Using the French Expression Ça Va in Conversation

The expression  Ãƒ §a  va  (pronounced sah vah)  is one of the most common phrases in French. Improve your skills by learning the correct way to use the phrase à §a  va  in a sentence or dialogue. Meaning of Ça Va Literally translated, à §a  va means it goes. Used in casual conversation,  it can be both a question and a reply, but its an informal expression. You probably wouldnt want to ask your boss or a stranger this question unless the setting was casual. But if youre speaking with people whom you know, such as family and friends,  Ãƒ §a  va is perfectly acceptable. Asking a Question One of the most common uses of à §a  va  is as a greeting or to ask how someone is doing. For example: Salut, Guy, à §a va? /  Hi, Guy, hows it going?Comment à §a va? /  Hows it going? The expression can also be used with a subject or object. Note that the phrase doesnt vary. No change is necessary for a plural subject: Ça va les filles? /  Hows it going, girls?Ça va le nouvel ordi? /  Hows the new computer working? You can also use the phrase to ask whether something just discussed is acceptable: On va partir vers midi, à §a va? / Well leave around noon, is that OK? Does that work for you? Using Ça Va in Conversation You can answer any of the previous examples as well as any similar questions with à §a va  in conversations. The dialogue below provides an example of how to use the phrase when talking informally with a friend or acquaintance. The sentences are listed in French on the left followed by the English translation. Ça va, Marc?  /  Hows it going, Marc?Oui, à §a  va. / Fine.Tu vas bien, Andrà ©? /  Are you OK, Andrà ©?Ça va. /  Yes, Im OK.Il faut à ªtre prà ªt dans une heure, à §a va  ? / You have to be ready in an hour, OK?Ça va. / OK. The expression à §a  va can also be an exclamation: Oh! Ça va! /  Hey, thats enough! Other Uses Ça va plus an infinitive can mean simply it will. This construction can be useful when youre speaking about something that will occur, but you dont know precisely when. For instance: Ça va venir / Itll happen, it will come. Ça va plus an indirect object pronoun means, That looks good on ___, or It suits ___. For instance, a pair of friends shopping for clothes might have this exchange: Ça te va (bien)  / That suits you.Ça lui va bien / That looks good on him/her. Variations of Ça Va The table below provides a few other ways to use  Ãƒ §a  va.  The first column gives the sentence with  Ãƒ §a  va  in French, while the second column provides the English translation. French English Translation Ça va aller? Will it be OK? Will that work? Ça va aller It will be OK. Ça va bien? Is it going well? Are you doing well? Ça va bien It's going well. I'm doing well. Ça va mal It's going badly. I'm not doing so well. Ça (ne) va pas It's not going well. It's not OK. Practice using  Ãƒ §a  va  with another student working to learn the language and youll soon be using this important French phrase like a native speaker.

Theodore Roosevelt And The Progressive Era - 1392 Words

Before 1967, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment was not enacted, so when the Vice President of William McKinley died in November 1899 Theodore Roosevelt won the nomination unanimously. Little did Theodore know that this was the beginning of his rise to the presidency. He campaigned vigorously for McKinley which eventually lead to their landslide victory in 1900. Roosevelt spent six uneventful months as Vice President, as his most notable action was thrilling his supporters with words â€Å"Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far.† On September 6th, President McKinley was shot, and died eight days later on September 14th. Roosevelt was sworn in, and the rest was history. Theodore Roosevelt served as the 26th President of the United†¦show more content†¦McKinley was a good president and lead the United States to great prosperity during his time, however his legacy was cut short with his assassination. Roosevelt came into power of a happy, prosperous United Stat es, and it was an easy transition due to how well McKinley had done as president. Before Theodore Roosevelt became President, he had accumulated quite the political experience. Early on, after graduating from Harvard College, he entered public service and was elected to the New York State Assembly at the age of 23, and served two terms as the leader of a reform faction of Republicans. He then took a break to have a family and raise his children,he returned to New York and unsuccessfully ran for Mayor in 1886. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under William McKinley, resigning after one year to serve with the Rough Riders, where he gained national fame for courage during the Spanish–American War. Returning a war hero, he was elected governor of New York in 1898. This was didn t last long, as Roosevelt was put up to the role of Vice President and McKinley’s running mate in the election of 1900. He campaigned earnestly which lead to the landslide victory. His t ime as Vice President was quiet, and eventually lead to him being sworn in as the President of the United States when President McKinley was assassinated in September of 1901. Only 42 years old when he took office, he was the youngestShow MoreRelatedTheodore Roosevelt And The Progressive Era2039 Words   |  9 PagesUpon the arrival of the Progressive Era, America shared several common characteristics of the industrialized countries: drastically increased population, overcrowded cities, poor working conditions, and significant economic disparity. 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Roosevelt s President Of The United States1546 Words   |  7 PagesChapter 31-33 Test: Individual Question When Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to his first term as president of the United States in 1932, America was in a severe depression. When Franklin Roosevelt took office in March of 1933, President Hoover handed the problems of the Great Depression over to Roosevelt. Upon taking office, Franklin Roosevelt issued a bank holiday which forced all banks to close from March 6 to March 10 while he met with Congress to pass the Emergency Banking Act to allow banksRead MoreA Fair Wage System Did Not Exist Even Before The Industrial Revolution1688 Words   |  7 Pagesnone other than Theodore Roosevelt. All of America was in shock with the news of McKinley’s assassinations and many were weary of how Theodore Roosevelt would do in office. Despite the outcries, the progressives were filled with joy because they finally got a progressive in the White House. 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The previous age of â€Å"gilded† politics had left the American political system fraught with corruption and inefficiency, and the rise of industrialization made clear the socioeconomic divide between the lower and upper classes. Progressivism became a loosely connected movement of legislation, ideas, and people striving to improve the

Business And Professional Ethics Analysis - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Business And Professional Ethics Analysis. Answer: In the contemporary era, corporations have ceased to be only a legal device that is used merely to carry out private business transactions. There has been a growing controversy with respect to the purpose of a corporation in the modern era. On one hand, several scholars have undertaken extensive research to assert that the sole objective of business corporations is to maximize the wealth of the shareholders of the corporations. On the other hand, there is a growing need expressed by the broad business community, which includes social and environmental activists, customers, institutional shareholders, government regulators and businesses themselves for the corporations to be accountable for the environment and the community that is affected by the corporations. This gives rise to two corporate theories that are contradictory to each other, namely, the shareholder value theory and the stakeholder value theory. This essay entails critically analyzes the corporate theories that states th e purpose of the corporations in light of the arguments and views of Evan and Freeman, Kenneth Goodpaster and Milton Friedman. The essay shall further discuss about the probable strength and weakness of their respective views and arguments with respect to the moral obligations and social responsibilities of business corporations. As per the shareholder value theory, the business corporations purport to optimize the financial returns for the shareholders of the corporations. This is a dominant economic theory used in business where optimization of shareholder wealth is established as purpose of the firm in the financial, economic and legal theories. According to Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman (1970) argues that a corporation purports to optimize financial return for shareholders. He sternly believes that a corporation is usually operated and owned solely for the advantages of the shareholders. Friedman believes that the sole responsibility of a business corporation is to use its resources and involve in activities that are designed to accelerate in profits provided the corporation is engaged in activities. Such activities amounts to free and open competition and is debarred of any fraud or deception. Three fundamental assumptions can be adduced in support of the shareholder view of the firm. Firstly, the environmental, social and human expenses that are incurred while carrying on the business operations internalized as per the requirements of law and all the other expenses should be externalized. This shareholder value theory states that the sole purpose for carrying out the business is to increase cash flow for the shareholders and the revenue along with reduction in risk and minimization of cost. He asserted that to enhance the revenue, it is important to sell products that are more expensive to the society than the expenses is incurred in the costs o the products like sport utility vehicles. Secondly, he believes that self-interests are a form of human motivator as it influences human significantly. It is a well-established fact that organizations and people shall act reasonably as per their own self-interest with the objective to optimize value and efficiency for the community altogether. According to Friedman, the modern economic theory is established on essential assumption that individuals act reasonably for their respective self-interests. According to Tricker and Tricker 2015, the arguments and viewpoints of Friedman is similar to that of Adam Smith. However, Carroll (2015) argues that this self-interest acts as human motivator may give rise to a conflict between the managers (agents) and the shareholders (principals) in a corporation owned by the public as managers would act as per their self-interest and not as per shareholders interest. Thirdly, Friedman argued that corporate firms are primarily nexus of contracts where priority is given to those contracts that tend to have the most significant impact on the profitability factor of the firm. This nexus of contracts theory states that shareholder has dominance over the stakeholders. According to stakeholder value theory, it provides an alternative purpose of the firm and is contradictory to the shareholder value theory as it emphasizes on the wider social interests that is beyond economic value creation for the shareholders of the corporations. R. Edward Freeman who believes that managers of an organization are obligated to strike a balance between the interests of all the stakeholders of a corporation has established this stakeholder value theory. According to Evan and Freeman (1933), the purpose of the firm should be refined to be serving as a means to coordinate the interests of all the stakeholders of the company. Weiss 2014 agrees with Freeman that this stakeholder theory depicts that the business corporations rely on the stakeholders for their success as they have a stake in the business organizations. The question who can be termed as a stakeholder is subjected to several controversies. Whether stakeholders include only those individuals that are affected by the corporations as per the broad definition of Freeman or whether they include the constituencies and individuals that contribute to the wealth-creating activities and capacity as per his narrow definition. Stakeholder refers to those individuals who affect the corporations and the profits earned by the same, the shareholder value theory shall supersede the stakeholder value theory and the stakeholder theory shall not be considered as an alternative to such shareholder theory. The stakeholders of a modern corporation depict the owners, employees, suppliers, customers and the community. Weiss 2014 states that owners have financial state in the corporation in the form of bonds, stocks and consequently, they expect some form of financial return. The firm affects the livelihood of the owners if a significant part of the retiremen t income is in bonds or stocks, it shall affect the ability of the owners to care for themselves when they would not be able to work for longer. The livelihood of the employees is at stake and they have their jobs, which might also get affected. Moreover, it often happens that the employees have specialized skills for which there are less appropriate elastic market. In return for their labor, the employees expect some benefits, wages and security and some kind of meaningful work. Since the employees are being used as means to realize the objective of the corporations, they expect participation in decision-making process that might affect their use. Moreover, in return for their loyalty, the corporation is expected to take care of their needs and stand by them during difficult times. The suppliers, as stakeholders of the company play a significant role in the success of the firm, as they supply raw materials that determine the final product and its quality and price. The firm becomes the customer of the supplier, which is essential for the suppliers to survive. Therefore, Freeman states that if the firm treats the suppliers as a valued and essential stakeholder member instead of considering it a mere source of materials, the supplier shall also respond the firm at the time of its need. The customers as a stakeholder exchange resources for the products of the firm and receive benefits of the products in return. Customers are the means of support of a corporation as they enable the firms to earn revenue. Tai, F.M. and Chuang (2014) agree with Freeman that as per the reinvestment of earnings in huge corporations, customers usually pay indirectly for the development of the new services and products. Short et al (2016) asserts that maintaining good relations with customers also leads to success with the other stakeholders. It is evident from the fact that companies that have performed well is usually found to have laid more emphasis on the customers. It is expected from the corporations that it caters to the needs of the customers, addresses the needs of the owners as well as that of the suppliers of the organizations. The community grants a right to the firm to build infrastructures and earn benefits from the tax base and from the social and economic contributions of t he corporations. In return, of such services, the firm is expected to be a good citizen as any person is it artificial and natural. The firm is expected not to expose the community to hazardous circumstances in the form of pollution, etc. Goodpaster designs his theory based on the theory established by Freeman (1984) and categorizes the stakeholder theory into three distinct approaches such as multi-fiduciary, strategic and a synthesis. As per the strategic approach, stakeholders are considered as a source to create profits for the shareholders. The multi-fiduciary approach considers the firm to have a fiduciary duty towards the stakeholders along with the shareholders. Instead of considering one stakeholder to have a dominant impact, the concerns of a wider stakeholder community are taken into consideration. According to the synthesis approach, it combines the two other approaches where the corporation has both an ethical as well as a moral duty towards the stakeholders; however, the shareholders are exclusively accountable to carry out fiduciary responsibilities. He states that normative stakeholder theory considers that the corporation strikes a balance with respect to the interests of the community for the welfare for all. He further believes that the instrumental stakeholder theory describes the managing stakeholders that are essential for the profits of the firm, which almost depicts the perspective of the shareholder value theory. According to the classical approach of Friedman towards corporation, the sole purpose of the corporation is to earn profits for the shareholders. Therefore, the only social responsibility of business is to use its resources and engage in activities that have been designed to enhance the profits of the company ensuring the activities are carried with fraud or deception. On the contrary, the stakeholder theory as advanced by Freeman is a significant alternative as the task of the manager is to safeguard the rights of the stakeholders. His approach depicts the social responsibility of business. He perceived organizations as social institutions whose responsibilities are beyond their fiduciary responsibilities to the shareholders, employees and directors. However, Mason and Simmons (2014) argues that despite this debate over the purpose of the corporations and its approach towards the stakeholders, both the stakeholder and the shareholder perspectives lack pragmatic assessment. It is imperative to understand whether the shareholders would be able to achieve their aims better under a Freeman regime or whether the Friedmans approach would enable the stakeholders to achieve their aims better. The directors are assumed to represent the interests of shareholders that appoint the directors. Consequently, the directors appoint the managers who are responsible for safeguarding the interests of the shareholders. This outlook implies that boards are not entitled to spend the funds of the company beyond the purpose of the company. The shareholder theory advanced by Friedman disregarded social responsibility of the corporations and emphasized on earning of profit as the sole objective of the company. However, Carroll (2015) argued that the neo-classicists accept that corporations do not possess the resources to resolve social issues neither the society should expect the corporation to do the same. On the contrary, the stakeholder theory, Weiss (2014) asserts that the organizations, which strive to be beneficial for the stakeholders, not only face huge competitive disadvantage but also are unmanageable. The stakeholders may not share common commercial purposes where some stakeholders may want the company to grow while some may want the company to maintain the current size of the company. Some stakeholders may want the company to fail or to take over ad merge with other companies. The multi-fiduciary policies adopted by the management frustrates the purpose of the company or at least leads the company to confusio n in terms of its purpose. The stakeholder theory also fails to indicate how stakeholders should be represented or how their interest is to be safeguarded. Nevertheless, the most appropriate approach seems to be that of Freemans, who perceived corporation as a network of relationships that would make it possible to create a social world in which care is given utmost significance. (Leipziger (2017) agreed with this view stating that corporations imply a nexus of contracts which is both implicit and real, in between the equals of the stakeholder groups. The corporate responsibilities of any corporation obligate it to resolve social issues while achieving profits. These responsibilities also include duty of the corporations to express gratitude for the communitys benefits, duty to exercise their power and duties as citizenship as compared to individual citizens. Reference List Blowfield, M. and Murray, A., 2014.Corporate responsibility. Oxford University Press. Carroll, A.B., 2015. Corporate social responsibility.Organizational dynamics,44(2), pp.87-96. Cooper, S., 2017.Corporate social performance: A stakeholder approach. Taylor Francis. Farooq, O., Rupp, D.E. and Farooq, M., 2017. The multiple pathways through which internal and external corporate social responsibility influence organizational identification and multifoci outcomes: The moderating role of cultural and social orientations.Academy of Management Journal,60(3), pp.954-985. Griffin, J.J. and Prakash, A., 2014. Corporate responsibility: Initiatives and mechanisms.Business Society,53(4), pp.465-482. Kenneth E. Goodpaster. (1991). Business Ethics and Stakeholder Analysis. Source: Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jan., 1991), pp. 53-73 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3857592 Accessed: 12-01-2018 13:59 UTC. Leipziger, D., 2017.The corporate responsibility code book. Routledge. Mason, C. and Simmons, J., 2014. Embedding corporate social responsibility in corporate governance: A stakeholder systems approach.Journal of Business Ethics,119(1), pp.77-86. Schrempf-Stirling, J., Palazzo, G. and Phillips, R.A., 2016. Historic corporate social responsibility.Academy of Management Review,41(4), pp.700-719. Short, J.C., McKenny, A.F., Ketchen, D.J., Snow, C.C. and Hult, G.T.M., 2016. An empirical examination of firm, industry, and temporal effects on corporate social performance.Business Society,55(8), pp.1122-1156. Suliman, A.M., Al-Khatib, H.T. and Thomas, S.E., 2016. Corporate Social Responsibility.Corporate Social Performance: Reflecting on the Past and Investing in the Future, p.15. Tai, F.M. and Chuang, S.H., 2014. Corporate social responsibility.Ibusiness,6(03), p.117. Tricker, R.B. and Tricker, R.I., 2015.Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices. Oxford University Press, USA. Weiss, J.W., 2014.Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Tropical Africa Food Production And The Essays (430 words)

Tropical Africa: Food Production and the Inquiry Model Hunger is the result of disasters such as drought, floods, the .changing of the jet stream patterns and other natural disasters .They are beyond our control It has been estimated that one third of the land in Tropical Africa is potentially cultivable, though only about 6% of it is ,currently cultivated. However, to change farming from a low-input low-yield pattern to a high-input, high-yield pattern necessitates the use of more fertilizer and the planting of high-yielding .varieties of crops There are a number of environmental factors, related mostly to .climate, soils and health, resisting easy developmental solutions .Rainfall reliability is closely connected to rainfall quantity The rainfall in the equatorial heart is very plentiful and reliable. However, there is much less rainfall towards the outer edges of the rain belt. Periodic and unpredictable droughts are a .characteristic feature of these border zones :There are three climatic zones in Tropical Africa ,1.a region of persistent rain at and near the Equator 2.a region on each side of this of summer rain and winter drought, and 3.a region at the northern and southern edges afflicted by .drought All the climates listed in the previous paragraph are modified in the eastern parts of Tropical Africa by the mountains and .monsoons The soils of Tropical Africa pose another problem. They are unlike the soils of temperate areas. Soils are largely products of their climates, and tropical soils are different from temperate soils because the climate is different. Because of the great heat ,of the tropics tends to bake the soils, while on the other hand the rainfall leaches them. The combined heat and moisture tend to produce very deep soils because the surface rock is rapidly broken down by chemical weathering. All this causes the food's rate of growth to slow down or maybe even stop and as a result food production won't even come close in catching up to the rate of .population increase; therefore starvation and hunger is present In the process of a flood and drought, the roots of trees are shallow and virtually no nutrients are obtained from the soil. The vegetation survives on its own humus waste, which is plentiful. If the vegetation is cleared, then the source of humus is removed and the natural infertility of the soils becomes obvious. As being another factor, this will cause the soil to produce wasteful and .useless products which in turn will decrease the production To conclude this essay, the climates in Tropical Africa take a big role as being factors that could endanger or destroy the process of plantation. On the other hand, it could also bring good .fortune if climatic regions are fairly good --------------------------------------------------------------

The Mouse Party Example

The Mouse Party Example The Mouse Party – Coursework Example The Mouse Party The Mouse Party Introduction The apparent of tiredness depicted by the mouse sitting on a couch in the interactive module made me select heroin. Statistics show that the total number of people using heroin worldwide is about 9.2 million (Heroin Statistics - Facts About Heroin Addiction, Use & Death - Drug-Free World, n.d.)DiscussionMorphine, which is a natural extract of the poppy plant, is used to prepare heroin. After synthesization, the heroin drug appears as a brown or a white powdered substance (DrugFacts: Heroin, 2014). Upon entry into the brain, the heroin is reconverted back to morphine that binds itself to opioid receptors. The opioid receptors for pain and reward are the ones affected. The receptors control automatic life processes such as arousal and respiration. The overdose caused by heroin intake suppresses breathing. The result is a decrease in the supply of oxygen to the brain. The user then develops a condition known as hypoxia. Hypoxia causes neurolo gical and psychological effects and eventual brain damage. The behavioral changes observed include skin flushing, clouded mental functioning and euphoria. There are various ways of combating heroin addiction, which include self-help groups, preventive measures, medication and behavioral therapies (DrugFacts: Heroin, 2014). Vicodin, Methadone, Buprenorphine and OxyContin are some of the drugs which are medicated for heroin treatment. Some of the most effective behavioral therapy approaches include cognitive-behavioral therapy and contingency management. In the event, that both behavioral and medication methods have failed in helping a heroin addict, then rehabilitation becomes the next option.Conclusion Heroin is a very addictive substance to the user and as such, can be very costly. Since the purchase of heroin is very expensive, I prefer the preventive methods of combating cocaine addiction rather than the medication and behavioral therapies.Reference ListDrugFacts: Heroin. (2014, October 1). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/heroinHeroin Statistics - Facts About Heroin Addiction, Use & Death - Drug-Free World. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/heroin/international-statistics.htmlMouse Party. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/mouse/

Example Sentences of the Verb Drink for ESL

Example Sentences of the Verb Drink for ESL This page provides example sentences of the verb Drink in all tenses including active and passive forms, as well as conditional and modal forms. Base Form drink / Past Simple drank / Past Participle drunk / Gerund drinking Present Simple He usually drinks four glasses of water a day. Present Simple Passive Water is drunk at meals. Present Continuous She is drinking a gin and tonic. Present Continuous Passive The new wine is being drunk by customers. Present Perfect Peter has drunk three glasses of water this afternoon. Present Perfect Passive All the juice has been drunk. Present Perfect Continuous I have been drinking juice all morning. Past Simple Jack drank a glass of apple juice. Past Simple Passive A glass of apple juice was drunk by that customer. Past Continuous She was drinking some water when the man bumped into her. Past Continuous Passive Water was being drunk when they opened the wine. Past Perfect We had drunk all the water before the order arrived. Past Perfect Passive All the water had been drunk before the order arrived. Past Perfect Continuous We had been drinking our beverages for ten minutes when he finally arrived. Future (will) She will drink orange juice. Future (will) Passive Wine will be drunk by the customers at table six. Future (going to) We are going to drink French wine with our meal. Future (going to) Passive French wine is going to be drunk by the customers at table six. Future Continuous This time tomorrow we will be drinking a nice cold cocktail. Future Perfect He will have drunk three bottles by the end of the evening. Future Possibility He might drink juice. Real Conditional If he drinks wine, I will drive home. Unreal Conditional If he drank wine, I would drive home. Past Unreal Conditional If he had drunk wine, I would have driven home. Present Modal I should drink some tea. Past Modal You should have drunk some milk to calm your stomach. Quiz: Conjugate With Drink Use the verb to drink to conjugate the following sentences. Quiz answers are below. In some cases, more than one answer may be correct. He usually _____ four glasses of water a day.She _____ a gin and tonic at the moment.Peter _____ three glasses of water this afternoon.I _____ juice all morning.A glass of apple juice _____ by that customer.We _____ all the water before the order arrived.She _____ orange juice.We _____ French wine with our meal.If he _____ wine, I would drive home.She _____ some water when the man bumped into her. Quiz Answers drinksis drinkinghas drunkhave been drinkingwas drunkhad drunkwill drinkare going to drinkdrankwas drinking

Software Development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Software Development - Research Paper Example There have been heated debates on the best strategy of developing software. Take a strategic position on this debate. Create an argument for which method (in-house, onshore, or offshore software development) is the best in terms of cost, security, reliability, and intellectual property protection. Support your response. In-house software development is the best choice in terms of cost, security, reliability and intellectual property protection for a company. By developing the software in-house, you are ensuring that you are using your own people, people who are already familiar with the company, how it works, what needs changing, and more importantly, how the software needs to work in order for the employees to do their job. This also ensures that there are no security leaks, that the company itself is able to see every step of the way what is being done, which allows for directional changes to be made quicker than if another company has to create something and then submit it for review, and it ensures that no other companies are able to take your ideas and use them as their own, ensuring the intellectual property rights of the company itself. Studies have shown that outsourcing brings with it â€Å"cultural barriers, expertise transfer difficulties and communication and coordination overhead. â⠂¬ ¦ (It) is riskier and more challenging that collocated development† (Bird, Devanbu, Gall & Murphy, 2009). Question 2: IT governance is concerned with organizational investments in IT and to ensure that the IT strategy delivers full value. The avoidance or prevention of IT strategic failures is the biggest part of IT governance. Describe two issues that drive IT governance. IT governance is driven by the quality of the internal structure of the system, and the cost of the system itself. â€Å"The malfunction of a key IT system sometimes leads to heavy financial losses,† (Bart & Turel, 2010), and as such, IT governance must strive to ensure that those key

Critically evaluate the global enviromental governance of climate Essay

Critically evaluate the global enviromental governance of climate change - Essay Example With all these aspects evident in modern society, various stakeholders in the society have become increasingly involved in looking for the best ways to address global environmental threats. The global strategies that have been identified and used in addressing environmental threats constitute various approaches adopted and facilitated by communities, environmental groups, international businesses, and organizations (Speth and Haas, 2007). These global strategies constitute global environmental governance, which constitutes diverse efforts and strategies aimed at policy-making and government initiatives. The primary objective of such initiatives is to look and suggest for ways of preserving global environment while ensuring environmental sustainability (Speth and Haas, 2007). The performance of global environmental governance across the world varies, and the process has been characterised by numerous challenges, instances of success, and moments of failures. Therefore, it becomes impo rtant to evaluate the global environmental governance with the aim of identifying and suggesting strategies that can be used to improve the process. Global Environmental Governance Evidence is profound concerning the geometric increase in human population, while resources available remain constant or increase arithmetically. The net effect of this increasing imbalance in the world is the pressure exerted on the available resources and constant degradation of the environment. Human activities in modern world are characterised by increased degradation of the environment, including deforestation and reduction in vegetation to give way for infrastructural development, pollution of air and water resources, and destruction of natural fauna and flora habitats and water catchment sources. Increase in these problems has forced different stakeholders at the global level to come out and strongly advocate for proper resource management and adequate preservation of the environment through adopti on of diverse strategies at the global level (Harris, 2012). Global environmental governance has numerous definitions. For example, Speth and Haas (2007) regard global environmental governance to be the total sum of all different strategies that individuals, institutions, and other stakeholders initiate in order to manage the common affairs of environmental matters. In most cases, global environmental governance involves a collaborative cooperation between governments, NGOs, citizens’ movements, multinational corporations, global mass media, and global capital markets in undertaking management, preservation, and sustainability of the environment through rule and regulation enforcement and compliance (Winter, 2006). Similarly, Levy and Newell (2005) perceive global environmental governance to constitute a broad range of political, economic, and social structures and processes that largely shape and limit actors’ behavior towards the environment. In this manner, environm ental governance at global level can be seen to include different strateg

Bible as Literature Essay Example for Free

Bible as Literature Essay One of the central arguments of the Old Testament book Genesis is its credibility as a historical account. Nobody may never really know if the events written in this book actually happened or not, especially parts (or chapters) where hints of culture and detailed places can be read. Except maybe chapters 1 and 2 which is the beginning of existence itself. Then again, details may have been passed through oral tradition, but considering the eternity of years between the time of creation and the time words were even put on to the most primitive of ways, details may be greatly distorted. After the creation story (Chapters 1 and 2) virtually all introductions of all chapters start out with the father siring a son, and that’s son’s son. A family tree in other words. An elaborate one at that, because the writer can trace back up to Adam. The Chapter starts out as, again, that familiar family tree starting from the children of Abraham and Keturah, Abraham’s other wife, up to the twins Esau and Jacob. By this, Genesis chapter 25 provides evidence that it should be taken as part of history and not as fiction. Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshirim, and Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epherm and Hanochm and Abidahm and Eldaah . All of these were the children of Keturah. (Genesis 25: 1- 4) It is not clear whether Abraham married Keturah when he was still with Sarah or after her death. At any rate, Keturah seemed to be more fruitful, which just helped Abraham seal his place as the Father of All Nations. Patriarchal Theme Indeed Abraham is the father of all nations, heck, we even have a nursery rhyme to prove it, but what about the mother of all nations? Or in this case the mothers of all nations? The patriarchs are always one of the great figures in history and literature, which what the Bible actually is, a piece of (very old) history and literature. Patriarchy is the accepted system in most societies since people evolved into social creatures. Social groups are based in this system, governments, religion, and the family alike. Perhaps the most controversial of all, would be in religion, God is branded as â€Å"He† even though no one can ever really tell. But if Jesus and God are one in the same, logic tells us that the Supreme Being is also male. There’s a popular saying that in order to be of worth in this world; one must either write a book, plant a tree, or sire a son. Sons were always cherished by families, especially fathers since they would be able to inherit the family’s wealth and continue the blood line. In fact, during biblical times, and in some countries, even today, people are addressed by their names following who their father is: I am (name) son of (name of father), or I am from the house of (name of father) They only recognize who the father is. The theme of Patriarchy is a sensitive topic today, especially when women now are becoming more and more involved in the society, and sometimes more successful than most men. It has long been argued what the role of women are in the world. If they are fit in every position the world has to offer. Tradition (and our patriarchal society) tells us that men are supposed to be the leaders, but things has changed since Abraham’s time. There’s no doubt that men should hold high positions in the church, that’s just the way it is. Feminists can’t argue with that, but with everything else, men and women should have fair chances in finding their place in society. Covenant Theme Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so, you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. (Genesis 12:1-3) This is the covenant that God made with Abraham, it’s more like a promise of God to Abraham than a mutual agreement since Abraham benefited a lot from this covenant regardless of his future actions. As long as he leaves his country, his relatives, and his father’s house, all of God’s promises to him would be fulfilled This covenant making business isn’t new to God, e has done this in a couple of occasions. First was his covenant with Adam and Eve after they ate the forbidden fruit and was expelled from Paradise, God cut them some slack so they could still live and procreate. Another was during Noah’s time after God destroyed the rest of Mankind, except Noah’s family, He promised Noah that he would no longer destroy man by the use of flood. Then came Abraham. (Genesis 6-9) Abraham lived a comfortable life before God called upon him. What God was asking Abraham wasn’t easy. Nomads were considered inferior during that time plus the fact that God didn’t specify where exactly He wanted Abraham to be. Regardless of this uncertainty, he followed God’s will, and left the city, with all its comforts, to live the life of a nomad in the desert plains. (Genesis 12:1-3,7; 13: 14-18; 15: 4, 5, 13-18; 17-19; 22: 15-18) The covenant that God made Abraham is known as an Unconditional Covenant, for the promises that God made to Abraham would not be revoked even if he does not continue to comply on his side of the bargain. As long as Abraham leaves the city, all the conditions would be fulfilled by God. There’s more to it than God blessing Abraham’s descendants and making them more numerous than the stars. Let’s see what are some of the things that Abraham got from this deal: 1. Abraham will become the father of all nations (technically just Israel) 2. Abraham would inherit Canaan 3. He would be blessed 4. His name would be great 5. He would be a blessing to others 6. He and Sarah would have a son despite their old age Brewer, David, God’s Covenant with Abraham These promises however aren’t instantaneous, some are in the distant future ranging from Isaac’s birth, about 20 years later, and the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, which is a good 400 years later after the covenant. Critical Analysis of the literary, cultural, and religious issues The first issue that may be noticed in this chapter is from the first verse. Abraham taking a new wife, Keturah. The author does not say if Keturah was concubine of Abraham or if she was â€Å"taken† by Abraham after his wife’s death. One thing’s for sure, God is fulfilling His promise that Abraham would have descendants more numerous than the stars. It might sound a bit odd for a Christian to read about a Christian figure having concubines, but apparently, Abraham have had lots of concubines, and have had many sons with them. Another issue is Abraham’s death. Genesis tells us that he died one hundred and seventy five years old probably three times, on average, of today’s life expectancy. Sure, people back then lived a lot longer than today, but 175 is way too old. The calendar year then may have been different from today. Abraham gave gifts to his sons and sent them away towards the country to the east, while everything else he gave to Isaac. There’s Hebrew story that Abraham sent the other sons away fearing that they might begin conflicts. He might be right, because Islam can be traced back from the other sons of Abraham. On the family level, favouritisms were already a part of the family during that time. Isaac preferred Esau while Rebecca likes Jacob. Isaac probably liked Esau more, because he was a hunter, he provided the family with his game. Esau would make any typical dad proud. Esau liked the outdoors and was very masculine . Jacob on the other hand stayed at home, tending to the tents or in modern day terms, doing household chores. Of course mothers would have loved this. (Genesis 25: 27-28) Divine election is the power of God to choose whoever He desires, to do something or receive his blessing. God had already chosen Isaac and Jacob to be the recipients of Abraham’s blessings way before they were born. However this doesn’t mean that God chose them because he already knew that they would be more pious than the others. In Jacob’s case, Esau might have been more worthy of God’s blessing since Jacob took advantage of his brother’s weakness. Esau sold his birth right to Jacob for food, saying that he doesn’t need it since he is dying. God had chosen them simply because it is his will. He is God after all. (Deffinbaugh, Th. M, Divine Election) Arguably the most controversial issue is Jacob, as mentioned, Jacob schemed to buy his brother’s birth right so he can have most out of the inheritance he would get from his father. He need not do this because he was already chosen by God. Which Rebecca probably revealed to him already since he is her favorite. (Genesis 25: 31-33) Genesis’ Author The author of Genesis was probably a nomad just like Abraham, who raised livestock like cattle, and sheep on the plains of their land. The author may have written the book out of the urge to tell a story to trace their roots, or if it’s true, really trace his family tree up to Abraham. The author must have felt that he had to write into account his family’s heritage. What Genesis is, is really just an extensive family tree from Adam, to his last descendant in the book. The author might have written the chapters of the book, sitting under a shade of tree after tending to his flock. To pass time, he might have decided that he might as well do something productive during his break. It’s possible that these stories were later told at his household and soon became popular that it was told to every tent in the community. There’s also a chance that the author was a scholar, born several hundreds of maybe a thousand years after the estimated date of its last chapter. He (assuming he was a man) maybe the very first ethnographer of the world. If in deed, he was, he was very successful. He gathered a large number of information; from traditions/cultures: what the ancient people actually do during those times and how they lived, what they wore†¦etc. , history; detailed accounts of what happened, including probable conversations that might have happened between the people and God, and among themselves. What the author has done is simply astonishing, generations upon generations of ancient history, written in just one book, and its not even as thick as today’s novels. which may hypothesize that the book wasn’t just made by a single author but by the family historian in each generation. Works Cited Deffinbaugh, Th. M. â€Å"The Principle of Divine Election† bible. org. September 1, 2008 http://www. bible. org/page. php? page_id=104 New American Bible. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 4th Street, N. E. , Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000

Birth of a Nation Essay -- essays research papers

On March 3, 1915 the movie The Birth of a Nation was released at the Liberty Theatre in New York City. This film was financed, filmed, and released by the Epoch Producing Corporation of D.W. Griffith and Harry T. Aitken. It was one of the first films to ever use deep-focus shots, night photography, and to be explicitly controversial with the derogatory view of blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the movie, the film justified the need of the KKK in order to keep social harmony among society after the Civil War. In the beginning, the Cameron family was depicted as loving family and the slaves were depicted as sensible and content beings during the slave period. The chaos and madness started after the civil war during the Reconstruction period. Blacks were then portrayed as animalistic savages that were oppressing the rights of the white people in the community and threatened their livelihood. So, African Americans could only be placed into two categories in this movie. They were either the faithful servant or the renegade whose objective was to intimidate and terrorize white people. The black slaves are shown as noble beings that defended their masters against other black people. However, the black people in congress are shown as arrogant and ignorant with no manners. This sort of subtly suggest that blacks proper role is to tend to the land and that they lack the sense and morals to be given them the same equality as a white person. If blacks were on the same le...

What Is Your Definition of Leadership?

In my opinion, leadership is the ability to inspire and motivate people enough for them to be willing to participate and get involved towards the achievement of a common goal. I see leadership as a process which can be improved over time and experience, but only by someone who has some innate leadership competences. In determining what leadership means to me, I decided to analyse two different leadership cases. I will firstly discuss and analyse Nelson Mandela’s leadership style, which appeared to be mainly transformational.I will try to demonstrate how Nelson Mandela proved that leadership was a two-way process between the leader and his followers, and how crucial it is for a leader to be respected and admired by his followers in order for him to be effective. In addition, a leader needs to be trustworthy, passionate and devoted to achieving a shared objective. More importantly, a good leader will abandon his subordinates once he achieved a personal goal. Throughout this essa y, I will try to support my opinion being that, efficient leadership lies somewhere in between the trait and the style approaches whilst taking into account the situational approach.In my opinion, not everyone can be a leader, but if someone is meant to be one, leadership skills need to be learned and improved over time and adapted according to different situations. If not born a leader, one can only become one to a certain and limited extent, as we will see in Barack Obama’s case. President Obama first started as an acknowledged inspirational and passionate leader, who people admired, respected and wanted to join. However, a few years after his election, it seems like his glory days are behind him, and that he isn’t the leader he used to be anymore.It might appear that once he was elected president, and his personal goal has been achieved, Obama didn’t fight as hard for his subordinates as he did for his personal satisfaction. His lack of communication and insp irational speeches seem to have considerably damaged his reputation as a leader. It appears that Obama gave Americans too high hopes that he wasn’t able to keep up with and fulfil, creating a wave of disappointment among his supporters. It seems to me that Barack Obama was a great leader throughout his campaign, but that once elected, he was lacking some crucial leadership skills required as a President.In fact, one could argue that he wasn’t born a leader. In contrast to Nelson Mandela, he was only able to be a leader to a certain extent, his apogee being during his presidential campaign. By fighting vigorously against apartheid, Nelson Mandela rapidly became an iconic figure of resistance in South Africa, and was thereafter acknowledged as the most significant black leader South Africa had ever known. He devoted his life to fighting against racism and apartheid in South Africa and for peace.However his life objectives were not personal satisfactions, but satisfaction s of his supporters. He fought for their freedom and well-being before fighting for his own. In fact, he never compromised his political position even to regain his freedom. He could have backed down after being released from the Robben Island prison in 1990 (after 27 years of cruel imprisonment), after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 or even after becoming president in 1994. Yet he didn’t, and continued to fight for his people’s freedom and rights.Nelson Mandela has always demonstrated some legendary listening skills which are essential to being an efficient democratic leader. Indeed, he learned at a very young age from his guardian how listening to others was a vital skill in effective leadership. In fact, his guardian used to listen to everyone’s opinions first while remaining silent, before guiding the group to reach a consensus (Stengel, 1994). Therefore, one could argue that Mandela’s effective democratic or participative leadership styl e was greatly inspired by his childhood experience.Throughout his life as a leader, Nelson Mandela always encouraged people to share their ideas and opinions, to which he carefully listened before making the final decision. This way, he managed to get people to be more engaged and devoted to a particular cause, leading to higher productivity towards their goals’ achievement (Lewin, K. , Liippit, R. and White, R. K. 1939). Moreover, by entering the debate and being the last one to speak, he also gains a considerable advantage, as he is the one to close the argument.He also cultivated other leadership skills through his personal experience of being a cattle herder: â€Å"When you want to get a herd to move in a certain direction, you stand at the back with a stick. Then a few of the more energetic cattle move to the front and the rest of the cattle follow. You are really guiding them from behind. That is how a leader should do his work† (Stengel, 1994, Nelson Mandela: Th e making of a leader, Time Magazine, May 9th 1994). Thus, even before being in any position of leadership, Nelson Mandela revealed himself as a born leader.We can consequently assume that the Traits approach is relevant to efficient leadership. Indeed, Mandela seems to have been â€Å"born† with some essential traits that characterize a leader. Known as the â€Å"main-man† in South Africa, he was charismatic, influential, sociable, intelligent, alert, persistent, responsible, self-confident, and ready to assume the consequences of his decisions, as he did by going to jail. Thus Mandela innate leadership style clearly corresponds to Stogdill’s characteristics of the Traits approach (Stogdill, 1948).Moreover, Nelson Mandela was also widely accepted as a transformational leader, as he was able to inspire and motivate his supporters to work towards a common goal through the power and persuasiveness of his vision and personality. He strongly engaged with his follower s, and made them aware of what achieving a particular goal meant (Barbuto, 2005; Barnett, McCormick & Conners, 2001; Gellis, 2001). As James MacGregor Burns (1978) firstly introduced it, transformational leadership is when â€Å"leaders and followers maker each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation. † In addition, according to Bernard M.Bass’s Transformational Leadership Theory (1985), transformational leaders are trusted, respected and admired by their followers. Thus, as Nelson Mandela clearly gathered trust, respect and admiration among his supporters, we can say that his leadership style also corresponded to the transformational one. In fact, Nelson Mandela didn’t sharpen his leadership skills from anywhere, he was a natural leader and his skills came intuitively. He was born a leader and refined his skills with the personal experiences he gained over the years, which enabled him to effectively adapt to various situations.He strongly bel ieved in consensus and knew how to empower his subordinates and motivate them to achieving a common objective. His legendary success as a leader was also mainly due to the fact that he was seen as approachable compassionate and honest. Yet, he was undeniably respected and admired for his courage, his wisdom and his determination. On the other hand, Barack Obama, whose presidential campaign aroused unrecorded enthusiasm, hope and inspiration, seems to have unexpectedly disappointed his followers once elected President of the United States of America.Indeed, during his campaign, Barack Obama astonished everyone with his unpredicted inspirational, passionate and enthusiastic speeches. Who doesn’t remember his â€Å"Yes we can† speech given in New Hampshire in 2008? At the time, it seemed like Obama had all it took to be a great leader, he had a strong charisma, was motivated, inspired and seeking to achieve a common goal, thus showing many aspects of a Transformational as well as Charismatic leader. However, soon after his election, his supporters found themselves disillusioned by their President’s leadership skills.They felt like his motivation and enthusiasm had faded away, and that he wasn’t the inspirational leader he used to be. Obama was effective as a leader during his campaign, at one place and time, but became unsuccessful as soon as the situation and the factors around him changed, due to his rigidity and inability to adapt to contextual changes. Thus, Obama can clearly be related to Fiedler’s Contingency theory, as he became ineffective as soon as the factors around him changed.Unlike Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama seems to be more of an educated leader, who cultivated most of his leadership skills from Columbia and Harvard universities, therefore embracing the style approach which suggests that his behaviour of leader is distinct from his personality. In fact, Obama never appeared as a â€Å"born† leader, with i nnate leadership skills, and had no particular leadership experience, when he became President. Critics of Barack Obama emphasize the fact that his lack of leadership has already been demonstrated in various scenarios.Most of his supporters criticize his lack of communication and his â€Å"invisibility†. They feel somehow deserted and let down by the man who not long ago, aroused their highest hopes. Even the Democrats now acknowledge his lack of presence â€Å"Dems say privately Obama is invisible, not a leader. † (Joe Scarborough, 2011). One would have thought that Barack Obama’s leadership skills would have had improved as he gained in experience as a President, yet it looks like his apogee as a leader what during his campaign and that since then the leadership part of him is disappearing.In fact, Barack Obama brought only a few, if any, leadership skills into his presidency, and has deceivingly developed none after almost 3 years of experience (Kelly OConnel l, 2011). As a President, Obama has espoused a delegating and passive leadership style, which wasn’t the best style to adopt in a period of deep crisis, when perseverance and prompt decision-making skills were required, thus clearly lacking some situational leadership skills (David Brooks, 2011). Barack Obama consequently appeared as the wrong man for the situation, and not the erson America needed, due to his lack of toughness, imagination and determination. The Presidential candidate who was known for his grand enthusiasm and his passion seems to have vanished to make room to a President who got overwhelmed by his job and ran out of ideas shortly after taking office (David Frum, 2011; David Brooks, 2011). It became vague in Obama’s supporters’ minds whether he was the â€Å"turnaround leader† America needed or not (Michael Watkins, Thursday January 22, 2009, â€Å"Can Obama lead the Great American Turnaround? Harvard business review). According to Mich ael Watkins, Obama demonstrated more Steward Attributes than Hero Attributes, which were vital considering the depth of the crisis. Undoubtedly, President Obama was more conservative, diplomatic and supportive than visionary, directive and charismatic. To conclude, we can say that the difference between Nelson Mandela’s and Barack Obama’s leadership style is striking.Nelson Mandela, can be acknowledged as a â€Å"born† leader who improved his leadership skills throughout his experience as a country’s leader, whereas Barack Obama tends to be more of an â€Å"educated† leader, who couldn’t keep up with his status’ expectations. One was able to adapt to situational changes and prove himself as a true leader fighting for his people when the other disappointed his followers by suddenly disappearing through a lack of communication and perseverance to achieve the set common goals, thus generating a common feeling of abandonment.In my opinion , these two cases reinforce my proposition of a leader’s definition, as we clearly saw that leadership skills should be innate and improved through time to make an effective leader. Moreover, by observing Mandela’s and Obama’s leadership cases, we saw how an efficient leader must constantly motivate and inspire his followers to achieving a common objective that should be kept in mind and should remain the main focus of the leader as well as the followers.Clearly, without the support of his followers, a leader cannot achieve anything. Thus, as I suggested it, leadership is a two-way process in which the nurture of relationships between the two parties is essential, as recognized by Peter Northouse (2010). References: Barbuto, 2005; Barnett, McCormick & Conners, 2001; Gellis, 2001 Bass,B. M,(1985). Leadership and Performance. N. Y,: Free Press Brooks, David (June 28, 2011), Convener in Chief, The New York Times, N. Y edition pA23. Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. N. Y: Harper and Raw.Fiedler, F. E. (1967) A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness, New York: McGraw-Hill Frum, David (June 28th 2011), Obama is his own worst Enemy, http://www. frumforum. com/obama-is-his-own-worst-enemy, accessed the 07/01/12 Lewin, K. , Liippit, R. and White, R. K. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271-301 Northouse, P. G. (2010), Leadership: theory and practice (5th edition) Thousand Oaks, Sage. OConnell, Kelly, Sunday, July 31, 2011 , www. canadafreepress. om â€Å"obama’s leadership style is classic liberalism: no vision+ utter incompetence = total failure† accessed the 05/01/12 Stengel, 1994, Nelson Mandela: The making of a leader, Time Magazine, May 9th 1994 Stogdill, R. M. , 1948. â€Å"Personal factors associated with leadership: A survey of the literature. † Journal of Psychology. 25: 35-71. Watkins, Michael (Thursday January 22nd, 2009), â€Å"Can Obama lead the Great American Turnaround? † Harvard business review, http://blogs. hbr. org/watkins/2009/01/the_great_american_turnaround. html, accessed the 07/02/12

Want and Marginal Places

The Value of Marginal Places In the essay â€Å"In Praise of Margins† by Ian Frazier, Frazier mentions that the world is a place where adults tend to get caught up in. They do not realize that what they need is that place to breath. He says that marginal places and activities, when he was a kid, were a waste of time, but once he was older and saw his child have their marginal â€Å"moment† playing, in the steam instead of fishing, he realizes the importance as an adult. He mentions that we all have a place as a child that we would like to go back and let go of all our responsibilities.Frazier uses the word margin, this word that Frazier uses, has a negative and positive tone and he explains the time spent in the woods. Frazier states that the definition of margin is a blank space around a body of type or border of a piece of ground. It’s adjective meaning has a negative tone to it; minimal for requirements, almost insufficient. As Frazier uses marginal to describ e what he did in the woods as a child, he grew up to realize how important these â€Å"marginal† places had so much value.As a young boy Frazier, mentions â€Å"the woods† as places where he and his friends would play at all day. Exploring and possibly be lost in the hours of fun they would have ad most importantly, no worries. Exploring things as they go playing along the trees, maybe even being some sort of character or action hero from his time. As Frazier got a little bit older he one day realized that his time spent in the woods was becoming childish and foolish. He eventually stopped going to this place, that as a child was almost like a sanctuary or a place of acceptance to be him-self freely.When Frazier was in the seventh grade he came to asked himself â€Å"What are you doing? † or maybe â€Å"why we are here? † He notices that some of his friends started to not dress appropriately to climb trees and play because of the penny loafers the wore. I am sure this was for the girls they were trying to impress as they get older. As they had other things happening in life that bounded them from going in to the woods, and somehow forgot about it they really never decided to go back and play.But from my understanding, in high school they went back to the woods one day, where they had this sense of ‘’there is nothing here for us anymore† or â€Å"why did we waste our time here as kids†. I am sure high school, girls and school dances had the memories of â€Å"the woods† faded deep in their memory. They realized that they are all grown up and have no need to be there. Frazier must have thought of all the childish senseless things they did being in the woods for hours, just wasting time that they did not know of or care for because they were children.I mean they didn’t have responsibilities as children they didn’t have to work and take of others. I guess that was the good thing about margin al places. For Frazier, when we took his children to go fishing, they sort of did not want to go fishing and instead played in a ditch. Frazier did not have a heart to tell them to stop; instead he realized that this was a marginal place his children will one day grow up turned this ditch in into a marginal place. Just like when Frazier was a child and did not know this was a marginal place he sees that with his kids, and realizes the value of having a marginal getaway.In my opinion, I agree with Frazier’s ideas that â€Å"marginal† activities and places are valuable. Marginal places are also a way of making oneself a better person. It’s a place to think and relax from the worlds’ needs and wants. Of all the places in the world everybody has their own marginal area. Mine so happens to be at Fontainebleau State Park in Mandeville, Louisiana. As a child my parents would pack up the car and head over across the lake every Saturday if the weather permitted.Th is place had a pool, walking trail, barbeque pits and most importantly a beach, not a five star beach but to a 6 year old it was. I would walk along the shore where the water would meet the trees and I would pretend it was undiscovered land. I still go back to this day, monthly and it’s still the same feeling I get, a breath of fresh air. This is what Frazier wants people to know about having marginal places and doing activities, they are not bad places, everyone needs a break from the a world that moves at fast pace.In Conclusion Frazier wants people to know that having a bit of time to youself is okay. Everyone has an escape, whether if it is an old place as a kid, a cartoon you use to watch or even the music you use to listen to. Marginal does not have to be in a negative use. In some cases like Frazier it was a good thing, sort of almost like a re-evaluation of life and I am sure he doesn’t regret playing in the woods as a child at all. Ian Frazier looks to the woo ds as a safe and happy place. I am sure he wants us to remember the marginal place we had as children also.

Cloning Debate essays

Cloning Debate essays A clone is a group of genetically identical cells or organisms . Cloning can occur naturally in nature. Single-celled organisms such as bacteria reproduce asexually, the process by which a new organism is produced from only a single parent. There are three main techniques in cloning. Each group of researchers has its own specific technique. The best known is the Roslin technique, and the most effective and most recently developed is the Honolulu technique. None of these techniques have been proven to have a high success rate. The most promising technique, Honolulu, only has a 3:100 success rate. Nuclear Transfer-All cloning experiments of adult mammals have used a variation of nuclear transfer. Nuclear transfer requires two cells, a donor cell , and an unfertilized egg cell. The donor cell is forced into a dormant stage and the nucleus is then transplanted into the egg cell. The egg cell is then stimulated to create an embryo and is then transplanted into a surrogate mother . Occasionally a clone of the donor will be born. Roslin Technique-The technique used to create Dolly is known as the Roslin technique. A donor cell is starved in a petri dish containing few nutrients. This causes the cell to begin shutting down. The egg cell and donor cell are placed next to each other and fused together by an electric pulse. The embryo is then placed in the uterus of a surrogate mother to produce a clone. Honolulu Technique-This technique was used in 1998 to produce cloned mice. So far it has proven to have the highest success rate, 3 clones out of every 100 attempts. An egg cell is injected with the donor cells nucleus and feed a chemical culture to jumpstart the cells growth. The cell then develops into an embryo and is transplanted into a surrogate mother. A Scottish embryologist named Ian Wilmut has been the pioneer of cloning. Wilmut attended the University of Nottingham for his graduate work a...

Writer

The Stay at Home Parent/Writer The Stay at Home Parent/Writer The Stay at Home Parent/Writer By Guest Author This is a guest post by Rhonda Franz. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. The great thing about being a writer with young children is the material. There’s emotion (good or bad) in everything from how their first word was â€Å"NO,† to the way they walk when they’ve put their pants on backwards. The difficult thing about writing with young kids at home is that they’re young, and, well, they’re at home. Children in the high-maintenance stages between birth and Kindergarten make for an extremely busy, sometimes overwhelming, season in a mom and dad’s life. In order to manage writing- and the business of writing- from home, it’s important to treat it as the job it is, and expect family members to do the same. Have a Routine Children generally behave best when they know what to expect. If it works in your household to get a little writing done during the day, make sure your children have specific activities to work on, and/or special toys they get to play with only during that time. For toddlers and preschool-aged children, consider letting them use this time to look at books, â€Å"write† with their crayons, markers, or pencils, or, if they have one, work on their own toy laptop computer. Then sit down, get to work, and don’t feel guilty about your children having to entertain themselves for a few minutes; it’s good for them. Novelist Barbara Kingsolver once said that she has always written while her children were in someone else’s care. That’s absolutely the best thing to do, but if you’re a stay-at-home parent with babies or toddlers (or both), and don’t choose daycare, the children are in your care. It’s essential to have a regular time- even if it’s when they’re sleeping- to work when they won’t require constant attention. Get up a couple of hours early, stay up a few hours late: whatever suits you and your family. Certain Time, Same Place Again, this touches on routine. If you plan to write while they’re around, try to do it at a certain time, or certain times, throughout the day. Of course, of course parents have to be flexible and deal with emergencies and crying babies and so on and so forth: ‘tis the life of the home manager. But the more consistent you are in making time for writing, the more it will become a habit, and therefore, just a normal part of your day, and of your child’s day. Sitting in front of a computer looks different than teaching piano lessons or tutoring students in your home. The only visible action is that of your fingers on the keyboard. It can be difficult to get children (and sometimes, spouses) to take you seriously when you’re interacting with computer screen or notebook. Call it your â€Å"writing work,† or â€Å"writing job,† but refer to it as what it is: serious business. It’s up to you to set the tone. If your computer usually sits in an open place, move it to a particular room or area of the house while you write. This way, you set up a distinction between Mommy or Daddy cruising mindlessly around the web and actual work being done. Save the cruising for after the children are in bed. Make Notes Place list paper, sticky notes, tablets, scrap paper, pencils or pens, in desks, the kitchen drawer, under the changing pad, and by your bedside. When an idea strikes during the day, it’s likely you’ll only have mere seconds to jot it down before your toddler heads for the stairs. Get Out of the House There’s always something calling out for attention in a house: laundry, phone messages, unpaid bills, dust. If you are fortunate enough to have someone who can occasionally watch your children, or you can take advantage of a local Mom’s Day Out or community program, consider getting out of the house and going to your local library, bookstore, or coffee house to write. Plant yourself in a corner and relish the fact that someone else gets paid to sweep that floor. Multitasking is Great, But†¦ it isn’t always the most effective way to get something done. Use certain blocks of time to write, and certain blocks of time to do household chores. When you’re at the writing time, do not get distracted by the overloaded trash bin, or the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. When ideas come to you while working on those tasks, jot down ideas on the nearest piece of paper. Do not get immersed in a household responsibility. Remind yourself that you will see to those jobs during the time you’ve made to work on chores. If you are easily distracted, see the above information about escape. Remember Your Priorities There are days when your children require special attention. This is a good day to shut down the computer, put away your notebook, and concentrate on the reason you’re staying home in the first place. Your writing can always be revised; your children can’t. Rhonda Franz spent seven years teaching other people’s children before taking a leave to raise her own. She learned to keep paper and pens everywhere in her house after using a Crayola marker to write a phrase on a disposable diaper. You can read more about her views on writing in public places at Freelance Writing Gigs. She’s a regular contributor at ParentingSquad.com, and writes on a variety of topics at her own blog, Coffeehouse Mom. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Useful Stock Phrases for Your Business EmailsTry to vs. Try andGrammar Review #1: Particles and Phrasal Verbs

Understanding eWOM (electronic word of mouth) effect on consumer Research Proposal

Understanding eWOM (electronic word of mouth) effect on consumer purchase decisions - Research Proposal Example Understanding eWOM (electronic word of mouth) effect on consumer purchase decisions Due to such multiplicative applications and benefits eWOM, the subject is getting increasing attention from scholars. Park and Lee argued that eWOM should not be considered as the as extension of digital commercial advertisements created by companies to push the brand rather eWOM should be viewed as non-commercial message created by external stakeholders of the company such as customers. According to Park and Lee, eWOM can be viewed as the word of mouth created by customers through sharing their direct or indirect experiences. Consideration research work of Park and Lee reveals the fact that eWOM might be created by customers to share their experience without having the knowledge that the sharing can influence purchasing decision of other customers who are going through the eWOM. Hennig-Thurau et al. pointed out that most of researches in the field of eWOM focuses on issues like influence of word-of-mouth on purchase decision of consumers, factors directing consumer behaviour to use eWOM as reliable opinion leader, reliability of WOM in contrast to other marketing information etc. Bickart and Schindler pointed out that WOM should not be judged with other commercial advertisement of companies rather WOM should be judged in context to theory of planned behaviour concept. Interesting fact is that most of the research scholars conducted research on eWOM, failed to find any significant difference between effect of WOM and eWOM. These research scholars pointed out that WOM can create favourable or unfavourable message direction that can influence purchase intention and product attitude of customers. Chatterjee (2001) argued that consumers perceive WOM as more credible source to judge performance of the product rather than commercial advertisements. In modern days, eWOM can be used as exact alternative of WOM and customers are using eWOM to make purchase decision. So, is this assumption true that there is no difference between eWOM and WOM? Not actually, Park and Lee (2009) stated that eWOM differs from WOM in three aspects, 1- speed of interaction, 2- level interactivity and 3- communication in the virtual world. However, Golan and Zaidner (2008) criticized eWOM for creating confusion regarding credibility of the message among customers using it to know product experience of others. Yes, that is a basic problem with eWOM because text based recommendation messages are shared by anonymous individuals (in the age of competition, there are cyber professionals who get paid for spreading rumours and negative feedback about a brand); hence, it becomes difficult for readers of the text message to check the credibility of the source. These factors should be considered while discussing role of eWOM on consumer purchase decisions. According to Golan and Zaidner (2008), customers still face dilemma in trusting the online text recommendations or eWOM when it comes to making purchase decision and such level of dilemma is directed by perceived social or psychological risk. It is evident from the above

Judithand Tobit and the Protestant canon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Judithand Tobit and the Protestant canon - Essay Example God could be described as someone that used magic to heal people especially when he sent the archangel Raphael to heal Tobit and drive the demon from Sarah with the gall, liver and the heart of the fish. The attitude of God towards morality is in question in the books of Judith and Tobit as Judith was not depicted as a woman that was full of morals as she tried to seduce Holofernes (Unger, 1951). The character of God is not consistent with his character in the Protestant canon as there are some inconsistencies in the way God was presented in the Protestant canon when compared with the books of Judith and Tobit. In the Protestant Canon, God does not absolve people of their sins by merely giving alms and being nice to their neighbors. It is divine repentance and grace that make God forgive people of their sins and after this, good works would follow and so is the character of God in the Protestant Canon. God teaches his people to strive to be moral in all their deeds as he loved women of virtue in the protestant canon (Horne, 1841). God does not like violence as the killing of the men of Shechem by Simeon and Levi was condemned by God and this is quite inconsistent with the murder of Holofernes that was carried out by Judith as this was judged as an act of God. God is not magical in the Protestant canon as he makes use of the word to deliver his people of demons and this quite different from what the character of God that was depicted in the book of Tobit when God instructed Angel Raphael to use some magical potions to drive the demon Asmodeous out. In using some sort of magical concoction by using the gall of the fish to heal Tobit’s blindness, God was presented more as a magician but he was presented more as the person that had the authority over all being, by just speaking the word in the Protestant canon (Bruce, 1950). There is however a similarity in the Protestants canon and the books of Tobit and Judith as God sends his angel to his people in their time

Divorce and Our National Values Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Divorce and Our National Values - Article Example This emphasis may be in the form of the psychiatrist’s advice or may be reflected in classic American literature like Thoreau’s Walden, or laws passed to make divorce harder, and so on. Kramer goes against many contemporary psychologists when he argues this. For instance, Carl Rogers claimed in the 1970s that the best marriages actually increased ‘self-actualization’ of the individuals involved. In short, the greater the level of freedom and independence enjoyed by the partners, the ‘better’ the marriage. Kramer suggests that perhaps we should dismantle ‘self-actualization’ as the goal and replace it with another ideal: mutuality. Mutual happiness and care can be just as worthy and fulfilling a goal in marriage. Compromise may mean a certain degree of loss of selfhood, but it does not necessarily mean the loss of happiness or fulfillment. Another issue crops up at this point, related to gender. Kramer reveals how women are supposed to be naturally more compromising. We have been so socialized into believing these stereotypes that in relationships women often feel pressurized to be the pliant and compromising one. Since this is true for a large part of the population, the kind of ideal of mutuality that Kramer proposes might just work out unfairly for women and perpetuate greater inequality in marriages. To counter this, Kramer suggests that by fully accepting mutuality and not expecting only women to inculcate it, we can work towards a value system which actually supports longer-lasting relationships instead of encouraging  separation.

Structure of the Balance Sheet of Islamic Banks

Structure of the Balance Sheet of Islamic Banks INTRODUCTION Structure of the Balance Sheet of Islamic Banks Liquidity is an important characteristic of banks. By their very nature, banks transform the term of their liabilities to have different maturities on the asset side of the balance sheet. At the same time, banks must be able to meet their commitments such as deposits at the point at which they become due. Thus, liquidity management lies at the heart of confidence in the banking operation. Customers place their deposits with a bank, confident they can withdraw the deposit when they wish. If the ability of the bank to pay out on demand is questioned, all its business may be lost overnight. The importance of liquidity transcends the individual institution, since a liquidity shortfall at a single institution may invoke systemic repercussion causing harm to the whole financial stability of a country. Therefore it is important for banks to have adequate liquidity potential when it can obtain sufficient funds promptly and at a reasonable cost. For Islamic banks, liquidity risk is a signific ant risk owing to the limited availability of Shariah-compatible money market instruments and Lender-Of-Last-Resort (LOLR) facilities. Hence, the recent introduction of commodity murabahah instrument based on tawarruq concept by Central Bank of Malaysia is deemed as an innovative approach to liquidity management. It certainly adds to the list of instruments for Islamic banks to manage their liquidity more effectively and efficiently. This paper reviews the structure and mechanism of commodity murabahah particularly for liquidity management purpose. As will be evident in this paper, this instrument has its own advantage which appeals to certain practitioners who were previously uncomfortable with `inah-based instruments (www.acrobatplanet.com). Liquidity management lies at the heart of confidence in the banking operation. Customers place their deposits with a bank, confident they can withdraw the deposit when they wish. If the ability of the bank to pay out on demand is questioned, all its business may be lost overnight. In general terms, liquidity refers broadly to the ability to trade instruments quickly at prices that are reasonable in light of the underlying demand/supply conditions through the depth, breadth and resilience of the market at the lowest possible execution cost (Pervez, 2000). A perfectly liquid asset is defined as one whose full present value can be realized, i.e. turned into purchasing power over goods and services, immediately (Tobin, 1987). Cash is perfectly liquid, and so for practical purposes are demand deposits, and other deposits transferable to third parties by cheque or wire, and investments in short term liquid government securities (Abdul-Rahman, 1999). The importance of liquidity transcends t he individual institution, since a liquidity shortfall at a single institution may invoke systemic repercussion causing harm to the whole financial stability of a country. Therefore it is important for banks to have adequate liquidity potential when it can obtain sufficient funds promptly and at a reasonable cost (Heffernan, 1996). The concern over liquidity management is also relevant to Islamic bank that holds illiquid assets while its liabilities are liquid, and holds assets unpredictable in value while guaranteeing the value of its liabilities. Thus, since Islamic banks follow the same structure and characteristics of a commercial banks balance sheet, they are not immune from liquidity risk. The potential mismatch between deposits and investment financing exposes Islamic banks to liquidity problems. On the other hand, if the banks maintain too much liquidity to avoid getting into the liquidity problems may in turn hurt its profitability, therefore creating a right balance between the two objectives of safety (www.acrobatplanet.com). Off-balance-sheet financing Also called synthetic leases, this is where a company uses rules from different systems, such as financial and tax, to account for an asset in different ways. For example, I lease a computer from company A. Because I dont own the computer (and I am assuming this is not a capital lease), I get to take the rent expense (for the lease) as a deduction on the books, but I dont have to account for the asset or the debt, therefore it is not on the balance sheet. This is attractive because it creates no debt on the companys books. It is often done through a SPE (Special Purpose Entity). Though lucrative, it has contributed to the demise of companies such as Enron. The lessor (company A) maintains the asset on their books and, if they financed it from another company (company B), the debt as well. Credit card issuers, mortgage companies and various other entities also use a type of off-balance-sheet financing known as asset backed securitization (ABS). The ABS process effectively allows a company to sell a portion of the loans (receivables assets) to investors, effectively removing the assets from their balance sheets (allowing a lower level of reserves, and, therefore capital) while managing the servicing of the debt (http://wiki.answers.com). AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To study the structure of the balance sheet of Islamic banks To study the On Balance Sheet Financing as compared to Off Balance financing. Critical appraisal of the structure of the Balance Sheet of Islamic Banks. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS Risk management and liquidity are of crucial importance in the overall banking environment, and they have clear relevance also to the specific environment of Islamic banking. In itself, Islamic banking is of growing significance. Regulators have their own particular perspective on these issues. As a regulator based in London the Financial Statement Analysis (FSA) should focus on the following: The importance of London as a centre of Islamic financing. The overall role of the FSA as a regulator why sound regulation is of critical importance in any financial marketplace, how it can assist in facilitating competition and innovation. Risk management issues in banking: a summary of the key elements involved. Risk management and liquidity issues as applied to Islamic banking. The perspective of the regulator, and why the UK operates a single regulatory framework for all firms. The importance of London as a centre of Islamic financing London is clearly one of the pre eminent centres of Islamic finance, for two main reasons. These are the presence of sizeable Muslim community in the UK; and the importance of London as a financial centre with the expertise to develop new and innovative products. The FSA as Regulator welcomes the development of Islamic finance, and would be happy to see this grow further. Other important centres include Bahrain and Malaysia (www.financeinislam.com). London plays a role in four areas of significance in Islamic banking: Trade assets such as murabaha, istisnaa, and bai-al-salam. The market is probably worth US$ 10 billion in the UK. Equipment leasing asset and partner selection, operating leases and finance leases Real estate where investors are looking for rental and capital benefits. Investment routes include fund management, club transactions, leverage funding, and asset analysis, corporate structuring and tax planning. Packaging and delivering assets engineering solutions. This includes a growing market in securitizations of pools of Shariah compliant assets. The role of the FSA as a regulator The Government has set the FSA four objectives: Market confidence Public awareness of the financial system Consumer protection Reducing financial crime The new FSMA will bring in eleven principles for the handling of business, which set out at a high level how we expect a firm and its management to conduct themselves. In terms of minimum criteria, the FSA has to be satisfied that institutions have adequate capital, adequate liquidity and adequate control over large exposures. Banks of what ever origin must be prudently run and that their management must be fit and proper for the task. Satisfactory risk management, a realistic business plan, and adequate systems and controls need to be clearly demonstrated. The FSA must be satisfied also that each institution is subject to effective consolidated supervision i.e., that one supervisory authority takes prime responsibility for supervising the bank or banking group as a whole (www.financeinislam.com). RISKS, PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES Risk management issues in Islamic banking Senior management in any business must be able to provide effective risk management. The consequences of failure to do so are dire, for example, the collapse of Barings where proper controls and monitoring were not effectively in place: Regulators need to be sure that such risks are managed so as to prevent a worst case scenario such as the systemic collapse of a whole banking system. Critical issues for Islamic banks are the reputational risks and legal risks of non-compliance from Shariah board requirements and/or from engaging in any activities that were not perceived as properly Islamic by the marketplace. The maintenance of trust amongst Islamic market participants is crucial (www.financeinislam.com). Credit risk This is the risk that customers default and cannot service their debts. Banks can also suffer from the excessive concentration of exposures to particular customers, industries or countries. Asset quality should be closely monitored using appropriate management information and systems support. Islamic banks run an asset book, just as conventional banks do, so the same disciplines must apply. Liquidity risk Banks face collapse or severe trading difficulties when they are unable to meet their liabilities. For example, many Japanese institutions operating in London in the late l990s were hit when the Japanese premium increased their funding costs and eroded their liquidity. This did not mean, however, that they became unable to meet their liabilities. For the FSA, liquidity is a key concern. The dilemma for the Islamic sector is that liquidity from the Gulf is currently very substantial, but there is the need to seek out appropriate outlets for it. There is not a clearly defined lender of last resort for Islamic banks that might suffer liquidity problems, although support could probably be found from with in the overall pool of liquidity. Interest rate risk The risk of declines in earnings due to the movement of interest rates, most of the balance sheet items of banks generate revenues and costs that are indexed to interest rates. A key aspect of interest rate risk is also the possible mismatches that can arise between fixed and floating rates. In the Islamic banking context, interest rates per se are not a factor. However, commissions generated on Islamic transactions could also be vulnerable to market movements. Market risk The risk of adverse deviations of the mark-to-market value of the trading portfolio during the period required to liquidate the transactions. Islamic financial institutions take up risk sharing funds, whereas conventional banks take capital certain deposits where repayment must be made. There is the implicit requirement for both parties to a given transaction to share in the loss as well as the profit. Foreign exchange risk The currency risk of suffering losses due to changes in exchange rates. This principle applies equally to Islamic banks. Letter of credit and trade finance for example, a significant proportion of which is denominated in US Dollars, often pose an exchange risk. Currency transaction and translation Factors must be taken into account. Solvency risk The risk that financial institutions will be unable to hold sufficient capital resources to cover their different risks, regulators need to decide what amount is held, supervise, in order to maintain an appropriate level of solvency. Islamic banks need to be clear about the status of their deposits or liabilities. Any capital-certain transactions generate more solvency risk than risk-sharing with investors. Operational risk There is no precise definition, but we view operational risk as being the risk that arises from human error and/or deficiencies in information systems or controls, resulting in direct or indirect loss. In the Islamic banking context, operational risks can impact just as much as in conventional banking, with the additional element of possible operational defects causing failure to comply with the Shariah (www.financeinislam.com). FINDINGS Risk management and liquidity issues as applied to Islamic banking This is a very important area and a number of key regulatory issues are under review. For example, whether liquidity requirements should apply to all on-balance sheet funds, risk sharing as well as capital certain; and how liquidity should be managed for funds, which are held off balance sheet. The basic issue, however, as for any bank is how easily and quickly, and with what penalty, assets can be turned into cash. The establishment of a genuine inter-bank market or markets would be a significant step towards providing Islamic banks with the ability to maintain adequate liquidity without holding excessive amounts of very short-term assets. For example, it was very interesting to note that the Bahrain Monetary Authority (BMA) announced the first issue of its Islamically-structured bonds the Sukuk al-Salaam worth US$ 25mn. ABC Clearing Company BC and ABC Islamic Bank have been active in offering overnight investment opportunities for Islamic funds for a number of years. BNP Paribas and Kuwait Finance House signed a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a US$ 2bn Islamic money market fund (IMMF). Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and ABN AMRO also plan to launch such instruments. Malaysia has also been developing an Islamic inter bank market. These developments offer potential flexibility to Islamic banks. UK practice is such that the Financial Statement Analysis (FSA) has scope to take account of such developments when agreeing liquidity guidelines with banks (www.financeinislam.com). CONCLUSION There are two different categories of commercial financing from an accounting perspective: on-balance-sheet financing and off-balance-sheet financing. Understanding the difference can be critical to obtaining the right type of commercial financing for your company. Put simply, on-balance-sheet financing is commercial financing in which capital expenditures appear as a liability on a companys balance sheet. Commercial loans are the most common example: Typically, a company will leverage an asset (such as accounts receivable) in order to borrow money from a bank, thus creating a liability (i.e., the outstanding loan) that must be reported as such on the balance sheet. With off-balance-sheet financing, however, liabilities do not have to be reported because no debt or equity is created. The most common form of off-balance-sheet financing is an operating lease, in which the company makes a small down payment upfront and then monthly lease payments. When the lease term is up, the company can usually buy the asset for a minimal amount (often just one dollar). The key difference is that with an operating lease, the asset stays on the lessors balance sheet. The lessee only reports the expense associated with the use of the asset (i.e., the rental payments), not the cost of the asset itself (www.evancarmichael.com). Why Does It Matter? This might sound like technical accounting-speak that only a CPA could appreciate. In the continuing tight credit environment, however, off-balance-sheet financing can offer significant benefits to any size company, from large multi-nationals to mom-and-pops. These benefits arise from the fact that off-balance-sheet financing creates liquidity for a business while avoiding leverage, thus improving the overall financial picture of the company. This can help companies keep their debt-to-equity ratio low: If a company is already leveraged, additional debt might trip a covenant to an existing loan. The trade-off is that off-balance-sheet financing is usually more expensive than traditional on-balance-sheet loans. Business owners should work closely with their CPAs to determine whether the benefits of off-balance-sheet financing outweigh the costs in their specific situation. Other Types of Off-Balance-Sheet Financing An increasingly popular type of off-balance-sheet financing today is whats known as a sale/leaseback. Here, a business sells property it owns and then immediately leases it back from the new owner. It can be used with virtually any type of fixed asset, including commercial real estate, equipment and commercial vehicles and aircraft, to name a few. A sale/leaseback can increase a companys financial flexibility and may provide a large lump sum of cash by freeing up the equity in the asset. This cash can then be poured back into the business to support growth, pay down debt, acquire another business, or meet working capital needs. Factoring is another type of off-balance-sheet financing. Here, a business sells its outstanding accounts receivable to a commercial finance company, or factor. Typically, the factor will advance the business between 70 and 90 percent of the value of the receivable at the time of purchase; the balance, less the factoring fee, is released when the invoice is collected. Like with an operating lease, no debt is created with factoring, thus enabling companies to create liquidity while avoiding additional leverage. The same kinds of off-balance-sheet benefits occur in both factoring arrangements and operating leases. Keep in mind that strict accounting rules must be followed when it comes to properly distinguishing between on-balance-sheet and off-balance-sheet financing, so you should work closely with your CPA in this regard. But with the continued uncertainty surrounding the economy and credit markets, its worth looking into the potential benefits of off-balance-sheet financing for your company (www.evancarmichael.com). The perspective of the Regulator The fundamental stance of the regulator is that the same principles in the handling of risk should apply for Islamic as for non-Islamic banks and financial entities. There has to be a level playing field. For the regulator, risk management in the Islamic context is becoming easier to understand as the following develop: A set of common international equivalent accounting standards. The AAOIFI is a doing a lot of good work in this area but we need to see more harmonization. Greater standardization of products. A clear role for the Shariah Board. For example, if there were to be one Board per country it should assist in giving consistency of interpretation of the Shariah. The FSA has had no applications for authorization from purely Islamic banks. If an application were to be made, it would be considered against our minimum criteria and principles for business. For us, an important aspect of any application would be the effectiveness of the applicants risk management systems and controls (www.financeinislam.com).