An Action Plan for Settling Homeless People in Seattle

An Action Plan for Settling Homeless People in Seattle It is evident that Seattle is one of the places with the highest number of homeless people. The government has used a large amount of money in trying to deal with this problem, but no significant changes are yet to be seen.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on An Action Plan for Settling Homeless People in Seattle specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the problem of homelessness in Seattle can effectively be addressed through two major steps. This proposal addresses the steps that can be taken to solve the problem of homelessness in Seattle. What the mayor of Seattle needs to do is increase the supported housing programs that are already going on in the city. This can be done through a number of ways. Firstly, the housing programs can be improved by adding supportive services, which should be done on a long-term basis. Secondly, the office of the mayor should avail comprehensive services that cater for special gr oups such as the poor families with physically challenged members and young children. Thirdly, the community partners who are interested in taking part in reducing homelessness in Seattle should be encouraged to team up. Fourthly, the cost of renting houses in Seattle should be reduced through vouchers and other ways that can allow the poor families to secure rental space (Cnare, 2005).Advertising Looking for case study on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More An alternative to the program of increasing supportive housing is to enhance the supply of cheap and affordable shelter in Seattle. The problem of homelessness in Seattle is worsened by the lack of affordable housing units for the poor citizens in the city. The supply of affordable housing can be increased through a number ways. Firstly, this can be achieved through the creation of opportunities for building affordable housing units. Secondly, the currently available affordable housing units should be expanded to accommodate more homeless households. Thirdly, the office of the mayor should work toward ensuring that affordable houses are built and sold to homeless individuals who have access to some money. Fourthly, the existing housing market prices should be subsidized to enable these people to acquire houses (Calavita, 2011). The second way that the problem of homelessness in Seattle can be solved is through the removal of barriers that hinder people from acquiring residential houses.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on An Action Plan for Settling Homeless People in Seattle specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Firstly, the barriers can be reduced by enacting regulations that will prevent unnecessary evictions resulting from defaults in rental fees or mortgage repayments. Secondly, the people should be educated and counseled on financial matters to avoid ca ses of defaults in mortgage payments. Thirdly, the people of Seattle should be supported and assisted socially for them to lead a stable life. This may help them to view life positively and start working harder to make their lives better (Cnare, 2005). An alternative to the program involving the removal of the barriers that hinder the poor from accessing affordable housing is the creation of more job opportunities in Seattle. Unemployment is one of the major causes of homelessness in Seattle. Many people in the city are homeless because they do not have sufficient money to buy or rent a house. In this regard, the office of the mayor needs to create as many job opportunities as possible. These opportunities can be created by reducing the current recommended wage-rate to enable companies and organizations to employ more people to do the same amount of work that they normally do (Calavita, 2011). In conclusion, this action plan proposes a number of strategies that can be used to addres s the problem of homelessness in Seattle. The strategies proposed include job creation, the removal of barriers that hinder people from buying or renting houses and increasing the supply of affordable houses in the city.Advertising Looking for case study on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References Calavita, N. (2011). A review of how to house the homeless. Journal of the American Planning Association, 77(3), 298-299. Cnare, N. (2005). United ways three strategies for reducing homelessness in our community. Web.

Jacksonian Presidency Essays - Second Party System, Democracy

Jacksonian Presidency Essays - Second Party System, Democracy Jacksonian Presidency Jacksonian Presidency Summary Despite the looming effects of the Jacksonian presidency, the following only discusses the actions and results, which occurred during the Jacksonian presidency. The activation of a new presidency was accompanied by huge numbers of Hickoryites (Jacksonian supporters) and official hopefuls. Many of these hopefuls were granted their desire of holding office, which is one of the changes brought into Washington by Andrew Jackson. The major accomplishments of Jackson during his presidency pertain to his rural upbrining and democratic beliefs. Jacksons major accomplishments were his nationalization of the spoils system, his liberal application of Jeffersonian democratic policy, and his achievement of the status of president. Firstly, prior to the presidency of Andrew Jackson, the system of appointing officials was under the ideal of holding office during good behavior, which led to the holding of positions by aged and incapable politicians. Conversely, Jackson appointed officials from all w alks of life to promote the equality principles of democracy. Jackson also advocated rotation in office, which meant allow as many people serve in office for the shortest possible time for experience was discounted as a governing skill. Although these principles seem to follow the guidelines of democracy they were not entirely responsible and often the appointment of officials did not fall under these jurisdictions. The selection of officials of Jackson was in many cases the return of a financial grant during campaigning. The consideration of ability to govern, intellegence, resposiblity, etc. were ignored in the wake of compensation. Although opposites alike were granted power they were not always for the continuance of democracy. Secondly, Jefferson was the most democratic of any president at that time to come to power. In practically all areas of political application there was the existence of liberal thinking. This was especially aparent in his previously mentioned appiontment of officials. Jackson considered the roles of officials fairly simple and could and should be carried out by all people not just the members of the socially and intellectually elite. The belief of complete equality is with out a doubt Jeffersonian. Despite this already democratic view Jackson took it one step further and appointed the illiterate and plain incompetant members of society to office. This was from the influence of Jefferson and his rural upbringing in which he was at the social rump of the republic. Lastly, but of equal importance was Jacksons acheivement of president. Jackson was the very first president of the United States to have not attended college. He was completely self taught and self reliant. For someone from the backwaters of Tennessee to become president in a time of rule by the elite of the elite was revolutionary in itself. Under no other circumstances could such a leader or

Elevator pitch and technologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Elevator pitch and technologies - Essay Example There are no businesses without competitors. Every businessman aims at making profits and expanding his or her business. A lucrative business that attracts or maximizes its profits will attract a lot of competitors (Estill and Long 143). However, not every person will invest in a similar business like his or her competitor. One of the major reasons is that some competitors do not have the required capital to invest in the business. Some competitors are not ready to risk in the business like their competitors. It is not wrong to have an idea that there are no competitors. Developing an idea depends on an individual. Having and implementing an idea are two distinct factors. A unique idea depends on an individual and one is most highly going to lack competitors. However, it is a red flag in venturing into a business that you think has no competitors (Estill and Long 131). Venturing into such business has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that a successful monopoly dictates the prices in the market. No business lack competitors and when you venture into the market with a notion that there are no competitions you risk going at a loss because the prices of commodities will vary and you may enjoy the way you expected. The knowledge revolution is more inclined towards communication. The technology that we currently use would not be inexistence without the 18th century revolution. The 18th century revolution provided the foundation of the current revolution. The production of mobile phones and computers demands a lot of technological knowledge, and it has transformed from unskilled labour to skilled-based labour today. The industrial revolution has led to the birth of the current knowledge revolution because the transformation has been systematic over the years. Altering most software programs is one of the key areas software companies us to attract women to the

Bioswale final deliverable Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bioswale final deliverable - Essay Example This issue combined with the excessive rain washes contaminants from cars that drive through these areas polluting the water that remains stuck for long periods of time in these ditches.Onesolution for this problem is the construction of a Bioswale as seen in Figure 1, which is designed to remove silt and pollution from surface and runoff water by acting as a natural bio-filter. The construction of a Bioswale would also help prevent mosquito nesting and would reduce the types of fumigation toxics which are sprayed in these areas to keep the mosquito population down. We will work closely with our community partner, ERAUFacility Management, in the designing and implementation of the Bioswale. Stormwater, parking lot, rooftop and residential water runoff can cause significant pollution in various cities and residential areas. Undeveloped areas provide a means of controlling surface runoff, but when rain falls on developed areas, infiltration and absorption of water is diminished. In most developed urban areas, the stormwater carries a lot of trash, heavy metals, bacteria and other pollutants generated in urban centers, hence degrading the quality of water in the receiving water bodies. Harmel et al 8 (715) â€Å"Water is drained through the collection systems that convey the surface run off to water bodies like the rivers and lakes† . Additionally, high flows are dangerous to buildings, animals, and human beings. It can cause erosion and floods that damage properties, infrastructure, and habitats. Green infrastructure such as bioswales, permeable pavements, it has been emphasized in Booth et al 3(p 315), that planter boxes and rain gardens can be used to manage storm water and create healthier environments in urban centers† Booth et al 3 (315). â€Å"Bioswales are vegetated, mulched linear ditches designed to control stormwater through infiltration, conveyance, and filtration† (Jurries 8). They are intended to enhance the function of conveying systems by

Personal Perception of Organized Crime Paper Essay

Personal Perception of Organized Crime Paper - Essay Example Militias in Somalia which are fighting the interim government in Somalia. This type of crime is well organized such that it may involve various associations of persons such as police, politicians, business people and criminals which are formed for the purposes of generating profits. In addition, view organized crime as one of the social vices that thrives well in an enabling environment, violating human rights and hence should be discouraged at all costs. To my view, organized crime is common in urban areas but as its structure advances, it encroaches the rural areas, for instance, the 'mungiki sect' in Kenya which is well established and organized both in the rural and urban areas of the country. The definitions presented in the readings acknowledge similar organized crime activities as the ones in my perception with an exception of illegal prostitution. Both my perceptions and the definitions given concur with the unique factor about organized crime i.e. it is 'organized' or 'controlled' in the manner of their operation. Both the definitions and my perception are of the view that, organized crime flourishes through provision/supply of services and goods that command a high demand in the society. Both perceive attainment of power and profits some of the goals of the syndicated crime. The definitions in the readings recognize that organized crime operates as ongoing enterprises which work rationally so as to generate profits by pursuing illegal activities. These enterprises insure their survival through the application of force or threats, and by corrupting public officials so as to secure a degree of protection against law enforcement. The definitions in the readings acknowledge illegal prostitution as one of the organized crime activities. These definitions acknowledges that the organized crime may entail legal acts; and that the organization may take hierarchical order with positions in the chain of command and the positions involving operational specialization being assigned on the grounds of either friendship, kinship or rational assignment based on skills(Sullivan, 2002). The definitions acknowledge attainment of pride and protection as being additional goals of the organized crime. The definitions acknowledge that members of an organized crime association who actively pursue its goals and to maintain the integral of the enterprise assume permanency. To maintain the discipline or to achieve the ends, members express and exercise willingness to use or engage in bribery and/or corruption. The definitions also note that membership of the organized crime enterprises is restricted and that nonmembers might be involved usually on an emergency/contingency basis. According to the definition of organized crime by Abadinski (1990), as quoted by Lunde (2004), "There are explicit rules, oral or written, which are enforced by sanctions that include murder (p.6). The definitions also note that the structure of an organized/syndicated crime relies on its particular illegal activity. According to Best and Luckenbill, as quoted by Lyman and Gary (2004), 'despite syndicated crime being highly organized, a particular syndicate involved in illegal trafficking of drugs will have a d ifferent structure as compared to a syndicated crime engaging in illegal prostitut

Stability of Islamic and Conventional Banks

Stability of Islamic and Conventional Banks 1. Ratio Analysis The performance and the stability of banks can be quantified and measured through the analysis of their financial ratios. We can have several hundreds of ratios at our disposal. However, we will use only those that are common, and of some meaning for the analysis of the banks. Also, it is important to note that we should use only major and comparable ratios in order to fully understand the financial position of these banks as compared to all those ratios that may include some vagueness in the research. Mainly five categories of these financial ratios are used to eliminate the vagueness created by redundant use of the financial heads and items from the financial statements. Hence, the five categories are: (CFA 2009, p498): Profitability Ratios Activity Ratios Liquidity Ratios Solvency Ratios Valuation Ratios However, for the banking industry, which is our main concern, we will use only the first four categories, making an exception of the Valuation category. The financial stability department of the State Bank of Pakistan, which is the central bank of this major economy in the Muslim world, and actively involved in the promotion of Islamic Banking, suggests that the financial ratios fairly reflect the stability, health and the performance of the banks. Hence, these ratios can be used for our purpose. 2. Z-score Instead of just doing the Financial Ratios Analysis, we should also do the analysis of the banks insolvency risk, which is measured by the z-score. This will be done for both the categories of banking systems: Islamic Banks; as well as the Commercial Banks. The statistic based on z-score is calculated with the help of the data on the banks expected profits, the riskiness or the variation in such profits and the capital base of the bank. In other words, the following variables help to calculate the z-score and test it, we need the profit margin, its likelihood of occurrence and the shareholders equity available to compensate in case of the negative margins (losses). A z-score represents the number of standard deviations by which the return on asset have to decrease in order to incur a loss (a negative return). Z-scores can be measured by the following formula: z = (ROA+CAP)/ÏÆ' (ROA) where: ROA (Return on Assets) = Net Income / Total Assets; CAP (Capital to Asset Ratio) = Equity / Total Assets; and ÏÆ' (ROA) = standard deviation of return on assets (proxy for the variation of return). According to the formula, the higher z-score means that the equity base and the return added on it is much higher than the potential risk to the earnings as measured by the standard deviations. Hence, such usage of the z-score testing as the test for measuring risk is recommended by many researches in the field. By the definition of the z-score here, it can be said that it directly relates to the probability of a banks insolvency. It is necessary to evaluate and understand the extent to which Islamic banks are risky as compared to conventional banks. Z-scores will play an integral role in helping us identify the risk profile of Islamic banks. 3. Regression One of the most extensively used statistical measure of conformity is the use of regression and correlation. The extent to which two different datasets match in terms of moving together is evaluated by a regression analysis. This context will look closely at how the dataset we obtained for Islamic and conventional banks will be moving in tandem with the GDP and inflation (CPI) of their respective countries. A pooled regression test will be used to perform the respective tests and statistics generated from the regression such as the R-squared value will be used to make judgments on the relationship between the profitability and growth of Islamic and conventional banks with respect to their national growth and inflation. This test is extremely as it is crucial to understand the synchronization of growth of these banks with their national economies. It would be difficult to make pre-assumptions about either Islamic or conventional banks however, it has generally been seen that while conventional banks were wiped of several billions of dollars, Islamic banks stood their ground and even grew in some countries. Thus, bearing this in mind, a pooled regression test will enable us to identify the polarity of growth of Islamic and conventional banks with their respective economies. Chapter Four: 1.1 Financial Ratio Analysis: Financial statement analysis involves comparing the firms performance with that of other firms in the same industry. In this research, we are comparing banks with banks but having two categories within the banking industry: Islamic banks and the conventional banks. Ratio analysis also involves evaluating trends of the financial position of the firm over a time period. The ratio analysis of the firms financial statements helps the management of the firm to identify problems and deficiencies and then to take actions to try to improve performance. It also helps the decision makers to make operational as well as strategic decisions that would help the firm over a long period of time. Financial statements mainly comprises of the balance sheet, the income statement and the cash flow statement. The balance sheet and the cash flow statement both report the firms position at a given point of time. It gives the situation in which the company is standing at that point of time. And the income statement tells about the performance of the companys operations over a certain time period, usually a year. In other words, the financial statement analysis is useful to help anticipate the future conditions and as a starting point for planning actions that will improve the firms future performance. But with these lengthy and complicated financial statements, it is really time consuming for the decision makers and other stake holders to confer something. Hence, the financial ratios are used to help evaluate the financial statements. These ratios are taken from the break down elements of the financial statements. These ratios are easy to read and understand rather than the whole financial statements. Profitability Ratios Profitability is what every firm is seeking. The higher the profitability, the better is the performance of a bank. The profitability ratios show the combined effects of the liquidity, the asset management, and debt on the operations of the company as the profit is what comes out in the end of the income statement and this profit is what is mainly desired by the ownership and the management of a firm. One of the most important and most often looked at category of the ratios is the profitability ratios. These ratios are integral in that they help us estimate the degree to which revenues are converted into profits. A bank may be earning extremely high revenues in comparison to its competitors however, its profitability may be low signifying a lower efficiency. On the other extreme, a low earning bank may have a higher profitability signifying a greater efficiency. Thus, it is important to compare the relative profitability of the two bank streams and analyse them over several years data. Return on Assets: The performance of the firm is often and most commonly looked at through the ratio of net income (return) to total assets. In simple words, return on assets shows that what the company is getting out as net profits from its investment in the assets of the business. The assets in a companys statements are valued on the basis of original cost. Furthermore, the total return is usually the sum of the net income and the interest paid if any on the borrowings, as it is assumed that the assets may be financed by the borrowings. Banks also do have assets employed in their business, including the loans they have offered to the customers. The return is usually the spread between the rate of borrowings and deposits, which is net of all expenses incurred. In case of Islamic banks, the net income is the net profit earned from the investments through different financial instruments such as mudarbah, murabaha, musharakah, ijarah, etc. and the assets of the Islamic banks also comprise of the investments in different schemes through Islamic modes of financing. It can be seen from the graph that the conventional banks experienced a rise in the ROAA (Return on Average Assets) during the booming period from 2002 till 2007. However, in 2007, it started to decline and has been declining since. But, during this same period, ROA for the Islamic Banks have been rising on average. Although, the financial crisis in 2007 hit both banking systems, Islamic banks experienced a relatively lesser impact. It has fallen from 2.6 in 2007 to around 2.1 in 2009. The conventional banks on average were at their peak in 2006 at almost 2.5 and since then, its been falling and has reached 1.6 in 2009. The overall decline of the conventional banks is far greater than the decline in ROAA of the Islamic Banks. Return on Equity: Shareholders, the real owners of the company, are mainly concerned about the return on the equity they have invested in the business. They need to know the profitability of their investment in the company. Hence, the net profit of the company is measured as a ratio of the equity the shareholders have invested in this ratio. The main difference in the return on assets and the return on equity is that usually, the assets are financed by both the investors (such as shareholders) and the lenders (such as the banks); and the equity reflects only the investment by the shareholders. Hence, this measure shows the rate at which the company is returning the investment to its shareholder (in absolute terms and not in cash terms, as cash is paid out in form of dividends). In terms of the banks, the equity will be the shareholders money that they have invested in the bank to make it running. This will not include any loans that the banks management has obtained for its operations or assets. If this measure is giving out high results, it means that investing in a bank as a shareholder is a profitable venture. It can be seen from the graph that from our sample of banks, the conventional banks are slightly returning a better amount than the Islamic banks especially after the crisis of 2007. In this regard, we can say that the Islamic banks have taken a bigger impact as their average Return on Average Equity (ROAE) have fallen from 25 in 2006 to around 11 in 2009 as compared to conventional banks having 26 in 2006 and falling to around 16 in 2009. There can be several possible reasons for such results. It could be that after the crisis, the investments in equity for the Islamic banks have risen, or fallen for the conventional banks. It may be possible that the investors have seen Islamic banks as a safe haven and have taken out their money from conventional banks and put it into the Islamic banks as its equity. However, it could also be possible that with so many closures in the conventional banking, the competition is thinned out and the remaining banks are making higher profits than they would have been when there was more competition. There may be one or more explanations for such results however, the most popular of these is that the very basis that caused the credit crunch crisis was not influential in the operations of an Islamic bank and thus left them unscathed to a great extent. Efficiency Ratios: Efficiency of a company can be measured in many different ways. One of the basic indicator of efficiency is that how much of the earnings are used up as expenses. The ratio of expenses to earnings shows how much is the company efficient. If the ratio is low, then it is considered to be very efficient. If its high, then there must be some problem with the company. If it is high for the whole industry, then it can be seen that the industry is not very profitable. If the ratio is near to one, it signifies serious problems for a company, be it a bank or not. This is because if the earnings and expenses are closer to each other, then there is little room for the profits and denotes that the bank is not able to manage its operations efficiently leading to a very small net profit margin. This would definitely put off investors and is highly undesirable. Hence, the lower the ratio, the better it is. It can be seen that this ratio is quite low for the conventional banks as compared to the Islamic banks, especially after 2004. The conventional banks efficiency is being steadied even during the financial crisis. The expenses are hovering to around 40 percent of the earnings, which is reasonably lower than for the Islamic banks. When looking at the Islamic banks, the expenses rose from 40 percent in 2004 to 80 percent in 2005 and slowly falling back to 60 percent during the financial crisis but staying there during 2009 as well. Hence it is also possible to see that the Islamic banks efficiency have improved during this period as this ratio has fallen significantly. However, in this regard, the Islamic banks are not as efficient as the conventional banks. But we will also not ignore the fact that our sample does not represent the whole Islamic banking industry or the conventional banking industry and the results may be completely different for different samples. Assets Turnover (a type of Activity Ratio): The asset turnover ratio indicates how hard and efficiently the firms assets are being put to use. It is also known as the sales-to-assets ratio. It shows that what each dollar of assets has produced in terms of total revenue (or sales). â€Å"Sales† in the banking industry has different names. For conventional banks, the net interest income is used instead of sales. This is the interest earned from lending minus the interest given out on deposits. However, for Islamic banks, the interest-free system, the net profit on investments of different modes of Islamic finance is used as revenue. This is the major differing element of the income statements of the two systems. From the results of this ratio, it can be seen that the Islamic banks and the conventional banks have a very close and similar trend before the financial crisis as the asset turnover keep on rising till 2006. However, this is worth noting that the ratio for Islamic banks remained a bit higher than that of conventional banks. After the 2007 crisis, the conventional banks asset turnover fell sharply from around 0.08 in 2006 to around 0.055 in 2009. Whereas for Islamic banks; this ratio fell from around 0.089 in 2006 to 0.08 in 2009. Hence, the turnover for Islamic banks was not much affected by the crisis. This result may prove worthwhile to note that Islamic banks were having less risk during the financial crisis than the conventional banks. Though insignificant at the moment, this can be an important dimension in future studies involving Islamic banks and conventional as it provides insight into the risk profile of Islamic banks viz-a-viz conventional banking. Financial Leverage: Solvency ratio shows the financial leverage of a firm. When a firm requires money more than the equity it has risen from its shareholders and from within the business, it needs to borrow. This borrowing can be from anyone including the bank. However, usually it is required to give out fixed rate as interest payment regardless of whether that money is properly utilized and gained from or not. Whether the company is in profit or loss, the interest payments on the debt has to be given out. If the profit is high, the shareholders gain as the leftover profit after interest payments goes to them. However, in case of loss, the shareholders bear the burden as well because the interest payment still has to be paid. Because of this debt increasing the profit rate to shareholders in good times and reducing it in bad times, this debt is said to create financial leverage. Debt to Equity Ratio: The debt to equity ratio is a clear measure of the percentage that a company is indebted to the external sources. It gives out the rate at which the debt is as a multiple of the equity. If the debt is less than the shareholders equity, than this ratio would be less than 1. But if there is more external debt than internal equity, than this ratio will exceed 1. And this could be really problematic for a company. However, in todays world, high debt to equity ratio is considered normal. For a bank, whether a conventional bank or an Islamic bank, this ratio just indicates the ratio of the actual owners to the external lenders. However, in case of crisis, it is usually seen that the banks to go out of the business first had a high debt to equity ratio. Islamic banks usually tend to have lower debt indebted to them. As their core principle of interest free banking may not be fulfilled if they take on debt on interest. So all the debt they have is interest free and such type of debt is difficult to obtain. However, according to the result of this ratio here shows that Islamic banks debt to equity ratio rose significantly during 2004-2005 and was nearly equal to conventional banks ratio, but then it steadied around 1.6 during the financial crisis and after it. On the other hand, during this time period this ratio for conventional banks rose to 2.6 in 2007. And then the effect of the crisis took over and it fell to around 2.1 in 2009. It can be realized from this result that the shock of the crisis made the conventional banks realized that they have stretched too far from how they should be financing themselves. Hence, either they started to pay off their debts to reduce the risk of bankruptcy or the lenders started to get strict control over them. On the other hand, the Islamic banks were more relaxed as they did not have high debts to fear from and continued keeping a similar debt to equity ratio. Liquidity Ratios: Liquidity ratios are the indication for the company to know how much current assets there are to deal with the liabilities. In case of the banks, it shows how much loans are there to give out from the deposits available. Total Loans / Total Deposits: Banks give out loans to the customers (borrowers) are assets as they are receivables. Whereas, the deposits taken from the customers (depositors) are liabilities as they are payables to the depositors upon their request. Deposit is the property of the depositors; hence its the liability on the bank to pay the depositors back their money. This ratio for banks is similar to the current ratio used for other firms. It is similar to the ratio of current assets to the current liabilities. Hence, we can see that for Islamic banks, this ratio is lower than that of the conventional banks. This may be because many different financial instruments are used to finance those who want the funding. So many Islamic banks may not show all the investments as current assets or loans in this case. Also, it may be possible that perhaps a higher profit rate is charged by the Islamic banks as compared to the interest rate charged by the conventional banks and people are reluctant to fulfil their financing needs from Islamic banks in order to avoid higher rates to pay back. As the Islamic banks are growing and gaining consumer confidence, it may also be possible that the people are depositing their savings in Islamic banks much more than they are using its money for their financing needs, for a time being. Here, it is worth noting that the financial crisis did not affect this rate significantly for both the banking systems. Total Loans / Total Assets: As discussed above, total loans can be termed as current assets as they are the receivables. Hence, this ratio is about how much part of the total assets is this receivable loan. For the sample on hand, it is worth noting that the loan to total assets ratio for the conventional banks have slowly declined during the years and not affected significantly by the crisis. However, in the same time period, this ratio for Islamic banks has risen slowly. This may show that other assets for Islamic banks have reduced as compared to main current receivable assets. Growth Analysis: Growth analysis is the analysis used to measure and compare the growth rate of a company for different heads of accounts. It could be growth in sales, growth in assets, growth in liabilities, etc. Deposits Growth: First of all, we will look at the growth of the deposits. Although the deposits for banks are the liabilities, it shows the demand for the bank by the customers. If more and more customers start depositing in a bank, the bank is said to be growing in terms of customer base. In other words, the demand for the bank is rising. From the graph taken from the sample, it can clearly be seen that the growth rate of deposits have risen sharply for the Islamic banks. However, there is a major dip after the financial crisis from 35% to 25% in 2008. But after that, it has risen back to around 34% in 2009. In case of the conventional banks, there has been a growth in the deposits, but much slower than the Islamic banks. Also, there is a major dip in growth rate from around 24% in 2006 to around 11% in 2007. And moreover, the recovery that Islamic banks have shown after the crisis was nowhere to be found in our sample of conventional banks. The deposit growth rate rose from around 11% in 2007 to just around 14% in 2009 as compared to 34% for Islamic banks. Equity Growth: The equity growth directly shows the investors (shareholders) confidence as the deposit growth showed the customer confidence in the bank. Hence, it can be said that this ratio directly measures the success of a bank because if the bank is getting success, the shareholders (investors) will be putting in more money as equity to get higher returns in terms of profits. For our sample of the banks from the two systems, we can see that there are ups and downs during the sample time period. Initially, both the conventional banks and the Islamic banks equity growth have risen till 2005. But much before the crisis happened in 2007, there was a fall in investors confidence since 2005 for the conventional banks. This has been shown by the sharp decline in the equity growth from around 49% in 2005 to a mere 12% in 2007 for the conventional banks. But after that there was a sharp increase next year and then it again fell in 2009. But when we see at the Islamic banks, their equity growth was at its highest during 2006 and 2007 at around 55% when this rate was having a free fall for the conventional banks. However, the equity growth rate for Islamic banks also had a major drop in the aftermath of the crisis in 2008 when it dropped to around 22% but then bounced back in 2009. It is worth noting that the growth rate for the last year have increased for the Islamic banks and decreased for the conventional banks, thus setting out a trend for investors confidence in favour of the Islamic banks. From this financial ratio analysis, it can be observed that the Islamic banks were affected lesser than the conventional banks. 1.2 Z-Scores In this case, z-score is the test for financial stability of the two systems. Conven z-score Islamic z-score Overall Avg z-score 2002 7.046525 11.84681784 9.446672 2003 5.77853 4.605240229 5.191885 2004 10.33028 4.238655854 7.284467 2005 8.640415 4.21893723 6.429676 2006 10.80977 9.34741143 10.07859 2007 7.954082 12.91780713 10.43594 2008 6.356607 4.69090727 5.523757 2009 6.103882 5.737315593 5.920599 Avg 7.877512 7.200386572 7.538949 The table above shows the summary of z-scores for both the banking systems and the overall z-score as an average of both. There are some surprising results here. The z-score for Islamic banks is a little less than that of the conventional banks even though the results of the financial ratio analysis showed that the Islamic banks were exposed to less risk as compared to the conventional banks during this period, especially the period of financial crisis. In other words, the conventional banks are a little more financially stable than the Islamic banks. Looking at the trend of the z-scores during our sample time period, the graph shows that on overall, conventional banks z-score was higher thus showing that they were more insolvent as compared to the Islamic banks. However, it can be seen that there was a fall in z-score before and during the crisis in 2006 and 2007 for conventional banks and only during this period, the Islamic banks were less risky. However, the dip in the aftermath of the crisis for the Islamic banks showed that they became riskier especially after the crisis in 2008 and 2009. It is worth noting here that in 2009, the z-score for the conventional banks has a downward trend and for Islamic banks, it is rising. Hence, in the future, it may be predicted when the things get stabled that the Islamic banks would become less risky and more financially stable. Conventional Islamic ROA Equity/Assets Z-Score ROA Equity/Assets Z-Score Average 2.03 0.08 7.88 2.10 0.10 7.20 In the table above, the average results are shown. There is a higher return on assets for the Islamic bank during the period on average, and also a higher share of equity in assets as compared to the conventional banks. However, the z-score on average is lower for Islamic banks as compared to the conventional banks thus telling that even though there is less ROA and equity share in the assets for the conventional banks, they are more stable financially and have lesser risk for solvency. However, as mentioned earlier, there is a rising trend for the Islamic banks at the moment. Hence, once the dust settles down, we can have a clearer picture of the future of the two systems. However, the slight variations in the z-score do not differentiate the financial stability of the two banking systems by very much. Hence, it would be unwise to conclude something here at this point of time. 1.3 Regression Analysis Overall Regression: SUMMARY OUTPUT Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.803713 R Square 0.645954 Adjusted R Square 0.173893 Standard Error 1.94228 Observations 8

I Was Mugged Essays -- Personal Narrative, essay about myself

I was mugged tonight. It was about 11pm, and I was walking home from the gym, and for some reason I decided to the Other Route. I walked down Valencia to 15th instead of 14th, and headed down the block that's supposed to be one of the worst in the city, along the side of the Valencia Street Projects. It was a beautiful, warm night, and tons of people were hanging out outside. It looked like a few drug deals were being had, but usually no one hassles me. I was wearing my torn up jeans jacket that I bought 13 years ago in high school, my jogging shorts and old Nikes, and my hair was all messy. How the hell could I have looked like a person with money? I was walking down this one particular block, thinking to myself, "wow, racism is bad." And then I thought about how this block was one of the first things that people warned me about when I moved into my hood, and how mad at me my ex-boyfriend John would be if he knew I was walking down that street, and how my parents would be pissed, and how really, logically speaking, it was a pretty stupid thing to do. But I made eye contact with one dude who was pretty cute and he smiled at me and I smiled at him and I kept walking, thinking, "well, there are some cute people in the projects." I wa... ...ds them. "You pathetic losers! You got my money, but you don't have my pride." (Sure it is a clichà ©, but hell, give me some credit, I did just get mugged!) "You two are the losers for doing that!" Why bother filing a report? These skinny kids have enough problems without having the cops go in there and remind them how desperate and lacking in dignity they are. In the war between good and evil, it is not always who walks away with the goods, but the who deserved them in the first place, and how they were attained. So I trotted home to write this up. Thirty bucks for a story to tell. Not a bad deal, really.

Speedo LZR Racer

The Speedo LZR Racer is made from a unique lightweight, water repellent, and fast-drying fabric that has been developed to reduce drag and help hold the swimmer’s body in a more streamlined shape. Following three years of research that included input from NASA, tests on more than 100 different fabrics and suit designs and body scans of more than 400 elite swimmers, Speedo has launched its most hydro-dynamically advanced – and fastest – swimsuit to date. The specially engineered, highly flexible fabric called LZR PULSE is ultrasonically welded to appear seamless.It takes about 20 minutes to put the LZR Racer swimsuit on. The material is made to be skin tight on your body making it feel like nothing is pulling you back when swimming. When putting on the suit you have to make sure not to use your fingertips or fingernails also to grip the panels not the fabric. Start of by getting the suit out of the box and starting at the feet. At the bottom of the edges where the feet go flip the inside liner out that is what makes sure that the suit doesn’t ride up when kicking at a fast paced speed.Put a plastic bag over your foot and gradually pull the suit over your foot do the same to the other foot. Inch by inch grip the panels and gradually pull up your body. Once you have it over your knees it will be a lot harder to get over the back side do not grab the sides make sure you scrunch it up on both sides and gently but sternly grip the sides make sure your thumb is not pointed in and slowly move up. As you get over the backside, smooth the bottom making sure the panels are facing forward, and where the V starts it should be right at your hipbone. Next, carefully place your arms through the arm folds.Adjust everything from hip up making sure the front part where the stomach is that they are lined up forward. You will now need to people to help you zipper it up. Grasp the sides of the suit and pull them towards each other from bottom up next have one person grasp both sides of the suit and hold them together closer to each other as the other person pulls the zipper up. Make sure you zip up the back in sections and not all at once and when to let go each time of the zipper to put it facing down so it does not move when re grasping the suits sides. When all the way up make the swimmer end over and run your finger across the zipper teeth making sure there were not any bumps or where the teeth did not grasp together. Check the arm folds and pull them up towards the pit. Make sure everything feels good other than the tightness. Fix the liner part by your feet by making sure the liner is touching you actual skin. The LZR Racer is made to be a tight-skinned lightweight material that makes you repellent in the water the material feels like paper when you touch it but when on its light and breath taking. So when putting it on go from bottom up slowly and gently making it up to top.

The eNotes Blog If Youre Going to Procrastinate, You Better Do ItRight

If Youre Going to Procrastinate, You Better Do ItRight A little unorthodox advice from a fellow studentour intern. There’s winter, spring, summer, and fall†¦ And then there’s midterm season. For us quarter-system kids, the time is now. (For you semester kids, don’t pity us- they’re coming for you.) If you’re in college, you know this is one of the worst times of the year. It feels like you’re being pummeled by hail until you’re curled up in the fetal position and simultaneously being burned by blaring sunlight shining through holes in the ozone. And   then maybe being stung by a jellyfish. Somehow, we prevail, though, and keep on chugging through until the next exam season rolls around. We’re really awesome when it comes to making it out alive. What we aren’t good at is studying â€Å"efficiently.† If you are not a procrastinator, congratulations. You’re awesome. I respect you. I literally don’t know how you do it, and I don’t think I ever will. But I want to give you some props. So, here. ::gives props:: Most of us though†¦ we’re world class procrastinators. Spoiler alert: I’m not going to write about ways to change procrastination behaviors. For us tried and true procrastinators, changing the habit is not a process that can occur over night (like cramming)- it’s going to take a lot of work. MTV Intervention style work. And since you’re likely already amidst the test season, there’s no turning back now to try and fix your situation, because you’ve already dug yourself a nice, fat hole. So for the 95% of the population that falls prey to this habit, I thought I’d talk about some ways to really get the most out of your procrastinating. If you’re going to procrastinate, you might as well do it well and with style. These tips will make you the talk of the library. Television. You could catch up on all those sitcoms you watch. But if you want to up your game, you should really start watching a new show entirely. For maximum exploitation of this procrastination period, I would recommend shows that have at least 3 seasons, can be watched on Netflix or HBOgo and even Hulu (if you don’t mind the obnoxious advertisements about car insurance). If you don’t have subscriptions to these sites, the person next to you probably does. Make new friends†¦and then exploit them for their subscriptions. Go through your list of New Years Resolutions and try to bring them all to fruition in an expedited fashion. Need to be healthier? Why not spend 7 hours at the gym taking every class they offer that day, or maybe hang out in the produce section of the grocery store, carefully selecting the fruits and vegetables you need to create the healthy feast you’re about to cook (which will take another 3 hours). Want to travel more? Get on a bus and just, you know, get off at a random stop. Then find your way home (This can also help with a â€Å"get to know the city you live in† resolution). StumbleUpon. Get an account. Waste an entire afternoon. Excellent. YouTube. Don’t stop. We all get caught up in the recommended videos in that darned sidebar. Why fight it? Watch all of them. Especially the tutorial and challenge ones, which you must obviously watch and also perform yourself. Oh! And read the troll comments. You have to read the troll comments. N64. You don’t even need to get off your couch for this one. Those hobbies you dropped back in the day because, I don’t know, band became â€Å"un-cool† and your art teacher scared you- pick them up again, and do them until you are just as good as you were back in the day. Clarinets are going to be making such a huge comeback. Sleep Read for pleasure. Les Miserables is over 1000 pages, and then there’s always encyclopedias and the dictionary. Buy the entire contents of your nearest grocery or convenience store, and eat each item in succession. No one can eat and study at the same time. It’s scientific fact. You can even do this one with friends. Remember all those things you had to do that you kept putting off that don’t have to do with school? They’re lookin’ pretty good right now. Who doesn’t love laundry? And then you just cram. Cram like the wind. Do anything you can to stay awake and absorb every bit of that information you didn’t even take in when it was first presented to you in lecture (because you were sleeping). Caffeine is your friend, water (thrown at face) is your friend, uncomfortable chairs are your friends, is your friend (shameless plug). Your bed is your enemy, pillows are your enemy, thoughts about things that aren’t your exam are your enemy. You know the drill. You’ve got it down pat. Really, though†¦ you should try not to procrastinate. You won’t learn as much. †¦ But if you do procrastinate, I mean†¦ just do it right. In life, you really should always give your all. You don’t want to be the kind of person who only gives 50%. It’s time to step it up and reach your true potential. You came to college for a reason, right? Procrastinate like it’s what you were born to do. I have to go watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, now (it’s the extended edition), so I’ll leave you with this one line to rule them all: I have faith in you.

oceans 11 essays

oceans 11 essays Oceans Eleven was made in 1960. The major stars in the movie were Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, Richard Conte, and Caesar Romero. This was a great movie and was good at reflecting its time, the 50s and early 60s. Forty one years later, this movie is remade. The major stars in the new film were George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Matt Damon, and Bernie Mac. This Movie was also great and also was an excellent reflection of its time, the new millennium. There are many differences and similarities between the two movies, yet it is still hard for me to say which one I like better. Both movies had a common theme. A group of very smart men get a way with crime. Both movies have guys in suits that are good talkers, good with the ladies, and are very smart and cunning. One main difference in the theme is that in the first one a group of war heroes use there training for crime. Throughout the movie, they refer to the heist as a mission, they move as if they are always covering each others backs, and they even refer the city as the combat zone. The army trains our men to have skills that they can abuse after the war. That was the message the first movie was trying to relay. The Second movie was made in a completely different era. It didnt have the same time of tone setters. The first movie did a good job of using music to portray mood. I noticed special music when a character would be confused, surprised, sad, or enlightened. A good example is at the end of the movie. They are at a funeral and there is this noise that keeps getting louder. The suspense is unbearable. Finally, the audience realizes that the sound is the money being burned. The second movie did not have this type of tone. There wasnt music to set moods. Instead, it was left to the actors to set the moods on their own. It worked because the second movie, l ...

Week 10 Cis 329 technical paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Week 10 Cis 329 technical paper - Essay Example (Northcutt, 2002) Companies must be cautious of security breaches. They should follow best practices, which include having policies in place to take care of any incidents of security breaches. They should able to detect what information has been mishandled and decide who the proper monitoring authorities are and whom they can report to. Affected clients should also be alerted. The main task is to help advance security of the company’s IT infrastructure after a chain of network security breaches. These breaches comprises of someone getting in to the network who is not authorized , and accredited users being requested for their passwords by anonymous person claiming to work in the companies department. The senior systems administrator in this company will work and be able to bring together a team of systems administrators including other members of the IT (information technology) staff. His/her precise duties are going to vary depending on the area that the institution focuses on. The senior systems administrator will maintain the computer systems of the company, and offer hardware support to personal computers and other peripherals for the office workforces. The position requires that they purchase different parts for the computer network. In addition, training and supervising prospective IT employees falls under the senior administrator’s jo b description. (Northcutt, 2002) Information technology system lapses and breaches of data security may disrupt the Company’s capacity to function in the customary course of operation by potentially triggering delays or termination of customer orders, blocking the manufacture of goods, or causing the unpremeditated disclosure of Company information. Management has engaged in steps to address these concerns for its own systems by executing important network security and in-house controls. (Conti, 2007) Information system security is the practice of defending information from

Analysis Assessment Task-Look, A Book Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis Assessment Task-Look, A Book - Essay Example The picture is so important that sometimes words are dropped and pictures alone are sued to tell the story. Picture books are so important  and they have become so common and are used to deal with controversial and complex issues important to a mature audience. The books are also important in promoting core values useful in curriculum. the books also enhance thoughtful thinking in arrange of issues. Which is important in helping students attain visual literacy which is great value to English Learning Picture books have several qualities. As an aesthetic for example, different elements are often used to illustrate the aesthetic part of the picture. These include color, lines, shape, texture and sometimes, page breaks and turns, borders and breaking the frame, relationship of words and picture, and connection of other works of art. The illustrations in the picture book are meant to be seen in sequence. However, it is only possible to see one at a time. Color as has natural associatio ns. Red, for example is a symbol   for excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate.    Pink symbolizes love and romance, caring, tenderness, acceptance and calm. Ivory symbolizes quiet and pleasantness. Beige symbolizes calm and simplicity. Yellow symbolizes, joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard and friendship. Blue symbolizes  peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression, appetite suppressant.    Turquoise symbolizes calm. Purple symbolizes royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, and mourning.    Lavender symbolizes femininity, grac e and elegance. Orange symbolizes energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention.   Green symbolizes nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigor. Brown symbolizes,  earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort. Grey symbolizes  security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring. Silver symbolizes calm. White symbolizes, reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern cultures), cold, clinical. Black symbolizes, power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good technical co lor, mourning, death (Western cultures).   Illustrator’s use of these associations will therefore depend on their cultural background. Colors have three aspects; hue, tone and saturation. Unlike in novels in which words flow from one page to the other, the page  breaks are considered very important in picture books. Authors, illustrators and editors, pay close attention to the page breaks. Babra. B, (1976), suggests that the page breaks bring about the excitement and aesthetic of a picture book. The picture book, Look A BOOK! by Libby