposure. Yuan Y. (2005) assesses the competition in Chinese Banking sector and comes up with the results that China already has had perfectly competitive condition before new foreign entrants and it still has the same situation. Duncan D. (2003) presents the empirical assessment of the market structure of the Jamaican banking sector and competitive trends in the market finding monopolistic behaviour. Al-Muharrami S. et al. (2006) take GCC Arab countries into observation and suggest that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE operate under perfect competition; and Bahrain and Qatar operate under conditions of monopolistic competition. Nathan A. and Neave E. (1989) exercise the test on Canadian financial industry and reject the hypothesis of monopoly power in Canadas financial system. PREVIOUS STUDIES ABOUT COMPETITION IN ITALIAN BANKING INDUSTRY: A great number of studies on competition in financial sector of EU countries have been reported which also include Italy in general. But there are also some research-papers which are produced specifically for Italy. Some of them are: Cetorelli N. and Angelini P. (2000) study the case of the Italian banking industry and cite that competitive conditions have improved substantially after 1992, and it is believed that the introduction of the Single Banking License in 1993 also helps fostering the competitive behaviour in Italian banking industry. DellAriccia G. and Bonaccorsi E. (2003) investigate the relationship between bank competition and firm creation. They document that the effects of competition in the banking sector on the creation of firms in the non-financial sector are less favourable to the emergence of new firms in industries where information asymmetries are greater. Coccorese P. (2002) rejects the theory that competition can be easily reduced by the collusive behaviour of the firms, and comes up with the conclusion that strong concentration does not necessarily prevent competition among firms. Trivieri F. (2005) compares the banks involved in the cross-ownership and banks that are not involved. He finds that Italian banks involved in cross-ownership are less competitive than the banks which are not involved in cross-ownership, hence proving cross-ownership decreases competition. GENERALIZED PANZAR AND ROSSE (1987) APPROACH: P-R model assumptions: Firstly, there are some assumptions and conditions in which Panzar and Rosse model works. The model supposes that banks operate in long run equilibrium. Although Goddard Wilson (2006), documents that this condition is not needed any more if a correctly specified dynamic revenue equation is adopted which permits virtually unbiased estimation of the H-statistic. This eliminates the need for a market equilibrium assumption, but incorporates instantaneous adjustments as a special case. So in this paper long run equilibrium postulate holds. Another assumption is that the market participants affect the performance of the banks by their actions. Another postulate is that the price elasticity of demand is greater than unity. Moreover, the model posits that there is a homogenous cost structure. Furthermore, profits are maximised to obtain the equilibrium number of banks and the equilibrium output. In long rum equilibrium, it is known that banks maximise their profits when, marginal revenue eq uals to marginal cost (Bikker and Haaf, 2000). Trivieri F. (2005) also adds that the banks are treated as single product firms which mainly provide intermediation services. EXPLANATION OF PR MODEL: Claessens and Laeven (2003) cite that the Panzar and Rosse model studies the impact of changes in factor input prices reflected in equilibrium revenues by a specific bank. Bikker and Haaf (2000) write that Panzar and Rosse model gives simple models for oligopolistic, competitive and monopolistic markets. This test works on the reduced form revenue equation and uses H-statistics. This H-statistics can tell us not only the nature of competition but also gives information about the degree of the competition. H-statistics if measures between 0 and 1, it is monopolistic competition, 0 is considered as monopoly and 1 as perfect competition. Here, a general banking market model is used, which determines equilibrium output and the equilibrium number of banks by maximising profits. The model is also able to allow for bank-specific variables in the equation. According to Bikker and Haaf (2000), in the long run equilibrium, it is known that banks maximise their profits at the break-even point. The break-even point is where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. So, the bank i maximises its profits, where marginal revenue equals marginal cost: (1) Ri refers to revenues and Ci to costs of bank i (the prime denoting marginal), xi is the output of bank i, n is the number of banks, wi is a vector of m factor input prices of bank i, zi is a vector of exogenous variables that shift the banks revenue function, ti is a vector of exogenous variables that shift the banks cost function. Secondly, it means that in equilibrium at the market level, the zero profit constraint holds (Bikker and Haaf, 2000): (2) Variables marked with an asterisk (*) represent equilibrium values. Panzar and Rosse define a measure of competition H as the sum of the elasticities of the reduced-form revenues with respect to factor prices (Bikker and Haaf, 2000): (3) According to Khan, M. (2009), it measures the percentage change in (equilibrium) revenue due to a one percent change in all input factor prices (change in cost). From duality theory, it is known that one percent increase in factor prices will lead to one percent upward shift in cost function. The impact of this shift in cost function on the (equilibrium) revenue of the banks is directly related to the degree of competition in the banking sector. Bikker and Haaf (2000) further explain that Panzar and Rosse prove that under monopoly or under perfectly collusive oligopoly, an increase in input prices will increase marginal costs, reduce equilibrium output and subsequently reduce revenues; hence H will be zero or negative. An increase in input prices raises both marginal and average costs by an equal proportion as the cost is homogeneous of degree one in input prices without altering the optimal output of any individual firm. Exit of some firms increases the demand faced by each of the remaining firms, thereby leading to an increase in prices and total revenues by as same amount as the rise in costs, resulting perfect competition where H-statistic is positive but not greater than unity. In this case marginal and average cost will be increased by the rise in input prices (Nathan A. and Neave H., 1989). INTERPRETATION OF H-STATISTICS: Panzar and Rosse prove that, under monopolistic competition, H is between zero and unity. H is a decreasing function of the perceived demand elasticity, so H increases with the competitiveness of the banking industry. As a result, this H-statistic can serve as a continuous interpretation of the competitiveness. Although this is not mentioned by Panzar and Rosse (1987) but with some assumptions this continuous interpretation is correct. So, the testable hypotheses are: The banking industry is characterised by monopoly for H=0, monopolistic competition for 0 HYPOTHESIS TESTING; Khan, M. (2009) mentions: Two-sided Perfect Competition Test: Maintaining the long run equilibrium postulate, if banks are operating under perfect competition, a one percent change in cost will lead to a one percent change in revenues. Output will not be changed if the demand function is perfectly elastic under perfect competition, output price and cost both will increase by the same extent. This implies that under perfect competition, H-statistic will be equal to one. Statistically, we will test the following hypothesis. H0 : H = 1 Perfect competition prevails in the banking sector. H1 : H à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   1 There is no perfect competition in the banking sector. Two-sided Monopolistic Competition Test: If banks are operating in monopolistically competitive environment, one percent increase in cost will lead to less than one percent increase in revenue as the bank faces fairly inelastic demand function. Statistically, we will test the following hypothesis. H0 : 0 H1 : H à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 0 or H à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ 1 Banks are not operating in a monopolistic competition environment. One-sided Monopoly Test: Standard theory of market structure suggests that the sum of factor input price elasticities should be less than zero if the underlying market structure is monopoly. Statistically, we will test the following hypothesis. H0 : H à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 0 Banks are operating in a monopoly condition. H1 : H > 0 Banks are not operating in a monopoly condition. (Khan M., 2009) EMPIRICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY: The test is robust with any definition of market whether it is within the national boundaries or it is the global international banking industry because there is no need to specify a geographic market. Before testing, it is commonly necessary to obtain a reduced form of revenue equation which consists of revenue as a dependent variable, factor input prices as independent variables and some controlled or firms specific factors. The basic equation is: Total interest revenue = total cost + controlled variables + error term The panel data is used in the paper which is the data collected over multiple time periods. It is the combination of cross-sectional and time series dimensions. Hence, it can be derived as: Ci = a + Byi + Ei (4) Ct = a + Byt + Et (5) Where, C is the dependent variable, a is constant term, B is the coefficient of the independent term, y is the independent variable and E is the error term. Combining both the equations (4) and (5), the final basic equation can be given as: Cit = a + Byit + Eit (6) But Panzar and Rosse define the H as the sum of the elasticities of the reduced-form revenues with respect to factor prices, so the econometric model of the Panzar and Rosse statistic may be represented by the following equation: (7) For i = 1,..I; t = 1,T; Where, R is a measure of gross revenue. W is a vector of factor prices (the H statistic is given by the sum of the estimated coefficients of the variables in this vector); S is a vector of scale variables; X is a vector of exogenous and bank-specific variables that may shift the cost and revenue schedule, ÃŽÂ µ indicates the error term; I is the total number of banks; T is the number of periods observed (Trivieri, 2005). To calculate the sum of elasiticities, it is necessary to estimate the log linear model instead of estimating a simple linear model that is the reason for taking the log of all the variables in equation (7). The sign of the variables of different costs and bank specific variables are positive showing a direct relationship to revenues (Trivieri, 2005). In this pooled regression, extra intercepts or dummies for time are used, but dummies for individuals are not included because of the application of within-group-estimators. Because with-in-group estimator takes first difference and removes the individuals dummies variables by itself. Thus being a fixed effects model, it measures differences in intercepts for each group and the differences are calculated by a separate dummy variable for each group (Trivieri, 2005). The use of fixed effects panel regression with time dummies allows calculating the relevant parameters of the empirical model. Furthermore, unobserved heterogeneity is controlled by the fixed effects too avoiding omitted variable problems (Trivieri, 2005). In this paper, the intermediation approach developed by Sealey and Lindley (1977), is followed which tells that deposits, labour and capital are inputs for the banks. The empirical model applied in this paper is as: LGIRTA = B1LLABCOST + B2LCAPCOST + B3LFUNDCOST + B4LLTA + B5LBMIX (8) Where, LGIRTA = Log of Gross Interest Revenues over Total Assets LLABCOST = Log of Labour factor price LCAPCOST = Log of Capital Cost LFUNDCOST = Log of Funding Cost LLTA = Log of Loans to Total Assets LBMIX = Log of Loans to Banks and Clients over Total Loans This paper addresses the banking industry of Italy. The data includes 480 banks approximately, of all sizes in Italy. The data contains two different samples. First sample consists of the data from 1995 to 1997, total 3 years, and the second sample contains data from 1997 to 2000, total 3 years. We make a comparison and inference between the results obtained by these two samples through our empirical model and find out the competitive behaviour of Italian financial market. LONG RUN EQUILIBRIUM TEST: An important underlying condition of the H-statistic for competition is the long run equilibrium. Panzar and Rosse (1987) cite that this postulate is crucial for the cases of perfect competition and monopolistic competition. Though, it is not a fundamental assumption in the case of monopoly because when H is less than or equal to zero then it is a long run assumption for monopoly (Trivieri, 2005). Long run equilibrium test for the observations can be done with the prerequisite that: competitive markets equalise the return rates across firms, so that in equilibrium these rates should not be correlated with input prices (Trivieri, 2005). In our empirical model as in Shaffer (1982), this test can be carried out by re-estimating the equation with the proxy for the return on assets, ROA, as dependent variable in the calculation of H. In this context, H = 0 implies that the data are in long run equilibrium (Trivieri, 2005). The intuition behind this theory is that, return on assets, ROA, should not be related to input prices. De Bandt and Davis (1999), define the equilibrium condition as the state in which changes in banking sector are considered as gradual, long run equilibrium for the observations does not mean that competitive conditions remain the same and do not change through out the period of observations (Trivieri, 2005). Although it is inappropriate to use Rosse-Panzar test which is based on a static equilibrium framework, but in the real financial market, the equilibrium adjustments are less than instantaneous, resulting disequilibrium on some points in time or frequently, or always. Moreover, when it is known that the adjustments towards equilibrium are partial and not instantaneous then using fixed effects estimation for the static revenue equation will result in biased H-statistics toward zero (Goddard J. and Wilson J., 2006). For the long run equilibrium, we estimate the following equation: LROA = B1LLABCOST + B2LCAPCOST + B3LFUNDCOST + B4LLTA + B5LBMIX (9) DATA AND SAMPLE DESCRIPTION: The empirical part of this paper uses an unbalanced panel data set on which the Panzar and Rosse methodology has been applied containing a range of Italian banking firms. The data and the samples used for the estimation of H indicator are provided by Dr. Leone Leonida, Queen Mary, University of London. The data used in this paper are annual and refer to the period 1995-1997 (3 years) for the first sample. The first sample for the econometric analysis is made up of an unbalanced panel data of 480 financial institutions of all sizes, for a total of 1401 observations. The number of parameters is 487. The longest time series is 3 years long and the shortest time series is only 2 years long with 2 time dummies. The second sample covers the period of 1998-2000 (3 years) having 1330 number of observation from 474 banks of all sized. The number of parameters is 481. The longest time series is 3 years long and the shortest time series is 2 years long depicting unbalanced panel data with 2 time dummies. In the Appendix, Table 3 provides a summary of the definition of relevant dependent variable, independent variables, bank specific factors variables and control variables. LGIRTA is the log of gross interest revenue over total assets, which is used as dependent variable, also used by De Bandt and Davis (2000), and Trivieri F. (2005). Trivieri (2005) points out that according to Vesala (1995) and De Bandt and Davis (2000) it is the most appropriate choice because it then represents a price equation and not the revenue equation. Moreover, our equation will be consistent with the conceptual structure used by the application of Panzar and Rosses statistic to the banking sector. The choice for taking only the interest part of the total revenue of banks is consistent with underlying notion of the P-R model that financial intermediation is the core business of most banks. However, Shaffer (1982) and Nathan and Neaves (1989) have included total revenue instead of only interest revenue because of the fact that banks have increased their non-interest activities and services which have started generating income other than interest. But s

Themes of To His Coy MIstress by Andrew Marvell :: essays research papers

Response: To His Coy Mistress To His Coy Mistress is an argument poem about a man trying to persuade his shy mistress to give into his physical desires. He starts off by saying that if he had all the money and time in the world he would spend it all on dating and impressing her. As the poem progresses, he becomes more and more urgent and forceful with his words. The man begins to tell her that she will be old and ?dusty? soon so she should just give into him at that moment. He essentially tells her now or never. However, the larger idea of the poem is not about having sex before you get old, it is about seizing the moment and not taking time for granted. At the beginning of the poem the man tries to persuade her by explaining to her that, if he could, he would devote all of his time to her. He tells her he will spend ?thirty thousand? years adoring her body, because that is the state she deserves. He also tells her that they could flirt over a vast area, from the Indian?s Ganges to England?s own Humber. Space and time are exaggerated in an attempt to impress and persuade her into his selfish desires. The speaker is not really going to spend any time with her, he is solely driven by his lustful desires and has no intention of staying with her. He begins by saying he will wait for her, but the following lines prove otherwise. He makes it clear that he always hears a ?winged chariot hurrying near? and that in a few years she will no longer be beautiful. With the lines, ?The grave?s a fine and private place, but none, I think, do there embrace? he brings up the idea that if they do not act on their love, she might die without any love at all. Although the author is without a doubt talking about sex, the theme of the poem is really to seize the moment and not take time for granted. The author keeps a lot of emphasis on death and the grave. He is trying to tell her that she will not have eternity to look as youthful and beautiful as she does now, so she should value her looks while she still has them. By talking about the worms in her grave, he is trying to say that her virginity and beauty will do her no good there, but in this present day and time she can get some use out of them.

The Crysanthemums Essays -- Literary Analysis, John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck uses his unique literary style to write the short story â€Å"The Chrysanthemums,† where he brings his readers to a society of inequality amongst the genders. â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† depicts the challenges of Elisa Allen, a thirty five-year-old woman who is expected to be a traditional housewife. Her ongoing transformation throughout the story portrays the life of a woman trying to gain meaning in her dull life during the 1930’s. John Steinbeck's, â€Å"The Chrysanthemums,† shows the true feelings of the protagonist, Elisa Allen, through the use of femininity, self-awareness, and weakness. Elisa’s character undergoes a complete transformation of femininity, due to her conversation with the tinker. The story initially describes Elisa’s appearance using words associated with manliness, as Steinbeck states, her face is â€Å"strong, eager, and handsome,† and her figure is â€Å"blocked and heavy† (228). Furthermore, she wears a man's hat, heavy leather gloves, and a big apron that hides her printed dress (228). As a result, she is depicted as a woman with greater masculine qualities than feminine qualities. However, as soon as she encounters the tinker and notices his interest in Chrysanthemums, â€Å"the irritation melted from Elisa’s face† (232), and eventually reveals her womanly side. After the tinker left, she â€Å"scrubbed herself with a little block of pumice, legs and thighs, loins and chest and arms, until her skin was scratched and red† (236). She then bathes and puts on a dress to make herself look mor e feminine (237). For the first time, Elisa feels valued and special by the tinker. As a result, she puts more effort into beautifying herself than the house or garden. Therefore, one can see that although Elisa is i... ...ouse wives, and mothers who are fragile and insignificant. Instead, she is to remain in a â€Å"closed pot† (228), just as she is expected to do. As a result, she cries at the truth that she will always be reminded, that she is a â€Å"weak† and â€Å"useless† woman, which only increases her frustrations and dissatisfactions about her marriage (238). In conclusion, Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† illustrates the life of Elisa Allen, who struggles with womanhood, self-recognition, and impotence. Although, she is described as a modern house wife of the 1930's, it is clear, that she is far from the average traditional spouse. Rather, she yearns to be represented in the masculine world. However, through Elisa’s tribulations and limitations, she has unfortunately lessoned her stature. Therefore, one should learn to make the best use of our present rights of equality.

Understanding Ourselves in the Age of the Internet Essay -- Sherry Tur

Understanding Ourselves in the Age of the Internet In her book, Life on Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet, author Sherry Turkle explains the effect technology has on the way individuals view themselves, and how this relates to the growth of postmodernist thinking. According to Turkle, the rapid expansion of network technology, specifically the Internet, is responsible for introducing millions of people to new spaces and ways of interactivity with one another. This revolutionary method for relating to others is swiftly changing how we view our minds, our sexual interactions, the forms of our communities, and even our own identities (Turkle 9). In the excerpts selected for our class reading, Turkle cites Internet communication technology such as chat rooms, MUDs (Multi-User Domains) and IRC (Internet Relay Chat) as the basis for the further exploration of our identities because, "it is on the Internet that our confrontations with technology as it collides with our sense of human identity are fresh, even raw. In the real-time communities of cyber space, we are dwellers on the threshold between the real and virtual, unsure of our footing, inventing ourselves as we go along" (Turkle 10). As we invent new identities in order to harmonize with the changing frontiers of technology and society, our culture moves from the modernist idea of calculation to a postmodern concept of simulation (Turkle 20). To understand the difference between the postmo dernist impact on contemporary thought as opposed to the modernist view, it is important to hold a basic understanding of both ideas. Modernist thought is difficult to accurately define - the gradual evolution of philosophy makes it hard to determine how long modernism has ex... ...l life and what is considered computer simulation. After all, most chat users argue, "why grant such superior status to the self that has the body when the selves that don't have bodies are able to have different kinds of experiences?" (Turkle 14). The technological culture of simulation is gradually affecting the way we view our minds as well as our bodies, and a majority of mainstream computer programs are designed with this postmodern influence in mind. Rather than expecting to program aptitude directly into their computers, programmers now believe it is the interaction of smaller subprograms to each other that can create a greater intelligence. The relation of these programs to each other may become too complex to properly define or completely understand, but so are our brains - and this never prevented them from functioning competently (Turkle 20).

Mock meeting

IMO or other proper name which is convenience for you to pronounce. I am the only one son at mine family , mine father was a businessman and mine mother was a housewife. I have pass mine primary school at S. R. J. K. C AND secondary school in S. M. K Amelia. Basically, I quite active during mine secondary school , for example , I have represent mine school as a badminton player at MRS. Amelia and I also represent mine school in the BBS competition, and I get second on that particular competition as well.As a result , I get a very good comment from mine secondary school as well. As you information which I have mention in mine resume, I am a fresh graduate from MUM Amelia with the course Bachelor of Business Administration Honor Marketing Management last year. During the internship , I have learn more Clearly about marketing which we can't learn on the textbook . I have a real experience on that during mine internship at . Overall I have several strengthen and weakness which I would l ike to addressed (a,b)(a,b). Whatever I am a fresh graduate but I have some working experience which is I have been work as promoter for White COFFEE for SuperFor around a year during mine weekend holiday. ‘ have been award winning customer satisfaction and interpersonal skills during mine part time work . You can refer at the resume which have submitted as well . Furthermore , I could speak fluently in Hookier , Japanese and Korean . 1 am can speak well In Bases Malaysia , English and Chinese as well . Moreover , I am able to using the basic computer operating system Microsoft Office and Window 7 , even Window 8. Now, I also taking night course for UBS control system at Sinai College . Just Like what the phrases mention , study never stop or effecting by any of the factor .

Jymique Easter

Easter is celebrated the world over to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ†. Also Easter is observed any. Veer between March 22 and April 25 of every year. Also a good question is what does the word Easter even mean, Who started this tradition, and where did it come from, and why was it made Foster 2 Television Networks tells all about Easter and why we celebrate it. It tells that celebrate Easter because of Jesus Christ resurrection. In this website it tells about how Easter is called a movable feast because it does not fall on a set date every year.I can SE this source very effectively in my paper because it tells about the origins of Easter. â€Å"Easter. † History. Com. Television Networks, n. D 28 Septet. 2014. In History. Com. A&E In this website it tells about the dates of Easter, and this is helpful information considering that Easter does not fall on the same date every year. In fact this source does not just help me, and it helps all the people out there who want to know what day Easter falls on. In this source it also talks about how Easter is a â€Å"blessed time for the faithful to celebrate life, death and resurrection for the savior. † â€Å"Easter 2014 Dates.Easter Dates for 2014 and Information. N. P. , n. D. Web 28 Septet. 2014. An this website it talks about the origins, the meanings, and practices of Easter, and it says that â€Å"Both Christian and Pagans have celebrated death and resurrection themes Foster 3 following the Spring Equinox for millennia. † can use this source as a very powerful tool in my research paper since it goes deep down into the practices of Easter. â€Å"Origins, Meaning and practices of Easter. â€Å"Easter. N. P. , n. D. Web 28 septet. 2014. While researching the holiday Easter, I have found some very helpful information for me and everybody else to understand Easter a little bit more.I have learned a lot of interesting things about Easter such as when it started, why it started, and why it is so important. â€Å"Easter is a day that is honored by nearly all contemporary Christianity and is used to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ†. Easter usually involves a family gathering followed by a big feast with a Easter ham for everybody to enjoy. Also some family go to church for early service to start off their Easter Sunday. Last but not least, just about every family has a Easter Egg hunt to finish off there Easter Sunday.A Easter egg hunt is when the a family boils eggs, then decorates the eggs with fancy designs. After that they hide the eggs around their neighborhoods, yards, parks, or where ever the family thinks is a good place to hide the Easter Eggs. That is Foster 4 when all the children go scavenging for the decorative Easter Eggs. Most people do not know why they color or hide Easter eggs. The egg was a sacred symbol among the Babylonians. The Babylonians believed that a large egg fell from the Euphrates River, an that the Goddess Stare wa s hatched. So the after that the egg came to be symbolized as the Goddess â€Å"Easter'.The name Easter has its roots in polytheistic religions, most people prefer to say Resurrection Day rather than Easter. As you know Easter falls on different dates every year in the months of March or April. The chosen date comes from a formula established by the Roman Emperor Sophistication The Great an the Council of Niece in A. D. 325. You can use this formula to find Out the date that Easter fall on every year. â€Å"According to this rule the latest possible date for Resurrection Sunday is April 25, next occurring in 2038. The earliest is March 22, in 2285. So you see there is a lot of history to Easter.