Enthanasia Pro And Cons Essay Example for Free

Enthanasia Pro And Cons Essay As Victor Fung Keung pointed out in the Observer column (A person has the right to a dignified death, August 18), most people object to euthanasia without thinking about the subject in a rational way. They ignore the fact that someone who is terminally ill will not get better. And they are indifferent to the suffering and mental anguish that these patients endure. It is cowardly to ignore the excruciating pain they suffer before dying. People opposed to euthanasia banish thoughts of their loved ones ever facing such pain. There are those who attempt to take the moral high ground, saying a life should not be ended in this way under any circumstances. We have to face the issue of euthanasia. We must address it now, not just because of the pleas of the quadriplegic Choi Wan-fung (Quadriplegic thinks about how to kill himself every day, August 16), but also because it is simply inhumane to stand idly by while people die in extreme pain. The government and legislators should have the courage to reform the law on euthanasia. Ko King-tim, Kowloon Tong I do not agree with Victor Fung Keungs article (A person has the right to a dignified death, August 18). I think a person has the right to a dignified life and that there is no dignity in death. I disagree with the promoters of euthanasia, because people choose to die, not through free will, but under pressure, mostly from family members. You reported on the plight of quadriplegic Choi Wan-fung. If I was in a situation where I felt I had become a financial burden to my wife or my children, I would want to opt to die. That is why the present law exists, to protect me, not to encourage me to commit suicide. At the same time, a civil society should provide the means for someone in that state to be able to lead a dignified life. Mr Fung says that dying with dignity is humane but how does he know? As Hamlet says, that is the undiscovered country. A friend of mine died last year of cancer at 53. He was in great pain, but just a few days before dying, and in spite of suffering, lying in his garden he explained to me how overwhelmed he was by the beauty of flowers.

Media: Government Transparency And Accountability

Media: Government Transparency And Accountability The media plays significant roles in acting as a medium in transferring the information between the government and the public. The information that the public received have ability to influence the perception and the decision making of the public. The media and the government have dependent relationship. Each of them has an influence on each other. However, the media, especially newspaper and television, are outlets that are likely to be influenced, by either the government or private interests. The intervention on the media may prevent the freedom of expression provided by the democracy. These interventions can be counted as corruption. Corruption is one way to reflect government transparency and accountability. Introduction It is obviously seen that nowadays the media plays a very important role in the development of the country. The development of the society, culture, economics, education, or politics are depending on the media since the media act as a major instrument in transferring the information between different people in the society. The media can have a strong influence to the people. What are written in the newspaper, what are shown on the television, or what are spoken through the radio can change the perception of the people. During the time when Thailand was under the absolute monarchy system, media was a significant part that helped moving Thai society toward modernization. However, after Thailand changed to the democratic system, the freedom of expression of the media was emphasized. Democracy can prosper only in societies where information and ideas can flow freely. The most accessible media in Thai society are newspaper and radio. However, the sources of media that are easy to capture by the government are the newspaper as well as the television. We will then focus on these two outlets in our study. The print media, the earliest kind of media in Thai society, are limited to only small number of people in the early period. However, as time passed, the situation was changing. There were papers with criticisms about the ruling class and government officials, as well as papers that were provided with some entertainment features. The role of the press then changed from serving the ruling class, government officials and foreigners to providing information for common Thai people. The newspaper industry grew along with Thailands economic growth. However, Thailands economic crisis in 1997 was a time when newspaper industry was affected by the economic downturn. When we look at the newspaper business in Thailand today, it is obviously seen that the newspaper business has constantly become more competitive. For the daily newspaper of Thai-language, the market shares are gained mostly by Thai Rath, accounted for 34per cent, and Daily News 19per cent. The two leading newspapers, Thai Rath and Daily News, are conservative in their political disposition. For the Business Daily Newspaper, Krungthep Thurakit is the dominant player, contributing for 85per cent of the maket share, while Puchadkarn and Post Today are taken for the other 15 per cen. For the English Daily papers, Bangkok Post and the Nation are the two players, taking about 55 per cent and 45 per cent of the market share respectively. Still, there are political influences in the newspaper business. The government has ability to influence the news contents or to make adjustments that created the desirable situations for them. The politicians can directly give bribery or they can give something not in the form of money but in kind of gifts or other kind of influences. For example, according to Who Owns the Asian Media: Thailand Media Report By Ubonrat Siriyuvasak, during Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatras second term in 2005, the Bangkok Posts front-page report on an alleged crack on the runway of the new Suvarnabhumi airport. The time of the report was the time when the government was under the investigation by the Opposition Party about the corruption of the constructing of the new airport. After the published of this report, the news editor, Chadin Thepwan was forced to resign by the Bangkok Post. This case showed that even though the government was not directly managed the newspaper or the news contents; it could do something to influence the business to be according to its way. For the most-consumed media in Thailand, the television, 86 per cent of the Thai population watching TV on a daily basis. Previously, there are six television stations in Thailand which broadcast freely on air and nation-wide. Three of the channels: Channels 5, 9, and 11, were operated by State operators, while the other three: Channels 3, 7 and iTV are operated by private concessionaires. iTV or Independent Television, was launched in 1996 as the first television station that was not owned by the State. It seemed to provide independent and critical programs for the people as well as act as a voice of democracy. However, iTV is becoming more and more profit-oriented and after the economic crisis in 1997, the company faced massive debts and finally, Shin Corporation of Thaksin Shinawatra took over iTV in 2000 before the Thai Rak Thai Party won the election in January 2001. Since the Thai Rak Thai and Thaksins Shin Corporation were related, during the election campaign, the news agenda and the contents were controlled by the new executive team. Journalists who went against such interference were fired. As a result, the pro-Thai Rak Thai news campaign was one factor that led the party to win in the election. A survey by the ABAC poll showed that television news coverage was overwhelmingly biased towards Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai government However, iTV, who was not able to pay back high debts after the crisis, was forced to stop broadcasting, now has continued broadcasting again under the Thai PBS name. Moreover, Channel 9 has been changed to MODERN 9 under the Mass Communication Organization of Thailand (MCOT) regulation; Channel 11 to NBT and are under the Public Relations Department. Since media are the powerful sources of information, many sectors, including both the private and the government, are trying to gain control of the media in order to manage the information sent to the public. Because the media has the ability to influence people as well as government, the government who depends on media by using media to get into the people, is the one who wish to take control, as we have seen in the previous examples. Every day, the media reports political news, telling the current government movements and government actions that show people how the government is working to help develop the country and solve the problems. The credibility and the image of the government are then depended on the information and the pictures that the media send out to the people. The government, therefore, wants to limit the information and take control of the media so that only the good things are presented to the public. As a result, many media are under the government intervention. From the measurement of transparency international; the global coalition against corruption website, it shows that the corruption perceptions index (CPI) of Thailand, according to the survey in 2009, is about 3.4 and is ranked on 84th from 180 countries around the world. Since the government intervention in media is associated with the corruption, Thailand who claims to be governed by democracy may not be able to say we are governed by complete democracy. Thailand has been involved with the problem of corruption for long time ago, in the past people may not know terminology and its importance since the corruption might be embedded with Thai culture so that people get used to it or it was known in other names. The problem of corruption also relates to the administrative system of the country. From Sukhothaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢the first era of Thailandà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢up to the present, Thailand has been ruling by various forms of administrative systems depending on the influences or situations at the time so that the forms of administrative system are different in each era. We would like to talk about the administrative system in each era in order to make them as the basis for explaining corruption and how it came from. In Sukhothai era, the beginning era of Thailand, the administrative system was in the form of Father-Son or Paternalistic. King played a role as father while public played role as his children or family ruled in hierarchical pattern. It created good relationship among parties. After Sukhothai era exhausted its power, Ayutthaya era was replaced. The administrative was changed from Paternalistic to the Divine Rights system. This system was distinguishingly characterized as states come into existence by Gods will, God chooses the rulers of the states, and the rulers are responsible only to God. Divine Rights system was derived from Hindu influence, this system is unlike Father-Son system as it separated the rulers and public leading to different classes and privileges; the public were under the control of the rulers. This form of administration gave King the absolute power causing the distance between King and public. After very long period of powerful, Ayutthaya era was eventually fall. Thonburi era had been replaced, since King Taksin aimed to collect power to build the new kingdom, the administrative system was not different from Ayutthaya era. After Thonburi era, the current era, Rattanakosin era, has flourished instead. For Rattanakosin era, we would like to divide the era into early and lately Rattanakosin because in the period of King Rama V, there was dramatically change in Thailands administrative system; the abolishment of slavery, the education support, and the idea of reformation in administrative system to democracy. However, the idea of reformation to democracy was not shown up in the period of King Rama V, the idea has been established in Thailand and public began to participate in the administration. So,the administrative system in the early Rattanakosin before period of King Rama V still be the same as in Ayutthaya era. In the lately Rattanakosin era and after King Rama VII period, Thailand is governed by democracy up to the present. The Constitution of Thailand have been giving the freedom of expression to individual and the press since Thais ruling system was changed from absolute monarchy to democracy for almost 78 years, however, there have always been criticisms about the degree of freedom of expression of Individual and the press in Thai society since it came to associate with the government. The media still has freedom, but now its freedom is decreasing as the government tries to put its hands in. The objective of this study is to combine theoretical, empirical and other evidences in order to understand the relationships and their interactions among the media, the government and the public in Thailand. Understanding all these things will explain how media affect the transparency and the accountability of the Thai government. The role that the government plays in the media and the role that the media plays in the government are being interested increasingly by the society in these recent days. Therefore, as part of the Thai society, we would like to focus on performance of the media and government, particularly the effects from media on government accountability and transparency occurred within Thailand. When government tries to control media, this can be considered as corruption, so, the corruption problems will be highlighted as they play role in indicating the transparency of the government. As corruption can be categorized into private-to-private corruption and public corruption, our concentration will be only on public corruption; according to the Legal Information Institute of Cornell University Law School, public corruption is defined as a government official, whether elected, appointed or hired, may violate federal law when he/she asks, demands, solicits, accepts, or agrees to receive anything of value in return for being influenced in the performance of their official duties, and the further use of word corruption refers to this. Corruption can be one indicator to point out government transparency and accountability as well as a degree of democracy. The study will include; the corruption in election since the incumbents intervene on the media in order to present themselves i n a positive ways, the intervention of the government on media in sense of taking ownership and capturing the media such as television and newspaper. We will mainly focus on television and newspaper as the representatives of all kinds of media. Looking at the ownership of the television station and the newspaper outlet, these can point out the degree of government intervention and media capture since media have influence on government. Still, our study has some comparisons in some particular parts with other countries in order to make our analysis more clearly. Literature Review Matias Warsta (2004) described the overall frameworks about corruption problem in Thailand, as well as the suggestions for solving the problems. This empirical literature argues that the problem of corruption has been in Thailand for a long time and also deeply rooted as a part of Thai culture. The corruption problem has a great impact on the economic growth of a country. Warsta (2004) pointed out the relationships among government, media, and public in the corruption problem. Government tries to use its power to control media to get its desirable outcome since media has ability to communicate as well as to influence the public which can affect their perceptions about the credibility and the image of government. There are many reasons for corruption shown in this literature. Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is referred as the measurement of perception of corruption ranked form 0 to 10 where 0 means a country seems totally corrupt and 10 means no corruption. As CPI 2009 shown, Thaila nd entitled to 84th rank on the list of 180 countries which is interpreted as equitably high. Free media is one of the characteristic of democracy which plays a significant role as the watchdog to ensure that things are performed in the democratic way. However, government and politicians tend to increasingly get into the media by buying shares of the media or granting the money to media. Thailand attempts to reduce the problem of corruption by using various methods, but this literature gave the suggestion that in the long run Thailands key to success to reduce this problem is to reduce the huge gap between the rich and the poor as this gap is the top of the corruption problem in Thailand. Besley and Prat (2005) developed a baseline model suggesting that there is a possibility for the government to capture media and therefore influence political outcomes. The model states that the media plays role in providing information for the voters in the time election. The voters use the available information to make their voting decision. Besley and Prat (2005) show the relationship between media and political activities through the baseline model, which is a pure adverse selection model where the policy outcome is depended on the politicians type; whether the politician is good, giving benefit to the voters, or bad, giving no benefit to the voters. The model is set up as a game, having two components, a bargaining game and an election game. The bargaining game between the media and the politician determines whether the media is an effective information provider or not, since the politicians have abilities to hide bad news by make an offer to the media outlets. Those who accept the offers suppress the signal about the bad politicians. When the media receives a transfer in exchange for silence, the media is captured. On the other hand, the media is independent. The model and its extensions give number of predictions on the relationship between features of the media industry, media capture as well as political outcomes. John Zaller (1999) analyzes that the outcome of the media politics come from the goal-oriented and strategic behaviors. Zallers basic theoretical posture is that politicians, journalists, and citizens behave in ways that generally reflect individual goals and interests that in pursuing their various goals. He emphasizes the role of journalists, which the journalists have their own roles in acting as a voice of the politicians to communicate with voters. However, they can choose what to report. The journalists can add or reduce something before reporting in the news. The politicians also want the space about themselves in a good way in the news as well. This then create conflict between politicians and journalists for the control of the news. They are struggling to control news content within constraints set by the mass audience. ARTICLE 19 (2005) described the background of Thailand in many aspects, the history of media in Thailand, the media situation. All these provide good fundamental understanding about the media in Thailand. The empirical literature suggested that for the media to protect their freedom of expression, it is necessary that the media should be permitted to operate independently without the control from the government. This necessity should be held when the media claimed to have freedom of expression to ensure that the media play role as the watchdog and also serve the public interests. This literature argued that, for people, to understand the media in Thailand, they have to go far beyond the understanding of their function as the communicator among participants in the society, they have to bear in mind that the media are the business associations who seek for the profits from their self-interest. The literature has categorized the media ownership into the state-owned media and the private media. There are statistical shown that television and radio are the most accessible media among Thai public. Freedom of expression is also supported by Ubonrat Siriyuvasak (2006). The empirical analysis criticizes the lack of freedom in the media business in the recent year. Ubonrat provides the statistical data about the ownerships of the media, including the state and private ownerships of the radio and television stations, as well as the ownership of the newspaper. This literature criticizes the aim to control the media by the government, especially in the time of Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai government. Since during the Thaksin government, there were many changed took place including the change in media business, the paper then gives evidences of how the media outlet, especially, the newspaper and the television, were influenced by the government power. The question of who really own the media was emphasized by the author. Chapter 3 Analysis Since Thailand is governed under the democratic system, with democracy, it allows the equality, rights, and freedom to people in the society; people can enjoy all these things as long as they do not violate the others in the society. The provision of rights and freedom are in many aspects; freedom of expression is one of those aspects that relates to our paper. People in the democratic society can freely express what they think. In some societies, an opposing and unfriendliness relationship between media and government represents a vital and healthy element of fully functioning democratic system. However, the media and government depend on each others. Sometimes the media overlaps other functional areas of democracy and governance. Since the government nowadays can do some media managements or even can capture the media, the goal of media development should be to move the media from one that is directed or even controlled by government or private interests, to one that is more open and has a degree of editorial independence that serves the public interest. Many different kinds of mass media can create transparency. But the dominant medium of political communication and hence the dominant medium of political transparency is television. When we use television to understand politics, we see things in the way that television allows us to see. Television can create new forms of political reality that exist because they are seen on television. Television tends to emphasise entertainment value. People tend to interest in the entertaining things. The more entertaining news is more likely to survive in the broadcast world. Therefore, most television programs, public events, politics, and even law, are made to grab the attention of the viewers by entertaining them. They will launch the programs and present the news in the way that they think can catch the viewers. In the political news, television coverage of politics tends to focus less on substantive policy issues than on the other interesting news such as the inside stories about strategy and achieving political advantage. People tend to be interested on the issue of who the winner is and how they achieve their victory. These kinds of news tend to dominate in the television. Since the media, especially the television can portray the political issues in the ways it preferred, this affect the politicians as well as the government. Politicians and government understand that media become an important tool to influence the people and to retain their power. They therefore want to make sure that those things on the television are beneficial for their image and for the political situation. There are number of ways that the politicians and the government can influence the political contents in the media. Being part of the media can made it easier for them to influence the political contents. The ownership of the media, especially the television stations, is often under the state ownership. The state ownership of the media increases the likelihood that the media are being captured. Media ownerships are ranged from the private ownership to the state ownership. In theory, media ownership can be categorized into 2 groups: State-owned media, which often view information as a public commodity to be protected against a private sector monopoly in the public interest; and Private media, which, although they may distort information under the influence of political parties or commercial pressures, are at least not government controlled. There are laws and regulations that established to support for the independent of the media. The new Broadcast Act requires that all radio and TV stations be subject to license. Thai television channels remain under the tight control of various government agencies. Table 1: Owners and operators of Thai Television channels TV channel Owner Operator Channel 3 MCOT Bangkok Entertainment Co. Ltd. Channel 5 Royal Thai Army Royal Thai Army Channel 7 Royal Thai Army Bangkok Broadcasting Television Company (BBTV) Modernine TV (MCOT) MCOT MCOT National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) Governments Public Relations Department (PRD) Governments Public Relations Department (PRD) Thai Public Broadcast Station or TPBS (TPBS) Governments Public Relations Department (PRD) Private Channel 3 is owned by MCOT a former state enterprise under the ownership of government and the Royal Thai Army. It is operated by Bangkok Entertainment Co. Ltd. a subsidiary company of BEC World Public Co. Ltd., under contract. Channel 5 is both owned and operated by the Royal Thai Army. Channel 7 is owned by the Royal Thai Army and operated by the Bangkok Broadcasting Television Company (BBTV) under contract. Modernine TV or MCOT is both owned and operated by MCOT. National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) owned and operated by the governments Public Relations Department (PRD) of the Prime Ministers Office, and TPBS, previously iTV, is now a privately run independent TV station. TPBS is free from government control or influence, with its budget financed by sin tax. It is less likely to get any intervention from politicians or state power. According to table 1 showing the owners and operators of Thai television channels, the broadcast media are entirely owned by the state. However, the state has the ability to give concessions to the private operators in a limited number. The concessions were often given on a privileged patronage relationship. Those who had political powers or have connections with the concessionaries would have the priority to get the concessions which are given either in the short-term or in the long-term. As a result of the limited concessions, the state and a small number of media corporations have monopolized the channel on the rights and freedom of information and communication, for which ideas and culture are distributed. Moreover, since the state owns most of the countrys television stations, no broadcasting about corruption are not unusual. Not only the television can be bribed or influenced, the newspaper can be in the same situation as well. For the newspaper industry in Thailand, they are strongly owned by a single family or small groups of investors who share familial relationship, or a publishing group. Even they are privately owned, not being captured because of the state ownership, they can still be influenced as well. Table 2: Owner of Thai Newspapers Newspaper Owner Thai Rath Vacharaphol Family Daily News Hetrakul Family Khao Sod Matichon Pcl, a publishing group Kom Chad Luek Nation Multimedia Group Krungthep Turakij Nation Multimedia Group Post Today Post Publishing Pcl Phoojadkarn Daily Manager Media Group. Bangkok Post Chirathivat family, the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong, GMM Grammy Pcl. The Nation- Nation Multimedia Group Each newspaper has its own political stance, and they serve different group of readers. However, even the newspapers in Thailand are privately owned, they can still be under the political pressure as well. Being under the pressure, newspapers then have the ability to present the news contents in which bias toward government or against the government, depending on who pressure them. In addition to the direct political pressure, if the owner of the newspaper is interested in which side or political groups, he is more likely to accept the bribery. The side they take depends heavily on sponsorship by and private relationships developed between the newspaper and influential individuals or groups. Bribery can be in form of money and non-money, even though, the owner does not get money in order to support that side, he is still willing to receive the bribe in form of the special privilege or some kind of protections.. If the government or the politicians want the news to present information that is desirable for them, they can choose to pressure or bribe them. We can see that there is still a chance for the politicians or the government to influence the news. Most of media in Thailand are subjected to the influence of either government or groups of people. For the television, most of the channels belong to the state, indicating the lack of freedom of expression and the ability to influence outcome. For newspaper, the influence comes in form of bribery rather taking ownership. The state will get into the media, trying to manage their working process. It can arrange the information received and released by the media in order to control the information to be in its desirable outcome. With this action of state, the information is distorted, some truths are not revealed. The benefits of the distortion or the concealment will fall into hands of a group of people, not the whole. Thus, the intervention of state on the media is not desirable outcome for the society as a whole and it is inefficiency. Therefore, this is the way that can lead to the corruption problem. Corruption problem is one of the major issues in Thailand which tends to be more important through time. This does not mean that in the past Thailand had no corruption. Actually, the problem of corruption has been rooted in Thailand for ages but it may not be concerned or realized much as in the present. The possible reason is that the administrative system in the past gave absolute power to the king, the gap between king and public was quite large and classes in the society were existed. Moreover, people had no ability to make decisions in all kind of things, in other words, they had no rights and freedom in their own life. Since the administrative system of Thailand has changed to democracy and the country has developed, things have been improved especially the communication that tends to be more advanced. Because of rights and freedom people are allowed to enjoy especially the freedom in expressing opinion, so what people perform will have more opportunity to be revealed to public for them to realize unlike in the past that there was no freedom, thats why things were kept as with those who were relevant while the public could not know the truth at that time. Corruption problem that has been in Thailand for a long time starts to be recognized and people also start to realize that it is bad thing since it is extremely destroying the pattern of interaction for the society as a whole, it also creates the distortion and inefficiency in economic development, so the country cannot develop to its highest or even expected position with this constraint. Furthermore, corruption in Thailand may come from many possible reasons including low salaries of public servants, low education of people, big financial gaps between social classes, lacking transparency of governance, unstable political situation, lack of democracy, lack of freedom of word, heavy bureaucracy, and centralized power. However, in this paper, we will scope the reasons to the lack of transparency of governance, the lack of democracy, and the lack of democracy. In democratic society, people can participate in governing the country by electing the representatives to work and serve their interests. People can choose their representatives through election holding the principle of majority voting, in other words, those who get the highest voting will be the representatives. However, we can see that Thailand does not govern by complete democracy; Thailand is governed by semi-democracy, the possible reasons may come from many aspects such as culture that make the country cannot be governed by complete democracy. However, we are not able to judge whether complete democracy is suitable for Thailand because the country may have constraints or facts that the complete democracy cannot be used. Furthermore, the corruption problem can have great impact on transparency and accountability of the government as well as the image of the country. One of measure of transparency and accountability of government can be shown by election. Media provide information to public which influence their decision making in voting. Politicians may present themselves by using media since media can reach the majority of people. Moreover, as politicians desire to win the election, positive image is necessary, so they need desirable information to be sent out to public. The possible way to reach the target is bribery. As Thailand is governed by democracy system, the right in freedom of expression is provided to both public as well as the media. Thus, the interventions from government and politicians in the media companies contradict to their providing right. Moreover, such interv

Impact of Credit Risk Management on Profitability

Impact of Credit Risk Management on Profitability Credit Risk arises because there is a possibility of a risk that the counterparty defaults on the loans and bonds held by the institution (Cornett) The Ultimate advantages of Credit Risk Management are being accepted by Financial Institutions now and Risk Managers are focusing on different Risk Management Models in looking for different Business Opportunities (Heinemann). However in general Financial Institutions that make Loans or buy bonds with long maturities are more exposed than Financial Institutions that make loans or buy bonds with short maturities. This means for example that banks, thrifts and life insurance companies are more exposed to Credit Risk than are money market mutual funds, since Banks and life insurance companies tend to hold longer maturity assets in their Portfolios than mutual funds. (Cornett) Basel is an agreement that requires the imposition of risk-based capital ratios on banks in major industrialized countries. Considering the weaknesses of the simple capital-to-assets ratio, members of Bank for International Settlements (BIS) along with U.S decided to implement two new risk-based capital ratios for all commercial banks under their jurisdiction in 1988. The BIS phased in and fully implemented these risk based capital ratios on January 1, 1993, under what has been known as the Basel Accord (now called Basel I). Credit risks of assets are included into Capital adequacy ratio into Basel Agreement of 1993. This was followed with a revision in 1998 in which market risk was incorporated into risk-based capital in the form of an add-on to the 8 percent ratio for credit risk exposure. In 2001, the BIS issued a consultative document, It was proposed in the basel-II or the new basel system that the operational risk should be the part of Capital requirements with effect from 2007 and updated the credit risk assessments in 1993 agreement. This agreement was adopted in June, 2004. (Cornett) Basel-II or the new basel system consists of three pillars which are discussed below, these three pillars play a vital role in the safety and soundness of the entire financial system. PILLAR 1 CREDIT RISK: On Balance Sheet and Off Balance Sheet (Standardized vs. Internal Ratings Based approach) MARKET RISK: Standardized vs. Internal Ratings Based approach OPERATIONAL RISK: Basic Indicator vs. Standardized vs. Advance measurement approach) PILLAR II Regulatory supervisory review so as to complement and enforce minimum Capital Requirements calculated under Pillar 1 PILLAR III Requirements on rules for disclosure of Capital Structure, risk exposures, and Capital Adequacy so as to increase Financial Institutions transparency and Enhance Market/Investor Discipline. Like in every other Country in Pakistan also the State Bank of Pakistan issued a Road Map or Guidelines for Implementation of Basel-II in Pakistan and the deadline issued by State bank for the completion was December 2006. PROBLEM STATEMENT Capital Regulation, Supervision and Market Discipline are the foundation of Basel-II, and to improve the Risk Management Procedures for bringing stability in the financial System, the Banks and Financial Institutions were required to establish an adequate setup and report to SBP the name and other Particulars of the Person responsible for Implementation before 31st May 2005 We will study the impact of Basel II on the credit risk management by considering two parameters i.e. NPLR and CAR. By studying these ratios, we find out that how Basel II is useful in management and reduction of risk and finally determine the role of credit risk management in increasing the profits of banks. RESEARCH QUESTION As per the background discussed earlier, out task is to research: The impact of credit risk management on the profitability of commercial banks in Pakistan. PURPOSE Our research will find out the importance credit risk management in the profitability of commercial banks in Pakistan and how Basel II helps in reduction of credit risk and management by using some techniques and methods that will control the amount of non-performing loans. The purpose of the research is to explain the impact of credit risk management on profitability of commercial banks in Pakistan, that what is the role of BASEL-II in the management and reduction of credit risk by controlling the amount of non performing loans through methods, Processes and limits imposed in BASEL II. JUSTIFICATION Our research will explain the influence of credit risk management on the profitability of commercial banks. This research will be very helpful for the banking industry in Pakistan as it is directly related to the profitability of banks. It will provide them with the guidelines that how they could manage and minimize the credit as per the rules and regulations provided in Basel document. SCOPE Our research is significant and important in a way that it will determine the dependency of profitability on credit risk management and it will study Basel I and Basel II and determine their difference and whether the regulations in Basel II puts any betterment in managing the risk. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY We are conducting our research on the private commercial banks of Pakistan based on the conventional banking system. It will help us on concentrating and focusing only on one sector of banking industry and determine valid and authentic results. Public sector banks, Islamic banks, investment banks, micro-finance banks are included in the research. Basel II was put into account from December 2006 that is why we have included the data from financial statements of 2007 to 2009 as we have studying the relation between profitability and credit risk management after Basel II is implemented. The study is limited to two independent variables for measuring credit risk management that are NPLR and CAR, and one dependent variable for measuring profitability which is ROE, the reason for choosing the above mentioned variables will be discussed in the methodology. LITERATURE REVIEW ROE PROFITABILITY INDICATOR ROE (Return on Equity) refers to the ratio of Net Income to the Total equity capital. ROE indicates that how much the bank has earned with the investors capital. It measures that how well and efficiently a company uses its investors funds to generate profit. It is used as a comparative too between two companies or banks. Its the ratio of net income and share holders equity. But in the Case of Bank ROE can be increased if the Capital decreases, but as the Capital decreases, the bank is exposed to risk of insolvency, and thats the reason that regulators continuously monitor the minimum capital requirements for Banks. ROA(Return on Assets) indicates that how efficiently the management uses its assets to generate income. Its the ratio of net income and total assets. Both ROA and ROE are expressed in percentage. CREDIT RISK MANAGEMENT INDICATORS According to a research of Risk management practices followed by commercial banks in Pakistan. It was identified that the major risk faced by banks in Pakistan as well as internationally is the Credit Risk. Because the core banking business is all about creation of Credit, through which commercial banks generate their Profits. When it comes to Credit Risk, the most important aspect are the financing decisions followed by the commercial banks, because ultimately it ends into Credit risk. The State bank has also introduced some tough regulations when financing individual as well as SMEs and Corporate Customers, such as obtaining the BBFS(Borrowers basic fact sheet) and other restrictions as mentioned in the Prudential Regulations. Now what indicates that Credit Risk is increasing for the Banks is the NPLR(Non Performing Loans Ratio) which indicates that the financing generated by the banks are not recovering and as such the Non performing Loans are increasing which ultimately leads to Credit Risk. (Nasr, 2009) CAPITAL TO ASSETS RATIO It measures the Ratio of a Banks Book value of core Capital to the Assets book value. The Lower this Ratio, the more highly leveraged the bank is. Primary or core Capital Banks common Equity (book value) and perpetual preferred stock plus minority interests in consolidated subsidiaries (Cornett). RISK IN BANKS As Banks perform different financial services to their Clients they face many types of risk. There are number of assets in a banks Portfolio which are subject to different types of risks, such as default or Credit Risk. As Banks expand their services, they are exposed to foreign exchange risk. When the Assets and Liabilities in the Balance Sheet of Banks mismatch, they are further exposed to a risk known as Interest Rate Risk. If financial institutions actively trade these assets they are further exposed to Market Risk or asset price risk. Increasingly FIs hold contingent assets and liabilities off the balance sheet which represents off balance sheet risk, Moreover some all Financial Institution and Banks are exposed to some degree of Liability or withdrawal which exposes them to Liquidity risk. Finally the Risk that the Bank may not have enough Capital reserves to offset a sudden loss incurred as a result of one or more of the risks they face creates insolvency risk for the Banks. ( HOUSTON, 2008) CREDIT RISK MANAGEMENT Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) is used by Regulators of Banking System to assess the Banks financial Position especially the Capital to Assets Ratio as it does not falls below the required level so the bank is stable enough against the losses. State Bank of Pakistan the Regulator of Commercial Banks in Pakistan Monitor the Capital Adequacy Ratio of Commercial Banks to Provide Protection to the Depositors. A minimum Capital Ratio affects the leverage of Commercial Bank since highly leverage commercial Banks are more towards the chance of Credit and Interest rate risk and ultimately falling into Bankruptcy There are major 2 types of Capital for Banks. Tier-I Capital is closely linked to banks book value of equity, reflecting the contribution of a banks owners. Tier two is a broad array of secondary capital resources, which includes the loan reserves upto 1.25 % of risk adjusted assets plus various debt instruments. BENEFITS OF CAPITAL ADEQUACY RATIO In the initial Phase capital adequacy ratio does not take into account different risk Profiles of different class of Money market instruments, since some assets are highly risky and some debt instruments are almost risk free, such as Government bonds, where as the some instruments such as loans granted to Individual by a commercial bank can result in a default which accounts for Risk. So the advantage of Capital adequacy is as it takes into account risk profiles of all investment. (Schweser, 2008) BANKING REGULATIONS IN PAKISTAN The banks in Pakistan works under the BANKING COMPANIES ORDINANCE, 1962 (L VII OF 1962) and THE BANKING COMPANIES RULES 1963 made under the ordinance. (As amended up to 30th June, 2007) (State Bank of Pakistan, 2007)) METHODOLOGY RESEARCH APPROACH While doing the research, we are focusing on our research task and not to go beyond our specified boundary. Thus, were using deductive approach. We are also referring previous researches and theories related to our field of interest because we are studying a general phenomena i.e. relationship between profitability and credit risk management in conventional banking system of Pakistan. We are using quantitative method of study. We analyze the data with the help of regression model and the annual reports of the selected banks. The regression output makes us answer our research question. RESEARCH RESIGN We are conducting the research based on two factors i.e. profitability of banks and credit risk management thats why the design of research is co-relational. Our research will explain the relationship between the two and how credit risk management affects the profitability of banks in Pakistan. RESEARCH STRATEGY We are identifying the impact of credit risk management on profitability and For it, we have adopted the strategy of taking help from the previous records, studies and researches in this field and the statistics and data required for performing the test is obtained from the annual reports of the respective banks available on their websites. SAMPLING The population for the research consists of 20 private commercial banks out of the 54 banks operating in Pakistan. All the 20 chosen banks are working under conventional banking system as we are only focusing on conventional banks and all other banks such as Islamic banks, investment banks, micro-finance banks and public sector banks are not included in our research. The reason for this is to appropriately focus on one sector. On the basis of random sampling, 15 commercial banks are selected: Habib bank Ltd, MCB Bank ltd, Allied Bank Ltd, United Bank Ltd, Standard Chartered, Bank Alfalah, Faysal Bank Ltd, Bank Al-Habib, NIB Bank ltd, My Bank, RBS, Atlas bank, Arif habib Bank, Habib Metropoliton bank, JS Bank and Askari Bank ltd. In this research we are establishing the relation between profitability and credit risk management after implementation of BASEL II in Dec2006, therefore data is obtained from annual reports of 2007 to 2009. There are total 30 observations for each of the var iable used in this research. DATA COLLECTION Data and statistics for the tests are obtained from annual reports of 2007 to 2009. Well consider credit risk management disclosure, financial statements and notes to financial statements within the annual reports of the sample banks. RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS No research instrument is required in our research because the data used to conduct tests is secondary obtained from the annual reports of the banks from 2007 to 2009. DATA ANALYSIS Multiple regression analysis is used in our research i.e. the relationship of one dependent variable to multiple independent variables. The regression outputs are obtained by using SPSS APPLIED REGRESSION MODEL Dependent variable ROE and independent variables NPLR and CAR are considered in our study and all of them are numeric type. Therefore, multiple linear regression model is applied. DEPENDENT VARIABLE In many of the previous researches, ROE is used for the profitability of banks, Therefore, we have also used it as the indicator of profitability in the regression analysis.. According to Foong Kee K. (2008) indicated that the efficiency of banks can be measured by using the ROE which illustrates to what extent banks use reinvested income to generate future profits. INDEPENDENT VARIABLE NPLR and CAR are the indicators of credit risk management and they chosen as the independent variables because credit risk management affects the profitability of banks. NPLR, in particular, indicates how banks manage their credit risk because it defines the proportion of NPL amount in relation to TL amount. NPL amount is provided in the Notes to financial statements under Loans section. And the total loan amount is provided in the balance sheet of the banks in their annual reports. TL amount, the denominator of the ratio, has been gathered by adding two types of loans: loans to institutions and loans to the public. Thus, calculation of the NPLR has been accomplished in following way: NPLR = (NPL amount) Ã · (TL amount) CAR, CAR is regulatory capital requirement (Tier 1 + Tier 2) as the percentage of Risk weighted asset. The bank has to maintain a specific percentage of CAR to manage their Credit risk according to requirement of State bank of Pakistan. The minimum requirement for Banks on consolidated as well as standalone basis has been increased to 10%. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY While doing the research two concepts must be taken into account i.e. reliability and validity. Reliability refers that the data is consistent and whatever be the conditions, it would be remain same. But its not necessary that every reliable and consistent data is valid. If we have any systematic error in the instrument then every time it would be encountered in the measurement, thus the observations would be reliable but not valid. In our research, we have taken the data from the annual reports of banks available at their websites. These are the official reports made by the rigorous efforts by the management of banks and authenticated by the higher management; therefore the facts and figures in it would be valid as well as reliable and will help us in getting true results. CONCLUSION The aim of the study is to determine the impact of credit risk management on profitability. It is important to note that sample size represents 75% of the total population i.e. private commercial banks. That covers the major portion of the population, giving more accurate results. The results obtained from the regression model show that there is an affect of credit risk management on profitability on reasonable level with 41.8% possibility of NPLR and CAR in predicting the variance in ROE. So, the credit risk management strategy defines profitability level to an important extent. Especially, NPL amount appears to be adding the most weight to that than CAR. CAR is having negative impact on ROE, but on the other hand the significance value of CAR is 0.171which is greater than the p-value i.e. 0.05, which means that the value of coefficient for CAR is zero, making the affect of CAR on ROE nil. Only NPLR is significantly affecting the value of ROE. In the end it is to be recommended that bank should focus on maintaining and controlling amount of non performing loans to ultimately getting higher ROE, which ensures the better profitability.

Does King Lear Play The Tragic :: essays research papers

Does King Lear Play the Tragic Hero, or the Autocrat? It is quite possible to make an argument in favour of either answer, an argument that would prove to be quite a debate, although one answer would weigh in favour of the other. To prove this, certain elements would have to be analysed thoroughly, all aspects taken into context and sufficient research done into the matter. This is the only method in which a fair debate of the argument can be taken into consideration. We can only find the answer to this question if we know what the two arguments mean; this will provide a solid base onto which the rest of the debate can rest, a foundation of fact. Aristotle, a great founder of the definition of tragedy used the word catharsis to describe the effects of true tragedy on the spectator. Aristotle stated that the purpose of tragedy was to invoke pity and terror, and thereby effect the catharsis of these emotions. Other critics see tragedy as a moral lesson in which fear and pity are excited by the tragic hero’s fate serve to warn the spectator not to similarly tempt providence. This interpretation is generally accepted that through experiencing fear vicariously in a controlled situation, the spectators own anxieties are directed outward, and, through sympathetic identification was the protagonist, his insight and outlook are enlarged. Also, as importantly and significantly, Aristotle introduced the term hamartia, the tragic flaw, or an inherent defect or shortcoming in the hero of a tragedy. Aristotle casually described the tragic hero as a man of noble rank and nature whose misfortune is not brought upon him by villainy or corruption, but by some error of judgement. This imperfection later became known, or interpreted as a moral flaw, although most great tragedies defy such a simple distinction of the term. We could say that in many cases of tragedy the hero is never passive, but struggles to resolve his tragic difficulty with an obsessive dedication, that he is guilty of presuming that he is godlike, attempting to surpass his own human limitations. The need, or lack of order in a society, could be a reason why the tragedy came to be, and is known in Greek terms as hubris. This ethical and religious thought portrays the resulting implications of impious disregard of the limits governing human action in an orderly universe. It is the sin to which the great and the gifted are most susceptible, and in Greek tragedy is usually the hero’s tragic flaw.

A Rhythmic History of Hip-Hop Essay -- Hip Hop Music Beat Essays

A Rhythmic History of Hip-Hop Hip-hop, which originally began more than 20 years ago, has undergone many changes during its lifetime. The music has always remained centered in urban landscapes, with most performers of the music rising up from the inner-city neighborhoods. Throughout its history, hip-hop has centered on the rhythm of the beat rather than the melody, which shows the connection between modern hip-hop and traditional African tribal music, often featuring complex polyrhythms and little to no melody. Hip-hop has also featured heavy bass sounds through out its history, with the rhythms hitting the second and fourth beat of each measure hard with either a heavy bass drum or a bass guitar. Hip-hop beats have evolved in many different ways throughout their twenty-year history, yet they are all centered around rhythm and feature heavy, syncopated bass. For my field report, I chose to compose a number of different hip-hop beats, each one emulating a different style of beat from the history of hip-hop. I composed five different beats. The first is an emulation of a beat from the mid-eighties, the second is based on a gangster rap beat from the west coast during the early nineties, the third is based on a beat from New York City during the early nineties, the fourth based on a beat from the south during the late nineties, and the fifth is based on a beat from New York City during the late nineties. For two of the beats I used samples, which is a common practice in the construction of hip-hop beats. The other beats are all originals, yet they are not as long in length as those that contain samples. The first beat is one that is based on the song . South Bronx. by Boogie Down Productions, which was released in 198... ...t, and it does have a sad and reflective tone to it. My song features a sample from the song "Ballad of the Thin Man" by Bob Dylan. The beat is still repetitive, which has proven to be the one constant between all the beats that I chose to emulate. Most of my beats succeeded in trying to capture the feeling of a different time and a different area in music. As is evident by the difference in the beats that came out of New York, Los Angeles, and the South, whatever area the beat comes from has an influence on how those beats will sound. The time from which a beat came also has an influence on how it sounds, with the old school beats sounding quite different from the modern beats. While hip-hop beats have progressed and changed over time, there have also been constants, such as repetition and rhythmic complexity, that remain as similarities between all the beats.

Supersaturation or The Media Torrent and Disposable Feeling

Comprehension 1. The writer Todd Gitlin uses three different terms in the title of his essay â€Å"Supersaturation, or, The Media Torrent and Disposable Feeling. † By using these three embossing terms in the title of his essay the writer fascinates his readers in a brilliant manner. The Dictionary meaning of the term supersaturation is to increase the concentration on something beyond its saturation point.In his essay the concept of supersaturation is implied by the writer to show his readers, that how the media’s increased concentration has affected our society in different ways. The writer also reflects the concept of supersaturation in today’s world by saying â€Å"the flow of images and sounds through the household of rich world, and the richer parts of the poor world, seems unremarkable today (Gitlin 547). † The concept of disposable feeling is addressed by the writer in many different ways in the essay.The writer tells us about the difference between our current life and the life back in seventeenth century. The writer mainly highlights the concept of disposable feeling about the media torrent by saying â€Å"we may ignore them most of the time, take issue with them or shrug them off, but we must do the work of dispelling them-and even then, we know we can usher them into our presence whenever we like(Gitlin 547). †RhetoricIn this essay the writer Todd Gitlin argues comparing two different eras of our society. The writer compares the seventeenth century to this modern era in an effort to show his readers the domination of media torrent currently existing in our society. Gitlin’s claim is clearly stated in the first paragraph of the essay. The writer states his claim clearly by saying â€Å"these pictures were pleasing, but more: They were proofs of taste and prosperity, amusement and news at once (Gitlin 547). † We can say that the writer relies on his own opinions throughout the essay because while reading the essay the writer makes some terrific points about the concept of supersaturation.The writer appeals to logic, ethics, and emotions are made at many different instances throughout the essay. A very remarkable appeal Gitlin makes to logic, ethics, and emotions with the help of his claim is that, the things which were once slow changing means of entrainment have now became a major necessity in our life. Hence we can say that the writer sustains his own ideas throughout essay.Reading through the essay, I can say that the writer uses anecdotal evidences in his essay. In order to build a strong argument the writer has used variant evidences. At the very beginning of the essay the writer gives a strong evidence to bolster his argument by comparing the media torrent in current society to the seventeenth century.The writer says that â€Å"in seventeenth-century delft, painters did not knock on the door day and night offering fresh images for sale (Gitlin 547),† which we do not of ten see in today’s world. The writer also gives another nice example by saying â€Å"according to measurements of A. C.Nielsen and company the standard used by advertisers and the television business itself, the average individual watched television about four hours a day, not counting the time when the set was on but individual in question was not watching (Gitlin 547). † With the help of the following examples we can say that the writer mostly uses anecdotal evidences in the essay.In the conclusion of the essay â€Å"Supersaturation, or, The Media Torrent and Disposable Feeling† Todd Gitlin has used a very direct style of conclusion to explain his readers that media torrent has stunned the contemporary world.Gitlin talks about how media was in seventeenth century and how different it is now in the twentieth century. The writer explains how media has affected our day to day life by stating in his essay that, â€Å"more money we have to spend, the more personal space each house hold member gets. With more personal space comes solitude, but solitude is instantly crowed with images and soundtracks (Gitlin 547). † According to me, the writer has used his conclusion in a very straight forward manner.

Effects of

Marina Less, an 18th century female writer, gets plenty of fan mail, yet she only rarely replies. She feels compelled to answer to one woman in particular, Pierce, an older female dreaming to be a writer. Less' inspires Pierce by relating to her in many ways. Being a female writer in (1866), she appeals to her character and credibility by sharing personal experiences and shared values. She also informs Pierce about the qualities that she herself has that helped her to succeed.Time and wisdom is what Less feel is necessary to become a successful writer. By making a personal connection between the two women, Less is able to tell Price what it takes. The most important qualities that Less says are needed are wisdom and experience. With that being said, one gains wisdom through experience- you cannot make your writing believable without it. Using loaded words such as â€Å"genuine, trashy, and unripe†, Less expresses the importance of waiting until you have been more fulfilled in life. Less also appeals to Pierce's emotions by â€Å"stooping to her level† to con next more strongly with Price.In this way, Price will take Less' advice more to heart. Because this letter is written in 1866, the reader is lead to imply that women had very little rights. Women were given no respect in general, much less while being a woman author. Still today is the 21st century; women authors are using pen names so that their readers will see them as equals. They feared their male readers would not want to read her books because she is a woman. Considering all of this plus the time period, Price is at a disadvantage. In order to connect to on a more intimate level, Less uses feminism to unite their goals in a world run by men.Less reassures Price that even though she is a woman and although she is monotony she can still do whatever she puts her mind to. Although the reader is unaware of Pierce's writing abilities, Less feels confident in her and uses her own credibility to relate the two writers together in order to boost Pierce's confidence as a writer. Informing Pierce of their common ground, Less' persuades her by tapping into her emotions. Because she feels compelled to respond, she also succeeds in motivating Pierce by using rhetorical schemes such as personal experience and the two women's shared values.