Importance of Web Based Questionnaire System free essay sample

It is the freest way of advertisement, entertainment and source of limitless information. Through this, many things is done in convenient ways. Thus, Web-Based Systems came to its birth. Businesses and Academic Institutions use it in reaching their goals which is to provide their customers and users with sufficient and effective service. It provides convenience, mobility and simplicity, for it is done online which means, wherever and whenever the user maybe, transaction is made possible.In the context of learning, web based systems plays a vital role in re-shaping the geographical boundaries in terms of accessing information (Gates 2009). With web-based systems online automation is possible; users can get information in real-time sugarless of geographical location. Web based system have paved the way in establishing a new ground and platform of learning. According to Chambers (2006) Education and the Internet must go hand in hand, it will serve as one of the great equalizers. We will write a custom essay sample on Importance of Web Based Questionnaire System or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To experience the power, capability and unlimited potential of the internet, web based systems are developed, maintained and from time to time upgraded to meet the ever changing user needs. At present, different academic institutions in the county have deployed their own websites, which is focused in evangelize the institutions information ND other details. A website plays a vital role as a source of information on a certain institution. The goal of establishing a website is to provide an extension service to the institutions labor force and its potential clientà ¨les. Deploying a website doesnt mean it addresses to answer all technological and non-technological dilemmas in a certain academic institution. Web based systems or web applications must be developed and deployed to address the need of automation and mobility on other areas of academic institution such s test questionnaire management system which is the main focus of the study. More over this study aims to solve one of the problems of colleges and universities which is the record management of test/examination questionnaires.Test questionnaires are sometimes disregarded after its usage and some faculty place their test questionnaires on areas that are very accessible by other people, which could lead to lose or examination leakage. According to Renamed (1992) examinations/test are crucial since university/ college study ends up with an output the credential. It is imperative that this credential be a result of evaluative mechanisms that are worth their salt, that seek to objectively esta blish whether or not a student has obtained the necessary knowledge and/or skill in a subject to warrant certification and graduation.In spite of its importance, it is sad to know that some colleges and universities in the country have no or loose schemes in measuring the quality of test questions given and administered to students. Creation of test questionnaire is one of the tedious jobs of a faculty, in terms of mobility and accessibility. Because the faculty must undergo a series of preparations before the test questions are created. Sometimes as result test questions quality is ignored. These points to the direct relationship between the learning outcomes and objectives and the questions developed to test learner progress.The general purpose of this study is to develop a Web-based Test Questionnaire Management System that will help solve the problems of records management of test questionnaires in the state colleges and universities in the country that will serve as a tool in improving the quality of dents learning, offer convenience and mobility on the side of the faculty, provide data protection from any intrusion and to establish a new learning and administration platform that offers productivity, efficiency and mobility.Statement of the Problem The general purpose of this study is to develop a Web Base d Test Questionnaire Management System for the state colleges and universities in the country. This study seeks to answer the following questions. 1 . How to provide data security and safe guarding measures on the test questionnaires? 2. How to provide mobility, efficiency and flexibility in reading and updating test questionnaires? 3. What are the procedures that could monitor the quality of the test questionnaire created by a faculty? 4.In what way that this study could help improve students learning performance? Objectives of the Study This study generally aimed to solve the problems of test questionnaire record management of the state colleges and universities in the country, through the development of a Web-Based Test Questionnaire Management System. Specifically, this study sought to: 1. To provide data security and safe guarding measures on the test questionnaires. 2. To provide mobility, efficiency and flexibility in creating and updating test questionnaires. . To establish procedures that could monitor the quality of the test questionnaire created by a faculty. Provide feature will help improve students learning performance. Scope and Limitation 4. To The Web-Based Test Questionnaire Management System provides automated adding, deleting, sharing updating, printing and administration of test questions through the web. The System will provide question and question type customization to the faculty. The system has security features that will screen unauthorized person to log-in.

Capstone Project Topics and Ideas

Capstone Project Topics and Ideas The capstone project is the most hated and time-consuming type of work, which is usually written at the end of an undergraduate or graduate program. Indeed, a project requires accomplishing and analyzing a great deal of academic information to prove a student’s intellectual experience to advisors. It is difficult to write a capstone project sample since, except for a report, it demands to include a practical part. The first step is to offer a topic of a project to your advisor and submit a proposal. This proposal will assist you in writing an introduction filled with all the necessary information to cover the topic. A student should not forget that a capstone project should reach nearly forty pages; thus, a literature review is an essential part of it. There is a list of suggested topics to write the capstone project: The Correlation between Sleep and Work Effectiveness Sleep is a primary need of every human being, and it is clear that the lack of healthy sleep can cause not only a bad feeling, but it also decreases the efficiency of work. Therefore, this capstone project topic requires exploring such aspects as an impact on health, how insomnia develops, and the solutions to regulate sleeping regime. One can find a piece of essential information related to this topic in the article â€Å"Sleep, Health and Wellness at Work: A Scoping Review† by Nicola Magnavita and Sergio Garbarino. The History of Cinematography: From Lumiere to Xavier Dolan The cinematography is an impeccable genus of art, which has a long history and many stages of development. A student needs to make a profound investigation to write about the first attempts to shoot a motion film and its characteristics. Besides, one should account for filmmaking techniques used in these films, describe several cult films that reflected the mood of societies, and switch to modern directors. The book A Hidden History of Film Style: Cinematographers, Directors, and the Collaborative Process by Christopher Beach will assist in writing about the history of cinematography through all these years. The Symbolic Colors in Movies Cinema is a synthetic art that includes a variety of art manifestations, such as music, painting, acting, and photography. For this topic, one needs to describe the features of cinematography and emphasize the importance of colors in film products. Thus, a student should find the relation between directors’ use of colors and symbolic meaning. For instance, one can mention such films as The Schindlers List, Pleasantville, or The Neon Demon. Students also can refer to the book Movies and the Meaning of Life: Philosophers Take on Hollywood by Kimberly A. Blessing and Paul Tudico. Marketing and Manipulation of People Marketing techniques targeted at people have an adverse reputation in the modern world. People know that one of the aims of marketing is to investigate and analyze human behavior and manipulate them. Thus, this project requires mentioning all the techniques marketers use and specify the methods they can do marketing without harming people. Unconscious Branding: How Neuroscience Can Empower (and Inspire) Marketing by Douglas Van Praet is a book that includes much data devoted to this topic. The Relevance of Psychology and Its Capacity to Solve the Issue of Humanity The modern world expresses the value of psychological health, and a significant number of people see a psychologist as an assistant in resolving the problems of any type. Nevertheless, trust in science is under question as not all of the psychological practices are effective. In this paper, one can reveal different psychological schools and methods as well as give examples of their practical implementation. Besides, a student can write why mental health has such importance, and how people can defend it from a negative impact. One may find the relevant data in the article â€Å"Can Psychology Help Save the World?† by Susan Clayton. AIDS and the Theories around It This topic covers the information about a sophisticated virus as AIDS that has taken many lives. In this project, one should write about the first outburst of this virus. Also, a student needs to describe the symptomatic of it. One can also state about famous people who died because of AIDS. In addition, it is necessary to explain the complexity of the disease and the various theories about this virus. For instance, there are such assumptions that homosexual relationships are a reason for the appearance of AIDS or the government is the one to blame for its invention to solve the issue of overpopulation. Sergey Makarov’s article â€Å"The Real Theory of AIDS† helps understand this issue. Management and Atmosphere in the Workplace? How Does It Influence Business? To create a friendly atmosphere in the workplace is the duty of every manager. Simultaneously, this mission should not be exaggerated because the work can become associated with entertainment. In this capstone project topic, you may describe the aims and tasks of management in business development. The principles of creating a proper work atmosphere, which would promote employees’ loyalty, are the core of the paper. One of the best sources related to this topic is a book Effective Management by Chuck Williams. Why Is Non-Conventional Medicine Absurd? This topic requires telling about the diversity of alternative medicine practices and explaining why they are not reliable. To achieve this aim, one should include data about the development of medicine and its effectiveness in curing various health issues. Also, it would be relevant to explain why non-conventional medicine can devastate one’s health state. One of the possible illustrations is the lack of thorough testing. The necessary information is available in the article â€Å"Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Between Evidence and Absurdity† by E. Ernst. Sleeping Issues: Sleep Paralysis, Sleepwalking, and Insomnia One may start this topic with an explanation of why sleep has essential meaning for every human being. Then, one may proceed with a description of different sleep issues such as sleep paralysis, sleepwalking, insomnia, and others. In the practical part of a capstone project sample, a student should provide solutions for the variety of sleep issues, the methods to preserve healthy sleep and manners to improve sleep patterns. An informative source devoted to this issue is Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem written by Institute of Medicine, Board on Health Sciences. How to Live with Mental Health Issues? It is an ambiguous question of whether a person can function with severe psychological issues, such as schizophrenia, paranoia, ADHD. In this project, one needs to describe several mental diseases and analyze their prevention from living a full life. Moreover, the analysis of others’ coping with such problems is essential. Xavier Amador’s book I Am Not Sick I Dont Need Help!: How to Help Someone With Mental Illness Accept Treatment can help to understand this topic profoundly. The Data Brokers: The Case of Stealing and Selling of Personal Information The Internet is a perfect place to track the personal life of every person. Also, such social media as Facebook sells the personal data, emails, and even the browser’s history to the data brokers. Therefore, a student may write about the scandalous situation with Facebook. Besides, to investigate the purposes of similar transactions is critical to define its illegal and unethical ground. The student may use the article â€Å"What are ‘Data Brokers’ and Why are They Scooping Up Information About You?† by Yael Grauer. Feminism: A Fight for Equality or a Struggle for Superiority The struggle for the rights of women is an acute issue in the modern world. However, sometimes feminism crosses all the borders and evolves into the hatred to men. It seems that they fight not for equality but superiority because feminists refer to men as an inferior part of humanity. While researching this topic, one may cover the history of feminism, the first feminists, suffragists, and the role of women in past societies. In addition, one should mention healthy feminist manifestations. For instance, giving more possibilities for women to work makes the lives of men easier since they would not deplete their energy resources and work themselves to death. Feminism’s Forgotten Fight: The Unfinished Struggle for Work and Family by Kirsten Swinth will help to write an excellent capstone project about this topic. Is It Reasonable that People Live in Computer Simulation? Jean Baudrillard and other philosophers claim that we live in a computer simulation. Write about various theories related to this topic. Explain why it is possible and why it is not. A student can refer to the films like Matrix and The Thirteenth Floor. Besides, the helpful source is Baudrillards book Simulacra and Simulation. Why Russian Literature and Movies Are so Depressing? Nowadays, Russia is one of the most powerful countries, which occupies a vast territory. Many people are interested in its culture. Therefore, Russian films and books are the most cognitive sources that assist in acquaintance with this country. This project may focus on the country’s history and the reflection of the Russian mentality in books and movies. For achieving this aim, the book The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature by Viv Groskop will be a great tool. Political Games Political elections are always a process full of stumbling blocks. Politicians use many tricks and manipulations to make people vote for them. Since the elections can be a decisive factor for the future development of the country, it is essential to know these tricks to eschew their influence on decision making. A student may mention the key types of manipulative games during elections. The source applicable for this topic is the book Political Games by Macartan Humphreys. Slavery Throughout the World Slavery is a shameful page in the history of the world. Indeed, it exists even in the modern world. Thus, the student may include data about the history of slavery in the U.S., and then they may write about slavery in other countries. One may mention the issue of the exceptionalism of one race among others. The book A Brief History of Slavery by Jeremy Black will help to plunge into this topic. The Development of Technologies Seems to Lead Humanity to a Catastrophe The twentieth century is a period of rapid development of technologies. Most people do not even notice these changes. Artificial neural networks, which can lead to the development of artificial consciousness, are one of the most terrifying possibilities. Thus, the student can write about the impact of technologies on people’ lives in terms of comfort and danger for humanity and nature. To explain this topic, read the article â€Å"Technologies Progress Make Us Vulnerable to Catastrophe† by Colin Dickey. Most Efficient Marketing Techniques As marketing is one of the most spreading fields of activities in the modern world, it would be useful to write about this topic. Thus, a student should include general information about marketing, its use of psychology and sociology, and harm to people’s feelings. Also, one may describe various marketing techniques for influencing and analyzing humans consumer behavior. The book The Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands by Jean-Noà «l Kapferer and Vincent Bastien will be useful for covering this capstone project topic. Types and Strategies for Non-Traditional Education Traditional education is not regarded as effective one anymore. Therefore, the modern world has developed a significant number of non-traditional education strategies that can help children to acquire bits of knowledge and become independent. One may find all helpful information about the variety of non-traditional learning in the article â€Å"Non-Traditional Teaching Learning Strategies† by Pamela Harris. Human Resources Managers: The Importance of Their Job Every business hires HR manager to organize the work of a group of people. It is vital that the HR manager needs to be a human lover and a good psychologist. The student may consider the required traits of character, the duties of these people, and the importance of their work for any business. The student may refer to the book Human Resource Management: Latest Edition by Dr. F. C. Sharma. Conclusion Overall, the capstone project demands much time and effort. As a result, it must include about forty pages and be informative. However, with an exciting topic, the work on it may become a pleasant experience. Therefore, this list of topics and ideas aims to assist in writing an excellent project and getting the highest mark. Hence, a well-written Capstone Project should consist of interesting data and use relevant sources.

Internal Monitoring for a Stronger Police Force Research Paper

Internal Monitoring for a Stronger Police Force - Research Paper Example A metaphor is something that is used to signify an idea through example, and therefore this is an objective example of applying something that may be completely unrelated objectively, but still has meaning as it is seen to relate to a larger concept. In the case of the broken windows theory, this larger concept is the assumption that, basically, one thing leads to another. This is related in some ways to the previous objective portrayal of the domino metaphor, in which it only takes one domino falling to make many other dominos fall. Objectively, in terms of the broken window theory, â€Å"The germ of the idea is simple and compelling. A broken window--or a littered sidewalk, a graffito, or what you like--does no great harm to a neighborhood if promptly addressed. But left untended, it sends a signal: that no one cares about this neighborhood, that it is a safe place to break things, to litter, to vandalize. Those who engage in such behaviors will feel safe here. And once these mino r miscreants have become well established, perhaps it will seem a safe enough neighborhood in which to be openly drunk† (Siegel et al., 2006). The first part of this statement is very objective by nature. Zero tolerance programs are also features of traditional policing. Traditional policing involves theory and other issues. It is also anticipated that results will be mixed in terms of officers’ perceptions of ethics training as an effective option to cut down on misconduct. â€Å"Usually, the content of ethics training consists of adopting one philosophical framework and discussing hypothetical or researched ethical dilemmas within that framework. To be sure, examples of ethical dilemmas for criminal justice students and practitioners can be gathered from newspapers, books, and journal articles.  

Bio-Terrorism preparedness and response Module 3 SLP MHE 507 Essay

Bio-Terrorism preparedness and response Module 3 SLP MHE 507 - Essay Example ecast, the public health officials in particular attempt to develop and refine a â€Å"new methods of surveillance† (Buehler, Berkelman, Hartley, & Peters, 2004). These surveillance methods or systems -- also known as syndromic surveillance -- are principally intended to detect â€Å"early manifestations of bioterrorism-related disease.† The ultimate goal of syndromic surveillance is the earlier detection of bioterrorism-related disease before it exponentially spread to the community. However, few have questioned (if not attacked) the efficiency and/or accuracy, among other things, of the current surveillance systems. Researchers, working for the bioterrorism preparedness and response, admit openly that the attainability or feasibility of the syndromic surveillance’s goal â€Å"remains unproved† (Buehler et al., 2004). No doubt, it is very important to fully learn the fundamental component, in the epidemiologic level, of the â€Å"biological agents used as weapons† (Pavlin, 1999). In grasping their basic principles, public health officials -- such as those in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) -- will be able to determine and detect the symptoms and/or prodromal illnesses generally characterized by bioterrorism-related diseases. According to Buehler et al. (2004), the early signs of people contaminated with anthrax are â€Å"nonspecific symptoms† that last for a few days and followed by a â€Å"severe disease.† Fortunately, scientists and medical practitioners understand the essential framework or nature of inhalational anthrax. It is only a matter of time (and technology) before one can truly detect the onset of the severe disease. One of the reasons why the goal of syndromic surveillance is difficult to be achieved is because of the nature of the inhalational anthrax itself. Syndromic surveillance basically aims to determine the bioterrorism-related disease in the earliest possible time -- that is, before clinicians or medical professionals

Ethics in the Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethics in the Media - Essay Example The concept of free speech and freedom of the press is therefore the glue that holds the country’s hard-fought-for freedoms intact. Political correctness is a term used to refer to the care in speaking that emerged in the 70s, gained strength in the 80s and remains an important topic in media relations today. When it first started being used, â€Å"Folks on the left used the term to dismiss views that were seen as too rigid and, also, to poke fun at themselves for the immense care they took to neither say nor do anything that might offend the political sensibilities of others† (Bliefuss, 2007). This half-joking sense of sensitivity in communication has since blown up into a very serious threat to our rights of free speech and free media. When considering whether we truly want political correctness as a guiding principle in our media, it is important that we take the time to more definitively define the term and its application. The importance of free speech and free media is highlighted in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution which states â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.† (â€Å"The Constitution†, 2006). The Founding Fathers of America considered a free press one of, if not the most, important aspects in the formation of a free and democratic society. A great deal of their emphasis on this point stemmed from their perception that the media channels that then existed in England, after whom they patterned much of their legal code, was rigidly censored. Journalists who questioned the King’s decisions were often jailed or worse. The Founders knew that if the press were not free, the country would not be either.

The Development Mechanism And Trading Of Sukuk Bonds Finance Essay

The Development Mechanism And Trading Of Sukuk Bonds Finance Essay A Sukuk bond is an Arabic word for financial investment certificates, or sometimes can be refer as Islamic bonds. It is the famous element in the Islamic Finance among the Muslim and non-Muslim. Other than that, sukuk also refer to trust certificates and participation securities. Moreover, it is one of the fastest growing tools in the Islamic capital market that triggered the desire of research and writings of many researchers and scholars, as a result of which is the existence of many academic writings and publications [1]. It has become one of the most dynamic tools for capital mobilization in both the Islamic and conventional capital markets (2007, Umar). For your information, base on their Islamic law, it is not allowed fixed income and interest bearing bond. After that, Islamic Finance comes out the sukuk bonds to fulfill its investment principles, which is charging or paying the interest. Besides that, it is similar to the financial bonds in the conventional bank, which are proof of ownership title to the investor and utilized by financial institution to raising the fund. For both conventional bonds and sukuk bonds are structured to generate revenue on the physical assets. However, the differentiation between both bonds is sukuk bonds can be consider as modern application of Islamic financial. Malaysias fully experience and concrete fundamentals in Islamic finance developed over 30 years, tied with its strength in the domestic sukuk market, offers strong exciting value propositions to government agencies, multinational corporations and multilateral development banks or financial institutions across the world to originate sukuk out of Malaysia.  Malaysia leads the global sukuk market, represented by 61% of total sukuk outstanding at the end 2008.2 Development of Sukuk Bonds What is Sukuk? Sukuk is an Islamic financial certificate bond but it refuted to conventional bonds, which is debt based instrument and Sukuk is asset based instrument. Sukuk securities adopt the Islamic laws referred to as Shariah and it own principles, Islamic religious law, which no all interest can make and its forbid the charging or payment of interest such as fixed income, interest bearing bonds are not permissible in Islam . Sukuk instruments are like a middleman or a bridge to issuers, primarily sovereigns and corporations in other foreign countries such as in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, with a large pool for investor to finding diversify their holdings beyond traditional asset classes. In Sukuk market, fund raised can classified in two way which is an efficient and transparent way in over 100 non-member countries in the world. Diagram 1: Different between conventional financial and Islamic financial Selected Historical Highlights Key Highlights in Malaysias Islamic Capital Market: 1990: Issuance of first Islamic Corporate bond by Shell MDS Sdn Bhd 1993: Launch of first Islamic Equity unit trust fund by Arab-Malaysian Unit Trust Bhd 1994: First full fledged Islamic stockbroking company, BIMB Securities, was established 1999: Launch of the KLSE Syariah Index 2000: Launch of the first Islamic bond fund by RHB Unit Trust Management 2001: Issuance of the worlds first Global Sukuk by Kumpulan Guthrie Source: Bloomberg (based on Sukuk issued out of new and existing programmes for the YTD ) Global vs Malaysia Sukuk Issuances 2005- 1H20112002: Issuance of the worlds first Global Sovereign Sukuk Figure :Global vs Malaysia Sukuk Issuances 2005- 1H2011 In 2005 to first half of 2011, global Sukuk market and Malaysia Sukuk market was faced few economic growth and crisis, therefore it was effect issued Sukuk bond. Based on the data, Malaysia Sukuk market doesnt showed significant growth compared with global Sukuk market between 2005 to first half of 2011. However Malaysia Sukuk market looks more stable than global market. In 2008, global Sukuk faced financial meltdown, it is global financial crisis and the Dubai debt woes, therefore it dropped from US$31 billion to US$14.2 billion, dropped around 54%. Besides that, Malaysia Sukuk market also dropped, but the dropped amount lower than global market, around 41%.Apart from that, in 2009 Malaysia Sukuk market of the total Sukuk issuance growth around 31%, it was showed those investor have confidence to Malaysia Sukuk market. http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2009/9/9/business/p8-sukukcht.JPG Figure 2:Sukuk issuance by country in 2009 In 2009, Malaysia is the largest country issuer Sukuk bond compare with Indonesia, Sausi Arabia and Bahrain.Malaysia almost having around 45% of issuer Sukuk bond. The second largest is Saudi Arabia, they has around 22% for issuer Sukuk bond. Figure 3 Malaysia: Outstanding Sukuk vs. Bonds In this several years, Sukuk continues growth but compare with normal bond, amount of outstanding Sukuk still lower than bond. In 2011, Sukuk still not famous for the investor or issuer therefore the number was just had small amount for the outstanding Sukuk. Besides that, between 2001 and 2007 the amount of outstanding Sukuk was growth significantly. In 2007, outstanding Sukuk was catching up the normal bond and after year 2007 outstanding Sukuk still having a positive growth in the market. This three chart showed that investor have confidence with Malaysia Sukuk market because it has its potential. In 1990s, Malaysia already had a powerful and transparent Islamic structure. Other than that, Malaysia also do more effort to promoted to foreign investor show that Malaysia is an international Islamic financial hub and had recognized by worldwide and continues lead at the front of the development of Sukuk bond. The strength of Sukuk is lies in its own unique framework. Sukuk can carry distinct value position to issuers and investors. The Sukuk growths rapidly because had few factors. 1. Structure growth sophistication. Sukuk have a good superiority which is it had the flexibility of Sukuk structure to lead its growth continuously and it also can meet the requirement and preferences of investor and issuers by tailored suitable Sukuk to them. Now a day, Malaysia have more than a types of Sukuk in the market such as profit and loss sharing (Musyarakah), cost plus financing (Murabahah), deferred payment (Al-Bai Bithaman Ajil), leasing (Al-Ijarah), agent(Al-Wakalah) and so on to wider range of investors. Figure 4: Type of Sukuk apporeved in Malaysia In 2011, Malaysia has few types of Sukuk approved in Malaysia Sukuk market and types of Sukuk in Malaysia market can classified to Contracts of participation and exchange. Contracts of participation are such as Mudharabah Sukuk and Musyarakah Sukuk. Contracts of exchanges are such as Murabahah and Ijarah. The largest number of investor invest is Musyarakah, the number is around 63% in Sukuk market. The second largest is Ijarah, its around 15% in Sukuk market. 2. Clarity on the regulatory treatment. Excellent regulatory treatment in Sukuk structure has provided regulatory certainty to Islamic financial institutions with regard to their investments.The adherence of the Capital Adequacy Standard was accomplish and issued by the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) 3. Strategic centralize to develop overall Islamic financial system. Every investor or issuers have it own demand or requirement therefore Sukuk can base on each investor or issuers to choice suitable own Sukuk to themselves. For example, in takaful operators the investors can choice medium or long-term liabilities of takaful funds. 2.1 Introduction to Mechanism of Sukuk Bond Sukuk bond is one of the Islamic financial products which grow rapidly nowadays. It is generally known as Shariah compliant  [1]  bond as it is structured according to the Islamic principles. The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has defined sukuk as the certificates of equal value that represent an undivided share in the ownership of the underlying asset, usufruct, services or investments in particular projects or special investment activities. (Institutions, 2008) Besides, sukuk bond also can be described as an asset-based investment because the investor which is the sukuk holder owns the undivided interest in the underlying asset even if bad situation occurs. Sukuk bond is not a debt certificate, hence, the claim of sukuk bond is not just a claim to cash flow but it also represents the ownership claim on a pool of underlying assets. However, under the various types of sukuk which structured based on different Islamic principles, the investor has different rights and obligations. When the sukuk is represent the ownership of the underlying asset such as Ijarah sukuk, the investor can claims not only on the underlying asset. But, at the same time, it can be claimed against the cash flow and revenues generated from the sale of the asset. Besides, for the sukuk which issued as the sale of asset-based through the contract of exchange such as the Murabahah and Istina sukuk, the investor has the rights to claim against the cash flow from the contract of exchange but not on the physical asset. This is due to the transfer of ownership which is now to the obligator. On the other hand, for the type of sukuk which provide funds for projects such as Musyarakah sukuk and Mudharabah sukuk, the investor has the rights on the undivided interest in the specific investments. The difference in both of this sukuk is just that the musyarakah sukuk holder shares both the profit and loss however the mudharabah sukuk holder share only the profit while loss will not be sharing. (Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia, 2009) Therere many types of sukuk bond which is structured based on various approved Islamic concepts and principles. Among the 14 types of sukuk which are identified by AAOIFI, the most common sukuk included Ijarah sukuk (leasing of specific assets) and the Musyarakah sukuk (profit loss-sharing scheme). Therere also other types of sukuk which included Murabahah sukuk (cost-plus sale), Istina sukuk (project finance), Mudharabah sukuk (profit-sharing), Salam sukuk, Hybrid sukuk and so forth. In the end of October 2011, Musyarakah sukuk leads the biggest proportion among the various types of sukuk bond which is 59%. It then was following by Ijarah sukuk (13%), Murabahah sukuk (10%), Mudharabah sukuk (9%) and Wakalah sukuk (9%). (Team, 2012) 2.2 Similarities and Differences between Sukuk Bond and Conventional Bond Sukuk bond shared some similar characteristics with the conventional bond. For instances, both of these bonds have a fixed term maturity, can bear a coupon and are tradable on the normal yield price. Besides, both of the sukuk bond and conventional bond have similarities in the following features: marketability, rate ability, enhance ability and also the versatility. (What is Sukuk?) Both of them are liquid instruments, therefore can be easily transferred and tradable in the financial markets. Furthermore, both of these bonds are structured based on the assets that generate revenues. The revenue generated from the underlying asset is the source of income to pay for the profit on the sukuk bond. (Bank Negara Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia, 2009) However, there still have differences among the sukuk bond and the conventional bond. First of all, conventional bond is structured in such a way that the interest is the main point of all those transactions. The issuance of conventional bond is based on the exchange of paper and it doesnt represent the ownership of conventional bondholders in the enterprises that issue the bond. Rather, it represents the interest-bearing debt owed to the conventional bondholders. Consequently, the issuer of conventional bond has the contractually obligation in paying the interest and also the principal to the bondholders on a specific date. On the other hand, sukuk bond is structured in a way that the issuance is based on the exchange of an approved asset. Because of the prohibition of interest charging by Islamic law, sukuk bond allows the sukuk bondholders to claim an undivided ownership in the underlying asset and share the revenues generated from the underlying asset. Furthermore, sukuk bond is different with conventional bond due to its asset-based features. When the situation occurs where the issuer of conventional bond is unable to pay for the debt they owed to the bondholders, the bondholders which is the investors will face a great loss on their investments. This is because the contract usually doesnt guarantee that the asset can be secured and be used to recover at least partial of the investments. However, for sukuk bond, because it is asset-based and the sukuk bondholders have undivided ownership on the underlying asset, even how bad the situation, the investors can claim against major part of their investment. Hence, the sukuk bondholders are more protected from this kind of risk compared to the conventional bondholders. Besides, the issuance of sukuk bond must compliant with the Islamic law in its nature and use. However for the conventional bond, it can be issue for almost any purposes as long as it is legal under jurisdiction. Next, for the sukuk bondholders, the expenses that related to the underlying asset may be attached to them while the conventional bondholders are not responsible in these asset-related expenses. 2.3 Benefits of Sukuk Bond Sukuk bond which structured compliant with the Islamic law have the following benefits. First of all, it acts as a tool for banks and Islamic financial institutions in liquidity management. (Benefits of Sukuk) When the bank and financial institutions have excess amount of liquidity, they can use these excess money to purchase and invest in sukuk bond. Meanwhile, when theyre in the need of liquidity, they can choose to sell their sukuk bond through the secondary market. This clearly shows the features of sukuk bond which is liquid and hence can be easily traded in the financial market. Besides, sukuk bond provides a way in raising funds. It allows the corporate to raise funds through the issuance of sukuk bond. However, the sukuk bond can only be issue for any purpose that complaint with Islamic law. Furthermore, due to the asset-based feature of sukuk bond, it offers a lower risk and hence reduces the cost of financing. This is because even when bad situation happen to the issuer of sukuk bond, the investors can claim against the ownership on the underlying asset and get recover from major partial of their investment. 2.4 Sukuk Guidelines Starts from 1 July 2000, any issuance, offer or invitation of sukuk has to get approval from the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) under section 212 of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA)  [2]  (Malaysia S. C., Introduction, 2011) The following information are the guidelines which stated by Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and effective from 12 August 2011 (Malaysia S. C., 2011). Any corporation that wishes to issue, offer or make an invitation of sukuk has to first appoint a principal adviser who specified by the SC in the Principal Adviser Guidelines. The purpose of appointing a principal adviser is to help the corporation to seek approval from SC for the proposed issue, offer or invitation of sukuk. (Malaysia S. C., Issuers Submission of Proposals, 2011) Therere a set of documents and a declaration letter that SC requires the issuer to submit through the principal adviser. These documents and the declaration letter are needed to obtain the approval from SC. (Malaysia S. C., Appendix, 2011) Two hard copies and one electronic copy of these documents should be submitted. Within 14 working days after SC receives the required documents and declaration letter, SC will either grant its approval or reject the proposal which doesnt fully follow the guideline. Once the issuer obtains the approval from SC, they should submit another set of documents (Malaysia S. C., Appendix, 2011) to SC through their principal adviser. (Malaysia S. C., Documents and Information Required, 2011) Besides, the issuer is required to conjunct with the principal adviser in appointing a Shariah adviser to make sure that the documentation, structure and the mechanism of sukuk are following the Islamic law. Therere plenty of Shariah rulings that have to follow for all types of sukuk as well as some specific type of sukuk in the requirement of underlying asset, asset pricing, compensation and so forth. (Malaysia S. C., Appointment of Shariah Adviser Shariah Rulings Applicable, 2011) Meanwhile, the underwriting of any issue, offer or invitation of sukuk will depends on the decision of the issuer. (Malaysia S. C., Underwriting, 2011) The implementation time frame for sukuk issuance is within one year from the date of the approval of SC except for the case of shelf registration scheme which must be implemented within two years. (Malaysia S. C., Implementation Time Frame for Sukuk Programme or Sukuk Issuance, 2011) 2.5 Sukuk Market in Malaysia From the journal, we know that the sukuk market has been developed rapidly in this decade with the evidence that more than 50% of Malaysias bond market belong to the sukuk market. Sukuk market in Malaysia successfully attract the attention of international corporations and multilateral agencies and drawn a lots of participation of these parties in raising funds and as well as investing in the sukuk market. Moreover, sukuk market of Malaysia is now having continuous innovation such as it offers the chance for international corporations to participate and plays a role in our Islamic financial system. As mentioned before, there have a greater development compared to the beginning of Malaysias sukuk market which our country started with a RM125 million of issue size by Shell MDS Sdn. Bhd.. The improving development once again can be clearly proven by the shoot up of the value of sukuk issue which is at RM15.4 billion by the Binariang GSM Sdn. Bhd. Besides, Malaysia is the fastest growing country in the global for the area of sukuk market with 22% of average annual growth within the period of 2001 until 2007. Therere a lots of efforts that has been put in the sukuk market to enhance its stability. First of all, to ensure the financial stability, Malaysia had cooperated with several regulatory authorities and participates in Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), Islamic Financial Stability Forum (IFSF), Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and also involve itself in the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM). Besides, the introduction of new type of financial instruments which has the extended maturity profiles has brought the Malaysias sukuk market to become more innovative. This is because it increases the diversity of both local and foreign participants and also meets the requirements of both issuers and investors so that there will be a win-win situation. Meanwhile, the increasing number of issuance in foreign currency had successfully extended the international gateway and attracts the participations from foreign countries in Malaysias sukuk market. This in turns s peed up the development of our sukuk market and also facilitate a good relationship with the international financial markets. The development of Malaysias sukuk market brings the economy to become more diversified and more driven by the private sector than the government. This is shown by the increasing demand for the financing requirements from private sector compared to the market which is previously mainly control by the Government debt securities. In a nut shell, Malaysia leads the development of sukuk market not only in terms of total sukuk issuance which accounted 68.9% of total global outstanding at the end of 2007, but at the same time showed excellent performance in the innovative sukuk structure and is more competitive in attracting the investors. In the future, Malaysia will continue its efforts to enhance the relationship with others international financial markets through ways such as partnership or maybe cooperation. (Technology, Sukuk Market in Malaysia, 2011) 2.6 Challenges of Sukuk Market According to the journal, we understand about few challenges that occur in sukuk market. First of all, the sukuk market faced the problem when there is lack of uniformity in the procedures that applied Shariahs principles. The lack of professional in Shariah standards and also the lack of awareness of the employers and manager of sukuk even make the things worse. Besides, when it comes to the collaborations among the countries, things become challenges because each country has their own laws and some of their laws will conflict with Islamic financial system and has to be amending in order to operate the system. Furthermore, therere still occur the gap of knowledge even though AAOIFI, Central Bank of Malaysia and also other organizations have put efforts in distributing the information to the public. Therefore, more focus have to put at the information dissemination through ways such as forums, training as well as set up more education center. Last but not least, it is difficult to maintain the unique features of sukuk. This is because those who already get used with the characteristics of conventional products will tend to request for the products which has the same characteristics with conventional products. This in turns will neglect the identity of the unique sukuk bond. (Technology, Challenges in Sukuk Market, 2011) Trading of Sukuk Market in Malaysia Between these ten years, the institutional arrangements particular gave a greater focus to develop the sukuk market. The sukuk market now accounts for more than fifty percent of Malaysias bond market. The market has drawn the participation from a wide range of international corporations and multilateral agencies in raising funds and investing in the sukuk issuances out of Malaysia. More lately, there has also been continuous innovation and an increasing number of issuances in foreign currency. As Malaysia offers international participation in the Islamic financial system, also offer to be an international gateway, particularly in strengthening the link between the two important dynamic growth regions of Asia and the Middle East. (Zeti Akhtar Aziz, 2010) Shell MDS Sdn. Bhd. started Malaysias sukuk market with a simple issue size of RM125 million in 1990 and is growing in size and increasingly sophisticated now. This development is evident in the largest sukuk issue recently valued at RM15.4 billion which is USD4.7 billion by Binariang GSM Sdn. Bhd. Now, the sukuk market in Malaysia with an average annual growth of 22% issued for the period 2001-2007 is among the fastest growing in the world. Malaysia has continued it success by introducing innovative sukuk structures such as convertible sukuk musyarakah by Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the Malaysian government investment holding company after introducing the first sovereign global sukuk in the world in 2002. This combines the features of the first full convertibility is usually only used for conventional equity-linked transactions is a historic issue of the first of its kind in the world. (Central Bank of Malaysia, 2007) Malaysia also continues to collaborate with other regulatory authorities to ensure financial stability in the Islamic financial system. This will be through Malaysias active involvement in the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the Islamic Financial Stability Forum (IFSF), the initiatives by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), and finally in the newly formed International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM). Depth and liquidity of the market has increased by secondary trading in the Malaysian sukuk market with the participation of more companies, including foreign-owned companies continued use of this market for funding purposes. Long-term funding needs are financed by a large number of corporate issuance. The diversity and size of the sukuk transaction was the increasing value proposition is very attractive to investors who want to diversify their asset portfolios, therefrom creating a vibrant secondary market. The Malaysian sukuk market has also grown to become more sophisticated and innovative to meet the multiplex risk-return requirements and profiles of both investors and issuers. Diversified range of players have been generated by the proliferation of new types of instruments with extended maturity profiles , both local and foreign to participate in the market. This was facilitated by the liberalization of the market in 2005 to allow for issuance of debt securities by foreign corporations and multilateral agencies in ringgit denominated papers. This was extended to foreign currency denominated issuances in year 2007. Actually, this has attracted many multilateral agencies, multinational corporations and foreign corporations to raise funds and invest in origination and issuances out of Malaysia, therefore enhancing the Malaysian market, and strengthening Malaysias inter-linkages with other international financial markets. The transformation of the Malaysian economy has been accompanied by the development of the sukuk market in Malaysia that has now become more private and diversified sector driven. The Government debt securities initially dominated the market, now reflects the growing demand for the long term financing requirements of the private sector. Now, the corporate sector raises 58% of their financing requirements through the sukuk market and debt securities compared to ten years ago is about 33%. The presence of a liquid and deep debt securities and sukuk market thus contributes towards the stability of the financial system. Now, with a number of Malaysias sukuk issues by 68.9%, or USD62 billion (or RM213 billion) of total global outstanding at the end of year 2007, Malaysia is the worlds largest sukuk market. Amount of corporate sukuk in Malaysia more than RM30 billion in year 2007. Malaysia not only lead the development of the sukuk market in terms of total sukuk issuance, even in terms of the introduction of innovative sukuk structures and competitive to attract more individual or corporation investors. Moving forward, Malaysia will continue its efforts in strengthening our international linkages in the global Islamic financial system through cooperation and collaborative partnerships with the objective of contributing towards greater economic integration and international financial. Certainly, sukuk ( Islamic bond ) proved that it is among the most successful Islamic financial product in the industry and be one of the fastest-growing sectors in the global financial landscape. Type of Sukuk Bonds Ijarah Sukuk Ijarah sukuk is an Islamic alternate of conventional leasing. Ijarah is a contract the distribution of funds to use right transfer (benefit) of an item within a certain time to the lease payments (ujrah), between the finance company as the lessor (muajjir) with tenants (mustajir) not followed by transfer of ownership of the goods themselves [1]. These are sukuk that represent ownership of equal shares in a rented real estate or the usufruct of the real estate. In other words, issuing certificates of ownership of assets, leased to a particular consumer is known as Sukuk Al Ijarah or simply Ijarah Sukuk. Other than that, Ijarah sukuk also is a bond between a bank with consumer to take on an item or even object leases and bank-owned banks have a service fee for items which is rent, and at the end with the purchase of leasing object by the consumer. (In Shaukats (2010) article, Common Structures of Sukuk, Ijarah sukuk were described as Ijarah sukuk are the securities representing ownership of well defined existing and known assets tied up to a lease contract, rental of which is the return payable to sukuk holders. (p. 10).) Ijarah sukuk have a main concept which means selling the benefit of apply or service for a fixed price or salary. Base on this concept, the Islamic bank make it available to the consumer applies of service of assets or equipments for a fixed period of time and also the price. 1Source: Sharia Economy Journal, Ijarah Definition (2011) Figure 5: The process of Ijarah SukukSukuk al-Ijarah.png The chart above shows few stages of the transaction process. First stage is Contract of Cash Sale. SPV purchases property from obligator as the step 1 above, such as SPV purchases hospital from government. After that, the assets purchased by the SPV are funded by the issuance of sukuk which is trust certificates which represents beneficial  ownership in the assets and the lease as the step 3 shown above. Besides that, government received cash proceeds as step 7 while Stage 2 is Contract of Leasing (Ijarah). At first, SPV rents property to the government for specified period which is step 2 shown above. After that, step 6 shows that SPV collects rentals. During the tenure, SPV passed the rentals to investors as the step 9. For your information, example is periodic distribution or coupon. Continually, at the maturity, SPV sells the property to the government at an agreed price. Government pays cash to SPV. Lastly, SPV simultaneously pay investors cash for sukuk redemption. Musharakah Sukuk Musharakah sukuk is a structure of partnership which is used in Islamic finance instead of interest-bearing loans. It is also a mode of financing against which Sukuks can be issued for. It does not differ from the Mudaraba sukuk except in the organization of the relationship between the party issuing such sukuk and holders of these sukuk, whereby the party issuing sukuk forms a committee from the holders of the sukuk who can be referred to in investment decisions [1]. Musharaka Sukuk are used for mobilizing the funds for establishing a new project or developing an existing one or financing a business activity on the basis of partnership contracts (Shaukat, 2010). Moreover, Musharakah Sukuk have a specified maturity date, and are negotiable in the secondary market. In the assets of the Musharakah sukuk, for every sukuk would have a representative holders proportionate ownership. These Musharaka certificates can be treated as negotiable instruments and can be bought and sold in the secondary market [2]. Musharakah sukuk  allows each party involved in a business to share in the profits and risks. Other than that, profit earned by the Musharakah sukuk is shared according to an agreed ratio between the Issuer and Investors at an agreement. Although the profit and loss is sharing, while it shared between the investors as per investment ratio only. Besides that, to ensure the tradability of Musharakah sukuks, all the assets should not be in liquid form. 1Source: Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institution, AAOIFI 2Source:Common Structure of Sukuks, Mughees Shaukat Figure 6: The process of Musharakah SukukSukuk al-Musharaka.png From the above shown that, at the beginning, Corporate and the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) enter into a Musharakah Arrangement for a fixed period and an agreed profit-sharing ratio. Thus, the corporate undertakes to buy Musharakah shares of the SPV on a periodic basis. First, Corporate (as Musharik) contributes land or other physical assets to the Musharakah. After that, in 2 a b shown that SPV (as Musharik)

Business Paradigm :: essays research papers

Key Point 1: How does Corporate Restructuring affect our Society? In the early 1990’s, corporate restructuring was being reported in newspapers and magazines almost daily. In 1995 alone, domestic mergers totaled more than $450 Billion. In just the first week of the second quarter of 1996, merger activity totaled $28.3 Billion. To name a couple of corporations that were involved were Bell Telephone systems and AT & T. Pros and cons come from such large mergers and acquisitions. A good aspect that came from the Bell merger was that they were able to provide service to 30 million residential and business customers in seven states west of the Mississippi. On the other hand, a negative aspect that arrived from mergers is that often times, after the merger had taken place, the companies decided to downsize to make their new corporations more efficient. Long-time employees are now being pushed out of the company. Investors and analyst’s alike, seemed to respect the companies that inflicted the deepest cuts and fired the greatest number of workers. Executive pay rose along with corporate profits and productivity. The compensation packages for those individuals laid-off were tied to job performance. This created a huge amount of hostility. Mergers also created fear amongst the employees. The fear of job loss eroded the loyalty between employees and their companies. Mergers, however, are sometimes inevitable. The corporations must find ways to stay competitive, not only internationally, but globally. Key Point 2: Social Responsiveness Management Large corporations are responsible for providing the consumer with a safe and reliable product. They are also legally obligated to ensure what the company is offering the consumer is what the consumer gets. Take the in-class video on U-Haul for example. U-Haul stated that each vehicle is routinely inspected to ensure customer safety. The inspection log would have a recent date annotating the last inspection. A team of reporters visited several U-Haul subsidiaries throughout the United States. The findings were shocking. It was found after having professional mechanics inspect the vehicles, that most were unsafe to drive. This negligence on U-haul’s behalf places the consumers life in jeopardy. It has become a huge issue after several fatalities that resulted from U-haul’s vehicle negligence. Laws should become more stringent on companies that provides this type of service to consumers. Key Point 3: Code of Ethics and Business Conduct (Nuclear Energy) The debate over whether nuclear energy is a socially acceptable has gone on for years.

Humbert’s Voice As An Artist Versus Lolita’s Essay

Nabokov brings out Humbert’s voice as a mixture of two extreme emotional impulses and an uncanny sense of highly complex intellectual. Humbert is persuasive and convincing in a way that is unsettling, a little upsetting, but sleek enough to rob your mind and completely occupy it with its vile verbal exhortations. For instance, in his own description, Humbert though in extreme exaggeration manages to draw the reader into believing that he is â€Å"†¦ an exceptionally handsome male; slow-moving, tall, with soft dark hair and a gloomy but all the more seductive cast of demeanor†¦. with†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ exceptional virility †¦that could obtain at the snap of fingers, any adult female†¦. † Humbert seems to be so much self absorbed and overconfident, a trait which can also be noted in his incessant desire for Lolita. This voice of self-aggrandizement (qtd. in. in Meyer 93) In the same text, Humbert’s voice takes a dramatic shift to of cold and fiery br imstone coupled with a lighthearted sadistic tone. Humbert combines his intelligence with slovenliness, alacrity and alienation. His description of Lolita’s naked body and the vivid account of how he has sex with her when she is sick and how he thinks of raping her again are soul cringing. In contrast his erotic description of Lolita’s â€Å"brown, naked†¦narrow white buttocks†¦.. sulky face†¦Ã¢â‚¬  image displays his soft sensual side. † It’s the voice that could be beautiful, if it were not for something rotten at its core† (Meyer 98) Humbert’s romantic tragedy with Lo begins with the letter from Charlotte and dramatically ends with one from Lo.  Humbert reveals himself as an obsessed lover who would do anything to be in control of the life of their objects of obsession. His obsession is evident in many words he uses in the text specifically his description of Lolita as â€Å"†¦ all rose and honey, dressed in her brightest gingham, with a pattern of little red apples†¦ with scratches like tiny dotted lines of coagulated rubies, and the rib bed cuffs of her white socks were turned down. This description, which is highly detailed, shows how Humbert’s mind and speech was greatly inclined towards every inch of perfection or imperfection of his object of obsession, Lolita. Humbert tries to portray his sexual obsession with Lo as a relationship between the Artist and his piece. While his description of Charlotte as â€Å"the poor lady in her middle thirties, she had a shiny forehead, plucked eyebrows and quite simple†¦ † explains his attempt to try and first identify with her, revealing her susceptibility and areas of weakness before taking control of her. His voice of periphrastic speech contrasts with Lolita’s simple everyday speech. His usage and coinage of words such as â€Å"nymphet†, â€Å"equanimity†, â€Å"cubistic†, â€Å"pacific†, â€Å"blood ripe† and so forth makes him â€Å"†¦sound like a book†¦Ã¢â‚¬  When Lolita’s speech is marked by normal everyday word usage full of slang such as â€Å"Sunset Motels, U-Beam Cottages, Hillcrest Courts†¦Ã¢â‚¬  while Humbert’s speech was full of periphrastic tendencies such as â€Å"You will dwell, my Lolita will dwell†¦Ã¢â‚¬  However, At times he tried to integrate his educative language with Lolita’s street language for instance â€Å"drop that moody nonsense. In former times, when I was still your dream male†¦you swooned to records of the number one throb-and-sob idol of your coevals†¦ Humbert would try to use Lo’s tongue at times as a way of showing disdain for what he did not consider as a proper way of communicating. Lo in contrast would use Humbert’s tongue such as â€Å"Was the corroboration satisfactory? † when she wanted to be devious and French when she wanted to play an innocent good girl â€Å"I choose? â€Å"C’est entendu? † Humbert’s use of his educated speech as a euphemistic tool reveals his modest but warped sense of sexuality. He describes fellatio as â€Å"the hard and nauseous way† or â€Å"the school theatrical program† in reference to the time when Lolita had to beg for his permission in order to take part in the school play. Humbert used blackmail by giving his permission in exchange of sex with Lolita. He used emotional blackmail again when they got into an argument on the eve of the opening night forcing Lolita to throw in the towel and demanded that they leave town. In other instances, he calls his penis â€Å"my life† and tries to coat the sexual encounters using Latin terms â€Å"Venus Febriculosa† while downplaying the fact that he had sex with Lolita while she was sick merely as†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦temperature†¦ † (qtd in Meyer 94) Through this, Humbert is able to transform himself into the â€Å"bewitched traveler â€Å"who has no complete control over what feelings that nymphets arouse in him and his reactions. Because Humbert is â€Å"yearning for something more than life† he tries to find it by transcending the mundane and launches the reader into a spat of imagination. His punishment can be seen as justice on one end but could really be because of his perverted act of presenting an account of his life as an artistic work. His voice assumes that there is no culpability in a work of art, which is true but his work is actually his life and not a general account of life. He tries to justify his actions as if they were â€Å"†¦only a game†, thereby not making him responsible for his actions Lolita’s voice Lolita, because she is so much used to the parlance on the streets compared to the educated periphrastic language that Humbert uses, for instance misunderstands him when he proposes that they run away together to another country forever â€Å" you mean you will give us all that only if I go with you to a motel† (qtd. n Meyer 95). This makes us see what a simple-minded girl Lolita is. Her speech which is filled with radio and TV language makes her seem naive and unknowledgeable. Lolita’s voice is that of desperation. Many a time in the text, she is forced to do Humbert’s bidding because she does not have anyone else to run to. An even when she finally runs away, her expectations are smothered when she lands herself in a far . worse place than before- shooting porn videos with Quilty. Her letter, the last one she ever writes carries her vindictive yet desperate voice. How’s everything? I am married. I am going to have a baby. I guess he is going to be a big one. I guess he will come right for Christmas. This is a hard letter to write. I am going nuts because we do not have enough to pay our debts and get out of here. Dick is promised a big job in Alaska in his very specialized corner of the mechanical field, that is all I know about it but it is really grand. Pardon me for withholding our home address but you may still be mad at me, and Dick must not know. This town is something. You cannot see the morons for the smog. Please do send us a check, dad. We could manage with three or four hundred or even less, anything is welcome, you might sell my old things, because once we get there the dough will just start rolling in. Write, please. I have gone through much sadness and hardship. † (Qtd. in Meyer 99) In this letter, she does not tell Humbert about Quilt (bitter) though she does so later when they meet. . The desperate note on the last sentence of the letter â€Å"†¦I have gone through so much sadness and hardship† perhaps is what leads to Quilts murder by Humbert, when he finds out the truth. Lolita’s voice in does not reciprocate the love in the affair she has with Humbert, rather, it borders more on duty and reciprocity than romantic love. While Humbert’s description of his relationship with Lolita may be taken to mean love by some, it may as well mean lust. His obsession with Lolita in itself shows us a dangerous side of him, which attempts to kill charlotte, and succeeds at killing Quilty, who was seen as obstacles to gaining control of Lolita. In trying to make us believe that he is truly in love with Lolita, he plays the part of a jilted lover in a crime of passion. His antics with the therapists show his calculating manipulative side â€Å"†¦discovered that there was an endless source of robust enjoyment in trifling with the psychiatrists: cunningly leading them on†¦inventing for them elaborate dreams, teasing them with fake ‘primal scenes’ â€Å". His need to feel he was in control drove him to imagine he was not to blame in the murder he commits by manipulative persuasion â€Å"Frigid gentlewomen of the jury†¦ I am going to tell you something very strange: it was she who seduced me† (qtd. n Meyer 97) Humbert’s usage of words in the text gives words that may have otherwise had a normal regular meaning, symbolism. In the letter he receives from charlotte (though we only get to learn of the contents through the â€Å"verbatim† recollection of the words from Humbert after he destroys the letter) there is sad genuine passion expressed by charlotte towards Humbert. † You see, there is no alternative. I have loved you from the minute I saw you. I am a passionate and lonely woman and you are the love of my life. . . .  Let me rave and ramble on for a teeny while more, my dearest, since I know this letter has been by now torn by you, and its pieces (illegible) in the vortex of the toilet. My dearest, mon tres, tres cher, what a world of love I have built up for you during this miraculous June! † In this letter, Humbert is able to deliberately leave out some parts which to him do not matter but lets us know what (for instance the death of Charlotte’s brother), those that he forgot genuinely and also questions some of the objects he thinks are his own importation, like the â€Å"vortex of the toilet† which he uses symbolically. He lets us wonder at the absurdity of such an importation and its significance. In other words, Humbert makes us trust him because of his immense ability to recall and even re-write his own pocket diary ( which was destroyed in a fire some 5 years before) and at the same time makes us doubt him for the same reasons; he is a man of huge intellect capable of manipulating the truth. He takes us back and forth in games, which makes us not only unsure of ourselves in whatever judgment we make about him but also his victims. He succeeds in presenting his attraction to Delores (also Lolita, Lo, and Lol) and other nymphets as an inevitable action precipitated by circumstances and not governed by morality. His explanation for choosing to be a pedophile though shamelessly perverted is also convincing in a way that it takes an artistic twist. Between the age limits of nine and fourteen there occur maidens who, to certain bewitched travelers†¦. reveal their true nature which is not human, but nymphic (that is, demoniac); and these chosen creatures I propose to designate as â€Å"nymphets†. By banishing his subjects to the realm of the inhuman or supernatural, he therefore has transformed himself into a hero who is in combat with the nymphets. He goes on ahead to describe how a true nymphet is not easily noticeable. â€Å"†¦A normal man given a group photograph of school girls or Girl Scouts and asked to point out the comeliest one will not necessarily choose the nymphet among them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and completely refuses to acknowledge that these are actually children and not â€Å"maidens† the way he likes to refer to them. (qtd. in Meyers 101). By designating men who have desires for such fantasies as â€Å"mad men† or artists, he denigrates from the social expectation, which considers such kind of behavior not only criminal but also immoral. Lolita’s voice is also stylistically as a symbol of money. Her constant condition was that money would be an end in itself the means did not matter. That she writes to Humbert asking for money is no surprise. Even while in Paris, Humbert’s effort to obtain a nymphet backfires as he gets â€Å"a monstrously plump, sallow, repulsively plain girl of at least fifteen . . . nursing a bald doll,† (qtd, in Meyers 112). His description of the girl is enough to get the reader on his side- no one likes to pay for something and a get a raw deal instead. Hoover whit is important is Humbert’s reaction which completely shows the complete objectization of women. There is a difference in the way Humbert uses his voice as a structurally effective tool compared to Lolita. His desire to express himself in his new country cannot escape the European influence in the way he even refers to the trees and buildings as â€Å"Chateaubriandesque trees† or â€Å"Claude Lorrain clouds† and â€Å"a stern El Greco horizon†. The use of language as a structural tool is also noticed in the juxtapositions of Humbert’s speech with Lolita’s speech. The use of elevated language that is highly intellectual against the television and radio language. The shift from Europe to American is also captured in Humbert’s speeches, which cannot get rid of the French cliches’. Lolita does well in her voice to present the practical utility of the ordinary everyday language compared to the elevated language, which dawdles the reader into a psychological roundabout. The two reveal the stylistic differences of the voice of the television informed by the laymen in the streets and the voice of the cultured and the educated, informed by the written language. Even though at some point in the novel, we feel very angry at Humbert, our anger is held back by his eloquent speech on his defense. It is this moving speech that makes us want to even forgive Humbert for his deeds because he seems not at fault. Humbert tries to convince us that his actions do not stem from a moral standpoint. We feel that his pursuit of Lolita was based on love that was intense but sadly turns tragic, something that was not under Humbert’s control. Humbert wants us to believe that his obsession stems from his failure to accomplish his affair with Lolita because she dies prematurely. His effort to keep Lolita on a leash using threats such as school reform, banishment from taking part in school activities or hanging around boys, appear frantic and desperate. However, he even convinces neighbors that he is simply being the overprotective father- old fashioned. This face does not last for long. He resorts to bribing her with money in return for sex despite the fact that Lolita makes it clear she does not share his feelings. Humbert wants us to believe that he was the victim in his narration. While we might see him as a corrupt and cunning adult corrupting a weak and innocent child, we are able to see that it is the exploitation of a weak adult by a corrupt child. He attempts to convince us that fate rules and wins in the end, no matter how choosy we want to be. In summary the voice of Humbert cannot only be seen as a stylistic device that brings out the themes but also brings out the attack the attack the narrator is launching on our sensibilities. By playing games with our minds, the narrator is able to make us explore our human side that is rotten and immoral, by showing how it cuts across society regardless of education or social status. The narrator is able to bring into focus the central themes of the text, which are psychological as well as grippingly real. Lolita’s voice in the novel serves to substantiate and vilify the immoral wrong doer. By giving his psychological account, Humbert allows us to enter his mind and consequently pleads with us to understand his remorse and shame that he feels of his affair with Lolita. He realizes he has robbed Lolita of her childhood at some point when listening to the blabber of you children outside. Humbert not only makes us aware of the foundation of society’s moral decadence but also explains why this is inevitable because young girls will always be there as sure as the pedophiles. The sad realization brought by the death of Humbert and Lolita is that both of them could just be a chip of a bigger iceberg in the grand scheme of things-the real face of human life which is often filled with shocking immoral degrading corrupt and rotten scheming which alienates and exploits not only the human as biological being but also as a spiritual being. His confession becomes our confession and it does not address our minds but undresses our minds pouring out in the open, the kind of life a good number of us would not mind living if at all we are not doing so already.

The Planet Mars Science Fair Project Ideas

The Planet Mars Science Fair Project Ideas Scientists are learning more about the planet Mars every year and that makes now a perfect time to use it as the subject of a science fair project. It is a project that both middle and high school students can pull off and they can take many different approaches to create  a unique and impressive display. Why is Mars Special? Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is commonly referred to as the Red Planet. Mars is more similar to Earth than Venus in regards to atmosphere, even though its only just over half the size of our planet. There is intense interest focused on Mars due to the possibility of liquid water being present there. Scientists are still trying to figure out if there is still water on Mars or if it was present at some time in the plants past. That possibility yields the chance of Mars harboring life. Quick Facts About Mars Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos.Mars is named after the Roman god of war and it influenced the naming of the month March.One year on Mars is equal to about two years on Earth.One day on Mars is half an hour longer than one day on Earth.The atmosphere of Mars is 95% carbon dioxide. Recent Mars Expeditions NASA has been sending spacecraft to study Mars since 1964 when Mariner 3 attempted to photograph the planet. Since then, over 20 space missions have launched to explore the surface further and future missions are planned as well. The Mars rover, Sojourner, was the first robotic rover to land on Mars during the Pathfinder mission in 1997. More recent Mars rovers like Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity have given us the best views and data available to date from the Martian surface. Mars Science Fair Project Ideas Build a scale model of our solar system. Where does Mars fit in the grand scheme of all the other planets. How does its distance from the Sun affect the climate on Mars.Explain the forces at work when the Mars orbits the sun. What keeps it in place? Is it moving further away? Does it have remain the same distance from the sun as it orbits?Study pictures of Mars. What new discoveries did we learn from pictures the rovers sent back versus satellite photos NASA captured before? How does the Martian landscape differ from Earth? Are there places on Earth that resemble Mars?What are the features of Mars? Could they support some kind of life? Why or why not?Why is Mars red?  Is Mars really red on the surface or is it an optical illusion? What minerals are on Mars that cause it to appear red? Relate your discoveries to things we can relate to on Earth and show pictures.What have we learned in the various missions to Mars? What were the most significant discoveries? What questions did each successful mission answer and did a later mission prove these wrong? What does NASA have planned for future Mars missions? Will they be able to build a Mars colony? If so, what will it look like and how are they preparing for it?How long does it take to travel to Mars?  When astronauts are sent to Mars, what will the trip be like? Are photographs sent back from Mars in real-time or is there a delay? How are the photos relayed to Earth?How does a rover work? Are the rovers still working on Mars? If you love to build things, a scale model of a rover would be a great project! Resources for a Mars Science Fair Project Every good science fair project begins with research. Use these resources to learn more about Mars. As you read, you may even come up with new ideas for your project. Mars Exploration from NASABuild a Solar SystemYour Weight on Other Worlds

Drain Cleaner Can Dissolve Glass

Drain Cleaner Can Dissolve Glass Just about everyone knows many acids are corrosive. For example, hydrofluoric acid can dissolve glass. Did you know strong bases can be corrosive, too? An example of a base sufficiently corrosive to eat glass is sodium hydroxide (NaOH), which is a common solid drain cleaner. You can test this for yourself by setting a glass container in hot sodium hydroxide, but you need to be extremely careful. Glass Dissolver Sodium hydroxide is perfectly capable of dissolving your skin in addition to glass. Also, it reacts with other chemicals, so you have to be certain you perform this project in a steel or iron container. Test the container with a magnet if you are unsure, because the other metal commonly used in pans, aluminum, reacts vigorously with sodium hydroxide. The sodium hydroxide reacts with the silicon dioxide in glass to form sodium silicate and water: 2NaOH SiO2 → Na2SiO3 H2O Dissolving glass in molten sodium hydroxide probably wont do your pan any favors, so chances are youll want to throw it out when you are done. Neutralize the sodium hydroxide with acid before disposing of the pan or attempting to clean it. If you dont have access to a chemistry lab, this could be achieved with a whole lot of vinegar (weak acetic acid) or a smaller volume of muriatic acid (hydrochloric), or you can wash the sodium hydroxide away with lots and lots of water. You may not be interested in destroying glassware for science, but its still worth knowing why it is important to remove dishes from your sink if you are planning to use solid drain cleaner and why its not a good idea to use more than the recommended amount of the product.

Can be any aspect of Urban Geology (Why geology is relevant in urban Term Paper

Can be any aspect of Urban Geology (Why geology is relevant in urban areas.) - Term Paper Example Geology is the science of study of solid Earth, and in particular, the rock formations to be found underneath a specific piece of land. Geology acquires new importance in urban areas as high-density populations are found in urban areas. Its relevance cannot be dismissed as many of modern-living or urban lifestyle problems can be solved or remedied by knowledge of the urban geology of a city, whether it is near the sea, a body of water like a lake, or a mountain that is also prone to environmental hazards like landslides and flash floods. Another example is the presence of underground water in urban areas where geology is important in building high-rise structures. Vital data and findings derived from geologic studies are very important in construction and engineering, such as where to best locate infrastructure projects like a pier, seaport or airport where there is underlying strength of the geologic materials to support such undertaking, prevent serious damage if there is an earthquake, and in general, make these structures safe so there will be no need to worry about the stability of these structures over the long term. Ignorance of these findings can have serious negative consequences like finding cracks on newly-built buildings. Land is a limited resource and so urban geology is used to determine the selection of the sites to build on. In highly-urbanized areas like the mega-cities of the world today, it is a must for engineers to have a firm grasp of urban geology to build the best structures they can possibly build, like very high structures comprising several floors upwards. The race to build the tallest buildings in the world are based on geology. Building upwards is the solution to limited land (reclaiming parts of the sea is also possible) as horizontal expansion is often not possible in most urban areas. An example is Hong Kong where many

Marine pollotion in central New South Wales estuaries in australia Essay

Marine pollotion in central New South Wales estuaries in australia - Essay Example Preventive measures should be enacted to prevent pollution of the New South Wales estuaries as discussed in the essay. Marine pollution in Australia specifically in New South Wales estuaries An estuary is an enclosed water body having different streams flowing into it. It has an open connection to the sea. They are the most productive natural habitats in the world. This is because the inflow of both fresh water and seawater provides a high concentration of nutrients hence supporting marine life (Levinton, 2006:12). Estuaries are classified according to the water circulation patterns. Because of this, estuaries have different names that are inlets, harbors, bays, and lagoons (Wolanski & Mclusky, 2011:107). Many people live along the banks of the estuaries this has resulted to estuaries suffering pollution especially metals which greatly affect sea creatures. Other effects are soil erosion, overfishing, poor farming practices and excessive nutrients that are from sewage and animals was te. Estuaries of New South Wales are the places of transition. They are enclosed with an open connection to the sea. They vary in size and shape. It is an ecosystem to support different species (Wolanski & Mclusky, 2011:111). Estuaries are very important natural habitats. Research shows that 80% of the state’s population lives in areas surrounding estuaries (Mcclintock, 2003: 4). This has resulted to the pollution of the estuaries. They are relied as sources of tourism, commercial, recreation, and cultural areas. Due to the high population in New South Wales living in catchment surrounding estuaries, estuaries are subject to pressure because of the human activities. Apart from the human activities, natural events such as floods and storms accelerate the rate of sedimentation (Wolanski & Mclusky, 2011:127). Other effects include increased in nutrients due to the sewerage disposal, loss of habitat for the marine world life and biodiversity. Biodiversity is an ecosystem, which s upports a variety of plants and animals (Mcclintock, 2003: 23). The contamination rate in New South Wales is because of the increase in urbanization and industrialization. Industrialization activities realize harmful substances which pollute the ecosystem. In the 20th century estuaries, receive threat due to pollution and overfishing. The pollution is because of the high population living along the estuaries. Most of the pollutants are pesticides, plastics, and heavy metals (Mcclintock, 2003: 41). Due to the agricultural activities, land run-off greatly affects estuaries. The fertilizers used in agriculture pollute the estuaries thus affecting the sea creatures. Pollution results to depletion of oxygen due to the growth of algae (Wolanski & Mclusky, 2011:141). Depletion of oxygen results to creation of dead zones, which causes reduction of sea creatures. Marine pollution in Australia specifically in New South Wales is because of the urban and industrial activities. Industrialization pollutes estuaries greatly due to the waste materials that are channeled to the estuaries. The organic chemicals results to change in natural conditions in the water this is temperature, salinity, and levels of oxygen (Mcclintock, 2003: 67). The change in the natural condition of estuaries results to change in composition of the species. Some species of sea creatures cannot survive in high saline ecosystem. However, some have adaptation to support their survival in a saline