The Complex Relationship Between Faith free essay sample

The Complex Relation among Faith and Fate In the novel A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, various topics present themselves to the peruser. Irving utilizes the possibility of the relationship of confidence and destiny to address whether confidence straightforwardly shapes our destiny, making that putting stock in God in a world with no confidence totally crazy. As the novel unfurls, you start to comprehend ‘special purpose’ each character serves must be told in the manner God chooses. At the point when Owen Meany is in front of an audience depicting the phantom of Christmas yet to come he moves toward the headstone prop, stops, and out of nowhere blacks out. He later stirs, as the window ornaments fall just to understand that the name he read on the headstone is his own. Frightened, he realized he had been given a brief look into his future. â€Å"It made (Owen) irate when I recommended that anything was a ‘accident’ †particularly anything that transpired; regarding the matter of fate, Owen Meany would blame Calvin for dishonesty. We will compose a custom article test on The Complex Relationship Between Faith or on the other hand any comparable subject explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page There were no mishaps. (Irving 66) Owen has an extremely solid feeling of confidence and accepted this straightforwardly influenced his destiny and the destinies of others and in light of the fact that Owen accepts he is a ‘instrument of God’ and that there are no mishaps. Everything managing Owen is destined to happen. As did others in the novel, Sagamore, John’s mother (Tabitha), John’s grandma, and others all become images of things foreshadowed to pass on in light of the fact that they lost their confidence eventually all through the novel. Another case of confidence molding destiny is when Mr. Fish showed Owen and John to play football since he had no offspring of his own. Irving utilizes this scriptural implication to show how confidence is legitimately attached to destiny. Mr. Fish had surrendered trust in Owen’s capacity to kick a football and this prompted the destiny of Sagamore in light of the fact that, the individuals who lost their confidence turned out to be poorly willed or endured a destiny no one but predetermination could have envisioned, much like Sagamore and the diaper truck. As Owen Meany became ‘God’s instrument’ in the demise of Sagamore, he likewise served a similar job in ending the life John’s mother, Tabitha, who endured the destiny of a baseball to the head. Be that as it may, was this a mishap of destiny or was it a need there of? Toward the finish of the novel Rev. Merrill uncovered to John that he was his dad, and it was John, who at long last reestablished his confidence. It in any case, was the passing of Tabitha that caused his absence of confidence. The Rev. Merrill accepts that he caused her demise since, he had wanted for it. Or on the other hand perhaps, it is his destiny, that Tabitha was bound to kick the bucket. Owen Meany accepted that there were no such things as happenstances and that destiny is a definitive explanation. Irving composed it along these lines to show how confidence and destiny are interconnected. A great many people have confidence that God chooses what befalls you; this is destiny. There were numerous individuals in this novel that lost their confidence. John’s grandma had lost her confidence after John’s mother had passed on which, foreshadowed her demise. What's more, perhaps Owen himself, who believed in John to have faith in confidence, destined that Owen also would turn into another casualty of destiny. Which makes us think, would could it be that really contains an account of religion and destiny, would they say they are connected, or would they say they are two things we can never know together? Notwithstanding, one thing is sure, the conviction that if confidence is lost; destiny won't be so kind. Works Cited Irving, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany. New York: Ballantine Books, 1990. Print

I History of Taj Mahal Essay

The Taj Mahal of Agra is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, for reasons something other than looking grand. It’s the historical backdrop of Taj Mahal that adds a spirit to its greatness: a spirit that is loaded up with affection, misfortune, regret, and love once more. Supposing that it was not for adoration, the world would have been burglarized of a fine model whereupon individuals base their connections. A case of how profoundly a man cherished his better half, that considerably after she remained yet a memory, he ensured that this memory could never blur away. This man was the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who was head-over-heels in affection with Mumtaz Mahal, his dear spouse. She was a Muslim Persian princess (her name Arjumand Banu Begum before marriage) and he was the child of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir and grandson of Akbar the Great. It was at 14 years old that he met Mumtaz and began to look all starry eyed at her. After five years in the year 1612, they got hitched. Mumtaz Mahal, an indistinguishable partner of Shah Jahan, kicked the bucket in 1631, while bringing forth their fourteenth youngster. It was in the memory of his cherished spouse that Shah Jahan assembled a glorious landmark as a tribute to her, which we today know as the â€Å"Taj Mahal†. The development of Taj Mahal began in the year 1631. Bricklayers, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, arch developers and different craftsmans were ordered from the entire of the domain and furthermore from Central Asia and Iran, and it took around 22 years to construct what we see today. An embodiment of adoration, it utilized the administrations of 22,000 workers and 1,000 elephants. The landmark was constructed completely out of white marble, which was gotten from all over India and focal Asia. After a use of around 32 million rupees (approx US $68000), Taj Mahal was at long last finished in the year 1653. It was not long after the fulfillment of Taj Mahal that Shah Jahan was removed by his own child Aurangzeb and was put under house capture at close by Agra Fort. Shah Jahan, himself additionally, lies buried in this catacomb alongside his better half. Moving further down the history, it was toward the finish of the nineteenth century that British Viceroy Lord Curzon requested a broad rebuilding venture, which was finished in 1908, as a measure to reestablish what was lost during the Indian insubordination of 1857: Taj being flawed by British fighters and government authorities who additionally denied the landmark of its perfect magnificence by etching out valuable stones and lapis lazuli from its dividers. Likewise, the British style gardens that we see today including to the magnificence of Taj were redesigned around a similar time. Regardless of winning discussions, at various times dangers from Indo-Pak war and ecological contamination, this exemplification of affection ceaseless to sparkle and draw in individuals from everywhere throughout the world. II Taj Mahal Story Male Protagonist: Shah Jahan (Prince Khurram) Female Protagonist: Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Banu Begum) Taj Mahal, the brilliant landmark that remains at the core of India has a story that has been softening the hearts of a huge number of audience members since the time Taj has been obvious. A story, that albeit finished in 1631, keeps on living on as Taj and is viewed as a living case of unceasing adoration. It’s the romantic tale of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, two individuals from the course of history who set a model for the individuals living in present and the future to come. An English writer, Sir Edwin Arnold best portrays it as â€Å"Not a bit of design, as different structures seem to be, yet the glad energy of an emperor’s love fashioned in living stones.† The story that follows next will demonstrate why the announcement is valid. Shah Jahan, at first named Prince Khurram, was conceived in the year 1592. He was the child of Jehangir, the fourth Mughal ruler of India and the grandson of Akbar the Great. In 1607 when walking around the Meena Bazaar, joined by a string of groveling retainers, Shah Jahan got a brief look at a young lady peddling silk and glass globules. It was all consuming, instant adoration and the young lady was Mumtaz Mahal, who was known as Arjumand Banu Begum around then. Around then, he was 14 years of age and she, a Muslim Persian princess, was 15. Subsequent to meeting her, Shah Jahan returned to his dad and announced that he needed to wed her. The match got solemnized following five years i.e., in the year 1612. It was in the year 1628 that Shah Jahan turned into the Emperor and endowed Arjumand Banu with the imperial seal. He additionally offered her with the title of Mumtaz Mahal, which means the â€Å"Jewel of the Palace†. In spite of the fact that Shah Jahan had different spouses additionally, at the same time, Mumtaz Mahal was his most loved and went with him all over the place, even on military battles. In the year 1631, when Mumtaz Mahal was bringing forth their fourteenth kid, she kicked the bucket because of certain confusions. While Mumtaz was on her deathbed, Shah Jahan guaranteed her that he could never remarry and will manufacture the most extravagant sepulcher over her grave. It is said that Shah Jahan was so devastated after her demise that he requested the court into grieving for a long time. At some point after her demise, Shah Jahan embraced the errand of raising the world’s most delightful landmark in the memory of his darling. It took 22 years and the work of 22,000 specialists to build the landmark. At the point when Shah Jahan passed on in 1666, his body was set in a tomb close to the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. This glorious landmark came to be known as â€Å"Taj Mahal† and now checks among the Seven Wonders of the World. This is the genuine story of the Taj Mahal of India, which has hypnotized numerous individuals with its charming excellence. III Taj Mahal Architecture Association of 22, 000 laborers including bricklayers, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, vault developers and different craftsmans brought on from everywhere throughout the focal Asia and Iran, and somewhere in the range of 22 years after the fact when a landmark with a one of a kind mix of Persian, Islamic, and Indian design styles made its mark, it was an incredible sight! The magnificence of the structure at that point made was to such an extent that even a very long time after its creation, it is still viewed as one of the most capturing and eye catching synthetic landmarks of the world. Not simply Taj, even structures close by it add to the building magnificence and aesthetic miracle of the spot. The whole Taj complex comprises of five significant constituents, to be specific Darwaza (fundamental door), Bageecha (gardens), Masjid (mosque), Naqqar Khana (rest house) and Rauza (primary catacomb). The Taj Mahal covers a territory of 42 sections of land altogether with the landscape continuously inclining from south to north, towards the waterway Yamuna through diving porches. The primary passage arranged toward the finish of the long waterway, adorned in calligraphy with sections from Holy Quran and a domed focal chamber, was built from the period 1932 to 1938. The first entryway of this enormous sandstone portal was made out of strong silver. It was developed to serve the capacity of keeping the individuals from getting any brief look at the tomb until they are directly in the entryway itself. With a vertical evenness, the fundamental portal of Taj Mahal stands circumscribed with Arabic calligraphy of refrains from the Quran, made up of dark stone. The primary tomb of Taj Mahal remains on a square stage that was raised 50 meter over the riverbank and was leveled with soil to decrease leakage from the waterway. The four minarets on each side of this square are withdrawn, confronting the chamfered points of the primary and are intentionally kept at 137 feet to underscore the lovely and round vault that itself is 58 feet in distance across and 81 feet high. The western side of the fundamental tomb has the mosque and on the eastern side is the Naqqar Khana (rest/visitor house), both made in red sandstone. The two structures give a design evenness, yet in addition make for a tasteful shading contrast. One can just wonder about the mosque and the rest house as in spite of being on the far edges, the two are identical representation of one another. Out of the all out territory of 580 meter by 300 meter, the nursery alone covers 300 meter by 300 meter. The impeccable balance with which this nursery has been spread out can be experienced all over. The Islamic style engineering of this nursery likewise has an all around characterized implying that represents otherworldliness and as indicated by the Holy Quran, the rich green, very much watered is an image of Paradise in Islam. The raised pathways partition every one of the four quarters into 16 flowerbeds with around 400 plants in each bed. Indeed, even today, the nursery brags of being a quiet and relieving area in the whole mind boggling and is viewed as best spot for taking snaps of the primary tomb. A shadowy entombment grave inside the Taj Mahal houses the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan himself, who was covered there after he passed on. Over these tombs is the primary chamber that has the bogus tombs and punctured marble screens have been utilized to transmit light into the internment chamber, run of the mill of catacombs of the Mughals. Semi-valuable stones are flawlessly trimmed in both the tombs. Calligraphic engravings of the ninety nine names of Allah can likewise be found on the sides of genuine tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj has some great examples of polychrome decorate workmanship both in the inside and outside on the dados, on cenotaphs and on the marble jhajjhari (jali-screen) around them. Shah Jahan’s tomb, which lies close to that of Mumtaz Mahal, was rarely arranged and unsettles the in any case ideal balance of the Taj. IV Inside The Taj Mahal As magnificently astonishing as it looks from the primary entryway, with the wonderful perspective on the mosque and the visitor house on the sides and the fundamental sepulcher in the middle with four minarets standing pleased at each corner, the inner parts of TAj Mahal are no less incredibly embellished either. Or maybe, the carefully planned and lavishly cut insides splendidly praise the magnificence of the whole structure with nuance. With fundamental components in Persian, the enormous white marble structure that stand

Pros and Cons of Argumentative Essay Topics

Pro's and Cons of Argumentative Essay TopicsIn the essay 'Pro's and Cons of Argumentative Essay Topics,' writer Chris Peck, a student at Ohio State University in Columbus, offers a step-by-step guide to choosing the best essay topic for each semester. Every academic year at Ohio State offers different challenges, but the task at hand is to have essays that are not only readable but also academically sound. The following advice will be useful to all who enter the academic fray.The first step is to visit bookstores and library stacks and peruse titles. Ask a librarian what topics they recommend for their reading lists. If you want to write about one specific subject, you will find a multitude of choices. If you are writing an essay on a wide range of subjects, do not have it limited to one single subject. Each of the books in the library or bookstore might offer suggestions.Common topics that are popular for students include science, technology, and society. You can see if there are ot her topics that might appeal to your campus readership by asking your local library to recommend topics. In fact, they might even recommend you a particular topic that they think you might find interesting.One thing to remember, however, is that some specific topic cannot be discussed without mentioning others. If your topic is space travel, then you can't touch on topics like cosmology, astronomy, or physics, since those are topics that are not likely to be discussed during the course of time you might want to choose for the article. On the other hand, if you are going to talk about a particular topic, such as the history of science, then you will be allowed to discuss any number of related subjects, including astrophysics.In addition, before making your choice, you should consult with a professor or faculty advisor, if necessary, to determine whether you fall into a certain subfield. Some subjects fall into these fields, such as science, medicine, business, and mathematics. Your i nstructor will advise you on how to limit the discussion so that it does not fall outside the expected area of the syllabus.You might not be totally immersed in your chosen field of study, but you must think about the modern world you will be writing about. Consider the problems that might arise from incorporating modern techniques. Your solution might involve summarizing what you already know and what you will learn in the course of your research. A reasonable solution will ultimately need to come down to a balance between the merits of each topic.It is vital to set your assignment out beforehand so that you have the flexibility to move ahead with it and make the most of the information you are given. When choosing a topic, consider the pros and cons of each topic separately, without comparing them to each other. What will you gain and what will you lose?

It is common knowledge now that smoking is bad, so we...

It is common knowledge now that smoking is bad, so we should not do it, right? Not necessarily, there are many things that are bad for us but we still do them anyways such as eating fast food. Everyone knows anything that has been deep fried is horrible for your health but we still do it because we like it, and the same goes for smoking. Like other things, smoking can be acceptable in moderation. But some may question this because smoking not only hurts the one smoking, but others around them. There are ways for nonsmokers to avoid smokers and there are ways for smokers to avoid nonsmokers. People just need to try and change things rather than sit around and complain about it. Why should something such as smoking, which is a personal†¦show more content†¦According to the National Cancer Institute, about 250 chemicals in secondhand smoke, of the 7,000, are known to be harmful and seventy of them can cause cancer (Johnson). â€Å"The study of 11 moderately dependent cigarette smokers and 13 nonsmokers found 1 hour of secondhand smoke in an enclosed space resulted in nicotine reaching the brain, in smokers and nonsmokers alike, to bind nicotinic acetylcholine receptors that are normally targeted by direct exposure to tobacco smoke. Secondhand smoke also evoked cravings among the smokers, suggesting that it may deliver a priming dose of nicotine to the brain that contributes to continued cigarette use in smokers† (Hampton). These are just some of the effects of secondhand smoke, the list goes on. It is made clear simply from the list I have compiled that secondhand smoke it just as bad as smoking itself and it is understandable for someone to want to ban cigarettes. The child who died from secondhand smoke did not choose to smoke nor inhale it from his or her parents, along with thousands of other people who die due to exposure to secondhand smoke. It is tragic that people do die from secondhand smoke when they are not choosing to smoke but the smok ers are harmed even more. Smoking does not just affect the lungs, it can affect the mouth and larynx and cause cancer in these areas as well (Yanbaeva). The smoke in the lungs causes inflammation which leads to cytokines being released which draw inShow MoreRelatedSmoking And Smoking - Stop Smoking920 Words   |  4 PagesStop Smoking I. Attention A. Take a deep breath. Allow the fresh air into your healthy lungs and then exhale. Now, stand near a smoker. Take a deep breath. Allowed your lungs to take in the same amount of air as you did the first time, then exhale. Did you cough? When you took a deep breath next to the smoker, you breathed in the smoke from the cigarette. That smoke has the same harsh chemicals that are entering in your lungs. â€Å"Acetaldehyde is in tobacco smoke. Acetaldehyde is a hazardous air pollutant†Read MoreSmoking : Smoking And Smoking1615 Words   |  7 PagesSummary Smoking in Bushwick Cigarette smoking affects nearly all organs in the body. Smoking leads to negative health outcomes such as various kinds of cancers and chronic diseases and reduces the overall health of individuals. Some diseases caused by smoking are - oral cancer, lung cancer, chronic diseases such as - stroke, blindness, cataract, periodontitis, COPD, diabetes, smoking during pregnancy causes pregnancy complications. (Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking, 2015) Cigarette smoking andRead MoreThe Dangers Of Smoking And Smoking861 Words   |  4 PagesConversely, some individuals make choices that turn into habits, which are unhealthy. In the eyes of society, smoking is one of the worst habits a person can have. Through the analysis of smokers’ routines, it may be possible to find ways to help them curb their unhealthy practices. Cigarette smokers who seek advice from professionals to help them quit smoking are often told to throw away all smoking paraphernalia, which could include, lighters, ashtrays, and cigarette cases. These items can trigger theRead MoreSmoking And Smoking840 Words   |  4 Pagesmost affected by smoking you may experience lung cancer or even COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including 43 known cancer causing ingredients and 400 other toxins that are bad for the human body nicotine is the chemical that is most harmful and dangerous. Nicotine has so many side effects and is also is very addictive substance. This type of tobacco is addictive for most people. Thats why many people are still smoking in spite of theRead MoreThe Dangers Of Smoking Tobacco Smoking1547 Words   |  7 PagesDISCUSSION Since you cannot tackle what you are unaware of, the first step in decreasing tobacco smoking is to identify who the smokers are. These could be potential or current users of tobacco and tobacco products or people who are affected by environmental smoke also known as secondhand smoke. Health care providers cannot stop or reduce usage in a patient if they do not know whether the patient is a beginner or a current user. In the health care system, the family physicians are usually the primaryRead MoreThe Dangers Of Smoking Cigarette Smoking Essay1627 Words   |  7 Pagesnotorious. Several decades later in 1964, the hazards of smoking cigarette became known to the public (Boston university medical center, 1999). Even though smoking cigarette risks have been published for roughly 50 years, people still smoke for several reasons and they should be reminded of its fatal effects in order to quit. The Problem definition The basic definition of habit is an enjoyable activity being done regularly or occasionally. Thus, smoking cigarette can be classified as a habit. This habitRead MoreThe Dangers Of Smoking Tobacco Smoking Essay2296 Words   |  10 PagesYouth tobacco smoking has been associated with so many factors. To start with social and physical environments have been associated with this because of the way the mass media shows tobacco smoking as a normal thing and this has promoted tobacco use among the youths. Parental smoking has also contributed because their parents are role models and they always follow their steps. Secondly there are some genetic and biological factors that contribute to this. This occurs where it is more difficult forRead MoreSmoking Is A Problem Of Smoking1567 Words   |  7 PagesStop smoking The issue of smoking is a problem that’s occurring in America. Smoking is a deadly killer that has taken many loved ones, it causes issues when it is inhaled into the human body and causes certain types of diseases. Many people are dying due to the chemicals in cigarettes unfortunately, but there are ways we can stop this and with the help of the students here we can start doing this immediately. Smoking is the inhalation of the smoke from burning tobacco encased in cigarettes, pipesRead MoreThe Dangers Of Smoking And Smoking2682 Words   |  11 Pages When I think of smoking the first thing that comes to my mind is lung cancer. I could say with confidence that mostly any person that is asked about tobacco know the harm it causes to the human body or at least one of the dangers of smoking. This topic is very interesting to me because i simply don t understand why a person becomes a frequent smoker while knowing all the harm one cigarette can do to them and others around them. Second hand smoking is also a big issue in our country because of allRead MorePrevention Of Smoking And Smoking977 Words   |  4 PagesSeth stop smoking. I am against smoking, due to the health effects that come along with smoking. I am also against smoking to help the people who do not smoke keep away from second hand smoke, which can also cause smoke related health problems. Smoking effects your major organs, along with the people who are around smokers. When smokers quit there are immediate benefits, which is why there are alternatives to help smokers sto p smoking, along with organizations that are helpful. Smoking effects the

Heterosexuals Attitudes Toward Transgender People ...

Heterosexuals’ Attitudes Toward Transgender People: Finds from a National Probability Sample of US Adults. The paper studies the attitudes of heterosexual adult population towards transgender people, while simultaneously clarifying exactly why there exists some hostility towards homosexuals, both in the United States of America. The paper puts across the statement that the word itself (Transgender) is now largely used to factor out groups of people who apparently communicate expressions and qualities relating to both genders, not just their own. This description given by Stryker is frequently used to label people who have, using their characteristics and actions, â€Å"crossed over†(p. 251) or switched between society-created gender norms. The modern world, as a result of this, tackles the phrase with unfriendliness, even hostility, since they feel susceptible of its non-conformity. This view more than often stems from the belief that said non-conformity can be harmful for the society as a whole. The paper further states that the US medical and psychiatric professionals believed tr anssexuals, for a large part of history, to be â€Å"severely neurotic† or mentally ill with a disease or dysfunction in the functioning of the brain. It wouldn’t be wrong to assume that transsexuals have faced adversities and difficulties in other parts of the world too like Hong Kong, Sweden, United Kingdom, and etc. solely because of their identities. In my opinion, trans-genders will continually face

Measuring Experience Economy Concept in Tourism-myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theMeasuring Experience Economy Concept in Tourism. Answer: Introduction The experience economy concept can be understood as a basis for the marketing and management strategies in service management within tourism industry that focuses on quality and validity which can be taken into consideration. It was revealed that increased choice of tourism destinations that are affordable along with that is easily accessible to visitors are often disadvantage for the established tourism spots (Ali, Ryu and Hussain, 2016). For analysing the importance of experience economy concept within the tourism sector, it is vital to gather a viewpoint that have resulted to cause the same for ensuring the ways in which it is different from other approaches. Tourism is deemed to be one of the pioneering instances of the experience economy as gathered from the previous literature. The increasing attention placed on experiences can be considered as mega trend that has given opportunity to function as a personal information source and resulted in better self-perception (CetinBilgiha n, 2016). The objective of this essay is to evaluate and discuss the importunate of theories on the experience economy in order to understand the tourist behavior along with its ramifications for the tourism suppliers. Moreover, the essay will also focus on providing relevant instances for the measures that can be implemented by the tourism providers in order to serve better the tourists within the experience economy. Understanding the theories and concepts related with the experience economy will facilitate in examining the connections between distinct business theories. It will also facilitate in explaining the importance for tourism managers and marketers. Discussion The experience economy relation with tourism Tourism is being concerned with tourist experience related ith seeing, visiting, enjoying, learning as well as residing in distinct modes of life (Jaakkola, Helkkula Aarikka-Stenroos, 2015). Considering this, all things that tourists pass through at a tourism spot can be experience be it perceptual or behavioral, emotional or cognitive along with being expressive or implied. To the tourism stakeholders that includes tourists, tourism marketers, domestic residents along with policy developers along with the nature along with experience scope provided by a tourism place. This is considered by tourists in order to choose the destination spot value. Considering the same, Adhikari andBhattacharya, (2016)have evidenced that understanding the tourist experience is necessary along with explaining the ways in which it is developed after visiting a tourist destination. These researchers also focused on explaining the two-dimensional model of tourist values that was developed in analyzing the nature of tourist experience. On the other hand, the type analysis along with the evaluation of benefit determinants focus on the ways in which tourist experience was emerged. Kim, (2014)also explained in their research about the two intrinsic models of motivation that is the romantic and mass tourism paradigms in order to elaborate the differences in various tourist experiences through the channels of motivations associated with tourists. As explained by these researches, it is gathered that it is highly difficult task to understand all the aspects experienced by all the tourist at a tourist destination within a significant measurement model in order to evaluate the performance or value of the tourist spot (Kim Ritchie, 2014). The experience economy is observed to be an advancing paradigm in increasing performance of businesses all through a broad choice of industries that incudes hospitality and tourism. The experience economy theory has emerged within the tourism research and this also supports the aspects by which the tourist experience is interpreted. Loureiro, (2014) evidenced experience economy from the perspective of the tourist business and it ca n also be gathered that experiences acts as events that involve individuals within personal manner (Sidali, Kastenholz Bianchi, 2015). It can also be summarized as they would explain experience from the consumers perspective that is considered to be engaging, enjoyable along with maintaining memorable encounters for the ones involved in such events. Lupton, (2014)explained that with the educational experiences, the tourist get aligned with the events of unfolding at a tourism experience, while participating by means of interactive engagement of the mind. Basically, tourists are deemed to increase their knowledge and skills that is both specific and general by means of educational experiences within tourist destinations visited by them. For example, visitors within a cultural festival might lean the historical background of weaving and knitting presented in several manners (Moutinho Vargas-Sanchez, 2018). This can increase their capability through attempting to weave within an easy loom through following necessary instructions of the artists. Tourists are deemed for escaping from their customary environments in order to deal with the power of values and norms which dea with their ordinary lives. They also consider thinking about their societies and lives from a distinct perspective. Murray, Skene Haynes, (2017) gathered that the experience economy concept is greatly associated with tourism to both the origins along with its implications. These researchershave also asserted that advanced world was shifting from being service to the experience-based economy. Moreover, this was partially relied on the evaluation of countrys advancement along with tourism attractions (National Research Council., 2014). Such tourism attractions include theme parks, concerts, sports evets and cinema that they found to put perform other sectors in consideration to employment, price along with gross domestic product. Such explanation deemed that businesses provided experiences that were valued due to the fact that they were exceptional, remarkable along with being involved the individual within a personalized manner. In comparison, Putni? and Sauka, (2015) revealed that services were turning out to be commodities in a manner that customers considered them to be homogeneous and solely acquired them based on availability and price ( Ali, Ryu and Hussain, 2016). Theories of experience economy in understanding tourist behavior Radder and Han, (2015)explained four realms of experience that is differentiated by the level along with form of the businesses offerings consumer involvement that is indicated in the figure below. It is observed from the figure in the matrix of consumer participation, passive participation of the consumer within the business offering. This is also characterized by entertainmentand esthetic dimensions and on the other hand the escapist and educational dimensions indicate active participation. A tourist those participate inactively within the destination conducts do not impact directly or have impact on the tourism performances destination (Ren et al., 2016). Anactive participant is deemed to personally impact the event or performance that becomes an aspect of their understanding. Within the axis of absorption-immersion, the tourists are deemed to have a behavior of typically absorbing entertaining and educational offerings from tourism destination. The tourists are observed to immers e within the destination surrounding that leads to the escapist or esthetic experiences. In such context, Rihova et al., (2015)explained in the previous researches that absorption can be deemed as gathering an individuals attention through bringing relevant experience within the mind. Moreover, immersion can be defined as a concept of becoming physically an aspect of the experience itself. On the other hand, classifying the tourist experiences within four dimensions are relied on the two axes of the figure below. Figure 1: Four realm of economy experience and tourist behavior (Source: Schmitt, Joko Brakus Zarantonello, 2015) Schmitt, Joko Brakus and Zarantonello, (2015) explained the experience economy model developed by pine and Gilmore that stood out among distinct applications of the experimental view related with consumer behavior in tourism industry. Their experience economy model has been implemented in order to analyze the tourism products that include heritage trails, special events along with cruise vacations. It is also gathered from the model that the tourism destination managers perspectives on the segments of the experience economy in their tourism-dependent locations. Model associated with the implementation of tourism technology as effective means to leverage the experience economy for the tourists. Schmitt, Joko Brakus and Zarantonello, (2015) operationalized the four realms of the framework of experience economy through testing and generating a measurement scale within a tourism setting. The experience economy concepts are also explained by these researchers in the previous literature av ailable hat indicates consumer experience behavior includes four realms like educational, escapist, esthetic and entertainment. It is observed that within the tourism industry, the consumption experiences encompassing all the four dimensions explained in the model results in including four dimensions resulting in stronger memories along with subsequent positive analysis (Schmitt, Joko Brakus Zarantonello, 2015). Memorable tourist experiences have been recognized to include positivity, engagement with others along with new knowledge acquisition. Positive evaluations that includes satisfaction have been analyzed within the tourism literature that remained unabated. Moreover, the importance of tourist satisfaction has been recognized within the tourism industry that is deemed to positively impact the behavioral intentions (Sidali, Kastenholz Bianchi, 2015). Previous literature supports various demographics along with trip graphics that can impact the analysis of visitors experience related with 4Es. Moreover, research into the tourism experience through employing the 4Es is observed to play potential mediating roles (Schmitt, Joko Brakus Zarantonello, 2015). Due to its explicating nature, all the 4Es associated with the experience economy model is deemed to include potential mediators as warrants of statistical testing. The concept of four realms related with experience economy revealed that due to the existence of these specific demographics ortopographic variables, the 4Es is deemed to mediate the behavioral intention of the tourists. In contrast, the tourists are less likely to value the immersive or interactive experience that indicates they might fall more within the passive participation and absorption horizons associated with the experience economy model (Sidali, Kastenholz Bianchi, 2015). For instance, certain research on anal ysis of travel websites by young tourists indicated that the esthetics and entertainment aspects served as considerable positive predictors of the perceived character related with the websites. Nature based tourists are motivated by the physical participation within activities along with learning experiences were more likely tohave increased incomes than the one those preferred appreciating the tourism destinations. Sidali, Kastenholz and Bianchi, (2015)evidenced that the household income was revealed to be considerably predict the indulgence segments of the tourist experience. Such indulgence might manifest itself within a hedonic and experiential consumption model that includes the 4Es along with potentially mediating the behavioral intentions. Similarly, the 4Es might mediate between some topographic along withtourists intentions (Tsai, 2016). For instance, the longer stay within a tourist destination is deemed to explain that the tourists will be more likely to avail themselves to highly individual tourism activities that can come within all the aspects of 4E realms. For evaluating the importance of concept of experience economy to the destination management, this is vital to gather certain viewpoints that have resulted to make sure the ways that has experience concept. This has been observed by numerous academic professionals along with maintaining difference among them (Sidali, Kastenholz Bianchi, 2015). Moreover, consumer perceptions that focus on sociology and psychology in order to analyse the symbolic, emotional along with transformation experience significance for the individual associated. In addition, managerial perspectives that center on the ways in which companies offer experiences as a part of an offer of added value. Importance for tourism managers and marketers to recognize concepts associated with experience economy It is deemed to be increasingly important for the marketers and the managers in understanding the concepts associated with the experience economy in tourism industry (Manthiou et al., 2014). This is because of the reason that understanding experience economy concept can facilitate to analyze the collaboration issues or varied objectives of the marketers and tourism managers that have been recognized as inducing or impending better development. The demographiccharacteristics of the tourists that are identified through 4E concept can assist the marketers in ensuring effective communication with their likely consumers. It is revealed that the rural destination marketers along with tourism business are challenged to recognize the ways in which differential among consumer experience is possible. Sidali, Kastenholz and Bianchi, (2015)explained that in case the experience economy concept suggests higher agreement among the aspects perceived by the tourist providers and the aspects that the tourists experienced on the sensory appealof thetourist destination. This is vital for the marketers along with the tourism suppliers to remember and focus on the esthetics that is considered to be one of the major experiential dimension for the visitors. Esthetic dimension in the experience economy concept is observed to be highly vital that necessitates the tourism marketers and managers to pay increased attention through focusing on such aspect to decide on their promotional messages (Sidali, Kastenholz Bianchi, 2015). In particular it is also observed that the models and concepts such as four realms of experience economy explains the ways in which esthetics of the tourism spotincludingcultural, natural along with social aspects of the tourism destination can have specific resonance for marketers. Moreover, the tourism managers and the destination marketers might analyze the ways to improve visitors association of education and entertainment with the attraction of visiting the tourism spots (Jaakkola, Helkkula Aarikka-Stenroos, 2015). Based on the experience economy concept, certain different strategies might be individually or jointly focused on by the marketers of the tourism product that enhances the perception and appeal of the tourism destinations entertainment aspects. Moreover, the local marketers and managers might focus on selecting more than one strategic events to be provided for a longer period. This also facilitates the managers to enlist the majority of tourism suppliers, promoted ex tensively hat can further increase entertainment experience rating of the visitors. Conclusion The objective of this essay is to evaluate and discuss the importance of theories on the experience economy in order to understand the tourist behavior along with its ramifications for the tourism suppliers. Moreover, the essay will also focus on providing relevant instances for the measures that can be implemented by the tourism providers in order to serve better the tourists within the experience economy. It is also gathered that it is highly complex task to understand all the aspects experienced by all tourists at a tourist destination within a profound measurement model in order to evaluate the performance along with value of the tourist spot. The experience economy is serves as developing paradigm in increasing business conducts all through numerous industries that includes hospitality and tourism. The experience economy concept was emerged within the tourism research that supports aspects through which tourist experience can be interpreted. Tourism is principally being concerne d with the tourist experience related ith seeing, visiting, enjoying, learning as well as residing in distinct modes of life. In account to this, everything tourists pass through a particular destination might be experience that can be perceptual or behavioral, emotional or cognitive along with being expressive or implied. It is observed from the figure in the matrix of consumer participation, passive participation of the consumer within the business offering. This is also characterized by entertainmentand esthetic dimensions and on the other hand the escapist and educationaldimensions indicate active participation. References Adhikari, A., Bhattacharya, S. (2016). Appraisal of literature on customer experience in tourism sector: review and framework.Current Issues in Tourism,19(4), 296-321. Ali, F., Ryu, K., Hussain, K. (2016). Influence of experiences on memories, satisfaction and behavioral intentions: A study of creative tourism.Journal of Travel Tourism Marketing,33(1), 85-100. Cetin, G., Bilgihan, A. (2016). Components of cultural tourists experiences in destinations.Current Issues in Tourism,19(2), 137-154. Jaakkola, E., Helkkula, A., Aarikka-Stenroos, L. (2015). Service experience co-creation: conceptualization, implications, and future research directions.Journal of Service Management,26(2), 182-205. Kim, J. H. (2014). The antecedents of memorable tourism experiences: The development of a scale to measure the destination attributes associated with memorable experiences.Tourism management,44, 34-45. Kim, J. H., Ritchie, J. B. (2014). Cross-cultural validation of a memorable tourism experience scale (MTES).Journal of Travel Research,53(3), 323-335. Kim, J. H., Ritchie, J. B. (2014). Cross-cultural validation of a memorable tourism experience scale (MTES).Journal of Travel Research,53(3), 323-335. Loureiro, S. M. C. (2014). The role of the rural tourism experience economy in place attachment and behavioral intentions.International Journal of Hospitality Management,40, 1-9. Lupton, D. (2014). The commodification of patient opinion: the digital patient experience economy in the age of big data.Sociology of health illness,36(6), 856-869. Manthiou, A., Lee, S., Tang, L., Chiang, L. (2014). The experience economy approach to festival marketing: Vivid memory and attendee loyalty.Journal of Services Marketing,28(1), 22-35. Moutinho, L., Vargas-Sanchez, A. (Eds.). (2018).Strategic Management in Tourism, CABI Tourism Texts. Cabi. Murray, A., Skene, K., Haynes, K. (2017). The circular economy: an interdisciplinary exploration of the concept and application in a global context.Journal of Business Ethics,140(3), 369-380. National Research Council. (2014).Subjective well-being: Measuring happiness, suffering, and other dimensions of experience. National Academies Press. Putni?, T. J., Sauka, A. (2015). Measuring the shadow economy using company managers.Journal of Comparative Economics,43(2), 471-490. Radder, L., Han, X. (2015). An examination of the museum experience based on Pine and Gilmore's experience economy realms.Journal of Applied Business Research,31(2), 455. Ren, L., Qiu, H., Wang, P., Lin, P. M. (2016). Exploring customer experience with budget hotels: Dimensionality and satisfaction.International Journal of Hospitality Management,52, 13-23. Rihova, I., Buhalis, D., Moital, M., Gouthro, M. B. (2015). Conceptualising customer?to?customer value co?creation in tourism.International Journal of Tourism Research,17(4), 356-363. Schmitt, B., JokoBrakus, J., Zarantonello, L. (2015). From experiential psychology to consumer experience.Journal of Consumer Psychology,25(1), 166-171. Sidali, K. L., Kastenholz, E., Bianchi, R. (2015). Food tourism, niche markets and products in rural tourism: Combining the intimacy model and the experience economy as a rural development strategy.Journal of Sustainable Tourism,23(8-9), 1179-1197. Tsai, C. T. S. (2016). Memorable tourist experiences and place attachment when consuming local food.International Journal of Tourism Research,18(6), 536-548.

Relativity Theory Essays - Albert Einstein, Theory Of Relativity

Relativity Theory The theory of relativity was introduced by Albert Einstein around the early nineteen hundereds. It is a theory which enables the human mind to understand the possible actions of the universe. The theory is divided into two parts, the special, and the general. In each part, there is a certain limit to which it explains and helps to comprehend. In the special, Einstein explains ways of understanding the atom and other small objects, while the general is designed for the study of large objects, such as planets. The theory of relativity having being created, succeeded the two hundred year old mechanics of Isaac Newton, thus showing Einstein as more of a futuristic thinker and adapter. Einstein introduced the concept of Relativity, which means that there is no absolute motion in the universe. Einstein showed that humans are not in a flat, absolute time of everyday experience, but in a curved space-time. Take for example the Earth as a whole. The earth has a circumference of around twenty five thousand miles, and it can be covered within a twenty-four hour time frame. Having this completion of distance covered within the set amount of time, shows that the Earth rotates a little over one-thousand miles per hour. it can be assumed that something in the solar system is not moving, and we can measure how fast the earth is moving by relative to the object. However, no matter what object is chosen, it is moving as well, thus showing that nothing is fixed and that everything is moving, and it is unknown how fast or in what direction. The Theory of Relativity is a theory compressing mechanics, gravitation, and space-time. Having known this, it is seen so that all things are related, but can not be thought of as individual. The Theory of Relativity is known for having two parts to it. The first part is the special relativity; the other is the general relativity. Special relativity is known for it's publication in 1906; it is used for microscopic physics, such as atoms and small objects. The other type of relativity, the general, is known for its publication in 1916, well after the birth of it's counterpart. The general half of the theory is intended for astrophysics and cosmology, such as solar systems, planets, and large objects. A British Astronomer named Sir Arthur Eddington, was one of the first to fully understand the Theory of Relativity. A little humor about his intelligence can be seen to when he was asked about there being three people who understood the Theory of Relativity, his response was "who is the third?" The discovery of Quasars, the 3 kelvin microwave background radiation, pulsars, and possibly blackholes were studied with to see the accuracy of the Theory of Relativity with gravity. This led the development of the space program, telescopes, computers, etc...to make better calculations of the accuracy of the theory. The Theory of Relativity has two main parts, the special and the general. The internal part of the special theory is in reference to any region, such as a free falling laboratory, in which objects move in straight lines and have uniform velocities. In the lab, nothing would appear to be moving if everything in the lab was falling, the movement of the lab is relevant to the person that is in the lab. The principle of relativity theorizes that experiments in an internal frame, is independent from uniform velocity of the frame. An example of this is the speed of light. The speed of light within the internal frame is the same for all, regardless of the speed of the observer. Two events that are simultaneos in one frame, may not be simultaneos when viewed from a frame moving relative to the first one. Movement looks different depending on where the observer is located, how fast it is moving, and in what direction. An interesting fact about the special relativity, is that the mechanical foundations of special relativity were researched in 1908 by a german mathmetician named, Hermann Minkowski. Minkowski ler einstein to postulate the vanishing of gravity in free fall. In any free fall, laws of physics should take on special relitavistic forms, this is what led to the EEP(Eisteins Equivalence Principle.) A consequence of EEP is that the space time must be curved. It is techinical, consider two frames falling freely, but on opposite sides of the Earth. According to Minkowski, spare time is valid locally in each frame, but since the frames are accelerating towards each other, the two

History of the Byzantine Empire essays

History of the Byzantine Empire essays The Byzantine Empire is sometimes referred to as the East Roman Empire. The word Byzantine, in fact, comes from "Byzantium," which is the Greek name for a city on the Bosphorus. It was established with the foundation of Constantinople, the capital. The Empire included parts of both southern and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa. The ancient Roman Empire having been divided into two parts, an East and West with the east being the Byzantine. It was around between 312-1453AD and it reached its most powerful point in the 500's A.D. People of the Empire called themselves Romans, although they weren't really Romans; they were descendants of various ancient people. They were a mixture of mainly Greeks and Latin The Byzantine Empire was greatly influenced by the Greeks, who colonized the area, in the mid 600's BC. When Constantine the Great moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed after himself Constantinople, in 330 AD, When the Empire began to grow in number and power. The Empire lasted close to 1250 years until the Ottoman Turks came in and beat Constantine the Great and renamed it Istanbul, which it is known as today. Christianity influenced the culture of Byzantine including art, music, and architecture. Being that Constantinople was the capital of the Empire it was where everyone would go to read and write the language of ancient Greece. This period made many beautiful works of arts and fine poetry. Visual arts also flourished, too. Most of the artist worked as servant s of the court or belonged to religious orders, and they remained anonymous, which explains why most Byzantine artwork has no artist, so one or many people could have made these great works, and we would never know. The artworks on churches were also very popular the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, known to the Byzantines as the Church of the Resurrection at the order of Emperor Constantine probably took ten years...

A Babel of Tongues †The Dialectic of Communication and Solitude in Virginia Woolf

A Babel of Tongues – The Dialectic of Communication and Solitude in Virginia Woolf Virginia Woolf’s answer to Mr. Ramsay’s philosophical pursuits in To the Lighthouse is a reconciliation of both worlds – subjective perception and interpretation, and external objectivity. The first chapter of the novel is entitled â€Å"The Window,† and serves to represent the point of contact between subjective and objective states. This, Woolf believes to be our reality. External facts are arbitrary and meaningless until they are apprehended by a subjective state which gives them form; on a social level, communicating as a participant in society exposes the individual to an incoherent tumult of impressions that have to be reorganized into a coherent whole in solitude. Only then can one achieve peace. The individual is hence continually in search of an equilibrium in the dialectic of communication and solitude. Peter Walsh summarizes this concept in Mrs. Dalloway: For this is the truth about our soul†¦our self, who, fish-like inhabits deep seas and plies among obscurities†¦suddenly she shoots to the surface and sports on the wind-wrinkled waves; that is, has a positive need to brush, scrape, kindle herself, gossiping. However, to re-enter society as a participant entails at least a partial suspension of one’s subjectively constructed reality. Creative organisation is forfeited, and the â€Å"infinite richness† of life that Peter experienced a moment ago gives way to anxiety and a sense that events are spiraling out of one’s control. The city appears to be â€Å"floating off in a carnival,† and the febrile party of life – â€Å"the flare and the glare† – becomes lurid and chaotic. The coherent whole fragments and becomes meaningless isolated elements of reality that wash past Peter in an incomprehensible manner: â€Å"the cold stream of visual impressions failed him now as if the eye were a cup that overflowed and let the rest run down its china walls unrecorded.† The consequence of this is that â€Å"the brain must wake now†¦the soul must brave itself to endure.† Previously, as an invisible flà ¢neur amidst the bustling city, Peter could relax his mind to appreciate the myriad impressions of London life. To join the party would entail shedding invisibility and arresting these mental excursions in order to function socially. He takes out his pocketknife again, as he did when he first went to see Clarissa in the morning. T.E Apter suggests that the pocketknife is â€Å"a tool with which to pare down his perceptions, to preen his identity, and to defend himself against others’ views.† This is observed in Peter Walsh’s proleptic defense constructed in his thoughts against society’s voice, including Clarissa’s. He defends himself against the labels â€Å"Socialist† and â€Å"failure,† asserting that the future of civilization lies in the â€Å"hands of young men like[himself],† a nd diminishes Clarissa’s negative opinions of him by suggesting that she is superficial and snobbish. While Apter feels that Peter Walsh’s pocketknife is not a â€Å"worn-out masculine symbol,† Peter’s self-defensive maneuvers are undeniably offensive. Watching Peter handle his pocketknife, Clarissa imaginatively formulates his self-defense as revealed in his interior monologue – that she was â€Å"frivolous; empty minded; a mere chatterbox.† His self-defense invariably becomes an attack – interaction and communication hence turn into a battleground. Clarissa retaliates â€Å"like a Queen whose guards have fallen sleep and left her unprotected,† and â€Å"summoned to her help the things she did; the things she liked; her husband; Elizabeth; her self, in short†¦to come about her and beat off the enemy (my italics).† Her self, violated by misrepresentation, seeks to validate itself and emerges as the â€Å"indomitable egotism† that safeguards her vanity by overriding Peter’s claims. As a result, both Peter and C larissa â€Å"challenge each other† as in a â€Å"battle.† Clarissa validates her identity through external indicators – â€Å"the things she did; the things she liked; her husband; Elizabeth.† This is because a pattern of symbolic interpretation preexists the objects she names. Husband, daughter and hobbies can therefore be used as symbols representing success and felicity to vindicate Clarissa’s choices in life and challenge Peter’s position. However, these external indicators often make reductive summaries of their characters that they would not accept so easily in solitude. Clarissa chooses to define herself in these terms insofar as they offer her protection against Peter’s accusations; they cannot, however, fully represent her essential being, which explains â€Å"the feeling†¦of dissatisfaction† she often experiences of â€Å"not knowing people; not being known.† On the other hand, using social language to â€Å"preen one’s identity† does scale down the task of defend ing oneself against the whole of society into manageable proportions. One tactic Peter employs is in reproducing the external indicators imposed upon him in a dismissive tone (hence â€Å"preening his identity†), as he does later during the party. This subverts the significance of the criticisms and places him in a more enviable light than the term â€Å"failure† would normally allow. This is done without necessitating a head-on battle against society’s rather ill-founded impositions and labels – a task which would only make him appear insecure and, indeed, even more of a â€Å"failure.† Another means of self-defense is to appeal to another set of external indicators, which Peter does in response to Clarissa’s attack. He draws upon his â€Å"praise; his career at Oxford; his marriage† and tackles society’s implicit criticisms with another implicit social argument, and hence simultaneously defends and misrepresents himself. When one is alone, the self is relieved of the tedious tasks of self-defense and self-validation. The individual is allowed his own subjective understanding of events passing in the world and meets no resistance in his interpretation. Peter, upon leaving Clarissa, can therefore criticize her as having â€Å"something cold,† â€Å"a sort of timidity which in middle age becomes conventionality,† without facing Clarissa’s offensive self-defense. These criticisms are individual interpretations and are expressed in terms that are more subjective and descriptive, though less peremptory (which reduces their defensive power) than the predetermined arguments implicit in reductive and generalized social indicators. While these interpretations would afford a more meaningful debate, their lack of defensive power causes them to be eschewed on social battlegrounds where the more imperious external indicators are favoured. Only in solitude is Peter able to organize a more meani ngful representation of reality based on his own subjective interpretation of the events around him. Social language can be seen to impose frameworks of identity on characters, denying them the validity of their subjectively construed self-representations. It is this imposition of identity that characters in The Hours find unbearable. Cunningham describes his text as a â€Å"riff† on Mrs. Dalloway. Faithfully enough, his text is informed by the same theories of identity as a fluid concept as is seen in Woolf, where the self is constantly foiled and resurrected in an etiology concerning identity shaped by communication and solitude. Richard feels that the party could go on â€Å"with the idea of [him].† His self identity has been subsumed into facile social categorization, and he is defined as the tragic and sick artist who writes â€Å"weird book[s].† It is for this reason that he feels he â€Å"got a prize for [his] performance†¦for having AIDS and going nuts and being brave about it.† The external indicators – his sickness and his lengthy book – once again triumph over the true qualities of the self, here partially represented by the actual contents of his work, which nobody seems to understand. Laura Brown likens her anxieties about meeting her husband to the feeling one gets when â€Å"about to go onstage and perform in a play for which [one] is not appropriately dressed, and for which [one] has not adequately rehearsed.† She is acutely aware of the disparity between her self-perceived identity and the identity society has constructed for her, which she has to assume. She finds social identity – â€Å"the inchoate, tumbling thing known as herself, a mother, a driver† – superficial and meaningless, and liberates herself from the constraints of being a wife in a perfect home by escaping into a hotel. She experiences there â€Å"a sensation of deep and buoyant release,† which is the solace of self-reconstruction in solitude. Having â€Å"slipped out of her life† and escaped social imposition, she experiences â€Å"a sensation of unbeing,† for she has just lost social definition. Formerly, the being and the living had been the existence defined by society – the meaningless performance. The dissolution of the social â€Å"I† in solitude allows her self to emerge and conceive how â€Å"it is possible to die,† how death has a â€Å"dreadful beauty.† The â€Å"neutral zone† of the hotel room is void of socially imposed reality, and it is there, for the first time, that L aura is able to understand the appeal of death. This appeal is Laura’s subjective interpretation of the world (and of death in particular), and is an interpretation that has thus far been suppressed by social definition. Her â€Å"patriotism† for her husband – her civic responsibility to remain by his side and uphold the social tenets of familial duties – previously made such an idea unthinkable. A more insidious aspect of social interaction and communication is highlighted in Mrs. Dalloway and is represented by the two â€Å"Goddesses† of â€Å"Proportion† and â€Å"Conversion.† These are essentially abstractions of social establishments that enforce definitions regarding moral, political, emotional, or aesthetic realities, and which are given a satirical mythological status. They â€Å"smite out of [the] way roughly the dissentient, or dissatisfied† and â€Å"bestow†¦blessing on those who†¦catch submissively from [their] eyes the light of their own,† asserting their blinkered positions to be the only truths. Hugh Whitbread, who kissed Sally Seton to â€Å"punish her for saying that women should have votes,† could be said to be an agent of â€Å"Proportion† and â€Å"Conversion.† He masquerades under the â€Å"venerable name† of â€Å"kindness† and does more harm than â€Å"the rascals who get h anged for battering the brains of a girl out in a train.† Having been converted, he becomes a proponent of the â€Å"Goddesses†: by embodying outward social perfection without real depth of character, he is empowered, under the aegis of society, to stifle imagination, creativity and understanding, and repudiates Sally’s self-conceived reality, which made only the very modest claim that equal voting opportunities are appropriate in a civic moral society. Michael Cunningham, in The Hours, examines Woolf’s â€Å"Proportion† and â€Å"Conversion† in the context of the homosexual identity. By transposing Woolf’s diegesis of anomie onto the postmodern constructionistic concepts of identity, Cunningham is able to intensify the paradoxical tensions concerning the need for validation of one’s subjective experiences and the longing for social acceptance and integration. Walter Hardy, desiring acceptance, succumbs to â€Å"Conversion.† He possesses physical health, wealth and happiness – the touchstones of social success – leaving not a trace of the â€Å"overweight, desperately friendly† child â€Å"able to calibrate the social standing of other ten-year-olds to the millimeter.† But by accepting society’s criteria for judging success, he affirms its truth. Richard is hence justified in saying that â€Å"eternally youthful gay men do more harm to the cause than do me n who seduce little boys.† At least in seducing little boys, these men are affirming their subjective life experiences (which are their homosexual attractions and emotions), whereas men like Hardy, by their outward subscription to the social norm and passive assimilation of society’s ideological truths, allow the cycle of self-invalidation to continue into the next generation, and end up as simulacra of the â€Å"boys who tortured them in high school,† becoming the very forces that convert other individuals into the â€Å"Proportions† of masculinity and success. Oliver St. Ives is another character that embodies â€Å"Proportion.† Sally remarks â€Å"how much Oliver resembles himself.† The Oliver as movie star is almost identical to the Oliver of real life. As a movie star his image on television is defined through popular appeal, through society’s ideals. That his private image should correspond so well with society’s golden standard reveals Oliver’s lack of true self-identity – â€Å"as if all other brawny, exuberant, unflinching American men were somehow copies of him.† He is the face of the American male. Characteristically, his movie panders to society’s â€Å"Proportion†: an action thriller with a guy â€Å"who saves the world, one way or another.† An additional caveat attached reveals that â€Å"this one would have a gay man for a hero.† Unfortunately, saying that â€Å"it’s not a big deal. He wouldn’t be tortured about his sexuality. He wouldn ’t have HIV† is once again to deny the homosexual experience, to insist homosexuals had â€Å"never been strange children, never taunted or despised,† and to reinforce the experiences of society’s heterosexual norm. As David Bergman points out in â€Å"Gaiety Transfigured: Gay Self-Representation in American Literature,† â€Å"the child who will become gay conceives his sexual self in isolation. I cannot think of another minority that is without cultural support in childhood.† This precarious identity developed in solitude is allowed to be stampeded by the need for social confirmation, and Oliver becomes the very force of â€Å"Conversion.† Sally’s anger with â€Å"every optimistic, dishonest being† who denies their subjectively construed identity in favour of society’s brutal misrepresentation is hence vindicated. Such are the perils immanent in social participation that make a retreat into solitude so appealing. â€Å"Our apparitions, the things you know us by, are simply childish† – here, Mrs. Ramsay recognizes that the self is inevitably distorted by and heavily concealed from society. Human relations are â€Å"flawed,† â€Å"despicable† and â€Å"self-serving at their best,† because people inevitably choose to understand the world in a manner most gratifying to one’s vanity. She relishes the solitude wherein â€Å"she needs[s] not think about anybody,† and needs not continually fight for self-validation. â€Å"Having shed its attachments,† her self is free to wander uninhibited, and â€Å"the range of experience seem limitless.† These â€Å"strangest adventures† are not merely Mrs. Ramsay’s escapist fantasies of traveling to Rome and India; they are life experiences that are reorganized and refashioned by the â₠¬Å"unlimited resources† within one, and which form a subjectively conceived coherence – â€Å"a summoning together, a resting on a platform of stability.† Society foists itself on the individual, and it is only through â€Å"losing personality† and escaping social participation – whether as mother, wife or host – that the external world is held back, enabling one to lose â€Å"the fret, the hurry, the stir† and create â€Å"this peace, this rest, this eternity† by and for oneself. In retreating into the â€Å"wedged-shape core of darkness† of her self, subjective experience seemingly overwhelms the external objective world and turns it into a self-referential mirror – â€Å"She (Mrs. Ramsay) became the thing she looked at.† This mirror affords â€Å"peace† because it is the expression of the â€Å"core of darkness,† the moi splanchnique. Seeing the self reflected on the face of the world lets i t conceive of a harmonious unity, as if the essential truths of reality are indeed within oneself. Woolf, however, as a lover of parties, maintained that communication with the external world is not only desirable, but also necessary. Septimus’ decline into solipsistic insanity corroborates the idea that â€Å"communication is health; communication is happiness.† Septimus may also be seen as Clarissa’s doppelgà ¤nger. The tragic force gathers him, the alienated individual, in its nihilist folds and leads him to a premature death just as the comic force in Clarissa repeatedly pulls her back into society’s embrace in an affirmation of the positive and the social order. Shell-shocked after the war, Septimus appears to repudiate the impositions of the objective world – the social and the external – and constructs a reality based almost exclusively on his thoughts and emotions. His preoccupation with Evans conjures up images of him with hardly any objective stimulus – he hears him sing and speak where there could only possibly be birds singing or people talking. The objective world is lost to him, and he reveals: â€Å"I went under the sea†¦ but let me rest still.† He has collapsed into himself; his reality implodes. â€Å"Under the sea† he stays immersed in his own self and society’s call for him to emerge is feverish, lurid and cacophonic: But let me rest still; he begged†¦and as, before waking, the voices of birds and the sound of wheels chime and chatter in a queer harmony, grow louder and louder and the sleeper feels himself drawing to the shores of life, so he felt himself drawing towards life, the sun growing hotter, cries sounding louder His â€Å"doom† was hence â€Å"to be alone forever.† By the end of the novel he turns away from life and his doctors who are â€Å"forcing (his) soul,† committing suicide to preserve â€Å"the thing†¦that mattered.† This is the self which is â€Å"wreathed about with chatter, defaced, obscured†¦let drop every day in corruption, lies, chatter.† â€Å"Closeness draws apart† because social language is inadequate. He cannot survive in this solitude and appealed to death for â€Å"death was an attempt to communicate.† Clarissa does come to intuit his self-identity in the solitude of her â€Å"little room† by imaginative recreation of his death, drawing material from her own experiences and emotions. She feels his â€Å"terror; the overwhelming incapacity,† the â€Å"indescribable outrage† of a â€Å"soul† being â€Å"forc[ed]† and experiences his death vicariously – â€Å"her dress flame d, her body burnt.† She appeals to her own understanding of the world, remembering how she once felt â€Å"if it were now to die, ’twere now to be most happy.† She seeps into Septimus’ consciousness thus by an empathetic subjective understanding. If Septimus’ death is a triumph against Time’s transience and an offering to the epiphanic moments of life, then Clarissa’s quote from â€Å"Othello† would be representative. In solitude, through these references to her subjective world she achieves communication with Septimus. Woolf thus presents a paradox of opposites which is developed further in To the Lighthouse. Lily Briscoe, the artist, finds that â€Å"distance had an extraordinary power.† Distance enables withdrawal from social participation. As she paints, Lily retreats into solitude, going â€Å"out and out†¦further and further, until one [she] seemed to be on a narrow plank, perfectly alone, over the sea,† in order to peer into â€Å"the chambers of the mind and heart† of Mrs. Ramsay. To understand the â€Å"sacred inscriptions† of Mrs. Ramsay’s soul, Lily has to rely on her subjective understanding of the people and places which completed her. As Clarissa Dalloway suggests, â€Å"to know†¦anyone, one must seek out the people who completed them; even the places.† It would hardly be conceivable to accomplish this mammoth task physically. Lily, however, is able to â€Å"make up scenes,† of which â€Å"not a word†¦was true.† While objectively speaking these events had never occurred they are nonetheless completely plau sible, extrapolated hypothetically based on one’s understanding of other people. Fiction, formed by the creative self, is hence a useful tool for exploring human responses to various situations and elucidating their characters. Lily realizes that â€Å"it was what she knew them by all the same,† and views and reviews Mrs. Ramsay from the subjective viewpoints of the Rayleys, of Mr. Carmichael, Mr. Bankes and the other Ramsays. She felt she needed â€Å"fifty pairs of eyes to see with† in order achieve reconciliation amongst the kaleidoscopic representations of Mrs. Ramsay, so that her portrait is not saturated with her limited perspective. Eventually, like Clarissa, she has to experience Mrs. Ramsay’s emotional and intellectual experiences vicariously to achieve understanding. â€Å"What did the hedge mean to her, what did the garden mean to her, what did it mean to her when a wave broke?† – all these questions Lily strives to answer through imaginative enactment of events. She eventually manages to apprehend the world through Mrs. Ramsay’s consciousness and her fear for Mr. Ramsay segues into love and need – â€Å"she wanted him.† This is probably one aspect of Mrs. Ramsay’s emotional response to her husband which Lily has never shared. In this rare instance of human communication, Lily achieves the same unity and peace that Mrs. Ramsay experienced with the lighthouse beam earlier on, for she had become, â€Å"like waters poured into one jar, inextricably the same, one with the object [Mrs. Ramsay] one [she] adored.† The mirror returns, and she solves Mr. Ramsay’s philosophical conundrum – the relationship between subjective and objective worlds – by creating a work of art that affirms the expression of the subjective self using material from the objective world. Her portrait is accurate for the â€Å"odd-shaped triangular shadow† corresponds with the â₠¬Å"wedge-shaped core of darkness† so essential to Mrs. Ramsay’s identity; the finishing stroke scored through the middle of the canvass is also reflective of the severance in human relationships that Mrs. Ramsay has always fought against. Lily, like Woolf herself, rejects the notion of art as mimesis. â€Å"To be on level with ordinary experience† is to experience the phantasmagoric flux of fact and dream, to interweave between objective reality and subjective organization of that reality. Her painting is hence a â€Å"razor edge balance between two opposite forces; Mr. Ramsay and the picture† – the uncompromising facts of objective reality embodied in Mr. Ramsay and Lily’s own subjective understanding of them come together, equipoised, â€Å"clamped together with bolts of iron. Objectivity in society and subjective latitude in solitude soldered together – this is Woolf’s answer to the dialectic of the comforts of solitude and the asperity of communication in external society.

Characteristics of japanese schooling Research Paper

Characteristics of japanese schooling - Research Paper Example This essay stresses that there is a large number of people who want the system to be more flexible to the students because the current level of strictness has caused many to send their children to schools in addition the regular public schools children attend during the daytime. Japan conventionally follows a strict layout of curriculum and coursework for education at all levels and room for modification in curriculum or the educational trends in Japan is little, despite the fact that it contrasts with the diverse level of competency among the Japanese students. This paper makes a conclusion that increasing general reliance of people on part-time educational institutions like jukus and yobikos has paved way for many businessmen to adopt this as their profession since the practice guarantees huge monetary benefits. However, an in-depth analysis of the routine of students that go to these institutions suggests that these students spend a major portion of their day in schools. This is adversely affecting their social life as they do not get enough time to socialize with their friends and family. This may result in the production of a silo-minded generation in which the individuals lack bondage. In addition to that, people’s trust in jukus and yobikos more than on public schools speaks bad of the role of formal educational institutions in the overall academic nurturing of students in Japan.

Post World War I jewry in america Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Post World War I jewry in america - Essay Example Rarely did the attacks turn violent although there were few recorded cases. Such include 1902 attack of Irish workers and police on the funeral procession of Rabbi Jacob Joseph in New York City, the lynching of Leo Frank in 1915, the murder of Alan Berg in 1984, and the Crown Heights riots of 1991. Anti-Jewish waned off following the Second World War and the rise of the American Civil Right Movement. Claims by The Black Nation of Islam that Jews were responsible for black labor exploitation, introduction of drugs and alcohol and unfair denomination into the community was conclusively done away with following a survey done in 1964 by the Anti-Defamation League. The survey revealed attitudes on anti-Semitism with the majority percentage of 29 Hispanic being most Anti-Semitic trailed by 36% for blacks and 9% for whites. The Jewish population has remained strong politically, mostly liberal with the democratic pattern continuing heavily into the 21st century. The vast majority of Jews, since 1936, have been recorded to have been Democrats. This saw to the 74% of the Jewish populous voting for John Kerry, a Catholic of partial Jewish descent in the year 2004. Again in the year 2006 87% voted for Democratic candidates for the House (Mendes-Flohr and Judah, 62). Jews were fast becoming prominent in Congress and state governments through the country in the year 1990 and significantly proved to be ardent supporters of the American Civil Rights Movement. American Jews have since prospered throughout the early 21st century with them being disproportionately represented in academia, business, and politics. Going by Forbes, Forty-five percent of the top 40 of the 400 richest Americans are Jewish. Twenty percent of professors in leading universities being Jews, Forty percent of partners in the leading law firms in New York and Washington, Thirty percent of American Nobel prize winners in science and 37 percent of all American Nobel winners are

The crusaders and muslims in palestine :: essays research papers

Crusaders and Muslims in Palestine   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout time, history has had a tendency to repeat itself. It has done so in good means as well as bad. People learn from the past and apply it to their every day lives. Although people try to do the right thing and not follow mistakes that have been already made, they just seem to come about. Today, our country is experiencing a situation that is extremely similar to the situation occurred in 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. Crusades now can be defined as well all wars undertaken in pursuance of a vow and directed against infidels. Back in the middle ages, it was known as any military expedition undertaken by the Christians of Europe. The history of the crusades is filled with the mercilessness of the crusaders and the kind-heartedness of the Muslims. The Muslims were massacred everywhere the crusaders arrived, while the Christians were treated kindly by the Muslims. The Christians and the Muslims were fighting against one another in order to spread their relig ion, or end the other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The event leading up to the start of the holy wars was the invasions of the Holy Land, Jerusalem. Jerusalem was a holy site for the Christians as well as the Muslims. For the Christians, it was a sacred place because Jesus was crucified and on the site where his body was placed in a tomb. They built a church of Holy Sepulchure which stands of the hill where Christ was believed to have been crucified, died, buried, and where he rose again. For the Muslims, this place was cared because they believed that the founder of their religion, Muhammad, was able to visit heaven from there. For that reason, they built many masques and the most famous one is the Dome of the Rock. Islam was spreading very fast. Europe’s greatest threat came from the forces of Islam. These threats became real. Battles broke out and these battles turned to wars that lasted from 1095 to 1229. These years of bloodshed were led by men of power to gain control over the Holy Land of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was extremely important to the Muslims and Christians at this time. Many religious events had happened there, and many of the landmarks of both religions were located in Jerusalem. It was all over for one city, Jerusalem the Holy Land. At first, Christians occupied Jerusalem. The Christian people head out from giving up their land to their invaders, the Muslims.

E-Banking: Trend, Status, Challenges and Policy Issues

E-banking: Status, Trends, Challenges and Policy Implications 1. Introduction In addition to introduction (section I) and conclusion (section VI), the paper includes four sections. Section II addresses the definition and current situation of e-banking. Then, section III addresses the impact of e-banking on banking business. After that, section IV addresses the major application of e-banking. That is also the bottom line whether e-banking can be viable in a country. Section V addresses the new challenges e-banking has brought and policy implications from the perspectives of society, banks, and regulatory authority as well as government. . Status 2. 1. Definition †¢ The Internet includes all related web-enabling technologies and open telecommunication networks ranging from direct dial- up, the public World Wide Web, cable, and virtual private networks. (BIS-EBG, 2003) †¢ Internet banking (e-banking) is defined to include the provision of retail and small value banking product s and services through electronic channels as well as large value electronic payments and other wholesale banking services delivered electronically. (BIS-EBG, 2003) 1 2. 2. Fundamental characteristicsComparison between the current round financial innovation (e-banking) and past financial innovations The current innovation (ebanking) Content Delivery channel innovation-deliver banking business via internet. Impact Wider Past financial innovations Products and services, i. e. , delivery, swap Narrow 2. 3. Levels/Scope of e-banking business †¢ †¢ Basic information e-banking/web sites that just disseminate information on banking products and services offered to bank customers and the general public; Simple transactional e-banking /web sites that allow bank customers o submit applications for different services, make queries on their account balances, and submit instructions to the bank, but do no permit any account transfers; †¢ Advanced transactional e-banking/web sites that allow bank customers to electronically transfer funds to/from their accounts pay bills, and conduct other banking transaction online. †¢ Usually, e-banking refers to types II and III. 2. 4. Current development situations (in industrial countries) †¢ E-banking products and services are getting more and more advanced and increasing in variety.From providing information at the early stage to providing transactional activities. 2 †¢ †¢ Both volume and share in the total banking business are getting bigger and bigger very fast (Graph, Europe) E-banking customer base is getting bigger quickly. 2. 5. Status in developing countries Developing countries are in catching up in e-banking: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The average e-banking penetration for developing countries by the end of 1999 was close to 5% (World Bank Survey, 2001). In Brazil, the number of e-banking users reached 8 million in 2000. In Mexico, the number of e-banking users reached 1. 5 million in 2000. In India, over 50 banks are offering online banking services. ICICI Bank’s e-banking is very impressing. E-banking in Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan (China) is thriving. In Ghana and some other African countries, smart cards based on Visa Horizon proximately technologies are getting started. 3. Prospects–Impact of E-banking on traditional banking 3. 1. The early conventional wisdom: †¢ †¢ Internet banking would destroy the traditional banking business model and promote the entry of newcomers from the outside of the banking industry.Developing countries could have the â€Å"opportunities to leapfrog† in the adoption of efinance on a large scale. 3. 2. In reality, e-banking develops fast, but not damaging as conventional wisdom projected. †¢ The notion of leapfrog has not worked in many developing countries due to various impediments. This can be verified by UNCTAD report. â€Å"Some positive si gns are 3 already visible, including a high level of acceptance of technology by customers and financial institutions†¦. H(h)owever, most projects have not yet been deployed on a large scale. † (UNCTAD 2002. It provides a comprehensive look at the status of efinance in developing countries.It covers arrange of areas related to e- finance including e-banking, e-payments, e-trades, and e-credit information). †¢ †¢ Even in industrial countries, e-banking is still a complementary tools to traditional banking. Lots of pure e-banking businesses have been forced out of market. Internet-only banks have been substantially less profitable. They generate lower business volumes and any savings generated by lower physical overheads appear to be offset by other types of non-interest expenditures, notably marketing to attract new customers. (De Young 2001). 3. 3.Prevailing vision †¢ The prevailing view today is that Internet banking can only succeed if it is thoroughly in tegrated within the existing banking infrastructure, which should combine â€Å"click† (e-banking) with â€Å"mortar† (physical branches) due to the importance of public trust in banks, the value of an established brand name, and the desire of customers to do something physically. †¢ According to this view, Internet is regarded simply as another distribution channel as a complement to physical braches, phone banking and ATM networks. The dominance of the so-called â€Å"click and mortar† model can be explained by its success on the ground.Two good examples are Wells Fargo in the US and Nordea in Scandinavia. 3. 4. Case-study–experience from the two most successful cases Two most successful examples: †¢ †¢ Wells Fargo (US), has actually the highest absolute number of online customers, more than 3 million out of its total 24 million customers in 2001. Nordea (Scandinavia), has 2. 3 million online customers, representing over 20% of its total customer base. It has the highest share of online customers. 4 They share the following common elements: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Both are leaders in their traditional markets and thus can capitalize on a sizable customer base.Furthermore, their customer base is technologically sophisticated. California and Scandinavia have extremely high rates of Internet use. Both are technologically advanced and started early in Internet deployment. Wells Fargo started e-banking business as early as in 1989. Both have tightly integrated Internet in their operations and their existing infrastructure. Both have large number of SME customer base. 3. 5. Prospects Bottom line: the ability to mainstream SME and individuals into E-banking. 4. Trend: The major application of e-banking—SME finance E-banking is used more and more for improving access to finance.Financial constraints for SMEs have never been effectively solved and have been thought inevitable. This section will cover t he advantages of e-banking on this aspect. 4. 1. Obstacles to SME’s access to finance 4. 1. 1. from banks’ perspective †¢ †¢ †¢ High costs and low profitability of SME loans because of the small loan size. High risks of SME loans due to lack of business track record, credit history, and transparent information. Evaluating SME risk is â€Å"too labor- intensive† to be profitable. 5 †¢ Many banks lack strategies and skills to tackle impediments associated with SME finance.In many developing countries, the staff of banks lack necessary skills to appropriately assess credit risks of SMEs 4. 1. 2. from SME’s perspective †¢ Inappropriate products and services, which are rigidly supply-driven instead of demand-driven. Commercial bank products are usually designed to meet the needs of large corporations; few products and service are specifically tailored to the needs of SMEs. SME sector is usually underserved. †¢ †¢ †¢ High interest rates. SMEs usually require much smaller loans than large enterprises. banks, therefore, usually charge high margins to cover the costs. Cumbersome procedures.Over insistence on collaterals and guarantees. SMEs usually have low- level of fixed assets and relatively high- level of working capital. Therefore, when lending to an SME, a bank needs to assess the SME’s economic viability and future cash flows instead of collaterals. However, in many developing countries, banks are still in the very early stage of mastering sound lending policies and good credit practices. Their lending appears to simply rely on collateral rather than cash- flow projections. banks’ lack of capacity of non-collateral credit assessment has caused them unable to provide lending services to SMEs. Inflexible credit criteria—one size fits all. 4. 2. New Technology, New Hope for SME Finance 4. 2. 1. From bank’s side, new technology (e-banking) makes SME finance economically p ossible (i) lower operational costs of banks †¢ †¢ †¢ Automated process Accelerated credit decisions Lowered minimum loan size to be profitable (ii) potentially lower margins 6 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Lower cost of entry Expanded financing reach Increased transparency (iii) expand reach through self-service Lower transaction cost Make some corporate services economically feasible for SMEs Make anytime access to accounts and loan information possible . 2. 2. From SMEs’ perspective E-banking business makes access to finance from banks attractive. SMEs have benefited from the development of E- finance and gradually stepped out of the informal sector. In particular, E- finance offers the following attractive benefits for SMEs: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Ease of use Lower costs of financing Convenience Time savings Operational efficiency 4. 2. 3. From the government’s perspective New technologies have provided the incentiv es/benefits for the government to improve SME finance by †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Increasing employment. Contributing to poverty reduction. Contributing to economic development.Reducing the informal sector and cash economy1 . 1 Lack of SME’s access to FIs is one of the major reasons why there are usually big informal economic sector (cash economy) in many developing countries. Improved SME access to formal financial institutions is expected to reduce the informal economic sector. 7 5. Challenges and policy implications 5. 1. Cross-border e-banking activities and its policy implications 5. 1. 1. definition †¢ Definition: Cross-border e-banking is defined as the provision of transactional on- line banking products or service by a bank in one country to residents of another country. BIS, 2003) †¢ †¢ A note on the definition: A bank delivering its e-banking activities via its physical branches/ subsidiaries in a host country does count into cross-border e-ba nking. A further note: banks can use the new delivery channel (e-banking) reach customers in another country without as much reliance on physical presence and the significant investment that it entails (example). 5. 1. 2. Two scenarios †¢ †¢ The in-out scenario—In-country institutions providing banking services to customers outside the home country.The out- in scenario—institutions based outside the home country providing banking services to parties within the home country. 5. 1. 3. Raised many challenges and questions for banking regulatory authorities (both home and host) †¢ Who should take the supervision responsibility? Borderless nature of e-banking increase the potential for jurisdictional ambiguities with respect to the supervisory responsibilities of different national authorities. Such situations could lead to insufficient supervision of cross-border e-banking activities. †¢ †¢ Does it need to be licensed?Banks that engage in cross-bor der e-banking may face increased legal risk. Specifically, unless banks conduct adequate due diligence they run the risk of potential non-compliance with different national laws and regulations, including 8 applicable consumer protection laws, record-keeping and reporting requirements, privacy rules, AML rules. †¢ Non-banks may offer with greater facility bank- like services without any type of supervisory approval or oversight due to definitional ambiguities that may exist wit regard to what constitutes a bank (or banking services). †¢ †¢ †¢ Which country’s law applies to cross-border e-banking activities.Role and responsibilities of the home country banking supervisor and local supervisor. Supervisors need to recognize that the Internet allows for the provision of e-banking services that can span geographic borders and potentially call into question existing jurisdictional authorization requirements and the regulatory processes; †¢ Supervisors need to recognize the implications of taking a restrictive approach toward currently regulated banks without an even-handed treatment of foreign organizations that may conduct identical or nearly identical activities via the Internet in the local jurisdiction. Supervisors should ensure that banks appropriately manage the legal uncertainty during the period while the legal infrastructure for cross-border e-banking remains under construction. 5. 1. 4. Its policy implications †¢ Policy goal: The objective of both the host and home supervisors should be to avoid or minimize legal risks stemming from jurisdictional ambiguities, and to ensure that e-banking activities are adequately supervised with clearly defined supervisory responsibilities. †¢Basic principle: Focus attention on the need for effective home country supervision of cross-border e-banking activities on a consolidated basis as well as continued international cooperation between home and local banking supervisors regardi ng such activities given the possible absence of a physical banking presence in local jurisdiction. Such as focus is essential to promote safe and sound cross-border e- 9 banking without creating undue regulatory burden or impediments to banks’ use of the internet delivery channel to meet customer needs. Complementary principle : Home supervisors should provide host supervisors with clear information on how they oversee a bank’s e-banking activities on a consolidated level. Host supervisor would generally rely on the home supervisor to effectively carry out its supervisory program. Where there are concerns about the effectiveness of a home supervisor’s oversight program, the host would approach the home supervisor on a bilateral basis. The host supervisor will need to consider what actions may be appropriate to protect local residents and their banking system. Cooperation among national supervisors . Rapid pace of development of e-banking and the associated risk s will require supervisory agility, resources and, in the crossborder context, cooperation between home and host supervisors. 5. 2. From the society’s perspective 5. 2. 1. Challenges 1. Theft of personal identity 2. Privacy issues 3. Who take the responsibility in case of fraud 5. 2. 2. Policy implications 1. Essential are efforts to define the privacy framework and to use technology to solve contract enforcement problems. . 3. From bank’s perspectives 5. 3. 1. Risk management challenges †¢ Adaptation to Technology issues: The speed of change relating to technological and customer service innovation in e-banking is unprecedented. This intensifies challenges to the management to ensure that adequate strategic assessment, risk 10 analysis and securities reviews are conducted prior to implementing new e-banking applications. †¢ Outsourcing issue: E-banking increase banks’ ependence on information technology, thereby increasing the technical complexity of many operational and security issues and furthering a trend towards more partnerships, alliances and outsourcing arrangements with third parties, many of whom are unregulated. †¢ †¢ Increased legal and reputational risks E-security issue: The internet is ubiquitous and global by nature. It is an open network accessible from anywhere in the world by unknown parties, with routing of messages through unknown locations and via fast evolving wireless devices.Therefore, it raises significant challenges on security controls, customer authentication techniques, data protection, audit trail procedures, and customer privacy standards.  § While companies have been keen to embrace the potential offered by these technologies, few understand the inherent vulnerability and risks associated with e- finance. Since 1999, Brazil has seen a 418% increase in electronic security incidents; Korea has seen a 932% increase and Japan has seen over 1000% increase in malicious electronic security i ncidents (Tom Glaessner et al, 2003).  § Over 57% of all hack attacks in 2002 were initiated against the financial sector (Tom Glaessner et al, 2003). Identity Theft has exploded and incidents are expected to reach almost 2 million per year by 2005 wit a cost of almost US$10 billion. †¢ Outsourcing issue: E-banking increase banks’ dependence on information technology, thereby increasing the technical complexity of many operational and security issues and furthering a trend towards more partnerships, alliances and outsourcing arrangements with third parties, many of whom are unregulated. †¢ Increased legal and reputational risks 11 5. 3. 2. Policy implications/recommendations . Establish a comprehensive security control process. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Authentication of e-banking customers Appropriate measures to ensure segregation of duties Establishment of clear audit trails for e-banking transactions Non-repudiation and accountability for e-banking trans actions 2. Centralized-back office to free staff time in sales and services areas and to consolidate process consistently across the organization. 3. Develop automated credit authorization system by developing appropriate credit scoring system and cash- flow scoring system to reduce operating costs, improve asset quality, and increase client profitability.One of the major benefits of credit scoring system is that lenders can make credit decisions without necessarily obtaining financial statement, credit reports, or other time-consuming and hard-to-get information. In particular, the financial statements of SMEs are often not complete and difficult to get. Banks can more closely align their specific credit policies and marketing strategies with the analytics, making the decision process more costefficient. (I. e. , Fair, Isaac has developed a credit scoring system specialized in SME finance—SBSS 5. (small business scoring services), which has been increasingly used by many ban ks as their SME credit decision making model. ) 4. Comprehensive due diligence and management oversight process for outsourcing relationships and other third-party dependencies. 5. Integrate cross-border e-banking risks into the bank’s overall risk management framework. 6. Legal and reputational risk management †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Appropriate disclosures for e-banking services Privacy of customer information Capacity, business continuity and contingency planning to ensure availability of e-banking systems and services Incident response planning.Segregation of duties 12 †¢ Due diligence on risk assessment 5. 4. From the authorities’ perspective (banking supervisor, central bank, related government depts. ) 5. 4. 1. Challenges from e-banking 1. Oversight of outsourcing and partnership arrangements, and the oversight of security and data integrity and controls and safeguards, especially when the supporting operations are located in another jurisdi ction . 2.The ability to adopt global technology to the local requirements: A adequate level of infrastructure and human capacity building are required before developing countries can adopt the global technology for their local requirements. 3. The ability to create the necessary level of regulatory and institutional frameworks: The lack of regulatory frameworks, trust, security and privacy standards, high trade barriers, customer and investor protections impede progress in many developing countries to implement e- finance projects. 4. E-security challenges 5. 4. 2.Policy implications/recommendations 1. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Improve system infrastructure environment for e-banking business Strengthen payment system (including RTGS, bulk/low value payment system). Improve the settlement system (e. g. , for credit cards and other forms of electronic transactions). Build-up transaction reporting/reconciliation services. Establish credit information registry and disseminating s ystem. Credit information registries, commonly known as credit bureaus in many countries, can reduce the extent of asymmetric information by making a borrower’s credit history available to 3 potential lenders. Lenders armed with this data can avoid making loans to high risk customers, with poor repayment histories, defaults, or bankruptcies. Once a lender makes a loan, the borrower knows that their performance will be reported to the credit bureau. The information contained in a credit registry becomes part of the borrower’s â€Å"reputation collateral†; late payments or defaults reduce the value of this â€Å"collateral† providing an additional incentive for timely repayment. At the same time, by reducing the information monopoly that banks have over their existing borrowers,