Examine the Hindu views on arranged marriages Essay Example for Free

Examine the Hindu views on arranged marriages Essay To what extent can Hindu arranged marriages survive in a multi cultural society In this essay I will examine the Hindu views on arranged marriages and how they are surviving in s multi cultural society. I shall use secondary research to back up what I mention within this essay. An arranged marriage is a marriage in which neither the bride nor the groom has a say over the selection of their future spouses. However, in an arranged marriage, both parties give full consent to the marriage. Arranged marriages have been proven to be successful. Arranged marriages have been a traditional aspect of family life in Hinduism. According to Hinduism, a marriage between two people is seen to be a holy relationship, that is just not limited to this one life, but extends across seven or more lives during which, the couple will help each other grow as people and progress spiritually. Two souls come together and marry because their karmas are intertwined and they have to resolve many things together upon earth in order to ensure their mutual salvation. In Hinduism, man and woman represent the two halves of the divine body. There is no question of superiority or inferiority between them. When parents are in search for a partner for their child, they firstly look at the religion, language and caste. These are very important factors that most parents do not overlook for arranged marriages. In India, parents feel that a girl can be a potential wife at the age of eighteen and parents get worried if she remains unmarried past twenty four or twenty five. It is acceptable for a boy to remain unmarried till his late 20s, but after that questions are asked about his appropriateness as a husband. This does not necessarily apply to a growing urban middle class population. Once the families have agreed on their childrens marriage they consult a family priest or an astrologer to fix the wedding date according to their astrological charts and thereafter invitations are sent to family and friends. The Hindu marriage ceremony entails several functions before the big day. However the wedding day itself has many religious rituals which need to be followed and is a custom for all Hindus. Firstly there is the Panigrahana; this ritual is carried out by the brides father, where he would offer the hand of the bride to the groom. The next ritual is the exchanging of the vows with fire as the witness. A Havankund or fire is lit and the priest recites the relevant hymns from the scriptures. Each time the bride and groom go around the fire they exchange vows. The next ritual is the Saptapadi; at the end of the ceremony the couple take seven steps together; each step represents strivings for their married life. The first step is taken for God and the growing of their spiritual progress together, the others are for health, wealth, strength, children and happiness. The seventh step represents life long friendship between husband and wife. The other key feature of a Hindu marriage, which everyone is familiar with, is the marking of the brides forehead with red powder called kumkum. This merely shows the females status. Love marriages are on the increase in Britain, but there is still a lot of doubt about them amongst the elder generation. Love marriages within the same caste and financial background are favoured, compared to inter-caste and inter-religious marriages. Couples who dare cross the social conventions have to cope with a lot of social pressure within their families and outside. These problems are more acute in the rural areas compared to the urban areas and metropolitan cities. Much depends upon the family background. If parents are educated and enlightened on both sides, things would be easier for the children, who get involved in unconventional relationships. I would say one of the evils of Hindu arranged marriages in India especially is the ever- present dowry system. The amount of dowry can be a very substantial amount, even in dollar terms, depending upon the financial status of the parties involved. Sometimes greedy mother-in-laws and husbands subject the poor brides to innumerable hardships for not meeting their expectations in respect of the dowry. Cases of bride burning are not unknown. Indian penal code prescribes severe punishment for such acts. But the cases take years and decades before the courts deliver justice. Many Indian families who have settled outside of India still uphold the tradition of arranged marriage. Being part of two cultures can be hard. Young people born in Britain but from an Indian family can find this particularly difficult if their modern western lifestyles clash with their parents hopes and wishes.2 Many young Indian people living in Britain know that one day they will agree to an arranged marriage. To deny their parents this would be a sign of deep disrespect. Many families are able to discuss the issue and reach compromises that are suitable for everyone. For example insist that you are happy to meet with prospective partners but that you must like your match. Family, friends and relatives will be informed once they have decided to go ahead and soon meetings will be organised. They will be matched according to their education and experience, a suitable caste, or social class associated with the Hindu religion. Many non Hindus have a huge misconception about arranged marriages. It is important to make a clear distinction between arranged marriages that are consensual and marriages that are arranged without the consent of the individuals involved. These are sometimes called forced marriages and are against the law in this country. However in rural parts of India this idea about forced marriages still takes place even today. Although Western societies tend to ridicule arranged marriages as backward and uncivilized and old fashioned, there are positive aspects. For example, Westerners focus more on the physical aspect of relationships, and are thus obsessed with love, sex, and beauty. As a result, people get married based on these factors and then get let down by one another very easily. The divorce rate in Western countries such as the U.S. has increased rapidly. 50% of American marriages end in divorce1. In contrast, Eastern cultures that practice arranged marriages place far more emphasis on the practical, such as integrity, diligence, ambition, modesty, and kindness. People get married based on practical reasons, and work on building affection later. Strong characteristics like the ones described above are very favourable to building love and affection in Eastern marriages. As a result, these marriages are much longer-lasting than many Western marriages. It is because the primary emphasis is not on love, sex, and physical beauty that arranged marriages are usually so successful, because the spouses get to know one another on a practical level first, looking beyond trivial issues such as beauty. I know it can go both ways, there are many arranged marriages that are just total hell, and there are marriages that started out based only on infatuation and grew stronger as time passed. But I think as long as one looks for the right characteristics in a potential spouse, then, arranged marriage can definitely work. People within the western civilisation are mistaken by the term arranged marriages. Arranged doesnt necessarily mean fixed. Arranged marriages it encompasses a lot of different varieties: the harshest arranged marriages are almost forced upon the bride or groom while the most liberal ones start with just an introduction of the couple through their parents and the rest is up to the couple. If they feel they are compatible then they would go ahead with the marriage. If they decided not to get married they would remain friends. I feel that within Britain today, Hindu parents have become liberal with their children dating and seeing each other. Parents are now influencing their children to look for someone within University get to know them for at least a couple of years and then decide on whether they are right for you. I think if the parents know about the son or daughters partner and they are Hindu, have a good family background and most importantly are educated then the parents would definitely agree to the marriage. In fact, the advantages and drawbacks of arranged marriages cannot be so easily appraised. The incidence of divorce among Indian-born British/Americans is dramatically lower than among British/Americans generally, but that partly reflects the continuing disgrace of divorce. Even as the divorce rate among Indian British/Americans appears to be increasing, the topic is rarely discussed. Divorce reflects poorly on an Indian family, and some proportion of arranged marriages endures not because they are successful or rewarding, but because leaving them would bring such shame. In addition, the concept of a woman living independently is foreign to most people in South Asian culture. Also, a majority of women dont work in rural areas of South Asian countries and hence find it difficult to have enough money to support them without getting married or after getting divorced. And many endure because the definition of success differs from Western ideas. Traditional Indians dont expect a partner to be that improbable combination of soul mate/confidante/red-hot lover/best friend. The husband-wife bond is one of reliability and dependability and complementary family roles raising children, caring for elders, explains Karen Leonard, author of The South Asian Americans and a University of California-Irvine anthropologist. They may communicate very little in intimate ways, and its still a good marriage.3. The custom of arranged marriages in India has survived migration and modernization remaining central to the fabric of society. However 95% of all marriages in India are arranged, even among those in the educated middle class. Many Indians challenge that arranged marriages are more successful than marriages in the West, particularly given the latters staggering divorce rates. Romantic love does not necessarily lead to a good marriage, and often fails once the passion dissolves, they argue. With most unions between individuals from the same background, the arranged marriage reflects and reinforces the social, economic, geographic and historical diversity of India itself. More like a continent than a country, India is made up of 14 states, with as many languages, thousands of dialects, three major religions, hundreds of sub-religions, an outlawed but still practiced caste system amongst Hindus. The Hindu religion, strongly intertwined in the concept of duty, order that parents are responsible for providing their childrens education and marriage. Once married, their sons take over the running of the household and provide for their parents for the rest of their lives. The arranged marriage has adjusted to modernization. Prospective grooms were once not even allowed to see the photograph of their prospective brides so as to protect an unmarried womans purity, her most valuable asset. By the 1930/40s, such as in my grandmothers marriage, the couple exchanged photographs, in order to decide if they liked each other. Today couples, depending on how liberal their parents are, have a coffee or meal on their own either at home, or in a restaurant, before deciding to commit. Middle-class women are allowed to reject suitors favoured by their parents. Engagements can now last six months. Western concepts of love triumphing over tradition can be seen in popular Indian films. However, many Indian women in the diaspora are in change. Freedom comes with a price. Some women, after having ended several long term relationships, find themselves in their late 30s alone, with one foot in either world and judged by both. It goes without saying that no marriage, not even an arranged one, is accustomed from basic incompatibility or abuse. But the arranged marriage does have its advantages. Living with the extended family, daughters traditionally live with their in-laws including brothers-in-law and their wives and children which means a free staff of child minders. Apart from the economic savings of a family home, shocks such as a death or the loss of a job can be absorbed. The system cares for elderly parents and grandparents who are generally isolated in Western societies. Also, because the arranged marriage tends to be a union of two families of strong moral and cultural values provides checks and balances against areas that may splinter it, such as unfaithfulness. Most people tend to equate Hindu marriage with arranged marriage. The parents in order to meet this domestic obligation prepare themselves mentally and, more importantly, financially when their child reaches marriageable age. They search for a suitable partner keeping in mind the community rules regarding cast, creed, birth chart, and financial and social status of the family. Traditionally it is the girls parents that bear the cost of the wedding and to jumpstart their daughters married life they shower her with gifts and ornaments to take to her in-laws. Unfortunately, this has aggravated peoples greed end in the many evils of dowry system. In the end, the discussion of arranged and love marriages comes down to which is better? Obviously, the one that leads to more successful marriages. Supporters of arranged marriages claim that it is more successful, but their definition of success focuses on divorce rates. But are divorce rates really a measure of a successful marriage? Do all the couples that dont get divorced stay happy with each other? The occurrence of divorce in society depends on a lot of factors including the stigma of divorce. It should be a matter of great concern that we have begun to ignore the ancient and lofty ideals of Hindu marriage and are anxious to follow in the footsteps of cultures that do not value these ideals. No wonder, the number of divorce suits filed by Hindu couples is on the rise. Instead of strengthening the traditional ideals, which for thousands of years have helped us prevent marriage and family break-ups, we are misdirecting our energies towards promoting the ideal of sense-enjoyment and self-interest. In my opinion it is still not too late to be proactive to protect the sanctity of Hindu marriage. 1: http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm 2: http://www.youthinformation.com/infopage.asp?snID=805 3: http://lair.xent.com/pipermail/fork/2003-March/018427.html Words 2,582 (not including Bibliography)

Gold investment: An overview

Gold investment: An overview Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Overview Since prehistoric time, human are using the gold in trading and value keeping asset. Even current financial activities are always surrounding by the gold issue. The ancient treated the gold as the true form of wealth. Gold has been using early in 4000 B.C as a fashion decorative object in where today Eastern Europe is centred. In 1500 B.C the gigantic gold-bearing regions of Nubia made Egypt a wealthy nation (National Mining Association). By the time the gold has widely recognize as the standard form of medium of exchange for international trade. Gold is represented the royal and honourable in different religious and cultural area. Its aesthetic appearance is the finest ornament above all other metal. Gold play the role in all aspect around us, such as religious customs, reward system, ornament, jewellery, and even the component of industrial product. Gold exist and be using for decade, its intrinsic value is still maintain high and irreplaceable. Investing in gold has been seen as the supreme way of safe haven investment. Gold investment is booming in recent year and the reasons behind this incident can be explained as the investor become more aware of the benefit of the gold and its special features. Gold demand for investment purpose accounted one-thirds of gold demand all over the world which is substantial influential (World Gold Council, 2009). Investment demand for gold has shown as significant increase in the last seven years as investor seeking the fashion to balance their investment portfolio and safeguard against the economy and political uncertainty Generally gold demand can be divided into three main types, which included the Jewellery demand, gold investment demand, and industrial demand. The gold investment can be further divided into physically and non-physically holding the gold. In Malaysia, there are several ways to participate in gold investment and this will be studied in chapter two. 1.2 Benefit of gold investment In portfolio management, prudent investor will have different sort of investment vehicle. The reason for holding diverse investment is to safeguard the portfolio against fluctuations or uncertainty that occurs in the economy system. Gold investment has been studied by many of professional toward its ability to protect the wealth of investors against the overwhelming global financial crisis and economic uncertainty. Generally, the group of similar asset will react correspondingly among each other during the transformation of the economy and financial system. Diversification will reduce investors risk in portfolio investment. Besides the common investment vehicle like company share, bond, and mutual fund, gold investment is an option for investor to diversify their investment portfolio. Portfolio that contains gold investment is generally more robust and less risky as compared other investment vehicle. The inflationary hedging ability of gold is prominent especially during the economic uncertainty period. Gold price react quickly that other commodities when there is any change in the market condition. Conversely, price of the CPI-basket is adjusted slowly to the change of market condition ((Mahdavi Zhou, 1997). Risk factors that may affect the gold price are quite different in nature from those that affect other assets. Purchasing power of gold is maintain even the transformation of the era is remarkably significant (Greer, 2005). In addition, gold is one of the examples of safety investment instrument that have very limited amount of risk associated with it. The credit risk is the possibilities that the debtor unable to repay the loan. Gold is unique which do not involve such repayment relationship. The profitability of gold investment is operating in the accrual basis. The liquidity risk which means the possibilities that the asset cannot be sold as the buyer in the market may not be available during the time of reselling. However the gold market has high demand rate from the individual consumer, jewellery sector, financial institution and manufacturing of industrial product. Thus its liquidity risk of gold investment is very low (World Gold Council, 2009). 1.3 Problem statement Gold investment in Malaysia is less well known by investor, even though it is a superior investment vehicle. Generally, most of the elderly will save their money in fixed deposit. Some of them may invest their money into mutual fund and government bond. The rate of return from the fixed deposit is very low and the intrinsic value of the saving will be overwhelmed by the wave of inflation during financial crisis or recession. The purpose of this study is to find out what are the reasons that affect the intention to adopt gold investment in investors portfolio. In early 2008, the inflation rate surge high, most of the investor who invests in share market suffers a huge loss in the market. The collapse of Lehman brother and many giant corporations in 2008 raised the vigilance of the investors. Many of investors seek for the immunity to keep their capital away from the threat of inflation and downward movement of stock prices. According to World gold council (2009) stated that there is significant increase in the demand of gold investment. Current financial recession and anxiety toward future uncertainty have urge the political and finance officer unearth the solution to withstand the inflation problem. Some professors have suggests the gold investment to investor as the safe haven to protect their wealth against the inflation shock. Gold investment has the special feature of inflationary hedge which have been study by a number of researchers and professionals. Malaysian investors should add the gold investment into their portfolio and hence reduce the risk of investment. However, gold investment in Malaysia is still not widely adopted as compared to other counties such as Singapore, Thailand, China, United state and India. Some investors are eager to make the quick profit from the speculating activities such as short-selling the share and the commodities future. However the speculating activities will create the bubble in the market and finally it will turn into another financial turmoil. The gold price seen not stable in short and is more volatile than other commodities. However the gold price in long-run shown an upward shifting trend and the value of gold is appreciated over the past 30 years. In Malaysia, the gold investment opportunity is very limited and the public are hard to find the advertisement of the gold investment account or the gold investment seminar. The lack of public awareness toward the gold investment is one of the problems in Malaysia. It is imperative to enhance the public awareness to the gold investment and adoption of gold investment in the investors portfolio. Gold investment is very popular in other country such as china and India during the recent years. Based on the statement from the World Gold Council (2009) the investment demand hit high at 656 tones which account for 16 per cent of total gold demand. James Burton, the CEO of the WGC has announced the investment demand for the gold market has a striking increase in the last six years. The rising demand of gold investment is due to the investors seek to further diversified their portfolio and safeguard against economic uncertainty and political instability. However this tide is not yet hit the Malaysia Investment market as compared to other country. As we can see the method of gold investment in Malaysia is enormously limited. This thesis may help the local investment institution to identify the factors that affect the adoption of the gold investment. Thus the local institution can come out with the absolute plan special cater for the local investor. It may help to establish the sound financial investment structure in Malaysia. Besides, investors are furnished to more options of investment and enhance the ability to diversify their investment portfolio. Development of a country required the liberalization of the Malaysia market so that to attract the multinational corporation expand their business locally. Generally, Malaysias local investment institution is lack of competitive advantage as compared to giant foreign investment institution. Hence government always exercise its authority to prevent the foreign institution enter into Malaysia financial market. This will be an obstacle to the government in their liberalization plan. In order to increase the competitiveness of the local investment institution, the research on perception of local investor is indispensable. It would assist the local investment institution to compete with the strong forces from overseas. In the evolution of the world monetary system, the gold is increasingly been esteemed as the new form of currency after the abandoned of the Bretton Woods System in year 1973. The loss of confident towards the paper notes and some professionals have pointed out gold as a true form of medium of exchange. Greer (2005) has defined the money is backed by nothing other than the confidence that its holders place in the issuing bank. The paper notes will be able to exchange for goods and as way to store their wealth. However, it depends on the ability of that government to keep inflation under control. The problem of the fiat money have cause the Zimbabwe nation suffer from the hyperinflation due to the excessive money supply. Malaysian should employ some inflationary hedging instrument to avoid the unwanted event. The rising demand for gold in the countries such as china, India, United state and Australia in gold investment have significantly drive the gold investment as part the portfolio investment tools worldwide. Malaysia is still on the developing stage of this form of investment instrument. Thus we are rarely seen the Malaysian investors holding their portfolio with the portion of gold investment. Even gold is superior and have been widely adopted in other countries. 1.4 Objective of study The General objective of this research is to examine the perception of Malaysian toward gold investment. Investor perception toward gold investment is extremely important when come to the promotion of the gold investment. Here is to study what is investor view on the gold investment. What investor perceive the gold investment and what is image of gold investment that in the eye of investor. Special objectives: 1. To determine the adoption of gold investment in Malaysia There some relevant cause and effect relationship of the low adoption of the gold investment. Why gold investment is not popular and widely adopt by the investor as compare to other investment or saving plan. One of the objectives of this thesis is to discover the factors that associate with the degree of espousal to gold investment. 2. To determine the factor affect the gold investment among Malaysian Gold investment is prominent investment vehicle and is widely embraced. The factors affect the gold investment adoption in Malaysia provide insight to the investment institution to cater local investors need. 3. To determine the relationship between perception and adoption of gold investment Is the Malaysians perception toward gold investment having significant relationship with the adoption of gold investment? The perception is the behavioural aspect of human thinking and the adoption is the actual action takes by the Malaysian. Hence, the relationship will be examined in this research. 1.5 Significant of study Based on the investor perception toward gold investment, bank and the investment institution can formulate the gold investment plan to gratify the local investor needs. Malaysia is gradually moving to the liberalization era in different area especially banking area. Due to the open forces from the foreign financial institution, local banks and investment branches are increasingly focus on the customer services and their facilities improvement. By understanding the local investor perception toward the gold investment, local banks or other local investment institution will be able to compete with other foreign giant finance and investment institution. The local investment institution professionalism and customer service is improved if the research and development are increasingly focused on the development of facilities. In addition, government will be eased when implementing the liberalization plan if the local financial institutions are employed with the strong competitive advantages . Malaysia evolves to a resilient nation as we moving deeply into the liberalization era. Thus the local banking system needs to have more inputs to renovate the investment structure in Malaysia. This research enhances the ability to attract the foreign direct investment due to the liberalization of the market. The demand of Malaysia currency is indirectly driven by the foreign direct investment. Hence it will strengthen the Malaysia currency to other nations currencies rate. This research contributes to the Malaysia financial market stability and development while the losses of the investors had been minimized due to the â€Å"safe haven† protection of gold investment. It enhances the resiliency and stability to country financial market, because the losses of investor is been reduced. In addition, local consumers and market players are given the opportunity to variety of choices and enjoy the privilege in term of banking products and services from the open force of the liberalization. Hence it boosts the local investor and market player confident toward the local banking and finance institution. Gold investment in Malaysia is not well known investment vehicle to investors even though there are rising demand of the gold investment from the global perspective. Thus, analyze Malaysia perception toward the gold investment is a vital driver which directly influences the gold investment demand in Malaysia. During the economy difficulties, the consumer are generally suffer from the rising price of the necessities. The decrease of the consumer spending will detain the recovery of the local economy system. If Malaysians engage in some sort of inflationary hedging instrument, the situation will be ease. The inflation problem will not distress the nation seriously as the investors are protected against inflation. From the gold investment facilities provided in Malaysia, we can draw the conclusion of the Malaysia gold investment industry is not well-crafted as compared to other foreign country. There is the need to produce more research topic related to the Malaysia gold investment industry. The research can extend the investor knowledge toward Malaysia gold investment market and also create the awareness to the gold investment opportunity. Malaysia aims to establish a knowledge-based society which is stated in the National Vision Policy (NVP). Hence, in order to consistent with National Vision Policy the extension of the knowledge in gold investment is one of the significant of study in this research. Diversification enables investor to minimize their risk in their portfolio. Investors are given more option to diversify their investment portfolio instead of the current common type of investment vehicle. The inflation rate surge high every year, the real wealth of the investor is diminish over time if they do not involve in the inflationary hedging activities. Among the inflationary hedging activities, gold investment is the safer form of instrument. It is because gold have the high demand and high intrinsic value instead of the legal tender given by the authorities. In addition, the gold is durable and imperishable even for thousands of years. Thus, it acts as a superb value storing asset among others. Risk adverse investors such as elderly will be able to keep their wealth more efficiently and withstand the uncertainty in future. This study provides the important feature of the gold investment which can benefit investor especially during the economic uncertainty period. 1.6 Organization of study In this research project, there are total of five chapters and the title for this research is â€Å"the perception of Malaysian toward gold investment; an empirical study. In chapter one, the overview of the gold investment and benefit of gold investment is included in this research. Besides, the problem statements give an illustration of the problem of gold investment in Malaysia. After that objective of study and significant is study is developed and explained briefly. Chapter two is the literature review; the information is obtained from various sources such as the, research journal, bank catalogue, newspaper, book, and website. In this chapter, the variables are studied clearly and the independent variables are further justified. Chapter two included the study of gold supply and demand, characteristics of gold and gold investment opportunity in Malaysia. After that, the independent variable is studied accordingly. In chapter three, the Research Framework and model specification is developed. Theory of reasoned action has been employed in this study. After that, the hypothesis is established for ten independent variables. Research design is stated in this chapter and it provides detailed information for the method of study. Research sample, questionnaire design, data analysis method is included in this chapter. Chapter four is about the result analysis which the data will be analyzed and interpreted. Finally, chapter five is the recommendation and conclusion of the study. Chapter 2: literature review 2.1 Gold supply and demand Precious metal has the feature of the currency and it possesses the intrinsic value besides the legal tender given by government (Greer, 2005). Hence, investor tend to put their money in gold during time of uncertainty and when they loss confident toward the paper currency (Rusell, 2009). Recent years, there is an increase demand in this real asset due to the loss of confidence toward the paper currency (Willie, 2009). Gold price is demand on the demand and supply mechanism in short-run. Gold demand is high in the country such as East Asia, India and Middle East. In addition, China, India, USA, Italy, and Turkey accounted 55% of the total gold demand of the world. The gold demand can be divided into the jewellery demand, investment demand and industrial demand (Lutter, 2009). Jewellery demand has a highest percentage to the total gold demand. India is the largest jewellery demand due the cultural and religious tradition which is independent to the economic variable. The investment demand which is the primary consideration in this research mean the gold is been traded over-the-counter market. The investment demand has a dramatically increase over last five year which shown a 412% in term of value (World gold council, 2009). More investors seeking gold as protection against the instability of numerous macro-economic variables such as inflation, currency exchange rate, and interest rate (Levin and Wright, 2006). In industrial demand, gold has been use as the thermal and electrical conductor, the demand arises from the use as an electrical components. On the supply side, it is come from the mine production, central bank holding, recycled gold and gold production. The mine production is inelastic to the changes in price and demand due to the long mining process. Recycled gold is from the process of extract and melt down of the jewellery and electrical components (World Gold Council, 2009). 2.2 The characteristic of gold Gold have variety of characteristics besides the independent variable stated in this research. For example, gold possess the characteristics of liquidity, store of value, durability, unit of account and Malleable. The characteristics of the gold provide strong foundation of the demand for the gold especially during the recession or economic uncertainty period. According to world gold Council (2009), the liquidity risk of the gold is relatively low as compare to other investment vehicle especially during the economic hardship. Murray (2004) said that the gold market provide high liquidity to investor when they are in the need of the fund. According to Sathye (2003), the collateral is a second source of repayment to the loan. The Marketability of the asset is an important consideration to the lending decision. The Marketability of the asset depends on the acceptability of the particular asset. Gold has the characteristic of acceptability. Levin Wright (2006) stated that gold is widely acceptable and investor can sell the gold whenever they need the liquidity of the fund. The According to Harmston (1998), gold can uphold its real purchasing power in long run. He claim that gold have consistent value storing ability even at the economic instability. Sjaastad, Larry and Scacciavillani (1996) claimed that when world inflation is surging higher, gold is performance its remarkable function as a value storing instrument. Dubey, Geanakoplos Shubik, (2003) said that gold is a form of commodity money and it can store the value. However gold is durable as compare to other commodities. Besides, the durability of the gold is prominent as a value storing asset. In chemical term, gold is a chemical element with symbol Au and atomic number of 79. This metal has the high thermal and electrical conductivity, resistance of corrosion and malleable characteristics (Wikipedia, 2009). Gold has an atomic number of 79 and atomic weight of 196.967. Gold has high melting point which at 1064.43 °C. Beside, gravity of gold is 19.3 and can be explained as 19.3 times weight than equal volume of water (National Mining Association, 2004). 2.3 Gold investment prospect in Malaysia Gold is an efficient investment vehicle for preservation of wealth and a store of value during the economy volatility especially the high inflationary period. The special features of gold such as diversifier, safe haven, inflationary hedge, universal acceptance, and transportability have make the gold demand the superior choice for investment purpose. In Malaysia, investors have some ways to participate in the gold investment market either physically and non-physically holding of gold. Firstly, we discuss the physically holding of the gold in Malaysia. The Commercial bank investment branches have contributes some fine-tuning gold investment account such as Maybank, Public Bank, Standard Charter Bank, and Bank Negara Malaysia. Maybank offers their gold investment account which called Gold Savings Passbook Account (GSPA). The minimum first purchase is 5 grams only. The weight of gold holdings can be converted to Ringgit Malaysia at the prevailing market gold price and the selling price will be update at the Maybank website from time to time (Maybank, 2008) Public Bank provides the Public Bank Gold Investment Account for investor to participate at the gold market. Public Bank Gold Investment Account having the similar concept with the Maybank Gold Saving Passbook Account. The only difference is the minimum first purchase is 20 gram. Bank can make available the physical gold upon customer require physical withdrawal of gold. A minimum quantity of 2 grams of gold should be maintained by the customer as an assurance of the account is in active mode (Public Bank, 2008). Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad offered its retail investment gold to investor with the launch of Premium Currency Investment Gold (PCi Gold). PCI Gold is a dual currency investment which means that contain both USD and gold. However the minimum amount of 250,000 is required to operate the account with the possession ranging from one week, two week and one month (Standard Chartered Bank). For the gold investment passbook provided by the Public Bank and Maybank is quite similar, the trading record for the gold investment is recorded in a passbook provided to investor. This type of gold investment in generally back by the real gold. However the disadvantage of the gold investment passbook is the investor will not be given any interest and dividend. Investors just make a profit when they sell the gold at higher price. In addition, the bank will charges the gold investment passbo ok holder when the convert or sell their gold holding. When investor buy the gold through the gold investment passbook the price will be slightly higher that the prevailing world gold price. Bank Negara offers the Kijang Emas Gold Bullion Coins. By issue the Kijang Emas Gold Bullion Coins, Malaysia become the 12th country issue its own gold bullion coins. The Kijang Emas Gold Bullion Coin purchase and reselling price is determined by the prevailing international gold market price (BNM, 2002). Investor can buy other bullion coins in some international company such as the Canadian Maple Leaf, American Eagle, and Australian Kangaroo Nugget. The gold investment that involve in non-physically holding of the gold in Malaysia includes gold fund, gold related fund and units trust that involve gold as a core element. The exchange trade fund (ETFs) which is trade similarly as stock or bond. ETFs track the index movement and performance and it is listed on stock exchange (Bursa Malaysia, 2009). Gold exchange trade fund (ETF) is another option for investors and it is listed and traded just as the stock exchange. ETFs enable investor to take part in gold market without investors physically own the gold because it tracks the price performance of the gold bullion. However gold exchange trade fund is still not available in Malaysia. Investor can invest in ETF in Singapore through foreign trading account offered by a local securities firm and investor is subject to the currency risk Gold fund and gold-related funds can be defined as unit trust funds that pool investor fund for investment in gold and other precious metals and investor vary from individuals, corporations to government institutions with common investment objectives. Investor can benefit from the expertise of fund manager who administer the pool fund investment rather that do internal data collection by themselves. There are only one gold fund is available in Malaysia with the minimum investment set at US$150,000 which equivalent to RM513, 000. For gold related fund, investor can just invest minimum of RM 1, 000 to diversify their investment portfolio. (New Straits Times, 2009) The above information provides an insight and general idea to the way to participate in gold investment industry in Malaysia. Investors need the timely information to make their decision on selecting the proper way go investment and investment instrument. According to Lutter (2008), investor will search for the particular investment vehicle before they add the instrument into their investment portfolio. Investor will normally seek information for these four categories, individual, salesperson and advertisement, public communication instruments and personal observation. 2.4 The independent variables of the intention to adopt gold investment among Malaysian In this chapter, the independent variables that are expected to have significant relationship toward the intention to adopt gold investment will be examined. The dependent variable is the intention that Malaysian investor employ the gold investment as part of their investment portfolio. The potential independent variables are the inflationary hedge, currency rate, diversifier and safe haven, time horizon, third party influences, cultural influences, risk averse, advertisement, and professionalism. The independent variable is grouped according to Maheran, Nursuzila and Aspiyati (2008) which adopt the theory of reasoned action. Besides, some mortification is made to tally with this research special requirement. The advertisement and professionalism is common type of independent variable that influences the adoption of some products or services. Advertisements play an important role to persuade consumer intention to accept the products and services. Professionalism is needed especially for the investment sector; investors are generally employs less information than the agent and the professional in the field. 2.5 Economic Factor and gold investment Purchasing power of gold is maintain even the transformation of the era is remarkably significant and the purchasing power of the contemporary currency is diminished gradually (Greer, 2005). In year 1945, Breton wood agreement which endorse by the United States Congress was set the gold exchange standard. The standard involves setting par values for currencies in term of gold and the member countries is required to convert foreign official holdings of their currencies into gold at the prevailing par value. Breton wood system had fixed the 35 US dollar equivalent to 1 ounce of gold to establish the global currency standard (Dammasch, 2005). According to world gold council (2009), the current gold price is increase sharply and currently one ounce of gold is approximately equivalent to 1079 US dollar per ounce. From the above , we can notice that the purchasing power of US currencies has generally declined due to the impact of rising prices for goods and services. Consequently, gold is always in pursuit by the investor when there is fluctuation in the currencies and economy. According to World gold council (2006), the robust growth of the gold investment demand recent year can be attributed to the factors such as macro-economic and the political instability. Economic factors have high contribution to the gold investment demand and the US dollar plays a crucial role in this aspect. According to Levin and Wright (2006), gold is prominent for its inverse relationship with the US dollar. During the drop in the currency rate of the US dollar recently, the gold price had shown a robust upward shift in the price. The currency factor contributes to investor decision making framework in adoption of gold investment (Boye, 2005). The inflationary hedging ability of gold and currency rate volatility is the key independent variable in this research and it is widely study by many of the professors (eg. Lutter, Sjaastad, Larry Scacciavillani, Worthington Pahlavani and Greer) 2.5.1. Inflationary hedge and gold investment Under the overwhelming financial emergency in 2008, investors are alert to the predictable inflation in the coming future; they realize the advantage of possessing gold, this drive the gold investment demand in China (China research and intelligence, 2009). In consistent with the china research and intelligences finding, world gold council researcher shown that the gold price remains high and stable at around US$ 989/oz in the first quarter of 2009. The scenario is driven by the anxious of investors toward the stability of the financial system, risk aversion, future possibility of inflation and as well as deflation (WGC, 2009). The World gold Council and China researcher predict the gold demand increase during the late 2008 is driven by the inflation and economy uncertainty. In Lutter (2008) study he shown that investor treat gold investment as the superior investment instrument and belief it will give the return which is higher that the inflation rate. Thus investor will demand gold during the inflationary period. According to Worthington and Pahlavani (2007), they claimed that commodities are the best way to hedge against rising prices which reduce the returns of purely financial assets like stocks and bonds. Worthington and Pahlavani point out that gold is special which unlike most commodities; gold is durable, relatively transportable, universally acceptable and easily authenticated. The commodities hedging ability is supported by Ranson and Wainwright (2005)

Kalevala Koru :: essays research papers

Kalevala Koru Introduction The history of Kalevala jewellery went back to the Association of Kalevala Women who aimed to safeguard ancient Finnish culture tradition. Making-making was regarded by them as one way to honour national history and culture heritage as well as one way to raise funds for the Association of Kalevala Women. The name Kalevala came from the national epic because of its strong connection Established in 1937, Kalevala Jewellery started to produce jewellery in 1940. In 1940s, though facing difficulties of lacking raw materials and skilful workforce in production, the jewellery sold very well both at home and abroad partly due to the fact that demand exceeded supply, partly due to its attendances at jewellery exhibitions which enlarged its brand fame. 1950s saw the steady growth of Kalevala till 1960s, however modern jewellery gained an increasing market share at the same time. In the early 70s situation improved a bit then replaced by a sliding down at the end of the decade till the beginning of 80s when the Association had to give financial aid to help it out. Then thanks to a change in fashion in the mid-80s, Kalevala won over new customers when young women wanted big, ethnic jewellery. The main product ranges of Kalevala were ancient and archaeological jewellery, historical jewellery and modern jewellery. Bronze was used as main raw materials to make jewellery, next was silver and then gold. Bronze jewellery contributed a large part of total production (70%). The silver and gold works accounted for 22 % and 8 % respectively. Almost the entire Kalevala jewellery range was available in both bronze and silver. Every year over 400 models were being produced, of which most were available in various forms, like pendants, earrings, necklaces, brooches, rings for girls and tiepins and cufflinks for men. The production process was so labour-intensive that in 1996 85 out of 143 employees worked for production section. With the joining of new CEO, Kalevala stepped into a new stage. By motivating employees, investing in production machines and R&D, focusing on three market segments which targeted young women, working women and loyal users and improving customer services which included re-adjusting salesmen’ attitude towards retailers, automating administrative work, adapting to a changing environment, Marja Usvasalo managed to achieve best performances in the period from 4/1995 to 3/1996 with profit increased greatly by 39% compared with previous year though it had to be reaffirmed that from 1988 till 1996 period the corporate performances had been improving.

Computer Viruses: Infection Vectors, and Feasibility of Complete Protection :: essays research papers fc

Computer Viruses: Infection Vectors, and Feasibility of Complete Protection   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A computer virus is a program which, after being loaded into a computer's memory, copies itself with the purpose of spreading to other computers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most people, from the corporate level power programmer down to the computer hobbyist, have had either personal experience with a virus or know someone who has. And the rate of infection is rising monthly. This has caused a wide spread interest in viruses and what can be done to protect the data now entrusted to the computer systems throughout the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A virus can gain access to a computer system via any one of four vectors: 1. Disk usage: in this case, infected files contained on a diskette (including, on occasion, diskettes supplied by software manufacturers) are loaded, and used in a previously uninfected system thus allowing the virus to spread. 2. Local Area Network: a LAN allows multiple computers to share the same data, and programs. However, this data sharing can allow a virus to spread rapidly to computers that have otherwise been protected from external contamination. 3. Telecommunications: also known as a Wide Area Network, this entails the connection of computer systems to each other via modems, and telephone lines. This is the vector most feared by computer users, with infected files being rapidly passed along the emerging information super-highway, then downloaded from public services and then used, thus infecting the new system. 4. Spontaneous Generation: this last vector is at the same time the least thought of and the least likely. However, because virus programs tend to be small, the possibility exists that the code necessary for a self-replicating program could be randomly generated and executed in the normal operation of any computer system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even disregarding the fourth infection vector, it can be seen that the only way to completely protect a computer system is to isolate it from all contact with the outside world. This would include the user programming all of the necessary code to operate the system, as even commercial products have been known to be shipped already infected with viruses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, because a virus can enter a computer in so many different ways, perhaps the best thing to do is more a form of damage control rather than prevention. Such as, maintain current backups of your data, keep your original software disks write-protected and away from the computer, and use a good Virus detection program. Outline Thesis: Complete protection of a computer system from viruses is not possible, so efforts should be concentrated on recovery rather than prevention. I. Introduction, with definition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A. Define Computer Virus.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B. Define interest group.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  C. Define problem.

New York and the Spanish Influenza :: Influenza Epidemics Health Essays

New York and the Spanish Influenza NEW YORK--Although public health officials, including the Surgeon General, have been reluctant to declare an epidemic of crisis proportions, indications that something more than a mild flu season was at hand began to appear as far back as May when reports from China, the Front lines, and other places around the world, were telling of large numbers of people becoming suddenly ill.1 Few deaths were acknowledged in those early reports and most reports indicated the illness only lasted a few days. Five months later we are seeing something that is quite different. Spanish influenza is spreading faster than health care personnel can treat it. The growing number of people being infected and the dwindling supply of doctors and nurses, already strained by the war, makes it more difficult to treat the sick and thereby slow or stop the spread of the disease. The dynamics of the situation suggests that things are going to get worse before getting better. As early as May and June, there were reports of widespread illness amongst the German soldiers, and later reports in July said that the disease struck so quickly and was so virulent that many German soldiers were dying in the trenches from influenza.2 In Berne, Switzerland, the municipality has forbidden all meetings, including performances in theatres, picture houses, music halls, and concerts. The ban also includes religious ceremonies. Those who ignore the order could face fines and imprisonment.3 It was not until August, however, before officials here in the United States, particularly in New York, expressed any real concern for the latest influenza invasion, which incidentally, did not originate in Spain as the name may suggest. The initial cause for alarm in New York was the discovery of nine cases of influenza aboard a Norwegian vessel that had docked at Quarantine in New York Harbor. Dr. Leland E. Cofer, Health Officer of the Port downplayed the chances of more people b ecoming ill or that the disease would spread; however, the concern was great enough amongst health officials that there was talk of imposing a quarantine in New York.4 When discussing the possibility of a quarantine, Colonel J. M. Kennedy, Medical Corps, U.S.A., Chief Surgeon at the New York port of embarkation, indicated he opposed a quarantine because it would clog the harbor and produce delays in sending troops and supplies overseas, and that the influenza here is not at all dangerous, except when pneumonia develops, and even when pneumonia develops, only a few cases are fatal. New York and the Spanish Influenza :: Influenza Epidemics Health Essays New York and the Spanish Influenza NEW YORK--Although public health officials, including the Surgeon General, have been reluctant to declare an epidemic of crisis proportions, indications that something more than a mild flu season was at hand began to appear as far back as May when reports from China, the Front lines, and other places around the world, were telling of large numbers of people becoming suddenly ill.1 Few deaths were acknowledged in those early reports and most reports indicated the illness only lasted a few days. Five months later we are seeing something that is quite different. Spanish influenza is spreading faster than health care personnel can treat it. The growing number of people being infected and the dwindling supply of doctors and nurses, already strained by the war, makes it more difficult to treat the sick and thereby slow or stop the spread of the disease. The dynamics of the situation suggests that things are going to get worse before getting better. As early as May and June, there were reports of widespread illness amongst the German soldiers, and later reports in July said that the disease struck so quickly and was so virulent that many German soldiers were dying in the trenches from influenza.2 In Berne, Switzerland, the municipality has forbidden all meetings, including performances in theatres, picture houses, music halls, and concerts. The ban also includes religious ceremonies. Those who ignore the order could face fines and imprisonment.3 It was not until August, however, before officials here in the United States, particularly in New York, expressed any real concern for the latest influenza invasion, which incidentally, did not originate in Spain as the name may suggest. The initial cause for alarm in New York was the discovery of nine cases of influenza aboard a Norwegian vessel that had docked at Quarantine in New York Harbor. Dr. Leland E. Cofer, Health Officer of the Port downplayed the chances of more people b ecoming ill or that the disease would spread; however, the concern was great enough amongst health officials that there was talk of imposing a quarantine in New York.4 When discussing the possibility of a quarantine, Colonel J. M. Kennedy, Medical Corps, U.S.A., Chief Surgeon at the New York port of embarkation, indicated he opposed a quarantine because it would clog the harbor and produce delays in sending troops and supplies overseas, and that the influenza here is not at all dangerous, except when pneumonia develops, and even when pneumonia develops, only a few cases are fatal.

How is the theme of insecurity developed in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ Essay

How is the theme of insecurity developed in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ through the use of characters, language and setting? ‘Of Mice and Men’ was written in 1930’s America during the Great Depression. The story begins with Lennie and George fleeing there previous work place, the ending is tragic. During the novel we learn about the friendship that Lennie and George share, along with the dreams and ambitions of the other characters. The story is told in third person, this provides us with a clear unbiased view of all the characters. ‘Of Mice and Men’ was set during The Great Depression, this can show us that most of the characters are insecure and lonely, as they are Itinerant workers, they have no permanent place of work and no house security after the wall street crash. The unemployment rate was high so there was an extreme lack of job security. They have no time build relationships, and no trust for other people. Many of the characters experience insecurity for a variety of reasons. Crooks, the black stable buck feels insecure about his race, this makes him feel he is segregated from the rest as he is the only black person on the ranch, ‘Crooks the negro stable buck’. Because of his race he is discriminated against, no-one ever goes into his room or talks to him ‘I’m black, they say I stink’. Crooks is cruel to Lennie ‘You got no right to come in my room’ this shows a sense of insecurity and bitterness, he is trying to shut people out, as this is the only way he knows to live. Crooks lives in a barn, he is treated like an animal, he sleeps in a straw bed ‘Crooks bunk was a long box filled with straw’, this shows nobody has any respect for him, he is considered worthless, this will add to his insecurity. ‘Square four-paned window’ this represents that he is isolated and he does not like letting people in, just like a small window does not let a lot of light in. Black people were discriminated against in the 1930’s, they were treated with little respect, they were treated like nothings ‘Why it’s just a nigger saying it’. Crooks was brought up where the majority of the population were not coloured, ‘There wasn’t another coloured family for miles’ this will make Crooks insecure all his life he has been around people that are inferior to him. Steinbeck uses imagery to compare Crooks to an animal. Another character that experiences insecurity is Candy, he is the cleaner, he has only one hand and has been at the ranch for a long time. ‘old candy, the swamper came in’. Candy will experience insecurity throughout the novel because he is old and has only one hand this will make him feel insecure because he doesn’t have any job security, as if he loses his job he will not be able to get another as no one else will want an old disabled worker, his whole livelihood depends on someone else he has no control over his life. He compares himself to a dog, like he cannot protect himself, just like his dog that was shot. His only companion was his dog and now he does not have the dog he doesn’t have anybody ‘when they can me here I wish somebod d shoot me’. We know that Candy is insecure because he seems desperate to join George and Lennie in their dream ‘I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more than this’ when he fails to join their dream this makes him feels like he has no future. Candy is similar it Crooks, the setting is bare, it is just like a prison, there is no sense of security for him. Curley’s wife is the wife of Curley, the bosses son. She is the only women on the ranch and extremely flirtatious with other ranch workers. Being the only women on the ranch she feels she has power over the men, she flirts with them to overcome her insecurity, she tries to cover up that she is insecure, and she marries Curley to escape her loneliness. Everybody thinks that she is dangerous, but she knows more than everybody thinks ‘Think I don’t know where they all went’. We know she is insecure because she has dream too, she makes herself seem powerless to make the men think she is more vulnerable. By not making her dream come true she becomes insecure about life and puts up a defensive barrier. She wears a lot of makeup and red, this symbolises danger and the fact that she wears a lot of makeup tells us that she is insecure and has low self esteem ‘her finger nail were red’. She does not have a name, she is recognised in the book as Curley wife, this gives the impression that she has no importance on the ranch and she is not treated like a normal person therefore this adds to her insecurity and makes her feel worthless ‘A girl was standing there’. Other characters in the novel that experience insecurity are Bill Tanner and Whit, they used to work on the ranch. ‘Remember, Bill Tanner? Worked here about three months ago’ this gives the impression that the work there is impermanent and transient. This can show the other ranch workers that nothing is everlasting and this can make them feels insecure. They don’t have any job security, they can never settle down this will make them feel insecure because they don’t have anything around them that they can rely on, they don’t have familiar surroundings. Lennie is insecure because without George he is vulnerable and he has a lot of faith in him, he can’t imagine life without him ‘George won’t go away and leave me’. Lennie is described using animal imagery. Animals have a low intelligence level just like Lennie, he cannot think for himself ‘the way a bear drags his paws’. Animals are commonly found in packs, if they are left without their pack they become very vulnerable to other animals, George is like Lennie’s pack, this will give Lennie a sense of insecurity as he knows that he cannot survive by himself. He is constantly asking for Georges approval, he relies on George over everything ‘Where we goin’, George’. So many of the men on the ranch are insecure because they only have their dreams, they have no real life ambitions that they know will truly happen. They have no job or house security this can make them insecure because they do not have any idea of where their life is going to go, they literally have nothing. They are so insecure because they cannot have relationships or friendships with the other ranch workers, this will make them feel like they cannot be themselves and make them feel alone and on their own. In my opinion George does feel a sense of insecurity at the end of the novel because he does no have Lennie anymore, even though sometimes he did not want Lennie with him at all times ‘if I was alone I could live so easy’ he still liked him to be there and to know that he had someone that relied on him even if he did not rely on himself. Without Lennie George feels alone just like the other ranch workers did, he will soon become as insecure and enclosed as them.

Scorch Trials: Unreality

The book had unreality to It because It Is set In what I believe to be a futuristic post-apocalyptic time. It talks about how society got hit by solar flares and are Infected by this disease by the scorch which makes you Into a crazed lunatic who has lost all sense of humanity and wishes to be dead so that pain would stop yet some driving forces makes it attack and kill any living it can possible get a hold of. Also there is a group called the Gladder which is a group of guys and one girl namedTheresa Agnes who can telepathically communicate to one of the boys named Thomas. They also have to fight these one creatures that have these bulb things all over their bodies and have blades for hands which is completely unreal and they Just gruesomely attack the Gladder Just slaughtering some of them. Finally one thing that is totally unrealistic is when they are traveling through this tunnel they come upon these metal spheres. That are extremely hot and they will drop on your head encasing I tself around your head melting away your entire head in Just minutes, butIf you somehow manage to get the meal sphere off your head your head Is badly burned to where It Is barely recognizable. â€Å"Real-World† This book has many real-world ideas integrated into it. For instance this whole â€Å"trial† is overseen by this group called â€Å"WICKED†. It is basically the post-apocalyptic government which consists of all the remaining governments unite into a single totalitarianism one could say where they control absolutely every aspect of the remaining society and especially over the Gladder.This government is much more technologically advanced than ours by far. The city in the book makes me think back to barbaric times and how each â€Å"city† has a Ajar or â€Å"ruler†. Because the city well the section of the city Is controlled by a Hispanic name Jorge. He is at the top of the hierarchy he Is the king, the strongest among that section of â€Å" half-crazies† (not fully taken by the scorch still half human). Jorge commands the half cranes keeping them safe and Glenn the Jobs to do Just basically keeping them organized In a chills manor.WICKED has an army of soldiers that help out the Gladder (well Thomas) from time to time interfering just to the trial afloat by giving Thomas aid when he almost dies and he bring him to Wicker's doctors to fix up Thomas then they placed him back into the city and left again. The second time they help the Gladder is when they fight the bulb creatures near the end when they finish that part of the trial they take them away from the creatures before the creatures could kill off the rest of the Gladder.The final and most important is that in harsh and trouble times people will unite to survive against the terrible odds. People have an Ingrained desire to survive Its instinct really It may be deeply buried In us but somewhere It lays in us all. In the book these boys don't know each other b ut they unite to survive. They create their own family a band of brothers who rely on one another to survive. â€Å"Genre Fiction† I can honestly say this genre is my favorite for multiple reasons. One it is so with all the relatable topics