Panic Attacks Essay

Beryl’s father had died 5 years ago and her mother had recently been diagnosed with having dementia. Beryl was seeing her GP on a regular basis, seeking re-assurance with chest pains. She had undergone a number of medical tests and her physical health was good for her age. The Assessment Beryl reported that she first experienced panic attacks as a teenager, and could remember difficult arguments with her father. Her GP prescribed medication for anxiety and panic attacks when she was in her early twenties, during a stressful time in her work environment, being married with 2 small children and running a home. The work situation was not resolved and Beryl was eventually made redundant. She remained at home, looking after the children and her husband. Beryl’s father died when she in her thirties, which left Beryl feeling responsible for her mother, who could not adjust to losing her husband. The Approach Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) was selected because it can teach the client how to replace negative thinking with positive thinking and uses cognitive exercises to dispel irrational beliefs. In the initial assessment, there was clear evidence that Beryl wanted to make a change and she was keen to engage in homework tasks. She was able to focus on the relevant issues for therapy and her treatment goals were discussed and agreed. At times of increased stress for Beryl, a vicious cycle was activated, involving fear, physical symptoms, catastrophic interpretations of bodily sensations, and safety behaviours. Treatment work addressed the panic attacks which, in turn, led to a shift with the agoraphobic symptoms. The validity of Beryl’s catastrophic interpretations was tested out through discussion and ehavioural experiments. Alternative non-catastrophic thinking was introduced and safety behaviours were identified and decreased. Throughout therapy, Beryl was encouraged to keep a diary to identify her unhelpful thinking which led to her negative feelings and behaviour. She was also encouraged to talk about her fears which enabled Beryl to see that they were unfounded. C onclusion Due to Beryl’s high level of motivation, therapy progressed well and only 8 sessions of REBT were appropriate to bring about lasting change.

The role of a family in the society Essay

How Society Functions? A society is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations such as social status, roles and social networks. It allows its members to achieve needs or wishes they could not fulfil alone. Members of a society may be from different ethnic groups and cultures. What Are the Major Functions of a Family? Major functions of a family are: To ensure that children are satisfactorily socialised into the norms and values of society. To provide economic support for other family members. To satisfy our emotional needs for love and security. To provide us with a sense of place and position in our society Functions of the Nuclear Family? Long considered the idea and norm, this consists of two parents and one or more children as opposed to multi-generational families which include grandparents. The parents provide financial support for their children and the family as a whole depends on one another for emotional support. Work is divided among members of the household according to their abilities. In general they follow society’s rules as well as their family rules. Strong bonds usually develop and provide offspring with the ability to perform well in society when they leave home. The functions of the nuclear family in a traditional sense have been changing within the past 20 years as people divorce and remarry. What Is the Conflict Theory? The family conflict theory basically is where the family unit struggles for power. It is also how family members deal with adversity and change. Most of the time it is prestige and money on the basis for the most intense competitions. Name Different Types of Families? There are many different types of families. The country in which a person lives, and the cultures in this country, will determine the type of family unit that exists. For example, an American family unit is significantly different from that of a Chinese family unit. Among Americans, the type of family units will vary as well. For example, a Christian based family unit is going to be different from a Muslim family unit. Variables that may change the type of family unit also include racial, financial, educational, and other variables. Different Types of Families? The different kinds of families include nuclear families, adoptive or foster families, never married families, same sex parent families, blended families and cross-generational families. A family is a group of individuals affiliated by consanguinity, kinship, or co-residence Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Family? A main advantage of the nuclear family is that a couple has ultimate privacy. Nuclear families incur less stress and trouble when moving into a new home. There is a specific sense of freedom that gives a nuclear family the ability to live life as they wish. It is also easier to avoid stress. A disadvantage is that children are left to take care of themselves. Another disadvantage is that the feeling of safety and security is lacking. There is also not much of a support system. Disadvantages of Single Parent Families? Single parent families are families where there is only one parent to care for the children. This situation could be due to divorce, death, or abandonment. This type of family situation is not ideal and has many disadvantages compared to a traditional family. Parents in these situations often spend less time with their children, causing behaviour issues, health issues, and problems in school. Financial burdens within this type of family are also all too common. Different Types of Societies and Their Major Characteristics Bir yanÄ ±t bÄ ±rakÄ ±n To begin with, society is groups of people who live in a certain domain and  behave according to existing culture and morality. Culture and morality differ in terms of different parts of a society and different types of societies as well. The types have already been shaped by anthropologists and sociologists in history but there is not one certain classification. Even though almost every type is determined, there are six types of society that are accepted by the sociologists. The classification starts with hunter-gatherer society and finishes with post-industrial society and in between there is the process of development of human beings as a society. First four types, historically, are known as preindustrial societies in terms of social structure, cultural accumulation and the level of their technologies, the last two types were shaped after the industrial revolution. 1. Foraging Societies When human beings did not know how to dominate land and domesticate the animals, they had to live together, share work, use fresh water carefully and also migrate gregariously if anything went wrong, for example, if rivers dried up or they run out of animals. Usually men were hunters and women were gatherers in those societies and this caused matriarchy because men were always in danger during hunting and generally hunter members returned home -cave- with limited numbers. Labour in hunting and gathering societies was divided equally among the members because they were so small and mobile. There was not any political organization compared to understanding of today ´s diplomacy but their decision making body included every person who live in the society and equality conducted it. Certainly some foraging societies have their own tribal leaders but even the leader could not decide anything about tribe, everything in those societies was decided by all members. Their technologies were almost nothing in comparison with today but they could do what they needed, hunting big and small animals and using their hides in order to make cloths and gathering plants. Somehow they learned cultivation and they did not need to relocate anymore and they were divided into two parts as animal domesticators and plant cultivators. Both of them started to live in a certain domain. 2. Pastoral Societies In this type of societies, approximately 12,000 years ago, people lived in a certain place and started to pasture animals for transportation and permanent food. Those types of societies still exist in Somalia, Ethiopia and North Africa countries where horticulture and manufacturing are not possible (Samatar, 1989: 35), hunter-gatherer society did domesticate animals because they realized that using animals ´ wool, milk, and fertility was more beneficial than hunting and wasting them. Consequently, not only trade had started, but also non-survival class had aroused such as the spiritual leaders, healers, traders, craftspeople. This new formation held society together in a certain domain and nomadic did not migrate so far, circulate around the pasture –primitive version of urban- and also difference of people came out for the first time; the nomadic and settled people. These are the first forms of people who live in rural and urban areas. Moreover, as they had to domesticate a nimals and use them, people need some tools and they invented what they needed. By this means technology developed rapidly. Trade improved easily and differences between nomadic and settled people grew up, consequently concept of social inequality started to appear compared to hunter-gatherer societies. 3. Horticultural Societies Similar to pastoral societies, horticultural societies first appeared 10,000 to 12,000 years ago but these societies cultivated vegetables, fruits and plants. Depletion of the land’s resources or dwindling water supplies, for instance, forced the people to leave. Since, they were mobile and small like hunter-gatherer societies; there was not a non-survival class and not trade as well. Division of labour continued, social structures did not develop and because of this, horticultural societies did not differ from foraging societies. They could not develop because agricultural materials invented about 8,000 years ago and they could not relocate rivers and water sources, their plants dried up. It is easily realized that why development of technology is so important and how it affects to shape societies , at the same time in the other parts of the world, people could invent and develop what they needed but for agriculture, technology was not enough. 4. Agricultural Societies What cause horticultural societies to extinguish, were the late agricultural inventions around the 8,000’s. With the new inventions, food supplies increased and people settled together. Population grew up rapidly, villages came up and farmers, land owners and also warriors who protect farms in exchange for food against enemies aroused firstly. In these societies, social inequality solidly showed itself. A rigid caste system developed; slavery and ownership started to be too different concepts in those lives. Caste system developed the differentiation between the elite and agricultural labourers including slaves. Lands started to be so important, especially from ninth to fifteenth centuries, after the understanding of feudalism developed, every small land owners saw themselves as kings and owners of people who live for them as well. Concept of social classes spread through the Europe and not only land owners, but also religious leaders did not have to try to survive because workers had to give them everything that they had. Art, literature and philosophy were in religious leaders ´ hands because of this, time of feudalism is known as the dark ages. Due to existing monarchy, owners set up their own rules in their lands and each lord led the society with different rules and all of them depended on the King. This stratification prevented slaves from rebellion, workers were sweated and classes and inequalities in Europe continued until the industrial revolution. 5. Industrial Societies With usage of the steam power, human beings started to use machines and advanced technologies to produce and distribute goods and services. Industrial revolution process began in Britain and then spread through Europe and to the rest of the world, industrial societies started to develop. The growth of technologies led to advances in farming techniques, so slavery lost its significance, economy developed quickly and understanding of social charity and governments’ aids grew up. Feudal social classes removed but then societies divided into two parts as workers and non-workers. Karl Marx explained that non-workers are composing capitalist class and they hold all money and also set up rules. Considering this explanation, it is easily understood that non-workers are the same with non-survivors like lords and religious leaders in preindustrial societies. Thus, the industrial revolution brought only the slavery extinction and there is only worker class. Learning from previous mistakes rulers gave more opportunities for social mobility and also gave more rights than they gave to the slaves. With changes in social inequalities people started to want their rights and freedom as citizens and then kingdoms and autocracy lost their power on citizens. Democracy seemed more beneficial and necessary with French and American Revolutions, nationality became more important and so, citizens won their rights and classes existed as just economic differences. Politically everyone seemed equal but, of course, inequalities between money owners and sellers of their own labours to survive, unstoppably increased. Villages lost their significance and towns became places where occupation opportunities were supplied. 6. Post-industrial Societies The countries that the industrial revolution began, -Britain, France, the USA and Japan- now became the post industrial countries. These countries are users of advance technologies like developed computers, satellites, microchips . In short, those societies are affected by the technologies at first hand. In comparison with horticultural societies it can be easily understood that how technology is important to shape and characterize a society. Since they are trailblazers of technologies, they are now holding all world ´s economy in their hands. There is not rural and urban areas difference as well as people who are economically at the top and middle. According to common view, in those societies, there is neither social inequality nor classification. People won their own freedom by working hard, if there are any differences or discrimination, this is caused by capitalist and global world, not the governments ´ mistakes. That is, rather than being driven by the factory production of goods, society is being shaped by the human mind, aided by computer technology. Although factories will always exist, the key to wealth and power seems to lie in the ability to generate,  store, manipulate, and sell information. Sociologists speculate about the characteristics of post-industrial society in the near future. They predict increased levels of education and training, consumerism, availability of goods, and social mobility. While they hope for a decline in inequality as technical skills and â€Å"know-how† begins to determine class rather than the ownership of property, sociologists are also concerned about potential social divisions based on those who have appropriate education and those who do not. Sociologists believe society will become more concerned with the welfare of all members of society. They hope post-industrial society will be less characterized by social conflict, as everyone works together to solve society’s problems through science. (Andersen & Taylor, 2006: 118) To conclude, in history, there have been very different societies in terms of their level of development, levels of inequality, political organizations and cultural factors but only those six types explain easily which stages we passed. Moreover, in today ´s world almost all types of societies exist but each of them approaches through post-industrial society even if they are not. From this research paper, it is proved that how technology is important in shaping and characterizing society among the economy, social inequalities and classes.

A Visit to a Mosque

Theology I have been a member of the Catholic Church my entire life. Although I have often taken time to reflect on my faith, never once have I made an attempt to explore a religion aside from my own. Recently, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and was fortunate enough to visit a mosque. A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam, or one who is Muslim. There are a multitude of services I could have visited to experience a new religion, each with their own identity.The reason I ultimately chose o visit a mosque is because Muslims believe all life begins and ends with God, as do l. However, unlike Catholics, the Islamic religion does not believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, nor that he was crucified on the cross. My goal was to gain a better understanding of the beliefs Catholics and Muslims share, how they differ, and why. The experience was refreshing, and I feel as though I left the mosque with solid answers to my questions, and a new outlook on my own faith. The mosque I visited, called the Mosque Foundation, is located in Bridgeview, Illinois.Although there are mosques shorter in distance from my home, I was told the experience would prove to be better at this particular mosque. When first walking in, I observed many people gathered in the hallways visiting and conversing with one another. After a short time, the women proceeded down stairs and the men stayed upstairs near the main entrance. One woman was gracious enough to explain to me the events taking place. Men and women separate to take part in Salat, or prayer. Because the prayer ritual requires putting one's forehead to the ground, shoes are emoved and placed on shelves.Every woman was dressed modestly and wore a veil/ scarf covering their hair. While many people are aware that Muslim women wear this garment on their heads, perhaps what is not known is that this is a religious practice. Many Muslims believe God requires the hair to be covered, as this is stated in the Qu'ran (what Muslims believe to be His final book). I sat on a chair in the back to watch the group of women prays. I noticed there were a handful of girls sitting on chairs in the back as well, away from the group.It was explained to me that Muslim irls who are menstruating are not permitted to participate in prayer, as they are considered to be unclean. In order to practice traditional salat, one must be in a state of ritual purity. The salat itself is of great importance to Muslims because it is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars of Islam are five basic acts that are mandatory of Muslims and are considered to be the foundation of Muslim life. The pillars are as follows; 1 . Shahadah- declaring there is no God except God, and Muhammad is God's messenger. 2 .Salat-a ritual prayer done five times a day. . Sawm- fasting and self- control during Ramadan. 4. Zakat- giving 2. 5% of one's savings to the poor. 5. HaJJ- Pilgrimage to the Mecca at least once in lifetime if he/she is abl e to do so. The Muslim faith pray five times a day. The actual salat consists of a series of movements called Rakat. Verses are read aloud by a man over a loudspeaker and the movements are made. The movements, or different parts of the Rakat consist of bowing low with the hands on the knees, lowering oneself to the ground with the forehead and sitting with the feet folded under the body.The actual prayer lasts for less than ten minutes. When the men and women were finished praying, I had a chance to sit down with the Imam, the one who lead the worship service. The Imam's name was Khalid. Khalid welcomed me into his office and talked with me for over an hour about Islam. He knew I was of the Catholic faith, thus the majority of our conversation was spent discussing the differences between us. What I gathered from Khalid is that Muslims believe in one God, who created all, and nothing is worthy of worship except Him. Our entire purpose in this life is to serve im.Muslims do love and v enerate Jesus only as a prophet and a messenger, not as the Son of God. They do not feel Jesus was slain on the cross. According to Khalid, Jesus was sent to the people of Israel to revive a spiritual connection with God. This is one very significant way Catholics differ from Muslims, because not only to we feel God gave the world Jesus as His son, but we also worship Jesus and pray to him. Catholics also believe Mary to be the Mother of God. Muslims do believe Mary did indeed give birth to Jesus, though she was a virgin.The Imam was very adamant bout the fact that Muslims do not Judge others, nor impose their beliefs upon others. They do however feel that Imam is the right and only way one should live, and those that do not practice the right way will be sent to hell. Those who do not live as God wanted us to, especially those that have been shown the way and turned their back, will be punished. I asked how the Muslim faith feels about those that were never shown the way of God-per haps a tribe of some sort never connecting with the outside world- how does God treat them? I questioned how could they know if they were never taught?The answer I received was simple. The Muslims leave those type of questions to God, because only He knows the answer-but they do believe He will treat them fairly. The conversation I had with Khalid had me questioning my own fate. Certainly, I nave been shown the way. Even though I am Catholic, I – like the Muslim taitn- teel as though our purpose is to serve God. This is what He wants us to do and why he put us here. My visit to the mosque made me realize that it is time to make a choice on how I serve God. I feel giving minimal attention and thanks to God is not good enough.Khalid opened my eyes when he said â€Å"those who turned their backs will be punished. † I would never turn my back, but I do need to make some small, achievable changes to feel right again with the Lord. I respect how loyal followers of Islam are. Even with the world changing rapidly, the apathetic attitude people have about religion, technology, temptation, etc. , the Muslim faith is stronger than ever, now the largest religion in the world. The reason they devote their lives to Islam is because they are certain they will be rewarded. Perhaps we could all learn something from visiting a mosque once in our lives.

Propaganda and Foreign Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Propaganda and Foreign Policy - Essay Example According to Noam Chomsky (1999), â€Å"within the reigning social order, the general public must remain an object of manipulation, not a participant in thought, debate and decision† (Noam Chomsky, 1999, p.131). Propaganda is also defined as, "Propaganda is not the same as advertising or art. Art today is preoccupied with abstract ideas; advertising tries to get you to buy something. Propaganda, on the other hand, is interested in making you believe something. It is the stronger societal force; once you start believing in an idea or ideology you will buy anything – metaphorical or literal – it tries to sell you. Once the public was scared into believing Iraq was trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction, they didn’t seem to mind that they were being fed lies over and over. Untruths and misleading statements were quickly accepted as reinforcement and justification for a particular point of view, even when proven false. Propaganda is that strong" (MLC, 2 012, p.1). This paper will examine this statement in determining the views of society with reference to the roles played by the elites and the media. The relationship between the mass media and propaganda is indeed complex and by no means a linear process. The paper will consider whether the mass media reflects the ruling elite ideology and whether it is inevitable. An analysis will be made of how development in communications impacts propaganda and whether such developments make propaganda more or less important and effective. An examination will also be made of whether instant communication options such as satellite TV provide the truth concerning events in the context of representing objective reality or mediating the reality. Harold Lasswell, who was a sociologist, had written after the end of the First World War that there was a distinct relationship amongst the war and propaganda. He was of the opinion that moist Americans had just started learning at that time, although not a century later: â€Å"A new and subtler instrument must weld thousands and even millions of human beings into one amalgamated mass of hate will and hope. A new will must burn out of the canker of dissent and temper the steel of bellicose enthusiasm. The name of this new hammer and anvil of social solidarity is propaganda. Talk must take the place of drill; print must supply the dance. War dances live in literature, and at the fringes of modern earth; war propaganda breathes and fumes in the capitals and provinces of the world.† Another example is of what happened, immediately after the end of the Second World War; Germany had become an important economic and political global resource for the allied nations, particularly the US and the USSR. It is correct to say in this context that all battles are fought on two fronts; the war front and people’s minds, through propaganda. It is thus true that the nice people and the bad people can be held guilty of misguiding their cit izens through fabricated, inaccurate, subjective and exaggerated news and information, with the prime objective of receiving support and a feeling of legitimacy. Propaganda serves well in rallying citizens for a given cause but it is mostly done through exaggeration and misrepresentation relative to the given issues in order to get people’s approval and support (Hale, 1975). Propaganda cannot be said to be new in war. It has always been a part of all conflicts and is considered a means that is used by governments for demoralizing their enemies and mobilizing their nations. It is evident that while fighting a war, there is a need for the creation and maintenance of sentiments amongst soldiers and

Coke as a mainstay in fast food chains like McDonalds and KFC Personal Statement

Coke as a mainstay in fast food chains like McDonalds and KFC - Personal Statement Example Ever since I was a child, I remember drinking Coke every time I want to get instant refreshment. Coke is there during special occasions like parties and lunches. Furthermorer, it accompanies me even in my everyday undertakings. In fact, Coke is synonymous with refreshment to me. I just love the invigoration that consuming a can of Coke brings me. I drink it whenever I can-when I am stressed out, when I get too exhausted, and when I need an extra dose of caffeine to get me going. I associate Coke with words such as thirst quenching and more recently, with my quest to live a healthier lifestyle. No kidding. I have seen how Coke evolved. Starting from its claim of being a healthy and medicinal drink, it became a mainstay in fast food chains like McDonalds and KFC. The intense competition with Pepsi pushed it to reinvent itself to the protest of its loyal patrons. Thus, the new Coke was rebranded while the original formulation was fortunately retained in the market. The growing health consciousness among consumers urged Coca-cola to reinvent itself by offering better-for-you variants which utilized artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Coke Diet, Coke Light and Coke Zero were launched in the market to the amusement and support of customers like me. Aside from getting rid of unhealthy sugar, this variant is fortified with vitamins, minerals and infused with green tea which suits my lifestyle. The evolution of Coca-cola did not change its promise of providing refreshment to its customers-in fact, it now gives more than that. After my decision of shifting to and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, I thought I would have to give up drinking Coke my whole life. However, it seems as if the brand knows my needs that it is willing to adapt and reinvent itself so that I could still drink it whenever and wherever I want. The added vitamins and minerals is really a huge plus for it. I have read somewhere that green tea aids in weight loss by speeding up an individual's metabolism. Yes, instead of making me fat, Coke might actually enable me to lose weight by burning calories at a faster rate. These reasons make Coca-cola the top brand of soft drink for me. Actually, I don't see it as a soft drink now-I perceive it as a health drink. My passion for Coke influences my other purchase decisions especially in choosing which fastfood to dine in. I definitely don't dine out at KFC and Pizza Hut noting that they don't serve Coke but only Pepsi. Yes, sometimes I just get so choosy with the drinks while others see them as minor part of the meal. For me, it makes a lot of difference-I can actually tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi. The taste is never the same Yes, I am a self-confessed Coke addict who can't live a day without having a can of this refreshment. Coke does not only add life, for me, it is life itself. Blame it on marketing gurus who worked to formulate a good product which commands global acceptance. Blame it on the intensive and very efficient marketing campaign. Blame it on the proper pricing which made it affordable even with the current recession. Blame it on its wide distribution network which makes it available anywhere I go. I will always consider Coca-cola to be one of the best brands in the world. With the current quest of its company

Emerging technologies in education Research Paper

Emerging technologies in education - Research Paper Example Creating new strategies to enhance learning is beginning to develop with technologies that are being made available. There are several theories and strategies that are combining to create different learning channels for students.Defining the technology that is used as well as how this relates to learning outcomes is one which is gaining a different understanding for building into a society that can produce learning while enhancing the community. The development that is now based on teaching traditionally and with the concept of using emerging technologies is creating new methods and theories that can be used to enhance the learning experience. Changes in Learning The ability to teach and learn is one that was originally depicted by what is now known as traditional learning. With this concept, there was a general environment which was inclusive of a lecturer combined with a textbook and writing used to show the knowledge. Memorization of materials, tests and quizzes are also a part of traditional learning theories. This has altered with technology as well as with a different understanding of what is occurring for those that are working into a field of learning. The concepts have created what is known as blended learning, which combines the use of technology with traditional concepts to assist with the way in which individuals are able to build into the learning environment. This particular pedagogy is one which is based on emerging e-learning applications with the traditional methods of working with teachers and gathering information. The blended learning framework is furthered by the type of technology used and the ways in which teachers can enhance these components (Bonk et al, 2006). The blended learning and the movement outside of the traditional aspects of learning are one of the forms that are emerging with technology. The concept which is used to move out of the traditional styles of learning is combined with the way in which technology is transforming th e expectations of younger generations. New information models are required because of the amount of information available as well as the possibilities of learning more in-depth options for different subjects. The ability of moving into continuous information creation as well as the information sharing that is forming is providing more alternatives to learning content. In image 1, there is an understanding of how information is now changing with approach for different learning alternatives. Image 1: Information Fragmentation and Coherence (Siemens, Tittenberger, 2009). The first column as representative of traditional learning and the second as the information today is defined by the way in which information is given today. More information sources and scattered information is creating a need for technology to be immersed with different ways of teaching and the ability to interpret and make sense of the information that is available. The use of technology is then changing what is ass ociated with the main approaches to learning as well as the needs in teaching because of the amount of information available (Siemens, Tittenberger, 2009). The Internet and Learning The changes in learning with technology are influenced by software programs for schools. However, there is also a massive set of changes that are occurring with learning because of the Internet and the applications which are available online. The main way in which this has changed is Web 2.0, the second generation of the Internet. This offers interactions for those online and also allows the information to be altered by community input, comments and responses from various portals. Those that are working with learning are able to use the Internet and leverage Web 2.0 to change the way in which learning is available. The nature of learning is altering with this available, specifically because it draws in different learning styles, specifically through hands – on and interactive activities as well as speaking

Ethics and Criminal Justice CRJS345 Research Paper

Ethics and Criminal Justice CRJS345 - Research Paper Example Use of COPPS will be imperative in mining vital information from members of the public and through scanning, analysis, response and assessment will utterly empower police to solve the prevalent problems of underage drinking and street racing in Westwood. Social crimes such as drugs trafficking and mugging continue to prevail in the contemporary society. It is intelligible that police agencies cannot handle such serious issues without encouraging public participation. The development of COPPS will be of assistance to condense causes and diminish social disorder through analytical devices and community-policy joint venture. Scanning phase will be of prodigious support in channeling preliminary investigation and in establishing if underage drinking and street racing problem exist in Westwood. Scanning phase will help in identifying the actual area in Westwood that juvenile drinking is practiced. I will visit traffic unit so that I can get to know if street racing do exist in Westwood roads. After this, I will analyze data on underage drinking and street racing delinquency both from the public and police agency as this will be helpfulness in attaining substantial details for determining whether the two offenses are existent (Sozer, 2010). I will use the analysis phase in solving the problems by first examining to which extend has underage drinking, and street racing problem broadened in Westwood. My major source is from the community and the police agency; therefore, I will initiate a solemn study that will help out in discovering the major cause of these two problems. In my study to underage drinking, I will try to explore what may be the its cause or navigating factors (Williams & Arrigo,  2008). This can help me to understand the key causes thus formulate the best strategies of resolving the issues. Is it caused by young people’s curiosity of venturing into risk-taking or is caused by heritable feature and other

SWOT Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

SWOT Analysis - Essay Example Further, the same industry generated actual revenues during the 2009 and 2010 gambling periods. The 2009 gambling revenue reached $ 10,393 million. Favorably, the 2010 gambling period produced favorably higher actual revenues, $10,405 (Statistica, 2014). Client-centered innovative strategies boost gaming industry revenues. The company, Nevada Gold and Casinos Company, is engaged in casino gambling activities. The company is located within Nevada gambling area. The company caters to the resorts and casino needs of current and future customers. The gambling rooms include the popular slot machines (Nevada Gold Casino, 2014). The company offers several gambling game options. The options cater to the slot machine gamblers’ needs. The other gamblers will patronize the card games. The company delivers the bingo games to selected patrons. Other visitors will troop to the roulette gambling table (Twst.com, 2006). The company offers high quality hospitality service to its gambling patrons. The customers can easily buy beverage from the friendly and accommodating casino staff. The dedicated and sincere hotel room employees enthusiastically deliver quality hospitality services. As proof, Nevada Gold Casino generated $62,807,000 the year ended April 30, 2014. The company generated the same year’s $ 448,000 net profit (Nevada Gold Casino, 2014). The company is small in size. The company needs additional top quality line and staff employees to increase the company’s current revenue generating activities. With more line and staff employees, more customers will feel a reduction in the casino cashiers’ queue lines. The employees deliver quality casino restaurant services to the gambling customers. As a new company, the company lacks the actual experiences needed to ensure a synergistic coordination of all the casino’s activities (Twst.com, 2006). The Casino can open up more spaces to cater to other visitors. The

Israel and Gaza Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Israel and Gaza - Essay Example Moreover, the conflict has been propagated by the fact that no serious or proper peace building has been taken into consideration by the two nations. Instead, they keep employing military techniques to solve their differences despite that external stakeholders have made various attempts to create peace between the two nations. The conflict between Israel and Palestine over the control of the Gaza Strip has not only led to loss of lives, destruction of property and environmental degradation, but also led to the deterioration of the relationship between Gaza Leadership and the West Bank. Specifically, the relationship between Gaza leadership and the Palestinian Leadership has generally been affected positively in that; collaboration between Jordan and Palestine as well as other Arabian Nations has been developed (Palestinian Liberation Organization), the PLO, with the main purpose of destroying the Jewish Nation. This emanate from the fact that Israel is currently in control of a large percentage of the West Bank hence which falls under the Jordan territory. The United Nations has conducted various studies geared towards evaluation of the capacity of Gaza to support livelihoods; the results of these studies have been made available to the public in the form of a report. According to the UN report concerning this issue, the capacity of Gaza to support life has been reduced in a number of ways. To begin with, the conflicts have negatively affected various facets of social life for instance: The economic status of the Gaza Strip has been deterioration since early 1990’s with a greater effect experienced on the GDP of the nation. However, the shadow economy of Gaza (Tunnel Economy) has greatly developed over the years owing to the fact that tremendous amounts of goods have been smuggled through hundreds of tunnels by most tunnel workers. On the other hand, small quantities of agricultural products are also

Critical Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical Writing - Essay Example programs coordinator at the graduate center in New York and commendably contributed to the success of Luso-Brazilian and Hispanic Literatures in the university. She has conducted several studies to investigate how foreign students are affected by the American education system, predominantly the challenge of coping up with a new educational culture and language. The authors pinpoint that bilingual education started receiving widespread support in the USA in late 1960s. The upsurge in number of students coming from Puerto Rico and Mexico and the wave of civil rights movement instigated the government to provide additional funding for educational programs to facilitate knowledge acquisition through English. Several acts such as ESEA (elementary and secondary education act) were formulated and implemented to force government and institutions to prepare bilingual teachers who will aid in the facilitating success of the educational programs (Bartlett & GarciÃŒ a, 2007). In 1974, the Bilingual Education Act constricted the goal of bilingual education to Transitional Bilingual Education where students received thorough instructions through English, implying that not only limited English speakers were to learn the language but the entire student fraternity. However, for the first 3 years, content was delivered in English as students prepared to start sedate English classes. In 1990, Americans started disapproving the use of educational resources to teach in other languages other English. Americans perceived phonological proficiency in English as an emblem of unity and fidelity to the state, and started demanding that immigrants drop their native languages and espouse into the American community by learning English. The high rate of Latino drop outs and their failure to be intellectually competitive was blamed on bilingual education, further arguing that it led to discrimination of English learners within schools. Currently,

International Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 3

International Business Strategy - Essay Example also factors related to consumer viewpoint in their willingness to sample new products with untrusted or unknown new competitive players, based also on their traditional cultural values. These factors need to be considered prior to entering Spain as a viable profit opportunity. However, evidence provides that the growth rates in Spain associated with consumer willingness to purchase mobile products makes this a quality opportunity if new methods to undercut these values can be accomplished through marketing or other innovative communications methods. Spain represents a tremendous new market opportunity that is marked with sustained growth, despite problems that exist in labour shortages and the presence of a highly regulated labour market. It is recommended to pursue this strategy of expansion into the Spanish marketplace and improve long-term manufacturing and R&D capabilities in the process. Conducting business in the Middle Eastern markets is considerably different than that of Spain, both at the business and economic levels as well as cultural. These factors must be taken into consideration in order to develop a business model that can bring higher profitability and growth to the company entering this new market. The company described is a mobile communications manufacturer, specialising in the development of new consumer mobile technology products. Spain is marked with an uncertain labour market as well as a radically different cultural tendency that is present at the employee level as well as in relation to how managers conduct routine organisational processes. This report identifies the factors that will impede or enhance new market entry, via Greenfield entry, by reporting on issues which will directly impact success in this new market entry strategy. The consumer electronics market in Spain has experienced a steady growth rate of 10.8 percent between 2004 and 2008 (forbes.com 2010). This represents a consumer market that is adopting new technologies,

The Meaning of Torture Porn Essay Example for Free

The Meaning of Torture Porn Essay Stephen King once wrote, in his seminal book on horror, Danse Macabre, â€Å"I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I’ll go for the gross-out. I’m not proud† (Kaye 3). From the sequence of horror movies that have flooded the market over the past couple of years, it’s obvious that many of the filmmakers behind him aren’t too proud either. Horror cinema seems like it has become an ocean of gore, and the current trend has even gotten its own name: torture porn. The term â€Å"torture porn† has little to do with real pornography. There is virtually no sexual activity involved, although the victims are usually nude or partially nude. Torture is defined by Dictionary.com as â€Å"the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty†. It expresses the idea that its viewers are intensely aroused by the sight of human bodies – usually young and quite often female that are getting torn into bloody chunks in the most awful ways imaginable (Williams 1). The next part of the term, porn, has nothing do to with what is going on onscreen and when placed alongside torture, has nothing to do with the definition of either word. Porn is a shortened form of pornography, which Dictionary.com defines principally as â€Å"†¦sexually explicit pictures, writings, or other material whose primary purpose is to cause sexual arousal.† Seeing a naked body onscreen isn’t extremely explicit or sexually arousing in many situations, especially if the nude is being hacked to pieces by a fictional serial killer with a prop knife. In short, the characters in most well-known torture porn films are not usually developed enough to make us feel much sympathy for them; they’re simply, men and women, set up to be sliced apart. â€Å"There’s a definite distinction between being grossed out and being terrified and I think many filmmakers have lost sight of that†, says Ryan Rotten, managing editor of the horror Web Site ShockTilYouDrop.com (Kaye 3). According to Rafe Telsch, an assistant editor of Cinema Blend website: Almost everyone I know goes to the movies for similar reasons. We go to the movies because they entertain us. In the movies exists a world where the good guys win, hope prevails, and love conquers all. Movies make us feel better about ourselves and the world we live in and sometimes offer that aphorism of wisdom we need to make it through rough times. A horror movie primarily serves to scare or horrify, to haunt someone long after they’ve watched, or terrify them while they are watching it. However, in recent years, sadly, we are mostly seeing gore, more females, or should I say â€Å"hotties†, being tortured for most of the film, beaten, tied up, faces cut off, limbs cut off, legs caught in some kind of traps – and for what? The films serve little or no purpose in storytelling or character development. This is not horror, it does not scare or leave you scared to turn the light off, and the films end usually in an easily predicted way. Our generation is past desensitization after watching countless disgusting mutilations slowly destroy the human bodies onscreen. So, do torture porn movies really serve any purpose, other than to gross the audience out and put them off their food? I personally cannot reason why movie audiences would find this recently popular sub-genre interesting. Instead of promoting the good in mankind, these movies promote the worst possible traits of the human race. In the real world, we take people who kidnap, torture, mutilate, maim, and kill innocent people and lock them away, even putting some to death. Nowadays, a group of filmmakers want to recreate that same concept in a fictional environment, glorifying sick behavior to sell tickets. Even worse, people are buying those tickets, maintaining the strength of these kinds of films and ensuring more to come. To be clear, my problem is not with the horror genre as a whole. A lot of horror exemplifies the idea of good versus evil with good eventually saving the day (not always, but frequently). I’ve been a horror fan almost since I could watch movies, which is somewhere around the age of 6. I remember the times when I visited my grandparents with my younger brother during the summer, and we couldn’t wait until 10 o’clock to see a horror movie, since our parents stayed in the city. Our grandparents would always go to bed early, and we knew that on weekends, starting from 10 o’clock most of the channels would show some type of a horror movie. Usually, my brother would ask me to shut off the TV and go to bed as soon as the best part of the movie began (by which I mean the scariest part), but I stayed, even though I had my eyes covered with a pillow for the majority of the movie. As I got older, I no longer needed the pillow. Most of the American movie-going society is familiar with the Saw films initiated in 2003 by James Wan and Leign Whannell, and with Eli Roth’s two Hostel films (released in 2005 and 2007), which represent the most lucrative horror films of the 21st century and serve as the most prominent examples of torture porn (Sharrett 32). So, when Saw 5 came out in 2008 and my friends dragged me into theater to watch it, I was shocked and sat in astonishment as Jigsaw’s victims were tortured. Jigsaw, the main antagonist of the series, places his victims in death traps that can only be stopped by the murder of another person. That night I left the theater wondering why anyone would ever want to watch torture in a movie when there’s enough of it in the real world. I understand that for some of us horror movies allow us to confront our fears in a safe setting, but it’s a huge difference thinking about that when you’re watching someone torture another human being, in all of its ugliness, on-screen than when you’re watching the nightly news. If we can gain positive lessons about life from the movies, then what kind of moralistic values are torture porn movies instilling in our culture? As Rafe Telsch asked, â€Å"Are we cultivating a crop of sadistic killers by allowing these kinds of movies to be made and shown?†(1).What is even more disturbing about torture films is that while I was watching My Bloody Valentine (2009) in the cinema, people seemed to take great delight in laughing or cheering when an innocent character was injured or murdered. This, again, shows how horror films are moving away from what they originally stood for: the ultimate triumph of good over the worst evils in humanity. Additionally we, as an audience, aren’t supposed to be cheering for the â€Å"bad guys†, we’re supposed to want the heroic characters to overcome the evil and survive the horrors. By now most of you have probably heard about the controversy surrounding Captivity billboards as part of the film’s outdoor ad campaign in Los Angeles and New York. Captivity is a â€Å"torture porn† film starring Elisha Cuthbert. The depicted four panels with the headlines â€Å"Abduction, Confinement, Torture, Termination† along with the appropriate modern horror florescent lighting color scheme and scary visuals (Brodesser –Arkner 13). This film outdoor campaign outraged some residents in the Los Angeles area. â€Å"Parents went nuts†, said Courtney Solomon, a partner at After Dark Films, a company that has a multi-picture deal with Lionsgate and that were responsible for marketing the film (13). Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez wrote, â€Å"I felt like I needed to take a shower just from having been within a hundred feet of it (Brodesser-Arkner 13).† And that’s only two adults expressing their feelings about the billboard. I have never seen Captivity, but based on the pictures I can easily imagine why parents would be concerned while driving with their kids on the highway and seeing this picture.

The Influence Of Cultural Difference On Trademark Translation Cultural Studies Essay

The Influence Of Cultural Difference On Trademark Translation Cultural Studies Essay As a product of the development of the world market economy, trademark has been well regarded as a key element in the success of the advertising of an enterprise. Trademark is closely related to the sales and reputation of businesses and it has long been proved by history that a successful trademark would always facilitate the success of a business. As for trademark, it may have the following functions. Firstly, the trademark performs the role of identifying the goods of a particular manufacturer and gives an indication of its origin, or establishes a connection in the course of trade. Secondly, trademark assures quality of the product and acts as a symbol representing the goodwill of the business.(wikipedia, 2011) Also a trademark advertises the product and creates an image in the mind of the ultimate purchaser. Therefore, the naming of trademark has developed into an important strategy in winning the market for businesses all around the world. Since Chinas accession into the WTO in 2000, it is becoming increasingly involved in the world market economy and is faced with more chances as well as challenges ever in history. Furthermore, with the rapid development of global economy integration, more and more foreign commodities have been rushing into Chinas domestic market, posing even fiercer competitions in terms of not only quality and service of commodities but also trademarks. All these have suggested that the study on the translation of trademark is of great importance. Over the past several decades, with the rapid development of the world economy, numerous new-born industries have sprung up all around the world. This has consequently made the trademark one of the fastest and most dramatically developing advertising texts which influence peoples life in various ways and which, as the economy further develops, would exert even more influences on the world. However, being inconsistent with the rapid development of trademark terms, trademark translation, which is becoming increasingly important internationally due to the dramatic development of economic globalization, is still in its infancy stage with only few articles or monographs on trademark translation available in domestic study. Good news is that trademark translation as a whole has been receiving increasing attention from advertisers, marketers as well as scholars, though none of their studies exclusively specialize in trademark translation. As a matter of fact, trademark translation is regard ed as part of advertising translation and studies on trademark translation have been included in some of the studies on advertising translation. Therefore, the development of advertising translation could to some extent, shed some light on the evolution of trademark translation. In 1972, the term of advertising translation made its virgin appearance among the people in Hurbins article Peut-on Traduire la Langue de la Publicite-Can You Translate the Language of Advertising. Hurbin states in the article the importance of the study on advertising translation and demonstrated the way advertising materials such as brand names, slogans and trademarks are expressed in different languages. (Hurbin 24-32) Vestergaard and Schraders The language of Advertising in 1985 illustrates the range of linguistic and visual techniques advertisers use to achieve emphasis and special effects. They reveal the ways in which the advertiser preys on beliefs about sex roles and prejudices about social groups which bring the previous studies to a discourse level. In 1995, Candace Seguinot, in her article of Translation and Advertising: Going Global in Cultural Functions of Translation, discusses translation advertising from a cultural and semiotic perspective, saying that the marketing of goods and services across cultural boundaries involves an understanding of culture and semiotics that goes well beyond both language and design(Seguinot,1995:55-72), which indicates the importance of cultural elements in translating both ads and trademarks. After that, with the emergence of the ever fast-developing international trade and economic globalization, studies on advertising translation have increased in number. 1997, Smith V. and C.Klein-Braley published a paper Advertisinga Five-stage Strategy for Translation in which they concluded the approaches to the problem of translating advertisements into five categories, and some of them such as Straight translation, Adaptation(keep visuals, change text slightly or significantly) and Revision(keep visuals, write new text) are regarded as quite applicable to trademark translation. And in line with the economic globalization, Mathieu Guidere wrote a book named Translating Ads in 2000 which is considered to be the only book exclusively specializing in advertising translation. In his book, Mathieu aims at describing advertising translation in the context of globalization and deals with the advertising of multinational corporations which are in need of translating their slogans, communication campaigns and trademarks into several other languages. Mathieu also proposed the translation be effective in a purpose to promote the sales of the product or service in the target culture. ( Guidere 89) In China, the study on advertising and trademark translation did not begin until the 1980s for China has just been going to the international economy for about 30 years. During that period of time, most of these studies were done from the lexical, syntactical or rhetorical perspectives. And it was in the 1990s that several advertising and trademark translation principles came to take their initial shape. Among these, various new perspectives such as religious, aesthetic and psychological perspectives were added to the principles of ads and trademark translation. According to domestic data available, Zhao Jian-cheng and Yu Liu-guo (1993) applied the theory of textual function in their study of advertising translation. And later, Huang Guowens book Theory and Practice of Discourse AnalysisA Study in Advertising Discourse (2001), made a detailed study of English advertisement from the perspective of Systemic-Functional Linguistics. (Huang 75) The book of Advertising Linguistic: A Course Book (2009) by Cao Wei and Gao Jun is yet another example of an overall study on advertising and trademark translation from lexical, syntactical and rhetorical perspectives. In recent years, pragmatics has emerged as another approach toward advertising and trademark translation. Apart from this, there are also experts who suggest advertising and trademark translation be done under mere consideration of the cultural and ideological differences between different audiences while literal honesty to the original texts should be discarded when addressing oversea audiences. 2.2. Problems in Previous Researches However, despite the increasing researches and studies on advertising and trademark translation, some problems remain unsolved. Trademark is one of the most important means of advertising products because it performs the role of identifying the goods of a particular manufacturer and makes the first impression of the goods on consumers, which would create an image of goodwill in the mind of the ultimate purchaser. Thus, trademark translation becomes a very important task in introducing products to overseas markets in different cultures. Nowadays, the situation is becoming even more urgent under the circumstances of the deepening economic globalization which has made international trade across different cultures a common place. Regrettably, although great achievement of the study of trademark translation has been made, there are still some problems remain unsolved. Firstly, most studies done in this field is based on the manifestation of specific examples of trademark translation witho ut a series of systematic and scientific theories. There are a lot of good examples of trademark translation but there is never a systematic and scientific theory by which researchers can follow. Some of the traditional theories, in most cases, may lead to misunderstandings resulting from undue adherence to the source text and inadequate consideration of cultural differences. Secondly, the previous studies of the translation of trademark-a symbol of the rapid changes in modern society-has lost its charm of vigor due to the lack of fresh materials with repeatedly quoted examples and single minded perspective: Coca-cola which is translated as à ¥Ã‚ Ã‚ ¯Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ Ã‚ £Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ Ã‚ ¯Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¹Ã‚  and Benz as à ¥Ã‚ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ Ãƒ ©Ã‚ ©Ã‚ °, etc. Finally, the studies of trademark translation are mostly done in forms of papers or essays with few systematic and scientific monographs or books specializing in the study on this subject. 2.3. The Importance of the Study As has mentioned above, trademark is a product of the development of the world market economy and it has been well regarded as a key element in the success of the advertising of an enterprise. Trademark is closely related to the sales and reputation of businesses and it has long been proved by history that a successful trademark would always facilitate the success of a business. A trademark is embodied with rich cultural content. The cultural differences between different nations play a major role in understanding advertising and advertising or trademark translation, for cultural differences have their manifestation in social conventions, consumers psychology, religion and aesthetics, all of which have a dramatic influence on peoples life. Some scholars has concluded that trademark translation is not just a simple transfer of one language to another, but a blending and collision between different cultures, thus, making trademark translation more of a cultural translation. Therefore, the study on trademark translation from a cultural aspect is indeed very necessary and important. 2.4. Theory Applied in the Study To analyze the influence of cultural difference on trademark translation, the Adaptation Theory from Verschueren is adopted by the author for it provides a more comprehensive perspective from social, cultural and cognitive aspects for the research on trademark translation. The theory of adaptation is advanced by Verschueren in his book of Understanding Pragmatics, 1999. The theory originates from the basic principle of adaptation for species in wild life-in order to survive the bitter wild environment, biological species have to constantly make adaptations to the changing environment. In Verschueren eyes, the same holds true for the language communication-language using is a process of adaptation in which communicators making negotiable linguistic choices from a variable range of possibilities in such as way so as to approach points of satisfaction for communicative need (Versehueren, 1999:61). He then thoroughly examined the social progress of communicating and included the social, cultural and cognitive aspects in his theory from the perspective of pragmatics. However, previous approaches of trademark translation lay emphasis on the result of trademark translation while neglecting translating process. Therefore, the research on trademark translation under the framework of adaptation theory is almost a virgin area. In this regard, the author of this paper, enlightened by the findings of the Theory of Adaptation, considers it to be the best theory for trademark translation from the perspective of cultural difference. Under the Adaptation Theory, Verschueren maintains that the language consists of three properties, namely, adaptability, variability and negotiability which is quite in line with trademark translation, for trademark is changing and spreading rapidly across different cultures nowadays and the variability provides different choices for translation, negotiability explains how choices are made for different cultures and the adaptability interprets why choices are made. Also, the research scope of Verschueren covers social, cultural and cognitive aspects which are similar to the basic elements of cultural difference with social to social conventions and cognitive to psychology. 3. Understanding of Trademark 3.1. Definition of Trademark The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines a trademark as a special name, sign, or word that is marked on a product to show that it is made by a particular company, that cannot be used by any other company(HarrisLevey, 1975). And according to the definition of trademark from en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trademark, a trademark is a word, symbol, or phrase used to identify a particular companys product and differentiate it from other companies products.(Wikipedia, 2011) Mostly, a trademark is composed of a whole picture and one or a few words. For instance the trademark of, which consists the word BMW and the whole picture of . Some may feel confused about such term as trademark, trade name and brand name. These three terms do not only share a large number of similarities but also great differences that lie mainly in four aspects: firstly, according to the definition of trade name in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English a trademark is different from a trade name in that the precious one is used to identify a particular companys product while the latter is used to identify a particular manufacturer or company engaged in production(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 2004). Therefore, a trademark can be used individually while a trade name cannot. The difference between a trademark and a brand name mainly lies in that a brand name has a larger scope than that of a trademark or in other words, a trademark may be part of a brand name while a brand name is not. 3.2. Functions of Trademark An successful translation of a trademark from one culture to another is very important for the marketing and development of a enterprise because of the following functions a trademark may have. Informative function: As a special means of advertising, trademark contains a lot of information about products. A trademark is just like a bridge which conveys the most distinctive features of a product directly to customers. For instance, the translation of the trademark Rejoice to à ©Ã‚ £Ã‹Å"à ¦Ã… ¸Ã¢â‚¬ (shampoo) implies part of its function which is smoothing your hair. Excelle(car) originating from excellent gives an impression of superb quality and in the case of Fairlady(shoes for femal), it serves as a bridge that combines its product and the target customer which in this case refers to women. In this way, customers would find it easier to find what they want and companies easier to market their product. Aesthetic function: the creating of a trademark is an art that integrated the creating of graphic beauty, phonetic beauty and semantic beauty rather than just a work of choosing words, for creating a readable, easily memorizing and attention attracting trademark is one of the most important aspects in the advertising and publicizing of a product. A successful example in the realization of aesthetic functions of a trademark would not only provide sufficient information but also possess a sense of beauty, easy to memorize and would finally arouse customers deaire to buy the product. Persuasive function: as one kind of advertising text, the ultimate goal of a trademark is to persuade customers to buy its product. Therefore, a trademark text should not only provide enough information about the product but also be psychological appealing. For example, the word à ¥Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¥Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ©(aotomobile) in China means auspicious and good luck. It arouses customers purchasing desire by appealing to their psychological needs. Due to the difference of development in history, different value concepts have been developed into the society. The difference between values may have its manifestation in many aspects such as aesthetic concepts, different views on beauty and so on. Western trademarks have a preference on naming trademarks after names-names of the founders or celebrities-for their worship for individualism is embedded in their values and they lay much emphasis on special, independence, or self-reliance. On the other hand, Chinese trademarks are always named after flowers or animals or other substance in nature, for the Chinese values are greatly influenced by its traditional philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism and so on. They lay much emphasis on the harmony of nature and the balance between human society and nature. Therefore, their admiration for the nature and the substance in of nature is also embedded in their value concepts. The psychological differences between China and western countries mainly refers to their difference between philosophy, science, religion, art and other concepts. Formed through their work and development generation after generation, the psychology of a nation is an integral part of a culture. It reflects peoples views on certain things such as their preference or prejudice toward certain things, taboos and so on. For instance, the number 13 is considered to be a serious taboo in the west while in China it indicates nothing else but the figure 13. Customers have a tendency to lay their confidence in those commodities whose trademarks contain positive meaning rather than those with negative meaning. Therefore, in the case of figure 13, translators should spare no effort to transliterate the negative meaning of 13 for the target customer. Customs and social conventions together is regarded as an overt expression of the social culture of a nation. It reflects a cultures unique way of life which makes up the major aspect of a society. The difference between what Chinese people and people from the west will say in their greetings serves as a good example: Chinese people usually express their greetings by asking if he/she has had his/her meal or not when he/she encounters an acquaintance accidentally, while this is considered to be very misleading in the west for people would take it seriously that you want invite him/her to have a meal with you. Customs and social conventions is also a important element which may have a great influence on customers purchasing activities. A trademark translation which is appealing to the customs and social conventions will very likely win the target customers trust and thus arouse their desire to purchase. Cultural values actually contains a so large range of contents that in some cases other cultural elements such as psychology and customs could all be included in it. Indeed, many people believe that value concept is one of the most influential factors that influence customer behaviour. Value is considered to be so important because it is a series of principles and criteria learned throughout peoples life which tell people what to do, what to pursue, whats right and wrong, whats required and whats forbidden. It permeates a culture and exerts tremendous influences on every part of life. An understanding of value may help us understand the behaviour of other people and thus resolve many problems and conflicts. This is also very helpful in the translation of trademarks and the promotion of sales. For example, Americans hold different value concepts toward politeness from those of Chinese. They consider the punctuality of time a more important part of being politeness than Chinese people do. By knowing this, when Chinese businessmen are doing business in America, they may pay more attention to puncutality so as to leave a good impression on their American counterparts. However, an understanding of value is just not enough in the case of trademark translation. Value is associated with things such as ethics, morals, religions and attitude toward life which are so deeply embedded in one culture that it can be transmitted from one generation to another without any tremendous change. Therefore, when trademarks are to be translated into the target culture, the cultural contents should be adapted so as to conform to the values of the target market and promote sales consequently. Different countries have different customs and social conventions which would exert tremendous influence on what product are to be manufactured, how they are manufactured, by whom will these product be purchased and in what way will these product be consumed. These information are all very important to trademark translation, for something which is very necessary and appropriate in one country may turn out to be redundant and ridiculous and fail to attract peoples attention in another. China and western countries have developed a series of different customs and social conventions such as different political systems, different festivals, different ways of greeting, different views toward animals and different aesthetic concepts. When a trademark is to be marketed in another country, it must be adapted to the target social conventions and customs. Chinese and English are very different from each other in all aspects. They have developed different idioms or phrases. There is a classic example of how different idioms and phrases can effect ones sales. à §Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ±Ã‚ ¡ is a famous trademark for battery, it carries a meaning of purity(à §Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ½) and strenth(à ¨Ã‚ ±Ã‚ ¡). However, the word à §Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ±Ã‚ ¡ which means a white elephant in English has a different implication in western countries. In the west, a white elephant is a conventional phrase which refers to something useless or necessary. Therefore, the trademark of à §Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ½Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ±Ã‚ ¡ can never be translated directly into white elephant. A better option is that is can be translated into brown lion which carries an implication of strength and power. It is known to us all that westerners have a opener character toward many things such as love than Chinese people do. Consequently, west trademarks are also more open and direct in expressing such things. For example, Kiss Me is considered to be a appropriate trademark for cosmetic, for it directly expresses womens pursuit and wish for love, thus arouses womens sympathetic responses in their inner hearts. However, Chinese people tend to have a more conservative and traditional concept toward such things as love and so on. In order to conform to the target customers psychological custom, the trademark should not be translated into à ¥Ã‚ Ã‚ »Ãƒ ¦Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ. Instead, it is translated as à ¥Ã‚ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ £Ã‚ «Ãƒ §Ã‚ ¾Ã… ½ which implies the beauty(à §Ã‚ ¾Ã… ½) of women. In Chinese history, à ¦Ã‚ Ã…“à ¥Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·is a very honourable person for he is the one who first invented wine, a kind of drink which has become part of Chinese peoples life in history. Therefore, he is honored as the god of wine by Chinese people and there is also a trademark for wine named after him. However, when à ¦Ã‚ Ã…“à ¥Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·was introduced into the west, it was translated into Chinese pingying Dukang which failed to convey its traditional meaning to customers in the west. As a matter of fact, though China and western countries have different tales and traditions, there do exist an western version Chinese à ¦Ã‚ Ã…“à ¥Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·, namely, Bacchus who is the god of wine and fertility in Roman mythology. In this way, the trademark of Bacchus can bring about associations with wine and alcohol for westerners. Beside all these mentioned above, there are still many differences in customs and social conventions which marketers should pay special attention to in trademark translation. For instance, the unit China and western countries use to measure the same thing may be well different from each other. Chinese people usually use such unit as cm, m, kilometer, kilogram etc. While most western countries prefer to use such unit as foot, inch, pound, oz. Such differences in social conventions sometimes may cause difficulty in understanding and thus affect promotion in sales. Therefore, in some cases, such units should be replaced by those that are familiar to the target customers. However, all these differences talked above are interrelated and no one can be replaced by one another. They are integrated as a whole and exert an joint influence rather than respective ones on trademark translation. Therefore, in the process of translating trademarks, marketers should take all these cultural aspects into consideration so as to work out a version that conforms to the target culture to the largest extent possible.

Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation

Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation Introduction: According to the topic of discussing the differences between Islamic securitisation and conventional securitisation, the discussion will lead to the satisfactory aspects of comprehensive analysis of the information gathered during the research. Moreover, it continues with the Islamic securitisation structure on the qualitative as well as quantitative basis according to the difference from the conventional securitisation structure. Securitisation which openly deals with the trade have more emphasis on the aspects to provide lucidity that it is riba-free (non-Islamic interest free) and its mechanism is based on shariah compliant system. We will be discussing different aspects that provide a clearer picture to mechanism that how it works i.e. structure, elements of risk shifting (risk scattering) and risk sharing in the deemed process so far as the area requires a lot more research to acquire steadiness in financial world and to enrich more on the topic some distinctive facts and figure are discussed as well. Background information of the topic: From the beginning of the Islamic banking in early 1960s which reckons the acuity of Islamic Shariah according to Quran and Sunnah brought into account as legal maxims with many ideas to facilitates the use of finance in both debt based and equity based. Not only Muslims countries regarding Islamic securitisation is worried about many factors to find a way out to enrich financial systems many other countries however following the conventional financial and banking systems. In the start and yet it is quite infant situation of securitisation because of the collective concerns of lenders or financier and borrowers. Lately, it has to move on with incentive compatibility and attractiveness for investors. Financial intermediaries even nowadays face quite drastic situations despite their in-house financial management; debt handling being a global concern. There is a wider line drawn understanding the differences between Islamic ways and uses of securitisation and its conventional counterpar t though it seems quite trembling discussing about when it is debt based securitisation. Refer to the figures shown below which signifies the basic mechanism of securitisation; providing a clearer picture to its importance. According to Masum Billah M., in his article Shariah Frameworks of Securitisation in the Capital Market, he discusses about securitisation being a prevalent method of financing nowadays more precisely in corporate sector. Furthermore he illustrates securitisation that where the company pooled its illiquid assets together and issued a claim to a pool of assets and when the assets are securitised, it made the assets tradable in the financial market. Furthermore, he presented the simplest definition that the securitisation is a process where corporation converts its physical assets in to financial assets. Masum aggregated in his words about the assets that have to be securitised have to be illiquid – cannot be traded in share market or secondary market- and should also have produce cash flows over its lifetime. Besides that, the assets should have financial value so that they can be used as a claimed against the securities. From the above depiction, a securitisation engages the s ale of a large pool of assets by an entity or the originator that creates or purchases the assets in the course of its business to bankruptcy remote, special purpose vehicle (SPV). The SPV acts as an issuer, issue and sale the securities through either in a private placement or public offering. When securitisation process is closed funds flow from the purchasers of the securities to the issuers and from the Issuers to the Originator. All these transaction occur virtually simultaneously. (Masum) Hence, the above description is the basic structure of securitisation. The actual structures are more complex because it involves more elements and participants. Refer to the rainbow-pie chart which presents a practical implication of securitisation according to Commerz bank. The above implementation can be an example of securitisation though many different approaches and products that provide seamless structure on Shariah compliant way which lie still under research yet required to be evolved. Scope of the research: The entire research is nourished on the basis of salient research techniques which consist of a vast study of reference books, written journals (inclusive of e-journals), research papers, seminar notes, open survey from public and some online resources. Furthermore, it helped a lot as a combination of theoretical and statistical comparison between conventional and Islamic securitisation in the literature review (which encompasses the knowledge as well as defined focus on the topic) with ground reality at an optimum level. Literature Review: Before moving on with detailed analysis there is a need to proclaim types (structures) of securitisation in general depiction. According to Masum, there are three main structures commonly used in securitisation. The originator chooses between three types of structures: pass-throughs, asset backed bond and pay-through. Masum further defined those structures coming forth; pass-through structures likely represent the direct ownership by the originator in a portfolio of assets. The originator services the portfolio, makes collections, and passes them to the investors. In pass through, the securities is not debt obligations of the originator thus, do not appear on the originators financial statement. Since the ownership of the assets lies with the originator, pass-through is designed to represent an assignment of a portion of ownership, rights and obligation but not a conveyance of title. (Masum) Masum elaborates that the Asset-Backed bond is collaterised by a portfolio of assets. The Asset-Backed Bond is a debt obligation of the issuers. In the issuers financial statement, the collateral remains as assets and the Asset-Backed Bond appears as a liability. The cash flows from the asset are not dedicated to the investors. The investors only receive a part of the cash flows and the residual remains with the issuers. One of the important aspect of the Asset-Backed Bond is that the securities is over-collateralized i.e. the value of the underlying assets is significantly in excess of the total obligation. For example, Company A issued RM1, 000,000.00 of bond using the Asset-Backed Bond structures. The value of the underlying assets that backed the bond is RM2, 500,000.00. The issuer chooses to over-collateralised its bond in order to provide some level of comfort to the investors. (Discussed by M.M. Billah in his paper) Lastly, he concluded with the final structure of securitisation is the pay-through structures. This structure has combination of pass-through and Asset-Backed Bond. The bond is collateralized by a pool of assets and appears on the issuers balance sheet as a debt. However, the cash flows arise from the assets is passed to the investors. The issuer only earns the service fees from the investors. From the above description of the mentioned, we can see that pass-through is the structure closest to satisfy the Islamic principle. Under pass-through, the cash flows collected are dedicated to the investors and the issuer only earns the service charge. Besides that, the security does not classify as a debt by the originator. Henceforth, conventional securitisation must be secluded according to research in different products and approaches and thus a large part of the conventional securitisation market – for example, mortgage backed securities, would be prohibited because the income (th ough not the principal) element of the cash flow would be characterised as riba. Similarly, CDOs and other such instruments could not be allowed as an asset class as these represent Debt rather than an allowable commodity or activity. However, these restrictions do not mean that an Islamic securitisation market cannot develop. There are many classes of assets with a long history of securitisation that are halal (allowable), in particular any physical asset such as plant and machinery, and many of the techniques used in a conventional securitisation transaction are equally valid in an Islamic transaction. The remainder of this article will try to show just how similar those requirements are, and point out some further underlying differences in structuring a Sharia compliant securitisation. Mervyn and Kabir (2007) conversed Islamic point of view of investments in different aspects according to ethics and moral besides regulatory framework and it is quite well defined perception that an investor needs a brighter depiction of profit generation to allow him to think about different financial intermediaries in this modern world though it is going through analysis time to time since many years following their psyche on the other hand banks being financial intermediary have to put through making most of it avoiding concept that money should not be loan according to legal maxims. According to Ayub M. (2007), Islamic principles can make the difference and that Islamic finance is passing significant milestones; which lead entrepreneurs not to stop putting their research on and on. Islamic researchers are more concerned meeting shariah compliant regulatory requirements. Sohail (2006) overstated that Islamic retail banking and finance is not only designated for Muslim community on ly; which means Islamic retail banking products are adopted to some extent because of their competency and efficiency, and are being used under the umbrella of conventional (non-Islamic) banks; they often call it as window for Islamic banking products. Detailed analysis of differences between Islamic securitisation and its conventional counterpart: Islamic lending transactions are governed by the precepts of the shariah, which bans interest and stipulates that income must be derived as return from entrepreneurial investment. Since Islamic finance is predicated on asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, structuring shariah-compliant securitisation seems straightforward. As mentioned in by Kabir and Mervyn (2007) according to Humayoun A. Dar; fixed-return modes deals with the control and management of funds as clients have the possession which was made available by the investors, financial frameworks are often used with different areas of Islamic banking products like investment accounts based on mudharabah and saving account based on wadia, inclusive of Islamic retail banking products like Islamic mortgages, Islamic auto finance, sukuk (Islamic bonds) and many other products dealt with the concept of asset-backing and riba-free i.e. Islamised frameworks. Nonetheless, financial institutions have been able to develop various forms of Islamic finance instruments that are virtually identical to their conventional counterparts in substance. Since most Islamic financial products are based on the concept of asset backing, the economic concept of asset securitisation is particularly amenable to the basic tenets of Islamic finance. Securitisation under Islam ic law bars interest income and must be structured in a way that rewards investors for their direct exposure to business risk, i.e., investors receive a share of profits commensurate to the risk they take on in lieu of pre-determined interest. All three asset types of Islamic finance are principally eligible for Islamic securitisation; however, unresolved issues, including restrictions on debt trading or the management of prepayment risk could limit their indiscriminate use as collateral. Characteristics of conventional securitisation only apply if they convey a sufficient element of ownership to investors as entrepreneurial investment in real economic activity within an interest-free structural arrangement. In addition, also administrative issues, such as underwriting standards, issue placement and the procurement of ratings, are subject to religious scrutiny. Any capital generated from securitised issuance under Islamic law is to be used exclusively used for the repayment of initial funding. Conventional securitisation, which originated in non-Islamic economies, invariably involves interest bearing debt. Although the religious prohibition of the exchange of debt and the required conferral of ownership interest to participate in business risk still poses challenges to further development of Islamic securitisation, the gradual acceptance of Islamic investment certificates, so-called sukuk bonds, represents a successful attempt to overcome these impediments based on the adequate interpretation and analogical reasoning of shariah principles applied in Islamic finance. Sukuks are shariah-compliant and tradable asset-backed, medium-term notes, which have been issued internationally by governments, quasi sovereign agencies, and corporations after their legitimization by the ruling of the Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in February of 1988. Sukuk notes convey equity interest to (capital market) investors in the form of a call option on partial or complete ownership of underlying reference assets, including the right to some calculable rate of return as a share of p rofit (secondary notes) and the repayment of the principal amount (primary notes). All three broad types of Islamic finance transactions (asset-, debt- and equity-based) can be reference assets of such Islamic securities. Following exhibits (3 and 4) provide the sukuk implementations. Detailed analysis of elements of risk shifting and risk sharing in securitisation process: Over the last five years, the sukuk has evolved as a viable form of capital-market-based Islamic structured finance, which reconciles the concept of securitisation and principles of the shariah law on the provision and use of financial products and services in a risk-mitigation structure subject to competitive pricing (El-Qorchi, 2005). Notwithstanding these religious constraints, Islamic finance can synthesize close equivalents to equity, mortgages, and derivatives known in conventional finance. To this end, it relies on structural arrangements of asset transfer between borrowers and lenders to emulate traditional interest-bearing financial contracts. Since lending transactions under Islamic law are based on the concept of asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, it also appears relatively straightforward to structure a shariah-compliant asset-backed securitisation (ABS) that delivers a risk-return profile similar to a conventional structure. Howe ver, conventional securitisation was developed in non- Islamic economies and invariably involves interest-bearing debt. Essentially, asset securitisation represents a cost-efficient and flexible structured finance1 technique of liquidity transformation and risk transfer, which converts present or future asset claims of varying maturity and quality into tradable debt securities. The various methods of securitisation have much to offer, but so far they have found only limited acceptance in Islamic finance due to religious restrictions on the sale and purchase of interest-bearing debt and legal uncertainty surrounding the enforceability of investor interest under Islamic jurisprudence. Over the last five years, the nascent Islamic securitisation market has seen many positive developments owing to the adoption of enabling capital market regulations, a favorable macroeconomic environment, and financial innovation aimed at establishing shariah compliance. The most popular ABS structures w ithin Islamic finance are commonly referred to as sukuk bonds backed by either one of the three basic forms of Islamic finance (synthetic loans, sale- leasebacks, or profit-sharing arrangements). Asset securitisation describes the process and the result of issuing certificates of ownership as pledge against existing or future cash flows from a diversified pool of assets (reference portfolio) to investors. (Jobst, 2006b). Foreign Investment Insurance Policy-FIIP by The Islamic Corporation For The Insurance of Investment And   Export Credit ICIEC Islamic securitisation transforms bilateral risk sharing between borrowers and lenders in Islamic finance into the market-based refinancing of one or more underlying Islamic finance transactions. Protection against basic risk; can be unless returns for investors are linked to the rate of interest on the underlying assets, there is a risk that the relationship between the rate paid on the underlying assets and that paid on the securities will differ over time. Normally a swap will be arranged to protect against this risk. In addition, conventional securitisation is virtually absent in Islamic countries, where Islamic home finance and sukuks provide a potentially untapped market for structured finance. Islamic securitisation complements the conventional ABS universe as an alternative and more diversified funding option that broadens the pricing spectrum and asset supply as high demand for alternative investment products causes greater lending width amid a low-yield market environment. In some circumstances, the shariah compliance also entails tax exemptions when investors hold direct ownership interest in the securitised assets. Conclusion: Islamic securitisation is a helpful and important tool, which must be carried out prior to the issuance of Islamic bonds or Islamic Debt Securities. By securitising assets, the Islamic way, Muslim investors can now participate in the bond market without worrying that the process of securitising the assets and issuing of the bonds are contradictory to the Islamic teachings. Islamic finance is being more attractive for not only the Muslim community but for non-muslim world. Its products are being progressive even though there been some hurdles and late development of Islamic banking and finance industry and moreover it is has been so securitised for customer satisfaction and avoided almost the pity of riba-based banking structure. In this regard, it has a more focus on the revision and research on the proposed and as well as on financial structures that are being practiced nowadays. It has been proven that many big names like HSBC, Lloyds and Standard Chartered are putting there focus on Islamic products and especially on retail banking products and securitisation products. Suggestions and Recommendations: Islamic Finance Expanding Rapidly (2007) by IMF(MCM Dept.) Many Islamic products have the thirst to be researched on and provided quite attractive picture for entrepreneur to spot focus on Islamic finance industry. Besides many Islamic retail banking products, Sukuk (i.e. Islamic Bonds – despite of the type), Takaful (Insurance) and Tawarruq (AAOIFI standardised loan) are called out as the future for Islamic banking and might have a better attraction to conventional banking world as well. References(s): Aggarwal, R. K. Yousef, T. (2000) Islamic Banking and Investment Financing, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing Ahmad Ausaf (1993) Research Paper 20: Contemporary practices of Islamic financing techniques, Islamic Research and Training Institute, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ahmad Ausaf (1987) Development and Problems of Islamic Banks, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ayub M. (2007) Understanding Islamic Finance, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester Commerz Bank, Securitisation of Banks, https://cbcm.commerzbank.com/en/site/banks/securitisation_cf_banks/index.jsp [Access Date: 14th August 2010] Deringer (2006), Islamic finance: basic principles and structures Freshfields Bruckhaus Consultants, pp 30. Dualeh, S. (1998). Islamic Securitisation: Practical Aspects. Paper presented at the World Conference on Banking, July 8-9, 1998, Geneva. El-Qorchi, Mohammed (2005), Islamic Finance Gears Up, Finance and Development (December), International Monetary Fund (IMF), 46-9. Fabozzi, F. J. (ed). (2001). Accessing Capital Markets through Securitisation. New York: Fran J Fabozzi Associates. Hassan Kabir M. Lewis Mervyn K. (2007) Handbook of Islamic Banking, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham IMF, Islamic Finance Expanding Rapidly, URL: [Accessed on: 18th August 2010] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2007/res0919b.htm Islamic Credit and Political Risk Insurance, A Useful Risk Management Tool For BanksURL:http://www.kantakji.com/fiqh/Files/Insurance/Islamic%20Credit%20and%20Political%20Risk%20Insurance.htm [Access Date: 17th August 2010] Jaffar S. (2006) Islamic Retail Banking and Finance: Global Challenges and Opportunities, Euromoney Books, London Jobst, Andreas A. (2006b), Asset Securitisation: A Refinancing Tool for Firms and Banks, Managerial Finance, Vol. 32, No. 9, 731-60. Kazarian G. E. (1993) Islamic versus traditional banking: Financial Innovation in Egypt, Boulder: Westview Press Kothari, Vinod (n.d.). Securitisation: a Primer. Available at: , Access Date: 17th August 2010. Manjoo F. A., (2005) Securitisation: An Important Recipe for Islamic Banks A Survey, Review of Islamic Economics, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2005, pp.53 Masum Billah, M. (unknown), Shariah Frameworks of Securitisation in the Capital Market URL: http://www.applied-islamicfinance.com/sp_securitisation_1.htm [Access Date: 10th August 2010] Mullineux, A. W. Murinde, V. (2003) Handbook of International Banking, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham Usmani M. M. T. (1988), An Introduction to Islamic Finance, Islamic Publication, pp. 1-5, Karachi Zaher, Tarek S. Hassan, Kabir M. (2001) A comparative Literature Survey of Islamic Finance and Banking; Financial Markets, Institutions and Intruments, Blackwell, New York Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation Introduction: According to the topic of discussing the differences between Islamic securitisation and conventional securitisation, the discussion will lead to the satisfactory aspects of comprehensive analysis of the information gathered during the research. Moreover, it continues with the Islamic securitisation structure on the qualitative as well as quantitative basis according to the difference from the conventional securitisation structure. Securitisation which openly deals with the trade have more emphasis on the aspects to provide lucidity that it is riba-free (non-Islamic interest free) and its mechanism is based on shariah compliant system. We will be discussing different aspects that provide a clearer picture to mechanism that how it works i.e. structure, elements of risk shifting (risk scattering) and risk sharing in the deemed process so far as the area requires a lot more research to acquire steadiness in financial world and to enrich more on the topic some distinctive facts and figure are discussed as well. Background information of the topic: From the beginning of the Islamic banking in early 1960s which reckons the acuity of Islamic Shariah according to Quran and Sunnah brought into account as legal maxims with many ideas to facilitates the use of finance in both debt based and equity based. Not only Muslims countries regarding Islamic securitisation is worried about many factors to find a way out to enrich financial systems many other countries however following the conventional financial and banking systems. In the start and yet it is quite infant situation of securitisation because of the collective concerns of lenders or financier and borrowers. Lately, it has to move on with incentive compatibility and attractiveness for investors. Financial intermediaries even nowadays face quite drastic situations despite their in-house financial management; debt handling being a global concern. There is a wider line drawn understanding the differences between Islamic ways and uses of securitisation and its conventional counterpar t though it seems quite trembling discussing about when it is debt based securitisation. Refer to the figures shown below which signifies the basic mechanism of securitisation; providing a clearer picture to its importance. According to Masum Billah M., in his article Shariah Frameworks of Securitisation in the Capital Market, he discusses about securitisation being a prevalent method of financing nowadays more precisely in corporate sector. Furthermore he illustrates securitisation that where the company pooled its illiquid assets together and issued a claim to a pool of assets and when the assets are securitised, it made the assets tradable in the financial market. Furthermore, he presented the simplest definition that the securitisation is a process where corporation converts its physical assets in to financial assets. Masum aggregated in his words about the assets that have to be securitised have to be illiquid – cannot be traded in share market or secondary market- and should also have produce cash flows over its lifetime. Besides that, the assets should have financial value so that they can be used as a claimed against the securities. From the above depiction, a securitisation engages the s ale of a large pool of assets by an entity or the originator that creates or purchases the assets in the course of its business to bankruptcy remote, special purpose vehicle (SPV). The SPV acts as an issuer, issue and sale the securities through either in a private placement or public offering. When securitisation process is closed funds flow from the purchasers of the securities to the issuers and from the Issuers to the Originator. All these transaction occur virtually simultaneously. (Masum) Hence, the above description is the basic structure of securitisation. The actual structures are more complex because it involves more elements and participants. Refer to the rainbow-pie chart which presents a practical implication of securitisation according to Commerz bank. The above implementation can be an example of securitisation though many different approaches and products that provide seamless structure on Shariah compliant way which lie still under research yet required to be evolved. Scope of the research: The entire research is nourished on the basis of salient research techniques which consist of a vast study of reference books, written journals (inclusive of e-journals), research papers, seminar notes, open survey from public and some online resources. Furthermore, it helped a lot as a combination of theoretical and statistical comparison between conventional and Islamic securitisation in the literature review (which encompasses the knowledge as well as defined focus on the topic) with ground reality at an optimum level. Literature Review: Before moving on with detailed analysis there is a need to proclaim types (structures) of securitisation in general depiction. According to Masum, there are three main structures commonly used in securitisation. The originator chooses between three types of structures: pass-throughs, asset backed bond and pay-through. Masum further defined those structures coming forth; pass-through structures likely represent the direct ownership by the originator in a portfolio of assets. The originator services the portfolio, makes collections, and passes them to the investors. In pass through, the securities is not debt obligations of the originator thus, do not appear on the originators financial statement. Since the ownership of the assets lies with the originator, pass-through is designed to represent an assignment of a portion of ownership, rights and obligation but not a conveyance of title. (Masum) Masum elaborates that the Asset-Backed bond is collaterised by a portfolio of assets. The Asset-Backed Bond is a debt obligation of the issuers. In the issuers financial statement, the collateral remains as assets and the Asset-Backed Bond appears as a liability. The cash flows from the asset are not dedicated to the investors. The investors only receive a part of the cash flows and the residual remains with the issuers. One of the important aspect of the Asset-Backed Bond is that the securities is over-collateralized i.e. the value of the underlying assets is significantly in excess of the total obligation. For example, Company A issued RM1, 000,000.00 of bond using the Asset-Backed Bond structures. The value of the underlying assets that backed the bond is RM2, 500,000.00. The issuer chooses to over-collateralised its bond in order to provide some level of comfort to the investors. (Discussed by M.M. Billah in his paper) Lastly, he concluded with the final structure of securitisation is the pay-through structures. This structure has combination of pass-through and Asset-Backed Bond. The bond is collateralized by a pool of assets and appears on the issuers balance sheet as a debt. However, the cash flows arise from the assets is passed to the investors. The issuer only earns the service fees from the investors. From the above description of the mentioned, we can see that pass-through is the structure closest to satisfy the Islamic principle. Under pass-through, the cash flows collected are dedicated to the investors and the issuer only earns the service charge. Besides that, the security does not classify as a debt by the originator. Henceforth, conventional securitisation must be secluded according to research in different products and approaches and thus a large part of the conventional securitisation market – for example, mortgage backed securities, would be prohibited because the income (th ough not the principal) element of the cash flow would be characterised as riba. Similarly, CDOs and other such instruments could not be allowed as an asset class as these represent Debt rather than an allowable commodity or activity. However, these restrictions do not mean that an Islamic securitisation market cannot develop. There are many classes of assets with a long history of securitisation that are halal (allowable), in particular any physical asset such as plant and machinery, and many of the techniques used in a conventional securitisation transaction are equally valid in an Islamic transaction. The remainder of this article will try to show just how similar those requirements are, and point out some further underlying differences in structuring a Sharia compliant securitisation. Mervyn and Kabir (2007) conversed Islamic point of view of investments in different aspects according to ethics and moral besides regulatory framework and it is quite well defined perception that an investor needs a brighter depiction of profit generation to allow him to think about different financial intermediaries in this modern world though it is going through analysis time to time since many years following their psyche on the other hand banks being financial intermediary have to put through making most of it avoiding concept that money should not be loan according to legal maxims. According to Ayub M. (2007), Islamic principles can make the difference and that Islamic finance is passing significant milestones; which lead entrepreneurs not to stop putting their research on and on. Islamic researchers are more concerned meeting shariah compliant regulatory requirements. Sohail (2006) overstated that Islamic retail banking and finance is not only designated for Muslim community on ly; which means Islamic retail banking products are adopted to some extent because of their competency and efficiency, and are being used under the umbrella of conventional (non-Islamic) banks; they often call it as window for Islamic banking products. Detailed analysis of differences between Islamic securitisation and its conventional counterpart: Islamic lending transactions are governed by the precepts of the shariah, which bans interest and stipulates that income must be derived as return from entrepreneurial investment. Since Islamic finance is predicated on asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, structuring shariah-compliant securitisation seems straightforward. As mentioned in by Kabir and Mervyn (2007) according to Humayoun A. Dar; fixed-return modes deals with the control and management of funds as clients have the possession which was made available by the investors, financial frameworks are often used with different areas of Islamic banking products like investment accounts based on mudharabah and saving account based on wadia, inclusive of Islamic retail banking products like Islamic mortgages, Islamic auto finance, sukuk (Islamic bonds) and many other products dealt with the concept of asset-backing and riba-free i.e. Islamised frameworks. Nonetheless, financial institutions have been able to develop various forms of Islamic finance instruments that are virtually identical to their conventional counterparts in substance. Since most Islamic financial products are based on the concept of asset backing, the economic concept of asset securitisation is particularly amenable to the basic tenets of Islamic finance. Securitisation under Islam ic law bars interest income and must be structured in a way that rewards investors for their direct exposure to business risk, i.e., investors receive a share of profits commensurate to the risk they take on in lieu of pre-determined interest. All three asset types of Islamic finance are principally eligible for Islamic securitisation; however, unresolved issues, including restrictions on debt trading or the management of prepayment risk could limit their indiscriminate use as collateral. Characteristics of conventional securitisation only apply if they convey a sufficient element of ownership to investors as entrepreneurial investment in real economic activity within an interest-free structural arrangement. In addition, also administrative issues, such as underwriting standards, issue placement and the procurement of ratings, are subject to religious scrutiny. Any capital generated from securitised issuance under Islamic law is to be used exclusively used for the repayment of initial funding. Conventional securitisation, which originated in non-Islamic economies, invariably involves interest bearing debt. Although the religious prohibition of the exchange of debt and the required conferral of ownership interest to participate in business risk still poses challenges to further development of Islamic securitisation, the gradual acceptance of Islamic investment certificates, so-called sukuk bonds, represents a successful attempt to overcome these impediments based on the adequate interpretation and analogical reasoning of shariah principles applied in Islamic finance. Sukuks are shariah-compliant and tradable asset-backed, medium-term notes, which have been issued internationally by governments, quasi sovereign agencies, and corporations after their legitimization by the ruling of the Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in February of 1988. Sukuk notes convey equity interest to (capital market) investors in the form of a call option on partial or complete ownership of underlying reference assets, including the right to some calculable rate of return as a share of p rofit (secondary notes) and the repayment of the principal amount (primary notes). All three broad types of Islamic finance transactions (asset-, debt- and equity-based) can be reference assets of such Islamic securities. Following exhibits (3 and 4) provide the sukuk implementations. Detailed analysis of elements of risk shifting and risk sharing in securitisation process: Over the last five years, the sukuk has evolved as a viable form of capital-market-based Islamic structured finance, which reconciles the concept of securitisation and principles of the shariah law on the provision and use of financial products and services in a risk-mitigation structure subject to competitive pricing (El-Qorchi, 2005). Notwithstanding these religious constraints, Islamic finance can synthesize close equivalents to equity, mortgages, and derivatives known in conventional finance. To this end, it relies on structural arrangements of asset transfer between borrowers and lenders to emulate traditional interest-bearing financial contracts. Since lending transactions under Islamic law are based on the concept of asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, it also appears relatively straightforward to structure a shariah-compliant asset-backed securitisation (ABS) that delivers a risk-return profile similar to a conventional structure. Howe ver, conventional securitisation was developed in non- Islamic economies and invariably involves interest-bearing debt. Essentially, asset securitisation represents a cost-efficient and flexible structured finance1 technique of liquidity transformation and risk transfer, which converts present or future asset claims of varying maturity and quality into tradable debt securities. The various methods of securitisation have much to offer, but so far they have found only limited acceptance in Islamic finance due to religious restrictions on the sale and purchase of interest-bearing debt and legal uncertainty surrounding the enforceability of investor interest under Islamic jurisprudence. Over the last five years, the nascent Islamic securitisation market has seen many positive developments owing to the adoption of enabling capital market regulations, a favorable macroeconomic environment, and financial innovation aimed at establishing shariah compliance. The most popular ABS structures w ithin Islamic finance are commonly referred to as sukuk bonds backed by either one of the three basic forms of Islamic finance (synthetic loans, sale- leasebacks, or profit-sharing arrangements). Asset securitisation describes the process and the result of issuing certificates of ownership as pledge against existing or future cash flows from a diversified pool of assets (reference portfolio) to investors. (Jobst, 2006b). Foreign Investment Insurance Policy-FIIP by The Islamic Corporation For The Insurance of Investment And   Export Credit ICIEC Islamic securitisation transforms bilateral risk sharing between borrowers and lenders in Islamic finance into the market-based refinancing of one or more underlying Islamic finance transactions. Protection against basic risk; can be unless returns for investors are linked to the rate of interest on the underlying assets, there is a risk that the relationship between the rate paid on the underlying assets and that paid on the securities will differ over time. Normally a swap will be arranged to protect against this risk. In addition, conventional securitisation is virtually absent in Islamic countries, where Islamic home finance and sukuks provide a potentially untapped market for structured finance. Islamic securitisation complements the conventional ABS universe as an alternative and more diversified funding option that broadens the pricing spectrum and asset supply as high demand for alternative investment products causes greater lending width amid a low-yield market environment. In some circumstances, the shariah compliance also entails tax exemptions when investors hold direct ownership interest in the securitised assets. Conclusion: Islamic securitisation is a helpful and important tool, which must be carried out prior to the issuance of Islamic bonds or Islamic Debt Securities. By securitising assets, the Islamic way, Muslim investors can now participate in the bond market without worrying that the process of securitising the assets and issuing of the bonds are contradictory to the Islamic teachings. Islamic finance is being more attractive for not only the Muslim community but for non-muslim world. Its products are being progressive even though there been some hurdles and late development of Islamic banking and finance industry and moreover it is has been so securitised for customer satisfaction and avoided almost the pity of riba-based banking structure. In this regard, it has a more focus on the revision and research on the proposed and as well as on financial structures that are being practiced nowadays. It has been proven that many big names like HSBC, Lloyds and Standard Chartered are putting there focus on Islamic products and especially on retail banking products and securitisation products. Suggestions and Recommendations: Islamic Finance Expanding Rapidly (2007) by IMF(MCM Dept.) Many Islamic products have the thirst to be researched on and provided quite attractive picture for entrepreneur to spot focus on Islamic finance industry. Besides many Islamic retail banking products, Sukuk (i.e. Islamic Bonds – despite of the type), Takaful (Insurance) and Tawarruq (AAOIFI standardised loan) are called out as the future for Islamic banking and might have a better attraction to conventional banking world as well. References(s): Aggarwal, R. K. Yousef, T. (2000) Islamic Banking and Investment Financing, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing Ahmad Ausaf (1993) Research Paper 20: Contemporary practices of Islamic financing techniques, Islamic Research and Training Institute, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ahmad Ausaf (1987) Development and Problems of Islamic Banks, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ayub M. 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