The U.S. Federal Parole System

Criminal offenders have existed in the society for as long as the history of mankind is concerned. Different measures have been put in place to ensure that criminals are brought to book and prosecuted accordingly. In the United States, numerous criminal justice systems have made attempts to ensure that there is social order at all times. However, some of these systems have received criticisms from a cross-section of the society as far as their effectiveness is concerned (Schmalleger, 2005).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The U.S. Federal Parole System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The parole system is one of the criminal justice approaches with the longest history in some countries, particularly the United States. It refers to supervised conditional release of an inmate from prison which is granted way before the elapse of a given prisoner’s court sentence (Hoffman, 2004). This system, however, varies in application from one state to another in America. For instance, in some states, any person convicted of serious crime like murder or rape is not considered for parole. Since parole is granted under strict terms and conditions, the slightest violations result in its revocation and subsequent re-incarceration. The essay discusses the general history and purpose of the parole system in the United States. The negative as well as positive effects of this system on the society are also discussed. Moreover, the various functions of local, state and federal parole agencies are highlighted. The federal parole system is emphasized in this essay. Although law enforcement agencies work hard to keep criminals off the streets, while the prisons house them, it is the responsibility of the parole agencies to ensure that the offenders stay out of trouble and get the help they need by providing community resources to help them socially reintegrate into the society after being released. Persons con victed of any given crime receive appropriate sentence from the criminal justice system applicable in that jurisdiction. Imprisonment for a specified period of time has been one of the ways of rehabilitating convicts (Parent, 1994). The length of time may range from a few months to life imprisonment. However, as defined above, parole creates an opportunity for the inmates to be released on specified terms and conditions before they complete their sentence in jail. Usually, the parolee is under regular supervision and is still under the initial sentence. The activities of the parolee are restricted by an appointed officer, particularly when it comes to place of residence, associates, and day to day occupation with an aim of curbing a relapse into criminal activities. The procedure of granting parole is regulated by the statute established in the authorities of the United States (Dolgoff Fieldstein, 2008). In some states, persons serving indeterminate life sentence may be eligible fo r parole upon petition for release.Advertising Looking for essay on homeland security? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In criminal law, parole is not designed to shorten the sentence of a convict but to give the parolee an opportunity to readjust and accelerate the rehabilitation process especially for first time offenders (Parent, 1994). The various states have statutes which create parole boards with the responsibility of evaluating and if necessary, releasing the prisoners from jail. These boards conduct parole hearings as well as the hearings for the revocation of paroles. Some states do not allow the persons on parole to be represented during such hearings. In the United States, the parole system was first officially established and used in New York in 1876. By the turn of the 20th century, many states had adopted the parole system. It was in 1910 that the U.S. Congress established the Parole Commission charged with the r esponsibility of granting parole (Rush, 2003). There are a number of reasons why parole is used in the United States. In comparison, it is much cheaper to supervise a person on parole than to incarcerate a convict. While a person is on parole, he or she has an opportunity to offer services to the community and hence contribute to the general development. On the other hand, the society is assured of security because the parolee is under regular supervision to prevent relapse into crime. Crime is minimized due to the fact that a person on parole may be re-incarcerated in case of the slightest violation of terms and conditions (Hoffman, 2004). It has been established that parole serves as one of the very effective ways of rehabilitating convicts. Parolees are constantly supervised and guided as they readjust into the society. Parole also helps in controlling the population of local, state and federal prisons. Usually, parole is granted upon meeting the set standards of good behavior wh ile in prison. As much as parole laws differ from one state to another, there are a number of practices that are shared among the states (Jacobson, 2005). In most states, the governor has the responsibility of appointing a parole board. The board is charged with the duties of investigating the case histories of prisoners eligible for parole, analyze the records, conduct parole hearings, and grant parole to successful candidates and to design the conditions for parole. Moreover, they can issue warrants of arrests for persons who may violate parole conditions, conduct parole revocation hearings as well as give the final discharge to persons on parole after a specified period of time (Hoffman, 2004). Some states require that the parolees pay a small fee every month which will be used to compensate the costs of regular supervision by selected officers from the parole commission. For instance, some states charge up to $10 monthly and a maximum of $2,500 annually for convicts on parole fo r a felony (Jacobson, 2005). If the parolee fails to pay the specified fee, the parole board may initiate the process of revoking the parole especially if the failure to pay cannot be justified.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The U.S. Federal Parole System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The responsibility of determining whether one is eligible for parole or not rests with the parole board. The best interests of the affected society are considered when granting parole. States which practice the parole system emphasize the fact that parole is not aimed at reducing the sentences or granting pardon/amnesty to offenders (Del Carmen, 2006). It should also not be confused with probation which is usually given instead of imprisonment. In order to regulate the granting of parole, most states checks the jurisdiction of the parole board. The statutes in these states are designed in such a way that there is a specific pe riod of imprisonment that a person must complete before being considered for parole (Schmalleger, 2005). The minimum period of time is calculated as a fraction of the total sentence awarded in the court ruling which largely depend on the nature of crime committed. In Arkansas, for instance, a person convicted of serious crime like murder, rape, kidnapping, heightened robbery, and posing serious security concerns is not considered for parole until he or she has served 70% of the original sentence (Rush, 2003). Prisoners are eligible for parole after they serve a minimum of one-third of their prison sentence when it comes to lesser crimes. In the United States, most states have adopted the state parole system as a means of checking overcrowding in state prisons. However, the state and federal parole systems have been under intensified criticisms especially in the 1970s. During this time, movements emerged which pushed for the disbandment of the system in many states. They viewed the p arole system as a way of violating â€Å"truth in sentencing.† The critics demanded that inmates should be left to serve their full sentence as ruled by the courts. Many states including Virginia (1995) have abolished the parole system (Jackson, 2001). In fact, many states currently allow sentences of determinate life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Death penalty for serious crimes like murder and rape is also practiced. Prisoners who receive neither of the sentences are eligible for parole upon filing a petition for release. Another negative effect of parole as cited by the critics is that it releases notorious criminals back into the society hence posing serious security concerns. Political regimes with the highest incidences of parole are regarded as being ‘soft on crime’ and fueling impunity. When it comes to sentencing options, Alaska is the only state which does not permit capital punishment and life imprisonment without the likelihood of pa role (Rush, 2003). Where parole is applicable, a prisoner who demonstrates good behavior may be eligible for parole only after the elapse of a minimum of 85% of the prison sentence handed down by the court (Schmalleger, 2005). However, good conduct in prison may not in anyway guarantee that a prisoner be paroled. A comprehensive evaluation of the inmate must be conducted in order to determine eligibility for parole.Advertising Looking for essay on homeland security? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Some of the factors that play a central role include; the availability of reliable place of residence as well as sustainable and gainful job opportunity for the parolee. The parole board should be convinced that the prisoner will be able to demonstrate self-support upon being paroled (Schmalleger, 2005). For old inmates who wish to be paroled, there must be clear social security for them before parole is granted. These conditions demonstrate the great local and state differences when it comes to parole. For a long period of time in the history of the United States, parole has remained to be one of the most controversial political concerns. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a minimum of 16 states have already eliminated the parole system (Hoffman, 2004). This has left the federal parole system on the spotlight. There were two major reasons that led to the introduction of parole in the federal system. Firstly, it was the power exercised by the president in commuting prison sentences and secondly, the practice of reducing the prison sentence by the prison officials due to good conduct by the inmates. The reduction of prison sentences for federal criminals can be traced to 1867 when the first legislation was enacted (Dolgoff Fieldstein, 2008). Parole of federal convicts started after coming into force of the June 25, 1910 legislation (Dolgoff Fieldstein, 2008). In 1984, the federal government was forced to bring to an end parole for prisoners convicted for any felony at the federal level (Hoffman, 2004). The parole board was responsible for the granting of parole to prisoners. The key members of the board were the warden of the institution, the physician, and the Superintendent of Prisons of the Department of Justice in Washington, D. C. It was until 1930 when legislation was passed to establish a single Board of Parole in Washington, D. C. whose members were appointed by the Attorney General. Changes were made to the constitution and roles of the boa rd depending on the circumstances. In 1948, the AG increased the members of Board of Parole to five following an increase in prison population during post WWII (Hoffman, 2004). Towards the end of 1950, the membership of the board was increased to eight and the president became the appointing authority with approval from the senate (Dolgoff Fieldstein, 2008). The Parole Board received major changes in 1972 when efforts to reorganize the parole process began. The Parole Commission and Reorganization Act became effective in May 1976. It was during this time that the Parole Board was renamed the United States Parole Commission. This independent agency spread to five regions. The introduction of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 brought determinate sentencing guidelines which ended up regulating the eligibility for parole at the federal level (Hoffman, 2004). These strict guidelines were a great threat to the effectiveness of the parole system and efforts were made by the Cong ress to extend the life of the Parole Commission to November 1, 2002. The Federal Parole Commission saw its responsibilities extended to cover a wider range of cases and jurisdiction. The most recent review of the Parole Commission saw its life extended to November 1, 2005 (Bogue, Nandi Jongsma, 2003). From the above discussion, it is evident that parole agencies have a great role to play when it comes to protecting the society as well as the prisoners. Law enforcement agencies, on the other hand, seek to reduce the rates of crime in the society by arresting and ensuring the incarceration of convicts. The imprisonment of all categories of criminals, however, has resulted in the overcrowding of federal and state prisons (Bogue et al., 2003). The introduction of harsh sentencing guidelines as well as mandatory sentencing has been a threat to the federal parole system. First time non-violent offenders and mothers with young children have ended up in prisons with no eligibility for par ole. Investigations into most of these offenders indicate that they are not a threat to public security and hence should not be imprisoned for the full term. However, federal parole was abolished in the 1980s following the enactment of stringent sentencing guidelines. This has seen the ineligibility of federal prisoners for parole except the state prisoners where parole is still applicable. It has been established that the cost of housing a single prisoner is worth over $29,000 annually (Hoffman, 2004). Most of the offenders are sentenced for long terms of up to 24 years even for lesser offences. This has become a burden on the tax payers and federal leaders are reluctant in reviving the federal parole system. The reintroduction of parole could mean saving billions of tax payers’ dollars which can then be channeled to other developmental programs. Schools, colleges, training services for jobs, provision of good healthcare, better housing, social security benefits, and grants for businesses are some of the areas which can be enhanced instead of spending billions of dollars on prisoners and constructing prisons (Dolgoff Fieldstein, 2008). The essay has discussed the introduction of parole and its purposes in the United States. The positive impacts of parole like saving tax payers’ money have been elaborated. Some of the negative effects of parole as advanced by critics have also been highlighted. It has emerged from the essay that as much as state parole system can still be found in some states, federal parole system is at the brink of extinction and effort must be made to revive it. It is evident, therefore, that although the law enforcers work hard to reduce crime incidences in the society, while the prisons house the criminals, it is the duty of the various parole agencies to ensure that the offenders stay out of exaggerated trouble and obtain help they need by providing community resources to help them socially readjust into the society after being released. References Bogue, B. M., Nandi, A. Jongsma, A. E. (2003). The federal parole system: analysis. John Wiley Sons, Inc. Del Carmen, R. V. (2006). Understating criminal procedure: law and practice. Cengage Learning Dolgoff, R. Fieldstein, D. (2008). Understanding social welfare (8th ed.). Pearson Education Hoffman, P. B. (2004). History of the Federal Parole. Wm. S. Hein Plc. Jackson, M. B. (2001). Doing good after prison: a guide for the parolee. Joint FX Press Jacobson, M. (2005). Regulating prisons: managing crime and reducing massive  imprisonment. NYU Press Parent, D. G. (1994). Responding to violations of parole: an introduction. DIANE Plc. Rush, J. P. (2003). Understanding state parole system (7th ed.). Peterson’s Schmalleger, F. (2005). Criminal justice and parole: an introduction (6th ed.). Prentice Hall This essay on The U.S. Federal Parole System was written and submitted by user Triston Vega to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Popcorn Hangover Essay Example

Popcorn Hangover Essay Example Popcorn Hangover Paper Popcorn Hangover Paper Popcorn hangover Is defined as the exhaustion you receive from watching too many shows are movies In a single day or time frame. Popcorn hangover results In Irritation of the eyes from watching the TV long periods of time. Todays society has put the problems of the world on to much TV time for the kids and not enough play time outside. I would in most cases agree with this but after reading the assignment really is it a problem. How many kids stay out of trouble just because there in front TV all the time. Today we have a group of children that learn in many different ways; some must see, some must do and some Just need to hear to learn. Todays movies we can all agree can teach us different things, some good some bad. We can learn a lot about different cultures by watching TV and movies. The popcorn hangover helps you balance out TV time and forces you to allow physical time away from the TV. I personally have experienced Popcorn hangover many times. The last time I had this experience was recently I decided to watch a weekend marathon of walking dead. I started on Friday night around pm and finished up Sunday night at pm. All three days my eyes burnt and were blood shot red and felt extremely exhausted. The following Monday I had to take a personal day due to me feeling so sleepy the next morning, the lack of sleep made me feel nauseated and sick . Over the years I have done many marathons and movies and even though I know how I feel with the Popcorn hangover I continue to do it again and again.

The Meaning Of Christmas

The Meaning Of Christmas The Meaning Of Christmas The Meaning Of Christmas By Sharon The word Christmas has been around for centuries. Some dictionaries say it belongs to the late Old English period; others that it dates back to the 12th century. Old forms include cristes masse and christmasse, meaning the festival (mass) of Christ. Christmas actually replaced a number of significant pagan midwinter festivals when the church was trying to persuade Romans to convert to Christianity. In the phrase Merry Christmas, the word merry does not refer an excess of seasonal good cheer, nor yet to drunkenness. Those meanings date from the 14th century onwards. However, the original meaning of merry was pleasing or agreeable. That meaning is also found in the phrase God rest you merry, gentlemen (NOT God rest you, merry gentlemen), where rest is used in the same sense as in rest assured. The use of the abbreviation Xmas drives some people crazy, yet it is not a modern aberration, but an ancient usage. X was used to represent the Greek symbol chi, which is also the first letter in Christ. That usage has been around since Roman times. Bringer of gifts Santa Claus has evolved from a Christian saint, Saint Nicholas, and is believed to have arrived in the US with the Dutch. Though now the two are inextricably intertwined, Father Christmas predates Santa Claus, having been around since the 15th century. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Redundant Phrases to AvoidLatin Words and Expressions: All You Need to Know40 Irregular Verbs That Can End in â€Å"-t†

Biography of William Walker, Yankee Imperialist

Biography of William Walker, Yankee Imperialist William Walker (May 8, 1824–September 12, 1860) was an American adventurer and soldier who served as president of Nicaragua from 1856 to 1857. He tried to gain control over most of Central America  but failed and was executed by firing squad in 1860 in Honduras. Fast Facts: William Walker Known For: Invading and taking over Latin American countries (known as filibustering)Also Known As: General Walker; the grey-eyed man of destinyBorn: May 8, 1824 in Nashville, TennesseeParents: James Walker, Mary NorvellDied: September 12, 1860 in Trujillo, HondurasEducation: University of Nashville, University of Edinburgh,  University of Heidelberg, University of PennsylvaniaPublished Works: The War in Nicaragua Early Life Born into a distinguished family in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 8, 1824, William Walker was a child genius. He graduated from the University of Nashville at the top of his class at the age of 14. By the time he was 25, he had a degree in medicine and another in law and was legally allowed to practice as both a doctor and lawyer. He also worked as a publisher and journalist. Walker was restless, taking a long trip to Europe and living in Pennsylvania, New Orleans, and San Francisco in his early years. Although he stood only 5-foot-2, Walker had a commanding presence and the charisma to spare. The Filibusters In 1850, Venezuelan-born Narciso Lopez led a group of mostly American mercenaries in an assault on Cuba. The goal was to take over the government and later attempt to become part of the United States. The state of Texas, which had broken off from Mexico a few years before, was an example of a region of a sovereign nation that had been taken over by Americans before gaining statehood. The practice of invading small countries or states with the intention of causing independence was known as filibustering. Although the U.S. government was in full expansionist mode by 1850, it frowned on filibustering as a way to expand the nations borders. Assault on Baja California Inspired by the examples of Texas and Lopez, Walker set out to conquer the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California, which at that time were sparsely populated. With only 45 men, Walker marched south and promptly captured La Paz, the  capital of Baja California. Walker renamed the state the Republic of Lower California, later to be replaced by the Republic of Sonora, declared himself president, and applied the laws of the State of Louisiana, which included legalized slavery. Back in the United States, word of his daring attack had spread. Most Americans thought Walkers project was a great idea. Men lined up to volunteer to join the expedition. Around this time, he got the nickname the gray-eyed man of destiny. Defeat in Mexico By early 1854, Walker had been reinforced by 200 Mexicans who believed in his vision and another 200 Americans from San Francisco who wanted to get in on the ground floor of the new republic. But they had few supplies, and discontent grew. The Mexican government, which could not send a large army to crush the invaders, nevertheless was able to muster up enough of a force to skirmish with Walker and his men a couple of times and keep them from getting too comfortable in La Paz. In addition, the ship that had carried him to Baja California sailed off against his orders, taking many of his supplies with it. In early 1854, Walker decided to roll the dice and march on the strategic city of Sonora. If he could capture it, more volunteers and investors would join the expedition. But many of his men deserted, and by May he had only 35 men left. He crossed the border and surrendered to American forces there, never having reached Sonora. On Trial Walker was tried in San Francisco in federal court on charges of violating United States neutrality laws and policies. Popular sentiment was still with him, however, and he was acquitted of all charges by a jury after only eight minutes of deliberating. He returned to his law practice, convinced that he would have succeeded with more men and supplies. Nicaragua Within a year, Walker was back in action. Nicaragua was a rich, green nation that had one great advantage: in the days before the  Panama Canal, most shipping went through Nicaragua along a route that led up the San Juan River from the Caribbean, across Lake Nicaragua and then overland to the port of Rivas. Nicaragua was in the throes of a civil war between the cities of Granada and Leon to determine which city would have more power. Walker was approached by the Leon faction- which was losing- and soon rushed to Nicaragua with some 60 well-armed men. Upon landing, he was reinforced with another 100 Americans and almost 200 Nicaraguans. His army marched on Granada and captured it in October 1855. Because he was already considered supreme general of the army, he had no trouble declaring himself president. In May 1856, U.S. President  Franklin Pierce  officially recognized Walkers government. Defeat in Nicaragua Walker had made many enemies in his conquest. Greatest among them was perhaps  Cornelius Vanderbilt, who controlled an international shipping empire. As president, Walker revoked Vanderbilts rights to ship through Nicaragua. Vanderbilt was enraged and sent soldiers to oust him. Vanderbilts men were joined by those of other Central American nations, chiefly Costa Rica, who feared that Walker would take over their countries. Walker had overturned Nicaraguas anti-slavery laws and made English the official language, which angered many Nicaraguans. In early 1857 the Costa Ricans invaded, supported by Guatemala,  Honduras, and El Salvador, as well as Vanderbilts money and men. Walkers army was defeated at the Second Battle of Rivas, and he was forced to return once again to the United States. Honduras Walker was greeted as a hero in the U.S., particularly in the South. He wrote a book about his adventures, resumed his law practice, and began making plans to try again to take Nicaragua, which he still believed to be his. After a few false starts, including one in which U.S. authorities captured him as he set sail, he landed near Trujillo, Honduras, where he was captured by the British Royal Navy. Death The British already had important colonies in Central American in British Honduras, now Belize, and the Mosquito Coast, in present-day Nicaragua, and they did not want Walker stirring up rebellions. They turned him over to Honduran authorities, who executed him by firing squad on Sept. 12, 1860. It is reported that in his final words he asked for clemency for his men, assuming the responsibility of the Honduras expedition himself. He was 36 years old. Legacy Walkers filibusters had a significant impact on southerners interested in maintaining slave-owning territory; even after his death, his example inspired the Confederacy. Central American countries, by contrast, saw their defeat of Walker and his armies as a source of pride. In Costa Rica, April 11 is celebrated as a national holiday to commemorate Walkers defeat at Rivas. Walker has also been the subject of several books and two movies. Sources The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. â€Å"William Walker.† Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 1 Mar. 2019.Levrier-Jones, George. â€Å"Man of Destiny: William Walker and the Conquest of Nicaragua.† History Is Now Magazine, 24 Apr. 2018.Norvell, John Edward, How Tennessee Adventurer William Walker became Dictator of Nicaragua in 1857: The Norvell Family origins of the Grey-Eyed Man of Destiny, The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol XXV, No.4, Spring 2012

Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Conclusion - Essay Example Diverse factors provide the impetus for the formation of gangs. As a call to relieve poor living conditions and to uplift the social and economic status of the members, gangs begun to be involved in various criminal activities ranging from stealing, destruction of public property, selling drugs, physical abuse, gang related violence leading to injuries and death. If one is to remunerate on the reasons for gang affiliations, there could be elements that could identify root causes which pinpoint lack of parental support and guidance, lack of proper education which focus on the enforcement of moral and ethical codes of behavior, and the ineffective governance of the public police force to ultimately identify these gangs and to put a stop to violent activities. The statistics on gang murders indicate the complexity of the gangs’ affiliations and difficulty in attesting to the reliability of data and information published on their existence. The fact that gangs notorious existence are hidden and not officially registered in any local, public or private institution, the number of members, purpose for formation, and activities could only be surmised. The data that is generally available in justice reports are almost always after the fact that crimes and murders have already been committed.

Happy Family Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Happy Family Life - Essay Example One simple rule that I have observed to be the most effective is when families eat dinner together. I remember several outdated TV commercials that portray a happy family on the dinner table while eating. The father would often come home from work tired and weary while the mother would burst out of the kitchen door and upon seeing off her husband, would gaily call â€Å"Kids, your father’s here!† The scene cuts then to the mother serving the dish she prepared for her family, to which her husband and children give a beaming look to each other before deciding to dig in and eat. The cutscene is particularly critical and it can be interpreted as the time to cook dinner for the mother is but just a few moments because she loves what she is doing. It is the smile that she sees in her husband and children’s faces that make it all worthwhile and thus the emphasis of the commercial is on the eager faces of the people she loves who are bound to get fed. Commercials like th ese are still successful in getting their point across millions of families worldwide and they are as attractive today as they were four decades ago. I recently went out with a girlfriend to the mall and when it was about past eleven, she was already seeming impatient and anxious, always checking her watch and her mobile. I never knew her to be a stickler for a time but about a quarter before twelve, she promptly asked if we could go home already as she is concerned that her family might get worried about her. I, of course, conceded to her wish and she verbally thanked me and gave me a hug. Later on, she would reveal to me the reason why she acted the way she did. She recalled that every evening at about eight o’clock, her parents would let her and her sister sit in the dining room and eat dinner. While eating, her parents would casually ask her and her sister how was school or how was their day in general.

The Relation Between the Embouchure and Flute Playing Essay

The Relation Between the Embouchure and Flute Playing - Essay Example Practical experiments are inevitable in order to determine the best possible sound producing angle. The flute is quite a small instrument and hence it does not require much air to play. Other wind instruments like woodwinds and brass make their sounds in a way that a certain back pressure is exerted by the instruments and the embouchures. The flute does not exert any kind of back pressure itself. The lips of flutists have to take the responsibility of providing this back pressure and hence a requirement of a large amount of air. The flutist blows a quick jet of air through the embouchure hole. The pressure inside the mouth is above atmospheric level, usually 1 kPa. The source of power to the instrument is the work done to accelerate the air in this jet. The flutist provides the power required to produce a sound. Further, this sound needs an oscillating motion. The air jet present in the flute along with the resonances in the air in the instrument helps in producing an oscillatory com ponent of the flow. Energy is radiated as sound out of the end and any open holes of flute as soon as the air present in the flute starts vibrating. A large amount of energy is lost in the friction with the internal parts of the wall of flute. The column of air present in the flute vibrates more easily at some particular frequencies, known as resonating frequencies. The resonance determines the playing frequency and hence, the pitch. So, the player chooses the desired resonances by selecting a suitable combination of keys.

SAM 451 UNIT 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SAM 451 UNIT 2 - Assignment Example Pernetti who had earlier defended the coach, rooting for the coach’ rehabilitation accepted the dismissal and vowed to regain the trust of Rutgers community (The New York Times). There are several types of feature stories. These are; profile, explanatory piece, color story, human interest, news feature, backgrounder, lifestyle feature, travel story, general feature, interview piece, investigative feature, column and review (Helitzer 162). The type of feature focused in the article is Human interest story. The article focuses on interactions between a professional, a coach, basketball team and the Rutgers community. Emotion created in the story is of remorse, derived from the way the coach relates with his team. The use of slur and humiliating approaches to team members who possess talent and vigor in the game is demoralizing. Information about the character of the coach, attitude developed by the team is revealed. An anonymous person takes the initiative of recording a video during the training sessions to reveal the vice. The whistle-blower creates a dramatic event that reveals Rice’s character without dispute that leads to his

Information Communication, Knowledge management Essay

Information Communication, Knowledge management - Essay Example This will give a more current and topical feel to the subject. In this regard, as a country Pakistan is growing everyday by leaps and bounds in the technological arena. Hence, it has been seen that a country that is in the depths of development is always in dire need of a unique knowledge management system. In this regard, Si3 is Pakistan's leading IT Systems Integrator. As a model for IT integration, It has the capacity and experience for providing strategic technology solutions to business. It is providing IT solutions to different industries such as Financial Services, Oil & Gas, Telecommunications and to Public Sector. These industries have widespread use of the tools of knowledge management as the information from within needs to be transmitted to effectively to various external parties in terms of policies, financial statements, innovations, among other. (Wilson, 2002) Therefore, it has been observed that this IT system integrator has the capacity to promote knowledge management within its own framework. Knowledge and information have become almost interchangeable in their ability to transform workplaces and make the rest of the aware of the various activities that take place within it. Recognizing this premise, the company is providing result-oriented solutions to various industries. It is working with its alliance partners with an unmatched level of domain knowledge. It empowers organizations with inventive and scalable technology solutions thereby increasing the industry's competitive advantage and return on investment. (Wilson, 2002) Before delving any deeper into the elements of this brand of knowledge management, it is important to study and analyze the exact implication for this management tool as regards an information management. (Source: Wilson, 2002) This diagram depicts the growth of titles using knowledge management. In this regard, information management may be defined as something that involves deploying new technology solutions, e.g: content or document management systems, data warehousing and portal applications. It covers all the systems and processes in an organization for the creation and use of corporate information. Information is the most pervasive element across all human actions and interactions. Managing information has become one of man's most difficult tasks. Variety of information sources has changed information from mediocrity of data to a natural efficacy and requirement. Information management involves people, processes, technology and content. (Wilson, 2002) Knowledge management encompasses strategy, method, practice and approach in an organizational context. Data represents facts or values of results and has the capacity to represent information. Patterns of relations of data, and information have the capacity to represent knowledge. This shows a strong connection with the premise that Si3 operates on in terms of the use of various tools of information technology to integrate the knowledge within the organization. This also promotes a stronger and wider base for communication. In this regard,

The Colour Purple essay Essay Example for Free

The Colour Purple essay Essay 1) What do you learn about Celies attitudes to life in these letters?  2) Write about Walkers method of telling the story in letter 90.  3) Some readers see the ending of the novel as a triumph of the human spirit. Some see it as sickly and sentimental. What do you think about the novels ending?  1) By letters 89 and 90 Celies attitudes to life have changed considerably from the early letters of the novel. Celies attitude is extremely positive and she appears to have triumphed over her oppression, through her human spirit, attitude to life and bonds of sisterhood. This is shown in letter 89 by the way her and Shug respond to each other: She look at me funny for a minute, I look at her. Then us laugh.  This shows her sense of contentment and an almost carefree and happy attitude towards life. Laughter being a symbol of healing and regeneration suggests that despite Celies horrendous past experiences her psyche has been healed and she is content in her life.  In letter 89 Alice Walker portrays Celie with an air of confidence and defiance, Celie is finally prepared to not be passive in her response to discrimination and oppression she is prepared to question authority. Walker shows Celie to be proud of Sofias authority over a white man: she scare that white man. Anybody else colored he try to call em auntie or something. First time he try that with Sofia she ast him which colored man his mama sister marry. There is a lot of symbolism used in letter 89 which imply aspects of Celies attitudes to life. She shows her room to Shug:  Well here it is, I say, standing in the door. Everything in my room purple and red cept the floor,  The colours purple and red symbolise bruises on a beaten womans skin and in painting her room these colours her attitudes towards life are revealed, it suggests that Celie accepts her past life of abuse. However purple also symbolises beauty, royalty, it is a color Celie associates with vivacious women such as Shug and a color she feels was put on earth by God. By surrounding herself with purple it represents Celies new found confident attitude to life and contentment that her future life will be beautiful. Letter 90 shows Celies changed attitudes to spirituality within her life, opening the letter Dear God. Dear stars, dear treesDear everything. Dear God Celies changing outlook upon religion with the rejection of a patriarchal God and new belief that God is within everything, as well as the return of both Shug in letter 89 and Celies family in letter 90 has led to Celies sense of calm and inner peace, which is portrayed within these letters. This is expressed in her final sentences:  But I dont think us feel old at all. And us so happy. Matter of fact, I think this is the youngest us ever felt. These final sentences also depict Celies final self-acceptance and philosophical reflection upon her life. It concludes her journey to freedom from oppression, which the book has charted.  2) Just as Celies attitudes to life have changed, by letter 90 there is a noticeable change in Celies language style, she has a more sophisticated lexis and syntax which contrasts significantly to her early letters to God. Whereas Walkers use of language for Celies character in the early letters expresses her lack of education, Walkers change in Celies language shows Celies life education. It depicts the change from Celie being a naive innocent narrator to a confident woman, educated through life and others such as Nettie. The change in Celies vocabulary and grammatical style suggests she has learnt from Netties carefully composed letters. However, letter 90 also shows how Walker does not abandon Celies mimetic style and her use of the colloquial black American dialect:  This Shug and Albert, I say. Everybody say pleased to Meetcha  Celie continues to include phonetical spellings such as Meetcha and to use the present tense for past events such as I say instead of I said. Both of these are features of the dialect of the Deep South and show that Walker has continued to express aspects of black American cultural identity through Celies language throughout the novel. Often throughout history the voices of this community have not been heard and in her method of telling the story Walker allows them to have a voice through Celies vernacular.

Risk management is of vital importance in islam and takaful

Risk management is of vital importance in islam and takaful ABSTRACT Risk management is of vital importance in Islam and Takaful provides a way to manage risks in business according to SharÄ «ah principles. This research paper attempts to identify various types of risks involved in Takaful business that affect operational and investment functions of Takaful operators across the globe and finds the ways to manage those risks effectively. However, takaful operators often face difficulty in managing market and credit risks as SharÄ «ah compliant nature of Takaful contract does not allow Takaful companies to deal with interest rate and financial derivatives that have been unanimously considered repugnant to SharÄ «ah by Islamic jurists. This research identifies Islamic financial instruments like cooperative hedging and bi-lateral mutual adjustment that aim at providing mutual gains to both parties by the way of risk sharing and can be used as an alternative to conventional derivatives. The research paper attempts to provide a framework to enhance risk management culture among Takaful operators. It also discusses the challenges that need to be encountered to enhance risk management practices among Takaful operators. INTRODUCTION â€Å"Many Muslims misunderstand the concept of fate. For some Muslims believe that the future is in the hand of Allah, where they are facing with fatalistic mentality by putting themselves in the doctrine, whether one is rich or poor, happy or sad, it is fated by Allah. It is a good dealing with luck. In fact, efforts and prayers should precede this kind of belief† (Iqtisad Al-islamy, 2003). For a long time, same misconceptions have been associated with insurance. Muslim scholars and Islamic jurists have treated insurance illegal, haram and repugnant to SharÄ «ahwithout providing an alternative solution to Muslim Ummah. As a result of these prevalent misconceptions, any effort or risk management strategy to insure the assets or life has been considered against the fate and will of Allah. In Islamic financial planning, Takaful is a way to reduce the financial risk of loss due to accident and misfortunes (Iqtisad Al-islamy, 2003). As a matter of fact, Takaful plan is an alternative to the insurance in the conventional financial planning. In Takaful plan, the participant would pay particular amount of money as contribution (known as the premium) partly to risk fund (the participants special account) using the concept of tabbaru (donation) and partly to another party (known as Takaful company) with a mutual agreement that, the kafiil (Takaful company) is under a legal responsibility to provide for the participant a financial protection against unexpected loss, should it happen within the agreed period. The focus of this research paper is to identify various types of risks associated with Takaful business and devise criteria for managing risks and enhancing risk management culture among Takaful companies. It also discusses challenges to risk management in Takaful. RISK MANAGEMENT â€Å"Risk is the chance of happening of something that will have an impact upon our objectives. It is measured in terms of likelihood and consequences† (GOWA, 2002). Traditionally, concept of risk has been associated with uncertainty of events in future. Higher the uncertainty of events, higher is the risk. In insurance, risk is the amount of loss associated with property or life. Risk to property can be a loss or damage to car, building, house, etc. Risk to life can be described as poor health, premature death, bodily injuries as a result of accident etc. (Rejda, 2006; p.23). Risk management is a process that identifies loss exposures faced by an organization and selects the most appropriate techniques for treating such exposures(Rejda, 2006; p. 63). According to New Zealand standard of Risk Management, â€Å"It is the culture, processes and structures that are directed towards the effective management of potential opportunities and adverse effects†. In fact, risk management is an ongoing process that encompasses all aspects of our life. RISK MANAGEMENT UNDER SHARIAH Risk traditionally means possibility of meeting danger or suffering, harm or loss (Iqtisad Al-islamy, 2003). Risk is an element of life in this world for being ignorant of the future. It is also factor of investing that one should take time to understand prior to selecting any specific investment instruments or any new adventures. Muslims are asked to work hard in order to be able to change their conditions as obvious in the verse of Holy Quran, †¦ Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)†¦ (Quran 3:11). However, it is true that only Allah knows ones future and fate, Muslims should strive to achieve the goodness in this world and the hereafter. Submission to Allah, of course, has a positive effect on human behavior. For it will lead to peace and contentment. Undoubtedly, one has to submit every single thing to Allah, but it supposes to be after his hands stretch out to do the best effort as he can, to ch ange himself, so that he would be able to manage and to cope with unforeseen calamities or misfortune. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him once asked a Bedouin who had left his camel untied, Why do not tie your camel? the Bedouin answered, I put my trust in Allah the prophet then said, tie up your camel first then put your trust in Allah( Sunan al -Tirmizi, vol.4, No. 2517, p. 668). This conversation depicts not only how should Muslims accept their fate but it also indicates how do Muslims reduce the risk of loss and calamities. Quran has presented stories of the previous prophets so that Muslims can take the lessons from their experiences. The story of the prophet Joseph, for instance, tells us about financial planning. The story of Prophet Yaqub, Josephs father, tells us about the management of risks as Yaqub commanded his sons to enter Egypt from different gates. Quran states, Further he said: O my sons! Enter not all by one gate: enter ye by different gates. Not that I can profit you aught against Allah (with my advice): None can command except Allah: On Him do I put my trust: and let all that trust put their trust on Him (Quran 12:67). The history of the prophets migration to Madinah gives us other lessons on how the Prophet (SAW) managed the risk. The Prophet reduced the risk of getting killed by asking Hazrat Ali (R.A.) to sleep in his bed during the night of emigration. It was reported that as night advanced, the Quraish posted assassins around the Prophets house. Thus they kept vigil all night long, waiting to kill him the moment he left his house early in the morning, peeping now and then through a hole in the door to make sure that he was still lying in his bed. All these above examples depict that risk management is in the roots of Islam. We, as a Muslims, should put our trust onto Allah only after meticulous planning and best utilization of all the available resources. NORMS OF ETHICS Obaidullah (2002, pp.2-4) has identified norms of efficiency and ethics for SharÄ «ahbased risk management in a business contract. These norms are also applicable to Takaful contract and are briefly described as follow: Each party in Takaful contract should be free to accept the terms and conditions of the contract and no coercion is imposed on any party. Takaful contract should be free from element of ‘riba (interest) that is prohibited by Shariah. One of the major objections on the contract of conventional insurance by SharÄ «ahscholars is element of ‘riba in its investments for which it is considered illegal and unIslamic. There should be no uncertainty or ambiguity about the nature of contract. Excessive uncertainty is not permissible in Shariah. For example, SharÄ «ahscholars disallow conventional insurance contract where no party clearly knows how and from where the insured amount is to going to be paid in case a loss or catastrophe occurs to the insured. There should not be any element of gambling in Takaful contract. It means that Takaful contract should not be aimed at getting a huge advantage at the cost of others. Rather, participants should have sincere intention of helping each other in case of loss or catastrophe from a joint fund. Contribution amount for participants should be adequate and fair and should be determined by actuaries and approved by SharÄ «ahscholars. Takaful customers (participants) should have equal access to adequate, accurate and timely market information related to Takaful products and companys performance where they want to contribute their money. Rights of any third party should not be adversely affected by Takaful contract between two parties. It means Takafulcontract should not be detrimental to any third party. There should be unrestricted public interest in Takaful products and its business contract which should work for the benefit of people at large. TYPES OF RISKS IN TAKÄ€FUL BUSINESS Business industry is prone to a number of risks. Five types of risks in business (Basel, 2006; IAIS, 2004) have been identified that are relevant to Takaful business. First two types of risks (underwriting and operational risks) are directly related to operations of Takaful company while remaining three (credit, liquidity and market risks) are associated with the investment activities of the company. i. Underwriting Risk: Underwriting risk is pertinent to insurance and Takaful. It occurs due to adverse selection of applicants or due to re-Takaful risk as a result of inability of re-Takaful operator to meet the obligation towards ceded company under re-Takaful agreement (IAIS, 2003; pp.32-33). Adverse selection refers to the tendency of selecting applicants that result in higher than average chance of loss (Rejda, 2006; p. 45). The risk of adverse selection arises when applicants with higher than average chance of loss succeed in obtaining Takaful coverage at standard rates e.g. high risk drivers or persons with serious health problems. It results in higher claim ratio and put the firm on high liquidity constraints. Re-Takaful risk occurs as the ceded company remains liable for a portion of outstanding claim to the extent re-Takaful operator fails to provide financial protection to Takaful operator in accordance with agreed terms. Both adverse selection and re-Takaful risk hamper the firms underwriting capacity; disturb the cash flow pattern and hence affect the stability of the profits of the company. ii. Operational Risk: Operational risk is not a well defined concept , yet Basel Report (2006, p.144) defines it as a loss that occurs as a result of inadequate or failed internal processes, people, technology or from external events. Internal processes failure occurs (Ahmed Khan, 2001; pp.29-30) as a result of inaccurate processing of transactions, inefficient record keeping, violating operational control limits, non-compliance of regulations etc. people risk may occur due to incompetence of employees, fraud and failure to perform the duties. Technology risk may arise as a result of telecommunication system or computer network breakdown. Risks from external events include unenforceability of regulatory policies, legislation and regulations that affect the fulfillment of contracts and transactions in the organizations. These risks are also called legal risks and are considered a part of operational risks. iii. Credit Risk: Credit risk occurs a result of default of counterparty when it fails to meet its obligations in time and in accordance with agreed terms (IAIS, 2004; p.14). In case of insurance, credit risk may be treated as default risk, migration risk, spread risk or concentration risk. Default risk occurs when Takaful operator does not receive or partially receive cash flows or assets to which it is entitled because the other party fails to meet the obligations of the contract. Migration risk occurs when probability of a future default of an obligator adversely affect the contract today. Spread risk occurs due to market perception of increased risk on either macro or micro basis. Concentration risk is the result of increased exposure to losses due to concentration of investments in a particular geographical area or economic or industrial sector. Takaful industry is also exposed to these risks. iv. Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk is the risk resulting from Takaful companys inability to meet its obligations (i.e. claims payments and maturity price of policy) when they fall due. This risk occurs because the company has insufficient liquid assets or high level of liabilities (IAIS, 2004; p.18). Liquidity risk includes liquidation risk, affiliation investment risk and capital funding risk. Liquidation value risk is the risk under circumstance when assets are liquidated below their real (market) value. Affiliated investment risk is the risk that investment in an affiliated or member company might result in drain of financial or operating resources. Capital fund risk is the risk that insurance company will not be able to outsource funds in case of large claims. Takaful industry, just like conventional insurance company, faces similar types of liquidity risks. v. Market Risk: Market risk is the volatility of prices in instruments and assets of Takaful company in the market. It can be classified as equity price risk, interest rate risk, currency risk and commodity price risk (IAIS, 2004, p.12). Equity price risk is the risk of loss resulting from changes in market price of equities or other assets. Interest rate risk is the risk of loss resulting from changes in interest rates that adversely affect the cash flows of the insurance company. Currency risk is the risk of loss resulting from volatility of exchange rates that adversely affect the operations of insurance company. For a Takaful company, it does not include interest rate risk, however Takaful operators are exposed to mark up price risk as avoidance of interest based transactions is distinctive feature of SharÄ «ahcompliance. MANAGING RISKS All types of risks in Takaful require specific risk management strategy and need to be managed on individual basis. i. Underwriting Risk Management: Underwriting risk can be managed by establishing standard selection procedure consistent with the companys objectives. Most of the Takaful operators require physical inspection or medical reports of the applicants that have serious health problems or prone to higher than average risk. Some have introduced computerized underwriting system to standardized underwriting procedure and minimizing the chance of adverse selection. For example, Takaful Ikhlas Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia uses computerized underwriting procedure for motor Takaful where applicants who meet standard requirements are automatically selected for Takaful. Others are rejected or alternatively are offered higher contribution rates for the extra risk. To minimize re-Takaful risk, Takaful operator can evaluate the financial strength of re-Takaful operators in the region and diversify the risk geographically by making arrangements with more than one re-Takaful operator. ii. Operational Risk Management: Management of this risk is more complex as it arises from failure of internal processes, people, information system breakdown and non-compliance with regulatory standards (Ahmed Khan, 2001; pp. 38-39). Senior management and board of directors of Takaful company should devise policies and develop strategies to manage and reduce operational risks. Sources of operational risk (i.e. people, processes and technology) should be handled carefully. This raises the importance of corporate governance culture in the organization. Given the newness of Takaful industry, computer software available for conventional insurance might not be appropriate for Takaful industry. This calls for recruiting talented professionals in the field of informational technology so that they could develop software to meet peculiar needs of Takaful industry. Independent external auditors can also play an important role in mitigating operational risk as they point out flaws in internal processes of the organization. T his calls for proper disclosure of activities and independent and secure reporting system. iii. Credit Risk Management: Under conventional insurance system, credit exposure limits are established within companys investment policies to mitigate and manage default risk, migration risk, spread risk and concentration risk as discussed under credit risk. Usually, following credit exposure limits can be established for insurance company investment and credit activities (IAIS, 2004; pp.16-18). Internal and external rating of counterparties Limit on maturity of credit facility (prefer short term credit over long term credit) Limit on maximum investment amount or a certain percentage of investment exposure to a single issuer, industry, geographical region or some other risk classification. Prohibition of interest does not allow Takaful companies to investment in interest-based instruments (Chapra and Khan, 2000). Moreover, Takaful companies do not have access to credit derivatives that are considered effective instruments for credit risk mitigation. Yet Al-Suwailem (2006; pp.67-68) argues that futures and Option contracts result in losses for more than 70% of the time and hence such instruments are considered as factors of loss, not of gain. The non-availability of Islamic derivatives raises the importance of internal control mechanism for Takaful operators which ensures that credit risk exposures are maintained within limits of prudential standards defined by internal controls. iv. Liquidity Risk Management: IAIS Report (2004, p.20) identifies two approaches in order to hedge liquidity risk that are also applicable to Takaful industry. These are: Cash flow modeling Liquidity ratios Cash flow modeling is done in order to assess the amount of deficit, surpluses or liquidation value risk in order to meet the needs of Takaful industry. Takaful operator should make sure that it has sufficient liquid assets in order to meet liquidity risk and unexpected liquidity requirements. Use of liquidity ratios will help Takaful operator to set the amount of liquid assets required to meet demands of liability portfolio, desired level of liquidity ratio will also help in determining Takaful operators investment policies. Capital funding risk could be mitigated by setting contingency plans and drawing cash from re-Takaful policies. This form of liquidity hedging could be recognized by knowing current level of liquid assets in hand to meet Takaful operators investment policies. In order to identify and evaluate liquidity risks, Ahmed and Khan (2001, p.38) emphasize the need of adequate internal control and proper disclosure of information in the organization. Towards this end, it is essential to have regular independent reports and internal audit function should periodically review the liquidity risk management process. v. Market Risk Management: In conventional insurance, management of market risk includes devising strategies to manage interest rate risk, exchange rate, and commodity price risk as well as equity price fluctuations. Takaful operators are not involved in interest based transactions so they do not face this risk. However, KIBOR (Karachi Inter Bank Offered Rate) can be used as bench mark for markup in Islamic financial institutions in their financing activities. Conventional institutions manage the market risk using financial derivatives such as futures, forward, option or swap contracts (Chapra Khan, 2000; p.55). Takaful operators face difficulty in managing market risk as these financial derivatives are not compatible with SharÄ «ahin the eyes of Islamic scholars. However, according to Al-Suwailem (2006; pp.118-126), cooperative hedging and bi-lateral mutual adjustment are acceptable instruments under SharÄ «ahto mitigate currency risk and interest rate risk respectively. Additionally, Takaful operators could apply stress tests and Value at Risk (VaR) techniques to mitigate commodity price risk and equity risk. Stress testing is one of the risk management tools that can be employed to assess the vulnerability of portfolios to abnormal shocks and market conditions. Value at Risk is the probability of portfolio losses exceeding some specified proportion. ENHANCING RISK MANAGEMENT CULTURE Cultivation of risk management culture is extremely important to form a robust and resilient Takaful industry in Pakistan. This objective, however, could not be achieved without active participation and collaboration of regulatory authorities, senior management of Takaful companies and members of SharÄ «ahSupervisory Board (SSB). Towards this end, regularities authorities should make sure that stress testing and Value at Risk (VaR) reports as identified above are regularly produced and obtained from senior management of Takaful operators in addition to reports of Takaful risks. Regular review of these reports will greatly facilitate the regulatory authorities as well as Takaful operators to enhance risk management practices in Takaful industry. Moreover, effective implementation of internal control and corporate governance system could prove to be of vital importance to Takaful operator as well as to concerned regulatory authority. It will help the authorities in effective monitoring of Takaful activities and managing different types of risks hence enhancing the functioning of Takaful operators in the industry. Figure 1 shows the steps for effectively manage the risks in Takaful business. In the first step, possible risks in the way of Takaful business are identified. In the second step, strategies are developed to cope with and manage the risks effectively. In the third step, process of identification and strategy formulation and implementation related to each type of risk is examined through review reports and effective measures are taken to counter any flaw or discrepancy in the previous process. CHALLENGES TO RISK MANAGEMENT In spite of effective risk management techniques discussed above, there are certain challenges in the way of risk management for Takaful. i. Internal Controls: Internal controls are indispensable for recognizing and assessing risks faced by financial institutions including Takaful companies. Basel Committee (2005) and IAIS (2006a) reports have focused on the importance of internal controls for banking institutions as well as for conventional insurance companies respectively. Chapra and Ahmad (2002) found that existence of effective internal control have prevented the financial institutions from systemic crisis and enabled them to have early detection of problems and associated risks they might face in future. These experiences highlight the importance and need of internal controls for Takaful companies. Unique nature of these companies from conventional insurance demands the fulfillment of SharÄ «ahaspects. IFSB and IAIS joint working group (2006) maintains that to have effective internal control mechanism, Takaful companies must ensure SharÄ «ahcontrols in addition to all statutory regulations. It urges the need of a regularSharÄ «ahaud it as a part of an on-going internal control system. ii. Corporate Governance: The corporate governance structure specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities of the Board, manager, shareholders and other stakeholders (OECD Report, 1999) yet effective corporate governance ensures the independence of board of directors (BOD) who in turn devise polices and implement strategies for risk management and hold the management accountable to shareholders (Psaros and Seamer, 2002; p.7). Lack of an effective corporate governance framework hampers the independence of board of directors (BOD) and hence poses a challenge to risk management. It in turn increases the operational risk which might result in failure of operations due to inability of BOD to implement unbiased and independent decisions for the best interest of all stakeholders. Takaful companies are confronted with an additional challenge related to corporate governance of SharÄ «ahSupervisory Board (SSB). Grais and Pellegrini (2006b) identify corporate governance issues that affect their role and fun ctioning in the organizations. It calls for a greater need to incorporate corporate governance culture to overcome related issues of Takaful industry. iii. SharÄ «ahBased Challenges: According to Ahmed Khan (2001), most of the risk management techniques are not applicable to Islamic financial institutions due to the requirements of SharÄ «ahcompliance. It creates SharÄ «ahbased challenges to risk management for Takafulcompanies as well. These challenges arise as SharÄ «ahrestricts the use certain instruments that are considered useful in conventional risk management e.g. derivatives (futures, options, swaps etc.) and sale of debts. Al-Suwailem (2006, pp.89-90) argues that SharÄ «ahconstraints to human behavior do not hinder creativity, rather these constraints are the major driving force behind the creation of innovative financial instruments. He suggests several Islamic financial instruments for risk management and concludes that SharÄ «ahis abundant with real solutions to the present problems of gambling and speculation. It provides directions to SharÄ «ahscholars and experts of Islamic finance to explore the dimensions of SharÄ «ahin order to integrate risk management practices with value creation. iv. Financial Engineering: Financial engineering aims at designing new and innovative SharÄ «ahcompliant Islamic financial instruments for IFIs including Takaful companies. Chapra and Ahmad (2002) maintain that financial engineering has emerged as the greatest challenge faced by SharÄ «ahscholars of present time as it poses major threat to IFIs to become competitive in the contemporary business environment. Process of giving fatwas by SharÄ «ahscholars regarding the permissibility of a financial instrument is quite slow and over-conservative (Iqbal et al, 1998; pp.47-48) as SharÄ «ahscholars and experts of modern finance have different academic backgrounds. They use technical terms related to their own field that are most of the time not easily understandable to other party. The need is to produce scholars with SharÄ «ahbackground that also have working knowledge of modern finance to meet the acute challenge of financial engineering. v. Islamic Financial Market: Islamic financial market provides a secondary market for trading of Islamic financial instruments. In the absence of this market, it will be extremely difficult for Takafulcompanies to maintain its liquidity position to make prompt claim payments when they become due. Retaining a large portion of Takaful fund to maintain high liquidity ratio will affect the efficiency of the firm and its competitiveness as compared to conventional insurance companies that have ready access to liquid bonds and t-bills. Islamic Financial Market will greatly facilitate the Takafulcompanies to invest large portion of their fund in Islamic financial instruments and increasing their efficiency and competitiveness while maintaining low liquidity ratio. It will also help Takaful companies in hedging market risk by providing alternative instruments to financial derivatives that are not acceptable under Shariah. vi. Need of Private Credit Rating Agencies: Although International Islamic Rating Agency (IIRA) has been set up in Bahrain to judge the SharÄ «ahcompliance and financial strength of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) including Takaful companies, it is not be possible for IIRA to rate thousands of counterparties with whomTakaful companies deal. Consequently, it calls for the need of private credit rating agencies in each Muslim country that could provide information related to financial strengthen, fiduciary risk and credit worthiness of thousands of counterparties that privately issue financial instruments (Chapra Ahmed, 2002; pp.80-81). This information could provide great help to IIRA in rating these companies and make it readily available to Takaful companies and other interested parties. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Risk management is of vital importance in Islam and Takaful provides a way to manage risks in business according to SharÄ «ahprinciples. Five types of risks have been identified in Takaful business that affect operational and investment functions of Takaful operator. Operational risk can be managed by enhancing corporate governance culture in the organizations. Cash flow modeling and use of liquidity ratios is quite helpful to identify liquidity constraints. Takaful operators might face difficulty in managing market and credit risks asSharÄ «ahcompliant nature of Takaful contract does not allow Takaful companies to deal with interest rate and financial derivatives due to their speculative nature by which they tend to benefit one party at the loss of other. On the other hand, Islamic financial instruments like cooperative hedging and bi-lateral mutual adjustment aim at providing mutual gains to both parties by the way of risk sharing. Risks associated to Takaful have raised several challenges that need to be encountered to enhance risk management practices. Regular SharÄ «ahaudit is found to be an integral part of effective internal controls that prevent the companies from systemic crisis. Corporate governance calls for independence of BOD to devise policies for effective risk management, make unbiased decisions and resolve issues related to functioning of SSB. SharÄ «ahbased challenges call for devising innovative Islamic financial instruments as SharÄ «ahis abundant with real solutions to present business dilemma and does not hinder creativity. Exploring those solutions will help to meet the challenge of financial engineering. Islamic financial market will greatly facilitate the task of Takaful companies to invest large portion of their fund in Islamic financial instruments and increase their efficiency and competitiveness. There is need to establish private credit rating agencies that could assist IIRA to ra te thousands of counterparties for the benefit of Takaful operators.

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide are Murder :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia is Murder Euthanasia - is it killing or letting die? In the last thirty years, this has been a highly controversial topic, the worldly morals versus the Christian. Although there are certain instances where it is justifiably considered to be letting die, it is essentially murder. Euthanasia comes from a Greek word, meaning "easy death," and is now often associated with the infamous Dr. Kevorkian. There are three types of euthanasia - what doctors consider to be "letting the patient die," for instance taking both conscious and unconscious patients off of life support, not reviving the patient in case of a heart failure, et cetera. There is also assisted suicide. Dr. Kevorkian and his suicide machine have made themselves known through this technique. The machine injects a lethal dosage into the "patients" blood stream, killing then painlessly within ten minutes. The first type mentioned above is known as "active voluntary euthanasia." This is where a conscious, mentally competent person, usually with a severe physical ailment, loses the will to live. Many have said that keeping them alive is just prolonging their death, a form of cruel and unusual punishment. They may ask that life support equipment be disconnected so that they can die quickly, painlessly, with dignity. Most doctors are trained to try their best to defeat death, or at least try to delay it as long as possible. But if the patient is hopelessly ill, and would prefer to die, the doctor may consult the hospital ethics committee, and take him or her off of life support. When taken to court in these issues, the doctors defend themselves in saying, "I didn't kill him, I let him die." This is illegal throughout the United States and the rest of the world, but it still is a common occurrence. The second type, "passive voluntary euthanasia," is done when a terminally ill patient's or a patient in a persistent vegetative state's (PVS) family chooses to take their loved one off of life support. A PVS patient has no self-awareness or any awareness of their surroundings because the cerebral cortex, the thinking part of the brain, id dead. The brain stem, the part of the brain that controls the major organs of the body, still works, though.

othello review Essay -- essays research papers

Shakespeare has produced an incredibly large library of work, including 38 plays and countless sonnets. His plays are divided into four main sections: the Histories, the Tragedies, the Comedies, and the Romances. Othello falls under Tragedy, as it ends with the death of numerous characters, including the principals. Shakespeare's work has been produced since the Renaissance in all artistic mediums from the original theater to opera, symphony, film, and ballet. It has also been consistently revisited countless times by the same artistic medium because it is said to be timeless. Othello's main topics are love, murder, jealousy, miscommunication, chastity, history, and even magic. The play encompasses the classic elements of Shakespeare's tragedies, pulling in a bit of history and military strategy. It opens in Venice, a widely known city of artistic and military strength and moves to Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean. The majority of the play takes place in Cyprus, where the typical Shakespearean motifs of miscommunication and vengeance for disloyalty are explored. Many of Shakespeare's comedies and romances focus around this problem of communication between lovers and friends. Othello, however, takes this quandary to the tragic level, as he presents intricate plots of revenge and primitive murder on the basis of unfaithfulness. This play attacks many serious issues, often ignored during the times. The title character is a Moor, an outsider, someone differentiated b...

How the PisoNet Became Successful Essay

Piso Net has been making quite a buzz in the metro since early 2010, but it’s not only until recently that the enterprise got the attention of business-minded folks. So what is Piso Net and how are things from a business standpoint? Is it really a viable source of extra income? Piso Net is basically a merge of PC rental and Arcade rental services wherein customers can pay the services by inserting coins to the machine. The rate is typically 4mins/peso which also amounts to the typical Internet Cafe at of Php15/hr. This rate can be tweaked higher or lower either to be more competitive and entice customers or gain more income by decreasing the minutes/peso So if there’s not much difference in pricing, what is the advantage of Piso Net over traditional Internet Cafes? Well some internet cafes have a fixed rates and minimum minutes of usage, this makes for not-so ideal scenario for budget-conscious Pinoys. And although the rate is the same, Piso Net offers a much flexible alternative that most internet cafes done, and that is to have more control on how much time and money a customer is willing to spend at a given time. The setup is rather simple with the bare PC parts are inside a wooden box similar to that of an Arcade machine or Videoke machine. Much like the Arcade machine, it is activated by inserting coin/s which triggers the machine. Once the time is consumed, the machine cuts off the display and will resume when a coin is inserted. The bottom wooden part inside the machine has a carved hole to collect the coins. What are the advantages compare to traditional inter cafà ©? There are also other providers who offer the same configuration for a cheaper price. Depending on your market, which is most of the time your neighbors, you can choose a configuration that suits your market’s needs (internet, gaming and/or document editing). Needless to say that gauging your market and choosing the right configuration is crucial to the success of the business and the amount of time to spend to return the investment. We did some research on how things are going on a revenue standpoint. We interviewed a housewife married to an OFW who runs a 3 Piso Net units business for little over six months now. She got it for Php20,000 apiece and placed it in small space inside their house. According to her the monthly revenue averages at Php17,000/mo. If we break down on a per week and per day, the revenues averages at Php4,265 and Php610 respectively. So a Piso Net unit generates more or less Php5,600/month, Php1,410/week and Php200 a day. This revenue is based on 16Ãâ€"7 operation on a not-so developed are In terms of cost of operation, she said that the 3 unitsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ electricity consumption amounts to Php2,700/month and Php1,000 for the internet service. Since she’s not paying for the location, the total cost of operation only sums to Php3,700/month. So if we deduct the TCO from the monthly average revenue (17,000 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" 3,700), youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d have an average net revenue of Php13,300/month. At this pace, the turnaround for the return of investment is only 5 months. Another benefit of Piso Net is that it requires less effort to maintain unlike with Internet Cafes. All the personnel need to do is to make sure that he/she has more than enough stock of 1 peso coins and units are pretty much on auto-pilot. I only wish that the future iteration of the machine supports coin amounts bigger than a Peso because it can be a pain in the neck to drop a coin every now and then.

Aurora Research Essay

Our country’s natural resources are the cornerstones of our progress. It is only fitting that we do all that we can to protect and conserve them. The Philippines is a global priority for the conservation of marine biodiversity. The country is also highly dependent on marine resources, with more than one million people directly dependent upon the fisheries sector. BALER, Aurora , Philippines – A marine research center that would conduct continuing research and experimentation on the culture and propagation of native marine species and develop high-value products from endemic marine and aquatic species in the province has been set up in this capital town. Sen. Edgardo Angara said that Aurora Marine Research Center has been established in coordination with; the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, National Museum, Aurora State College of Technology and the Inter-Agency Committee on Marine Research Center. Its 330-kilometer coastline, steady rainfall, rich collection of flora and fauna and Hawaii-like weather, the province has natural growth potentials for fisheries development with the AMRC, a perfect complement to the province rich marine resources. R.A. 9441 authored in the Senate by Angara and in the House of Representatives by House Deputy Majority Leader Juan Edgardo Angara. He said the AMRC would seek t improve existing technology for maximizing income potentials of the coastal community and the fishing industry and encourage the culture of marine species native to the province. He said that major fish species abound in the province from Dilasag to Dingalan such as blue marlin, lobster, octopus, tuna and even reef fishes. In addition, the province has five marine protected areas in Dibut MPA, Dibutunan MPA, Diguisit-Puntin Marine Protected Area and the Ditangol and Mapalad-Dibaray bay Fish Sanctuaries. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: * Weak Institutional and Legal Capacities for Biodiversity in the Philippines * Many species endemic to the country are threatened or endangered. * Exploitation too much of flora, fauna and marine life. * Occurring different effect of climate change to marine biodiversity. * Amid warnings of a new wave of red tide hitting several coastal areas in the Philippines OBJECTIVES: * Provide crucial insight on how to preserve and protect our marine ecosystems. * Create a database containing valuable data on the biodiversity, habitat, abundance, and overall status of the province’s marine resources. * The marine research, with the technical assistance of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Department of Agriculture and such other agencies involved in marine research, shall conduct continuing research and experimentation on the culture and propagation of native marine species especially as they apply to the peculiarities and characteristics of local conditions, for the purpose of improving existing technology and for maximizing income potentials of the fishing industry. * Take such steps as may be necessary to encourage the culture of marine species native t o the province and thereby promote and attract investments in this field of economic endeavor by providing through the facilities of the breeding component of the center, the application of the technologies developed by the research component of the center and ensure the ready and steady suppIy of spawners, fries and fingerlings t o those engaged in this industry.

Analysis of the Rocking Horse Winner Essay

A literary analysis of ‘The Rocking Horse Winner’ by D H Lawrence cannot fail to mention the strong metaphor of the toy rocking horse itself. Other strong metaphors include the race horses and the idea of gambling in general.. The image of a boy rocking himself to illness and death on a toy horse suggests a powerful and upsetting metaphor for a child’s burning ambition and distress, and to understand the metaphor we must look more closely at the story itself. In â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner,† short story by D H Lawrence, a child gets the feeling that circumstances in his family are deteriorating financially and feels utterly powerless to improve the situation. He sees the bitterness of his mother’s discontent and tries to improve her lot, although she seems to pay him little regard. All her attention seems concentrated on a husband who, despite his efforts, can never provide enough for her insatiable appetite for material things. Horses in general, gambling on their races and in particular, the rocking horse itself become metaphors for the child’s ambition, and the driven quality of his determination to succeed – at all costs. The child, Paul, decides that there will never be means to support his family unless he assumes some sort of control himself. Paul decides to resolve the financial crisis through luck, chance, fate and gambling on horses. He thinks that he can divine winning horses in races by riding his own toy rocking horse. The horse metaphors suggest the themes of ambition in life turning to a blinkered disregard for the costs and consequences in a narrow given area, a drive bordering on obsession. Either by luck or by judgement, Paul actually starts to win money and hopes it will make his mother happy. What he doesn’t realise is that she is the sort of person whose appetite will simply grow and whose discontent is of her own making. The need for money just balloons out of control and family members start to put pressure on him. The strain of duty, loyalty, responsibility, guilt, repression and denial of affection and reward becomes so unbearable that he rides his rocking horse so madly that he gets sick and collapses as his chosen horse is about to win a famous race. D H Lawrence’s own relationship with his mother – one of love, but also of control – is relevant to the story too. In his drive to succeed, Paul echoes the need of the young Lawrence to please his own mother – and of course, highlights another form of ambition, that of her hopes and dreams for a gifted young son in avoiding the pit life and aiming for something arguably higher and more academic. The horse metaphor it seems, has deep roots in Lawrence’s own childhood.

How Empress Agrippina the Younger Scandalized Rome

How Empress Agrippina the Younger Scandalized Rome Roman Empress Julia Agrippina, also known as Agrippina the Younger, lived from A.D. 15 to 59. The daughter of Germanicus Caesar and Vipsania Agrippina, Julia Agrippina was the sister of Emperor Caligula or Gaius. Her influential family members made Agrippina the Younger a force to be reckoned with, but her life was plagued by controversy and she would die in a scandalous manner as well. Marriage Woes In A.D. 28, Agrippina married Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. He died in A.D. 40, but before his death, Agrippina bore him a son, the now notorious Emperor Nero. After a short time as a widow, she married her second husband, Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus, in A.D. 41, only to be accused of fatally poisoning him eight years later. That same year, A.D. 49, Julia Agrippina married her uncle, Emperor Claudius. The union may not have been the first time Agrippina was involved in an incestuous relationship. She is also rumored to have had sexual relations with Caligula when he served as emperor. Historical sources on Agrippina the Younger include Tacitus, Suetonius, and  Dio Cassius. Historians indicated that Agrippina and Caligula might have been lovers as well as enemies, with Caligula exiling his sister from Rome for allegedly conspiring against him. She wasn’t banished forever but returned to Rome two years later. Thirst for Power It’s unlikely that Julia Agrippina, described as power hungry, married Claudius for love.  A year after they wed, she persuaded Claudius to adopt her son, Nero, as his heir. He agreed, but that proved to be a fatal move. Early historians argued that Agrippina poisoned Claudius. She certainly profited after his death, as it led to Nero, then roughly 16 or 17 years old, assuming power, with Julia Agrippina as regent and Augusta, an honorary title given to women in imperial families to highlight their status and influence. Unexpected Turn of Events Under Nero’s reign, Agrippina did not end up exerting more influence over the Roman Empire. Instead, her power waned. Because of her son’s young age, Agrippina tried to rule on his behalf, but events did not turn out as she’d planned. Nero eventually exiled Agrippina. He is said to have considered his mother overbearing and wanted to distance himself from her. Their relationship grew especially strained when she objected to his romance with his friend’s wife, Poppaea Sabina. His mother also challenged his right to rule, arguing that her stepson Brittanicus was the real heir to the throne, the History Channel notes. Brittanicus later died in mysterious circumstances likely orchestrated by Nero. The young emperor also plotted to kill his mother by arranging for her to board a boat designed to sink, but that ploy failed when Agrippina swam safely back to shore. Still determined to commit matricide, Nero later ordered his mother to be assassinated in her home. Nero would rule Rome until his suicide in A.D. 68. Debauchery and religious persecution characterized his reign.   Sources https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-Agrippina history.com/topics/ancient-history/nero

Bear Debate essays

Bear Debate essays Hunting, to me, has always been the reason my dad disappeared on the weekends once the whether turned colder. I never paid much attention, nor did I ever really form a view on hunting itself. The men in my family are big on it, so I was always hearing the its in the thrill of the hunt comments; and to be perfectly honest, it must have been because I can only remember one time when the unshaven, plaid laden men didnt come home empty handed. It being the year 2004, its official that I can vote. Everyone who knows me could tell you Im not the politically sound type, so it was no shock that I wasnt all that keen on casting my votes in the upcoming elections. Whos ya papi? was echoing throughout Fenway Park. I was watching the Sox Pregame show on NESN with my family when it broke to a commercial. There appears a Maine black bear, howling due to it experiencing severe pain and anguish, as he is stuck helplessly in a trap. Alongside the trap is a large barrel of meat and human scraps that is intended to bait the bear to the area. Within seconds, men are shown on the screen, standing within feet from this occurrence; and instead of calling for help and trying to free the bear, a man calmly walks right up to the bear (close enough to touch him), pulls out a gun, and fires shots directly at the it. VOTE YES ON QUESTION #2 flashes on the screen to bring the commercial to an end. What a powerful message. I admit Im not overly informed on hunting and its laws, but what I saw seemed outrageous. There was no way that could be seen as anything other than wildlife abuse. Realizing the amount of propaganda that fills campaign ads, I decided to research the issue to ensure that Id make an informed opinion. I found one of the biggest debates within the topic of bear trapping to be that if we were to make it a crime and illegal, ...

Disabled by Wilfred Owen Essays

Disabled by Wilfred Owen Essays Disabled by Wilfred Owen Paper Disabled by Wilfred Owen Paper Essay Topic: Literature Wilfred Owen was born in Plas Wilmot, Owestry on the 18th March 1893. His family moved Birkenhead in 1897 and then Shrewsbury. He then became a lay assistant in 1913 at the age of 18, and he also spent time tutoring English in France in the same year. In 1916 he was commissioned into the Manchester Regiment, and he fought many battles in the Somme. He was killed in action on the 4th November 1918. He wrote about the harsh reality of war and the pity of war, and these views were evident in Disabled. Rupert Brooke was born in 1887, in Rugby, Warwickshire. He won a poetry prize in 1905. He was well educated and travelled before going to was. He joined the British Royal Navy during the First World War and he died in Greece from septicaemia on the 23rd of April 1915. He was well known for writing poetry about friendship, romanticism and patriotism. Patriotism is very evident in The Soldier. The poem Disabled by Wilfred Owen is about a young man who lost his arms and legs in the war. He thought that war would gain him glory, but he only gained misery and isolation. Furthermore the title Disabled is emotive, it makes the reader feel negatively towards the poem from the beginning. Verse one reveals that he is confined to a wheelchair and he lives in a hospital. There is a very ugly atmosphere of misery and tragedy in this verse, created by the colours and sounds mentioned. Sounds such as voices of boys rang, represents what he will never be and what he has lost. The voices are a sad reminder of his former life, before he was injured in the war. The colour grey is mentioned too, which also creates a sad, miserable and bleak atmosphere and reflects the monotonous, boring life he has. Darkness is also mentioned in verse one, waiting for dark. This suggests he wants to hide his maimed body in the dark. Furthermore he wants to sleep eternally in the darkness; die and escape his life on unhappiness. Personification is also found in the last line of verse one, Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him. Sleep is personified as his mother, protecting him from his terrible life; it helps him escape reality. Sleep and darkness and therefore connected offering him a refuge. The first three lines of verse two are a contrast to verse one. They contrast with the mood of darkness as the first three lines are focused on light or happiness; glow-lamps, gay and lovelier. Furthermore the word swing in the first three lines of verse two contrasts with the word sat in verse one. The word sat is motionless and lifeless, when compared to swing which represents movement and life. Therefore verse one shows the lifelessness of the soldier after the war and the first three lines of verse two reflects the soldiers vibrancy before the war. Also the word budded is used in the first three lines of verse two, which symbolises new life and not lifelessness as suggested in verse one. Furthermore, the last four lines of verse two contrast with the first three lines of verse two, because they are about the soldiers unhappiness. Whereas the first three lines are about the happy past that the young soldier remembers. In the past girls looked at him with interest, girls glanced lovelier. The present brings him nothing but memories of the past, Now he will never feel again how slim Girls waists are. The poet also conveys his views of war when he writes, he threw away his knees. This suggests that the poet, Wilfred Owen, feels war is a waste and it is pointless. Furthermore it suggests that there is no glory in war. Verse three begins with the image of an artist who wanted to paint the soldiers face because it looked so young before he went to war, There was an artist silly for his face. It then moves on to the present, Now, he is old. This means the war has made the soldier feel old and it made him lose his youthful vitality. Another point that indicated the soldier has lost his youth is Hes lost his colour. Furthermore this could reflect the blood he lost in the war. Poured it down shell-holes till the veins ran dry also links with the fact that he poured his vitality away in the war; half his lifetime lapsed in the hot race also reflects this. The last line of verse three And leap of purple spurted from his thigh is also symbolic purple, as the colour of mourning, which suggests the soldier mourns for the loss of his limbs, youth and vitality. Verse four reveals his initial thoughts of what the army would be like and reveals the reasons why he joined. He joined to please his girlfriend to please his Meg. He liked the idea of jewelled hilts, smart salutes, the spirit and body of the army Esprit de corps, the drums and cheers he would receive and the idea of holidays and leave. There are many words in the last five lines which show that he loved the glamorous image of war: jewelled, smart salutes, pay arrears and cheers. He didnt consider the horrors of war he had no fears of joining the army, And no fears Of fear came yet. Verse four is very long to emphasise how many false, idealistic images of was the soldier entertained. It also emphasises how much the soldier lost in the war. Verse five is very short in contrast to the other verses in the poem. It is a short verse to represent what his life had been reduced to after the war. His many dreams and expectations in the long verse four are now reduced in verse five to reality. He got no cheers when he came back from the war. Only a solemn man, possibly a vicar, brought him fruit as thanks. The word Thanked is in italics, which could show how meaningless the thanks actually is. It also suggests he received very little thanks. The last verse, verse six has a very depressing and pitiful mood. It particularly contrasts with verse four; he could once play football but now he cannot even put himself to bed. The rules suggests he no longer has freedom in life. He also feels rejected, the womens eyes passed from him. How cold and late, represents isolation and depression. The repetition at the end of the verse could emphasise how dependant he now is on other people. Why dont they come And put him to bed? Why dont they come? The Soldier by Rupert Brooke is about a man leaving to go to war. He is very patriotic and he is writing a poem for his family and friends to read if he should die at war. The poem is patriotic right from the very beginning. The title The Soldier creates a heroic and patriotic atmosphere. The first word is If-If I should die. This suggests that he might not die, he is optimistic. In the unlikely event he might die the soldier states that a corner of a foreign field will be forever England. This suggests that wherever he dies will always remain English because his English body will lie there. The Richer dust, in the fourth line could be the remains of his body. He is glorifying his own body as Richer than the foreign soil because it is English and because he would die fighting for his country. The next few lines have personification featured within them. England is personified as a mother to emphasize the soldiers pride in fighting for his glorious country like he loves his mother. Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam. This is similar to Disabled as Disabled also has the personification of a mother featured within it. In line seven the soldier shows he feels he belongs to England, his country a body of Englands. He claims he is washed by the rivers and blest by suns which creates an idyllic in contrast to the harsh reality of war found in Disabled. In line nine an evil is mentioned. The evil could be his own sin or even the enemy nations in the war, which he optimistically believes, will be shed away. Give somewhere back the thoughts by England given and pulse in the eternal mind shows he will die for his country and he feels he has a sense of duty. There are very positive words used at the end of the poem, such as pulse, eternal, dreams, happy, laughter, friends, gentleness, peace and heaven which reveal the soldiers pride and justify his death- should it happen. England and English are repeated six times within the poem which emphasizes patriotism. Even heaven is described as being English. Disabled has six verses varying length. They vary in length to signify different things, for example verse four is very long to signify all of the soldiers hope and dreams. There is no rigid rhyming structure, this may suggest that war is problematic; it cannot be put into a rigid structure. However, The Soldier is written in sonnet form. It had a military feel to it, created by iambic pentameters. This rigid rule of ten syllables per line gives the poem a strong, assured rhythm. Furthermore, The Soldier is written in the first person and Disabled is written in the third person The poet of Disabled, Wilfred Owen, wrote the poem to the message that war is pitiful. War is not glorified it is tragic and destructive. It is a waste of peoples lives and it destroys their inner spirits. The message conveyed by the poet Rupert Brooke in The Soldier, is the opposite of the message conveyed in Disabled. The message he conveys is that fighting in the war is worthwhile. Furthermore, Brooke reveals it is ones duty to fight for ones country and it is a glorious thing to do. I preferred the poem Disabled because of its pure honesty. I like the way it shows the reality of war and does not celebrate the false ideas of glory and duty, found in The Soldier.