Raphael’s Triumph of Galatea from 1512

Art is interesting because it is simultaneously distinct and contextual: great art stands on its own, but it also stands in the shadow of that which has come before, and serves as the guiding light to cast the shadows of that which will come after it. Two paintings which share a number of similarities and differences are Raphael’s Triumph of Galatea from 1512 and Bronzino’s Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time from 1546. Each work concentrates on representing mythological characters and events, and concerns itself with notions of love.However, Raphel’s work represents love and beauty as archetypal, more abstract concepts, where Bronzino’s work has achieved both fame and infamy for its sexual overtones, emphasizing erotic love. Raphael’s painting is a fresco, and uses more washed-out colors to represent the dream-like aspect of the events: even as Galatea is on the cusp of divination, the world becomes less real to her, and more dream-like, which is what th e painting attempts to emphasize.Bronzino’s work emphasizes flesh-colors to bring out the striking nudity of its characters, as well as the barely-concealed sexual nature of the proceedings. Bronzino draws the eye to the sexual proceedings between Cupid and Venus by putting Venus in the foreground, which contrasts quite well with Raphael’s focus on the nymph: while she is centered and obviously the focus of the work (the eyes are inevitably drawn to her), but she is drawn to the same scale (relative to the viewer) as the other mythological figures of the work.Additionally, while each work uses mythological characters, each does so to a very different end: in focusing on ascension to divinity, Raphael concentrates on this event as the culmination of earthly beauty becoming transcendent†¦something to which even we mere mortals can aspire. By contrast, Bronzino’s work serves an allegorical function: the borderline incestuous events that are being enacted by Ve nus and Cupid are being overseen by Folly (looking pleased, as an unsubtle indicator that their action is a foolish one) and a horrified Father Time.Other characters are in similar â€Å"reaction shots† of shock and horror. While both Raphael and Bronzino were Italian, their works were products of very different cultural movements. The allegorical art of Bronzino is the textbook ideal of Mannerism: it is intellectual and thought-provoking while at the same time drawing attention to the artificial nature of what is being portrayed.Arguably, such works function more as spectacle than art, as part of the work’s power lies not within the work itself, but in the reaction it engenders from others. Raphael, of course, epitomized the use of the fresco: being painted to complement the opulence of a home, it focuses on the aspects that the rich commissioner wishes to see in himself (the intersection between earthly existence and spiritual divinity is, of course, featured in the home of someone who earnestly hopes their earthly wealth can be tempered by spiritual riches).Obviously, Raphael and Bronzino utilized different mediums in different time periods to represent different events. However, it is striking how, regarding subject matter, each one approached things so differently. Raphael treated the mythological characters with an almost historical focus, and chose to highlight the spirituality and divinity of a single mythological event.Bronzino’s work takes on the nature of a grotesque hypothetical, and serves to remind cultured art aficionados that the decadence of the mythological characters that they so love is nothing to be admired or emulated. Each artist, however, was concerned with what beauty was, whether that answer is spiritual or simple practical: whether it concerns transcendent godly love or simple earthly passion. In the debate between these two points of view, the substance of their art lives forever.

Prison Is Not a Cure for Crime Essay

There has been a great deal written about the fact that the number of crimes have dramatically increased in recent years. Educators have debated whether criminals should be put in jail or not. One idea that has received much attention is that prison plays an important role to reduce criminals. This essay will explain that prison is a cure for crime as fas as punishment for offenders and transformation of criminals into better citizens are concerned. One of the most important reasons why prison is a cure for crimes is that it is a punishment for culprits. For one thing, when someone commits a crime or does not obey to the law, he must be punished. In other words, offenders have to pay because of their wrong behaviours. For example, one of my friends who has committed a serious offence such as assault must spend a long time in jail. In addition to this, a long-term prison sentence will act as a deterrent for someone who is thinking about committing a crime. For another, innocent citizens will be hurt by culprits if government do not lock them into cells. Many countries use prisons like a tool in order to isolate and separate criminals from community. Public will live under constant fear when culprit’s have freedom outside prison. For instance, it would be difficult for an ordinary person if a murderer is living next to his door instead of in jail. Another reason is that the crucial purpose of prison is rehabilitation of criminals. First,many researchers claim that prison is a place where offenders have an opportunity to learn to be responsible for their mistakes. If someone behaves badly/ , other people should allow them to see what they have done is guilty whilst in prison, where they will learn how to prevent themselves from the evils. Criminals should be educated in prison in order to be sure they can be more and aware of their actions and not to re-offend. Also, jail provides culprits some skills in which they will be able to gradually make their way back into society without being discriminated for their work. For example, my close relative was sentenced for two years in jail when he committed multiple thefts. In prison, he realized several/ quite a few valuable lessons about life. After his release/ being released, his in-prison education/ training and skills helped him to turn into a good citizen. It is clear that priso n serves a great purpose to the community when criminals are steered in the right direction as well. Opponents of imprisonment may claim that prison is a convenient environment to help criminals learn a lot of skills to commit even more severe crimes. Moreover, the fact that governments put offenders to jail does not help to decrease the number of ctiminals. They have a point in thinking like that. On the other hand, they forget why we should put criminals to jail. The answer for this question is the more freedom offenders have, the more serious evils are conducted. For these reasons, jail is the best solution to limitation of crimes in the community. In conclusion, it is undenianle that prison serves a function in educating criminals. First, it helps to turn bad people into good ones before giving them the socond chance to rehabilitate. Furthermore, those who are guilty deserve the serve punishment so as not to re-offend. If this trend continues, the work will be a much safer place to live in and parents will be no longer frightened of the evils awaiting for their children.

Nanotechnology benefits and effects in military application Essay

Nanotechnology benefits and effects in military application - Essay Example Various debates have been held by different researching groups and governments to discuss the implications of nanotechnology in future. This is because the technology has a potential of creating many materials and devices that have wide applications in fields such as energy, medicine, military, engineering, computing and electronics. In fact, the military field started early to appreciate the significance of nanotechnology and expects more from it. The field has actually spent a lot of money researching on it than any other field. Despite the good results that have emerged and still expected to emerge as a result of nanotechnology, it has raised other issues of concern which include the potential effects of nanomaterials on the global economy, the impacts of nanomaterials in the environment, its effects on health and other speculative issues (Roco, 2006). Therefore, the advocacy groups and governments have been debating whether it is possible to warrant special regulations on nanotec hnology. This essay discusses the benefits and effects of nanotechnology in military. Nanotechnology has various benefits in the military field. First, nanotechnology helps to create the uniform materials for the soldiers. The idea behind using nanotechnology to make soldier’s uniforms is to make them more comfortable, more lightweight and more high tech. In addition, nanoparticles can be injected on the materials used to make solder’s uniforms to make them more durable, and to protect the soldiers from dangerous effects like high temperatures and chemical effects. The nanoparticles put on the uniform’s material protect soldiers by combining together when a suspicious thing hits the armor hardening the area that is hit. This act of stiffening helps to reduce the impact of that thing that hit or stroke the armor. By lessening the impact force, the soldiers wearing the uniform are protected from the injuries they would have

The earning inequality in Israel Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The earning inequality in Israel - Assignment Example Often, the media houses have covered this story focusing on issues relative to Israeli’s economy. The United States, a close follower of Israel’s practices, has acted against the discrimination challenge in the past as it reflects negatively on the countries well-built reputation (Plaut, 2014). Naturally, Israel is the only state in the Middle East lacking an apartheid regime and looking at its success, as a developed country; it faces no threats from rivals and defamers. This condition makes Israel’s practices a dream for most of the western countries. A decade ago, discrimination was the country’s most pressing challenge but today, things have taken an influential step. The most worrying characteristic of Israel is the growing income inequality. It became prevalent a few years ago and in 2015, it attracts the attention of most states, organizations and international corporations (Filut, 2015). As from April 2015, Israel ranks at number 15 in labor productivity of the international economies. This fact is from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) most recent report. Israel has had a record increase in labor productivity for a limited time with more than three million people in the country having standard jobs. World’s leading countries such as China, United Kingdom or even South Korea are yet to attain Israel’s current labor productivity. However, the OECD claims as much as Israel has made improvements, the country’s economy is in an awkward position because they are 4% out of their constant track as depicted in the past two decades (Filut, 2015). The economic growth continues to increase gradually because of the variations in labor productivity - over three times that of the major emerging markets. This might seem impressive but China, Indonesia, Brazil and Russia have had over 100% productive increase in less than a decade, which shows they are most likely to surpass Israel in due time (Matthew,

Importance of Classifying Period Cost and Product Cost Assignment

Importance of Classifying Period Cost and Product Cost - Assignment Example The period costs are normally reported in form of expenditures in the period of accounting in which they match the best with revenues, in the period of accounting and when they expire. In addition to general administrative and selling expenses, most of the interest expenses are categorized as a period expense. Mr Smith’s classification of these costs, therefore, would increase the reported earnings of the period. The classification of the period cost and product cost is hence important since the classification will ensure that the net income is properly measured during the time period in which the best match. Classifying period cost and product cost will also ensure that Mr Smith reports the proper inventory cost appearing on the balance sheet. It is also important to classify these costs since the two costs cling to the units of the manufactured or purchased products. This will increase the reported period earnings because if any unit of a product will not be sold, the produc t cost will appear as a current asset on the balance sheet since it will be reported as an inventory. The classification will also ensure that the product cost will be reported at the expense of the cost of sold goods on the income statement for the period in which the product units were sold. In addition, classifying period costs will ensure that the expenses incurred in sales and salaries of the general administration are only featured during the exact period in which those salaries were paid to the employees. This will increase the reported earnings of the company. The actions of Mr Smith to postpone expenditures to the new year such as cancelling or postponing supplier orders, delaying maintenance already planned, and cutting down on the travels and adverts of the end year is ethical enough since it was in the best interest of the company to report an increase in the end year earnings. By ordering reclassification of both the period and product costs, Mr Smith significantly increased the reported earnings since every particular period cost was to be reported in the financial year to which it relates to.  

Contemporary Developments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Contemporary Developments - Essay Example Some of the competitors of Cafà © Coffee day are Barista, Cafà © Mocha and Costa Coffee. India is a growing economy and has shown stability over the past decades in terms of economic growth. The GDP (gross domestic product) of 6% has been maintained in the past ten years and India has become the fourth largest economy in the world (Government of India, 2005). Along with having increased the per capita income of a large number of its people, especially the middle classes, India now has a vast middle class with large amount of disposable income (Aguilar, 2006). This makes the country a choice for consumer product producers and retailers. AT Kearneys annual Global Retail Development Index (A.T. Kearney, 2008) lists India at the top and the country is hailed as the 5th largest retail investment destination (with expected growth of investments to US$ 427 billion by 2010 and US$ 637 billion by 2015) (A.T. Kearney, 2008). It also has the largest number of retail outlets at 12 million, out of which 5 million retailers cater for the food and beverage requirements (India Brand Equity Foundation, 2008). In addition to the proliferation of the retail business in urban India, there is tremendous potential provided by the smaller towns and cities. A very large section of the Indian masses reside in the semi-urban regions that border the metros as well as in the villages. These people are as yet not introduced to the retail boom that urban India is experiencing, and offer a large market that can be tapped. According to Brand Equity Survey, the there investment through franchising in rural India is expected to double by 2010 (India Brand Equity Foundation, 2008). The indigenous coffee organizations however face increased competition from foreign brands and retailers who are getting a stronghold in India. India started its economic reforms in 1991 and deregulated economy that led to an influx of foreign

What happens to the design object when it becomes a museum object Essay

What happens to the design object when it becomes a museum object - Essay Example The answer to these questions lies in the development of cognizant regarding the museum and how it impacts the value of the object Concept of Museum The Museum, as described above, is a place which is not only an artistically design building of different historical objects, but it may also have profound impacts on the people, who have interest in the history hidden behind the object2. The Museums are normally established with having social authority. The social authority refers to the perception that museum creates regarding the meaning and importance of the object. In depth and highly reliable research is required to place the object in the museum along with its exact history. The social authority also refers the social responsibility of the authority, who manages the museum objects along with its deep traces, so that the trust of the people must be maintained regarding the reliability of the history behind the object. The museum controls the ways of seeing3. 1 Controlling the ways may mean that the perception of the people regarding the object can be created or developed by the museum authorities through the way of presentation of the object along with the context of the history described with the object. The museum, as described above, creates its importance and validity. Museums are believed to be the places, where not only historical objects are gathered but their importance also increases. In other words, museum does not only gather the valuable objects but the value and the meaning of the object increase by gathering the objects under one roof. The museum’s artistic framework and design make it able to generate and spread the cultural knowledge that can change the value of the object. Moreover, the museum preserves the cultural heritage so the people from the new world can trace its history more interestingly and realistically4.. The value of the design object: Discoveries of different objects may always lead to the creation of new story of the pa st. Past has always left some signs to be remembered. The objects such as paintings, metals, clothes, skeletons, books, papers etc may be the representative of the past. The reason is that the people from the past are no more. Therefore, only their related stuff can help the researchers, as well as, those who take interest in the histories of the people who are no more. The importance of its history may be mixed with the histories of other objects. Therefore, the common eyes may not be able to catch its importance4. The increase or decrease in value of the objects by displaying the objects in the museum depends upon following different factors 2 1. Size of The Object The Size of the object matters a lot in terms of its importance in front of the common eyes. The reason is that the big pictures, objects can be easily captured by the eyes but the small objects along with thousands of different objects may be neglected because the eyes may not be able to catch the objects view. Therefo re, small objects if combined with other object in the museum may have low value in front of common eyes. On the contrary, the people who have high interest in the history of the particular times they may give high value to even the small objects as well. It can be explained with the help of the common example of museum of Australia 5. The histories behind the aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ancestral provide different tales of the past6.3 2. Display Pattern Of the Object: The Museum’

A Midsummer Night's Dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Essay Example People use A Midsummer Night’s Dream to introduce kids to the Bard because the whole world considers the fairies within the play as harmless and charming. As examples, Titania and Hippolyta are female victims suffering from the chauvinism of the husbands while Thisbe is a female victim courtesy of her autocratic father. Today, the world operates on scientific truths based on empirical tests as such, the strength of supernatural power continues to wane in terms of intimidating and frightening to the degree that children impersonate as witches, ghosts, as well as hobgoblins and demand rewards when they want to perform playful tricks. The play manifests the power of creativity in people. Actions by modern children are a mockery to the dark powers and manifest the declining strength of superstition that prevailed in the old days (Holland, 1994). The superstition dominant in Shakespeare’s era fills most of the dynamic actions in the play. The play is funny, light-hearted, full of enchantments, filled with entertaining fairy high jinks, and moonlight anecdote. True, fairies cavort, sing and dance in the entire play as well as cast magic spells on teenage lovers making them in many ways roam around without any specific aim and in the process take in absurd antics. The young lovers make the audience laugh by behaving unreasonably. On the contrary, a great contrast remains ironic between the matter and manner as well as between content and style. A further difference exists between words said by people and the way they behave (Reagan, 2008). Oberon, the King of the Fairies together with his follower Puck instigate the exciting problems of the young lovers, that of the Fairy Queen Titania, and her offensive swain Bottom. The King of Fairies and the minion Puck bring about this through motives of retribution and sloppy error besides the heartless pleasure they derive (III, ii, 363).A series of unintended misfortunes begin when Puck casts a spell on Lysander

Methods for Simply Supported Beams and Columns in Steel Essay

Methods for Simply Supported Beams and Columns in Steel - Essay Example (Lecture 10.6.2: Shear Connection II) To define the total and fractional shear connection, one can simplify as only a simply supported beam by means of 'constant cross-sections' that are deemed to consideration of an evenly dispersed loading or of one concentrated load, but cannot be both. By taking the 'critical length' of a simply supported beam into consideration, the ultimate worth of the overall longitudinal shear force in the length could be calculated by presuming that the plastic resistance moment can be attained within the inner critical cross-section. Therefore the overall longitudinal shear force is equivalent to the less significant plastic axial resistance within either the steel component or the concrete slab within the critical cross-section in question. We can assume that ductile connectors are used for the reason of the design method for a partial shear connection. One should establish the notion of a lessened definitive moment curve and lacking the need to assess the slip along the steel-concrete interface. By assuming that every connector cultivates its design shear resistance, the overall longitudinal shear force within every significant length is equivalent to the total of the shear resistances of the connectors and also to the ultimate compressive force within the concrete slab. A significant choice for the efficient usage of composite beams in buildings is the partial shear connection. Simply supported beams designs depend on the connector ductility and when non-ductile shear connectors are employed the use of an elastic beam theory is used within the simplest design method, assessing the longitudinal shear force per unit length, although when the ductile shear connectors are used, the employment of plastic resistance of cross-sections used within the 'stress block design method'. (Lecture 10.6.2: Shear Connection II) A minimal measure of connectivity depends upon the beam's extent and attention is attracted to the requirements thereof. Through the application of the new (FRP) fibre reinforced polymer bars as extra strengthening within civil engineering constructions, by speedily attaining progress, it may well substitute the conventional steel as it consists of superior matter and of a very good cost-effectiveness. It also adds an advantage of more durability to conventional steel within a problematic atmosphere and surroundings and within areas where conventional steel has the unneeded magnetism or electricity conduction. 172357 3 Another method of column design is within a non-sway bare steel structure. "A semi-rigid design of partially restrained columns in non-sway steel frames." (Journal of Constructional Steel Research 1999) This of which withholds the semi-rigid action of the 'beam to column' connectivity upon the approximation of the efficient length ratio.

Analysis of Characters of Chaucer and Austen Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Characters of Chaucer and Austen Essay In contrast, during the Hanoverian period during which Austen lived, society was based on the material possessions of an individual (or their future inheritance), family connections, and marriage. Chaucer outlines his time period through his characters: the church body through the Friar, and the working class through the Plowman. Likewise, Austen uses her protagonist, Mrs. Bennet, to mock how people of her own social class behaved during her era. Chaucer uses the Friar to demonstrate the immoral nature of the church during his time. One of the groups of people that Chaucer satirizes is the clergy. Amongst them, he attacks the character of the Friar as corrupt and dishonest. Historical evidence shows that friars were more often than not very corrupt and schemed to obtain worldly goods such as money. Many friars â€Å"came under wider criticism for worldliness and immorality† (Christianity†¦). They acted as if they had no money, but were in actuality living a fairly luxurious life. Chaucer compares the coat of Hubert, the Friar, to that of â€Å"a lord or like a pope. Of double worsted was his semi-cope† (Chaucer 8). Hubert was also â€Å"rounded like a bell†, indicating that he had enough food to eat, and did not necessarily have to beg for sustenance (8). Once at the house of a crippled man, the Friar asks for food. Now, dame, said he then, je vous dis, sans doute, Had I of a fat capon but the liver, And of your soft white bread naught but a sliver, And after that a pigs head well roasted (Save that I would no beast for me were dead), Then had I with you plain sufficiency. I am a man of little gluttony. My spirit has its nourishment in the Bible†. (313) This statement by the Friar epitomizes the relationship of the common people to those of the church at this time: while pretending to not have or need a lot, the clergy will steal from the lower class. â€Å"[The Friar] uses his position in the church to get money† (The Frior†¦). The middle class however, does not mistrust the church body as shown by the Plowman. In contrast to the corrupt church, Chaucer demonstrates the honesty and piousness of the middle class through the Plowman during the Post-Classical period*. Even though the church was trying to extract money and goods from his class, the Plowman â€Å"paid his taxes, fully, fairly, well, / Both by his own toil and by stuff he’d sell†, meaning that he trusted the church and was honest (Chaucer 15). â€Å"Chaucer here negates the commonly held perception of the peasant’s supposed hatred of the church† (FREE study†¦). Chaucer writes that the Plowman was a good Christian follower as he uses the two greatest commandments to describe the Plowman: â€Å"He loved God most, and that with his whole heart/ †¦ / And next, his neighbor, even as himself (Chaucer 15). The Plowman also â€Å"[lived] in peace and perfect charity†, another allusion to the teachings of Jesus Christ as written in the Bible. Another example of his piousness is shown when Chaucer writes that â€Å"[he’d] thresh and dig, with never thought of pelf, / For Christ’s own sake, for every poor wight, / All without pay, if it lay in his might† (15). The fact that the Plowman did not think of pelf, or money gained in a dishonest way, shows how he was not materialistic like the clergy. Chaucer also states that the Plowman would work (without thinking of gaining money) for the sakes of Jesus Christ and those poor, and less fortunate without receiving money. Although people of this period could live while not thinking about money for the sake of charity, money was one of the main focuses for people, especially women, in Jane Austen’s time. Austen demonstrates through her character, Mrs. Bennet, the narrow-mindedness of women of this era. Jane Austen was born into a family of the landed gentry: a social rank consisting of landowners who did not have to work, and could live solely off the rent income. Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, was written about those in this social class, and their interaction with others in society. Mrs. Bennet directly personifies the women of her time as â€Å"she [had] five daughters, and finding them husbands [was] ‘the business of her life’† (Reef 88). â€Å"[Marriage] was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune † (Austen 106). As Mrs. Bennet was very much occupied with seeing her daughters married, she â€Å"seemed incapable of fatigue while enumerating the advantages of the match† (124). This match refers to her eldest daughter possibly getting married to a man who has recently rented a house near Mrs. Bennet’s own and was â€Å"so rich† (124). From today’s standpoint, this point of view and way of living seems very materialistic, it is actually a very practical way to think for this time period. As property at this time was only passed down to male heirs, it is very understandable that Mrs. Bennet was so focused on marrying her daughters off to rich men because she and her husband (Mr. Bennet) had five daughters and no sons. This meant that the family property and money would go to a male cousin once Mr. Bennet died, and the females of the family would be turned out onto the streets. Another example of the time being reflected by Mrs. Bennet is the fact that she took her daughters to balls. Balls were common social events and a place where many women went for entertainment and in hope that they might find a husband. Because they learned from their mother, Mrs. Bennet’s daughters â€Å"[talked] of nothing but soldiers and balls† (Reef 90). Popular culture was also reflected through Austen’s character. Both Austen’s character (Mrs. Bennet) and Chaucer’s characters (the Friar, Hubert, and the Plowman) use traits of how different people acted in different times to show an in-depth picture of society at that time. It is through writing that readers and historians alike can catch a glimpse of what the social order looked like at the time. This thought provokes the following question: Which author(s) will the future generations read and what will they tell us about our society?

International Business From Islamic Perspective

International Business From Islamic Perspective International Business has always played a vital role in the economic and social of all people through the ages. Muslim as a part of contemporary world, and cannot be exception from this rule. Their religion (Islam) not only permits them, but also encourages them to do business. The prophet Muhammad (pbub) (the Messenger of Islam) himself was a full-time business man for a considerable period of time. However, contemporary Muslim find themselves confronted with serious dilemmas, because they didnt follow their constitution, which are Quran and Sunna .This Qurans emphasis on justice in general and maintenance of straight balance in practical is evident from forceful and oft-repeated injunctions. This study will try to collect some brightness efforts from implementing Islamic rules and standers in international business. 1.2 The purpose of the study: The aim of this study is to recognize Islamic banking as the main contribution in international business and how this contribution adds significant solution to world banking problems 1.3 Methodology: In this project the methodology depends on several references such as books, articles in journals, websites, and magazines. .Chapter Two Literature review: 2.0 The Fundamental of an Islamic Business System The basic frame work for an Islamic business system is a set of rules and laws. Collectively referred to as shariah, governing economic, social, political, and culture aspects of Islamic societies. Shariah originates from the rules dictated by the Quran and its practices, and explanations from Sunnah by the prophet Muhammad. Further elaboration of the rules is provided by scholars in Islamic jurisprudence within the framework of the Quran and Sunnah. (Saeed, M . Ahmed, Zr . Mukhtar, S 2001) This framework clarifies the prohibition of interest. Prohibition of riba, a term of literally meaning an excess and interpreted as any unjustifiable increase of capital whether in loan or sales is the central tenet of the system. More precisely, any positive, fixed predetermined rate tied to the maturity and the amount of principle is considered riba and is prohibited. The general consensus among Islam scholars is that riba cover not only usury but also the changing of interest as widely practiced. This prohibited is based on argument as social justice, equity, and property right. Islam encourages the earning of profit but forbids the charging of interest because profits, determined ex post, symbolize successful entrepreneurship and creation of additional wealth where as interest, determined ex ante, is a cost that is accrued irrespective of the outcome of business operations and may not create wealth if there are business losses. Social justice demands that borrowers and the lender share rewards as well as losses in an equitable fashion and that the process of wealth accumulation and distribution in the economy be fair and representative of true productivity. Risk sharing. Because interest is prohibited, suppliers of funds become investors instead of creditors. The provider of financial capital and the entrepreneur share business risks in return for shares of the profits. Money as potential capital is treated as actual capital only when it joins hand with other resources to un dertake a productive activity. Islam recognizes the time value of money, but only when it acts as capital, not when it is potential capital. Prohibition of speculative behavior. An Islamic financial system discourages hoarding prohibits transactions featuring extreme uncertainties, gambling and risks. Sanctity of contracts. Islam upholds contractual obligation and the disclosure of information as a sacred duty. This feature is intended to reduce the risk of asymmetric information and moral hazard. Shariah-approved activities. Only those business activities that do not violate the rules of shariah qualify for investment. (Saeed, M . Ahmed, Zr . Mukhtar, S 2001) Some of the more popular instruments in Islamic business markets are trade with markup or cost-plus sale (murabaha). One of the most widely used instruments for short-term financing is passed on the traditional nation of purchase finance. The investor undertakes to supply specific goods or commodities, incorporating a mutually agreed contact for resale to the client and a mutually negotiated margin. Profit-sharing agreement (mudaraba). This is identical to an investment fund in which managers handle a pool of funds. The agent-manager has relatively limited liability while having sufficient incentives to perform. The capital is invested in broadly defined activities, and the terms of profit and risk sharing are customized for each investment. The maturity structure ranges from short to medium term and is more suitable for trade activities. 2.1 The Principle of Islamic banking: The principle of Islamic banking is based essentially on the premise that interest, which is strictly forbidden in Islam, is neither a necessary nor a desirable basis for the conduct of banking operation, and that Islamic teachings provide a better foundation for organizing the working of banks. Muslim economists have pointed out that it is a historical accident that interest has become the kingpin of modern banking. The practice of interest has been condemned by foremost thinkers in human history and by all biblical religions. Aristotle dwelt on the barren nature of money and vehemently condemned the institution of interest which describe as birth money from money. ( Abeng, T 1997) Under Judaism, Israelites were forbidden to demand any increase on the principle amount of the sum lent in transactions among themselves, though interest could be charged in dealing between Israelites and gentiles. The reason for his distinction, according to many scholars of Judaism, was that there was no law at that time among the gentiles which prohibited the practice of interest and it was no regarded as unfair that Jews be allowed to recover interest from people who charged interest from them. Among the followers of Islam, the institution of interest has always been regarded as highly ignoble because the Holy of Quran strictly forbidden interest based transaction in all form. In the early history of Islam the injunction relating to prohibition of interest was strictly observed, but with the decline of the hold of religion and spread of western influence, financial practices based on interest began to permeate Muslim societies as well. In the period of colonial domination of Musl im countries by western power, the interest based system became solidly entrenched. Muslim scholars argue which has led to the resent -day dominance of interest in financial transactions all over the globe.( Abeng, T 1997) Muslim scholars recognize the important role banks play in the economy of the country in the modern time. Banking institutions act as financial intermediaries between savers and investors. They can be of significant help in assisting the process of capital formation and development. 2.2 Non Muslim countries interesting with Islamic banking serve The achievements of Islamic banking through world crises encourage many non Islamic countries demand to apply this vision by institutionalized use of Islamic modes of deposit mobilization and financing, if not full flagged Islamic banking; in quit a few non Islamic countries. Thus Islamic financial institutes exist in so far a part as Australia, Denmark, India, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Philippine, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom and United State of America. Apart of these there are a number of nun -Islamic financial institution in non-Muslim countries which offer Islamic finances services for their Muslim clients. There is a good deal of controversy, however, about the financial services being offered by such institutions being in fully conformity with Shariah requirements. Chapter Three 3.0 The impact of Islamic Banking on economic system The culture of Islamic banking has magnificent affect in several dimensions of economic system, which are saving, investment, rate and percentage of growth. These elements have major rule for economic system stability. 3.0.0 Effects on saving and investment Islamic economy has pointed out that standard economic does not yield a definitive conclusion regarding the effect of increased uncertainty of rate of return on the quantum of saving. The actual out come would depend on a number of factors such as the form of utility function and its risk aversion, the degree to which future is discounted, whether or not increased risk is compensated by higher return, and the income and substitution effects of increased uncertainty. It has further been argued that the move to an Islamic interest free system, under cretin conditions, could lead to increase rates to return on saving. Consequently, the increased level of uncertainty that could result from adoption (Profit/loss sharing) (PLS) based system could be compensated unchanged or perhaps even leading to an increase in saving. Muslim economists expect PLS based banking to exercise favorable effect on the level of investment. Both the demand for investment PLS based banking. The demand for investment funds is likely to increase as a fixed coast of capital is no longer required to be met as a part of the firm profit calculations. The marginal product of capital can be taken up to the point where maximum profits are obtained without the constraint of meeting a fixed coast of capital. The supply of investment funds is likely to increase as PLS based banking is enable to undertake the financing of a large number of risky projects on account of an enhanced risky absorbing capacity. 3.0.1 The impact on Rate and Pattern of growth The expected favorable effect of PLS based banking on the level of investment world impart a pronounced growth orientation to the economy, the increased availability of risk capital under the Islamic system would promote technological innovation and experimentation which would be another favorable factor for growth. Islamic banks are also expected to influence the pattern of growth through appropriate selectivity in their financial operations to ensure that the process of growth is broad based and an optimal use for bank resources. 3.0.2 The impact on Allocative efficiency The financial system based on an Islamic frame work of profit sharing would be more efficient in allocating resources as compared to the conventional interest based system. This position is defended on the basic the general proposition that nay financial development that causes investment alternative to be compared to one another, strictly based on their productivity and rate of return, is bound to produce allocative environment, and such a proposition is the cornerstone of the Islamic financial system. Muslim economists do not deny that investment efficiency requires the use of discounting to take proper care of the time dimension of costs and benefits. They emphasize that non-existence of interest does not mean that discounting as a technique of computing the present value of future cash flows cannot be used in an interest free economy. It has father been pointed out that interest rate is not proper discount factor under conditions of uncertainty, the rate of return on equity is the proper discount rate. Science the real world is a world of uncertainty and since no real investment in any economy can be undertaken without facing risk, cash flow of such investment should be discount not by a riskless interest rate but by the true opportunity cost of venture capital. 3.0.3 Consequences for the Stability of the Banking System The literature of Islamic banking that switch over from interest based on PLS based banking would import greater stability to the banking system .there is no assurance on the assets side that all the loan and advances will be covered, shocks on the asset that all the loan and advances will be covered. Shocks on the assets side, therefore, load to a divergence between assets and liabilities, and the banking system can suffer a loss of confidence in the process, leading crises. In the PLS based system, the mineral value of investment deposited is not guaranteed and shocks to the assets position are promptly absorbed in the value of investment deposits. This minimizes the risk of bank failure and enhances the stability of the banking system. 3.0.4 Effects on the Stability of the Economic System The replacement of interest in the Islamic banking system is PLS, that eliminate the interest couple with other institutional feature of the Islamic economy , will tend to enhance stability , the interest in the financial bank depends on debt, which is the main reasons for instability in capital economy . Its easy to see, for example how the interest based system intensifies business reason. As soon as banks find that business concerns are beginning to incur losses, they reduce assistance and call back loans, as a result of which some firms have to close down. This increases unemployment resulting in further reduction in demand, and the infection spreads. Islamic bank on the other hand, are prepared to share in losses in which reduces the severity of business recession and enables the productivity enterprise to tide over difficult period without shutdown. Islamic banking has to be regarded as a promoter of stability rather than a conduit of instability. 3.1 The practice of Islamic banking The Islamic banking movement began on a modest scale in the early sixties. The earliest experiment in Islamic banking took place in the most cases on individual initiative with governments playing a more or less passive role. The later growth of the Islamic banking movement has been significantly helped by the encouragement provide by the government of a number of Muslim countries. The establishment of Islamic banks in banking legislation. It should be mentioned that changes in banking legislation effected in certain countries to facilitate the working of Islamic banks are not intended to confer any special advantages on these banks vis-Ã  -vis the conventional banks. The measures are in fact designed to remove some of the handicaps from which Islamic banks suffer in conducting their operations in an economy where interest based transaction dominate the scene. (Saidi,T.2008) Two different approaches are discernible in regard to the adoption of Islamic banking practices. In a number of countries Islamic banks have been started on private initiative. The governments of these countries have not committed themselves to the abolition of interest, and Islamic banks exist side by side with interest based banks. Pakistan and Iran are following a different approach aimed at economy wide elimination of interest. In Sudan, where Islamic banks co-existed with interest based banks for long time, the government has now opted for economy wide Islamization of banking. This section of the paper reviews the trends in the practice of Islamic banking in both the setting. It also takes note of activities of the Islamic Development bank, which is an international development financing institution working in shariah principles, the banking services by conventional banks in certain Muslim countries. 3.2 Individual entities for Islamic bank practices There are now fifty Islamic banking institution operating in different countries encompassing most of the Muslim world. Two major international holding companies, namely, the Dar al-Mal al-Islami Trust and AL-Baraka Group control a number of Islamic banks Most other have been established by associations of individual sponsors. In some banks there is also a certain amount of government participation in their capital Islamic banks conduct their banking operation under shariah principles. Almost all of them have Shariah Supervisory boards as part of their organizational structure. The function of Shariah Supervisory board is to ensure the compatibility of all the operations of Islamic banks with requirements of Shariah . (Saidi,T.2008) Islamic banks accept both demand deposits and saving and time deposits. Demand deposits are treated as Qard al Hasnah .The bank is given permission to use the deposit amount at its direction but with guarantee of returning the full principle amount on demand. Saving deposits are differentiated from demand deposits as they are subject to certain restriction with respect to the amount that can be withdrawn from such accounts at any one time and the periodicity of such withdrawals. Some Islamic banks accept saving deposit deposits on PLS basis while others do not pay any return on these deposits and guarantee the principle amount. Time deposits are accepted by Islamic banks PLS sharing biases and generally known as investment account. The investment deposits of Islamic banks can have different maturity periods. The return on investment deposit is specified as percentage of total profits in most case, but in most cases the percentage return varies with the length of the period for which the deposits are made. Apart from limited period deposits, some Islamic banks also accept unlimited period investment deposited. In this case, the period of deposit is not specified and the deposits are automatically renewed unless a notice of termination of deposits is given of a mutually agreed of a mutually agreed time interval. Some Islamic banks also have specific investment accounts in which deposits are made for investment in particular project. The return to depositors in these accounts depends on the outcome of these particular projects and the ratio of the profit sharing agreed between the bank and the depositors. Islamic banks operating in different countries are using a combination of the different financing techniques permissible in shariah . However , most of them lean heavily on Murabahah in their operations. This is for two main reasons. Their orientation mainly is towered short term financing of trade transaction for which Murabahah appear to be more convenient devices compared to the system of PLS. Secondly, they are in competition with interest based banks and are therefore anxious to earn at least as much on their environment as will enable them to given return roughly comparable to prevailing interest rate to their investment account holders. This is easier to achieve by engaging in Murabahah transaction as the mark-up can be fixed in a manner which less assure the required return. On the other hand, considerable uncertainty attaches to earnings under a system of PLS sharing as the outcome depends on the operating of various business units which are subject to the usual business haz ards. Excepting the three countries where Islamization of the banking system has taken place on an economy wide basis, Islamic banks in other countries are at a considerable disadvantage in facing the competition with conventional banks as they cannot avail of the facilities of the money market which operates on the basic interest. This forces them to work with much higher liquidity ratios which have implications for their profitability. Islamic banks also face a number of problems in investing their funds internationally as they cannot take advantage of the facilities of the Eurocurrency market and the Eurobond market which offer ready investment outlets for conventional banks. Islamic banks have generally a good track record of profitability. Like conventional banks, Islamic banks also have had problems in the recovery of their due during periods of business recession or suffered loses in some investment which did no pay off but these have not grown to any crises. The Dar Al-Mal Al-Islami, which is a holding company for a large number of Islamic banks, did suffer operating losses in 1983 and 1984, and Kuwait finance House had a bad year in 1984 when neither the shareholders nor the depositors received a return on their capital. However, both these institution recovered from the set back in 1985 and showed good profits. There are course substantial differences in the performance and the profitability of individual institution within the Islamic banking community but this is not surprising because operating conditions and business environment differ widely from country to country. Chapter Four 4.0 Example of Islamic banking in Islamic countries We will spotlight on some Islamic countries like Iran, Pakistan and Sudan. To know their experiences with Islamic Banking. 4.0.0 Iran and Islamic banking A new law was enacted in Iran in August 1983 to replace interest based banking by interest free banking. The new required the banks to convert their deposits to an interest free basis within one year, and their operations within three years, from the date of the passage of the law, and specified the types of transactions that must constitute the basis fro asset and liability acquisition by banks. The law also specified the responsibilities of the central bank under the new system and the mechanics of its control over the banking system. (Roy, D 2010) The law allowed the banks to accept to types of deposits, Quard al Hasanah deposits and term investment deposits. The Quard al Hasanah deposits comprise of current as well as saving account which differ in their operational rules. The holders of current and saving accounts are guaranteed the safety of their principle amount and are not entailed to any contractual return. However , banks are permitted to provide incentive to depositors through Grant of prizes in cash or kind Reduction in or exemption from service charges or agents fees payable to banks. According priority in the use of banking facilities. Holders of term investment deposits are entitled to receive return, depending on the profitability of the project in which these funds are invested. The law allows the banks to undertake and repayment of the principle amount of terms of investment. The law provides various modes of operation upon which the financing transactions of kinds must be based. Banks are obliged to earmark a portion of their resources for grant of Quard al Hasanah to help achieve the socioeconomic objectives set out in the constitution of the country. Beside Quard al Hasanah , banks are authorized to extend financial assistance for predictive venture on PLS basis in accordance with the principle of Mudarabah and Musharakah . Banks are allowed to provide part of the capital of a new joint stock company and also to purchase share of the existing joint stock companies. Banks are authorized to provide working capital financing to productive unites by purchasing new materials, spare parts and other items on their request for sale to them on the basis of deferred payment in installment. Purchasing of machinery and equipment for sale to their clients on deferred payment basis is also allowed. Another mode is called Salaf which is used for meeting working capit al requirements through advance purchase of output. Banks can engage in lease-purchase transaction. In the new set up, the central bank of the country has been given wide authority to control and supervise the operations of the countrys banks. While it continues to have many of the erstwhile credit control weapons which do not involve Riba, it has been endowed with new instrument of control to regulate the interest free operations of the banks. These include power to determine Minimum and maximum expected rates of return from various facilities to the banks. Minimum and maximum profit shares for banks in their Mudarabah and Musharakah activities. Maximum rates of commission the banks can charge for investment accounts for which they serve as trustees. Studies on Islamic banking experience of Iran have pointed out that no attempt has been made so far to Islamize the international banking and financial operations. Government continues to borrow from banks on the based of fixed rate of return. It has also been pointed out that some practices in Iran are not variance with the practice of Islamic banking in other countries. 4.0.1 Sudan and Islamic banking The aim of this economy wide Islamize of the banking system in Sudan has not been smooth and steady. The first attempt to Islamize the entire banking system was made 1984 when a presidential decree was issued directing all commercial banks to stop interest based dealing with immediate effect and to negotiate the conversion of their then existing interest bearing deposits and advances into Islamically acceptable form. Foreign transactions were allowed to be continued on the basis of interest for the time being. It is reported that this sudden change forced the banks to adopt the nearest Islamic alternative available that is Murabahah which soon constituted 90 percent of their financial operations. Its also reported Islamic system only formally in their ledger books and in the reports submitted to the central bank of the country. Policy makers in the central bank were also discontented with the procedure of transforming the banking system. They considered it as a mere political decisio n imposed by the government without being preceded is adequate detailed study. This experiment which economy wide Islamization of banking system came to end in 198 with the charge in government. The government which is presently in power had decided on the economy wide Islamization of the banking system once again, and newspaper reported indicate that the effort is much more earnest and much better organized this time. (Roy, D 2010) 4.0.2 Pakistan and Islamic banking The process of economy wide Islamization of the banking system in Pakistan was initiated soon after declaration by the president of Pakistan in 1979 that government planning to remove interest from the economy within period of three years and that a decision had been taken to make a beginning in this direction with the elimination of the interest from the operation from House Building Finance corporation, National Investment Trust and mutual funds of he investment corporation of Pakistan. Within a few months of this announcement, these specialized finical institutions took the necessary steps to reorientation their activities on a non interest basis was a much more complex task and took a longer time span. To begin with, step were taken in 1981 to set up separate counters for accepting deposits on PLS basis in all the domestic braches of the five nationalized commercial banks. The parallel system, in which savers had the option to keep their money in the bank either in the interestin g bearing deposits or PLS deposits, continued to operate till the end of 1985. As the first 1985, no banking company is allowed to accept any interest bearing deposits except foreign currency deposits which continue to earn interest. As loss of that banking company accepted deposits in current account on which no interest or profit is given and whose capital sum is guaranteed. The central bank of the country has issued instructions specifying twelve modes of financing in which funds mobilized by the banks can be employed. These are broadly classified into three groups: loan financing Trade related mode of financing Investment mode of financing. Loan financing takes the form either Qard Al-Hasan given on compassionate grounds free of any interest or service charge or of loan with a service charge not exceeding the proportionate cost of the operation. (Roy, D 2010) Trade related modes of financing include: Purchase of goods by banks and their sale to clients. Purchase of trade bills. Purchase of movable or immovable property. Leasing. Hire-purchase. Financing for development of property on the basis of a development charge. Investment modes of financing include: Equity participation and purchase of shares Purchase of participation term certification. Rent sharing The central bank of the county ahs been authorized to fix the minimum annual rate of profit which banks should keep in view while considering proposals for provision of financing, and maximum rate of profit they may earn, theses rate may be changed from time to time. It has also been laid down that should lose occur, they must be shared by all the financiers in proportion to the respective finances provided by them. To safeguard the banks against delays and defaults in repayment by parties obtaining finance from them, a new law called the Banking Tribunals ordinance was promulgated in 1984. The tribunals set up under the radiance are required to dispose of all cases within the ninety days of filing the complaint. Appeals can be filled in the high court within thirty days but the decrial amount has to be deposited with high court appeal. 4.0.3 Islamic Development Bank The Islamic Development Bank, established in 1975, is an international financial institution whose purpose is to foster the economic development and social progress of member countries and Muslim communities individually as well as jointly in accordance with principles of Shariah. It has 47 members and a subscribe capital of 2028.74 million Islamic dinar. The functions of the bank are to participate in the equity capital and grant loans for productive project in member countries and to provide financial assistance in other form for economic and social development. The bank is also required to establish and operate special funds for specific purpose including fund for Muslim communities in non-member countries. The bank authorized to accept deposit and to raise fund in any manner. It is also charged with the responsibility of assisting in the promotion of foreign trade, especially in capital goods, among member countries, providing technical assistance to member countries, extending training facilities for personal engaged in development activities and undertaking research for enabling the economic, financial and banking activities in Muslim counties to conform to the Shariah . (Roy, D 2010) The cumulative financing approved by the bank since its inception till the end of 1991-1992 amounted to 9389.13 million Islamic dinar. Foreign trade financing, based on Murabahah, has accounted for the bulk of the total resources providing by the bank to its members. It accounted for 72.5 present of total financing. Loans provided on the basis of a service charge accounted for 8.2 percent while leasing and installment sales accounted for 5.3 percent and 6.3 percent of total financing respectively. Equity participation accounted for 2.2 percent of total financing while the assistance provide through profit sharing accounted for2.0 percent of total financing. Equity participation and profit sharing are regarded as the chief distinguishing features of Islamic financing and banking. It is disappointed to note that, they have so far played very financing operations of Islamic development bank. The over-anxiety of the bank in it initial years to expand the network of equity financing to cover as many of its member countries as possible, lack of sufficient professional expertise in the bank to undertake an adequate appraisal of the project and to pursue the task of vigorous follow up of it equity investment, delay in the implementation of the projects financed by the bank, marketing difficulties and currency devaluation have been cited as the main factors responsible for this situation 4.1 Analysis the role of commercial banks in increase debts Commercial banks is the banks that depends on interest to increase there profits. To achieve his object, they do maximum to attract clients to register in these facilitates, that have different shapes. By the affect of advertising, many people try to achieve their goals by magic solution which is loan. Also there is another promotion from these banks to attract customers which a

presentation for billy collins :: essays research papers

Billy Collins   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Billy Collins was born on March 22, 1941 in New York, NY and is married to Diane Collins. He is the son of Katherine M. Collins and William S. Collins. Collins received a Bachelors Degree at the College of the Holy Cross in 1963 and also received a Ph.D. in romantic poetry in 1971. He has been a writer-in-residence at Sarah Lawrence College and also was a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library. He is an English Professor at Lehman College for CUNY, where he has been teaching for over 30 years. In June of 2001, Collins was appointed United States Poet Laureate (2001-2003). In January of 2004, he was named New York State Poet Laureate 2004-2006. Collins has been able to put together high critical acclaim with such broad popular appeal which is something no poet has done since Robert Frost. His last three collections of poems broke sales records for poetry. His audiences include people of all ages and backgrounds. Collins published eight collections of poetry. He also edited two anthologies of contemporary poetry: Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry and 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day. His work has also appeared in such periodicals as The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Atlantic Monthly, and The American Scholar. Critical Essay on  ¡Ã‚ §The Afterlife ¡Ã‚ ¨ by Chris Semansky Chris Semansky claims that Billy Collins serio-comic book Questions about Angels, addresses religious questions without being religious. Semansky evaluates Collins ¡Ã‚ ¦ poem  ¡Ã‚ §The Afterlife ¡Ã‚ ¨ and emphasizes that Collins draws a relationship between imagination and belief. Semansky claims that  ¡Ã‚ §imagination is at the root of belief. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Semansky calls Collins a relativist which is a philosophical position which asserts that the belief of each individual is relative to his or her own belief. Semansky believes that Collins description of the afterlife, and the images of the journeys of the dead, draw a relationship between an individual ¡Ã‚ ¦s imagination rather than a religious standpoint. Semansky sums it up by saying that Collins is not trying to send a religious message to his readers but rather he is trying to inform his readers to find the meaning of life ¡Ã‚ ¦s experiences rather than waiting for the rewards of the afterlife. Chris Semansky,  ¡Ã‚ §Critical Essay on The Afterlife ¡Ã‚ ¨, in Poetry for Students, Vol 18, Gale, 2003. Collins, Billy by Tod Marshall Tod Marshall describes Billy Collins as both philosophical and comical. He also claims that Collins is not only intellectual but accessible.

The American Diet :: essays research papers fc

"You are what you eat", goes a famous saying. And if that is truly the case, then a lot of Americans would appear to be unhealthy, chemically treated, commercially raised slabs of animal flesh. And while that is not a particularly pleasant thought, it is nonetheless an description of the typical American omnivore who survives on the consumption of Big Macs and steak fajitas.But there are individuals who do not follow this American norm and have altered their diets so that they do not consume any meat. These people are vegetarians, and they are the new breed of healthy Americans who refuse to poison themselves with fats, cholesterol, and the other harmful additives that come from meat. And while once thought to be a movement that would never gain much momentum, it has nonetheless moved itself to the forefront of Americans' healthy diets.The word vegetarian, used to describe the diets of people who do not consume animal flesh, was not used until around the mid-1800s. The concept of ve getarianism, however, dates back much further. The Greek philosopher Pythagoras, considered by many to be the father of vegetarianism, encouraged a non-meat diet among his followers as a diet that was the most natural and healthful (Messina 3).A vegetarian diet excludes the consumption of meat, and can be exercised by people for a number of reasons. The largest majority of individuals chose vegetarianism for health related reasons. For example, someone with an ulcer might be prescribed a strict diet of vegetables in order to promote the healing process. Or someone with a dangerously high level of cholesterol might be advised to follow a vegetarian diet to lower his or her fat and cholesterol intake.The immorality of consuming animal flesh is another argument touted by a smaller group of vegetarians. R.G. Frey describes this moral argument for vegetarianism and the effect that meat eating might have on the character of humans:Some people have come to believe and fear that, in the suffering and killing which occurs in commercial farming, we demean ourselves, coarsen our sensitivities, dull our feelings of sympathy with our fellow creatures, and so begin the descent down the slippery slope of torture and death, to a point where it becomes easier for us to contemplate and carry out the torture and killing of human beings. (20)This moral argument for vegetarianism is also noted by John Robbins who states that "the suffering these animals undergo has become so extreme that to partake of food from these creatures is to partake unknowingly of the abject misery that has been their lives"(14).

A summary of Amazon’s business Essay

I’ve used Amazon in my books for over 10 years now since many companies, from startups and small businesses to large international businesses, can learn from their focus on the customer and the approach of using technology and analysis to improve results. It consistently outperforms other companies in its ACSI customer satisfaction rating too. I aim to keep the case study up-to-date for readers of the books and Smart Insights readers who may be interested. In it we look at Amazon’s background, revenue model and sources for the latest business results. I recommend anyone studying Amazon checks the latest Amazon revenue and business strategies from their SEC filings / Investor relations. The annual filings to give a great summary of eBay business and revenue models. A good summary of the latest business model initiatives is available in this Amazon annual report summary for 2011. For Q4, 2010: North America segment sales, representing the Company’s U.S. and Canadian sites, were $7.21 billion, up 45% from fourth quarter 2009. International segment sales, representing the Company’s U.K., German, Japanese, French, Chinese and new Italian sites, were $5.74 billion, up 26% from fourth quarter 2009. Excluding the unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, sales grew 29%. Amazon has come a long way since it launched in 1995: From: and it’s offices†¦ to it’s current Seattle headquarters: Amazon performs exceptionally efficiently measured against revenue per visitor, which is one of the key measures for any commercial website, whether it’s a media site, search engine, social network or a transactional retailer or offers travel or financial services. Of course profit per user would be quite different due to the significantly lower costs of other .coms like Facebook and Google. Note: SEC is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which is a government agency for which companies have to submit an open evaluation of their business models and marketplace conditions. Further Amazon case information This case study created by FaberNovel â€Å"Amazon.com: The Hidden Empire† one of five â€Å"Most Favorited† slideshows and one of the five â€Å"Most Popular Technology Presentations† of 2011. Recommended: Amazon Case Study Context Why a case study on Amazon? Surely everyone knows about who Amazon are and what they do? Yes, well that’s maybe true, but this case goes beyond the surface toreview some of the ‘insider secrets’ of Amazon’s success. Like eBay, Amazon.com was born in 1995. The name reflected the vision of Jeff Bezos, to produce a large scale phenomenon like the Amazon river. This ambition has proved justified since just 8 years later, Amazon passed the $5 billion sales mark – it took Wal-Mart 20 years to achieve this. By 2008 Amazon was a global brand with other 76 million active customers accounts and order fulfillment to more than 200 countries. Despite this volume of sales, at December 31, 2007 Amazon employed approximately 17,000 full-time and part-time employees. In September 2007, it launched Amazon MP3, a la carte DRM-free MP3 music downloads, which now includes over 3.1 million songs from more than 270,000 artists. Amazon Vision & strategy In their 2008 SEC filing, Amazon describe the vision of their business as to: â€Å"Relentlessly focus on customer experience by offering our customers low prices, convenience, and a wide selection of merchandise.† The vision is still to offer â€Å"Earth’s biggest selection and to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. Consider how these core marketing messages summarising the Amazon online value proposition are communicated both on-site and through offline communications. Of course, achieving customer loyalty and repeat purchases has been key to Amazon’s success. Many dot-coms failed because they succeeded in achieving awareness, but not loyalty. Amazon achieved both. In their SEC filing they stress how they seek to achieve this. They say: â€Å"We work to earn repeat purchases by providing easy-to-use functionality, fast and reliable fulfillment, timely customer service, feature rich content, and a trusted transaction environment. Key features of our websites include editorial and customer reviews;  manufacturer product information; Web pages tailored to individual preferences, such as recommendations and notifications; 1-Click ® technology; secure payment systems; image uploads; searching on our websites as well as the Internet; browsing; and the ability to view selected interior pages and citations, and search the entire contents of many of the books we offer with our â€Å"Look Inside the Book† and â€Å"Search Inside the Book† features. Our community of online customers also creates feature-rich content, including product reviews, online recommendation lists, wish lists, buying guides, and wedding and baby registries.† In practice, as is the practice for many online retailers, the lowest prices are for the most popular products, with less popular products commanding higher prices and a greater margin for Amazon. Free shipping offers are used to encourage increase in basket size since customers have to spend over a certain amount to receive free shipping. The level at which free-shipping is set is critical to profitability and Amazon has changed it as competition has changed and for promotional reasons. Amazon communicate the fulfillment promise in several ways including presentation of latest inventory availability information, delivery date estimates, and options for expedited delivery, as well as delivery shipment notifications and update facilities. This focus on customer has translated to excellence in service with the 2004 American Customer Satisfaction Index giving Amazon.com a score of 88 which was at the time, the highest customer satisfaction score ever recorded in any service industry, online or offline. Round (2004) notes that Amazon focuses on customer satisfaction metrics. Each site is closely monitored with standard service availability monitoring (for example, using Keynote or Mercury Interactive) site availability and download speed. Interestingly it also monitors per minute site revenue upper/lower bounds – Round describes an alarm system rather like a power plant where if revenue on a site falls below $10,000 per minute, alarms go off! There are also internal performance service-level-agreements for web services where T% of the time, different pages must return in X seconds. 2011 update on vision and importance of technology According to founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, technology is very important to supporting this focus on the customer. In their 2010 Annual Report (Amazon,  2011) he said: â€Å"Look inside a current textbook on software architecture, and you’ll find few patterns that we don’t apply at Amazon. We use high-performance transactions systems, complex rendering and object caching, workflow and queuing systems, business intelligence and data analytics, machine learning and pattern recognition, neural networks and probabilistic decision making, and a wide variety of other techniques.And while many of our systems are based on the latest in computer science research, this often hasn’t been sufficient: our architects and engineers have had to advance research in directions that no academic had yet taken. Many of the problems we face have no textbook solutions, and so we — happily — invent new approaches†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ All the effort we put into technology might not matter that much if we kept technology off to the side in some sort of R&D department, but we don’t take that approach. Technology infuses all of our teams, all of our processes, our decision-making, and our approach to innovation in each of our businesses. It is deeply integrated into everything we do†. The quote shows how applying new technologies is used to give Amazon a competitive edge. A good recent example of this is providing the infrastructure to deliver the Kindle â€Å"Whispersync† update to ebook readers. Amazon reported in 2011 that Amazon.com is now selling more Kindle books than paperback books. For every 100 paperback books Amazon has sold, the Company sold 115 Kindle books. Kindle apps are now available on Apple iOS, Android devices and on PCs as part of a â€Å"Buy Once, Read Anywhere† proposition which Amazon has developed. Amazon Customers Amazon defines what it refers to as three consumer sets customers, seller customers and developer customers. There are over 76 million customer accounts, but just 1.3 million active seller customers in it’s marketplaces and Amazon is seeking to increase this. Amazon is unusual for a retailer in that it identifies â€Å"developer customers† who use its Amazon Web Services, which provides access to technology infrastructure such as hosting that developers can use to develop their own web services. Members are also encouraged to join a loyalty programme, Amazon Prime, a fee-based membership program in which members receive free or discounted express shipping, in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. Competition In its SEC (2005) filing Amazon describes the environment for our products and services as ‘intensely competitive’. It views its main current and potential competitors as: 1) physical-world retailers, catalog retailers, publishers, vendors, distributors and manufacturers of our products, many of which possess significant brand awareness, sales volume, and customer bases, and some of which currently sell, or may sell, products or services through the Internet, mail order, or direct marketing; (2) Other online E-commerce sites; (3) A number of indirect competitors, including media companies, Web portals, comparison shopping websites, and Web search engines, either directly or in collaboration with other retailers; and (4) Companies that provide e-commerce services, including website development; third-party fulfillment and customer-service. It believes the main competitive factors in its market segments include â€Å"selection, price, availability, convenience, information, discovery, brand recognition, personalized services, accessibility, customer service, reliability, speed of fulfillment, ease of use, and ability to adapt to changing conditions, as well as our customers’ overall experience and trust in transactions with us and facilitated by us on behalf of third-party sellers†. For services offered to business and individual sellers, additional competitive factors include the quality of our services and tools, their ability to generate sales for third parties we serve, and the speed of pe rformance for our services. From Auctions to marketplaces Amazon auctions (known as zShops) were launched in March 1999, in large part as a response to the success of eBay. They were promoted heavily from the home page, category pages and individual product pages. Despite this, a year after its launch it had only achieved a 3.2% share of the online auction compared to 58% for eBay and it only declined from this point. Today, competitive prices of products are available through third-party sellers in the ‘Amazon Marketplace’ which are integrated within the standard product listings. The strategy to offer such an auction facility was initially driven by the need to compete with eBay, but now the strategy has been adjusted such that Amazon describe it as part of the approach of low-pricing. Although it might be thought that Amazon would lose out on  enabling its merchants to sell products at lower prices, in fact Amazon makes greater margin on these sales since merchants are charged a commission on each sale and it is the merchant who bears the cost of storing inventory and fulfilling the product to customers. As with eBay, Amazon is just facilitating the exchange of bits and bytes between buyers and sellers without the need to distribute physical products. Amazon Media sales You may have noticed that unlike some retailers, Amazon displays relevant Google text ads and banner ads from brands. This seems in conflict with the strategy of focus on experience since it leads to a more cluttered store. However in 2011 Amazon revealed that worldwide media sales accounted for approximately 17% of revenue! Amazon marketing Amazon does not reveal much about its marketing approach in its annual reports, but there seems to be a focus on online marketing channels. Amazon (2011) states â€Å"we direct customers to our websites primarily through a number of targeted online marketing channels, such as our Associates program, sponsored search, portal advertising, email marketing campaigns, and other initiatives†. These other initiatives may include outdoor and TV advertising, but they are not mentioned specifically. In this statement they also highlight the importance of customer loyalty tools. They say: â€Å"while costs associated with free shipping are not included in marketing expense, we view free shipping offers and Amazon Prime as effective worldwide marketing tools, and intend to continue offering them indefinitely†. How ‘The Culture of Metrics’ started A common theme in Amazon’s development is the drive to use a measured approach to all aspects of the business, beyond the finance. Marcus (2004) describes an occasion at a corporate ‘boot-camp’ in January 1997 when Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ‘saw the light’. ‘At Amazon, we will have a Culture of Metrics’, he said while addressing his senior staff. He went on to explain how web-based business gave Amazon an ‘amazing window into human behaviour’. Marcus says: ‘Gone were the fuzzy approximations of focus groups, the anecdotal fudging and smoke blowing from the marketing department. A company  like Amazon could (and did) record every move a visitor made, every last click and twitch of the mouse. As the data piled up into virtual heaps, hummocks and mountain ranges, you could draw all sorts of conclusions about their chimerical nature, the consumer. In this sense, Amazon was not merely a store, but an immense repository of fact s. All we needed were the right equations to plug into them’. James Marcus then goes on to give a fascinating insight into a breakout group discussion of how Amazon could better use measures to improve its performance. Marcus was in the Bezos group, brainstorming customer-centric metrics. Marcus (2004) summarises the dialogue, led by Bezos: â€Å"First, we figure out which things we’d like to measure on the site†, he said. â€Å"For example, let’s say we want a metric for customer enjoyment. How could we calculate that?† â€Å"There was silence. Then somebody ventured: â€Å"How much time each customer spends on the site?† â€Å"Not specific enough†, Jeff said. â€Å"How about the average number of minutes each customer spends on the site per session† someone else suggested. â€Å"If that goes up, they’re having a blast†. â€Å"But how do we factor in purchase?† I [Marcus] said feeling proud of myself. â€Å"Is that a measure of enjoyment†? â€Å"I think we need to consider frequency of visits, too†, said a dark-haired woman I didn’t recognise. â€Å"Lot of folks are still accessing the web with those creepy-crawly modems. Four short visits from them might be just as good as one visit from a guy with a T-1. Maybe better’. â€Å"Good point†, Jeff said. â€Å"And anyway, enjoyment is just the start. In the end, we should be measuring customer ecstasy† It is interesting that Amazon was having this debate in about the elements of RFM analysis (described in Chapter 6 of Internet Marketing), 1997, after already having achieved $16 million of revenue in the previous year. Of course, this is a miniscule amount compared with today’s billions of dollar turnover. The important point was that this was the start of a focus on metrics which can be seen through the description of Matt Pounds work later in this case study. From human to software-based recommendations Amazon has developed internal tools to support this ‘Culture of Metrics’.  Marcus (2004) describes how the ‘Creator Metrics’ tool shows content creators how well their product listings and product copy are working. For each content editor such as Marcus, it retrieves all recently posted documents including articles, interviews, booklists and features. For each one it then gives a conversion rate to sale plus the number of page views, adds (added to basket) and repels (content requested, but the back button then used). In time, the work of editorial reviewers such as Marcus was marginalised since Amazon found that the majority of visitors used the search tools rather than read editorial and they responded to the personalised recommendations as the matching technology improved (Marcus likens early recommendations techniques to ‘going shopping with the village idiot’). Experimentation and testing at Amazon The ‘Culture of Metrics’ also led to a test-driven approach to improving results at Amazon. Matt Round, speaking at E-metrics 2004 when he was director of personalisation at Amazon describes the philosophy as ‘Data Trumps Intuitions’. He explained how Amazon used to have a lot of arguments about which content and promotion should go on the all important home page or category pages. He described how every category VP wanted top-center and how the Friday meetings about placements for next week were getting ‘too long, too loud, and lacked performance data’. But today ‘automation replaces intuitions’ and real-time experimentation tests are always run to answer these questions since actual consumer behaviour is the best way to decide upon tactics. Marcus (2004) also notes that Amazon has a culture of experiments of which A/B tests are key components. Examples where A/B tests are used include new home page design, moving features around the page, different algorithms for recommendations, changing search relevance rankings. These involve testing a new treatment against a previous control for a limited time of a few days or a week. The system will randomly show one or more treatments to visitors and measure a range of parameters such as units sold and revenue by category (and total), session time, session length, etc. The new features will usually be launched if the desired metrics are statistically significantly better. Statistical tests are a challenge though as distributions are not normal (they have a large mass at zero for example of no purchase) There are other challenges since multiple  A/B tests are running every day and A/B tests may overlap and so conflict. There are also longer-term effects where some features are ‘cool’ for the first two weeks and the opposite effect where changing navigation may degrade performance temporarily. Amazon also finds that as its users evolve in their online experience the way they act online has changed. This means that Amazon has to constantly test and evolve its features. Amazon.com Technology It follows that the Amazon technology infrastructure must readily support this culture of experimentation and this can be difficult to achieved with standardised content management. Amazon has achieved its competitive advantage through developing its technology internally and with a significant investment in this which may not be available to other organisations without the right focus on the online channels. As Amazon explains in SEC (2005) ‘using primarily our own proprietary technologies, as well as technology licensed from third parties, we have implemented numerous features and functionality that simplify and improve the customer shopping experience, enable third parties to sell on our platform, and facilitate our fulfillment and customer service operations. Our current strategy is to focus our development efforts on continuous innovation by creating and enhancing the specialized, proprietary software that is unique to our business, and to license or acquire commercially-developed technology for other applications where available and appropriate. We continually invest in several areas of technology, including our seller platform; A9.com, our wholly-owned subsidiary focused on search technology on www.A9.com and other Amazon sites; web services; and digital initiatives.’ Round (2004) describes the technology approach as ‘distributed development and deployment’. Pages such as the home page have a number of content ‘pods’ or ‘slots’ which call web services for features. This makes it relatively easy to change the content in these pods and even change the location of the pods on-screen. Amazon uses a flowable or fluid page design unlike many sites which enables it to make the most of real-estate on-screen. Technology also supports more standard e-retail facilities. SEC (2005) states: ‘We use a set of applications for accepting and validating customer orders, placing and tracking orders with suppliers, managing and assigning inventory to customer  orders, and ensuring proper shipment of products to customers. Our transaction-processing systems handle millions of items, a number of different status inquiries, multiple shipping addresses, gift-wrapping requests, and multiple shipment methods. These systems allow the customer to choose whether to receive single or several shipments based on availability and to track the progress of each order. These applications also manage the process of accepting, authorizing, and charging customer credit cards.’ Data Driven Automation Round (2004) said that ‘Data is king at Amazon’. He gave many examples of data driven automation including customer channel preferences; managing the way content is displayed to different user types such as new releases and top-sellers, merchandising and recommendation (showing related products and promotions) and also advertising through paid search (automatic ad generation and bidding). The automated search advertising and bidding system for paid search has had a big impact at Amazon. Sponsored links initially done by humans, but this was unsustainable due to range of products at Amazon. The automated programme generates keywords, writes ad creative, determines best landing page, manages bids, measure conversion rates, profit per converted visitor and updates bids. Again the problem of volume is there, Matt Round described how the book ‘How to Make Love Like a Porn Star’ by Jenna Jameson received tens of thousands of clicks from pornography-related searches, but few actually purchased the book. So the update cycle must be quick to avoid large losses. There is also an automated email measurement and optimization system. The campaign calendar used to be manually managed with relatively weak measurement and it was costly to schedule and use. A new system: Automatically optimizes content to improve customer experience Avoids sending an e-mail campaign that has low clickthrough or high unsubscribe rate Includes inbox management (avoid sending multiple emails/week) Has growing library of automated email programs covering new releases and recommendations But there are challenges if promotions are too successful if inventory isn’t available. Your Recommendations Customers Who Bought X†¦, also bought Y is Amazon’s signature feature. Round  (2004) describes how Amazon relies on acquiring and then crunching a massive amount of data. Every purchase, every page viewed and every search is recorded. So there are now to new version, customers who shopped for X also shopped for†¦ and Customers who searched for X also bought†¦ They also have a system codenamed ‘Goldbox’ which is a cross-sell and awareness raising tool. Items are discounted to encourage purchases in new categories! I have a more detailed article on Amazon personalisation / recommendation system He also describes the challenge of techniques for sifting patterns from noise (sensitivity filtering) and clothing and toy catalogues change frequently so recommendations become out of date. The main challenges though are the massive data size arising from millions of customers, millions of items and recommendations made in real time. Amazon Partnership strategy As Amazon grew, its share price growth enabled partnership or acquisition with a range of companies in different sectors. Marcus (2004) describes how Amazon partnered with Drugstore.com (pharmacy), Living.com (furniture), Pets.com (pet supplies), Wineshopper.com (wines), HomeGrocer.com (groceries), Sothebys.com (auctions) and Kozmo.com (urban home delivery). In most cases, Amazon purchased an equity stake in these partners, so that it would share in their prosperity. It also charged them fees for placements on the Amazon site to promote and drive traffic to their sites. Similarly, Amazon charged publishers for prime-position to promote books on its site which caused an initial hue-and-cry, but this abated when it was realised that paying for prominent placements was widespread in traditional booksellers and supermarkets. Many of these new online companies failed in 1999 and 2000, but Amazon had covered the potential for growth and was not pulled down by these partners, even though for some such as Pets.com it had an investment of 50%. Analysts sometimes refer to ‘Amazoning a sector’ meaning that one company becomes dominant in an online sector such as book retail such that it becomes very difficult for others to achieve market share. In addition to developing, communicating and delivering a very strong proposition, Amazon has been able to consolidate its strength in different sectors through its partnership arrangements and through using technology to facilitate product promotion and distribution via these partnerships. The Amazon retail platform enables other retailers to sell products online using  the Amazon user interface and infrastructure through their ‘Syndicated Stores’ programme. For example, in the UK, Waterstones (www.waterstones.co.uk) is one of the largest traditional bookstores. It found competition with online so expensive and challenging, that eventually it entered a partnership arrangement where Amazon markets and distributes its books online in return for a commission online. Similarly, in the US, Borders a large book retailer uses the Amazon merchant platform for distributing its products. Toy retailer Toys R’ Us have a similar arrangement. Such partnerships help Amazon extends its reach into the customer-base of other suppliers, and of course, customers who buy in one category such as books can be encouraged to purchase into other areas such as clothing or electronics. Another form of partnership referred to above is the Amazon Marketplace which enables Amazon customers and other retailers to sell their new and used books and other goods alongside the regular retail listings. A similar partnership approach is the Amazon ‘Merchants@’ program which enables third party merchants (typically larger than those who sell via the Amazon Marketplace) to sell their products via Amazon. Amazon earn fees either through fixed fees or sales commissions per-unit. This arrangement can help customers who get a wider choice of products from a range of suppliers with the convenience of purchasing them through a single checkout process. Finally, Amazon has also facilitated formation of partnerships with smaller companies through its affiliates programme. Internet legend records that Jeff Bezos, the creator of Amazon was chatting to someone at a cocktail party who wanted to sell books about divorce via her web site. Subsequently, Amazon.com launched its Associates Program in July 1996 and it is still going strong. Googling http://www.google.com/search?q=www.amazon.com+-site%3Awww.amazon.com for sites that link to the US site, shows over 4 million pages, many of which will be affiliates. Amazon does not use an affiliate network which would take commissions from sale, but thanks to the strength of its brand has developed its own affiliate programme. Amazon has created a tiered performance-based incentives to encourage affiliates to sell more Amazon products. Amazon Marketing communications In their SEC filings Amazon state that the aims of their communications  strategy are (unsurprisingly) to: Increase customer traffic to our websites Create awareness of our products and services Promote repeat purchases Develop incremental product and service revenue opportunities Strengthen and broaden the Amazon.com brand name. Amazon also believe that their most effective marketing communications are a consequence of their focus on continuously improving the customer experience. This then creates word-of-mouth promotion which is effective in acquiring new customers and may also encourage repeat customer visits. As well as this Marcus (2004) describes how Amazon used the personalisation enabled through technology to reach out to a difficult to reach market which Bezos originally called ‘the hard middle’. Bezos’s view was that it was easy to reach 10 people (you called them on the phone) or the ten million people who bought the most popular products (you placed a superbowl ad), but more difficult to reach those in between. The search facilities in the search engine and on the Amazon site, together with its product recommendation features meant that Amazon could connect its products with the interests of these people. Online advertising techniques include paid search marketing, interactive ads on portals, e-mail campaigns and search engine optimisation. These are automated as far as possible as described earlier in the case study. As previously mentioned, the affiliate programme is also important in driving visitors to Amazon and Amazon offers a wide range of methods of linking to its site to help improve conversion. For example, affiliates can use straight text links leading direct to a product page and they also offer a range of dynamic banners which feature different content such as books about Internet marketing or a search box.Amazon also use cooperative advertising arrangements, better known as ‘contra-deals’ with some vendors and other third parties. For example, a print advertisement in 2005 for a particular product such as a wireless router with a free wireless laptop card promotion will feature a specific Amazon URL in the ad. In product fulfilment packs, Amazon may include a leaflet for a non-competing online company such as Figleaves.com (lingerie) or Expedia (travel). In return, Amazon leaflets may be included in customer communications from the partner brands. Our Associates program directs customers to our websites by enabling independent websites to make millions of products available to their  audiences with fulfillment performed by us or third parties. We pay commissions to hundreds of thousands of participants in our Associates program when their customer referrals result in product sales. In addition, we offer everyday free shipping options worldwide and recently announced Amazon.com Prime in the U.S., our first membership program in which members receive free two-day shipping and discounted overnight shipping. Although marketing expenses do not include the costs of our free shipping or promotional offers, we view such offers as effective marketing tools. Marcus, J. (2004) Amazonia. Five years at the epicentre of the dot-com juggernaut, The New Press, New York, NY. Round, M. (2004) Presentation to E-metrics, London, May 2005. www.emetrics.org.