Biography of Attila the Hun

Attila the Hun was the fierce 5th-century leader of the nomadic, barbarian group known as the Huns, who struck fear in the hearts of the Romans as he plundered everything in his path, invaded the Eastern Empire and then crossed the Rhine into Gaul. Occupation:  RulerDates:  We dont know when Attila was born. It could have been around 406 A.D. He ruled from about 433 until his death in 453. Offices and Titles Attila was the king of the Scythian hordes known as the Huns, who frightened those in their paths even with their appearance. For devastating much of Europe — mostly while on horseback shooting javelins, composite bows and arrows, Attila the Hun is also known as the Scourge of God. Jordanes says the following about Attila: His army is said to have numbered five hundred thousand men. He was a man born into the world to shake the nations, the scourge of all lands, who in some way terrified all mankind by the dreadful rumors noised abroad concerning him. He was haughty in his walk, rolling his eyes hither and thither, so that the power of his proud spirit appeared in the movement of his body.The Origin and Deeds of the Goths Military Attila successfully led his forces to invade the Eastern Roman Empire, whose capital was in Constantinople, in 441. In 451, on the Plains of Chà ¢lons (also known as the Catalaunian Plains), which was located in Gaul (modern France), although the exact location is disputed, Attila suffered a setback. Attila was ranged against the Romans and the Germanic Visigoths who were settled in Gaul. This didnt stop him, though; he made progress and was on the verge of sacking Rome when, in 452, Pope Leo I [d. 461]) dissuaded Attila from proceeding. Death The death of Attila was the following year, on his wedding night in 453, supposedly of a nosebleed. There are other explanations, including an assassination plot. With Attilas death, the Huns fade from prominence as a foe of the Romans. Sources We know about Attila through Priscus (5th century), a Roman diplomat and historian, and Jordanes, a 6th-century Gothic historian, and author of the Getica. Biography of Attila the Hun Attila the Hun and his warriors rose from the plains of Scythia, modern-day southern Russia and Kazakhstan, and spread terror across Europe. The citizens of the weakened Roman Empire gazed in fear and disdain upon these uncouth barbarians with tattooed faces and top-knotted hair. The Christianized Romans could not understand how God could allow these pagans to destroy their once-mighty empire; they called Attila the Scourge of God. Attila and his troops conquered vast swaths of Europe, from the straits of Constantinople to Paris, and from northern Italy to islands in the Baltic Sea. Who were the Huns? Who was Attila? The Huns Before Attila The Huns first enter the historical record far to the East of Rome. In fact, their ancestors probably were one of the nomadic peoples of the Mongolian steppe, whom the Chinese called the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu launched such devastating raids into China that they actually motivated the construction of first sections of the Great Wall of China. Around 85 A.D., the resurgent Han Chinese were able to inflict heavy defeats on the Xiongnu, prompting the nomadic raiders to scatter to the west. Some went as far as Scythia, where they were able to conquer a number of less fearsome tribes. Combined, these peoples became the Huns. Uncle Rua Rules the Huns At the time of Attilas birth, c. 406, the Huns were a loosely organized coalition of nomadic herder clans, each with a separate king. In the late 420s, Attilas uncle Rua seized power over all of the Huns and killed the other kings. This political change resulted from the Huns increasing reliance on tribute and mercenary payments from the Romans  and their decreased dependence on pastoralism. Rome paid Ruas Huns to fight for them. He also got 350 lbs of gold in annual tribute from the Eastern Roman Empire based in Constantinople. In this new, gold-based economy, people did not need to follow the herds; thus, power could be centralized. Attila and Bledas Rise to Power Rua died in 434 - history does not record the cause of death. He was succeeded by his nephews, Bleda and Attila. Its not clear why the older brother Bleda was unable to take sole power. Perhaps Attila was stronger or more popular. The brothers tried to extend their empire into Persia in the late 430s, but were defeated by the Sassanids. They sacked Eastern Roman cities at will, and Constantinople bought peace in exchange for an annual tribute of 700 lbs of gold in 435, rising to 1,400 lbs in 442. Meanwhile, the Huns fought as mercenaries in the Western Roman army against the Burgundians (in 436) and the Goths (in 439). The Death of Bleda In 445, Bleda suddenly died. As with Rua, no cause of death is recorded, but Roman sources from that time and modern historians alike believe that Attila probably killed him (or had him killed). As the sole King of the Huns, Attila invaded the Eastern Roman Empire, seizing the Balkans, and threatening earthquake-ravaged Constantinople in 447. The Roman Emperor sued for peace, handing over 6,000 pounds of gold in back-tribute, agreeing to pay 2,100 pounds annually, and returning fugitive Huns who had fled to Constantinople. These refugee Huns were probably the sons or nephews of the kings killed by Rua. Attila had them impaled. Romans Try to Assassinate Attila In 449, Constantinople sent an imperial ambassador, Maximinus, supposedly to negotiate with Attila over the creation of a buffer zone between Hunnic and Roman lands, and the return of more refugee Huns. The months-long preparation and journey were recorded by Priscus, an historian who went along. When the gift-laden train of Romans reached Attilas lands, they were rudely rebuffed. The ambassador (and Priscus) did not realize that Vigilas, their interpreter, had actually been sent to assassinate Attila, in collusion with Attilas counselor Edeco. After Edeco revealed the whole plot, Attila sent the Romans home in disgrace. Honorias Proposal A year after Attilas not-so-close brush with death, in 450, the Roman princess Honoria sent him a note and a ring. Honoria, the sister of Emperor Valentinian III, had been promised in marriage to a man she didnt like. She wrote and asked Attila to rescue her. Attila interpreted this as a marriage proposal  and happily accepted. Honorias dowry included half of the provinces in the Western Roman Empire, a very nice prize. The Roman Emperor refused to accept this arrangement, of course, so Attila gathered his army and set out to claim his newest wife. The Huns quickly overran much of modern-day France and Germany. Battle of the Catalaunian Fields The Huns sweep through Gaul was halted at the Catalaunian Fieds, in northeastern France. There, Attilas army ran up against the forces of his former friend and ally, the Roman General Aetius, along with some Alans and Visigoths. Unsettled by ill omens, the Huns waited until almost dusk to attack, and got the worse of the fighting. However, the Romans and their allies withdrew the next day. The battle was not conclusive, but it has been painted as Attilas Waterloo. Some historians even have claimed that Christian Europe might have been extinguished forever if Attila had won that day! The Huns went home to regroup. Attilas Invasion of Italy - The Pope Intervenes (?) Although he was defeated in France, Attila remained dedicated to marrying Honoria and acquiring her dowry. In 452, the Huns invaded Italy, which was weakened by a two-year long famine and epidemics of disease. They quickly captured fortified cities including Padua and Milan. However, the Huns were dissuaded from attacking Rome itself by the lack of food provisions available, and by the rampant disease all around them. Pope Leo later claimed to have met Attila and persuaded him to turn back, but its doubtful that this ever really happened. Nonetheless, the story added to the prestige of the early Catholic Church. Attilas Mysterious Death After his return from Italy, Attila married a teenaged girl named Ildiko. The marriage took place in 453  and was celebrated with a grand feast and plenty of alcohol. After dinner, the new couple retired to the wedding chamber for the night. Attila did not show up the next morning, so his nervous servants opened the chamber door. The king was dead on the floor (some accounts say covered with blood), and his bride was huddled in a corner in a state of shock. Some historians theorize that Ildiko murdered her new husband, but that seems unlikely. He may have suffered a hemorrhage, or he could have died of alcohol poisoning from the wedding night revels. Attilas Empire Falls After Attilas death, his three sons divided up the empire (reverting, in a way, to the pre-Uncle Rua political structure). The sons fought over which would be the high king. Eldest brother Ellac prevailed, but meanwhile, the Huns subject tribes broke free from the empire one by one. Only a year after Attilas death, the Goths defeated the Huns at the Battle of Nedao, driving them out of Pannonia (now western Hungary). Ellac was killed in battle, and Attilas second son Dengizich became the high king. Dengizich was determined to return the Hunnic Empire to the glory days. In 469, he sent a demand to Constantinople that the Eastern Roman Empire pay tribute to the Huns again. His younger brother Ernakh refused to get involved in this venture  and took his people out of Dengizichs alliance. The Romans refused Dengizichs demand. Dengizik attacked, and his army was crushed by Byzantine troops under General Anagestes. Dengizik was killed, along with the majority of his people. The remnants of Dengiziks clan joined Ernakhs people  and were absorbed by the Bulgars, ancestors of todays Bulgarians. Just 16 years after Attilas death, the Huns ceased to exist. The Legacy of Attila the Hun Attila is often portrayed as a cruel, bloodthirsty and barbaric ruler, but its important to remember that our accounts of him come from his enemies, the Eastern Romans. The historian Priscus, who went on the fateful embassy to Attilas court, also noted that Attila was wise, merciful, and humble. Priscus was amazed that the Hunnic king used simple wooden table implements, while his courtiers and guests ate and drank from silver and gold dishes. He did not kill the Romans who came to assassinate him, sending them home in disgrace instead. It is safe to say that Attila the Hun was a much more complex person than his modern reputation reveals.

Aristotle on Courage Essay - 1081 Words

In the 1939 movie classic, The Wizard of Oz, the Cowardly Lion is on a quest for the wizard to give him courage. He is afraid of everything and anything. However, in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle believes that courage is possible for all individuals. To gain courage one must have the inner qualities that will guide the courageous. The most important part of these qualities is to come to terms with death itself. Also, there are views of courage that are falsely perceived because they appear to be parallel with one another; nevertheless they are still very different. One must have many different inner qualities in order to achieve courage. First, one must not be concerned with death; death can be a beautiful thing. Aristotle†¦show more content†¦Excessive fearlessness and exceeding confidence, nor exceeding fear and lack of confidence (deficiency), does not make a courageous man. Aristotle talks about the courageous person, and that person acts with the awareness of the concept of honor and expresses it in a manner that is proportionate, knowing exactly what to really fear. Many different things can be frightening; one must decipher these things the greater fear from the lesser for the sake of the beautiful. (Aristotle 49, Sachs) To correctly aim at what is beautiful, one actively achieves moral virtue. The beautiful is the purest form of beauty and Aristotle states that beautiful action comes from a beautiful character and aims at beauty. Virtue aims at enduring fears and feeling confident with respect to rationality. Aristotle claims t hat the courageous man may fear things that not everyone feels the need to fear, but he will endure and overcome these fears and feel rationally confident. To become a courageous individual however, it is crucial that one be able to comprehend the fact of death. Dying is a beautiful thing when dying for defense and honor while facing real dangers that puts one at risk. Aristotle writes, â€Å"One would call courageous a person who is unafraid in the face of a beautiful death.†(48-49) This shows that Aristotle believes that the courageous person needs to stand firm on their values or beliefs no matter what the repercussions are. If one soShow MoreRelatedThe Ethics Of Engineer, Is It Virtuous?775 Words   |  4 PagesEthics in Engineer, Is it Virtuous? Aristotle developed a type of ethics that many use throughout the world, virtue ethics. Virtue ethics can be defined as an act that is right if, and only if, a virtuous person performs it for the right reason. That begs the question, â€Å"What is a virtuous person?† A virtuous person is someone who conforms to moral and ethical principles. For the sake of argument, morality is the difference between right and wrong. 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The Origin of Hiphop and How Music Has Changed free essay sample

However, the hip-hop of todays world is very different from the hip-hop that started it all. Hip-hop has simply evolved to a different type of music than the hip-hop that started it all. Hip-hop started in Brooklyn in 1973 at a block party with DC Cool Here, known as the father of hip-hop, mixing the beats. However, hip-hop has changed. There are the advances in technology to help make different sounds for songs. There is the fighting between artists and rappers because of their geographical backgrounds, meaning he areas that they are from.There are many artists making breakthroughs with new styles and different types of lyrics, many of whom set the bar for the prominent artists of today. Hip-hop is a game, but it has many more than one winner, and many more than one loser. First of all, a little bit of background information on the roots of hip-hop is needed. Campbell father had a good job in Jamaica; a job that paid him enough money to be able to move to a house with their own front and back yard, but it was in the public housing in Truncheon where Clive would get his first taste of the beats he emulated as DC in the Bronx, New York. Clive would pay through windows and holes in the walls of places that held adult dancing; modern day night clubs; just to be amazed at the Ads wheeling in the huge speak Kerr and amplifiers.In 1967, at the age of 13, Campbell and his family migrated from Jamaica to the Bronx in New York. By 1 969, Clive was going to the parties that he would peep through holes to see in Jamaica. He was a break-dancer, but he was very displeased by the Ads. He even heard other people in the crowds saying the same things. He didnt understand why they would cut songs out at times or why they would keep replaying one part etc. He said to himself that he could do that too, but he did it from a dance floor perspective. So he became DC Cool Here; Here coming from the nickname Hercules that he got when he came to New York because he was much larger than other kids his age. He always kept the attitude that he was Digging for the people, not for himself. To the younger people who listen to hip-hop, its about how many technological toys that go into making a beat for a song, but to an older person, its about the manmade beat made from a turntable and the precise lyrics made by the MAC. There were no soundboards or auto tune or computerized beats.A DC scratching two records to make the rhythm, the beat coming from a drum, and the Macs actual voice made the song; no computerized blending of songs; no electronic sounds to make the beat; no auto tune to make any random persons voice sound like they could hit every key from top to bottom on a piano. The music was real. Today, there?s stuff like 24-track Recorders, 36-channel Console with Automated DATA recorders and ADS hard disks, mach synchronizers, automated faders, audio monitors and monitoring systems (to monitor the monitors), Macs, and Paps and the list just goes on.There is auto tune on o many peoples voices that nobody knows if the artist is ever singing or not. Live performances are done, a lot of times, by lapsing. Its amazing how people by tickets to go see their favorite singers live but really they are just listening to the same thing as the CD while the artist moves his/her mouth and runs around the stage. While violence has become hip-hops defining characteristic from the asss on to modern day 2010, hip-hop actually started out as a means of ending black on-black fighting two decades earlier.Hip-hop is engulfed with violence, mostly pertaining to the geographical backgrounds of artists and rappers. The biggest rivalry is West Coast hip-hop vs.. East Coast hip-hop. The headliners of this rivalry, and most famous of all hip hop controversies, was the controversy surrounding the Notorious B. I. G. And Tuba Shaker. These two rappers are enthroned as two of, if not the, greatest hip-hop artists of all time. Christopher Wallace, known by his performing name The Notorious B. I. G. was from New York. Tuba Shaker, performance name just Tuba, was from California.Big and Pace were actually really good friends before all of this West Coast/East Coast stuff started. It all started with Tuba thinking that Biggie and his crew set up the 1994 robbery that he was a victim of in New York. Tuba was shot that night, and being very ecstatic from being shot, blamed it on Biggie. He didnt stop there. The feud between Biggie and Tuba would not stop. Tuba ran with the idea that the shooting was a setup by Biggie; and Biggie, as much as he tried to make Tuba understand, could not get through to him. That was not the end of the controversy.Biggie came later released the very controversial song, Moll Shot Y a? in which one of the lines is Who shot hay? Separate weak from obsolete, hard to creep them Brooklyn streets. The Edie jumped all over this saying that this was Biggie taking a shot at Tuba. Biggie and his record company, Bad Boy Records, run by rapper P. Daddy, said that Biggie had recorded that song long before the Tuba altercation. Tuba and his record company, Death Row Records, didnt believe that at all. Tuba then retaliated in his song Hit Me Up by saying, Who shot me?But hay punks didnt finish now youre bout to feel the wrath of a menace Amiga I hit me up. Tuba and Biggie kept going at it, but it heated up even more when Death Row Records took a shot at Bad Boy Records and P. Daddy, the president of Bad Boy and executive producer of all of Baggies tracks, at the 1 995 Source Awards. Death Row CEO Sue Knight said Any artist out there that want to be an artist and stay a star, and dont have to worry about the executive producer trying to be all in the videos. .. All on the records Dancing, come to Death Row! All of this hatred led to the real violence of this era of hip-hop.People all over the West Coast would send Biggie death threats; and people all over the East Coast would do the same to Tuba. This feud had gone too far. Tuba was shot five times in a drive-by shooting in Lass Vegas on September 7, 1996. He died six days later in the hospital from complications from the shots. On March 9, 1997, on his way back to his hotel from an aftertaste, Christopher Wallace a. K. A. The Notorious B. I. G. Was shot four times in the chest and died not even an hour later at the hospital. The music that was supposed to end fighting amongst people was the epicenter Of one Of the biggest music rivalries of all time.There are many artists and producers who have helped hip-hop evolve too. Many of them brought new styles to the game and many of whom are just lyrical masterminds. A few of these people are The Notorious B. I. G. , Tuba, Mine, Grandmaster Flash, and Africa Bumboat. Africa Bumboat was one of the original hip-hop pioneers along with DC Cool Here residing out of Brooklyn. He created the first hip-hop gang, Zulu Nation, of which Cool Here was a part of. Bumboat brought so much to the musical table with his electro beats mixed with pop and funk.He set the bar for a lot of Ads in the Bronx area by branching off some of Heres material and twisting his style into it. Another DC from the Bronx area that came to America around the same time that Here did was Grandmaster Flash. Flash is held as the number en hip-hop DC of all time. Flash studied Cool Here very carefully and as he started practicing his own Digging, he developed three innovations that are standard modern day DC techniques. One of the innovations is the backspin. Short drum breaks in the song were very popular with the fans in the crowd.So Flash realized that if he used duplicates of the same record, while one of the records was playing the drum beat, he could search the other record for the same beat and when the first one finishes, he could switch over to the second one and have the beat ready to play. Flash could play the same beat infinitely and it was a big hit with the crowd. Another of Flashs innovations was Punch Phrasing. Punch Phrasing was the act of playing one significant sound multiple times on one turn table while the actual song is playing out on the other turntable. This may have been the most uncommon of the three innovations Flash developed.The third innovation that Flash developed and perfect was the art of scratching or cutting. Cutting or scratching (same thing but referred to as either of these) is the art of repeating a beat or musical phrase by moving the record back and forth frequently and quickly. This is he most popular and most important innovation that Flash developed. The Notorious 8. 1. G. Was at his prime when he was killed at the age of 24. He is still unanimously put in the top 5 hip-hop artists of all time by countdowns done on various TV Networks and Magazines such as MAT and Rolling Stone. The Notorious 8. . G. Was known for his gifted story telling techniques that he used in his lyrics of himself struggling as a poor young man trying to make money to survive. Something about his lyrics and stories just made every one of his songs a hit. Hip-hop and rap of the modern era would not be what it is f Biggie were still alive. Tuba Shaker is under the same exact category as The Notorious B. I. G. Known globally by just his stage name, Tuba is heralded more often than not as the greatest hip-hop artist of all time. Pace spent countless hours in the studio until his death in 1996.He did not possess the same kind of story-telling talent that Biggie did, more because of the fact that he didnt face the struggles that Biggie faced as a child than anything else. Tuba made songs with rhymes that were so unmatched that whenever one of his songs came out, it was automatically in the Billboard Top 10 on the eek it debuted. Tuba sang about the tragedies in the world in many of his songs. His most famous song, Changes, talks about how the people in the world need to change the way they do everything to survive.War needs to end, and peace needs to rise up. That was Tubas message. Another person who has helped hip-hop massively evolve is Marshall Matters also known as Mine. Mine may very well be the greatest lyricist of all time. He comes from the Detroit ghetto and he is not afraid to tell it to everyone. He is very controversial in all of his songs mainly because a lot of them have to do with asking fun of other people; even his own family members; making fun of himself, or even talking about his prior drug addictions. However, here is the catch. Mine is white.Mine is held as one of the top 10 hip-hop artists of all time, but he is the only white person on the list. That is what creates even more controversy over his music, because hip-hop is dominated by the African-American and Hispanic races, and whos to blame for that? The beats and styles of hip-hop are all derived from Africa and the Hispanic Countries of Central America. That is most common reason why controversy surrounds Mine, and also because of the fact that he does not care what anybody says about him because frankly, he is the top-selling artist of the sasss.Hip- hop is a genre of music that is derived essentially from Africa and Central America. It became its own style of music in 1970 with DC Cool Here, the founding father of hip-hop, Digging block parties in the Bronx. He and two other Bronx native Ads, Africa Bumboat and Grandmaster Flash, are the forefathers of this genre. With their Digging hip-hop took off as a type Of music that would bring all African-Americans and Hispanics living in America to a moon place, but the genre has totally changed.Because of different geographi cal backgrounds, hip-hop was developed into a focal point for territorial rivalries. Also, the three original pieces off hip-hop song: the turntables creating the rhythm, the MAC visualizing his/her lyrics, and the beat being made by a drum; barely exist in many of the modern day hip-hop songs. The beats are made electronically, the singers voice is enhanced with auto tune, and the rhythms are all computerized. However, there are still artists out there trying to get hip-hop back to what it was before the introversion and rivalries.

Roles of Deregulation on Banking Sector free essay sample

What roles have deregulation, innovation, and globalization played in changing the character of bank management in recent decades? Has the overall outcome of the changes been greater stability in the banking sector? Discuss the respective roles of asset and liability management in modern banking. Deregulation, innovation and globalisation has changed the way banks run from asset management to liability management, as well as the change from ‘mono’ to ‘multi-tasking’ and the increased competition in the sector as well as risk. The banking system has evolved drastically from the traditional mono-tasking institution to what it is now. This change in roles of asset and liability management could be one of the main reasons behind the global financial crisis of which the aftermath effects are still being felt. In this essay I will analyse these three trends in turn and so to explain the reasons for the change to liability management. Traditionally, the role of the banks are simple (post war period 1945-60s) there were strict credit controls (or credit rationing) by the state (there were large public sector war debt) to keep repayments obligations on this debt low. The low interest should also be of aid in sustaining a high demand for Gilts (UK government bonds), allowing no competition on the liabilities side of the bank’s balance sheet. The Liabilities side of the bank’s balance sheet is mainly composed of customer deposits (shows passive banking). They take deposits in, and loans out as the main source of income; this is referred to as ‘mono-tasking’. It should be noted that in more theoretical consensus that regulation in banking has tended to be increasingly destabilizing as the economy has become more dynamic. The process of deregulation changed all this; deregulation came in two forms: first was the removal of self-regulatory restrictions, those were the regulations established in the financial sector to keep away substandard service providers; second was the removal of government restrictions which came in three phases: ) The ending of the traditional/mono-tasking structure of the sector, which is a decisive blow to the traditional framework. On the asset side, we have the lifting of quantitative controls on bank’s assets (deregulating the use of funds); and on the liabilities side they lifted ceilings on interest rates on deposits (deregulating sources of funds) as to promote more competition. The UK began deregulating much earlier than the US; this is because the US is more tightly regulated than Europe (due to the large amounts of bankruptcy and anti-monopolistic view). The US lifted its â€Å"regulation Q† act in 1980 (which limited interest rate payable on deposits) but by that time they deregulated many banks moved to Europe where it has been deregulated for a long time. The UK Heath government (1970s) lifted credit restrictions and enabling banks to expand liabilities competitively. In the 1970s the UK was increasingly allowed to use variable rate lending (e. g. LIBOR) instead of sticking to with an unprofitable loan rate when interest rates were volatile; this endowment gave banks higher profit margins. Later on in 1980s the Thatcher government ended all credit and FX exchange controls. This promoted the change from asset management to liability management, variable rate lending meant stock of loans could be determined by demand, and effective those who want a loan gets a loan. This was explained by the Net interest margins (NIM=interest revenue on assets-interest revenue on liabilitiesinterest earning assets). This differential actually improves the bank’s profitability. Banks therefore actively create liabilities (borrow from other banks) in ‘money markets’ and thus switch to ‘liability management’ trying to maximise sources of funds. The asset management of the past where loans was seen as a ‘person to person’ management no longer existed, as banks greatly expanded their balance sheet they reduced their capital to asset ratios (high gearing) and mortgages are bundled and not monitored, consequently the risk exposures of banks began to increase (complexity of bundling was a factor which led to the current crisis). ) The second phase sees the ending of the sharp distinction between banks and NBFIs (non-banking financial institutions). In the 1980s, banks were given the right to compete in the mortgage market and building societies allowed to compete in the market for consumer credit; i. e. both allowed in each other’s markets. Whereas in US, banks were not allowed to compete in the field of investment banking and insurance until 1999. 3) The third phase allowed increased competition within the financial sector and from outside it. NBFIS and other new kinds of financial institutions attached to other financial operations provided new kinds of services such as online banking (within the financial sector). Firms from outside the financial sector also entered the financial services market including Tesco, Marks and Spencer (UK), and GM and GE in the US (General electric’s financial arm makes 1/3 of its profits! ). The three phases of deregulation is the main driving force for banks and NBFIs to compete aggressively and take on excessive risk (through actively searching out liabilities) to gain higher profit margins. By expanding their balance sheet through liabilities, they increase exposure to credit risk and become highly sensitive to the state of the economy i. e. more defaults during downturns of the economy. Apart from deregulation, financial innovation also played a role in the shift to liability management. Since the 1970s, there has been great instability in the financial environment; there were unpredictable swings in interest rates, exchange rates and inflation; there’s increased demand for NEW financial instruments to hedge against this risk. This lead to the development of all sorts of exotic instruments such as currency options/options/exchange contracts, interest rate swaps and credit default swaps. It is no longer adequate for banks to look at averages over time, investment banks now trade at massive quantities (high-frequency trading) to profit from the narrowest margins. The development of ever more complex instruments is also the solution for the ever increasing sophistication of regulation, as to find loopholes. US banks started to branch out to off shore operations in order to exploit the loosely regulated markets. This is one of the effects which is interconnected to globalisation (discussed later on) Financial innovation also includes technological developments which includes the computerisation of banking, telecommunications and customer’s files. The introduction of electronic payments (credit cards) and ATMs also saw unit transaction costs fall. More importantly, there is a growth in automated trading services, allowing banks to process high volume trading comparing to traditional banking. Lastly we have the factor of Globalisation in the shift to liability management. It follows on the things discussed earlier in the essay; the UK started deregulating far earlier than the US and this became a pull factor; so this is great motivation for the US firms to expand into the European market (funding is restricted by regulation Q which as a push factor), a more profitable and a larger Eurodollar market. This in general shows globalisation in the financial system and the growth of MNCs in general. Securitisation has also increased pace of globalisation of banking. This refers to pooling contractual debt (mortgages/car loans) and selling these in the form of bonds or Asset backed securities. Eventually this lead to the fragility of the bank’s balance sheet; if much of the bank’s assets is no longer ‘mediated’ why should you trust another bank? This lead to the financial crisis we have today, where the fall in house prices in the US lead to the fall in securities (the Asset backed securities) damaging financial institutions globally and created insolvency issues. The collapse of big financial institutions eventually lead to the biggest bailout ever in US history; deregulation, financial innovation and globalisation all played a part in this crisis. Based upon the discussion of the three common trends in the banking sector that led to a shift from asset management to liability management above, I will now focus on how these contributed to the expansion of bank’s balance sheets. Interlinking deregulation, innovation and globalization, we see banks fighting harder to compete amongst one another and with NBFIs as well. As more and more major conglomerates start offering financial intermediation services, it is no wonder banks have been driven to expand their balance sheets to remain competitive. Where this was previously unattainable due to strict regulations in the banking industry, the deregulation that has taken place now creates a great incentive for banks to take on more risks in order to expand their balance sheets. Furthermore, the absolution of the Glenn Seagal Act in the UK has led to a Banks finance their expansion by borrowing from the inter-bank loan markets, hence leading to the huge increase in financial sector debt over the last 3 decades. This has become a cause of worry, as increased risk taking and declining liquidity of banks have led to the financial crises of 2008 that has persisted until today, as the European economy becomes increasingly volatile. Due to increased competition created by the deregulation process, banks have now become more aggressive in trying to win market share by expanding their balance sheets and providing loans or mortgages at high risks. The decreasing number of credit-worthy borrowers has lefts banks with no choice but to lower their underwriting standards and issue mortgages to high-risk individuals, resulting in a leap in subprime lending that led to the global financial crisis of 2008. Essentially, investment banks and hedge funds used financial innovation to enable large wagers to be made, far beyond the actual value of the underlying mortgage loans, using derivatives called credit default swaps, CDO and synthetic CDO. As long as derivative buyers could be matched with sellers, the theoretical amount that could be wagered was infinite. Conclusively, the transition from banks focusing on asset management to liability management today, coupled with the various effects of globalization, financial innovation and globalization has led to banks expanding their balance sheets with high risk mortgages and various other risky ventures, resulting in a massive surge of debt held by the financial sector. As deregulation decreased interest rates in the US and people demanded more loans, banks started providing loans to credit-unworthy individuals, resulting in a spike in bad debts and eventually bringing about the burst of the housing bubble in 2006/2007 which, when coupled with the fact that banks were borrowing from one another to finance risky ventures whilst maintaining a very minimal liquidity requirement has led to a vulnerability of the banking system that resulted in the global financial crisis in 2008. Economists have argued that the trend of deregulation has not kept up with the pace of financial innovation that now allowed banks to onduct various unmonitored activities that could lead to an increased vulnerability of the banking system. To prevent a future crisis, the US authorities have to re-evaluate their deregulation trends (introduction of BASEL III) and ensure that sufficient changes are made to ensure that they keep up with the pace of financial innovation. Briefly discuss how the concepts of the equity multiplier and the convexity of pay-off to holders of equity may be relevant to some current debates regarding the rewards structure in the financial sector The reward structure in the financial sector has been affected in recent years by the changing banking/financial sector especially the excessive risks that the banks are taking for more profit. In this essay I will explore the concepts of the equity multiplier and the convexity of payoffs and affects the reward structure of the financial sector. The high risk aspect of the banking sector could be described by the extremely high gearing banks engage in lending: typically over 95% of funds sourced from debt with less than 5% from equity; if we compare those figures with non-financial institutions with 70% equity funded. The asset management side is also full of risk, how do we screen for loan borrowers? If we increase r, then we get a large mix of high risk borrowers. Borrowers also have more information (private hidden actions/intentions) than the lenders, so there will be asymmetric information. Adverse selection refers to problem where those most likely to be a credit risk are most eager to be selected for a loan; Moral hazard describes the problem where after a loan is approved, the borrower has the incentive to engage in more risky activities which in turn increases the risk of default. This can be solved by â€Å"Information-producing†, that is filling forms that filters people with bad credit scores; or they can build long-term customer relationship that could be mutually beneficial, such that banks knows about the customer and customer knows that the bank knows about their situation. This is known as the â€Å"know your customer† (KYC) procedure within financial institutions, which is carried out to allow better assessment of level of risk taken. There are four main motives for banks to take on excessive risk: First, it is the pressure on the bank’s profits. Banks used to be mainly asset management based, however since the phases of deregulation and innovation and the introduction of NBFIs into the competition drove down profits of the banks. Banks expanded the liabilities side of the balance sheets, and hedging management instruments replaced asset management, so in effective customers’ deposits form a quite small proportion of the liabilities. Assets were transformed from the short-term funds (deposits) to long term, less liquid, high yielding assets. Risks involved changed from low to how. All of these are aimed to increase the yield and to increase the returns on assets. Second, it is on the capital adequacy management and the equity management. There is a trade-off between safety and return on equity (low risk/high risk). The return on equity (ROE) is defined as the Net profits/Equity Capital. If the bank wants to increase their ROE, they have the incentive to reduce equity capital. Recall that Equity Multiplier = Assets/Equity. The increase in ROE holding net profits constant will increase equity multiplier. We make an assumption that retained earnings are 0, which is the entire bank capital is equity capital. Then: A low capital bank with E:A ratio of 4% will have an Equity multiplier (A/E) = (100/4) = 25 A high capital bank with E:A ratio of 10% will have an Equity multiplier of (100/10) = 10 This means, that as we increase the equity multiplier, we also decrease the equity asset ratio, which in turn increases risk of insolvency. A higher equity multiplier implies higher financial leverage, and this will mean the financial instate has to rely more on debts to finance its assets. The third motive involves the analysis of the convexity of returns to holders of equity ? = min (L, Y) is the payout to debt holders. The function is concave: line between any two points on the curve lies beneath it. ? = max (0, Y- L) is the payoff to shareholders. The function is convex: line between any two points on the curve lies above it. The idea is that risk transfers value from debt holders to equity holders and the bigger the spread, the bigger the transfer of value. This model of convexity represents the principle-agent problem, when the manager takes on excessive risk and could be beneficial to the shareholders, but due to limit liability, shareholder bares little to no risk. The last motive is the reward structure in the financial sector. Managers typically take a performance bonus (e. g. 20%) of excess return on funds. This creates a rather large problem, managers can take on a huge ‘tail risk’ (or a huge bet) that is hidden from others, and also managers receives his reward/bonus long before the fund gets hit. This is especially damaging not to one self but also the institution. For example the rogue trader at Barings lost $1. 3billion speculating that brought down the bank that was founded over 2 centuries ago. Another rouge trader at Societe Generale lost 4. 9billion Euros, severely weakening the French bank; he claimed that his superiors knew of his trading activities and it was common practice to take huge gambles for large profits, this is especially worrying. Conclusively, all of the factors discussed above have driven the financial sector to take on larger risks that has rendered the banking system vulnerable to shocks and prone to insolvency, which is exactly what happened in the 2008 global financial crisis. Steps that can be taken to improve upon this include introducing a new rewards structure in the financial sector that ties management’s gains to the firm’s long-run performance to minimize risk-taking. Furthermore, new regulations requiring banks to hold a minimum amount of equity or any other â€Å"cushion† (higher Capital adequacy ratio) that will reduce the vulnerability of banks becoming insolvent can be implemented. All in all, the financial sector requires regulations that can minimize the trade-off between gaining revenue and maintaining a â€Å"safe† position in the economy. Although many such actions have been taken in the US after the 2008 crisis, it is still not enough to eliminate the high debts that have plagued the country for the past few years.

Armenians Essays - Armenian Genocide, Young Turks,

Armenians Through my research, of the websites and book listed in the works cited section of my paper, I have found that the Young Turks have been an important part of Turkish and Armenian history. The young Turks were a coalition of reform groups that led a revolutionary movement against the Ottoman Empires Sultan Abdulhamid the Second. They opposed him because of the absolute power he had, and because they wanted to eliminate foreign influence, and to restore Turkish pride. The Young Turks movement was started in the Imperial Medical college of Istanbul. In Istanbul it spread to other colleges including the military institutes. When Abdulhamid the Second, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, learned of their plot against him he exiled the students. The Young Turks fled to various cities in Europe. It was here that the preparations for their revolution took place. An important Young Turk was Ahmed Riza, who was part of the Committee of Union and Progress, which was an influential Young Turk organization. He pushed for a strong central government and he was against all foreign influence. When the Young Turks came to power these ideas were important in their policies. The revolution occurred when discontented members of the Ottomans Army, the Committee of Union and Progress, and another group called the League of Private Initiative and Decentralization all agreed to work together. The revolt took place in 1908. Ahmed Niyazi a member of the Third Army Corps led a small revolt against provincial authorities; other revolutionaries holding revolts that were inspired by Ahmeds followed this. Since the Sultan could not rely on his military to support him he recalled parliament and in 1913 the triumvirate of Talat Pasa, Ahmed Cemel Pasa, and Enver Pasa gained power. Under the triumvirate the Young Turks major reforms took place. Their reforms led to a more centralized government; they promoted industrialization, and improved education. The Young Turks lost power in 1918. Hoping to gain political power they joined in on World War One on the side of the Germans, and the Central Powers. They did this thinking that Germany had a superior army. When the Young Turks realized defeat was coming they resigned their power and the Ottomans ended up signing the Armistice of Mudros ending Turkeys involvement in the war. The Young Turks are important to Armenian history because of the treatment the Armenians received under their control. The Young Turks preached cooperation between themselves and the minority groups in Turkey before they gained power. When the Young Turks took control they did not follow their ideas of cooperation. In 1913 at the city of Adana 30,000 Armenians were killed. When World War One broke out the Young Turks looked at it as a perfect opportunity to dispose of, what they looked at as a problem, Armenians. The government intentionally tried to eliminate the Armenians. Armenian leaders were killed. The rest were forced to relocate into the deserts of Syria, Arabia, and Mesopotamia. During these marches many Armenians were flogged to death, burned, bayoneted, buried alive in pits, drowned in rivers, beheaded, raped, abducted into harems, or just simply died of exhaustion. This genocide, conducted by the Young Turks, took the lives of 1.5 million Armenians. Bibliography Works Cited Balakian, Peter. Black Dog of Fate. New York: Broadway Books, 1997. CedarLand. 20 Febuary 2001. The Armenian Genocide. 20 Febuary 2001 http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Parliament/2587/armenia.html Encyclopedia Britanica. 20 February 2001. Young Turks. 20 February 2001 History Essays

French Verb Conjugations for Augmenter

French Verb Conjugations for Augmenter Augmenter  is a French verb that means to increase, to raise, or to rise. Its a very useful word to know and its a rather simple on to conjugate to fit the present, future, and past tenses. Follow along in this lesson to learn all these conjugations, including the past participle, subjunctive, and imperative forms of  augmenter. Conjugating the French Verb  Augmenter Verb conjugations are a little more complex in French than they are in English. We understand that an English verb with an -ed ending implies the past tense and an -ing is used for the present tense. In French, there are more endings to learn because the verb must match the subject pronoun as well. Augmenter  is a  regular -ER verb. In the conjugations, it follows a particular pattern for the new endings. These same transformations can be found in similar verbs like  attraper  (to pick up) and  complà ©ter  (to complete), making these among the easiest to memorize. Using the chart, you can quickly figure out which verb form you need. Simply match the subject pronoun with the appropriate tense. For instance, I increase is jaugmente and we will rise  is nous augmenterons. Subject Present Future Imperfect j' augmente augmenterai augmentais tu augmentes augmenteras augmentais il augmente augmentera augmentait nous augmentons augmenterons augmentions vous augmentez augmenterez augmentiez ils augmentent augmenteront augmentaient The Present Participle of  Augmenter The  present participle  of augmenter  is augmentant.  This is done with a simple change from the -er  ending to an  -ant  ending. Not only is it a verb, but you can use it as an adjective, gerund, or noun in some circumstances. The Past Participle and Passà © Composà © The  past participle  of augmenter  is augmentà ©. You will need this to form the commonly used past tense known as  passà © composà ©.   To form the conjugations, use the appropriate form of avoir,  which is an  auxiliary, or helping verb. For example, I rose is jai augmentà © and we increased is  nous avons augmentà ©. Notice how  avoir  has been conjugated to match the subject, but the same past participle is used in both phrases. More  Augmenter  Conjugations There may be times when you will need to use the following verb forms of  augmenter. The subjunctive and conditional are rather common and imply a certain degree of uncertainty in the action. Its likely that you will only encounter the passà © simple or imperfect subjunctive in formal writing. Yet, its good to be able to recognize and associate these forms with  augmenter. When using  augmenter  in imperative verb form, there is no need to include the subject pronoun. This is implied within the verb itself and these are used in short statements. Rather than nous augmentons, you can say augmentons.

Designing a database to manage references for a protein structure data Essay

Designing a database to manage references for a protein structure data set using MySQL - Essay Example The database should be able to perform frequent searches on structure resolution, author name and initials, institution name, and structure release date. It should also be able to frequently retrieve the information about journal articles, PDB code, and name of given protein structures. It should be able provide data in specified order for example, as per the resolution, or as per the number of articles and institution, or both resolution and number of articles and institution, or even as per a specified institution, etc. The database is for storing and managing data regarding macromolecular structures that are partly derived from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). The data is provided by organizations that deposit, process, and distribute the information about protein sequences. Due to the complexity of this data care needs to be taken to ensure minimum data errors like missing data, size, alignment, propagation, ambiguity, and labeling. The application should be designed such that, on a user level it provides data management across the various database domains shared, by using a schema that allows the required data processing. The data should be retrieved, modified, and saved from tables using queries. The data is manipulated through applications that access the database in the database management system. The data model of the database defines data structure and behavior. Different aspects of the database are considered for creating models such as logical and physical model diagrams. It also gives detailed specifications of the attributes, rows and columns for tables, and files used to populate the database. 2. Logical schema of the database The logical model is used to document the data. The defined schema components represent the navigation in the schema diagram. The logical schema is constructed as a model independent of the management system and other physical considerations. The logical schema for the relational database design of the current database can be derived using normalization. Applying the normalization methods such as 1NF, 2NF, and 3NF obtains the physical schema result. 2.1 The Tables and their normalization process I. 1st Normal form (1NF): Table : Article Here, the entity Article has multiple authors as more than one people can author one articleabout various protein data structures. Therefore, to reduce redundancy by normalization 2NF is performed. II. 2nd Normal form (2NF): Table : Article Here, the entity Authors with its attributes have been created for the articles written by them. To further reduce redundancy, 3NF is performed. III. 3rd Normal form (3NF): Table : Article Here, the protein table has been created for the entity Protein to reduce the redundancy. This was because the attribute for Authors had redundancy regarding the protein structure; many authors can work on the same protein structure and therefore this was necessary. The logical structure of a database can be given graphically using an entity relationship (E-R) diagram. 2.1.1 Entity-Relationship diagram Attributes that are common to all domains belong