Japans Economic Growth and Americas Vulnerability Essay -- Economy

Japan's Economic Growth and America's Vulnerability For years after the end of the second world war, the Japanese suffered from an inferiority complex. This was the result of the American aid to Japan which helped to rebuild their country. Soon the Japanese started producing goods, small stuff at first, like junky toys in the earlier years - but then came better items, much better items. Now it is the Americans that suffer from the inferiority complex, not familiar with being economically vulnerable and not entirely in control of their destinies. Who to blame - the Japanese of course. If Americans can not learn to compete with the Japanese, then there is going to be some serious trouble because the economic problem will not just "go" away. When Japan lost World War II, six million Japanese had to return home from the colonies Japan lost. These people had to be fed, clothed and housed. The outlook for Japan's recovery did not look very hopeful. The Americans had no intention of helping the Japanese, but the communist victory in China changed this, because the Americans wanted to stop the further advance of communism. Americans started to help Japan out by not making them pay reparations for war damages and opened Japanese trade to other countries. The Americans dissolved the powerful family businesses which opened business to more competition and in the countryside, they took land from the landlords and gave it to the tenant farmers. By the time American occupation ended in 1952, Japan had returned to prewar levels of production. With their recovery now ensured, Japan embarked on a period of great economic growth which is growing at a faster rate every day. The Japanese are now at the ... ...may not last. I believe that they can either become more like the Japanese, giving up the lifestyles so grown accustomed to, by working harder for less money, or learn to live with not always being on top of the world economy. It is always hard to change, but sometimes you have to. Bibliography 1. "Cocksure Japan Loses Confidence", Cook,Peter. From the Globe and Mail Newspaper, May 2, 1992 2. "Japan to Rethink Bullish Marketing Abroad", From the Toronto Star, April 27,1992 3. "The Ties that Bind", Territh, Edith. From the Business Community Magazine, September 24, 1992 4. "Japan Hits Hard Times", Hillenbrand, Barry. From Time Magazine, March 23,1992 5. "Japan in the Mind of America", Morrow,Lance. From Time Magazine, February 10, 1992 6. "The Rise of The Global Village", Baldwin Spiran Stuart Cregier. Pages # 188-190 Copyright 1992 ??

Emancipation :: essays research papers

Emancipation has been defined as the pursuit, expansion, and security of freedom. I believe that most people including myself would say successful emancipation has taken place when freedom has been pursued, expanded upon, and secured. What makes peoples views of emancipation different is not its definition, but what is freedom? Freedom shows a lot of faces throughout the times and environments studied in both the Haitian and Jamaican Revolutions. Freedom for myself is a peace of mind. I feel that a person who wakes up with a peace of mind has experienced successful emancipation. Successful emancipation does not mean that everything is perfect and the way it should be. Perfection does not exist in this world; everything has its flaws and downfalls including emancipation, justice, and freedom. I think we all work towards the day we have established who we are and find comfort with our role in society. I also feel it is hard for us to be as thoughtful and passionate about emancipation as the slaves of these times were. Our minds can’t conceive the true feeling of what is like to be treated like something other than a human being. I feel our lifestyles are far beyond a slave’s view of what emancipation is. Slaves in both Haiti and Jamaica did not rebel in order to live a lifestyle we live today. They were willing to settle for far less than we have today. Slaves were willing to die in order to experience what they felt was successful emancipation. Successful emancipation for slaves was not be confounded to land or owned by whites. Slaves simply wanted the opportunity to work their own land, start families, and enjoy life. Although most people in Haiti and Jamaica of African descent were slaves, there was a small minority of free people, which consisted of mulattos and free blacks. Even though these free people witnessed first hand the experienced of slavery the compassion and empathy for it was definitely disappointing. Their understanding of emancipation was totally different than that of slaves. The free people already experienced and had what slaves desired and viewed as emancipation. Free people had their own land to farm, build houses on, and start families. Thus giving them a totally different perspective on emancipation and freedom. Despite free people had their own land, they still were not close to sharing the same rights as the whites.

Jack Sparrow Ca

Jack Sparrow Character Analysis. The Pirates of the Caribbean film series is one of the most popular film series to run its course through theaters in recent years. Action, adventure, and romance are some of the things we come to expect when we sit down to watch these amazing film adventures. But one of the things we can rely on most is the presence of Captain Jack Sparrow. While Sparrow was conceived to be only a supporting character, he proved to be popular after he was added into Disney’s theme park ride that spawned the movie series.Of course, a character as â€Å"far out† as Captain Jack had to be played by someone equally out-there: Johnny Depp. First we’ll talk about how Depp got into the role of Captain Jack and then I will analyze how Jack is portrayed as a character. In 2001, Depp was at Walt Disney Studios looking to do a family film. However, the fact that the Pirates theme park ride was going to be adapted into a film caught his attention first.Depp looked at the movie adaptation as a chance to revive his favorite movie genre,  and he was even more pleased when he found out the script fit his personality perfectly: a quirky pirate looking for adventure and in the end, showing he has a soft side. Depp was cast on June 10, 2002. Producer  of the series Jerry Bruckheimer  said that Depp was â€Å"an edgy actor who will kind of counter the Disney  Country Bears  soft quality and tell an audience that an adult and teenager can go see this and have a good time with it. When the cast got together for their read-through of the script, Depp surprised everyone by portraying the character in an off-kilter manner. After Depp did some research of his own on 18th century pirates, he compared the swashbucklers to modern rock stars and said he would base his performance on  Keith Richards. In a comic follow-up, Richards would later appear in two cameos as Jack's father,  Captain Teague, in  At World's End  and  On Stranger Tides. Director Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer had confidence in Depp, in part because Orlando Bloom would be playing the traditional â€Å"hero† character in the series.Depp also improvised the film's final line, â€Å"Now, bring me that horizon†, which was writer Ted Elliot’s favorite line. Disney executives were, at first, confused by Depp's performance. Some even asked him whether the character was  drunk  or gay. Michael Eisner  even proclaimed while watching the events unfold, â€Å"He's ruining the film! †Ã‚  Depp actually fought back and responded, â€Å"Look, these are the choices I made. You know my work. So either trust me or give me the boot.   Some industry insiders also questioned Depp's casting, as he wasn’t known for working in a traditional studio setting and had even been called an unconventional actor. Depp's portrayal as Captain Jack Sparrow was critically acclaimed. Alan Morrison said â€Å"Gloriously over-the- top  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ In terms of physical precision and verbal delivery, it's a master-class in comedy acting. †Ã‚  Roger Ebert  also found his performance â€Å"original in its every atom. There has never been a pirate, or for that matter a human being, like this in any other movie  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ his behavior shows a lifetime of rehearsal. Ebert also praised Depp for moving away from the how Captain Jack was written. Depp won a  Screen Actor's Guild  award for his performance, and was also nominated for a  Golden Globe  and an  Academy Award for Best Actor, the first in his career. Film School Rejects  argued and wrote, â€Å"That because of Pirates, Depp has become as much a movie star as a  character actor. Johnny Depp returned as Jack Sparrow in  Dead Man's Chest, the first time the actor ever made a sequel. Drew McWeeny  stated, â€Å"Remember how cool  Han Solo  was in  Star Wars  the first time you saw it?And then remember how much cooler he seemed when  Empire  came out? This is that big a jump. †Ã‚  Depp received an  MTV Movie Award  and a  Teen Choice Award  for  Dead Man's Chest, and was also nominated for an  Empire Award  and another  Golden Globe. For his performance in  At World's End, Depp won an  MTV Movie Award  for Best Comedic Performance, as well as a  People's Choice Award, a  Kids' Choice Award, and another  Teen Choice Award. He has signed on to reprise the role for future sequels. Captain Jack appeals to us as moviegoers because he brings out our inner-most sense of adventure.We want him to succeed and we feel like we are right there when he takes us on an adventure. The first time we meet Captain Jack in The Curse of the Black Pearl he is sailing into Port Royal on a dinghy-like boat that is sinking to the ocean floor the during the whole scene. He eventually walks onto the dock from the crow’s nest, acting if nothing ever happened. He immediately pays off a dock worker in order to skip the mandatory ID check required to enter the city. This is what we love from a character; someone who makes the best of his situation and finds a way to get into the crowd.In the real world, we would never considering acting like Jack does. But in the movies, his adventure-seeking nature is something we crave. Despite all of the moral faults of Sparrow, the audience still finds him loveable. This is all thanks to Johnny Depp’s masterful portrayal. Depp was able to create a very human, multifaceted, believable character. What’s even weirder is that Jack is not the typical pirate that peaks our interests. He is not bulky, muscular, or very intimidating. His actions at some times are very effeminate.Although he used his brain more than brawn, the films will show us that he is very athletic on his own. Sparrow also shows us that it doesn’t matter who our friends are. Just look at his crew while he is commanding the Black Pearl. It is the most rag-tag group of pirates you will ever see. It even included a woman in the first movie, something that was very taboo for Captains to have in their crew at the time. Another bright spot on Sparrow is that he uses everything that is available to him. He may not be the best swordsman, but if there is anything that could possibly be a weapon near him, he will use it.Anything you can think of really; whiskey barrels, horses, even him fighting on a water-wheel that generates power. In Dead Man’s Chest Jack was found to be the accepted leader of a tribe of Caribbean natives. He somehow mastered their language and was living in the lap of luxury until he found out that he was going to be a human sacrifice. Things like this are what draw us to The Captain. His wild and crazy adventures may come to an end someday, but he will always be memorable to me and definitely left a mark on the movie world.

Bankers Perception on Islamic Banking

Shari’a supervision plays an essential role in the governance of IFIs. It has different forms at macro and micro levels. (Chris Pierce, 1988) Deposits are strictly not considered as loans in the Islamic sense. If it is in the form of money, then he has an obligation to pay Zakat out of it. If these deposits are indeed loans, then it is the banks which should pay zakat on them. In reality,the banks make the depositors pay the zakat , which is injustice. (Alexandra R, Hardie & M. Rabooy, 1991) M. Norain, Ariffin, & M Adnan explained the perceptions and awareness among bankers in Islamic banks is essential to enhance corporate social responsibility. M. Norain, Ariffin, & M Adnan explained that to fulfill the Islamic needs of the society, proper policies have been developed so that there will be no recurring problems in the future relating to the banking system and investment. M. Norain, Ariffin, & M Adnan suggested that Islamic organizations, Islamic banks are accountable to Alla h and to the communities in which they operate and have a duty to be transparent in all their activities. Ethical investment now recently become an issue in the West, and it is very important in the Islamic world and Islamic Banks must work on these principles which fulfill the needs and commitment to the bankers. (Alexandra R. Hardie and M. Rabooy 1991) a serious question arises that whether Islamic Banks are keeping to the rules about partnerships. In this context some scholars believe that the working partner in mudaraba should not mix the capital of the various suppliers of funds; if this is done then the problem is very serious for the Banks, (Alexandra R. Hardie and M. Rabooy, 1991) Malaysian banks experience economies and annual productivity change on a big scale. The latter productivity estimates indicate that full-fledged Islamic banks have overcome some of these cost disadvantages with passage of time. Mariani Abdul-Majida, David S. Saalb,* and Giuliana Battistic (2010) The separation of Islamic from conventional banking services may allow managers to better focus on improving the cost efficiency of Islamic banking where as in the short run, the new Islamic banks will suffer manyr transitional problems. Mariani Abdul-Majida, David S. Saalb,* and Giuliana Battistic (2010) M. Khan & A. Mirakhor (1991) describes economic system which is based on Islamic principles is permanently have the prohibition on the payment and receipt of interest. This restriction makes Islamic banks different from financial institutions in many ways. Islamic banking system in Pakistan was adopted in such a manner to leave the intermediation role of the banking system undisturbed. Where as the banking system in Iran is used as an instrument for achieving the goals and objectives of the Islamic revolution. M. Khan and A. Mirakhor, 1991) Islamic Law prohibits charging interest. financial instruments used by Islamic banks are not based on profit-and-loss sharing (equity) but, debt like instruments are a rational response by Islamic banks to their contracting environments and debt becomes the dominant instrument. (K. Aggarwal & Yousaf, 2000) Egypt's Islamic banks, while observing certain Islamic precepts in their operations, in order to improve their status, these banks fulfils their social mission by enabling their customers according to Islamic needs. Elizabeth Mayer, 1985) Use of existing Islamic financial instruments such as zero coupons bonds, paper for trade finance and unitised securities. There is a need to encourage secondary market development so that instruments can be traded effectively. (Rodney Wilson, 1991) The scope for development of Islamic financial products is vast enough, such products can play a major role not only facilitating the muslim countries but widely promoting the economic advancement. (Ro dney Wilson, 1991)

Retrenchment Strategy Essay

Since the beginning of the US financial crisis in 2007, regulators in the United States and Europe have been frustrated by the difficulty in identifying the risk exposures at the largest and most levered financial institutions. Yet, at the time, it was unclear how such data might have been used to make the financial system safer. This paper is an attempt to show simple ways in which this information can be used to understand how deleveraging scenarios could play out. To do so the authors develop and test a model to analyze financial sector stability under different configurations of leverage and risk exposure across banks. They then apply the model to the largest financial institutions in Europe, focusing on banks’ exposure to sovereign bonds and using the model to evaluate a number of policy proposals to reduce systemic risk. When analyzing the European banks in 2011, they show how a policy of targeted equity injections, if distributed appropriately across the most systemic banks, can significantly reduce systemic risk. The approach in this paper fits into, and contributes to, a growing literature on systemic risk. Key concepts include: * This model can simulate the outcome of various policies to reduce fire sale spillovers in the midst of a crisis. * Size caps, or forced mergers among the most exposed banks, do not reduce systemic risk very much. * However, modest equity injections, if distributed appropriately between the most systemic banks, can cut the vulnerability of the banking sector to deleveraging by more than half. * The model can be adapted to monitor vulnerability on a dynamic basis using factor exposures. About Faculty in this Article: Robin Greenwood is a Professor in the Finance unit at Harvard Business School. * Author Abstract When a bank experiences a negative shock to its equity, one way to return to target leverage is to sell assets. If asset sales occur at depressed prices, then one bank’s sales may impact other banks with common exposures, resulting in contagion. We propose a simple framework that accounts for how this effect adds up across the banking sector. Our framework explains how the distribution of bank leverage and risk exposures contributes to a form of systemic risk. We compute bank exposures to system-wide deleveraging, as well as the spillover of a single bank’s deleveraging onto other banks. We show how our model can be used to evaluate a variety of crisis interventions, such as mergers of good and bad banks and equity injections. We apply the framework to European banks vulnerable to sovereign risk in 2010 and 2011.

Ethics and Placebo Trials Essay

Placebo trials are experimental trials that involve the administration of a substance that does not really have any effect on the individual’s system. This means that it is a neutral trial that will have neither positive nor negative effects on the physiology of the person it is administered on. Whatever positive benefits may be derived out of placebo trials are merely therapeutic and may arise from the potency of the power of suggestion. These trials are most often used in randomized control trials in investigating the effectiveness of a specific treatment. (Miller and Brody, 3) However, with the rise of the use of such trials, there have been many more questions raised. Are these placebo control trials indeed necessary? What ethical issues are raised with the implementation of placebo trials? The debates regarding the ethicality of placebo trials in investigative research continue to rage across the scientific community. The discussion has become so complex that the sides taken regarding the matter have evolved to more than just â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no† to the question of placebo ethicality. There have been numerous aspects of placebo trials that have undergone the scrutiny of those directly involved with fields utilizing these trials. The main aim of this paper is to understand the obligations of medical practitioners who are employing placebo trials in their own scientific investigations of the effectiveness of various treatments. What ethical standards should these individuals, physicians and the like, take into consideration when conducting investigative researches with placebo trials? Glass and Waring The main problem with a physician’s utilization of placebo trials for investigative purposes is the fact that they are part of the profession that involves the assurance of optimal health for their patients. Some of the researchers and critics exploring the ethical holds on medical practitioners with regards to placebo trials have looked at it from a legal standpoint. Glass and Waring (582) indicate that they have foundâ€Å"no legal precedent allowing physicians to ‘opt out’ of their professional obligations because they are researchers in addition to being physicians†. It is emphasized that the physician must do all in his power in order to insure that the client receives all possible modes of treatment that would maintain or enhance his or her health. As a researcher, the physician is viewed as a fiduciary, a person delegated with power that will be used for the benefit of another person and who is held legally against the highest standards of conduct. The physician-researcher as a fiduciary, then, has a moral ascendancy over his or her patient-subject. (Glass and Waring, 578) This means that a placebo trial that would involve having the physician-researcher observe the null effect on the health of a patient-subject and at the same time have knowledge of the betterment of the health status of patient-subjects in the other experimental trials. (Glass and Waring 579) Thus physician’s are now ethically compromised and even legally liable for their utilization and continuation of the placebo trial. Knowing that there is a treatment that could improve the health of those in the placebo arm of the experiment but not applying that treatment on the participants in that arm indicates their sacrifice of the health of those participants for the scientific progress afforded by research data. The ethical responsibility of the physician-reseracher, therefore, is in the fact that clinical studies of treatment effectivity make use of participants who have been diagnosed with the specific medical condition hoped to be treated by the experiment’s procedure. Hawkins Hawkins (484) states that the true problem faced by physician-researchers is a moral one. The moral norms and societal dictates placed upon those in the medical profession involve the fact that they need to be able to give a sick person all the possible chances of being treated. However, Hawkins (484) points out that this moral responsibility is limited. She states clearly â€Å"researchers do not owe effective treatment to everyone around them. † (473) The obligations of a physician to his or her patient are enclosed within a given framework, that of the physician-patient relationship. In order for such a relationship to be established, the physician must come into agreement with the client that he or she will indeed act as one half of that relationship. The same agreement must be made on the part of the client. Although this agreement may not be explicit, it is nevertheless positively acknowledged by both parties. (Hawkins, 476) There is, according to Hawkins, no ethical dilemma in a physician-researcher’s use of placebo trials. Just because these researchers have had medical training and have taken a medical oath does not mean that they are always in the role of a physician. These are individuals that have many other different roles as fathers, mothers, non-practicing physicians, friends and the like. The role they take as a researcher, therefore, does not mean a continuation of their role as a physician. (Hawkins, 479) The obligations of an individual in the role of a researcher is separate from his or her role as a physician thus their obligation in placebo trials involves simple assurance that the participant will not be harmed by the procedure that will take place. Miller and Brody Some critics of placebo control trials state a weakness in therapeutic obligation of physician researchers as the main grounds of contestation of the ethical foundations of the said trials. Miller and Brody (8) state that even when based on the principles of clinical equipoise, an ethical basis of assigning participants in different experimental arms which involves disagreement among experts as to the effectiveness of either arm, therapeutic obligation is still a weak attack against the ethics of placebo trials. The individuals who knowingly participate in experiments with placebo arms are not exploited as long as no harm befalls them. Also, they are aware that they enter the experimental set-up as participants in a research and not as patients of the researchers who happen to also be physicians. (Miller and Brody, 5) Miller and Brody thus state that â€Å"placebo trials are not unethical just because they withhold proven effective treatment†. (6) It is thus seen that the responsibility and obligation of the researcher with regards to the ethicality of placebos is not in their therapeutic obligations as physicians. However, this does not mean that placebo trials are completely ethical. This also does not mean that researchers are devoid of ethical obligations to their participants assigned to placebo arms of the investigative experiments. The ethical obligation of the researcher in placebo trials is the same as that of researcher in any clinical trials. This involves the proper acquisition of informed consent from the participants. Also, researchers must be able to assure the fact that participants will not be exploited or put in harmful situations. Miller and Brody also insist that researchers must first establish that the investigation has scientific merit and that scientific merit is increased with the implementation of the placebo trial. (8) Analysis and Argument All three articles assessed above have merit and, at the same time, also have faults. Glass and Waring (582) stating that no legal precedents were found that indicated physicians were no longer tied to their professional obligations is faulty. In much the same way that a lawyer does not have to give counsel to every jaywalker he or she sees, the physician likewise does not have professional obligation over individual’s whose relationship to him is simply that which exists between researchers and participants. I also disagree with Hawkins’ statement that morality is what binds the physician thus the use of placebo trials is not unethical. What is ethics but a concept in the realm of morality? Yes, there are standards and regulations with regards to ethical conduct. However, as a whole, ethics is based on morality thus a moral problem is, in fact, an ethical problem. The middle ground taken by Miller and Brody also seems to be misled. A placebo trial is not equivalent to other clinical trials. It involves factors that are not present in other trials, such as the exposure of the participants to neutral treatment. In other clinical trials, there is still exposure to some form of treatment thus there is an effort to aid the participant. I believe, however, that physician-researcher’s obligations to the patient-participant, is limited solely to the relationship of researcher and participant. The role taken by the individual is not that of a physician but that of a researcher. The participants are also aware that they enter into the experiment not as patients but as participants. Although they are not given the chance to undergo possibly effective treatment, it is not the moral obligation of the researcher to insure that they do. Even if, for example, a person persists to smoke, I am not morally or ethically obligated to make sure that he or she stop. Placebo trials are valid research designs and should not be stopped simply because of a feeling that it is unfair to those who, in the first place, willingly submitted themselves to the experiment’s conditions. Works Cited Glass, Kathleen G. , and Waring, Duff. â€Å"The Physician/Investigator’s Obligation to Patients Participating in Research: The Case of Placebo Controlled Trials. † The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 33 (2005): 575-585 Hawkins, Jennifer S. â€Å"Justice and Placebo Controls. † Social Theory and Practice 32 (2006): 467- 496. Miller, Franklin G. , and Brody, Howard. â€Å"What Makes Placebo-controlled Trials Unethical? † The American Journal of Bioethics 2(2002): 3-9

Abandonment provisions authorize the premature termination of a contract

Abandonment provisions authorize the premature termination of a contract Abandonment provisions authorize the premature termination of a contract, and occur through various scenarios within real estate. Abandonment-Landlord/Tenant California real estate law permits landlords to use abandonment as a reason to terminate the lease of a tenant. Most lease agreements contain provisions which state the length of time a tenant has to pay rent before a landlord can claim abandonment.Generally, If a tenant falls behind on payments more than 14 days, the landlord can draft and send a letter to the tenant of the intent to evict the tenant.If the tenant does not respond to the letter within 15 to 18 days, the landlord has the right to terminate the lease.If the landlord sends the letter using certified mail (confirmed with a receipt of arrival from the post office), the tenant has 15 days to respond to the letter. If the landlord sends the letter using standard mail, the tenant has 18 days to respond to the letter.If the landlord establishes abandonment of the property, the landlord can:Lease the property to another tenant Open the doors of the property without violating the tenants right of privacy Obtain legal representation to recover rent that has not been paid Leased property that is abandoned by the tenant of a lease can be confiscated by the landlord. Common actions that are inconsistent with continuous use of property include:Lessee fails to make rent payments Lessee removes personal property off property If lessee files a change of address with the post office In the three scenarios above, the land owner has the right to assume use of property. Abandonment of a Prescriptive Easement The granting of the easement occurs if the party claiming the property has used the property for five continuous years. If the party that holds the easement right abandons the property for five years, his or her right to the easement terminates. Abandonment in Insurance Contracts Insurance contracts can have abandonment provisions as well. If a homeowner’s property becomes severely damaged or destroyed (i.e. from a fire), and the cost of refurbishing or rebuilding outweighs the total property value, then the homeowner is allowed to abandon the property while recovering compensation from the insurance company. The property is then taken over by the insurance company. Abandonment in Bankruptcy Proceedings A trustee in a liquidation bankruptcy may elect to abandon a debtor’s property. If a particular property is of low value or rife with encumbrances, thus not worth selling off, the trustee may choose to abandon that property. The trustee would then have to file a notice of abandonment, which may be challenged by a creditor who believes the trustee has made an inaccurate evaluation of the property’s worth.