Cyber Crime as opposed to Cyber warfare Research Paper

Cyber Crime as opposed to Cyber warfare - Research Paper Example For instance, the main aim is to access implicit information and to destroy existing data warehouses and governmental networks to bring economic, technical and social losses to rival nations. Problem Statement Although systems and software developing IT organisations (such as Microsoft, Apple, IBM) have been striving to deal with the rising menace of cyber crime, there is dire need to develop strong anti-virus software's to ensure information security. Nevertheless, cyber crimes (specifically viruses) do not only threaten security of software components, but also they may sabotage hardware resources, especially computer hard disks. In addition, the cyber warfare may disrupt a nation’s strategic functioning as it could damage mainframe and super computer systems used for keeping military and government records. Significance of the Problem The issue of cyber crimes is not concerted to boundaries rather it could affect any end-user residing in any geographical region. The hackers do not target users in any specific area (or from any ethnicity, religion, cast, colour or language) but they may batter (virtually) any person for unidentified reasons. Still, the world has been seeking appropriate solutions that could help improve their security in cyberspace. The researcher would like to argue that the probability that many nations worldwide may have Cyber Wars in future will increase, as more countries will enter cyberspace and send satellites in the orbit. Aims and Objectives The major aim of this research paper is to analyse the growing menace of cyber crimes from cyber terrorists and identify the weaknesses that should be overcome to avert cyber crimes. The objectives are as under: 1) To... Although systems and software developing IT organizations have been striving to deal with the rising menace of cyber crime, there is dire need to develop strong anti-virus software's to ensure information security. Nevertheless, cyber crimes (specifical viruses) do not only threaten the security of software components but also they may sabotage hardware resources, especially computer hard disks. In addition, the cyber warfare may disrupt a nation’s strategic functioning as it could damage mainframe and super computer systems used for keeping military and government records.The issue of cyber crimes is not converted to boundaries rather it could affect any end-user residing in any geographical region. The hackers do not target users in any specific area (or from any ethnicity, religion, caste, color or language ) but they may batter (virtually) any person for unidentified reasons. Still, the world has been seeking appropriate solutions that could help improve their security in cyberspace. The researcher would like to argue that the probability that many nations worldwide may have Cyber Wars in future will increase, as more countries will enter cyberspace and send satellites into the orbit. The major aim of this research paper is to analyze the growing menace of cyber crimes from cyber terrorists and identify the weaknesses that should be overcome to avert cyber crimes. Cyber warfare may sabotage diplomatic relationships between or among nations as well as has potential to indulge nations in physical war (end result) in near future.

Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Criminal Justice - Essay Example This dissertation will look into the case of state of Connecticut versus Jeff Jackson, which will outline activities that took place after the appeal in the Appellate court. It will also discuss criminal jurisprudence and honor of defendant’s proof of free from criminal charges beyond any reasonable doubt. The courts, in accordance to criminal justice, conduct justice operations in various ways that give a plaintiff a chance for probation revocation appeal and plea-bargaining that do take place in between the time of arrest warrant and sentencing (Connecticut, 2011). The laws of Connecticut were officially released on a date when a slip of opinion was the operative Appellate petitions and filing of cases was certified as a way acceptance appeals. In that date, Jeffrey Jackson appealed to the Appellate court for conviction of judgment, which was concluded by the jury in the trial court after his trial. Jeffery Jackson was given a warrant of arrest due to possession and use of n arcotic drugs and in violation of General Statutes that resulted to trial by court’s jury. After hearings, the defendant proved his innocence of allegations to a point of reasonable doubt (Connecticut, 2011). This had diluted the burden that required proof to take improper judgment. The Appellate Court on consideration of defendant’s claim, with the reversing of the judgment by the jury of the trial, Jeffrey Jackson requested for a new hearing in the Appellate court. Thereafter, the Appellate court accepted the request on a state’s petition that guaranteed certification to consider appeal, but with limited issues regarding the Appellate court (Katz, 2007). The court’s jury objection to statutory evidence that abided with criteria of operation in the law firm was not to be considered by the Appellate court. The jury objected to requests from the Appellate court regarding determination of overall judgment as per instructions referring to reasonable doubt. T he impermissible burden of proof was diluted improperly according to state of opinion set by the jury upon the Appellate court. While incarcerated at a correctional center, Jeff Jackson underwent strips of searches led by a correctional officer to provide reasonable evidence of possession of the narcotic drugs. The jury ordered a state of carriage of burden that required proofing substantial and empirical evidence. This involved blood tests from samples of blood from Jeffrey Jackson as well as tests for positive result from use of cocaine (Connecticut, 2011). Proof beyond reasonable doubt leaves the plaintiff firmly convinced that the defendant is guilty or not guilty, from the fact that the jury has absolute certainty for siding with the defendant, and not the plaintiff but constituting maintenance of judicial and law ethics. The procedural history was additional facts that were exceptional according to the defendants routines that involved carrying procedural activities most of th em that differed from the presentation given by jury’s ruling. The jury did not ordain a standard charge in the basis of reasonable doubt decision making and ruling as per the plaintiff’s charges (Connecticut, 2011). The reason as to why the jury did not describe reasonable doubt in the case of Jeffrey Jackson was the reasonable prudence that hesitated to perform more weighty cases that awaited the jury’s intervention. The court acknowledged difference in trial and sentencing in the

Risk management is of vital importance in islam and takaful

Risk management is of vital importance in islam and takaful ABSTRACT Risk management is of vital importance in Islam and Takaful provides a way to manage risks in business according to SharÄ «ah principles. This research paper attempts to identify various types of risks involved in Takaful business that affect operational and investment functions of Takaful operators across the globe and finds the ways to manage those risks effectively. However, takaful operators often face difficulty in managing market and credit risks as SharÄ «ah compliant nature of Takaful contract does not allow Takaful companies to deal with interest rate and financial derivatives that have been unanimously considered repugnant to SharÄ «ah by Islamic jurists. This research identifies Islamic financial instruments like cooperative hedging and bi-lateral mutual adjustment that aim at providing mutual gains to both parties by the way of risk sharing and can be used as an alternative to conventional derivatives. The research paper attempts to provide a framework to enhance risk management culture among Takaful operators. It also discusses the challenges that need to be encountered to enhance risk management practices among Takaful operators. INTRODUCTION â€Å"Many Muslims misunderstand the concept of fate. For some Muslims believe that the future is in the hand of Allah, where they are facing with fatalistic mentality by putting themselves in the doctrine, whether one is rich or poor, happy or sad, it is fated by Allah. It is a good dealing with luck. In fact, efforts and prayers should precede this kind of belief† (Iqtisad Al-islamy, 2003). For a long time, same misconceptions have been associated with insurance. Muslim scholars and Islamic jurists have treated insurance illegal, haram and repugnant to SharÄ «ahwithout providing an alternative solution to Muslim Ummah. As a result of these prevalent misconceptions, any effort or risk management strategy to insure the assets or life has been considered against the fate and will of Allah. In Islamic financial planning, Takaful is a way to reduce the financial risk of loss due to accident and misfortunes (Iqtisad Al-islamy, 2003). As a matter of fact, Takaful plan is an alternative to the insurance in the conventional financial planning. In Takaful plan, the participant would pay particular amount of money as contribution (known as the premium) partly to risk fund (the participants special account) using the concept of tabbaru (donation) and partly to another party (known as Takaful company) with a mutual agreement that, the kafiil (Takaful company) is under a legal responsibility to provide for the participant a financial protection against unexpected loss, should it happen within the agreed period. The focus of this research paper is to identify various types of risks associated with Takaful business and devise criteria for managing risks and enhancing risk management culture among Takaful companies. It also discusses challenges to risk management in Takaful. RISK MANAGEMENT â€Å"Risk is the chance of happening of something that will have an impact upon our objectives. It is measured in terms of likelihood and consequences† (GOWA, 2002). Traditionally, concept of risk has been associated with uncertainty of events in future. Higher the uncertainty of events, higher is the risk. In insurance, risk is the amount of loss associated with property or life. Risk to property can be a loss or damage to car, building, house, etc. Risk to life can be described as poor health, premature death, bodily injuries as a result of accident etc. (Rejda, 2006; p.23). Risk management is a process that identifies loss exposures faced by an organization and selects the most appropriate techniques for treating such exposures(Rejda, 2006; p. 63). According to New Zealand standard of Risk Management, â€Å"It is the culture, processes and structures that are directed towards the effective management of potential opportunities and adverse effects†. In fact, risk management is an ongoing process that encompasses all aspects of our life. RISK MANAGEMENT UNDER SHARIAH Risk traditionally means possibility of meeting danger or suffering, harm or loss (Iqtisad Al-islamy, 2003). Risk is an element of life in this world for being ignorant of the future. It is also factor of investing that one should take time to understand prior to selecting any specific investment instruments or any new adventures. Muslims are asked to work hard in order to be able to change their conditions as obvious in the verse of Holy Quran, †¦ Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)†¦ (Quran 3:11). However, it is true that only Allah knows ones future and fate, Muslims should strive to achieve the goodness in this world and the hereafter. Submission to Allah, of course, has a positive effect on human behavior. For it will lead to peace and contentment. Undoubtedly, one has to submit every single thing to Allah, but it supposes to be after his hands stretch out to do the best effort as he can, to ch ange himself, so that he would be able to manage and to cope with unforeseen calamities or misfortune. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him once asked a Bedouin who had left his camel untied, Why do not tie your camel? the Bedouin answered, I put my trust in Allah the prophet then said, tie up your camel first then put your trust in Allah( Sunan al -Tirmizi, vol.4, No. 2517, p. 668). This conversation depicts not only how should Muslims accept their fate but it also indicates how do Muslims reduce the risk of loss and calamities. Quran has presented stories of the previous prophets so that Muslims can take the lessons from their experiences. The story of the prophet Joseph, for instance, tells us about financial planning. The story of Prophet Yaqub, Josephs father, tells us about the management of risks as Yaqub commanded his sons to enter Egypt from different gates. Quran states, Further he said: O my sons! Enter not all by one gate: enter ye by different gates. Not that I can profit you aught against Allah (with my advice): None can command except Allah: On Him do I put my trust: and let all that trust put their trust on Him (Quran 12:67). The history of the prophets migration to Madinah gives us other lessons on how the Prophet (SAW) managed the risk. The Prophet reduced the risk of getting killed by asking Hazrat Ali (R.A.) to sleep in his bed during the night of emigration. It was reported that as night advanced, the Quraish posted assassins around the Prophets house. Thus they kept vigil all night long, waiting to kill him the moment he left his house early in the morning, peeping now and then through a hole in the door to make sure that he was still lying in his bed. All these above examples depict that risk management is in the roots of Islam. We, as a Muslims, should put our trust onto Allah only after meticulous planning and best utilization of all the available resources. NORMS OF ETHICS Obaidullah (2002, pp.2-4) has identified norms of efficiency and ethics for SharÄ «ahbased risk management in a business contract. These norms are also applicable to Takaful contract and are briefly described as follow: Each party in Takaful contract should be free to accept the terms and conditions of the contract and no coercion is imposed on any party. Takaful contract should be free from element of ‘riba (interest) that is prohibited by Shariah. One of the major objections on the contract of conventional insurance by SharÄ «ahscholars is element of ‘riba in its investments for which it is considered illegal and unIslamic. There should be no uncertainty or ambiguity about the nature of contract. Excessive uncertainty is not permissible in Shariah. For example, SharÄ «ahscholars disallow conventional insurance contract where no party clearly knows how and from where the insured amount is to going to be paid in case a loss or catastrophe occurs to the insured. There should not be any element of gambling in Takaful contract. It means that Takaful contract should not be aimed at getting a huge advantage at the cost of others. Rather, participants should have sincere intention of helping each other in case of loss or catastrophe from a joint fund. Contribution amount for participants should be adequate and fair and should be determined by actuaries and approved by SharÄ «ahscholars. Takaful customers (participants) should have equal access to adequate, accurate and timely market information related to Takaful products and companys performance where they want to contribute their money. Rights of any third party should not be adversely affected by Takaful contract between two parties. It means Takafulcontract should not be detrimental to any third party. There should be unrestricted public interest in Takaful products and its business contract which should work for the benefit of people at large. TYPES OF RISKS IN TAKÄ€FUL BUSINESS Business industry is prone to a number of risks. Five types of risks in business (Basel, 2006; IAIS, 2004) have been identified that are relevant to Takaful business. First two types of risks (underwriting and operational risks) are directly related to operations of Takaful company while remaining three (credit, liquidity and market risks) are associated with the investment activities of the company. i. Underwriting Risk: Underwriting risk is pertinent to insurance and Takaful. It occurs due to adverse selection of applicants or due to re-Takaful risk as a result of inability of re-Takaful operator to meet the obligation towards ceded company under re-Takaful agreement (IAIS, 2003; pp.32-33). Adverse selection refers to the tendency of selecting applicants that result in higher than average chance of loss (Rejda, 2006; p. 45). The risk of adverse selection arises when applicants with higher than average chance of loss succeed in obtaining Takaful coverage at standard rates e.g. high risk drivers or persons with serious health problems. It results in higher claim ratio and put the firm on high liquidity constraints. Re-Takaful risk occurs as the ceded company remains liable for a portion of outstanding claim to the extent re-Takaful operator fails to provide financial protection to Takaful operator in accordance with agreed terms. Both adverse selection and re-Takaful risk hamper the firms underwriting capacity; disturb the cash flow pattern and hence affect the stability of the profits of the company. ii. Operational Risk: Operational risk is not a well defined concept , yet Basel Report (2006, p.144) defines it as a loss that occurs as a result of inadequate or failed internal processes, people, technology or from external events. Internal processes failure occurs (Ahmed Khan, 2001; pp.29-30) as a result of inaccurate processing of transactions, inefficient record keeping, violating operational control limits, non-compliance of regulations etc. people risk may occur due to incompetence of employees, fraud and failure to perform the duties. Technology risk may arise as a result of telecommunication system or computer network breakdown. Risks from external events include unenforceability of regulatory policies, legislation and regulations that affect the fulfillment of contracts and transactions in the organizations. These risks are also called legal risks and are considered a part of operational risks. iii. Credit Risk: Credit risk occurs a result of default of counterparty when it fails to meet its obligations in time and in accordance with agreed terms (IAIS, 2004; p.14). In case of insurance, credit risk may be treated as default risk, migration risk, spread risk or concentration risk. Default risk occurs when Takaful operator does not receive or partially receive cash flows or assets to which it is entitled because the other party fails to meet the obligations of the contract. Migration risk occurs when probability of a future default of an obligator adversely affect the contract today. Spread risk occurs due to market perception of increased risk on either macro or micro basis. Concentration risk is the result of increased exposure to losses due to concentration of investments in a particular geographical area or economic or industrial sector. Takaful industry is also exposed to these risks. iv. Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk is the risk resulting from Takaful companys inability to meet its obligations (i.e. claims payments and maturity price of policy) when they fall due. This risk occurs because the company has insufficient liquid assets or high level of liabilities (IAIS, 2004; p.18). Liquidity risk includes liquidation risk, affiliation investment risk and capital funding risk. Liquidation value risk is the risk under circumstance when assets are liquidated below their real (market) value. Affiliated investment risk is the risk that investment in an affiliated or member company might result in drain of financial or operating resources. Capital fund risk is the risk that insurance company will not be able to outsource funds in case of large claims. Takaful industry, just like conventional insurance company, faces similar types of liquidity risks. v. Market Risk: Market risk is the volatility of prices in instruments and assets of Takaful company in the market. It can be classified as equity price risk, interest rate risk, currency risk and commodity price risk (IAIS, 2004, p.12). Equity price risk is the risk of loss resulting from changes in market price of equities or other assets. Interest rate risk is the risk of loss resulting from changes in interest rates that adversely affect the cash flows of the insurance company. Currency risk is the risk of loss resulting from volatility of exchange rates that adversely affect the operations of insurance company. For a Takaful company, it does not include interest rate risk, however Takaful operators are exposed to mark up price risk as avoidance of interest based transactions is distinctive feature of SharÄ «ahcompliance. MANAGING RISKS All types of risks in Takaful require specific risk management strategy and need to be managed on individual basis. i. Underwriting Risk Management: Underwriting risk can be managed by establishing standard selection procedure consistent with the companys objectives. Most of the Takaful operators require physical inspection or medical reports of the applicants that have serious health problems or prone to higher than average risk. Some have introduced computerized underwriting system to standardized underwriting procedure and minimizing the chance of adverse selection. For example, Takaful Ikhlas Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia uses computerized underwriting procedure for motor Takaful where applicants who meet standard requirements are automatically selected for Takaful. Others are rejected or alternatively are offered higher contribution rates for the extra risk. To minimize re-Takaful risk, Takaful operator can evaluate the financial strength of re-Takaful operators in the region and diversify the risk geographically by making arrangements with more than one re-Takaful operator. ii. Operational Risk Management: Management of this risk is more complex as it arises from failure of internal processes, people, information system breakdown and non-compliance with regulatory standards (Ahmed Khan, 2001; pp. 38-39). Senior management and board of directors of Takaful company should devise policies and develop strategies to manage and reduce operational risks. Sources of operational risk (i.e. people, processes and technology) should be handled carefully. This raises the importance of corporate governance culture in the organization. Given the newness of Takaful industry, computer software available for conventional insurance might not be appropriate for Takaful industry. This calls for recruiting talented professionals in the field of informational technology so that they could develop software to meet peculiar needs of Takaful industry. Independent external auditors can also play an important role in mitigating operational risk as they point out flaws in internal processes of the organization. T his calls for proper disclosure of activities and independent and secure reporting system. iii. Credit Risk Management: Under conventional insurance system, credit exposure limits are established within companys investment policies to mitigate and manage default risk, migration risk, spread risk and concentration risk as discussed under credit risk. Usually, following credit exposure limits can be established for insurance company investment and credit activities (IAIS, 2004; pp.16-18). Internal and external rating of counterparties Limit on maturity of credit facility (prefer short term credit over long term credit) Limit on maximum investment amount or a certain percentage of investment exposure to a single issuer, industry, geographical region or some other risk classification. Prohibition of interest does not allow Takaful companies to investment in interest-based instruments (Chapra and Khan, 2000). Moreover, Takaful companies do not have access to credit derivatives that are considered effective instruments for credit risk mitigation. Yet Al-Suwailem (2006; pp.67-68) argues that futures and Option contracts result in losses for more than 70% of the time and hence such instruments are considered as factors of loss, not of gain. The non-availability of Islamic derivatives raises the importance of internal control mechanism for Takaful operators which ensures that credit risk exposures are maintained within limits of prudential standards defined by internal controls. iv. Liquidity Risk Management: IAIS Report (2004, p.20) identifies two approaches in order to hedge liquidity risk that are also applicable to Takaful industry. These are: Cash flow modeling Liquidity ratios Cash flow modeling is done in order to assess the amount of deficit, surpluses or liquidation value risk in order to meet the needs of Takaful industry. Takaful operator should make sure that it has sufficient liquid assets in order to meet liquidity risk and unexpected liquidity requirements. Use of liquidity ratios will help Takaful operator to set the amount of liquid assets required to meet demands of liability portfolio, desired level of liquidity ratio will also help in determining Takaful operators investment policies. Capital funding risk could be mitigated by setting contingency plans and drawing cash from re-Takaful policies. This form of liquidity hedging could be recognized by knowing current level of liquid assets in hand to meet Takaful operators investment policies. In order to identify and evaluate liquidity risks, Ahmed and Khan (2001, p.38) emphasize the need of adequate internal control and proper disclosure of information in the organization. Towards this end, it is essential to have regular independent reports and internal audit function should periodically review the liquidity risk management process. v. Market Risk Management: In conventional insurance, management of market risk includes devising strategies to manage interest rate risk, exchange rate, and commodity price risk as well as equity price fluctuations. Takaful operators are not involved in interest based transactions so they do not face this risk. However, KIBOR (Karachi Inter Bank Offered Rate) can be used as bench mark for markup in Islamic financial institutions in their financing activities. Conventional institutions manage the market risk using financial derivatives such as futures, forward, option or swap contracts (Chapra Khan, 2000; p.55). Takaful operators face difficulty in managing market risk as these financial derivatives are not compatible with SharÄ «ahin the eyes of Islamic scholars. However, according to Al-Suwailem (2006; pp.118-126), cooperative hedging and bi-lateral mutual adjustment are acceptable instruments under SharÄ «ahto mitigate currency risk and interest rate risk respectively. Additionally, Takaful operators could apply stress tests and Value at Risk (VaR) techniques to mitigate commodity price risk and equity risk. Stress testing is one of the risk management tools that can be employed to assess the vulnerability of portfolios to abnormal shocks and market conditions. Value at Risk is the probability of portfolio losses exceeding some specified proportion. ENHANCING RISK MANAGEMENT CULTURE Cultivation of risk management culture is extremely important to form a robust and resilient Takaful industry in Pakistan. This objective, however, could not be achieved without active participation and collaboration of regulatory authorities, senior management of Takaful companies and members of SharÄ «ahSupervisory Board (SSB). Towards this end, regularities authorities should make sure that stress testing and Value at Risk (VaR) reports as identified above are regularly produced and obtained from senior management of Takaful operators in addition to reports of Takaful risks. Regular review of these reports will greatly facilitate the regulatory authorities as well as Takaful operators to enhance risk management practices in Takaful industry. Moreover, effective implementation of internal control and corporate governance system could prove to be of vital importance to Takaful operator as well as to concerned regulatory authority. It will help the authorities in effective monitoring of Takaful activities and managing different types of risks hence enhancing the functioning of Takaful operators in the industry. Figure 1 shows the steps for effectively manage the risks in Takaful business. In the first step, possible risks in the way of Takaful business are identified. In the second step, strategies are developed to cope with and manage the risks effectively. In the third step, process of identification and strategy formulation and implementation related to each type of risk is examined through review reports and effective measures are taken to counter any flaw or discrepancy in the previous process. CHALLENGES TO RISK MANAGEMENT In spite of effective risk management techniques discussed above, there are certain challenges in the way of risk management for Takaful. i. Internal Controls: Internal controls are indispensable for recognizing and assessing risks faced by financial institutions including Takaful companies. Basel Committee (2005) and IAIS (2006a) reports have focused on the importance of internal controls for banking institutions as well as for conventional insurance companies respectively. Chapra and Ahmad (2002) found that existence of effective internal control have prevented the financial institutions from systemic crisis and enabled them to have early detection of problems and associated risks they might face in future. These experiences highlight the importance and need of internal controls for Takaful companies. Unique nature of these companies from conventional insurance demands the fulfillment of SharÄ «ahaspects. IFSB and IAIS joint working group (2006) maintains that to have effective internal control mechanism, Takaful companies must ensure SharÄ «ahcontrols in addition to all statutory regulations. It urges the need of a regularSharÄ «ahaud it as a part of an on-going internal control system. ii. Corporate Governance: The corporate governance structure specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities of the Board, manager, shareholders and other stakeholders (OECD Report, 1999) yet effective corporate governance ensures the independence of board of directors (BOD) who in turn devise polices and implement strategies for risk management and hold the management accountable to shareholders (Psaros and Seamer, 2002; p.7). Lack of an effective corporate governance framework hampers the independence of board of directors (BOD) and hence poses a challenge to risk management. It in turn increases the operational risk which might result in failure of operations due to inability of BOD to implement unbiased and independent decisions for the best interest of all stakeholders. Takaful companies are confronted with an additional challenge related to corporate governance of SharÄ «ahSupervisory Board (SSB). Grais and Pellegrini (2006b) identify corporate governance issues that affect their role and fun ctioning in the organizations. It calls for a greater need to incorporate corporate governance culture to overcome related issues of Takaful industry. iii. SharÄ «ahBased Challenges: According to Ahmed Khan (2001), most of the risk management techniques are not applicable to Islamic financial institutions due to the requirements of SharÄ «ahcompliance. It creates SharÄ «ahbased challenges to risk management for Takafulcompanies as well. These challenges arise as SharÄ «ahrestricts the use certain instruments that are considered useful in conventional risk management e.g. derivatives (futures, options, swaps etc.) and sale of debts. Al-Suwailem (2006, pp.89-90) argues that SharÄ «ahconstraints to human behavior do not hinder creativity, rather these constraints are the major driving force behind the creation of innovative financial instruments. He suggests several Islamic financial instruments for risk management and concludes that SharÄ «ahis abundant with real solutions to the present problems of gambling and speculation. It provides directions to SharÄ «ahscholars and experts of Islamic finance to explore the dimensions of SharÄ «ahin order to integrate risk management practices with value creation. iv. Financial Engineering: Financial engineering aims at designing new and innovative SharÄ «ahcompliant Islamic financial instruments for IFIs including Takaful companies. Chapra and Ahmad (2002) maintain that financial engineering has emerged as the greatest challenge faced by SharÄ «ahscholars of present time as it poses major threat to IFIs to become competitive in the contemporary business environment. Process of giving fatwas by SharÄ «ahscholars regarding the permissibility of a financial instrument is quite slow and over-conservative (Iqbal et al, 1998; pp.47-48) as SharÄ «ahscholars and experts of modern finance have different academic backgrounds. They use technical terms related to their own field that are most of the time not easily understandable to other party. The need is to produce scholars with SharÄ «ahbackground that also have working knowledge of modern finance to meet the acute challenge of financial engineering. v. Islamic Financial Market: Islamic financial market provides a secondary market for trading of Islamic financial instruments. In the absence of this market, it will be extremely difficult for Takafulcompanies to maintain its liquidity position to make prompt claim payments when they become due. Retaining a large portion of Takaful fund to maintain high liquidity ratio will affect the efficiency of the firm and its competitiveness as compared to conventional insurance companies that have ready access to liquid bonds and t-bills. Islamic Financial Market will greatly facilitate the Takafulcompanies to invest large portion of their fund in Islamic financial instruments and increasing their efficiency and competitiveness while maintaining low liquidity ratio. It will also help Takaful companies in hedging market risk by providing alternative instruments to financial derivatives that are not acceptable under Shariah. vi. Need of Private Credit Rating Agencies: Although International Islamic Rating Agency (IIRA) has been set up in Bahrain to judge the SharÄ «ahcompliance and financial strength of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) including Takaful companies, it is not be possible for IIRA to rate thousands of counterparties with whomTakaful companies deal. Consequently, it calls for the need of private credit rating agencies in each Muslim country that could provide information related to financial strengthen, fiduciary risk and credit worthiness of thousands of counterparties that privately issue financial instruments (Chapra Ahmed, 2002; pp.80-81). This information could provide great help to IIRA in rating these companies and make it readily available to Takaful companies and other interested parties. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Risk management is of vital importance in Islam and Takaful provides a way to manage risks in business according to SharÄ «ahprinciples. Five types of risks have been identified in Takaful business that affect operational and investment functions of Takaful operator. Operational risk can be managed by enhancing corporate governance culture in the organizations. Cash flow modeling and use of liquidity ratios is quite helpful to identify liquidity constraints. Takaful operators might face difficulty in managing market and credit risks asSharÄ «ahcompliant nature of Takaful contract does not allow Takaful companies to deal with interest rate and financial derivatives due to their speculative nature by which they tend to benefit one party at the loss of other. On the other hand, Islamic financial instruments like cooperative hedging and bi-lateral mutual adjustment aim at providing mutual gains to both parties by the way of risk sharing. Risks associated to Takaful have raised several challenges that need to be encountered to enhance risk management practices. Regular SharÄ «ahaudit is found to be an integral part of effective internal controls that prevent the companies from systemic crisis. Corporate governance calls for independence of BOD to devise policies for effective risk management, make unbiased decisions and resolve issues related to functioning of SSB. SharÄ «ahbased challenges call for devising innovative Islamic financial instruments as SharÄ «ahis abundant with real solutions to present business dilemma and does not hinder creativity. Exploring those solutions will help to meet the challenge of financial engineering. Islamic financial market will greatly facilitate the task of Takaful companies to invest large portion of their fund in Islamic financial instruments and increase their efficiency and competitiveness. There is need to establish private credit rating agencies that could assist IIRA to ra te thousands of counterparties for the benefit of Takaful operators.

Golden Age Greek Criticism of Henry Moore’s Reclining Woman :: Essays Papers

Golden Age Greek Criticism of Henry Moore’s Reclining Woman Both the shape and body of the Reclining Woman sculpture totally tear down our standards as Golden Age Greeks. Not at all can I make out whom this sculptor is representing. Sure I can make out the basic female figure. However the head is way too small in proportion the rest of the body. Maybe Henry Moore has not yet finished this piece. Did he make a mistake in the development of the chest area? This could be the case. If still this is a finish piece of â€Å"art† in no terms by us Greeks' is this considered Art. What I would have done if I were to complete this hiatus mangled human form is to continue to define the legs and arms especially. Still keeping the reclining look even though this promotes the idea of laziness in our eyes. After all, Greek art has to be the ideal of all, the perfect balance of mind and body -- picked up from Plato and his teachings. This shows neither. A great example is the discus thrower how the figure shows no physical stress or emotion through the face even though he is performing a strenuous activity. With this in mind further defining of the face, needed so the figure is anatomically correct and shows no stress through facial expression. This breaks all of our tradition in sculpture. On the one hand the simplification and distortion of body and limb seem extremely daring departures from the tradition which few do; on the other hand, this is reminiscent of the earliest sculpture ever produced, which is far from a perfect balance. Thus he has created a new form; that of pure laziness. Moore must think with the third dimension every bit as much as he must think in terms of the other two. Human ideals should come naturally -- correct proportions with the Platonic idea of mind and body balanced. Tying all of these sculptural ideas together would be a great help for Henry Moore, who seems challenged by every bit of these. Other points to be noted in the execution of the sculptor's idea than those of relating the proportions, preserving the perfect body, and suggesting depths. A cardinal requirement, and one which is made much of in any discussion of Greek sculpture, is truth.

Equality, diversity and inclusion in work with children and young people Essay

1.1 What are the laws and codes of practice that relate to the promotion of equality and the valuing of diversity? (Make a list). Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 & 2005 Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 Human Rights Act 1998 Children Acts 1989 & 2004 Education Act 1996 Equality Act 2010 Carers and Disabled Children Act 2001 Every Child Matters 2005 1.2 Why is it important to support the rights of all children and young people to participation and equality of access? All pupils have the right to a broad and balanced curriculum, which schools have a duty to provide. They should have equal access to the curriculum irrespective of their background, race, culture, gender, additional need or disability. This curriculum refers to learning within and outside of the classroom and it is important that all children are provided with positive and high quality standards of teaching. By providing this equality of access personal achievements of CYP’s will be maximised. Participation involves everyone within a school. Inclusion of pupils and parents alike, regarding development of school policies perhaps, should be a two-way process with the teachers, via student councils and parents’ meetings. Participation could also take place in the classroom where CYP’s can relay what works best for them and they then feel that they have a voice. 1.3 What are the benefits of valuing and promoting cultural diversity in work  with young people? Why is it important? Recognising and promoting the cultural diversity of individuals and groups within a school will enrich learning and promote the knowledge and understanding of all pupils. By understanding the cultural diversity of the pupils within a school helps them make sense of their learning by making connections with their own lives. Taking account of CYP’s background is essential to build effective relationships and provide support. Diverse cultures in society should be recognised and reflected throughout the curriculum with regards to music, food, and music, to name but a few. By doing this demonstrates a valuing of their culture and supports all CYP’s to explore and understand different cultures to their own. Outcome 2 Assessment criteria 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5. Write notes about three imaginary children to outline how prejudice and discrimination might affect them and how you might deal with this. Example 1.  Hamish is a 7 and is hard of hearing. He is a loner and finds it hard to make friends. He has difficulty understanding what is happening within the classroom and playground. Approaches I would make to support inclusion and learning Provide flashcards and more visual aids Introduce a ‘buddy’ scheme whereby other pupils assist him Educate the CYP’s about his disability via the British Deaf Association, perhaps, talking within the school Liaise with the parents as to how they may know of ways to help, as they will already have strategies in place at home Liaise with the SEN teacher Example 2. Maria is 9 and is a traveller. She is new to the school and this is the sixth school she has been to. She is very behind in education due to her moving around. She has a strong accent making it difficult for others to understand her and appears to have been isolated. Approaches I would make to support inclusion and learning Educate the CYP’s about the traveller way of life, via perhaps having a member of their community attending the school for an assembly Provide extra tuition to improve grades Provide individual TA support Introduce ‘buddy’ scheme Example 3. Sam is 6 and he has moderate autism. He cannot sit still for long periods. He cannot read or write. Approaches I would make to support inclusion and learning Allow him to expel any of his pent up energy by going to a safe area and ‘running around’ Make sure during carpet time he has something to keep his hands occupied Provide SEN support Allow use of IT to type out words Extra TA support Outcome 3 Assessment criteria 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 Find out what inclusion means and write some notes about approaches to inclusion in supporting learning. Inclusion is about ensuring that CYP’s, whatever their background or situation are able to participate fully in all aspects of the life of the school. They should be provided with the same opportunities and access to a high quality of education. Best practice checklist for contributing to an inclusive environment Know the individual needs of children and any potential barriers to their learning Listen to children and involve them in their own learning Know the background and interest of individual children and draw on these when supporting their learning Include materials and resources in your own work with children which reflect diversity in society Find out about the individual targets of the children with whom you work Use different strategies to support children with their learning Have high expectations of all children Report any concerns that you have about children’s progress and/or well-being

Public Perception of Police Essay

Being a police officer is one of the hardest jobs around. They are trained and hired to â€Å"protect and serve† their communities and they are constantly in the public eye. Everything that they do is criticized by the people who are watching them. Like in every other profession, there are some who should really not be doing that job, and those people give a bad name to the really good and dedicated officers that work so hard to take care of people. One of the problems that cause the public to have a lower level of good will toward police is the rising crime rate. People believe that if there are more crimes being committed, the police are not doing a proper job of stopping it. This tends to make people doubt the abilities that police have. (Koenig)Some of the negative feedback in regards to policing comes from allegations of alleged cover-ups mostly applied to racial accusations, ethnicity and to some degree, economic class. (Connolly, 2001) These issues are on a daily basis and over all that gives the public a negative view of the police force in general. The media has a big part in the negative viewpoint people have of the police. They tend to focus on the bad things that happen and although police are just human beings and do make mistakes, which is the only thing the media gives attention to so they get their viewers and readers to develop a negative attitude towards law enforcement. (Connolly, 2001) Another issue that is b ig in the news regarding law enforcement is that police are violent. There have been occasions when police have used violence and in some cases it was unjustified. But those incidents are isolated and do not happen as frequently as the media tends to make people believe. Police will only use force when they are in danger and even then, they give the criminal every possible chance to surrender before force is used. If the media focused more on the positive things that law enforcement does for the public, more people would likely have a more positive viewpoint towards them. (Connolly, 2001)The public seems to be split on the viewpoint of law enforcement. Some are in agreement with a certain amount of force being used while the other half tends to believe that it is dangerous for the police to use any kind of force especially when it is related to racial, ethical or socio-economical issues. (Connolly, 2001) It is believed that media bias started back when there were issues regarding the Vietnam War and Civil Rights struggles. Police are doing the  best job they are able to do and it would definitely make their jobs easier if they had more support and backing from the people they are trying to protect. (Connolly, 2001)There are many times that the police have to get control of a person or of people and this can prove to be very difficult physically and also very dangerous to the police and to the person or people they are trying to control. Nobody wants to admit that that is the truth but unfortunately it is. Some people may believe that because of what they see on television either in a movie or from the news, if they do something to irritate any cop, they will be beaten for it and then made out to look like they are the ones who brought it on, whether they deserve it or not. And in most cases, no one deserves to be beaten. (Connolly, 2001)According to Stamper (2009), police do not pick bad officers, those bad officers are made. Even the most dedicated police officer who gets out of the police academy a nd is all fired up to get out and help people, can see his or her most respected superior beating on someone who really is not deserving of it and eventually turn around and do the same thing. That is not legal of course, but if that officer is not caught then no one is going to know any better. Stamper had been an officer at one time and saw an officer he worked with whom he admired beating others. Basically, the power of being a cop got to Stamper’s head and he took advantage of that power until a prosecutor gave him a reality check. Stamper believes that the cops that have a conscience need to be the ones who take control of the bad seeds and assist with stopping police brutality. (Stamper, 2009)In February 2009, a Washington State Sheriff brought a â€Å"slender 15 year old girl† into custody, brought her into a holding cell and told her to remove her shoes. As she was removing her shoes, she allegedly kicked one off and it hit the officer, Paul Schene, in the shin. This was not done intentionally, but the officer became enraged and began to beat the girl. He kicked her, pulled her hair and put his knees into her back, as well as â€Å"slugging† her. All of this was caught on camera. (Stamper, 2009) Throughout the incident, the girl gave no resistance and after it happened, she was handcuffed and brought out of view of the camera. Later on the girl said she was having trouble breathing and paramedics were called. Officer Schene said only that she had a panic attack. Incidents such as that one are what the public are afraid of and what gives  good cops a bad name. It is reported that the incident with that girl is ranked just as bad as the Rodney King beating and the attack of Abner Louima. (Stamper, 2009) When those incidents become public knowledge, law enforcement needs to scramble to find a reason behind what they did. Often times that is not possible and it makes the public’s already tainted point of view even darker. It is really important for police to communicate with the public and make them aware of things that they did not already know. Perhaps if the public was more aware of things that the police did behind the scenes, they would be more apt to trust in law enforcement and not be so judgmental or critical of them. In some ways, yes citizens do have valid reasons for being so concerned about certain things they hear on the news or read in the papers. But a lot of times, stories may be exaggerated and that will make people worry for no reason. In regards to policing and racism, there are some instances where race does come into play when police are working on solving a certain crime. An example would be a crime family under investigation for any number of crimes. Typically, that particular crime family will only allow certain people into their group and those people are all from the same type of ethnic backgrounds. Another example would be someone like a rapist or serial killer. If they have an eye witness to the crime, they will be able to conduct their investigations based on the witness’s description. The suspect may be of one race or ethnic group and therefore, the police must keep an eye out for people who fit that description. That cannot be considered racial, although people will still say that it is. (Connolly, 2001)While not everyone will agree that the police are not shady and are giving people breaks that do not deserve them, everyone should agree that in the case of an emergency, it is nice to know that they have someone around who will be able to assist them. It is important for the public to know that they have help when they need it. Sometimes, police will offer a professional courtesy to a fellow officer and when the public gets wind of that, chaos breaks. Most people will not agree that police officers should not be punished for a crime that a civilian commits and gets punished for. This makes the general  public very angry and then they think they are not able to count on the police when they really need to. Law enforcement also needs to remember that if they are going to allow a member of their own force to get away with someone and then they find a citizen who commits the same crime, such as drunk driving, if that person knows that the cop got away with it, they will expect the same treatment. That is a valid argument for them to have. In closing, law enforcement really is there to protect and serve. That is their job and 99.9 percent of those people love what they do. Civilians need to understand and accept that. References Koenig, D.J. (n.d.) Police perceptions of public respect and extra-legal use of force: a reconsideration of folk wisdom and pluralistic ignorance. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 1(3), 313-324. Retrieved April 26, 2009, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=13959331&site=ehost-livedatabaseConnolly, C.P. (2001). In Defense of Police. The National Executive Institute Associates (NEIA). Retrieved April 27, 2009, from http://www.neiassociates.org/defense.htmStamper, N. (2009, March 11). Former Police Chief on Cop Brutality: â€Å"Law Enforcement Doesn’t Pick Bad Apples; It Makes Them†. Huffington Post retrieved on April 27, 2009 from http://www.alternet.org/rights/131014/former_police_chief_on_cop_brutality:_%22law_enforcement_doesn’t_pick_bad_apples%3B_it_makes_them%22/