Ragging in India Essay

Ragging in India is a damaging form of interaction of the seniors in college or school with the juniors, newcomers or first years. It is similar to but not same as hazing in the United States, it is not an initiation. It involves insults (simple or suggestive sexual, sarcastic and even physical), running errands for seniors, and many other complex activities. Highly reputed Indian colleges have a wistful history of ragging especially Medical colleges. It has become increasingly unpopular due to several complaints of serious injury to the victims and strict laws regarding ragging. Ragging is now defined as an act that violates or is perceived to violate an individual student’s dignity. It often takes a malignant form wherein the newcomers may be subjected to psychological or physical torture. Prohibition Of Ragging As per Ordinance XV-C of the University of Delhi ragging in any form is strictly prohibited, within the premises of College/Department/Institution and any part of Delhi University system as well as on public transport and elsewhere Any individual or collective act or practice of ragging constitutes gross indiscipline and shall be dealt with under this Ordinance Ragging for the purposes of this Ordinance, ordinarily means any act, conduct or practice by which dominant power or status of senior student is brought to bear on students freshly enrolled or students who are in any way considered junior or inferior by other students and includes individual or collective acts or practices which involve physical assault or threat to use of physical force violate the status, dignity and honour of women student; violate the status, dignity and honour of students belonging to scheduled castes and tribes; expose students to ridicule and contempt and affect their self esteem entail verbal abuse and aggresssion, indecent gestures and obscene behaviour The incidents of ragging in educational institutions is becoming a National issue. I wish that all the senior students of SSITS will receive the suggestions expressed here positively and act as desired so that we can continue to maintain â€Å"RAGGING – FREE INSTITUTION† status for ever. Remember the fact: Awareness on ragging leads to eradication of ragging. The following may happen to the victim of ragging: 1. The ragging may leave permanent scar in the victim’s mind that may haunt him/her for years to come. 2. The ragging demoralizes the victim who enters the college life with many hopes and expectations. 3. It causes grave psychological stress and trauma to the victim. 4. Those who succumb to ragging may drop out, thereby hampering their career prospects. 5. In extreme cases, if the victim is too sensitive, he/she may resort to suicide, or culpable homicide. Ragging has become a menace, cause of fear and shock, not only for a fresher but to his/her parents too who are sending their loved ones for pursuing higher studies by investing a lot of hard earned money Ragging in any form inside or outside the college campus is banned/prohibited vide Prohibition of Ragging in Educational Institutions Act passed by the Parliament. Ragging means doing an act that causes or is likely to cause insult or annoyance or fear or apprehension, threat or intimidation or outrage of modesty or injury to a student. Those who indulge in this uncivilized activity are liable for severe disciplinary actions besides being liable for prosecution. Nature of Ragging Punishment Teasing, Embarrasing and Humilating Imprisonment upto 6 months or fine upto Rs.1000/- or both Wrongfully restraining or confining or causing hurt Imprisonment upto 2 years or fine upto Rs.5000/- or both Causing death or abating suicide Imprisonment upto 10 years or fine upto Rs.50,000/- or both Student convicted of any above offences, will be dismissed from the college.

Philippine Poetry Essay

Even before the foreign invaders came to the Philippines, the Filipinos already had their own cultural traditions, folklore, mythologies and epics. There were substantial writings by early natives that Jesuit historian Fr. Pedro Chirino noted: â€Å"All of the islanders are much given to reading and writing. And there is hardly a man, much less a woman who did not read and write. † Epics are stories that are written in poetic form. They are usually described to display such tremendous vitality, color and imagination. Epic stories are tales about love and adventures of native heroes. The heroes’ adventures are usually about how they become endowed with powers from the gods, battle monsters, triumph over formidable armies, ride the wind, travel on flying shields and protect the earliest communities of the islands. Through the years, epic poems have grown and matured. Early historians like Padre Colin, Joaquin Martinez de Zuniga and Antonio Pigafetta have all attested to the existence of these epics. At the arrival of Don Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in 1565, it was reported, the natives presented him with a dramatic play. During festivities and special occasions, epic poems and songs area performed. Most often, these epic poems (folk epics or ethno-epics) were titled after the names of the hero involved, except for some which carry traditional titles like the Kalinga Ulalim; the Sulod Hinilawod; the Maranao Darangan; or the Bicol Ibalon. Old Time History, as stories about folk heroes of long ago are referred to, is used to study the lifestyle and beliefs of the people of that time. They were also referred to as lost, because they were soon forgotten by natives influenced heavily by Spanish and â€Å"western† colonization. It has been said that during the early days of the Spanish intrusions, the priests destroyed all existing records of paganism, as well as all forms of writing and art work regarding the ancient Philippine folk heroes. This has been proven to be false due to the fact that the early epic poetry is still known and used at present as reference in studies of the past especially the lifestyle, love and aspirations of the early Filipinos. This valuable inheritance from the past must be preserved for this can be used as a proof for national identity. It is from these that a Filipino can feel heroic, truly pulsating with splendor of a magnificent and authentic cultural force. Being composed of thousands of islands, it is no wonder that the country is rich in culture and tradition with various influences in different parts of the nation. As a result, the Philippines has become a melting pot of nations and is a source of a rich variety of culture and stories. The following are some examples of the epic poetry found in the country.

Human Health Essay

Health in human beings includes physical, social and psychological well being or fitness. Changing weather patterns, for instance, extreme events affects human health directly or indirectly through changes in air, food quality and quantity, ecosystem agriculture, livelihood and infrastructure. Research on effects of climate change Confalonieri et al provided evidence climate change has; altered distribution of some infectious disease vectors altered the seasonal distribution of allergenic pollen species and increases heat wave-related deaths (2007). Seriousness of the effects of climate change is further manifested by increase in malnutrition and consequence disorders, including disorders related to child growth and development, increase in death, diseases, and body injury from heat waves, storms, fires and drought. As climate change, some infectious disease vector has change too; this has made them more resistant to traditional drugs. The change has also lend to mixed effects on malaria, in some places, the geographical range has contracted while in other places the range has expand and still in others the transmission season has changed. Transmission of water borne diseases like typhoid and cholera increases. The research has also proved an increase in cardio respiratory morbidity and mortality associated with ground level ozone. Non –communicable diseases, such as heart disease diabetes stroke and cancer are estimated to contribute about half of the global burden of all disease at all ages. Despite this, communicable diseases affecting human health are a great threat to public health in many parts of the world. According to the report, almost two million deaths a year are feared to result from diarrheal diseases and other communicable diseases and other conditions that are attributed to unsafe drinking water and lack of basic sanitation. Malaria, a disease whose geographical rage is affected by climate causes an estimated one million deaths annually especially in young children. Mal-nutrition and drought leading to adverse negative effects on human health, is greatly attributed to climate change. In the report, it is estimated that an increase in frequency or intensity of heat waves will increase the risk of mortality and morbidity, especially in old age group and the urban poor. An increase in climate extremes, for instance storm, floods and drought would cause more deaths injuries, population displacement and adverse effects on food production, fresh water availability and an increase in the risk of infectious disease particularly in low income countries. Considering the current trends of emissions to continue, more harm will be done to the environment; air quality will worsen, ozone and other particulate pollutants will increase, increasing mortality and morbidity amongst human beings. From the report, a clear relationship between climate and human health is described, but in it is common knowledge that disease have been here as long as man has existed. It is therefore important to consider and see climate change as a catalyst and not necessary the cause of ill health in human beings. Despite this, more understanding of the extent, rate, limiting forces and major drivers of adaptation of human population to a changing climate is needed. This will reduce the impacts of climate change on human health.

Political Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Political Leadership - Research Paper Example Shapiro (2007) has also pointed out that administration is a mere part of leadership because relying on administration solely makes a leadership style repetitive, predictable and vulnerable to macro environmental changes. To understand political leadership, one has to understand the multi-causal social processes which create the drive for leadership. Greenstein (2006) has defined political leadership as the subtype of human social leadership. An individual cannot define political leadership or grasp the normative prescriptions of political leadership without enquiring about values, power relations attitudes and action of leaders in cultural-institutional and historical context (Peele, 2005). In the political leadership, both leaders and followers pass through the casual but circular sequence of power exchange and motivation building (Walzer, 2007). However, Peele (2005) has argued that political leadership is a widely experienced phenomenon but understanding about the phenomenon is p retty much tacit in nature. For example, phenomenon such as war between countries, central human rights controversies, Olympic rivalries etc might act as situations which deal with political leadership. One thing is clear from the argument of research scholars that it is very difficult to create a standardized definition of political leadership due to involvement of both institutional and historical contexts. Ruscio (2004) has rightly stated that no political leadership concept is complete without the understanding its role on democratic government. For example, throughout the history of mankind, societies have asked for certain rules and procedures in order to create a practical framework which can represent the interest of democratic society.... This paper stresses that Readers of this research paper might question that why the researcher has not yet provided a concrete definition of political leadership? Well, the fact is that definition of political leadership changes from country to country. For example, a political leader with a sentimental and compassionate is ideal choice in Indian context but the same leader would be viewed as failure in Russian cultural context. According to Vigoda, Elgie and Peele, a political must have characteristics such as, 1- a strong ethical character and personality which can synchronize with ethical-cultural character of subordinates, 2- a constructive agenda for solving a particular problem, 3- interpretive judgment to define a situation to followers and 4- the material or intangible technique to mobilize the support of followers. However, there is no doubt that political leadership has direct connection with military, law authority or ideological leadership hence it will not be wrong to as sume that political leadership is modified version of social leadership. This report makes a conclusion that it is evident from the above discussion that responsibility of a political leader differs along with the political environment of a country. For example, behavior of a democratic political leader significantly differs from an autocratic leader. The researcher is begging pardon of the readers for emphasizing more on democratic aspects of leadership in contrast to other aspects. But, it was a matter of personal choice for the researcher and the researcher believes that democratic political leadership is flexible enough to fit into modern business environment.

Book Reeview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Book Reeview - Essay Example The second author, Stewart Emery, is renowned worldwide for his books and also as an excellent speaker and educator. Lastly, the third author of the book is Mark Thompson, who is well known for his keynotes in several of his writings and is also a venture capitalist (Porras, Emery & Thompson, 2007). Contextually, the objective of this paper is to review the book Success Built to Last: Creating a Life that Matters for better understanding and analysis. In this regard, the main ideas of the book are pointed out along with critical concepts. Moreover, the review also reveals the accuracy of the information that is written in the book. Based on these aspects of critical understanding, a conclusion is also drawn in the end. The book Success Built to Last: Creating a Life that Matters is written in the background of some of the largest organizations of the world and their success factors. It not only contains examples of big organizations but also adequate information about some of the small and medium-sized enterprises. Besides analyzing the business organizations, the book also contains the learning factors from some of the greatest personalities of the world. These personalities include Nelson Mandela, Richard Branson, several other renowned presidents of the past and some sports personalities. The book provides a clear understanding about the habits and key success factors that would support the individuals and organizations of the present day to lead to progress. The core objective of the book is to reveal these success factors of the renowned individuals and organizations of the past and present to help people of the modern day build organization in order to gain excellence. In the process of writ ing a book, the authors have extensively interviewed several world famous personalities to gain in-depth knowledge about their views regarding success Porras et al., 2007). The key concepts of the book are well defined through citation

Funding proposal for center for bioethical mentorship for clinicians Essay

Funding proposal for center for bioethical mentorship for clinicians working with chronically disables patients &their families - Essay Example Therefore, several projects would be fundamental for a bioethical center that seeks to advance high moral character for the clinicians. The first project is the inquiry into societal change, which makes some values that were upheld in the past virtually inapplicable in the present society. Another key element that would serve as a vital project for the bioethical center is human abuse, which calls for a thorough inquiry into various forms of human abuse, both psychological and physical, which acts as a deterrent to the recovery of patients. The nature of interactions and how they impact on the patients and their relationship with clinicians is yet another relevant area of inquiry, with a view to developing basic essentials of interactions that impact positively on the patients. Any project undertaken in the above three areas will be essential part of informing the development of moral character for clinicians, owing to the fact that the areas address all the moral components that eme rges from any interaction between clinicians and

How and why is a social group represented in a particular way Essay

How and why is a social group represented in a particular way - Essay Example In this writing, the emphasis will be on Margaret Atwood’s literary writing of The Handmaid’s Tale, as well as on the way Atwood has supported and written against the balace bwteen the two genders. Atwood’s tale main characters are played by the female gender and the story is even based on the same gender and even the narrator of the story is a female. The portrayal of the gender roles in Atwood’s novel is not restricted to the characters and the narrator; it goes far beyond explaining, highlighting, and conflicting with the views of feminism. Atwood does not project a world in which females have the power and ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with the male gender, she rather portrays an image of the society where females are governed by others and are not free and are subordinates to the elites (male gender). The story even projects that the male gender has gained their ability to govern the female gender with the assistance of aunts. Aunts in the novel are those who brain wash the female gender and preach them about how to become perfect slaves of the males. Aunts do not portray a positive image of the female gender as it is quite difficult to identify who they are in the real life. These aunts completely act against the ideas of equal rights for women. They have represent a female world where they are suppressed and live under the command of the male gender. These women are undoubtedly portraying an image of the women which is totally against the empowerment of the female gender in the society. Nevertheless, they have shown such activities which appear to go against men. They are constantly showing a negative taste for the male gender. Aunts have played different roles in the novel at different points of time; one of the roles was to underestimate the importance of female unity as seen throughout the novel. On the surface they seem to be completely against the

Humanities modern era Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Humanities modern era - Term Paper Example as survived through all the ages in the history, yet it has become omnipresent in the present age because of the people’s ease of access to the tools that can be used for violence. This has had immense impact on the moral status of the individuals in the society. Gradually, people have become immune to activities they considered violent in the past like killing and raping. Violence seems to scar the era and to leave its mark on the humanities. Civil disorder has broken out in many countries in the Arabia in the recent years. People have started to revolt against their own leaders. Many a leaders have been killed including Saddam Hussain and Muammar Gaddafi by the people in an attempt to free the lands from the hold of dictators and alter the political and socioeconomic conditions of the countries for the better, but the consequences have been all but favorable even for the mutineers themselves. Millions of people in Iraq and Afghanistan have been killed by the American soldiers since the 9/11 incident. The population of the American soldiers that has been killed by the people in return is also not very insignificant. The popular culture as an essential element of the modern era has also played a cardinal role in the spread of violence. TV, computer and Internet are all technological milestones of the modern era. They have been frequently employed for the spread of violence in the society through sexually explicit videos and violent video games. Young generation has been targeted to develop the violent skills. The violent programs projected in the media are the most convenient and cost effective sources of in-house virtual education and training. Violence has spread to such a level that it has challenged people’s religious beliefs. The war on terror has been commenced solely for the purpose of achieving the very modernity, and has had many potentially negative implications for the Muslims all over the world. â€Å"Political Islam is now portrayed as a critique

Summary of America's 1 percent problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Summary of America's 1 percent problem - Essay Example since they had numerous investments, they were able to recover pretty soon and were already enjoying the fruits of the additional income once the recession ended by 2010. Arguments have been made for and against this increase in the inequality gap and the consequences it is bound to elicit. The truth of the matter however remains and that is the fact that the rich are continuing to be rich hence owning almost everything in the country while the poor and now the middleclass are becoming poorer and poorer by the day and the government is only aggravating this through its cut throat policies meant to benefit the haves who are the minority. This trend will make the US lose its economic superpower position to other nations that actually care about the whole nation in such a way that they are trying ways to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor for future social and political stability and not only economic stability. America should borrow a leaf from some of these nations such as Brazil otherwise the near future presents only doom for the nation in

Liberal Principles and Minority Rights Essay Example for Free

Liberal Principles and Minority Rights Essay Liberal Principles and Minority Rights BY shax0521 We live in a world with differences, biases and hindrances we tend to take into account to be able to cope up with the changes happening around us. These differences could be between races,religion, culture, language, etc. But within a country, these differences also exist. Most countries are composed of diversed culture that divides the society to the majority and the minorities that establishes cultural differences related problems. It is often heard that minorities are deprived from certain freedom and the majority avails most of the best previleges that could e given. Minorities are often Judged by different steoreotypes and prejudices that establishes conflict between the groups. The main point of Prof. Hans Ingvar Roth, head of the sweden research team of the University of Lund in his article Liberal Principles and Minority rights, minority groups particularly in a liberal democratic society should be able to deal with the existing problems confronting their existence and culture in relation to the liberal principles through group-targeted measures. These group-targeted measures will be further explained throughout the article critique. The purpose of this paper is to give a brief summary of Roths article Liberal Principles and Minority Rights, what are the liberal principles of a liberal democratic society how it affects the condition of the minorities and my point of view as a reader. It will also tackle the different features of a liberal society, the problems encountered by minorities and the possible solution to the problems. In other words, the life of the minorities in a liberal democratic society. According to Roth, inequalities in modern western societies are faced by the inorities particularly ethnic, racial and religious which sometimes seen to result to discrimination. The minorities are confronted by social, political and cultural inequalities which were percieved to be the consequences as a memberofa liberal democratic society. Moreover, the majority enjoys the benefits and priveleges that were given by the society. In relation to this, to know the reason why these inequalities occur, we must know the grass roots of this condition. Roth stated in his article his definition ofa liberal democratic society. According to him, a liberal democratic society is charcterized by the certain institutions or norms that are seen among many of its citizens as essential guidelines for the organization of society. A liberal democratic society has its liberal principles namely, majoritarian democracy, free moblity, market economy, meritocracy and neutrality. The first principle is the majoritarian democracy or the rule of many . This concept of democracy implies disadvantages to the minorities because literally, it shows how minorities are outnumbered by the majority in terms of their cultural survival. As stated in the article, this idea of democracy have serious consequences for defenseless minorities. Furthermore, another liberal principle which is a burden to minorities is free mobility where people get to move freely without any intent hindrances but it has its limit in reality. Roth expounded it as the ideal of open borders for refugees from non- european countries in contrast to the migration policies implemented on various principle is the easy access of majority population into minority territories that could threaten the cultural survivability of the latter which is also dependent upon its eography. Moreover, the market economy as a principle which assumes freedom of choice that is considered to be the prevailing model for arranging economic activities systems in liberal societies. Roth added that according to many of his critics, the market economy could lead the majority to cultural supremacy over the minorities where the former has more access to important resources that could affect the cultural life of a country. It is considered to be the most efficient among other economic systems. Another liberal principle is meritocracy. According to Roth, merit should administer the appropriation of employment and places in higher education. This implies that the majority will dominate the labour-market of the society and eventually earn the highest ranks in offices. This would result to the alienation of the minorities in any encounter of several forms of higher education because the majority gets the best priveleges they could have in the society. In addition, Roth cited another principle which is neutrality or even-handedness. This occurs when the government doesnt interfere with certain policy decisions uided by religious views or substantial philiosophies of life and this kind of action implies contradiction to relgious minorities and securalism in some way influence the society. The abovementioned principles in any circumstances could stand in conflict with one another. As we have tackled the 5 principles of a liberal democratic society, it is also important to know some features of this kind of society which could have significant consequences on the cultural standing of different minorities in the society. The first feature is lingua franca which refers to having a common language in the society for he people have one language they could use to communicate with each other. Roth stated in his article that the language is an important element for the cultural identity of a group. Eventually, the language of the majority will be the lingua franca due to its long history in the country and the minorities must accept it and use to be able to communicate with others. However, this doesnt mean that the languages from the minorities cannot be recognized as official languages in significant bailiwick of society such as education or law. Another feature of a liberal democratic society is nation building. Roth referred it as the creation of various institutions, traditions and spheres of society in which it will be affected by the long history of the majority group. In this case, it stresses that even without ethnic or cultural nationalism; the majority culture is advantageous because of its historical standing in the society. According to Roth, cultural preservation of minority groups depend on the members itself. They should have the best interest in maintaining and preserving their culture. A part from Roths article tackled about the shared values in the ulticultural debate for minority rights where possessing a secure cultural belonging could be valuable in a way that it is an important condition to an individual well being or it could be a crucial part of a ones personal identity or as a framework adapting the majoritys culture and integration or affiliate with the majority on the other side. However, they have one common view that minority groups should not face anu unfair or excessive burdens in maintaining their cultures. Furthermore, if a minority group had encountered am intense discrimination from the other groups in he society, they should pay for the serious cultural disadvantage that the minority group faces. In other words, cultural diversity should be reagarded as a valuable objective for the whole society and a shared public responsibility to secure the preservation of the minority culture. However, if a certain minority in question have encountered no grim history of discrimination, and its cultural changes was due to voluntary change of its own members, it conditions become more unclear. The members itself should pay the price of maintaining or preserving their culture given hat they have been attracted to the majority culture. In addition, the majority is not coerced to share a costs of preserving that particular minority. As discussed earlier, there are ethnic and religious minorities in a society and their situation could be less favourable in certain conditions. Roth emphasized in his article that cultural influence by the majority usually occurs to the minorities that live in so-called open agricultural territories, small in size and the history of discrimination. Furthermore, it was stressed that shared language, religion and a istory of discrimination or an idea of geographical location make the minorit group maintain their culture. There are minority groups that prefer to attain independence and others to lower their claims and instead strive for various forms of cultural autonomy. In the entire article, the two main problems of minorities in relation to the liberal principles are cultural preservation and problems of integration. According to him, problems of preservation arise when liberal principles such as free mobility and the endorsement of a market economy may threaten a traditional form of community life. Due to the dominance of the majority in terms of size, resources and historical standing, these principles work to their cultural advantage. Furthermore, the practice of having a lingua franca gives more disadvantage to the minorities in terms of preservation of their own language. The abovementioned problems has its group-targeted measures so that the minority culture will survive. These are metaphors the fence, the ladder, the springboard and the plane. With these meaures, there could be a continous existence of minority groups in liberal democratic societies. Through the fence it ould take form of exceptions from laws that burden traditional cultural practices or even property rights that would prevent majority population from buying lands from the minority territories. In addition, Roth used the cultural autonomy with regards to certain forms of legislation such as family as an example of a fence which protects the minority from being influenced by the family customs of the majority. Another measure is the ladder wherein group representation should be practiced by religious and ethnic groups in order to have a level of representation in the society. This metaphor can neutralize and attenuate unfair thresholds or hindrances such as blind spots, various forms of animosity, stereotypes and nepotism. To be able to gain entrance in the main sphere of society in spite of the diminish this hindrances in the remote future. The first measure or method is called the springboard that would present opportunities to minorities such as labour market and higher education in instances that they face discrimination and prJudices in the society. According to Roth, the springboard is not enough for minorities to be able to enter to such society that is hy the plane was created. It is considered to be the supplementary method of the springboard. It aims to alter engrained and stubborn attitudes and habits among the majority population through information campaigns and cross-cultural meeting places. From what I understand in the Roths article, inequalities of minorities in the society are caused by the liberal principles. I agree on it due to the different situations presented in the article. These principles namely majoritarian democracy, free mobility, meritocracy, market economy and neutrality are advantageous to the ajority population and affect the minoritys cultural preservation. The articles premises are still valid according to the current situations in most western countries. His interpretation of the evidences presented were likely to lead us to the same conclusion that the liberal principles should be improved rather than to replace them with something different in order to solve such inequalities in such society. His arguments regarding the disadvantages of the minorities in the society such as the lingua franca where the majoritys language will be the official language of the ociety and meritocracy where the majority gets the highest ranks in the offices had the biggest impact to me which I agree on. If we compare it to the philippines, a non- liberal democratic country but compose of a majority and minorities, due to the geographical boundary and size of population of christians with tagalog as their language is considered to be the official language of the country, officially called as Filipino and in terms of meritocracy, the muslims as a minority experience biases regarding employment in government and other fields of offices because of different stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination.

Causes And Effects Of Global Financial Crisis Economics Essay

Causes And Effects Of Global Financial Crisis Economics Essay Financial crisis is defined as a situation characterized by severe disruptions in the value of financial institutions assets, their access to funding or their clients trust, to the point of endangering the financial systems sustainability (Argandona 2009). This essay will discuss the various likely causes of Global financial crisis and the preventive measures that the UK government could take to avoid or diminish the threats of another crisis. Global economic crisis of 2008 resulted due to some fundamental and undesirable changes that took place in the efficient use of resources in America (Davis 2009, p. 1). According to Davis (2009), some changes that could be easily perceived were breakdown of information technology and the ever increasing globalization across the world. He has discussed in his article, the consequences of emergence of Post Industrial Society in US which led to an increase in unemployment as the largest employers shifted from manufacturing organizations to service industry which later contributed as a cause of credit crunch. The essay will first place the possible causes that led to the downturn in the financial position of the various economies across the world and finally it will talk about the methods that UK government can adopt to prevent itself from the hazards of next financial crisis. The essay concludes that while some countries were largely affected by the impact of crisis in 2008, there remain few countries that managed to overcome the shock and survived because of their policies and the best possible steps taken by them. The IMF remains bedeviled by philosophical disputes about the scale and scope of its lending and crisis related activities. These disputes distract the institution from its role as a global lender of final resort.(Truman 2006b, p. 532) Truman (2008) says that at the time of unfolding of economic crisis, members of International Monetary Fund failed to provide any kind of assistance to the economies that required a short term need for external liquid resources. According to him, one of the various possible causes was macroeconomic policies of several countries across the world that jointly holds the responsibility to a great extent for the crisis. He further commented that easy monetary policies and fiscal policies of countries like US, Japan and others reduced the savings rate of these countries and distorted the balance of the financial system and led to a soaring of global credit and elevated the price of houses. Collateralized debt obligations are bonds ultimately backed by bundle s of loans such as subprime mortgages.(Davis 2009, p. 103) Financial institutions had a good amount of money in the form of foreign exchange reserves so it started lending money to everyone at a very low interest rate (Truman 2008, p. 23) and also to the people who had no capacity to return it back, that is, subprime mortgages came into picture (Davis 2009). After a certain period, when the supply started exceeding demand, housing prices in US began to drop, mortgage holders found that the price or value of their house was less than what they were owing to the banks and so they started defaulting in high numbers and a rise in foreclosures was observed. Emergence of post industrial society, i.e. a shift from manufacturing to service industry in US led to large unemployment. In an effort to improve productivity, companies started cutting down on labour and ultimately small number of skilled labours were left. So the competition for skilled labour increased. With the materialization of defined contribution pension plan, the incentive to stick to a particular company came to an end. And employees started moving from one company to another. This new plan of pension fund led to the growth of mutual fund industry (Davis 2009, p. 31) which resulted in decline in employee attachment with the company and increased participation by financial institutions through mutual funds. Securitization [altered the traditional pattern of banking by] turning assets into securities traded on markets (Davis 2009, p. 35). This way of banking allows the bank to lend more amount of money. One form of securitization was mortgage backed bonds (Davis 2009, p. 35). Deboer (2008, p. 5) says that any commercial bank must have approximately 10% of the total amount of loan issued by it, in its capital assets. Many financial bodies issued mortgage-backed financial derivatives and eventually when the housing prices started falling, the value of mortgage backed securities declined too which in turn started making them bankrupt. Realizing this, banks started issuing small number and small quantity of loans. This strapped the credit situation tightly and thus housing prices started narrowing further. In Eastern Europe, the major reason behind the crisis was short term borrowings (Aslund 2009) from many European banks in large amounts because of the security and safety offered by so many countries in Europe by setting a fixed exchange rate. This led to inflation of prices because high amount of money was flowing in. Also the countries like Ukraine started importing goods on high scale and thus fell short of balance payment it owed to other countries. Lack of administration and regulation of the financial sector is another cause identified by Truman (2008, p.24). He says that the overleveraging of the financial system took place gradually in an exponential rising manner over several years, where poor supervision of the policymakers and the others responsible praised the incredible growth of the economy in its early years when the signs of inflation were not noteworthy. After a period of time, (Truman 2008, p. 24) when the financial institutions were left with no money and had no capacity to fund any further investment, the formation distorted and deleveraging began. He believes that another possible reason that might have had altered the market structure was the poorly understood risk associated with the innovations in the formation of new policies in the financial institutions. Bergsten (2008) says that countries like UK should adopt an economic expansion programme to avoid or surpass the effect of next possible financial crisis. Such programme would involve an effort to increase the domestic demand and thus causing an expansion of the trade in between countries. It also involves reducing the restrictions of trade on the border and inside the country as well. He says the most positive step the leaders of the G-20 could take would be to pledge to adopt fiscal stimulus programs amounting to at least 1 to 2 percent of most of their national economies. Leaders should try to think something creative rather than blaming each other for the crisis. Bergsten (2008) suggests that UK along with other countries must assure a support of at least $500 billion each to enhance the resources of IMF (International Monetary Fund) so that it will accumulate good amount of wealth and pledge to support UK as well as other countries at the time of crisis. He also suggests that an efficient working group needs to be formed within the countries to analyse and supervise financial regulations closely. Financial stability report from Bank of England (2009) states that banks should have sufficient amount of liquid assets to lessen its dependence on short term borrowings for funding non liquid assets. The Tripartite Committee comprising of the Bank of England, FSA (Financial Services Authority) and the treasury was held responsible for the crisis of 2008 by the staff of politics.co.uk (2009) in a report. They say that the Bank of England should be held accountable for macro-economic supervision instead of FSA and that all the three should know their exact roles and responsibilities. The report also suggests steps like developing policies to suppress fluctuations in financial conditions, assigning British authorities to constantly monitor UK branches of multinational banks so that if any new policy is formed by them which might affect the financial status of the co untry in future can be clogged at the right time, increasing the regulations about the capital assets requirement for the bank so that it properly assesses the loan borrower and grant it to him only if he can afford to pay it back. Bergsten (2008) has put forward the idea of a joint work or supervision of the FSA and the Bank. He feels that it would be effective if FSA concentrates on the conduction of the business and Bank focuses on the systemic issues. Amato (2009) expresses his views saying that assets whose value could not be determined were given triple-A ratings by the rating agencies and thus attracted more investors so UK government must ensure that banks dont over rely on the credit ratings (Bank of England 2009). Amato (2009) says protectionism should be removed so that all the companies across the world can trade easily and freely in other countries without any barriers. Recapitalization scheme has been undertaken by UK banks deliberately to raise capital to provide it w ith ample amount of insurance against future threats of crisis. (Bank of England, 2008) CONCLUSION Looking at the various causes, we can conclude that there were different reasons for crisis in different parts of the world. If a country forms strong policies and takes decisions that would be beneficial in the long run, then it might be able to protect itself from the adverse consequences of financial instability. Amato (2009) says that a country needs to form policies keeping in mind not only the benefit of its domestic market but also of the whole world. All the countries should cooperate at the international level and support IMF by all means. Countries like China, Malaysia and some Islamic countries were least affected by crisis because of their strong policies, good supervision and regulations, ability to predict or identify financial fluctuations in advance and resistance to outside worlds financial imbalance. The world has lot to learn from these countries.

The Defense Of Humbert Humberts Novels English Literature Essay

The Defense Of Humbert Humberts Novels English Literature Essay The narrator of Vladimir Nabokovs novel Lolita, Humbert Humbert, denounces himself and refers to himself as a brute, (Nabokov 193). It is all too easy for many readers to add their own condemnation; after all, Humbert is a grown man who over the course of the story lusts after and engages in sexual relations with a twelve year old girl. Yet a deeper reading of the material reveals that there may be more to the story than a simple case of pedophilia. An examination of character and symbolism in Vladimir Nabokovs Lolita provides evidence to support the theory that Humbert is a sympathetic but flawed character who is manipulated by Dolores Haze. First of all, Humbert offers an argument for his actions that allows insight into his reasoning. The relationship between Humbert and Lolita is not socially acceptable, but Humbert tries to normalize his actions, citing Poe, Proust, and Petrarch to show how norms have altered over time, (Rothstein 22). Humbert defends himself from time to time by citing historical relationships that were similar to his with Lolita, pointing out that such relationships were acceptable in certain times and places, and even arguing that many girls of Lolitas age have reached a state of physical maturity. When he states that soon I found myself maturing amid a civilization which allows a man of twenty-five to court a girl of sixteen but not a girl of twelve, it becomes clear that Humbert views society, rather than himself, as the flawed factor in this equation (Nabokov 16). Regardless of his arguments, according to the standards of twentieth century American culture Humberts relationship with Lolita is s ocially unacceptable and he remains branded as a child molester. Once more, Humbert is saved from being entirely evil. Humbert is not interested in children, and is described as having the utmost respect for ordinary children, with their purity and vulnerability, and under no circumstances would he have interfered with the innocence of a child, (Nabokov 19-20). Douglas Fowler agrees, asserting that Humbert is no deflowerer of innocent children (49). Instead, Humberts interest lies with what he calls a nymphet, or a young girl who attracts those much older than herself and who is a deadly little demon among the wholesome children, (As Nabokov 16-7). As predatory as his behavior may appear, Humbert has no intention of corrupting or harming the innocent. Unfortunately, these rationalizations lose some of their effectiveness when taking into consideration that they come from an adult who should know better. On the other hand, the argument that Humberts inner child plays into his behavior provides an alternative explanation for those actions. Near the beginning of the text, Humbert relates the tale from his childhood of a seaside romance with a girl named Annabel, which was broken off first by the interference of a pair of adults and finally by the girls death. This sad situation reflects the poem Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe, with its tale of lost love. I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea: But we loved with a love that was more than love- I and my Annabel Lee; (Poe 7-10) Humbert feels intrinsically tied to Annabel, again shadowing the speaker of the poems assertion that nothing[c]an ever dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee, (Poe 32-3). It can be argued that Humbert never entirely grew up as a result of this incident; part of his soul was stunted by his unconsummated childhood love affair. Humbert himself admits to the influence that these circumstances have on later events when he says that in point of fact, there might have been no Lolita at all had I not loved, one summer, a certain initial girl-child, (Nabokov 9). The concept that Humberts inner child influences his behavior is reinforced by yet more evidence from the story. For example, when Humbert and Lolita set off on their initial road trip he showers her with gifts and goes out of his way to entertain her, referring to himself as eager, hopeful Hum, (Nabokov 140). This reads like a nervous young boy trying desperately to please the girl whom he admires, hoping to catc h her attention and gain her favor. The fact that Humbert expresses disgust with his own adult form, which he refers to as his adult disguise, also lends support to this argument (Nabokov 39). Margaret Morganroth Gullette points out that to Humbert, [a]ll grownup characteristics over-sized frame, hairiness, smell are unnatural to the soul that feels itself to be essentially childlike, (223) and that this is a loathing which he projects onto adult women, (222). The idea that Humbert is actually a child trapped in a mans body makes his infatuation with Lolita if not socially acceptable, then at least somewhat more understandable. If the reader can find a trace of innocence by delving beneath Humberts sinister surface, an examination of Lolita exposes a surprising lack of virtue lying underneath her childlike mask. Nabokov establishes the inconsistency of her character within the very first paragraph: She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita (9). The girls constantly shifting name mirrors the metamorphic quality her character; in one moment she is an injured child, and in the next she reads as a calculating seductress. In many ways she seems to be an average American child, and yet she has none of the innocence that childhood implies. The truth is that she is aware of Humberts infatuation with her and torments him with lines such as [w]ell, you havent kissed me yet, have you? (Nabokov 112). Humbert may never have gone so far as to actually have intercourse w ith a nymphet were it not for his interactions with Lolita. In fact, it is Lolita who actually seduces Humbert, and then goes on to reveal a history of sexual deviancy. Suffice to say that not a trace of modesty did I perceive in this beautiful hardly formed young girl whom modern co-education, juvenile mores, the campfire racket and so forth had utterly and hopelessly depraved, Humbert comments, (Nabokov 133). Because of this previous corruption, Nabokov saves him from the act of actually deflowering precocious Dolores Haze and shifts moral responsibility away, (Fowler 149). This encounter occurs in an inn named The Enchanted Hunters, introducing the symbolism of the hunter, by which Humbert is a hunter whose plans are turned on their head by the youthful nymphet. This theme is echoed later by Lolitas involvement in a play titled The Enchanted Hunters, in which she portrays a perfect little nymph who places several lost hunters under hypnosis (Nabokov 196). Indeed, Humbert spends t he entirety of the story under Lolitas spell. Perhaps the most compelling argument in Humberts favor is that he truly loves Lolita. At first it seems that his love is based upon his view of her as the reincarnation of his lost Annabel, but while Lolitas resemblance to Annabel may have sparked Humberts attraction to her, the idea that this is the driving force behind his attraction soon loses its potency. As Humbert explains, A little later, of course, she à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ was to eclipse completely her prototype, (Nabokov 39-40). Thus, it becomes clear that Humberts love is for her, and not for a mere replacement of Annabel. The novel is filled with Humberts endearments for Lolita and his obsession with her is palpable. However, there is a difference between obsession and love, and throughout the novel the nature of his feelings for Lolita is ambiguous. It is at the end of the novel that the true extent of his love for Lolita is revealed. As Noni Tamir-Ghez writes, only at the end does he (and therefore the reader) understand that he actually loves Lolita, not the nymphet in her, (82). When Humbert finally locates Lolita after three years of searching, he discovers that his nubile nymphet has been replaced with a heavily pregnant and worn-out house-wife. Surprisingly, the man who has been disgusted by signs of aging throughout the entirety of the novel is not repulsed by this glaringly adult version of Lolita. Rather than dissipating, his love for her shows through with full force. He insists that I loved my Lolita, this Lolita, pale and polluted, and big with anothers child, (Nabokov 278). Humbert shows the most humanity when he not only discovers the true depth of his feelings for Lolita, but also takes responsibility for his part in the events in the story. He relates an incident during Lolitas absence when he listens to the voices of children and comes to realize that the hopelessly poignant thing was not Lolitas absence from my side, but the absence of her voice from that concord, (Nabokov 308). Only no w does Humberts love for Lolita overcome his need for her. This combined with his regret for his actions makes it easier for the reader to sympathize with him. Humbert attests to his own guilt and the entire novel is intended as a confession. However, if Lolita can be viewed as the victim of a child molester, then Humbert can also be seen as the victim of both his own warped mind and the manipulation of a deviant child. Without the context of the story it would be difficult to understand Humberts actions, let alone forgive him for them. However, Nabokov provides ample material to support the conclusion of Humberts vulnerability. Upon examining his character, Humbert is shown to not truly be a monster, but instead a deeply flawed individual: emotionally stunted, self-deluded, and irresistibly drawn to that which society has deemed is unattainable.

The Failure of Crace’s Quarantine :: Quarantine Essays

The Failure of Crace’s Quarantine Quarantine is the latest installment in a sub-genre of literature where the central conceit is to tell a story from the point of view of the minor characters in a famous tale, with the more renowned stars of the originals taking in subordinate roles. Quarantine he tells the story of Christ's forty days in the wilderness, but with Jesus shunted to the periphery, in favor of several other pilgrims. In particular, the novel focuses on a trader, Musa--dishonest, loutish, and brutal--whom Jesus almost incidentally brings back to life from an apparently fatal illness. In turn it is only Musa, despicable as he is, who realizes that there is something extraordinary about this young man from Galillee. The novel is only partially successful, in large measure because this structural technique falls flat. While Crace succeeds brilliantly in evoking the harsh atmosphere in which the quarantine takes place, the narrative comes to a screeching halt whenever Jesus is absent. Musa is simply too unpleasant a character for us to care what happens to him and none of the others really grab our attention. Nor can their stories hope to compete with the action we know to be taking place away from center stage. Crace's demystification of Jesus is not very effective either. On the one hand he portrays Jesus as merely an overly pious youth, estranged from his family because of his bizarre behavior, and says of those who undertake this desert ordeal : This was the season of the lunatics: the first new moon of spring was summoning those men--for lunatics are mostly men. They have the time and opportunity--to exorcize that part of them which sent them mad. Mad with grief, that is. Or shame. Or love. Or illness and visions. Mad enough to think that everything they did, no matter how vain or trivial, was of interest to their god. Mad enough to think that forty days of discomfort could put their world in order. The fact that Musa turns out to be such an unsuitable candidate for resurrection, defrauding his fellow travelers and finally even raping one young woman, is probably intended to be an ironic comment on the nature of "miracles." And the torments sent by Satan to test Jesus are revealed to be nothing but petty annoyances foisted upon him by Musa.

Report on Wind :: Wind Energy Weather Essays

Report on Wind I did my report on wind. As you may or may not know wind moves horizontally, and the wind that doesn’t move horizontally moves vertically. That kind of wind is called a current. Many things may cause these rushes of moving air, one thing would be atmospheric pressure differences. The differences in the distribution of pressure and temperature is caused by the unequal distribution of heat. There are also the differences in the thermal properties of land and the ocean surfaces. When the temperatures of different regions become unequal, the warmer air will normally rise and move over the cold air because the cold air is heavier. That will sometimes cause things like tornadoes. Another way that winds move are by the usually great rotation of the earth. Isn’t that enough as it is? Really though†¦..how fast are we rotating and flying through space? Winds are classified into four major types believe it or not. The four major groups are, the local winds, the seasonal winds , the cyclonic and anticyclonic winds, and the prevailing winds. That’s kind of impressive if you ask me! Most people think of wind as a slight breeze on a summer’s day when it could be so much more. There are actually many, many more kinds of wind. You must remember that those are just the four main kinds. Now back to our "summer’s breeze," the strongest wind ever reliably measured on the surface of the earth was 362 km per hour or 225 miles per hour, recorded on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, on April 12, 1934. Considerably stronger winds, however, occur near the centers of tornadoes. I also thought that that was pretty neat. I got that fact out the Encarta ’95 encyclopedia, a very reliable source. That’s where I got a lot of the information in this report. Now we get the chance to talk about the local winds. These winds are determined by the seasonal changes in temperature and pressure over the land as well as water. During the day changes occur, which will exercise a similar but more of a local effect on places. These changes that will only occur during the day are diurnal. These diurnal occurrences happen mostly in the summer, because the land is warmer than the surrounding water during the day and is colder than the water by night. Isn’t it strange? O’well. The variations of pressure therefore lead or move a called forth system of breezes directed toward the land during the daytime and back towards the sea at night.