Thursday, October 31, 2019

Critically discuss the challenges in balancing security and freedom in Essay

Critically discuss the challenges in balancing security and freedom in delivering an effective counter terrorism strategy in operational practice - Essay Example e against another person or another persons’ property; the violence (and threat thereof) employed therein is aimed partly at destabilizing (or maintaining) an existing political or social order, but mainly at publicizing the goals or causes espoused by the agents or by those whose behalf the agents acts; often, though not always, terrorism is aimed at provoking extreme counter- measures which will win public support for the terrorists and their goals†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The radicals associated to terrorism are not confined to any particular region or race; rather it entails an extensive influence of drastic nature globally. Due to this very severity, terrorism has caught attention of various bodies globally which aim to reduce this nuisance through counter-terrorism strategies. These strategies can be dully defined as, â€Å"Activities which are intended to prevent terrorists acts or to eradicate terrorists groups† (thefreedictionary.com, 2014). Another definition for such me thods is as follow; â€Å"Operations that include the offensive measures taken to prevent, deter, pre-empt and respond to terrorism. Also called CT† (US Department of Defense, 2005). Such strategies can be designed and implemented at regional, national and at inter-national levels (UNODC, 2009). Although, these instruments are aimed at enhancing the efforts to exterminate violence but more than often these strategies are often coupled with certain downsides or limitations, particularly the delivery and implementation of such counter terrorism activities in operational practice pose a variety of challenges in balancing security and freedom. A counter terrorism strategy is often designed in collaboration with certain other states or non-state actors, particularly if it is of inter-national level. One of the challenges which arise in such counter terrorism strategies is the conflict of interest. Globalization has increased the likelihood of conflict, involving failed-state and non state actors (The Strategic

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Enrollment System Essay Example for Free

Enrollment System Essay ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to say â€Å"Thank God†, for giving me the health and strength in doing this project work until it done. Not forgotten to my family for providing everything, such as money, to buy anything that are related to this project work and their advise, which is the most needed for this project. Internet, books, computers and all that as my source to complete this project. They also supported me and encouraged me to complete this task so that I will not be procrastinate in doing it. Then I would like to thank my instructor, Mr. JoeySuba for guiding me throughout this project. We had some difficulties in doing this task but he taught us patiently until we knew what to do. INTRODUCTION Interest in information system has increased during the recent years not only in education but also in all areas where resources are managed. Two main reason account for this- the increasing population and the need for improved problem-solving tools. Student information system has always been a difficult task, but it is more so today than ever before, where administrators uses the traditional way of filing records on a cabinet. As the population of the students goes up, it is becoming more complex. Data should be stored in safer places, and can be retrieved easily and fast when someone needs it. Administrator’s task has becoming more complex, there have been efforts to improve the effectiveness of problem solving and central to this are quantitative techniques and electronic devices such as computers. In the field of education, researchers and theorists have focused intensively in recent years on examining the concepts and use of information to assist administrators, teachers, students and parents. Others have raised and discussed fundamental issues and uses of school information system to facilitate judgment and decision-making in schools. Schools, like any other organization used to manage all sorts of data and information to ensure attainment of its goals and objectives. The emerging needs in most schools for accurate and relevant data and reliable information strengthen the Student Information System. PROBLEM DEFINITION: This study attempted to identify the quality of information system in San Simon Integrated School . Based on my observations during the interview, i found out that on the manual system that the school is presently using, information and records were not kept accordingly that causes lost of important papers and documents. The student’s Form-137 was kept by the present teacher of the student as well as birth certificate or baptismal certificate, which has no assurance of safety keeping. Another problem identified is when the entries of names in the student’s lists are not updated, where some are complaining when records are incorrect if someone needs the documents. One respondent said that lists of classes were not produced immediately upon the start of the school year, that’s why it takes 2 to 3 days to know what the student’s section. ANALYSIS: Student information system has enhanced the quality of information generated in terms of precision or accuracy of data. Important things must be specified and considered for the proper usage of the system. This is designed to create a user-friendly program. The system must be kept in place that is well ventilated to avoid any risk of damage to the system. It must also be password protected to avoid from viruses and computer crime such as information theft. The system includes a manual that can be used by the authorized personnel to operate the program correctly. It must have a pleasing design and should be right coded for the benefit of the user. Audiences involved in the system must be secured and restricted. Proper maintenance and regular check-up of the system must be done to avoid any failures of it. ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED Because of the rapid growth of the student’s population in San Simon Integrated School, there are lots of problems encountered by both parents and the school administration. By using the manual enrollment system, problems such as time consuming production of information, unable to make corrections in student’s record, and tracking of student’s profile were not done fast and effective. Here are some alternative solutions that can be proposed to the school to avoid these kinds of problems:  · Provide a computerized enrollment system that has the ability to track records, make corrections and that can generate data fast and effective.  · Provide a system that can secure all the information and record of the students.  · Provide a software that will lessen the workloads of the teachers and the administration.  · To have a system that can give the students a successful enrollment system. RECOMMENDATION: Because of the problems encountered by San Simon Integrated School, we recommend to the administration to have another Enrollment system that is useful in many ways, and that is the computerized enrollment system. An enrollment system that has the ability to store students information, that can easily be retrieved and printed when needed. This enrollment system also can be able to make corrections of entry easily and fast. Through this, we can be sure that all the information will be kept in a single database so that we can minimize some problems like lost of records. It is recommended to the San Simon Integrated School that the detailed specification and implementation of the system would ensue as long as the administration approved the computerized enrollment system. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY San Simon Integrated School is a public school in San Simon Pampanga. Based on the investigations conducted, the school uses the traditional manual enrollment system. Data and information were kept on a filing cabinet, which finds difficulty and time consuming in retrieving the documents when needed. Grades were also kept by the present teacher of the students, which has no assurance of safe keeping. It also takes a long time to process the billings, lists of students, and correction of entries. During the first day of school, the students finds it hard to locate their names in a list posted on the doors of the classroom. Because of this, we are proposing the computerized student information system. This software has the ability to keep student’s records in a single database. This system can be the solution to some of the problems encountered by the school as defined previously. It is recommended to the school to provide a computer where we can install the system. And also, a committee which can be headed by some teacher must be organized to operate the system. This software can be acquired in a very minimal cost. Free seminars and trainings will be given to the person who will operate the system, and manuals will be provided. Some of the benefits that can be acquired in this system were: * easy correction of entries * effective and efficient production of data * grades can be kept in a database for future use * upon enrollment, students can immediately know their designated sections * will lessen the workloads of the teachers and staff * effective enrollment processing This proposed system is guaranteed to use, and will not be useless. Alternative solutions should be considered to make their enrollment system improved and progressive.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Constraints to Islamic finance growth

Constraints to Islamic finance growth Contents INTRODUTION: The global financial system: Facing the challenge: Reaching critical mass: THE REGULATORY CHALLENGE: Malaysia as case of study: CONCLUSION: Reference INTRODUTION: The Islamic financial industry today is an important component of the global financial world, the total Islamic assets ballooned from US$150 billion in the 1990s to US$1 trillion in 2010.The most successful and fast developing sector of Islamic financial industry is namely –SUKUK, Islamic banking, TAKAFUL, and fund management. SUKUK market at the end of 2010 was estimated to reach US$143 billion; the Islamic banking sector worldwide is valued at US$850 billion in term of assets, while Islamic fund industry under management grew by 15% globally. The IFSB expects the value of global Islamic financial assets to reach US$1.6 trillion by 2012. Islamic finance has demonstrated its competitiveness and resilience during the global financial crisis. Today Islamic finance is in transition to the next stage of development, greater international integration and Islamic finance institution to mobilize a higher level of global cooperation will help to further propel the prospects of Islamic finance moving forward. Several countries now in the race to become Islamic finance hubs such as –London, Hong Kong and Singapore, also new market such as-Luxembourg, South Korea and Australia, in addition they aspire to become Islamic finance centers. The global financial system: Global wealth currently held by 4.4 billion people has increased 72% since 2000 to reach US$195 trillion driven by robust growth in emerging markets, many of which are comprised of large, diverse Muslim populations. Global wealth is estimated to grow 61% to US$315 trillion by 2015. On the other hand, US banking assets are valued at approximately US$13.3 Trillion at the end of 2010.while global banking assets reached US$85 Trillion by end of 2011.The value of global Islamic across all asset closes remains minuscule in comparison to that of their conventional counterpart .Total Islamic financial assets make up less than 1% of the total global financial assets. Facing the challenge: Nowadays market capitalization of Islamic banking dwindles in comparison to their conventional counterpart, the capitalization was only 4.1%, and actually Islamic banks were much less affected by the global financial crisis. The Islamic banks are facing a larger challenge as the conventional banks recapitalize and merge. Conventional banks have been able to return to profit in NO time in 2010 only, the ten top conventional banks (by –Pre-crisis market capitalization) net profit increase by 139% year on year. Meanwhile the Islamic banks suffered 55% decline in net profit during the same period. Reaching critical mass: Islamic finance needs to reach the critical mass and cannot be underestimated. It has been identified as the number one for Islamic finance to become truly competitive with the conventional system, ways to get this goal could include reaching out to untapped markets and audiences or build an entity can influence multiple areas of the market with expertise and capital. Large –scale institutions which will have all the capabilities to penetrate the various segmented markets with expertise and knowledge while providing Shariah- compliant financial solutions. Another often mentioned challenge in the Islamic finance industry is the issue of liquidity. The Islamic finance markets currently lack the liquidity , but in the last ten years Islamic financial institutions (IFI) developed rapidly to meet the demand from both retail and corporate entities, and IFIs still face the challenge of a lack of instruments to manage liquidity as a result product being short -term given under the current constraints. But the large Islamic finance institutions can enhance market liquidity and hence offer product pricing by integrating their global and regional market operations. Also Islamic finance needs to meet the human capital requirement. Many Islamic banks still have limited capabilities and expertise to consistently create, therefore increase with development of Islamic financial product and services need for high skilled staff. Further areas of focus in capacity building and talent development include: The need for practitioners and stakeholders to be highly qualified. The need for specialized training and educational institutions. The development and adoption of industry best practices. The collaboration and exchange of knowledge across jurisdictions and supplementary research into and development of key specialized areas. Second area for reaching critical mass is Islamic microfinance, currently there are more than 200 Islamic microfinance institutions around the world, the main countries are Indonesia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan; but Islamic microfinance is still in its nascent stage. A 2007 global survey on Islamic microfinance undertaken by the (GAP) group to assist the poor shows that only 350.0000 customers and accounts for only around 0.005% of total microfinance outreach. Although 2010 estimates now put this figure at 0.05%, the slow growth in Islamic microfinance is due mainly to the fact that the facilities were usually provided by specialized institutions such as non-government organization (NGOs) and not by Islamic banks. Islamic microfinance should be integrated into countries mainstream banking and financial system, this will help to: Create greater awareness of product. Encourage product innovation Improve access to microfinance. Widen and strengthen the distribution channels. Standardize regulation and improve transparency. THE REGULATORY CHALLENGE: Global financial sector lost almost US$ 1.8 trillion as a result of the financial crisis and a big part of the recent financial crisis can be blamed on regulatory failure .The absence of rules during the global depression resulted in many economists to reconsider their views on the model based on market in economic theory and is continuous in current communities in conventional banking. Many governments all over the world have introduced financial and economic reforms as a kind of government intervention to produce well- regulated financial systems, Malaysia as case of study: Malaysia was resilient against the global financial crisis due to strong fundamentals and inherently sound financial regulatory framework. Islamic banking in the country was well protected from the effects of the crisis because of the Islamic financial institution strict commitment to Islamic principles, which prevents high level of benefit speculative activities. The regulatory authorities have introduced a comprehensive regulatory and supervisory framework for Malaysia’s dual financial system. Stronger standards have been set for corporate transparency governance, accountability, disclosure, risk management, customer protection, and market discipline. Below are some of the introduced internal regulations: 1- Corporate Governance Guidelines 2-Rate of Return Framework 3-Guidelines on Financial Disclosure 4_Sharia Committee Guidelines 5-Islamic Money Market Guidelines 6-Capital Adequacy Standards 7-Musharakah and Mudarabah 8-Firewalls for Islamic Window Operations. Generally, these initiative and regulation have the following effects on the Malaysian Islamic financial system: System, maintain the confidence of the public with IFIs as the custodians of public funds. Strengthen a competitive financial system which offers efficient and reliable services. Ensure the health of each IFI for development Prevent the risk of a contagion and methodology failure of the financial system Promote good market practices and high standards of corporate governance Protect customer and shareholders interest. CONCLUSION: There are some elements that are likely to comprise the growth of Islamic finance as below: The present Islamic banking is based on reproduction of conventional banking products, this is lacking to achieve the overall aims of Islamic finance system which is based on impartial distribution of economic advantages and makes Islamic finance less effective than their conventional counterparts. Not all the conventional products have an Islamic finance identical treasury and liquidity management tools. Islamic finance needs changes in the legal regulatory and tax environment to absorb finance without incurring additional cost to the customers. The different interpretations of sharia provisions have resulted in the absence of unification; common understanding is required to merge local market with the global market. Shortage of necessary tools to manage liquidity Expertise and human resource in Islamic finance are rare. For Islamic finance to get good stage of growth should be extended to reach critical mass, chances to get there include: 1-Large scale institutions have the possibility and capability to penetrate the different fragmented markets with experts while providing sharia compatible with financial solutions. 2-Microfinance has ability to find opportunities for the untapped SME market of the emerging economies and to capture interest in Islamic microfinance. 3-Sound regulation, to make sure that Islamic finance has a decent opportunity of growth and development while expending to critical mass. Some of the remaining challenges to be overcome include the development of human capital. Reference www.dawn.com/news/641420/comment-and-analysis-growth-constraints-in-islamic-financial-sector IFSB 4th public lecture on financial policy and stability, lecture by Baljeet Kaur Grewal- Amman- Jordan -2011 1

Friday, October 25, 2019

Quality Teachers in the American Education System :: philosophy of education, descriptive

Lately, it seems every time you pick up a newspaper it contains a story on the inadequacy of our nation’s educational system. Society is forever blaming its woes, from not being able to multiply to not being able to balance a checkbook, on a bad teacher. We all, at sometime in our education, have had to sit through the boredom and uncertainty of teachers like Christian Zowodniak’s freshman English teacher, Jeff. Teachers like Jeff made it appear that our teaching universities are turning out unqualified teachers, but this is not the case. Mediocre teachers get into the education profession for all the wrong reasons: from having summers off, to having good health insurance coverage, to having good work hours. Hopefully, these teachers quickly "burn-out" and seek employment in other professions. Unfortunately, many of them stay and become passive, unconcerned teachers, much like Zowodniak’s Jeff. Surely, we have encountered more good teachers than bad ones in our years of education. Yet, we are quick to point out the flaws of our education system and to complain about poor teachers. But seldom do we praise our greatest asset, our excellent teachers. I would like to tell you about an excellent teacher, Mrs. Joan Beers . Mrs. Beers, my senior English teacher, loves teaching. Her love for her profession is reflected in her method of teaching her students, in her method of addressing her students’ different learning styles, and in her method of assessing her students. Like Jeff, many of my high school teachers used a passive approach to teaching. The bell rang, and the teacher stood behind a podium with a notebook bulging with lecture notes. Facing her was a roomful of eager students, with notebooks opened and pens poised. Our learning consisted of a fifty-five minute lecture on grammar, during which the teacher verbally delivered reams of facts and examples, and we busily recorded her every word. We learned these bits of information and recited them word for word at exam time. The passive teacher graded us only on our ability to recall at exam time. Mrs. Beers, on the other hand, used a more active, student-centered approach to her teaching. She began class with a five minute discussion on prepositions. Then, she divided the class into small groups of three to four students and handed each student a current newspaper. Quality Teachers in the American Education System :: philosophy of education, descriptive Lately, it seems every time you pick up a newspaper it contains a story on the inadequacy of our nation’s educational system. Society is forever blaming its woes, from not being able to multiply to not being able to balance a checkbook, on a bad teacher. We all, at sometime in our education, have had to sit through the boredom and uncertainty of teachers like Christian Zowodniak’s freshman English teacher, Jeff. Teachers like Jeff made it appear that our teaching universities are turning out unqualified teachers, but this is not the case. Mediocre teachers get into the education profession for all the wrong reasons: from having summers off, to having good health insurance coverage, to having good work hours. Hopefully, these teachers quickly "burn-out" and seek employment in other professions. Unfortunately, many of them stay and become passive, unconcerned teachers, much like Zowodniak’s Jeff. Surely, we have encountered more good teachers than bad ones in our years of education. Yet, we are quick to point out the flaws of our education system and to complain about poor teachers. But seldom do we praise our greatest asset, our excellent teachers. I would like to tell you about an excellent teacher, Mrs. Joan Beers . Mrs. Beers, my senior English teacher, loves teaching. Her love for her profession is reflected in her method of teaching her students, in her method of addressing her students’ different learning styles, and in her method of assessing her students. Like Jeff, many of my high school teachers used a passive approach to teaching. The bell rang, and the teacher stood behind a podium with a notebook bulging with lecture notes. Facing her was a roomful of eager students, with notebooks opened and pens poised. Our learning consisted of a fifty-five minute lecture on grammar, during which the teacher verbally delivered reams of facts and examples, and we busily recorded her every word. We learned these bits of information and recited them word for word at exam time. The passive teacher graded us only on our ability to recall at exam time. Mrs. Beers, on the other hand, used a more active, student-centered approach to her teaching. She began class with a five minute discussion on prepositions. Then, she divided the class into small groups of three to four students and handed each student a current newspaper.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Impact of Current Events and Trends on Tourism Essay

Threats of terrorism, pandemic outbreaks, natural calamities and, finally, pesky security checks notwithstanding, the international tourism industry is booming. Tourism has become a key economic driver globally, and is one of the main sources of income for many developing countries today. The global crisis that shook 2008 to the core (and continues to do so) has impact in industries across the board. One of the most affected fields is tourism as it’s an elected excess and not a necessity. A recently released research by the Tourism Journalist’s Association shows that people will be more cautious in spending for leisure travels and will engage in more meaningful, rather than extravagant, vacations. The tourism industry has matured significantly in recent years and is displaying a new willingness to share information and co-operate. The result: A different type of growth, one that is more moderate, more solid and more responsible. Many of the crisis events that affect tourism have been occurring for millennia. The global financial and economic downturn that affected tourism from 2007 through to 2010and beyond has cast substantial attention to the role that crisis events play in tourism. These concerns have only been exacerbated by natural disasters. The potential affect of crisis events on international tourism is likely to increase both in size and frequency as tourism becomes increasingly hypermobile and the global economy even more interconnected. The impact of technology and the competitive factors on tourism were among the interesting trends. Technology Technology is a driving force of change that presents opportunities for greater efficiencies and integration for improved guest services. Technology has become a tourism business activity in development of strategic resources and is considered as a tool to increase competitiveness. Effective use of information technology can make significant operational improvements. Advanced software and communication tools allow enlarging operational efficiency, for example, orders may be made better, faster and cheaper. In addition, decision-making through decision support tools, databases and modeling tools assist the manager’s job. Technology changes the tourism business rules. More specifically: Information on all tourist services is available virtually from all over the world. Potential client can be any resident of the world. More territorial boundaries restrict the number of customers. Decision making turns into a tourism specialist in each component. Changes in customer service technology and service personalization occur. International Competition Tourism services compete on more than just image, differentiation, and benefits offered. Tourism demand trends. While the mass tourism market remains fundamental to the growth of many destinations, the new challenge for the decision makers of the tourism sector nowadays seems to be the choice between supporting the conventional mass tourism activities or creating the conditions for the development of a new local tourism supply (Conti and Perelli, n.d.:17). The multi-motivational nature of holiday decision-making combined with the fact that tourists become more and more sophisticated, seeking increasingly for tourist products that fulfill their particular needs, has increased competition between destinations, fuelling the need to target particular special interest visitors.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Situated Ethos in Rhetoric

Situated Ethos in Rhetoric In classical rhetoric, situated ethos is a type of  proof that  relies primarily on a speakers reputation within his or her community. Also called prior or  acquired ethos. In contrast to invented ethos  (which is projected by the rhetor during the course of the  speech  itself), situated ethos is based on the rhetors public image, social status, and perceived moral character. An unfavorable [situated] ethos will hamper the effectiveness of a speaker, notes James Andrews, whereas a favorable ethos may well be the single most potent force in promoting successful persuasion (A Choice of Worlds). Examples and Observations Situated ethos is  a function of a speakers reputation or standing in a specific community or context. For example, a physician will have a certain credibility not only in a professional setting, such as a hospital but also in the community at large because of the social standing of medical doctors.(Robert P. Yagelski,  Writing: Ten Core Concepts. Cengage, 2015)Situated ethos can be enhanced over time  by building up a reputation that is tied to a particular discourse community; as Halloran (1982) explained its use in the classical tradition, to have ethos is to manifest the virtues most valued by the culture to and for which one speaks (p. 60).(Wendi Sierra and Doug Eyman, I Rolled the Dice With Trade Chat  and This Is What I Got.  Online Credibility and Digital Ethos, ed. by Moe Folk and Shawn Apostel. IGI Global, 2013)Richard Nixons depreciated ethos- For a public figure like [Richard] Nixon, the task of the artful persuader is not to contradict the impressions people al ready have of him but to supplement these impressions with other, favorable ones.(Michael S. Kochin,  Five Chapters on Rhetoric: Character, Action, Things, Nothing, and Art. Penn State Press, 2009)- In rhetorical interaction, no particular is more consequential than  ethos. Depreciated  ethos, for instance, can be disastrous. A prompt and forthright response by Richard Nixon  to facts of the Watergate incident might have saved his presidency. His evasions and other defensive acts only weakened his position. . . . Behavior that is perceptively  evasive, uncaring, self-abasing, spiteful, envious, abusive, and tyrannical, etc, contributes to tarnished credibility; with mature audiences, it returns only rhetorical loss. (Harold Barrett,  Rhetoric and Civility: Human Development, Narcissism, and the Good Audience. State University of New York Press, 1991) Situated ethos in Roman rhetoric- Aristotles conception of an [invented] ethos portrayed only through the medium of a speech was, for the Roman orator, neither acceptable nor adequate. [The Romans believed that character was] bestowed or inherited by nature, [and that] in most cases character remains constant from generation to generation of the same family.(James M. May, Trials of Character: The Eloquence of Ciceronian Ethos, 1988)- According to Quintilian, Roman rhetoricians who relied on Greek rhetorical theory sometimes confused ethos with pathosappeals to the emotionsbecause there was no satisfactory term for ethos in Latin. Cicero occasionally used the Latin term persona), and Quintilian simply borrowed the Greek term. This lack of a technical term is not surprising, because the requirement of having a respectable character was built into the very fabric of Roman oratory. Early Roman society was governed by means of family authority, and so a persons lineage had everything to d o with what sort of ethos he could command when he took part in public affairs. The older and more respected the family, the more discursive authority its members enjoyed.(Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee, Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students, 3rd edition, Pearson, 2004) Kenneth Burke on ethos and identificationYou persuade a man only insofar as you can talk his language by speech, gesture, tonality, order, image, attitude, idea, identifying your ways with his. Persuasion by flattery is but a special case of persuasion in general. But flattery can safely serve as our paradigm if we systematically widen its meaning, to see behind it the conditions of identification or consubstantiality in general.(Kenneth Burke, The Rhetoric of Motives, 1950)