Potential of Islamic Banking India

The basic principles on which the Islamic banks function are prohibition of Rib I. E. Collection and payment of interest and prohibition of investment in organization involved in unethical and socially harmful activity. He profits earned by a bank from its activities and returns made by a bank to the depositors shall be (a) from sharing of risk In the project and (b) profit-share agreements and not pre-agreed fixed interest payments, which Is considered as prohibited earnings because pre-agreed interest agreement has no sharing of risk of investment of money. In last few decades the Islamic bank has gained huge momentum. It is growing faster than any other subset of world banking; at 15 to 20 per cent a year (see McKinney report (Exhibits) for asset growth of Islamic bank as compared to conventional banks in selected few companies).The Economist estimates Islamic assets under management Now days the Islamic banking has become major point of discussion In India. Even RIB had appointed a committee to check the feasibility of Islamic banking in India. The India wants to achieve two objectives by offering Shari compliant banking: a) Financial Inclusion of Muslims: Sacra committee report shows that the Muslims are financially exclude and they are not able to get benefited by the recent growth experienced by India. The report says that the condition of Muslims Is similar to that of SC/Set's.One of the measures of financial loss to Muslims Is Credit/deposit ratio which is much lower than the national average. One such calculation is shown in Exhibit (2). In the state-wise analysis it is found that advances to the Muslims are lower than other minorities (Exhibit 3 shows the graph for few states which has high Muslim population). ) To attract capital from Gulf countries and other Muslims nations. Banks broadly performs two functions: 1) Sourcing of fund Combined effect of these two transactions is profit generation which ensures the growth and sustainability of any bank .To analyze the future potential of Islamic bank in India we shall use the above model of banks. We would look whether there are enough sources of funds and possible avenues for investment in India which are Shari compliant. Sources of Fund: The main source of funding for banks will be a) Public deposits b) Special Investments c) a) Public deposits: Though both Muslims and non-Muslims an avail of Shari compliant product, but generally the main target of the Islamic bank will be Muslims because it caters not only to their financial product need but religious need as well.Muslims Depositor: India boasts of about 154 million Muslims. Diana Standard estimates their total annual household income of $48 billion (Bag. Household Income x Bag. Household size x Population). DRP. Nasal estimates that there are over Indian RSI. 40 billion of funds to invest by Indian Muslims annually. The Muslims till now have been financially excluded. Their condition is described as similar to SC/SST by Sacra committee report.The lower involvement of Muslims in banking system of country could be because of any or combination of following reasons: Unavailability of Shari compliant product Unwillingness of the Lenders to lend to Muslims (It may be due to dearth of Collateral's available for getting loan) Financial constraints of the Muslims (Poor household Income) Financial illiteracy of the Muslims. If Shari product is made available first problem (a) is completely solved. Second problem (b) partly solved because the Shari finance is basically equity financing which does not seek collateral's.But it is yet to be found out which factors contribute o what percentage of the financial exclusion. But we can safely assume that Poor Financial condition and poor financial condition plays the major role in their financial exclusion. According to Sacra committee report about 30% of Muslims are PL. Thus large portion of the Muslims are not bankable. Even if we look at the corporate level we can fin d very few companies which are promoted by Muslims. Non Muslim depositors: India has more than 90 core non- Muslim population.The only reason why the Non-Muslims will go for the Shari compliant product is better product offering and very good marketing strategy of Islamic bank. Malaysia has shown that even large of Non-Muslim transact in Shari compliant product. It is estimated that 20% customers of Islamic Bank of I-J are Non-Muslim. In Malaysia, 40% of Sucks are taken by non-lilacs Institution and up to 40% of clients are non- Muslim. If product is marketed well the product can find huge market. Indian individuals and corporate are found to be debt averse as compare to their western counterparts..And in case you are unable to pay the loan there is chance of penalty banking. But Islamic banking is Equity based financing which will reduce the fear of indebtedness. B) Special Investment : Investment of Fund: Islamic bank have many avenues in India where they can invest their fund. Fe w of the identified areas are : 1) Equity market: Islamic bank can invest in the shares of the company which are Shari compliant. It is found that there are more than 1000 companies belonging to different sectors which are Shari compliant.Exhibit 4 shows the percentage of Shari compliant stock and their distribution across various sector Home loans: Home loan is other fascinating area where Islamic bank can invest. Statistic of N.B. shows that the home loan as percentage of GAP is growing at very fast rate in India. As against the convention home loan the Islamic bank offers home loan on the basis of lease, where the bank buys the home and sell it to the customer at profit. The bank receives the money from customers some time later (or in Installment). This model can work in India because Indians are scare of debt.And in case you are unable to pay the loan there is chance of penalty and public shame Other potential investment area: Source: Business Standard Road ahead for Islamic Ba nk: Offering Shari compliant product is not new thing in India. India had hundreds of NBC which were catering to the Islamic needs. Though successes. These insights will help us in formulating strategy for introducing Islamic banking in India. Indian Islamic NBS were started either out of the need to rescue people from the ruthless moneylenders or out of a concern for the economically backward and downtrodden.

If I Were President Essay

If I were president, I would focus on the central issue that will carry this country into the future: education. Education is the reason we are living in such an advanced time. We have touch screen, motion activated, voice command, and all these amazing things and all we have to thank is education. It has been our roots and rocks for years, and should be for many more to reach our high point. Education, although a long-term investment, will benefit this nation better than bailouts, mandatory health care coverage for children, investment in new energy sources, or the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Although it appears that there are more important, situations that the United States is facing now, the fact is that with an increase in education comes a decrease in these problems in the future. Without education, society will never understand the effects of drugs, the difference between religions, the importance of financial security for emergencies, the requirement for energy independence, or the need for health insurance. Education gives Americans higher wages, job flexibility and security, and growth in American ingenuity; however, education also gives one piece for prosperity that neither a government handout or an energy efficient car can bring, hope. One learns that with education come endless opportunities in all aspects. Throughout the world, education has brought hope for people. A chance for education brought hope to the young Afghan girl who finally learned to read. Education is one of few things that people can carry with them all their lives. Often times, what we learn in school, sticks with us for a long time to come. The need for Education can never be stressed enough! I believe that the more we are able to get children interested in getting their full education earlier in life, more people would be more successful. If we could have strongly educated teachers reaching out to kids and leading them down the path to the right education, I believe more of America would be successful. Had it not been for education, where do you think we’d be today? No phone, no internet, no electricity, no anything. We would live in a completely dead place. We would still be using men to carry stone, math to line pyramids up with the stars, leaves as clothes, and stick and stones to fight wars. I would stress education as much as possible because clearly, it was our past, it’s our present, and it will be out future!

Democracy or Dictatorship

It is very unfortunate that after 63 years of creation of Pakistan added to the 200 years of struggle against foreign intruders, we are still debating over Democracy and Dictatorship is Pakistan. We were able to get an independent state but failed to give freedom, equality, tolerance, social justice and democracy to its people. Iqbal’s Pakistan was never achieved; we got Jinnah’s Pakistan but lost part of it in 1971. It’s up to us whether we blame it on failed democracy or thriving dictatorship; but truth is that we lost the identity of largest country achieved for Muslim minority of Indian subcontinent. Going through the pages of political history of Pakistan; rather take out just a moment of your time to remember the names of all the â€Å"Democratic Premiers† and all the â€Å"Democratic Presidents† who ruled us over the period of time. I am emphasizing on â€Å"Democratic† because we have seen dictators also produced their own presidents and ministers; I bet you can’t remember them, at least I can’t. On contrary if we start naming dictators; not only names, their time of rule, their duration of rule, even we can write books on their personal lives; why is that? It is not criticism on our general knowledge, rather it is the reminder sad truth we have been living all our lives. I can talk on behalf of today’s generation, the first news we ever heard about politics was the 1999 military coup over democratic government. And then we spent our age of growth and learning under military rule. The other day I was discussing with my father and he told me that when he was in school, Ayub Khan ruled Pakistan; at his professional age Zia-ul-Haq ruled our country and when they got more senior Musharaf came. Just look at history of all the major events or major achievements we ever got were at the time of dictatorship. Don’t think that I am in favour of Dictatorship †¦ no †¦ never ever ever †¦ its not possible; my mind refuses to accept the basic and fundamental concept of dictatorship. How can a country like Pakistan, with its population of more than 18 crore, where more than 70 languages are spoken, where people belonging from various religions, cast and nations be ruled by ONE person with its whole sole powers. Experience has shown that in a working democracy mistakes can eventually be corrected before the society breaks down. The history of dictatorships on the other hand shows that they end all in violent and bloody mess. We have seen in Tunis, in Egypt and now witnessing in Libya. Dictatorship is not made for Pakistan. But the Pakistan’s most successful 5 year plan of 1960-1965 was during time of military dictator Ayub Khan. This plan earned Pakistan 200% profit and it was copied by countries like South Korea. USSR lost its respect as super power at the time military dictator Zia-ul-Haq, that’s separate debate what we got in return but we did it. So-called freedom of press was awarded in another military dictator’s time i. e: Pervaiz Musharaf. On contrary democratic governments failed to give us any constitution for 9 years after creation of Pakistan, we got but it was brutally torn apart many times. Democratic government played with it by making silly amendments. It was during democracy when we lost East Pakistan in 1971. It was democratic government who ordered police to open fire on protestors rallying against electoral fraud of 1977. Army action was taken place in Balochistan during democratic government and city of lights had blood bath because of so-called democratic government claiming to be representing majority. And now during democratic time we are still arguing whether Pakistan needs democracy or dictatorship. So this means, something is wrong and has always been wrong which made Pakistan to see the times in which we are living today. May be we never really understood the meaning of democracy. Seems like just completing your count to show majority is democracy, it’s just a number game for us to have the might of majority; whoever they may be and whatever they do. The objective resolution is 1949 states that Pakistan is a sovereign independent state â€Å"Wherein the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice as enunciated by Islam shall be fully observed†, the classic example of Dasti with fake degree and winning election confirm the democracy as number game. My point is we got the democracy but we were not able to create any democratic system in which democracy flourishes and don’t remain mere number game. What about an example to make it more understandable. A murderer kills someone and was then caught by lets say 20 men. Voting was held to decide the fate of the killer, 15 among 20 votes in favour to hang him and 5 opposes the decision. If democracy is just game of numbers to favour majority then according to this definition of democracy he will be hanged. On contrary if democracy is a system to govern the country where principles of freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice prevails, the murderer can claim it rights and ask the Judicial system, part of democratic system to prosecute him and decide his fate. Let me put forward to you what I believe real democracy is and what it requires to flourish. Concept of democracy existed in 508 B. C with Greeks, but there has been no final definition on which political science students agreed. That’s why we see many different kind of democratic systems with its own way of selections came over the period of time; famous being presidential democracy and parliamentary democracy, wikipedia can list other for you if interested. But there has been points, some basic structures and some basic requirements everyone have agreed upon; the most important being â€Å"Separation of Powers†. The state is divided into branches, each with its separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that no one branch has more power than the other branches. The normal division of branches is †¢ Executive †¢ Legislature †¢ Judiciary. In parliamentary democracy like Pakistan the responsibilities of executive is done by Prime Minister along with his cabinet, legislation is done by Parliament with its two houses of National Assembly and Senate whereas Judiciary is definitely a complete system of its own. In Presidential form of democracy the executive is President with his whole power, legislature is Congress and judiciary is judicial system. But we can see in Pakistan cabinet with its large number and corruption, parliament with its fake degrees and suppression of judiciary over the years destroyed and derailed democracy from time to time. Which confirms that whole bunch of other systems has to be defined to ensure proper governance with its real democratic system. I want to put forward the components, rather sub-systems of any democracy but first there are some other basic points of on which different studies have agreed upon. The real democratic system should ensure Shared Respect and Shared Power within its citizens. †¢ Shared Respect Because we all are human and contribute to the society, we should be respecting each other point of view with tolerance and treat everyone equally. Everyone should be given fair chance to learn and develop some skills in order to be useful for the society. And we should all be recognising each other rights irrespective of profession, cast, creed or religion. Thus shared respect ensures thriving democracy. Shared Power A working democratic system ensures shared power between its citizens representing different group of societies. Students unions, factory labour unions, farmer unions and many others represent their respective community thus playing important is democracy of the country. Every citizen voluntarily votes for election of its representative without interference, thus every citizen is sharing bit power indirectly. And most importantly the opposition voices are respected and heard thus ensure their share of power. Beside shared respect and shared power, some conditions of democracy are agreed upon by different political science students’ i. e: Economic balance and Enlightenment. Aristotle believed that the middle income men contribute more to the society thus providing economic balance. Enlightenment is freedom of getting information which is done my public education, books, magazines and most importantly free media. For shared respect, shared power, economic balance and for enlightenment different other systems are put forward in-order to have proper working democratic system which grows and amend itself. I will try to put forward some common and rather most important factors for working democracy. Constitution is the most sacred document in any democratic country. The set of rules put forward by different group of society and agreed upon by the selective representative of society is very important for any successful democratic system. But constitutional history of Pakistan as we all know is very dark and dramatic. For 9 years since the creation of Pakistan we had no constitution, once we had it was brutally raped by dictators. And even last 1973 constitution has been disrespectfully treated by making 19 amendments to it and unfortunately mostly done by democratically elected men. Judiciary should be independent, free from any outside interference. It’s no news for us that how judiciary has been treated. Social Justice is ensured by the judicial system and how it can ensured until unless judiciary is having trouble of its own. Social Security is vital important in any democratic country and is ensured by the security forces or police. Unfortunately in Pakistan the political parties have been assigned different quota to hire its own policemen in-order to confirm the power which totally violates the fundamental concept of democracy. Education system ensures the enlightenment condition of any democratic system. Citizens should be well-aware of laws, constitution and their right. The educational institution should also work as political institution where future leaders or political activist should be created. Student politics should be legal and well governed by the institution itself, otherwise the Family politics will never in country like Pakistan. Election Commission should independent of any political influence and is responsible for free and fare election. The voters list should be error free and encourage its citizen to take part in electoral system. Not only education system, election commission should also be involved in educating the citizens and realising them the importance of voting to decide their future. Last but not least the Accountability. Umer bin Abdulaziz, who was caliph of Ummayid Dynasty and was famously called the fifth caliph once said, â€Å"Rulers usually appoint people to watch over their subjects. I appoint you a watcher over me and my behaviour. If you find me at fault in word or action guide me and stop me from doing it†. The accountability or the check and balance have vital importance in democratic system. This rules out the might of majority and ensures that democracy should not be considered as number game. NAB (National Accountability Bureau) of Pakistan is supposed to responsible for that but unfortunately this institution has never been given its deserved power and been played in hands of politicians. Democracy or democratic system is not heavenly devised system; it is system of government of the people, by the people, for the people; which can have loopholes and can be played with, but proper democratic system grows with time differently from nation to nation. We Pakistanis as independent nation living in independent and sovereign country can, shall and will produce such a democratic system with justice for its citizen, rights of the people, accountability of empowered, education to its youth and proper economic system. No wonder Pakistan can become the country which Allama Muhammad Iqbal wished for.

Posttraumatic stress disorder Research Essay

223. 4 million U. S. citizens have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives. This is about 70% of adults in the USA. Today 31. 1 million people are struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Rosenthal). PTSD is defined as re-experiencing, avoidance, and arousal, due to a traumatic event. The symptoms are either long lasting or have a delayed onset (Oltmanns & Emery, 2012). A traumatic event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury to self or others, can create intense feelings of fear, helplessness, or horror (Oltmanns & Emery, 2012). This traumatic event then can lead to a serious anxiety disorder such as PTSD. Examples range from witnessing another individual in a life or death crisis to experiencing a life or death crisis first. While PTSD affects a large percentage of the world’s population, only recorded incidents are placed in statistics. However around the world traumatic events are not uncommon, with the cases of genocide in Rwanda to war torn counties in the Middle East, and all the way back to the survivors of 9/11 and US troops back from Iraq, it is no wonder that PTSD is one of the most common disorders. This paper will summarize symptoms, causation, prevention and treatment of PTSD. There are four main categories that the symptoms of PTSD are grouped into. The first is re-experiencing the traumatic event or incident. There are a few different ways one can re-experience the trauma. Some may repeatedly visualize distressing images of either the incident or something closely related. There may be a constant thought of the event as it unfolded. Some may focus on how they could have done things differently assuming there might have been a better ending or the event would have been avoided entirely. Others will experience horrifying dreams or night terrors that will either be an exact flashback from the traumatic event or a metaphor of some sort that is equally traumatic. For example, a woman with PTSD who was a paramedic and was dispatched to the scene of the twin towers on 9/11 experienced nightmares of a fire breathing dragon. A friend of hers stated that it was as if there was a fire breathing dragon with all the fire and trauma that engulfed the paramedics (Psych Lab Video Case). Last are flashbacks that one will re- experience. â€Å"Flashbacks are sudden memories during which the trauma is replayed in images or thoughts often at full motional intensity† (Oltmanns & Emery, 2012). The next symptom of PTSD is avoidance. One who suffers from PTSD will avoid all stimuli associated with the trauma. This means avoiding feelings, thoughts, people, places, and activities that remind them of the trauma. One critical symptom of avoidance is a numbing of responsiveness or emotional anesthesia, which causes sufferers to withdraw from others and hide or conceal their emotions. This is known to have a large effect on family and loved ones who attempt to help (Oltmanns & Emery, 2012). The last symptom of PTSD is arousal or anxiety. PTSD is grouped in the DSM-IV-TR as an anxiety disorder because of the effects of arousal and the secondary anxiety it causes. Anxiety may show itself through hyper-vigilance, restlessness, agitation, irritability, exaggerated startle responses, and excessive fear reactions to unexpected stimuli (Oltmanns & Emery, 2012). In order to assess and diagnose a person with PTSD, a person must re-experience the traumatic event at least once, they must have at least three symptoms of avoidance, two hyperarousal symptoms, and symptoms that make it hard to go about their daily life such as school, work, etc. nimh. nih. gov). If a majority of the world’s population experiences many or at least one traumatic event, how is it that not everyone develops PTSD? There a few factors that cause PTSD. Trauma is necessary for PTSD to develop but is not the only cause (Oltmanns & Emery, 2012). Social factors include the amount of trauma the individual would be subjected to. For example, a police officer would have a higher rate of developing PTSD because of the exposure they commit themselves to as part of their career. Individuals are more likely to develop PTSD depending on the severity of the event. Some people can be categorized as â€Å"risk takers† which would make them more vulnerable to developing PTSD such as a police officer or paramedic. Other risk factors include having a history of mental illness, getting hurt, living through traumas, having no social support or dealing with extra stress after the traumatic event such as loss of loved one (nimh. nih. gov). Prevention of PTSD is possible and circumstances can take place that would help individuals prevent the disorder from developing even though traumatic events that could lead to PTSD are unknown or may come as a surprise. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides mental health assistance after a tragic event. An early intervention is critical. Incident stress debriefing is a five hour group meeting where citizens share events and tragedies after a disaster (Oltmanns & Emery, 2012). Police officers and all emergency personnel are given some sort of PTSD prevention therapy (Sanford). This is due to the fact that they have a high risk exposure to traumatic events. Treatment for PTSD varies and there several different types of psychotherapies that can be used to treat the disorder as well as medication. The main therapy currently used is cognitive processing therapy, or CPT. Cognitive processing therapy can be done in an individual or a group setting. A therapist will help a patient reevaluate how they feel about a traumatic situation. For example, many victims of sexual violence and rape place the blame on themselves. The efficacy of the therapy has held up. Recently, Congolese women who survived the intense conflict in their country and were subjected to rape and sexual violence underwent months of CPT to ease the post-traumatic stress. The results were promising, though the women appeared to respond better to the group therapy. â€Å"After four months, the proportion of women with probable PTSD dropped from 60 percent to 8 percent in the cognitive processing therapy group; the proportion of those with depression or anxiety plummeted from 71 to 10 percent. Their functional impairment scores dropped by half. In the women who received individual support counseling, rates of probable PTSD, depression or anxiety declined less, from 83 percent to about 54 percent. † (Seppa, 2013) Another helpful PTSD therapy is Prolonged Exposure Therapy or PE. PE requires the patient to expose themselves to safe but uncomfortable situations that they have been avoiding due to their PTSD. The patient is also taught breathing relaxation techniques in order to lessen the anxiety associated with reintroducing themselves to traumatic tasks (U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs). The patient is also asked to talk repeatedly about the traumatic situation which eventually leads to habituation or a neutral response to the once negative stimuli. Medication is the other option for treatment of PTSD. Though it is not completely curable, it can be managed by a wide variety of medications. Currently, the evidence base is strongest for the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The only two FDA approved medications for the treatment of PTSD are sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil) (1, 2)† (Jeffereys). There are also some obstacles to overcome in getting patients to best respond to this treatment. Patients are often concerned about the side effects of the medication, about learning to rely on the medication rather than fixing the root problem, about getting addicted and they may begin to abuse the medications by mixing them with alcohol if the PTSD is severe (Jeffereys). In addition, recent studies have suggested that long term exposure to anti-depressants may actually hamper a patient’s ability to respond positively to therapy (Nauert, 2013). A new study conducted by researchers at Emory, University of Miami and Scripps Research Institute has showed promise in prevention of PTSD. The results of the study suggest that exposing victims of trauma to morphine immediately after experiencing the distressing event may do more than just ease physical pain. Morphine may also play a role in â€Å"fear learning†. When the drug was administered to a group of mice after exposure to a stressful event, they â€Å"could still learn to become afraid of sounds and shocks, but the fearful memories were not as durable and the mice did not freeze as much in response to the sound alone two days later, even if they had been previously exposed to stress† (Eastman , 2013). Some other â€Å"out of the box† potential treatments include channeling all energy into martial arts training or service dog training (London, 2013). The idea here would be to distract the brain away from the negative thoughts by focusing all the patients’ resources into positive activities.

Which Is the Most Successful Gothic Horror Short Story

Gothic horror (Gothic Fiction) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. As a genre, it is generally believed to have been invented by the English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto. The effect of Gothic fiction feeds on a pleasing sort of terror, to thrill and scare the reader. The Red Room, by H. G Wells and The Monkey’s Paw by W. W Jacobs are both good examples of Gothic Horror. Both stories deal with the theme of the supernatural – the ‘ghost’ and the wish granting paw. Another, less obvious theme is the nature of humans, the main character in The Red Room is very confident in the face of the wisdom of the elderly residents of the castle. Even in the opening sentence the man seems to simultaneously acknowledge and dispel the fear of the paranormal in the Castle by saying â€Å"it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me. † He is showing off his confidence, which will slowly diminish on his journey to the red room, his actual stay in it and as the tension builds. This is confidence and arrogance is ironic as he will end up defeated by this so called ‘ghost’. In The Monkey’s Paw, the family, particularly Herbert is also very cocky – â€Å"might drop on his head from the sky† yet again this is also ironic as the in order to get the money Herbert gets mutilated and dies. The setting of each story is a very important way of adding to the tension. If the story was set in a nice, happy cottage, in the middle of a suburb, on a warm summer’s day there is nothing scary about it. If it is set in an old rotting house in the middle of nowhere, which is engulfed in darkness, there is an aspect of fright and scariness. In both The Red Room and The Monkey’s Paw there is this aspect of darkness, isolation with the stories setting – the isolated, dark and cold Lorraine castle and the dark, isolated house. The darkness and isolation, for the readers, increases the risk of something bad happening. The rain and storm outside the isolated house in The Monkey’s Paw also adds to the risk of danger. We know this house is isolated, as the wife says â€Å"the worst of living so far out† The time of both stories is also important. Both stories involve the night – in The Monkey’s paw, we meet the Sergeant Major at night and the knocking also start at night. This is also the case in The Red Room. The story is set at night. This adds to the tension through fear. People are naturally scared of the night as it takes away our vision. This would allow someone to creep up on us. Particularly in The Red Room this is the case as the darkness itself creeps up on the man, and we think there might be something behind that blanket of darkness. Both authors use a lot of in depth descriptive text, such as to describe the three custodians, or but I find Wells does a lot better job then Jacobs. Wells creates an amazing, tangible feel and sense to the story, despite the massive contrast between modern life and that of that era. ‘The glow vanished, the reflections rushed together and vanished, and as I thrust the candle between the bars darkness closed upon me like the shutting of an eye, wrapped around in a stifling embrace, sealed my vision, and crushed the last vestige of reason from my brain’. The detail and quality of this quote is very powerful and is very good at describing the scene, which is integral for the story and shows off the writer’s actual skill. Jacobs isn’t quite as skillful as Wells, but he isn’t bad either and while his descriptive text isn’t quite as good, it’s still quite effective. This might have been a decision on his part, but I personally prefer Wells’ method. However, in my opinion the most important technique in both stories is the author’s use of characters. Yet again, Wells is better in a more obvious way than Jacobs. Wells is very good at describing and turning the custodians into horrible, non-human creatures. The idea of using old, crippled people is very smart and ties in with the theme and even the setting very well. It’s almost like their part of the castle with their age and grotesqueness. The description used, could almost make a horror story. Instead of making each monster a similar monster, he makes them all unique and gives them all their own ‘quirk’. One man has a withered and wrinkled arm, the other red eyes that could pierce the night sky, yet the lady seems not to have as much of a quirk as the others, she only seems to repeat one thing over and over again. Each has its own weird personality, one saying nothing apart from, â€Å"tonight of all nights† and another, constantly warning him. Yet the third character is very interesting and says practically nothing, but his presence is strange and unexplained. This makes us very curious of his purpose. Some of Jacobs’s characters are quite interesting, like the soldier, but the idea of having characters as part of the horror story doesn’t seem to be important. The personality of the Whites seems to be non-existent, even the name is very plain and not interesting but it’s obvious when everything goes wrong – Mrs White goes hysterical in grief and becomes very desperate and maybe even loses the plot a bit. This lack of personality provides a nice contrast to the hysterical side. However, Mr White seems to keep it together a bit more. In The Red Room the main character seems to get more and more desperate. At the start he was very matter of fact and by the red room he is frightened by a statue of Ganymede and Eagle. Ganymede is a character from Greek mythology. He was supposedly the most beautiful of all mortals, and so the king of the gods took the form of an eagle and stole him from earth to become the god’s cupbearer. This relates to the story, as in both the story and the myth, the main character finds himself powerless in the face of a greater power. He reaches the room, which appears normal, and then suspense is built again, as the candles are extinguished due to an unknown cause. This is similar in The Monkey’s Paw. The characters are very relaxed at the beginning and confident of the lack of power by the paw, only Mr. White’s and the soldiers fear gives us warning of possible problems. Then once Herbert dies they start panicking and the wife even goes slightly mad. The Monkeys Paw’s ending, in my opinion, is much better as it is a better story plot and it keeps the tension and suspension right up to the very end. As the race between the husband and wife unfolds we are desperately wishing that the mutilated thing doesn’t come in, this keeps the reader involved and absorbed until the very end. In The Red Rooms ending was a let down and quite dull – an anti-climax. The tension finished before the ending and this made the ending quite boring, and though the concept of the fear of fear is very interesting it’s not very exciting. I personally prefer The Monkey’s Paw despite the better style of writing by Wells. For me, The Red Rooms ending completely ruined it and the story line was not as interesting or as gripping as Jacobs story.

Art history- art of romanesque France Coursework

Art history- art of romanesque France - Coursework Example Latin fathers were Cyprian (bishop of Carthage), Tertullian Septimus, Ambrose the bishop of Milan, Jerome, Augustine, the bishop of Hippo and Gregory the great who was the bishop of Rome from 3rd September, 590 to death (Hughs, 2014). Their theological insights greatly shaped the course of the Christian history. These Latin fathers helped in understanding the Christian doctrine development throughout the millennia. Up to the modern era, their explorations of the scriptures have grounded biblical commentary (Lawrence, 2014). 3. Monasticism is whereby one renounces worldly pursuits to devote fully to Christian work. These included monks (male) and nuns (female). Monks and nuns accomplished many practical roles in the middle Ages. They nursed the sick, accommodated travelers, and assisted the poor. The abbots and abbesses offered advice to the secular rulers e.g. the monastery of Cluny under Abbot Odilo an abbot at the secular collegiate church of St. Martins at Tours (Hughs, 2014). Monasticism also offered the society a divine outlet and ideal with vital consequences for the medieval culture wholly. Monasteries also promoted learning, encouraged literacy as well as preserved the features of the ancient literature like the works of Virgil, Cicero, and Aristotle. Monastic composers also had a role in elevating the scope and complexity of choral music as well as creating the best environment for devotion (Lawrence, 2014). 4. The renaissance of the twelfth century had plenty of changes made at the outset of High Middle Ages including political, economic and social transformations with scientific and philosophical roots. The era is characterized by the rediscovery of ancient roman and Greek authors, a rebirth of classical learning as well as the Greek’s spirit of inquiry recovery (Lawrence, 2014). 1. As Duby wrote, in the medieval era, the pilgrimage routes were paths that were walked by kings, princes as well as ordinary peasants. As a result each town along the way

Power of Multinational Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Power of Multinational - Essay Example t its CEO in the five years prior to its rise to power (1995-2000) is Richard Cheney, the Vice President of the United States of America since 2000 and who lies second only to George W. Bush as the most powerful man in the world. This paper investigates the company’s rise to power, the perceived role of Mr. Cheney in the company’s success, and how the company exercises its growing power in the world’s political and economic environments. Beginning with a review of available literature on the power of multinational enterprises and how they exercise this power over nations and governments through the instrument of foreign direct investments, the paper looks at the techniques of strategic analyses to gain a deeper understanding of the company and the nation where it took root: America. Using the SLEPT/EE strategic analysis framework provides an in-depth look into the workings of the multinational enterprise and the thinking processes of its managers to discover a link between American history and the behaviour of America’s business and political institutions. The paper concludes by establishing a link that explains the consistency between the known American past, the traditional links between business, politics, and democracy, and the justifications for Halliburton’s exercise of power. This paper investigates the economic and political power of American multinational enterprises and explores the thesis that this explains America’s rise to globalism. Focusing on the American oil industry and specifically the Halliburton Oil Company, an analysis is made of the dynamics of business and government power in the light of contemporary issues using the SLEPT/EE strategic framework. The findings determine the accuracy of the thesis. This research paper looks at how a formerly obscure oil company rose to prominence in the past decade, investigates the role played by its former CEO who happens to be the incumbent Vice President of the United States of