All About Geography Questions and Answers

All About Geography Questions and Answers While the word geography is derived from Greek and literally means to write about the earth, the subject of geography is much more than describing foreign places or memorizing the names of capitals and countries. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks to understand the world - Â  its human and physical features - through an understanding of place and location. Geographers study where things are and how they got there. My favorite definitions for geography are the bridge between the human and physical sciences and the mother of all sciences. Geography looks at the spatial connection between people, places, and the earth. How Is Geography Different from Geology? Many people have an idea of what a geologist does but dont have any idea of what a geographer does. While geography is commonly divided into human geography and physical geography, the difference between physical geography and geology is often confusing. Geographers tend to study the surface of the earth, its landscapes, its features, and why they are where they are. Geologists look deeper into the earth than do geographers and study its rocks, the internal processes of the earth (such as plate tectonics and volcanoes), and study periods of earth history many millions and even billions of years ago. How Does One Become a Geographer? An undergraduate (college or university) education in geography is an important beginning to becoming a geographer. With a bachelors degree in geography, a geography student can begin working in a variety of fields. While many students begin their career after achieving an undergraduate education, others continue on. A masters degree in geography is very helpful for the student who desires to teach at the high school or community college level, to be a cartographer or GIS specialist, of work in business or government. A doctorate in geography (Ph.D.) is necessary if one wishes to become a full professor at a university. Although, many Ph.D.s in geography continue on to form consulting firms, become administrators in government agencies, or attain high-level research positions in corporations or think-tanks. The best resource for learning about colleges and universities that offer degrees in geography is the annual publication of the Association of American Geographers, the Guide to Programs in Geography in the United States and Canada. What Does a Geographer Do? Unfortunately, the job title of geographer is not often found in companies or government agencies (with the most notable exception of the U.S. Census Bureau). However, more and more companies are recognizing the skill that a geographically-trained individual brings to the table. Youll find many geographers working as planners, cartographers (map makers), GIS specialists, analysis, scientists, researchers, and many other positions. Youll also find many geographers working as instructors, professors, and researchers at schools, colleges, and universities. Why Is Geography Important? Being able to view the world geographically is a fundamental skill for everyone. Understanding the connection between the environment and people, geography ties together diverse sciences as geology, biology, and climatology with economics, history, and politics based on location. Geographers understand conflict around the world because so many factors are involved. Who Are the Fathers of Geography? The Greek scholar Eratosthenes, who measured the circumference of the earth and was the first to use the word geography, is commonly called the father of geography. Alexander von Humboldt is commonly called the father of modern geography and William Morris Davis is commonly called the father of American geography. How Can I Learn More About Geography? Taking geography courses, reading geography books, and, of course, exploring this site are great ways to learn. You can increase your geographic literacy of places around the world by getting a good atlas, such as Goodes World Atlas and use it to look up unfamiliar places anytime you encounter them while reading or watching the news. Before long, youll have a great knowledge of where places are. Reading travelogues and historical books can also help improve your geographic literacy and understanding of the world - Â  theyre some of my favorite things to read. What Is the Future of Geography? Things are looking up for geography! More and more schools across the United States are offering or requiring geography be taught at all levels, especially high school. The introduction of the Advanced Placement Human Geography course in high schools in the 2000-2001 school year increased the number of college-ready geography majors, thus increasing the numbers of geography students in undergraduate programs. New geography teachers and professors are needed in all areas of the educational system as more students begin learning geography. GIS (Geographic Information Systems) has become popular in many different disciplines and not just geography. The career opportunities for geographers with technical skills, especially in the area of GIS, is excellent and should continue to grow.

The Role Of Effective Communication Assingment Essays

The Role Of Effective Communication Assingment Essays The Role Of Effective Communication Assingment Essay The Role Of Effective Communication Assingment Essay The Role of Effective Communication Effective communication is effectiveness or success of communication and interaction in a Some of the factors promote interaction and effective communication, while others can limit interaction and be a barrier to effective communication. There are two example of effective communication these are Argyle Communication Cycle and Dustmans Theory of Interaction. Argyles theory of the communication cycle is based on interpersonal (one-to-one communication) interaction. The cycle involves two people how they understand each other when interacting and how they decide to reply to each other. Lath and social care setting which can be influenced by a number of factors. The cycle consists of: 1 . An Idea Occurs: You have an idea that you want to communicate 2. Message Coded: You think through how you are going to say what you are thinking. You put your thoughts into language or into some other code such as sign language. 3. Message Sen t: You have communicated your idea either through speech, sign, online or off-line written communication. 4. Message Received: The other person has to understand your message. This is not always easy, as the other person will make assumptions about your words and body language. Message Decoded: The other person has to understand and interpret your message. This is not always easy. As the other person will make assumptions about your words e. G. Maybe they will hear an insult which isnt actually an insult. 6. Message understood: It all goes well when your ideas will be understood but this not always happen first time! To put this theory into practice an example would be in a GAP surgery. A doctors communication has important information for a service user about their medication they will need to take after they have left the setting. First of all the doctor will decide the type of dedication the service user will need to make their health better, this would then lead to the doctor thinking as to how he could communicate what hes going to say in a respectful and understanding manner to make sure the service user has an understanding of the medication they will be given, in an non patronizing tone. To ensure that this does not happen the doctor would speak quite informally to make sure that he/she doesnt come across as posh and patronizing, this will then calm the service user as it would make them feel comfortable. After the doctor has decided what he is going to say e would then communicate his ideas to the seen,ice user. The doctor has to do this clearly as the patient might not be in a State where they might not fully understand what the doctor is trying to say. The doctor must make sure to keep in mind that he/she cant be patronizing to the service user as they might get insulted. After this the service user must have an understanding of what the doctor has just said. The message would have been received by the service user and then they would have to try interpreting what the doctor has said. This would leave the service user decoding the message however this eight not go well as the service user could assume that the doctor was insulting their intelligence. After the message has been decoding and understood and if all goes well the service user would have an understanding what the doctor said. This would leave the service user talking the medication that they need which will improve their overall health and will reduce the risk of them having to come back into the GAP about their prescribed medication. However, if the service user has not understood the doctor has said this could potentially mean the service user going back to the GAP. Dustmans Theory of Interaction is another theory of effective immunization. This theory mostly applies to a group -either working as a group or not. The theory is based on people meeting for the first time, meaning that no one knows each other, this is because if a group knows each other some steps can be easier than others. There are four stages in Dustmans theory. These are: 1. Forming This stage refers to people meeting for the first time and sharing information about the task. 2. Storming -? This stage involves tension, struggle and sometimes arguments about the way the group might function. 3. Morning- At this stage the group begins to form a Truckee and people begin to understand their role within the group. And they start to respect their group values. 4. Performing This is where the group starts and finishes the task they have been given and they effectively and efficiently perform as a group. To put this theory into practice an example would be, in a GAP surgery, a case conference including the GAP, social worker, career and a nurse about an elderly person who has had a stroke and they are living alone and they need to decide whether the service user goes to a care home or has a permanent career. Firstly, the GAP, social worker, career and a nurse would meet for the first mime and introduce themselves to each other, and then the GAP will start explaining what happened to the service user and the GAP will talk about what they want to happen to the service user. That is when they will be forming. The group of health and social care professionals might have a bit of tension because the GAP wants the service user to have a service user and not want the service user to go to a care home but the social worker wants the service user to go to a care home. This is the storming stage because there is tension between what they want to happen to the service user. The group Start to put all their ideas into one and still try and figure out what to do with the service user, when they do this they all start to respect each other. This is the Norman stage, because they are respecting each other and they are starting to put structures on their ideas for the service user. When the professionals have concluded what they think will best for the service user. They have decided for the service user, depending how many strokes she has in a week, theyll put her in an elderly care home or have a pert-time career. This is the Performing stage because this is when the group has achieved an effective performance of their choices. Another example of putting the theory into practice is when a family (consisting of a mother, father, son (5 years old) and a 5 month year old baby) comes into a GAP to get their baby girl weighed by a community midwife. The family and the community midwife introduce themselves and the midwife tells them what shes going to do with their baby girl. This is the Forming stage because they have introduced and the midwife shared the task of what SSH?s going to do to the family. When the community midwife is weighing she might make a sarcastic joke saying Your babys a bit chunky but in a funny one, not being serious. The mum then might take is seriously and be a little mad with the midwife as she is feeding her baby correctly. This will be the Storming stage because there is a bit of tension in the room. The community midwife then communicates to the mother about what she can do to make the baby eat more or less depending on what the babys weight is, when the midwife is doing her paperwork. This is the Morning stage because they understand the midwife?s role. And the nurse starts to respect the family more. The nurse finishes the paperwork and tells the parents about the eight and how they can improve on the baby health etc. This is the Performing stage because the nurse is finishing her duties to the baby and the family. Task B Explain and Assess the role of effective communication using examples of how people communicate within a GAP surgery. Five forms of communication: One of the forms of communication is text messaging. Text messaging is when people communicate over their mobile phones and they type what they want to say to another person. An example in a GAP surgery is the receptionist could text message an elderly person to remind them about their appointment. This is a good thing because it is quick and simple for the GAP surgery to use. Secondly, it means the elderly person will get a reminder for their GAP surgery, so they wont forget. The bad thing about this is an elderly patient could have a mobile phone but they might not understand how to use the device especially if it is a touch screen phone. Secondly, the patient might not understand how to use the phone; she might not be able to reply back if she cant attend the appointment. This then goes against Argyles theory because the service user is unable to respond to the receptionist who sent he message. The second form of communication is oral communication. Oral communication is the process of verbally transferring information and ideas from one individual (or group) to another person. For example a service user talking to their GAP about an injury that has occurred. The good thing about oral communication it is simple and everyone is able to talk. Secondly, people are very talkative which means they are able to describe what has happened to them. The bad thing about oral communication is that someone might have a stutter which means they wont be confident to talk to the GAP bout their problems. The third form of communication is signs and symbols. Signs and symbols are gestures made with hands or arms, written symbols or diagram (such as fire exit signs) all communicate messages to people. An example in a GAP surgery would be a fire occurs in the back of the GAP surgery, and the fire exit symbol goes on. A good thing is people will know where the right door is to exit to the building because there will be a sign to direct the service users. A bad thing is that a permanently blind service user will not know where to go because they wont see the sign to leave the building. The fourth form of communication is touch. Touch is another way of communicating without words. An example of touch is if a GAP has just said to a patient they have a form of cancer and the GAP is trying to comfort the patient with touch. A good thing about touch is the GAP is sending a message of care. This will lead the service user to trust their GAP more as the GAP is being caring for the service user. A bad thing about touch is the service user might think the GOT is trying to dominate them. Secondly they might find the GAP is patronizing them. The fifth form of communication is written communication. Written immunization is the same as oral but it is written down on paper instead of being spoke words. An example of written communication is when a GAP us written important information that the patient cant do when taking their medication. The good thing about this is the service user will have the information in hand instead of having to remember it. Also written communication is easy and simple to use. Also, the service user is able to keep the information for a very long but if the GAP never wrote down the service user could have forgotten. The bad thing about written communication is the service user might be blind so they wont be able to dead this. Also, they might lose the paper which means they will not have the information they need. 3 Types of Communication: The first type of communication is speech. Task C Explain what factors might affect communication in the Surgery and explain, review and evaluate strategies that can be used to overcome barriers to communication.

Paramedic Science (Medical) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Paramedic Science (Medical) - Essay Example The area deprived of blood supply is said to have suffered ischemic injury. The ischemic injury, if severe enough to cause the complete block of oxygen and nutrients causes death of the heart tissue, which is termed as Myocardial Infarction (Guyton et al 200, Ganong 2005). The blood vessels supplying the heart are called coronary arteries. There are three main coronary arteries which supply different areas of heart along with their branches. These are 1) Right coronary artery, 2) Left anterior descending artery, 3) Left circumflex artery. Above 90% cases of myocardial infarction occur as a result of coronary artery blockage, thus the disease is also referred to as coronary artery disease (CAD). The most common and dangerous cause of coronary artery obstruction, and thus MI is Atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis refers to the narrowing of arteries because of accumulation of atherosclerotic plaques. These plaques are basically thrombi composed of lipid foam cells (cholesterol) and differe nt cell components including smooth muscle, macrophages and collagen fibres. In most instances, the ischemic myocardial infarction is precipitated by the phenomenon called acute plaque change. Acute plaque change results from the rupture of pre-existing thrombi that partially occlude the lumen. The rupture exposes the underlying thrombogenic endothelium. The plaques are also termed as vulnerable plaques as they contain lipids in high amounts, along with collagen fibres and inflammatory cells. When ruptured, the reactivity of these components causes the inflammatory destabilization and result in the infarction (Libby P 2001). The acute phase reactant, C reactive protein (CRP) is thus found to be high during the acute myocardial infarction (Blake et al 2003). The infarction can occur in either of the two patterns, complete occlusion of a single coronary artery referred to as transmural infarct, which results in complete ischemia of the area supplied by that particular coronary artery. Subendocardial infarcts on the other hand occlude the arteries incompletely, and thus allow some perfusion. But since subendocardium is the least perused area of the myocardium, it is more prone to ischemic death. The aim of reperfusion is to save the viable muscle from necrosis (Huber et al 1996). The myocardial injury is reversible for up to 30 minutes after the ischemic attack, thereafter the injury becomes irreversible. The entire muscle becomes necrotic within six hours, if the collateral arteries are not well developed (Robbins et al 2005, Mohan 2007). The development of atherosclerotic plaques and pathogenesis of the process into the myocardial infarction is a complex one. It is a chronic disease taking years to evolve before it causes any modifiable consequences. The evolvement is subtle and the resultant damage is severe. The pathogenesis of the disease involves several factors. The balance among these factors in the long run determines the outcome of the condition. These factors can either be modifiable or non-modifiable. The modifiable factors are the ones that a person can control by bringing about certain changes. They include controlling the level of fats in diet, cessation of smoking, regular exercise and maintaining the blood pressure in the normal range (Manson et al 1996). The hyperlipidemias, i.e. elevated low density lipoproteins and

Hollywood Portrayal of Cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hollywood Portrayal of Cancer - Essay Example Sweet November and Autumn in New York are both love stories that are centered on the appreciation of the beauty of life. In exploring this theme, the movies placed the main characters in a situation where one of them is terminally ill. Sweet November is a love story that revolves around Nelson Moss (played by Keanu Reeves) and Sara Deever (Charlize Theron). Deever took it as a mission to help Moss overcome his obsession with work and success, and thereby allowing him to appreciate and enjoy life. This mission would be achieved in just one month. As the story unfolds, it is revealed that Deever is afflicted with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that is the main reason for Deever's decision to lead an unusual lifestyle of "curing" men of their misbehaviors towards women. The story ends tragically, with Deever ending her relationship with Moss and facing the consequences of her illness alone.. Autumn in New York is a love story between a womanizing older man and a young, vibrant woman. Early on the story, Charlotte Fielding (Winona Ryder) and Will Keane (Richard Gere) fell in love, and as Keane was ending the relationship in the same manner as he had ended his past relationships, Fielding agreed to the fact that they would have no future together because she was sick. The story ended in tragedy as Fielding dies of a rare disease after the last-resort surgical operation failed to save her life. There are many similarities in the two movies in the manner that cancer was portrayed. First, the illness was equated to the certainty of death. The drama in both films revolves around the fact that the women have little time left. Both protagonists also dealt with the disease in a similar manner - they gave up on medical treatments. In Autumn of New York, Charlotte Fielding even signed a directive that no surgery will be made on her. In one of their conversations, Fielding told Keane, "I don't want to give hope, when there is none" (Chen, 2000). The same attitude was somewhat projected by Sara Deever in Sweet November. She decided to take on a different course in life, away from the regular treatments usually provided by hospitals to cancer patients. Both films in a way concluded that there were no other options for the two cancer-afflicted characters, and that subjecting themselves to medical treatments and procedures would yield the same result, that is, eventual death. The character in Autumn in New York died at the end of the film, while in Sweet November, the character decided to come home and perhaps yield to medical cure for her illness, although the last scene seemed to indicate that she would be spending the rest of her life wilting away and succumbing to death. She left the viewers thinking that she would die, in the same way that her lover agreed to letting her go and face death. Both stories depict the dying characters, both of which were white women, still in flawless appearance. This would fall under what Comedienne Carol Burnett referred to as the Movie Star Disease (as cited in Lallanilla, 2005), where the ill character,

Economics Summary and review paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Economics Summary and review paper - Essay Example Further, he discusses the often absurd state of being human, along with the challenges that our often conflicting needs and wants pose. In doing so, Simon conceptualizes the constructs humans use to make sense of their condition and how they apply a "common denominator" to the various claims that are made on our conflicting stimuli, which may be called the "Good" or "utility." His penchant for the human element is what led him to the social sciences is general, and economics more specifically. Simon depicts economics as "an interest in human decision making, and especially an interest in how human beings cope with the complexities, the uncertainties, and the goal conflicts and incommensurabilities of everyday personal and professional life." He asserts that economics is a critical discipline because "the allocation of individual or organizational resources - how it is done, and how it ought to be done - remains a central question about the human condition." In order to address this central question of allocation, Simon found it necessary to migrate from his "home disciplines" of political science and economics into uncharted territory, such as psychology, computer science and artificial intelligence. According to Simon, these disciplines are where he has spent the bulk of his time since reaching this realization. This broadened view of economics provided Simon with tremendous insight into human economic behavior. He "saw a creature of bounded rationality using techniques of heuristic search to find satisficing - good-enough - courses of action." His expanded disciplinary experience enabled him to apply computer modeling to "show that these techniques could account for the data of human problem solving in a range of both simple and complex situations." Simon's ideas, by his own admission, remain outside of the mainstream of modern economics, but he asserts that they will eventually find their way into the main stream. He maintains that "they provide a realistic picture of human choice, a picture that may instruct us about some of the most puzzling problems confronting economics today: decision making under uncertainty, business cycles with their accompanying natural or unnatural unemployment, the role of entrepreneurship in investment, and others." He goes on to consider the duties incumbent on humans from an economic standpoint, both positive and negative. These duties might be considered from an individual and societal point of view, and encompass the realm from doing no harm to leaving at least as attractive a range of options to future generations to eliminating poverty. He concludes that a merger of scientific disciplines such as he embraced in his own life holds the promise of offering better answers than the parochialism of life-long adherence to a single discipline. Ultimately, Simon has sought to apply concrete science and mathematics to social science as a "field of virgin snow on which one could imprint one's characters." His interdisciplinary approach promises to raise and answer questions for economics that might not otherwise have entered our consciousness. "Scientific Humanism as an Ideal," Shigeto

Basel II Accord Effects on Qatar Banking

Basel II Accord Effects on Qatar Banking International banking is increasingly vital for every country in order to create an image for itself in the international finance market Chapter 1: Introduction International banking is increasingly vital for every country in order to create an image for itself in the international finance market. Alongside, the increase in globalisation and the upsurge in outsourcing by multinational companies in the west have created a lot of opportunities for growth in the Middle East and Far Eastern countries. This apparently requires a strong internationally stable financial organization to conduct transactions across the globe without any errors (i.e.) 100% accuracy.   This includes reliability and stability of the bank under extreme situations (like emergency for example), which is highly important to conduct international transactions. Also the potential to meet financial demands during crisis situations is a vital criterion that is considered while presenting themselves in the international market. In addition to the globalisation, outsourcing and export/import growth, there is also a tremendous growth in cross-border finance among the countries in the Middle East and Far East. Along with all these factors the developing nations in the Middle East face a mandatory requirement of a sable international banking system in order to attract foreign investment. The increase in cross border finance activity among the middle eastern countries is also a critical element to be considered for establishing a stable international bank within the nation in order to represent the country in the international finance market. The countries in the Middle East are actively participating in cross-border finance since the dawn of the 21st century. Being a producer of Oil which is a vital ingredient at all levels of life right from day-to-day driving up to power generation for the nation in order to run industries and serve domestic purposes, makes it critical for the nations in the Middle East to have a strong international banking system to conduct transactions across the globe accurately and effectively. Qatar is a growing nation in the Middle East with primary operations in oil and gas export as well increasing its potential in areas of development in technology focusing on IT and communication. The nation has efficient international operations and con ducts financial transactions between western nations as well as with eastern nations. Since the take over of the government by H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa in 1995, the country is making tremendous progress in deploying its hydrocarbon resources in order to penetrate in the international market and present itself as a financially stable nation in the international market. Further to the increase in the international operations by the countries in the Middle East and the Far East, the Bank for International Settlements developed a framework to co-ordinate the international financial operations as well as create a portfolio for the capital measurement and capital standards which every nation involving in international banking operations is expected to adopt in order to stabilise and put in order the international transactions between countries. The Basel II accord produced by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision aims at achieving International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards. The arrangement aims to set a minimum standard to be met by its participating nations in order to achieve capital adequacy by the participating nations in the international market. This report aims at analysing the effects of Basel II accord on Qatar’s banking sector. The objectives of this report are stated below: To analyse the Basel II accord and it’s framework for measuring capital adequacy in the nations participating in the international banking transaction. To investigate the banking sector of Qatar and the effect of Basel II accord on its international operations and capital adequacy. To analyse the effect of Basel II accord on the nation’s two major banks having international operations in Qatar namely, Qatar Industrial Development Bank (QIDB) and Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) and to analyse the impact of Basel II Accord on the Banking Sector of Qatar. Report Outline: The report comprises of the following chapters. Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter introduces the reader to the objectives of the report and presents a broad picture of the report to the reader. Chapter 2: Overview of Basel II Accord This chapter presents with an overview of the Basel II accord. The three pillars of Basel II accord namely Minimum Capital Requirements, Supervisory Review Process and Market Discipline are analysed in detail to provide the reader with a detailed understanding of the consent of Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Chapter 3: Implications and Critical Analysis of Basel II Accord The literature review on the Basel II Accord in chapter 2 is followed by the critical analysis and its implications on nations (business and political) are presented to the reader before proceeding to present the overview of the Qatar Banking sector.    Chapter 4: Overview of Qatar and its Banking Sector This chapter presents the reader with an overview of Qatar as a nation and its business operations in the International market. Alongside, the chapter analyses the country’s growth in the banking sector and its internationally active banks. Chapter 5: Case Study This chapter conducts a case study analysis on Qatar’s two internationally active banks namely Qatar Industrial Development Bank (QIDB) and Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ). The effect of Basel II accord on the banks along with an overview of the bank is presented to the reader. The data used to present the case study is primarily obtained from secondary sources like journals, reports and white papers. This is apparently due the fact that the analysis is conducted on a foreign nation as well as the data available from the secondary sources are also reliable as they are published by legitimate organizations and popular journals.   Chapter 6: Results and Discussions The results of the case study analysis and discussions are carried out in this chapter. This chapter aims to present a clearer picture to the reader on the effects of the Basel II accord on the banks analysed. Chapter 7:   Conclusion and Recommendations The conclusions derived from the case results and discussions on the case study and the overall conclusion on the effect of Basel I accord on the Qatar Banking Sector is presented in this chapter. Alongside, this chapter presents a few constructive recommendations based on the results and discussion on the case study. Chapter 2: Overview of Basel II Accord This chapter begins with an overview of the Bank for International Settlements followed by a detailed analysis of the Basel II accord. The Basel II committee is also analysed alongside in order to provide a deeper insight to the readers. 2.1 Bank for International Settlements Overview and it’s Operations The Bank for International Settlements (Bank for International Settlements) is an international organization looking after international monetary and financial co-operation across the globe. This organization acts as the bank for all the central banks of countries participating in the international finance and banking. The Bank for International Settlements profile states that the bank achieves the aforementioned statement through acting as A forum to promote discussion and facilitate decision-making processes among central banks and within the international financial and supervisory community. A centre for economic and monetary research A prime counter party for central banks in their financial transactions and Agent or trustee in connection with international financial operations. Established in 17th Many 1930, it is the oldest financial organization at the international level. The Bank for International Settlements has three major decision making bodies within the bank to achieve its mission. They are The general meeting of member central banks This meeting is held before the end of four months of the end of the banks annual financial year. The meeting addresses all the issues related to business and the member central banks gather to approve the annual financial statement released by the bank. The Board of Directors The board of directors comprise the central bank governors elected from various participating countries. They monitor the overall operation of the bank and take responsibility for actions to be taken and address issues related to disputes and other major international financial cross border problems. The Management Committee The management committee is the first line representative of the Bank for International Settlements and addresses the day-to-day activities of the bank. This committee primarily manages the monetary and financial co-operation services. The services include Meetings: Apart from the Annual general meeting the Bank for International Settlements organizes meetings on a bimonthly basis. This meeting brings the member central banks together with the aim of monitoring the global economic and financial development and discusses issues on its policies in relation to the monetary and financial stability. Committees and Secretariats Bank for International Settlements has several committees to monitor specific problems and issues in the international finance and cross border loans. Alongside, several other committees and organizations focusing on international financial systems have their secretariats in the Bank for International Settlements and work closely with the bank in order to enhance the overall international banking and cross border finance. Basel committee of the Bank for International Settlements is the committee that laid the specifications for capital measurement and capital standard of the central banks participating in the international banking. Research and Statistics: In order to support its meetings and the activities of the organization’s Basel based committees the Bank for International Settlements carries out regular research on economic, monetary, financial and legal areas of the international banking and cross border finance. Investment services for central banks: Bank for International Settlements also provides security, liquidity and return for its central bank members. The three primary points with respect to this identified by the organization are: To provide security, the Bank has built up a sizeable equity capital and ample reserves. It pursues an investment strategy focused on combining diversification benefits with intensive credit and market risk analysis. To ensure liquidity, the Bank stands ready to repurchase its tradable instruments at little cost to its customers and thus respond quickly and flexibly to their needs. The BIS offers an attractive and competitive return on the funds deposited by central banks and international organisations The Bank for International Settlements focuses on serving the financial needs of central banks of the member countries. Alongside, it also acts as a banker managing the funds for numerous international financial institutions. 2.2: Basel committee Overview The Basel committee was established the member central banks of the Bank for International Settlements in order to create a standard for the international banking and capital framework for crass border finance and lending. The committee was initially set up in 1970 and meets regularly four times a year to discuss the progress in international banking and address issues related to business in this context. The member nations of the committee include Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. The country’s central bank and financial institutions that are not active in banking commercially but monitor the financial operations of the nation both at national and international levels represent the nations. The committee does no possess any authority over its member nations banking systems and the decisions of the committee are never intended to have a legal force on its member nations. The Central bank governors of the Group ten countries endorse the committee’s major initiatives. Also the committee reports to the group ten countries central bank governors. The committee first proposed he capital measurement system in 1988 commonly referred to as ‘Basel Capital Accord’. The committee aims in supervising the international banking operations of the nations across the globe. The decisions of the committee endorsed by the group ten countries address various financial issues in the international market outside the groups as well. The major aim of the committee is the ‘close the gaps in international supervisory coverage’ and to ensure that no foreign banking systems escapes the supervision in order to establish a harmony among the member nations of the Bank for International Settlements as well as in the international market. The committee has promoted supervisory standards in the past few years. Some of its major milestones include the following 1997: Cover Principles for effective banking supervision 1999: Core Principles methodology The committee also presented the Basel II accord with revision on international capital framework. This aims to standardise the capital framework of every bank participating in the international banking as well as sets slabs for minimum capital holdings to be met by the banks in order to qualify for international operations. The committee has numerous subgroups to perform specific tasks of the committee in order to achieve the overall motto of the committee. They are listed below Accord Implementation Group Accounting Task Force Capital Group Capital Task Force Core Principles Liaison Group (with 16 non-G10 countries) Cross-Border Banking Group Electronic Banking Group Joint Forum (with IAIS and IOSCO) Joint IOSCO BCBS Working Group on Trading Book Research Task Force Risk Management Group Securitisation Group Transparency Group The next section provides a detailed analysis of the Basel II accord and its various implications on international banking is discussed in chapter 3. 2.3 The Basel II Accord The Basel II accord was released in June 2004 further to the release of the Basel Accord in 2003. The Basel II is a revised edition of the initial Basel capital accord. It is a framework designed to derive the capital holdings of internationally active banks to meet the international standards and sets a minimum level of capital holding which is a primary criteria for the banks. The Basel II framework is aimed to be applied on a consolidated basis over internationally active banks in order to preserve the integrity of capital in the banks with subsidiaries. Also the framework eliminates the double gearing through this approach. The Basel II accord’s framework is also applied on a fully consolidated basis on any parent holding company which acts as a parent entity within a banking group in order to capture the risk on a consolidated basis without missing any element that contributes considerably to the risk of the overall banking system. Alongside, the framework is also applicable to all internationally active banks at every tier of the banking group. Apart from the aforementioned statements one of the principal objectives of the Basel II Accord is to protect the interest of the depositors essentially to ensure that capital recognised capital adequacy measures is readily available for the depositors. Apparently, these measures are aimed to establish a common platform for international banking and cross border finance across the globe. The scope of application extends to the following segments of the international banking and finance entities. Banking, securities and other financial subsidiaries Significant minority investments in banking securities Insurance entities Significant investment in commercial entities. Deduction of investment pursuant to this part The aforementioned entities are obtained from the Basel Committee report on International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards, published in June 2004. The Basel II accord overview is based on this report. The illustration in the fig 1 gives a clear picture of the overall scope of application of the Basel II accord. The Basel II accord is split into three pillars. The first Pillar: Minimum Capital Requirements The following subsections provide a detailed analysis on the elements shown in fig 2. 2.4: The First Pillar The First pillar lays down the minimum capital requirements that every internationally active bank should incorporate.   It is split into the following subsection. 2.4.1:   Calculation of Minimum capital requirements The minimum capital requirement is calculated as a measure of the capital ration. The capital ratio in turn is calculated using the regulatory capital and risk-weighted assets. The requirement of this criterion is that the capital ration must be a minimum of 8% or more in order to be eligible for the international activities. Also, in case of a two tier system the capital in tier 2 must not be greater than the tier 1 capital (i.e.) the tier 2 capital can be a maximum of 100% of the tier 1 capital. The capital is accounted from the following sources    Regulatory capital: The minimum accounting capital requirements for the financial institution encompasses the regulatory capital. The Basel II accord has withdrawn the provision to include general provisions in tire 2 capital, which was in effect in the 1988 Accord under the Internal Ratings-Based (IRB) approach.   Furthermore the accord has lain down that the banks using the Internal Ratings Based approach to their other assets mus t compare the amount of total eligible provision with the total expected losses amount to the bank. This eventually increases the capital holding of the bank in order to meet the criteria. Risk Weighted Assets: The Basel II Accord calculates the total risk-weighted assets by multiplying the capital requirement for market risk and operational risk by the reciprocal of the minimum capital ratio of 8% and adding the resulting value to the sum of risk weighted assets for credit risk. Even though this is subject to review the approach lays enormous burden on the bank to increase its minimum capital holdings. Apparently the Basel II Accord is aiming to establish that the internationally active banks must have enough capital to meet its short comings without depending on loans and cross border finance to address its immediate requirements and short comings. The idea though being novel is very intense for the banks to maintain the required minimum capital. 2.4.2: Credit Risk-The Standardised Approach Under this method the Basel committee provides the internationally active banks a choice for calculating their capital requirements for credit risk. The first approach is the standardised method of measuring the credit risk through support from external credit assessments. This method is approved by the Basel committee while the other method is yet to explicitly approved by the committee. Under the alternate method of calculating the credit risk, the bank supervisor can allow banks to use their internal rating systems for calculating the credit risk. Under both the methodologies one should not oversee the fact that the Basel committee is very keen in assessing the credit risk on the capital holdings of the internationally active banks. Even though this is appreciated, the rules are very stringent making it very difficult for the banks for adopt easily. 2.4.3 Credit Risk- Internal Ratings Based Approach The Basel II committee has given supervisory approval for banks to use the Internal Ratings-Based approach to determine their capital requirement for a given exposure subject to certain minimum conditions and disclosure requirements. The risk components considered include Measures of the probability of default (PD), Loss given default (LGD), The exposure at default (EAD), Effective maturity (M) The Basel II accord states that â€Å"The Internal Ratings Based Approach is based on the measure of unexpected loses (UL) and Expected Loses (EL). Under the Internal Ratings Based Approach, the committee expects the bank to categories their exposures in order to identify the different underlying risk characteristics. The categories include corporate, sovereign, bank, retail and equity. These are identified as the corporate asset classes and the approach further expects the bank to identify the subclasses associated with the asset classes in order to measure the credit risk associated with the exposure. The detailed analysis of every corporate class and its associated subclasses is beyond the scope of this report. In essence the Internal Ratings Based Approach gives the bank more liberty to calculate its credit-risk on the minimum capital requirement for a given exposure. But the producers laid by the Basel II Accord is very tedious to adopt and implement for every corporate class exposure and identifying the subclasses associated. 2.4.4: Credit Risk- Securitisation Framework The Basel Committee in its revised accord, has made it mandatory for the banks to apply the Securitisation Framework for determining regulatory capital requirements on exposure arising from traditional and synthetic Securitisation or similar structures that contain features common to both.   The Basel II accord also states that the capital treatment of the Securitisation exposure must be determined on the basis of the economic substance rather than the legal form of the structure. It is apparent that the securities can be structured in many different ways and the committee has approved the use of either the traditional Securitisation or the synthetic Securitisation framework. Also the Basel II accord expects the supervisor to look at the economic substance of transaction in order to determine whether it should be subject to Securitisation framework or not. This gives the discretionary power to the supervisor to decide on a specific transaction whether to include it in the framework or to eliminate it from the framework towards determining the regulatory capital framework. The traditional Securitisation and the synthetic Securitisation framework are discussed below. Traditional Securitisation: The Basel II Accord defines the traditional framework as â€Å"a structure where the cash flow from an underlying pool of exposures is used to service at least two different stratified risk positions or tranches reflecting different degrees of credit risk†. The advantage with this approach is that the payment to the investors is based on the performance of the specified underlying exposures rather than a derivation from an obligation of the entity originating those exposures. Synthetic Securitisation â€Å"A synthetic Securitisation is a structure with at least two different stratified risk positions or tranches that reflect different degrees of credit risk where credit risk of an underlying pool of exposures is transferred, in whole or in part, through the use of funded (e.g. credit-linked notes) or un-funded (e.g. credit default swaps) credit derivatives or guarantees that serve to hedge the credit risk of the portfolio†. This approach leaves the return to the investors in the hands of the performance of the underlying pool. Apparently, the risk associated is higher since the performance can be affected by numerous causes. From the above-mentioned approaches the Basel II accord’s stand for evaluating the capital and minimum capital requirements are evident. 2.4.5: Operational Risk The operational risk is defined by the Basel Committee as the risk associated with the loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, systems or external events. This includes the legal risk with the exclusion of strategic and reputational risk. The Basel II Accord has approved three methods for calculating the operational risk and risk sensitivity with the implications on minimum capital requirements. They are: (i) The Basic indicator approach, (ii) the Standardised Approach and (iii) Advanced Measurement Approach. Basic Indicator Approach: In this case the banks should hold capital for the operational risk equal to the average over the past three years of a fixed percentage. This is expressed as a formula below KBIA = [ÃŽ £ (GI1†¦n x ÃŽ ±)] Where KBIA = the capital charge under the Basic Indicator Approach GI = annual gross income, where positive, over the previous three years n = number of the previous three years for which gross income is positive ÃŽ ± = 15%, which is set by the Committee, relating the industry wide level of required capital to the industry wide level of the indicator. This formula is obtained from the Basel II accord for the purpose of reader understanding. Standardised Approach: The standardised approach divides the bank’s activities into eight-business lines namely corporate finance, trading sales, retail banking, commercial banking, payment settlement, agency services, asset management, and retail brokerage. The likelihood of operational risk exposure is calculated from the gross income associated with each business line that serves as an indicator for the scale of business operations by the bank in that specific area of business or business line. This approach is very clumsy since the gross income associated with the business line varies due to numerous reasons both internal and external. Advanced Measurement Approach: The Advanced Measurement Approach equates the regulatory capital requirement with the risk measure generated by the bank’s internal operational risk measurement system using quantitative and qualitative criteria. The banks can use this method only after the approval by the Committee. The Basel II Accord sets the approach for the banks based on their international activity and significant operational risk exposures. Also, when a bank agrees to use a more sophisticated method, it cannot revert back to the easier method without approval from the supervisor. This eventually increases the burden on the banks to choose a sophisticated method. 2.4.6: Trading Book Issues The final segment of the first pillar is the trading book. Basel Committee defines the trading book as a container of both the financial instruments and commodities held either with trading intent or in order to hedge other elements of the trading book. The trading book forms a vital element for the bank since it is the record of the bank’s financial instruments as well as commodities. The Basel II Accord identifies four key principles for the supervisory process. They are listed below. The basic requirements for the eligibility to trading book capital treatment put forth by the Basel II Accord are as follows Clearly documented trading strategy for the position/instrument or portfolios, approved by senior management (which would include expected holding horizon). Clearly defined policies and procedures for the active management of the position Clearly defined policy and procedures to monitor the positions against the bank’s trading strategy including the monitoring of turnover and stale positions in the bank’s trading book 2.3: The Second Pillar- Supervisory Review Process Basel committee was initially set up for the supervising the internationally active banks and produce a common platform for the smooth transactions and cross border finance. The Basel II Accord has established Supervisory Process as one of the three pillars in order to emphasise its stand on supervisory process. The importance of supervisory process is described below. 2.3.1: Importance of Supervisory Process The supervisory review process of the Basel II Accord aims not only to ensure that banks have adequate capital to support all the risks in their business but also intends to encourage the banks to develop and use better risk management techniques in monitoring and managing risks. Alongside, the supervisory process by developing internal capital assessment process and setting capital targets that are commensurate with the bank’s risk profile recognises the importance for bank management in order to improve the atmosphere in the international banking and cross border finance. The Supervisory process evaluates the relationship between the amount of capital held by the bank against the risk, strength and effectiveness of the bank’s risk management eventually guiding the bank and supervising its activities in order to improve the performance of the banks in the international business market and cross border finance. 2.3.2 Four Key Principles of the supervisory review The four key principles identified by the Basel II Accord on the supervisory process is listed below. These principles emphasise on the committee’s focus on supervision and its aim to maintain harmony in the international banking and cross border finance. Principle 1: Banks should have a process for assessing their overall capital adequacy in relation to their risk profile and a strategy for maintaining their capital levels. Principle 2:Supervisors should review and evaluate banks’ internal capital adequacy assessments and strategies, as well as their ability to monitor and ensure their compliance with regulatory capital ratios. Supervisors should take appropriate supervisory action if they are not satisfied with the result of this process. Principle 3: Supervisors should expect banks to operate above the minimum regulatory capital ratios and should have the ability to require banks to hold capital in excess of the minimum. Principle 4: Supervisors should seek to intervene at an early stage to prevent capital from falling below the minimum levels required to support the risk characteristics of a particular bank and should require rapid remedial action if capital is not maintained or restored. 2.3.3: Issues to be addressed There are two specific issues to be addressed by the Supervisory-Review Process. They are Interest Rate Risk in the Banking book: Since it is clear that the Basel Committee’s Basel II Accord Effects on Qatar Banking Basel II Accord Effects on Qatar Banking International banking is increasingly vital for every country in order to create an image for itself in the international finance market Chapter 1: Introduction International banking is increasingly vital for every country in order to create an image for itself in the international finance market. Alongside, the increase in globalisation and the upsurge in outsourcing by multinational companies in the west have created a lot of opportunities for growth in the Middle East and Far Eastern countries. This apparently requires a strong internationally stable financial organization to conduct transactions across the globe without any errors (i.e.) 100% accuracy.   This includes reliability and stability of the bank under extreme situations (like emergency for example), which is highly important to conduct international transactions. Also the potential to meet financial demands during crisis situations is a vital criterion that is considered while presenting themselves in the international market. In addition to the globalisation, outsourcing and export/import growth, there is also a tremendous growth in cross-border finance among the countries in the Middle East and Far East. Along with all these factors the developing nations in the Middle East face a mandatory requirement of a sable international banking system in order to attract foreign investment. The increase in cross border finance activity among the middle eastern countries is also a critical element to be considered for establishing a stable international bank within the nation in order to represent the country in the international finance market. The countries in the Middle East are actively participating in cross-border finance since the dawn of the 21st century. Being a producer of Oil which is a vital ingredient at all levels of life right from day-to-day driving up to power generation for the nation in order to run industries and serve domestic purposes, makes it critical for the nations in the Middle East to have a strong international banking system to conduct transactions across the globe accurately and effectively. Qatar is a growing nation in the Middle East with primary operations in oil and gas export as well increasing its potential in areas of development in technology focusing on IT and communication. The nation has efficient international operations and con ducts financial transactions between western nations as well as with eastern nations. Since the take over of the government by H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa in 1995, the country is making tremendous progress in deploying its hydrocarbon resources in order to penetrate in the international market and present itself as a financially stable nation in the international market. Further to the increase in the international operations by the countries in the Middle East and the Far East, the Bank for International Settlements developed a framework to co-ordinate the international financial operations as well as create a portfolio for the capital measurement and capital standards which every nation involving in international banking operations is expected to adopt in order to stabilise and put in order the international transactions between countries. The Basel II accord produced by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision aims at achieving International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards. The arrangement aims to set a minimum standard to be met by its participating nations in order to achieve capital adequacy by the participating nations in the international market. This report aims at analysing the effects of Basel II accord on Qatar’s banking sector. The objectives of this report are stated below: To analyse the Basel II accord and it’s framework for measuring capital adequacy in the nations participating in the international banking transaction. To investigate the banking sector of Qatar and the effect of Basel II accord on its international operations and capital adequacy. To analyse the effect of Basel II accord on the nation’s two major banks having international operations in Qatar namely, Qatar Industrial Development Bank (QIDB) and Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) and to analyse the impact of Basel II Accord on the Banking Sector of Qatar. Report Outline: The report comprises of the following chapters. Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter introduces the reader to the objectives of the report and presents a broad picture of the report to the reader. Chapter 2: Overview of Basel II Accord This chapter presents with an overview of the Basel II accord. The three pillars of Basel II accord namely Minimum Capital Requirements, Supervisory Review Process and Market Discipline are analysed in detail to provide the reader with a detailed understanding of the consent of Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Chapter 3: Implications and Critical Analysis of Basel II Accord The literature review on the Basel II Accord in chapter 2 is followed by the critical analysis and its implications on nations (business and political) are presented to the reader before proceeding to present the overview of the Qatar Banking sector.    Chapter 4: Overview of Qatar and its Banking Sector This chapter presents the reader with an overview of Qatar as a nation and its business operations in the International market. Alongside, the chapter analyses the country’s growth in the banking sector and its internationally active banks. Chapter 5: Case Study This chapter conducts a case study analysis on Qatar’s two internationally active banks namely Qatar Industrial Development Bank (QIDB) and Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ). The effect of Basel II accord on the banks along with an overview of the bank is presented to the reader. The data used to present the case study is primarily obtained from secondary sources like journals, reports and white papers. This is apparently due the fact that the analysis is conducted on a foreign nation as well as the data available from the secondary sources are also reliable as they are published by legitimate organizations and popular journals.   Chapter 6: Results and Discussions The results of the case study analysis and discussions are carried out in this chapter. This chapter aims to present a clearer picture to the reader on the effects of the Basel II accord on the banks analysed. Chapter 7:   Conclusion and Recommendations The conclusions derived from the case results and discussions on the case study and the overall conclusion on the effect of Basel I accord on the Qatar Banking Sector is presented in this chapter. Alongside, this chapter presents a few constructive recommendations based on the results and discussion on the case study. Chapter 2: Overview of Basel II Accord This chapter begins with an overview of the Bank for International Settlements followed by a detailed analysis of the Basel II accord. The Basel II committee is also analysed alongside in order to provide a deeper insight to the readers. 2.1 Bank for International Settlements Overview and it’s Operations The Bank for International Settlements (Bank for International Settlements) is an international organization looking after international monetary and financial co-operation across the globe. This organization acts as the bank for all the central banks of countries participating in the international finance and banking. The Bank for International Settlements profile states that the bank achieves the aforementioned statement through acting as A forum to promote discussion and facilitate decision-making processes among central banks and within the international financial and supervisory community. A centre for economic and monetary research A prime counter party for central banks in their financial transactions and Agent or trustee in connection with international financial operations. Established in 17th Many 1930, it is the oldest financial organization at the international level. The Bank for International Settlements has three major decision making bodies within the bank to achieve its mission. They are The general meeting of member central banks This meeting is held before the end of four months of the end of the banks annual financial year. The meeting addresses all the issues related to business and the member central banks gather to approve the annual financial statement released by the bank. The Board of Directors The board of directors comprise the central bank governors elected from various participating countries. They monitor the overall operation of the bank and take responsibility for actions to be taken and address issues related to disputes and other major international financial cross border problems. The Management Committee The management committee is the first line representative of the Bank for International Settlements and addresses the day-to-day activities of the bank. This committee primarily manages the monetary and financial co-operation services. The services include Meetings: Apart from the Annual general meeting the Bank for International Settlements organizes meetings on a bimonthly basis. This meeting brings the member central banks together with the aim of monitoring the global economic and financial development and discusses issues on its policies in relation to the monetary and financial stability. Committees and Secretariats Bank for International Settlements has several committees to monitor specific problems and issues in the international finance and cross border loans. Alongside, several other committees and organizations focusing on international financial systems have their secretariats in the Bank for International Settlements and work closely with the bank in order to enhance the overall international banking and cross border finance. Basel committee of the Bank for International Settlements is the committee that laid the specifications for capital measurement and capital standard of the central banks participating in the international banking. Research and Statistics: In order to support its meetings and the activities of the organization’s Basel based committees the Bank for International Settlements carries out regular research on economic, monetary, financial and legal areas of the international banking and cross border finance. Investment services for central banks: Bank for International Settlements also provides security, liquidity and return for its central bank members. The three primary points with respect to this identified by the organization are: To provide security, the Bank has built up a sizeable equity capital and ample reserves. It pursues an investment strategy focused on combining diversification benefits with intensive credit and market risk analysis. To ensure liquidity, the Bank stands ready to repurchase its tradable instruments at little cost to its customers and thus respond quickly and flexibly to their needs. The BIS offers an attractive and competitive return on the funds deposited by central banks and international organisations The Bank for International Settlements focuses on serving the financial needs of central banks of the member countries. Alongside, it also acts as a banker managing the funds for numerous international financial institutions. 2.2: Basel committee Overview The Basel committee was established the member central banks of the Bank for International Settlements in order to create a standard for the international banking and capital framework for crass border finance and lending. The committee was initially set up in 1970 and meets regularly four times a year to discuss the progress in international banking and address issues related to business in this context. The member nations of the committee include Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. The country’s central bank and financial institutions that are not active in banking commercially but monitor the financial operations of the nation both at national and international levels represent the nations. The committee does no possess any authority over its member nations banking systems and the decisions of the committee are never intended to have a legal force on its member nations. The Central bank governors of the Group ten countries endorse the committee’s major initiatives. Also the committee reports to the group ten countries central bank governors. The committee first proposed he capital measurement system in 1988 commonly referred to as ‘Basel Capital Accord’. The committee aims in supervising the international banking operations of the nations across the globe. The decisions of the committee endorsed by the group ten countries address various financial issues in the international market outside the groups as well. The major aim of the committee is the ‘close the gaps in international supervisory coverage’ and to ensure that no foreign banking systems escapes the supervision in order to establish a harmony among the member nations of the Bank for International Settlements as well as in the international market. The committee has promoted supervisory standards in the past few years. Some of its major milestones include the following 1997: Cover Principles for effective banking supervision 1999: Core Principles methodology The committee also presented the Basel II accord with revision on international capital framework. This aims to standardise the capital framework of every bank participating in the international banking as well as sets slabs for minimum capital holdings to be met by the banks in order to qualify for international operations. The committee has numerous subgroups to perform specific tasks of the committee in order to achieve the overall motto of the committee. They are listed below Accord Implementation Group Accounting Task Force Capital Group Capital Task Force Core Principles Liaison Group (with 16 non-G10 countries) Cross-Border Banking Group Electronic Banking Group Joint Forum (with IAIS and IOSCO) Joint IOSCO BCBS Working Group on Trading Book Research Task Force Risk Management Group Securitisation Group Transparency Group The next section provides a detailed analysis of the Basel II accord and its various implications on international banking is discussed in chapter 3. 2.3 The Basel II Accord The Basel II accord was released in June 2004 further to the release of the Basel Accord in 2003. The Basel II is a revised edition of the initial Basel capital accord. It is a framework designed to derive the capital holdings of internationally active banks to meet the international standards and sets a minimum level of capital holding which is a primary criteria for the banks. The Basel II framework is aimed to be applied on a consolidated basis over internationally active banks in order to preserve the integrity of capital in the banks with subsidiaries. Also the framework eliminates the double gearing through this approach. The Basel II accord’s framework is also applied on a fully consolidated basis on any parent holding company which acts as a parent entity within a banking group in order to capture the risk on a consolidated basis without missing any element that contributes considerably to the risk of the overall banking system. Alongside, the framework is also applicable to all internationally active banks at every tier of the banking group. Apart from the aforementioned statements one of the principal objectives of the Basel II Accord is to protect the interest of the depositors essentially to ensure that capital recognised capital adequacy measures is readily available for the depositors. Apparently, these measures are aimed to establish a common platform for international banking and cross border finance across the globe. The scope of application extends to the following segments of the international banking and finance entities. Banking, securities and other financial subsidiaries Significant minority investments in banking securities Insurance entities Significant investment in commercial entities. Deduction of investment pursuant to this part The aforementioned entities are obtained from the Basel Committee report on International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards, published in June 2004. The Basel II accord overview is based on this report. The illustration in the fig 1 gives a clear picture of the overall scope of application of the Basel II accord. The Basel II accord is split into three pillars. The first Pillar: Minimum Capital Requirements The following subsections provide a detailed analysis on the elements shown in fig 2. 2.4: The First Pillar The First pillar lays down the minimum capital requirements that every internationally active bank should incorporate.   It is split into the following subsection. 2.4.1:   Calculation of Minimum capital requirements The minimum capital requirement is calculated as a measure of the capital ration. The capital ratio in turn is calculated using the regulatory capital and risk-weighted assets. The requirement of this criterion is that the capital ration must be a minimum of 8% or more in order to be eligible for the international activities. Also, in case of a two tier system the capital in tier 2 must not be greater than the tier 1 capital (i.e.) the tier 2 capital can be a maximum of 100% of the tier 1 capital. The capital is accounted from the following sources    Regulatory capital: The minimum accounting capital requirements for the financial institution encompasses the regulatory capital. The Basel II accord has withdrawn the provision to include general provisions in tire 2 capital, which was in effect in the 1988 Accord under the Internal Ratings-Based (IRB) approach.   Furthermore the accord has lain down that the banks using the Internal Ratings Based approach to their other assets mus t compare the amount of total eligible provision with the total expected losses amount to the bank. This eventually increases the capital holding of the bank in order to meet the criteria. Risk Weighted Assets: The Basel II Accord calculates the total risk-weighted assets by multiplying the capital requirement for market risk and operational risk by the reciprocal of the minimum capital ratio of 8% and adding the resulting value to the sum of risk weighted assets for credit risk. Even though this is subject to review the approach lays enormous burden on the bank to increase its minimum capital holdings. Apparently the Basel II Accord is aiming to establish that the internationally active banks must have enough capital to meet its short comings without depending on loans and cross border finance to address its immediate requirements and short comings. The idea though being novel is very intense for the banks to maintain the required minimum capital. 2.4.2: Credit Risk-The Standardised Approach Under this method the Basel committee provides the internationally active banks a choice for calculating their capital requirements for credit risk. The first approach is the standardised method of measuring the credit risk through support from external credit assessments. This method is approved by the Basel committee while the other method is yet to explicitly approved by the committee. Under the alternate method of calculating the credit risk, the bank supervisor can allow banks to use their internal rating systems for calculating the credit risk. Under both the methodologies one should not oversee the fact that the Basel committee is very keen in assessing the credit risk on the capital holdings of the internationally active banks. Even though this is appreciated, the rules are very stringent making it very difficult for the banks for adopt easily. 2.4.3 Credit Risk- Internal Ratings Based Approach The Basel II committee has given supervisory approval for banks to use the Internal Ratings-Based approach to determine their capital requirement for a given exposure subject to certain minimum conditions and disclosure requirements. The risk components considered include Measures of the probability of default (PD), Loss given default (LGD), The exposure at default (EAD), Effective maturity (M) The Basel II accord states that â€Å"The Internal Ratings Based Approach is based on the measure of unexpected loses (UL) and Expected Loses (EL). Under the Internal Ratings Based Approach, the committee expects the bank to categories their exposures in order to identify the different underlying risk characteristics. The categories include corporate, sovereign, bank, retail and equity. These are identified as the corporate asset classes and the approach further expects the bank to identify the subclasses associated with the asset classes in order to measure the credit risk associated with the exposure. The detailed analysis of every corporate class and its associated subclasses is beyond the scope of this report. In essence the Internal Ratings Based Approach gives the bank more liberty to calculate its credit-risk on the minimum capital requirement for a given exposure. But the producers laid by the Basel II Accord is very tedious to adopt and implement for every corporate class exposure and identifying the subclasses associated. 2.4.4: Credit Risk- Securitisation Framework The Basel Committee in its revised accord, has made it mandatory for the banks to apply the Securitisation Framework for determining regulatory capital requirements on exposure arising from traditional and synthetic Securitisation or similar structures that contain features common to both.   The Basel II accord also states that the capital treatment of the Securitisation exposure must be determined on the basis of the economic substance rather than the legal form of the structure. It is apparent that the securities can be structured in many different ways and the committee has approved the use of either the traditional Securitisation or the synthetic Securitisation framework. Also the Basel II accord expects the supervisor to look at the economic substance of transaction in order to determine whether it should be subject to Securitisation framework or not. This gives the discretionary power to the supervisor to decide on a specific transaction whether to include it in the framework or to eliminate it from the framework towards determining the regulatory capital framework. The traditional Securitisation and the synthetic Securitisation framework are discussed below. Traditional Securitisation: The Basel II Accord defines the traditional framework as â€Å"a structure where the cash flow from an underlying pool of exposures is used to service at least two different stratified risk positions or tranches reflecting different degrees of credit risk†. The advantage with this approach is that the payment to the investors is based on the performance of the specified underlying exposures rather than a derivation from an obligation of the entity originating those exposures. Synthetic Securitisation â€Å"A synthetic Securitisation is a structure with at least two different stratified risk positions or tranches that reflect different degrees of credit risk where credit risk of an underlying pool of exposures is transferred, in whole or in part, through the use of funded (e.g. credit-linked notes) or un-funded (e.g. credit default swaps) credit derivatives or guarantees that serve to hedge the credit risk of the portfolio†. This approach leaves the return to the investors in the hands of the performance of the underlying pool. Apparently, the risk associated is higher since the performance can be affected by numerous causes. From the above-mentioned approaches the Basel II accord’s stand for evaluating the capital and minimum capital requirements are evident. 2.4.5: Operational Risk The operational risk is defined by the Basel Committee as the risk associated with the loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, systems or external events. This includes the legal risk with the exclusion of strategic and reputational risk. The Basel II Accord has approved three methods for calculating the operational risk and risk sensitivity with the implications on minimum capital requirements. They are: (i) The Basic indicator approach, (ii) the Standardised Approach and (iii) Advanced Measurement Approach. Basic Indicator Approach: In this case the banks should hold capital for the operational risk equal to the average over the past three years of a fixed percentage. This is expressed as a formula below KBIA = [ÃŽ £ (GI1†¦n x ÃŽ ±)] Where KBIA = the capital charge under the Basic Indicator Approach GI = annual gross income, where positive, over the previous three years n = number of the previous three years for which gross income is positive ÃŽ ± = 15%, which is set by the Committee, relating the industry wide level of required capital to the industry wide level of the indicator. This formula is obtained from the Basel II accord for the purpose of reader understanding. Standardised Approach: The standardised approach divides the bank’s activities into eight-business lines namely corporate finance, trading sales, retail banking, commercial banking, payment settlement, agency services, asset management, and retail brokerage. The likelihood of operational risk exposure is calculated from the gross income associated with each business line that serves as an indicator for the scale of business operations by the bank in that specific area of business or business line. This approach is very clumsy since the gross income associated with the business line varies due to numerous reasons both internal and external. Advanced Measurement Approach: The Advanced Measurement Approach equates the regulatory capital requirement with the risk measure generated by the bank’s internal operational risk measurement system using quantitative and qualitative criteria. The banks can use this method only after the approval by the Committee. The Basel II Accord sets the approach for the banks based on their international activity and significant operational risk exposures. Also, when a bank agrees to use a more sophisticated method, it cannot revert back to the easier method without approval from the supervisor. This eventually increases the burden on the banks to choose a sophisticated method. 2.4.6: Trading Book Issues The final segment of the first pillar is the trading book. Basel Committee defines the trading book as a container of both the financial instruments and commodities held either with trading intent or in order to hedge other elements of the trading book. The trading book forms a vital element for the bank since it is the record of the bank’s financial instruments as well as commodities. The Basel II Accord identifies four key principles for the supervisory process. They are listed below. The basic requirements for the eligibility to trading book capital treatment put forth by the Basel II Accord are as follows Clearly documented trading strategy for the position/instrument or portfolios, approved by senior management (which would include expected holding horizon). Clearly defined policies and procedures for the active management of the position Clearly defined policy and procedures to monitor the positions against the bank’s trading strategy including the monitoring of turnover and stale positions in the bank’s trading book 2.3: The Second Pillar- Supervisory Review Process Basel committee was initially set up for the supervising the internationally active banks and produce a common platform for the smooth transactions and cross border finance. The Basel II Accord has established Supervisory Process as one of the three pillars in order to emphasise its stand on supervisory process. The importance of supervisory process is described below. 2.3.1: Importance of Supervisory Process The supervisory review process of the Basel II Accord aims not only to ensure that banks have adequate capital to support all the risks in their business but also intends to encourage the banks to develop and use better risk management techniques in monitoring and managing risks. Alongside, the supervisory process by developing internal capital assessment process and setting capital targets that are commensurate with the bank’s risk profile recognises the importance for bank management in order to improve the atmosphere in the international banking and cross border finance. The Supervisory process evaluates the relationship between the amount of capital held by the bank against the risk, strength and effectiveness of the bank’s risk management eventually guiding the bank and supervising its activities in order to improve the performance of the banks in the international business market and cross border finance. 2.3.2 Four Key Principles of the supervisory review The four key principles identified by the Basel II Accord on the supervisory process is listed below. These principles emphasise on the committee’s focus on supervision and its aim to maintain harmony in the international banking and cross border finance. Principle 1: Banks should have a process for assessing their overall capital adequacy in relation to their risk profile and a strategy for maintaining their capital levels. Principle 2:Supervisors should review and evaluate banks’ internal capital adequacy assessments and strategies, as well as their ability to monitor and ensure their compliance with regulatory capital ratios. Supervisors should take appropriate supervisory action if they are not satisfied with the result of this process. Principle 3: Supervisors should expect banks to operate above the minimum regulatory capital ratios and should have the ability to require banks to hold capital in excess of the minimum. Principle 4: Supervisors should seek to intervene at an early stage to prevent capital from falling below the minimum levels required to support the risk characteristics of a particular bank and should require rapid remedial action if capital is not maintained or restored. 2.3.3: Issues to be addressed There are two specific issues to be addressed by the Supervisory-Review Process. They are Interest Rate Risk in the Banking book: Since it is clear that the Basel Committee’s

Investigating the concentration of the solutions inside the vacuole of a potato cell. :: essays research papers

Osmosis Investigation We are trying to find out what the concentration of the solutions is inside the vacuole of a potato cell. We will investigate how the mass of the potato chips change in different sucrose solution concentrations. We will use osmosis to do this. I will be measuring and controlling many different variables, these include; - The dependent Variable – Weight of potato chip Independent Variable – Concentration of sucrose Control Variables consist of; - 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Temperature 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Surface area of potato 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Volume of sucrose solution 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Same time for each potato chip submerged in solution 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Potato chips all from same potato The effects on the dependent variables all differ; here is how the main variables in my experiment work out. Variable  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Effect on Dependent Variable Surface area of potato chip  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The greater the surface area the more water it will be able to absorb Same chip from the same potato  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The genetic make-up will be the same and therefore the partly permemble membrane will be similar Time left in the solution  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The longer spent in solution the more that is absorbed Coating on the potato chips  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If not rinsed off and dried after a certain period of time the chips will form a coat of sugar thus decreasing surface area Quantitative prediction I predict that the effect of changing the sucrose concentration will be that as the concentration of the sucrose solution increases, first of all the mass of the chip will increase, and then the change in mass will gradually decrease until mass is lost and this mass loss will gradually increase in amount. Because when the sucrose concentration is low, the concentration of water outside the cells of the potato chips will be greater than that inside, and therefore water will osmosis into the cells of the chip which will gain mass. As the concentration of sucrose increases the concentration of water outside the call will eventually become less than inside the cells of the chip and mass will be lost.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dependent   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Variable   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Inside the cells Outside the cells Dilute solution  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Concentrated solution   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Higher water concentration Low water concentration Key: = Sucrose particle = water molecule = osmosis = partially permeable membrane In the higher sucrose concentration solution, the net movement of water (osmosis) is to the outside of the cell, and the chip will lose mass, the cells will become plasmolysed. The chip in a low concentration of sucrose solution, is the opposite of the diagram above, in that the water osmoses into the cells of the chip, mass it gained, through osmosis of water into the plant cells, the cells will become turgid.

Othello By William Shakespeare †What is the dramatic significants of the first scene? Essay

Q. What is the dramatic significants of the first scene? A. During his reign as literature king Shakespeare wrote the play Othello. The play is based mainly on the conflict between Italy and Cyprus in the early 1600’s; Shakespeares characters also reflect this troubled time. Act one Scene gives the reader their first glimpse as to what the play might represent. The scene starts in the middle of an argument between Iago and Rodergio somewhere in Venice. They are arguing about Othello marriage to Desdemona (the daughter of Brabantio a important Venetian senator.) Roderigo questions Iago about his lack of knowledge surrounding this event. From the language used we know that Iago has taken money from Rodreigo to keep track on Desdemona as Roderigo is secretly in love with her. Iago has failed by not knowing about Othellos secret wedding to Desdemona. â€Å"That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse as if the strings were thine shouldst know of this.† The fact that this scene begins mid way through an argument is very significant as this would of grabbed an audiences attention in the early 1600’s as there were no microphone and no proper way of showing the audience that the play has begun. In starting this way the play has interested the audience and left them with the question, what is this argument about? Iago is what was known as during the time of Elizabethan theatre a Machiavliel villain. This means the audiences know this character is untrustworthy; he is only really out for himself. Iago wants Power and money. Through out this scene money terminology is used to a great affect. This shows that money and status was very important at this time. â€Å"By debitor and creditor; this counter caster, he, in good time, must be a lieuitenant be,† Iago is a very bitter man he wants to take his own revenge upon Othello even if this means Othello will truly suffer the consequences as he was not given the top job, which he believes he deserves. However Othello gave the job to Michael Cassio who we not yet been introduced too. Iago makes cruel comments about Michael Cassio stating he is all talk and no action on the battlefield this is highly insulting. Iago is also very cruel when talking with Roderigo about Othello he is very racist and patronizing Othellos name is never used throughout this scene he is referred to as â€Å"The Moor.† I believe this to be very rude and pure jealousy on Iagos part. However this does not really matter at this moment as Othello is highly regarded within this society. Within this scene Iago clearly shows he is not someone to be trusted. He is very ironic with that the fact that he shows Roderigo and the audience he is who he is and no one can change that about him. At this point the audience sense the Irony of this particular line. He is admitting he cannot be trusted. â€Å"I am not what I am† Iago decides that one of the ways in which to seek his revenge upon Othello is by telling Brabantio (Desdemonas father) about her secret wedding to Othello. However Iago is very cunning as he talks Roderigo into calling upon Desdemona father and telling him the truth, as obviously he doesn’t want this crime to be traced back to him this plan makes perfect sense. â€Å"Call up her father, Rouse him, make him after his poison his delight.† Brabantio then enters this scene he asks about what is all the noise about as this scene takes place in the middle of the night. Brabantio is obviously worried as Iago calls out and say thieves are at Brabantios this creates a lot of fuss. Iago tells him that someone close is plotting against him (Othello) and that he should be more aware. Iago wants to be seen as a hero. Roderigo then takes the lead, as Iago does not want to get into trouble as he has still got to go back to Othello. Roderigo breaks the news to Brabantio. The language here shows that Roderigo is trying to break this news gently but the truth is he does not care about the consequences. â€Å"The worser welcome, I have charged thee not to haunt about my doors; in honest plainness thou hast heard me say etc Upon malicious bravery dost thou come to start my quiet.† Branbantio cannot believe what he is hearing he is in shock as he regards Othello highly. This clearly shows Othello has a very high status. Roderigo swears it is true and Iago backs this up showing his character to be a liar. Brabantio is forced to believe them making him insanely jealous and totally nieve. Iago then explains that Desdemonas happiness is important to him; once again Iago seems like our unlikely hero. Brabantio decides that he must go and find Othello to confront him. At the end of this Roderigo and Iago are once again left alone this is very significant to the scene as it shows that this scene had begun and ended in a very similar way. Roderigo finally reminds Iago of their deal the only thing they want is revenge on Othello. They strongly believe he deserves it, however as an audience we cannot make this judgement, as we have never met him. The only thing we as an audience can go off if what other characters have said about him. We believe Othello to be noble and brave not cunning and kneiving. Iago finally leaves to go back to Othello. This shows Iago is a plotter by going between these two characters, we do not know where his loyalty lies. Finally Brabantio returns and goes to find Othello he is angry and upset. Roderigo decides to go and find Othello too. This scene ends on a semi tense cliffhanger. This scene leaves the audience wondering what may lie ahead. The dramatic significants within this scene shows dramatic irony mainly focusing on Iago. This villain needs to be stopped, but how? Is the question still to be answered.   

Area 51 Essay

Area 51 Essay Area 51 Essay Dennis Roak Mr. Heywood Synopsis of Area 51 26th March 2014 The creation of Area 51 began in April of 1955, when a Lockheed test pilot, Tony LeVier, searched for a remote site to test the U-2. Grooms Lake is there has been speculation in the media for the last fifty year about paranormal activity at Area 51 near Roswell, New Mexico. The Roswell incident has brought about conspiracy theories that have reached the highest levels of government. The truth about the alleged UFO sightings and alien spaceship crashes around Roswell has been a continued argument that has grown to legendary proportions over the years. The government has categorically denied any military activity in the area. However, documentation and photographs have proven that the military is hiding something at the Roswell site. To create a greater mystery, the UFO enthusiasts have flooded the media with partial truths that have often been proven to be downright lies. The video of the extraterrestrial beings and their ships has been proven to be a hoax. Therefore, it can be asked what is the truth about the paranormal activities at Area 51? Roswell Army airfield was notified. Major Jesse Marcel investigated the report and took pieces of the disk to his home to reconstruct it. The Roswell case was closed at that time. However, documents have been found dated November 1952, that were addressed to President Dwight Eisenhower from Rear Admiral Rosco H. Hillinkoctler. The document was reported to be a

Definition and Examples of Modality in Grammar

Definition and Examples of Modality in Grammar In grammar and semantics, modality refers to linguistic devices that indicate the degree to which an observation is possible, probable, likely, certain, permitted, or prohibited. In English, these notions are commonly (though not exclusively) expressed by modal auxiliaries, such as can, might, should, and will. They are sometimes combined with not. Martin J. Endley suggests that the simplest way to explain  modality  is  to say that it has to do with the stance the speaker adopts toward some situation expressed in an utterance...[M]odality reflects the speakers attitude toward the situation being described (Linguistic Perspectives on English Grammar, 2010). Deborah Cameron illustrates with an example: [Modality] is what makes the difference between a factual assertion like  unicorns never existed, and a more guarded view, such as  it seems unlikely that unicorns could ever have existed- or a bolder claim like  the existence of unicorns must always have been a myth.  Modality, then, is a resource  speakers  and writers use when they are staking claims to knowledge: it allows them to formulate different kinds of claims (e.g., assertions, opinions, hypotheses, speculations) and indicate how committed they are to those claims. (The Teachers Guide to Grammar, Oxford University Press, 2007) Indicating Modality Grammatically Just as tense indicates a time aspect of a verb, words that are used to show modality indicate the mood of the sentence- that is, how factual or assertive the statement is- and it can be done in any number of ways, including with adjectives. Martin J. Endley in Linguistic Perspectives on English Grammar  explains: Thus, a situation might be described as  possible, probable, necessary, or  certain. The  noun  counterparts of these adjectives also express modality so that a situation can be described as a  possibility, a  probability, a  necessity, or a  certainty. Moreover, it is possible to use ordinary  lexical verbs  to convey modality....And think  about the difference between saying that you  know  something and saying that you  believe  something. Such differences are essentially a matter of modality. Finally, English also contains certain semi-fixed lexical phrases (e.g.,  rumor has it) that are, basically, modal expressions.  (IAP, 2010) Other terms that express modality are marginal modals, such as need, ought to, dare, or used to. In Depth: Types of Modality The range of possibilities expressed when using modality is a broad spectrum, ranging from not very likely to very likely; to express these different levels, modality comes with named gradations, as explained by authors  Gà ¼nter Radden and Renà © Dirven, in Cognitive English Grammar:   Modality is concerned with the speakers assessment of, or attitude towards, the potentiality of a state of affairs. Modality, therefore, relates to different worlds. Assessments of potentiality, as in You must be right, relate to the world of knowledge and reasoning. This type of modality is known as epistemic modality. Modal attitudes apply to the world of things and social interaction. This type of modality is known as root modality. Root modality comprises three subtypes: deontic modality, intrinsic modality and disposition modality. Deontic modality is concerned with the speakers directive attitude towards an action to be carried out, as in the obligation You must go now. Intrinsic modality is concerned with potentialities arising from intrinsic qualities of a thing or circumstances, as in The meeting can be canceled, i.e. it is possible for the meeting to be canceled. Disposition modality is concerned with a things or a persons intrinsic potential of being actualised; in particu lar abilities. Thus, when you have the ability to play the guitar you will potentially do so....Modal verbs have a special status among modal expressions: they ground a situation in potential reality. (John Benjamins, 2007)