How nature of crime presented by the media Essay

_INTRODUCTION_ A considerable amount of literature consistently argues that the way crime is portrayed in the media significantly differs from what official records and research tell us, that is to say, that the media is said to misrepresent the crime problem. Five main arguments are presented demonstrating that the media distorts the crime problem. First, the media tend to report on crimes that are considered `newsworthy.’ Second, it is argued that the media’s role is that of an agenda-setter. Third, media reporting on crime is supportive of law enforcement agencies but is negative towards courts. Fourth, the media reports on crime that escalates public anxiety to such an extent that it can lead to moral panic about particular crimes. Fifth, stereotypes of both victims and offenders dominate media representations of crime. It is believed that the media is the public’s primary source of knowledge about crime and it has exploited this by inaccurately presenting the nature of cri me to our society. _DISCUSSION_ The first argument supporting that the media distorts the crime problem is that the reporting of crime is selective and the types of crimes reported in the media are those deemed `newsworthy.’ Media compete in a marketplace to attract as large an audience as possible as they are profit orientated organisations. Consequently, crimes are selectively reported and are generally reported in ways that conform to news values of the immediate, the novel, the dramatic, and so on, which reinforce already established images of threat from crime. The assumption that the volume of crime is high and rising is one of the main arguments advanced by society. In Australia, studies have shown that a substantial proportion of the population incorrectly believe that crime rates are increasing when, in fact, they are  stable or declining (Indermaur D & Roberts L, 2005). The discrepancy between the crime rate and the public’s perceived crime rate has been commonly attributed to the expansive media coverage of crime, especially violent and more sensationalised crime (Duffy B, 2008). The media is the primary source of indirect knowledge of the crime problem and by selectively presenting crime to society in a dramatised and sensationalized manner; it has lead to the myth that the volume of crime is high and rising. The second line of reasoning is that some contend that the media’s construction of crime is more than just selective, it is that of an agenda-setter (Surette R, 1996). As an agenda-setter, the media defines the problem of crime in a way that sets parameters of discussion and debate. The impact of agenda-setting is that only some types of crime are brought to the public’s attention and in the same way, only some kinds of criminal justice responses are presented as solutions to control crime. Research has found that the media reports the nature of crime in a way that brings crime and its control to the foremost issue of policy-makers’ assessing imperative social problems (Teece M & Makkai T, 2000). The assumption that sentences are too lenient is one of the main arguments advanced by society and a perfect example of the media pushing its own agenda. The public depend on the media almost exclusively for their information about sentencing and recent data from the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes show that 70% of respondents agreed that `people who break the law should be given stiffer sentences’ (Indermaur & Roberts, 2005). However, most criminal matters proceeding to court are finalised at the Magistrates Court, i.e. without a jury. With this in mind, it shows that the media have a great impact on setting the public agenda and initiating discussion and debate by inaccurately presenting the crime problem. The third argument correspondingly elucidates that the media’s reporting on crime is often deceptively supportive of police or law enforcement agencies but is negative towards courts. This is due to the media depending largely on limited, easily accessible sources – often authorities such as police, and therefore presents a one-sided picture (Teece M & Makkai T, 2000). Police are privileged sources to the media and therefore the police-media  relationship is mutually rewarding as it generates an effective and successful image for the police, as well as providing information to the media about crime. This substantiates the grounds of the support devoted to law enforcement agencies by the media. Furthermore, as previously verified, the fact that the media pushes its own agenda and as a result the public view in regard to sentencing is that sentencing is too lenient evidences the fact that the media discourage the courts. In this way, the media distorts the nature of cri me presented to our society and leads society to obtain high confidence in services provided by police and minimal support towards courts. The fourth argument is that violent crimes that induce feelings of anger and panic in the public are generally the only types of crime that the media present to us and are reported in such a way that they seem the most common types of crime committed in society. Public anxiety about crime can be escalated to such an extent that it can lead to a moral panic about a particular crime, specifically violent crime. The assumption that a large proportion of crimes involve violence is one of the main arguments advanced by society. However, research consistently finds that in western countries the media over-reports violent crimes, especially murder, sexual-assault and assault (Hayes H & Prenzler T, 2009). A study of public perceptions in Australia by Indermaur (2005) found that three in four people overestimated by a large margin the proportion of crimes involving violence. In fact, violent crime statewide declined 6 per cent in 2004 to continue a downward trend that began in the early 1990’s (Bavis B & Dossetor L, 2010). The media has presented the nature of crime in our society exceedingly inaccurately to the point that it has led our society to deem that most crimes involve violence. The fifth line of reasoning is that the media’s representation of crime, predominantly violent and sexual offences, is _stranger danger._ This depicts that victims are selected at random by offenders they do not know. The media constructs images of risk and these images lie in line with conceptions of _stranger danger_ rather than _fear of the near_. The assumption that offenders do not know their victims is one of the main  arguments advanced by society. Contrary to popularised media reporting, research evidence shows that most victims are not victimised by strangers (Tiby E, 2009). In fact, females are more likely to become the victims of violence from someone they know, e.g. a partner or family member (Hayes H & Prenzler T, 2009). Accordingly, the media’s inaccurate representation of _stranger danger_ has distorted the nature of crime presented to our society, leading to the myth that offenders usually do not know their victims. _CONCLUSION_ The nature of crime in our society is not accurately presented by the media. The evidence is clear that the media is society’s primary source of knowledge about crime and has outlined some key elements about the influence of media reporting that shapes how society accept, relate and react to the nature of crime. Most media are businesses operating for profit and therefore they compete in a marketplace to attract as large an audience as possible, therefore the media report on crimes that are deemed `newsworthy,’ conforming to news values. Its role is that of an agenda-setter and in this way deceivingly supports law enforcement agencies and criticises courts. Media has the capacity to escalate public fear of crime by selectively focusing on a particular crime as more prevalent and stereotyping both victims and offenders. For these reasons, it is evident that the nature of crime in our society is not accurately presented by the media as it has lead society to believe vario us myths. _REFERENCES_ Bavis, B & Dossetor, L. (2010). Misperceptions of crime in Australia. _Trend and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice (396)._ Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/fullText;dn=20103330;res=AGISPT Duffy, B. Wake, R. Burrows, T. Bremner, P. (2008). Closing the gaps-crime and public perceptions. _International Review of Law, Computers &_ _Technology Vol._ _22_: 17-44. London: UK. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=19b4d519-d160-4062-a7d9-20ea3ba483ee%40sessionmgr13&vid=6&hid=106 Hayes, H. Prenzler, T. (2009). _Introduction to crime and criminology 2__nd_ _ed._ Australia: Pearson Australia Group. Indermaur, D. & Roberts, L. (2005), `Perception of Crime and Justice,’ in _Australian Social Attitudes,_ UNSW Press, Sydney. Surette, R. (1996). `News from Nowhere, Policy to Follow: Media and the Social Construction of Three Strikes and You’re Out.’ _Three Strikes and_ _You’re Out: Vengeance as Public Policy_, Thousand Oaks. Teece, M. & Makkai, T. (2000). Print Media Reporting on Drugs and Crime, 1995 – 1998. _Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice (158)_. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/fullText;dn=20010687;res=AGISPT Tiby, E. (2009). Stranger-Danger or Fear of the Near? Accounts on Fear of Sexual Abuse. _Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention_. Retrieved from http://pdfserve.informaworld.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/999873_751313171_917284778.pdf

Sarbanesâ€Oxley Act

01. [pic]Sarbanes–Oxley Act Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D–MD) and Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R–OH-4), the co-sponsors of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act. The Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-204, 116  Stat. 745, enacted July  30, 2002), also known as the ‘Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act' (in the Senate) and ‘Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act' (in the House) and commonly called Sarbanes–Oxley, Sarbox or SOX, is a United States federal law enacted on July 30, 2002, which set new or enhanced standards for all U. S. public company boards, management and public accounting firms. It is named after sponsors U. S. Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and U. S. Representative Michael G. Oxley (R-OH). The act was approved by the House by a vote of  Ã‚  423 in favor, 3 opposed, and 8 abstaining and by the Senate with a vote of  Ã‚  99 in favor, 1 abstaining. President George W. Bush signed it into law, stating it included â€Å"the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices of Franklin D. Roosevelt. † Outliness Sarbanes–Oxley contains 11 titles that describe specific mandates and requirements for financial reporting. Each title consists of several sections, summarized below. . Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) 2. Auditor Independence 3. Corporate Responsibility 4. Enhanced Financial Disclosures 5. Analyst Conflicts of Interest 6. Commission Resources and Authority 7. Studies and Reports 8. Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability 9. White Collar Crime Penalty Enhancement 10. Corporate Tax Returns 11. Corporate Fraud Accou ntability Criticism Congressman Ron Paul and others such as former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee have contended that SOX was an unnecessary and costly government intrusion into corporate management that places U. S. orporations at a competitive disadvantage with foreign firms, driving businesses out of the United States. In an April 14, 2005 speech before the U. S. House of Representatives, Paul stated, â€Å"These regulations are damaging American capital markets by providing an incentive for small US firms and foreign firms to deregister from US stock exchanges. According to a study by a researcher at the Wharton Business School, the number of American companies deregistering from public stock exchanges nearly tripled during the year after Sarbanes–Oxley became law, while the New York Stock Exchange had only 10 new foreign listings in all of 2004. The reluctance of small businesses and foreign firms to register on American stock exchange is easily understood when one considers the costs Sarbanes–Oxley imposes on businesses. According to a survey by Korn/Ferry International, Sarbanes–Oxley cost Fortune 500 companies an average of $5. 1 million in compliance expenses in 2004, while a study by the law firm of Foley and Lardner found the Act increased costs associated with being a publicly held company by 130 percent. † During the financial crisis of 2007-2010, critics blamed Sarbanes–Oxley for the low number of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on American stock exchanges during 2008. In November 2008, Newt Gingrich and co-author David W. Kralik called on Congress to repeal Sarbanes–Oxley. Praise Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan praised the Sarbanes–Oxley Act: â€Å"I am surprised that the Sarbanes–Oxley Act, so rapidly developed and enacted, has functioned as well as it has†¦ the act importantly reinforced the principle that shareholders own our corporations and that corporate managers should be working on behalf of shareholders to allocate business resources to their optimum use. SOX has been praised by a cross-section of financial industry experts, citing improved investor confidence and more accurate, reliable financial statements. The CEO and CFO are now required to unequivocally take ownership for their financial statements under Section 302, which was not the case prior to SOX. Further, auditor conflicts of interest have been addressed, by prohibiting auditors from also having lucrative consulting agreements with the firms they audit under Section 201. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox stated in 2007: â€Å"Sarbanes–Oxley helped restore trust in U. S. markets by increasing accountability, speeding up reporting, and making audits more independent. One fraud uncovered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November 2009 may be directly credited to Sarbanes-Oxley. The fraud which spanned nearly 20 years and involved over $24 million was committed by Value Line (NASDAQ:  VALU) against its mutual fund shareholders. The fraud was first reported to the SEC in 2004 by the Value Line Fund (NASDAQ:  VLIFX) portfolio manager who was asked to sign a Code of Business Ethics as part of SOX. Restitution totaling $34 million will be placed in a fair fund and returned to the affected Value Line mutual fund investors. No criminal charges have been filed. Legal challenges A lawsuit (Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) was filed in 2006 challenging the constitutionality (legality) of the PCAOB. The complaint argues that because the PCAOB has regulatory powers over the accounting industry, its officers should be appointed by the President, rather than the SEC. Further, because the law lacks a â€Å"severability clause,† if part of the law is judged unconstitutional, so is the remainder. If the plaintiff prevails, the U. S. Congress may have to devise a different method of officer appointment. 02. [pic]Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is a term used to refer to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting used in any given jurisdiction which are generally known as Accounting Standards. GAAP includes the standards, conventions, and rules accountants follow in recording and summarizing transactions, and in the preparation of financial statements. Principles derive from tradition, such as the concept of matching. In any report of financial statements (audit, compilation, review, etc. ), the preparer/auditor must indicate to the reader whether or not the information contained within the statements complies with GAAP. †¢ Principle of regularity: Regularity can be defined as conformity to enforced rules and laws. †¢ Principle of consistency: This principle states that when a business has once fixed a method for the accounting treatment of an item, it will enter all similar items that follow in exactly the same way. Principle of sincerity: According to this principle, the accounting unit should reflect in good faith the reality of the company's financial status. †¢ Principle of the permanence of methods: This principle aims at allowing the coherence and comparison of the financial information published by the company. †¢ Principle of non-compensation: One should show the full details of the financial informatio n and not seek to compensate a debt with an asset, revenue with an expense, etc. see convention of conservatism) †¢ Principle of prudence: This principle aims at showing the reality â€Å"as is†: one should not try to make things look prettier than they are. Typically, revenue should be recorded only when it is certain and a provision should be entered for an expense which is probable. †¢ Principle of continuity: When stating financial information, one should assume that the business will not be interrupted. This principle mitigates the principle of prudence: assets do not have to be accounted at their disposable value, but it is accepted that they are at their historical value (see depreciation and going concern). Principle of periodicity: Each accounting entry should be allocated to a given period, and split accordingly if it covers several periods. If a client pre-pays a subscription (or lease, etc. ), the given revenue should be split to the entire time-span and not counted for entirely on the date of the transaction. †¢ Principle of Full Disclosure/Materiality: All information and values pertaining to the financial position of a business must be disclosed in the records. Principle of Utmost Good Faith: All the information regarding to the firm should be disclosed to the insurer before the insurance policy is taken. 03. The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Many countries use or are converging on the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), established and maintained by the International Accounting Standards Board. In some countries, local accounting principles are applied for regular companies but listed or large companies must conforms to IFRS, so statutory reporting is comparable internationally, across jurisdictions. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are principles-based Standards, Interpretations and the Framework (1989) adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Many of the standards forming part of IFRS are known by the older name of International Accounting Standards (IAS). IAS was issued between 1973 and 2001 by the Board of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). On 1 April 2001, the new IASB took over from the IASC the responsibility for setting International Accounting Standards. During its first meeting the new Board adopted existing IAS and SICs. The IASB has continued to develop standards calling the new standards IFRS International Financial Reporting Standards comprise: †¢ International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)—standards issued after 2001 †¢ International Accounting Standards (IAS)—standards issued before 2001 †¢ Interpretations originated from the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC)—issued after 2001 †¢ Standing Interpretations Committee (SIC)—issued before 2001 †¢ Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements (1989) Requirements of IFRS IFRS financial statements consist of (IAS1. 8) †¢ a Statement of Financial Position †¢ a Statement of Comprehensive Income or two separate statements comprising an Income Statement and separately a Statement of Comprehensive Income, which reconciles Profit or Loss on the Income statement to total comprehensive income †¢ a Statement of Changes in Equity (SOCE) †¢ a Cash Flow Statement or Statement of Cash Flows List of IFRS statements with full text link The following IFRS statements are currently issued: †¢ IFRS 1 First time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards †¢ IFRS 2 Share-based Payment †¢ IFRS 3 Business Combinations †¢ IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts †¢ IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations †¢ IFRS 6 Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources †¢ IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures †¢ IFRS 8 Operating Segments †¢ IFRS 9 Financial Instruments †¢ IAS 1: Presentation of Financial Statements. †¢ IAS 2: Inventories IAS 3: Consolidated Financial Statements Originally issued 1976, effective 1 Jan 1977. Superseded in 1989 by IAS 27 and IAS 28 †¢ IAS 4: Depreciation Accounting Withdrawn in 1999, replaced by IAS 16, 22, and 38, all of which were issued or revised in 1998 †¢ IAS 5: Information to Be Disclosed in Financial Statements Originally issued October 1976, effective 1 January 1997. Superseded by IAS 1 in 1997 †¢ IAS 6: Accounting Responses to Changing PricesSuperseded by IAS 15, which was withdrawn December 2003 †¢ IAS 7: Cash Flow Statements IAS 8: Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors †¢ IAS 9: Accounting for Research and Development Activities – Superseded by IAS 38 effective 1. 7. 99 †¢ IAS 10: Events After the Balance Sheet Date †¢ IAS 11: Construction Contracts †¢ IAS 12: Income Taxes †¢ IAS 13: Presentation of Current Assets and Current Liabilities – Superseded by IAS 1. †¢ IAS 14: Segment Reporting (superseded by IFRS 8 on 1 January 2008) †¢ IAS 15: Information Reflecting the Effects of Changing Prices – Withdrawn December 2003 †¢ IAS 16: Property, Plant and Equipment IAS 17: Leases †¢ IAS 18: Revenue †¢ IAS 19: Employee Benefits †¢ IAS 20: Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance †¢ IAS 21: The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchang e Rates †¢ IAS 22:Business Combinations – Superseded by IFRS 3 effective 31 March 2004 †¢ IAS 23: Borrowing Costs †¢ IAS 24: Related Party Disclosures †¢ IAS 25: Accounting for Investments – Superseded by IAS 39 and IAS 40 effective 2001 †¢ IAS 26: Accounting and Reporting by Retirement Benefit Plans †¢ IAS 27: Consolidated Financial Statements IAS 28: Investments in Associates †¢ IAS 29: Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies †¢ IAS 30: Disclosures in the Financial Statements of Banks and Similar Financial Institutions – Superseded by IFRS 7 effective 2007 †¢ IAS 31: Interests in Joint Ventures †¢ IAS 32: Financial Instruments: Presentation (Financial instruments disclosures are in IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures, and no longer in IAS 32) †¢ IAS 33: Earnings Per Share †¢ IAS 34: Interim Financial Reporting IAS 35: Discontinuing Operations – Superseded by IFRS 5 effective 20 05 †¢ IAS 36: Impairment of Assets †¢ IAS 37: Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets †¢ IAS 38: Intangible Assets †¢ IAS 39: Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement †¢ IAS 40: Investment Property †¢ IAS 41: Agriculture List of Interpretations with full text link †¢ Preface to International Financial Reporting Interpretations (Updated to January 2006 †¢ IFRIC 1 Changes in Existing Decommissioning, Restoration and Similar Liabilities (Updated to January 2006) †¢ IFRIC 7 Approach under IAS 29 Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies (Issued February 2006) †¢ IFRIC 8 Scope of IFRS 2 (Issued February 2006)—has been eliminated with Amendments issued to IFRS 2 †¢ IFRIC 9 Reassessment of Embedded Derivatives (Issued April 2006) †¢ IFRIC 10 Interim Financial Reporting and Impairment (Issued November 2006) †¢ IFRIC 11 IFRS 2-Group and Treasury Share Transactions (Issued November 2006)—has been eliminated with Amendments issued to IFRS 2 †¢ IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements (Issued November 2006) †¢ IFRIC 13 Customer Loyalty Programmes (Issued in June 2007) †¢ IFRIC 14 IAS 19 – The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding Requirements and their Interaction (issued in July 2007) †¢ IFRIC 15 Agreements for the Construction of Real Estate (issued in July 2008) †¢ IFRIC 16 Hedges of a Net Invest ment in a Foreign Operation (issued in July 2008) †¢ IFRIC 17 Distributions of Non-cash Assets (issued in November 2008) †¢ IFRIC 18 Transfers of Assets from Customers (issued in January 2009) †¢ SIC 7 Introduction of the Euro (Updated to January 2006) †¢ SIC 10 Government Assistance-No Specific Relation to Operating Activities (Updated to January 2006) †¢ SIC 12 Consolidation-Special Purpose Entities (Updated to January 2006) †¢ SIC 13 Jointly Controlled Entities-Non-Monetary Contributions by Venturers (Updated to January 2006) †¢ SIC 15 Operating Leases-Incentives (Updated to January 2006) †¢ SIC 21 Income Taxes-Recovery of Revalued Non-Depreciable Assets (Updated to January 2006) †¢ SIC 25 Income Taxes-Changes in the Tax Status of an Entity or its Shareholders (Updated to January 2006) †¢ SIC 27 Evaluating the Substance of Transactions Involving the Legal Form of a Lease (Updated to January 2006) †¢ SIC 29 Disclosure-Service Concession Arrangements (Updated to January 2006) †¢ SIC 31 Revenue-Barter Transactions Involving Advertising Services (Updated to January 2006) †¢ SIC 32 Intangible Assets-Web Site Costs (Updated to January 2006) †¢ SIC 33 Consolidation and equity method – Potential voting rights and allocation of ownership interests 04. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is an independent, privately-funded accounting standard-setter based in London, England. The IASB was founded on April 1, 2001 as the successor to the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). It is responsible for developing International Financial Reporting Standards (the new name for International Accounting Standards issued after 2001), and promoting the use and application of these standards. Foundation of the IASB In April 2001, the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF), since renamed as the IFRS Foundation, was formed as a not-for-profit corporation incorporated in the US state of Delaware. The IFRS Foundation is the parent entity of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), an independent accounting standard-setter based in London, England. On 1 March 2001, the IASB assumed accounting standard-setting responsibilities from its predecessor body, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). This was the culmination of a restructuring based on the recommendations of the report Recommendations on Shaping IASC for the Future. The IASB structure has the following main features: the IFRS Foundation is an independent organization having two main bodies, the Trustees and the IASB, as well as a IFRS Advisory Council and the IFRS Interpretations Committee (formerly the IFRIC). The IASC Foundation Trustees appoint the IASB members, exercise oversight and raise the funds needed, but the IASB has responsibility for setting International Financial Reporting Standards (international accounting standards). IASB Members The IASB has 15 Board members, each with one vote. They are selected as a group of experts with a mix of experience of standard-setting, preparing and using accounts, and academic work. [2] At their January 2009 meeting the Trustees of the Foundation concluded the first part of the second Constitution Review, announcing the creation of a Monitoring Board and the expansion of the IASB to 16 members and giving more consideration to the geographical composition of the IASB. The IFRS Interpretations OF Committee has 14 members. Its brief is to provide timely guidance on issues that arise in practice. A unanimous vote is not necessary in order for the publication of a Standard, exposure draft, or final â€Å"IFRIC† Interpretation. The Board's 2008 Due Process manual stated that approval by nine of the members is required. Funding The IFRS Foundation raises funds for the operation of the IASB. [7] Most contributors are banks and other companies which use or have an interest in promoting international standards. In 2008, American companies gave ? 2. 4m, more than those of any other country. However, contributions fell in the wake of the financial crisis of 2007–2010, and a shortfall was reported in 2010. 05. The Basel Committee The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision provides a forum for regular cooperation on banking supervisory matters. Its objective is to enhance understanding of key supervisory issues and improve the quality of banking supervision worldwide. It seeks to do so by exchanging information on national supervisory issues, approaches and techniques, with a view to promoting common understanding. At times, the Committee uses this common understanding to develop guidelines and supervisory standards in areas where they are considered desirable. In this regard, the Committee is best known for its international standards on capital adequacy; the Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision; and the Concordat on cross-border banking supervision. The Committee's members come from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The present Chairman of the Committee is Mr Nout Wellink, President of the Netherlands Bank. The Committee encourages contacts and cooperation among its members and other banking supervisory authorities. It circulates to supervisors throughout the world both published and unpublished papers providing guidance on banking supervisory matters. Contacts have been further strengthened by an International Conference of Banking Supervisors (ICBS) which takes place every two years. The Committee's Secretariat is located at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, and is staffed mainly by professional supervisors on temporary secondment from member institutions. In addition to undertaking the secretarial work for the Committee and its many expert sub-committees, it stands ready to give advice to supervisory authorities in all countries. Mr Stefan Walter is the Secretary General of the Basel Committee. Main Expert Sub-Committees The Committee's work is organised under four main sub-committees: †¢ The Standards Implementation Group †¢ The Policy Development Group †¢ The Accounting Task Force †¢ The Basel Consultative Group Basel II is the second of the Basel Accords, which are recommendations on banking laws and regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The purpose of Basel II, which was initially published in June 2004, is to create an international standard that banking regulators can use when creating regulations about how much capital banks need to put aside to guard against the types of financial and operational risks banks face. Advocates of Basel II believe that such an international standard can help protect the international financial system from the types of problems that might arise should a major bank or a series of banks collapse. In theory, Basel II attempted to accomplish this by setting up risk and capital management requirements designed to ensure that a bank holds capital reserves appropriate to the risk the bank exposes itself to through its lending and investment practices. Generally speaking, these rules mean that the greater risk to which the bank is exposed, the greater the amount of capital the bank needs to hold to safeguard its solvency and overall economic stability. Objective The final version aims at: 1. Ensuring that capital allocation is more risk sensitive; 2. Separating operational risk from credit risk, and quantifying both; 3. Attempting to align economic and regulatory capital more closely to reduce the scope for regulatory arbitrage. The Accord in operation Basel II uses a â€Å"three pillars† concept – (1) minimum capital requirements (addressing risk), (2) supervisory review and (3) market discipline. The Basel I accord dealt with only parts of each of these pillars. For example: with respect to the first Basel II pillar, only one risk, credit risk, was dealt with in a simple manner while market risk was an afterthought; operational risk was not dealt with at all. The first pillar The first pillar deals with maintenance of regulatory capital calculated for three major components of risk that a bank faces: credit risk, operational risk, and market risk. Other risks are not considered fully quantifiable at this stage. The credit risk component can be calculated in three different ways of varying degree of sophistication, namely standardized approach, Foundation IRB and Advanced IRB. IRB stands for â€Å"Internal Rating-Based Approach†. For operational risk, there are three different approaches – basic indicator approach or BIA, standardized approach or TSA, and the internal measurement approach (an advanced form of which is the advanced measurement approach or AMA). For market risk the preferred approach is VaR (value at risk). As the Basel 2 recommendations are phased in by the banking industry it will move from standardised requirements to more refined and specific requirements that have been developed for each risk category by each individual bank. The upside for banks that do develop their own bespoke risk measurement systems is that they will be rewarded with potentially lower risk capital requirements. In future there will be closer links between the concepts of economic profit and regulatory capital. Credit Risk can be calculated by using one of three approaches: 1. Standardised Approach 2. Foundation IRB (Internal Ratings Based) Approach 3. Advanced IRB Approach The standardised approach sets out specific risk weights for certain types of credit risk. The standard risk weight categories are used under Basel 1 and are 0% for short term government bonds, 20% for exposures to OECD Banks, 50% for residential mortgages and 100% weighting on unsecured commercial loans. A new 150% rating comes in for borrowers with poor credit ratings. The minimum capital requirement (the percentage of risk weighted assets to be held as capital) remains at 8%. For those Banks that decide to adopt the standardised ratings approach they will be forced to rely on the ratings generated by external agencies. Certain Banks are developing the IRB approach as a result. The second pillar The second pillar deals with the regulatory response to the first pillar, giving regulators much improved ‘tools' over those available to them under Basel I. It also provides a framework for dealing with all the other risks a bank may face, such as systemic risk, pension risk, concentration risk, strategic risk, reputational risk, liquidity risk and legal risk, which the accord combines under the title of residual risk. It gives banks a power to review their risk management system. The third pillar This pillar aims to promote greater stability in the financial system Market discipline supplements regulation as sharing of information facilitates assessment of the bank by others including investors, analysts, customers, other banks and rating agencies. It leads to good corporate governance. The aim of pillar 3 is to allow market discipline to operate by requiring lenders to publicly provide details of their risk management activities, risk rating processes and risk distributions. It sets out the public disclosures that banks must make that lend greater insight into the adequacy of their capitalization. When marketplace participants have a sufficient nderstanding of a bank’s activities and the controls it has in place to manage its exposures, they are better able to distinguish between banking organizations so that they can reward those that manage their risks prudently and penalize those that do not. 06. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) The Financial Account ing Standards Board (FASB) is a private, not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose is to develop generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) within the United States in the public's interest. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) designated the FASB as the organization responsible for setting accounting standards for public companies in the U. S. It was created in 1973, replacing the Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP) and the Accounting Principles Board (APB) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Mission statement The FASB's mission is â€Å"to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting for the guidance and education of the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of financial information. † To achieve this, FASB has five goals: †¢ Improve the usefulness of financial reporting by focusing on the primary characteristics of relevance and reliability, and on the qualities of comparability and consistency. †¢ Keep standards current to reflect changes in methods of doing business and in the economy. Consider promptly any significant areas of deficiency in financial reporting that might be improved through standard setting. †¢ Promote international convergence of accounting standards concurrent with improving the quality of financial reporting. †¢ Improve common understanding of the nature and purposes of information in financial reports. FASB pronouncements In order to establish accounting principles, the FASB issues pronouncements publicly, each addressing general or specific accounting issues. These pronouncements are: †¢ Statements of Financial Accounting Standards †¢ Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts †¢ FASB Interpretations FASB Technical Bulletins †¢ EITF Abstracts FASB 11 Concepts 1. Money measurement 2. Entity 3. Going concern 4. Cost 5. Dual aspect 6. Accounting period 7. Conservation 8. Realization 9. Matching 10. Consistency 11. Materiality 07. Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP) In 1939, encouraged by the SEC, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) formed the Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP). From 1939 to 1959, CAP issued 51 Accounting Research Bulletins that dealt with issues as they arose. CAP had only limited success because it did not develop an overall accounting framework, but rather, acted upon specific problems as they arose. Accounting Principles Board (APB) In 1959, the AICPA replaced CAP with the Accounting Principles Board (APB), which issued 31 opinions and 4 statements until it was dissolved in 1973. GAAP essentially arose from the opinions of the APB. The APB was criticized for its structure and for several of its positions on controversial topics. In 1971 the Wheat Committee (chaired by Francis Wheat) was formed to evaluate the APB and propose changes. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) The Wheat Committee recommended the replacement of the Accounting Principles Board with a new standards-setting structure. This new structure was implemented in 1973 and was made up of three organizations: Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC). Of these organizations, FASB (pronounced â€Å"FAS-B†) is the primary operating organization. Unlike the APB, FASB was designed to be an independent board comprised of members who have severed their ties with their employers and private firms. FASB issues statements of financial accounting standards, which define GAAP. The AICPA issues audit guides. When a conflict occurs, FASB rules. International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) was formed in 1973 to encourage international cooperation in developing consistent worldwide accounting principles. In 2001, the IASC was succeeded by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), an independent private sector body that is structured similar to FASB. Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) The financial reports of state and local goverment entities are not directly comparable to those of businesses. In 1984, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) was formed to set standards for the financial reports of state and local government. GASB was modeled after FASB.

Color Imagery †The Great Gatsby Essay

Writers often use a variety of literary devices in their literature to relate to the themes of their stories. Imagery is just one of the many that are used to create the structure for the literary pieces. Imagery can be used to form images in the reader’s mind, appealing to the human senses. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the mind behind the American Modernist novel The Great Gatsby, uses a specific form of this literary device, which is color imagery, to make a more meaningful visual experience for the reader. Patterns of certain colors represent recurring themes in the story as a whole. In The Great Gatsby, certain characters portray the significance of colors in the color theory. Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Jordan Baker’s actions in the story prove this point through their actions and their words. Fitzgerald’s story contains an aspect of wealth, and each character goes about it in his or her own way, connecting back to the imagery the author uses. By examining the desire for power, material possession, dishonesty, and deception, it is clear that the colors yellow and gold are used to represent these themes. Fitzgerald’s color imagery is clear when yellow is used to describe situations of greed and the desire for power throughout the story. In The Great Gatsby, there are several characters who wish to have more, who are never satisfied with what they have. They become greedy, and their actions, as small as some are, help to prove this. Daisy Buchanan is Jay Gatsby’s love interest in the story. However, it is known that she is married to Tom Buchanan, and that they have a child together. The narrator of the story, Nick Carraway, describes Tom as an aggressive, arrogant, self-absorbed, man. His aggressiveness leads him to verbally and physically abuse Daisy. One may believe that the best situation would be for her to simply leave Tom in order for her to have a better life. The thing is that Daisy cannot get herself to do that because she craves power and wealth. Daisy is observed by Nick, and is described as being â€Å"in white, her dress rippling and fluttering†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (8). When thinking of an actual daisy flower, it’s known that a daisy has white petals with a yellow center. In the story, Mrs. Buchanan is in a white dress, exhibiting purity and innocence, but the yellow inside clearly shows she is full of nothing but greed. She stays with Tom, an abusive husband, because she enjoys having a luxurious life. Daisy does indeed represent a daisy flower, with her true color, yellow, showing through her actions. Along with Daisy, George Wilson subtly shows a desire for more in the story. According to Nick, George is â€Å"a blonde, spiritless man†¦ and fairly handsome† (25). Mr. Wilson’s hair is blonde, which ties with yellow in the story. When Tom Buchanan visits George in the Valley of Ashes, the first thing he says to Tom is, â€Å"When are you going to sell me that car? † (25). George knows that Tom is a wealthy man, and although not being straightforward with it, George wants more than what he has with his dull life in the Valley of Ashes. His blonde hair shows that because the author’s use of yellow shows the greed and the desire for power in the story. Fitzgerald applies his color imagery to The Great Gatsby in a very sophisticated way because he uses a single color to express multiple ideas. Not only do yellow and gold display a craving for more, but it also shows the material wealth that someone can have. As discussed earlier, Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan lead lives of great affluence. They live in the East Egg, the more extravagant of the two Eggs, in Long Island, New York. As the narrator of the story observes the couple’s beautiful mansion, he says it has a â€Å"front broken by a line of French windows, glowing now with reflected gold and wide open to the warm, windy afternoon†¦ (6). Nick’s portrayal of the luxurious Buchanan home and life using gold shows how the author uses the color to represent material possession. While Nick Carraway spends time describing the Buchanans’ affluence, his own material possession is also depicted. Nick’s love interest in the story is a woman named Jordan Baker. He spends a significant amount of time with her, and recounts what kind of stuff they do together. At one of Gatsby’s great parties, Nick is with Jordan, when he says, â€Å"With Jordan’s slender golden arm resting in mine, we descended the steps and sauntered the garden† (43). Nick has Jordan Baker’s â€Å"golden arm† in his, which shows how he clearly sees her as some sort of righteous prize, a possession of his. The gold is used to make Jordan Nick’s very own material possession. That is how Fitzgerald expresses yellow and gold when relating to this theme. Misleading and being dishonest are two of the things that several characters do in The Great Gatsby to portray themselves as better, or just simply different. In this story, dishonesty and deception are expressed by the author. Many in the story wonder how Jay Gatsby became this extremely rich man. Mystery surrounds Mr. Gatsby, and it is learned that it is his purpose to keep it a mystery. When he picks up Nick Carraway in his yellow Rolls-Royce he tells him some details about his origin. However, Nick is immediately suspicious of what Mr. Gatsby is telling him in his yellow car. He tells Nick to be wary about what rumors he hears about Gatsby, and he tells him about Oxford and his status in the military. Gatsby seems to be trying very hard to create an image of himself that simply is not accurate. Gatsby is so full of deception that Nick somehow â€Å"manages to restrain his incredulous laughter† (66). The narrator knows for a fact that something just does not add up, and this all happens in the luxurious yellow vehicle. While in the car, Gatsby is dishonest to Nick for the first time. He may have shown â€Å"evidence†, but Nick knows that Gatsby is deceiving him in a way. Another character close to the narrator also displays very misleading behavior. Not unlike Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker is described as having a delicate white dress, making her seem like a pristine, pure object. Nevertheless, Nick also observes Miss Baker’s â€Å"autumn-leaf yellow hair† (17). The narrator learns that Jordan is not all that truthful when he realizes that she did not play fair in a gold tournament once. Nick says, â€Å"At her first big gold tournament there was a suggestion that she had moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round†¦ she was incurably dishonest† (57-58). Her dishonesty ties back to the narrative description of her yellow hair. All in all, the author clearly displays yellow as a color of deception and fraud. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of color imagery in The Great Gatsby not only makes a clear picture in the reader’s mind, but it also helps to relate to the broader themes of the whole story. He uses color patterns and attaches colors to certain images to craft a big idea using few words. More specifically, the yellow and gold patterns portray the themes of greed, desire for power, material possession, and dishonesty. Daisy Buchanan wanting to keep her power despite having to stay with Tom, Nick’s prize in Jordan Baker, and Gatsby’s apparent deception all fall under the color yellow. This again shows Fitzgerald’s multiple ideas under a single color. The many examples and patterns of one color are not coincidental, and that is why yellow and gold tie perfectly into the story in regards to representing themes and motifs in The Great Gatsby.

IFRS Regulatory Framework for Financial Reporting Assignment

IFRS Regulatory Framework for Financial Reporting - Assignment Example Regulators, investors, shareholders, employees, managers and rest of the stakeholders view financial reporting as the most essential element for making financial decisions. Uniformity promoted through the IFRS, being implemented by International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), facilitates easy comparison and setting of benchmarks on an international scale. Countries have adopted the IFRS, but many find significant holdouts on its implementation. This paper is aimed at an analysis of the advantages of IFRS adoption and implementation, by highlighting the benefits to investors and managers as well as the disadvantages and weaknesses associated with the same. The debate concludes to suggest some changes that IASB can undertake in order to meet those challenges. The IFRS model, as opposed to most other accounting standards, requires extensive application of fair valuations, while measuring the assets and liabilities. The primary aim of the IFRS is to fix the Balance Sheet and put it right, which might bring about a huge precariousness in the income statement. However, as against the more popular, GAAP system of accounting, the IFRS is a principle based accounting system and not rule based. The principle based approach in maintaining accounts allows for more flexibility and discretion in maintenance of financial statements. This permits companies to choose the best way possible to reflect their accounts. Clear and defined principles make it easier to maintain accounts, rather than following rules with no supporting principle (Diffen, n.d.). IFRS adoption also facilitates making comparisons between two firms based in different countries. If the accounting standards and practices are the same, then it becomes easier for companies to undertake mergers and acquisitions. Also, use of one common accounting language is easier for companies, which have subsidiaries abroad. Companies are also able to raise capital from abroad,

Consumer Behaviour in South Korea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Consumer Behaviour in South Korea - Essay Example Even world-class businesses have failed to understand South Korean consumer behavior, but their culture has a big influence upon it. Introduction: The Importance of Consumer Behavior Research Understanding consumer behavior is a very important ability for marketers to have. This knowledge helps them plan marketing strategies that are effective for their target audience thereby increasing their ability to produce sufficient profits. Products have to be produced and presented in a manner that is appealing to potential buyers. In order to understand what the definition of appealing is to various consumers studies have to be undertaken that will reveal this information. Consumer behavior can vary greatly based on a wide variety of factors. Failure to understand consumer behavior has lead to the failure of many businesses and resulted in high amounts of monetary loss. To avoid the negative consequences of such ignorance, many companies perform market research before, during, and after the implementation of their plans. South Korea: Consumer Behavior and Culture One of the areas that have presented problems for companies seeking to expand their territories is the South Korean market. This is because consumer behavior is very different than that of those in other developed countries. South Korea has a culture all its own and it has effected consumer tastes. Companies who wish do business in this country and move hastily may find that they experience disastrous results. In order to properly and effectively enter into the South Korean market, companies should make sure that they perform thorough research. Even business giant Wal-Mart that has succeeded in establishing stores in many countries had to close and sell the stores that they opened in South Korea (Gandolfi & Strach 2009). The problem was that Wal-Mart had relied on the formula that had brought them so much success in other markets and failed to tailor their business to better suit the consumers in South Korea. The company, not accustomed to failure, had tried to save their sinking stores only to finally resign. While it is odd to think that a world-class company like Wal-Mart would lapse so greatly on a basic consideration like generation a proper understanding of the consumer behavior of the country in which they seek to practice business, that is exactly what happened. As Yakup (2011) reported, â€Å"International marketers believe that consumers would increasingly resemble each other and that they will eat the same food, wear same clothes, and watch the same television programs to an increasing proportion. But the reality is very different†. Somehow Wal-Mart assumed that they could peddle their culture in the South Korean market and be assimilated into it. However, South Korea consumers are not at all interested in adapting to a new culture in their own country. They, while being innovative consumers of products that fit in with their culture, have very traditional tastes. More specifically, the consumer behavior in South Korea reflects a preference to keep in line with what is culturally familiar. And, while it is true that many cultures can be divided into various sub-cultures that can be targeted and that people are subject to their own personal styles and tasted, the culture of South Korea is not individualistic. Rather, people there more or less follow the crowd. South Koreans carry more of a group identity, making it harder to introduce things of

Qualities that describe a successful student Essay

Qualities that describe a successful student - Essay Example Two of the most important qualities a student should possess are curiosity and self-motivation. Students who are most successful in college are students who are curious and ready to learn about new things. There are many ways in which curiosity is an essential quality for students. To begin with, curiosity enables students to become interested in subjects they might not have considered before. This quality drives a desire to learn that makes the university process seem less like work and more like an adventure. Curiosity can also help students overcome feelings of resistance against required courses that perhaps don’t fall within their normal interest range. There are always classes that are part of a required curriculum that don’t necessarily appeal to the student, such as math classes for English majors or English classes for scientists. Curiosity can change the focus into discovering ways in which this course material might be applied to the major field of study or the promise of future courses may entice the student to complete the undesired course in order t o reach more desirable units. All the curiosity in the world will not help the student much, though, if they do not also possess the quality of self-motivation. High school classes begin to place responsibility for coursework upon the shoulders of the student as a means of preparing them for college, but this does not mean the work gets finished. High school students also usually have parents to push them to finish their work, but college students are expected to keep up with their work on their own. Self-motivation drives the student to complete their work on time and to keep track of their classes on their own. Also, since college doesn’t include mandatory attendance, it takes a self-motivated individual to ensure they get to class each day instead of sleeping in or hanging out with friends. While there are many qualities that students will need to make a

Were Westernization and modernization of a piece Or were there Essay

Were Westernization and modernization of a piece Or were there distinct forms of modernity that incorporated Western elements to different degrees - Essay Example For the sake of a common starting point, a definition will be supplied here - one that will be developed as the paper continues. The terms, first of all, are not synonymous. In examining a number of discussions on the subject, however, it appears that some do not have a developed view of the two terms - thus resulting in general confusion - and, for them, there will be no clearer understanding than what they have, until such a clarification is made. In short, McNeil defines it as change, one that is "incessant," and a "self-transformation," one that is based upon a constant influx of ideas - that came from within. The change is both technological, and ideological. This change, in the Western world, had no model from which to pattern its changes - there was no external force prompting it. Modernization, on the other hand, may not be as complete as was Westernization - which was a complete and, as of yet, an unending transformation. It is merely going from a more historically stagnant position (whether it be caused by lack of resources, technology, education, political theory - or all four), to a position that is more in line with levels of other cultures surrounding them - not necessarily Western cultures. When a nation awakens, and finds itself in the proverbial Dark Ages, unequal to, and incompatible with cultures outside their own, then there is often an awakening of the heart of that nation to possess what others have - for advantage, and sometimes out of fear. Westerners often have the opinion that, because we (the West) are among the most modern nations on earth, that any modernization is necessarily a Westernization. Because of our often outspoken voices, other nations, not as technologically advanced, often parrot that view, too. They are, however, separable upon closer examination. Now comes time to bring in the historical transformation of Japan, which came immediately following the arrival of

Reflection of Slingshot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Reflection of Slingshot - Essay Example All the elements to make faster cars were present including the know how to build one. It all begun in Southern California in the 1940s coming from depression with children coming out of age. In addition, United States just came from war where most of its youngsters came from the military who received education from the military on how to create hot rods. Through this education from the military, they were able to incorporate better techniques to make faster cars such as hot rods which eventually evolve to drag race cars. And of course given with a strong economy and know how about motors (cars were invented in the United States) these youths with plenty of energy, spare cash and ingenuity created fast cars which were known as slingshots. Of course, it was first built to be crude just like the Ford’s T-Model and others resembles a sedan only that they ran faster. The races were first done in the street (and therefore illegal) until it evolved to an activity in the 1950s. It further evolved where regulatory bodies were established as well the support of big companies that made the sport not only a successful spectator sport but also a successful commercial sport. The evolution of drag racing to become a spectator sport can be likened to any other endeavor be it in sport, organization or companies. It started as a hobby or a recreation and engaged by few enthusiasts. Over time and with energy and support, it eventually grew and embraced by everybody to become a successful sport. Reflecting on this development gives one an idea that anything really is possible given the talent, inclination, energy and resources. As a student, it inspires us that given the know-how, drive and resources, we can also achieve the same feat albeit at a lesser extent. The knowledge learned by those who started the sport came from the military in the same manner

Hypnosis Method Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hypnosis Method - Research Paper Example The method section of the experiment has been well described in order to permit other investigators to repeat the study or experiment. The method segment should employ subheading to separate various subsections. These subsections typically consists participants, materials, design, and procedure. The participants were the students College. These participants were classified into many groups and engaged in a test for a time period of two weeks. Several conferences were conducted. About 16 conferences were held, each one consisting of around 15 students. The materials include a list of questionnaires or forms which were accomplished for the aim of our experiment. The materials required are concerned to measure hypnotisability {accomplished instantly after hypnotic induction]. The hypnotic ability was evaluated with the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic  Susceptibility: Form. They are listed along with the references. The part A of the form contains the format of bio data along with some queries related to medical background such as psychotropic medication, attention problems in the past, colour-blindness, head injury, witnessed any hypnosis, referred any book regarding someone who was hypnotised, knowing anybody who was hypnotised and have you ever hypnotised yourselves. After this the student is asked to look at a target and write down the things that happened while he was looking at the target. In the next step the student is asked to write down what he remember currently which he couldn’t remember previously. In the next st ep the student is given a questionnaire comprising three pages that include 12 special suggestions which were administered to him during the standardised procedure of hypnosis.  

A critique according to your thought and deliberation Essay

A critique according to your thought and deliberation - Essay Example There are very many components of music that have to be followed by artists to make it fit for presentation. Music is actually very important as it is mainly used to serve many purposes. There are many reasons as to why people like music and the questions comes, which kind of music and at what time. Music according to many authors, is one of the ways used in passing information to people. There are certain information that cannot be passed without attaracting attention of the audience hence music serves that duty (Mannheimer, 67). Music isa actually used in schools, health institutions and big restaurants or hotels. In schools, music has help in aiding students on understanding some of the concept of different subject matters as there are two classes of understandin g amoung students (Damschroder, 405). There are the first learners and the slow learners. For the slow learners, a concept have to be repeated more than one times to meet their understanding. There are many institutions where music is learnt being that music falls under arts. Maryland Institute College of Art, also known as the (MICA), is a college of art and design, located in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States of America. It was founded in the year 1826. During its founding, it was known as the Maryland Institute for Promotion of Mechanic Arts, which made it to become among the first and also oldest colleges of art in America. In the year 2008, the college was tied for position four in the country among fine arts master programs by the World Report and the United States News, and the Graphic Design Master of Fine Arts program took position six among the graduate schools for Graphic Design. Maryland Institute College of Art is also an AICAD (Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design member. It also became a member of the NASAD (the National Association of Schools of Art and Design), and a consortium of 36 leading schools of art in America. The college is

Quality assessment at bank call centre Research Paper

Quality assessment at bank call centre - Research Paper Example is a need to decrease variation so that proper attention can be given to continuous improvement in what is provided to the customers as is demanded by the customers. Another philosophy which needs to be established as a central part of the organization is the crucial need to implement correct controls along with proper techniques so that improvement can be made whenever it is required and is possible. As a student, it is very important for us to properly understand and realize the importance quality holds for organizations, specially the service sector which constantly is informing its employee’s importance of quality to make them an important customer segment. After a lot of research, finally we were able to find a bank which is providing proper service to its customers which is ICICI bank.     At ICICI Bank, all the banking and also financial products are offered to the corporate and also retail customers , they are using a variety of delivery channels and also through their subsidiaries which are specialized in life and also non-life insurance, investment banking also also asset management and venture capital. The bank is operating in India, Russia, Canada, Hong Kong, China and also United Kingdom.ICICI equity shares are basically listed in India on National Stock Exchange of India Limited and also Bombay Stock Exchange. American depositary Receipts are basically listed on New York Stock Exchange. Company was basically promoted during the year 1994 and was by ICICI limited which is an Indian Financial Institution and was also wholly owned through subsidiary. ICICI has board comprising of eminent individuals who are wealthy and also have international business experience related to financial services, banking and also management consulting. ICICI is providing innovati on in banking services which are liked and recognized all over the world. They have properly managed idea along with innovative products and also launches. Bank is also involved in engaging

Volcanoes Risks and Benefits Essay Example for Free

Volcanoes Risks and Benefits Essay The term volcano can either mean the vent from which magma erupts to the surface, or it can refer to the landform created by the solidified lava and fragmental volcanic debris that accumulate near the vent. One could say, for example, that large lava flows are erupted from Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, the world volcano here signifies a vent. Volcanoes are not the realm of any single scientific discipline. Rather they require study from many scientists from several specialties: Geophysicist and Geochemist to probe the deep roots of volcano; Geologist to decipher prehistoric volcanic activity; Biologist to learn how life became established and evolve in barren volcanic islands; and meteorologist to determine the effects of volcanic dust and gases on the atmosphere, weather and climate. Volcanoes affect humankind in many ways. Their destructiveness is awesome, but risk involved can be reduced by assessing volcanic hazards and forecasting volcanic eruptions. Body Volcanoes Risks and benefits  Definition First of all, we should know what a volcano is. Volcano is an opening in the earth’s surface. Through this opening has come rock so hot that it is in a liquid or gaseous state. This melted rock deep in the earth is called magma. Philosophers once thought that volcanic eruptions came from the burning of natural fuels. Sir Charles Lyell and his associates later showed the volcanic mountains were piled up from the products of their own eruptions For hundreds of years, volcanoes have struck terror and wonder into the heart of man. In ancient time, they even moved man into worship. The word volcano comes from Volcanus, the name of the Roman god of fire. The name was first used for volcano, one of the Lipari Islands in the Mediterranean Sea where the god was thought to live. Kinds of Volcano Volcanoes are commonly classified as active, dormant and extinct. The distinction between the categories is not very clear and consequently any classification based on this criterion and is highly arbitrary. The separation of dormant and extinct volcanoes is particularly difficult. A volcano may lie quiet many hundreds of years and then awaken, often violently. Some volcanoes are constantly active . Izalco in El Salvador, and Stromboli in the Mediterranean Sea, erupt so regularly that they have been compared to light houses. Those that are quiet, but have not been dead for us to know when they will break out again are called dormant volcanoes. Volcanoes that have been remained quiet since the beginning of recorded history and probably will not erupt are called extinct volcanoes. Other volcanoes can be called intermittent because, they erupt fairly at regular periods. Many of these erupt in cycles, with the length of cycle being fixed by the amount of time needed to make enough heat to produce eruption. Types of eruption In classification schemes based on character of eruption, volcanic activity and volcanic areas are commonly divided into six major order of increasing degree of explosiveness: (1) Icelandic, (2) Hawaiian, (3) Strombolian, (4) Vucanian, (5) Pelean and (6) Plinian. The Icelandic type of eruption is characterized by effusion of basaltic lave that flow from long parallel fissures. Such outpouring build lave patterns. The least violent type of eruption is termed Hawaiian and is characterized by extensive lava flows from central vents or fissures and occasionally accompanied by lava ountains. Strombolian eruption is characterized by moderately fluid lava flows, usually accompanied by violent lava-fountaining that produces and abundance of volcanic bombs and cinders. Vulcanian eruptions are characterized by viscous lava that form short, thick lava flows around vents; very viscous or solid fragment of lava are violently ejected from these vents. Pelean eruptions are similar to vulcanian eruptions but have even more viscous lava; domes from over the vents, and ash flows commonly accompany the dome fountais. Plinian eruptions, also known as Vesuvian eruptions, are volcanic eruptions marked by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 (as described in a letter written by Pliny the Younger, and which killed his uncle Pliny the Elder). Plinian eruptions are marked by columns of gas and volcanic ash extending high into the stratosphere, a high layer of the atmosphere. The key characteristics are ejection of large amount of pumice and very powerful continuous gas blast eruptions. Risks Volcanoes release volcanic hazards that may cause the life of human kind to be in danger. These volcanic hazards are Pyroclastic Density Currents (pyroclastic flows and surges), Lahars, Structural Collapse: Debris flow-Avalanches, Dome Collapse and the formation of pyroclastic flows and surges, Lava flows, Tephra fall and ballistic projectiles, volcanic gas, Tsunamis and Volcanic Lightning Pyroclastic density currents are are gravity-driven, rapidly moving, ground-hugging mixtures of rock fragments and hot gases. This mixture forms a dense fluid that moves along the ground with an upper part that is less dense as particles fall toward the ground. The behavior of the fluid depends upon the solids concentration relative to the amount of hot gases. High concentration density flows are called pyroclastic flows and are essentially nonturbulent and confined to valleys. Low concentration density flows are called pyroclastic surges which can expand over hill and valley like hurricanes. Temperatures may be as hot as 900 degrees Celsius, or as cold as steam. Pyroclastic flows and surges are potentially highly destructive owing to their mass, high temperature, high velocity and great mobility. Deadly effects include asphyxiation, burial, incineration and crushing from impacts. Many people and the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed in 79 AD from an erupion of Mount Vesuvius; 29,000 people were destroyed by pyroclastic surges at St. Pierre, Martinique in 1902; 2000 died at Chichonal Volcano in southern Mexico in 1982 from pyroclastic surges. The only effective method of risk mitigation is evacuation prior to such eruptions from areas likely to be affected by pyroclastic density currents. Lahars are part of the family of debris flows that are fluids composed of mixtures of water and particles of all sizes from clay-size to gigantic boulders. The abundance of solid matter carries the water, unlike watery floods where water carries the fragments. Debris flows have the viscous consistency of wet concrete, and there is a complete transition to watery floods. Lahars are composed of volcanic particles and originate directly or indirectly from volcanic action. Lahars can form by hot pyroclastic surges or flows entering watershed systems or flowing over snow and ice, by eruptions through crater lakes, by heavy rains on loose volcanic debris that is, any process by which volcanic particles can become saturated by water and move downs lopes. They can move with velocities as low as 1. m/s to as great as 40 m/s on steep slopes (1 m/s = 2. 55 miles per hour). They are known to have travelled as far as 300 km (1 km = 0. 63 miles). Lahars have destroyed many villages and lives living on Indonesian volcanoes because most people live in valleys where lahars flow. The 21,000 lives lost at Armero, Colombia, were from a lahar that formed during the eruption of Nevado Del Ruiz in 1985. It was generated by melt water from the interaction of pyroclastic surges with snow and ice, from a very small eruption. Lahars can transform into regular floods as they become increasingly diluted with water downstream. This phenomenon was first discovered at Mount St. Helens where hot pyroclastic surges transformed to lahars, which further transformed to hyper concentrated stream flow and then to normal stream-flow turbulence. The eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980 started with a relatively small volcanic earthquake that caused collapse of the north side of the volcano because it was over steepened and therefore unstable. When the landslide occurred, it decreased the pressure on the pressurized interior of the volcano which expanded explosively to form a lateral blast that devastated the countryside north of the volcano. Most of the debris flow avalanche was diverted down the North Fork Toutle River, but some moved directly northward over a 300 meter ridge and down into the next valley. Since the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, dozens of volcanoes that have given rise to avalanches have been discovered. For example, 40 avalanches exceeding 1 Km3 in volume, and 22 with a volume of less than 1 km3, are now known from the Quaternary alone, and 17 historic volcanic avalanches have been identified. The hilly topography north of Mount Shasta in northern California is now known to be the result of a have debris-flow avalanche. Some are known to extend up to 85 km from their sources and to cover tens to more than 1000 km2 in area. Lava flows rarely threaten human life because lava usually moves slowly a few centimeters per hour for silicic flows to several km/hour for basaltic flows. An exceptionally fast flow at Mt. Nyiragongo, Zaire (30-100 km/hour) overwhelmed about 300 people. Major hazards of lava flows burying, crushing, covering, burning everything in their path. Sometimes lava melts ice and snow to cause floods and lahars. Lava flows can dam rivers to form lakes that might overflow and break their dams causing floods. Methods for controlling paths of lava flows: (1) construct barriers and diversion channels, (2) cool advancing front with water, (3) disruption of source or advancing front of lava flow by explosives. Tephra consists of pyroclastic fragments of any size and origin. It is a synonym for pyroclastic material. Tephra ranges in size from ash (2 mm) to lapilli (2-64 mm) to blocks and bombs (64 mm). Densities vary greatly, from that of pumice (0. 5) to solid pieces of lava with density about 3. 0. Blocks from basement material may exceed 3. 0. Material may be juvenile (formed of magma involved in the eruption) or accidental (derived from pre-existing rock). Tephra fall and ballistic projectiles endanger life and property by (1) the force of impact of falling fragments, but this occurs only close to an eruption, (2) loss of agricultural lands if burial is greater than 10 cm depth, (3) producing suspensions of fine-grained particles in air and water which clogs filters and vents of motors, human lungs, industrial machines, and nuclear power plants, and (4) carrying of noxious gases, acids, salts, and, close to the vent, heat. Burial by tephra can collapse roofs of buildings, break power and communication lines and damage or kill vegetation. Even thin (2 cm) falls of ash can damage such critical facilities as hospitals, electric-generating plants, pumping stations, storm sewers and surface-drainage systems and sewage treatment plants, and short circuit electric-transmission facilities, telephone lines, radio and television transmitters. When dispersed widely over a drainage basin, tephra can change rainfall/runoff relationships. Low permeability of fine ash deposits leads to increased runoff, accelerated erosion, stream-channel changes and hazardous floods. In contrast, thick, coarse-grained deposits closed to the source can increase infiltration capacity and essentially eliminate surface runoff. Many of the hazards of tephra falls can be mitigated with proper planning and preparation. This includes clearing tephra from roofs as it accumulates, designing roofs with steep slopes, strengthening roofs and walls, designing filters for machinery, wearing respirators or wet clothes over the mouth and nose because tephra can contain harmful gases adsorbed on the particles as acid aerosols and salt particles. Magma is molten rock containing dissolved gases that are released to the atmosphere during an eruption and while the magma lies close to the surface from hydrothermal systems. The most abundant volcanic gas is water vapor; other important gases are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, and fluorine. The gases are transported away from vents as acid aerosols, as compounds adsorbed on tephra and as microscopic salt particles. Sulfur compounds, chlorine and fluorine react with water to form poisonous acids damaging to the eyes, skin and respiratory systems of animals even in very small concentrations. The acids can destroy vegetation, fabrics and metals. Atmospheric veils of dust or acid aerosols caused by large-volume explosive eruptions can affect regional or global climate. Most volcanic gases are noxious and smell bad, but they can cause mass fatalities. A rare case of mass deaths by volcanic gases in 1986 at Lake Nyos, in Cameroon, West Africa. Tons of carbon dioxide spilled out of Lake Nyos, and flowed silently down a canyon and through 3 villages occupied by 1700 people. They and 3000 cattle died instantly from lack of oxygen. Carbon dioxide emissions are now being monitored at Mammoth Mountain, California. A tsunami is a long-period sea wave or wave train generated by a sudden displacement of water. Tsunamis travel at very high speeds through deep water as low broad waves and build to great heights as they approach the shallow bottom of shores. Most are caused by fault displacements on the sea floor, but many have been caused by volcanic action. The eruption of Krakatau in 1883 produced tsunamis that killed 36,000 people. The pyroclastic flow generated by this eruption displaced the water that initiated the tsunamis.

Analysis Of Foreign Direct Investment In Malaysia Economics Essay

Analysis Of Foreign Direct Investment In Malaysia Economics Essay Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an activity in which an investor resident in one country has a lasting interest in, and a large influence on the management of an entity resident in another country (OECD, 2003). It involves either greenfield investment or merger and acquisitions (MAs). The former represents generating a wholely new enterprise and it exerts more positive effects, while the latter represents amending the ownership of existing enterprises and it has a lower positive effect or even a negative externalities. FDI can also be defined as other kinds of financial transactions among enterprises, such as reinvestment of the earnings of the FDI enterprise or other transfer of capital. There are various forms of FDI, in which one of them is the ownership of the full penalty of the shares of the national firm or possession of the project before the acquisition of the foreign investor. Joint venture is another form of FDI, in which a company is being set up in the host country with the collaboration of local partners. Due to the partnership and the experience of the local market, this form is generally preferred. Another reason that makes it less risky is that foreign partner is not given the right to fully intervene over the operation of the project. In addition, FDI could be in the form of setting up new subsidiaries or branches of foreign parent companies, as well as marketing goods in the host country (Madura, 2006). FDI consists of the establishment of mobile and huge equipments like aircraft and oil; construction activity, exploration or extraction of natural minerals; acquisition of real property by foreign investors; retained profits, which accelerate capital accumulation; investment property rights, which are the funded projects and the setting up of companies and factories in which investor is a direct partner with shares atleast 10% of the total property rights (Abdel Ghaffar, 2002). There are determinants of FDI in the recipient country, despite its benefits. First of all, the economic determinants are separated into three components: (i) the economic determinant related to investments that seek to market along with abundance and growth of per capita income and size of the market as well as the free areas. (ii) the economic determinants related to those investment that are making production efficient, and (iii) involving those investments that seek the resources and assets, having plenty of primary natural resources, infrastructure, and most of the investment involve horizontal integration in seeking investment in the market. In addition, there is also a factor called policy framework that determines FDI in the host countries. It consists of institutional framework and economic policies that have an impact on investment in the host countrys political stability, law and legislation, exchange rate and others. Another determinant is related to business facilitation , i.e. the particular facilities to assist management of investors, the promotion of investment, building reputation, investment incentives, administrative and bureaucratic practices, as well as the provision of social services (Chung et al, 1999). According to Choong and Lim (2009), the choice of models for economic development determines the channels through which FDI influence economic growth. For example, a great impact of FDI on economic growth which can be observed via the production function is theorized by the endogenous growth models. In particular, foreign capital inflows (FCIs) have a significant impact on domestic capital formation or accumulation, in which it either has a crowding-out or a crowding-in effect on local investment. If foreign capital complements domestic capital, FDI will have greater influence on output growth. On the other hand, if FDI expand the variety of intermediate and capital goods, then the productivity level of the recipient country can be enhanced. Moreover, FDI reduces unemployment by creating job opportunities (Borensztein et al., 1998). FDI is important in the sense that it provides investible funds and foreign exchange earnings, in which foreign exchange can be used to import raw materials (Wong Jomo, 2005). Both elements enlarge the resource availability of a country, thus enhance savings and investment, and in turn promote economic growth. Therefore, it will help developing countries to eventually achieve self-sustained growth. This is because higher investment and growth rate with foreign capital supplement, are in turn also increase the domestic saving rate. Most developing countries do not have enough capital goods to meet the desired investment level and required inputs have to be imported by using foreign exchange. FDI makes up for any foreign exchange shortage by bringing in foreign exchange to pay for the necessary imports of capital and intermediate goods. Besides, it brings in new technology, technical assistance and expertise, scarce managerial skill, international marketing connection, marketing know- how etc. Foreign direct investment played a crucial role in Malaysian economy since last few decades. Through both micro and macro levels, FDI can affect a recipient country (Choong Lim, 2009). In micro level, via labor training, technological transfer, and positive spillover effects, multinational corporations (MNCs) can bring in technical and management efficiency to local firms. While for the latter case, FDI may affect both the financial variables (like balance of payment (BOP), inflation, interest rate, and foreign exchange rate) and real variables such as import, export, employment, economic growth and domestic investment (Levine, 1997). According to Choong and Lim (2009), it cannot be denied that the significancy of FDI is greater in diffusing or transferring technology know-how embodied in human capital such as organizational arrangements, new management practices, skill acquisition, and training. All of these will promote greater economic growth through higher level of efficiency and productivity in labor. On the other hand, by raising the technological level in the recipient country, FDI can bring technological change equally to both labor and capital. In this case, via a learning-by-doing process, economic performance can be influenced by FDI. In particular, expertise in fully occupied factor endowments of the recipient country, new managerial and organizational techniques, international marketing connections, product design and production methods can be diffused by FDI (Dunning, 1995). Imitation is therefore important. FDI is also favorable to the productivity of local research and development (RD) activities. In contrast, FDI may harm domestic economy. First of all, FDI may have a substitutive effect on domestic savings. Any negative effect of FDI on the domestic saving rate will have negative side effects on the investment rate. In addition, liberal regulations on income repatriation, which is often considered necessary as an investment incentive, may also adversely affect the balance of payment (BOP). If the private capital inflows are not large enough to fully offset net dividend outflows, meaning that the net financial contribution of FDI will be negative. The huge outflows of interest payments also will contribute significantly to the service account deficits, which will in turn have negative implications for macroeconomic stability. The danger of high import content may also deteriorate the domestic economy. Specifically, large influx of FDI into a country may lead to huge imports of investment and intermediate goods, which will in turn contribute significantly to growing import bil l, declining merchandise account surplus and large current account deficit. High import content also implies low domestic value-added and limited domestic linkages. In short, FDI may cause import propensities to increase. Furthermore, FDI may also result in an increased industry concentration, which is equivalent to high degree of market power for a few large firms, resulting in high barriers to entry for other small firms. To the extent that large firm is MNCs, a crowding out of local firms can be assumed to have taken place (Wong Jomo, 2005). FDI is also conventionally seen as a critical source of capital accumulation of a country from the perspectives of standard neoclassical growth models (Solow-type) (Choong Lim, 2009). Specifically, there is no disparity between oversea and local capital in stimulating output growth. It is also suggested that FDI significantly affect growth only in the short term, but not in the medium or long term, given the assumption of diminishing return to capital (Barro Sala-I-Martin, 1992). In short, there are various forms of FDI and it (FDI) consists of the establishment of mobile and huge equipments. FDI is benefical to a countrys economic performance as well as welfare. However, there are also disadvantages that bring harm to a nations economy. 1.2) Historical Background of Malaysia According to World Bank (1993), Malaysia was designated as one of the East Asian Miracles due to the rapid growth of its economy during the period of 1960-1990. The steady growth rate (long lasting) attained drew a lot of attention around the world. In the 1960s, the economy grew annually in an average of 6%, followed by 7.3% per annum in the first half of the 1970s, which indicated an improvement in the growth rate. After that, it performed better by achieving higher growth rate (GDP) at 8.6% per annum until 1980. However, in 1981-1985, the growth rate slowed down to 5.1% annually, followed by a pick up again to 6.7% annually in 1986-1990. From 1996 to 2000, the economy grew at a slower rate of 4.6% per annum, following a relatively faster growth of 8.7% annually in 1991-1995 (Jajri, 2009). Based on the report, it was shown that FDI generally plays a critical role in the economy of Malaysia (Wong, 2006). FDI has been carrying a heavy weightage in Malaysias GDP. For example, it carried 23.7% in 1985, 24.1% in 1990, and even 65.3% in 1999. Over time, there was also a rise in the stock of FDI. For instance, it was 7.4 billion U.S dollar($) in 1985, raised to $10.3 billion in 1990, and even increased by $44 billion from 1990 to 2000. Furthermore, in terms of gross fixed capital formation, FDI has been carrying a high portion, that is, it carried 15.1% in 1997, 13.9% in 1998, and even 20.1% in 1999. Since manufacturing industry has been attracting the largest amount of FDI in Malaysia compared to other industries, we will specifically concentrate on it. According to Yusop and Ghaffar (1994), in the development of manufacturing industry in Malaysia, FDI plays an important role. By enhancing product quality, the competitiveness of the manufacturing export (Malaysian) has been improving globally. In addition, business experiences and technology know-how has been spilled over to Malaysia when various multinational corporations (MNCs) invest directly in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia. One of the major strategies of the policy makers is to open foreign investment projects which can enlarge the countrys resource availability and potentiality, diversify investments or activities and promote economic development through contribution of capital, skilled jobs creation, and technological transfer (Jajri, 2009). Attracting FDI was one of the Malaysian governments key approaches to stimulate growth. The country always favored a welcome policy on investment and trade since the 1980s. Obviously, FDI has a crucial role in the formation of capital and thus, the economic development. In the 1980s and 1990s, Malaysia was very participative in deregulating its investment regime in the manufacturing sector compared to other countries under the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). We can observe a significant progress when Mahathir Mohamad, our former prime minister, launched the new joint venture projects (especially with Korea and Japan) with the state-owned enterpris e (SOEs). For instance, Malaysia received large inflows of FDI accompanied by better expertise and technology due to the promotion of the Investment Act in 1986. In particular, various incentives like the establishment of Free Trade Zones (FTZs), export promotion by having tax deduction, tax allowances for projects expansion, investment expansion, tax holidays, pioneer status and other kinds of incentives to attract FDI were being provided. In the late 1980s, Malaysia continued to pursue trade liberalization by deregulating the barriers over capital ownership of MNCs, which in turn raised its FDI inflows. Over the years, the rates of tariff in Malaysia have gradually decline because FDI is needed to take entrepreneurial risks in order to make profits, at the same time to enhance the host countrys productivity. Despite the importance of other determinants, the strategic location of Malaysia is the main factor that attracted foreign investors to invest in the domestic markets (Jajri, 2009). As a result, Malaysia has been receiving vast amount of FDI during 1980s and 1990s. However, since the early 1990s, total foreign investments had been slowed down in several periods, though it has generally been increasing over the years. Specifically, a decrease in investments from Taiwan and Japan, the major source of investments led to a substantial decrease in FDI in 1993. The drop in investment can be attributed to the lacking of competitiveness in terms of labor cost as compared to other South East Asian countries like Indonesia and Vietnam. On the other hand, investments that are not much affected by the rising labor cost (relatively) in the manufacturing sector such as investments in petroleum and petroleum related products sector by US were relatively stable. Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-1998 which affected most of the South East Asian countries is another key reason to the decrease in investment to Malaysia. Nonetheless, the substantial depreciation in ringgit Malaysia (RM) against US dollar led to an increase in the value of investments by General Electric, Boeing and other US-based huge MNCs. Therefore, local consumers were benefited from a positive effect of the influx of the US investors in terms of after-sales service and follow-up services, which are highly valued by Malaysians (Jajri, 2009). In short, due to the successfulness in the adoption of economic policies, programs and strategies, Malaysias economic performance has been spectacular from the late 1980s (Karim Ahmad, 2009). Nevertheless, its distribution gap of economic growth among states has to be filled. As a consequence, the government continues to prioritize the distributional affairs in its national development plans. In order to decrease the imbalances of social welfare between states (less and more developed), a poverty alleviation program was adopted in its regional development plan. During the Third Outline Perspective Plan (OPP3) period (2001-2010) which was under the National Vision Policy, agricultural, services, and manufacturing sectors are being determined to facilitate a more rapid economic growth under the program. Specifically, in the manufacturing sector, foreign and domestic firms were given incentives to diversify their activities across all states. In this case, liberal equity policies, tax incentives, and different types of investment options were provided in order to attract FDI inflows into Malaysia. Figure 1: Malaysias foreign direct investment (FDI), net inflows from 1970 to 2008. Source: World Bank. Figure 1 illustrates the trend of Malaysia FDI inflows from 1970 to 2008, where the X-axis represents time period in year while the Y-axis measures FDI net inflows in thousand of US dollar. From the period of 1970 to 1982, although Malaysias FDI inflows shown an increasing trend (gradual), it was quite inactive due to the lack of knowledge, unpopularity in this area, as well as restrictive government policies which in turn will result in less mobility of capital between countries. In 1982 to 1987, there was a slight decrease in Malaysias FDI inflows before it raised dramatically in 1987 from approximately US$0.5 million to about US$5 million in 1992. This was due to the Japans currency appreciation, Japans and Asian newly industrialized economies (NIEs) trade friction with the US and European Union (EU) countries, as well as Japans and NIEs rising wage rates in the mid-1980s (Wong, 2006). In addition, the equipped necessary infrastructures for investment need and incentives (monetary and fiscal) provided by the government led to the increment of Malaysias FDI inflows. Another reason that causes the increase of Malaysias FDI inflows is the pool of disciplined and well-trained workers with relatively low wage. To further encourage investment activities in manufacturing industries, the Investment Act 1986 was introduced. The introduction of this act reflected Malaysian governments active efforts in stimulating private sector investment since the mid-eighties, that was when the country facing its worst recession. As a result, there were more foreign investors, especially from China switching their capital (investing) into the country. After that, the trend of FDI inflows was decreasing from 1992 to 2001, followed by an increasing trend from 2001 to 2007, before it decreased in 2008. In conclusion, Malaysias FDI inflows were fluctuated from 1970 to 2008. 1.3) Problem Statement Although Malaysia received FDI from China, it has to contend with China (one of the emerging economies) for oversea funds and facing domestic constraints and structural weaknesses simultaneously. Specifically, these limitations include high cost of doing business, inappropriate public delivery system and lack of skilled labors. In addition, Malaysia was relatively low in terms of production cost competitiveness compared to other countries, and Malaysias capital outflows trend has generated a few issues. One of them is the chances that deteriorating FDI will lower the countrys potential output, given falling private investment. Another concern is about a loss in domestic investors confidence in the country which is resulted from capital outflows. In short, Malaysia is still lag behind in ease of doing business. For a developing country like Malaysia, the issue of job creation is very important. According to Abor and Harvey (2008), although FDI is related to technological unemployment, it does play a critical role in job creation. FDI inflows from China are associated with large-scale and mass production and thus there is a need for large amount of domestic labor force to maintain the high production. In short, Chinas FDI serves as an alternative engine of growth to Malaysia. Besides increasing domestic investments, it improves the ability of foreign technology absorption, contributing to technology transfers and helping in innovation, promotes international trade integration, and thus brings our country to a competitive situation (Ghosh Wang, 2009). Figure 2: Chinas FDI outflows to Malaysia from 1987 to 2009 Source: Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) Figure 2 depicts the trend of FDI outflows from China into Malaysia over 1987-2009 through annual flows and its share in total Chinas FDI outflows to Malaysia in ringgit Malaysia (RM). Since the late 1980s, it shows a small fluctuation in trend of Malaysias inward FDI from China with a relatively stable and low amount (amount not deviate too much). During the 1990s and early 2000s, the stable trend showed that China has opened up its economy to international trade and this in turn lead the amount of Malaysias FDI receipts from China increased. In 2006, we can see that there is a dramatical increase in trend due to Chinas heavy investment in Malaysias big steel project in Terengganu in producing flat irons, slabs, billets, hot rolled coils, and the former also involved in the mega project of Penangs second bridge. However, after the peak in 2007, there was a sharp decline in amount of Chinese investment which was mainly attributed to 2007/08 global financial crisis. China played a major role in the expansion of intra-regional trade and vertical specialization which are becoming increasingly important. According to Zebregs (2004), China carried 32 % proportion of Asians total export growth. The rising intra-regional trade among the Asian high-performing countries was significantly affected by spectacular outward-oriented growth performance of the Chinese economy. The vertical specialization in the case means China imports raw materials or intermediate goods from Malaysia and to produce final products which will be exported back to Malaysia. In recent years, Chinas trade has became more vertically specialized and Chinas exports contain a large proportion of imported goods from other Asian countries including Malaysia (Rumbaug and Blancher, 2004). Besides that, China is guaranteed to be continuously affect the growth trends of Malaysian economy due to the formers rapid economic growth, openness and size of economy. China became an example of autonomous liberalization as it became the biggest liberalizer of the local economy. China and other Asian high performing countries pursued free trade among themselves to the World trade organization. Furthermore, an increasing number of Malaysias capital goods and investment, components and sub-assemblies, parts, as well as primary products have been absorbed by China. In this short time period, a wholely new investment and trade pattern has occurred. Malaysian economy has been influenced both directly and indirectly by Chinas investment and trade, in which the indirect influences came from the method in which Chinas investment and trade manipulate Malaysias economic condition; while the direct effects came from Chinas bilateral trade and investment relationships with Malaysia. In short, it is clear that a major economic change in Malaysia has been caused by China. In addition, China also becomes increasingly crucial to Malaysia because of upgrading technology base reasons. According to Das (2008), China managed to absorb a wide range of industrial technologies, and was proven to be superior to other emerging market economies in doing so over the previous two decades, which were also the period when China was gradually becoming the worlds number 1 manufacturer of high-volumed industrial products. The trend was due to its extra focus on science and technology education, the admittance of the private sector into the provision of tertiary education, wide-based education adjustments, and the low-wage, but acceptable skilled and flexible workers. Because of huge and increasing investment, the life span of equipment and plant was reduced to seven years (Das, 2008). In a nutshell, since Chinas outwards FDI is extremely important to our nations economy (and even important to the rest of the world), it is worthwhile and beneficial for us to study its impact on our countrys economic growth. Furthermore, the factors that determine Chinas FDI are crucial in the field of economics, and thus this motivates us to shed some light on them. 1.4) General Objective of the Study The research question and problem statement give us an insight and motivation to analyze the relationship between Chinas FDI and Malaysias economic growth, in which Chinas outwards FDI and Malaysias GDP serve as the respective proxies. Our research will be able to serve as a significant contributor to the efforts in stimulating Malaysias economic growth as well as the field of development economics. 1.5) Specific Objectives of the Study To examine the effect of Chinas FDI on Malaysias economic growth from 1987-2009. To examine the determinants of Chinas FDI outflows in Malaysia. To investigate the short-run dynamic linkage between FDI outflows (China) and economic growth (Malaysia). 1.6) Significance of the Study Most of the empirical literatures in examining the relationship between FDI and economic growth were too general. The rapidly emerging economies in China who is able to provide huge investment funds, provided the recipient country is fundamentally strong in terms of macroeconomics and financial system have not been studied specifically. Thus, through our research, we may able to solve the problem by filling the gap resulted from past researchers. It is a very important study as it may suggest the rationality and suitability of further employing FDI (especially from China) as an engine of growth for Malaysia. As such, it might prevent waste of resources as the government can certainly allocate funds to appropriate areas for economic development and economic growth. In addition, the study on the determinants of Chinas FDI (outward) might suggests some appropriate factors in attracting Chinas outward FDI, which will in turn enhance the efficiency and effectiveness in the efforts or process of attracting Chinas FDI into Malaysia. Therefore, the study may assists policy makers in their decisions to enlarge or enhance certain promising areas, for example market size and human capital development in order to attract Chinas FDI into Malaysia, and thus stimulate economic growth. In short, by conducting this study, we will be able to provide more robust results on the impact of Malaysias trade openness, financial development, and most significantly Chinas FDI on Malaysias economic growth. The relationship was seldom being analyzed by previous researchers. Note that FDI is important to stimulate private investment as well as to create job opportunities. In addition, after the study, we can clarify the determinants of Chinas FDI outflows, specifically the relationship between Malaysias market size, exchange rate, human capital development (all are independent variables), and Chinas FDI outflows (the dependent variable). Lastly, the causal relationship between Chinas FDI and Malaysias economic growth can also be justified after the study. All three aspects being mentioned above are crucial in assisting policy makers to implement sound and wise policies, strategies as well as programs. Therefore, we hope that our research could contribute to the society as well a s the nation as a whole in the expansion and development of our country in order to achieve 2020 Vision and become a developed nation. 1.7) Organization of the Paper The remaining sections are organized as the followings: section 2 represents literature review, followed by section 3 which illustrates the data description and methodology being employed. Our empirical results and interpretation are in section 4 before we conclude in section 5.