The Effect of Media on Men and Women Essay Example for Free

The Effect of Media on Men and Women Essay In the past decade, media has become a lifestyle for most of America. Our lives are being shaped on and around the influence of whatever the media is saying we should live and act. Ever since the media has managed to work its way into our culture, it has had the largest influence on society. Everyone has started to use the media as a trend-setter that tells us what is popular and what is not. This can be a major problem in society today because this influence is too heavy and pushes people to think they are not important and have no purpose in life. This effect on men and women has been very negative in the sense that it is degrading to people to try to be something they cannot really be. Negativity brought on by the media is consistently seen throughout sports, fashion and advertisement worlds. And although media has brought man negative things, it has also brought some positive influences to society, some would argue, in politics and other areas women can be seen excelling in. In addition, it has been shown to have a positive effect on men when exemplary men are on TV or in the print media. The world today has brought media into everything we do, including sports, which would make sense with it because they are nationally televised. Women have always been at the low end of the spectrum when it comes to sports. They hardly have any professional sport that’s constantly being shown outside of the Olympics. The top two that come to mind are women’s basketball and golf. The media is the sports casting network and has nearly shut down any mention of these sports at all. Sports networks such as ESPN and Sportscenter focus on the male sports of that season usually baseball, basketball, or football. Occasionally other sports are highlighted, but rarely a woman’s sport. The media has so much influence in women’s sports that since no one wants to watch women play sports, they don’t allow them to have professional leagues. A study was done by the Women’s Sports Foundation that showed that about 6% to 8% of total media coverage is devoted to women’s athletics, and about 3.5% of articles are written for female athletes (Cassel). This negative effect is constantly seen and heard by women in the sports world and they still have to fight to get these opportunities for women’s sports. This also is reflected in college where women are mostly still ignored. The Women’s Sports Foundation said that males get $179 million more in scholarship money than women (Cassel). This is extremely unfair. Because of the lack of interest in women’s sports in America, women get less of an opportunity to perform as they do in men’s sports. The media can also have a negative effect not only on women, but also on men. In today’s society, everyone tries to have a certain appearance that they have seen on television and that they think will somehow make them look better. Media makes us want to become something we’re not and follow what’s trending. They make us think that if we have these certain look or live up to a certain behavior, all will be perfect, and we can have all the attention, but we find that we fail to live up to those expectations. This goal we seek is impossible to reach because these models or actors have professional coaches, makeup artists, writers, and staff to help them be who we think they are. It is common to see women get the worst because of their insecurity regarding their bodies. They try to compare their bodies to the models that have been photoshopped or are not even real, but yet, they will never reach their goal. These pressures by the media that cause insecurity in women lead them to do crazy things. These changes can be small, like dying their ha ir, or something more drastic like anorexia. The South Carolina Department of Mental Health showed in studies that about 1% of women deal with anorexia which doesn’t seem like a lot but it’s a lot more than it seems (Steele). It is also very common to see girls starting to diet at very young ages, like nine years old with about 40% of them admitting that they do (Seele). These girls aren’t even in middle school, and yet they are worried they’ll become ugly and fat. Women however aren’t the only ones affected by this appearance problem. Men are affected tremendously as well. Men sometimes become very insecure about themselves if they don’t have enough muscle or a six-pack. It doesn’t have as much of a drastic effect on males, but it still affects some of them. Another negative effect on men is that it causes them to try to make the prettiest girl theirs (N.p). The problem with that is that sometimes women can be put down because they don’t think they have the right look. Th is is a huge factor in today’s society and hopefully it will change, but at least not all things in the media are bad. Although the media has had a heavy influence of negativity on society, it has brought some positivity to society. Women have lately been gaining more and more equality to men in society in many areas. Women have been able to engage in a lot more things, such as politics. Women like Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin have been stepping out and having a say in what goes on in politics. This is great for women to see happening because it encourages them to strive to have a voice rather just to allow only men to have a say. Media has been encouraging women to step out and have a say. Media has also affected men in a positive way as well as, if not more than women. Men don’t have the same view as women when it comes to the media telling them a certain way to look. Studies are showing that when men see the media on ways they should look, they take it and try to use it as a motivation like (N.p.). For example when they see the public image of a muscular guy with a six-pack, they take it as a challenge and try to work to obtain those results. This is where women typically are different in the studies. They take media coverage in a negative way and get upset about it. However, it is very rare to have positive influence from the media; it can still have a negative effect on people. Media has become a large part of society today and is most influential to the nation as a whole. Many people shape their lives based on how the media tells them to. This has been negatively impacting the population as a whole, and many would agree it’s doing more harm than good. With the media being so important to our lives, it should start becoming more positive in order to encourage men and women, rather than to degrade them. Works Cited Cassel, Jean. â€Å"Gender Discrimination in Sports.† Livestrong. np. 19 June. 2011. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. â€Å"How Do Negative Body Images in the Media Impact Women? Physical and Mental Effects.† Hubpages. np. 6 June. 2011. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. â€Å"Media Images of Female Models Have Negative Effect on Men.† News-medical. Np. 7 Nov. 2008. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. Steele, Melisa. â€Å"National Statistics for Anorexia.† teen-beauty-tips. np. nd. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.

Sophies World Philosophical Question

Sophies World Philosophical Question All he knew was that he knew nothing and it troubled him (70). Socrates once proclaimed that he himself had very little knowledge. The statement is ironic and yet it became the foundation for Socrates and, in fact, the philosophers pursuit for wisdom. In truth, Socrates did know something, and that is he knew very little. For him, it was not how a person knows; thats merely knowledge. Instead, wisdom is the realization of how much one still doesnt know; its the realization of the range of ones own ignorance. Socrates interpretation of wisdom is one of the fundamental first steps on the path to philosophical understanding; uncertainty was what made him inquire and contemplate to achieve a fuller understanding of the truth. Human knowledge has rapidly advanced during past centuries and yet there are still questions left unanswered. Over time, a great multitude of people have assumed that they have found meaning and wisdom, but in reality they have simply accepted norms and knowledge handed down to them by society itself. Human wisdom has been dangerously close to stagnation and it would be a tragedy if one would cease to ponder the questions of life due to the perceive notion that the questions of life have been answered. Yes, science has presented the theorems to explain the processes of life and the inanimate, on the other hand theology has illuminated the path with countless parables, and nevertheless they cannot be accepted as the one truth, one must still question beyond the explanations, beyond the parables the true nature of Socratic wisdom lies in the never-ending quest for truth. Socrates himself was troubled that he knew so little (69), and that became the drive to know and understand more not to surrender or blindly submit to other ideas. Socrates questioned many people thought to be wise, and time after time, he discovered the fallacies in their logic, thus exposing their true lack of understanding. Socrates determined that the only reason he was wiser than anyone else was because, unlike all the other wise people he questioned, he didnt lay claim to knowledge he didnt actually possess. He recognized his ignorance while the rest did not; therefore, he assumed the path to wisdom by attaining the process to achieve it not necessarily having all the answers in the world. In retrospect humanity has lost the drive to accept its true lack of knowledge and has failed to rise above the uncertainties and pursue the truth. For centuries science and theology have fulfilled the basic needs of the human curiosity and yet man himself has turned a blind eye to inquire beyond the explanations of theorems, beyond the ancient scrolls of holy books and most importantly beyond ones own curiosity. The sense of satisfaction has been one of mans flaws; mankind has become comfortable in its place in knowledge and has slowed his desire for the truth. Like Socrates shouldnt mankind be troubled for knowing so little and at the same time overlook the pursuit for true wisdom? The beginning of wisdom and true knowledge is to admit ignorance. Humanitys stubborn way of obsessing with knowledge that they thought they fully grasp, has led them into thinking they have mastered every field, when in fact, the most knowledge that someone had acquired was usually only in one thing, not many things, or not any true knowledge about ones place in the world, and of the true meaning of life.

Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation

Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation Introduction: According to the topic of discussing the differences between Islamic securitisation and conventional securitisation, the discussion will lead to the satisfactory aspects of comprehensive analysis of the information gathered during the research. Moreover, it continues with the Islamic securitisation structure on the qualitative as well as quantitative basis according to the difference from the conventional securitisation structure. Securitisation which openly deals with the trade have more emphasis on the aspects to provide lucidity that it is riba-free (non-Islamic interest free) and its mechanism is based on shariah compliant system. We will be discussing different aspects that provide a clearer picture to mechanism that how it works i.e. structure, elements of risk shifting (risk scattering) and risk sharing in the deemed process so far as the area requires a lot more research to acquire steadiness in financial world and to enrich more on the topic some distinctive facts and figure are discussed as well. Background information of the topic: From the beginning of the Islamic banking in early 1960s which reckons the acuity of Islamic Shariah according to Quran and Sunnah brought into account as legal maxims with many ideas to facilitates the use of finance in both debt based and equity based. Not only Muslims countries regarding Islamic securitisation is worried about many factors to find a way out to enrich financial systems many other countries however following the conventional financial and banking systems. In the start and yet it is quite infant situation of securitisation because of the collective concerns of lenders or financier and borrowers. Lately, it has to move on with incentive compatibility and attractiveness for investors. Financial intermediaries even nowadays face quite drastic situations despite their in-house financial management; debt handling being a global concern. There is a wider line drawn understanding the differences between Islamic ways and uses of securitisation and its conventional counterpar t though it seems quite trembling discussing about when it is debt based securitisation. Refer to the figures shown below which signifies the basic mechanism of securitisation; providing a clearer picture to its importance. According to Masum Billah M., in his article Shariah Frameworks of Securitisation in the Capital Market, he discusses about securitisation being a prevalent method of financing nowadays more precisely in corporate sector. Furthermore he illustrates securitisation that where the company pooled its illiquid assets together and issued a claim to a pool of assets and when the assets are securitised, it made the assets tradable in the financial market. Furthermore, he presented the simplest definition that the securitisation is a process where corporation converts its physical assets in to financial assets. Masum aggregated in his words about the assets that have to be securitised have to be illiquid – cannot be traded in share market or secondary market- and should also have produce cash flows over its lifetime. Besides that, the assets should have financial value so that they can be used as a claimed against the securities. From the above depiction, a securitisation engages the s ale of a large pool of assets by an entity or the originator that creates or purchases the assets in the course of its business to bankruptcy remote, special purpose vehicle (SPV). The SPV acts as an issuer, issue and sale the securities through either in a private placement or public offering. When securitisation process is closed funds flow from the purchasers of the securities to the issuers and from the Issuers to the Originator. All these transaction occur virtually simultaneously. (Masum) Hence, the above description is the basic structure of securitisation. The actual structures are more complex because it involves more elements and participants. Refer to the rainbow-pie chart which presents a practical implication of securitisation according to Commerz bank. The above implementation can be an example of securitisation though many different approaches and products that provide seamless structure on Shariah compliant way which lie still under research yet required to be evolved. Scope of the research: The entire research is nourished on the basis of salient research techniques which consist of a vast study of reference books, written journals (inclusive of e-journals), research papers, seminar notes, open survey from public and some online resources. Furthermore, it helped a lot as a combination of theoretical and statistical comparison between conventional and Islamic securitisation in the literature review (which encompasses the knowledge as well as defined focus on the topic) with ground reality at an optimum level. Literature Review: Before moving on with detailed analysis there is a need to proclaim types (structures) of securitisation in general depiction. According to Masum, there are three main structures commonly used in securitisation. The originator chooses between three types of structures: pass-throughs, asset backed bond and pay-through. Masum further defined those structures coming forth; pass-through structures likely represent the direct ownership by the originator in a portfolio of assets. The originator services the portfolio, makes collections, and passes them to the investors. In pass through, the securities is not debt obligations of the originator thus, do not appear on the originators financial statement. Since the ownership of the assets lies with the originator, pass-through is designed to represent an assignment of a portion of ownership, rights and obligation but not a conveyance of title. (Masum) Masum elaborates that the Asset-Backed bond is collaterised by a portfolio of assets. The Asset-Backed Bond is a debt obligation of the issuers. In the issuers financial statement, the collateral remains as assets and the Asset-Backed Bond appears as a liability. The cash flows from the asset are not dedicated to the investors. The investors only receive a part of the cash flows and the residual remains with the issuers. One of the important aspect of the Asset-Backed Bond is that the securities is over-collateralized i.e. the value of the underlying assets is significantly in excess of the total obligation. For example, Company A issued RM1, 000,000.00 of bond using the Asset-Backed Bond structures. The value of the underlying assets that backed the bond is RM2, 500,000.00. The issuer chooses to over-collateralised its bond in order to provide some level of comfort to the investors. (Discussed by M.M. Billah in his paper) Lastly, he concluded with the final structure of securitisation is the pay-through structures. This structure has combination of pass-through and Asset-Backed Bond. The bond is collateralized by a pool of assets and appears on the issuers balance sheet as a debt. However, the cash flows arise from the assets is passed to the investors. The issuer only earns the service fees from the investors. From the above description of the mentioned, we can see that pass-through is the structure closest to satisfy the Islamic principle. Under pass-through, the cash flows collected are dedicated to the investors and the issuer only earns the service charge. Besides that, the security does not classify as a debt by the originator. Henceforth, conventional securitisation must be secluded according to research in different products and approaches and thus a large part of the conventional securitisation market – for example, mortgage backed securities, would be prohibited because the income (th ough not the principal) element of the cash flow would be characterised as riba. Similarly, CDOs and other such instruments could not be allowed as an asset class as these represent Debt rather than an allowable commodity or activity. However, these restrictions do not mean that an Islamic securitisation market cannot develop. There are many classes of assets with a long history of securitisation that are halal (allowable), in particular any physical asset such as plant and machinery, and many of the techniques used in a conventional securitisation transaction are equally valid in an Islamic transaction. The remainder of this article will try to show just how similar those requirements are, and point out some further underlying differences in structuring a Sharia compliant securitisation. Mervyn and Kabir (2007) conversed Islamic point of view of investments in different aspects according to ethics and moral besides regulatory framework and it is quite well defined perception that an investor needs a brighter depiction of profit generation to allow him to think about different financial intermediaries in this modern world though it is going through analysis time to time since many years following their psyche on the other hand banks being financial intermediary have to put through making most of it avoiding concept that money should not be loan according to legal maxims. According to Ayub M. (2007), Islamic principles can make the difference and that Islamic finance is passing significant milestones; which lead entrepreneurs not to stop putting their research on and on. Islamic researchers are more concerned meeting shariah compliant regulatory requirements. Sohail (2006) overstated that Islamic retail banking and finance is not only designated for Muslim community on ly; which means Islamic retail banking products are adopted to some extent because of their competency and efficiency, and are being used under the umbrella of conventional (non-Islamic) banks; they often call it as window for Islamic banking products. Detailed analysis of differences between Islamic securitisation and its conventional counterpart: Islamic lending transactions are governed by the precepts of the shariah, which bans interest and stipulates that income must be derived as return from entrepreneurial investment. Since Islamic finance is predicated on asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, structuring shariah-compliant securitisation seems straightforward. As mentioned in by Kabir and Mervyn (2007) according to Humayoun A. Dar; fixed-return modes deals with the control and management of funds as clients have the possession which was made available by the investors, financial frameworks are often used with different areas of Islamic banking products like investment accounts based on mudharabah and saving account based on wadia, inclusive of Islamic retail banking products like Islamic mortgages, Islamic auto finance, sukuk (Islamic bonds) and many other products dealt with the concept of asset-backing and riba-free i.e. Islamised frameworks. Nonetheless, financial institutions have been able to develop various forms of Islamic finance instruments that are virtually identical to their conventional counterparts in substance. Since most Islamic financial products are based on the concept of asset backing, the economic concept of asset securitisation is particularly amenable to the basic tenets of Islamic finance. Securitisation under Islam ic law bars interest income and must be structured in a way that rewards investors for their direct exposure to business risk, i.e., investors receive a share of profits commensurate to the risk they take on in lieu of pre-determined interest. All three asset types of Islamic finance are principally eligible for Islamic securitisation; however, unresolved issues, including restrictions on debt trading or the management of prepayment risk could limit their indiscriminate use as collateral. Characteristics of conventional securitisation only apply if they convey a sufficient element of ownership to investors as entrepreneurial investment in real economic activity within an interest-free structural arrangement. In addition, also administrative issues, such as underwriting standards, issue placement and the procurement of ratings, are subject to religious scrutiny. Any capital generated from securitised issuance under Islamic law is to be used exclusively used for the repayment of initial funding. Conventional securitisation, which originated in non-Islamic economies, invariably involves interest bearing debt. Although the religious prohibition of the exchange of debt and the required conferral of ownership interest to participate in business risk still poses challenges to further development of Islamic securitisation, the gradual acceptance of Islamic investment certificates, so-called sukuk bonds, represents a successful attempt to overcome these impediments based on the adequate interpretation and analogical reasoning of shariah principles applied in Islamic finance. Sukuks are shariah-compliant and tradable asset-backed, medium-term notes, which have been issued internationally by governments, quasi sovereign agencies, and corporations after their legitimization by the ruling of the Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in February of 1988. Sukuk notes convey equity interest to (capital market) investors in the form of a call option on partial or complete ownership of underlying reference assets, including the right to some calculable rate of return as a share of p rofit (secondary notes) and the repayment of the principal amount (primary notes). All three broad types of Islamic finance transactions (asset-, debt- and equity-based) can be reference assets of such Islamic securities. Following exhibits (3 and 4) provide the sukuk implementations. Detailed analysis of elements of risk shifting and risk sharing in securitisation process: Over the last five years, the sukuk has evolved as a viable form of capital-market-based Islamic structured finance, which reconciles the concept of securitisation and principles of the shariah law on the provision and use of financial products and services in a risk-mitigation structure subject to competitive pricing (El-Qorchi, 2005). Notwithstanding these religious constraints, Islamic finance can synthesize close equivalents to equity, mortgages, and derivatives known in conventional finance. To this end, it relies on structural arrangements of asset transfer between borrowers and lenders to emulate traditional interest-bearing financial contracts. Since lending transactions under Islamic law are based on the concept of asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, it also appears relatively straightforward to structure a shariah-compliant asset-backed securitisation (ABS) that delivers a risk-return profile similar to a conventional structure. Howe ver, conventional securitisation was developed in non- Islamic economies and invariably involves interest-bearing debt. Essentially, asset securitisation represents a cost-efficient and flexible structured finance1 technique of liquidity transformation and risk transfer, which converts present or future asset claims of varying maturity and quality into tradable debt securities. The various methods of securitisation have much to offer, but so far they have found only limited acceptance in Islamic finance due to religious restrictions on the sale and purchase of interest-bearing debt and legal uncertainty surrounding the enforceability of investor interest under Islamic jurisprudence. Over the last five years, the nascent Islamic securitisation market has seen many positive developments owing to the adoption of enabling capital market regulations, a favorable macroeconomic environment, and financial innovation aimed at establishing shariah compliance. The most popular ABS structures w ithin Islamic finance are commonly referred to as sukuk bonds backed by either one of the three basic forms of Islamic finance (synthetic loans, sale- leasebacks, or profit-sharing arrangements). Asset securitisation describes the process and the result of issuing certificates of ownership as pledge against existing or future cash flows from a diversified pool of assets (reference portfolio) to investors. (Jobst, 2006b). Foreign Investment Insurance Policy-FIIP by The Islamic Corporation For The Insurance of Investment And   Export Credit ICIEC Islamic securitisation transforms bilateral risk sharing between borrowers and lenders in Islamic finance into the market-based refinancing of one or more underlying Islamic finance transactions. Protection against basic risk; can be unless returns for investors are linked to the rate of interest on the underlying assets, there is a risk that the relationship between the rate paid on the underlying assets and that paid on the securities will differ over time. Normally a swap will be arranged to protect against this risk. In addition, conventional securitisation is virtually absent in Islamic countries, where Islamic home finance and sukuks provide a potentially untapped market for structured finance. Islamic securitisation complements the conventional ABS universe as an alternative and more diversified funding option that broadens the pricing spectrum and asset supply as high demand for alternative investment products causes greater lending width amid a low-yield market environment. In some circumstances, the shariah compliance also entails tax exemptions when investors hold direct ownership interest in the securitised assets. Conclusion: Islamic securitisation is a helpful and important tool, which must be carried out prior to the issuance of Islamic bonds or Islamic Debt Securities. By securitising assets, the Islamic way, Muslim investors can now participate in the bond market without worrying that the process of securitising the assets and issuing of the bonds are contradictory to the Islamic teachings. Islamic finance is being more attractive for not only the Muslim community but for non-muslim world. Its products are being progressive even though there been some hurdles and late development of Islamic banking and finance industry and moreover it is has been so securitised for customer satisfaction and avoided almost the pity of riba-based banking structure. In this regard, it has a more focus on the revision and research on the proposed and as well as on financial structures that are being practiced nowadays. It has been proven that many big names like HSBC, Lloyds and Standard Chartered are putting there focus on Islamic products and especially on retail banking products and securitisation products. Suggestions and Recommendations: Islamic Finance Expanding Rapidly (2007) by IMF(MCM Dept.) Many Islamic products have the thirst to be researched on and provided quite attractive picture for entrepreneur to spot focus on Islamic finance industry. Besides many Islamic retail banking products, Sukuk (i.e. Islamic Bonds – despite of the type), Takaful (Insurance) and Tawarruq (AAOIFI standardised loan) are called out as the future for Islamic banking and might have a better attraction to conventional banking world as well. References(s): Aggarwal, R. K. Yousef, T. (2000) Islamic Banking and Investment Financing, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing Ahmad Ausaf (1993) Research Paper 20: Contemporary practices of Islamic financing techniques, Islamic Research and Training Institute, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ahmad Ausaf (1987) Development and Problems of Islamic Banks, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ayub M. (2007) Understanding Islamic Finance, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester Commerz Bank, Securitisation of Banks, https://cbcm.commerzbank.com/en/site/banks/securitisation_cf_banks/index.jsp [Access Date: 14th August 2010] Deringer (2006), Islamic finance: basic principles and structures Freshfields Bruckhaus Consultants, pp 30. Dualeh, S. (1998). Islamic Securitisation: Practical Aspects. Paper presented at the World Conference on Banking, July 8-9, 1998, Geneva. El-Qorchi, Mohammed (2005), Islamic Finance Gears Up, Finance and Development (December), International Monetary Fund (IMF), 46-9. Fabozzi, F. J. (ed). (2001). Accessing Capital Markets through Securitisation. New York: Fran J Fabozzi Associates. Hassan Kabir M. Lewis Mervyn K. (2007) Handbook of Islamic Banking, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham IMF, Islamic Finance Expanding Rapidly, URL: [Accessed on: 18th August 2010] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2007/res0919b.htm Islamic Credit and Political Risk Insurance, A Useful Risk Management Tool For BanksURL:http://www.kantakji.com/fiqh/Files/Insurance/Islamic%20Credit%20and%20Political%20Risk%20Insurance.htm [Access Date: 17th August 2010] Jaffar S. (2006) Islamic Retail Banking and Finance: Global Challenges and Opportunities, Euromoney Books, London Jobst, Andreas A. (2006b), Asset Securitisation: A Refinancing Tool for Firms and Banks, Managerial Finance, Vol. 32, No. 9, 731-60. Kazarian G. E. (1993) Islamic versus traditional banking: Financial Innovation in Egypt, Boulder: Westview Press Kothari, Vinod (n.d.). Securitisation: a Primer. Available at: , Access Date: 17th August 2010. Manjoo F. A., (2005) Securitisation: An Important Recipe for Islamic Banks A Survey, Review of Islamic Economics, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2005, pp.53 Masum Billah, M. (unknown), Shariah Frameworks of Securitisation in the Capital Market URL: http://www.applied-islamicfinance.com/sp_securitisation_1.htm [Access Date: 10th August 2010] Mullineux, A. W. Murinde, V. (2003) Handbook of International Banking, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham Usmani M. M. T. (1988), An Introduction to Islamic Finance, Islamic Publication, pp. 1-5, Karachi Zaher, Tarek S. Hassan, Kabir M. (2001) A comparative Literature Survey of Islamic Finance and Banking; Financial Markets, Institutions and Intruments, Blackwell, New York Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation Islamic Securitisation and Conventional Securitisation Introduction: According to the topic of discussing the differences between Islamic securitisation and conventional securitisation, the discussion will lead to the satisfactory aspects of comprehensive analysis of the information gathered during the research. Moreover, it continues with the Islamic securitisation structure on the qualitative as well as quantitative basis according to the difference from the conventional securitisation structure. Securitisation which openly deals with the trade have more emphasis on the aspects to provide lucidity that it is riba-free (non-Islamic interest free) and its mechanism is based on shariah compliant system. We will be discussing different aspects that provide a clearer picture to mechanism that how it works i.e. structure, elements of risk shifting (risk scattering) and risk sharing in the deemed process so far as the area requires a lot more research to acquire steadiness in financial world and to enrich more on the topic some distinctive facts and figure are discussed as well. Background information of the topic: From the beginning of the Islamic banking in early 1960s which reckons the acuity of Islamic Shariah according to Quran and Sunnah brought into account as legal maxims with many ideas to facilitates the use of finance in both debt based and equity based. Not only Muslims countries regarding Islamic securitisation is worried about many factors to find a way out to enrich financial systems many other countries however following the conventional financial and banking systems. In the start and yet it is quite infant situation of securitisation because of the collective concerns of lenders or financier and borrowers. Lately, it has to move on with incentive compatibility and attractiveness for investors. Financial intermediaries even nowadays face quite drastic situations despite their in-house financial management; debt handling being a global concern. There is a wider line drawn understanding the differences between Islamic ways and uses of securitisation and its conventional counterpar t though it seems quite trembling discussing about when it is debt based securitisation. Refer to the figures shown below which signifies the basic mechanism of securitisation; providing a clearer picture to its importance. According to Masum Billah M., in his article Shariah Frameworks of Securitisation in the Capital Market, he discusses about securitisation being a prevalent method of financing nowadays more precisely in corporate sector. Furthermore he illustrates securitisation that where the company pooled its illiquid assets together and issued a claim to a pool of assets and when the assets are securitised, it made the assets tradable in the financial market. Furthermore, he presented the simplest definition that the securitisation is a process where corporation converts its physical assets in to financial assets. Masum aggregated in his words about the assets that have to be securitised have to be illiquid – cannot be traded in share market or secondary market- and should also have produce cash flows over its lifetime. Besides that, the assets should have financial value so that they can be used as a claimed against the securities. From the above depiction, a securitisation engages the s ale of a large pool of assets by an entity or the originator that creates or purchases the assets in the course of its business to bankruptcy remote, special purpose vehicle (SPV). The SPV acts as an issuer, issue and sale the securities through either in a private placement or public offering. When securitisation process is closed funds flow from the purchasers of the securities to the issuers and from the Issuers to the Originator. All these transaction occur virtually simultaneously. (Masum) Hence, the above description is the basic structure of securitisation. The actual structures are more complex because it involves more elements and participants. Refer to the rainbow-pie chart which presents a practical implication of securitisation according to Commerz bank. The above implementation can be an example of securitisation though many different approaches and products that provide seamless structure on Shariah compliant way which lie still under research yet required to be evolved. Scope of the research: The entire research is nourished on the basis of salient research techniques which consist of a vast study of reference books, written journals (inclusive of e-journals), research papers, seminar notes, open survey from public and some online resources. Furthermore, it helped a lot as a combination of theoretical and statistical comparison between conventional and Islamic securitisation in the literature review (which encompasses the knowledge as well as defined focus on the topic) with ground reality at an optimum level. Literature Review: Before moving on with detailed analysis there is a need to proclaim types (structures) of securitisation in general depiction. According to Masum, there are three main structures commonly used in securitisation. The originator chooses between three types of structures: pass-throughs, asset backed bond and pay-through. Masum further defined those structures coming forth; pass-through structures likely represent the direct ownership by the originator in a portfolio of assets. The originator services the portfolio, makes collections, and passes them to the investors. In pass through, the securities is not debt obligations of the originator thus, do not appear on the originators financial statement. Since the ownership of the assets lies with the originator, pass-through is designed to represent an assignment of a portion of ownership, rights and obligation but not a conveyance of title. (Masum) Masum elaborates that the Asset-Backed bond is collaterised by a portfolio of assets. The Asset-Backed Bond is a debt obligation of the issuers. In the issuers financial statement, the collateral remains as assets and the Asset-Backed Bond appears as a liability. The cash flows from the asset are not dedicated to the investors. The investors only receive a part of the cash flows and the residual remains with the issuers. One of the important aspect of the Asset-Backed Bond is that the securities is over-collateralized i.e. the value of the underlying assets is significantly in excess of the total obligation. For example, Company A issued RM1, 000,000.00 of bond using the Asset-Backed Bond structures. The value of the underlying assets that backed the bond is RM2, 500,000.00. The issuer chooses to over-collateralised its bond in order to provide some level of comfort to the investors. (Discussed by M.M. Billah in his paper) Lastly, he concluded with the final structure of securitisation is the pay-through structures. This structure has combination of pass-through and Asset-Backed Bond. The bond is collateralized by a pool of assets and appears on the issuers balance sheet as a debt. However, the cash flows arise from the assets is passed to the investors. The issuer only earns the service fees from the investors. From the above description of the mentioned, we can see that pass-through is the structure closest to satisfy the Islamic principle. Under pass-through, the cash flows collected are dedicated to the investors and the issuer only earns the service charge. Besides that, the security does not classify as a debt by the originator. Henceforth, conventional securitisation must be secluded according to research in different products and approaches and thus a large part of the conventional securitisation market – for example, mortgage backed securities, would be prohibited because the income (th ough not the principal) element of the cash flow would be characterised as riba. Similarly, CDOs and other such instruments could not be allowed as an asset class as these represent Debt rather than an allowable commodity or activity. However, these restrictions do not mean that an Islamic securitisation market cannot develop. There are many classes of assets with a long history of securitisation that are halal (allowable), in particular any physical asset such as plant and machinery, and many of the techniques used in a conventional securitisation transaction are equally valid in an Islamic transaction. The remainder of this article will try to show just how similar those requirements are, and point out some further underlying differences in structuring a Sharia compliant securitisation. Mervyn and Kabir (2007) conversed Islamic point of view of investments in different aspects according to ethics and moral besides regulatory framework and it is quite well defined perception that an investor needs a brighter depiction of profit generation to allow him to think about different financial intermediaries in this modern world though it is going through analysis time to time since many years following their psyche on the other hand banks being financial intermediary have to put through making most of it avoiding concept that money should not be loan according to legal maxims. According to Ayub M. (2007), Islamic principles can make the difference and that Islamic finance is passing significant milestones; which lead entrepreneurs not to stop putting their research on and on. Islamic researchers are more concerned meeting shariah compliant regulatory requirements. Sohail (2006) overstated that Islamic retail banking and finance is not only designated for Muslim community on ly; which means Islamic retail banking products are adopted to some extent because of their competency and efficiency, and are being used under the umbrella of conventional (non-Islamic) banks; they often call it as window for Islamic banking products. Detailed analysis of differences between Islamic securitisation and its conventional counterpart: Islamic lending transactions are governed by the precepts of the shariah, which bans interest and stipulates that income must be derived as return from entrepreneurial investment. Since Islamic finance is predicated on asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, structuring shariah-compliant securitisation seems straightforward. As mentioned in by Kabir and Mervyn (2007) according to Humayoun A. Dar; fixed-return modes deals with the control and management of funds as clients have the possession which was made available by the investors, financial frameworks are often used with different areas of Islamic banking products like investment accounts based on mudharabah and saving account based on wadia, inclusive of Islamic retail banking products like Islamic mortgages, Islamic auto finance, sukuk (Islamic bonds) and many other products dealt with the concept of asset-backing and riba-free i.e. Islamised frameworks. Nonetheless, financial institutions have been able to develop various forms of Islamic finance instruments that are virtually identical to their conventional counterparts in substance. Since most Islamic financial products are based on the concept of asset backing, the economic concept of asset securitisation is particularly amenable to the basic tenets of Islamic finance. Securitisation under Islam ic law bars interest income and must be structured in a way that rewards investors for their direct exposure to business risk, i.e., investors receive a share of profits commensurate to the risk they take on in lieu of pre-determined interest. All three asset types of Islamic finance are principally eligible for Islamic securitisation; however, unresolved issues, including restrictions on debt trading or the management of prepayment risk could limit their indiscriminate use as collateral. Characteristics of conventional securitisation only apply if they convey a sufficient element of ownership to investors as entrepreneurial investment in real economic activity within an interest-free structural arrangement. In addition, also administrative issues, such as underwriting standards, issue placement and the procurement of ratings, are subject to religious scrutiny. Any capital generated from securitised issuance under Islamic law is to be used exclusively used for the repayment of initial funding. Conventional securitisation, which originated in non-Islamic economies, invariably involves interest bearing debt. Although the religious prohibition of the exchange of debt and the required conferral of ownership interest to participate in business risk still poses challenges to further development of Islamic securitisation, the gradual acceptance of Islamic investment certificates, so-called sukuk bonds, represents a successful attempt to overcome these impediments based on the adequate interpretation and analogical reasoning of shariah principles applied in Islamic finance. Sukuks are shariah-compliant and tradable asset-backed, medium-term notes, which have been issued internationally by governments, quasi sovereign agencies, and corporations after their legitimization by the ruling of the Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in February of 1988. Sukuk notes convey equity interest to (capital market) investors in the form of a call option on partial or complete ownership of underlying reference assets, including the right to some calculable rate of return as a share of p rofit (secondary notes) and the repayment of the principal amount (primary notes). All three broad types of Islamic finance transactions (asset-, debt- and equity-based) can be reference assets of such Islamic securities. Following exhibits (3 and 4) provide the sukuk implementations. Detailed analysis of elements of risk shifting and risk sharing in securitisation process: Over the last five years, the sukuk has evolved as a viable form of capital-market-based Islamic structured finance, which reconciles the concept of securitisation and principles of the shariah law on the provision and use of financial products and services in a risk-mitigation structure subject to competitive pricing (El-Qorchi, 2005). Notwithstanding these religious constraints, Islamic finance can synthesize close equivalents to equity, mortgages, and derivatives known in conventional finance. To this end, it relies on structural arrangements of asset transfer between borrowers and lenders to emulate traditional interest-bearing financial contracts. Since lending transactions under Islamic law are based on the concept of asset backing and specific credit participation in identified business risk, it also appears relatively straightforward to structure a shariah-compliant asset-backed securitisation (ABS) that delivers a risk-return profile similar to a conventional structure. Howe ver, conventional securitisation was developed in non- Islamic economies and invariably involves interest-bearing debt. Essentially, asset securitisation represents a cost-efficient and flexible structured finance1 technique of liquidity transformation and risk transfer, which converts present or future asset claims of varying maturity and quality into tradable debt securities. The various methods of securitisation have much to offer, but so far they have found only limited acceptance in Islamic finance due to religious restrictions on the sale and purchase of interest-bearing debt and legal uncertainty surrounding the enforceability of investor interest under Islamic jurisprudence. Over the last five years, the nascent Islamic securitisation market has seen many positive developments owing to the adoption of enabling capital market regulations, a favorable macroeconomic environment, and financial innovation aimed at establishing shariah compliance. The most popular ABS structures w ithin Islamic finance are commonly referred to as sukuk bonds backed by either one of the three basic forms of Islamic finance (synthetic loans, sale- leasebacks, or profit-sharing arrangements). Asset securitisation describes the process and the result of issuing certificates of ownership as pledge against existing or future cash flows from a diversified pool of assets (reference portfolio) to investors. (Jobst, 2006b). Foreign Investment Insurance Policy-FIIP by The Islamic Corporation For The Insurance of Investment And   Export Credit ICIEC Islamic securitisation transforms bilateral risk sharing between borrowers and lenders in Islamic finance into the market-based refinancing of one or more underlying Islamic finance transactions. Protection against basic risk; can be unless returns for investors are linked to the rate of interest on the underlying assets, there is a risk that the relationship between the rate paid on the underlying assets and that paid on the securities will differ over time. Normally a swap will be arranged to protect against this risk. In addition, conventional securitisation is virtually absent in Islamic countries, where Islamic home finance and sukuks provide a potentially untapped market for structured finance. Islamic securitisation complements the conventional ABS universe as an alternative and more diversified funding option that broadens the pricing spectrum and asset supply as high demand for alternative investment products causes greater lending width amid a low-yield market environment. In some circumstances, the shariah compliance also entails tax exemptions when investors hold direct ownership interest in the securitised assets. Conclusion: Islamic securitisation is a helpful and important tool, which must be carried out prior to the issuance of Islamic bonds or Islamic Debt Securities. By securitising assets, the Islamic way, Muslim investors can now participate in the bond market without worrying that the process of securitising the assets and issuing of the bonds are contradictory to the Islamic teachings. Islamic finance is being more attractive for not only the Muslim community but for non-muslim world. Its products are being progressive even though there been some hurdles and late development of Islamic banking and finance industry and moreover it is has been so securitised for customer satisfaction and avoided almost the pity of riba-based banking structure. In this regard, it has a more focus on the revision and research on the proposed and as well as on financial structures that are being practiced nowadays. It has been proven that many big names like HSBC, Lloyds and Standard Chartered are putting there focus on Islamic products and especially on retail banking products and securitisation products. Suggestions and Recommendations: Islamic Finance Expanding Rapidly (2007) by IMF(MCM Dept.) Many Islamic products have the thirst to be researched on and provided quite attractive picture for entrepreneur to spot focus on Islamic finance industry. Besides many Islamic retail banking products, Sukuk (i.e. Islamic Bonds – despite of the type), Takaful (Insurance) and Tawarruq (AAOIFI standardised loan) are called out as the future for Islamic banking and might have a better attraction to conventional banking world as well. References(s): Aggarwal, R. K. Yousef, T. (2000) Islamic Banking and Investment Financing, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing Ahmad Ausaf (1993) Research Paper 20: Contemporary practices of Islamic financing techniques, Islamic Research and Training Institute, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ahmad Ausaf (1987) Development and Problems of Islamic Banks, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah Ayub M. (2007) Understanding Islamic Finance, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, Chichester Commerz Bank, Securitisation of Banks, https://cbcm.commerzbank.com/en/site/banks/securitisation_cf_banks/index.jsp [Access Date: 14th August 2010] Deringer (2006), Islamic finance: basic principles and structures Freshfields Bruckhaus Consultants, pp 30. Dualeh, S. (1998). Islamic Securitisation: Practical Aspects. Paper presented at the World Conference on Banking, July 8-9, 1998, Geneva. El-Qorchi, Mohammed (2005), Islamic Finance Gears Up, Finance and Development (December), International Monetary Fund (IMF), 46-9. Fabozzi, F. J. (ed). (2001). Accessing Capital Markets through Securitisation. New York: Fran J Fabozzi Associates. Hassan Kabir M. Lewis Mervyn K. (2007) Handbook of Islamic Banking, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham IMF, Islamic Finance Expanding Rapidly, URL: [Accessed on: 18th August 2010] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2007/res0919b.htm Islamic Credit and Political Risk Insurance, A Useful Risk Management Tool For BanksURL:http://www.kantakji.com/fiqh/Files/Insurance/Islamic%20Credit%20and%20Political%20Risk%20Insurance.htm [Access Date: 17th August 2010] Jaffar S. (2006) Islamic Retail Banking and Finance: Global Challenges and Opportunities, Euromoney Books, London Jobst, Andreas A. (2006b), Asset Securitisation: A Refinancing Tool for Firms and Banks, Managerial Finance, Vol. 32, No. 9, 731-60. Kazarian G. E. (1993) Islamic versus traditional banking: Financial Innovation in Egypt, Boulder: Westview Press Kothari, Vinod (n.d.). Securitisation: a Primer. Available at: , Access Date: 17th August 2010. Manjoo F. A., (2005) Securitisation: An Important Recipe for Islamic Banks A Survey, Review of Islamic Economics, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2005, pp.53 Masum Billah, M. (unknown), Shariah Frameworks of Securitisation in the Capital Market URL: http://www.applied-islamicfinance.com/sp_securitisation_1.htm [Access Date: 10th August 2010] Mullineux, A. W. Murinde, V. (2003) Handbook of International Banking, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham Usmani M. M. T. (1988), An Introduction to Islamic Finance, Islamic Publication, pp. 1-5, Karachi Zaher, Tarek S. Hassan, Kabir M. (2001) A comparative Literature Survey of Islamic Finance and Banking; Financial Markets, Institutions and Intruments, Blackwell, New York

The Passive and Pitiful Ethan Frome Essay -- Ethan Frome Essays

The Passive and Pitiful Ethan Frome   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ethan Frome is a man torn between what he wants to do, and what he should do.   Life in a rural town can be tough, but when faced with complications, it can be almost unbearable.   When Ethan decides to marry his distant cousin, Zeena, his life turns down a long and lonesome road.   Ethan's lack of assertiveness and decisive action only worsens his already lonesome and stressful life.         Ã‚  Ã‚   Though too intelligent for rural life, Ethan finds himself stuck in an average man's shoes. Leaving any opportunity he had to become someone in life, Ethan moves back to Starkfield to take care of his ailing mother and attend to their farm(Wharton 29).   Rather than living a lonesome life after his mother passes away, Ethan asks Zeena to stay with him, which turns out to be his first mistake (Wharton, 29). As soon as his mother passed away, Ethan should have asked Zeena to leave and sold his farm.   His love for learning and keenness for engineering could have led Ethan to a much better life.   Unfortunately, he feels obligated to stay with Zeena, thus ending all hope   for a better life.         Ã‚  Ã‚   Zeena's ailments were nothing more than a way to gain attention from Ethan and everyone else in Starkfield.   Zeena wastes valuable money to buy an electric battery to help her overcome her "sickness", but never figures out how to use it(Wharton, 26); She spends too much money buying useless medicine when she knows money is hard to come by.   Being the man of the house, Ethan should have expressed the fact that her ailments were a factor of them being poor.   Instead Ethan goes by day by day doing what he needs to do, and what Zeena tells him.   Unfortunately for Ethan,... ...controllable circumstances brought him back home, it was he who chose to stay and risk losing all hope for the life he had dreamed for.   Ethan's decision to be with Zeena did nothing but make his already dreadful life worse.   When Mattie finally arrives, it's almost like a small burden has been lifted from Ethan's shoulders and he is almost allowed to live again. Lacking the ability to make decisions, Ethan worsens his life by letting things just slide by; and by not standing up to Zeena, the outcome leaves Ethan more desperate and lonelier than he was before.    Works Cited and Consulted: Bell, Millicent. The Cambridge Companion to Edith Wharton. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.   Springer, Marlene. Ethan Frome: A Nightmare of Need. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. Wharton, Edith. Ethan Frome. New York: Penguin Group, 1993.

Marvel and Toy Biz :: essays research papers

My previous two columns have focused on the story of my short-lived involvement with a group of investors seeking to purchase Marvel Comics in January, 1998. As I related last time, my role in examining the Marvel documents was to analyze the licensing division with an eye as to how much potential revenue we could anticipate from this area. In the end, I had to tell my fellow investors that there really wasn't a whole lot of licensing potential left. Either the rights were hopelessly entangled due to bungling on the part of Marvel's legal staff, or that most of the decent licensing properties had already been sold for many years forward, in exchange for upfront cash payments in previous years. The one area that held some potential was the possibility of somehow breaking the ToyBiz royalty-free licensing agreement. That license not only gave ToyBiz the rights to produce any and all Marvel toys in perpetuity, but also granted them a zero royalties rate! It seemed quite plausible to me that the bankruptcy court had the discretion to void such an encumbering agreement. That, in fact, was exactly what investor/raider Carl Icahn was seeking in his reorganization plan for Marvel. He was so sure he could have the toy contract terminated that he bet upwards of $200 million of his money, and that of closely allied investors, by purchasing Marvel bonds at distress prices. It was exactly the prospect of losing their sweetheart agreement which made ToyBiz owners Isaac Perlmutter and Avi Arad passionately committed to purchasing Marvel. ToyBiz was almost completely dependent on its Marvel license for its survival, so there was no way they could give up on this deal. That is why Perlmutter arranged his own financing group, and ultimately bid over $400 million for Marvel. Returning to our investment group, while I was reading the licensing agreements, the bankers whom I accompanied to the Marvel bankruptcy trustee's office went over the financials. We were originally going to work through the night to establish a criteria under which we could craft a bid for the company, or some part of the company. We stopped for lunch at 1 PM, however, and it quickly became apparent from our conversations that no one in our group thought Marvel was worth anything near what Icahn and Perlmutter were bidding.

Culture Essay

First it would be profitable to try to define culture; for a cultural studies researcher not only it includes traditional high culture (the culture of ruling social groups) and popular culture but according to Raymond Williams also everyday meanings and practices. As stated in Matthew Arnold? s â€Å"Culture and Anarchy† culture is â€Å"the disinterested endeavor after man’s perfection†. It was James Clifford in â€Å"Collecting art and culture† that defended that what we gather for culture is not always the same because objects of study vary according to power discourses which define the value of the studied object. This being said, it is commonly known that we live in a time of consumption, so naturally art is seen from that perspective. Theodor Adorno defends culture is being sold as you would with commodities. The autonomy of works of art is eliminated by the culture industry they become bound to be trade as commodities. In a Marxist view, he defends that those who control the means of production, essentially control the culture. Adorno approaches the spheres of mass culture in a simplistic way, production (industry) and reception (consumption) – strip away individuality. Adorno also distinguishes high / low art. He says that high art has been diminished by â€Å"speculation about its efficacy†.. In this sense, high culture would be the art worth of serious academic study while low culture would be the culture of the masses. Walter Benjamin speaks about the way we define art is determined not by ideas but by theories. He reflects on what art is and the way it is being altered by technical means. W. Benjamin starts his essay by quoting Paul Valery: â€Å"our fine arts were developed by men whose power of action upon things was insignificant in comparison with ours† – so it is something questionable. In addition, Valery states that the idea of Beautiful is constantly changing due to the growth in techniques and their precision. Benjamin corroborates this view by pointing out that techniques of representation detach the reproduced object from the domain of tradition and mass movements are responsible for this, especially the film. Although in his essay he states that â€Å"the film operator captures the image at the speed of an actor? s speech†, thus showing us things we have never been able to notice before, like a gesture decomposed in several fractions of a second, it also manipulates masses – its ultimate purpose is profit. The reproduction of works of art and the art of the film have had a huge impact on in its traditional form†, as Benjamin puts it. Who hasn? t experienced this first-hand? Calling forward the example of painting, Benjamin points out that without its reproduction it would not be accessible to so many, we will have to dislocate in order to be able to contemplate the original work . But copies diminish the importance of the work of art. For example a symphony was trivialized â€Å"from an auditory to the drawing room†. This calls to question the authority of the object. Copies of a work of art made it commodity. Without realizing the painter was selling them to earn a living, although his ulterior motive was the artistic side of it. But it became a commodity nonetheless. According to both texts there is no high culture today and little remains in the sense it was first created. W. Benjamin states that high culture always had a cult component and it was bound by it. Statues were made to be contemplated in temples, mosaics in churches. Works of art like statues and mosaics that cannot be mechanical reproduced thus maintained their authenticity – â€Å"they are first and foremost related to cult value†. When a work of art is related to exhibition value it loses its aura because by reproducing the uniqueness of every reality we destroy the aura. According to Benjamin high art would be the works of art that have an aura and can maintain their distance. If such a distance is not kept then true authenticity is questioned. An analysis of contemporary life sheds some light in this question. It brings us closer to every manifestation of art. He also states that contemporary literature is being undervalued. There is a thin dividing line between reader and writer. Virtually any reader can become a writer, once again closeness is implied.

Social Media: Bane or Boon?

SOCIAL MEDIA: BOON OR BANE? Roberto M. Macatuggal, Ph. D. Web 2. 0 has enabled web-based services, such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, etc. , that emphasize collaboration and sharing among users. This platform (Davis, 2012), described simply as the read/write web, allows users to be both consumers and producers of online content. It is an interactive two-way web; a place where everyday folks with Internet access can create and edit stuff. Davis compares Web 1. 0 and Web 2. 0: Web 1. 0 was a place to go and get, while Web 2. 0 is a place to be and do.Gregory (2011) clarifies further that Web 2. 0 allows for participating and sharing in the production of resources. It is about communities, participation, and peering. A social network (Wikipedia) is a theoretical construct that is used to study the relationships between and among individuals, social units, or even whole societies. Georg Simmel pioneered in early structural theories in Sociology and Jacob Moreno is credited for having developed the first sociograms in the 1930s to study interpersonal relationships. Web 2. 0 social networking working capabilities have spawned the development of social media tools.What is social media? According to Parker (2011) social media are the uses of Web technology to spread messages through social interaction that happens online. Rean John Uehara (Webdesigner. com) defines social media as a combination of human interaction through web applications where people produce their own content, mold their own experience, and define their online presence. A loose definition of social media is that it’s like a country, people gather and interact with massive amounts of people from their area and abroad. It’s really a broad place, both wonderful and terrible depending on its use.Two of the most popular social media are Facebook (visited at http:// blog. facebook. com/blog. php? post =287542130) which claims to have more than 400 million users and T witter (http://blog. twitter. com/2010/02/measuring-tweets. html) receiving around 50 million updates a day from users, which is an average of 600 tweets per second. Parker (2011) differentiates the following social media tools: 1. Blogging – an informal conversational medium for writing and publishing content online on regular basis. (e. g. , Blogger, Typepad, WordPress). 2. Microblogging – a short form of blogging where posts are usually limited in length and format. e. g. , Twitter, Friendfeed) 3. Social Networking – a way to engage and interact with a specific online community by way of a fan or profile page. 4. Social Bookmarking – a central location for posting links to useful resources which can be seen and shared by other users. (e. g. , Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious). 5. Multimedia – Sharing rich media such as video, images, and presentation online. (e. g. , YouTube, SlideShare, Flickr). 6. Reviews and Opinions – a way for customers to share opinions and reviews of products and services online. (e. g. , Yahoo! Answers, Epinions, eHow). 7.Wikis – a central repository designed to be edited by a group rather than one person. (e. g. , Wikipedia, Wikia, Wikitravel, Dealipedia, Wikimapia). What are the benefits of social media? Nakul Arora wrote in his blog that in today’s fast growing world, social media is the latest thing which has made its presence felt virtually across all the sectors. Facebook and Twitter are two big players having majority control within social media. Thus, it becomes very important for any organization today to be present in some form or the other on these networks so as to connect with the wide following these networks have.These networks have also taken individualism to another level altogether with each person having a considerable say over his friend group. Thus if any educational institution at all succeeds in winning over a student to avail of its educational services, the chance of influencing his friends also increases. According to Arora, there are 5 things that educational institutions can do to tap into the students on Facebook and Twitter: 1. Forming a dedicated team. This aspect involves creation of a dedicated team for the sole purpose of managing the social media setup for the institution.This is very important in the present environment there being more than one department in an institution. It is also important to ensure the smooth functioning of the online groups with the social media team managing and ensuring a proper sync between all the different aspects of the institution. An example here to show the need of such a team would be to simply take a case wherein an ex-student of the university sends out a job opportunity to a group of present students online. Now, the social team would keep track of this and forward it to the respective department which an then ensure that the opportunity is properly utilized by the students. This dedica ted team would also ensure that the institution’s updates are well planned and organized instead of doing them at random. This would thus, cater well to the different groups of ex, current and prospective students. 2. Giving before receiving. A common rule of the internet is that you have to first give before you receive. Any person would only follow a particular group or institution if they are sharing things that are unique and beneficial in some way for the person.This is not a tough thing to achieve, for every institution is unique in its own aspect and thus, creation and sharing of unique things wouldn’t offer such a big problem. Also, the university can utilize its previously existing case-studies, problems, etc. for the purpose of engaging the prospecting and other interested students. It can also share newsletter articles about happenings in the institution with the people who are interested in keeping updated with the affairs of the school. 3. Forming and coor dinating student online groups.Students are any institution’s biggest asset and can be the best people to spread the message of the happenings and current life of the institution. Thus, any institution should maintain an online students group where it should form a dedicated team of student volunteers to share the latest things from the campus. This would give the prospective students a real glimpse of the actual life in the campus and also help them connect with the current students. The ex-students can also use this group to remain connected with their Alma Mater.Such groups can also be formed for specific purposes: a group can be formed solely for the purpose of sharing internship opportunities by the alumni with the current students. Another such group can be exclusively for the alumni and staff members to reconnect and be in touch. Also, smaller groups can be formed to influence students who have negative attitudes and perceptions about the school. 4. Presence of influen tial personalities on the networks. Every college has its heroes: professors or teachers who are famous for their service in a particular field of study.These are people who have a huge fan following and thus, any update that they make will be followed by a large number of people. The university has to ensure that professors of such repute have their presence in the social world as well and they also communicate on a regular basis with their followers. Many institutions have already initiated this with their chancellors and heads having an active Facebook or Twitter account. They can actually hold open forums, discussions or simply answer some queries occasionally on the social media. 5. Trying to create a better world.The institutions can also use the social media for their aims towards providing a good education to all. This can be done with the creation of free online courses which can be taken by anyone and everyone. The world has been propelled in that direction with the introd uction of Apple’s iUniversity which gives the universities an opportunity to provide a host of courses, either free or paid. This will go a long way in developing the reputation of the university while benefiting in the process due to development of good content and new courses.This will help towards creating a better world where quality education will be free and available to all. As the prevalence of social media continues to rise, organizations of all types and sizes are recognizing the ways in which social media can help them better understand, respond to, and attract the attention of their target audience. As a result, businesses are now jumping on the social media bandwagon at a rapid pace, embracing blogs, social networks, wikis, and other vehicles to achieve their marketing and public relations goals.The types of benefits that corporations achieve with an effective social media strategy (http://shiftcomm. com/social_media_benefits. html) are the following: 1. Get the message out faster – and to more people. Social media enables more rapid sharing of information. It may take hours, or even days, for a new announcement to reach the end consumer through traditional channels. Why? Because when a press release is issued, a journalist or writer must first wade through all the sales and marketing lingo to find the key points.Then, the content must be re-purposed in article format, and sent to an editor or proofreader before it is published. Social media vehicles, on the other hand, allow for instantaneous dissemination of not just news, but images, audio, video, and other multimedia content as well. And because releases geared toward social media outlets contain only key highlights, pertinent facts, and hyperlinks to related statistics and quotes, the information they contain can be immediately picked up and posted by bloggers and other online journalists.Social media also provides more widespread coverage, enabling breaking news to reach a much larger and broader reader base than standard media outlets alone. While magazine readership and the number of available print publications continue to decline, the number of consumers using the Internet to access and share information continues to rise sharply. For example, one recent study showed that almost one out of every four Internet users – over 41 million people total in 2006 – visits MySpace on a regular basis. 2. Improve branding.Social media, and blogs in particular, can be a highly useful tool for enhancing both awareness and image. Blogging can help â€Å"spread the word† about a company, its products, and its services to more people, dramatically increasing brand recognition and awareness. Additionally, social media can enable executives to gather input and feedback directly from their target audience, and use that intelligence for more effective reputation management. Insight into why people like – or hate – a brand is needed to hel p change and control audience perceptions and preferences. 3. Boost the impact of direct marketing.Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a key component of today’s direct marketing and lead generation strategies, and social media has proven its ability to significantly complement SEO initiatives. Many social media techniques – such as frequent use of common jargon and key phrases, title tags, ticker symbols, and links to blogs and other relevant Web content – can dramatically improve search engine rankings. Additionally, while SEO relies on just a handful of popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo to drive target prospects to a site, social media expands the potential audience by creating alternate channels.For example, when content is published to a site, and that content is then linked to delicious or reddit, it can generate a tremendous boost in Web traffic. Many companies also find it much easier to generate compelling content that is likely to be pick ed up by bloggers, than it is to keep up with the â€Å"rules† required to rank high in today’s popular search engines Parker (2011) suggests five (5) steps in the effective use of social media in business: 1. Think of the bigger picture. Be consistent with the message you wish to convey across various tools. 2. Use less rather than more media tools.It is important to consider your objectives as a basis for selecting the appropriate media tool. 3. Appoint a social media champion. The person would be responsible in engaging the clients / customers regularly; develops strategies to promote the business through social media. He/she would also be responsible in coordinating employees’ personal and social media activities. 4. Tracking the effect. Track the impact of social media efforts on the business such as increased traffic to the website of your business. 5. Take action. Retain the social media tool that gives you more business.Schools have likewise taken advant age of social media to reach out to as many students as possible. For universities competing to attract top students, it's no longer enough to have a glossy brochure and a sleek website. Schools like Johns Hopkins are reaching out to engage with applicants on Facebook and Twitter. They're also finding that a robust social media campaign, along with such creative features as student-run blogs, can lure prospective students while a stale online presence can turn them off. College admissions officers are indeed learning to interact with students where they hang out: online.According to a recent study by the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, 100% of universities surveyed use social media to communicate with students, up from 61% in 2007-08. The study found that 98% of the responding colleges have a Facebook page and 84% have a Twitter account. What are some of the misuses of social media? Social media, according to Prateek Shah, is as prone to m isuse as your computer is to virus. One of the misuses of social media is defaming people/groups/religions/communities. This is possible because of the anonymity of the person posting the derogatory statements.Celebrity fake accounts are being made and untrue stories about them are being spread. ‘Hacking at home’ has led to stealing of passwords and accessing the private lives of others, leading to relationship woes and even divorces. A survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) revealed that four out of five lawyers reported a growing number of divorce cases that cited evidence derived from networking sites. What is at stake when social media is misused and abused? Because of social media misuse and abuse, Uehara (posted at Webdesigner. om) says that you as a social media user may lose: 1. Your soul. If you have a huge audience and you make one little blunder, people will strike you with their pitchforks. 2. Your integrity. Huge claims, especially in public, can easily be cross-examined. 4. Your privacy. Often, people would share snippets of their personal lives on social media sites which is tantamount to loss of privacy. 3. Your job. People have lost their jobs because of a single tweet! 4. Your future. People remember. What you share now with people can haunt you several years from now.The future of social media Gregory argues that social networking through the web with sites such as Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Second Life, YouTube, and Flicker is becoming a widespread if not dominant form of communication among Internet users, and most popular phenomena prognosticators forecast that this type of collaborating will continue and grow exponentially. Prateek Shah warns that regular attempts at curbing the freedom of social media will be made, but the truth is that it is leading us towards a new world where the lies will be trashed and the guilty will be charged.He says that It will not happen overnight but change has begun and i t is for the common good. In the Philippines, our legislators have crafted House Bill 3732, otherwise known as the Freedom of Information Bill. Social Media and the Internet will be among the enablers of the Freedom of Information Bill, which will boost transparency and minimize graft and corruption in the government. Maintaining ethics in the hyper-networked world of social media Tyler Pennock, Director of Social Media, Rude Finn Creative Edge formulated the following ethical guidelines in the use of social media: 1. Honesty: State nly what you know to be true – and be clear about opinion or conjecture vs. fact. 2. Transparency: Be straightforward about who you are – and who you’re representing online. 3. Respect: Respect for yourself, your peers, and even your adversaries. 4. Privacy: Treat the intimate details of others as you would your own personal information. 5. Relevance: Ensure that the content you’re posting is relevant to the audience and the v enue where it’s being posted. 6. Responsibility: Take ownership of your online activities, the content you’ve created, and any missteps you’ve made along the way.Conclusion Social media is man’s creation to respond to a need for expanding the network of social relationships, towards the realization of a real global village. However, the effectiveness of such social media depends on the selection of the tools that suit one’s purposes and objectives, including their proper use through the observance of ethical practices that respect the rights and uphold the dignity of the human person. References Arora, Nakul. 5 Ways Educational Institutions Can Use Facebook and Twitter For Studies And Coordination.Davis, Cheryl Ann Peltier. (2012). The Cybrarian’s Web. London: Facet Publishing. Gregory, Vicki L. (2011). Collection Development and Management for 21st Century Library Collections: An Introduction. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. Parker, Catherine . (2011). 301 Ways to Use Social Media to Boost Your Marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill. Prateek, Shah. Use, Misuse and Abuse of Social Media. Posted at http://greensmyles. com/2012/06/the-use-and-misuse-of-social-media/ Uehara, Rean John. Social Media Misuse That Could Cost You Big Time. Webdesigner. com.